#only problem is that I noticed the difference in fic quality between fandoms(since i was into it last)

[rottenaero]

Pretty sure I just dropped that fic and went back into my Steddie hide-y hole. Sure I think about them, but in the way you think about your last fixation while waiting to move on.

[chil2de]

hi yes the benimaru fic i mentioned earlier— fire force fandom will you let me in please??🥺🥺 i don’t know what i’m dealing with fanbase wise mmfldjfj sometimes it feels like i’m head over heels for bens by myself so... i’ll drop this here for now.. see how it goes and i’ll continue w/ a second part if ff isn’t dead

nsfw themes throughout, so please read my disclaimer if you’re new. enjoy :)

w.c: 1.7k, characters: 9.6k (incl spaces)

-

there’s a certain sluggish quality that plagues your movements. it’s not fatigue or incompetence. or so benimaru would hope.

his mix matched gaze glosses over your unnecessary movements. that extra exhale you hiss, the additional bat of your eyelashes and the excessive perspiration that drips onto the earth below.

“stop.” he commands, tone low and stern as it pierces through the open air.

“huh? captain shinmon, i’m fine. we can keep going.” you huff through laboured breaths, pausing to gasp and drink in the plentiful oxygen around you.

“it’s one thing if you’re overworking your muscles. it’s another if you’re running a fever. go inside.”

“b-but captain-“

benimaru shoots you a dead stare, keeping his statement rooted deep where he stands.

judging by the bruises that adorn your knees, you know better than to disobey the captain.

“waka! have you seen (l/n)?” konro lingers in the doorframe of the main communal area, gaze scanning for one of his colleagues.

“she’s in her room. why?”

“her room? she has a few errands to run. is she feeling okay?”

“she’s running a fever.” benimaru exhales, shifting to get up from the table. he lightly scratches the back of his neck, adorning that usual aloof facial expression.

“in the middle of summer? how’d that happen?” konro chuckles through a small glimpse of bewilderment. of course he’d be concerned for one of his best recruits.

“hell if i know. what do we need? i’ll head out.”

if anything, benimaru is probably the sole reason why you’re running a fever. why he subjected to railing you underneath water that felt like it was nearing sub-zero was beyond you. it’s not like he’s about to admit he enjoys fucking his special little fire soldier. how he relishes and engrains the sight of your fucked out facial expression deep into his head, burning the image into his retinas. shit, you wouldn’t be surprised if the reason why he sometimes spaces out is because of you.

it’s always been blatantly obvious that you’re the captain’s favourite, no matter how much he denies it and how many glares he shoots at the people from other companies. you’re always left apologising for his behaviour, attempting to keep a straight face.

for the one time you dragged him out to patrol with you, and the amount of incessant whining, complaints and bribes you offered your captain, after a full month of lovely slow burn he decided to come along with you. he just up and left, had the audacity to turn around and ask you why you’re still standing there. benimaru always kept his distance to yours close, in fact the separation was almost minimal. you could feel his shoulders ghost over you.

every time he noticed someone staring at your figure for a little bit too long to be deemed appropriate, he hissed a scoff of distaste. at around the third or fourth person, you were already forced to deal with his short temper.

“what the hell are you gawking at? mind your damn business.”

but sure. apparently you’re not his favourite.

he can scoff and complain all he wants, but that won’t stop him even now from lazily snaking his hand around to his favourite baby girl’s waist. to him, this seems like the most normal thing.

“how else is she going to stand upright? she’s all stick and bones, the wind will knock her right over.”

okay, benimaru. you keep telling yourself that. even when his fingers feel an itch every time they’re not touching a part of your skin. he tends to get a whole lot more mouthy and irritable every time you’re not around, too.

hell, even his own townsfolk pick up on the fact that he’s out and about more. rounds that he always left to the lesser important underlings became more commonplace, especially with you by his side.

but the things that go on behind closed doors?

his peppermint red eyes that haunt your mind, infiltrating your very thoughts. you could be minding your business, going on about your day until you get an abrupt flicker of his mundane tic-tac-toe gaze staring up at you from in between your thighs.

you could be taking care of hinata and hikage, entertaining their antics when you feel the weight of benimaru’s stare burn holes into your uniform.

you could be doing your daily sparring with the captain. in the zone, breath held and blood stream steady until you remember the feel of his hot tongue trailing along the side of your neck. for someone who seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of sadness, you always catch the arrogant smirk that pulls at his lips.

“thinking of something?” he’ll cock his eyebrows, using the distraction to take a jab to your gut.

you groan, stirring around in your bed. you hate him, hate that stupid half lidded gaze of his. you hate how soft his wavy jet black locks are. the way the strands tug and bend whenever you try to yank his face away from your cunt. you run your fingers through your hair in a valiant yet futile attempt to free your thoughts from your captain. it’s only three o’clock in the afternoon, and you haven’t done anything but reminisce about your lover for the past hour and a half.

a meek and uneven sigh hisses from your lips. your eyes screw open and you flinch at the hard sunlight that pours in from the window. as you use the inner portion of your elbow to shield your gaze, you catch glimpse of a very familiar figure in the doorway.

“captain shinmon?” you inquire, propping yourself up onto your elbows. he closes the door behind him. you’re certain that you looked like a loyal dog sat panting and wagging its tail upon discovering the return of their owner.

“excited to see me?” he remarks in a flat tone, opening the grocery bag he’s carrying before setting a few things down onto your nightstand. it’s mostly medicine, though he snags a few of your favourite snacks and drinks. there’s also one of those fascinating green tea bottles that you buy at the vending machines, except they’re served piping hot.

“how’re you feeling?”

“i told you i was going to get sick if we had the water that cold.” you huff, averting your gaze in a fit.

“not my problem you can’t take a little temperature difference”

“a little? that shit was freezing! how the hell can you take water that cold?”

“how can you not?”

you chuckle a little, shifting to stare up at the ceiling.

“don’t you have paperwork to do?”

“you know i don’t do paperwork. sure as hell not gonna start doing it now.” benimaru huffs, kicking his boots off by the door. you can hear his clothes rustling and your head snaps to face him. he shoots you a glare, as though to scold you. it’s dripping on his face. ‘really? you’re so eager.’

“move up.” he cocks his head to the side, motioning for you to move over. you shift up, room spinning a little too much for your tastes. the mattress dips with his weight and his right arm (our left) reflexively hangs in the air for you to dip your head into the crook of where his shoulder and collarbone meet. he discards his navy kimono, the article of clothing hangs on one of the hooks at the back of your door. it’s probably not much comfort for him to be relaxing in a bed with half of his uniform still on.

you squish your face against his hard chest, head rising and falling in time with his breathing. the said arm relaxes and his hand rests against your shoulder. subsequently, you realise this is the first time you’ve seen him fully without his kimono on. at the very least, he’d still have the other sleeve on.

benimaru notices your blatant staring at his other arm. he can’t comprehend why you’d gawk at it now, since he’s used it plenty of times to choke you.

he hums a small ‘hm’ in question, asking you what you’re so fascinated about. you can feel his voice thrum and rock against his chest, it sends small shivers licking your body that he doesn’t miss.

“you look so funny without your kimono on. why don’t you wear it like this more often?” you drag your nails softly against his biceps. there’s a small groan that hisses from him. as you await his response, you outline a large vein that runs from his upper arm and trails down all the way to his wrist.

“i get cold easily.”

“then why did you take a shower with me?”

“are you hearing yourself?”

surely a little bit of his body temperature was enough to sacrifice. even if it meant he was sneezing a little bit and shivering afterwards.

“seriously? you can take a tranquiliser but you can’t stand a little cold?”

“you’ll make a shitty wife if you can’t even keep me warm.”

“beni!” you hiss at benimaru in appaul, craning your face up to guffaw at him. the manners on him sometimes are despicable.

you pout, shifting your upper weight to flick benimaru in between his eyebrows. he screws his face in mutiny, lips curled into a scowl.

you and him both know that if it were anyone else flicking him like that, they’d be sent crashing through six different blocks of houses down the street.

“oi.” he warns you, tutting.

“konro come by and work some voodoo magic bullshit on you? ‘cause you’re testing your luck by pissing me off. you’re such a menace when you’re sick, it’s unbelievable.”

you hum in awe, inching your face closer towards his. there’s a wave of mockery that paints your face green and you can only laugh at the unrest that swirls in benimaru’s eyes.

he won’t have his pet talking down to him like that. no, no. that just won’t do.

“oh? really? you want me to do it again?” you flash him a cocky smirk, digits curled into a flicking position. you rest the bridge of your middle finger against benimaru’s forehead, slicking some of his charcoal stained locks out the way.

his left hand flies to catch your hand in an instant. with just two of his fingers, he can wrap himself around your wrist. his touch is assertive, firm. he can drag you the fuck away from him as he pleases, but there’s no real malice or force behind him just yet.

“yeah? try me.” he barks, peering down at you through his lashes.

you just might.

[the-boys-from-ba-sing-se]

Top 5 fics of 2020!

Tagged by @khashanakalashtar to post my five favorite works I made this year.

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works  you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them  below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

1: The Sun Will Be Guiding You

Spymaster Sokka

This was the first fic I made for this fandom, and it’s without a doubt the thing I have put the most effort into. My longest ever fic, my most coherent plot (though it was mostly stolen of course!), my first proper fight scenes, my first fic with chapter titles, my first time working with beta readers, the whole shebang. I also received so much lovely feedback from readers, and I have to say it is gratifying to be on the other side of the frustrated angst-related screaming every once in a while!

2: Plum Blossom [Podfic] (by @zukkaclawthorne)

Hanahaki AU

While this is not the first or the best podfic I have made for this fandom, it is probably my favourite. This was recorded on my phone, and the first time I uploaded it I accidentally left a few mistakes in and didn’t find out for over a week until I was listening back to it in the kitchen! I was mortified and quickly edited and reuploaded it, but not before over 100 people had streamed and downloaded it. I read this fic just before going back to uni in September, and the intensity of emotions hit me so hard, I knew I wanted to inflict it on other people! This is probably the first fic in which I successfully managed to distinguish between characters’ voices, and the fic in which I solidified my characterisation of Zuko. This slightly came back to bite me in the arse in the sections with heavy dialogue between Zuko and Toph, because having to switch rapidly between a deep chest register and a high chest register was pretty straining! I guess I only have myself to blame, and I’ve definitely improved since then.

3: Locked down with you ain’t so bad

Quarantine fic

I couldn’t not include this fic on the list. It has been literal years since I had sudden writing inspiration strike in the middle of the night and I had to type something out rapid-fire on my phone, but that’s exactly what happened. As some of you may remember, back in mid-September I was having a crisis as I found myself in the middle of slow-burn friends-to-lovers fanfic trope with my best friend and housemate, and I proceeded to yell about it all over discord. Then, probably to no one’s surprise but my own, I ended up with a girlfriend and a happy ending. Of course I ended up writing aboiut it, and this fic is a pretty much entirely faithful re-telling of the events that led to my relationship, but with Zukka instead, of course.

3.5: You Okay?

Post-quarantine smut

This is of course the PWP sequel to the above fic, hence the 0.5 numbering! It was, up until about a week ago, my A:tLA fic with the most hits (now overtaken by TSWBGY), you dirty little freaks. I actually wasn’t going to put this on the list, because while it is my own writing, it’s not exactly high art, but then I remembered, fuck you, I do what I want. Also, this fic has been pretty important to me in its own way. This was my first time writing (serious) smut, and while this fic is not directly autobiographical, I do just like soft Sokka being the Consent King.

4: Baby Hotline, please hold (me close to you) [Podfic] (by @engagedzukka)

FBI Zuko

I love this fic so much. I have probably re-listened to this podfic the most out of all my podfics (yes I listen to my own work, there’s not a lot else out there, someone else please make some more podfics!). Again, this is one of my earlier podfics, but at this point I was using a proper microphone rather than recording on my phone, and the difference in sound quality is very noticeable. Shoutout to my housemate (cast as Toph in my lockdown fic!) for lending me their mic! I think I managed to get the tone of this one down pretty well, and it’s probably the fic I had the most genuine fun recording and putting together.

5: Boy Problems [Podfic] by burnt_oranges

Arranged marriage/misunderstandings

This is my most popular podfic. It doesn’t have the most hits on Ao3, it’s actually sixth down, but it has almost twice as many streams and downloads than most of the ones above it on Ao3. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it’s probably good, so thank you! It’s my longest one-shot podfic, and I recorded it in one day, over two sittings. Ouch! This is also the fic where I fully committed to giving OCs regional accents lmao. Bear witness to my shame as I attempt to make Zuko’s assistant/bodyguard Welsh and the noodle shop owner generic Scottish.

@ohmyzukka, @khaleeseas, @bisexual-atla, @jetruvius (any of y’all), @zukkaclawthorne, @macdenlesbian, @theobliviouswriter, @sword-over-water go!

[arlakos]

Things that I feel would have made Miraculous Ladybug a better show.

A Comprehensive Guide to what I would fix with Miraculous Ladybug, with 10 different Ideas.

WARNING: long post for mobile users

1. Combine the Riposte and Captain Hardrock episodes to introduce Luka and Kagami and have it be strictly a civilian episode.

After 3 seasons of Miraculous, I can safely say that I don’t care much about the whole lovesquare stuff, and to be frank I hate the fact that Luka and Kagami were added into the show just to be alternate love interests for the heroes.

I mean, Kagami gets a pass because she has a unique personality, but Luka is literally just every guitar teen ever, and is more one dimensional than season 1 Chloe.

EDIT: It really doesn’t help that because of these new ships, there is even more ship teasing that before, making the whole romance side of miraculous rather boring and filled to excess with ship teases

HOWEVER, if you really wanted to introduce these characters as alternate love interests, why not do something unique with it and in a way that won’t go over so long?

My idea is as follows

1. Have Adrien meet Kagami at fencing and Marinette meeting Luka with Kitty section.

2. Have the two main characters interact with these new love interests and learn more about them.

3. NOT have Hawkmoth come and akumatise anyone, because akuma’s shouldn’t be the only reason and/or way to progress the show or make it interesting.

4. Have the new single episode be about Adrien and Marinette falling for new people.

That way, the show can introduce the idea of new love interests, change the episode format so a bit so that its not so linear, and save an episode slot for a episode idea more interesting... Or perhaps instead restrict the whole alternate romance subplot to a few episodes as part of a small storyline and have the whole romantic subplot be done with instead of extending it is like with the Lovesquare over 2 seasons

EDIT: I don’t particularly like the ship, but the idea I’m proposing could be a good way to shorten it into a more coherent and more interesting plot, instead of adding another ship tease into the series that ends up tearing the fandom apart.

2. Have Season 3 be about Ladybug and Cat Noir teaching the 3 new heroes how to fight.

Season 3 is trash. There I said it. And its not just the episodes themselves are the problem. The whole season and the premises it tries to introduce are garbage as well.

Lets start with Lila.

Based off of the Chameleon episode, it was believed that Lila would be a more prominent character in the show, basically being a villain for both Marinette and her alter Ego. Despite that, her actual effect on the season was about as minimal as you could get, with her presence only being restricted to a few episodes (with these episodes more relying on everyone else being an idiot for them to work, Chameleon included). It also didn’t help that the show still stuck to the single episode format, meaning Chamelon, which was meant to be an episode that would set up a ‘war’ between Marinette and Lila was immediatly suceeded by episodes such as Gamer 2.0 and Animaestro, both of which did not feature Lila at all and took the tension out of the first episode (unfortunately not the salt though, rip Miraculous Fanfics)

Also, the Finale robbed Lila of her spotlight. Imagine being presented as the villain of season 3 only for you to be replace with a knockoff Queen Wasp 😭.

Season 3 also made the mistake of introducing new heroes into the show.

Now, I’m of the opinion that the new heroes introduce in season 3 were a mistake, because not only did the new heroes make the idea of getting a miraculous not so special anymore (with so many new heroes), but some of the designs, powers and/or Miraculous tools were not really that great. I mean, Viperion looks cool and all, but his tool is a goddamn lyre. At least a yoyo can be used to tie up people. And do not get me started on Pegasus.

Also, with all the new heroes introduced, it meant that the heroes from season 2 barely got any screentime. Chloe was made into a villain by the end of Season 3, while Rena Rouge got to appear once and my boi Caracace got only one episode out of the ENTIRE SEASON to appear.

But I do have a solution to at least on of these problems.

What if, in season 3, that season was all about Ladybug and Cat Noir teaching Rena, Carapace and Queenie how to actually be heroes and form a team of 5? It would help bring some new dynamics into the whole hero stuff, and we could potentially see more of the stuff that we had only seen in heroes day.

(Also, rewrite heroes day so that the 3 heroes don’t immediatly get akumatized and actually help Ladybug and Cat Noir. God, they got ripped off for all the hype build-up.)

It could allow for new stuff in season 3 such as:

More hero dynamics

Seeing Alya, Nino and Chloe adapt to daily heroics

Ladybug (and Chat) learning how to be leaders and mentors, which would then make the plotline about Fu passing on his title to Marinette make more sense and justified, since they didn’t do that in season 3 at all.

A more realised storyline about Chloe’s identity being public knowledge that goes on for more than two episodes

Also it means we could get rid of Lila...just saying.

3. Have Miss Bustier work to rehabilitate Chloe and have that be the starting point of Chloe’s redemption.

In recent months, there has been a lot of salt aimed at Miss Bustier, and to be frank I don’t think she deserves it. Her characterisation is honestly really heartwarming when it comes to the idea of teachers caring for their students, but her character can often be forgotten by writers, especially when they desire a story to tell. This can be seen as early as Origins, where she ignores Chloe outright bullying Marinette so the latter can stand up to her later on, but notices Ivan being angry at Kim so Ivan becomes Stoneheart. I personally think her character is lovely, and certain fanfic stories like the Miraculous World of Caline Bustier show that good side of her that so many salt fics fail to forget or intentionally ommit because of one bad episode where Marinette cries (chameleon).

However I do think that Chloe gets way out of hand in the show, and I do feel that despite her best intentions, Bustier not doing anything about Chloe for two seasons seems a bit...off putting.

But what if she did do something about it?

I think that the best way for Ms Bustier to act more like a teacher without breaking her ‘kind teacher’ status would honestly be to actually work on rehabilitating Chloe, either by working with her after school with exercises or recommending her to a psychiatrist for help. I know this can come off as dark for miraculous, but Chloe has already shown that her life beforehand has been a bit rough (even though it doesn’t nullify how she has acted in season 1), so it would make sense that Chloe would need some help with her behavoir/attitude. It would be a great way for Bustier to actually do something about Chloe’s behavoir, without compromising her kind personality. She is kind enough to care about Chloe being better, but assertive enough to do something about it.

Plus, for those who like Chloe, it could be a great way to redeem her properly without going back and forth between a ‘likable person but also bitch’ and ‘an asshole bitch with no redeeming qualities’ like in season 3. Plus it would then make Chloe becoming Queen Bee more fair instead of making it seem as if she doesn’t deserve to be a hero.

Also it would make those people who make salt posts about Bustier frick off. Leave her alone she’s a good character

4. Not having everyone immediately liking Ladybug/Marinette but not hating her either.

Ok, this is where I get really heretical with this post, especially because of how much of the fandom likes Marinette, but I feel that having every single character in the show immediately liking Marinette is a bit too much, at least for me. This sounds biased, but it causes problems for the show for two main reasons.

Marinette is kinda at this point a part-Mary Sue, at least when it comes to the idea that everyone in the world seems to like Marinette and the only ones who don’t are irredeemable pieces of trash who are probably villains (Lila and Chloe being Astruc’s favorite examples :/ ).

Marinette often has everyone agreeing with her on everything (when Lila isn’t there) and majority of the time she goes unnopossed with anything that she does, to the point where even a fireman doesn’t call the cops when he see’s her outright breaking into Adrien’s home (in Oni-Chan).

It would be more interesting (or at least more realistic given the setting) if most characters aside from a few important ones were mostly indifferent towards Marinette, aside from ones such as Alya, Nino, Adrien and Nathaniel for obvious reasons. I’m not saying they have to hate her, but it would be cooler if the rest of the class were more individuals with their own lives and focus, rather that characters with a trope who just revolve around Marinettes world. 

Also those girl squad moments in Miraculous seem kinda forced, mainly because Alix, Mylene, Rose and Juleka don’t seem like the type to hang with Marinette unless the episode calls for it like in Gigantitan and Reflekdoll.

Now, lets discuss Ladybug. 

To keep it simple, I think that it would make more sense if people weren’t immediately trusting of Ladybug at first, and I feel that as seasons go on, it would make sense that over time, people would eventually start to lose trust in her or start to feel angry at her for her inability to stop Hawkmoth permanently.

I mean, if you take episodes such as Syren (where said villain floods a whole city), it is likely that some people got hurt (or worse) and people would eventually start to worry that Ladybug could fail or that her Miraculous Ladybug could stop working. 

It would wouldn’t help that Hawkmoth is mostly focused on getting Ladybug and Cat Noirs Miraculous, and people would start to realize that and would start to get the idea that if Ladybug and Cat Noir gave up their Miraculous, Hawkmoth would leave them alone.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t think that this has to be a permanent thing that constantly worries the heroes like in other shows such as Ben 10, but it would be an interesting storyline for Miraculous if some people in Paris would start to get fed up Paris being used as a battleground for heroes and villains.

Also, it would make sense that the class likes Ladybug at least, especially for saving them in season 1.

EDIT: Changed my opinion, read my reblog

5. Have Adrien fall in love with Marinette and Ladybug fall in love with Chat - AKA I’m tired of the lovesquare.

I’m gonna be frank with you, I’m a little biased on this one, mainly because I can’t stand the lovesquare stuff. Its annyoing because people fight over which ship they like, and tbh it has gone on for way too long.

It also doesn’t help that it ruins the main characters. Marinette suffers because she can act like a creepy stalker at times, memorizing his schedule and even stealing his phone, yet can’t even speak to him properly (or more importantly like an actual friend) in a majority of episodes, making her look both creepy and/or idiotic.

Chat Noir also suffers, but even more so due to double standards by the fandom. I don’t think Chat is a sexual harasser like SOME might want to thing (looks at the salty side of fandom), but I do think he flirts WAY the fuck too much, to the point where it wastes most of his character. At least him making more jokes would be better than flirting.

So, my idea is to get rid of all that.

Let Marinette actually talk to Adrien, learn about him, care about him like he’s an actual human being, and actually be a good friend for once rather than being friends through Nino and Alya. Let Marinette actually be kind to Adrien and have her actions make Adrien realize that he likes her more than a friend, rather than Plagg telling him something he wants to deny.

And on the reverse note, Have Chat stop flirting and be more caring. I want Chat to treat Ladybug like she’s the greatest thing in his world, and not by flirting with her during akuma fights, but by checking how she is daily, wanting to spend time with her on lonely nights to make her feel better, and overall being more a friendly (yet lovestruck) partner than the flirty sidekick that Astruc wants to relegate him as. By all means, let him pun and make jokes during fights, that’s part of his charm, but I want Ladybug to fall in love with a Chat Noir that stands by her side, cares about her to the point of overkill and makes her always feel better no matter how down she feels.

And THAT’S what the lovesquare should be about, a story about two characters falling in love with two amazing people, not realizing they are one an the same.

I want Adrien to fall in love with the extrodinary Ladybug who changed his world forever and the simple but amazing Marinette who loves him for who he is, and not what he is. I want Marinette to fall for the sunshine Adrien that is too pure for this world and made her smile on a rainy day, but also for the caring Chat Noir that has always stood by her side no matter how dark the situation has gotten when fighting Hawkmoth, and has always cared about her to the point where cannot help but love him for who he is, puns, humor, love and all.

That’s what I think would make good romance in Miraculous Ladybug

Also Adrien doesn’t deserve that kinda salt btw. FIGHT ME.

6. Have Akuma battles actually cause an impact on the show.

Akuma’s are both a curse and a blessing for Miraculous Ladybug. A blessing because the powers can be unique and the designs are pretty to look at (minus a few), but a curse because the way they are written is responsible for Miraculous Ladybug’s stagnation and also how character issues are resolved.

Someone gets sad because a personal problem, they get akumatised, the return back to normal thanks to Ladybug, and their personal problem is suddenly resolved. Rinse and Repeat. All of the damage caused by the akumas is fixed, and no one seems to be affected by the akumas long term.

So...why not change the last bit? 

I think that the akumas should do more than just trash Paris and not by being more evil, but by also have an effect on people mentally, similar to how people write about Chat Blanc causing Marinette to have PTSD. I don’t think the akumas have to be more threatening then they are, but I do wish that certain akuma’s or even the experience of being akumatized would affect certain characters more than what is shown.

Like say, how about an idea where Style Queen suddenly trying to turn Chloe into a statue, and not caring for the fact that she is her daughter, causing Chloe to straight up hate her now that her true colors are shown? Or perhaps an episode where people get hurt due to rubble from a battle, and one of the main characters sees someone greviously hurt despite them being fixed after the battle? These are just some ideas, but as is, akumas feel somewhat of a let down, because despite their cool designs, they are just one-shot glorified henchmen of Hawkmoth who are essentially forgotten after a single episode.

EDIT: I personally got some asks saying that giving characters PTSD would be a bad thing for a kids show, so Im just gonna clarify: I dont think that the characters should get PTSD, but I do think akuma battles should matter, given that some akuma backstories are made from more personal problems but are treated as with less seriousness than expected and often times fixed instantly by the end of the episode.

7. Give Luka a personality

Luka is the personification of every soft spoken teen music player ever and has the personality of the song Wonderwall. Next.

8. Have Alya not try to Figure out Ladybugs identity.

For someone who has read hero comic books, Alya should realise that trying to expose someone’s public identity is a VERY BAD IDEA.

9. Have Ladybug and Chat Noir unlock new powers on their own, rather than having to rely on Gimicky power up potions.

I’m gonna be frank, the power up potions are lame as heck. They are essentially glorified costume changes that add new stuff onto the suits, which doesn’t sound that bad until you realise that Miraculous Wielders are capable of Changing thier costume designs anytime they want, meaning more likely than not they could probably just change costumes without the potions. Even the Aqua form is pretty lame once you realise that Ladybug and Cat Noir’s tools function like water breathing devices.

Instead, I think it would be cool that as the heroes wear their miraculouses, they star to bond with them as they get close to their kwamis, allowing them to unlock new abilities over time, similar to how learning the basics of martial arts follows into more advanced styles. It would also make the miraculouses feel more magical and add more depth into them, as it turns the miraculous from magical jewellery that give powers, into a magical experience that grows and changes as the wielder and Kwami bond together on a spiritual and magical level.

It would also help to offer contrast between the heroes and Hawkmoth, because while the latter doesn’t have a timer for his powers and is stronger (for the time being), the heroes bond with their kwami’s and unlock new abilities in the process, while poor Gabe is stuck with his base powers due to forcing Nooroo against his will, only able to unlock more abilities through cheating (aka Scarlet Moth).

10. Change Hawkmoth’s story

Hawkmoth is about as bland of a villain as you can get when it comes to villainy. Even with the whole sob story of Gabe’s wife in a coma and her trying to bring him back, Hawkmoth himself has always been all over the place, especially when the writers try to bring the two sides of the character together. They want him to be unwilling to hurt Adrien in one episode, but then for him to be a dangerous and despicable villain in Chat Blanc. It gets really annoying, as they both want him to be a sympathetic villain, but also a villain who isnt afraid to be pure evil as well.

Also Mayura doesn’t help much with the story either. Before she was revealed, people were speculating that she was a new person would be the actual big bad of the show, and it was rumored that she would be Hawkmoth’s boss, and also the possible reason for Hawkmoth getting the Butterfly Miraculous, which could have been used to expand upon Hawkmoth’s character, and potentially have some sympathy given to him if the writers wanted to go that path, with Mayura being the new evil of the show. Unfortunatlely, it turned out Mayura was Nathalie all along, essentially being a glorified henchman for Hawkmoth, and not only that, but her powers were a copy and Paste of Hawkmoths own abilities (Villain infects an object, something something magic, Ladybug needs to destroy an object and purify it in order to return it to normal) 

They could have at least given the job of purifying feathers to Chat, would have made him more essential in season 3 if Mayura was actually used more.

Hawkmoth’s character has stagnated, and personally, I think he needs a rewrite.

Some ideas that I have for Hawkmoth that could make him a better character better are:

Have Mayura be the actual big bad of the show (and a completely different character) and have Hawkmoth be her (somewhat unwilling) lackey. She could also be written to be crueler than Hawkmoth, and could show how Hawkmoth is a more sympathetic character by having him only focused on his son like in Gorizilla, while Mayura’s the one more likely to pull a Chat Blanc situation and absolutely torture the poor cat into being an akuma. Also, it would still allow for those Nathalie/Gabriel moments without ruining them with character changes.                                                

Have the Butterfly Miraculous be corrupted with dark magic (thus allowing Hawkmoth to make possesed villains), but as a side effect make him more crazy, causing him to go from the kindness we see in Gorizilla to the ruthlessness seen in Chat Blanc. (On a a side note, the idea of the Butterfly Miraculous being corrupted would make more sense, given that it can corrupt people into being villains, and would also explain how something that is supposed to be used for good can be used for evil.)         

(My Favorite one) Have Gabriel and Hawkmoth being entirely seperate characters. Have Gabe keep the book like in canon and have the Peacock Miraculous be broken, but Hawkmoth is for all intents and purposes a different person who is also a villain. It would allow for Hawkmoth to become an actual villain without the moral restrains made in season 2 with the revelation in The Collector, while also allowing for a story with a nuanced yet kinder Gabriel. Perhaps even a story where Adrien reconnects with his father.

I think that all of these story ideas would really help make Hawkmoth a better character, either by allowing him to be a villain that the writers want him to be like in Chat Blanc, or the sympathetic villain that wants to fix his family.

And that’s about it! Do you agree with this list? Don’t agree? Got more ideas? Reblog this post and write about what you would fix with Miraculous

[cooltrainererika]

Alt-talia Compilation: December Fun

Well, it’s already New Years for me. Fortunately this is the last story I want to get out since I’m delaying Key to Zorn part 2 again. Hooray. All I need to do is that alternate ending and I’m done! Goodbye 2019! 

This compilation is three super short fics: December 22, 2019: Snowball fight/Skiing/Christmas without snow. The first two are for Skiing, the last one is Christmas Without Snow, though it could also be filed against “Decorations”. While admittedly the first two aren’t Christmas related, the last one is so hopefully it still counts. 

Btw this is a semi-AU. I don’t have time to explain, so those unfamiliar with it, please reference my other works. 

And the awful titles are especially bad this time around. And the writing quality is super rough. Still, I don’t really have much time here. 

Name key: Denmark: Simon, Norway: Lukas

So without further ado, happy new year! 

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This is a message from the event holder:

I would like to ask one thing (but this isn’t part of the rules, so don’t worry) , if it is not too demanding… please, if you like someone’s work say it (comment), I personally think that put only a “heart” on it doesn’t make enough justice for the artist. I mean… as an active fan that contributes for the Hetalia’s fandom… a “heart” means nothing to me, at least reblog it. “Creators” get demotivated and sincerely it doesn’t hurt be nice to others. Of course, this is my opinion and a selfish request, so I won’t expect too much.

Please listen to them, I would really appreciate it. 

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Skiing Lessons

“Orv... You make it look so easy!”

Lukas seemed to glide across the snow, the boy weaving between thin trees agilely as if it took him no effort. 

Simon could only admire his Union-Brother’s skills; he had to observe closely, after all. 

That morning, Simon had finally decided to ask him about it; Lukas’ skiing had helped him in so many wars over the years. While Simon was considered to be part of Scandinavia, his land being as flat and close to the ocean as it was, the art of skiing was never something he had to learn; Lukas was different. On the snow, where horse hooves sunk impotently, he commanded the ski as his steed. Ever since he was very young, he had used them not only to run circles around his enemies, but as one of his companions in daily life. 

“Teach you?”

“Yeah! You’re so good at it, and it’s helped us in so many wars, so… could you? Please?”

Lukas had nodded. 

“Mmm. No problem. I have a few boards as spares. Though it’s not easy. I’ll warn you.”

So now, here they were, up north. 

And indeed, it was much harder than it looked. 

For the fifth time that day, Simon fell facefirst into the snow. 

Lukas shook his head like a monk chastising a child. 

“Get up!”

“I’m trying!”

“Danmark, you’re not supposed to put that much weight on your feet. You’re supposed to glide atop the snow. Don’t dig in too much. Let the snow carry you.”

“Right…”

He pushed himself along. 

“Glide... Glide atop the snow...Wait... I think I’m getting the hang of it!”

Mmmm. That’s it... follow me.”

“I can do it! Look Norge, I’m doing it-“

And then he fell into the snow again. 

“It’s not that easy.”

Lukas pulled him out of the snow, his Union-Brother’s face having gone pink from the coldness but still determined 

“We’re doing it again.”

“Yessir!”

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Alpine Rivals

Austria and Switzerland cascaded down the mountain, dodging everyone on the slope as they went with masterful skill. 

The two raced neck-and neck, the freezing air whistling past, nipping their cheeks, through the hair that wasn’t tucked inside their helmets. 

Italy had been close behind, but in a moment of distraction had reverted to his klutzy self; a split second which had proved disastrous, and sent him falling into the snow with his feet sticking out like a cartoon, and now he was way behind, desperately trying to catch up. Poland was a close third, wrestling his place with Bavaria, and France and Germany were a few meters behind those two. However, especially as the Nordics were taking a different course on the other side of the mountain, the undoubted champions here were Austria and Switzerland, as they long had always been.

But even if the Nordics were racing with them, it was entirely possible they would still be left in the dust. For they were the Alpine duo; the only ones who even rivaled, even surpassed, Norway himself in the ancient sport of downhill skiing.  

But as usual, Switzerland seemed to be winning this time. There was a reason he had the most Alpine skiing medals in the Olympics. 

Austria wasn’t giving up so easily though; when it came to skiing, his suppressed competitiveness had a rare opportunity to shine. And best friend or no, or especially because of that, it wasn’t over until the end of the slope. 

He was certain that Bavaria was going to complain about it after all of this as he usually did though. His father wasn’t exactly known for being humble.  

“See you at the bottom!”

“Gah! Get back here!”

Soon, the foot of the mountain came into view, flattening to soften the landing. 

Almost there…

Wait, was that…

Snow flew in waves as Switzerland skidded to a halt. 

“Eek!”

An extremely familiar voice squeaked. 

When the snow cleared, standing there, brushing herself off, in her skis, was Liechtenstein. 

“Look, look! I won! Finally! I told you I practiced!”

Switzerland raised his goggles, his jaw ajar. 

“...Since when were you here?”

“About a minute ago?”

They heard the loud muffled sounds of snow crunching as Austria skidded to a stop above them.

“Österreich... It’s Liechtenstein. She won.”

“...Mein Gott. Goodness. I did know you were quite good, but…”

Her cheeky grin widened. 

“I’m Alpine too, you know!”

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Starry Streets of Tropical Bethlehem 

Now, think of Christmas. What do you think of? 

Not just the trees, the music, or even the religious elements. What is expected of the scenery outside? 

Snow, of course. Without snow, Christmas just seems so incomplete. 

Most of us aren’t fortunate enough to experience a white Christmas, however, there is something inseparable about these two things in our minds.  

Or so it seems. For one nation, while knowing little of snow, may be one of the biggest lovers of Christmas of all. 

“YEHEY! YEHEY! IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!”

Others looked on in confusion as the personification of the Philippines barreled through the halls as soon as the meeting got out. 

It wasn’t too long until she had crashed into America, sending papers flying everywhere. 

“GAH! Whoa! Whoa! Hey, slow down!”

“I can’t wait! It’s almost Pasko!”

“Wha?”

“Christmas!”

America stared at her in confusion. South Korea was standing above, his face blank as he processed what just happened. 

“...Wha? But it’s September! I swear, Christmas gets earlier every year, but I didn’t think it was this bad!”

“What do you mean, Kuya America? Of course it’s long! All my people come home on Christmas! ...Ay! There’s something I want to show everyone.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a flyer; a clearly handmade one, with just a date, location, and absolutely nothing else. 

“Come to San Fernando on the Saturday two weeks before Christmas! I’m inviting the rest of ASEAN too!”

“Wha?! What are we being invited to?!”

“It’s a surprise!”

“She always is so excited, this time of year…”

Then, she grabbed South Korea as well, thrusting the “flyer” into his hand, her dark brown eyes sparkling. 

“You come too, Kuya! Please?!”

“I… I presume so…”

“Yehey! See you!”

With that, she ran off. 

———————--------------------------------------------

For Philippines, Christmas started at the beginning of September in the truest sense of the word; the carols started, everyone broke out the trees, and talk of presents was fresh on everyone’s mind. 

For some, this may have seemed absurd. However, even without the snow, even without many Christmas trappings, she never tired of this festive, yet sacred atmosphere which enveloped her islands for half a year. 

———————--------------------------------------------

Even in the middle of December, it was warm in the Philippines. 

Though everyone expected it, actually experiencing it was a bit strange for America, though Australia seemed to not notice any difference. And poor Japan looked like he was going to melt. 

For some ASEAN members, those who could afford to come anyway, the festive Christmas cheer emanating from everywhere was an unusual sight in it of itself. 

So many other people had already gathered around them under the San Fernando sky, mostly locals. 

“So… what are you goin’ to show us, hermana?”

Philippines grinned a wide grin. 

“You’ll see, Kuya Mehiko! Oh, it’s starting!”

Just as the music started, she threw open her arms. 

“...NARITO! MALIGAYANG PASKO!”

And immediately, like that, as her voice boomed into the air, everything lit up. 

Star-shaped, intricate fractals of light, red, orange, blue, green, yellow, white, silver, gold, big and small, arranged in beautiful designs. 

They moved, spinning and dancing as they lit up the night. 

A collective gasp took over them as stars lit everything in their field of vision. 

“...It’s… it’s awesome!”

“See? I told you! I told you!”

And so, under a tropical urban December sky, a starry night shined brightly not above, but right on Earth. 

[unproduciblesmackdown]

You're so right about the Will Roland fanart problems. It seems like back when Will Roland was only known for Jared people were way more proWill because he could be their funny meme boi who ate bathbombs but now that he's a lead with all these emotional songs it's like God forbid he's not their "twink bby". Idk it annoys me so much especially when people draw the rest of the Broadway cast and still use WillC or do an animatic with WillRs voice and WillCs character ugh like. Accept the Roland pls

lmao we are all just out here grabbing the mic like “attention all bastards: Look, just because will roland isn’t your ideal fancast for most adorable twink of the year - “

really like, i have never come across any signs of there having been any pattern in the deh fandom of ~taking issue~ with will’s Abilities to sing or play the part of a struggling teen or whatever like what crops up re: him being the lead in bmc.....it also is unsurprising yet disappointing that like, jared and alana are so easily completely ignored, but when they Are acknowledged it’s super flattened interpretations like, either they’re both hypocritical jerks (just based on evan’s gfy accusations basically lol) or if they’re actually viewed in a positive way it’s just like, alana is your friendly local Model Student and jared is memes and neither of them are in the way! :3

you litrally cannot ignore jeremy the Whole Entire Main Character tho and also like. can’t ignore the fact that caring about jeremy as a Romantique Lead is ahhh important to many ppl in the fanbase? so him being regarded as ~less cute~ is more of an Issue b/c the character must be taken seriously and is the sympathetic hero and has a lot more solo material / more of Any material / more focus than jared does in deh.........you Have To Look At Him and care about his actual feelings and not just misinterpret the character as “has no serious emotions b/c he doesn’t say serious things in a serious tone” the way ppl misinterpret jared. there’s the assumption that someone who is good / sympathetic should also be attractive / cute / Personally Appealing To Look At and that wasn’t as much a conflict when ppl didn’t think it was important to sympathize / care about / pay attention to jared too much, and the “conflict” of caring abt jeremy’s capacity for a romantic relationship but that’s less important if he’s not as Cute also not being as much an issue when most people don’t care about jared’s romantic feelings or think that they exist despite jared being in love with evan But Anyways

like it is wild the things people will just make up to “justify” their Dislike for will, which has only manifested as apparent Issues thanks to him playing jeremy rather than jared........there’s the classic “mm idk i don’t think he can sing that well” approach which like. some people are just trying to say they do not like the inherent descriptive qualities of his voice, which is more nasal obviously and don’t anyone come in here with the “Actually the Technical definition of Nasal re Vocals is” b/c we know what i mean, alright? nasal voices are not considered ~serious~ and there’s the kneejerk dumb-annoying-loser-nerd association. god knows that jeremy heere canNot have characteristics that could be automatically judged as irritating and unappealing. then there’s the notion that He doesn’t have the (vocal) range!! which like. do you honestly think they would cast someone who doesn’t have the correct range. you’re aware that will roland was being considered for the part of jeremy in the two river run up to the last round of callbacks. you know that the song that was literally written expressly to suit will roland’s individual voice and singing abilities makes use of his falsetto which people go “omg he can’t hit those high notes” except sometimes when they misattribute his falsetto to other singers they suddenly find it worth complimenting. and then you get people who like, want to subscribe to this softened version of it and get all backhanded like “oh i think will’s vocals are improving whew that’s good” in any random video and always Only single him out apparently like. did you think he gets worse with experience? you don’t wanna talk about any of these other professional singers improving or worsening or anything? only wanna give ur assessment of william’s huh

honestly i for real haven’t seen the 1.0 version b/c i’m here via will roland in the first place & i’ve never gotten the impression that there’s some Essential Content i’m missing out on by having only seen 2.0........but between a) people complaining that will r’s jeremy is Too Frustrated He Shouldn’t Be That Angry It Makes Him Less Sympathetic and b) saying just as a point of comparison betwixt the depictions that will r’s jeremy is more frustrated and c) i haven’t read That much bmc fic but people sure talk about jeremy being like five seconds away from bursting into tears at any given moment which like, okay yeah aren’t we all, but also i presume this stems from will c’s apparently Sadder portrayal of jeremy. i almost forgot where i was going with this one but i think it’s just that yeah people truly take issue with will r’s jeremy being more frustrated and it’s like you realize there’s no Right or Wrong portrayal / interpretation even if you prefer one for whatever reasons......theatre just is Like that.......you have a slightly different portrayal during ever performance even from the same actors, and you’ll often have different actors playing the role........yeah people usually are attached to the first performance they see / have that as their Standard and that’s fine, it’s just like, you don’t have to decide that’s an Objective view and that you have Objective issues with everyone else’s take. 1.0 is still there for you

uhhhh oh yeah and the whole Clout idea lmao......people really putting themselves out there shaking their heads at the supposed fact that will was cast for the off bway run to Boost Popularity b/c he was part of the deh obc......besides the whole thing that it’s hardly likely that would’ve been considered necessary anyhow, there’s the little thing that a) again, will roland had already been very seriously considered for the part even before will connolly was decided on for the original run and b) like.....these people had been collaborating for eons and you really think will roland only popped into their minds thanks to being in deh....and c) joe iconis has repeatedly said they specifically did Not want to cast people based on who was Known enough and whose names would be good for marketing and d) maybe anyone has noticed that the marketing never involved any mention of anyone in the cast? no? cool. and yet people like so truly think they’re Wise to ~real reason~ that they’d go and cast will roland as the lead. like people are making shit up and really just thinking it’s true b/c they Want it to be true b/c they Want to be validated in having actual contempt for will’s casting despite the “issue” being that he doesn’t seem as Likeable (worthy of sympathy...cough...) thanks to his deemed-unattractive looks and sweetly-adenoidal voice and more-frustrated portrayal all seeming less cute or whatever

and i mean i haven’t seen it crop up of late but the one particular Grasping At Straws ~justification~ for will being unworthy of the part thanks to perceived acting/singing incompetence which is soooo wild is when people are like “ough i Hate when he just holds his arms out when he sings” like fmslkdj if anything that’s just an individual quirk and the fact that it was something you noticed means you just latched on to it as potential fodder for “the fact i registered this information abt someone whose existence i Resent means it distracted me which means i hate it and it’s bad”...like another thing he does with his hands while singing is when he makes the loose claws and kind of half crosses his arms in front of his chest! where are the complaints about that?? nowhere, b/c people have not really processed it as a particular thing, so they can’t deem it a Particular Thing To Criticize. people sometimes Notice that his jared talks with his hands a lot, which will says is an acting choice that came from an unconscious tendency, but people really only bring it up to juxtapose will’s jared’s dramatic tendencies and nervous habits with sky’s jared’s more outwardly still and smoothed-over behavior. aka they don’t Complain about it or deem it a weakness / bad thing. and yet people caring about bmc are really jumping on that chance to be like oh ugh there he goes again, having a characteristic i associate with him as an individual, disgusting, can’t believe will connolly was murdered for this..

it’s a bit clearer too with bmc moreso than deh that people aren’t super willing to accept how will roland Looks b/c like, thanks to will connolly’s jeremy having the long hair thing you can Tell The Difference In Which Actor Is Represented when ppl draw the character even if the rest of the features are kind of “generic” (and how even the costuming isn’t a dead giveaway since ppl will draw connolly jeremy in 2.0/3.0′s outfits) and it even serves to specify the actor in writing format too if they mention the hair lol........and honestly?? this fact is one of the most damning things lol in that people the reason so many ppl continue to produce connolly-based jeremys is Not because for whatever reason they can’t / it’s too difficult to draw a will roland lookin jeremy......like a lot of the time The trait which serves to distinguish between the two is the hair thing. people are adopting jeremy’s new costuming and stuff but choosing to make sure we know that jeremy does not Look like will roland and the clearest indicator of this is the longer hair thing......which also means that for many people the main effort they’d need to exert to make it clear they’re drawing wrol jeremy would just be to....shorten the hair. And Yet!!!! it is apparently beyond people to do this

like uh nice on making a lgw animatic but really.........really we’re gonna take the song that is specifically from the 2.0 / 3.0 runs, so it’s obvious we’re Accepting that non-1.0 content, okay......and we’re Accepting will roland’s vocals, which, a person’s voice is a physical trait of theirs too, same as The Existence Of Their Body........and yet jeremy Cannot Look Like How Will Roland Looks, that’s too far, can’t do that. we can take material from the specific versions the actor was cast in, that material being a song written specifically for this individual actor’s voice, in the form of this actor’s actual vocals......but can’t have the depicted image of jeremy be based on this actor’s appearance..............of all the......

really all that it is is that more people find will connolly more attractive than will roland and this makes them feel like will roland Is Worse and then the people who just run with that either just embrace that and are crashing around on public forums saying Lol i hate him cuz he’s ugly lmao....and then you have people who don’t wanna do that but don’t wanna actually examine why they ~take issue~ with will being cast and so they’ve gotta leap on any Other things about him that feel more acceptable / Objective like oh the portrayal is “Wrong” (that’s not how this works) or he can’t sing well enough (yeah he can) or high enough (yeah he can) or he was stunt cast (no he wasn’t) or they wanna label every characteristic / trait they can think up that Isn’t his physical appearance as Annoying And Bad like. maybe stop and ask why you find it SO pressing that this other actor has the part and it Must be objectively inferior if not ruinous for reasons you gotta invent about him being incompetent cuz it’s better to make stuff up about how a professional actor isn’t good enough for a part than to say you don’t think he’s cute enough and are bothered by that

it didn’t matter as much to people when they viewed his character as either Just A Joke or Just A Jerk or flat-out disposable material. being attractive is for serious sympathetic beloved characters, natch

unfortunately jeremy can’t be written off as The Unimportant Meme Friend With No Real Feelings so now there’s a whole problem if an actor is not as cute

like b/c of the way he looks ppl can accept that a character played by will roland can be funny or can be rude or can really not be too important to take seriously / consider complex or sympathetic or likeable beyond being a walking Running Joke, but when it comes to a sympathetic main character whose emotional state is so important it’s practically assigned a character and who’s a romantic lead? now people have a problem with him looking the way will roland does

[shadowsong26fic]

Precipice Deleted Scene!

So, I have an AU outline coming up, sometime in the next couple of days depending on how quickly I finish it. But since that is a) Spite Fic(tm); b) not Star Wars and, in fact, based in a fandom I left a while ago that I’m pretty sure none of you are in; and c) a niche crossover on top of that...

Uh. Yeah. As a thank you to y’all for sitting through my self-indulgent nonsense later, I thought I’d post this! Which I’d been kind of thinking about sharing anyway, even before the Spite Fic(tm) came up.

Below the cut is an early version of Anakin’s half of the most recent Precipice chapter. Parts of this were written back during NaNo, and then bits and pieces over December and January. It’s also part of why this chapter took so long (almost a month as opposed to the 1-2 weeks I’d been shooting for)--the bulk of Padme’s half was actually complete last November, I just had to rework the opening and add a conclusion and a few other editing details. But the original version of Anakin’s half just...wouldn’t come together. And I think part of that was because it ended up feeling kind of redundant--it was Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and Ahsoka meeting up and debriefing, so while some of the information was news to them, pretty much none of it was news to the reader. Also, braiding together the bits and pieces I’d written wasn’t working/the conversation wasn’t really flowing. Plus, the Anakin and Beru scene fit better with what was going on in Padme’s part. I actually made the decision to switch...I wanna say three days before I posted? And it just...flew. So, yeah, there’s that.

Anyway, there are a couple bits in here that I really like, and...well, if any of y’all wanted a look at my Process, so to speak, this actually might give some insight? It’s all pretty rough, and I’m leaving in my notes to myself so you can maybe get an idea of the kind of piecemeal ways I put together chapters.

Feel free to comment/ask questions/offer insights about your own process, if you wanna use this post as a jumping-off point for that!

Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Leia didn’t meet Ahsoka and Rex at Dr. Naar’s--in the interest of protecting their emergency medic, as a rule, none of them went there unless they actually needed his help.

Instead, beyond a brief coded “all-clear,” they waited to properly check in until they were all back at the farm.

[Which was not easy, waiting that long to really confirm that Rex was okay. Not that Anakin thought he wasn’t, exactly--even with everything else that had gone on this week, he’d’ve sensed it if his friend were in serious trouble--but, yeah, there was a difference between knowing and knowing, even with the Force to help. And he had lost too damn many friends over the years to be comfortable waiting for news.] [POSSIBLY CUT. PROBABLY CUT.]

Rex looked more or less okay, which was a relief. He was leaning pretty heavily on a set of crutches, but upright and moving more or less under his own power.

“You all right?” Anakin asked, quietly.

“Yeah,” he said. “Back to normal in a week or two, probably. As long as I don’t do anything stupid.” This last, he said with a somewhat pointed look that was probably supposed to be a Hint, which Anakin blissfully ignored.

“Glad to hear it, Captain,” he said, with a brief hand on his good shoulder.

[TRANSITION]

“How’d everything go?” Ahsoka asked, settling in on the floor, cross-legged.

“Pretty much as well as we’d hoped,” Anakin said. “Padme and Luke are--they’re--amazing. And Padme sends her love.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Good.”

“And with Saw?” Obi-Wan asked.

“About as well as we’d expected,” Rex said, and Ahsoka nodded.

“He’s holding back a little, not interested in a full commitment right now, but he’s keeping lines of communication open,” she added.

“We also ran into a massive hyperdrive, half-built. We blew it up, and managed to pull some data on our way out,” Rex said. “It might tie into some of the leads you’ve been chasing down?” [REWORD A LITTLE]

“Possibly,” Obi-Wan said. “Likely, even. I’m still working on fitting the various puzzle pieces together, but this will probably help. It’s certainly something we should keep an eye out for. If we’re looking at a question of scale…”

“I agree,” Rex said. “I’m not as up on the latest capital ship tech as I’d like to be, but the drive I saw was bigger than anything that’s probably coming out for the next generation or two. Unless it’s not for a capital ship at all, but for something different.”

Not good. Whatever the Chancellor wanted to move en masse probably meant bad things for the rest of the galaxy.

“We should have Artoo sift through the data,” Anakin said. “We still might not have enough for the full picture, but if anyone can get there, he can.” Besides, they had left him with Owen and Beru while they were off on Alderaan, and Artoo had made it very clear that he had been hopelessly bored by the tasks the Larses had found for him, and was looking forward to having something more interesting to do.

Well, that hadn’t been exactly how he’d put it, but that was the gist, anyway.

[EHHHH REWORK A BIT. ANOTHER TRANSITION]

“Anything about the bombing?” Anakin asked. He’d promised Luke he’d find out as much as he could, after all.

“Saw knew who was responsible,” Ahsoka said. “He wouldn’t give us a name, said his friend was probably dead so there wasn’t much point. He wasn’t involved directly, but he was invited along.”

“That’s something, at least,” he said.

“Bail’s network didn’t have much, either,” Obi-Wan added, “other than a possible break-in at ISB around the same time. He wasn’t sure whether the kidnapping or the break-in was the feint.”

“That ties to what Saw was telling me,” Ahsoka said. “And from what he said, the kidnapping was the distraction. Or added bonus, or something. He said he told them to try for an actual target, one that was worth their time. Tarkin or somebody, not the kid.”

“Gerrera doesn’t have many limits,” Rex said. “And it’s even odds or better there’s gonna be a point where even those go away. But at least for now, he has a thing about kids. Pretty sure he’s concerned about setting a precedent.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “He has a kid with him,” she added, for Obi-Wan and Anakin’s benefit. “Couple years older than Leia. He focused on her every time the bombing came up.”

[EHHHH, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.]

[SOMEWHERE IN HERE GOES THE FOLLOWING:]

“We ran into Infernalis,” Ahsoka said, and the room stilled a bit.

Anakin found himself absently resting a hand on his left thigh, where the prosthetic met what was left of his natural leg. It hadn’t bothered Padme--which he hadn’t really been worried about, except that it bothered him more than his arm ever had. Not for any physical reason, exactly; while it wasn’t quite as high-quality as the arm, the neural mapping in the leg Bail had found for him was good enough that he didn’t have too many issues with phantom pain or other problems that lower-end prosthetics couldn’t help. But there was a difference.

Maybe it was just that there had been problems he hadn’t had the first time--complications, delays, accidentally terrifying Leia the way he had--and he couldn’t completely get those fuzzy, awful days out of his head. Or maybe it was just that Specter bothered him more than Dooku ever had.

It didn’t really matter, anyways. Generally speaking, it wasn’t enough to really cause him problems, except when he let himself start brooding about it. Which happened less and less often.

He shook it off pretty quickly--he didn’t think the others had noticed he’d gotten distracted, or that he’d missed any of the conversation. Good. I’m getting better at this. […NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE. ALSO MAYBE MOVE IT?]

“Did you engage?” Obi-Wan asked.

She shook her head. “Not directly. Ship-to-ship combat only. Rex took out his hyperdrive and we left.”

Which was what they were supposed to do, as bitter a pill it was to swallow. They had all agreed, after…after Specter, not to engage any of the Chancellor’s apprentices without backup, if at all possible. And, while Rex would have counted on a good day, he was hurt. Pursuing Infernalis, if they hadn’t been able to shoot him down and take him out that way, might have gotten one or both of them killed. Ahsoka had made the right call.

Even if it meant leaving Saw and his people, plus a planet full of civilians, at risk.

“There are too few of us left,” Obi-Wan had said; and Master Yoda had agreed. And they weren’t wrong, but at the same time… [MAYBE MOVE THE BIT ABOUT LEG/PHANTOM PAINS/SPECTER/WHATEVER HERE?]

“Were you able to warn the others?” Anakin asked.

She shook her head. “We didn’t want to draw attention with a beacon,” Ahsoka said. “But he had a couple evacuation plans already in place, and he’s not stupid. I think he’ll be okay.”

“He knows how to reach out to us,” Rex said. “We’ll find out sooner or later.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “We will hope for the best.”

There wasn’t much else they could do, other than head back as a group and try to hunt Infernalis down, but Anakin didn’t bother to suggest it. At best, heading back would accomplish exactly nothing other than wasted time. At worst, Infernalis had had time to set a trap for them.

[THAT…WENT SO MUCH BETTER IN MY HEAD UGH. POSSIBLY JUST REWORK IT FOR ONE OF THE OTHERS’ POV? AHSOKA MAYBE?]

[nightingaledarling]

FIC: My Kind’s Your Kind

Fandom: Samurai Love Ballad Party Timeline/Continuity: Modern AU Pairing: Maeda Toshiie/MC (unnamed) Genre: Angst, but does it really count as angst since you know they get together later?? Probably. Oops. So much for ‘I will never write Puppy angst!’ Word Count: ~1800 Rating: PG-13 Notes: Let’s play “guess the character this description alludes to,” lol. This goes before “Like I Need You Then” in the Nostalgia ‘verse.

@hajeema​ @han-pan​ @stars-over-omori​ @kawa-akarin​ @all-my-cuffs-have-buttons​ @saizoswifey @pseudofaux @sengokugenkigirl

And anyone else who expressed interest in the rest of this series. Thanks for your beautiful comments on the previous work, loves! Y’all have been so great with putting out quality content that I was inspired to finish this one off. I have about three more planned. If you would like to go sans tag in the future, please let me know!

“What if I was your boyfriend?”

His phone buzzes with a text reading ‘SOS’ and he’s off like a shot, striding toward the bar with purpose.

The dim lights and throngs of people at various levels of inebriation make movement more difficult than it should be, but he sees her instantly. She’s got her arms crossed tightly in front of her, phone clutched in a white-knuckle grip. Her smile is so fake it’s painful to look at, and her upper body is leaning away as far as she can get from the creeper who’s leaning into her space. The man’s got a bit of a heavier build, his balding head slick with sweat from the body heat inside the building. Neither of these do much to detract from the man’s slimy, leery gaze.

What was the phrase again? ‘It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye’?

Toshiie pushes forward and steps right in between the two, thumping his hand down on the bar top for good measure as he turns his back to the creeper and looks down at his friend.

“Hey Gorgeous,” he says, the pet name rolling off his tongue as naturally as if he were saying her name instead. “Was wondering where you went.”

The relief ebbing from her is almost palpable, her eyes warm with a silent thank-you. She uncrosses her arms and lifts a hand to rest on his bicep. “Just wanted another drink. Thanks, Babe.”

An internal shiver goes through him when he hears that. But before he can enjoy it much, the man behind him clears his throat rather loudly.

Toshiie turns. He makes a show of cracking his knuckles with an impressive pop. “Sorry bro, did you have something you want to say to my girlfriend?”

The color drains from the man’s face at the gesture, and he shakes his head, spluttering his words out, “N-no! Nevermind!” He makes a hasty retreat, tripping over himself on the way.

Her hand drops from Toshiie’s arm, and he immediately misses the touch.

“Thank you,” she says earnestly. “He wouldn’t go away.”

He shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. Perks of having a guy friend. But I still think you should’ve been born ugly, because you probably wouldn’t have this ongoing problem of creeps hitting on you in bars.”

“I’m gonna ignore your implication that the creep problem is my fault. You realize you basically just called me pretty, right?”

...He walked right into that one. “Well, it’s not like it’s a secret,” he huffs, looking away. “You are. Pretty, I mean.”

When he glances back at her, she’s trying hard to fight back a laugh. “Careful. Don’t strain something trying to compliment me.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Quit while you’re ahead.” He inclines his head toward the bar’s entrance. “Feel like getting out of here?”

“Sure. Let’s just go find Umeko and…” Her eyes roam the interior before stopping by the pool tables, and she giggles.

Toshiie follows her line of sight to see Umeko and her boyfriend pressed up against the wall in a rather compromising position.

He shakes his head, chuckling. “Maybe just text her that we went ahead.”

“Yeah.” She taps out a message on her phone. He takes the opportunity to send off a quick good night text to Sayuri too, and together they head to the door.

The cold air outside is a shock straight to their bones. It’s more instinct than conscious thought when he pulls her to his side so she can share the warmth of his jacket. It’s probably just as automatic for her to huddle into him and loop an arm around his back to get even closer.

“If I wasn’t sober before, I am now,” she laughs, her breath coming out in tiny pale puffs.

Another gust slams into their skin, and Toshiie shudders.

The bar is about a fifteen minute walk from their apartment. At such close distance, it’s kind of stupid to get a taxi or rideshare. On the other hand, he really isn’t interested in dying from the biting cold, despite knowing that his body does tend to run on the warmer side.

“Just pretend you’re in Hawaii,” she says suddenly.

Briefly he wonders if she can read minds. But he probably shouldn’t be surprised; they’ve always been so in sync with each other. “By myself? That’s sad.”

“Not by yourself,” she huffs. “Pretend that you’re on your honeymoon or something. I don’t know.”

“If I was on my honeymoon, I’d rather it not be with you,” Toshiie deadpans, only to wince when she thumps him in the flank with the side of her fist.

“That goes double for me, jackass.” There’s no malice in her words, just a fond teasing that only she can get away with.

He smiles, first taking it at face value, but then he starts to think.

From acting as her boyfriend at the bar to cuddling her to ward off the chill to joking about honeymoons - it’s not Toshiie’s first time for any of these. For almost anyone else, those actions would be a surefire indicator of romance, but for the two of them, it’s just out of familiarity and having been so comfortable with each other for so long that they can get away with it.

It’s no wonder that people always assume they’re dating.

He won’t lie. That what-if question had hovered in the back of his mind since their early teens when she started developing noticeably different body parts than him, but he never really gave it much thought until they entered high school.

Even then, the what-if was only a transient thought between relationships.

She’d been with her first love for a good year. When they ultimately called it quits, she’d said something about how he was kind-hearted and ideal but just a little too proper, and Toshiie had wondered, ‘what if it were me?’ for a minute before leaving the thought alone and treating her to a junk food day.

He had a similar thought when he became the unwilling owner of a broken nose in their senior year for sleeping with an underclassman who turned out to be the class president’s younger sister. When the president wrung out his fist and went on with his day, Toshiie had thought, ‘this wouldn’t have been a problem if it were her’ before stumbling away to the nurse’s office.

So the concept of dating his closest friend was always a fanciful idea, an abstract notion that he’d considered but never actually thought to be within the realm of possibility.

At least, not until they moved in together.

Now that they’re under one roof, their relationship has changed - solidified, almost. There’s something about their involvement in each other’s lives that can’t really be touched, no matter how many blind dates she goes on, no matter how far he gets with Sayuri.

Because now, things like cooking together and movie marathons on the couch and sharing a beer on the balcony are a little less hangout-ish and a whole lot more domestic. She makes him scrub the toilet on Sundays, but in return he makes her take out the trash. He’ll be at the store debating between his favored laundry detergent scent of spring blossom and her favored lavender fields and decide to go with the latter, only because the former gives her a headache.

He thinks about how these exchanges are probably much more common with couples - couples who live together, to be specific.

The fact that they have a joint bank account specifically for rent and utilities is just the icing on the cake.

That what-if question… it’s not such a farfetched idea anymore.

He doesn’t have much more time to think about it, because somehow, in all his contemplation, they’ve already reached the apartment. She ushers him inside, shutting the door and the cold behind them. But he doesn’t want to lose this closeness. Not yet.

He holds her fast, one hand to the back of her head, another to her shoulder blades. Her keys clatter to the floor in her surprise.

“Toshiie? What’s wrong?”

It could be real.

“...What if I was your boyfriend?”

She stiffens in his arms, then relaxes, breathing out a laugh. “You might as well be, for all the time we spend together.”

“I’m serious.” Toshiie draws back a little, leveling his gaze to hers. He can see the mirth and jest in her eyes slowly dim, dim, then vanish at the gravity of his tone.

She swallows, closing her eyes for a long beat and then opening them again, wearily focusing on him. “I guess…” she begins in a whisper, and although he can hear her perfectly in the stillness of their apartment, he leans in close anyway. “We just never tried to be anything more.”

“Why didn’t we try?” He murmurs.

She shrugs helplessly. “Didn’t make sense to?”

“Really?” Toshiie lets out a low, self-deprecating chuckle. “Cause sometimes, I swear - you’re the only thing that does make sense to me.”

There would be no interview time, no break-in period. He already knows that it takes five alarms to wake her up in the morning, and she already knows that Thursday is his back and biceps day at the gym. He already knows that she seasons all her food with an atrocious amount of hot sauce because ‘it’s not a meal without it, Toshiie,’ and she already knows that he bought a motorcycle because he can’t be bothered to operate on bus schedules. He already knows that she’ll cry at the drop of a hat when she gets angry, and she already knows that it’s best to leave him alone for a day or two when he’s feeling down.

She gets him, just like he gets her.

It could be real.

Her eyes flutter closed, slow and arresting, but before he can inch forward, she mumbles a single name -

“Sayuri.”

And it feels like someone’s dumped ice water over his head. He takes a step back. Just one step, but it might as well be a mile.

Sayuri, who’s out of town for a friend’s birthday and probably missing him. Sayuri, who’s kind and selfless and likes him and trusts him.

Sayuri, who he swore he’d give it a shot with, no matter how on-again off-again they’ve been lately.

He says nothing, just lets his hands fall to the side. In measured movements, she crouches down, picks up her keys and puts them in her pocket. She can’t seem to meet his eyes, not that he can blame her.

“It’s getting late,” she says, voice small and resigned, and she retreats to her room.

The sound of her door closing echoes into the foyer. Toshiie slumps against the wall with a sigh, raking a hand through his hair.

It could be so, so real.

But not now.

[mailorderfictionalcharacter]

DS9 Genetic Enhancement Related Content Roundup Post

So. Star Trek Deep Space Nine introduced the idea of genetically enhanced Julian Bashir, essentially hand-waved any problems this could cause for him, and only really explored the issue in two more episodes and one joke. Bad form, right? Thankfully, more content exploring this plot point exists, in both fanfiction and, for those who want something they can buy, in the DS9 relaunch novels. Part one of this post rounds up fanfiction (51 fics!) related to Bashir’s genetic enhancements, ranging in size from one shots to novel-length, canon-compliant and wildly AU. The second part highlights Bashir-focused star trek novels, with some notes for those who haven’t read TrekLit before. Happy reading, nerds.

Part One: Fanfiction

Note: Fics roughly sorted by word count. Although I will not share awful fics, I’m aiming slightly on the side of scope over quality. I tend to note if it contains noticeable cliches or grammar errors. Assume complete unless otherwise specified.

Prompted Writing by WriterToBridge. Word Count: n/a. A series of one-shot DS9 stories, often Garak/Bashir. Chapter 29 (Jules), chapter 82 (Control), and chapter 83 (Engineered) all focus on genetic enhancements in varied ways.

Little Boy Jules by dragonchysalis. Word Count: 526. Roughly what it says on the tin/title. A fic from the perspective of little boy Jules.

Hidden Talents by akite. Word Count: 681. A little missing scene for Dr. Bashir, I Presume. Garak/Bashir.

Unchallenged by Lady Drace: Word Count: 688. A humorous take on Garak finding out about Bashir’s enhancements. It’s tagged as Garak/Bashir but it reads as platonic.

A Little More than Kin, and a Little Less than Kind by Selena. Word Count: 955. Bashir receives a note from Lauren. Warning for suicide references.

Objects in the Mirror by Alowl. Word Count: 989. A light-hearted, canon-compliant oneshot. Garak is concerned about his friend’s sensitivity to the subject of genetic enhancement; in typical Garak fashion, he comes up with a train-wreck plan to solve the problem. It involves a holoprogram.

Valuable Tears by Tamuril2. Word Count: 1k. An extended version of the conversation Julian and Miles have about genetic enhancement. Just 1000 words of emotional support and friendship.

Functional by tornyourdress. Word Count: 1187. A post genetic-enhancements reveal fic that actually shows Julian working to the full extent of his abilities. Canon-compliant. Miles O’Brien/Julian Bashir in an unrequited, wonky sort of way.

Many Parts by tornyourdress. Word Count: 1202. A Jadzia & Julian missing scene for Dr. Bashir, I Presume. It’s notable for having a Jadzia who isn’t accepting right off the bat, but is still in character.

The Secret by bgmatic. Word Count: 1364. After the Lethean Attack in Distant Voices, Garak discovers Bashir’s secret. Canon-compliant. One-sided Garak/Bashir; some explicit language.

Perfect Game by Subatoi_9. Word Count: 1471. An angsty, canon-compliant explanation for Bashir’s behavior in Take Me Out to the Holosuite. The execution of the story is a little heavy handed for my taste, but I’m quite fond of the premise.

Standardized by babel. Word Count: 1653. Canon-compliant moments of Bashir’s life from childhood to late in the series timeline. Features the elder Bashirs, Garak, and Bashir’s many feelings of inadequacy.

A Game of Darts by AllThoseOtherWorlds. Word Count: 1883. The author tags this as “introspective writing on actual scenes” and there isn’t really a more accurate description. Features general introspection about genetic engineering, some aftermath for Section 31/Extreme Measures, and the lovely Bashir & O’Brien friendship.

The Children are Our Future by WerewolvesAreReal. Word Count: 1903. A very moving minimalist piece that shows young Jules and the elder Bashirs concerns. It’s also nice that even though the older Bashirs aren’t vilified, the narrative still manages to question their decision.

Adigeon Prime by Rising Winter. Word Count: 2k+. A gorgeous introspective piece, ranging from Bashir’s experiences on Adigeon Prime to an early season conversation with Miles O’Brien. Mildly canon inconsistent in when Julian discovers his enhancements. (Rising Winter has two other Bashir one-shots, check ‘em out.)

Deal With Me on Your Own by AllThoseOtherWorlds. Word Count: 2188. Bashir tells his friends about his enhancements after Dr. Bashir, I Presume. One of the rare Julian Bashir & Jadzia Dax fics; also features Garak/Bashir as a very minor part.

It Began with the Biscuits by Lion_owl. Word Count: 2202. *Ongoing/Incomplete. Last Update March 6/17* The start of an angsty AU to Dr. Bashir, I Presume where Miles is less supportive, Bashir resigns from Starfleet, and Garak swoops in to pick up the pieces.

I Picked You by Psilent. Word Count: 2265. A canon compliant story where Bashir talks to his closest friends: Garak, Jadzia, and Miles about the aftereffect of lying by omission. The Miles portion is very much a hurt/comfort fic. It’s very well-written and it’s nice to see different reactions from different characters.

An Unusual Proposition by RachelClark. Word Count: 2411. *On-going fic, 1 out of 2 chapters completed* An AU story where a teenage Julian is exiled from the Federation and finds himself on DS9 10 years before the end of the Occupation. Features trans!Julian Bashir. Since Julian is so young, the fic takes a different approach to exiled!Julian than similar stories.

A Secret Between Friends by bmouse. Word Count: 2810. A fic dealing with the emotional aftermath of Purgatory’s Shadow/Dr.Bashir, I Presume between Garak and Bashir. Ties up every emotional loose end. I strongly recommend this fic.

Swing Me Your Bones by disquisitemind. Word Count: 2957. A canon-compliant write up of Bashir’s reaction to the Carrington Award Nomination that accounts for the GE. Garak/Bashir.

Jump to Fly by katiemariie. Word Count: 3308. Julian is actually a secondary character in this piece on the Jack Pack, but it’s worth mentioning. This is a slightly AU fic exploring ableism and in-universe treatment of the genetically enhanced. Jack/Sarina is the pairing.

Not Coming Out by the Tystie. Word Count: 3687. A canon-compliant internal monologue by Bashir at the end of Hippocratic Oath. Bashir considers telling O’Brien about his enhancements.

Half-Baked Plans and Finished Tea Cakes by DictionaryWrites. Word Count: 4k+. Bashir goes to Garak for suggestions for what to do after he tenders his resignation to Sisko in Dr. Bashir, I Presume. Canon-compliant.

Oh, The Lies We Tell by Tamuril2. Word Count: 4,074. Not everyone accepts Bashir’s enhancements; Garak helps him deal with the consequences. Platonic Garak and Bashir, technically canon-compliant.

The Better Part of Worry by katiemariie. Word Count: 4589. Bashir finds out that the woman who designed his genetic modifications died in a shuttle accident and the plot snowballs from there. Takes place in the context of established Garak/Bashir on post-canon Cardassia.

Fallen Night by Diamond-Raven. Word Count: 5k+. An AU where Bashir leaves the Federation after Dr. Bashir, I Presume. It’s from Sisko’s POV, which is interesting.

The Right Moment is Now by allemande. Word Count: 5,261. This is an episode-based slow burn fic for the Bashir/Garak ship. Whether or not that meets your normal preferences, the fic is notable for the Dr. Bashir, I Presume segment.

Dr. Bashir, I Presume?Missing Scenes by TheLibrarianIniquity. Word Count: 5668. Pretty much what it says on the tin. Garak/Bashir fic.

you are receding by tinsnip. Word Count: 5775. What happens if Julian’s genetic enhancements weren’t so perfect? Eventually, he recedes. Note that this fanfic has the (dubious?) honor of being the only fanfic to make me cry.

The Presumption of Innocence by allemande. Word Count: 5799. A lighthearted take on Garak discovering Bashir’s enhancements. Garak/Bashir fic. Garak POV.

May I Come In? by wcdarling. Word Count: 5944. Garak comes to check on Bashir part way through the events of Dr. Bashir, I Presume. Bashir explains the situation and introduces Garak to Kukalaka. One of the few solely platonic Garak and Bashir fics.

Dropping the Mask by AllThoseOtherWorlds. Word Count: 5959. An alternate way for Bashir’s enhancements to be revealed. I wouldn’t call this story phenomenal but it’s an interesting enough premise.

Exile by thehoyden. Word Count: 8949. This is usually cited as the must read fic for the fandom. It’s an AU where Bashir was exiled due to his genetic enhancements before the start of the series. He finds himself on Terok Nor, reluctantly working for Dukat. Garak/Bashir pairing.

Internment Camp 371 by Jewels. Word Count: 9720. This is a fill in the blanks story for Bashir’s time in the internment camp. The twist is that Tain is aware of his enhancements. There’s some minor canon consistency errors (the actual title on ff.net is Interment Camp 317), but this is probably one of the most innovative and in-character ds9 fics. Also, it’s one of the few internment camps fics that doesn’t drop a canon disproportionate angst bucket.

Opacity of Paradise by thehoyden. Word Count: 10, 154. A Garak/Bashir fic set after the events of In Purgatory’s Shadow/By Inferno’s Light. Without spoiling too much, Garak was already aware of Bashir’s enhancements and has a helpful related proposal. Canon-divergent.

Going Native by Regann. Word Count: 13,848. “An AU take on Season 5's "Doctor Bashir, I Presume." With no recourse but to resign from the service, Bashir takes a chance that he couldn't have contemplated as a Starfleet officer. Meanwhile, the crew looks for a creative solution that will keep their doctor on the station.” Garak/Bashir.

A Civil Death by Regann. Word Count: 13, 896. After the series end, Garak finds himself back on DS9, targeted by an assassin, who he doesn’t quite take seriously. Meanwhile, Bashir uncovers some truths about his enhancements. A Garak/Bashir fic. 

Complementing Baggage by Kittyknowsthings. Word Count: 16,377. *Ongoing fic with bi-weekly updates. Word Count posted at 8/16 chapters.” This fic is a modern day AU in the Deep Dish Nine Universe (where most of the characters work at a pizza shop and each alien world is actually a country on earth). If that sounds, uh, cheesy - don’t be fooled. This is probably the most emotionally affecting fanfiction I’ve read. After all, this is about Julian’s enhancements, except in this ‘verse, Adigeon Prime is a highly unethical “treatment” center for neurologically atypical kids. (Which is what it is in DS9 proper, but I digress). Garak/Bashir pairing. Warnings for past depictions of abuse and ableism.

A note on the reading order: This is a companion piece to @tinsnip‘s Rewiring series. The first portion of the series is an AU version of The Wire. The second portion is Splice; where Garak and Julian go on a little retreat to recover from the emotional impact of Garak’s drug withdrawal. Complementing Baggage is a companion piece to splice that adds POV details and extends past the original work.

The Exiles Together Series by Steerpike13713. Word Count: 22, 683. *On-going fic. Already tells a complete storyline* Although this is similar in premise to Exile by thehoyden, it tells a far broader story. So far the story covers Bashir on the run from the Federation up to a month before the end of the Cardassian Occupation. However, the author has a tumblr, thornfield1373, fielding ask questions up to the post-series timeline. Those comments can be found by searching for the exilestogetherau tag. Bashir/Palis Devon, later Bashir/Garak

Images in a Broken Mirror by Kathryn Ramage. Word Count: 23,775. Kathryn Ramage is an older DS9 writer, whose stories are very much in the vein of “Bad Things Happen to Julian, his Good Friends O’Brien, Garak or both Help Him Through and Maybe They Fall in Love.” Whether or not this is normally your sort of jam, the fic is notable for an AU version of Mirror!Bashir, who is less aggressive and a lot closer to Jules. Although the genetic enhancements are never explicitly stated, the author clearly hints. The fic gives the reader the GE Bashir/non-GE Bashir interaction that canon did not deliver. There is a sequel called Crossback, which contains most of the Bashir/Mirror!Bashir interaction. Warning for sexual assault.

Firewall by Little Tanuki. Word Count: 26, 292. This is a point-of-divergence fic where Bashir is not allowed to stay in Starfleet. It’s not a well-known fic, but it is one of my favourites. Characterization is good, we get to see Garak and Martok interact, and there is an alternate version of the later seasons’ Section 31 plot. This can be read as a stand alone, or as the first in the Firewall AU series, where Bashir gets up to various civilian shenanigans.  Warning for suicide references.

Got to Begin Again by vaiya. Word Count: 34, 932. *incomplete fic* An AU where Bashir is ousted from Starfleet, and no convenient backdoor options exist. Things still get a little worse. Garak/Bashir.

Desperately Seeking Closure by disquisitemind. Word Count: 43,827. *Incomplete Fic* An AU where Bashir is unofficially but definitively exiled from the Federation. He lands up on an AU Bajor, meets Garak and his unusual secretaries, Leeta and Mardah, and saves the Kai’s life. All in all, a wildly AU, touching and amusing fic.

The Secrets We Keep by Mijra. Word count: 61,092. A story of Julian Bashir at Starfleet Academy. I haven’t read through the entirety of this fic, as the premise doesn’t exactly appeal to me, but I can tell that the writing quality is fairly good and that genetic enhancements feature significantly. Plus, the first chapter is Julian actually confiding in someone. Isn’t that nice?

In Exile Series by wcdarling. Word Count: 61, 583. An AU where Bashir loses his Starfleet commission. The first portion of the series deals with the immediate aftermath. The second portion recovers the remainder of the series with the changed circumstances. Garak/Bashir.

Stubborn Mouths: Humans in Translation by Hannah. Word Count: 62,940. An AU where Bashir is explicitly autistic and never underwent genetic enhancements. Although I can’t speak from a position of experience/expertise, this fic is a really pleasant introduction of an explicitly autistic character and a solid analysis of ableism. Like any good AU, events parallel canon without duplicating canon. Garak/Bashir.

Game-Set-Match by jin_fenghuang. Word count: 69, 142. *Incomplete Fic* This is a lovely, Julian POV canon-compliant fic for seasons 1 & 2. It essentially retells the first season while incorporating in the impacts of his enhancements and a secret relationship with Garak. (Yes, it is a Garak/Bashir fic) Contains lovely little twists and explains Bashir’s awkward behavior and social isolation. (Mild spoiler - genetically enhanced hearing is used to full potential).

Limitless by Cyrelia_J. Word Count: 95,788. *Incomplete Fic* A dark!Bashir story, where he attempts to become an improved version of Genghis Khan. Note the tags, because this fic goes places.

The Manipulation of Julian Bashir by the Tystie. Word count: 218, 339. Manipulation focuses on both the aftermath of Bashir’s time in the prison camp and an alternate ending for Dr. Bashir, I Presume. Bashir is still allowed in Starfleet, but the deal has more conditions and he faces a lot of bigotry. The story also contains a strong platonic/mentor relationship between Bashir, Captain Sisko, and Joesph Sisko; a coherent explanation of Bashir’s psychology, and lots of lovely legal drama.

The Garak/Bashir Mysteries by La Demonessa. Word Count: 320, 179. I consider this to be my most reluctant of recs. The Garak/Bashir mysteries features 4 novel length fics, of which I have read the last two, which are highly AU takes on In Purgatory’s Shadow/By Inferno’s Light and the after effects of Dr. Bashir, I Presume. Bashir’s genetic enhancements feature in both the plot and his characterization. The author really plays with the idea that Bashir’s secret made him an easy target for Changeling Infiltration.

As for why this rec is reluctant and where it isn’t...

Aesthetically and thematically, this fic really doesn’t feel like Star Trek. It feels like a military movie. Ben Sisko curses and sexism is still a problem in the 24th century. Everyone’s characterization is off, which is excusable in Garak (imagined as a romantic, deep down) and Bashir (imagined as a cynic, deep down); less excusable for everyone else. But the plotting in the third novel is excellent and we do get the most interesting Garak backstory. So, mixed bag overall. Also, if it wasn’t obvious already, this is a Garak/Bashir fic.

Honorary Mentions:   Analysis is a short, au ending to Inquisition. The concept of genetic enhancements is sort of an underlying plot influence. The Final Gift is short, dark, and quite AU ending to the Dominion War. Bashir engages in two activities (biological research and S31) that are closely tied to his enhancements.  The Taking Series is a massive au where the Federation signs a treaty with the Dominion. Bashir is a primary character and his enhancements are subtly hinted at. Convergence is a lengthy, canon-compliant Garashir slow burn. One chapter is devoted to the after effects of Dr. Bashir, I Presume.

Part Two: The DS9 Relaunch Novels

Relaunch Novels vs. Other Novels: So in Treklit, we have two types of novel: general novels and the relaunch novels. The general novels are not canon, not obligated to be consistent with each other, and contain some of the goofier premises. (For example, I have a TNG novel where Lwaxanna briefly gains the powers of a Q). In contratst, the relaunch novels are set post series for TNG/DS9/VOY, form their own canon, share characters/overarching plot points, and are internally consistent. Memory Beta’s article lists the ds9 novels by publishing order and is very helpful if you want to know where to start.

Which DS9 Relaunch Novels focus on Bashir’s Genetic Enhancements?

Three novels focus strongly on Bashir’s genetic enhancements: Section 31: Abyss by Jeffery Lang and David Weddle, Mission Gamma: Cathedral by Michael Martin & Andy Mangles, and Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game by David Mack.

In Section 31: Abyss, S31 recruits Bashir for the least objectionable mission they can: stopping a genetically engineered former doctor from creating his own army of Jem H’adar. It’s a lovely novel that lets Bashir see a sort of inverse of himself and question what he should do with his enhancements. The novel is technically part of a S31 series, but each novel is a complete stand alone. The novel also incorporates in relaunch characters, but it makes sense without reading any other DS9 novels.

In Mission Gamma: Cathedral, an away team consisting of Bashir, Dax, and Nog encounter a bizarre alien artifact on a Gamma Quadrant exploration mission. After encounter the artifact, they undergo unusual physical changes and eventually see alternate versions of themselves. Each character makes peace with a residual hurt: Bashir’s enhancements, Nog’s disability, Ezri and Dax’s fractious joining. The subplots may be a bit confusing for someone who hasn’t read other relaunch novels, but essentially you just need to know that the Bajoran people are debating whether the Prophets are Gods or munificent aliens, and a large part of the debate was instigated by Kira broadcasting controversial prophecies.

In Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game, Bashir is recruited by Starfleet Intelligence for a mission on the Tzenkethi home-world. This novel isn’t interested in Bashir’s enhancements so much for character reasons as for plot; it’s his enhancements that make him valuable to SI. Also, we get an appearance of the Jack Pack.

But I want more!

The nice thing about the relaunch novels is that a lot of the general novels contain small, appropriate references to Bashir’s enhancements. There’s also more Bashir-centric novels, all by David Mack: A Ceremony of Losses, Section 31: Disavowed, and Section 31: Control.

[sweettsubaki]

*se frotte les mains* Tim, Cass, Kon, Riddler, Bart :)

About thisask 

I'massuming you're talking about Preboot!Tim!Cass!Kon!Bart (also you’ll notice best and worst quality are often the same, that’s because a trait can be both a quality or flaw, it usually mostly depends on your PoV).

Tim generalopinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine Iguess | like them! | love them | actuallove of my life

hotnesslevel: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoreticallyhot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwartshouse: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

bestquality: Selfless, Hard Working

worstquality: Selfless, Focused

ship themwith: Kon

brotp themwith: Kon, Bart, Cass Cain and Dick (I used to really like his friendships withHelena and Connor Hawke, too bad DC forgot about them)

needs tostay away from: Steph (the other way around too, I mean I love Steph but untilthey've dealt with their problems they're just gonna end up hurting each otheragain and they don't need the drama ok, they both need happiness, so yeah untilthat happens and they can have a healthy friendship, please keep them away fromeach other), Ra's is an obvious choice too, also Dan Didio and James Tynion IV

misc.thoughts: I think it's pretty obvious he's my favorite DC Character, I misshim. I haven't seen him in 6-7 years now. Also I know that the current plot issupposed to allow DC to bring Preboot!Tim back but they seem to want to goabout it with giving N52!Tim's memories back, which, considering they don'tseem to follow the same thought and emotional patterns I don't see working outin our favor (especially because of the Genius and Nerd trope that seems to befollowing him since N52, I mean they already existed for no valid reason in thefandom but it went from fanon to canon so…).Also I'm pretty sure he has BPD in addition of PTSD, Depression and most of thesymptoms of a victim of a negligent family (like lack of empathy, 0 selfesteem, ect…)...

 Cassgeneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine Iguess | like them! | love them | actuallove of my life

hotnesslevel: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoreticallyhot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwartshouse: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw| hufflepuff

bestquality: Kind

worstquality: none she's perfect :p

ship themwith: no one really but I guess Steph would be the closest one I'd ship herwith (he thing for Kon was precious though)

brotp themwith: Steph & Tim ofc, I guess I can add Babs to that though

needs tostay away from: deathstroke and whoever wrote that arc…

misc.thoughts: While I do like the idea of her loving Ballet, I'm gonna go ahead andsay her portrayal's not much better than Tim's…. though I'd love to blame N52,it started before that after her Batgirl series ended and while I love her Blackbatcostume, I think her appearances in Red Robin are almost the only time in thatperiod where she was actually well done. I kinda wished we had seen her minglea little more with other heroes and that she had appeared in Steph's Batgirlseries…I need to re-read her batgirl series….

 Kongeneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine Iguess | like them! | love them | actuallove of my life

hotnesslevel: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoreticallyhot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwartshouse: gryffindor | slytherin |ravenclaw | hufflepuff

bestquality: his emotional intelligence

worstquality: arrogance (though technically it's more of a mix between slightshallowness, lack of self esteem/Depression)

ship themwith: Tim ofc

brotp themwith: Bart, Tim, Roxy, Krypto.

needs tostay away from: (Adult) Women, seriously it's creepy. Also the Agenda too, Imean I know they don't exist anymore but still. And ofc Lex Luthor, Joe Kelly and Dan Didio

misc.thoughts: I'd like to add Guardian, Dubbilex, Sam Makoa, Ma Kent and Tana Moonas important relationships of his, because they were extremely important andshould not be forgotten (yes just because I don't like KonxTana as a romanticrelationship doesn't mean she wasn't a very important figure in his early life-actually that's the reason why I can't ship them because it was more like ababy chick imprinting on the first person they meet than anything- she's prettymuch filled a mother like role for him early on), Cassie was obviouslyimportant too (again, don't ship it because it seemed more like settling forsomeone who had feelings for him and was virtually unkillable as opposed toTana rather than him actually loving her romantically, but they were fairlygood friends and did date each other).I think it's really important to remember he's a child, at first he was prettymuch a functioning baby and by the end of the pretty much his emotional andmental age has mostly caught up to his physical age but with the addition ofdepression and ptsd it doesn't help (I mean while I ship him with Tim, there'sa reason why I think the romantic feelings only really started after Kon wasgiven a stable home life with Ma and Pa).Same as for the others, I miss him but at least DC admitted N52!Kon was adifferent character so I'm okay with that as long as they bring him back withhis friendship with Tim and Bart (and if they don't really bring Tim back theybetter show him mourning preboot!Tim dammit)

 Riddlergeneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine Iguess | like them! | love them |actual love of my life

hotnesslevel: get away from me | meh |neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10would bang

hogwartshouse: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw| hufflepuff

bestquality: Curiosity

worstquality: Arrogance

ship themwith: no one (though I read an EddiexBruce fic once that made me interested inthe ship…But only in the context of Eddie being a detective)

brotp themwith: again, no one really, though Scarecrow is probably the one I'd go with

needs tostay away from: everyone, he's a dangerous troll          

misc.thoughts: WHY DID THEY RETCON HIS BECOMING A DETECTIVE IT WAS GREAT ! it wasliterally one of the best thing they came up with for him (let's face it rareare the authors who know how to actually use his potential). I like my kinda reformed villaintroll

 Bartgeneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine Iguess | like them! | love them | actuallove of my life

hotnesslevel: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoreticallyhot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwartshouse: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw| hufflepuff

bestquality: Curiosity    

worstquality: Curiosity :p

ship themwith: no one really, but his thing for Carole was really cute, There'spotential with Rose or Kiran but we never really saw anything so none.

brotp themwith: Tim, Kon, the Ray, Greta, Cissie, MAX MERCURY (okay technically it's hisdad but dammit it's Max okay)

needs tostay away from: Inertia, Deathstroke, pretty much anyone who's mean to him

misc. thoughts: He's my precious child okay, Imiss him, but as for Kon, they actually admitted N52!Bart was a differentcharacter when they revealed his origin story (they did it with Tim too butdecided to retcon that, they're idiots) and I think they do actually intend tobring him back so yay (and as for Kon they better make him miss Tim).his Impulse series is precious, honestly if you haven't read it go for it.While it's for different reasons he's in a way similar to Kon and Tim in thathe didn't not have a childhood that allowed him a 'normal' emotional and mentalgrowth (probably one of the reason why I think of Tim/Kon/Bart more easily thanTim/Kon/Bart/Cassie), though those are actually mostly talked about in hisimpulse series in a fairly direct fashion (especially for the time), wheresuperboy and robin mostly danced around the subjects.

[didnt-do-my-homework]

Why this blog no longer posts anything Supernatural (SPN)

   Okay. So. The URL of this blog is supernatural related (the CW show) but it's been a very long time since anything spn related has been re blogged here. This is a post explaining my personal reasons why and most of them are criticisms of how the creators/writers/and fandom have chosen to handle this show whether through social media or the show itself. 

DISCLAIMER: This post is in no way meant to target any specific people or offend. If it does offend, it was absolutely not my intention. This post is merely supposed to express some opinions I have regarding Supernatural. This was merely something that I'd been thinking about for a long time, but had yet to post. I have not used any particularly specific information as I have been out of the fandom long enough that I am no longer sure where all of these references are. I'll open the ask box in case anyone has problems with this post that they'd like to address. But I highly doubt that anyone will actually see or read this.

    I was drawn into spn because it appeared many times through fandom posts (most screenshots from tumblr) and captivated my attention with its humor, plot, subject matter, and highly implied romantic relations between Dean and Castiel. Destiel was my first gay ship. I spent a summer watching seasons 1-9 and watched 10  and 11 as soon as they appeared on Netflix. I found that the episodes barely held my attention starting in the end of season 6/beginning of 7 on. This is when I started to notice my problems with the writing. The plots and character writing seemed forced. Dean and Sam had died far too many times and come back, and there were still more to come. Even for this show, it was getting ridiculous. The foes they were set against were increasingly powerful, ridiculously so in later seasons. I could no longer feasibly believe that they could beat their enemies, and that they could continue coming back. Drama between the characters seemed forced and the general quality kept going down. I was tired of being barely entertained by the plots of the episodes and seasons and hardly recognizing the characters I had once loved as they had become tools for and products of drama in attempts to keep making money off of this franchise. Once I noticed that they had (at least to me) begun to continue the show solely for profit, I could no longer respect its continuation. To me it should have ended a long time ago. 

     On the topic of destiel, I'm almost enraged. This ship is, to me, the most blatant use of queer baiting in American television. For many seasons now, romantic feelings have been heavily implied by the writers between Castiel and Dean, but nothing as far as a more than platonic relationship has come of it. Instead, it's used as a plot device, even though never explicitly stated. While I understand that Jensen has stated before that he is uncomfortable with acting in such blatant ways on the show, I feel it incredibly insulting that they continue to imply it so heavily and use it to capture people's attention for the show. I'm sick of their relationship being treated so shitily and dangled in front of the fans like cheap, no longer well written bait.

     And destiel ties us into my issues with the fandom. After getting a Tumblr, i came to the realization that the destiel shipping posts I had come into contact with outside of Tumblr were very different from the ones here now. Searching through the ship tags and fanfiction, I was appalled to find out that the vast majority of destiel content was fetishizing the ship, not simply supporting a relationship. It was so gross, going through pages upon pages of archive tags and fic recs dominated by smut fics that I had no interest in. There was only eight destiel fics I've been able to read over the years of being in the fandom, and only two of them were well written. All of them were rated teen or below, but those with a t rating still went into scenes that I would put under mature. Everything else I tried to read were smutty, and most of them seemed to be purely for the pleasure of perceiving both characters as sexual objects more than people. I stopped searching after could no longer find search results that I was interested in. The fetishizing also showed up in peoples perceptions of the actors themselves, there was one particular poet about Jensen that really made me stop following the fandom activity. I stopped following supernatural blogs and tags and stopped reblogging supernatural posts.

[ghostmartyr]

Fic: From Such Great Heights

Fandom: Overwatch Title: From Such Great Heights Author: Immi Rating: PG Summary: Fareeha and Genji bond through the power of bad puns and worse family dynamics. Notes: Inspired by Pharah and Ana’s shared voice lines. ...Mostly.

There were about fifty good hiding spots in Watchpoint: Gibraltar that didn’t require an active base. Fareeha no longer fit in a good dozen of them.

As fully established adult who had every right to be here, that no longer mattered. In theory.

As someone raised by Ana Amari, Fareeha was grateful to know the facility well enough to enjoy her morning tea on top of the perfected solitude of latticed maintenance catwalks.

Truthfully, so out in the open, it could only be called a hiding spot if someone went out searching for her. Since no one would, it was easy to switch focus and pretend that she’d chosen it for the aesthetic perks.

It was quiet. It gave her a better view of the overhanging rock formations than she’d ever been allowed during her childhood. The distant rays of the rising sun were only a head tilt away.

She’d seen all of it before. Before the recall, she’d almost stopped hoping to see it again.

Out of all the places her military brat upbringing had swept her, this was The One. This was where she knew she belonged. This had to be where she was meant to go.

When she dreamed of the day Overwatch sent her an invitation, she saw the glittering water and same towering rocks lingering above. She could hear the roar of carrier engines and constant pops coming from the practice range.

This was where they had all been at their happiest.

She remembered flying across the base on her mother’s shoulders, Jack’s complaints about it being no place for children following them over the intercom while Ana shouted back that it couldn’t be any worse than putting one in charge. Giggling laughter filled the base, Gabriel taking a break for the first time in a week to watch them. One rare time, Reinhardt had scooped Fareeha up midway and lifted her high enough to brush the ceiling.

It was never for very long, but the moments spent in this place were shining beacons of when everything was right in the world, and justice and camaraderie reigned. They were what she aspired to honor.

None of her visions for the future had involved waking up early to brood over the thousandth time her mother questioned her career path. Before their first mission together, even.

She wasn’t sure why. That had always been the one true constant of her life.

Fareeha sipped quietly at her tea, breathing in the brisk morning air and staring down at the waking base below. So far, only Brigitte and Torbjörn were visible, chattering all the way to his workshop.

She found it harder now to react harshly to her mother’s opinion. Her mother was alive, for one thing. She hadn’t been for too many years, and there was little Fareeha couldn’t forgive in light of that. Additionally, illegally or not, she was now part of Overwatch. She was standing in the place of her literal dreams, working with living legends and several personal idols, her mother included.

That didn’t make parental disapproval any easier to bear. The mortified teenager in her was still groaning over the number of ears that had caught Ana’s weary comment.

It was a small blessing that Tariq and Saleh had assignments elsewhere. They’d trusted her enough to follow her here, giving up their jobs and most of their gear; they didn’t need to hear their captain’s mother sighing at her life choices during mission prep.

Fareeha perched her elbows against the railing, looking down below. Besides the expanse of neglected steel, there was nothing but open air, and in a perfect world, she and her squadmates would know what it was like to soar it. Years ago, when Overwatch was in its prime, Helix might have considered loaning out their state-of-the-art equipment to one of their security chiefs who had earned the organization’s favor. The current climate was somewhat less flexible.

For now, she was grounded. They all were. The bordered catwalks overseeing the base came as close to free sky as she could get on her own. If she closed her eyes, letting the breeze take her and listening to the distant crash of waves–it didn’t even come close.

What did come to her was the light pitter-patter that several successful operations had taught her to recognize.

She opened her eyes and looked to the top of the sheltered stairwell that had brought her here, ready when Genji made his final flip to stand a meter above her head.

He noticed her instantly--of course--but the childish part of her still relished in the slight widening of his eyes. No one was ever prepared when he dropped out of nowhere. Going by the bounce in his step following most instances, he liked it that why. She tipped her mug to him.

He quietly reached up and slid his visor back into place. “Captain Amari. I was unaware you were up here.”

Fareeha smiled ruefully. “Watching the sunrise.”

“Of course.” He bowed his head to her. “I shall leave you to it. Privacy is a luxury that is seldom supported here.”

Before he could reverse his climb, Fareeha spoke up. “We’re in the wrong line of work for luxury. You’re welcome to stay.”

Genji didn’t provide an immediate response. He stood balanced on the roof, shots of dawn bouncing off of him, looking down at her. It was impossible to tell if he was considering the suggestion, or searching for a polite way to say that he did not scale the tallest portion of a largely abandoned facility for companionship.

Fareeha was perfectly willing to accept either. Out of their new colleagues, Genji was one of the few she’d never met before. He had found his way to Overwatch during her time in the army, and while friendly, seemed more at ease keeping his distance. With everyone. Most of what she knew of him as a person came from an extremely awkward field encounter they’d shared with his brother. That remained the only positive part of the incident.

They had worked together peaceably so far, but professional courtesy guided most dialogue exchanges. She was open to opportunities to change that.

Less generously, Genji was also one of the few people within hearing range of her latest discussion with her mother, and perhaps the only one with the emotional cognizance to guess at why she was really up here. They’d arrived back at the base far past reasonable hours. She wasn’t sure of how much rest he required, but it was obvious that she had abandoned any hope of making up for the late night.

Above her, he finally moved, sliding smoothly into a sitting position that shared her angle of the horizon. “Thank you,” he said. To her surprise, he spoke on. “My last visit to this place held little thought of admiring its scenery.”

Fareeha took another sip of her tea and didn’t ask. “The last time I was here,” she admitted, “everyone was taller than me.” She ran her thumb over the rim of the mug. “It’s nice that some problems can be outgrown.”

Genji observed her for a long moment. There was a tangible pause.

“So it is.”

Silence stepped easily between them. Down below, Reinhardt was lumbering his way across the path Brigitte and Torbjörn had taken. Soon, the ringing clang of steel on steel would probably scare away the seagulls roosted in the eaves. They still had the option of flying off.

An image of the look on Torbjörn’s face if Fareeha asked him to recreate something as modern as her Raptora suit flashed to mind, and she smiled into her mug.

It wilted when another agent wandered out to enjoy the morning air.

“Others linger.”

Fareeha glanced up, where she had the feeling Genji was making an effort not to look at her. She was more than used to the accompanying body language. Her mother regularly inspired it in half the people they knew.

“It’s better than it was,” she said, in lieu of a real defense.

He turned his head to her briefly. “Yet not so improved that she is willing to trust you on your own path.”

The accuracy stung. Pressing against the railing more tightly, Fareeha stayed quiet for a moment, watching her mother dangling her feet over the edge of her own safety rails. Peace was still a scarcity for her. Coming back had changed so much, but never that.

Fareeha loved her life. She wouldn’t sort through and pick and choose what aspects she could do without; they were all interconnected, bringing her to a place where she could do some good in the world. She had been allowed, through some miracle, to live out her dream.

Her mother had not.

It was hard sometimes, not to feel responsible for that. All of the self-righteous anger that had fueled their arguments during her teenage years was mostly gone, and now, when the topic did come up, all Fareeha could see was the wary exhaustion in her mother’s eye. She hated contributing to it.

“I’m one of her failures,” she said softly, not meaning to. “My mother is one of the greatest heroes the world has ever known, and all she has ever wanted is for me to be safe.” She grimaced. “Life’s greatest luxury. This… all of this is hard for her.”

Breeze caught her hair, bringing the salty taste of the sea with it.

“You must love her very dearly,” Genji said, “to keep that sympathy in mind over resentment.”

Fareeha caught the loaded undertone. A lifetime of making assignments work around the clash of personal feelings had left her with several practical social skills. Not a deep inclination to use them, but it was still firmly within her skill set.

Forgoing further attempts at mock boundaries, she clambered up on the railing, handing off her mug without worrying to ask before vaulting herself up on the roof. The view wasn’t any different, but it offered a dizzying sense of freedom that the sheltered catwalk couldn’t compare to.

Genji handed her back her tea, continuing. “I admire that quality in you. It was one of the hardest lessons I ever learned.” He paused. “I still struggle with it.”

Only very practiced control stopped Fareeha from eyeing Genji’s body pointedly. She had witnessed his patience with his brother firsthand. Respectfully, she kept the exact memories of the exchange from her mind, but she knew enough of the involved history that not even one of her rockets could have blasted away her skepticism. Fratricide was not the sort of thing most people would know how to excuse. Under any circumstances. She wasn't sure anyone who knew the full story would be surprised that Genji had spent years living with monks.

He shifted under the scrutiny. His second visible sign of discomfort this morning. “My brother’s actions are easier to forgive than his stubbornness,” he said.

Fareeha blinked. She swirled the dregs of her tea, fighting off the twitch of a grin threatening her lips.

“May I speak candidly?”

“Of course.”

She dropped down from her lofty perch to a crouch, meeting the glow of Genji’s visor solidly. “If my mother and I were siblings,” Fareeha said, “we would have murdered each other several times over by now.”

It was as far from professionally courteous as she could have possibly gone, the dead seriousness in her eyes hardly making up for it. The ensuing staring contest wasn't much better, but it was at least mutual.

There were ways to relate to your unit respectfully. This was not one of the recommended methods.

The training that elaborated on why stalled at a passing suggestion, and the soft huff of a robotic chuckle reached her ears.

“Perhaps,” Genji said, a warmth to his voice that she didn’t often hear, “it is a sniper proclivity.”

“Perhaps,” Fareeha agreed, grinning. “That must be why they need us.”

She would have to hammer down his emotional cues more thoroughly in the future, but in the moment, she was certain that ebbing tension in his shoulders counted as a win.

Regardless, she thought, remembering the warmth and joy in secure arms holding her up to the sky, it was certainly the truth.

Flashing him another smile, she settled back on her haunches, breathing out her own stress from the previous evening and taking in the sights of one of her favorite homes.

The sun was shining. The sky was clear. Even her tea being nearly gone was barely a blip on her radar.

There were still those gulls, though.

They fluttered through the air, scattering gracelessly at the crashes echoing from the workshop.

She had made a much better bird. She’d always known to fly towards those noises.

“I believe your earlier assessment was flawed, Captain Amari,” Genji said suddenly. “We must be living at the height of luxury to enjoy watching a sunrise with a friend.”

Fifty meters beneath them, Ana was sipping tea, cajoling a grumpy Jack out into the morning glare.

Fareeha reached out her mug and clinked it against Genji’s fist.