#plot bunny spinoffs

[fallen-flier]

the moon will sing (time traveling tim)

so. i saw this super awesome post by @puppetwoman17 about time traveling tim drake and got obsessed, so here's a small ficlet i wrote about it!

part 2

The thing is, Tim expects it. He’s faintly aware of the blood seeping from his stomach, staining his hands red— hands which are uselessly putting pressure on his wound. If he survives this, he doesn’t even want to think of all the weeks of pure agony and fever, brought on by the wonderful lack of his spleen and the fact that healing from wounds sucked, period.

Death isn’t surprising— he really didn’t think he would live past, what, twenty-five? Thirty? To live until beyond 50 with his lifestyle was, well. It sounded painful, anyways. And you would need to be a deeply paranoid neurotic. Like Bruce. Because as much as he respected his father and looked up to him, if Tim turned out anything like Batman, he’d probably find a bullet through his brain sooner or later.

Half because Tim was reckless and his plans were so convoluted and insane that nobody really knew what was going on either, just to confuse his opponent. The other half was, well. You can guess.

So. He’s bleeding out, the night is uncomfortably cold and the wind bites into his skin, sand grating against his back, and all Tim can think about is how much he hopes Ra’s al-Ghul doesn’t show up like a damned wraith and drag him kicking and screaming to the nearest surgery table and take out his kidneys or something. 

Tim’s also thinking about his family. And the probable inconveniences that come with his death. Like arranging his funeral and all his assets and his Nest and the fact that Tim is a very integral part of the family and Dick will probably fall apart and Bruce will mourn and brood, and, and damn it. Tim should probably revoke his thinking process or something.

—

Tim is twenty three years old when he bleeds to death alone, and nobody finds his body until three weeks later when his family has scoured the Earth and his distress signal rings, rings, but nobody sees it. His predictions about his family come true.

But that isn’t quite relevant, because Tim isn’t aware of such a thing. 

Instead, Tim closes his eyes and falls and jerks up on his bed, clutching his chest as years of memories flood his brain, too much for a mere eleven year old. It feels like his head has been cracked open and molten lava had been poured through, scorching his veins and circulation. It feels like agony of the highest level and Tim is faintly aware of the darkness creeping in, his mind too overwhelmed and overstimulated from years of memories flooding into his brain.

And so for the second time in a few minutes and a lifetime, Tim welcomes unconsciousness with open arms.

The next few hours are spent in pure agony, his body being too weak to move and his limbs too short for him to coordinate. He’s pretty sure that there’s a pool of dried blood underneath him from a nosebleed, but he’s too tired to turn around, so he just uncomfortably shifts away from it. Not for the first time, he thanks his lucky stars that his parents are neglectful, because he doesn’t even know how he would explain all of this. 

Two days later, he musters the strength to stumble out of bed, gulp down the bitter, carbon dioxide-filled water next to him and get to the kitchen. It’s April 1st, twelve years ago, Tim is eleven years old, and his family doesn’t know him yet.

Half of the terrible things that have happened to Dick haven’t happened yet. Jason hasn’t died yet. Duke is still a kid and his parents are healthy. Babs hasn’t been put into a wheelchair by the Joker.

Steph is still living with her father. Damian and Cass are being trained as assassins.

Mrs. Mac is due to come in a few hours. Tim looks at the blood-crusted covers of his bed and his crumpled clothes. 

Oh, shoot. 

So instead of researching or training, Tim spends the next hour trying to get the bedsheets off with his tiny, noodle arms, half stumbling on his feet because he’s way too damn short, and making his way to the bathroom so he can take a shower and get some of the blood off so it doesn’t stain too badly. 

It’s probably a lost cause. Not that his parents will notice or care about a missing bedsheet, but it feels wasteful to just throw it away to hide evidence of his unintentional time travel.

Two and a half hours later, Tim stumbles out of the laundry room, his bedsheets and pillow finally in the washer. He collapses on the nearest chair and scans the room for his father’s computer. 

He lets out a shaky breath. His family is generally unscarred. Jason is Robin again. Jason. The boy who Tim had held with a certain degree of, well, disdain. Thinking about it kind of makes him want to punch is past self in the face, or cringe in the way that you can only do when you think of something embarrassing you used to do. Like victim-blaming your older brother for getting beat to death while trying to find his mother. 

It wasn’t the only way he looked at Jason, but he had always thought of him as too reckless. Maybe he really did deserve the beating. Well, not that he believed that young teenagers should be beat up by young adults in Robin cosplay, but at least Tim wasn’t exactly traumatized by the experience. Better him than some other poor civilian kid Bruce could’ve adopted.

And Tim did get his revenge. By getting Jason on his private parts. But whatever. Revenge was revenge, and Tim was better than the whole crime lord setup his older brother had. In practice, anyways. 

Chewing on the ballpoint pen, he writes down the first thing on his list (in code, of course) since coming back in time.

prevent jason’s death 

Well. Now that he had a comprehensive list, Tim was down and ready to plan. 

—

A hour later, Mrs. Mac appears, none the wiser to what happened to him. Tim greets her as she walks in, and she smiles and greets him back, putting lunch in the fridge. She notices nothing wrong about how he stays sitting on the chair in the living room, and Tim says nothing about it. When she leaves, he pulls the piece of paper out of his book and the pen from his hair, scratching down some extra points.

Hmm. Maybe the Court of Owls should go early. Or perhaps that would create too much change?

Dick would have a better time in the future if they were gone, though. Tim frowns, dragging his pen back and forth in a short line on the table. 

He still needed to factor in the fact that he was an unknown to the family. The thing is, Tim loves their dysfunctional, broken family and he knows Bruce and Dick loved him back. But to be honest, it would be easier to change events if he wasn’t being scrutinized by Bruce every day. And it wasn’t like Tim had any shortage of money, with his parents still alive and his family fortune enough to cover whole lifetimes, so he wasn’t worried about his own safety.

It would be nice to go to college too. Maybe Stanford. He was smart enough to make it, and the location was close to the vigiliante community that if he so wanted to, he could probably join and watch his family from the outskirts. Last time around, Tim just couldn’t leave Gotham. Being a vigiliante was his life— he couldn’t even justify it as a temporary thing anymore. Their family had gone through so much tragedy and Gotham was still filled with crime and Tim had an obligation to keep her safe. It just… he couldn’t escape his mantle because he loved it, and Tim had a difficult time letting things go once he loved them. 

But if Tim could change things from the start, he didn’t need to be pulled back into the life. (He couldn’t have it, even if he loved it, because it was never his in the first place.) He could start anew, be a vigiliante when he was in college and far away from the family he hopefully would’ve fixed by then.

Well then. First things first, he needed to remove a factor from Jason’s death so he wouldn’t die in the first place.

—

Mrs. Mac comes by and cooks him lunch, and they eat in silence. Typically, Tim would fill the silence with chattering, glad to have someone to talk to in the empty manor.  But Tim’s mind is whirring, drawing up and discarding plans. By the time Mrs. Mac stands up and tells him she’s going to leave now, Tim has thought of three contingencies and twelve more future events he needs to address.

He mhms when Mrs. Mac prompts him to, and eventually she leaves out the front door, leaving him alone with his thoughts. It’s spring break and Tim doesn’t actually have anything to do because he’s in middle school now, so he mulls over the Jason problem for a few more hours.

It comes to him when he’s microwaving the leftovers from lunch, and Tim is pretty sure he’s a genius, or something. Sheila Haywood worked at a refugee camp in Ethiopia handling medical supplies, but she was embezzling funds from the organization she was working for. It wouldn’t be difficult for Tim to trace it and report her. By the time Jason began tracking her down, she would most likely be in prison, just for a few years and everything would hopefully blow over and the Joker wouldn’t blackmail her because she had no use to him in prison. 

It was cold, perhaps. But her life wouldn’t be over with a few years in prison, and Jason would be alive. Nothing more than they deserved.

Jason, alive. Then Damian, Cass, and Steph. He would see to his family, whole and happy. Then perhaps, in the future, when he was older and safely out of Bruce’s adoption zone, Tim could perhaps work with them. Laugh about how he never expected the Wayne family to be vigilantes, just to throw them off his trail. 

Tim allows himself this one selfish thought, because he has nothing else but the shattered remains of a future that will never come to be, and a family he left behind but still exists.

a/n:

i wrote this in two hours under an inspired haze of time travel and tim, two of my favorite things

tim is a super unreliable narrator if you haven't already noticed lmao

also if i get any characterization wrong feel free to leave some discourse or ping me on the head

but like please be gentle cause y'know constructive crit, not bashing

thanks for reading! :D

[fallen-flier]

I JUST HAD THE VISION of a Stormbreaker AU where Wilby's the one who kills Ian for getting too close to the truth about Sayle's plan, but blames it on one of Sayle's security men. Fast-forward to later, MI6 sends Alex again with the intel that Yassen is the one who most likely killed him (they suspect Wilby, but they let Alex go with the assumption that it's Yassen cause they don't want him to know that Wilby, the one who's under MI6's employment was the one who killed his uncle.) The whole Stormbreaker thing happens but when Yassen kills Sayle, Alex is like, "you killed Ian Rider" and Yassen, being brutally honest and staring at Hunter's child is just like, "I did not."

Cue the whole round of denials and in the end Alex accuses Yassen of lying and Yassen just tells Alex to go back to school. But something about it worms into Alex's brain and he needs to know. Needs confirmation somehow. Eventually the truth comes out, whether Yassen directs Alex to the files of Ian's death or Alex figures it out himself. And Wilby is out there, with the Ian's blood on his hands and MI6 has done nothing and refuses to do anything and all MI6 does is use him until Alex knows one day he'll break and they hid the truth from him to keep him trapped with them. Maybe the reveal immediately breaks him or perhaps the truth about Wilby been festering for longer but something screams in the depths of his mind, furious and helpless and inexplicably, his mind trails to Yassen, somehow the only person whose told him what actually happened.

Post-Skeleton Key/ Point Blanc (or maybe later, depending on whether this aligns more with the TV-verse or book), Yassen finds Alex, hurt and grieving with something in his eyes that reminds him of himself, too hesitant to kill until he's decidedly not. Yassen doesn't want to train Alex and he doesn't want this to be what Alex chooses, but if he just lets Alex go, Alex will probably get himself killed. And then they go on a road trip to murder Wilby or something, idk. :)

also idk but i think this would be hilarious on both sides. yassen has all these complicated feelings about alex being hunter's son and the uncomfortable parallels between them and with SCORPIA hanging over them. on the other hand, alex has no idea who this random russian assassin is but he's helping him and for some weird reason doesn't want to kill him, so.

(anyways sorry abt yapping so much in the reblogs lmao but the prompt was very interesting to me haha)

I had a dream in which there were 2 alex rider fanfics (based on the show) where after Ian's death Alex found out Wilby was a traitor and he started hating him so much that he ordered Yassen to kill him for Alex. I wasn't able to read the whole fic before I woke up😭

So if anybody wants to write that let me know

[shrinkthisviolet]

cat!sav ask time! what's the silliest catlike trait you hc savitar having? what was the first one he developed? does he realize he's so cat-adjacent? XD

Oooh I love this ask! Let's see (this is specifically for a Savitar who is not actually a cat, just similar to one):

Silliest catlike trait: He definitely does that thing cats do where they pace around before lying down 😂

First catlike trait: well as Barry, I think his tendency to curl up on couches is fairly catlike (I do the same thing 😅) but one of the more outright first traits he first develops as Savitar is that sometimes his eyes narrow into actual slits when he's particularly pissed off.

For a Savitar who is actually turned into a cat somehow...he still definitely has these traits 😂 though in that case, the silliest is how he always gravitates toward Morgan or Iris and sits in their laps unprompted (which he ofc insists is just because of his "cat instincts"...yeah okay Savitar 🤦‍♀️)

[nonbinaryspy]

Fun Facts About Cheren (mostly from BW2)

- He claims to have given up his glasses so he could focus on Pokémon battles, but someone going by the name "3rdGradeGoodyGoody" wrote into 'The National Gymquirer' after witnessing him "making his thumb and middle finger into a circle like glasses," implying he misses them.

- This contains the broader implication that Cheren's students write in to gossip shows about him.

- According to both BW2 and Pokemas, he loves taking his Pokémon to the salon.

- For tactical reasons, he gives his Pokémon berries.

- An NPC beside the weather institute mentions that you can call Cheren to ask him about Pokémon natures and type advantages. While this is of course a hint to the player, in-universe it implies that people who live nowhere near Cheren have his number and regularly call to ask him to read them the encyclopedia.

- Luckily enough, in many adaptations and spinoffs, he has a nice voice.

- At the shrine dedicated to Landorus, you can fight one of his students. She talks like a valley girl, speaks admiringly about him, and has a Deerling and a Zangoose.

- His Pokémon include a cat, a dog, a bird, a monkey, a chinchilla, two vigilant rodents, a buffalo, a bunny, a mongoose, a blob affected by weather, an upgraded artificial creation, a boulder, a dragon, and Lickilicky.

- He lives in the mountains but hates cold weather. This is the in-universe explanation for why he enlists a preteen to take care of the game's plot despite being among the first to notice the signs of Kyurem's imminent ice age.

- In fairness, on his first day at his second job, said preteen kicked his ass.

- He was a very good sport about this, though afterward he complained about it to the scientist from his home town.

- His favorite people are his childhood friends, one of whom is a legendary dragon's Chosen One and the other of whom is an insecure-yet-peppy researcher with a complementary color scheme to his, and a wandering grandpa who implicitly helped him get his first job.

- Said grandpa compares Cheren, visibly a scrawny nerd, to another mentee of his who is a martial artist. Said martial artist seems to take no offense to this.

- Said grandpa and said martial artist both regularly jump off of cliffs. Amusingly, in Pokemas, Cheren is shown to make multiple dramatic entrances by simply walking around tall places instead of jumping down from them.

- His dog, however, jumps down dramatically in his stead.

- He and said dog are "best buds."

- Though his catchphrase is "what a bother," as 'the one who seeks the right path,' he's incredibly good at making sentimental speeches relevant to the games' themes about ideals and bonds, and has touching dialogue in the post games of both BW (link to no commentary vid) and BW2 as well as in the mobile game's main story and events.

- He doesn't understand why ferris wheels are fun, so he spends multiple rides trying to figure it out, before concluding that he dislikes the fact that the view changes because he prefers things to stay the same.

- He's very tall.

[the-real-big-man]

@the-jade-jester27

AHHH I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD ASK ABOUT MY CHARACTERS I'M SO SORRY!!

This is outrageous behavior on my end,,, so I've compiled a master list of the characters included in the 10th anniversary post! Just in case anyone else wanted to learn a bit more about the OCs involved in it!

I totally didn't have to draw her a new reference because of the fact that the one I was using was outdated and didn't have the pattern I changed it to in a different, unfinished piece.

This is Cotton! She's a Security Breach OC I made around 2022 ish? It's been a while. I mainly made her as a pseudo self insert, she's a very self indulgent character of mine because I got tired of trying to CONFORM and deny my Cringy rights.

>>>EDIT I FORGOT TO MENTION A COUPLE NON PLOT RELATED THINGS FOR COTTON: Mechanics wise Her eyes are LED screens so she can change expressions (and eye colors) at will. Her main feature though is her voice box, since it allows her to mimic the voices of the Animatronics at the Pizzaplex! She likes to use it to calm children down, by pretending their favorite Pizzaplex animatronic is calling them through her and giving a few in character words of encouragement! Of course, this kind of voicebox is primarily meant to play soothing lullabies to lull children to sleep, since her area used to be riight under Sun and Moon's balcony, and it was meant to be a naptime nook with a bunch of pillows and lots of glow in the dark stars. That's about it for the edit though, I just forgot those last couple of details for her.

Story wise, she's the assistant to the Daycare Attendants Sun and Moon, she just helped around the Daycare a lot. A lotta fluff there since they were in a very lovey dovey kinda relationship until an accident at the Daycare caused her to be permanently removed and any records of her completely wiped from the Pizzaplex's system. She lives under the Pizzaplex now in that area where you find all the Endos, there's a section in this kinda AU where they shoved all the equipment from the old Daycare into ("The old Daycare" being the one we see in the Trailers for Security Breach).

~~~~~

Alright, the next two characters in that post are Dolly and Alice (Dolly being the cat and Alice being the bunny/hare). Both are Security Breach redesigns for characters I've had even longer than Cotton, and their stories are not as fleshed out unfortunately. At least in Security Breach the idea was that they both ran a section of the Pizzaplex that was a roller skating rink, it had two floors (the second overlooking the rink itself, kinda like a balcony? I don't know how to explain it) and it's very cool and awesome. Mechanics wise they're both pretty speedy, and when Gregory manages to dismantle them Freddy obtains Dolly's roller skates and Alice's hearing/ears. Essentially, speed boost from Dolly and you hear a little jingle when you're near an item while inside of Freddy, their whole area is entirely optional from my perspective since they're kinda like DJMM where they don't have any real plot relevance.

~~~~~

Just in case these are also the original designs for Dolly and Alice! They're both a part of a smaller spinoff Fazbear's location set around the same time as FNAF 2 ish (mainly saying that because they're loosely based off of the Toy animatronics)? Dolly's design is based off of some Carhop designs I saw some years ago, because she is a Carhop at this location (She's supposed to "skate" up to parked cars to take their orders and then deliver the food when it's ready.) Alice's design is meant to be a family friendly version of Hooters, mainly because I couldn't think of a different design idea for her. She's the Animatronic that skates around indoors, same type of job as Dolly, just indoors. The location concept wise anyways is about as large as the original FNAF 1 location (which is to say not at all).

~~~~~

That's about it in terms of characters? The only other character in that post is Sun/Sundrop but that's more or less just my design for the character since I wanted to make him look more cohesive with Cotton's design (since they're meant to be a pair if that makes sense). I have to update Sun/Moon's references BUT I do have an MS Paint shitpost of Moon in the updated outfit so I'll leave it below. (it's mainly a joke but this is quite possibly the only proper reference i have for the outfit so you'll have to bear with me here.)

~~~~~

UPDATE NUMBER 2: Heyyyy it's me, back at this post because I wanted to update it to mention that I actually finished their references! Their... second batch of references... Yes I put Cotton in there again, mainly because I wanted a height reference (and it's somewhat also in reference to their older ref sheet.

There's also a Nighttime/Dark alt to said ref because I wanted to show off their glow in the dark, since yeah Moon and Cotton glow in the dark. How does that work? Hell if I know, I just think it's cute, cut me some slack here!

[randy-jade-4ever]

Dialtown Party Game Concept

Hello friends. you might know me as the randy jade ask blog but I had something cooking in my brain for a bit and it was for a hypothetical Dialtown party game spinoff called Dialtown Party! Do note I don't really have any drawings but I might add some later if I feel like it so here we go!

The plot: It's Callum Crown's 100th birthday and Mingus is still trying to reform after the incident last February so in order to celebrate the big 100 for his peepaw, Mingus holds a festival in his name to get hip with the town. Everyone in Dialtown is welcome to participiate including someone who just moved in... you!

Basic Premise: In Mysims Party you would go through sets of minigames called Festivals with a certain number of characters per player in order to progress the "story" so I would think that the same can apply here. Example being something called an opening festival which has 3 minigames and then you unlock a festival after that which has 6 minigames. etc. etc. After every minigame you get points based on how well you perform in the minigame. In Mysims Party each festival was held by a different character, but in Dialtown Party Mingus hosts every festival, but she will say different things each festival to keep it fresh. I would think between these festivals you experience various conversations with the whole Dialtown cast and their thoughts on the festival and shenanigans ensue! This would also be a great chance to show interactions not in the original game like say... Abel and Bunny.

Every major and minor Dialtown Character is playable!: From Phonegingi and Oliver to cameo characters like Harry and Peter, everyone you know and love from Dialtown is now playable and has their own minigame to call their own! There's even some secret characters too! Later in this doc I'll explain every minigame and what you do to win in each of them. Mid-Festival Events!: Sometimes between minigames in a festival Madame Mediocre will appear and initiate a surprise event! Every player will pick a card from 15 or so cards and various things will happen. Here's the list of effects:

-An Enc0unter protection card. Nullifies negative effects from Enc0unter one time. (See the next section.) - A players party will recieve an item that temporarily increases a stat to the max for one minigame. (You can hold up to 3 of these items per player) - One character in players party has their lost stats restored - Every character in players party has their lost stats restored - The character used in the last minigame will have all their stats lowered by 1 - The character used in the last minigame will have all their stats boosted by 1 - A character in someone's party will be unavailable for 3 minigames - Nothing

Mid-Festival Events!(2): Sometimes between minigames... Enc0unter will appear! This mysterious figure could do all sorts of things. Change everyone's stats, add an unexpected minigame, lower everyone's stats to one, or max out everyone's stats.

Playable roster in no particular order: Phonegingi, Typegingi, Randy Jade, Oliver Swift, Karen Dunn, Bigfoot, Sgt. Norm Allen, Mayor Mingus, Jerry Gould, Abel Brannigan, Bunny, Nathan Hanover, Peter Kennedy, Roger Jones, Harry Fitzgerald, Hobo, Little Billy, Pierre, Curie, Zimothy Bunsen, Craig, Lorraine Deere, Terrence "Tango", Theoroar Rustlebelt, Stabby, Shooty, Gabby, Narrator, Frank, Ebenezer Dickens.

Secret Characters (No minigame attached besides some): Callum Crown, Marla Crown, Milton R. Wallace, Jack Kennedy, Steven Stevenson, Lola, Phonald Ringin, Frongles The Clown, Civilian

How to unlock characters: You play their minigame once. That's it. Mysims party character unlocking sucked i am NOT making other people go through that. You have the dateables and Gingi by default.

More about characters: Every character has 4 stats. Power, Running, Stamina, and Luck. Every minigame has preferred stats. For my sanity I won't be giving the stat numbers for every character so you'll just have to use your imagination for now. During festivals and after playing a minigame the preferred stats from the minigame played will have a point reduced on the characters stat. (Example: if a minigame had a preferred stat of running and power. Randy's power stat of 2 and running stat of 4 would be reduced to 1 and 3 respectively. A stat can go no lower than one.)

Minigame Structure: Every minigame will have 4 players and each player is represented by a Dialtown character or a custom dialtowner made in the player character's house. Each minigame will have a task and whoever can complete the task the best wins!

Special gimmick: In Mysims Party if you were to play as a character and then play as that character in their minigame the host for the minigame would be wearing a different costume. I would like to bring that to dialtown party. An example is that if you play as randy and then play the Randy minigame randy will be throwing swans at a randy wearing red clothes.

--MINIGAMES--

This section will list every characters minigame. This will be a LONG section.

Randy Jade's minigame: Ready, Set, Swan! Description: Randy now on a better course of his life is trying to overcome his fear of swans and needs your help! Grab swans around the enclosed area in the Dialtown park and throw them at Randy who is running around said area. A successful hit with a swan is one point. If you hit Randy with a special gold swan that's 3 points! Player with the most point wins.

Oliver Swift's minigame: The Wrath of Oliver Swift. Description: Oliver invites you to his horror house for a real scare of a time. Though looks like you're the one getting scared! It's up to you to avoid getting scared by Oliver. There are various hazards around the arena that might stun so watch out! Once you get scared once you get eliminated. Last player standing wins.

Karen Dunn's minigame: Painting Paint. Description: Karen needs help for her next piece! Each player gets their own canvas and must draw as many paintings as possible in order to win. each new painting requires a specific sequence of inputs. Most paintings by the end of the time limit is the winner! Bigfoot's minigame: Bananasssssssssssssssssssss Description: Bigfoot is craving some bananas and is asking for your help! Collect the bananas around the woods and give them to Bigfoot in the middle for him to eat. There's 1 banana, 3 banana, and 5 banana chunks around the area. Watch out though, every player can steal your bananas with a simple kick that can knock your chunk out of your hands. Player that gave the most bananas wins! (Idea suggested by:@fishy-sandwich)

Sgt. Norm Allen's minigame: Norm Allen's Shooting Range. Description: Norm is rootin' tootin' cowboy so it's time to see who can shoot the most targets scattered around the area. This is a first person shooter minigame where targets will appear at random. Bad guy targets are worth 1 point and super bad guy targets are worth three. Norm's wife targets are a -3 points so be careful before shooting. Player with the most points wins!

Mayor Mingus's minigame: Rugnapping. Description: Mingus is taking a cat nap, but her rug is so comfy and nice... it's up to you to take it out of her office! Slowly make your way through her office but be sure to play dead when she suddenly wakes up or otherwise you'll be stunned even when holding the rug. Once you have the rug you need to leave the room with it but watch out players can punch it off. Whoever leaves with the rug wins! If no one can get the rug out of her office by the time limit whoever held the rug the most will win.

Jerry Gould's minigame: Sheep Jeep. Description: Jerry needs to wrangle some sheep into their pens and needs your help. Direct the sheep into your team color's pen to gain points. Whichever player has the most sheep at the end of the time limit or when all the sheep are wrangled win!

Abel Brannigan's minigame: Funfair Agony. Description: Abel's self loathing is at a breaking point and you need to run the funfair while he's yelling at Randy. Direct funfair guests to the ride they want to. The ride a guest wants to go will be indicated by the icon above their head. Be careful of the other players and guests. Every guest taken to the correct attraction is one point. Every guest taken to the wrong attraction is -1 point. Whoever has the most points when the time limit ends wins!

Bunny's minigame: Bunny Stacking. Description: Bunny think he's the best but somehow needs help making burgers. Use a cursor to pick various toppings like lettuce, tomato, and onions and patties and buns to make the burger that Bunny wants at the moment. Everytime a player gives the right burger that player gets a point and Bunny will now ask for a new burger with different fixings. Player with the most points at the end of the time limit wins. Nathan Hanover's minigame: British People... Description: Nathan wants to talk to you, but unfortunately no one can understand what he says... Nathan will say something and you need to pick the correct translation of 4 options. If you get it right you get a point. If you get it wrong you get stunned. The player to get 5 correct translations first wins!

Peter Kennedy and Roger Jones' minigame: Factory Maintenance. (2v2) Description: Peter and Roger need help with their factory work! Each team will be given a set of items to collect. One team will have have to go to Peter and one team will have to go to Roger. The team that collects all of the items first wins! Harry Fitzgerald (And Jack Kennedy's) minigame: Bear. Description: Harry's boss is quite demanding so he enlists your help in getting orders for his job at a pizza joint. Each player will have their own line and must grab items in the kitchen like pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, and wings, and then put the items on the player assigned customers colored tray. If you did the order right you get three points and if you get it wrong you get nothing. Player with the most points after the time limit wins! Hobo's Minigame: Omelette for God. Description: The Local Hobo craves an omelette. Button mash in order to put as much food into your omelette as possible. Whoever button mashed the hardest in the time limit wins!

Little Billy's Minigame: Harassing the Swift. Description: Little Billy feels like annoying Oliver today so it's up to you to help distract Oliver while Little Billy sneaks up on him. Whenever Oliver feels like turning around click the right button above Oliver in order to get his attention again. If you fail to click the right button or don't click the button at all Oliver will notice Little Billy and yeet him and you immediately lose. With enough successful button presses, Little Billy gets to Oliver and scare Oliver and you win! Multiple people can win this minigame! Pierre's minigame: I Don't Think This is Therapy... (1v3) Description: The single player will be serving drinks (non alcoholic) to the other three players. The single player must serve the drinks via a long button combination while the other three will be talking about their woes via short button combinations. Whoever finishes the button combinations first gets a point. Whichever team gets the most point by the end wins! Curie's minigame: Drink Roulette. Description: Curie has put something in one of four drinks that is not very nice. Each player will pick a drink and one person will drink the bad drink and be eliminated. The three leftover players will then pick 1 of 3 drinks with one of them also being tainted and then the person drinking the next bad drink will be eliminated leaving 2 left. There will then be 2 drinks and one is also tainted. Whoever drinks the good drink here wins! Zimothy Bunsen's minigame: Bunsen BURNS. Description: Zimothy's comically large amount of bunsen burners are all going haywire. Traverse his lab in order to turn off the bunsen burners when they turn on. A bunsen burner turned off is one point. If you find the prototype for Zimothy's virus on a table that's five points. Most points by the end of the limit wins! Craig's minigame: Emergency Contact. Description: Craig is in a situation where he might need an emergency contact. Wait for when Craig has a button above his head and whoever presses the button first wins! Lorraine Deere's minigame: Conspiracy Conspirator. Description: Lorraine loves her conspiracies. Lorraine will say a conspiracy and it's up to you whether or not it's true. It's all about remembering what you got right before and what you got wrong before. Getting a question right gives one point while getting it wrong gets nothing. Player to get 5 correct answers right wins! Terrence "Tango"'s minigame: It's Tango Time! Description: Tango wants help in giving Mayor Mingus a gift. Tango will ask for something around the main hall and the first person to grab it and give it to Tango will get 1 point and then Tango will ask for another item. Whoever got the most points by the end of the limit or all things have been given in the main hall wins!

Theoroar Rustlebelt's minigame: Battle of the Rustlebelt. (1v3) Description: Theoroar places his faith in the single player and puts the other three players in a cage. the first player can send various animals onto the three players with certain button prompts and if the three players make contact with an animal they get eliminated. If the three players are all eliminated by the end of the time limit, the single player wins and if not the three players win.

Stabby and Shooty's minigame: Battle of Knives and Guns. (2v2) Description: One player on each team gets a knife while the other gets a knife. Each player will have 5 health points and the players can use the weapons to reduce the health of the enemy. The knife is close range while the gun is long range. Whoever has both teammates health deplete first loses while the other team wins. Gabby's minigame: Gabby Gabs. Description: Gabby needs your help working the counter at her shop. Each player will be assigned a spot and a customer will walk up to the players. The customer will put down a cash amount and then show what they want. There's a board on the screen showing how much everything is. You need to see what they want and then see if they can afford it. If they can afford it you press the yes button and you get a point. If they can't afford it you press the no button and you get a point. If you incorrectly guess whether the customer can afford the items you get no points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the time limit wins! Narrator's minigame: Gingi is Insane Actually (Cooperative) Description: Gingi has gone feral and Narrator needs everyone's help to guide them along the roads of dialtown. Everyone must work together in order to win. Gingi moves via the directional input each players give which is up, down, left, or right via a roulette. Each player rolls a direction then gingi moves in order of player 1 to player 4. If Gingi makes it to the end of the track within the time limit everyone wins! Frank's minigame: Bank Problems Description: Frank the Dialtown Bank Bodyguard is in need of help. Observe the bank visitors and when one has an exclamation mark above their head it means they're about to do a heinous act and you must run up to them and press a button in order to call Frank and throw them to the curve. Each time you successfully throw a person out you get one point. If you throw out Hobo doing a heinous act it's 3 points. Player with the most points at the end of the time limit wins! Ebenezer Dickens' Minigame: What The Dickens? Description: Mr. Dickens needs your help running the Scare Shack! All the faulty wiring and other faulty technology need fixing. When something breaks, mad dash to there and mash the button that's above the broken tech in order to fix it. Fixing it nets you one point. As time progresses more things will break at a time. Player with most points at the end of the time limit wins! Phonegingi/Typegingi's Minigame: Gingi Trash Exploring Description: Gingi wants to go dumpster diving. Use a button to clean through the trash and collect any collectables you might find. Each collectable has it's own point value. Whoever has the most points by the time limit or when all collectables are found, wins!

--THE ENDING--

After completing all the festivals there will be a cutscene with Mingus visiting his grandfather at the nursing home. Mingus will tell his peepaw that the festival was a huge success and that Mingus is more liked by the community something that she thought would never happen after what she's done. Callum isn't responding that much, but soon enough Mingus pulls out the postcard that Mingus used to be so focused on and gives it to Callum. "I don't need this anymore," She says and bids his peepaw farewell. The despondent Callum Crown finally shows some movement and picks up the postcard that was on his lap. Callum stares at the postcard for a long while before putting it aside. Callum closed his hypothetical eye and sleeps. CALLUM CROWN'S MINIGAME: ??????????? Description: This is more of a cutscene than anything. The minigame introduction is in an indecipherable text and when you go to the character select screen the only option is... Callum Crown. The minigame shows the usually start graphic but there's no timer. It's a flashback to the time when Callum took the photo for that postcard. You talk to the townsfolk slowly gathering everyone up to make that fabled photo. Everyone is in place and Callum says "Say Dialtown everyone!" Right as this happens it cuts to current day where a similar photo is being taken except it's everyone in Dialtown that you just did all the minigames with. and then the credits roll.

--CONCLUSION-- Secret Character Unlocks: After you beat the game you unlock Callum Crown, Milton R. Wallace, and Marla Crown. No one acknowledges how they're alive or how Callum remembers anything as their appearances are non canon in an already hypothetical non-canon game! You unlock Jack and Steven via scoring well in Harry and Jack's minigame. You unlock Lola by doing well in Randy's minigame. You unlock Phonald Ringin, Frongles The Clown, and Civilian with cheat codes.

In conclusion: I hope you had a fun time reading this hypothetical. Feel free to take this post and do whatever you want with it like draw fanart of the minigame concepts or whatever. Overall though I just hope you enjoyed a Dialtown superfan's rambles!!!

[worriesndoodles]

finally started miracle mask! (yes im speedrunning the games because hyperfixation is still going strong)

its obv different from the ds games so i have some thoughts!

-i love that they made the episodes a part of the games now! it was one of the best festures for me in the last game, i was overjoyed to see it again

- the use of 3d is not as fleshed out as i saw it in plvspw (obviously) and im a little sad since the hand drawn sprites were lovely...its still very layton aesthetic and i can see they put lots of care into the models AND i love that the 2d animated scenes are still there (i think those are outsourced based on the credits? so if artirts got a break from use of 3d im fine with that)

- counterpoint: THE BUNNY GAME!!!! gosh i didnt think they would basically nintendo dogs their way into a professor layton game but im going to kill everyone in the room and then myself if anything haplens to that bunny.....AND we get a choice???? AND we get idle animations???? and the fur texture is 10/10 please im going to cry and i dont think it would be possible without 3d

- not sure how i feel about change of UI...on one hand its a staple from then on (since i played katrielle way before this) and its much easier and less time consuming to have the magnifying glass; on the other, i loved poking different random places to find puzzles and collection items so im going to miss that (in fact, collection items are not as fun without random poking tbh) + i know they fixed it at least in plvspw but not being able to use the buttons still is lowkey a pain in the butt when playing on the go and pain in the hands generally, you changed the UI please make it accessible for hand pain i beg

-just in addition the horse minigame was fun as hell, i love horse games and it was very badass of them to ride horses (and a donkey???), i would play professor layton spinoff horse ranch game anytime

i also think it was the case with the last game at least but dont prequels seem....easier? in terms of overarching plot twists? i havent played far yet but i alrrady have some inklings about the resolution which wasnt the case even in curious village (abd in diablocal box my late theory was 100% wrong)

i dont think it says anything about quality of writing but as a person who mostly predicts the ending in most media it was so fun to not know whats up until the last second...plvspw also had that effect on me so i assumed all games would be the same

im still enjoying professor layton to the max tho, one of the best series ive ever played through

[pyropsychiccollector]

Ace Attorney: IF (...Part 1)

With all the recent Asks about AAI... I feel inspired enough to dust off some plot bunnies that have been stewing in the back of my head for easily a decade now. Hell, I did begin posting a story for it back in the day... But because the second game wasn't released internationally, and perhaps because my writing left much to be desired, the story didn't make that much of a splash. And I never made it very far because I only had a handful of vague ideas.

... By the way, if you haven't heard the AAI Collection soundtrack, it's a banger. Really. (人◕ω◕)

At any rate, I had some ideas relating to Simon Keyes and the Faraday Clan. I feel like there's some serious potential here because of how close in time the KG-8 and SS-5 incidents were on the timeline (10 years ago and 12 years ago, respectively). I wouldn't feel very good if I just removed all the hardship Simon went through as a child, and I'm a sucker for redemption stories anyway~... Or stories that avert someone from a dark path, like vergilsama922's Hope Universe has done. (人◕ω◕)

I'll get this out of the way: I don't imagine I'll go very far beyond what I post here. Ace Attorney is a fun franchise, but given the usual demographic they seem to aim for, the recurring characters at the very least aren't as fleshed out (looking at you, Blue Hedgehog Attorney). I'll touch on the ideas I have in mind, and I won't dive too much into "howdunit" for certain legal developments. Because as @vergilsama922 would tell you, Ace Attorney might just embellish legal procedures and due process. Just a teeny-weeny bit. Especially the usual judge... Ohh, Vergil loves that old man. (人◕ω◕);;

Instead I'll focus on the plot points and a bit of character relationships. If I skip ahead in time a fair amount, that would be why. I don't expect this to be too extensive because they're just ideas. I don't mind expanding on some points if asked... But I also don't expect this post to get past a handful of notes and feedback. Feel free to prove or disprove me, I just know that generally Ace Attorney content doesn't get much love unless the writer focuses on the ships. ... Which this post will not be doing. Just so you don't get your hopes too high.

And also, Ace Attorney Investigations content is woefully underloved. That's another aspect. Consequence of being a spinoff despite the second game being narratively superior than most main line games. What I wouldn't give to have Ray Shields over the Blue Hedgehog.... I mean, I would've gladly taken Mia, of course. But Ray is still with us, and he's only 36... C'monnn, who doesn't love a more seasoned attorney? (人◕ω◕)***

Let's just get to it.

Simon Keyes (not his birth name; we don't know that one) was the son of Dane Gustavia, a competitor in Jeffrey Master's dessert contest that would crown the world's greatest pastry chef. Dane entered the contest both because of his pride as a dessert chef, and because the prize for the contest besides the title was a recipe book called the Angel's Recipe. Jeffrey is the sole heir to the Masters Group, a pharmaceutical company that produces products like Coldkiller X, which may seem familiar to Ace Attorney buffs. (人◕ω◕) The Angel's Recipe as such is in fact a collection of medicine/pharmaceutical recipes for drugs that haven't been released to the public yet. Jeffrey wished to bequeath the book to someone that he recognized as worthy, and Dane needed the book because he had heightened form of a taste disorder called hypogeusia - basically, he had little to no taste. Detrimental for any chef, let alone a dessert chef.

Naturally, Dane wasn't the only participant in the contest. Besides Delicia Scones, who was actually a pharmacist and entered into the contest by the Master group to keep the Angel's Recipe within the company... There was also Isaac Dover, who also went under an alias of Pierre Hoquet in France. Isaac was actually a famed sculptor that seemed to have money troubles of some kind (he didn't tell his extended family or anyone else about them; just kept an illustrious public image), and the Angel's Recipe could be sold to rival pharmaceutical companies for a great deal of money. Isaac had a son in Horace Knightley (again, not his birth name) that attended the same elementary school as Simon.

In the hopes of winning the contest, Dane and Isaac entered a partnership where Dane would provide the flavor of the desserts and Isaac the design. Dane could keep up his end of the bargain because Simon was a taste tester for him, not that he advertised this to anyone. They would help one another up through the finals, and regardless of who won they would share the spoils. That was the agreement between them, and yet...

Isaac chose to betray Dane, the day of the final round of the contest. December 24, 2000. Dane helped to make the sherbet Isaac would need the day before so it would chill overnight, and Isaac turned around and refused to sculpt Dane's desserts. Isaac called off their deal and planned to take everything for himself, as was the plan from the beginning. He ordered his son to tie up Simon and keep him away from the venue that day, having deduced he contributed to Dane's culinary success.

... In the end, Dane tried getting a picture of the Angel's Recipe to cure his taste disorder. Isaac cornered and attempted to extort him for even that much, going so far as to strike him with a rock salt lamp... And Dane killed him in both self-defense and revenge. This murder spiraled into what would be known as the IS-7 incident, the final case that Gregory Edgeworth worked on with Raymond Shields as his assistant and Manfred Von Karma as the leading prosecutor.

We all know how that sorry tale unfolded. The defendant, Jeffrey Master, was found guilty of being an accomplice to the murder after a whole year of Gregory rattling sabers with Manfred in court - and it all coming to an end when Jeffrey made a forced confession because of a year of torture and interrogation by Manfred and the police... and also because Manfred threatened to find Katherine Hall guilty in his place, if Jeffrey didn't relent. Still, Gregory did manage to prove in court that Manfred forged an autopsy report because the police had never received the body; it was stolen and disappeared before they even arrived on scene. Because of this, Von Karma received his first penalty, which led him to take Gregory's life in DL-6.

But enough about the stuff we all know. (人◕ω◕) I only brought all of that up to establish those tragic beginnings are unchanged. Jeffrey Master was brutalized and falsely convicted, Von Karma got his penalty, Gregory still died, Miles got traumatized... And oh yes, Horace still accidentally trapped him and Simon in his dad's car during a terrible snow storm. Yes, we're circling back around to that. (人◕ω◕) If they were left to freeze much longer, they would've died. But be it luck or fate, the famed assassin Sirhan Dogen saved the boys' lives thanks to his dog Anubis locating them while they were out on a stroll. Sirhan broke open the car, and took the boys to a nearby orphanage since they developed short-term amnesia from those traumatic events. Neither of them could so much as remember his own name. Dane never came looking for his son because he got what he wanted, the cure for his disorder, and just before Jeffrey's trial ended he fled the country to Zheng Fa for further training in dessert making (both flavor and design) for three years. Dane essentially disowned his son and didn't care what happened to him.

Meanwhile, Simon and Horace were left at the Happy Family Home for several years, where Patricia Roland was the main caretaker. That's where they adopted their current names. Over time, they regained some of their memories... But not enough concrete details to go to the police for help in finding their dads. Simon himself remembered that he was supposed to go help prove his dad's desserts were the best in the world, but that Horace stopped him from going. This... soured Simon's opinions of Knightley a great deal; no longer considering the other boy a friend privately. But on the surface he kept up the façade because it was better to have one "friend" than none at the orphanage. Simon just wouldn't open up to anyone else, and his habit of finding a corner to cry about his dad, who he believed to have been killed by Knightley's dad (muddled memories due to that blizzard), made him an easy target of bullying at the orphanage.

All of that established... (人◕ω◕) Let's flash forward to 2006. Byrne Faraday is an average prosecutor with a sense of justice that a lot of his colleagues scoff at. He doesn't automatically believe everyone is guilty, he's more easygoing than his fellow prosecutors. Rather he worries the most about the criminals that "cannot" be brought to court. People "above" the law. For he feels no man should have that much pull and clout. Prosecutors like Manfred Von Karma openly laugh at such philosophies because there is no reason to deal with such "rare exceptions". A prosecutor is a guardian of the court, with no obligation to "outside matters".

... Needless to say, Byrne strongly disagrees. (人◕ω◕) It's a conundrum that eats away at him day and night... But not to an obsessive degree. Not yet. Right now it's fall 2006, and Byrne's wrapped up a frustrating case where he lacked sufficient evidence to prove the defendant's guilt. It was a very near thing; he thought there'd been enough circumstantial evidence piled up in his favor, but the judge ruled not guilty. Byrne needed a walk to clear his head and not stress his daughter Kay out by thoughtlessly snapping at her or being all depressed at his own powerlessness sometimes. Not every defendant is guilty, but when Byrne is nigh well certain of a defendant's guilt it's easier to move a mountain than it is to change his mind. That's just how he was wired. So he left little Kay in his friend Tyrell Badd's hands, and took a stroll by himself.

On top of the depressing verdict, there was the matter that the particular date was the anniversary of his wife's death. She passed a few days after giving birth to Kay, and it was hard being a single father. His income as a prosecutor was acceptable, but he knew that he could probably try harder if only for Kay's sake, and Byrne also knew Tyrell often spoiled Kay while he wasn't around. Still, he could never forget the cold space at his bedside at night and how Kay deserved the warm love and affection that only a mother knows how to give. Kay always carries herself so positively, so bravely, so eager to please him... It makes Byrne privately weep.

Because... he feels unworthy of that adoration. Byrne loves his daughter and wants what's best for her, there is no question about that. He's never once regretted having her in his life. Yet Byrne feels that he's never doing enough to support Kay, to help her with homework, to go to theme parks or other fun events, or to make sure the friends she's making are worth the trust she undoubtedly places in them. Byrne knows that Tyrell occasionally makes an effort to drive by her elementary school between investigations to check up on her, but he's similarly limited as a detective. Not all problems would be solved if Kay's mother was still around... But many of them would be. Byrne would certainly feel less anxious about his daughter's happiness and wellbeing. He can only do so much, and it... galls him. Because he knows that to an extent, Kay is powering through the loneliness she feels at home and always has a smile when he's around. Always. She only ever breaks down if he's too stern about rules or manners not upheld.

And it's not Kay's fault for bending the rules at times. She's only a child, and Byrne always makes it up to Kay if he ever goes too far in punishing her. They struggle as a family of two, but they are managing to make it work. Tyrell chipping in is certainly indispensable.

As Byrne passes by what must be an orphanage, a haunting idea passes through his head. That as a prosecutor, he may one day be targeted by criminals... And should he perish, what will happen to Kay? Byrne doesn't even have the start of a contingency. It felt irresponsible and shameful to ask his longtime friend when Tyrell had already done so much for them... Kay did have relatives on her mother's side, but they lived far away. He didn't like the idea of leaving his little Kay to fend for herself like... like...

Like these children here. The... "Happy Family Home", was it? The children certainly gave the impression that they were having a good day playing in the courtyard here... But Byrne knew that regardless of circumstances, these kids were torn from their original homes and left with next to nothing. The playground equipment appeared cheap, the facility was weather-worn and very old, and just the faces on some of the children... Especially when some of them perceived an outsider peering in at them. Some were guarded, uncertain, others had their eyes alight with hope at a visitor...

And still others seemed to have given up all hope, one especially was brooding in the corner with tears glistening in his puffy red eyes. Byrne couldn't help imagining Kay in such a state if he wasn't around. That was the absolute last thing he ever wanted his daughter to suffer through, losing both of her parents far too soon... More than that, the crying dark-haired boy in the red raincoat. Byrne didn't have the means to help every abandoned child, but he wanted to help this one. Maybe it was because the boy summoned Kay to mind, maybe it was some other reason he couldn't put a name to yet.

Whatever the case, Byrne approached the boy on that cool, crisp autumn day. He couldn't get the boy to respond to him that much, barely got a name of "Simon" out of him. And all the while the other kids kept trying to gain his attention and glare daggers at the "crybaby" for daring to steal the attention of the first visitor they've had in a while, apparently. It was enough hubbub to summon the chief caretaker, who Byrne went off to discuss privately with why he was there. Patricia seemed rather proud of what she had there despite the decrepit state of affairs, but she was rather dismissive of the topic of Simon because the boy never opened up to anyone, not even her. Patricia attempted to get Byrne interested in other kids, or even a charitable donation from the prosecutor's office since they were always so starved for cash.

... Byrne told the woman that he would think about it, and that he would be back to check on Simon. He could tell that Patricia was really just looking to line her own pockets, and he couldn't in good faith approach the Chief Prosecutor if children weren't going to live better here. Moreover, he didn't much like the idea of Simon seeming like a pariah in this quaint "home". He would get the boy to open up. Somehow.

Simon didn't open up. In fact, the more Byrne persisted over the coming weeks and months, the angrier and more bitter he became. From what little Byrne was able to glean the boy was unable to let go of his original family that he had lost; he didn't want a new one. And it's hard to negotiate an adoption when the child isn't willing. December rolled around, then January... and finally, February was in sight. This was around the time that Blaise and the Zheng Fa President's Body Double were approaching Patricia to bring her in as an accomplice to their schemes. Her orphanage was isolated enough to kill the President. Of course... now Byrne's frequent visits were a problem. They needed him to get the hell out of there and not come back, and the only way that was happening was if Simon Keyes agreed to go.

So Patricia called Byrne to her office when he next came to visit, and gave him a one-week ultimatum to get Simon to agree to adoption. That one week would put them just a few days before the President was set to be assassinated, and if all went to plan people shouldn't even know the President had died because the Body Double would effectively replace him. If Byrne didn't play ball, Patricia would lodge harassment complaints with the Chief Prosecutor, who was already aware of his employee's visits and could easily cook up some false charges if Byrne chose to be obstinate.

Though he didn't understand the full implications of what he was up against here, Byrne agreed to the one-week ultimatum. It was insane because he had been chipping away at Simon for months with little to no effect, and now he had a deadline on top of his prosecutorial duties. ... Well, thankfully, he had a stroke of genius in allowing Kay to come out to the orphanage and see if she wouldn't have better luck with Simon. It meant calling her school to allow the girl to miss that week for "family business", but when Byrne promised that Simon could come to live with them if she succeeded in convincing him, Kay couldn't have agreed faster.

A week went by. Simon was initially leery of Kay at first because of who her father was... But between Horace trying to hog her attention and seeing just how young, bubbly, innocent, and vulnerable the girl was... like he had been, back then... Simon felt drawn to the young Kay. He didn't want Horace sinking his claws into this child whether he meant ill will or not; the traitor didn't deserve to steal what little he had left, and this girl and her father kept coming around for him...

So even though Simon was heavily reluctant to capitulate, the chief caretaker informed him that Kay wouldn't be allowed to come around anymore after that week. It was either try something new - allow himself to be adopted - or stay and continue to hopelessly wait for his dad to return.

It wasn't a very easy decision. And even after reaching it, Simon wondered if this was what he wanted.

In little time at all, they packed what few clothes and possessions Simon had, Byrne signed the official documents, and they returned home.

A few days later, Sirhan Dogen assassinated President Huang on the midnight of February 10, 2007. Jack Cameron still witnessed Patricia and Blaise carrying the President's body but misunderstood it as a kidnapping, and got killed by the Body Double. But the incident only got murkier as two more bodies were added to that list - three, if you counted the dog. The legendary blind assassin Sirhan Dogen was slain, but not without taking one of his attackers down with him. … Chief Prosecutor Blaise Debeste.

Prosecutor Von Karma took up the investigation of the incident, and it was ruled to be a case of Sirhan Dogen contracted to kill President Huang, but before he could Blaise Debeste and Jack Cameron heroically ambushed the fiend and his dog. Not the most neat and tidy story, there were a lot of questions left unanswered - like, why there was a $100 million ransom for the President, why did the President go to that orphanage, why Cameron was bludgeoned with a brick and not stabbed to death like Blaise, or the trace amount of blood left at the scene that suggested the President was injured… But in the end, Von Karma gets what he wants. He suppressed all doubts and inquiries that led people to suspect there was something more going on, because as far as Von Karma was aware there wasn't anything shady going on with the President of a foreign country. Huang held no interest for him; the only point of interest was that Blaise had been on-scene before any other law enforcement. As the man that issued Von Karma his first penalty, the "Perfect" prosecutor only thought it appropriate the man met his end in one of his own schemes.

So due to this different outcome of SS-5, no ransom was sent or received, the Body Double simply returned home as the "true" Huang - and to keep Patricia satisfied he would send her suitable monetary compensation for the trouble. So long as she kept her lips sealed, no one would know the real Huang was dead. Though this does mean Patricia would never get recommended for a role as warden of the prison; Von Karma certainly had no use for her. Von Karma would rise to the position of Chief Prosecutor instead, smelling the opportunity for what it was and beating back his rivals for the throne through intimidation or bringing up their most embarrassing failures as prosecutors. Jill Crane would go on not knowing who is hold accountable for her boyfriend Jack's death; no one would clue her in on Blaise's secrets because no one knew about the Zheng Fa President assassination plot. Yet she and Judge Courtney would keep searching for answers, years later. No Blaise means no black market auctions for police evidence - at least none hosted at the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee's headquarters. Blaise Debeste's son would be left orphaned, and ignored by Von Karma. However, this in turn would earn Sebastian attention from Ray Shields, who is still bitter about losing Miles to Von Karma and sees an opportunity to salvage his own broken soul. … Even if taking in a kid is an awful lot for a single defense attorney that's only got 5-6 years of experience under his belt as a lawyer. Still, it'd be a healthier environment for Sebastian, no sabotaging his education, toying with, or abusing him. Ray will make a strapping defense attorney out of Sebastian someday~… Besides! Chicks love the single dad look, yeah?!

… Just let Ray have his dreams.

Regardless of all these things happening during and after SS-5, the Faraday Clan are too absorbed in the growing pains of three people under one roof. Simon continues to tiptoe around the Faraday's, only sometimes voicing what he wants - and more often it'll also be what Kay wants at the time, so Byrne knows the boy is only rarely indulging for himself and only himself. Kay is as receptive as expected…though she had to quickly be corrected that bathtimes are to be done separately. Byrne is painfully aware from reading Simon's file that he's hitting 13 that year… And he's not letting his 5-year-old (soon to be 6) daughter get in the habit of bathing with BOYS…

FAR too soon for that pubescent nightmare fuel.

Thankfully, Simon seems just as eager to…not get into that physical intimacy angle. Hugs are sometimes fine. Head pats, awkwardly ruffling Kay's hair, all that's fine. Mixed baths cross the line, and Simon doesn't want any part in that either.

It's more tight on the expenses with Simon around, but Byrne feels it's well worth the price. Kay doesn't have to come to the courthouse all the time after school, Simon will either be home or will offer to take her somewhere. Sometimes Tyrell will drive them around. One curiousity Byrne picked up immediately was Simon's aversion to sweets… Tyrell was rather put out by this development, and Simon was simply vague or unsure why he disliked them. He did make the exception to try the courthouse swiss rolls that Kay sung such high praises about. The poor kid looked like he was choking down lumps of iron as he forced himself to, though. Like the very act of eating sweets was…Byrne didn't know how to describe it. Like it was sacrilege? Like the boy was seriously forcing his body to eat just to please Kay. Points for maintaining that million-watt smile for Kay's benefit, but Byrne could see the tears pricking at his eyes. Tyrell could, too.

Hence why Tyrell suggested trying to dig into Simon's background more. Frankly, there was something familiar about the boy that Tyrell couldn't put his finger on. But it was way too early for any blood or DNA tests. With Simon so new to the family, Byrne wanted to win him over for a while before seeing about tracking down his old family's whereabouts. Plus, if he made any moves that unsettled Simon, Kay would get upset… They would wait on that stuff. Perhaps if they waited long enough, Simon's memories would return on their own.

Those first couple years were peaceful, but slow. Despite the 7-year gap between them, Kay and Simon were joined at the hip. Simon didn't seem in a rush to make new friends at school, and often kept in touch with that Horace boy at the orphanage. Usually chess correspondence through the mail. Oddly enough, Simon seemed formal and plastic whenever Horace came up… Like it was just another thing he was forcing himself to do. Go through the motions. Byrne talked with Simon about potentially seeing a therapist, since Simon never wanted to talk about what he DID remember of his childhood, the reasons he was crying and alone at the orphanage… But Simon near-violently refused, stating he didn't need a shrink poking around in his head. That he wasn't CRAZY. And Byrne agreed, he just wanted Simon to know if he ever needed help, all Simon had to do was ask or open up to them.

It was…rough seeing Simon so doubtful even after months of living in the same house. Whatever happened had scarred Simon, and Byrne wasn't about to force the boy to reopen those wounds until he was ready. It just hurts to catch the boy walking on eggshells even when they're welcoming him with open arms. Simon obviously conceals his reservations around Kay, and there is genuine fondness for his daughter, but Simon still looks so lost and uncertain.

Eventually, the original KG-8 incident happens. Byrne and Tyrell are drawn away from caring for the kids, and the kids…hash things out a bit. Kay can see Simon and Daddy don't get along, and she wants to know what she can do to help. Simon doesn't like having this conversation with Kay… But it's easier since she's another kid like him. He explains that when he was her age, something bad happened and he lost his father. His "friend" back at the orphanage helped in that… And as a result, they lost their memories and everything they used to have. Living at the orphanage, Simon quietly accepted his pariah status and came to believe no one could care for him. If his own father abandoned him, who could he even trust? Simon doesn't know the kind of guy Kay's father is, but Simon's experience has shown him that adults do whatever they want, often abusing the power they have like how caretaker Roland makes the kids do chores or they don't get supper. Kay's dismayed that this is how Simon feels, and she hugs it out with him and promises that she and Daddy are different from everyone else Simon's known. They're not gonna just leave him. Simon says he's trying really hard to believe that… It's just a work-in-progress. He's mostly convinced with Kay. … It's her dad that he needs to assess what kind of guy he is. And, well, one thing leads to another, and Kay suggests they watch Daddy in his trials. That might help. Simon can't exactly refuse, much to his chagrin.

Sitting in on the KG-8 trial was… depressing for Simon. He was old enough to get a clearer picture than Kay. Her father had evidence, and it was stolen from under his nose. The trial itself was a trainwreck, no witnesses to testify against the smuggling ring after Cece Yew was killed, no compelling evidence…. There was just this sense of overwhelming powerlessness. So even adults could feel this way, huh? Both Byrne and Tyrell looked dead where they were standing as the judge declared Manny Coachen not guilty. Not all adults wielded power…

… But when they did, they abused the hell out of it.

Honestly, this wasn't enough to convince Simon what kind of person Byrne Faraday was. However… He was willing to see what Byrne would do from here.

(I'll hafta do a followup post later.... Aiyiyi, the plot bunnies are multitasking, and my muse is going off. XD)

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

4, 13, 21, 24, 25, 33, 42, 57, 63, 70 and 71 for the fic writer ask game!

Thank you for the questions! Okay, this took some time and thought. And some of my answers are long. It will be under a "read more" out of convenience and respect for my mutuals and followers.

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

I really want to write a background and sidestory for a one-off character from George Lopez that Tony O'Dell played. I don't think I've written it yet for a few reasons:

a) I don't know if his character is named Blaine (dialogue and closed captions) or Patrick (credits on IMDb and from the end of the episode).

b) I kinda want to ask Tony about that episode and role.

c) I haven't had time or haven't sat down and focused on it enough to start writing it.

No, I don't experience existential dread over it.

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

This isn't going to take long. But in writing my first fic, Is This Love?, I learned that I can write sexy things. This is the opposite of the "write what you know" advice. I have done research and will continue to do more. I've talked with others who have written smut. And I have had some friends read over what little I have written. As I tend to write out of sequence, I haven't published the smut and I'm still a bit anxious about it, but I decided to do this to prove to myself that I could. I wouldn't be upset if Is This Love? is the only fic that I write that contains smut, but proud of myself.

21. pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.

A fellow fanfic writer? Hmm, I would say @curiousdamage @missviolethunter @cecexwrites @rynnie-rynn @themaradwrites @avatarskywalker78 and/or @the-time-lord-oracle.

With Curious, MissV, Rynn, and/or AvatarSkywalker78, I would write something for The Karate Kid or Cobra Kai because that is the main fandom that we have in common. The first three were with me when I created my OCs and I honestly would trust them to write Julie or Alyssa. But all of them have strengths writing other characters in that fandom that I'm not sure I can do justice or write with the nuance they deserve.

Curious, MissV, and I could finally write that spinoff/revival-type fanfic for The Equalizer with Scott McCall and his OC daughter as the central characters. Or Curious and I could write a Cagney & Lacey story.

With Cece, it would probably be a story set in the Wizarding World with supporting and minor canon characters.

Obviously, a Doctor Who story with The_Time_Lord_Oracle.

And were I to write an original story, it would be with Rynn or Mara.

All of these writers are ones that I greatly admire, consider friends, have created some of the best original characters (I wish they all were canon and I would protect them to the end), and have written many of my favorite stories.

If you are asking about published/professional authors, I'm not sure. Maybe Rick Riordan, Richelle Mead, David McIntee, Timothy Zahn, Jude Watson, or Cassandra Clare (yes, I know some of the allegations against her, but she is still one of my favorite YA writers).

24. on average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

It really depends on it's a workday vs. weekend, how much time I've had to write, and how inspired I was. If I write at least 500 words, I consider it a productive day.

25. what’s your revision or rewriting process like?

I edit as I write, which makes the writing process longer, I'm sure. Then I send it to my beta. After I hear their thoughts and suggestions, I take into account if those serve the story and make appropriate edits. Then I will post it on AO3.

33. do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

Honestly, a very rough plot idea. The characters are my main focus and I spend more time thinking about how to develop them and how they will react to the plot.

42. describe the aesthetic of a story in 5 words.

Let me preface this with "I'm not sure that I'm doing this right."

Family. Friendship. Discovery. Magic. Adventure.

57. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were reading it?

Okay, these might not be the actual last things, but they are the best that I can remember: Camille Coduri's natural hair color and Billie Piper's eye color.

63. what’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic?

I've read so many fics that I honestly don't know. I'm sorry.

70. are you very critical of your own writing? how much do you find yourself editing (either during the writing or after the fact)?

Yeah, I think I am. I second-guess myself a lot. I edit as I write, so I might spend hours on the same damn paragraph because I didn't like the original word choice, felt it was too similar to something I had previously written, or numerous other reasons. I once nearly trashed everything I wrote for Is This Love? and lay on my bed crying because I thought I was being too harsh on Jimmy and my OC Julie.

71. how do you balance writing and life? do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of writing you have to do?

Hahaha. Balance? What's that? Ironic isn't it, considering that I write for The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai? Yes, I constantly feel overwhelmed by the amount of writing that I have to do. I want to be able to post two chapters for three of my WIPs by the end of 2024. I haven't worked on two of them at all yet. I haven't done any writing since early or mid-February. Sometimes, I feel like a failure because I started writing Is This Love? in 2018 and I haven't even started writing the scenes concurrent with the plot of The Karate Kid, while I've got friends and mutuals who can write, finish, and post a few multichapter fics within a few months.

[roseverdict]

hey leverage gang. i'm writing an absolutely batshit insane crossover. it's not a mega-multi-crossover but the thing i'm crossing it over with is, at least on the surface, a completely different vibe from leverage. i know nothing about the leverage reboot but i know that the og series will let me:

draw Grief-Stricken Angry Father Who Went Depresso Mode, Then Turned His Anger On The System That Killed His Child And Eventually Ended Up With At Least One Coworker Who Put Up With His Bullshit Until He Went Too Far (At Which Point He Got The Sense Slapped/Punched Into Him) parallels

addendum to the last: the character getting paralleled also ends up in a roommate situation with their ex-coworker after the fact, so. that's another piece of evidence that the venn diagram is almost a circle

make Chaos (K-OS? i read some of the spinoff books a while back and the spelling was inconsistent so i'm not really clear on that) relevant to the plot bunny at hand

go HAM with the fact that apparently each season of the show had a theme and s2 was "family," which makes me giggle evilly inside because that fits SO nicely with the crossover idea. client comes to the crew to get (essentially) his kids back. they end up grabbing an extra kid who'd been stuck there longer. this is the kid who was thought to be dead by the character getting nate parallels. nate will Have A Time with this realization <3

however, leverage has always been floating in the back of my brain without any real, concrete timeline. moreau is in here somewhere with the time nate wemt to jail between seasons, the time sophie got switched out with tara for a chunk of a season, and miscellaneous episode plots, but i have no idea which order they happened in. like none. and i don't want to just go "it happens sometime in s2-s4" because. that's a MASSIVE chunk of the timeline. that'd be like saying "oh yeah i learned to make authentic chicago pizza somewhere around here" and gesturing to the entire midwest on a map. i don't want to reference things that don't happen yet.

so. are there any potential places in the timeline of s2-s4 that i could conceivably cram a fanfic into?

and for long-time followers of my own bullshit: yes, this is still more stick figure brainrot <3

[fakesurprise]

A scene not appearing in this story!

I’ve spent six hours in my office trying to work out how the four entities from the other realms are communicating. Killing things to send messages via the grey lands seems the likely method, but why wasn’t it a known thing before? Could the damage of the sundering have had some strange benefit we didn’t know of? My head a was a mess of ideas and theories, none of which I could verify.

I’d left Fish and Aeosi in Fish’s apartment for the wards and some time alone. No client has called in four hours, which was unusual. I scrolled a few paradvice news feeds and found them surprisingly empty. Those who had once had magic knew something was off: they didn’t know what. Most of them likely didn’t know they knew anything. But they knew the world that had changed was changing again, enough to instinctively lay low.

There was no knock on the door. The old wards I’d been promised still existed on the office didn’t act. A boy simply appeared in the office. Not Kit: this kid was eleven, and technically dressed. He was wearing mismatched socks, with a shoe on the right foot and a rubber boot on the left. Sweats and a fancy blazer top with three ties and a set of small pink earrings and a hairband that matched them.

“Hi!” His grin slammed into me with even more force than Lance’s subtle power ever could.

I rocked backward but I was me. On my feet and moving. If this cherub had a new form, it was going to be confused and not expecting anyone like me.

I swung a fist and my hand jerked back at the last moment, tendons and bones throbbing in my arm.

“Wow! That’s not a good way to say hello to a Jay you know!”

The boy hadn’t even moved.

“What are you?” I said, my voice cold even to me.

The boy’s grin didn’t alter at all. “I’m a Jay! That’s also a what sometimes, like probably now since you’re being extra weirdy you know! I’m probably not supposed to be here but I’m here for really good reasons I bet!”

I moved back. I’d never been assaulted by cheer before, but the boy was – happy. Excited. I knew he meant no harm, but I also knew it the way I knew a nuclear power station meant no harm. I was very certain I didn’t want to be near this creature if it went critical. In any way.

“My name is Ryke Blackbird; you’re in the offices of Warp. Do you have a case for us?” I said, with almost a professional tone as if I hadn’t tried to remove the kid’s head from his body a moment ago.

“I’m not allowed to help with cases cuz I solve them and everyone gets worried about why.” The boy let out a huge sigh, then brightened again. “But! I’m here to help fix a problem cuz you have a hugey plot hole in your story and if it gets bigger you’ll have plot bunnies running around and they have nanoites, which is like rabies except the bunnies make people write novels.”

I stared at the boy. “.... was any of that meant to make sense?”

“I always make sense, but! I bet you call nanoites something else and plot bunnies aren’t always bunnies. Also, sometimes I remember things out of order.” Jay frowned. “But! I just did some bindings and fixed the plot hole so that the other realms can talk in secret and also! this one needs to be fixed too but Charlie says fixing other universes is a really big oops and that’s why the Dr Who spinoff about Gallifreyan break dancing didn’t happen and maybe also why they tried to reboot Gilligan’s Island four times. That was probably the plot dragons though!”

“Where are you from?”

The boy scratched his head. “I probably shouldn’t tell you because you’ll get all confusled and you get really angry when you’re confusled. I’d offer a jaysome hug but I’m not sure it would take so you probably need to have that looked at.”

The boy vanished.

I sat back down at my desk, flexed my hand. My own body had refused to hit Jay.

I tried to think about what that meant.

I realized that creature had been right about at least one thing.

And I poured myself a drink, and vowed to forget this exchange had ever happened.

[fallen-flier]

swim in circles (sniper! tim)

au where tim's parents get kidnapped by obeah man earlier on but they survive. and he becomes a sniper. :)

inspired by @yjcorefourenjoyer's sniper! tim idea, who graciously let me run around in their sandbox. :D

Turns out, when you leave your child alone without a parental figure for months, you can’t integrate yourself back into their life and just pretend all is normal.

You never wanted to parent me before, Tim wants to scream. Why are you even pretending you care now?

But he says none of it, swallows it down his throat dry where it resides in his chest, thick and cloying like a good son. His parents narrowly escaped being killed. Tim is being selfish because he isn’t used to this. It’s fine.

Jack wants him to transfer to a nearby private school and live at home instead of boarding school so he and Mom can keep an eye on him, fine. Tim can adapt, take advantage of the fact that he’s home more to take pictures of Batman and Robin. 

So Tim is twelve years old when his father brings him to a shooting range and puts a hand on his shoulder. Some good ol’ father-son bonding, his dad claims. His dad is too scared to admit what the true purpose is; so Tim won’t be defenseless in case he’s kidnapped.

But it doesn’t matter whether his dad verbalizes it or not: Tim knows, so there’s no point in saying it out loud.

(For a brief moment, he thinks of becoming Robin, of fists and swinging staffs and acrobatics. Of following Batman’s no-kill rule.)

It’s a silly thought. Tim’s parents are very much alive, and his reality is this: gunpowder and cameras and slow, choking patience. Tim is athletic, but doesn’t exactly make a point to get into fights— if he’s attacked, he would have the best chance with a gun.

But for the next few months, Tim drowns under his father’s expectations and his mother’s worried and guilty gaze. The knot in his chest tightens until he struggles for air, and Tim needs something, needs to get out of the house, needs to do something other than follow Batman and Robin because his parents keep checking on him in the middle of the night.

Tim flounders, kicks fruitlessly at the waters until another weekend, when his father brings him out again and he adjusts his stance, aligns his handgun, and waits until his hands are steady.

It doesn’t take long until he speeds through a fire safety certificate test and all but owns his father’s 9mm pistol.

For the first time in what feels like forever, Tim breathes.

It’s a hobby his father supports and something his mother, who sits in her wheelchair, loosens the furrow in her brow for. Before he goes, she quietly brushes her hand over his hair. Remember your gun safety, Tim, she says, and he nods before heading out for another lesson.

Really damn good, his instructor says, and Tim smiles, because his arms are getting used to the recoil and Tim has one of the highest accuracies among all the teens in the class, even if he takes a little longer than everyone.

But it’s no matter: Tim has experience with being patient.

It doesn't take long for Tim to start bringing his handgun out with him while he goes birdwatching. It takes even shorter for Tim to start eyeing the bolt-action rifles jealously, thinking of how much farther he could take it, what he could do. Eighteen years old, he chants, eighteen years old.

Except when Tim turns thirteen, Jason dies. Batman grieves his son’s death in a way that leaves Gotham a bloody, destructive swathe of pain. And Tim can’t just watch, anymore. He goes to Dick, pleas in his mouth, begging him to see that Batman needs a Robin. 

It doesn’t work. And now Two-Face has Bruce and Dick, and Tim has nothing but his 9mm pistol and the location of the Wayne manor. Alfred looks down at him, lips pursed in hesitation, and Tim knows, knows that Robin doesn’t use guns, knows that it would be an abomination to Bruce’s values and Dick’s legacy but he doesn't know what else to do. 

“Please,” he begs.

Surprisingly, it is easier to convince Alfred that he can protect himself with a gun. Tim suspects that Batman will have a different reaction.

–

Bruce and Dick are safe, Two-Face is safely in jail, and Bruce looks at his guns with poorly concealed suspicion and apprehension. And that’s the crux of the matter: Tim uses guns, Robin does not. Tim cannot be Robin, not with his parents so closely around and his only method of protecting himself being a lethal weapon. The worst part is, it all feels like a waste. The hours at the shooting range, his father’s proud smile, his rising accuracy rates, and it sucks, because Tim doesn’t want to feel this way. 

Tim never meant to be Robin. But he needs to become Robin now and Tim has never trained in hand-to-hand combat or swung a staff before. His way out has become another trap, and Tim has never shot a dart gun before, nor is it sustainable to use tranq darts. 

Funny. Tim never seems to be given a choice. But he can’t complain, so he does the next best thing. Tim throws himself into convincing Bruce, tries to prove that he can be Robin, even if he’s fighting a losing battle. There’s really only one way Bruce will accept, and Tim knows it. 

He screams until his voice is hoarse after Batman nearly dies, but he can't be Robin, not until he gives up Tim Drake. Timothy Jackson Drake holds tightly onto a hope that isn't sustainable, thinks of his father who looks at him in the eye and makes him promise that he'll keep his life over everybody else's.

TIm is selfish and he’s drowning again, but so is Gotham.

–

“Tim.”

His dad looks angry, flickers of worry shining from behind his eyes. Tim knows he’s been acting suspicious: too many bruises on his legs and cuts on his arm, coming home later than usual.

Tim shrugs self-deprecatingly. 

“Please, dad? I know it’s not what you want but it’s getting to be a lot and I need to move around my schedule to fit in more.”

“Tim… This wasn't brought on because the boys in your class have been roughhousinging you because you’re better, right?”

“No! It’s not, it’s not,” Tim shakes his head, face burning with mortification. That would be so embarrassing. It seems so juvenile, quitting because he was bothered by the envious comments, rather than quitting because he wanted to take on a vigilante mantle that had a fifty percent mortality rate to make sure Batman didn’t go off his rocker. 

Tim is so grounded when his dad finds out. His father sighs, running a hand through his hair, and Tim guiltily shrinks under his gaze. 

“You spent so long practicing,” his father accuses. There’s the hidden panic Tim was expecting. “I really thought you were into it, Tim.”

Tim flinches. 

“It’s not that,” he mumbles, trying not to feel like he’s wasted so much of his and his father’s time. “I’m just not that interested anymore and…”

And the truth is, Tim hates this choice. But it’s still his decision, to pick up Robin and put down Tim Drake. He goes for the low blow.

“Let me make my own choice for once, okay? You always want me to do this and that and I’m trying, but I want some space to figure out what I like instead of just balancing what you want in favor of what I want.”

His dad freezes, frustration playing out over his features, but Tim knows he’s won this one. 

“I’m going to check up on your mom. I don’t want to talk about this tonight, but we are talking about this.” I can’t stand talking to you right now.

It’s fine, because Tim has won. 

The situation will blow over, and Tim will prove that he can protect himself in other ways, to both his father and Bruce.

And once again his reality shifts: swinging fists and lies and the fast, spiraling rapids of life.

He thinks of steady hands and the quiet click to the loud bang of a gun. He will wait it out, he foolishly thinks. He has practice being patient.

a/n:

so basically this could go a NUMBER of ways, holy. i had so many plans that i derailed and thought over and whatnot

i originally was going to go for tim being a sniper wayyy earlier, like shooting bruce with tranqs post-jason death (which, by the way, tim would've gone through SO many hoops for that, dude is way too tiny to pass as over 18 and has to be a pretty damn good liar to his parents), never becoming robin (prob would've become a vigilante, just with guns)

but oh man in this version i haven't even GOTTEN to sniper! timmy yet...

also! discussed another cool idea with my wonderful beta @pinkcowzz about reverse robins where tim comes back from the dead as a sniper would also be fun. there are many ways that this au could branch out lmao

[pearlypairings]

WIP Title Game

Thank you @pipergirl17and @justhere4thevibez for tagging me! I’ve been slacking on the dash games lately, because I’ve been writing and being a lil hermit lately, I’m sorry!

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

My wips are all over the place, because I’m trying to get my multichap long fic finished off and set up for my other longfic….. and I have a few crackships/rarepairs wips hanging out on the google doc shelf lol…. So enjoy and feel free to wander into my asks~ :

cb 11-13

aurelia ch 9

pt x ot au

haircheer plot bunny

aurelias spinoff???

Tagging if you’re feeling it : @wendydarlingfics @rose-n-gunses @ashleyfanfic & anybody else can tag me to check out your wip titles👀

[hashtagloveloses]

I haven't the faintest clue who these people from the Chinese drama(?) are from but your posts allowed me to identify it when a grown as woman with her half grown ass kid came into my job and there were pins of them on her bag.

listen. listen it's like a sickness. i KNEW it drove people insane but then i got into it and then it drove ME insane. the author, MXTX, put some sort of drug into that book that makes people insane and i have been snorting every version of it. i cannot get enough. this is why you will now see it everywhere. you see a white bunny and a black bunny next to each other? that's wangxian. you'll SEE it now because it's everywhere. it's the ship behind that fic that broke ao3 and i get why now.

gusu lan's hottest club has EVERYTHING - an extremely intricate plot full of mysteries, the best main couple that invented Romance, some really interesting things to say about morality, two incredibly toxic and tragic polycules, the sexualization of headbands (just roll with it), tragedy literally everywhere but a happy ending at least for the main couple, some female characters that truly slay, 4 teens up to shenanigans with a friendly zombie, drunk gay bitches committing petty crimes, scenes that'll make you cry and then cry laughing, a confession scene that is literally the funniest thing i've ever read, a censored wedding in a blood pool....shit has IT ALL!!!!!!!

(it is called MDZS/Mo Dao Zu Shi and it is a serialized Chinese webnovel that has been adapted into many formats, the most famous being the live action the Untamed which is on Netflix and takes some, obviously censored, liberties with the original story but still bangs in its own right. i was told you should start by read the book, the official translation title is Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, which is 5 volumes and I read it from my library. I think the 5th volume isn't technically out yet so I switched to the fan translation someone sent me for the end. then there's the manhua/the comic, same english title, the official english translation is coming but isn't out yet, and is mostly uncensored except the explicit scenes, which the artist posted separately on twitter lol. then there's the donghua/the animated series, translated as Founder of Diabolism, which is currently my favorite adaptation of the original, i had to 🏴‍☠️ this one. it has a spinoff chibi shorts series that is also adorable called Founder of Diabolism Q. then there's the audio drama which apparently has all kinds of extra content that i gotta listen to. anyway. JOIN me in hell!)

[sexybeee]

Only Murders in the Building is the best show ever!!!! I finished season 2 like four days ago (i watched it w/ my sister) and i rebinged season 1 in these past 2 days. There are just so many things I love about that show. Here comes the rant.

Like, in season 1, I love how we really get to know the characters. We not only learn who they are and basic info, we go sort of deep into their backstory while being able to remain perfectly in the present. With Oliver, we learned about his many, many, failed performances, his bad relationship with his son, his constant need for money, his relationship with Bunny, and the love he holds for Winnie. We learn about his failures and his mistakes and how he tries to make up for them. I also love how we see his past as a director really be incorporated in the podcast.

With Mabel, we learn about Zoe, Oscar, and Tim. Lemme tell you, I so need a spinoff mockumentary about those four because they were really well written imo. We get to see her mom, we dive into her relationship with Oscar, and how she was connected to Tim Kono. We see her past rise up as she solves the case.

With Charles, it's mostly Jan. Yet, I love how there's the scene where his neighbor is like "I can smell your omelets; they remind me of Lucy". And when Charles fesses up to Jan about his past dating life, it's so real. And the cartoon images that he sees are such a great way to incorporate his past without trying to force it.

Most importantly, I love how the characters' pasts aren't revealed in one overly dramatic scene. Yes, we may see a lot of someone's past in an episode, but later on more is revealed and explained really well. The writers aren't trying to make the characters be like "im sorry for lashing out at you yesterday, it's just that my mom died 20 years ago and blah blah blah". Like Katara in all of ATLA. Instead, we see the past spread out in a really well balanced way. Mabel's connections with Tim and Zoe are really naturally brought out. And so is Oliver's with Will and the faint glimpses of Charles' with Lucy. (Also, I really love how he makes the omelets for Lucy everyday) Everything is so naturally brought it out in OMITB, it's truly one of the best shows ever written/directed. Huge props to Steve Martin and John Hoffman.

Now, onto season 2. (Warning: SPOILERS)

The finale was so epic. I totally believed Alice mvrd3r3d Bunny and that she stabbed Charles. I was literally in tears for the whole scene. It was a really well written plot, because I didn't expect anything that happened. And, the backstories were expanded even more.

Also, season 2 seemed to be more centered on Mabel, but I love how it still majorly included Oliver and Charles. We dive deep into why Mabel forgets every dramatic thing that happens in her life, and why she flips over the puzzle. I really love her relationship with Alice. It's a strangers to friends to lovers relationship with so many ups and downs. I love how they managed to work together in the end, though. And I love how really go deeper into Will and Oliver's relationship. The whole DNA tests and the "tells" is so well written. I really love Oliver's involvement with the Son of Sam game. Finally, there's Charles and Lucy. I love how Lucy perfectly tied into the whole story. Her being there wasn't really forced or anything. I also love her relationship with Charles. It's really really reminding me of my relationship with my grandpa- especially because they both look alike.

I just really really love OMITB and I'm super excited for season 3 to come out! I even have some predictions. Like, Charles is gonna be blamed for Ben's sudden death like Mabel was framed for Bunny's demise. It makes sense because Charles was the last person to see Ben alive just like Mabel w/ Bunny. IDK, it's just a feeling. I'm hoping we get to see what Charles was upset about, too. He was mad, and if he and Ben were fighting a lot, then he could get accused like Oscar was. I'm also hoping Charles gets another almost fatal injury, like in previous seasons, because (and ik it sounds weird), Steve Martin always makes it really suspenseful and hilarious.

IN SUMMARY, GO WATCH OMITB IF YOU HAVEN'T YET

[glapplebloom]

Let's make Moon Girl's inclusion to the show of the year list legit.

First, let's make this official. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a must watch series. It is so fun, the characters are likable, the Glow Up of the Beyonder, the music is great, and that last episode setting up next season is a real nail-biter. I hope it gets that second season and does well to continue from there. It was not originally planned to be in One Shot because I was planning to watch and love the series as soon as I saw the preview for the opening theme. But then Superman showed up and made it seem like the #1 spot in the end of the year review will be a no brainer. So I’m putting in Moon Girl so there could be competition. And maybe I jumped the gun thanks to this...

For those who don't know, Tiny Toons Adventures is a series about a young set of toons going to Acme Looniversity to learn to become toons. Thing is, you don't really see that story. The first episode focused on the creation of the series. Episodes have them going to school being a plot of a short or the surrounding segments. But ultimately it is a bunch of shorts with Looney Tunes expies. Fifi does Pepe's bit but with boys instead of girls. Plucky does stuff Daffy would do. And for some reason Elmyra got the most screen time despite being an antagonist. She also got a pilot episode for a spinoff series, a full crossover with the Warner Siblings, and said spinoff series with Pinky and the Brain.

Tiny Toons Looniversity is a complete reboot. While they share similar traits, it is its own thing. For starters, there are five main characters to the originals' "it depends on the shorts": Buster and Babs Bunny (yes relation), Sweetie T. Bird, Hamton J. Pig and Plucky Duck. Plucky is the most similar to his original, as he's still an egotistical duck who thinks mostly of himself and at times wanting to make money. But it's a modern egotistical trait. Hamton is the second closest, just remove the cleaning obsession and crank up the anxiety. The other three, they're drastically different.

In the original, Buster and Babs Bunny were not related. So their interactions range from "hummina hummina hummina" to "they're basically siblings". Buster is a Modern Bugs Bunny, which makes him now a Bugs Bunny with 90s mentality for the cool kids. Babs were the best of the two since she got a great gimmick of being an impressionist. And Fields of Honey is my favorite episode. So how does the Reboot treat these two as siblings? Honestly, I really love their interactions. They really do sell a brother/sister vibe and that first episode really sold me on them being siblings but willing to be separate to try new things. Buster is also a great improvement because he gets to be more emotional. Babs doesn't do the impressionist bit, but between her relationship with Buster and her relationship with Sweetie, and even that one time with Plucky really shows she's great as part of any duo.

And Sweetie T. Bird is a HUGE improvement of the original. The original is basically Tweety Bird but louder. Sweetie is a rocker who is ready to cause chaos when needed. She bounces off Babs really well and seeing how fast they became friends really sold me on this series. She's like the perfect foil for the more professional Babs Bunny. She's messy when Babs is clean. She's physical when Babs is more methodical. She enjoys Plucky's Gossip Magazine when Babs saw it as a rival to her newspaper. But they're still friends because there are plenty of things they have in common. Sweetie is also very supportive. She helped Babs try to get a room with her brother even if it means no longer being her roomy. She joins Babs' newspaper. They even enjoy Vintage Clothing after Fifi Showed them off.

As for the rest of the characters, some are basically the same (Dizzy and Max), others have some differences (Fifi no longer being boy crazy), and some very different (Furball talks more in this series than his one voice role in the original). This show also has more appearances from the Looney Tunes cast. Bugs interact more in this than I can recall in the original. Daffy teaches the hardest class, we even got appearances from the Dark Age originals like Merlin and Cool Cat. And while they used Space Jam's version of Lola, they made her Looney in her own way. And with Death Battle having Tom Vs Wile E. on the Tournament of Champions Poll, it gives Wile a new dangerous weapon against his other toons.

Regardless if you like the original or never heard of it, I recommend Tiny Toons Looniversity. I can already tell you it's at the top of the list since I saw all the episodes. And I still need to see the rest of Superman and Fionna and Cake.