#dysfunctional parents support group au

[digishima]

Hey I’m tired and stressed and tired so have a stupid thing that I wrote a little bit ago based on fanart of Lilia that I can not find the artist for because it was on fucking Pinterest gfdi.

“Papaaaaa,” Silver called from the doorway where Malleus was helping him tie his shoes. “We’re laaaate.”

Lilia skidded across the floor in his socks, nearly falling sideways as he tried to stop. His hands were trying to pull his hair up into a ponytail, his hairband clasped between his teeth. He reached one hand down to grab the tie and start pulling the black and pink strands through it. “No, no, we’re not gonna be late if we run!”

Malleus frowned, staring over at his bag. “But I have Groovy in my bag. He’ll get hurt.”

“You have—Mal, sweetie.” Lilia grabbed the bag up from the floor, opening it and pulling out an unreasonably heavy gargoyle statuette. “We’ve talked about this, right, kiddo? Gargoyles protect the home. That’s why we have to leave Groovy here when we leave, so he can protect it while we’re gone.”

Malleus crossed his arms and pouted. “I wanted to show him to Mr. Leona when he comes to drop off the babies.”

“How about when we see Mr. Leona at the play date, we invite him over so he can see Groovy?” Lilia asked, kneeling down to meet Malleus’s eyes. “Does that sound like a good compromise?”

The seven year old looked up at his ‘father’ and nodded. “Okay…”

“Good.”

Silver looked over at the two. “Papa, late.”

“Right!” Lilia put the statue back where he belonged and grabbed their jackets off the coat rack. “Let’s see…Green. Mal, gimme your arms.” He slid the jacket on the boy, then did the same with Silver. Pulling his own jacket on, Lilia grabbed his keys from the pocket. “Let’s go!”

Silver reached up and tugged on his sleeve. “Papa, you don’t have shoes on.”

Lilia looked down at his feet, then slipped them into his boots.

Malleus shook his head. “We’re gonna be so late.”

[srfiv]

for a highschool setting, au if you will, what upbringing do you think the 141 would have? im really curious to know what you think of personally :)c

oooooh!! to be completely honest, i didn't have any concrete ideas i could put into words before seeing this ask so this is gonna be two things: completely unresearched and based solely off of vibes

i have to emphasise i am clueless about UK demographics. i am still researching (snail pace) but i didnt want to make you wait :(

i'm big on soap growing up lower middle class catholic with siblings. to me, he's a classic middle child - he may have naturally felt a bit neglected and jealous of his younger sibling as a kid, but he gets over it once he hit hits teens.

his parents are warm and welcoming people, but there is a little awkwardness when it comes to queer topics as well as johnny's neurodivergence. they're fully supportive of his endeavors in sports and entertain his interest in engineering. although awkwardly at first, johnny was encouraged to be upfront about his emotions and opinions (which fired back terribly during his teens, but led to more open conversations later). his parents do remind him to mind his manners often though.

his relationship with his siblings can be a bit tumultuous, especially with the youngest, but ultimately he would give his life for them. there's a lot of roughousing involved, but also caring touches, hugs, pats on the back, doing eachothers hair, helping with makeup and so on. johnny grew up with lots of affectionate physical touch from both his parents and siblings.

johnny has always struggled with the catholicism bit though. his parents aren't strict about faith by any means, but there are unspoken expectations that he sometimes has trouble with. he learned early that his grandparents should see him as nothing but masculine and ready for marriage, lest all hell broke loose.

ghost gets the unfortunate working class dysfunctional household in every universe. i am so sorry my boy. he always gets the irresponsible and ungovernable dad and the tortured madonna mum.

his dad doesn't really know what to do with a kid or how to tend to its needs and doesn't have enough emotional capacity to learn. as a person, i think deep down he is really scared to care. he thinks it makes him vulnerable - his own dad (simons grandfather) was a mean patriarch, controlling, while his mum was emotionally absent. he got out and rebeled as fast as possible, but that left him with knowing nothing but fear, anger and tricks.

he "lets" the mum do the housework and take care of the kids after her shift. simon grows up seeing his mum work herself to the bone taking care of them, including his dad. unlike his brother, tommy, simon finds himself taking his mothers side and offering to help her. he grows more and more disgusted with his father as time goes on. tommy just tries to shut it out and escape it for the most part, but there are exceptions when he won't.

the mum tries her best to provide food, clean clothes and a smile for her children, but there's a backdrop of grief to it all. they used to hug and comfort eachother, but that stopped when simon hit puberty and closed himself off physically. simon sees her suffering and it angers him, but he splits that anger in half and aims it at his dad and himself.

the trauma bond simon and tommy have makes tommy irreplaceable in simons life. unlike simon, tommy has insane charisma and a desperate need to self-sabotage, and this combo more often than not brings him amongst the worst groups in the neighbourhood. simon makes his disapproval known often and tries to be a positive force in tommys life, which doesn't always work out.

at home, whenever the opportunity arises, tommy tries to take the abuse instead of simon, who will (as a teen) openly fight his dad. tommy doesn't mind sitting down and taking it in an effort to make it end faster.

i personally can't help but see price as an only child in an upper middle class family. albeit very disciplined, he's used to getting his way and tends to hold grudges when someone opposes him, and he has a talent for finding loopholes in rule systems.

his dad and mum divorced in his preteens due to his mum having cheated. although it was an amicable divorce (at least to outsiders' eyes), it did leave an impression on young john and a doubt in his mind about love and marriage.

his parents decided to keep the cause of their divorce from him, and he visited his mum often up until his highschool years, when his mum let it slip. since then, his visits have been kept to a minimum, and he's grown bitter about her as she's tried to reach out multiple times. his mum feels extremely guilty for what she's done. she truly loves her son and john knows, but he can't help himself.

his dad would be a very stern and almost dictatorial person to him if it wasn't for the way he openly shows his love for his current wife. this also leaves a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, as he has never considered his dads second wife his "mum". they are good friends though, and they live together. his dad and her take interest in johns school life and get involved with the school itself often, which john doesn't mind much, because it gets him a foot in the door with the teachers.

he was raised manners first, so it doesn't show, but he has a healthy disrespect for authority. he often prefers to corner his superiors with malicious compliance rather than rebel outright. he's not selfish however - he has a strong moral code of his own, which contradicts itself at times, but he is very stubborn about it - and just like his father, he's very loyal to people who have gained his respect, but quick to "dispose" of people who have lost it. it is difficult to gain his respect, and very easy to lose it.

gaz would come from a lower middle class catholic family as well as johnny, but unlike him, he doesn't feel as though he has many obligations towards god. after a stern talking to from his mum however, he keeps his opinions to himself.

his dad is exmilitary and kyle has witnessed the PTSD from a young age, along with his mum comforting his dad as well as she could. his dad would sometimes do self sabotaging things he'd regret, and once kyle became older, he took care of him in those moments along with his mum. the therapy helps, sometimes.

kyle has some trouble coming to terms with the love his dad still expresses for the military though, despite the aftermath. kyle knows his dad would really like it if kyle joined the military as well. his brain is swimming with stories of his dads military buddies and the "grand ol time" they had, and with the nights he spent up at the kitchen table hugging his dad back from a damn near suicide attempt.

most of the time though, his dad is a warm and friendly fellow who has many friends in the community and often likes to include his children in the activities. kyle grew up very popular among his peers.

his mum is very goal oriented and faithful, but rather emotionally stunted. she cares for her children and her husband very deeply, but she doesn't show it well in her daily life. she resorts to showing love through favours and food whenever she can. she loves to sit with them when they're having a difficult time and listen.

i think he has a younger sister, who he has a classic love hate sibling relationship with. she often annoys him about the boys in his class and introducing them to her maybe, and kyle tells her that she'd just get bullied. in reality, he's fiercely overprotective. not only towards her, but his entire family.

[didasgomas]

Sunshine

Day 11 of @augusnippets

Prompts: Escape/Breaking the conditioning/Safe and sound

Content warnings : Referenced previous toxic households

Part of "In Mortality", an au of Cut Down The Altar (creator will be in the tags)

October 5th, 2004 - 9:38 A.M Newark, Essex county, New Jersey

"Yeah, I know this open air restaurant just three kilometers from campus. They serve these awesome salads for cheap, and the starters are for free. Ain't that cool?"

"Sounds just perfect! Do you and the rest want to go to Scorpion's afterwards?"

"You and your cheesecake… Heh, just messing around. I think the others wouldn't mind, so yeah."

"Ah, my coffee's ready. See you all tomorrow, then?"

"You bet it, girl! Need to get ready for biology class, but everyone will be there, I swear!"

"Okay, have a good one!"

Talking with Autumn was always a pleasant thing. While she was the confident goth pathology student, Samantha was the reserved and modest medical student, but despite looking like complete opposites, they actually had a lot of common interests, as well as a shared feeling of freedom in college, where they could finally feel free from their family, which neither of them visited.

Autumn came from a deeply dysfunctional home, where she and her younger brother were forced to take up all the responsibilities their parents were supposed to have as caretakers, and all the money for her college she had saved up by herself.

Samantha, on the other hand, almost wished her parents forgot about her existence growing up. Not that her family was fundamentally broken, not really, but being the only normal person in the middle of a bunch of psychopaths wasn't exactly pleasant either, and all their extended family was like that too.

It had taken all the years getting a Bachelor's for Sam to look in the mirror without feeling disgusted or afraid. Blonde hair from an all too twisted mother, brown eyes from the constant looming presence that was her father, facial features of a father's mother with a sick sense of humor, and eye shape and height from a mother's father whom she might as well have inherited the attribute of being normal, given she never met him due to his too early death, a topic his wife never talked about.

But now that she was in her second year of her residency, Samantha Bilcanna looked in the mirror and just saw herself, not a mush of her family. Sam was just Sam, shy and studious, wanting to prove that the Bilcanna name could bring some good into the world.

Grabbing her coffee and looking out the window into the late sunrise, she reflected.

She had a group of supportive friends who wouldn't abandon her, a gorgeous and kind girlfriend, and very understanding teachers along the way. Her dream career was growing ever closer, and she finally felt like moving on from her past in Nox was becoming easier and easier with time.

She wasn't the easy to scare "Hamantha", as her younger brothers used to mock her, anymore. Sam was just Sam.

[elendsessor]

so uh me and my family went to go see ghost busters world iceborne today and it was fine kinda??

i do want to talk about it since i have a lot of feelings about it despite only seeing this and the original

but first actual thing that genuinely is awful that i do want to make known: if you’ve seen trailers you might know that the movie got sponsored by booking.com and yes they do shoehorn it in the movie. booking.com has very positive ties to israel because y’know travel agency and is one of several companies the bds suggests pressure boycotting so please please please do not ignore that fact about the movie please please please please do not support booking.com. do boycott booking.com.

uh spoilers below the cut i guess?

ok actual positives because i fucjing loved the ghost designs. cgi wasn’t great at points (main bad guy ghost dude i forget the name of looked best when obscured in shadows and not actually shown in detail) but the designs were at least done well. and phoebe and melody’s relationship was cute yet was done so fucking dirty. the movie did have good jokes and the acting was really solid, the world building is cool, and yeah if you turn your brain off for most of the film it’s fun. only when there’s action and ghosts is it actually compelling i noticed and it’s really sad since a good chunk of the movie is not that.

there’s too much plot ok. it’s your run of the mill family drama with ghosts sometimes there. i’m tired of the family is forever shit when it isn’t found family or paints the parents as “flawed but well meaning” and having the dad be lovingly stupid (gary’s technically not the biological dad but he does do dumb dad—pretty much flanderized homer simpson you know the trope), the mom strict to a fault but is right in the end, and incompetent brother who’s trying his best but needs a little help. most families are not like this. most families are dysfunctional in their own ways. you don’t have to have physically abusive parents or unsupportive parents to have shitty parents. painting families in this very generic way sets a really really unhealthy expectation that if your parents aren’t openly pieces of shit you aren’t allowed to hate them or if you defy them you’re automatically in the wrong.

but then there’s phoebe. oh is there phoebe.

i hate how in movies now to get across female empowerment is just make the girl super smart and be shoved in the spotlight too often. she is not interesting at all i’m sorry. you can tell she’s the smart one because she wears glasses and likes science isn’t that quirky? seriously when are we going to just get a strong female lead who has interests that aren’t tomboyish or *insert school subject here*? filmmakers do know that girls and women are also human beings with a wide range of individual likes and dislikes that can’t be reduced to tropes right??? again creating the unrealistic expectation that women cannot be treated like normal people unless they’re uber smart or uber strong. this is a problem for all minoritized group representation and i really cannot hate anyone who doesn’t like how the film industry is trying to bend over backwards for groups to force in representations that only hurt them.

biggest sin is she is not interesting on her own. she is so tropey it’s a fucking travesty. melody the ghost girl was the only compelling person—the only one who made phoebe somewhat interesting to watch—and of course she’s not safe from being a trope. i don’t like how melody has to have direct ties to bad guy mcbad and the sudden turnaround that, while it paid off for her, was rushed to hell and back for the drama.

and worst of all, there was homoerotic tension between phoebe and melody and nothing ever happens.

please just let them hold hands.

i know this is a mainstream movie so two people of the same sex even brushing up against one another is a crime but.

they were cute together and fueled several ghost au fanfic ideas.

damn you film industry.

[fubukiswifenoimnotjoking]

Having brain rot thinking of an au where saitama fubuki and tatsumaki are all siblings and saitama was sold off as a baby before tatsumaki and fubuki were sold off (before fubuki is born of course) except he’s not exhibiting psychic powers so they sell him to a woman to cook and clean for her. Tatsumaki is like 3 when saitama is born and only remembers his name.

After blast helps her out when she was in containment, she broke into the associations files and found a picture of her parents, with her dad having spiky black hair, and records that confirm Saitama’s existence. So she gets out of there obvi and grabs Fubuki, then she makes money from doing odd jobs with her powers so she can take care of her and eventually they have a house to themselves and tatsumaki is taking care of her, and all this time she’s been trying to find saitama, even hiring a private investigator at one point.

It isn’t until she’s 10, saitama is 7 and fubuki is 4 that she finally tracks him down herself, which was hard bc he had no psychic brainwaves to track him with and he looks super generic. So she finds him and saves him from a mean old lady who uses him as a slave basically, making him cook and clean constantly, though he tells tatsumaki he doesn’t mind cooking that much (weird kid, she thinks). She immediately knows it’s him because he’s got their father’s hair.

So she takes him home and takes care of him and Fubuki, and she makes sure no one hurts them or bullies them, so much so that her power becomes a legend and everyone is too scared to go near their house. Of course, she’s fiercely overprotective so saitama and fubuki don’t really have friends, which saitama is fine with while fubuki suffers, only having Psykos by her side growing up.

Saitama is a lot like his canon self and doesn’t have much interest in doing much with his life except for heroism because he grew up watching his oldest sister kick ass and he wanted to be like her since, though he’d never admit that. Fubuki wants to do more, like become an actress or activist or something, but she becomes a hero and makes the blizzard group for the same reason in canon: to become strong enough to support her sister.

Because tatsumaki is still very distant despite her overbearing nature, so Fubuki worries, of course. Saitama cares too, but he elected to be the sibling to give Tatsu space and let her come around to them herself. Fubuki often argues with him about this, saying he should step up and help her have an intervention with tatsu, but he argues back that the more they push her on this, the more they push her away, so he refuses. (This happens through saitama and fubuki’s teenage years up to in canon, when saitama is 25 and fubuki 23).

I’ve got a lot more ideas for this and sketches in my head but I’m too tired 😭 maybe later lol. But basically, pretty dysfunctional and they’re all mentally ill obvi, but they love each other fiercely and try to hang out or at least call like once every two weeks bc they’re so tightly knit

[bluevalleybreakingnews]

Starcat AU where it's the 50's in a small town in the Blue Ridge mountains. Courtney is a rockabilly biker, and Yolanda is a greaser that races cars.

(Part II): Oops...Rockabilly Courtney and greaser Yolanda are from rival gangs/families.

Fun!!! I like the idea but let's add some more character dynamics to the mix...(And let's just age everybody up to their 20s just so we aren't limited to high school achievements.)

Joining Court in her Rockabilly cohort is the rest of her family (obviously), Cameron (her bf at the start of this tall tale, the Paris to Yolanda's Romeo, whose family is the head of this little gang), plus Henry and Cindy (let's set them up in a similar dysfunctional relationship as the start of SG proper, same past with Yolanda except instead of photos let's tone it down to just a rumor that Cindy spread at the request of Henry Sr. so that his kid wouldn't embarrass him by dating outside of the gang. In fact, let's put the entire ISA in this Rockabilly cohort, seen by the townspeople as the "good" faction, who for the most part have sinister intentions.

With Yolanda, we've got Rick (resident car and bike expert/mechanic), and Beth (already in an established relationship with Rick and the greaser gang's best doctor- just don't tell her mom that). Jennie's there, too, Yolanda's best friend who idolizes her deceased star-racer father.

Random people I haven't mentioned + their job and faction (R/B)...

I'm making Isaac (R) a crooner and you can't stop me. Jakeem (B) and Mike (R) are journalists at the same paper that meet each other because they both try to go undercover into the other gang and can see through each other's disguises. Artemis (R by birth but B by friend group) and her parents all kind of wander around until they're needed to hype up a gang fight (sure, Artemis can be Mercutio, because why not?). The Shade similarly plays both sides but more so because he thinks the rivalry between these two groups is pointless.

Courtney meets Yolanda after she follows Artemis out after hours and finds a crazy drag race going on. Yolanda doesn't recognize her and they hit it off. Rick and Beth try to dissuade Yolanda from continuing after Court after the party is over, but Artemis, Mike, and Jakeem all support Yolanda in her endeavor. Court eventually breaks up with Cameron, who blows the whistle to his father (and mother, because why not let the Mahkents have one thing going for them in this universe), causing the Rockabilly Council(?)/ISA to decide to go to war with the Greasers because of course now it's personal.

Nobody dies (it's more HSM than R+J or WSS) but Rick definitely beats Cam and Henry's asses in a 1v2 fist fight at some point; Pat, Barb, Mike, and Court officially leave the Rockabillies; Yolanda's parents still suck and kick her out but she gets to live with the optimal BV parents (the Crocks, who never were particularly interested in being Rockabillies anyway); nothing bad EVER happens to Joey or Isaac.

Oh, and Solomon Grundy is Rick's name for his T-Bird.

[lyrick-buffpuff]

A Lyrick Portfolio

Some of my best/favourite works put into a post for zine applications.

Under the cut are these fics, in order with links, desc, & tags: 1. The Negotiation Gone Wrong, A LoV Fam Fic 2. Shigaraki’s Favourite Game, A ShigaDabi Fic 3. In The Shadows, An Aizawa-Centric Fic 4. Comfort, A Sero/Kaminari Fic 5. Unwavering, A Nao-Centric Fic 6. Big Sis Mag, A Magne Character Study/Backstory Exploration 7. Painted Devotion, A Spinaraki Fic 8. Wounded, A Shinso/Ojiro Fic 9. Sparkle, A Aoyama & Monoma Friendship Fic

The Negotiation Gone Wrong BNHA - League of Villains - Canon-Compliment Words: 3,939 Characters: Shigaraki Tomura, Kurogiri, Mr. Compress, Magne, Twice, Toga, Spinner, Dabi Ship: Gen/Fam Fic CW: Violence (mostly canon-typical), Blood, Death, Knives Description: The League is formally invited to forge an alliance with another group. Tomura doesn't like their tone nor the assumption they made about the League's true goals. He will deliver the message personally. But what happens when he finds out he was lied to about the real reason he received an invitation?

Shigaraki’s Favourite Game BNHA - League of Villains - Canon-Divergence Words: 4,937 Characters: Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, Kurogiri, Mr. Compress, Toga Himiko, Twice, Spinner, Big Sis Magne Ship: ShigaDabi CW: Eh. basically 100% Fluff, humor, and slight agitation. Small drug mention later tho [like very smol]. Decsription:  Dabi is sent to go wake Tomura up, he fuckin’ overslept again. Only when he gets up there, Tomura hadn't overslept. And Dabi wouldn't believe what he saw if he hadn't seen it. If he wasn't in love with the asshole before, he definitely was now.

In The Shadows BNHA - Pro-Heroes - Canon-Divergence Words: 1,369 Characters: Aizawa, Oboro, Kurogiri, Sero Ship: Gen/Friend Fic CW: Mentions of Death, Thought Loops, Introspection, sorta a Hurt/Comfort Description: Aizawa speaks to both Shirakumo and Kurogiri once more in a time of need. Feeling immensely alone and trapped trying to figure out what he should do, he talks to them.

Comfort BNHA - UA Students - Canon-Dviergence Words: 1,125 Characters: Sero, Denki, Tamaki, Mina, Kirishima Ship: Sero/Kaminari  CW: Canon-Typical Violence, Injuries, Mentions of Anxiety, Mentions of Medication, Panic Attack, Hurt/Comfort, Angst Outtake: “I ran back.” Denki’s voice is soft and rough. The look of self-deprecation increases as the darkness in Denki’s eyes grows. “After I came to, all I saw was fighting and everyone’s quirks flying without rhyme or reason. I couldn’t focus on what was happening and I got scared and- and I just ran. I ran away like a fucking coward. I was supposed-” Hanta shakes his head, he feels the colour drain from his face. “Denki. Look at me.”

Unwavering  BNHA - Civilians - Canon-Divergence/Canon-AU Words: 634 Characters: Nao Shimura, Mako, Chizuo Ship: N/A CW: feelings of not being supported Description: Nao's parents try to talk her out of a decision she's not going to change.

Big Sis Mag BNHA - League of Villains - Canon-Compliment/Divergence Words: 2,256 Characters: Magne, Toga Himiko, Twice, Mr. Compress, Shigaraki Tomura, Spinner, Dabi, Kurogiri Ship: Gen/Fam Fic CW: Misgendering, Dysfunctional Family, Canon-Typical Violence, Backstory Exploration Description:  A life of social chains weighed Magne down until she broke free. Now that she's been able to fly, she's never going back to anything remotely like that life she once survived.

Painted Devotion BNHA - League of Villains - Canon-Divergence Words: 2,187 Characters: Spinner, Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, Toga Himiko, Mr. Compress, Twice Ship: Spinaraki CW: Fluff. That’s it. Straight up gaymer fluff. Description/Outtake: Spinner thinks about his devotion to Shigaraki and proceeds to get teased by Dabi and Toga. ~~~ “A few days ago, I came to a realization, of sorts.” “Is that so?” “Yeah. I, uh… I wish I were the slightest bit inclined in the arts, in painting.” “And why is that, Shuichi?”

Wounded BNHA - UA Students - Canon-Divergence Words: 1,778 Characters: Shinso, Ojiro, Aizawa, Recovery Girl, Dabi Ship: ShinOji CW: Injured Cat. Fluff. Soft confessions.  Outtake: “You’re running late too? What were you doing off campus?” The uncontrollable urge to smile hits Shinso, almost making him trip. The tailed hero student smiles. “Visiting my parents for the weekend; and you?” “Visiting Eri.” Ojiro does a once over before suppressing a chuckle. “Are you smuggling something in your bag there or are you trying to fix your awful back posture?” Shinso gives the other a huff of laughter.

Sparkle BNHA - UA Student - Canon-Compliment Words: 867 Characters: Aoyama, Monoma, Denki Ship: Gen/Friend Fic Description/Outtake:  Monoma and Aoyama converse over a meal together. Monoma's slightly surprised at how much he likes mingling with the competition. ~~~ Aoyama claps. “You brought the non-alcoholic wine!” Kaminari’s smile falters to Monoma’s enjoyment, but only for a second. “Aoyama, I didn’t know I was supposed to buy anything fancy, you shoulda told me! I thought you preferred this kind…” In a moment of graciousness, Monoma waves Kaminari’s worries off. “You are correct. That is his favourite. We’re just higher class than you. Only peasants refer to non-alcoholic wine as ‘juice’. But of course, you wouldn’t know that, now would you?”

[the-girl-with-the-glass-heart]

So I’ve decided to talk in depth about my sander sides high school au, specifically the characterization of Remus, Janus and Virgil.

I tried to make a rather grounded and realistic take on things with some conventional teen drama tropes mixed in there along with some serious storylines about family and the issues Remus, Virgil and Janus experience because of it.

I will make a part two to this post if you guys so desire with the other sides and possibly Picani and Remy.

Virgil is the main character of this au, he moved back to his old home town after moving away when he was fairly young to go start a new life with his dad.

Virgil and his dad are all on their own with little money to their names making them live in the poorer area of town, which doesn’t exactly help Virgil with bullies.

Virgil also has some deep underlying issues about his mother since she died in labor and thus never got to meet her, his dad goes to great lengths to teach him about her and how much she unconditionally loved him but it does little to quell Virgil’s complex feelings towards her.

Despite the amount of attention his dad gives him he does feel especially empty and sad about his lack of a mother, it doesn’t exactly help that because of the way Juliet died Virgil feels in some way, partially responsible.

This would later cause him to build up emotional walls to cover up how he really felt about his mom, insisting that he’s okay and doesn’t think about it often.

This also causes him to stress a lot about small situations and in more extreme scenarios full on fits of anxiety due to his underlying fears about losing even more people in his life.

Ultimately this all mixed together with the bullying Virgil received growing up for his lack of a mother made him a very tense and self conscious individual with a deep rooted fear of the unknown and loss.

Virgil still has a support group there for him, like I said, his dad is always there to provide and take care of him no matter what and his friends always make an effort to understand his plights despite not really having the same issues as he does.

Really the only person who comes close to understanding him is Remy, who also is raised by a single parent and understands the hurt that can leave you with.

Remy’s mom and Virgil’s dad are quite close though and since they are neighbors try to take care of each other’s kids the best they can when the other can’t.

Overall Virgil’s life isn’t all that great but it could be a whole lot worse if he didn’t have his friends with him.

Now onto Janus, Janus’s familial troubles culminate into anger and spite, his family was rather normal until he was around five years old and his parents got divorced and it was rather messy.

Janus couldn’t adjust very well to not only his parents being separated but also his dad losing his job and most of his money, making him move across town, next door to Virgil.

He coped with it after a little while but everything seemed to get way worse after one day when he was visiting his mom and her boyfriend, an electrical fire started and Janus got trapped in the bathroom causing him to get very bad burns all up one side of his body, making him lose most of his hair and most importantly of all, push his mother to take extreme lengths to protect him.

She just seemed to become more and more irrational over time and take even more precautions that made little sense to anyone but her.

She even prevented Janus from hanging out with Remus since his behavior kinda scared her which only made Janus want to hang out with him more.

She was already very over protective of him but the fire just made everything worse and eventually Janus developed a habit for lying as a way to hide his more “dangerous” activity from his invasive mother.

Janus was often confused and didn’t know exactly how to feel about his mother, his love for her was both very strong since he admired how much she wanted to protect him but also was full of anger and spite for how controlling she was.

At least his dad and step mom were better, his father though not the most emotionally available still takes care of him and loves him while his step mom is the most wholesome a person could possible be and much better than his step dad (Who’s just a complete idiot).

Janus mostly deals with his problems by venting about them to remus and going through lengths to cover his burns (wearing hats to cover up his bald spot, gloves to hide his hands, jackets to hide his arms, ect.) unfortunately though sometimes this will lead to confrontations with Virgil.

Virgil’s fear of loss and want to keep his loved ones safe will often clash for Janus’s demands for freedom and independence making them sometimes clash until remus tries to calm them down.

As for Remus, unlike his friends he didn’t care much about how his family was, yes they are clearly dysfunctional and Remus fully knows how his families relationship was strained and probably really toxic but he didn��t care.

Even though favoritism was really clear at his house, his parents weren’t home often due to work and his brother seemed to get everything, remus just sorta took it in stride and used it as an excuse to grow more independent and bombastic.

He likes himself, in fact maybe he likes himself a little too much tbh.

He developed a strong sense of self, something that Janus really admired and would often look up to him for.

Eventually his teen years hit and surprise surprise, this independent loud bastard with strong opinions got a really weird sense of style (I mean, who else would draw on a fake mustache and dye their hair grey while wearing chokers and knee length boots?) and a penchant for partying.

Not only would he party (very hard, sometimes at bars with fake IDs) but he also started having small relationships that didn’t last very long (didn’t matter who it was, hell it could of been a guy who was already in a committed relationship, remus didn’t care).

To go along with his bold and odd personality he was often contradictory, putting on a persona of the stupid party guy while also being surprisingly intelligent, to the point that he even rivaled Logan (some one had to be the smart twin).

He has a great relationship with his brother, they actually get along very well, they just don’t speak much during school hours.

Remus has a very can do attitude and is completely determined to be his own person and nobody is gonna fell him other wise.

So yeah... if you read this far thank you, I appreciate it.

[laughingpinecone]

ToT letter 2021

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

Art likes: characters doing something, even something very simple, illustrating a moment rather than abstractly posing. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s). Or dressing them up for some outlandish AU!

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

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings

All requests are for both fic and art!

Death Crown: Death, trick

(I haven't played the DLC yet so, alas, no demons, or no spoilers for the demons, at least) I am absolutely charmed by the overall mood of this game and would like to see something more in that vein! Anything! Got more sacred (or unholy?) geometrical architecture for Death to interact with, maybe in greater detail than just wrecking it? What else feels like a contemporary take on a Bosch painting? Can Death get lost?

Ghost Trick: Jowd, Cabanela, trick, treat

Anything focused on Cabanela being an unstoppable force (confident, untiring, sparkling, stubborn, dexterous, loyal to the bitter end, legs) and/or Jowd being an immovable object (sarcastic, strong, depressed, self-deprecating but knowing he's hot stuff, also stubborn, clever but an emotional dumbass, round). Figuring out stuff? Something in the new timeline is linked to the old timeline? Coat? Dancing? Scarves? Halloween costumes?

I like Cabanela/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma in scenarios where Jowd isn't around and Alma/Jowd in general (REALLY like all these, okay. like this is the one request where I'd love the most self-indulgent shippy takes as well), and dig Lynne/Memry. Yomiel/fianSissel and Emma/JM also cool!

Hylics: any, trick, treat

(I have only played the first game so far so please no overt spoilers for Hylics 2. Feel free to include stuff from it but... stealthily, I guess?) This is an "anything that feels somewhat like canon, please" sort of request! Love the mood, love the cast, love the little added details in their menu screen. Those can be prompts? Or the oddball stats? How do ToT's trick and treat freeforms apply to Hylics' overall... hylicsness, what would those guys think constitutes a "creepy" moment or a "fluffy" one?

Not into ships for this one, however I WILL say that Dedusmuln has all the proverbial curves in the right places. mostly their face.

Kentucky Route Zero: Weaver

Math, debt, the liminal state of almost being a ghost, seeing the world with a strange clarity... just anything Weaver, please! How'd she make her way to the town? What was it like for her to be working on Xanadu for a time? What about the community broadcast! Does she have an opinion on Carrington's oeuvre? You know... things... stuff. Weaver things. and stuff.

I love the whole cast and Weaver... wove... her story through most of them so feel free to bring in whomever. Not interested in ships here though.

Paradise Killer: Lady Love Dies, trick

A post-canon glimpse of life on '''''perfect''''' 25? That's not QUITE enough class consciousness to make the whole thing work, you guys. What does 'normal' life feel like to LD now? After following Henry's case and talking to Shinji so much, can she see that it's doomed to fail again, and then what? What IS Island 25 like, anyway? (what comes after Island 25, even?)

I liked the choice of canon romances - if it has to be just one I'd prefer it to be Crimson, but I'd also be interested in seeing what a V or triad with Doom Jazz would look like. They're all so chill about stuff

Pyre: Volfred, trick, treat

Pragmatic idealist, charismatic and bad at people, pacifist, activist, physiologically incapable of shutting up for a hot second, what's there not to love... I am very into either of the following: C. Volfred Sandalwood has a fantastic day; C. Volfred Sandalwood has a terrible no good day. Everything is great! Pre-exile antiestablishmentarian antics, maybe with Bertrude? Political gambits? The very physical dangers of the Downside which may or may not catch a scholar by surprise (who saves him?)? Tree problems? Meeting Oralech for the first time and Volfred thinks he himself is hot stuff but out of the two, Oralech is clearly the VIP? Feeling like he should live up to Lu Sclorian's legacy but he feels much closer to other Scribes (and what does Lu have to say about it, one way or another?)? The thrilling intimacy of Reading? The thrilling intimacy of lowercase reading also, maybe reading old manuscripts found in the Downside?

I very much ship him with Tariq and/or Oralech. The only canon ship I like is Hedwyn/Fikani. I also like Soliam/Gol, Bertrude/Pamitha and Celeste/Jodariel. Love all the Nightwings + Dalbert (+Deluge...?); love to dunk on Manley, Brighton and Lendel (I don't enjoy flat-out bashing, more like... I enjoy the way they are portrayed as horrible gremlins in canon and if they turn up in fic I'm not interested in more positive portrayals)

Signs of the Sojourner: Rhea, Elias, trick, treat

Once again pretty much an "anything in the style of canon" request. I love this setting, its themes and all the little lives that fill it. I am interested in a wide range of postcanon scenarios and love the whole cast - does Rhea come back to $town any number of years down the line and find $character? How'd their storyline end up in the medium-long term? What the hell is up with the Stranger (seriously, three runs and I never managed to speak with them, I have no idea)? What's life like for Elias back home, or in a new home if they can't keep the store, or if Rhea landed the Oscar ending or whatever (just, please, not dead Rhea. I love that ending but can't stand to consider what it'd do to Elias)? Or does he join the caravan just once? Who did Rhea grow to really like and can't wait to see every time? Any ghost stories or creepy encounters on the caravan's route? Does Thunder help?

I'm neutral on ships here - good with Rhea&Elias, good with background Rhea/Elias but I wouldn't like a romantic focus.

Totally Normal Wizard Apprentice: apprentice, wizard, master, trick, treat

(conflict of interest disclaimer, I illustrated this but didn't write nor nominate it) What awaits the apprentice outside the wizard's tower? It sounds like a pretty wild moon out there, I loved all the worldbuilding hints of the bigger setting. Does the wizard keep track of the apprentice, with her telescope or otherwise, and how does she take care of her ruined parlor? Was this all some sort of 5d chess on the master's part, and if so to what end? And what kind of otherworldly patience does this man possess, anyway, to handle the apprentice on a daily basis?

Twin Peaks: Margaret, Diane, Lucy, Tammy, trick, treat

(bass-boosted ethereal whooshing) For tricks, I would like to see any of these characters face the woods, the mystery of the woods, and/or a new symbol of your liking. Or: Margaret in the city, Diane and the moon, Lucy and the color blue, Tammy incognito.

For treats, a happy meeting. I love the whole cast and I'm always thrilled by gonzo "&" pairings, bring in whomever! Coffee and pie? The Bookhouse Boys? A kinder aspect of the woods?

Fandom-specific notes: love s3, love the books too. I like Lucy/Andy, Margaret/Sam fwiw, and rarepairs Tammy/Cynthia and Diane/Constance. Please no Fireman's-house-is-the-white-lodge, no Twin Perfect, no Judy-was-destroyed (nor is destroyable).

Arcade Spirits: Percy, Teo, treat

More than anything, I love the sense of group and camaraderie among the arcade's staff and regulars, and I'd love to see some more of it. I picked Percy and Teo 'cause they're my faves but anyone you may want to add, up to and including Sue, is very very welcome. Is there any aspect of gaming that feels like it could be adapted to this strange world of contemporary arcades? Cosplay shenanigans for everyone courtesy of Ashley? Any other activity that could show how Percy and/or Teo get along with the others, like they were all forming little groups during the beach chapter? It's such a feel-good canon, any feel-good situation would be great!

My Ari is with Percy but I'm not really interested in shipping here. All sorts of friendships though!

[digishima]

Realized I never posted the “Who takes care of whom” list for DPSG AU. Whoops…

Lilia - Adopted dad of Malleus (9) and Silver(7), regularly babysits Sebek (5, almost 6)

Idia - Legal Guardian of his baby brother Ortho (4)

Riddle, Trey, & Cater - basically raised Ace (5) & Deuce (5) due to parents working so often, the only babysitters who can handle the two of them together

Vil & Rook - Temporary guardians of Epel (5) so he can attend school in a better area

Azul - Very tired (reluctant) adopted parent of chaos Twins Jade (7) and Floyd (7)

Leona & Ruggie - Have no idea how they ended up in charge of Jack (just turned 6) and a newborn Cheka but they’re trying.

Jamil - Being paid way too much to turn down being Kalim’s (6) legal guardian.

[parkkrys]

Hello!!

I hope I got your attention for a moment!

I have modified this list as I find my footing into the Star Wars the clone wars fandom and am happy to take requests!

You will have to be patient with me as I will be adding ships BUT that doesn't mean you can't requests them! I actually encourage you to do so! It will help me gain more confident to do so!

But there is only one thing I will ask you is to not request any ships from the Sequels and Rogue One considering I haven't watched any of those movies yet!

Here is the list:

1. Soulmate AU

2. Childhood Best Friend AU

3. Sith AU

4. Teacher/Single Parent AU

5. One night stand and falling pregnant AU

6. Meeting at a coffee shop AU

7. Fake relationship AU

8. Roommates AU

9. Meeting Online AU

10. High school popular kid/ nerd or goth AU

11. Partners in Crime Au

12. Canon Divergence Au (if you choose this one please do leave me a small note of what you expect)

13. Co-stars AU

14. Senator AU

15. Meeting in the ER AU

16. Brand new neighbors AU

17. Meeting at the party whilst drunk AU

18. Waking up with amnesia AU

19. Two single parents with kids AU

20. Dysfunctional Relationship AU (again let me know what exactly you want here since there are many things to do with this one)

21. Best friend sibling AU

22. Two miserable people meeting at a wedding AU

23. Meeting on a train AU

24. Literally bumping into each other AU

25. Librarian/Avid reader AU

26. Meeting at a support group AU

27. Celebrity/fan AU

28. Falling in love with their best friend partner AU

29. Going through a divorce AU

30. Any AU you want

If you don't want an Au then you can also send in an idea if you wish!

[trueishcolours]

The ‘what if a different VK had love spelled Ben in Descendants 1′ post nobody asked for

Having Mal be the one to spell Ben doesn’t JUST boil down to ‘she’s the protag, so she gotta’ - there’s also the fact that she’s the most committed to the ‘steal-the-wand’ plot, while Evie is following her mother’s more small-scale plan to ‘find a prince with a big castle,’ and the boys are...honestly pretty ready to just fit in. No wonder Mal doesn’t want to give any of them a key role in the plot when she has to keep dragging them back into the plot! But Mal is arguably also the worst choice for doing a seduction plot. Evie is better at performing romance, and Carlos and Jay are both more comfortable with actual affection. Plus those three’s ambivalence towards Maleficent’s plan makes the plot splinter in interesting ways. So here I go! 

Carlos: Probably the most straightforward. He is the only VK besides Mal to get a solo scene and relationship with Ben in D1, and what do we see in that scene? Ben being reassuring, Carlos opening up about the Isle, Ben making a clumsy attempt at giving affection which nonetheless goes over pretty well with Carlos. Carlos is also the first of the Core Four to say that going to Auradon might not be so bad, and, if we go with book canon, had the hardest time on the Isle, so he’s really got no incentive not to crack immediately under the onslaught of Ben Affection. I reckon in a universe where Carlos was the one love-spelling Ben, we’d see him falling in love a lot quicker than Mal (who’s still ambivalent in D2, after all!) and then dealing with a LOT of guilt over manipulating Ben. He’d probably try to talk the others out of the want plan before the coronation. Though he does have a core of steel and a loyalty to his friends that might keep him committed to the plan for longer, keeping things more interesting...

Evie: Probably the most emotionally interesting for me. In order to talk about what would happen here, I need to talk for a moment about what happened between Ben and Audrey. As we see in D3, Audrey is under tremendous pressure to marry Ben for her family’s sake, which means that she feels the need to constantly curate and perform their relationship, rather than letting Ben have the actual relationship he wants to have with her. If she thinks he’s not performing the relationship properly, she’ll correct him too, discouraging him from supporting the VKs because she doesn’t think it’s the right idea. This leads to moments like that scene where Audrey’s complaining about Mal’s magic, which is a scene I actually think about A LOT. For a moment, Audrey slips and reveals an ACTUAL INSECURITY (’if everyone looks good, then where will I be?’) Ben’s response? He goes to reassure her, but before he can get the words out, Audrey’s got her mask back in place; she cuts him off and changes the subject. Ben wants a true partnership with Audrey, but she can’t relax enough to actually open and let him, leaving him so emotionally dissatisfied that he’s primed for Mal to steal him away. 

(When you think about it, Ben’s story is a constant pattern of him trying to give love and care to people who won’t accept it. First Audrey, who won’t stop performing for him, then Mal, who is afraid of connection, struggles to trust that he loves the real her and, by D2, is performing for him as well, and even Uma, who (quite reasonably!) mistrusts his offers of cooperation. But this is not a Ben post.)

So, what’s Audrey got to do with Evie? I can see Evie/Ben going wrong in exactly the same way as Audrey/Ben, because Evie and Audrey are actually people with very similar goals - marry a prince to please your (grand)mother. It would probably go wrong a lot more slowly with Evie than with Audrey, because Audrey is quite openly domineering, whereas Evie is more sweet-natured and, in D1, more needy, so it would probably take Ben longer to realise that she wasn’t truly letting him in. Which leaves us time for some deliciously slow-burn angst. 

The central tension in a Ben/Evie Descendants would probably come from Evie debating whether to go for the wand or just try for marriage with Ben. After all, her personal goal was to marry a prince, and there’s not much point in that if he then loses his throne in a bloody revolution when you release all the villains on the Isle. So she’s wondering whether to just keep her new prince and her three friends, or whether to try for the wand, and meanwhile the guilt is slowwwwwly creeping up that she’s using and manipulating this prince who she’s actually starting to care for...

I think Evie would twist in the wind for a lot longer than Carlos, or even Mal, because unlike both of them she’s actually been brought up to manipulate a man into falling in love with her. There’s a double-bind which Audrey and a lot of real-life women who’ve been raised on traditional femininity fall into, where you’re taught simultaneously that True Love is real and happens spontaneously and feels wonderful - and that you must work constantly to deserve it, achieve it, and keep your man in it. So when Evie starts to have feelings for Ben, she will want to give into them, and at the same time she won’t trust that his kindness towards her will continue unless she makes it. She simultaneously believes in the dream and the nightmare. And meanwhile Ben is just bathing her in the above-mentioned ‘let me love youuuuuuu’ energy...

...maybe I need to write this AU. 

Jay: So, if Evie is the natural choice to love-spell Ben because love-spelling Ben actually aligns with her personal goals, Jay is the natural choice in that he’s already the group honey trap. Seriously, guys; Jay is the only one of you who is comfortable with casual flirting and does it on the regular. I don’t know why you didn’t give him the job that literally requires flirting.

It’s the heteronormativity. 

This one is tough, because we really learn almost nothing about Jay in canon, so I’m going to have to go off my own interpretations. I see Jay as the group protector, both physically and emotionally. He wraps his arms around them when they think they’re going to be driven into the sea; he goes to fight Maleficent before anybody else; in D2, when Harry kidnaps Ben, he taunts Jay specifically for failing to stop him. For emotional protection, see the scene in D1 where the Core Four Skype their parents. Jay manages everybody’s feelings in that scene. When Carlos starts snapping at Cruella, Jay puts an arm around him, drawing him away from a confrontation that he knows isn’t worth having, then keeps that arm round him for the rest of the scene. As the parents squabble amongst themselves, we see Evie start to look more and more distressed - and Jay notice her distress, struggle for a moment, then make the snap decision to cut off the call. And through it all, he’s aware that Fairy Godmother may be surprised at how much their parents suck, and upset that her idea for a call turned out to be a bad one, so he immediately turns to manage her feelings too - ‘thanks for the special treat.’ He’s like the eldest sibling in a dysfunctional family at Christmas dinner, managing conflict, pulling the plug, apologising for his family to the guests. So what I want to know in all this is, when do JAY’S emotional needs get met???

Ben whispering let me love youuuuuuuuuuu in the background...

So I’m not saying that fake-dating Ben would destroy Jay instantly, I’m just saying that, for all his character arc is supposed to be about discovering the meaning of teamwork, he seems to leave the Isle with a better sense of what it means to care for others than any of the other three. And when he suddenly finds himself BATHED IN CARING rather than having to DO all the caring...well, it’s just a question of who out of him and Carlos would crack quicker. Judging by the fact that Jay was the first one to actually voice any doubts about the plan to Mal, I’m going to say it’s him. Boy would MELT.

(Fun addendum: Jay is sexy and he knows it. Can we get some of him being worried at first that Ben only likes him as arm candy, then later really enjoying being Ben’s arm candy once he knows that Ben loves him for himself?)

Let’s round off this LONGBOI post by talking about the carriage scene, where Ben reveals that he knew he was spelled. ‘I haven’t been faking anything.’ Immortal words. Jesus fuck, Ben, why are you so bad at self-care and boundaries? So for Mal, this line doesn’t only make her feel bad, it makes her feel trapped. While obviously it’s awkward to find out that somebody who you’re about to betray loves you for real, for Mal Ben’s declaration of love would be inherently undesirable, even without the context, because Mal doesn’t want love, or at least thinks she doesn’t. 

Evie, meanwhile, does want love - or at least thinks she does. So her reaction to ‘I haven’t been faking anything’ would be less ‘oh God, somebody is emotionally vulnerable to me, how do I respond, am I capable of reciprocating’ and more ‘oh God, I desperately want to believe him but I don’t know if I dare’ (see above-mentioned performativeness). 

Carlos and Jay, meanwhile, are much more uncomplicated about accepting love than either Mal or Evie. For them, realising Ben loved them for real would be a straightforward betrayal-and-guilt kind of deal. ‘I haven’t been faking anything’ would kill them both instantly. 

[crimeronan]

soulmate verse meta no one asked for: adam’s lack of soulmates, narrative themes, and the story i care about telling 

(spoiler: i get bored writing “everything sucks for adam forever” fics)

this was a response to an ao3 comment on we never were good at doing what we’re told (that i’ve edited to be a clearer essay for people who haven’t read said fic)

i’m bursting so heavily to talk about themes and feelings and writing and characterization and shit that it’s become an essay that’s not just about the soulmate verse itself but also about like..... my entire thought process when crafting any narrative, ever

one of the biggest things that turned this story into a heart project of mine was wondering about what non-traditional relationships look like in a world where soulmates exist 

and then on the flip side, wondering what kind of challenges or unhealthy relationship dynamics soulmates might face despite being fated

in this universe, people are born with silhouettes of tattoos that color in when they touch their soulmate for the first time.  many people have more than one mark, but having a Lot of marks is unusual.  so you know from the getgo how many soulmates you have, but don’t know who they are until the skin-on-skin touch

adam parrish does not have any soul marks.  he has no fated soulmate relationships.  complicating this is the fact that most of his loved ones have marks for each other - but not for him

there's a low reach where you can take the concept of "adam doesn't have any soulmates" and run with routes like

adam can never connect to people on a deep intimate personal level

adam will never be as close to anyone as their soulmates are

adam can only forge relationships with other people who don't have soul bonds

every relationship adam forges falls apart because if it's not fated, that means there's no compatibility

adam has to work harder to be loved than a person with a soulmate

adam's a callous bastard who doesn't need anyone and hurts everyone because he doesn't understand them

adam is worse for ronan, gansey, noah, and blue than they are for each other

but that's not a story that feels genuine to me. it would give me no pleasure to write a fic where the conclusion is "and adam will never be able to have the love that other people do because he sucks and/or life sucks. amen. peace"

what DOES interest me, though, is the thought of how adam himself may have internalized these ideas 

the society that adam, ronan, hennessy, and the other characters are living in has very Very heavy social constructs about soulmates

mainly, that being someone's soulmate means:

that there's an inherent compatibility/understanding/reflection 

that there are missing emotional pieces immediately found 

that your soulmate is a person who is SUPPOSED to be in your life forever because they WILL make your life better  

if they don't make your life better, you're doing something wrong

but the thing is that we can also see that these constructs are not inherent truth, they're just being presented like inherent truth.

these are some details throughout the fic thus far (as of writing this, the first six chapters):

different cultures all have different complex and varied histories and traditions and feelings about soulmate bonds.

scientists have tried to quantify what different marks mean, analysts have tried to use marks to predict the shape of relationships, and there are no on-paper answers. 

ronan talks about a now-considered-antiquated idea that soulmates aren't relationship fated at all, but are instead formed when one person saves another's life. 

he's thinking about it because of his internal struggles, but there's a massive implication there: that the social definition and expectation of what a soulmate is has shifted DRASTICALLY over time rather than being an unchanging rock.

so as the person writing this world, i know that the social constructs are bullshit. adam does too, intellectually. he's spent a lot of time picking apart discrepancies and fallacies and falsehoods 

if adam didn't believe intellectually that he could have a relationship with ronan or gansey or blue or noah that's just as important as their relationships to each other, he wouldn't be here. 

if adam had bought into the idea that only soulmates understand each other, he'd be isolating himself as we speak 

he spent a lot of his adolescence challenging his preconceptions and rethinking what love and relationships mean, very parallel to his relationship with love in canon

but adam still has those nagging fears and doubts that these things might be true. 

what if he's more invested in his partners than they are in him? 

what if he loses them and can't rebuild? 

what if he's never going to be able to provide the emotional support or happiness that people deserve? 

what if no one will ever understand him? 

what if this is all a mistake? 

what if there's a reason he has no soulmates? 

what if he's an inherently destructive person fated to hurt anyone close to him?

adam doesn't believe these things are true, but the "what if"s are constantly itching at the back of his mind

so a big part of adam's journey in this story is him having experiences and shifting his worldview in ways that put the worst fears to bed. adam's done a lot of introspection about himself and his lack of soul marks, but he hasn't spared as much thought for soulmate relationships themselves. adam's looking at soulmate bonds and thinking, "those are an inherently good thing i've been deprived of," and hasn't yet devoted enough analysis to the fact that they might NOT be inherently good.

ronan and hennessy have equally complicated relationships with this society and its constructs. all three members of this group have experiences that challenge the others' preconceptions about what they believe is true

-

as the author, thinking about the themes i want to establish and the story i want to tell, every single interaction in this AU and every relationship is built around concepts like

-soulmates don't always understand each other's thought processes and emotions.

ronan has a very different relationship with every one of his individual soulmates plus adam 

each relationship has its strengths and weaknesses. not every soulmate can help ronan equally with every issue.

ronan and adam have learned each other, but ronan has ALSO spent a great deal of time learning his soulmates as well.  and they him

ronan’s relationships with EVERYONE have changed and grown and shifted over the years, and they’ve meant different things at different times.  there’s never been a single unchanging dimension of compatibility

-commitment, respect, growth, and communication are INFINITELY more vital for relationship health than a soul bond. 

this is something that’s gonna be delved HEAVILY into in upcoming content.  that being fated isn’t enough to make a relationship good if the foundation of mutual respect and commitment isn’t there

-soul bonds aren't well understood and don't necessarily mean what people think they do. 

(see: the whole above ramble)

-some soulmate relationships end up being DEEPLY unhealthy and dysfunctional. 

digging heavily into this soon as well. 

 in the first six chapters, the most striking example is hennessy’s parents.  they were soul bonded and hennessy’s mother believed her father would be a savior.  her father believed his soulmate was his sexy manic pixie dream girl but didn’t want to do the heavy lifting of helping with her actual mania.  

you’ve heard this tragedy before.  tale as old as time.

-soulmates CAN have lifelong happy healthy harmonious partnerships with strong compatibility, but it always takes work and respect and active choice. 

ronan is soul bonded to gansey, noah, and blue.  he has very good relationships with all of them.  he has also had very bad soulmate experiences in the past.  the difference in his committed life partnerships is the commitment and love and respect and ongoing understanding

-

the conclusion is:

my own life experience has been VERY centered around nontraditional relationships, figuring out how to construct healthy life partnerships, and making up my own rules because varying social constructs/expectations don't work for my heart. 

so that's all reflected in this verse, particularly in how adam has been told he's too broken to form connections & has instead said "fuck you i'm gonna do it anyway"

[lostinthewinterwood]

AU Exchange 2020

Hey friend!

Looks like this letter’ll be going out on time, for once in my life.  This one’s very long; there’ll be a list of fandoms after the general info so you can hop around and not get bogged down in the details that don’t matter for what you’re going to be writing.

Treats in any medium are welcome, my other exchange letters are here, and at the bottom there’ll be tags for each fandom I’ve requested, if you want to see whether I’ve requested them before and what I’ve said about them.  Good luck, have fun, and thanks for writing for me!

 General DNW non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; graphic depictions of deliberate and methodical self-harm*; graphic depictions of suicide; smut; gore; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; graphic eye trauma; graphic and/or permanent hand trauma; issuefic; unrequested identity headcanons; a focus on unrequested romantic relationships**. *I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated. **canonical levels of canonical ships are perfectly fine; background non-canon ships that I haven’t dnw’d are okay too (unless otherwise specified—see below for fandom-specific notes).

  General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Crossdressing for whatever reason and gender disguises, also for whatever reason.

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

- explorations of how whatever AU you pick to write affects the characters and/or plot, and the ways in which it doesn’t

  Other General Notes:

If there’s an AU I’d especially like to see on its own, without any other AU in combination with it, I’ll mention it—outside of that, feel free to combine the AUs as you see fit.

All the times that the Dragon Rider au is one I asked for, I’ve framed it in my prompts as a sports story thing—while that would definitely be great, don’t feel pressured to make it be like that; it’s just where my prompting muse is at right now, so if you want to take it in another direction go right ahead.

  Fandoms in Order of Appearance:

Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl

Harry Potter

Mother of Learning (x2)

Day Break Illusion (x2)

  Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl (Manga)  

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Terazaki Kaoru (HOwaGG)

·        Ousaka Nanami (HOwaGG)

·        Group: Terazaki Kaoru & Ousaka Shouko (HOwaGG)

·        Group: Terazaki Kaoru & Ousaka Nanami (HOwaGG)

 Fandom-specific dnw: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing, romance between Kaoru and Nanami beyond light shiptease à la canon (unless the AU chosen is a romantic fairytale, in which case go right ahead), full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad, heavy gender dysphoria.

 Overall I love these kids and their friendship, and I also love how much Shouko feels like a mom to Kaoru even though he isn’t hers, even though he’s keeping secrets from her—he doesn’t seem to have that much parental support overall.

Whatever AU you pick, I’d appreciate that being preserved.

  ·        ALL: Character was Stolen by Fairies as a Baby

·        All: East of the Sun and West of the Moon Fusion

·        All: Fairytale Fusion

·        ALL: Fantasy/Magic Royalty and Palace Intrigue AU

·        ALL: Magic is a part of everyday life

·        ALL: Magical Girl Fusion

·        ALL: Magical Realism

·        ALL: Regency-Inspired Fantasy AU

 For this set of tags, I’d love to see something that fuses the AU elements to canon, or replaces canon elements with them—maybe instead of gamers, the kids are magical girls!  Or maybe there’s just magical elements wound seamlessly into their lives, or they instead live in a fairytale world, or…

Basically, this is my more generic magic!au set.

  ·        ALL: Characters met as children

·        ALL: Deaf Canon Characters

·        ALL: Disabled Canon Characters

·        ALL: Mute Canon Characters

·        HOwaGG: trans girl Terazaki Kaoru

 These are the generally mundane AUs—if one or both of the kids is disabled in some way, how does that affect them?  If they’ve known each other longer than they have in canon, or used to know each other—how does that affect them?  If Kaoru is a trans girl, is that something that she knows before their canon meeting, and maybe that’s a point at which she’s already begun transitioning?  Or does the crossdressing give her a revelation?

  ·        ALL: Daemon AU

·        ALL: Daemons in Canon Divergent AU

 I like daemon!aus a lot, though I’m not very good at writing them myself—if this world has daemons, what are the kids’?  Are they fully settled yet, or not quite?  Most people have daemons opposite to their sex—is it obvious that Kaoru’s daemon is female, and if so, does that pique Shouko’s interest?  Does his daemon get him recognized by people who know Kaoru-the-boy even when he’s out looking like a girl?

  ·        ALL: Dragon Rider AU

·        All: Figure skating AU

 Sports aus!  One mundane, one distinctly less so… what’s it like, if they’re dragon riders? Is it a whole other world, or just our world +dragons?  If it’s figure skating, what kind of skating do they do?  Singles?  Pairs? Ice dance?  Are they just casual about it or competitive?

  ·        ALL: Platonic Soulmate AU

·        ALL: Soulmates - Soulmate Mark Appears At First Touch

·        ALL: Soulmates Share Scars

 These are probably my three favorite kinds of soulmate AUs—run with them!  Tell me about the kids and their dynamic and the world they inhabit, with soulmates thrown into the mix!

     Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Percy Weasley (HP - JKR)

 Fandom-specific dnw: non-canon ships.

 I’ve phrased this so broadly because it’s generally better safe than sorry on these things—essentially what I especially don’t want is non-canon ships between people on opposite sides of the war, e.g. drarry, harry/Voldemort, etc. If you want to toss in background, idk, Pansy/Daphne or something, or relationships between various Ministry people, that I don’t mind.

 ·        ALL: Underground Resistance

·        HP: Percy Weasley is a spy for the Order of the Phoenix during the war

·        ALL: Character Is a Secretly a Spy for the Other Side

 There’s really one thing I want here—spy!Percy!  He spends so much of the war in the Ministry, surrounded by Death Eaters and their accomplices and enablers, to all appearances the black sheep of the Weasley family and not much of a threat.  Now, this could be genuine… but it could also be him playing them; I want to see a world where he, at some point—maybe after he chooses to stay with the ministry instead of his family, maybe before—decides to be a spy for the Order et al.

What are the risks?  What can he accomplish?  Can he help people beyond simply passing out information, perhaps with seemingly-inconsequential little acts?

     Mother of Learning - nobody103   

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning)

 request-specific dnw: physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family, significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction, romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian.

 ·        All: Character has a secret identity

·        All: Identity Porn

·        ALL: Possessed by time travelling future self

·        MoL: Kirielle as a Branded One

 I’m fascinated by the idea of Kirielle somehow getting wrapped up in the time loop—what’s it like to live years and years of your life while your body stays nine?  What does she do, what does she learn?  Are Zach and Zorian still Branded Ones, or is she taking one or both of their places?

If you go with this, I’d rather not have her gate!soul erased—either let her escape, or don’t go far enough to need to address it, please.

The identity bits here are mostly leaning on the idea that, with her only being nine, Kiri would need some kind of identity obfuscation to do half of what Zach and Zorian do in canon, so…

  ·        ALL: Daemon AU

·        ALL: Daemons in Canon Divergent AU

 Nothing particularly profound here—but! Daemons! How does this affect things? Is Kiri happier with someone to talk to who isn’t her siblings or parents or village children that her parents mightn’t approve of?  I’d imagine her daemon hasn’t settled yet—what forms does it like?

  ·        All: Changeling AU

·        ALL: Fairy Tale AU

·        All: Fairytale Fusion

·        All: Historical Fantasy AU

·        ALL: Magical Realism

·        ALL: Nature Magic

 The setting and/or mood change AUs—give me Kirielle-the-faerie child, or Kiri in a fairytale, or shift the setting more historical and into our world, or change the nature of the magic—the canonical magic system is fairly hard as magic systems go, which works well for the story as it is, but I also really like softer magics.  What about a world where there’s simply small everyday magics present, or where Kiri has an affinity for green growing things quite beyond the natural?

  ·        ALL: Deaf Canon Characters

 How does Kiri’s life change, if she’s born deaf or becomes deaf?  How does her role as Cikan Kazinski’s only daughter change?  Does Eldemar have a Deaf community?

This could play into her desire to go to Cyoria, too—I wouldn’t expect Cirin to have much in the way of resources or community, but maybe Cyoria does; maybe that’s why she wants so badly to go.

  ·        ALL: Finding Peace/An End to the War

·        ALL: Legal Drama

·        ALL: Magical environment/species conservation scientist au

·        ALL: Magical horticulturists

 This set is more likely future!fic than anything else—Kirielle’s growing up into a country on the brink of war; what’s she going to do when she gets older?  Maybe she’ll be involved in that, or with the law—or maybe she goes to school and learns to be a mage, and then goes on to a career as a conservationist or horticulturist.

    Mother of Learning - nobody103   

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Zorian Kazinski (Mother of Learning)

·        Zach Noveda (Mother of Learning)

 request-specific dnw: physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family, significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction, romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian (unless in a romantic fairytale au).

 ·        All: Changeling AU

·        All: Fairytale Fusion

·        ALL: Fantasy/Magic Royalty and Palace Intrigue AU

·        ALL: High Fantasy AU

·        All: Historical Fantasy AU

·        ALL: Magical Realism

·        ALL: Nature Magic

 Again, setting and/or mood changes—turn one or both of these two into a changeling child, or push them into a different setting, or change their world to feel a little more magical than it does in canon.

  ·        All: Character has a secret identity

·        ALL: Deaf Canon Characters

·        ALL: Legal Drama

·        ALL: Magical environment/species conservation scientist au

·        ALL: Magical horticulturists

·        ALL: Role Swap AU

 This set is a combination of probably-post-canon things and things that could slide into the canon timeline—what if one or both of them went to more effort to construct a second identity, either in the loop or out of it, for anyone’s benefit?  What if one or both of them was deaf—if you go here, it’d be interesting if you combined it with deaf!Kirielle too.  A role swap—what if Zorian got there earlier and the angels didn’t think him unworthy, and Zach wound up his tagalong instead?

And the other three are basically what-ifs for the post-canon world—there’s Zach’s court case to be dealt with, and these two are both skilled enough to do basically whatever they want to, if it’s to do with magic.  Why not become a conservationist or horticulturist?

  ·        ALL: Daemons in Canon Divergent AU

·        All: Figure skating AU

·        ALL: Regency AU

·        All: Robin Hood Fusion

·        ALL: Spies & Secret Agents

·        ALL: University AU

 This is a whole grab bag of different AUs—they’re all fairly self-explanatory I think, though I will say that you shouldn’t feel pressured to keep the overtly mundane-seeming AUs mundane, if you don’t want too—I’d like the mundane versions of course!  But there’s plenty of interesting things you could explore with, e.g., magic!figure skating, so.  Go wild.

  ·        All: Tam Lin Fusion

 In a weird way, MoL already has its characters in the roles they need to be in for a Tam Lin fusion, though the structure is of course very different–what is Zach if not a sacrifice against Panaxeth’s release? What is Zorian if not the one who fights nigh-impossible odds to save him from that fate?  I’d love to see a fic that goes into this.

    幻影ヲ駆ケル太陽 il sole penetra le illusioni | Day Break Illusion   

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Tsukuyomi Luna (Day Break Illusion)

·        Taiyou Akari (Day Break Illusion)

·        Shirokane Ginka (Day Break Illusion)

·        Hoshikawa Seira (Day Break Illusion)

·        Group: Tsukuyomi Luna & Tsukuyomi Serena (Day Break Illusion)

·        Group: Hoshikawa Seira & Shirokane Ginka & Taiyou Akari & Tsukuyomi Luna

 fandom-specific dnw: heavy gender dysphoria.

 ·        All: a character is transgender (binary)

·        ALL: Alternate First Meetings

·        All: Character has a secret identity

·        ALL: Deaf Canon Characters

·        ALL: Disabled Canon Characters

·        ALL: Street Rats

 This is basically the AUs of mundane level things; the broad strokes of canon are perfectly compliant with any of these, or at least they could be. What changes, if you go for any of the AUs listed above? What stays the same?

  ·        All: Changeling AU

·        ALL: Character was Stolen by Fairies as a Baby

·        ALL: Daemon AU

·        All: Fairytale Fusion

·        ALL: Fantasy/Magic Royalty and Palace Intrigue AU

·        ALL: Magical Realism

·        ALL: Regency-Inspired Fantasy AU

·        All: with the right postage you can send letters anywhere anywhen

 Different flavors of fantasy—for the changelings, is the character we know from canon the stolen child, or their faerie replacement?  Are their daemons affected by them fighting the daemonia; what happens to a daemon when the human is consumed by a daemonia?  How do their powers and battles work in a world that’s more overtly magical? For the last—who/where/when would they send letters to?  Would Akari send one back in time to Fuyuna, Luna to her sister, Seira to her friend? Forward to their future selves? How does this affect the timeline; do you have to be careful, lest you irrevocably change things, or are future-letters already set and immutable?  Is this common or rare—what’s the price to send a letter through time?

  ·        ALL: Character Journeys To The Underworld to Rescue Their Dead Friend

·        All: Journey to the Underworld to Resurrect Loved One

 Who are they rescuing?  How are they going about the rescue?  Are they bringing back Fuyuna?  Seira’s friend?  Luna’s sister, if it turns out she’s dead not just vanished some other way?  Ginka herself, if we suppose that she died in the annihilation rather than going to battle elsewhere?

If a Daemonia’s victim is resurrected, does everyone remember them again? Either way, what are the consequences of bringing back a person who’d been erased?

  ·        ALL: Dragon Rider AU

·        ALL: Fencing AU

·        All: Figure skating AU

 Sports aus!  Two mundane, one not.  I’d love to see the kids in some kind of competitive something—are they teammates? Competitors? Is Sefiro Fiore a sports organization in this world, or are they both athletes and tarot users?

  ·        DBI: Daemonia hosts aren't erased from the timeline when killed

 So, one of the generally convenient things in this world—even if it’s not a particularly nice thing—is that none of the characters ever have to deal with the fallout of the deaths they cause; the daemonia’s victims are erased.  Ret-gone, if you will.  But what if they weren’t?  What would the effect of that be; how would that change things?

    幻影ヲ駆ケル太陽 il sole penetra le illusioni | Day Break Illusion   

·        Fanfiction (Medium)

·        Group: Hanayume & Lymro & Mama Nagataki & Taiyou Akari (Day Break Illusion)

·        Group: Hanayume & Lymro & Mama Nagataki (Day Break Illusion)

 fandom-specific dnw: heavy gender dysphoria.

 ·        All: a character is transgender (binary)

·        ALL: Deaf Canon Characters

·        ALL: Disabled Canon Characters

·        ALL: Found Family

 So, again, this is the more mundane aus—add these in!! tell me how they affect things, or how they don’t affect them!

Found family is… kinda canon? But there isn’t really much focus on that aspect in canon so I’d love some more here.

  ·        All: Changeling AU

·        ALL: Character was Stolen by Fairies as a Baby

·        All: Fairytale Fusion

·        ALL: Fantasy/Magic Royalty and Palace Intrigue AU

·        All: Historical Fantasy AU

·        ALL: Magic is a part of everyday life

·        ALL: Magical Realism

·        ALL: Regency AU (no homophobia)

·        ALL: Regency-Inspired Fantasy AU

·        All: with the right postage you can send letters anywhere anywhen

 And these are the magic and/or setting AUs!  How do these elements change their lives; what stays the same regardless?

See my previous set of Day Break Illusion requests for my thoughts on the letters tag.

  ·        ALL: Daemon AU

·        ALL: Daemons in Canon Divergent AU

 Just—daemons!  What are theirs?  For Hanayume—what gender is her daemon?  I’m sorry I’m running out of things to say at this point…

  ·        ALL: Dragon Rider AU

·        ALL: Fencing AU

·        All: Figure skating AU

 So, in canon, Hanayume, Lymro, and Mama Nagataki are kind of Akari’s fortune-teller aunts/mentors; if we change it so that Akari’s thing is fencing or figure skating or dragon-riding, why not bring her aunts along for the ride as her mentors in that sport, or, if we’re not including Akari—competitors themselves, perhaps, or maybe generally teachers?

   If you made it all the way down here—first of all, wow, this letter was way too long so good on you for making it—second of all—thank you again for writing for me!! Good luck!!

[jacksgreysays]

modern shikako with a sleeve tattoos or just a lot of tattoo on her arms with tattoo artist sai? he help her tattoo some stuff she can't do herself i guess? just a thought i had

So there were a few posts of a similar concept many moons ago though it was, more specifically, about a “kinder world one step to the left” non-ninja AU featuring florist!Ino and tattoo artist!Shikako. You know, like that good good trope, but with additional supportive but baffled assistant!Sai. I didn’t really pursue it then and, I’m going to be honest anon, I wasn’t really planning on pursuing it now BUT THEN considering the exchange is coming up soon I thought I should get back into the practice of prompt filling. 

BUT THEN I thought about the premise and how in this “kinder world one step to the left” the grouping of genin teams (and thus stronger bonds) of certain characters wouldn’t exist. And if it truly were a “kinder world one step to the left” then neither the Kyuubi Attack or the Uchiha Massacre would have occurred. And so neither Naruto nor Sasuke would be traumatized orphans, which is a a very convoluted way to say that I’m unsure if Sasuke and Naruto are especially significant/close to Shikako in this kinder world.

Because! Because! Because… canon Naruto series is all about, essentially, the tragic love story between Naruto and Sasuke and how their respective traumas/dysfunctions make them match (or don’t). And I’m not saying that non-orphan Sasuke and Naruto wouldn’t have traumas/dysfunctions, but not at the extremes as they do in canon. Maybe these non-orphan versions still match each other (or don’t) but I don’t think they would match Shikako.

WAIT–I definitely do acknowledge that Shikako’s life would also be kinder and thus she, too, wouldn’t be as traumatized/stressed/paranoid/determined and so COULD still match Naruto and Sasuke (and Kakashi, because he too would be had a vastly different life in this kinder world) BUT I think there is a part of Shikako that intrinsically looks out for the tragic, downtrodden underdogs even when she isn’t narratively obligated to do so.

For example, Chiyako. Also, Yakumo. I don’t quite have more off the top of my head, but I’m sure there’s more. And, I would argue, Sai.

And even in this kinder world, I do think Sai would have an atypical background. Of course, far better than being a member of ROOT, but something that is still slightly tragic. Like, a little more sober slice of life than the energetic (romantic) sitcoms of Naruto and Sasuke.

Basically all of this nonsense is so I can justify the following concept of:

Ino and Shikako (and Shikamaru and Chouji) were all childhood friends in the way that kids whose parents are close friends sort of grow up together. But as they grew up their different interests and, well, not popularity but extroversion levels kind of meant that they drifted apart. Of course they are still friendly, and of course the other Konoha Thirteen are friends as well, but not as close as they were as children or in the harsher world of ninja.

Whether or not the flower shop is a family business that Ino takes over or her own passion that she pursues is up in the air, but because Shikamaru is the more sedentary of the twins then if the Nara have their own family business (a pharmacy maybe?) then it makes sense for him to be the one to stay and take over. Which means, like in my many headcanons for post-series Shikako, she is free to travel and learn and see the world whereas Ino doesn’t. Although maybe it’s not a lack of freedom as it is a lack of inclination; Ino seems like she would want to stay in her hometown and make it the best it can be.

So after a childhood of close friendship followed by an adolescence of drifting away then a young adulthood of Shikako leaving and Ino staying, it all coalesces a sort of distant, nostalgic fondness for each other but only a vague idea of the other. Which is a perfect set up for that good good “Oh no, she’s hot now” realization on Ino’s side and a “Shit, I didn’t think it was possible but she’s hotter than I remembered,” on Shikako’s side supplemented by actual interest in each other and getting to relearn each other.

Which would be fun and sweet on its own, of course, but then we throw in Sai. And obviously Sai is Shikako’s college friend and business partner that comes back to Konoha with her becuase a) Shikako is his best friend, b) they’re both slightly in love with each other’s art styles, and c) Sai might actually be an Uchiha by blood via a one night stand from one of Sasuke’s relatives who travelled to a different city one time and since Sai’s mother and/or his brother Shin have passed he’s on a journey to find his family(/Shikako is the only thing like family he has left so even if the Uchiha end up being total assholes he still follows her [they do not end up being total assholes because this is a kinder world, but they are a little awkward, trying their best, but awkward])

And so in the style of romantic slices of life, Ino is uncertain (which is an unusual state for her) about the exact status of Sai and Shikako’s relationship but starting to fall in love with Shikako (and maybe also Sai if we’re feeling those good poly vibes) while Shikako is trying to adjust to being back in her hometown and also falling in love with Ino. And Sai is Sai and trying to figure out what friendship/family/love is?

Also featuring some analysis of beauty and attention and courage through flowers and tattoos and also permanency versus transience of their respective art forms and whether that translates to love. And some kind of metaphor for Shikako–who usually does black geometric patterns–learning to do watercolor type florals.

…

So, uh, yes, anon, Shikako with sleeve tattoos and Sai as her artist. A++ thought

[roobarrtrashmouth]

Taking Fic Prompts

@tinyarmedtrex has convinced me to do a fic  prompt.  So drop me an ask using the following prompts and your favorite IT pair and I will hit back with a fic. 

Prompt List

soulmates au

childhood best friends au

teacher/student au

teacher/single parent au

one night stand and falling pregnant au

meeting at a coffee shop au

fake relationship au

roommates au

meeting online au

high school popular kid/nerd au

partners in crime au

writer and editor au

co-stars au

lab partners au

meeting in the E.R/A&E au

brand new neighbours au

meeting at a party whilst drunk au

waking up with amnesia au

parents meeting when they take their kids to class au

dysfunctional relationship au

best friends sibling au

two miserable people meeting at a wedding au

meeting on a train ride au

literally bumping into each other au

librarian/avid reader au

sitting on the same park bench au

meeting at a support group au

knocking on the wrong door au

going away to war au

tourist/knowledgeable local au

prostitute/client au

doctor/companion au

celebrity/fan au

meeting at a masquerade ball au

one of them trying to get the other one off of drugs au

living in a society where their love is taboo au

meeting in prison au

cop/person getting a speeding ticket au

long distance relationship au

exes meeting again after not speaking for years au

ghost/living person au

star-crossed lovers au

falling in love with their best friend’s partner au

one of them being diagnosed with a terminal illness au

pretending to hate each other au

nanny/single parent au

meeting at a festival au

meeting again at a high school reunion au

boss/intern au

going through a divorce au