#or at least an alternate interpretation of their fight in canon but it looks au to me

[clegfly]

A drawing about a reunite

Oh this is TERRIFYING I love it

[kitkatt0430-recommends]

My dive back into my old FFnet favorites continues and I'm bringing some more recs here for anyone interested in them. Still giving them my own summaries to convey my own impressions of the fics.

As You Wish by YarningChick - A fusion of The Cat Returns and The Princess Bride. Haru is the fiercely proud daughter of a samurai who has vowed to marry none other than her sweetheart - not even his death at sea could change her mind. Unfortunately, the King has decided he is going to marry Haru, whether she likes this idea or not.

Haru/Baron is the main ship and the fic itself is rated G. The main cast is all characters from The Cat Returns and while Haru is very different from her movie self, it's still a really fun and enjoyable re-imagining of The Princess Bride's plot. YarningChick has written a lot of fics for The Cat Returns - most AUs of some sort - and they're pretty much all enjoyable. So not only does the fic get a recommendataion, the author does too.

It looks so far like all YarningChick's fics are on Ao3, so that's where the links will lead.

The Angel's Knight by Philip S - Sixteen years after her death saving the world from Glory, Buffy is given the chance to return to life to aid Angel in one final Apocalypse to determine the world's future. But the truth of what's really happening is bigger than anyone could have possibly imagined.

I remember this one especially for it's rather fascinating take on what happened the night Eyghon killed Giles' pre-series and helps to explain some of the inconsistencies with his earlier portrayal and retcons made as characterization marched on. It's also got my favorite take on Catherine Madison post-trophy-ification and an interesting interpretation of the Key.

Rated T, has Buffy/Angel as the main ship, and is, unfortunately, not to be found on Ao3 yet.

BtVS: The College Years by Philip S - A Season 4 AU. With the Slayer beyond their control for the moment, the Watcher's Council chooses to reactivate the Slayer's counterpart: the Huntsman. Meanwhile, Buffy's dealing not only with college, but with the arrival of soldiers intending to fight the good fight… and whose presence will unearth more of Sunnydale's bloodstained history.

This one I remember really enjoying for the take on the Slayer that it was one of two powerful, ancient spirits. And also for incorporating Angel's return to being human via the Mohra demon, but not allowing him to roll back time like in canon. It's obvious to the reader what Angel's in store for as the fic goes on, but how he gets there is pretty fascinating.

It is rated M for a non-con encounter between Buffy and the first guy to become the Huntsman. So reader beware. The main ship is Buffy/Angel. And, like the rest of Philip S's work, it's not on Ao3 at this time.

If It's Not One Thing… by Gabrielle Lawson - There's never a dull moment on Deep Space Nine as murder, secretive aliens, and Julian's past collide. An alternate take on Julian Bashir's past written before the reveal of his parents or genetic engineering.

Probably my favorite fic about Julian. His backstory here is really well thought out and really quite tragic and it definitely captures the feel of early seasons DS9, with the tensions between Starfleet and the Bajorans playing an important part of the storyline.

It's rated T and is on Ao3 now, along with Gabrielle Lawson's other works. Lawson's Deep Space Nine fics are all pretty good from what I remember, though this one was my favorite.

The Geek's Field Guide to Arachnids by likethekoschka - A big robot spider, anaphylactic shock, and a number of near-death-experiences… all just another ordinary day on Atlantis for John and Rodney. First in a series staring John Sheppard and Rodney McKay in an established relationship, written by liketheriver and koschka under their combined penname.

While at least one of the writers moved to Ao3, it doesn't look like they brought any of their ffnet stuff - solo or cowritten - with them. Which is a shame, but I can hold out hope these'll get migrated to somewhere safer than ffnet eventually. (Like Ao3…)

All of the fics in this series are rated T and I cannot recommend the series enough for Stargate Atlantis fans. It's incredibly well written and a lot of fun to read. Features what is probably my favorite version of Radek Zelenka.

Atlas by distractedKat - Star Trek Kelvin-verse fic set after the 2009 movie and AU from there. Kirk throws himself into aiding the rebuilding of Starfleet in the wake of the Narada disaster as Starfleet Academy has found itself short staffed. This may not have been such a good idea, as his many talents have caught the eye of a corrupt Admiral…

An eventual Kirk/Spock fic that treats Spock and Uhura's friendship really well. Rated T and is up on Ao3.

[shastafirecracker]

for the ask meme: 3, 18, 22?

another break for writing rambles!

3 what’s one scene you always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all the setup and context it would need? I would love to write just some smutty smutty PWP of polygun all having fun with vash’s vine tentacles but I keep being hung up by my own inability to let go of canon characterization - the fact that those vines are incredibly traumatic to vash and I have such a hard time getting him in my mind to a place where he’d be okay with even manifesting them, much less railing three people at once with them. argh! it took me however many thousands of words of the VWL post-canon AU to get to a place where I think vash is fine with feathering out and having oops-accidentally-psychic sex with wolfwood and livio. do I have to do that with vash/wolfwood/meryl/milly also?? (maybe?? i’m not saying it’ll NEVER happen I’m just saying it makes me insane)

I also have a slew of AU ideas that I know would make great 100k+ epics but like, man, that’s work, that’s so hardddd whine whine whine

18 do any of your stories have alternative versions (abandoned plotlines, AUs of your own work, alternate characterizations)? again I can’t say anything about BB fic yet, though I will! probably in december I’ll make a roundup post of discards and trivia. and I don’t think I ever have alternate characterizations, because having a strong idea of the characterization through-line is usually where my fics start. but in both Trillium & Ivy and my bb fic I have thought to myself that it would be so fucking easy to make them polygun instead of vashwood. there’s a very noncanon-to-t&i wip of the wives and the bfs having a bi4bi4bi4bi weekend getaway, which… I’m gonna hold onto because there was a polygun event interest check recently and I do like the bones of this wip, it just needs a LOT of work, so. if there’s an event it might be just the thing, idk.

T&I has the most abandoned plotlines of probably anything I’ve ever written besides my old destiel AU. modern-setting AUs have so many potential ways to get sidelined, at least for me. probably the biggest thing is that according to the original outline, the final showdown was meant to take place in like a warehouse at some docks (why? what??), zazie was going to drive everyone there because elendira sent them to get her man back safely, the WHOLE crew was supposed to go (vash, nick, livio, meryl, milly, kaite, zazie) and there were going to be? whole gun fight scenes??

this is a blatant example of what is meant by “don’t be precious with your ideas” - I wrote several thousand words of outline and then looked at all of it and said what the fuck, time to put all of this in the garbage disposal and start over. don’t be precious = drawfee’s whole bit of “delete your art.” sometimes you gotta accept not even scavenging for bits to salvage, just burn it all.

the fic is MUCH better for it

22 do you reread your old works? how do you feel about them? I do! I love them! oh it’s the tea, for me, the tea for me, the tea specifically designed to kill me, etc etc! I drift off from rereading my own fics in older fandoms often because I’m just not rotating those blorbos in my head so hard anymore, but for finished fics in my current fandom, it’s like hey wow this author wrote a fic that will push every single one of my buttons with extreme precision, because this author lives in my head and is me, lol. also, when I get a review that mentions any specific thing, I have to go back and reread that bit to extract all the dopamine from seeing it through fresh eyes and imagining how the reader interpreted it or felt about it.

[writer-of-worlds]

STORY COMMISSIONS (CLOSED)

Hello, everyone! It's been too long since I did commissions. Now that I got into more fandoms, it's time to update!

SO. Here's the scoop.

$10 per 1,000 words. Word limit conditional.

If you want a chaptered fic, it's $3 per chapter. Maximum chapters is 5.

Please give me details as much as possible, including:

The general plot (the more detail the better!)

Genre it is in

Shipping (if any)

If it's chaptered or a one shot

FANDOMS:

Sonic series

Code Lyoko

Fire Emblem (7-Three Houses, Heroes)

Final Fantasy (1)*

Pokemon (Gen 1-8, Mystery Dungeon series, Colosseum and Gale of Darkness)*

Klonoa

Kirby

Mario series

Super Smash Bros (Melee-Ultimate)*

Dragon Quest (3)

My Little Pony (Friendship is Magic)

Original works

* = fixated on that series. Will give a 20% discount if you commission those fandoms.

Holidays, such as Halloween, Christmas, etc. will have an additional 10% discount.

I WILL WRITE:

Shippings

-Male x Male, Female x Female, Male x Female, Nonbinary

-Canon/Canon, Canon/self insert, original/Canon, original/original

Romance

Adventure

Drama

Humor

Horror (physical and psychological)

Hurt/Comfort

Whump

Self ship

Non sexual bondage

Alternative Universes (AUs)

Peril

-Kidnappings, natural disasters, etc

Crossovers

Artist interpretations (stories based on an art piece)

Short stories

I WILL NOT WRITE:

Child x Adult shipping. Those that only have a small age gap up to three years (ie 16 to 19) or those who look of age but don't have a confirmed age are fine.

Action genres. My fight scenes are not that good.

Poems.

Bad endings. Bittersweet endings are fine.

Abuse

Any NSFW

Sexual bondage

Major character death. Having them die then revived is fine.

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

I have the right to refuse a commission.

I only take PayPal international payments. If the commission is accepted, please send the money to my PayPal ASAP. If there are any issues, the money will be fully refunded.

I used Google Docs to write my stories. I will share them with you when it's done. I do at least three drafts, and will show you the first draft for you to green light. Second, third, and so on will be shown to you till you're satisfied!

3 revisions, such as plot changes or OOC moments, are allowed (not including grammar and spelling, though it would be greatly appreciated!)

You can ask to be anonymous, and/or have the commission private. You can also ask if you want your commission to be posted.

For original characters, please have references, or at best, a description of their appearance and personality! I prefer art references but you do you! It would help for my writing with original characters!

Please do not post these stories as your own!

ALL STORIES ARE COPYRIGHTED AND FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

And that's that! Some things are subject to change, but so far, this is it!

If you want an example of my writing, feel free to look through my AO3 fics here:

You can also check out my FFN fics here (there are a lot more than on my AO3):

https://m.fanfiction.net/u/3255021/?a=s&s=0&cid=0&p=1

If you have any questions, please contact me here via PMs, my Twitter WoW-fics, or my email gamingsprees@gmail.com.

COMMISSION SLOTS OPEN (5 SLOTS LEFT):

1.

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5.

[huebris808]

Dr. Hofnarr’s Horrible, No-Good, Very Weird 15 Years Of Being Dead.

a tribute to fanon interpretations/character study(?) that was going to be a bonus chapter in a post-canon/au comedy fic im working on! might come back to expand on this when i do start posting it (or if mpn gives him more background story lore that i’ll have to work with aoAHGHOAUGH)

happy madness day! :o)

“Where should I begin… Perhaps at the very beginning? OH! Christoff and I first met years before our Nexus days! Back in our freshman years of college, to be precise! You know, I was actually a theater major before switching to- ... A-Aah, too far back. Much too far... Let’s start from the point where the notes I supplied to you ended then, shall we? After our dissension...”

.. “Good luck, old friend...” ..

The first years on the run from Nexus was stressful to say the least. Hofnarr and Christoff had split up to better their chances of survival. He knew the process would be grueling, having talked to Christoff almost every night about it to calm his nerves. While he played calm for the cameras, Hofnarr truly wished he could have held him close one last time. No communications. No physical contact. Day after day, month after month, nothing. He would be separated from his husband for a very long time…

It wasn’t all bad after a while. He had a comfortable new apartment, went under a new alias, and his questionable new job paid him enough to buy food. His apartment even had cable! He could watch marathons of Slaughter Time whenever he got home! In hindsight, he wondered if that had an effect on his mental state at the time...

Hofnarr had taken the last of his S3LF regulator with him, having shipped them out to an undisclosed location prior to dissension. Dissonance exposure did a number on him and his research team, leaving them to track their “normality” through daily blood tests and injections. While they met their fates early on, Hofnarr had gotten lucky. That is, until the doses began to run out.

Stressful as it was, he knew what he had to do. Hofnarr rushed back to what remained of the labs, knowing it had been abandoned by now. It was ironic, he and Christoff’s work, the work that was turned against them, was the one thing keeping him alive. For days, he worked to make more doses from the materials he brought with him. But there was only so much he could do with limited supplies… Hofnarr made many attempts to prolong the inevitable, lowering his dosage amount, injecting it weekly rather than daily, but he eventually ran dry. 

Refusing to turn to darker alternatives, he felt the only thing he could do at this point is record his final findings through video logs.

“It was… interesting revisiting the footage, to put it nicely. Christoff had actually kept the video files on a drive after he originally found all my things in the lab! I barely remembered what happened back then, so I rewatched them out of curiosity.”

On the first night, Hofnarr recorded a message for Christoff. One filled with sorrow, but also with gratitude. For the time that they spent together. How special he made him feel. All the memories they made together...

On the next, he recorded a log detailing his findings during Project Nexus. The effects of dissonance, the Other Place, what it did to him and his colleagues, everything and anything he could.

The next, he reported on the progression of his symptoms. Fever, brain fog, insomnia, joint pain. He felt like his organs were melting, his skin bursting at the seams.

The next night he saw something and remembered. Scars. The scars on his head. That week he was in the staff hospital. He thought it was a dream but the scars were there. Phobos. Director Phobos brought him somewhere that week. He knew he felt off when he woke up in the office that night. He knew something was off when Christoff asked him where he was. He thought he passed out from over-working. That bastard Phobos. Nausea was replaced with rage as he began to scream, his throat becoming raw. What did he put in him? What the hell did he put inside him!?

On the last recorded log, he was face-down on the ground. Groaning as his body occasionally convulsed. Until the video feed eventually cut off.

His body would lay there dormant, dead, for fifteen years. 

But to Hofnarr, he felt like he was dreaming.

.. “LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!” ..

“Huh?” The doctor sat up and looked around, the area around him pitch black. Wasn’t he sleeping just a moment ago? He got up and took a step forward in the seemingly endless void. “H-Hello? Who’s out there?”

“AWW, DON’T BE SHY NOW! ESTEEMED AUDIENCE, A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR GUEST; THE UNFORTUNATE DOCTOR HOFNARR!”

A light shined down on him from above. A crowd seemingly began to cheer all around him. He was in the center of what looked like a talk show set. Hofnarr awkwardly scratched the corner of his face. “‘Unfortunate’? W-What do you mean? W-Who are you?”

“FIGHT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!” The voice above him called out again. “AFTER ALL, IT’S…!” Hofnarr drowned out the noise while trying to think. It sounded familiar. Like it came from…

Hofnarr’s thoughts were cut short. He looked down at his torso. Terror set in as he recognized an entire stop sign had been lodged through his chest.

“DON’T GET COLD FEET NOW! THE SHOW’S ONLY JUST BEGUN!��� 

The words echoed in Hofnarr’s mind as he frantically tried to pull it out, his vision growing muddled, his hands slipping with blood until…

He blinked.

No stage. No sound. No pain.

Nothing around except for a single white door in front of him.

He stood up again, cautiously reaching for the doorknob.

When he entered he seemed to be in a vintage styled home. It was a kitchen with checkerboard flooring, a table with two chairs, and cheerful music playing through a small radio. It smelled of pastry and medical equipment. Suddenly, there was a knock coming from the door. A familiar voice called from behind it.

“I’m home, dear.” “J-Jeb?!”

Hofnarr rushed towards the front door. Christoff wasn’t trapped here too, was he? “Jeb! W-where are we!? What is this place? What happened to-”

As he opened the door, the clapping returned.

His husband was there, briefcase in hand, his face replaced with a black hole dripping with an unknown inky substance.

He slowly began to back away as “Jeb” moved closer.

The applause, the laughter, was deafening.

Before he could question or run away, Hofnarr was hit by something. His vision blurred, but refocused to be face-to-face with something. It seemed to be a shadow of himself. He tried to run again, but was pinned down by his doppelganger. The clone raised a clawed hand above him and then...

Like waking from a nightmare, Hofnarr quickly sat up once again. He gasped for air, dripping with cold sweat.

Was this really happening? Was it finally over? Was he free?

And then the spotlight focused on him again.

“It… got very surreal. Despite fight after fight, death after painful death... I would suddenly be somewhere else! There was a gameshow, our old apartment, a cat cafe, a... strip club of sorts, a tea room filled with these small armless doodles I used to draw on my research notes trying to offer me snacks… One time there was a sort of singing contest, but I won’t bore you with the details of that one. But when I wasn’t in those places, I felt like I was fighting for my life. It felt like an eternity! And the strangest part of it all? It… it became addicting.”

At first, he felt as if Hofnarr used all of his energy, physical and emotional, to fight back. It reminded him too much of his escape from Nexus. But as time went on, he focused less on escaping and more on surviving. The more he fought, the more he began to lose himself. He was anticipating what sudden whiplash of combat would be thrown at him next. He chuckled at the thought of what excitement would be heading his way. He wanted more. The fights became too slow. Too predictable. Too boring. He began toying with whatever was thrown at him. Turning his shadowy hunters into the hunted. Why let his audience watch the same old fights all the time?

Suddenly, the fighting stopped.

Why? 

He was having fun, wasn’t he? He grew impatient.

“WHAT’S THE HOLD UP!” He yelled into the void, seething with anger. “AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING? ISN’T THAT WHAT I’M HERE FOR?!”

He stomped his foot down, lodging something out of the ground.

The stop sign.

He looked over it curiously. How familiar…

Grabbing hold of it, quick flashes of memories appeared to him.

Nexus, the Science Tower, Phobos, the Other Place… 

A man with long hair standing next to...

Hofnarr… 

Who was that? Was that him?

No…

Only Tricky remained.

Footsteps echoed throughout the halls of the abandoned lab. Heels quickly clicking, cautiously stopping every so often. A lone Nexus Core agent entered through one of the doors.

Perfect timing.

“HAY! YOU THERE!!” A voice stuttered and glitched out, reverberating through the emptiness of the lab. The quickly soldier whipped their head around. “YEAH! YOU, STUPID. PLAY WITH ME!!”

“Who’s there?” The agent pointed their magnum towards the noise. “Show yourself!”

Gladly. The cackling figure emerged from the shadows, posing with a peace-sign, causing the agent to recoil. He grinned, slowly moving towards the cowering goon on the ground. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Who are you!?”

They couldn’t kill him.

“FIGHT FIRST. ASK QUESTIONS LATER! AFTER ALL…” 

CAN’T KILL CLOWN.

“IT’S MURDER TIME!”

..

“My body had been there, regenerating and repeating the enmeshment process for years. And by the time I woke up, I was a completely different person. I became a creature of unfiltered impulse… A personification of chaos itself.”

The room grew silent before Hofnarr spoke up again.

“I-Is it horrible to say it was… kind of cool?” He said with a nervous chuckle, twiddling his fingers.

2BDamned was quiet for a moment. They recalled the many times they had to stitch their comrades back together due to Clown Moments. They placed their head in their palms and let out a sigh.

“... You have the right to your own opinion.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BONUS: songs i was listening to on loop while working on this instead of doing my damned writing assignment. Enjoy

lady gaga ft. dorian electra - replay

vestik - tricky's vengeance ft. monocronic

[newswcanonprompts]

Children Fall AU

Padawan Anakin with a group of initiates all ‘Falling’ at the same time

Maybe a Gathering gone wrong or something. Everyone is captured. Pirates or bounty hunters or just awful people.

No knights or the knights are killed.

Anakin is trying to protect the younglings.

Sacrificing himself if he can.

Falls in the process.

The kids are too young. They're not supposed to be in the field yet. There's a reason you're supposed to be a certain age before field missions. Before being chosen as a Padawan.

They can't handle their emotions.

They try to save Anakin right back but Fall, too.

Maybe they get overwhelmed by Anakin's Falling, since he is a supernova? And their shields aren't enough to protect them?

They survive and everyone is dead or dying but Anakin stands among a group of children, all with eyes of gold and he doesn't know what to do.

I want there to be like a noble reason for it?

Maybe but that definitely doesn't help the situation.

Maybe he remembers the tales of the Sith and executions.

He takes the kids and runs.

He doesn't know what he'll do, he just wants to protect them.

Maybe he Falls because he can't defeat the pirates/bounty hunters otherwise

They are kids, they can't be that dark, could they Fall by a Coruscanti Jedi point of view? Not so much Dark as too much attached, multiple Force Bonds attached? The question is more along the lines of Anakin knowing that, though.

They are holding each other together so closely that they would break if you tried to separate them? The pieces make a coherent whole together, but otherwise they would just be broken?

What if the younglings fell first and Anakin fell so that they wouldn't be alone.

Like the idea that the younglings would be hunted or at the very least isolated and he couldn't let that happen (Bariss and Ahsoka could be part of that group, they are in the right age range, right?)

He promised to protect them and he kept them alive but ultimately failed in the way that matters most to the Jedi.

It also could be about healing and building far away from what you used to know and considered home.

So the situation is too much too soon and they all fall. And Anakin with his too big heart and shields that still don't block emotions as much as they should is overwhelmed and he could fight it but…

But these kids need him. They're scared and terrified and he knows that they aren't going to risk heading back to the Jedi, not with the horror stories told about Sith and Dark Side users.

He can't leave them. They need someone, anyone. Even if that's probably him.

You could have them pick up other Force Sensitives kids in bad situations as they flee and protect each other. Like a travelling clan of Forces Sensitives.

The use of the word clan makes me wonder if this version of Anakin would look into alternative Jedi philosophies, like Vizla.

And the Jedi mourning Anakin plus the Initiates because they think they're dead.

The Jedi eventually track down the pirates, but the base has so much blood and darkside surrounding it that they assume that the pirates were blindsided by a dark force user/sith and the children were taken. The Jedi finding the building and feeling the overwhelming about of dark side energy that was used there.

Privately the Council almost hope they're dead because they think that it would be a kinder fate than to be tortured and broken by the Sith.

Quinlan not being able to get a read on anything because it's so heavy with pain and dark side energy.

All he sees is gold eyes and screaming.

He doesn't notice that it's more than one pair. Doesn't realise that they're each filled with tears and oh so young.

Obi-Wan is convinced that Anakin is still alive because the bond didn't snap but it might as well have because it's never been so solidly closed to him.

Anakin was always leaking emotions and thoughts through the bond and now all that meets Obi-Wan is a durasteel wall.

Also, Anakin becoming a bounty hunter to make sure the kids get enough food

If he looks into the Mandalorian Jedi, as a way to teach the Fallen kids, he could become Mando and do the bounty hunting as a way to take care of them. Just an idea, though.

What if they all become bounty hunters and no one realises that they're Sith or Dark Side users? Until a fight ends in a helmet being knocked off.

I like the thought of the kids forming a new Order of nomadic Force Users, you could fit so much Force worldbuilding here as they figure things out away from Coruscant.

What if dar jettii Ani and his gaggle of kids has a run in with Jango Fett. Depends on canon or fanon interpretation really.

I would imagine that Jango would absolutely adopt this smol child (teenager) and his band of even more smol children.

Wouldn't that be hilarious? Jango with 8 new kids?

One sullen teenager that refuses to trust. And then he plops Boba in Anakin's arms and Anakin just freaking melts and it's all over from there.

So, this Jango has his hatred of Jedi balanced by his love of children?

Or is it part of his plan against the Jedi to encourage Force users to create an alternative that won't make the same mistakes the Jedi did that led to the slaughter of his people?

I don't know since Anakin & Co. here aren't exactly Jedi. Though I think this Jango would have his hatred of Jedi balanced by his love of his 8 foundlings.

Jango as the Mand'alor.

Anakin pitches a fit when he finds out about the clones and Jango doing right by them

And all eight new kids have lightsabers, but they're not Jedi, so..........Boba/Jango might get the Darksaber in this!!!

Anakin finds out that Vizla has a Jedi artifact and just gets it back.

Hands it to Jango: “Like what? You needed this, right?”

Jango is a tired new dad. So Anakin is just like running around doing whatever and causing his dad stress.

What if Jango adopted them and didn't tell them?

Like, he said the words and Anakin didn't understand. The others did too, because they had that class, but Anakin didn’t

I mean Anakin would jokingly call him "buir" or "dad" at one point or another and Anakin is like "why do you even care".

He gets it eventually.

When he sits the fuck down and stops running around trying to protect everyone and puts the time in to sort his shit.

Read: When Jango gets the kids to sit on him when he starts looking like complete shit.

Yeah, Jango absolutely enlists his siblings' fellow former-Jedi to get him to slow down and relax.

They have it out at some point that Jango adopted him probably when he's gotten himself injured and doesn't understand why Jango won't leave him

and Jango's like "You kriffing di'kut, you're my son" and Anakin's like "?!?!?!? What?!?!"

Anakin can speak several languages but not mandoa. Jango tries to teach him, but his accent is atrocious.

Anakin can understand Mando'a and he sometimes uses some words, but he can't speak it.

Plus, he sometimes crosses Mando'a with another language or several and it just becomes an incomprehensible mess unless you understand all the languages he's crossed Mando'a with.

how about Mando'a's too close to something else he knows.

He keeps getting it super confused with another language.

Like french and spanish, but there's no cross meanings, so it might sound the same, the meanings AREN'T.

At this point, everyone just goes "you need a translator droid if you want to speak with Anakin"

However, he will offhandedly speak in another language or start writing in one language and end in another no matter how fluent he is.

And his accent is still atrocious. The closest comparison is the bastard compromise between Texan and Yorkshire.

Anakin is that one person who will use words from whatever languages are the best to speak about any given subjects.

Or whichever language he associates with a given subject. That's why he learned how to speak binary in the first place.

Boba becomes fluent in binary before speaking fluently in Mando'a.

I wonder how the discovery of Kamino would pan out in this.

Anakin accidentally starts a clone rebellion, and oops, it looks like there might be a Revolution on Kamino.

Slave rebellions are always very very good.

Dex: Ah yes Kamino, or how the Mand’alor got his groove back. Outer Rim politics got wild a while back let’s just say. Long story short, the Mand'alor adopted eight new children, one of them pitched a fit about clones, and things devolved from there.” 

The Clone Wars are going to be a wreck.

There’s an army missing!

Sheev running around his office like: “Now, where did I put that”

He is furious because there's an army missing, his future apprentice is missing, his future apprentice has a stable support system

basically, his plan just collapses.

Obi-Wan starts to cry because oh thank the fucking force they’re alive but Anakin and the kids misinterpret it.

Anakin's just like "I'm sorry, I wasn't going to let them be hurt anymore! I wasn't going to let anything else happen to them!" Obi-Wan: "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

[out-of-this-dimension]

Hypothetically Rewriting Assault’s Story + Some General Assault Opinions

There’s a game my husband and I like to play when we watch a movie, play a game, or read a book that has a story that we don’t really enjoy or we enjoy certain parts of but not others.  We look at things we’d keep and things we’d change and we build a story from there-- sort of like an AU but we don’t really go into the writing part, we just stick to theorizing and mapping a general story.

I decided to play that game with Star Fox.  Not because I think Star Fox has a bad story but because sometimes I think the stories could have been handled better.  Note: for the rewrite game, I only really look at story, even for video games, I don’t really look at gameplay mechanics, but I do understand those have a lot to do with story potential so I do take it in as a factor... I just don’t bother to “rewrite” the mechanics, if that makes any sense at all.  Some of my list today will include boss encounters but I wouldn’t necessarily say those are mechanic-related... more like “event-related”.

I’ve mused a bit in the past about rewriting Adventures and Command and I do have plans to do a mock up of an Adventures remake eventually.  However, today I was thinking about how I would go about handling an Assault re-write in particular.  Much like Command and Adventures, I don’t have any beef with the core story but I do think there’s a few things that could’ve been better about Assault’s storyline-- like they had good ideas rolling but they didn’t quite refine them.

Under the cut because SUPER long.

My basic feelings on Assault are pretty positive.  I think the game is generally just fun and I like that it feels like the natural progression from SF64.  I liked getting to see planets we haven’t seen since the N64 era in better graphics and I liked seeing Star Wolf return.  I also just thought the aparoids were neat enemies. 

Generally speaking, though, when it comes to Assault, I think it suffers from the thing it tries to push the most-- the story.  I think a lot of people get caught up in thinking the story is better than it is because it’s the first game since SF64 that really follows the same Star Fox vibe without retelling the Lylat Wars.  Don’t get me wrong, the overall plot is great but the execution and pacing are... wonky.  Certain characterizations also take a hit in some regards but no one really talks about that when Command exists. That’s something we’ll talk about later on with this post.

That being said, Assault really does have a lot good going for it.  An absolute banger of a soundtrack, some great dialogue, a neat story synopsis, the introduction of cool characters like Panther and Beltino (who existed but was always off-screen), and just good levels.  

So, here’s what I would add, I suppose, if I were to somehow have the ability to rewrite Assault.  Originally I had this in paragraph form, but I’ve made it into more of a list under topic segments with main points bolded for your viewing pleasure.  Some of these points might be considered nitpicky and while I do understand that yes, this is a game about space animals, I do hold the developers in high enough regard to make a game with a continuity that makes sense.

The Story Changes

- Reduce Pigma’s storyline in Assault.  This is the biggest one for me because a bulk of the plotline feels like a giant chase to just get at Pigma and it feels like it derails from the actual plot with the aparoids.  We only go to Sargasso because of Pigma.  We only go to Fichina and then back to Meteo again, because of Pigma.  That’s 3 levels in a 10 level game devoted to just tracking down Pigma and chasing him.  While it makes the build up to fighting Pigma kind of nice, I personally feel like the plot could be reduced to 2 levels.  If Assault overall was a longer game, I could see them making it 3 levels.  Overall, though, in its current state, I feel like the side plot overstays its welcome and the aparoids promptly get shoved to the side in favor of “Oh no, we gotta get to Pigma!” And I get the main motive here is to show how the aparoids affect people and because of the build up, it does a good job at showing how utterly terrifying the aparoids are.  But it’s still too long given the length of Assault’s story. The only alternative to this is make Assault longer, which... honestly, it should be.  

- Revise the scene with Tricky.  I’m obviously not well-versed in dinosaur biology but I’m pretty sure dinos didn’t grow that fast from what studying I HAVE done.  And why is he suddenly king now?  Did his parents die?  He seems not affected by this at all?  Like it’s a funny scene with him, Fox, and Krystal, but it’s odd if you really look at it.  Give us, as players, more context because I’m still not even sure what happened to make Tricky suddenly the leader and... big.  As a note, you’re gonna hear me gripe a lot about the Sauria level in this post.

- The Star Wolf + Peppy sacrifice is a low effort way to raise tension/stakes and then cop out.  Oldest trick in the book, imo, is to act like you’re going to kill off important characters only for them to be alive miraculously.  And let’s face it, as an audience we all know they aren’t going to kill those characters because it’s Nintendo and those characters are too beloved.  I would’ve forgiven them for only doing this with Peppy or Star Wolf, but when you tack them both together and throw in the fact they make it seem like you’re going to have to kill General Pepper too... yeah, it’s just a bit much of the same trope over and over again.  I wanted to put a note in here about how I’m fine with the Great Fox being “sacrificed�� but overall, it needed to return to the series because of it’s icon status, but I think that’s more of a gripe at Command instead of Assault.

- Keep Pigma alive.  This will conflict with a point I have later on about the game consistently having characters cheat death for easy drama points but with Pigma, I would’ve kept him fully alive... but maybe with some physical damage from the aparoids.  I understand he’s semi-alive in Command and tbh I don’t know where I stand on that.  Why keep Pigma alive, you might ask?  I feel like his character has a lot more potential than being “just the greedy guy”.  Like he’s got good potential future villain material for future games and... if I’m honest?  I just don’t see Nintendo wanting to keep Pigma dead so why even bother killing him off?  They couldn’t even commit to him being dead in Command anyways so it seems very moot.

- Bring Bill and Katt back.  Assault is acts a bit like a big reunion of all of our SF64 favorites but our two favorite side characters are suspiciously missing.  Wouldn’t Bill be out on the front lines fighting against Andrew in the beginning?  Or maybe back in Katina?  And wouldn’t Katt inevitably show up in the midst of the invasion, maybe to pointedly check in on Falco?

- Bring Andrew back for the final fight. I think Andrew being defeated early into the game is fine overall but I think bringing him back in for a reunion final fight against the aparoids would serve to really solidify that it’s really everyone vs the invading aparoid force.  It would show that not only is Star Wolf willing to put aside their differences but so is basically everyone in the Lylat System in the name of survival.  Imagine the Venomians and Cornerians working together against an aparoid fleet, giving Star Fox and Star Wolf time to attack the queen?  I just think it’d be neat and it’d open up the potential for some fun banter mid-mission.  I do understand that quite a few people consider Andrew canonically dead after Assault but personally, I feel that his defeat left his fate questionable (I’m a staunch believer that unless there’s a body, they’re probably alive, especially for Nintendo games because, again, they never like to kill people off) so him returning in Command never really bothered me.  

- In general, reconsider some of the character portrayals.  Unfortunately, when a series has a different studio for each game, character portrayals will inevitably have inconsistencies.  While I give Namco a lot of credit for putting in oodles and oodles of detail into the game (particularly the levels), I think they failed in their portrayal of Fox, at the least, and Wolf is a considerable offender as well.  While it’s obvious that Fox in Adventures was effectively modeled off of Sabre even in terms of personality, Rareware was at least able to justify Fox’s newfound jaded attitude with the passing of many years and a distinct lack of steady income, resulting in the team being in disarray.  Assault’s Fox is a stark contrast to his cynical interpretation with seemingly no explanation other than maybe “Oh, I have more money and a gf, maybe I should behave myself”.  As if the sudden change in personality wasn’t random, Fox also just seems very blah, like a blank slate stereotypical shooter game protagonist dude with little to no emotion.  Wolf is less obvious but gets slated into a mentor-like role midway through the game and ends up in a respectful rivalry with Fox... which there’s nothing inherently wrong with that except for it happening abruptly (and, I mean, Peppy is right there).  But I take less issue with this and more of an issue with the fact that there’s an entire level establishing that Wolf now runs a crime den with effectively what seems to be an army and no one bats an eye at this.  He doesn’t even call on them to help with the aparoids.  Did they all die when the aparoids attacked Meteo?  Are they safe somewhere else?  Where do they go?  How was Sargasso able to operate without the CDF being on their doorstep with warrants for arrests?

- Don’t kill all the dinosaurs.  A bit of a dramatic statement but the ending screen that showed all the damage to Sauria really bothered me.  While I understand that the dinosaurs had less of a chance against the aparoids than a more technology-focused society like Corneria, I was a bit disappointed that the decision was made to just state that a lot of tribes had been wiped out.  I know this could easily be retconned in a future game and I feel like it should be.  “But why, Amalia?  Why are you disappointed by that?”  1) It’s a little too grimdark for my tastes.  2) The fact it all happened off-screen felt very hand-wavy.  And 3) It brings into question the entire point of Adventures.  Why did we bother to save this planet if it was going to be reduced to rubble and ash 1 year later?  Where were the Krazoa in all of this?  Why did they not make an appearance at all to try to stop the invasion with their alleged powers?  It just raises too many weird questions and I feel like Namco didn’t think it through too much.  Which I mean, sure.  Family, kiddo game.  I’m not asking for bigbrain plot and lore but I’m squinting at this bit because it does feel very contrary to the lore from the previous game.

- Make the aparoids more relevant.  As nice as it is to have a random bad guy from another galaxy, I feel like there was more that could be done with the aparoids in terms of their origins.  Tiny things, mind you, not huge revelations.  Off the top of my head, they could have been tied into Krystal’s backstory to help alleviate some of the complaints that she was too random to be added to the series’ main cast.  Alternatively, they could have been a product of Andross or even a weapon prototype from Corneria that fled the lab (I actually thought the game was leaning in that direction for a bit then just Nothing Happened).  I get that the vagueness of their origins leaves room for people to speculate and speculation is nice but... when you leave too many things unknown, it starts to feel less like giving fans room to interpret and more like just doing random things for the sake of it.  I think a lore tidbit here or there would work wonders for the aparoids instead of leaving them as just borg/zerg clones.

Level-Based Changes

- Add either Aparoid RedEye or Aparoid General Scales as a boss to Sauria.  Given that this level mysteriously lacks a boss, which is just weird compared to the other levels, I think that they had the opportunity to add something cool to go along with the cinematic feel they were going for with Assault.  Assault’s cutscenes do play in a movie-like fashion and it’s clear they’re trying to make the game as epic as possible.  It’s a shame they had so much fodder for a great boss here but they failed to go through with it.  Alternatively: Add a Krazoa-Aparoid fusion.  Why?  Because Star Fox is about cool epic sci-fi and that would be cool epic sci-fi incarnate.

- Add a boss to the Aparoid Homeworld Level, aka the penultimate level.  Another one I felt was personally weird that there was no “final defense system” to challenge the team.  Would be cool to do an aerial battle over the aparoid planet with some giant flying aparoid.

- Be kinder to Sauria.  The level had some good homages but overall was incredibly small and incredibly short.  It felt like a bone tossed to Adventures fans but was not entirely true to the setting built by Rareware.  I’m... not even sure where the Sauria level is supposed to take place?  I presume it’s Walled City but it doesn’t really have the same color scheme or aesthetic?  Also where is my revised Adventures music?  Why do all the other levels get it but Sauria doesn’t? 

- Put some of those funky items from the multiplayer into the main campaign.  I don’t know why some of these things, items especially, were omitted unless it was purely due to time constraints.  I remember having missile launchers and jetpacks in the multiplayer and was a bit sad that they were not in the main campaign.  Retuning the levels and adding those in would be a nice breath of fresh air for the more tedious on-foot missions.

- More levels.  Self-explanatory.  Still sad we didn’t get the Zoness or Titania levels in the single-player mode.  

I think all of the above changes would improve the game, though I recognize all of this is being said 16 years later after lots of time to contemplate Assault’s weaker points.  I’m not entirely certain how long Star Fox Assault took to develop but given that there’s obviously quite a bit scrapped from the game (an entire arcade mode was scrapped as well), I’m going to assume that the studio felt pressured to shove the game out the door and into the hands of customers.  It’s a shame, really, because I think a little bit longer in the oven would have done a lot of good.  Still, the product we got was good in its own right and a game that many people look back on fondly.  I haven’t gotten to replay it in years but I hope to quite soon.

You might wonder why I bothered typing this all out and I guess my point was this-- Assault was great but it wasn’t perfect, and while a lot of other games fall under a crushing amount of scrutiny, Assault seems to dodge it.  And don’t get me wrong-- I adore Assault.  But given that not many takes exist out there about rewriting it, I decided to give it a shot.  For variety’s sake.  

I do want to a mock up of a revised Assault story, which I think I will get to work on after completing this while all my ideas are still fresh in mind.  So stay tuned for that sometime in the near future.  I will also be doing my Adventures mock up at some point but probably not for a little bit as I do wanna focus some of my free time on actual fic-writing.

Anyways, if you stuck around this long, thank you for reading!  Have any changes you’d like to see to Assault if you could time machine your way back to the early 2000s?  Feel free to post in the comments, I’d love to read your ideas!

[evilisk]

Random Impressions and Thoughts on Chapter 3, Act 1 of Touhou LostWord

Full impressions are below. tl;dr this chapter has a pretty strong start

= = =

Let’s get straight into things

-I quite like how different this AU is. In this AU, it seems as if the Saigyou Ayakashi almost fully bloomed. Now, the only way of preventing its full awakening is through ritualistic / sacrificial duels. As an edgelord at heart, I can appreciate a dark setup like this.

- The structure of the story (at least for now) is pretty great. You spend most of this first act trying to escape with the other team. This is pretty good writing: the tension is great, it’s also smart of them to make you care for the other team you’re going to have to fight

- They actually give an explanation about the difference between phantoms and ghosts and, after looking it up on the Wiki, it’s... actually a really good explanation! Like, I legitimately found it hard to understand the difference between the two until now.

-This is the chapter where it becomes VERY obvious that the main character has a thing for Sakuya. Not gonna lie, I’d be annoyed by this if the MC wasn’t a girl 

-I have mixed thoughts about the Kung Fu Fairies. So in this chapter, the heroines have to fight fairies from what is basically a Kung Fu Gensokyo AU. Some of the explanations are acceptable e.g. if Fairies are pure life force, then theoretically they should be able to manipulate Qi and use Kung Fu right? But then they really stretch the concept here, like the Fairies being able to create duplicates cast from their own lifeforce or Cirno being able to throw out exploding ice punches because “Kung Fu Cirno can generate cold and cold also generates heat”. It’s way less impressive than the last few chapters, which were more about the non-combat applications of character’s powers.

-Our heroines aren’t any better tbh. Reimu is able to dodge Kung Fu Lily White because of some convoluted explanation about spirit manipulation when I would have been perfectly okay with “Reimu good at dodging”. There’s also Sakuya speeding up Marisa and Reimu’s metabolism so they can fight longer. 

-The only reasonable power up was Marisa using some of Byakuren’s magic to fight on an equal footing. Unfortunately, Marisa later pulls up some Joseph Joestar-style BS about creating ice hands with Narumi’s magic and then using Alice’s magic to puppeteer them later on. Unless I’m missing something here, Narumi has never had an ice themed spellcard before.

-Don’t know how to feel about this chapter really upping the power level of the tree from Touhou 7. The Saigyou Ayakashi is obviously dangerous but here it’s an apocalyptic, world ending threat.

-There’s an early joke about how Master Youmu and Little Yuyuko’s explanatory play has extremely outdated slang, and not only is the moment funny but it’s actually rather good foreshadowing about exactly how long these sacrificial duels have been going on for.

-Knowing how Act 3 plays out, I’m surprised an explanation for the concept for Temperaments appeared this early in the chapter. I *definitely* forgot about it.

-Not gonna lie, I’m not a fan of the alternate Yuyuko being a little girl, even though there is a story reason for it.

That’s all I’ve got so far. I don’t have a lot to say about the specific character interpretations here. It’s mostly plot, plot, plot, with most of the character writing happening for the alternate character OC’s. I guess it’s worth pointing out that while LW-Sakuya is fairly serious and no-nonsense, canon-Sakuya can honestly be a bit of a weirdo at times.

LW-Yuyuko has a slightly better showing this chapter (though she’s only here for five before we change settings). It’s still not great (Remilia and Sakuya give her some really bad excuse about why they should hand over their Red Seal Crystal, and she and Youmu totally buy it and have to be scolded by Reimu of all characters) but she’s also straight up drunk for most of her appearance here, so that’s... an excuse, I guess. 

I should also mention that while Okina and Yukari are known to be Sages by a few select characters, I don’t remember if Reimu or Marisa are aware that Kasen is a Sage too. Actually... Marisa may know, because of the events of Touhou 14.5. I’m pretty sure Reimu only knows that she’s an Oni. 

Before I go onto rewatch Chapter 2, here’s a list of my random, favorite moments from this Chapter:

Before going to the alternate Arena AU, OG Okina and Kasen introduce themselves to the MC by saying they are both much nicer and much more trustworthy than Yukari is

The whole scene with Remilia and Sakuya breaking into Hakugyokurou, Yuyuko pointing out that they’re trespassing and Remilia and Sakuya actually going back the way they came and politely knocking on the front door so they can re-enter

Master Youmu literally saying “DONG DONG” to signify that a gong is being hit during their play 

Marisa countering Cirno, who froze the inside of her Hakkero, by hitting Cirno over the head with her heavy, frozen Mini-Hakkero

[irkenheretic]

A Found Family AU With The Control Brains Could Actually Work, And Here’s Why

This all started as a spite-born joke, but honestly the more that I thought about it, the better it sounded to me. 

First off, this meta is gonna be going purely off canon materials. I will interpret certain lines to mean certain things, but there’ll be an alternate explanation if you don’t agree with that interpretation. 

Second, this meta is going to assume that the Control Brains are three- or more- separate entities. Which is actually supported because of this line:

Singular pronoun! 

Now that that’s out of the way, I’m gonna be judging this by a three-part metric, and going into what we actually know (and don’t know) about the Control Brains. (Spoilers: We don’t know much, and the most popular idea of their role in the Empire is pure fanon.)

Metric one is Do these characters like each other? (And if not, could these characters realistically like each other in the future?)

And judging by The Trial, I’d say... yes, actually! They seem to get along just fine. First off, they’re able to cooperate enough to conduct trial without fighting. Second, they don’t seem to be putting up with each other and act on amicable terms.

YMMV, but I see these lines as them quipping with each other. It’s kinda subtle, and lost in the fact that they both speak in monotone, but they seem kinda snarky in the same way Zim’s computer is. 

(And if they were annoyed by each other, we’d know- the Brains are capable of expressing emotions like annoyance, we see them get ticked off at Zim multiple times.)

And even if they didn’t like each other, or are only presenting as friendly to keep public image up, they could still feasibly like each other. The main appeal of ZADR/ZADF is that both Zim and Dib dislike each other but are in similar societal positions, with unique experiences that only the other can relate to. Therefore they could learn to connect using that shared experience. And whatever experience the Control Brains have being Control Brains, the only other beings that share that experience are other Brains. They’d end up getting along out of sheer desperation, at some point. You can’t spend eternity with someone and not like them at least a little eventually.

Which brings us to metric two: Do these characters deserve a family at all?

Again, I actually would argue yes. Hear me out.

So, it’s a popular (albeit unspoken) opinion in fandom that “good” characters deserve nice things like a family, and “bad” characters don’t. If you’re a fan of redemption arcs, the scope of what is a “good” character broadens, but there are still some characters even the most open-hearted of redemption-lovers won’t touch. The Control Brains, across the board, seem to fall into the latter category every single time. 

But what have they actually done wrong? Like, canonically.

In The Trial, they conduct Zim’s Existence Evaluation. This is their job and we can infer they’ve done it before.

In The Frycook What Came From All That Space, we see one of them re-encode Zim from Invader to Frycook. 

In Tak: The Hideous New Girl, one of them doesn’t let Tak retake her test.

And that’s it.

“But they rule the entire Empire-” Nope, that’s just fanon!

“But the Zim Wiki says-” In the words of Eric Trueheart, "The Invader ZIM fandom wiki is a wonderful labor of love by some very dedicated people, but it's wrong at least 25% of the time."

But fine. Let’s look at exactly what the Zim Wiki says. From the page of the Control Brains themselves, it says that the “Control Brains run the empire and their conclusions even have to be accepted by the Tallest, which means that the Tallest have no real authority over the people of Irk, and are simply figureheads (not unlike a constitutional monarchy).”

But when do we see this? Well, during the end of The Trial, the Tallest have no power to overturn their ruling. 

But do you know what that sounds like?

A FUCKING JUDGE.

If the President goes on trial, he still has to defer to the judge. That doesn’t mean that the judge is secretly in control of America and that the President is just a puppet on strings. It just means that the judge is doing his job and the President isn’t running around completely unchecked. (Please refrain from making the obvious President jokes on this post. I get it, I hate him too, but... please lemme have this post.)

There is no real evidence in the show proper to suggest that the Control Brains are all-powerful tyrants and that the Tallest are at their mercy.

And, really, would you talk like that to someone that held your life in their cold, unfeeling robot arms?

So, bottom line is, the Control Brains in the show act like judge, jury, and executioner in trials. That’s it, that’s all they do. Just because they’re called the Control Brains doesn’t mean they control everything. They could just control the trials. “Controller” could be the Irken word for “Judge,” and that’s where the name was derived from. Mechanical judges. 

“But they’re still defending awful things!” Okay, I see your point there, random person I made up to argue with on my meta post.

Which begs the question: Why? Why are the Brains acting like that? 

Well, they’re computers, right? Computers built to serve a purpose, and their purpose is this. That’s it, right? But they’re sentient. If they didn’t like it, they could protest! The fact that they don’t protest makes them complicit, and Bad Characters, right?

Guys... they’re computers.

What do you do to a computer that stops working the way you want it to?

We don’t know what the Brains think about their job. They could love it, they could hate it, they could see it as a necessary evil, they could be completely apathetic after centuries of doing it (if they’re even that old, which again, is not confirmed.)

But IF they didn’t like it... the hell are they supposed to do about it? They’re important pieces of machinery, possibly swarmed by techs ready to correct any sign of them not working right. They could have some sort of programmed-in limitation to keep them obedient. They could’ve tried, with disastrous results. They’re not like Zim. They can’t just quit. They’re computers rooted in place, closely watched for defects, and they have nowhere to go.

(And even if they did leave, who would take them in? Where could they go? Even if they downloaded themselves into PAKs or into robot bodies, the adjustment period from being a giant invulnerable heavily guarded computer to something that needs to actually fend for itself would be maddening and possibly dangerous.)

And honestly? I love Zim to bits, but he did wreck the planet and he did deserve exile. They’re just carrying out the sentence. He did cause many many disasters in Irk’s history. Plus, the Tallest were the ones that trialed him in the first place, but they have fans!

The worst thing they’ve done, unprovoked, is not let Tak retake her test. Or, more specifically, they made her wait to retake the test. We don’t even know why! Did they go “You couldn’t even get out of a room so we don’t want to send you to an enemy planet?” Did they go “You have to wait because half of Devastis is down and we’re working on half-power and half the space?” We don’t know! We literally do not know! (Plus that was only one of them.)

And I’m gonna say it: if Zib “I’m going to strand and brainwash Zims in order to commit multidimensional genocide” Membrane deserves a family, then so do the Control Brains because at least they didn’t do THAT in ACTUAL CANON.

There’s no good transition to metric three, so I’m just gonna say it: Do these characters want a family?

This part is short: We don’t know. 

They could think the idea of a family is stupid and antiquated. They could not know what a family is at all. They could want a family. They could see the entire Empire as their family. They could already see each other as a family. 

We don’t know! The concept of a family never comes up during their appearances, so we have no way to know their thoughts on the subject.

Good thing fandom is transformative and we can make headcanons n’junk! (And really, who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned “character/characters don’t want a family and are gruff and standoffish but over time warm up to the others and they end up super close” found family story?)

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that. Also that the Control Brains are pretty funny characters in The Trial. 

I just like these guys a lot and I wish other people explored them more outside of the “these are the token evil badguys” role they fill every. Single. TIME.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. 

[riisinaakka-draws]

1st part of my old Black Sails scraps and doodles from 2016–2021. Not in any particular order.

This post has a glimpse to one of my BS binders with the most less-effort-and-crack-idea doodles. Also lots of puns and the Walrus crew shenanigans. Flint is a dick and Billy is tall and Silver keeps bringing the parrot into canon one way or another.

And of course, please, do not steal and repost elsewhere! But if you do get inspired, feel free to make your own interpretations! :)

I put them under the cut, because this is a very long post!

Puns with “Black Sails” lead of course to all kinds of things, one of which ended up becoming the Full Walrus Speed! comic (2018). Here I was thinking how to convey “the scarf sails” with Silver as he sneaks out at night to test Flint’s words (and how the wind keeps blowing “the sail” onto his face) although it didn’t end up in the finished comic.

There’s also Eleanor holding a chart with Vane’s name and “black sales” as he wasn’t doing so well. The Death is sailing a variation the trash raft with “black sails” as it did in this other art: The Death following the Walrus (2016).

There’s also a comic with Flint, Thomas and Abigail’s letter, but that’s gonna be it’s own post when I finish it (but wanted to mention it here as it was related to these). It includes “Block Spoils”, “Block Soils”, and 2 x “Bleak Seals” ;)

“I’m going to make you the Princes of the New World!”  and some of the Walrus crew as “princes”. Flint made them paper crowns and these were the very first BS doodles I ever drew, or at least one of the firsts (no date written tho). This was done right after I watched the first episode and when I got the spark that this show was going to be something... truly spectacular.

Also I hadn’t drawn anything for months (closer to a year) and even holding a pen and the thought of drawing anything felt almost nauseating at the time (I was crawling through depression) but I just had to do something with the excitement. And doodling ended up helping me a lot to get back on my feet, so thousands thanks, Flint’s bloody feral face (and billion thanks to Black Sails fans who have encouraged me during all these years!).

Around early season 3 by the looks of it. Doodling cool Flint with a felt tip and then the parrot and goofy Silver photobombed. The parrot is parroting Flint of course. I was wondering if they were going to include the bird in the show and this is how it manifested.

Season 1. “Framing problems” inspired by the scene with Flint and Billy (although in the doodle there’s also Silver’s top of the head)

...because the height difference and I wondered if it was hard to get them fit into the same frame lol

I love Silver’s face here and the sock-parrot although I didn’t even bother with Flint here other than the pose. This lead to the art: “Let Me Tell You A Story...” (2018) although the composition changed. Tbh I like this version a bit more in retrospect but I coudn’t make it work with the hammock/pallet at the time... Silver is trying to cheer up Flint.

Half way through of this post, btw!

Alternative scenes for this art: ”Neverland!crack!AU!” (2017) which features Captain Silver Hook, Billy Pan and Ginger Bell.

The texts are the bolded parts:

Gates dreamed it (he wakes up in cold sweat and is like NO.)

Israel Hands as Smee, and another one where Dufresne is Smee. Silver as Captain Hook as in the art too, although here it’s very obscure.

Billy as Peter Pan + lost boys and Silver saying “I thought you never grow up” and it ended up in the final piece too, but a bit differently.

Some texts in the lower left corner: “Robert Stevenson and Bay roll in their graves” (uh..Michael Bay? He’s not dead. I guess I added Bay later and lost the thought anyway)

“The hyena guy laughed when I was doodling these at 2 am” (I had a weird neighbour at the time and he’d randomly laugh like a hyena at nights and it happened again while I, too, was sniggering at my late night silly doodles because I couldn’t sleep). I didn’t bother to start cropping this snippet out :)

“Flint as Tinkerbell” and “Only one emotion per time, needs to be believed” (in). Here’s a close up:

The other doodle is Flint sleeping, because instead of Mr. Gates, maybe Flint dreamt this weird au with the faces of people around him. Silver (or Billy? Gates?) is trying to wake him up and he mumbles “Mmmh, NO, don’t throw food around” (this was a nod to the movie “Hook” and the Lost Boys waisting food in that one dinner scene).

“No, I’m the fairy!” (I can’t remember was I thinking of someone else to be Tinkerbell at the time or maybe it was because I was also thinking Flint as Hook? but instead he “wanted” to be Ginger Bell in his dream instead so...) and “Fuck you England crocodile!” (who’d be the antagonist in this au).

Mr. Gates: “Look at my lad!”

“The reason why Billy didn’t have a beard in early seasons.”

...was because otherwise he might have been pressured to style it like his father figure, lol. Also *sob* with Gates gone, Billy’s beard became wild in the show as the time goes on (remember beard of betrayl?).

Flint, after the fight with Singleton, here sleeping peacefully with a nosebleed. The text (someone saying it): “Gross.”

Flint: “I think I was in heaven for a sec” (because he bumbed into Billy). “It felt like hitting a brick wall”. Texts: Flint being a dick (and blind from blood-loss), and Billy thinking (and getting the idea for the legendary Black Spot early on): “I have been marked... with a red spot“ (and it’s his doom).

In the left corner: “favourite Billy Bones face”

inspired by this one:

And the last two doodles for this bunch:

“Someone get me a glass!” ... and the aftermath of Silver shouting for a spyglass and of course the Walrus crew providing “a glass”... which here is an hourglass, a wine glass and another one, a magnifying glass, a mirror (looking glass) although at first it was supposed to be an ice cream (Swedish word, because hey, there might be some Swedish pirates on the crew etc..) and some one bringing a glass of water but making it fancier with a coctail umbrella. For their beloved new quartermaster, you know. Oh yeah, and someone threw Dufresne’s glasses at him but they got stuck on the rope.

Aaaand doodles for “A Tattoo Boom on board the Walrus”. Everybody wants a walrus tattoo and there ends up being all kinds of variations on board. Cute ones, sexy ones, creepy ones, and so on, all featuring a walrus in some form xD

For a long time I was going to draw this properly but never really got into it, so feel free to draw bunch of pirates with cool Walrus tattoos if you need something to draw! (or need an excuse to practise anatomy, as I was planning to do...lol) :D

Thanks for reading, I hope you had fun <3

[homestuckexamination]

Canon, Outside Canon, or Non Canon?

That canon anon is saying partly what I was trying to say. And yes, both interpretations can coexist in meta works like HS, but whether that’s your cup of tea or not depends on whether you prefer canon compliance, non canon compliance, or in-between.

asfsaf, honestly I’m so sorry, this seems interesting, and well put, but I am not able to read this atm and I don’t want to hold this essay on my asks until like, tomorrow or Sunday, soooo if any of y’all wanna check it before I do, here:

People who lean more towards canon tend to favor concrete info and develop something already established. 

In-between is tricky. It’s a fragile balancing act that if you don’t scale it fairly (however “fair” means to you), a writer may face backlash from either parties. Fanfiction generally are outside canon unless confirmed or firmly denied that it would happen by the authors of the original work themselves.

Others that choose non-canon compliance are very comfortable with/pick creativity and freefall with ideas not stated or implied within canon. AUs usually are in this category unless the concept of alternate universes exist as a concept in the story.

Note: This is a case of “it’s a continuum, not a binary”.

A sort-of comparison can be made to this:

It’s the main reason why people who lean towards canon compliance more are quick to spot inconsistencies. Sudden changes are annoyances- like a timeskip of a character suddenly “acting OOC” because of something that was never thoroughly implied or outright stated previously. Unintended continuity errors are a pet peeve.

“…divergent thinking concentrates on generating a large number of alternative responses including original, unexpected, or unusual ideas. Thus, divergent thinking is associated with creativity. Convergent thinking involves finding only the single correct answer, conventional to a well-defined problem." 

Homestuck^2 went on a drive with Divergent Thinking in the front & Non-Canon Compliance in the backseat, downed at least 6 bottles, and went on an excursion to crash a lot of previously established facts and ran with it. While the story serves as an encouragement for fans to make their own Homestuck continuation, it did irk some readers for the reasons above. For readers who prefer to lift off gradually from the canon, it doesn’t matter whether a character is turned into a refreshing symbol for a number of people- it’s usually not what the change represents, it’s the sudden change itself. However, for people who are okay with these have the advantage of enjoying them by being more flexible by a large margin. (Note: I’m using these as examples with objective readers in mind. I neither condone the toxic side of the fandom nor exempt how some of the creators lashed out.)

Some things to think about whether a work is canon, outside canon, or non-canon:

How do you draw the line between character development and OOC?

How would you know it isn’t simply just the character having experienced a vast amount of time for that person to change a core element of who they are or were? Look closer. Maybe you’ll find hints that this character is undergoing something. Do you see any faint connection for the alteration? If not, it may be a case of OOC-ness handled wrong. After that, go back and think ”What makes this character xir own and not somebody else?“. There’s canon Roxy, there are outside canon Roxys. Roxies. Whichever.

A way to avoid the readers splashing in cold water is to make the development happen on-screen. Otherwise, it’ll be like one of those episodes where the MC wakes up to find his loved one suddenly confessing that xe’s not who xe really is. Making a character simply explaining that "people change overtime” feels more like a cop-out when, from a reader’s perspective, is done so swiftly and in-your-face.

Is it ever justified that a character is OOC? 

This is a risky question to even answer. It highly depends on the character’s mentality. It’s like seeing someone known for patience to suddenly snap. Or a normally upbeat person to have a single moment of quiet forlorn. Or a pacifist having promised to fight someone. Sometimes, characters experiencing this type of OOC-ness is a writer’s way of saying “hey, this person has extra dimensions & limitations”. OOC Is Serious Business.

Whenever Batman displays emotions, it’s an indicator of who Bruce is inside despite rarely letting them show. How do we justify that outside of said display? Through his actions. We know beforehand that he’s a caring but jaded person, but he still fights for what good is left in the city of rampant crime. And when we do get that in retrospect, that’s when we see that perhaps that character’s never been Out-Of-Character at all. It’s when it serves as a hint AND a callback to a character’s past that resonates with them that it’s enough to let it happen from time to time- usually when the psyche’s at a critical point. It compliments the usual personality as a contrast. It doesn’t even have to be anything crucial. Can be as simple as not liking a music genre anymore.

Another reason for OOC-ness is when the character is transferred to a different place for several months. Different culture, different accents, different dialects, different other things. People tend to mimic what’s around them when steeped long enough.

*Headcanons are OOC by nature of it not existing in the first place. Even if it’s connected to a personality trait, it’s still something that hasn’t been entrenched in the original framework of reference. These are often the most biased and it’s usually done for readers to see themselves or other people in those characters. Headcanons can also be creative and shouldn’t be forced on others/stated as fact. It also shouldn’t be shot down just because it’s just an idea from someone else or your own.

Is deconstruction of a trope/archetype/stereotype even necessary when it’s something that most people already enjoyed?

First, by necessary, I mean, has it been done over and over already  to the point that it’s repetitive? Have you tried giving your own twist to the deconstruction to make it unique (e.g. a mean girl who’s only kind to animals)?

Why do you deconstruct it? What purpose does it serve to the message or theme of a story?

Once you’ve mulled it over, how about a reconstruction?

__________________________________

If anyone has something to add, feel free. All of this is spontaneously typed in a matter of… I don’t know how many minutes before I sleep. Probably several errors and typos by the time it’s shared. It’s like trying to understand Light & Void, Heart & Mind, and Hope & Rage simultaneously on one topic. G'day. Night. Whichever.

[gerec]

fanfic writers tag game!

Tagged by the lovely @luninosity; thank you this was lots of fun! And my turn to tag @lyricfulloflight, @lachatblanche, @kianspo, @fullmetalcarer, @elenothar, @ikeracity!!!

Which of your fics…

* Did you think would get a bigger reaction/audience than it got:

I thought Obsession would find a bigger audience than it did, because it’s basically a fic about stranger Erik sexing up married Charles while his husband Logan watches. I guess the idea of Charles/Logan as the married couple might have diluted the appeal to some Cherik fans, which is too bad because the Cherik sex in it is some of the best pwp I’ve ever written lol.

Also, I thought for sure more people would like When Erik Met Charles than they did, because it’s a Cherik cracky romcom with the ‘friends to lovers’ trope (it’s a When Harry Met Sally au). :D :D :D

* Got a better reaction than you expected:

Do Not Answer Because The Sex Was Terrible - I banged this little gem out in one sitting and I honestly never expected people to like it as much as they did lol.

* Is your funniest:

Charles Xavier's Baby for sure! I loved writing ‘who’s the daddy’ with Charles as the hapless, if very annoyed father-to-be with a previously unknown mutation (getting knocked up!!!) and trying to deal with his ex (Erik) and current bf (Logan) constantly fighting over him and the baby lol.

* Is your darkest/angstiest:

From Here, To Here is definitely the angstiest angst that I ever angsted lol, and one of the rare times I wrote Major Character Death. I’m really proud of how hard it hits you in the feels though so I def. recommend ha!

I’m not sure I write really ‘dark’ fics (except dirtybad pornz!), though I guess the ending to my fantasy au The Painter (Masterpiece Remix) can be interpreted as being pretty chilling with what happens to Renaissance Painter!Charles...

* Is your absolute favourite:

We'll Always Have Paris - My Casablanca au, with Logan, Charles and Erik in the Rick, Ilsa and Victor Laszlo roles. I LOVE it; it came out exactly the way I had hoped it would and it has some of the most (tragically) romantic scenes I’ve ever written.

* Is your least favourite:

XXX-Men: Days of Future Ass - It’s dumb crack (vs funny crack) and there’s not much else I can say about it lol.

* Was the easiest to write:

The idea and the execution for my mob au The Hellfire Club came together so quickly and easily - I don’t think I’ve ever had a smoother writing process than for this story :D

* Was the hardest to write:

Gods or Mortals, my fantasy au continues to kick the crap out of me, which is absolutely crushing because this is the fic I most want people to read/remember me by.

* Have you re-read the most:

A tie between Charles Xavier's Baby and We'll Always Have Paris, and Sinful Days and Nights for PWP.

* Would you recommend to someone reading your work for the first time:

Setting A Different Course (DOFP ‘plane sex’ fic) and third time's the charm (XMA ficlet collection) for canon fic. We'll Always Have Paris, Lost and then Found (amnesia fic/modern au) and It's Been A Long Time (my ‘Call Me By Your Name’ au).

* Are you most proud of:

Gods or Mortals! I have put so much of my heart and soul into this story, and it has the most extensive world building I’ve ever managed. I’m really, REALLY hoping to get back into this soon.

* Has your favourite line/exchange/paragraph (share it):

This is from an alternate Cuba au where Erik hits Raven with the bullet instead of Charles. 

----

“Charles,” he says, and Charles’ head whips around at the sound of his voice, his eyes boring deep rents into Erik’s soul. In all the time and all the ways they’ve known each other, Charles has never looked like this, red hot fury blazing like a firestorm under his skin.

“You,” he snarls, and Erik has to take a step back at the icy venom in his voice. “You did this.”

“I’m sorry,” is all that he can think to say. He stands on the edge of a growing chasm; helpless as Charles’ love and trust in Erik shatters. “I didn’t mean…I’m sorry.”

Charles shakes his head. “You’re sorry? You’re sorry? You killed my sister, Erik! Murderer!”

He’ll never forget the look on Charles’ face, just before they all disappear, as Azazel gathers the others around the telepath one by one. It’s not Charles’ disgust, or his rage that will stay with Erik and dog his every thought; not his pain or searing grief that will haunt his dreams.

“I should have never pulled you out of the water,” Charles says, his voice shaking and barely audible as he chokes on his tears. He stands, still cradling Raven in his arms, and stares at Erik as Azazel moves to grip him by the waist.

“I wish I’d never met you.”

It’s the look of regret, Erik thinks as they all disappear from the beach in a puff of sulfur. He stands amongst the wreckage now, the sun shining bright and beautiful on a cloudless day.

Alone, as he’s always been.

Alone, as it was always meant to be.

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

You caught my attension with the "Bad end Wizard Wally" Au, what else goes down in there?

A lot of things anon, a lot of things:

-Instead of even so much as humoring the thought of telling Conner, Wally straight up quits and gets a job elsewhere.

-A few years later both Wally and Henry get letters asking them to come to the old studio; one from Joey asking Henry to ‘come visit the old workshop’, the other from Thomas begging Wally to destroy the machine because he can’t do it himself.

-Henry and Wally show up to the inked studio.

-Curiosity leads the pair to activate the ink machine. (Wally thought that Thomas was referring to the other ink machine, not the one suspended by chains.)

-The Ink Demon breaks down the boards and chases them through the studio before the floor breaks beneath them.

-Post-machine activation: the studio fucks with Wally’s magical powers, often having spells backfire on himself. (i.e. if he tries to make something levitate, it automatically flings itself into his face.)

-Due to the fact that Joey found out how to successfully make living cartoons out of people early on, there are no searchers in the studio.

-The Lost ones are still here but they’re much rarer, they flee from sight whenever you see them, and they aren’t made by the machine like canon implied, instead they’re human beings who drank the ink.  

-The two unwilling heroes try to escape via the music department’s flooded stairwell, but they get stopped by Sammy and dragged deeper into ink hell.

-Sammy doesn’t worship the Ink Demon in this AU. In fact, his mind and body are not affected by the ink at all.

-Instead, his mental decline is brought on by his own psychic abilities which he became aware of due to Joey’s meddling. He can’t even think about the past and present anymore, only the future.

-Thus, the man’s new role is not of a desperate madman clinging onto a false savior, but instead a cold and calculating wildcard of an oracle who constantly stalks the two heroes from the shadows and throws wrenches in their escape plans, but also keeps them safe from the wrath of the ink demon whenever he can.

-Boris is still a friend, but he’s a little less chipper and much more on edge than canon.

-Either Wally or Henry can find a tape recorder buried in Boris’s stuff that was made by a gofer who’s talking about the fact that while the living cartoons came out of the machine looking exactly like their animated counterparts, they often try to change how they look, behave coldly and are hostile towards everybody, and are especially hostile towards Joey Drew.

-“The Cameraman is probably the worst out of all of them, it’s almost like he’s trying to make everybody quit their jobs!”

-You know how dogs sigh like they had the roughest time in the world? The only noise Boris makes is that sigh and he only makes it when that tape recording is played.

-Who attacks our heroes if searchers aren’t in the enemy roster? Simple: a hoard of deformed toons.

-We’ve got our classic Butchered gang members, Sliced-Split-n-Stitched Back up SSSB members, and Woolly troubled trios.

-But these appear in the music dep, Bendyland, the village, and the administration offices. Instead of being regular deformed, the enemies in the Heavenly toys department have seemingly been forcefully fused together.

-This makes them slower and weaker, but they also have three times as much health now.

-Susie is referred to as “Twisted Alice” in the studio. This is because she doesn’t look like a more human-proportioned Alice Angel with a deformed face, but instead a mashup of Alice Angel and Miss Twisted.

-Looks like misery loves company.

-Instead of seeking ‘perfection’ Twisted Alice sends Wally and Henry to do tasks for her because she’s trying to make herself be one or the other, she doesn’t care which one she’ll end up as anymore but trying to be two (technically three) different people at once is really messing with her.

-The tasks she gives are still the same, instead of the swollen searcher task, that’s instead replaced with “Gather thick ink from the flooded level”.

-You know how the Projectionist is already scary?

-Imagine him with the ability to raise the dead.

-Like, Henry and Wally are in level 14 gathering severed hearts...

-And then an ear-splitting scream echoes through the area.

-And.

-Then.

-The.

-Fucking.

-Corpses.

-Of.

-The.

-Dead.

-Toons.

-Start.

-Rising.

-And.

-Attacking.

-Norman’s ‘I sees everythang’ tape is slightly altered to include more corpse puns.

-When all the chores are done, Twisted Alice does keep her word and lets Henry and Wally up.

-When they’re *this* close to seeing daylight again, *BAM!*

-The Elevator drops like a hot coal.

-Was it sabotaged? Was it just old and dangerous? Was this just bad luck? That’s up for interpretation depending on who you believe first.

-Boris is kidnapped by a much more Miss Twisted-looking Twisted Alice while the old men are out.

-Intentional murder to commit dog theft, or Miss Twisted being opportunistic?

-Giant cavern? Lame carnival minigames? Air vent maze? Nah, screw that, instead Bendyland gets some more rides.

-Fight off foes in the ferris wheel!

-Avoid killer bumper cars with running chainsaws attached to them while trying to get the haunted house’s power back on!

-Can’t forget Bertrum! In the fight, if he puts down all four of his arms and pushes down hard enough, he can actually walk around the room.

-Kinda like a giant mechanical spider with only four legs.

-This makes it harder to hit his weak points and makes it easy for him to fucking stampede over “Joey”, which is why he does it. But it takes a lot out of him, so he can’t do it for very long.

-And he can’t do it anymore if two or more of his arms are ripped off.

-The Projectionist’s section is the same but with more toon corpses around.

-And if you didn’t get caught in his light or touch the hearts, when Wally and Henry pile into the miracle station and The Projectionist is *just* about to open the door until getting interrupted, instead of screaming at the ink demon and getting into a fight, the Projectionist opens the door and fucking squeezes himself in there.

-Not very comfortable, but better than the alternative.

-Congrats to Henry and Wally, who graduated from ‘trespassing thieves’ to ‘weird but sorta okay flesh things who didn’t take my hearts again and let me in their safe territory in spite of me trying to kill them’.

-Boris actually can be saved.

-Did you give the dog a bone back at the safe house?

-Good, now give him three more.

-The Janitor and the Animator have no fucking clue why throwing bones at this deformed, beefed-up version of Boris managed to melt off the excess ink and junk, or why he can speak now, but they’re not going to look a gift wolf in the mouth.

-Did somebody say back-to-back boss battle?

-I did!

-Sadly, it’s kind of a short fight as it can range from ‘three on one and one of them is a fucking wizard (just because recoil is hell doesn’t mean it’ll stop Wally in dire situations)’ to ‘four on one and one of those four can bring back the dead by screaming’.

-Allison and Tom wrangle the team up and stick ‘em in the “guest room”.

-Tom chews Wally out for re-activating the ink machine, Wally can’t take him seriously when he’s that fucking small and sounds like a mechanical snob.

-It’s even funnier when the Projectionist has been befriended.

-Let him have his tiny camera-headed son back, Allison.

-The river boat chase is longer and there seems to be more than just one hand coming out of the ink.

-Wally swears he sees a bunch of teeth in the river while the hands are down.

-In the village, the group are immediately attacked by a swarm of deformed toons when they approach the boarded up hovel.

-They shout things like “STAY AWAY FROM THE PROPHET!” and stuff like that in their garbled voices.

-When all of them are gone, peering through the boards in the hovel the team approached in the first place reveals that Sammy is indeed in there, just staring off into space and muttering about something the team can’t quite make out.

-Breaking down the said boards might seem logical, but it triggers a brutal boss fight against him. That musical bastard is fast and hits like a freight train. Also psychic powers, you have to be the luckiest person in the world to win a fight against a man who sees your every move before you can even think of it.

-Just... leave him be... and focus on getting outta here.

-The administration maze is as annoying as ever thanks to not having any weapons and the maze itself being magically disabling.

-Beast Bendy gets some bigger legs to go with his giant torso and head.

-Now he’s even faster and more annoying!

-but can’t do shit against the team.

-Good Ending: getting the biggest team you can in game, breaking the machine and punching Joey in the face for doing ...that. It sucks that everything got this bad but at least you helped the others make it outta there.

-Neutral ending: “Come by the old workshop, there’s something I need to show you”

-Bad Ending of the ‘Bad end Wizard Wally Au’  (Worst possible ending): Henry and Wally have fully succumbed to the ink through a path of violence, evading death by the toons, and have fully lost themselves, they do not remember their lives and families before the ink anymore. And Joey couldn’t be more tickled pink! It’s a shame that making perfect demon toons is such a complicated process compared to making an object-headed toon, a ‘human’ toon, or an animalistic toon, but all the trouble was worth it as a trip through the machine later, Joey finally has the last two he needs: A Perfect Papa Pluto and a Perfect Bendy.

[hydra-collector]

a sanders sides analysis of “far“

far, if you’re not aware (which honestly you probably werent) is an album by regina spektor (the same one as ‘one more time with feeling’ from logan’s playlist) and regina spektor has songs that work weirdly well with sanders sides so i’m going to give each song on the album a side. i might do this again with ‘what we saw from the cheap seats’ but its not as weirdly perfect as far.

this ended up being really long, so it’s under the cut.

the calculation: logan, no question. it’s basically about trying to 'calculate’ love from what they saw around them, mostly in media, because don’t understand it. they’re desperate to make it work, so they try again and again “beating their hearts against each other” and eventually, it sparks. intrulogical if you’d like someone to pair it with, since roman has all the romance with thomas.

eet: this one was more difficult, but i think its a lot of patton. after all, the summary on genius literally says “’Eet’ is a wistful, introspective song brimming with nostalgia. The overarching themes seem to be about a person’s development of morality through their experience in their childhood.” it connects a lot to ‘moving on’ in that respect, where thomas wishes he could go back to the times he remembered in patton’s room. if you don’t already know, eet is the backspace key on a typewriter, but since it actually prints letters, you can’t really go back. i also think the line “using your headphones to drown out your mind” is perfect for virgil. i think in “someone’s deciding whether or not to steal/he opens a window just to feel the chill/he hears that outside a small boy just started to cry/’cause it’s his turn, but his brother won’t let him try” janus could be the thief, trying to decide what thomas should take for himself, and obviously remus would be the brother that’s crying because he doesn’t get his turn to be listened to.

blue lips: janus or logan. part of it is kind of like an analysis of society, but it’s mostly about death and aging, which i think both of them will have thought about. the line “the pictures in his mind awoke/and began to breed” definitely reminds me of remus, intrusive thoughts and stuff. its preceded in one verse by “and no one saw and no one heard/they just followed lead” which i think could be about how thomas won’t let himself talk about remus’s thoughts, or janus’s lies, or even logan being tired of how thomas just tries to do everything everyone else does.

folding chair: roman, i think. part of it, patton, maybe. it’s hard to articulate exactly what i mean, but i think a lot of it has to do with being tired and lonely. i think maybe what i’m thinking with roman is that he’s been living so long one kind of way, but it’s not a happy kind of way. like he wants to do something (maybe flashbacks to ‘broadway here i come’ mayybe) or become a dark side, but he’s scared. “now i’ve been sitting on this abandoned beach for years/waiting for the salty water to cover up my ears/but every time the tide comes in to take me home/i get scared, and i’m sitting here alone.” i’m still not completely sure why this came off as roman to me, but maybe someone else would see it better. i don’t think it fits nearly as well as the other songs, but hey, i said i’d do all of them.

machine: janus or logan. kind of surprised it’s not a definite ‘logan,’ with its name, but it’s a lot about society and there’s a transition from “pre-war apartment” to “post-war apartment” which doesn’t fit logan very well at all. and rather than being ‘i am a machine,’ it’s “i’m hooked into machine.” i think that implies that the machine is society (forgive me if that doesn’t make much sense, genius doesn’t have much on this one) because we’re so intertwined, so connected to each other and functioning as a society, possibly how the government wants us to. some of the lyrics make me think it’s about some alternate universe, like “I collect my moments/into a correspondence/with a mightier power/who just lacks my perspective/and who lacks my organics/and who covets my defects,” which is the only reason i didn’t take logan out of the characters completely.

laughing with: janus, if he’s singing it sarcastically. i think he would be making fun of the people who ‘laugh at god.’ also the line “no one laughs at god on the day they realize/that the last sight they'll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes” which i think would’ve resonated very well with janus before svsr. not gonna say much else bc i can barely listen to the song as it is, much less analyze it.

human of the year: maybe also janus, but then again maybe moreso roman or patton. i say janus mostly because it has a very creepy vibe to go with the fictional award of “human of the year.” but roman or patton fits more with the receiver of the award. at least roman would probably give up anything to be deemed that great person, that hero.

two birds: anxceit babyyy. or roceit. it’s really weird because i can’t really tell whether virgil is leaving the wire or janus. the obvious option would be virgil, leaving for the light sides, but the subtler option is the callback. then again, i’m not sure if the one on the wire would change to roman or the general light sides if it was the callback. i also don’t think that virgil wanted janus to come with him, which doesn’t make sense for how the one bird would ask and the other would lie (hehe deceit) and say he was going to come. then again, that could just be a different interpretation of how virgil left the dark sides. in my opinion, though, roceit is much more fun. “i’ll believe it all:” roman. “i won’t let go of your hand:” janus. roman is lying to janus, he’s saying he wants to go to the wedding. janus is trying to just get him to go to the callback. roman’s tempted by it, tempted by how janus is treating him. the line “one more or one less, nobody’s worried” could maybe be janus trying to convince them that it doesn’t matter if they go to the wedding, that lee and mary lee won’t really care. anxceit’s also fun, though.

dance anthem of the 80′s: doesn’t really have a side that it fits in canon, but i think it’d be interesting to put it with patton in an AU. the character is peppy and innocent at first, but it descends into a more depressing tone. i also think the heteronormativity does it a favor in its context. again, it has nothing to do with canon, just thought it’d be cool in an AU.

genius next door: logan, or remus. this song hurts me every time i hear it, since i’ve started associating it with logan. it’s pretty much about this kid, the genius, who’s presumably depressed and goes into the lake each night, holding his breath until he comes back up. this ends up being a bad idea, because at one point he holds his breath too long, and dies in the lake. mostly as i’ve thought about it, i’ve considered logan, but honestly it kind of fits remus better, like how he “didn't care as long as he was able/to strip his clothes off by the dumpsters/at night while everyone was sleeping/and wade midway into that porridge/just him and his secret he was keeping” (the porridge is the lake.) in addition to that, they describe his death as “and the genius next door was sleeping/dreaming that the antidote was orgasm.” sorry for y’all having to catch me referencing other songs, but in the mountain goat’s “amy aka spent gladiator 1″ he says “do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive/do every stupid thing to try to drive the dark away” (which i think is also a very remus song) so he’s describing how it feels good to risk your life. the adrenaline will make you “feel alive,” which is probably why the kid in the song did it (which i saw in the comments someone compared to being the ‘orgasm.’) and while this is not a good idea, considering what happened to the genius next door, i do think it’s a very remus thing to do if he was depressed.

wallet: patton. it’s a very cute song, and it’s pretty much just about how the singer found a wallet, looked at it a little, then returned it to the owner. the singer says “i have no wallet/i keep my cards together with a blue rubber band” and i think that would be something patton does. “you'll never know me/i'll never know you/but you'll be so happy/when they call you up” is probably how patton would feel returning it. finally, something not depressing.

one more time with feeling: i don’t need to choose a side for this one, it’s already logan. i do want to share my thoughts on it, though, ‘cause it seems i disagree with a couple people (plus i didn’t analyze his playlist so i haven’t said anything about it before.) “everyone takes turns/now it's yours to play the part.” he’s supposed to help thomas, as he did in dwit and tried to in svsr. “and the misery inside their eyes is synchronized and reflecting it to yours.” they didn’t listen, though, in svsr and it took half an hour in dwit. for the chorus, “hold on/one more time with feeling/try it again, breathing's just a rhythm/say it in your mind until you know that the words are right/this is why we fight,” i think maybe he’s trying to be interesting to them. to just get through it, and practice and practice until he has the words that they’ll like. that’s just my little hc, though. “you thought by now you'd be/so much better than you are/you thought by now they'd see/that you had come so far.” these lines hit the hardest for me. remember how logan was in the beginning? especially in moving on, he seemed to have no compassion for thomas’s feelings. but hasn’t he gotten better? i think he’s trying to be better to them, to be kinder about emotional problems. and he has come far, but not as far as he would’ve liked, especially considering that he hasn’t seen them appreciate it. he was hoping that they’d notice, that they’d be glad he was doing better. that they’d be proud of him. but they aren’t. they just disregard him even more, unable to forget about who he was, unable to consider how far he’d come (maybe projecting a little.) i also think that the “this is why we fight” could be him talking about how because they don’t listen, he’s exhausted from getting angry at them each episode, and they get annoyed but their ignorance is why they fight.

as a whole, i think he’s just trying again, and again, and again, and i thought, maybe he’s trying with feeling. like, he’s trying to feel for them, trying to care. maybe it has to do with what he did in svsr, where he hinted at his feelings, how he felt like they didn’t care. and they didn’t say a thing. they only could’ve reinforced the idea that even though they’ve tried to tell him that he feels, they don’t care. i went on a whole rant about patton, roman, and thomas in svsr and i could again, but that’s not related to the song.

man of a thousand faces: roman, loosely. at first i was like “man of a thousand faces?!?! janus?!?” but it actually barely fits him at all. it might actually be about drugs, but we’ll ignore that. “his words are quiet like stains are/on a tablecloth washed in a river/stains that are trying to cover for each other/or at least blend in with the pattern” could represent his mistakes, his ideas, maybe stuff that didn’t turn out. and maybe the better ideas will cover up his mistakes. “good is better than perfect.” it could be that his perfectionism is driving him insane, and he needs to start reminding himself that it’s better if he starts reaching for at least just good. “and i’m crying for things that/i tell others to do without crying” is such a roman line i...

anyway that’s the album. if you read through this i’m... impressed.

[animatical-fandoms]

Kwami Swap Week Masterpost

Long post ahead; buckle up!

TIKKI

Adrien/Catbug- Well, it’s going to be canon. He needs to call Mari “Kitty” and hearing him say “miraculous ladybug” will be amazing

Alya/Ladybird - My personal design for @lunian‘s Ladybird AU. It’s awesome, go read their work!

Nino/Ladybeetle - In this AU, Mari was too nervous, despite Chat’s belief, and gives Nino the ladybug miraculous. He and Chat!Adrien are the best of friends, and Adrien lowkey crushes on him almost as bad as Mari!Ladybug.

Chloe/Lady Scarlet - My interpretation of the wonderful @zoe-oneesama‘s Scarlet Lady AU. 

Luka/Redbug - Plain and simple, Master Fu showed up a few years earlier, and ran into this kindhearted musician before Mari. TBH Luka is one of my faves, so he’s going to show up for the majority of the week because I loved playing around with designs for him

Felix/Lord Coccinelle- He doesn’t get cursed with bad luck, but with a kwami that insists he be responsible and help poor Lady Noire (Bridgette) break her curse. He’s gentler, kinder as a bug than as Felix, always happy to help others and to calm akuma victims after a fight. He’s drawn to Lady Noire, ever melancholy and mysterious, and lets himself loose with an edge against Bridgette because that’s how he’s always been.

PLAGG

Marinette/Lady Noir - Again, based off of the leaked art. I just really, really hope she’ll call Adrien some version of My Lady, and make at least one cat pun.

Alya/Nina Noir - Instead of Master Fu picking Adrien, he asks New Ladybug who she would like by her side. Obviously Alya is the first choice, and she’s ecstatic to be a superhero, keeping the Ladyblog focused on Ladybug because, you know, she can’t record herself. Nino and Adrien crush HARD on the new superheroes, and while that frustrates Mari, Alya is absolutely delighted.

Nino/Felus - Adrien pulls a Marinette, afraid that he’ll get caught since he’s under so much scrutiny as a model with a ton of visibility, and though it physically pains him to not fulfill his magical girl dreams, he knows Nino would be an amazing hero. Nino takes it in stride, and he and Mari!Ladybug are the bros to end all bros. Alya, crushing on Chat!Nino, creates both the Ladyblog and another blog dedicated to Nino’s alter ego. His thought? Best girlfriend ever.

Chloe/Duchess Noir - Adrien did the above, but with Chloe, thinking her confidence would be an asset  Mari as Ladybug would be irritated by Duchess, but it becomes a series of growing moments for Chloe, because she gets to see what a force she really can be on people’s lives and gets better at the Friend Thing.

Luka/Pantheon - My boy omg this one was fun to draw. Kinda similar AU to him as Ladybug. 

Bridgette/Lady Noire - Reverse PV - Bridgette thought her luck was bad enough with her being unable to speak at a normal pace and pitch in front of her crush, not to mention her clumsiness makes her look like a fool during their dance classes. Now she’s cursed with a god of destruction and a Perfect Superhero Partner - well, at least her clumsiness disappears when she’s Lady Noire. A shadow to Lordbug’s light. She knows it’s as hopeless to try and break her curse with him as it is to get together with Felix, so she just stands aside as his protector.

TRIXX

Marinette/Fennette - See the Ladybird AU with Alya; I couldn’t help myself!

Adrien/Kitsune - In the world where Alya is Chat and Mari is Ladybug, the two need help against the multiplying twins, same as before. Except Mari goes to lonely Adrien who she knows would be amazing. And the nerd goes for an anime name immediately. 

Nino/Volpino - The above babysitting disaster happens to be Nino’s little cousin, Chris, rather than Alya’s sisters, so Mari offers the fox miraculous to him. He and Adrien get to be bros for all sides of the mask. Alya makes an entirely new blog dedicated to the new fox.

Chloe/Mistress Amber - She made like Queen Bee and stole it, thinking: I can do way better than Lila because I won’t be faking it.

Luka/Vulpes - He probably would get this if another akuma was the reason they needed the Fox - maybe if Fu gave it to Ladybug while his mom was akumatized and he was worried about everyone’s safety.

Felix/Reynard - He was free of the Black Cat’s curse, and the miraculous could no longer be his. It got passed to Adrien through Fu without him knowing, and as soon as he sees his little brother vaulting across the city in a catsuit (without stripper boots, what the hell Plagg why did you make me suffer this way) he storms up to Fu’s place and says give me the fox those are small children my god and becomes Mentor #1 to the new Chat and Ladybug. Naturally, no one catches on that he’s himself. He’s a professional at this secret identity thing.

WAYZZ

Marinette/Mlle. Bouclier - In the world where Nino and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat respectively, Alya has been chosen as the fox. During Anansi, though, she’s captured - so Nino’s like omg Marinette could be the turtle and Marinette, upon receiving it, is having major panic mode set in, but you know, she does her best. Adrien takes a look at her protecting them and is like omg my Lady, a la Alya knowing exactly who Carapace was, but he keeps it to himself, and becomes more comfortable and flirty with Mari.

Adrien/La Tortue - Don’t know if this fits in with any of the others … but probably Chat!Chloe verse, and Marinette is like please can you be my partner forever

Alya/Turtledove - Instead of her getting kidnapped during Anansi, it’s Nino, since Nora had a beef with him being too girly. She totally saves him and fangirls over being a superhero and he just knows.

Chloe - How did this happen? I’m not even sure.

Luka - Both Alya and Nino are unavailable during Anansi, so Marinette is like, Luka was super helpful on the boat and is super nice let’s do this.

Bridgette - Fox!Felix verse - she sees her boyfriend, who was once Chat, as a fox teaching the two bb heroes the ropes. She goes to Fu, stands in the door with her eyebrow raised.  Fu had meant for her to succeed him as guardian anyway, and she takes up a job at his place so he can still hang out with Wayzz. She becomes Mentor #2 and is basically Mulan in fighting style - totally unexpected strategies. (It’s her fault that identity reveals happen, idk how, but it is)

POLLEN

Marinette/Marigold - My version from the Lady Scarlet universe!

Adrien/Goldenbee - From the universe where Chloe ends up as Chat, Marinette is super protective of this sunshine bee boy

Alya/Honeybee - Marinette actually? Gets the Bee Miraculous to Alya instead of losing it to Chloe?

Nino/Bumble - Mari’s mind goes to Nino instead of Alya when the Bee is needed, and she makes it to him.

Alix/Piquer - After seeing her do so awesome with Reverser, Marinette turns to Alix for help as the Bee. 

Max - well, I don’t have too much of a headcanon for him, but @kwamiswaps did a fanfic, so that’’s what this design is for! (I did little suspender stripes without meaning to omg I really do like how it turned out)

DUSUU

Marinette/Bluebird - The Peacock wasn’t damaged, just disappeared - and, while visiting Adrien for a study session, she ends up with a new bird friend.

Adrien/La Paon - He inherits it from his mom okay??? Like, Fu has it and knows and is like your mother would have wanted you to have this. And this pisses off Hawkmoth to no end because he thinks whoever stole it is Definitely Not Adrien and is disgracing his wife’s name. Obviously a lot of drama. 

Alya/Ava Azure - Swap the Peacock for the Fox - let’s just say Hawkmoth had a direct source to mess with Lila. Instead of illusions on the night the twins start multiplying, she creates a summoned creature to lure them all together.

Nino/Plume - The Peacock was damaged still, but Nino was willing to risk that to save his girlfriend and the city after a really nasy attack

Chloe/Royal Blue - Somehow, since the Mayor was friends with Gabriel and his wife, he ended up in possession of the Peacock before Gabriel knew what it was. Chloe gets her hands on it relatively at the same time she would have gotten the Bee and is just as Extra(TM).

Jagged/Pavo - He deserves to be a flashy birb. His suit would have sequins if I’d had time. 

NOOROO

Marinette/Mariposa - Mayura is the main villain in this universe, and Emilie is comatose because of a damaged Ladybug Miraculous. Adrien is still Chat, but he makes “my wings” and “my little butterfly” comments rather than “My Lady”. Gabriel has Nathalie generally doing his dirty work, and he calls Emilie his lady. Mari uses her friends’ best qualities to fight against the beasts Mayura creates.

Adrien/Papillon - He’s been Chat for some time, but now Gabriel has been revealed to him and Mari, and he gets really, really angry, and steals the miraculous as Adrien. This is a Problem. Plagg is concerned Adrien is getting too angry to deal with powers of destruction full-time, so Adrien brings him to Fu and alternates between Plagg and Nooroo, and he confronts Gabriel a lot as the Butterfly because betrayal reasons. Ladybug is concerned, but she trusts him and that’s what gets him through.

Nino/Wingbeat - He is So Supportive of his friends, okay? He gets chosen as the Butterfly holder when, say, Bridgette has the Turtle and they manage to take it from Hawkmoth but still need help getting the Peacock or some other stolen one.

Chloe/Madame Monarch - Okay, this version of Chloe does not get a redemption arc, like, ever - she’s Hawkmoth. Straight up.  She starts every akuma purposefully, becomes a villain, etc.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know - attention? I prefer Redeemed!Chloe, but I feel like she’d totally be past saving as this particular supervillain.

Kagami/Painted Lady - Adrien gets to pick some new holders in my personal headcanon. Let’s say while the Mouse and Snake go to Mari and Luka, they get the Butterfly so Adrien chooses Kagami because she tried to help him and she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way when she chooses people with her powers.

Felix/Hawkmoth - Brother!AU. He was Chat Noir when he was younger, has been abroad with Bridgette, and comes home to see the canon situation. He is Not Fooled by Adrien, Mari, anyone - he’s been there, and he has distance of not knowing most of the people involved, so he gets very, very, angry. He knows his father is Hawkmoth. So he steals the butterfly and sides with Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are both thankful but confused at this new Butterfly who’s So Angry - Adrien doesn’t figure it out, but he comforts Felix without meaning to and Felix is so touched. Felix eventually reveals that he knows who the previous Hawkmoth and the current (insert new villain identity) is - Gabriel Agreste. Obviously disbelief and angst, but he reveals himself and is like I am the last person to want Gabriel to actually be a supervillain  and Agreste brotherly bonding and HawkDad butt-kicking. 

Another universe idea I had was that Felix and Adrien share the cat and the butterfly, trading depending on what’s needed. 

That’s a wrap!

[winterironbang]

Art Previews

Below you will find the art previews for this year, remember authors that its not quite time for claiming yet!

Take a good look and pick 2-3 favourites and remember which Number they are for when claiming does begin.

1. Prompt: Tony was taken by Hydra not long after the New York invasion and experimented heavily on Tony. The Winter Soldier escapes his captivity and kinds Tony locked up in his dragon form in a huge cell and decides he should break this poor creature out as well.The Winter Soldier could be his own personality next to Bucky, and if so he doesn't like Steve if that would come up. Restrictions: No Rape/Non-con, No OT3 (Stuckony), preferably a rather happy ending, or bittersweet. No sad endings. CLAIMED

2 Prompt: Tony has always had a thing for swimsuit models.Limitations: go wild.Additional notes: happy to be as involved or uninvolved as the writer wants! CLAIMED

3. Warnings: None that I can think of? Prompts: Definitely don’t have to stick to this, but this was just what was in my mind drawing this — They’re a Shoulder Angel and Shoulder Demon each trying to do a good job for their assigned Human - Natasha Romanov. I’d love it if maybe they’ve been working together over time to help Natasha (maybe to get out from under Red Room) without actually really seeing each other for a while until eventually they do. Not-Quite-Identity!Porn of some sort, with a bit of oh no he’s hot when they meet. Just imagine the hijinks with a little Nat and these boys as her conscience! Ha! Limitations: I know Tony is depicted as a Demon here, but this is Tony, please don’t make him out to be the actual Devil? He’s just doing his job but - oh no! - he gets attached to his Human and adversary and only wants the best for them, screw Hell’s policies CLAIMED

4. warnings: none i thinkprompt: Post-apocalyptic AU! Scrappy mechanic Tony meets badass loner and fighter Bucky (with a clunky metal arm)? Maybe some getting to know (and later: trust) each other and surviving (together?) in a hostile world? Trying to make a living? limitatons and any additional notes:  No dubcon/noncon between Tony/Bucky, no sad ending, no super descriptive toture/body horror, Tony and Bucky should survive. Angst/Pain/Suspense otherwise are fine :)The second art is optional. CLAIMED

5. Desired collaboration level(s): I would love to be included with the writing/brainstorming process, even just so much as being a cheerleader for it!-Additional details/requests/Prompt: Pre-WI/getting together fic. Wing Au. Maybe something like "Winged beings are discriminated against/unliked/people are nervous of them. Picture scene is: Tony was sitting out in the rain/stuck in the rain, Bucky comes and sheilds him from it with his wing. -Do Wants: Hurt/Comfort, angst is fine too, must be happy ending please, I prefer canon-divergent, but total au is fine too. -Do NOT Wants: Beastiality, Mpreg, A/B/O dynamics, BDSM, D/S verse, Hardcore kinks, Genderbends, Non-con, MCD, underage/age-changes/de-aging, Sad endings!(I would prefer no other/background ships, but can be discussed!) CLAIMED

6. Warnings: blood Limitation: non-negotiable absolutely no Steve Rogers bashing Wants: OUAT crossover (non negotiable). Jefferson IS Bucky OR Bucky is Jeffersons twin. Steve as a main character as well. Prompt; Bucky goes missing after a mission, with seemingly no reason. A year later They find Bucky, only he's calling himself Jefferson and crying about a broken hat, and a horrific scar around his neck.

7. warnings: possible gun violence, languageprompt: loosely based on Killing eve "you hired me to kill you!?" "I wanted to see you..." basically, Tony and Bucky (established relationship? Mutual pining? ) haven't spoken in awhile for reasons (are they fighting? Busy? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) so Tony Hires Bucky to kill him. limitatons and any additional notes: none that I can think of but if you think there's something that could be squicky/a no go, just lemme know. I'm very open to collaboration with my author. CLAIMED

8.  No warnings or limitations.  CLAIMED

9. Warnings: None Prompt: Tony Stark meets Bucky Barnes in 1993 and they both fall for each other. One night, Bucky starts to cry. Tony asks what's wrong and Bucky tells him what happened to his parents. Notes: It really doesn't matter how you end this fic as long it includes some good old fashioned angst! CLAIMED

10. Warnings: noneNotes: Was thinking of a Brookly-99 spin on it, something cute and funny for some feel good happy, but very open to anything really :) CLAIMED

11. warnings: None Prompt: (Description: View is outside of a building. In one window Tony plays the violin. In the other Bucky types away.) CLAIMED

12. Warnings:NonePrompt: (description: Bucky is sitting atop a motorcycle. Tony is approaching him, offering his hand for a handshake. Scene is dusk on an empty road.) CLAIMED

13. prompt: tony is one of the last of his kind (inherited from his mother’s side). he hides his wings from the world, and only pepper, happy, and rhodey know what he is. everything else is canon as per the mcu. it’s up to the author to decide how far in the universe they want to take it, and if they wish to incorporate his wings elsewhere in the series, but tony is iron man and it must be post winter soldier. pre-relationship to getting together. limitations: please no graphic depictions of rape, suicide, or self-harm (specifically cutting. other forms of self-harm are okay, but please no self-inflicted cutting). no character bashing, ESPECIALLY of steve. no major character death. things i would like to see: BAMF!tony, ptsd (from either bucky or tony, or both!), a COOL secret reveal, angst, hurt/comfort, and fluff. some smut is okay! i would love if tony keeps the arc reactor. arm maintenance!! please!! tony being terrified of bucky finding out about his wings, and bucky being scared of hurting tony. relevant notes: tony’s wings are 18 ft (5.4 m) in diameter, and are red and gold. bucky still has hydra arm. that’s about it! i’m flexible on most things :) CLAIMED

14. Description/Prompt: John Wick AU in MCU Open for brainstorming or alternate interpretations Warnings: canon typical violence for story (john wick levels or mcu levels up to author?) Limitations:  DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings CLAIMED

15. Description/Prompt: any frontier myth/ old wild west tropes welcome Open for brainstorming or alternate interpretations Warnings: canon typical violence for story? Limitations:  DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings CLAIMED

16. Prompt: Romancing The Stone AU. Tony is a tech reliant city boy who is out of his depth in the South American jungle while trying to save a friend. Bucky is the broke traveller who he convinces to be his guide. Adventures and hijinks and a happy ending ensue. Notes/Limitations: Doesn't have to follow the movie if you're not familiar with it. I don't want Tony to be a damsel in distress that needs to be rescued, just a fish out of water who adapts to his new environment. Any rating is fine, smut is welcome, no character bashing.  CLAIMED

17. warnings: general audiences prompt: Bucky is part of the Avengers but he and Tony keep their distance. On a mission Tony saves Bucky from another fall. Later he asks Tony why he didn't let him slip when he knows he killed his parents. He doesn't believe Tony forgave him and confesses that he sometimes hates Steve for not catching him limitations: no Steve/Bucky/Tony, preferably no Stony, no ABO, no mpreg, preferably no BDSM or dom/sub CLAIMED

18.  warnings: malnutrition, (minor) injuries, shackleslimitations: anything involving children and/or pregnancy CLAIMED

19. Warnings:none Prompt: Mage Tony and assassin/rogue Bucky. Limitatons: No major character death, no infidelity, no unhappy ending, Bucky did not kill Tony's parents, would be absolutely fine with graphic sex Additional notes: Art will have at least one more companion piece featuring Bucky/Winter in Assassin type garb and probably wielding daggers. CLAIMED

20. warnings: none? prompt: Dreadful pirate Bucky with a heart of gold! limitaions and any other notes relevant to the authors for claiming: I'd prefer it if Bucky wasn't actually a bad guy. Go easy on the gore, and please don't do any noncon or dubcon between the OTP. Angst or pain are good as long as there is at least a hopeful ending! CLAIMED

21. Prompt: After the death of King Howard Stark, his son Anthony had to step up to the throne as the rightful heir. James Buchanan Barnes, a knight and new member of the Royal Guard, is sworn to protect his king no matter what. Even if that means protecting Anthony from his own damn feelings. Warnings: N/A Limitations: major character death, terminal illness, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism, incest, ableism Notes: Their designs are fantasy-influenced more than historical, and even though I was using MCU as reference, I aged Tony down since canonically Howard died when he was younger anyway! Also the scribble of a background is supposed to be inside the castle, during a party/ball or something? CLAIMED

22. Artist Withdrew.

23. Warnings: None Prompt: The Addams Family AU Limitations/notes: None CLAIMED

24. warnings: none? prompt: Warlord Bucky gets a new conquest: Tony. (How? tribute? prisoner? Marriage contract?) Tony may expect the worst, but slowly discover Bucky isn't so bad... limitaions and any other notes relevant to the authors for claiming: please no evil Bucky. I like getting to know each other and slowly falling in love. No dubcon/noncon between tony/bucky. CLAIMED

25. Warnings: implied violence, kidnappingPrompt: I went with four comic panels sort of depicting a kidnapping scenario. Bucky (probably) wouldn’t be the kidnapper — i'm gonna try and make him look more surprised in the final draft. Limitations: Go wild. G ratings through Explicit is fine with me. Preferably no M-Preg though.  CLAIMED

26. Warnings: None CLAIMED

27. Warnings: None CLAIMED

28. Description/Prompt: fluff or comfort? Warnings: - Limitations:  DNWs include a/b/o, mpreg, noncon, dubcon between major protagonists, death of major protagonists, unhappy/ bad endings CLAIMED

29. Desired collaboration level(s): I would love to be included with the writing/brainstorming process, even just so much as being a cheerleader for it! Additional details/requests/ Prompt: Human!Tony/Werewolf!Bucky. Werewolf au. Do Wants: Hurt/Comfort, angst is fine too, must be happy ending please, I prefer canon-divergent, but total au is fine too. Do NOT Wants: Beastiality, Mpreg, A/B/O dynamics, BDSM, D/S verse, Hardcore kinks, Genderbends, Non-con, MCD, underage/age-changes/de-aging, Sad endings!(I would prefer no other/background ships, but can be discussed!) CLAIMED