#otp: through struggle the stars

[soulmatebehaviour]

so any tips on getting over the fact that Eddie used his consciousness after being shot to ask if Buck was okay?

[soulmatebehaviour]

sorry to add but even more terrifying is how to save a life by the fray

we’re making jokes yeah but i hear the opening tunes to chasing cars by snow patrol on this damn show and this blog is imploding 

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

My Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss Shipping Tier List

Hazbin Hotel Ships

Huskerdust - Angel Dust and Husk. My Hellaverse OTP! I've talked about them at length in my Huskerdust analysis post. Long story short: they're not perfect people, but they could be perfect for each other. They've both been through bad times and done bad things, but there's a chance they could change for the better now that they have each other. And that's why I love thinking about them together.

Chaggie - Charlie Morningstar and Vaggie. They're a sweet established couple, and it's cute to see how they'll take any opportunity to hold hands or hug or brush hair off each other's faces. Plus, I'm a sucker for pairings where one person is a grump and the other is a ray of sunshine.

Emilute - Lute and Emily. They're both angels, but very different in looks and personality. One is dark-skinned with pastel clothes and compassion for Sinners; the other is pale-skinned with black clothes and a dedication to eradicating Sinners. Emily would want to help Lute see the light, whereas Lute would try to make Emily cross over to the dark side... @carpp had made some great fanart of the two of them, which made me love the pairing!

Emilette - Emily and Velvette. I started shipping this thanks to @dallina17 and their posts on the pairing. I think it's interesting that Emily and Velvette both have musical moments where they stand up to authority figures (Sera in "You Didn't Know" and Carmilla in "Respectless", respectively), but go about it in different ways (appeals to morality vs. brash rudeness) and with different motives (concern for others vs. self-interest). That's got me thinking about what would happen if the two women ever met. Also, Black sapphic solidarity for the win!

MollyBomb - Molly and Cherri Bomb. I just think it would be funny if Angel's sister and Angel's best friend ended up dating. It's as simple as that!

CherriSnake - Cherri Bomb and Sir Pentious. Their shift from rivals to crushing on each other felt a bit rushed, but I'm intrigued to see where this relationship goes and what impact they might have on each other.

StaticNeedle - Niffty and Vox. I've talked a lot about my headcanon that Niffty and Vox were married in life. It stemmed from realising that they both died in the Fifties, and kind-of spiralled from there. It's probably the rarest rarepair I ship.

StaticMoth - Vox and Valentino. To be honest, I struggle to wholeheartedly ship Valentino with anyone, given his ... everything, but he and Vox would make a fascinating villain couple. One is camp and sexy and does whatever he wants, and the other is a sleek businessman who's obsessed with projecting the perfect image. Opposites attract, I guess?

Seramilla - Sera and Carmilla. Shoutout to @seramilla for getting me interested in this! I can definitely see the appeal of two mother figures on opposite sides of the afterlife finding common ground in their protective nature.

Zestmilla - Carmilla and Zestial. This ship is kind-of "meh" for me, but it is intriguing that Carmilla and Zestial seem so close with each other. I wonder how that happened?

Alzy (platonic) - Mimzy and Alastor. The way Alastor talks to and about Mimzy, and even the way he smiles around her, is different to how he acts around everyone else. The fact that they were friends in life and this friendship has carried over into death is really fascinating to me.

RadioRose (platonic) - Alastor and Rosie. I like how Rosie highlights a different side to Alastor compared to Mimzy, given that Rosie also seems to have a scheming nature. She's like a work buddy to Alastor, except they have a shared interest in eating people.

Lucilith - Lucifer Morningstar and Lilith. I'd like to find out more about their marriage and what caused it to fall apart.

Baximi - Crymini and Baxter. Neither have appeared in the show (yet), but a furry character and a fishy character falling in love has a cool star-crossed-lovers vibe to me.

Helluva Boss Ships

Owling at the Moon (platonic) - Loona and Octavia. Sarcastic Chorus made a really interesting video about how they differ and what they have in common. They're from opposite sides of the track, but both have daddy issues (to put it mildly), so they both could use a friend who understands.

Fizzmodeus - Fizzarolli and Asmodeus. I think the fact that I already love Roger and Jessica Rabbit made me more willing to accept another pairing with a clown and a sex symbol!

M&M - Moxxie Knolastname and Millie. I'm a sucker for married couples who don't completely hate each other.

Sallie Mayday - Verosika Mayday and Sallie May. One is a celebrity, the other is a country girl. It's another opposites-attract concept that I enjoy.

Marberry - Mrs Mayberry and Martha. This feels like "enemies to lovers" taken to the extreme, but hey, I'm here for it!

Stolitz - Blitzø and Stolas. I'm not sure how I feel about them as a couple, but I do enjoy reading and watching other people's analyses of the ship and of each person's shortcomings.

Colleenie - Collin and Keenie. They're both angelic sheep who seem like they're meant to be parallels to Moxxie and Millie, which intrigues me. If only Keenie treated Collin better...

Characters I Don't Really Ship with Anyone

Hazbin Hotel: Adam, St Peter, Odette Carmine, Clara Carmine, Arackniss, Travis, Katie Killjoy, Tom Trench, the Egg Boiz, Fat Nuggets, KeeKee, Razzle, Dazzle

Helluva Boss: Cletus, Deerie, Stella, Andrealphus, Paimon, Joe, Lin, Cash Buckzo, Barbie Wire, Mrs Knolastname, Crimson Knolastname, Striker, Chazwick Thurman, Beelzebub, Vortex, Mammon, Robo-Fizz, Glitz, Glam, Arick "Burnie" Burnz, Wally Wackford, Loopty Goopty, Lyle Lipton, Agent Two, Agent One, Ralphie, Counselor Jimmy

[anotherbluesunday]

✨Moodboard Teaser: In Technicolor✨

With the release of the first chapter coming in hot with its expected release being this Friday at the latest or sooner (possibly as early as tomorrow) I wanted to take the time to acquaint everyone with the primary couples in this story. Usually I cap it at two couples and have auxilary couples and characters on the fringes. But because this is a crossover between two of my favorite shows, I have expanded it to three—possibly four—couples with auxilaries (secondary) on the fringes. These couples will include original characters i.e. Wynn Galpin who is Tyler Galpin’s younger sister. There is a crossover couple that joins the Wednesday group with the Riverdale group. This couple is where I expect to receive the most backlash but idc. Their my crossover otp and I hope you all trust me enough to keep reading and join me/the characters on this journey. I have also switched some things up with one of the Riverdale characters because the ship only got screen time in the last season and it did more for their character than their actual failed relationships did the entire season. Fight me. But don’t. Or do.

Anyway, here are the couples moodboards, as promised. The visuals were inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juilet because these past few months since January I have been on a 90’s and 2000’s kick and I am dying for how that movie captured the beauty, grit, grime, and excitement of LA. So enjoy and let me know what you think! 💜

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We open with our crossover couple who are the star-crossed lovers—Cheryl Blossom, the queen of the Palisades and star tennis player and Pugsley “Lee” Addams, the king of Elysian Heights and leader of his grunge sleeze band Texca. Born second generation to a working class defense attorny and day-time caregiver to the elderly, Lee Addams has just wants to make it through his senior year of high school and hangout with his friends on the weekend. But when he and his twin sister Wednesday step a little too far over the line at their old school their parents pull some strings to have their three children—Wednesday, Pugsley, and Pubert “Bertie” attend Morticia’s former high school. There, Lee unwittingly comes face to face with the campus queen, the indomitable and untouchable Cheryl Blossom. Born into privilege with the face of an angel and the bite of a viper, she has everything and anything. Influence thanks to her parents name. Adoration by way of her beauty. And power because of her abilities to manipulate others. But what happens when a hurricane meets an immoveable force? Will they fold? Destroy one another? What happens when the pretty vicious face isn’t all it seems to be and the cutting confidence is stripped away? Who are the real people that lie beneath it all?

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Next are our second pair of the four star-crossed lovers. While it is never a good idea to fall for your twin flame, for Tyler and Wednesday it isn’t so simple. Twin flames and soulmates fused into one as if it were a sick joke, their story begins at a party—the raven haired twin sister with her face painted like a Catrina (see: Dia de los Muertos symbols and iconography) and the Galpin golden boy dressed like Sir Lancelot with the sacred heart etched into his chest plate. Like her brothers, Wednesday grew up living a modest life where nothing was taken for granted and family sits at the heart of all major decisions. For Tyler, he has forgotten the importance of family and community after starting university where his life has evolved into an endless stream of parties and hookup’s. Never struggling but also never being challenged to be better or grow, he’s hit a wall. A mid-life crisis of sorts but at the already chaotic age of 18 with his 19th birthday right around the corner. But from the moment he lays eyes on Wednesday she is all he can think of. All he breathes and dreams of—a beautiful stranger that won’t free him. Yet when this silver tongued Casanova tries to approach the dark beauty he’s shot down. Challenged to question who he is and what he truly is doing with his life that matters. What is in store for the idealistic social revolutionist and her troubled admirer? Where will they land when the walls of his kingdom come crumbling down?

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The youngest of three siblings each yet one is protected and coddled like a greenhouse flower while the other has flourished amidst hardship and bouts of poverty. Wynn Galpin is caught in a never-ending loop of compassions to her twin older siblings, Tyler and Enid. Both are straight A students. Both star athletes with Tyler winning championship after championship for swim and Enid earning a full-ride scholarship to UCLA for volleyball. Both are charming and charismatic. Both are perfect and Wynn can never compare despite how she tries. She doesn’t have the passion for swim or volleyball so she chooses cheer. “That’s not a real sport” she’s told. Her siblings get A’s but she can hardly scrape by with B’s while battling her depression and anxiety. At all times, her mind is screaming for her to just run off and disappear. And after the loss of her friend and pseudo-sister Polly, the darkness has become more persuasive. More invasive and vicious. But it is during a spiral that forces her out of the gym during cheer practice that she runs into the new kid. The brainiac junior in her senior level AP classes. Pubert “Bertie” Addams. A carefree class clown with a heart of gold and the virgin Guadalupe drawn in vibrant neons on the bottom of his skateboard. Where will this new path take them when the class clown and the beauty queen who seems to always be in tears meet to form an oddball friendship? And what happens when their hearts begin to long for more than just friendship but their worlds couldn’t be more different? How will things turn out for the greenhouse flower and her sidewalk dandelion?

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What’s the worst that could happen when you fall in love with your best friend? What happens when you think they love someone else? When you think they could never see you the way you see them in return? Do you stand there and wait for them to turn around? Or do you walk away while piecing together your heart that will never know real closure? Reggie has asked himself these questions nearly every day for the past six years since his family moved to the fringes of the Palisades and enrolled him in the affluent junior high nearby. Archie Andrews was his first friend at his new school all those years ago. The first one to get up during lunch time and sit down next to him. The one who didn’t care that his parents weren’t from money and had only recently come into their fortune. The one who didn’t care that he didn’t have the newest clothes, phone, or hairstyle. Like a guardian angel come to save him from perpetual solitude, Archie befriended Reggie with a bright smile and a silly joke. And since that day, Reggie has kept his love for the redhaired boy wonder to himself. Has been the picture of what a bestfriend should be. Has supported Archie and defended him. Joined their high school swim team with him just so that they could live out Archie’s dream of being the one’s to break Tyler, the former captain’s, record and win more championships than him and his team did. Reggie has lived a beautiful but painful lie for nearly a decade and the cracks have begun to show. The devotion now agony. The love a barbed dagger twisted liettle by little every time he has to play third wheel on Archie’s dates with his girlfriend Veronica. But one night their eyes meet across a sea of moving bodies at a house party. Archie kissing Veronica but can’t stop looking at Reggie. There’s a spark. A sadness. Hope. But is there truth? Is there a willingness to be honest? To accept this attraction that has been there waiting from the start? Does Archie know what real love could be like if he just turned around? Or will the lovefool angel look away once again and leave the poor friend and saint in the dark?

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Stay tuned for more because this is only the beginning. Next will be the auxiliary couples, characters, and family boards for the three main ones at play. But the next next post that will be following this one will be the official titlecard for Chapter One. Can’t wait to see you all again there. 💜

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack - Villainess AU Headcanons

I’ve been on a real fantasy kick lately, and that’s not stopping with post. This is a plot bunny that’s been hopping around in my mind for a while, and it snatched up my Dragon Jack AU headcanons from the previous posts, along with the tragic short story of Alice remembering how she died in her past life as Mary to become a bigger bunny. This is the long overdue and previously teased Villainess AU!

Content warnings before we begin: this post touches on topics of infidelity, betrayal, yandere obsession, attempted mind control, death, chronic illness, trauma, and a bit of spice to lighten it up. This shouldn’t get too dark or smutty, but who knows where indulging in my OTP will take me?

On that note, I might wind up using some art from the game/teasers/merch/etc. in this post, so I’m going to go ahead and give a shout out to SnaccPop Studios’ patreon. Consider joining to see some exclusive stuff! Credit to them for this game that has given me plot bunnies that are constantly multiplying.

Anyway, the villainess genre, for those unaware, is a subgenre of the transmigrator genre, which in turn is a subgenre of isekai stories. Typically it takes an otome - a dating sim game aimed at women with a female protagonist - and has the world within that story be real. The main character, a fan of the dating sim, is reborn in the world of this dating sim, not as the protagonist, but as the evil villainess rival who gets in the protagonist’s way and inevitably meets a terrible end regardless of the route taken, often going through much humiliation in the process. The main character then has to avoid her horrible fate and overturns the original story, oftentimes becoming the one the love interests are drawn to instead of the original female protagonist.

Naturally, there are stories that tweak the formula around and subvert expectations, but that’s the basic gist of the genre.

Now Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack is a dating sim, but there’s a distinct lack of a villainess character involved in the plot, which makes sense since Jack fills the antagonist role in every route pretty well. This means that a villainess AU would have the world of the in-universe game be different from the game that we can actually play in our world over on steam and itch. If you’d like to see my ideas on an isekai that takes place in the game as we know it, check it out in this previous post over here.

So let’s start with the AU’s in-universe game itself, and what classic otome roles our favorite male leads might take. While I could cast Ian in the prince role once again like I did with the dragon AU and the fantasy incubus Jack AU, I think we all know who the real ruler of SDJ is.

Thus Jack gets the role of the crown prince. Now, we could have this be a standard fantasy kingdom, but I feel inclined to give it a SunnyTime Town AU twist. Much like in the Aphrodisia crossover Mafia AU, our favorite clown family is a powerful ruling family, only with magic and clown gimmicks instead of guns. Shaun, Nick, and Ian aren’t their typical selves in this universe, but they too get a nice colorful makeover and some spiffy titles, as shown in these limited edition trading cards. Thanks to Crispy for sharing pictures of the cards, and credit to Sauce for creating the amazing artwork in the first place.

Since we’re talking about the cards, how about we shake things up and leave the star of the show for last so we can show off the clown counterparts of the other three male leads.

Ian Duff has the title of Sir Sweet Dreams, and is a knight in this AU, part of the illustrious order of the Night-Knights. His hair is a shade of violet-blue, with face paint that gives him some blue splotches and stars. The Duffs are a noble family, and Ian struggles with the weight of obligation as the firstborn son. He’s not suited for combat, being a pacifist at heart. The otome’s main character (who I will call OMC for simplicity) would help Ian choose his heart over his duty when going down his route, and fight for the future that he wants instead of what his family expects.

Shaun Durand-Cofer is a member of the mage tower, with white and gray face paint and glowing golden eyes, given the nickname of Glad-Pire due to his cheerful personality and his specialization in studying the secrets of dark magic. He’s still our favorite goth butterball, even as a magical clown, and he has MoonPie as his familiar. In the original otome game, OMC would help him deal with the doubts that he’s been having about studying dark magic. He’s been a great benefit to the kingdom, but many are suspicious of his motives, not trusting dark magic in any form, and his relatives are ashamed of him despite the good he’s done.

Nick Herrera’s clown identity with his white and blue face paint is an interesting one, with the title of Sous Chef Sweetly, his job in the trading cards is very different from his employment in the game. Now, typically fantasy otome games don’t have our OMC romancing a chef, but they do have love interests who are wonderful at cooking. Regardless if he is a sous chef or a dom in this universe, Nick is a member of the nobility, and is quite popular with people. He has countless suitors wanting his hand, and he’s known as a ladies’ (and more) man. However, despite his reputation and charming personality, in reality he’s just a shy dork who struggles to make a genuine human connection. In the otome game, OMC sees past his status and reputation that others have placed on him, and sees him for the awkward guy he is deep down inside.

Finally, let’s talk about Jack, or rather him and the rest of the Blouin family. King Marceau and Queen Lucy rule together over this colorful country, and are known to be just and fair. Jack, their second born child, is crown prince and heir to the throne. Their eldest child, Jane, would have been next in line if she didn’t make it very clear from an early age that she did not want the role. She would rather travel the world as a free spirit, not weighed down by the weight of the crown, so she left it to her little brother to take care of in her place.

Fortunately, Jack has accepted his role with dignity and grace. He’s known to always be smiling, a prince everyone admires and desires. Deep down though, he has insecurities about everyone only seeing him for the title of king that he will one day inherit. They see the prince first and Jack second. He always had the option to pass on the role to his younger sibling, but young Jo is a sensitive soul, and Jack couldn’t force them to carry such a heavy burden. He accepted the role of heir from Jane gladly, and he was always sure he could handle it, but doubts creep in that OMC helps him work through as they see Jack for who he is and not for the crown he must one day wear.

Now, the role of the villainess in these games is to act as a romantic rival, the person who stands in the way of OMC getting together with one of the love interests. There can be one that gets in OMC’s way no matter who they pursue, or each love interest could have a “villainess” who gets together with them should the OMC fail their route. Typically, if there’s at least one villainess, she’s engaged to one of the love interests in an arranged marriage set up by their parents. She’s also obsessed with power, and typically the crown prince. This is why she’s usually the prince’s fiancee, who is clearly unfit to be queen.

But why not make things a bit spicier? The villainess in this otome game is an arranged marriage to Ian, but she wants to marry Prince Jack instead to become queen. In Ian’s route, she abuses him similarly to his mother, making him feel like he’s not good enough for her. However, when OMC gets closer to Ian in his route, they get on the villainess’ nerves and she gives them a hard time despite not actually caring for Ian. It’d be like seeing someone steal your toy away when you weren’t ready to discard it. The general vibe is, “I don’t want him, but no one else is allowed to have what’s mine!”

For Shaun’s route, the villainess would be tricking him, using his knowledge of black magic for selfish ends without him realizing it. In the bad end, he would be arrested and executed for treason, as the villainess used him to help her make a love potion that she used on Prince Jack. She, of course, also is executed, because the villainess doesn’t win regardless of the route. The OMC would have to find out about the villainess’ schemes to clear Shaun’s name and prevent the potion from being used.

In Nick’s route, the villainess is jealous of his popularity. He’s also probably a stepping stone in her plots to bewitch and seduce the prince. She’s less of a central antagonist in this route for the OMC, but still an annoyance that gets a bad end regardless of how Nick’s route ends, because the villainess having countless bad ends is kind of the punchline.

Then of course there’s Jack’s route. Naturally, being the one the villainess is lusting after and wants to bewitch, the conflict with the OMC is more pronounced in this route for obvious reasons. OMC must stop the villainess’ countless bullying tactics and schemes in order to have a happy ending.

Basically, it’s the classic otome game setup, with a touch of colorful clown face paint for flare.

Now, the actual MC, the character we’d be playing as in this AU, would be a fan of the otome game. Perhaps playing it is their guilty pleasure. They’re familiar with all the routes. Then, one day, they wake up in the body of the villainess in classic transmigrator isekai fashion.

Although the role of villainess is typically for cis females, MC is whatever gender we decide they should be. There’s a lot of possibilities to explore how an AMAB MC might react to suddenly having an AFAB body, or perhaps whatever force of the universe that made them take the role changed it so that the “villainess” is whatever gender MC was in their previous life, or whatever gender that is true to them.

MC would then be left with the choice of how to handle living in this world and the role they were expected to play. The obvious solution would be to avoid anything having to do with the OMC or seducing Jack, but typically it’s not that easy for the MC to avoid the other characters in a villainess story, especially if they’re engaged to Ian. This is especially true if they start feeling attracted to Jack despite knowing the many bad ends that might await them down that path.

There’s a lot of variables with a general MC and how that would affect the villainess character, as well as what they made of that character. That’s why this ramble took a while to make. I got too caught up on the broader picture, and kept waffling back and forth on things.

So let’s narrow our focus, shall we?

Alice takes the role of villainess in this story. In the original game, the character Alice is spoiled, greedy, vain, gluttonous, and just an overall unpleasant rival that is meant to be the clear-cut bad guy that the player should take great pleasure in seeing get a most unpleasant and humiliating end. You know, the typical chubby antagonist whose weight is the reason why they are deemed repulsive and the butt of the universe’s jokes.

In a way, Alice is forced to take up an unpleasant role like her acting teacher warned her she would be pigeonholed into in the main universe. Only, in this case, she’s expected to live the part.

Of course, unlike a lot of stories in this genre where the villainess starts off chubby and goes through a story arc where they quickly lose weight, Alice is going to stay chubby in this AU, because as long as one is healthy, their size and shape doesn’t matter. It won’t stop people from making fun of her for her size, but it also won’t stop her from being beautiful and worthy of love.

Since this is a reincarnation story, naturally Alice’s previous incarnation was Mary. Since otome games weren’t really a thing in the USA in the early 80’s, the world would instead be based off of a storybook, or a series of stories. It could even be a tween romance series where the main character romances a different guy in the same setting, something super self-indulgent where the protagonist may as well be a build-it-yourself OC with how little detail they have. In this AU, it was a series that was a guilty pleasure when Mary was young that she probably cringed at when looking at it again later in life.

It would also provide a huge tonal whiplash to suddenly find herself in the role of such a series’ villainess after dying such a sad and lonely death in the hospital. Instead of waking up in the comforting arms of her lover in the next life, she wakes up in a lavish mansion with memories of the character she was reborn to play blending in with her sad former life.

It would be interesting if, as a kid, Mary envied the OMC for all the adventures and love she got, only to go back to the series as an adult and see all the awful messages. Many protagonists in the genre wind up empathizing with the villainess, seeing where the story painted them in an unfair light, and things about Alice in the story wound up striking too close to home now that she saw them as an adult, and the OMC is a lot more childish and self-centered than she remembered.

It’d still be strange for anyone to wake up in the role of an antagonist they sympathized with, especially when their last memory was filled with so much grief, pain, and trauma.

While I am tempted that Alice just wakes up one day with Mary’s memories, I think it would be more fitting that they were triggered. In the original story, the first time Alice saw the crown prince at a party, she fell obsessively in love with him. However, in this case, his familiar face reminded her instantly of Joseph, and struck her with a painful nostalgia that rocked her to her core, awakening her memories of her previous life and how she died.

Alice collapses from the shock on the spot. All the memories of pain and love colliding and blending in with this new reality hit her all at once, overwhelming her completely. To onlookers, she’s a noble lady who merely fainted, possibly swooning at the sight of the crown prince, or because of some sudden illness.

It, understandably, takes Alice a while to reconcile the two sets of memories��� especially when she realizes that she’s been reborn in the world of a story with many possible endings… as the hated villainess who is going to meet one of many awful ends.

Alice grieves for Joseph and everything she lost as Mary all over again. Prince Jack is so painfully similar to Joseph… especially if the SunnyTime Crew Show existed in her previous life. It’d be so shockingly coincidental, too coincidental, and it’d be hard for her to know what to make of it. Even if the show and the character of Sunny Day Jack didn’t exist, she would still wonder if maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t the only one reborn.

At the same time, Alice knows the original story. The Alice in the story was obsessed over Jack. What if she goes down the same path, leading to the doom of not only herself, but possibly even her family who enabled the villainess’ rampage in the series?

Since Alice would regain her memories the first time she saw Jack, it would most likely be a point in time before the stories were supposed to begin, perhaps even when she is still a child before she gains that villainess reputation in the first place. It might be fitting too, since the first time she and Joseph met was as children. In a way, it’s like they had their first meeting all over again, only she’s the one who needed to be taken away for medical assistance.

This leaves Alice in a difficult place. Should she find out if Jack really is Joseph? What if he doesn’t remember their past lives? What if she’s wrong and the universe is playing yet another cruel joke on the villainess Alice?

What if this is why the character Alice was so dangerously obsessed over Jack? The story was primarily focused on the OMC, not really touching on the reasons why Alice was so desperate to be with Jack beyond an apparent desire for power. The stories never really talked about her family, which Mary is surprised is so loving, even to the point of spoiling Alice. She wished for a family who loved her this much, and now she has it. She’s not alone anymore.

 The original story has so many paths that lead to her doom. Mary Phoenix is dead, and she is now Alice of house Rose. There was nothing left for her in the life she left, and in this new life she doesn’t hurt like she used to. She has so much more in this life, everything she dreamed of during those long and lonely nights she spent sick in her room.

The only thing missing is her starlight, but… if he would be happier without her… she’ll leave Jack be. The prince in the stories was always disgusted by the villainess and adored the OMC no matter what route the OMC took. Mary helped Joseph get the job of Sunny Day Jack that led to his death. If Prince Jack really is Joseph reborn like she suspects, he’s loved by all. She knows from the stories and what she has heard that he has a loving family, and the love of an entire kingdom.

Perhaps the best thing for Alice to do is to be content with the life she has now. She has a loving family, wealth enough to do practically anything she wants, status, and, well, Ian was a sweet character. They’re not engaged yet at this time, but maybe an arranged marriage with him wouldn’t be so bad? She had met him before regaining her memories as Mary, and he seemed quite nice. Also, as a reader she did think that the villainess Alice would’ve been happier if she just was satisfied with her fiance Ian.

It doesn’t change the fact that Alice still misses Joseph. She still loves him more than anything. The pain of his death is fresh in her mind. Would it really be so selfish just to see if perhaps Jack really is her starlight reborn? Would she still be a villainess wanting to have some sort of relationship with him? She’s not the character Alice. She won’t be so cruel, and certainly wouldn’t use mind altering potions on anybody.

Alice is left torn on what the right thing to do is. The story ends miserably for her in so many ways, but this isn’t a story, this is her reality now. Love taken too far can become obsession. What if she projects her memories of Joseph onto Jack? That wouldn’t be fair to him. He might never remember… or he might be someone else entirely. He might just look like her starlight, with the name of the character he played when he died, the same character she came up with as the show’s writer. The same role that led to his death. It would be so cruel if he wasn’t Joseph, but then again, this world is very cruel to its villainess.

It’s this sort of internal war that keeps Alice secluded from the world and society for a while. She needs time to sort through these memories and thoughts. She needs to grieve and remember the story to figure out what the right path forward is. This seclusion and sudden drastic change in her mood worries her family. They don’t know what’s wrong with her, and she won’t open up to them, as there’s no way to explain without sounding like a lunatic.

Eventually, Alice would come to the conclusion that she should keep a respectable distance between her and Jack. If he is Joseph and remembers her… it’s all she could ask for. But she won’t go down the path of forcing it. She won’t force him to have a relationship, to love her, and she certainly won’t force him to be what she wants. She will accept that Joseph is dead and that she must move on and somehow find a happy ending despite the role she has been given. Whatever relationship she might have with Jack in the future, she won’t forcefully bind him to her just because of a past that was now dead.

Jack, however, has different plans.

Come on, you can’t expect me to let things end like that for my OTP. I’m a sucker for happy endings after all. Besides, we’ve still got to add some yandere spice to the mix even if Alice is refusing to play the part like the villainess character did.

Despite Alice’s fears, Jack is indeed Joseph reborn. He has a passing familiarity with the story, since he knew that it was Mary’s favorite series as a child. He took interest in the things she liked, even if they didn’t resonate with him the way it did with her. However, the original story doesn’t matter to him. The instant he saw his sunshine’s face for the first time, he knew, he just knew that he couldn’t let her go.

Just like Alice has trauma from her death, Jack does as well. Whatever supernatural curse bound Joseph to the tape led to the pair being reborn in this world. Perhaps he figured out a way to escape his hell, or change its form, leading to the creation of this world while also bringing Mary’s soul into this new world he created. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Mary was the one who came up with the concept of the SunnyTime Crew show in the first place and was one of the writers. Perhaps the wish she made at the end of her life changed both their fates, and she was the one responsible for this world’s existence. Perhaps it was a mixture of all these things, or something else entirely that led to this situation. For all we know, a trickster god decided to meddle with things to give them a new life where they might have a second chance.

Perhaps a trickster dragon god who wants to see her OTP live a new life in a different world where they can be happy together and is a fan of the villainess transmigration genre. ;3

Whatever the case, Jack won’t let anyone take his sunshine away. He isn’t Joseph anymore. They can have a fresh start, a new life without the sins of Joseph Cullman to weigh him down. He can create the life for the two of them that he always wished to make. He can be whatever he wants to be, including a prince charming that will give his sunshine whatever her heart desires.

The time Jack spent in hell left him with nightmares of cold nights, lost and alone even before consciously remembering his past life. He clung to his family more because of it, being somewhat of a spoiled baby, but their love helped him not feel so alone. Even still, something was missing, a hole in his heart that ached to be filled.

Being a prince, Jack sees countless faces. He has to remember so many people in order to be a good king one day. He often goes to parties to greet countless nobles, but none of them caught his attention like Alice.

Initially, Jack didn’t see Alice in the crowd, staring at him with wide eyes. It was the commotion that caught his attention. He heard one of the young ladies had fainted. The knights were on alert, worried about foul play. They ushered the prince to safety, but Jack dragged his feet, he kept looking back.

Then Jack caught a glimpse of her, the girl being carried off by a servant or a worried parent. Her sickly pale face was so familiar… he couldn’t place it. He struggled a little harder, wanting a better look at her, but the knights were stronger and urged him away. Something inside him screamed to go back. He had to see her properly, look in her eyes, which were twisted tightly closed.

For some reason he was certain that her eyes were a distinct shade of blue.

Jack couldn’t get Alice out of his mind. He found out her name after things calmed down. She had gotten sick. What was wrong? Oh, the family couldn’t say for sure. That wasn’t good enough of an answer for Jack. He needed to know what happened, if she was okay. He had to see her.

The glimpse of Alice was like a crack in the wall that separated Jack from his memories of Joseph. He had painful flashes, nightmares of a life filled with regrets that only had a few shining moments of happiness.

The brightest light in that darkened life was the one with eyes the color of the sky at dawn.

Jack kept petitioning to visit Alice, under the excuse that he wanted to wish her well, see if she was alright in person, but the Rose family politely declined each time. His concern was appreciated, but she was too unwell for visitors.

It drove Jack crazy, and it brought back memories of a hospital, of a woman whose life hung by a thread. More than once Joseph had to take Mary to the hospital even before her final days there. Being unable to see her also made him feel lonely in a way that he hadn’t felt in so, so long. He felt so very, very cold.

At some point Jack remembered names. He remembered Mary, Joseph, and the tragic way his life and career ended with exposed sins and gunfire. He also remembered what came after, the cold emptiness and pain that tore away at him, his desperation for someone, anyone to save him, to remember that he was still there.

Jack struggled with reconciling these memories. He wanted to escape from them, but at the same time he couldn’t let go of Mary, the girl who looked so much like Alice. The memories of the story that made up the world he lived in were vague, something he remembered far later, but for now he just had to meet Alice, if only to settle the dissonance that had overtaken his mind.

The change in Jack was noticed, of course, and his family were concerned about him. He quickly remembered how to hide how he felt behind a smile. The more he remembered of the actor known as [Redacted], the better he could play the part of the cheerful, smiling prince. Being a prince really wasn’t that much different than being a kids TV show host and teacher after all. He just needed to put on a good show for everyone.

When Alice had recovered enough to leave her bedroom and try to live her new life, she was shocked to learn that the prince wanted to see her, and was surprisingly insistent about it. Although her family said that she didn’t have to see him if she was still unwell, she couldn’t turn him down. She had to see him, talk to him at least once. Then maybe, just maybe, she could figure out what she should do.

The moment they met, Alice tried to act like a proper lady, to not let on how seeing Jack face to face made her heart ache so much. She curtsied and greeted him as she was polite instead of giving in to the part of her that just wanted to throw herself into his arms and cry.

Those eyes of hers were just as bright and blue as Jack knew they would be. He knew that he was right. Alice was Mary, his sunshine. She acted as if she didn’t recognize him, but maybe it was better that way. They could start over as Jack and Alice. They could forget all the mistakes, all the pain.

This time, Jack would do everything right.

Jack was charming during their meeting. He expressed concern about Alice fainting at the party, offering her a gift that left her confused and a bit flustered by the attention. His behavior was so kind and princely… but he didn’t recognize her. She couldn’t be sure this was Joseph or just someone with his face. Spending time with him was both wonderful and made her heart ache with longing. If she was to keep herself from becoming obsessed with him, she knew by the end of the night that she would have to keep her distance.

Of course, Jack would never allow that. He started sending Alice letters, visited her often, and invited her to the palace. Despite the painful nostalgia of their past, the time they spent together was a joy to both of them. Alice laughed at his dumb jokes for the first time in what felt like forever. It was so hard not to simply fall in love with him all over again in spite of herself.

Though they were getting closer, Jack couldn’t risk anything getting between them. By this point, he remembered some elements of the story, just the broadest strokes, but they were enough for him to remember the roles they were supposed to play… and how the “villainess” would inevitably meet a tragic fate.

In many storybook isekai stories, the protagonist writes down everything they can about the original story so they don’t forget it. I, like many readers, wonder what would happen if someone else was to come across these notes, but that plot point never comes up again.

So what if Jack, when visiting Alice one day, snoops through her things, and finds her notes about the original story? It could be what makes him remember the original series in the first place. It was so long ago since he read it, and he wasn’t a fan of it after all. His memories would be far more faint than Alice’s would be.

So many routes lead to awful deaths for Alice in this series. It’s sadistic to its villainess - banishment, imprisonment, beheading, assassination, poisoning, turning into a monster, and many other countless awful ends. There are some notes she added of potential counter-measures to escape these awful fates… including a note that she can’t let herself fall in love with Prince Jack.

Well now… Jack isn’t about to allow their story to meet a tragic end in any respect. Never again.

Jack is going to change the story, and the first change is to make sure that Alice gets engaged to him instead of Ian. Oh, his parents are surprised when he brings it up. They were going to let him choose who he wanted to marry when he was older, rather than force a choice, but Jack was adamant that he wanted to marry Alice. Arranging a marriage isn’t uncommon for nobility, and in fact talks had been going on between the Rose family and the Duff family for a while now, but those are swiftly ended.

Needless to say, Alice is shocked by the change in the narrative. She was already surprised that Jack liked her and went out of his way to spend time with her instead of avoiding her like in the books, but an engagement? Should she be happy or worried? He reminds her of Joseph, but he is different now. Is he really her starlight?

When meeting Jack next, Alice tries sounding him out. She tries to subtly bring up things about their past that only Mary and Joseph would know. Jack doesn’t acknowledge these things, redirecting conversations and distracting Alice so she doesn’t try again. If she tries being more forceful, it causes Jack to be shaken up, not wanting to be Joseph anymore, and she immediately backs off at seeing his distress. Even if she wants answers, she can’t stand the idea of hurting Jack.

The question never gets neatly resolved for Alice about whether Jack is really Joseph, but it’s hard for her not to be swept up by him. He always had a way of charming her, and they have so much fun together. Even if they are new people now, they fit so neatly together, like two puzzle pieces. Despite her resolve not to fall in love, he keeps finding ways of making her heart flutter in spite of herself.

There’s also the looming fear of the OMC and Jack falling in love with her like he did in the story, but Alice is all too aware that the story has changed. Hell, her awareness changes it in and of itself. Plus the original story was a series of stories with different routes, with no true timeline. She has no idea how the OMC is going to change things whenever she finally appears.

Alice and Jack grow up together like they did in their previous lives, only this time nothing is forcing them apart. In their own ways, they make alterations to the original story without letting the other know in order to make sure Alice won’t face a tragic end. Jack at times takes a bit more direct action against those who would hurt his sunshine.

Suffice to say, Alice falls in love with Jack in spite of herself, and eventually the truth that Jack remembers will be revealed. It’ll hurt Alice that he hid it all this time, especially since it would have reassured her so much that he remembered too. There’s going to be some drama, but in the end they love each other and want to be together. Even if the reveal might hurt after lying for so long, Alice will forgive Jack. In the end, she’ll always forgive her starlight.

In the end, Alice and Jack have their happily ever after. The memories might have left scars on their hearts, the past might have had such pain and darkness, but they can move forward. They can heal, find love and so many new connections in this life. Most of all, they’ll always find their way back to each other. Their love will bind them together forever.

As for the OMC… perhaps they get together with Ian in the end. I mean, Ian does cheat on MC in the original SDJ game, and he plays the role of the love interest who cheats with the protagonist despite being engaged in the in-universe otome game. It’d be narratively fitting.

Plus it would be kind of funny if, regardless of Jack remembering or any other connection like with Alice/Mary, MC tried to avoid their bad end by staying faithful to their fiance Ian and accept the arranged marriage… only to be cheated on when the OMC comes along, similar to the Ian route in the original story.

Man, wouldn’t it hurt even worse if MC sincerely fell in love with Ian, vowing not to cheat like the villainess did, only to wind up being the one cheated on in the end. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the teeth?

That’s pretty much all the ideas I have for the villainess AU I have for now, but it feels weird to leave it on a sour note, so here’s one last bit of fluffy OTP self-indulgence.

Jack isn’t going to wait for the wedding night to seduce Alice, though he is going to be eager to have their wedding as soon as possible. Also, in a bit of narrative irony, he’s going to be the one to get the mage’s tower to make a potion for him, but not a love potion. He would never force his sunshine to do anything she doesn’t want to do. It’s more of a potion made for loving if you catch my drift.

After all, what’s a fantasy AU with a horny male lead without some magical aphrodisiacs? Nothing to influence the will or remove consent, but it does make the skin and other places very sensitive. It’s just a little added spice after they become intimate to make Alice respond so strongly to his every touch and burn for Jack all the more.

Jack could take some as well, though he doesn't need an aphrodisiac for Alice to drive him crazy. Every time she touches him, he burns so badly for her, so desperate and needy. It took everything he could to hold himself back until she finally gave in to her feelings and loved him despite fears of the original story and their pasts. Suggesting they have a little fun with aphrodisiacs just makes things a little more fair by giving Jack a chance to drive Alice with crazy with desire for a change~

I hope it wasn’t too meandering of a ramble, hahaha. Maybe I’ll come back to this plot bunny again sometime. I hope you enjoyed it!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[multiverse--wanderer]

The Hatred Of Love | Ghost x König (Call of Duty) [ENG]

[One Shot based on the OTP between Ghost and König (Call Of Duty) WARNING: This One Shot contains explicit narratives of intimate relationships.Did you like this One Shot? Remember you can read more like it on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MultiverseWanderer In a lonely apartment, two souls meet again under the promise to never do it again. Will they find redemption in each other's arms or will they succumb to the destructive power of their own desire? They will discover that some temptations are too strong to resist and that the path to the deepest pleasure can also be the most dangerous.* Cover image credits to the author.

...

REMINDER:

This story has been written in Spanish, which is my native language. This story has been translated to the best of my ability, although it is possible that it may have mistakes.

This is just a way to transport my writing to a common language for the rest of fans like me. For a better immersion, I recommend reading the story in its original version.

You can find this story on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own.

Thank you so much for reading me and see you in the stars.

...

-'ღ'-

There's no way to get him out of my mind.

There's no way I can find him in another mouth, in other hips.

The situation is becoming the most frustrating, the most ridiculous thing that has happened to me in my fucking life. Driven by the need to turn off my mind for a while and lose myself in a torrid encounter, I have fallen so low that I no longer find pleasure in a body other than his.

With my pants too tight and overly snug, I headed out into the street, back to my rented apartment in the center. Each step is a struggle against the clinging fabric that seems to want to keep me anchored in the memory of what just happened, still throbbing. The night is dark and heavy, and the rain begins to fall; its cold and persistent drops are the only thing that manages to bring me to my senses for a few seconds, allowing me to think clearly about this whole situation.

As I walk, the water soaks my clothes, sticking them to my skin and cooling the burning I still feel in my body. The city is almost deserted at this hour, and the sound of my footsteps echoes through the empty streets, mingling with the constant rustle of the rain. Every drop that hits my face is a reminder of reality, a call to sanity that seems to fade away as soon as it arises. Meanwhile, I make my way through the wet streets, and my mind returns again and again to his face, to the way his eyes looked at me with a mixture of triumph and desire, to how his mouth, that damned temptation, moved over me with devastating precision.

But Alexander wasn't the protagonist that night, Gérard was.

Deciding to go with that beautiful blue-eyed Frenchman I met at the bar was a terrible decision. The twenty-seven-year-old works as secretary to the Minister of Defense and still knows how to add two plus two. My idea had been to have a few glasses of strong alcohol at the bar at the base and calm the need that had been running through my soul for several days now. For a few moments at first, it seemed to work until the double-edged sword of alcohol attacked me from behind worse than I could have ever imagined.

Gérard had noticed my figure long before I had noticed his. He was the one who approached when the bar was closing and invited me for one last drink. I looked at him, contemplated his erotic half-smile, his defined eyes, and saw his intentions as clear as the dawn. He seemed to see the same thing in my eyes, because he decided to stay, not knowing how dangerous this erotic game with me was.

He tried to find out about me but got nothing. I lied on my behalf, I lied in my job, and I lied in my situation. He, however, told me everything about his life in an attempt to get me to reveal something more.

From one drink, we went on to two more. When the curly blonde got tired of waiting, I could feel his hand sliding in a private caress down my thigh in a clear invitation. I took air through my nose for just a few seconds and slowly released it in the same place. It would have been so easy to pull her hand away and say no to her charms (which I had in abundance), but I decided to jump into the hoops. I decided it was the best thing to do to prove to myself that I wasn't in need of a single man with a first and last name.

"Let's go to my hotel room." He was continually whispering in my ear.

Under the need that my body needed and under the provocations of the pure French worker, I decided to accept.

He kissed and moved well, he knew how to unfold his eroticism in every honeyed word he uttered. He managed to make me believe, on more than one occasion, that perhaps I could reach that long-awaited orgasm with him. He liked rough sex and only asked for more in response to the grips that my firm hands were subjecting to him. I could see his eyes, half-closed and moist with pleasure, flash in a bright blue that he didn't recognize. I searched his orbs for Alexander's tired eyes without realizing it, and it was only when I couldn't find his deep, murky seas did I realize that I couldn't find any kind of excitement in Gérard's.

It was a desperate attempt to fill a void, a pale reflection of what I really wanted.

I turned him around, put him on his back, and he clung to the pillow. He moaned so loudly against it that it reverberated in the hotel room. I saw his body, thin and sculpted in marble-like perfection, which gave me a strange feeling of nausea.

Not because of him, but because of myself.

Every movement felt empty, every moan, a mockery of what had once been a dance of true passion. Gérard's perfection only highlighted the imperfection of what he felt at the time. I missed the warmth, the intensity, the electricity that went through me every time Alexander touched me.

Underneath makeup that concealed my own scars and tattoos so as not to be recognized by anyone, were hidden wars that only one man had licked with desire and tinges of love. My whole world started to fall apart and despite the frustration and drive to keep going, I couldn't do it. I wasn't getting anywhere, and to the shore I was approaching, I refused to anchor myself.

Gérard had already reached orgasm several times. When he reached his third, as scandalous as it was appetizing, I pulled out and moved with disgust in search of my clothes. He turned to look at me and from his trembling voice came a "are you leaving?" that pleaded for more. I didn't answer, it was a question that didn't need an answer.

And now I find myself wandering the sidewalk in the rain, on my way to the sober apartment I had rented for the duration of the mission. I found myself cursing myself for being such an idiot once again. He'd had too many sporadic relationships to know how it worked. The reason I did it was to find an oasis pleasure amidst so much chaos and pain, and lately my only livelihood of feeling something was fading away like sand under salt water.

It's all his fault. Because of him.

When I got inside the apartment, I didn't even turn on the lights. I let the gloom from the window of the high-rise building where the apartment was located decorate the interior with dark and subtle tones. I moved straight to the luxurious bathroom and only turned on one of its many lights.

Over the sink, I took off my soaked dark T-shirt and proceeded to remove all the makeup I had on my torso. I peeled off the thin prosthetics that concealed the larger scars and removed all the makeup that covered the more specific or recognizable marks, like the tattoo on my arm. I left the faucet running and allowed the warm water to do the rest as I rubbed with my hand, unconsciously trying to remove all the remnants of that night and what I had become.

The brown dye I had put in my hair fell in small, weak drops down my neck, washing away its false color to reveal the blonde that defined my appearance. I wiped away the remnants that the rainwater hadn't managed to remove with a towel and threw everything into the laundry basket.

The phone resting on the counter beside the sink I was now cleaning with my hands vibrated, and its screen lit up. An incoming message appeared on the screen, and as if the bastard had known how to read my mind, he wrote to me.

"König: I miss you."

A measly message that managed to completely destroy me. All the barriers I was trying to build, all the distances... Such an everyday message from him and yet the one I needed least at this moment.

I clenched my fists against the marble sink and cursed his figure over and over again. I cursed him, knowing that it wasn't unusual to receive such messages from him, that I was the one who always ignored his private messages, and yet now I needed anything but that.

He no longer wrote me "I need you," which indicated unbridled sex driven by his explicit need. Now he wrote "I miss you." What the hell did that mean? I knew the answer firsthand; I just needed to look at my current situation, I just needed to look in the damn mirror.

Not being able to have a casual relationship with anyone because no one can meet my standards like he does. Looking for him in other lips and finding nothing but sand under my tongue. Everything escalated far beyond a simple "I need you." It escalated to the point where I missed him, missed him so much that any ghost pretending to be him was just a blurred shadow.

And I hated it. I hated him so much for it.

The cumulative anger of the night escalated with every thought, and he was responsible. He was the reason I felt my blood boil with rage. I can't understand why everything is so different with him, why I can't settle for other relationships, and why that damn six-foot-nine kid can't stop drilling into my head for a single second.

It had been more than a month and a half since we had seen each other outside of work. The closer I got to him, the more uphill it became. He sought my gaze like a puppy seeks its owner. He sought crumbs of attention like a hungry dog and received nothing but indifference from me.

Why is he still here?

I picked up the phone and opened his message. I saw all the messages I had from him with no response, and I almost felt guilty. Then I remembered the reason I walked away from him, and I knew it was to spare him all the suffering I was causing him.

He couldn't find happiness by my side because I could only give him pain, and that's the last thing he deserves.

He, who despite everything being darkness in his world, lets all the light that continues to shine within him show when he's with me.

"Ghost: Come to my apartment now."

...

CONTINUE READING THE FULL CHAPTER HERE:

[ussjellyfish]

Beverly Crusher and Tilly for the character ask?

Beverly Crusher

How I feel about this character

Beverly was a formative part of my youth and my Star Trek watching. She was intimidating when I was a child because she was so pretty and she knew so many things. I don't think she got enough screen time or character development on TNG (no one really did other than Data and Picard). I wish she had more episodes. When she has something to do, she is so interesting. I love how smart she is, how kind she is (it made doctors less intimidating when I was a kid), how she has hobbies in theater and dance, and she's a great mom.

I adore her. She's one of my favorite characters ever because she has flaws and she works through them and Gates plays her so well.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Kathryn Janeway!! They've met now (thanks Prodigy!) and they'd be adorable. They're both so dedicated and also such cute dorks in their free time. They'd love holonovels and dancing together, and also be really adorable power admirals together. I particularly love them getting together in the Prodigy/Picard timeline because there's something really lovely about finding love later in life and that contentment.

Also Jean-Luc Picard, sometimes, he often annoys me (especially in ST: Picard) and then I struggle with my shipper googles. They had this really gorgeous trust in each other and comfort in TNG, where they loved each other, and maybe it wasn't romantic, but they were there for each other. I don't like what ST Picard did to their relationship.

I have a soft spot for Deanna Troi and Beverly too, they're just so lovely together.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Will Riker. I love how they're so supportive of each other. They seem to really get each other, and there's a great trust there. (might be the actors, they're not given much to work with).

My unpopular opinion about this character

I feel like the writers did her a disservice in ST Picard. I don't know if anyone in the writers room had ever been a single parent, but it is very very hard, especially without any support system. I can sort of work with Beverly didn't want to tell Jean-Luc about Jack (I think this name is so bizarre, but okay) but cutting out everyone, Will and Deanna especially doesn't make sense to me. She didn't get to meet their kids, and help with with Thaddeus, or even experience that grief together, and she didn't get to meet Geordi's wife or his kids, and she went through so much alone.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Beverly and Kathryn get together and raise Jack together. That sounds fun. They had really great chemistry in their two minutes together.

———————-

Sylvia Tilly

How I feel about this character

She loves math! She's a teacher!! She's so smart and funny and goofy and she's a teacher. I love that for her. I adore her and the journey she's been on and she's just a glorious being.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

No one really? I understand where the Tilly/Michael and Tilly/Rayner shippers are coming from, but I don't really ship either pairing.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Michael! Her relationships with Michael is so lovely and deep and it grows and changes, they're so good for each other. I adore their friendship so much.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I love her being a teacher. (I don't know if that's unpopular). It's such a nice move for her, and when she wanted to be a cpatain, I was all for it, but guiding others is something she's so good at. I love seeing her with the cadets and Adira and I'm so excited to get more of her in the Academy show.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I'd like to have someone I ship her with. (Ideally a woman because I love femslash, but anyone would be fun).

[finalfrontierpioneer]

2023 Fic Recs!

Happy International Fanworks Day everybody!!! To celebrate, have some fic recs! These are some of my favorite works from last year! You know the drill- all completed last year, various ratings/lengths, nothing from multiple authors (although i was SO tempted, especially by @chocolateteapotsvis as always), and in complete random order.

Thank you to all of these lovely authors for brightening up my year! :D And also enabling my procrastination lolol

Halbarry, my otp, of course:

Onward to the Horizon by ChocolateTeapots @chocolateteapotsvis (Teen and up)

Five days, three Kaiju, and eleven collective hours of sleep. It’s one more fight. They just need to pull through. For Halbarry Week Day 4: Fantasy/SciFi

sometimes I feel it comin' on at the wheel by DynamicDuo (XylB) @halifax-jordan (Explicit)

"It'll be okay," Hal soothes. "I don't need to know what's troubling you right now, but whatever it is, it'll be all right." "It focuses…on what…I want," Barry says through gritted teeth, like each word is painful to get out. Or maybe embarrassing? He peeks up at Hal through his fingers with a meaningful look, as if hoping Hal will understand…through osmosis? "Buddy, I can do a lot, but I can't read your mind."

When I Come Back, I'll Wear Your Wedding Ring by ketchup_monthly (General)

hal has some issues he needs to work through, but he loves his boyfriend very much. barry just wants to get married. aka: i wrote yet another halbarry fic furthering my "hal is a huge romantic" agenda

Entropy (Has Got Nothing on Us) by RoboticNebula @roboticnebula (Mature)

Snapshots of Hal and Barry’s life together. For Halbarry week 2023 (25 August – 31 August).

star twinkled skin by Rexs_Blacks (Explicit)

Barry gets stuck in a wall. Hal helps out. Feelings and shit.

Buddie!

glue by ProsperDemeter (Teen and up) -this entire series is SO PERFECT

“It’s just…” Connor shrugged. “No offense, man, but… you’re twenty-five. Do you really want to be spending so much time falling for a guy with a kid?” “I’m not falling for him.” -- A month away from graduating the LAFD Academy, Evan Buckley gets introduced to new recruit Eddie Diaz and things certainly change for both of them after that. -- Another season one rewrite.

I'll Feel You Forget Me Like I Used to Feel You Breathe by turningthepages (Mature)

A car accident leaves Eddie without ten years of memories. He forgets meeting Buck, falling in love, getting married, and bringing two more kids into their life. As Eddie struggles to adjust to this new life, Buck struggles with being in love with someone who doesn't want to remember him. Oh, and they have really cute kids. or Just another Hollywood Amnesia story the fandom probably didn't need but lived in my head rent free for too long.

help me hold on to you by Ink_Dancer (Mature)

"You doing okay, Buck?" Eddie asked. Buck snorted. Loudly. It echoed. Eddie clicked his tongue. "Okay." He started moving again, coming over to Buck's side and starting to gather up an armful of takeout cartons. "What're you doing?" Buck asked. "I'm taking care of you," Eddie said firmly. "Because you're not doing a very good job." Or: Buck recovers slowly from the ladder truck, the Buckley-Diaz family goes stargazing, and Eddie and Buck get stuck in an attic during a house fire.

to your front door by hammersmiths (General)

Pepa’s been eyeing him all evening, so it shouldn’t be a surprise when she says, “Why aren’t you dating Eddie?” And yet Buck still nearly veers the car straight off the road.

maybe it's the way you lean on his shoulder by allyasavedtheday @littlespoonevan (Teen and up)

“Eddie,” she blurts. “Hi. Sorry. I didn’t realise you were here.” The sound of her voice makes him move and he quickly sets the knife down, offering her a warm smile. “Hey, Maddie. Don’t apologise; I’m not interrupting your schedule, am I?” “Oh no,” Maddie shakes her head quickly, waving the idea away. “The uh- the schedule’s been retired. I was just gonna make Buck dinner but-“ “Looks like we had the same idea, huh?” Eddie replies with a half-laugh. “Well, you’re welcome to join us. I’m making lasagne. It’s not quite on the level of Bobby’s famous four-cheese recipe but Buck’s still on a comfort food kick.” * In which Maddie realises there might be more to Buck and Eddie's relationship than she'd originally thought.

Stucky:

Werewolves in the Workplace by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) @leveragehunters (Teen and up)

SHIELD was the only intelligence agency that assigned werewolf and vampire agents to work together in the field, but the program had been a staggering success. They compensated each other’s weaknesses, complemented each other’s strengths, and a werewolf could feed a vampire and shake off the effects faster than ordering a pizza. Bucky knew all that. What he didn't know was why this particular vampire, one Agent Steve Rogers, was holding out a protein bar. They were perched in the rafters of a warehouse, waiting for not-overly punctual arms dealers to show up and deal arms, had been stuck up here for a couple of hours, but none of that explained vampires suddenly offering snacks. In his near decade as a werewolf in SHIELD, Bucky had worked with a lot of vampires, and they all tended to be pretty much the same. Steve Rogers was different, didn't fit the vampire mould, and Bucky couldn't quite figure out why. Not that it really mattered. Steve was just someone he was occasionally paired with on SHIELD assignments. It wasn't like he was going to have any effect on Bucky's life.

Waking the Fire in Me by humapuma (Explicit)

Steve’s knees nearly went out from under him, but he grabbed onto the table to stay upright. He whined – he couldn’t help it. His chest cracked open, breaking him down until he was sixteen years old again, thin and sickly. The pale grey of those eyes was so familiar, but Steve hadn’t seen it, hadn’t even thought to look for it. How? A voice screamed inside. How did I not see? His entire being trembled as he whispered, “Bucky?” The Soldier’s usually cold eyes changed then, something flashed in them as his nostrils flared, harshly inhaling Steve’s scent before he said the words that finally made his buckling knees give out, forcing Steve to the ground. “Who the hell is Bucky?” A ghost found his way to the Avengers, asking for help - a ghost of a man long thought dead.

the time that's slipping by its_tortle @its-tortle (Teen and up)

“Hello?” she calls. Steve holds his breath again, even as he feels pressure build up behind his eyes. Because that’s his mother’s voice, and he hasn’t heard in twenty one (conscious) years. He doesn’t dare move. OR 'If Steve was going to travel back in time for anything before returning to his own timeline, it would be to see his mom again one last time'

Tongue in Cheek by rohruh (Explicit)

“No, no,” Bucky leans into his space, close enough that Steve can feel the warm tufts of his breath against his cheek, “go on.” “It’s just,” Steve’s not quite sure how to phrase this. He’s not sure what his motivation was in starting this whole conversation, really. “I guess I wish that I could kiss like that, is all.” Bucky stares at him, his eyes bright as the warm glow from the streetlight dances off of them. “I could teach you.” Steve’s mouth goes dry. “Teach me?” “Yeah,” Bucky snatches the joint out of his hand and leans back against the wall. “Give you a kissing lesson, or whatever.”

Backhoe by ZenaidaMacrouras @zenaidamacrouras1 (Explicit)

Steve Rogers is a seasoned activist and not at all afraid to get arrested while protesting the building of a pipeline. HOWEVER he is TERRIFIED when he realizes he’ll be chained to the same backhoe as Bucky “very handsome southern boy who also plays guitar and struts like a panther in his very tight, worn thin blue jeans” Barnes. Our brave, tiny Steve will find out once and for all: Can you catch on fire from blushing over your crush? May Contain: Extended descriptions of how to get arrested while chained to a backhoe, copious amounts of sisters, Appalachian accents, cheerful silliness interspersed with tragic background realness. Pining with a happy ending. Chicken related controversy. Tragic background realness mainly consists of parents passing away, because who doesn’t love adult orphans. Discussion of funerals. Very brief homophobic interaction in chapter 18 (marked in the chapter intro notes). There is no violence, but there are a few moments where you might think there might be violence. Overall this is a romance not a gritty, hard hitting documentary.

Various pairings:

Till You Find Your Dream by Kyele @timeforalongstory (Explicit) (Brudick)

You know, my child, that the orphanage cannot continue to support you once you become an adult.” The abbess sighs. “There is one path that is always open to you. You may choose a holy vocation, and take orders. The Sisters of Perpetual Grace will accept you as a postulant if you choose.” Dick had known to expect this. “Thank you, Reverend Mother,” Dick says respectfully, “but I cannot follow that path.” The Mother Superior nods. He looks unsurprised. “Then perhaps,” he says, “you would be interested to hear of another opportunity.” From the papers on his desk, the abbess removes a single sheet. “Are you familiar with Captain Wayne?” Dick accepts a position as governess to eight war-orphans, adopted by millionaire and WW1 flying ace Captain Bruce Wayne. The rest is inevitable.

Seven by HollyDB (Explicit) (Spuffy)

It's been months since Willow almost ended the world, and a tense summer has turned into an ominous fall in Sunnydale. Spike is back from wherever and acting weirder than usual, a new threat is rising that—for once—doesn't seem to stem from the hellmouth, and Buffy has no idea who to trust or what to believe. She also doesn’t have the luxury of time to figure it out. Some things never change.

Seven Lessons by Tessabeth (Mature) (Cazriel)

At Windhaven, teenage Cassian's in trouble again. As punishment he's paired with the strange shadowsinger who hangs around Devlon's headquarters. 40,000 words, ten chapters, complete. Some timeline tinkering. “You,” says Devlon, pointing at Cass, “need to learn self control. He’s got it. And you,” pointing at Azriel now, “need to learn to use those pathetic curtains you’re carrying around on your back, and this one knows how. So there you go. You’ve got a week. At the end of the week, I want both of you flying, and both of you able to put up a solid shield without blasting your comrades over a cliff. Now fuck off.” Azriel bends down to the Commander and murmurs something urgently in his ear. Tendrils of shadow writhe around his jaw. “No. No, I’ll manage it without you. I’ve let this go on too long; you’re too old for this bullshit. You can come back when you can fly. Go on, fuck off. And shut the door behind you.” Back out in the gelid dusk, the two look at each other warily. Azriel still says nothing. Cass sighs. “See you in the morning? Meet by the mess?” Azriel ducks his head in agreement, and disappears down an alleyway. It’s going to be a long week.

Desperate Times by Eienvine (General) (Sifki)

Sif sees the man’s lips curve up in a sharp, cruel smile. “I have long dreamed of seeing Odin on his knees, begging for his life. I cannot have that, but I can at least see his son beg for someone else’s life.” He won’t do it, Sif is certain; if there is one thing that can confidently be said about Loki, it is that he is horribly proud. And proud men do not beg. Not even to save her life.

Sit, Stay, Speak by Fenris13 @ragnarokhound (Explicit) (Jaytim)

“He’s not here. Just his suit,” he tells Babs, gathering up the costume. “The apartment’s untouched, but downstairs looks like a hurricane went through it.” There’s a crackling hiss through the receiver as she sighs, tense. “Shit. Okay. Is there anything—?” “That’s not all,” he interrupts, standing up with an apprehensive look at his unexpected new companion. “There’s a dog.”

and tell the ones you love (you love them) by LadyMerlin (Teen and up) (Jaytim)

Weeks pass and the clan remains occupied with the chaos that is Gotham. It’s no busier than usual, but Bruce feels himself tiring easily, still recovering from his involuntary jaunt through the timestream. Everyone is remarkably kind to him, giving him time and space to recover. Unfortunately, all that time gives him, well… a lot of time to think. To consider. To analyse the changes that have occurred during his absence. There are new alliances, new tensions, shifting fault lines in the geology of his family. He reminds himself that this is the best case scenario; that everyone is still alive and well, that things could have gone much worse. But he can’t help but feel there’s something he’s still missing. Something he hasn't been told. AKA: the one where Bruce learns how to use his words, and tries not to be too nosy about his children's love lives.

those kind of friends by gabrieeella (Mature) (Jeronica)

He remembered the first time he’d seen her wear her hair like that, the way it’d unsettled him a little. It was so Betty-like, and yet not Betty-like at all. Betty’s ponytail moved like spilled sunlight. Veronica’s swung around like a guillotine. Or, a series of unexpected late-night encounters force an ever-distant Jughead and Veronica to explore who they really are (and could be) to each other.

you dug my heart a grave by jilliancares @jilliancares (General) (Spideypool)

He’s laying there, groaning and in pain and clutching his ribs, but even worse— [Really? Is it really worse? Give it a good, hard think and tell me if this is worse.] —but even worse, sparks are flying. Literally. Or: Wade realizes that Spidey is his soulmate.

[tenrousei-kuroi]

Hi. I was just wondering how do you perceive canon Sirius? I haven’t read any of the books and I keep seeing different interpretations (psychotic bully top, Regina George, woke gen z etc etc) of this character it really makes me wonder.

Oh, that's a really good question...and you have no idea the novel-length response it's going to prompt from me, lol.

I'll give my short response first and only the brave and masochistic will need to venture below the cut...

Sirius was as good a person as most people can reasonably be. He suffered a lot in his life and didn't handle it very well. While he showed that he logically understood right and wrong, the moral complexity of the world, etc., he was ultimately someone who struggled to live by his own standards. A hypocrite, really, though I say that word a bit more softly than most. He spent half his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit yet still felt guilty for and was never really given the chance to properly mature.

Ultimately the words I would use would be immature, depressed, selfish, and regretful. Very much the poster child for displacement, ie: someone who has been hurt taking that anger and acting out towards others.

We learn directly who Sirius is after Azkaban, through his appearances in the first five books. And we learn indirectly about his Hogwarts years through a few flashbacks and lot of very biased recollections...

Because Harry Potter is the point of view character for the series, we don't ever get to see anyone else's thoughts, and so any interpretations of character motivations are going to get run through two filters: one is Harry's perception, and the second is the reader themselves.

That's a longform way of me admitting that my interpretations of Sirius Black may actually say more about me than they really do about him.

So I can't claim to be right or anything like that when I spout off how I personally feel about a secondary character like Sirius. But I do like to think my ideas are grounded in pretty solid logic. I guess I'll start off with what Sirius Black really isn't:

A woke gen z-er, as you put it lol. There's of course nothing wrong with someone going this route in their fanfics, it's all just for fun, and I like a lot of these works, personally. And I can see how and why people gravitate towards them. But I will warn anyone whose entire experience with the Marauders is coming from fanfics where Sirius Black is helping Timothee Chalamet his brother navigate his trans awaking and calming his lover Remus Lupin down from a panic attack using Tik-Tok approved counseling tricks to not go diving into the actual canon Harry Potter series expecting that....because you will not find it, lol.

An incestuous and abusive psychopath. I gotta' be fair and throw my own works under the same bus here. As much as I think I stick closer to canon Sirius in a lot of ways....the Sirius that pops up in my fanfic shenanigans is just as out of left field. As much as Sirius/Regulus has been my OTP for basically forever, I could never actually see canon-Sirius displaying the level of deliberate, active cruelty or complete lack of basic morality that I like to attach to him. Like other people giving him the vocabulary of a 2020's Tik-Tok star, it's just a fun fantasy on my end.

So I guess that leaves us with trying to figure out what exactly Sirius Black is. At least as far as we can surmise from his canon behaviors.

Full disclosure that I am not including Pottermore or any of JKR's random tweets. As far as I'm concerned, canon is the 7 main books and I don't pay attention to much else. So let's break it down book-by-book:

Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone: He's mentioned once here, just in passing. Hagrid talks about Sirius lending him his motorcycle to get Harry to the Dursleys' faster. With the context we later gain from book three, we can plausibly assume that Sirius Black is incredibly reactive, and quick to go all-in on things in the wake of a huge emotional upset. With his friends dead and Hagrid refusing to give him his godson, Sirius essentially 'throws away' his most prized possession and only getaway--his motorcycle--and then goes away with the Aurors, laughing loudly instead of trying to proclaim his innocence.

Prisoner of Azkaban: This is Sirius's book and he spends 80% of it as the villain, at least until the Truth(tm) is revealed at the end. But even though he's proven not to be a Death Eater or murderer, he still behaves alarmingly. It's explained that Sirius's innocence was the 'unhappy' thought that kept him sane in prison, but it didn't stop him from becoming obsessive. He's so consumed with the desire for revenge against Peter Pettigrew (not necessarily saying I blame him, lol) that he is willing to endanger and even outright hurt Harry and his friends to do so. He does make mention that part of his motivation was to 'save Harry' as he felt Peter being in disguise as a rat living at Hogwarts was dangerous to his godson. But he did almost choke the kid out in that shack when he got in the way of Peter Pettigrew Murder Time, lol. So Sirius was somewhat emotionally volatile. It's clear he doesn't always think things through before he acts.

This is further reiterated with the whole Snape-Lupin-James werewolf fun times fiasco. We don't get a direct and honest retelling of "The Prank" events ever, instead having to make due with different characters giving their opinions on decades-old memories. Dumbledore first presents the issue without mentioning Sirius at all, merely telling Harry in the first book that Snape "never forgave" James for saving his life and then trying to pass off all of Snape's behaviors towards Harry as a sort of begrudging protective role and half-assed effort to make even with a ghost. By book three we get more context and learn that James "saved" Snape after Sirius told him how to get to the Shack. Sirius clearly has a habit of razing things down in anger without thought towards the consequences, and then hiding from the responsibility, possibly from selfishness or guilt or both. We know that Remus, Lily and others were able to forgive him for nearly getting Snape killed and Remus imprisoned, so it's likely that his guilt over the situation was genuine.

Basically here we have someone who does not handle emotions well. Possibly an environmentally learned trait from growing up with the kind of parents that burn pictures of you and loudly declare you're not welcome at home anymore yet never actually disown you from their will...can't say for sure, but...ya' know...

Goblet of Fire: After the immediate chaos of breaking out of prison fades and Sirius has a support group of friends who know and believe he's innocent, he gets to transition a bit, and we see that he is also very protective and eager to be involved. He has a couple moments where he goes full Dad-mode on Harry, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore finding him a good hiding spot in Hogsmeade was less of a "hey Sirius come hang out near the school" thing and more of an "okay I know I can't stop you from getting as close to Harry as possible, will you please at least stay in this safe hiding spot I found for you?" concession.

We also see Sirius criticizing Barty Crouch Sr. for not being there for his son. Sirius is able to connect the dots and comes to the logical conclusion that much of Barty Crouch Jr.'s behavior is the fault of his father for being uncaring in the first place. He sees that those around the Death Eaters do--in some cases--bear some blame for not paying attention, for not reaching out, and for ultimately setting them up to join Voldemort. Yet...Sirius does not seem willing to connect this realization to his own treatment of Severus Snape, his younger brother, or even Peter Pettigrew.

Order of the Phoenix: This is where we get the most of his character, I feel, and some of it is subtle. I'll admit that 90% of my characterization of Sirius as actually caring deeply for his brother comes from the sixth chapter:

"...my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them..."

...

"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Oh no," said Sirius. "No, he was murdered by Voldemort...from what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do."

Harry asks if Regulus has been killed. And as Sirius corrects his assumptions about Reg being offed by an Auror, he also corrects the verb, from killed to murdered. And generally you don't describe a just killing as a murder. Death Eater or not, Sirius didn't think his brother deserved to die. He also admits that he went actively looking for information about Regulus. Again not the mark of someone who doesn't care.

And while I would describe Sirius as immature, that does not mean he was completely without maturity. He takes a lot of hits in this book, a lot of very harsh words get flung his way. He has to deal with Snape's constant snide remarks about how cowardly Sirius is for staying at home cleaning all day instead of fighting Voldemort, hell, he has to sit there and let the Weasley twins call him a coward to his face just because they're upset that their father has been injured and they're angry that Sirius is safe under house arrest while their parents aren't.

And all this because he's still a wanted fugitive, unable to venture outside safely. He wants to fight but can't. Powerlessness and depression hit him hard in this book.

In the chapter where Harry dives into Snape's pensieve we get our one and only 'objective' view of Sirius as a teenager, where it becomes clear that he was arrogant, handsome, talented, and very popular. He also liked to start altercations. This is actually our first big fissure between Harry and Sirius, and between Harry and his dad.

While James and Sirius are shown as going out of their way to pick fights with someone they don't like, Harry is such a passive and much more emotionally aware character that this causes significant pain to him. To find out that Sirius and James really were bullies is a big blow to Harry, who would never behave that way. He spent most of his childhood being bullied, after all, and I think that in that memory, Harry realized just how much more he identified with Snape as opposed to his own father and godfather and that really freaked him out.

Not to mention how uncomfortable it is to realize that these "bullies" were people Harry loved. Because once you have to come to terms with finding out someone you respect and love has done something cruel, it leaves your opinions on others shaky. This moment wasn't just about making Harry realize there was a "bad side" to Sirius and James, but also the first step towards helping him understand there may be a good side to people like Dudley Dursley or Draco Malfoy.

Sirius is quick to dismiss his past mistakes, he rarely owns up to them. This doesn't mean he's got no conscience, just that he--once again--does not deal with emotions easily. He clearly doesn't respond to his own guilt very well. So he brushes off his treatment of Snape and even his dismissal of his own family. In Sirius's mind, he and James are "allowed" to have matured out of their past bad behaviors and deserve to not be criticized for them...yet Sirius is unwilling to extend this grace to others. Everyone else around him is permanently stuck as how he first perceived them.

Sirius never finding out the full truth of Regulus's death is a huge disappointment to me, as I would have loved to have seen how he reconciled his inability to change his mind about his family with such an obvious act of heroism.

Ultimately book 5 shows that Sirius is, like a lot of us, very susceptible to "being a good person in theory". He very easily falls prey to cruel behaviors against "bad" people. He treats Kreacher the house elf terribly and uses his position as Kreacher's master to control and belittle him, using it almost as an opportunity for revenge against his family for what must have been a rough childhood. Yet he would never do that if Kreacher were nice to him.

It's a sort of complicated hypocrisy. Sirius treats people based on his personal feelings towards them, not based on what is right. Snape was "a little oddball up to his eyes in the Dark Arts", and that is how Sirius justifies his and James's behaviors. The reality is that Sirius wanted to be good, clearly saw himself as a hero, and was more than willing to die to protect the people he loved (he literally does die in this book to help Harry). But he still gave into the same kind of selfish cruelty he complained about growing up with.

It's not just that he was "an idiot at the age of fifteen", as he describes it. Most of us were. Anyone who claims they were always an enlightened progressive-minded justice fighter constantly standing up for the marginalized is just not remembering age twelve very well. The true mark of Sirius's character is that he can't handle the guilt. When the topic comes up, he hides from it, brushing people off quickly and making excuses. He is unable to openly and honestly confront his own mistakes.

Sirius himself told Harry "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters" and those are probably the wisest words in the whole series. Yet...he was unable to actually live by those words.

Do as I say and not as I do, right? Lol.

Ultimately this character flaw was his downfall. The climax of book 5--and consequently Sirius's death, as well--comes as a direct result of Kreacher's betrayal, a betrayal he was only able to pull off because Sirius, in one of his many fits of anger towards the elf, ordered him "OUT."

He was definitely one of the good guys. I'm not here with any edgy take about how Sirius was somehow worse than the literal wizard nazis. But also...he wasn't perfect, either, and he did and said some very bad things.

A lot of people I think find comfort in that binary split, where characters are either perfect angels or the worst monsters ever. And the meta that get the most clicks are going to be the ones that take those crazy stances of "'[Character You Hate] is Actually a Perfect Angel and Here's Why" or vice versa.

I know that I personally used to write like that, as well. It's actually a touch painful to look back at some of my earliest writings and see just how badly they lacked any nuance...(but boy did I feel like I was making some serious Statements(tm) at the time lol). So it's safe to say my idea of Sirius has definitely grown with time. As have my interpretations of the rest of the characters, too. The more life experiences you have, the better context you can bring to the stories you read. The more diverse people you meet, the more you can start to understand. As your real world grows, so too do the fictional worlds you read about.

So that's my idea of Sirius Black in a very large nutshell. This is the first time I've ever spit all these thoughts out at one time and it was fun to do!

I've seen a lot of different interpretations of Sirius's character over the years and I hope I didn't come across as dissing on any of them. What the reader brings to the table is key. My ideas of why Sirius did the things he did is heavily influenced by my experiences with friends and members of my own family. And the specific areas where my stories jump off from canon into my own little world is equally born of my own life. They come from my memories and from my interests. What ideas I personally like to explore. So when I see someone else's fanfic be just radically off base from how I would have ever conceived of writing the character...I get it.

He's not a real person. So no matter how you see him you can't really be wrong. Each different Sirius Black that pops up on tumblr or Ao3 is just a little window into what's interesting or important to that author.

っ◕‿◕)っ ♥

Love, Ten

[kitkatt0430]

29, 35, and 42 for Harrisco, please?

29.) Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?

Cisco is definitely more likely to jump in an elevator. It's just a fun little experiment in how jump distance changes when you're already moving up and the floor is higher when you land or when you're already moving down and the floor is lower when you land. It's fun, it's physics. And the elevators are probably the only they've kept up with the safety certifications for in that place, even if it's just Cisco testing and reinforcing everything himself so it's more 'unofficial' certifications. But he knows everything is safe and he's made sure the doors are easy to pry open if it ever gets stuck. So the elevator is a safe place to him.

But I could see Harry having some mild claustrophobia issues with elevators. The first time we see Harry in an elevator on the show, I think the main point of the scene is the lighting being brighter, you can easily see exactly who Harry is even if he is dressed in his CEO of STAR Labs outfit that's similar to Eobard's every day attire. It's meant as a contrast to when we first see Eobard reveal himself to part of Team Flash - Cisco's alt timeline death scene - where the elevator is poorly lit give Eobard that extra bit of drama he craves. Though admittedly, both Harry and Eobard are dramatic dorks in their own ways.

But I think Harry hates how poorly lit E1 elevators in STAR Labs are. It makes them feel smaller, more confined, more anxious to get out. On his earth, their brightly lit, they feel bigger than they actually are because they have light reflecting paint colors chosen for the inside, whereas the E2 elevators are darker in wall color, absorb the light more...

He doesn't freak out exactly, but he definitely gets that teeth-clenched 'stop doing that, Ramon' reaction when Cisco gets antsy and bouncy in an elevator, so Cisco does make an effort not to do that around him. He probably takes the stairs a lot though, which... Cisco's not gonna complain about the results of that. ;)

35.) Who's more artistic?

Everyone assumes it's Cisco. Because he makes the super suits, from design to manikin. And he quilts. (Everyone eventually acquires an assortment of quilted pot holders, place mats, table runners, and/or variously sized blankets from him.) And of course, Cisco expresses his sense of aesthetics in the tech he designs, which is art in and of itself as well. But Harry's got his artsy side too.

Harry writes poetry. He's extremely shy about sharing it - though he'd deny shy is a word that could ever apply to him. He's especially self conscious about it after reading HR's novels, since those were actually really well written.

He also paints, something he got into after the war that helped him as an outlet for some of the trauma he went through that he couldn't express other ways. He really got back into painting after his wife died and it's become his go to outlet when he struggles to find the right words to say how he feels.

When he doesn't have paints, he sketches a lot. (Such as the sketch of himself with Jesse he had in his room at STAR Labs in S2.) Sketching started as something he learned to do in college for hand drawn blueprints, but it's a skill he worked on over time and he learned to draw more than just schematics but people and nature scenes. Cisco can also sketch, of course, and it has the same sort of origins - he learned to hand sketch mechanical designs in high school/college and his skills evolved from there. Though he's focused more on using sketches as a starting point for the things he creates through other mediums - suit designs and quilt designs made via fabric and metalwork for his tech.

I'm not sure we could really quantify who is the most artsy here. Cisco's more open and vulnerable about his art, but Harry is no doubt just as creative. And he's probably sent a few paintings to people here and there who've yet to realize the indecipherable scrawl in the corner is H Wells. (Barry and Iris definitely have one that was a wedding present. Joe and Cecile have one too gifted at a baby shower. Cisco probably has a few that he's well aware Harry painted for him. Caitlin and Frost have received at least one as birthday gift.)

42.) What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

Mild fall weather for leaf peeping. It started as a flippant joke on Harry's part, but Cisco wouldn't let it go. So the first autumn where they were dating, Cisco set things up so that they were sitting on a picnic blanket with a lovely picnic lunch surrounding by trees that were turning vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Cisco couldn't resist playing in the leaves and Harry was utterly enchanted when Cisco returned to the picnic blanket with a particularly vivid yellow leaf in his hair.

They do have a fondness for snow days, though. Where they can stay in together, snuggled in blankets and/or curled up in front of a fireplace. Hot chocolate instead of coffee, the one time Harry won't complain about coffee substitutes. And if Jesse shows up they can have a free-for-all snowball fight.

(And of course they both secretly enjoy watching each other on particularly hot days, sweaty and stripped down to the minimum amount of clothing they're willing to wear in polite company and still be decent. The first time Cisco goes shirtless outside on a hot day, Harry's brain blue screens for a few minutes. Frost sticks an ice cube down the back of his shirt while Harry's not paying attention/too super focused on Cisco. He absolutely shrieked over the sudden cold.)

[soulmatebehaviour]

after careful consideration based on Eddie loving a dumbass- the next time Eddie calls Buck Evan it’s gonna be seismic huh

[isagrimorie]

For the character ask game: Seven of Nine

for the character ask game:

Seven of Nine

How I feel about this character

I love Seven of Nine. She's my favorite and in the top tier favorite Trek characters! She's complicated and has sharp edges, she started out as a villain and a Borg drone who clearly loved

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I ship her with a lot of people:

Janeway, Raffi, and Chakotay with the understanding they're both in love with a third person in the shadow (Janeway).

Ship them but see them more as friends, but still will read their fic: B'Elanna.

And then, out of left field -- but in a messy, toxic, totally fascinating I want to dig through and find out more: Bjayzl.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Her brothers: Tom Paris, Harry Kim, Cristobal Rios, and Jack Crusher.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I guess, first that as much as she's changed over the years -- when push comes to shove, under pressure Seven is still the same brusque, and blunt person underneath. 'Rude' as B'Elanna once described her. She's learned a lot in between that time but if she's pushed she's gonna default to that.

Despite the events in season 2 of Picard, I still believe Seven still struggles with her identity as Borg and Human. Season 2 only marginally addressed her issues about being Borg and Human.

Also, I... don't believe she's as emotional as some fanfics seem to portray her to be. This isn't just talking about new Picard-era fanfic, but I've been reading Janeway/Seven and there's some purple prose there about Seven that doesn't jive with how I see her.

Seven of Nine doesn't like the beach or sand, no matter how much David Mack wrote that in Firewall. I am actually not sure about his characterization of Seven in Firewall (or how he wrote the Fenris Rangers tbh but that's a longer conversation).

Finally, my most unpopular opinion: I always believe that Seven would have ended up in Starfleet. Fenris Rangers was a good long wandering road that Seven needed to do and explore. She needed to form her own identity outside of the Borg, and outside of Voyager.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Picard and Prodigy canon acknowledge Seven of Nine is an engineer and along with B'Elanna Torres, they were the reason why Quantum Slipstream Drive is a viable and working star drive.

I wanted to see more of Seven dealing with the xB in the Artifact.

I wish Picard season 2 had more than 10 episodes because I wanted more Seven and the Borg Queen -- they have unfinished business. Seven and Agnes bond and find they have more in common than not.

Seven telling Raffi onscreen about Icheb -- because by the way Raffi mourned for Elnor it felt like she didn't know about Icheb and honestly, Seven is not the type of person to share that grief. Or how she actually lost two sons. One and Icheb.

What I hope to happen Seven clashes with the Fenris Rangers -- the Rangers calling her out on switching allegiances.

I hope to see Seven assigned as a liaison with the Jurati Borg despite Seven's ambiguous feelings with the Jurati Borg. And Jurati Borg Queen.

Also, I want Seven to meet her mother -- de-Borg'd time has stopped for her physically so she only looks a little older than Seven. Mother Issues, hello!

Or, Seven meeting someone who is a foil to her an xB who is on the opposite end of her thoughts about being Borg. A good antagonist who isn't a bad guy for Seven to clash with philosophically.

I miss a good philosophical episode in New Trek, where the ending is murky and questionable and leaves it for the audience to parse the answers.

[spnfanficpond]

New Member Spotlight - December 2023

The Pond is always growing and we want to make our new members feel welcome! Here’s a list of recent additions to our fishy family, along with a little info about them!

Guppies, Jellies, and Mutuals, oh, my!

@mayalaen -

Other SM names? - Mayalaen on AO3, Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, LiveJournal, Dreamwidth, etc.

OTP? - I'm a multishipper so no true OTP.

Other fandoms? - Mostly Stranger Things, OFMD, Stargate SGA/SG1, Star Trek, X-FIles, and Angel the Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I'm interested in a lot of fandoms.

Looking for in the Pond? - I like to encourage people to write and create and I like to make friends in fandom. I was referred to the Pond for that by some members.

Something to signal boost? - I run a monthly writing/art challenge on AO3 called SPNColdestHits that you guys have already been boosting (THANK YOU!!). It's multifandom now and accepts art and original fic, not just fanfic. This is the AO3 collection link and of course, we're @spncoldesthits here on Tumblr, but we're also on Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, and Pillowfort.

Pairings you read? - I'll read pretty much any pairing, poly or otherwise. I'm not interested in reader insert, but I've read some.

Genres you read? - I prefer darkfic and/or kink, but I read anything.

Favorite writer(s)? - Xanthe Walter, but they haven't been active in fandom for about 2 years now.

What do you like to write? - My favorite is darkfic, D/S AU, and kink, but I also love writing crack and all other genres.

Masterlist!

Most underappreciated fic? - It's newer but it has the least amount of hits from the list of non-crack/non-gift fics and is an SPN/Blacklist crossover. Caging the Mongoose.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? - I really would like to write some SPN/HDM fusions. I keep toying with the idea, but have never posted any of them. I always work better when I have prompts or ideas from others to spur me on.

.@leatafandom -

Other SM names? - @leatawrites, Leata (AO3 and Discord)

OTP? - Sabriel

Other fandoms? - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel, BBC Merlin, Star Trek, Doctor Who

Looking for in the Pond? - I could use some help with tags and challenging myself to write different things.

Pairings you read? - Ships, Gens, Poly fics

Genres you read? - Angst is my favorite but fluff and smut are always wonderful

Favorite writer(s)? - Yes, @idabbleincrazy on Tumblr or Gabriel_is_my_guardian_angel89 on Ao3

What do you like to write? - Angst, Horror, Smut, Bittersweet/Sad Things

Masterlist!

Most underappreciated fic? - My most underappreciated story is probably one of my original horror short stories. My most underappreciated fanfic is probably Becoming One,Two, and One Again.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? -I really would like to write more horror however I feel like I struggle with expressing fear, scenery/detail descriptions, and word choice

@oganizediguana -

Other SM names? - Oganizediguana on Discord

OTP? - Destiel

Other fandoms? - I tiptoe through many fandoms, but SPN is my home. Good Omens

Looking for in the Pond? - I’d love to get encouragement for writing and the confidence to share my work. But I’d also love to just meet interesting people.

Pairings you read? - 99% destiel

Genres you read? - I read it all, but mutual pining slow burn is what makes me feel all the things. I love a good canon-compliant AU. I’m happy with anything that ends happily. Or at least hopefully.

Favorite writer(s)? - On AO3: NorthernSparrow, tenoko1, saltnhalo, there are so many amazing authors in this fandom!

What do you like to write? - Everything seems to turn into angst.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? - I’d like the confidence to share what I have written.

@dragonslayer-5fanfiction -

Other SM names? - Ao3- Dragonslayer5

Other fandoms? - haikyuu, daria, lotr/the hobbit, tmnt

Looking for in the Pond? - I just want to make friends and read good fanfic. I like to beta read. Maybe write some fanfic, but I have writer's block rn.

Pairings you read? - Reader insert

Genres you read? - Fluff, crack. One bed, and arranged marriage forced proximity tropes.

What do you like to write? - Reader inserts. Fluff.

Masterlist! AO3 Works list

Most underappreciated fic? - Do You Think About Me? (not SPN)

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? -Honestly, writing two characters from the Fandom. I typically stick to reader insert, and I'm a little scared I won't get the characteristics right or the dynamic.

That's all for this month, folks! (If we're missing anyone, let us know and we'll add them to next month's list!) Make sure to say hi to the newbies and make them feel welcome! Thanks to all from @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @katbratsupernaturalwhore and @heavenssexiestangel!

[silenceinternalmonologue]

you there! tumblr user!

are you constantly thinking about your OTP doing this One Specific Thing but not a single person on AO3 has had the same idea? is there a beloved OC you never have the time to write about? do you hate canon and need to see it fixed in an extremely specific way?

my writing commissions are now open and together we can solve these terrible trials!

my ao3 is here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saucekays/profile

i know it can feel awkward to explain your blorbo concept but trust me i've been there. and i'm happy to make yours a reality :) just DM me and we can figure it out!

(image transcript under cut)

ID: a writing commissions page made in the style of an old-fashioned newspaper ad. The text reads as follows:

Headline: Skadi's Writing Commissions.

Section One: Who I am.

Hi, I’m Skadi! I’m a longtime fic writer for many different fandoms. I’m currently a writing student. People have told me I have a poetic, emotive writing style. I tend towards writing angst and smut but anything is welcome!

For examples of my writing style, visit my AO3 page saucekays (linked below).

I’m opening commissions because I’m currently struggling with money but can’t work alongside my studies due to my autism and other personal circumstances.

Section Two: Put Those Blorbos in those Situations

Some of my fandoms are Star Wars, PotO, Tolkien, MCU, Naruto, JJBA, Batman, and MDZS. I am happy to write characters from fandoms I’m not in if you give me details about them. I will also write OCs, NSFW, kink, etc. Rejections may occur (such as if I don’t know a character well enough or am personally uncomfortable with a topic) but feel free to at least pitch your idea!

Section Three: Prices

Minimum price is $10 USD for fics of 1k words or less. After that, add $5 per 500 words (rounded down)-- for example, a 2.2k word fic would be $20.

Payments are made through Paypal. You will receive a PDF of your fic and/or it can be posted on AO3.

[xhanisai]

Top 5 couples

Oh wow, I have so, SO many OTPs that I would die for it's insane!!! I guess I can put together the top five that have driven me the most crazy~~

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

1 - Lovesquare (Miraculous Ladybug)

Obviously, this is the most predictable one from me hahaahah! These two have gotten me in a chokehold like no other pairings and that's because not only does this show allow us to see so many variations of them interacting with one another but also because of how they overturn many gendered tropes!

We have Adrien/Chat Noir so open about his love and affections for Marinette/Ladybug whilst she struggles to vocalise her feelings for him and often runs away. We have him openly emotional and quick to voice what is in his heart whilst she's often bottling up her own emotions. We have him often sacrificing himself to save her whilst the world can't be saved without her power. We have him haunting the narrative (as Chat Blanc), we have her saving him like a knight as civilians and just more and more and more.

I can write a 100K word essay about why I love these two and it wouldn't even scratch the tip of the iceberg. These two are made for each other.

2 - Shadow x Maria (Sonic The Hedgehog)

Probably one of the first few younger childhood OTPs that still have me going astronomically insane for them. It's no secret that I'm obsessed with tragic pairings and this one ticks all my boxes. As we've seen from the recent animation shorts, Maria and Shadow were each other's whole worlds! She wanted to finally visit Earth with him by his side and he wanted to be able to cure her illness.

And then Shadow had to watch her be brutally killed before his very eyes? So he vowed to destroy humanity in her name? Only to remember the promise she begged for him to honour, choosing to save the world with Sonic instead like Maria wanted? I am not normal about them they deserve the moon, stars and universe! They loved each other!! They loved each other so much and Shadow was willing to kill everyone as vengeance!!! I love them so much~~~

3 - Soul x Maka (Soul Eater)

I like to call them the ladynoir before ladynoir was a thing hahaahh! Maka and Soul's partnership means EVERYTHING to me and the lengths that they would go for each other (especially the lengths Soul would go through) brings me so much joy!

Seeing how their relationship develops from being childish and slightly mean to each other to the unbreakable bond it is now is just so good! They're so unique! Imagine my shock when I first watched the anime and seeing how protective Soul was over Maka. "A boy being so protective over the girl in a shonen animanga? Without any of the weird tropes into play? WOW!!" Thirteen-year-old me was ENLIGHTENED for real.

4 - Gojo x Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Another doomed, tragic relationship. Another bittersweet romance that literally causes major plotlines in the story and I can never have enough. These two are like the sun and the moon and whether you see their bond as romantic or platonic, there is no denying the impact that they have had on each other! I love them, I hate them and I wanted them to have the best life they could have ever possibly had!!!!

Fellas never break up in front of KFC otherwise it'll cause your own downfall in the future LMAO.

5 - Ichigo x Aoyama (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Most likely my first ever OTP even before I even knew what all these terms meant and will continue to stay in my heart forever. I was obsessed with these two and would draw them practically every single day. Imagine how shocked I was to find out how unpopular this ship was online when I finally had internet in the house 😭

Cute, clumsy, optimistic girl x big bad alien in disguise who chose her over destroying humanity??? What's not to love!? THIS BOY LOVED HER SO MUCH HE UNCONSCIOUSLY CREATED A WHOLE ASS NEW ALTER EGO JUST TO PROTECT HER AND CLAIMED THAT HE IS HERS!!!! INSANE THEY MAKE ME INSANE!!!!! I love Ichigo with all three of his personas! UGH!!!!

They could have been a doomed romance BUT LOVE WON AND THEY BOTH LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

I loved how their relationship played out in the manga, the OG anime and the reboot~ I need to draw these two again.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Yona and Hak (Akatsuki no Yona), Sonic and Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog), Yato and Hiyori (Noragami), Bishamon and Kazuma (Noragami), Maomao and Jinshi (The Apothecary Diaries), Tohru and Kyo (Fruits Basket), Chloe and Lila (Miraculous Ladybug), Kana and Akane (Oshii no Ko), Roy and Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist), Akira and Ryo (Devilman), Kaneki and Touka (Tokyo Ghoul), Haruhi and Tamaki (Ouran Highschool Host Club) and probably so many more but I can't remember at the moment lol...

[oldfritz]

for character ask meme: without any guns, what about Karl? The narrative haunter? Hes so special.

oh karl. i'm sorry for what i've done to you posthumously. but think of it like those mushrooms that take over dead bodies or zombie cicadas! ...ah perhaps i should shut up now

favorite thing about them: the inherent tragedy of being so fucking old, truly an ancient being, and yet you're stuck in a child's body. the state you represent is strange. stronger when the sum of its parts are combined, but you yourself lack that imposing might. a mind so beautiful and active and yet it lacks the body to match. i...i get that

least favorite thing about them: i need a sitdown chat with the minds at funimation for why they decided the poor little german boy has to talk like 'it's-a me! karl-io!'

favorite line: i don't think i have one. is it him or young germany in the brothers grimm strips? i liked those. he was cute in them, pathetic, clearly dying

brOTP: per, i'm with you. i don't think this guy has ever had friends. true friends, people who don't want anything from him or see him as an avenue for their ambitions (whether by his/its destruction or through that nonsense that medieval austrians pulled)

OTP: i think by default it's feli but yeah also with you. it's never made much sense to me besides 'omg gerita star-crossed lovers twin flames my babies will find each other in every life.' which has never compelled me. but i like it well enough when i'm slogging through chibitalia sections again

nOTP: fuck, the guys only got one ship. should i make some up? yeah i really fucking hate the sickos that ship karl with matthew. see them all the time on this site and ao3. there, an answer!

random headcanon: i wrote this in my head but neglected to touch the keyboard. classic mistake. anways, i just imagine he's lonely. almost unbearably so. who can understand him? who has his burdens, his struggles, his pains? a holy child bogged down with the sins of this earth. poor guy needs a friend :(

unpopular headcanon: that him being the vessel for ludwig's soul or whatever is not a good thing. it's not sweet or anything. it's grim, man. it's fucking grim. and it's something i hope hima never canonizes. for this kind of stuff, i think our theories and speculation are better/more fun than what hima can come up with (and, to be fair to the man, i wouldn't be surprised if he knows that too)

song I associate with them: young lion by vampire weekend. it's a haunting song, one that's always made me think of death. only lyrics are 'you took your time, young lion' and it's just....yeah. yeah he did

favorite picture of them: again, the real answer is fanart. take something silly instead (because i gotta go marinate some lamb and can't devote myself to hetarchives time)