#scott has always been an option in the back of my mind but i don't think he's the right option for maddie

[sun-marie]

Hm, thinking about maybe going for Surya in Coral Island instead.... There are too many options in this game 😭

[twost3ps]

Hazbin Oc voiceclaims LETS GOO

Ok so I've been brewing a bit and have been kinda busy. I got one last exam coming up and then I'm FREEEEE but I wanted to push something simple out so I decided to do voice claims because that is somehow easy (not)

These are partially for the scott pilgrim au, it makes it a bit more immersive to me

Anywayyysss: Heres the video of the voices (it's 4.5 min I'm so sorry)

and if ur interested: let me break down whyyy :3 + small oc blip (I still don't really know how to chracterize them it's all over the place) they go in order of appearance

Micheal: Johnathan Groff

Micheal is pretty closed off and cold. His answers are cold and short, and he doesn't like wasting time. Working 24/7 is his way of ignoring everything bad that has ever happened to him, until recently. He's trying to go back to his roots and have some fun. B4, in Eden he was basically a fun loving party guy who liked to bend the rules, but since his brother's betrayal, he grew angry and to snuff it out he just worked super hard. Super straight laced. But after a while he's trying to be silly again, people find it weird though because it's just been so long.

Initially, I wanted something deep- like deep deep. And while true, Micheal could have a fitting deep voice-

I think Groff just fits really well. He hits all my boxes.

His voice is rich and smooth but has a bit of dorkiness to it?? (Kristoff) The closest thing I can go into describing my Micheal is, again, an ex frat boy that caught depression when things got too real but now is recovering and healing. Idk Groff's voice just gave the vibe. His voice is kinda similar to Jordan's (Lucifur's va) imo, especially when they sing. Of cousre they're not gonna sound identical, but its like Emily and Charlie, it's just similar when they sing. Also Groff can pull off a rocker voice (the Bohemian Rapsody clip) and I need that. I want that rocker Micheal FEAFSEF

In general though, Groff has been my #1 option. Not just for my Micheal, but like, a lot of Micheals I've seen. I look at them and all I can hear is Groff soooo. Yeah. I also think that if Micheal were to be part of the actual series and be Lucifur's twin he'd be the kinda guy they're looking for. But yeah, hes always been #1 choice

Gabriel: Chris Fleming/Jshlatt

Gabriel balances out Micheal's colder demeanor. He's loud and a bit obnoxious about. But overall, this man is a goober. He's a man that can't keep a secret and keeps it real, a bit too real this man is way too honest. Won't shut up once you get him going especially when he's excited. It's bad when he peaks at one emotion because he goes all out. Overtime he's gotten better but still out af.

I wanted Gabriel to have some sort of gruffness. Some edge. Gabriel's thing is spreading the word of God and all but I can't think of him having a smooth voice. (I mean he yells all the time, how can he not???) I wanted something expressive, loud and gruff. A voice that you know does not stfu and does not hold back.

Fleming came to mind when I head him from bigtop burger (love that series) his voice is fun, low and gruff. Jshlatt was recommended by one of my friends when I showed them Gabriel. I was pretty unfamiliar with him b4 and when they showed me him my jaw dropped. His voice is what I kinda want it to be, just a bit higher. And the singing voice fits really well too :)

Raphael: James Earl Jones/Thurl Ravenscroft/Nat King Cole

Raphael is supposed to be this chill soft guy you can go to for comfort. He's like a marshmallow of a man and can be very empathetic. But underneath all that is a unit of a man who could throw you thousands of yards away.

I wanted something rich, deep and smooth. I had to ask my friend again with this one and we got Mufasa (James Earl Jones) Fits really well! So yes, smooth and soft, but an underlying tone of powerful. I also wanted his to have just a lot of bass to it. Something you could sleep to. Why Nat King Cole for the last option? I genuinely have no clue but it fit to me so I slapped it on this bad boy.

Azreal/Dumah: Steve Blum

Ok. Both of them are idiots. My version of them anyways. They fight a lot. I mean when you are suck together it’s bound to happen (They share one body but only one can take full control at one time- mostly Azreal because Dumah hates people. I’ll just show you guys one day. They can separate but only when they are given permission. Big fussy babies). They finish each other’s sentences a lot when talking. Azreal is the goofier brother who likes making jokes and Dumah is the more serious one. When retrieving souls Azreal is the one who takes it while Dumah judges. Dumah hates when people joke while on the job (he hates Azreal for this this) but he hates it even more when they go against God's word. Azreal could give less of a crap, he just finds reaping super fun.

Blum fit for me after watching Puppycat seeing his role as space outlaw. It shows his ability to be goofy but his other roles consist of also very serious characters which fits Dumah and Azreal pretty well. Blum has this crazy rasp about thing going on (is that what it is?) it makes him stand out which fits for the angels that deal with the dead. Makes you very awake imo. Idk there’s just something about it. While Azreal and Dumah share the same voice, Azreal is higher than Dumah’s. What I mean by that is (when looking at the audio clip from the video) when Blum’s voice is generally higher, that’s Azreal. When it’s pitches lower that’s Dumah. Dumah in general doesn’t speak much unlike Azreal- they’re what comes to mind when people think of introvert and extrovert lol

Sadly I couldn't find a sining voice for him :(

Eve: Lisa Hannigan

To me, Eve holds a lot of motherly energy. She's soft and kind, but she actually holds similar feelings to Adam about sinners. Don't get me wrong, she feels bad for their eternal punishment, but in the end, it's on them. Like, if she was presented with the hotel, she'd comply but try to take over it becoming this overbearing presence that would put you in your place without lifing a finger if you didn't fird her standard. If she'd hear one complain shed be like, "i know it sucks but really, you did this to yourself." But besides that, to everyone else, she's kind. In heaven, she's recluse, only really going to Adam for anything. Her punishment on earth did something to her, and unlike Adam, she does not like seeking comfort from others. Shes subtle about it, but you can easily tell by the vibes she gives off - they are STRONG (Idk about this over all this may change)

I feel like this is kinda a given. Then again it could be just me. I wanted Eve to have this soft motherly vibe. Like her voice is just barely above a whisper sometimes, but is still kinda deep. Blue diamond came to mind like immediately. There were other options like Esmeralda’s VA, especially the one from the musical, but I wanted to give Eve this sense of solemn, sort of driftyness and chill. Ngl her character really resonates with blue diamond so it kinda just fell into place. It’s in contrast to Adam’s sharper and more gruff voice, where he can hit more highs, she hits more lows.

Eve is literally Adam’s other half (and while in my au they aren’t in love anymore or maybe they were never in love at all idk, they were definitely soulmates who loved each other dearly)

Again, notes on the floor and everywhere. They thoughts are always super scatterbrained

But yeah that’s pretty much it! If you guys have any recommendations or suggestions yourself feel free to tell me I am welcome to anything!!!

[buckybarnesss]

This is sort of an out of left field question- but what are your thoughts on Peter and Talia being half or step siblings?

Obviously, they don’t look alike very much. And clearly genes are funky things and this is not damning evidence. But I think it’s a very personal hc to me bc I myself have a half brother who I love very much, but it does influence our interactions.

One thing I constantly think about is Peter being an unreliable narrator. And what we see of Laura from his pov is different than Scott and Stiles finding her body. Is he imagining she’s blond and looks more like him? Yeah sure this could just be casting inaccuracies. But it feels very personal lol.

Has Peter always felt a degree of distance with his family? Where did the idea of him being Talia’s left hand come from? Wouldnt he have been there in the alpha pack flash back if that was the case? Was he younger than Laura? This also brings to mind Papa Hale (who I like to imagine was a human part of the pack/another pack before him and Talia were in a relationship). Was Talia always a Hale? Or married in?

Anyway, I have many thoughts and questions. But I really appreciate your analysis and insight. Joining a fandom past its prime (affectionate) is sort of like being in the apocalypse where 80% of the fandom is dead, and finding a ‘survivor’ is a miracle. Anyway, if you feel like it, I would love your thoughts on it all :3

if laura hale is my roman empire than talia and peter's relationship is my holy roman empire.

@dear-massacre and i talk about this quite frequently. it's a problem fam.

i do have a talia hale and peter hale and the hale family feels tags.

we don't really have any information other than some crumbs jeff has thrown us within canon.

in my opinion talia is the hale. there's no other option put forth. derek's father is such a non-entity that there's zero mention of him. the hales are clearly an old family of werewolves and were part of the very founding of beacon hills itself likely connected to the nemeton.

not to mention, season 3 has a lot to do with derek learning from and accepting talia's legacy and the legacy of the hale family. it also directly contrasts the argents. the argents pay lip service to being matriarchal but we know gerard has been calling the shots for decades whereas it seems as though the hales actually were.

so when you get down to it you can pretty much headcanon anything you want for how the exact specifics of how talia and peter are related but what we do know is talia was the older sibling and peter the younger.

peter doesn't actually talk about talia very much if at all. however, his monolog in monstrous is quite illuminating on peter's headspace while he was in a coma and pre-resurrection.

i predicted this. i told-i told talia this was going to happen... something like this was going to happen... i said that they were gonna come for us... " the argents, they're gonna come for us. they're gonna burn us to the ground-- burn us to the ground." did she listen? of course not! did anyone listen? they listened to her-- yes!-- say that everything was going to be fine. that we were all perfectly safe...perfectly safe... but she made us weak! she made us weak. and what happens to the weakest in the herd? they get picked off by the predators! we used to be the apex predators, until talia turned us into sheep.

with that said i do have my own ideas on their relationship given what we know. visionary is the episode that does the heavy lifting in the entire goddamn show in regards to this.

the age inconsistency comes from bringing back the younger actor from season 2 to play peter in visionary. it makes peter appear closer to derek's age than he actually is. i think it's almost part of peter's manipulations. it's his attempt to manipulate the audience as well just like he did lydia.

there's just simply no way talia hale didn't know about peter's everything. she was not only his older sister but she was his alpha. i think peter and talia may have been more similar than people want to believe.

peter is a lot of things. many of them contradictory. he loved his sister and clearly mourned her but that doesn't mean he didn't resent her just a little. he did still after all go with derek to retrieve her claws and i think there's something twisted up in him about how derek resembles her and begins to become more like her.

when you begin to sort of dig into what we know about the hale family the more one begins to question if talia was as benevolent as people assume she was. there's some seriously morally questionable things that occurred. talia did some shady things.

the real big one is that she coerced corrine into carrying her pregnancy with malia to term. the likely explanation is talia did this because she knew this would decrease corrine's power.

corrine is pretty explicit about this with what she says to malia:

you know, your real name isn't malia. you don't have a name. talia hale took you away from me before i could give you one.

and

corrine: i'm not going to stop, malia. i'm taking back what you stole from me. malia: i didn't steal anything. corrine: but you did. corrine: and I don't care if you're a willing participant or not. talia hale spent nine months trying to convince me of the miracle of childbirth. you know what it really felt like? a parasite. talia said it was a gift, that the coyote passes down part of her power to her daughter. she called it "beautiful." i call it "theft."

she also took peter's memories of malia's existence which considering peter's reaction doesn't seem like he had much say in. so in effect talia removed peter's agency.

she probably felt she had valid reason for doing these things. corrine was a threat and dangerous person but still it's really, really questionable. it still ended with malia's adoptive mother and sister being killed and malia going missing for years because corrine was vengeful over losing her power. talia was still alive when this happened.

of all people talia had to be aware of peter's -- you know -- everything and she probably held the leash. he wasn't a problem so long as she was the alpha and could control him.

talia also had to have been aware of and likely either approved of or encouraged him taking a mentor sort of role with derek. we see peter having a keen interest in derek in both visionary and the season 4 flashbacks.

like, who do we think ran off and told talia about what happened with derek and paige? who likely instructed peter on getting rid of paige's body and helping to cover up her death to protect derek and the family?

i actually fully believe she knew peter was skulking about the werewolf summit and may have even told him to do so.

talia is like the mona lisa smile of teen wolf. she's inscrutable but we get impressions about her and what she was like via the people that knew her. her children, her brother, her advisor and peers.

[sunskate]

VM show: ep 4 Scott's back injury, Skate Canada in St. John, Tessa photoshoot

this episode is upbeat, and they're getting along so well that you have to think a lot of the tension in the first 3 episodes wasn’t balanced in the big picture. either that or the upbeat part is exaggerated too😅

Tessa is doing a photoshoot that the show is pretending is in Canton whyyy? though it's in the VM tradition of telling unnecessary untruths and making things more complicated than they need to be😅💀

left is the show, right is from the house & home 2018 feature on her London house

T: i'm a very private person, and yet part of what we do is promote our brand and bring on sponsorships [...] you know, a little bit of that notoriety is great because it helps our career and helps the sport. i don't know what the future holds for me after skating, and i want my options open

she's always called herself private, but i think she's not so much that as self protective and wanting to feel in control of her image, because she's used a lot of personal stuff strategically in ads, sm, and media in general. using the word notoriety is odd? that's usually being famous for something negative, though in celebrity culture it can grant an air of interest or mystery - so does she actually mean it - she likes using their *thing* to draw people's interest? does notoriety relate to shipbaiting, or is it just a word she means without the negative connotation

what would come after skating was very close at the time. she clearly was interested in the "business side.” it's probably relatively easy compared to skating while using her performing skills and strategic brain with the gratification of feedback, pretty pictures, and a guaranteed $$ reward

VM had been driving themselves without a break from an unusually young age - late childhood, all of teenhood to age 24/26 was in a pressure cooker of sacrifice and severe discipline. but on top of that, she had pain - i don't think anyone but her can really understand what kind of grit it took to endure shattering pain and push through and deliver. to make her efforts not feel wasted and to feel she hadn't let herself, Scott, and others down. by 2014 she *had* to want the relief of being done and flying the cage? when you're in distress, it's hard to feel much except you want it gone. and she'd suffered that for years and two surgeries

so i think she can sound like she hated skating and wanted to push everything about it away, but maybe it's like if you're having an anxiety attack or feeling claustrophobic, the distress has to stop before you can feel much of anything else. and while she stopped skating, it sounded for a while like her legs didn't stop hurting even after

if you didn't keep her pain in mind, how she's talked about skating can feel kind of callous and like she didn't value it that much. i hope she's come to more peace about it for herself. and that Scott understands, because otherwise it seems like it would be hurtful to hear her talk that way?

another piece of all this is her father. she said in this interview that she had a "tumultuous" relationship with him and that she decided when she was 15 to be financially independent so there's a piece of 'i'll show you' about her wanting to go make her own money. he was still around at the time of this show as we'll see, but maybe not for long

all this out of a 43 second clip of an episode 😅

[caelumangeli]

*Sender stabs Receiver non-fatally as a warning.

Sunder has never cared for knives, not when his warhammer caves skulls as easily as popping soap bubbles- but sometimes even this hulking dragonborn feels the need for more delicate measures.

The elf had stolen from him, and while Sunder has certainly never minded looting the dead- he is still very much alive, and this little rat has crossed a line. The pale scales of the dragonborn has intent written across his face.

It's clear that he's terrified of the massive barbarian, but that only brings Sunder more satisfaction as he corrals him into the alley's dead end. The dragonborn is grinning at him, horned brow aimed low to make eye contact with the shorter elf. His teeth are exposed, fang like and wicked, layered over one another nearly like a shark.

Sunder brandishes the knife as he approaches, but stops short of the thief when he presses his back against the stoney wall. Being in the outskirts of the city, the guard presence is less here- not that the dragonborn is all that worried about being arrested.

"How 'bout you cough up what's mine, and the rest of your scores for today; maybe I won't gut you for touching my coin."

@hierophants-hourglass {Ask Box Memes}

Jesse was far from comfortable. He hardly felt at ease as he was out with the party, much less so at the camp itself. Sure, it was better and managable when he was with others. Like having more people around meant he had a bigger safety net. Something to hide behind, someone to help him or protect him. It was always easiest for him when he was able to sucker up to the strongest or most influential, and pretty much be fine or even get off nearly scott free. Unfortunately their.. camp setting made it a little more difficult to accomplish that.

The strongest person could easily be a tie between 2-3 people, the ones he thought most influential weren't exaactly utilizing that with their campmates, but the one who clearly established himself as the most dangerous or unstable was by no means an option of someone to get close to in Jesse's books. He was insane. Huge, incredibly strong, unpredicable(where as most likely, something bloody and violent was to occur, and it was more surprising when he wasn't about that). The only thing he was sure he could probably talk that thing into was some bloody form of murder that would make Jesse want to throwup upon sight. That, unfortunately, didn't seem to stop Jesse's kleptic tendancies, as often he didn't even realize he was doing it.

So he was caught quite off guard after he found himself casually ushered into the back alley after having tried to ease his tensions with a few off hand comments and jokes. He didn't realize he would have been so bothered by his comments. But making awkward jokes while he tried his best to stand still and not make his fear shown was the only thing he really knew what to do in this case.

"-Uhhahh I-if you w-wanted to get me alone I'm sure there-there's cleaner places we uh we- could've..." He said, voice an octive higher than usual as his head turned back quickly to glance behind him and back infront of him again. Despite his attempt at brushing the action off as some kind of suggestive joke or something, his heartrate spiked, body shaking in fear as he found himself backed against a wall, his hands feeling behind him to feel nothing but solid stone all around-fuck- no place to escape to either. Jesse swallowed as bits of hair now drenched in sweat from the heat of the sun, armour, and the mini Dragon most threateningly towering over him.-Scratch that. Literally threatening him and towering over him.

"I- I don't- I didn't--" He stammered as his shaking hands rushing to grab from his pouch. "I- It's just- it's just this I swear I didn't- I'm not trying to- just- l-let's p-put down the knife and think for a minute."

[clotpolesonly]

Lean On Me

for @foofsterroonie and the Stiles Shipping Central discord's monthly exchange, the theme for which was Alpha April!! opted for an OT3 option this time, which i don't think i've done before in this event for some reason 😂 | Stiles/Scott/Kira | Gen | 1k | Established Relationship | Alpha Scott | Stiles Gets The Bite | (also on AO3)

.

Stiles stared at the teeth marks in his forearms. Every puncture was distinct. A dentist would kill for this bite print. His dad could probably solve a murder with it—not that Scott had committed any murders, so that probably wasn’t relevant. It also hurt like a bitch, but hey, anything with this much blood and flesh-rending was bound to, right?

The venom hurt too. Its exact composition was a mystery, but Deaton’s alarm when they had dragged Stiles into the clinic and described the creature that had clawed him up had been all the information they’d needed. Whatever it was, it was bad, and even their local guru didn’t have anything to offer them. 

A soft hand on Stiles’ shoulder dragged his eyes away from their hail mary. Kira hosted herself up on the metal exam table beside him, close enough to swap her hand out for her chin and press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Scott will be back in a minute,” she said. "Once he gets Liam’s broken arm sorted out.”

Once he got himself sorted out, Stiles filled in. The look on Scott’s face when he realized that giving Stiles the bite was their best option had not escaped him; they had both known it wasn’t what Stiles wanted. Scott had known that for years, and he had always been wholly in favor of Stiles making the choice for himself.

And, Stiles would argue, he had. The circumstances were not fantastic, and there was definitely an element of coercion in play, but it was not Scott’s coercion. Stiles didn’t want to die, and therefore, he had made the choice to get the bite for himself, but Scott’s guilt had been palpable before the blood was even on his teeth. It was probably for the best that he had let himself be drawn away to tend to his injured beta because otherwise he might have cried on the spot, and that would’ve been awkward while they sat around waiting to see if Stiles survived.

“He can take his time,” Stiles told Kira with faux nonchalance. “I haven’t died yet. If I was gonna reject the bite, I would’ve died by now, right? Spewed black goo all over the place and keeled over? That’s usually a pretty quick process, if memory serv—”

“Maybe try not thinking about death," Kira suggested. "Think living thoughts!”

“Mind over matter?” Stiles said wryly. “Think that works?”

Kira snorted. “God, I hope not. My mind is not a best-case-scenario kind of place. I don’t want to see what it would manifest if given the power.”

Stiles’ laugh was interrupted by a grunt of pain. He pressed his good arm against the bandages around his middle, still contaminated with fucking acid spit or whatever the fuck that thing had secreted into his abdomen. He wasn’t sure what hurt more, the muscle-deep wolf bite or the burning gashes in his stomach. They both fucking sucked.

Kira took his hand gently, carefully not to jostle him and make it worse. “I wish I had the pain drain mojo,” she said with a grimace that made Stiles smile in spite of everything; it was the only thing their resident kitsune envied about the werewolves. “Is it better or worse than before?”

“Hard to tell. You hurt in enough places at once and it all kind of blends together.”

The door flew open before Kira could do more than squeeze his hand in sympathy. Scott was at Stiles’ side in an instant, hands flitting around like he couldn’t decide what he needed to examine first. He had rinsed the blood out of his mouth at some point in the last eight minutes. His eyes, while red-rimmed, were dry.

“Stiles,” he said, a world of care, relief, and worry in that one word alone. “How are you feeling? Has there been any— I mean, is the bite— The venom, is it—”

Stiles pulled his hand from Kira’s to take Scott’s instead. “Deep breath, Scottie. I’m doing fine. So far, at least.”

“No black goo?”

“No goo of any colors,” Kira assured him. 

Scott visibly deflated as the tension left him. The hand in Stiles’ turned to lace their fingers together properly and, with a softly released breath, he let his veins flood black.

Stiles groaned as the burning and the throbbing and the multitude of other pains leached out of him. “Oh, that’s so good, I could kiss you.”

Even with Stiles’ pain in his own veins, Scott smiled. “There’s literally nothing stopping you from doing that,” he reminded him.

Except for Kira’s head still on his shoulder, dislodged when he leaned forward. She pouted about it, but she perked right up when offered a kiss from both of them in apology. Then she shuffled down the table, tugging Stiles gently along with her to make room for Scott to join them. It was a bit of a tight fit for three teenagers, but they didn’t mind.

Stiles, now with his boyfriend on one side and his girlfriend on the other, flexed his hand, watching the muscles of his masticated forearm shift with morbid fascination. “Is it my imagination or does the bite look, like, older than it did before?”

Kira leaned close to examine it, unperturbed by the blood in a way that Stiles still had yet to achieve, at least when the blood was his own. “It definitely does. Does it hurt less?”

“Dude,  I just got pain-drained, I can’t tell.” He turned to Scott. “If this works, you gotta teach me how to do that, first thing.”

Scott put an arm around him, pulled him closed, and pressed a kiss to his temple. “When this works,” he said, “I’m gonna teach you everything.”

That sounded wonderful. Stiles melted into the embrace; the activity and stress of the day was catching up with him. With Scott’s arms around him from one side and Kira’s warmth settled against the other, he let his eyes slip closed.

“Can’t wait.”

[edutainer2022]

11- Tell me a ship you love and a ship you hate

@mrmustachious Thanks for the ask. Ooooh, dangerous waters, as, I'm sure, I have quite unpopular or unconventional opinions on ships in Thunderfandom (TAG-verse). But here goes nothing. If it earns me unfollows - so be it.

A caveat, though: the Thunderbirds are foremost about brothers' and father-sons' relationships for me, so I'm a lot more open to ideas of 'ships' on the periphery of those primary relationships, than I would normally be in a different fandom.

Caveat #2: I know what headcanons and elements of fanon I subscribe to and don't. Those are my personal opinions exclusively. The fanon/fic-canon I don't agree with may or may not be a deal breaker for me to read (or keep reading) a story, mostly it depends if the characters in question are explored in depth.

Ships I like. I appears, Scott Tracy is the only character in the long range of my Tall, Dark and Emotionally Compromised favorites, whom I quite liberally multiship. I would usually stick to an OTP. Since my go-to OTP for Scott is peace of mind, laying down his burdens, knowing he's enough and knowing he's loved (by Dad, mostly) without having to martyr himself to earn it, I go a little more loose in the ship department.

Scott and Kayo make sense to me on many levels. I still remember the time there were 1,5 Scayo fics in the days of TAG run and I was parched, waiting for an update. I actually think they're the kind of ship that would end up together years down the line, even having pursued other relationships and/or marriages. He's the Sun, she's the Shadow.

That said, I can see merit in what the canon wheeled out or hinted at for Scott - Jane Carter the pilot, Marion (this one actually has ample dramatic and comedic potential, where I'm concerned - I'm glad they brought Marion back to showcase Scott). I think one of TAG's creators identified her as a potential LI for Scott in S3, so I'm rolling with that - 10 Things I Hate About You, and all. Pure fic territory, but journalist Kat, Lemaire's wife, Professor Qawrk and Havoc are fun to explore as well. For various reasons. Heck, so are Tyco Reeves and Cameron the Shakleton Guard. People meet Scott - people get inspired by Scott - people get a thing for Scott and kinda carry a torch. That leaves a vast untapped potential for Scott and the Mechanic. I don't personally ship them, but the ground to be covered from resentment to respect to a working relationship/friendship is quite fertile.

I am not sure I'm opposed to the idea of Scott and Penelope having been an on again-off again sort of thing when they were younger. Now it's just a really fond friendship.

I'm also mostly fine with the ideas the show kinda put on the table for John and Virgil - Ridley and Cass. Cass in particular, as I think she ticks many boxes Virgil would need to seek in a relationship (any relationship, not only romantic). I know the fandom generally dislikes Ridley and John/Ridley (or John/anyone) - I don't. The show went for it in no uncertain terms, all Tracy boys definitely have a thing for strong, capable, assertive (and slightly reckless) women. I always wondered if Virgil and Kip Harris could be explored - in a May-December "impossible" sort of way (maybe one-sided).

Going underwater in TB2 really, really made me give Virgil and Penny a long, hard look. I really enjoyed their rapport and banter. The sweet Lumberjack may be awkward eating cookies in a castle, but he's a man of fine arts and music. That's more of Penelope's scene. But I wouldn't want unrequited love or anguish over "brotherly code" for Virgil - he deserves being the first choice. Then again, maybe Penelope too deserves to not feel shackled by obligation to Gordon's undying and unwavering devotion. Either way - Legends of the Fall territory, very unlikely to end mess-free.

I'm rather amused by several ship options for Brains - Moffie, Tycho Reeves, the Mechanic.

The mother of his five sons is, of course, Jeff's one true love, but I am not exactly against the idea of him growing closer to Col. Casey (especially after his return, as the now adult boys pursue their own personal lives more). I've read a fic to that effect and... life is a complicated thing. Especially life after so many losses. If anyone is gonna understand and respect the love he has for his children and for his late wife, and be fiercely protective of his family, that gotta be Casey. I'd read more about their friendship (or something deeper).

Ships I don't like. Well, foremost, I gotta say there's A LOT (sometimes contradictory or mutually exclusive things) I would read in fic, if the characters are done justice or some facets of character/conflict are explored in a fascinating way. Some of these things I would file as "that totally happened, headcanon accepted" , some would go "oh, I can see that!", some go "huh? Never would have thought that, but hey...". Some things make sense only in the coordinates and for versions of characters established in a particular story.

Some things keep not making sense to me even after I gave them a lot of thought and have read a lot of excellent exploration of them in fic. Like Gordon and Penelope. I don't ship them. I exist. They ARE the canon pairing and part of the plot, of course. I don't ship them with anyone else, not really. They will live happily ever after. Well, realistically, I can't help but see them as a trainwreck waiting to happen, as the long-distance honeymoon (highschool) stage of romance is over, but it was not a very realistic story to begin with. There's that, as far as my willing engagement with this ship is concerned. I got fascinated by them in Tunnels of Time and am rather vexed how the show went about actually bringing them together, eventually. I understand it's an "opposites attract" trope, I understand they went for "Princess and the Scoundrel", or "couples' costumes are kinda cute" (since Penelope is all of a sudden in the aquatic rescue business now), but... I just don't see it doing justice to Gordon and his journey to maturity (and I'm kinda annoyed with the loyal page/lapdog vibe, sorry). In my experience it never ends well when ALL parties in a relationship think in earnest one is out of the other's league and agree which one. I've read remarkable explorations of Penny's emotional journey, or their mutual journey in fic to make it more captivating but... that's just too much heavy cognitive lifting for me for the two characters I relate least of all in the story overall. I don't actively seek to read fic with their pairing, and if it's a default in other stories, I appreciate it and read through/around it to the parts more focused on other family relationships and dynamics.

It used to be a rather popular fanon ship in early TAG fandom, but I don't really dig Virgil and Brains. It has nothing to do with headcanons on any characters' sexualities, but mostly to do with character dynamics the way I read it. Virgil's "fatal flaw" is lack of confidence and pursuit of approval, and so is Brain's. So to me, there're not enough complimentary or contrasting aspects these characters can bring to the table in a relationship to build each other up (unless Virgil is depicted confident, assertive and suave, which is... an OOC Virgil). Their working dynamics could be quite fascinating. I know some of my followers ship them... Well, these are my personal opinions. I mostly do with Virgil/Brains in fic what I do with Pen and Ink - appreciate them as an established fact of this story version and quietly read around them to other relationships and dynamics (if I like the overall story and want to engage with it, regardless of the ship).

Another popular fanon ship that I don't quite get is Virgil and Kayo. Well, I can SEE it - they're remarkably hot individuals. I can see Virgil falling in love (bless him). I've seen it explored along interesting avenues in fic, but I have to make a conscious effort to suspend disbelief. There's just not enough in their interactions and characterization in the show for me to get the vibe. I dunno... Maybe I can see Kayo going along with Virgil's crush (the boi is precious and breathtakingly handsome), but then withdraw because he's "too good and pure for her"? I dunno... Lots of heartbreak for Virgil. Don't wanna a heartbroken Virgil.

Which brings us to my, probably, only no-fly ship zone - OC ships. If there's a Tracy Brother/OC ship on the tin... I may test the waters, but am very unlikely to engage or read further. Sadly, I am yet to see OC ships with the boys that are not tumbling their way headfirst into Mary Sue/Gary Stu Bella Swan wish fulfillment territory. Except for, maybe, a couple of dramatic, painful "past relationship" stories for the boys. I read A LOT of fic (for fun and for research). I give many stories many chances, but I am yet to be proven wrong in my initial assumption. Do I have secret bosom OC ships in the bottom drawer of my Thunderheadcanons? Of course. Would I wanna read it, fully aware of the demerits and limitations of OC ship as a genre? No, thank you. To each their own, of course.

[quietborderline]

BH&R turned 4 yesterday and I forgot to celebrate that fact! (Okay... don't tell anyone, but this was actually supposed to post yesterday for Trivia Tuesday but I am a dumb and didn't schedule it properly.)

So happy birthday to the one fic that I think will always hold the most special place in my heart. And thank you to everyone who's ever read it. Scott means everything to me, and the fact that so many people also seem to love him fills my heart with such joy. I love you all. <3

And now, for anyone who is curious, I am going to ramble a whole lot about the inspiration behind the fic, how it became the sprawling series it is today, my writing, and, to start with, why I picked Vega! LOL.

———

There are a lot of reasons.

The initial reason IS shallow as fuck, are you ready? It's because Steven Brewis used to post nothing but gym selfies and Vega is a gym rat. BOOM. There's your big mystery. 😂

That probably is the first reason Vega came to mind, I won't lie. But it's also because I love Vega. I would fucking die for Vega, okay? He is easily one of if not my very favorite character in the franchise. And he doesn't get nearly enough love, IMHO.

So yeah. Those two reasons, that's why I first thought of him.

Also, just a random aside, but I prefer Paragon Lost Vega over ME3 Vega, generally. And some of the discrepancies in canon there piss me off. Which is one of the things I'm aiming to "fix" with my series.

But his story is so real. The most real, IMO.

I could go on forever.

Like, literally I. Would. Die. For. Vega.

Anyway, but then... the more I thought about it all, the further I got with plotting things out, the more Vega made so much sense. So many details fit into place and then... how could I NOT pick Vega? It just fits so perfectly??

There were 3 major reasons I started writing BH&R.

Inspiration #1, and the main reason I started writing, as I believe I've spoken about many times now, was because of the Ryder Family Secrets plotline. O.M.F.G. I simply cannot. And... it's all just fine? There's no option to even be upset or anything... what?!

Holy shit it makes my head explode.

ANYWAY. Scott and I both lost our minds about that. But he, like, EXTRA lost his mind and so I was like "My dude, what's up?" And he gave me this whole backstory about an ex-boyfriend blah blah blah.

It didn't HAVE to be Vega.

Or anyone from the OT, right?

It could have been any random, unnamed person. Except this is where Inspiration #2 comes in, and that is how LAZY they were about connecting the games.

That's a personal pet peeve. I know the majority of people on both sides of the fandom are perfectly happy to pretend these two worlds exist as entirely separate entities.

But that hurts my heart.

And so, I'm on a mission to fix it. At least for myself. That's why the summary of my fic has always said "filling the Andromeda shaped hole in my heart." It's not because I hate the game. Quite the opposite, I LOVE the game.

Clearly more than BioWare themselves.

And that pisses me the fuck off LOL.

Because it IS the same world.

And I want it to actually feel like that.

But I also didn't want either cast of characters to overshadow the other. So, I linked them in a roundabout sort of way by giving Scott and Vega that history. There's a few smaller connections, but that's for sure the biggest one. And it will come back around...

But it keeps the original Shepard storyline and the original Ryder storyline intact, and yet it changes so much about everything. <3

That's where I really get off as a fic writer haha.

Someone mentioned it in a comment once but that whole idea of "change one thing," and yes, that's one of my favorite tropes or whatever you want to call it, I guess.

So that's how it has slowly morphed into this absolutely massive, completely insane undertaking that is basically going to span practically all of the current Mass Effect canon and then some. And my goal is to actually have it all be intertwined in a way that makes sense and that is meaningful. Like this is all actually connected, because it IS.

And we should FEEL THAT, dammit.

And then, Inspiration #3. The Reyes romance and Kadara plotlines.

We're back to wanting my head to explode LOL.

A few of the choices there I wasn't pleased with, let's say, but the MOST infuriating thing is how dare you, BioWare, HOW DARE YOU, lock us into a romance like... halfway through the game AND THEN HAVE NO CONTENT AT ALL. NONE.

Not even a CONVERSATION.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!

FUCK YOU, BIOWARE.

But then, here's the thing. Another of my absolute favorite things about writing fanfic is working WITHIN canon. How can I take canon, and maybe make a few small changes, but mostly take what I've been given and bend it to my will to make something else. That's why I love fusion fic so much, taking ideas from two different canons and melding them together god that's just like *chefs kiss*

So, okay. If BioWare is going to tell me that for half the game Scott and Reyes basically don't speak to each other? Fine. But I'm going to make a REASON.

All the things I don't like about canon I'm not necessarily going to change, but I am going to give my own reason for the why.

Why does it go down like that? Why does X character act like that?

And then obviously, some things I'm going to change. 😇

But mostly I try to change the how or the why, rather than the what.

There are two things about my MDV series that may be confusing:

1. It's a long game. And there are things that are purposely glossed over or left very vague. That is intentional for several reasons. One to do with plot, I don't ALWAYS want to rehash the same things that are dealt with in detail in another part of the series. But it's also because I know there are certain parts of it that some people might not like, some pairings that people might not want to read about, etc. etc. and I'm trying to do my best to break it all up in a way that everyone can read the parts they will enjoy without having to endure anything else.

2. In large part because of this, but also just because it's sort of my style of writing in general, I'm not going to hold your hand. I'm not going to walk you through it. And sometimes, the story doesn't stop and let you smell the roses for long, if at all. I'm the type of writer where you just sort of have to strap in and go with it. Or don't! That's also totally valid. But my writing itself is not going to explain everything, and if you have ANY questions at all please ask me! Don't just assume something.

I don't like to over explain things here (which is why I don't do posts like this normally) or even in the notes of my fics, etc. But I will happily and enthusiastically talk for an eternity and tell anyone who really does want to know about certain details or why I did a thing or what's coming next or anything they are curious about.

So anyone feel free to just barge into my ask box, here or on my sideblog @manifestdestinyverse, at any time for any reason. <3

[when-they-write-stuff]

Hi ! I don't know if you're still looking for prompts but if you do how about single parent Derek and Derek's kid giving Stiles a father's day gift for the first time. :D

I’m always down for a new prompt! Thank you, nonnie!

- -

Stiles didn’t know what to think of his new neighbor.

Partly because he’d only seen him in glimpses and partly because he was pretty sure the man had no control over his kid. Not like Stiles judging or anything— he knew for a fact he’d been a difficult child too— except the kid kept coming to him. 

Every single day when Stiles least expected it.

He was pretty sure the kid had found a secret passageway into his house that Stiles didn’t know about or something. Because honestly, Stiles didn’t have any other explanation for it. 

There he would be, minding his own business, trying to get some writing done, and then bam! There’d be an eight-year-old in his house. Going through his things, wandering from room to room, or just staring at Stiles and startling the crap out of him when Stiles finally snapped out of his writing stupor.

At one point, he’d been terrified the kid was possessed or something. But Stiles was pretty sure he’d just seen way too many horror movies.

Stiles… should probably do something about it, he figured. He should confront his neighbor or at least let him know that his kid was an escape artist. But instead, Stiles would usually just entertain the boy, let him ramble about his day for a bit, and then walk him right back to his house.

Stiles wasn’t good with children, he didn’t think. And his new neighbor kind of terrified him.

Stiles had seen him once or twice; all angry-browed and scowly faced. He was pretty sure the guy was either a serial killer or a hitman or something, and both of those options scared the shit out of him. So he’d kept his distance from day one. 

The guy was drop-dead gorgeous, though. Stiles could admit that out loud.

It was another lazy Thursday when Stiles looked up from his laptop to see Ben standing in the doorway of his office. Stiles didn’t even react anymore. Instead, he just sighed and raised a brow, offering the kid his best smile.

“Good afternoon, Ben. Escape the house again?”

“I’m napping.”

“Oh right,” Stiles said, swallowing a laugh and bringing his third mug of coffee that day to his lip. “So the usual then. You know, your father is going to find out one day and think I’ve kidnapped you or something.”

Ben only shrugged and moved into the room, dropping into the chair opposite Stiles’s desk. He was still wearing his pj’s, Stiles noticed. Even though it was literally like two o’clock in the afternoon.

“My dad likes you.”

“Your father has never spoken to me, kiddo.”

“He thinks the guy next door is cute.”

Stiles choked on his coffee, setting it down to give Ben an incredulous look. Suddenly, he was a little panicked. Because did the guy know his son snuck out during nap time almost every day to pay Stiles a visit? Did he approve?

Stiles was pretty sure there was something not right with that.

“Ben, does your father know about… this?”

“... No.”

“But he knows about me.”

“Dad says you watch him from the window.”

Stiles narrowly refrained from choking on his own spit this time. He did not do that— he didn’t! Sometimes, Stiles just got curious. He would like to know the man whose kid Stiles accidentally babysat for about an hour every other day after all. 

Plus, muscles and eyebrows. Was Stiles supposed to not look?

Okay, he was supposed to not look.

“I don’t look,” Stiles grumbled, turning back toward his laptop. “I just peek sometimes.”

“That’s worse.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes at the kid over the top of his screen. But Ben only fidgeted on the chair and then jumped up, wandering out of the room. Stiles was pretty sure he should chase after him or something but the kid was like eight years old, right? He could probably handle himself.

The worst thing Ben ever did was raid his fridge anyway. Well, one time the kid had attempted to make art on his walls, but Stiles had dealt with that.

“The gogurts are on the bottom shelf!” he called. 

The last time Ben had tried to get to his food on the top shelf, he’d ended up nearly scaling Stiles’s fridge like spiderman. But Stiles had dealt with that too.

Or something.

Stiles had tried to tell Lydia about this once, but then she’d proceeded to list off all the ways he could get arrested and ruined for letting a child into his house every few days. So Stiles had pretended he’d dealt with it and then never brought up the subject again.

Scott told him to just confront his neighbor. Stiles had said he appreciated having a throat.

This had been going on for… was it three or four months now? The kid had started showing up about a week after they’d moved in, just knocking on Stiles’s door one day and then letting himself in when Stiles opened up. 

He hadn’t known what to do then. And he still didn’t know what to do now, to be honest.

Ben came in a little later with a gogurt tube stuck in his mouth and pink yogurt on his face. Stiles snorted over his computer, raising a brow. 

“Is that good?”

The kid only nodded, plopping back into the chair. Stiles shook his head and returned to his document. Soon, the only sounds filling the air was Ben giving the poor yogurt the inhaling of a lifetime and the click of keys as Stiles attempted to get some work done today.

Lydia didn’t take late submissions. Stiles would say he hated her as an agent, except he really didn’t. He probably would have flailed out of the market on his own without her.

Words were hard today.

Eventually, Stiles sighed and gazed back at the boy sitting across from him before turning his eyes toward the clock. It had nearly been an hour and he knew Ben’s naptime was only sixty-minutes long. He raised an eyebrow at the boy, who had somehow managed to get yogurt in his hair too.

“How do you plan on explaining that, little man?”

Ben just smiled. Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Okay, kiddo, you’ve gotta go. Nap time’s nearly up, I still have twenty pages to write, and I can’t go to jail for kidnapping or my father will have my hide.”

“Your dad?”

“My dad. A literal Sheriff. Who would not appreciate his only son being on the other end of the law.”

Ben blinked at him for a moment. Then the kid pushed himself and left the room, and Stiles had no idea how he got from place to place because he never even heard the front door open or close. Were eight-year-olds magic or something?

Probably.

Stiles shook his head, glancing at the empty gogurt packet on his floor, the yogurt rubbed his other chair, and then at the near-blank document sitting in front of him. Sighting, he attempted to get back to work.

This was his life, ladies and gentlemen. An entire mess.

-

Two days later, there was a knock on his door.

Stiles was pretty sure he hadn’t ordered pizza or anything. Sometimes he forgot though, so he might just be more tired today than he had originally assumed. In nothing but his sweatpants and an old t-shirt, Stiles plodded toward the front door and opened it up with a crisp five-dollar bill already in hand.

Except it wasn’t the pizza delivery guy.

Stiles froze, staring at his next-door neighbor, Ben at his side holding his father’s hand. And in that moment, Stiles realized this was it. This was how he died.

He’d never meant to be a kidnapper.

He stared for a long moment, his throat starting to close in panic. Then the guy raised an eyebrow and Stiles finally found his voice, forcing a smile.

“Uh, hey dude. You’re not here to murder me, are you?”

The man’s eyebrows raised even higher. Ben let go of his father’s hand and ducked around Stiles’s legs, making a beeline straight for the kitchen, and Stiles knew he was dead.

“Oh,” he said in a small voice. “I think he’s going for the gogurts.”

“Gogurts?”

Normally, the guy’s voice would probably make Stiles melt; a little soft, a little gruff, and it’d probably be even hotter in bed. But Stiles— Stiles wasn’t thinking like that! He was not getting a boner five minutes before he either got arrested or killed.

But then to his surprise, the man stepped into his house too. Stiles wondered if this was a family trait or something. That thought terrified him even more.

“Uh, dude? Can I help you?”

“My name is Derek,” the guy said. “Don’t call me dude.”

“Okay, Derek. Can I help you?”

“Ben,” Derek suddenly called, instead of answering the question. Ben wasn’t even in the same room and Stiles was pretty sure the kid couldn’t hear his dad. But Derek didn’t seem fazed, turning toward Stiles’s guest bedroom. “Stop jumping on the bed.”

Stiles blinked, staring in shock. He could’ve sworn when Derek looked back at him, there was a flash of blue in his eyes, but he had to just be seeing things.

“Ben… wanted to bring you this,” Derek said, pulling an envelope out of his pocket. Stiles took it silently, pulling the card out, and then choked on his own breath.

This was a father’s day card. But he was pretty sure father’s day had been days ago and… well, Stiles was pretty sure he wasn’t a father. He hadn’t been last time he checked at least. Derek ducked his head, suddenly looked a little red.

“He’s been working on it for a while.”

Stiles just stared. He didn’t know this guy, he barely knew his kid, and he most certainly wasn’t a father. Stiles wasn’t good with kids! Responsibility terrified him.

Derek blinked at him. Nervously, Stiles swallowed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Dude— Derek— I’m not going lie, I’m really confused.”

He was pretty sure the man turned even redder. Derek lowered his gaze, a hand rubbing over the back of his neck, then he hesitantly met Stiles’s gaze again.

The man had really pretty eyes, Stiles noticed. He was also pretty sure that was a very unhelpful thought.

“Ben likes you.”

Stiles blinked a few times. Then he flat out stared. “Wait, did you know he was coming over here?”

“... Yes?”

“Dude, I could’ve been a weirdo! A creeper! A… A… cat lady or something!”

Derek looked at him like he was crazy. Which Stiles was pretty sure was not fair, regarding the situation. “I know you’re not.”

“That’s so weird, dude.”

The man looked constipated for a moment, before ducking his head. “Ben has a difficultly making friends. He’s… like an untrained puppy sometimes. He follows his nose and it led him here. It’s not often that he imprints so well on people.”

Stiles was even more confused at this point. He blinked dumbly at Derek before the soft sound of footsteps stole his attention to where Ben came plodding out of Stiles’s guest bedroom to his father’s side. The boy’s hair was a mess and Stiles was pretty sure the bedroom probably was too.

He hadn’t even seen Ben go in there. He had no idea how Derek had known.

“Did you give it to him?” Ben asked, brown eyes wide. Derek nodded and traced his fingers through the boy’s hair before they danced over the back of his neck. For some reason, Stiles felt like he was looking in on something personal, quickly averting his eyes.

But then Ben tugged on the hem of his shirt. Stiles glanced back down, his earlier resolve softening.

“Can I still come over, Stiles?”

Stiles glanced up at Derek, who hesitated for only a moment before nodding. With a grin, Stiles knelt down and brushing the wrinkles from Ben’s shirt, nodding. 

“Yeah, little man. My door’s always open.”

“No, it’s not.”

Stiles barked a laugh. No, it wasn’t. But Ben found a way inside somehow anyway. The boy latched back onto his dad’s hand and Stiles pushed himself back up, meeting Derek’s gaze nervously. “So uh… lunch sometime?”

Derek’s brows flew up. Stiles felt his face grow hot.

“For Ben. You know, so you can be sure I’m not a creep or weirdo or cat lady or something.”

He could’ve sworn a small smile tugged at the man’s lips and that was a trip in itself. As if this entire visit hadn’t been. Derek nodded. 

“Lunch sometime.”

“Great, dude! Derek. Mr…?”

“Hale.”

“Hale,” Stiles said, grinning. “I’ll knock or something.”

“Or something.”

Stiles’s grin widened and he stepped aside, pulling the door open again. Ben all but pulled Derek out and the man looked over his shoulder, those pretty eyes searching Stiles’s face one more time. For a moment, he thought the man would say something else but then Derek only nodded and let his son pull him away again.

Stiles watched them down the sidewalk, the envelope and card still held tightly in his hand. He had no idea what had just happened or how he was still alive but he… he was okay with that. Cause Stiles didn’t know what to think of his new neighbor.

At all.

But he thought he could get used to him.

- -

To be honest, this might be a universe I’ll have to add on to. I think it could end up being such a cute thing to continue! I hope I did the prompt justice, nonnie, you’re fantastic!

(if you enjoy my writing, consider supporting your underpaid student writer? You can also request a prompt if you’d like!). https://ko-fi.com/rh27writer

[rent-day-blues]

I don't know if you're still doing prompts, but if are... Injured John? Maybe he gets clipped by a car or something on his way to a shift and has to call it in and his brother(s) arrive to help him? Thanks!

now! I know you haven’t asked for a rewrite of S1E08 in the RDB verse, but i’m afraid that’s precisely what you’re getting.

“

“My brother knows how to jump out a window. From at least a couple storeys up, or so he says, anyway. I remember telling you that story. I’ve never seen him do it, I’ve only heard about it afterward. Apparently he didn’t do it right; sprained his ankle. Gordon gave him hell.”

John informs the cat at the far end of the branch of this fact, nonchalant, as though the pair of them aren’t about fourteen feet in the air, which is further than John would like to jump, even if he had the first idea of how to stick the landing. Falling is the easy part.

The dispatch office backs up onto the river that cuts through town, though not one of the nicer parts of the river. There’s still a little scrubby bit of embankment behind the complex, a few haphazard picnic tables on the top of the bank, and a handful of trees trailing down the slope, doing their best and failing, as evidenced by their scraggling grey limbs—which hadn’t looked that hard to climb. And hadn’t been, to be fair. As he and Eos have mutually discovered, it’s not the climbing that’s the tricky part. It’s all getting rather philosophical up here.

“When people call me about cats up trees, I send the fire department to prevent them from going up any trees after any cats. That’s a secret about my job. It’s easier to get cats out of trees than people. You know, if you have a fire truck. Or even just a ladder. Or have climbed a tree more recently than like fifteen years ago and can still remember how to get down.” John pauses, rueful, and then adds, “I always wondered what sort of moron goes up a tree after a cat. That’s the other secret—about 90% of the time, you get your own damn selves back down.”

Of course, the most sensible thing to do, even if one has already blown the chance to do what was formerly the most sensible thing to do, and climbed a tree in pursuit of a cat, would be to call the appropriate authorities in order to safely get back down. And even if he’ll never hear the end of it from whatever coworker he calls or whichever branch of the emergency service is summoned to his rescue, John still absolutely would call 911—if his phone hadn’t fallen out of his pocket in the process of climbing the stupid tree, in pursuit of the stupid cat.

The screen’s cracked (that’s not new) and turned off, and staring forlornly up at him from where it’s nestled amidst the gnarly roots of the stubborn old tree. Even if he can’t tell the time for sure, he knows it’s past the beginning of his shift. He hopes they start to wonder where he is, and sooner rather than later, though they’ll probably call before they come looking. And even if they came looking, no one’s likely to look around the back of the building. He’s been up here for nearly fifteen minutes by this point. His had been the earliest shift, and so it’s right around dawn. By the lightness creeping into the sky, he can tell that morning’s nearer than he’d prefer, and sighs to himself.

“I’m late for work now. When I don’t check in, they’ll know something’s wrong,” he informs Eos, because of course it’s Eos. There are plenty of alley cats around the office, but the stupid black shorthair with the white smudges on her face and paws is the only one he’d climb a stupid tree for. She’s the only one around to hear it when he laments, “I only stopped to feed you. I only meant to look for a couple minutes when I couldn’t find you. I didn’t think you’d have gone up a tree of all places. What’s with that? You’re an alley cat. This is not your area. I’m very disappointed.”

Usually he sees her on his way into the communications center. Today he hadn’t, and that wouldn’t normally have been that far out of the normal. Normally John would’ve let her be and looked for her on his lunchbreak, but he’d had a can of tuna in his bag that he’d wanted to put on offer, especially since he’d had a few days off, and thus it had been a few days since he’d seen her last. He’s watched her grow from tiny kitten to smallish cat, and despite his equal measure of certainty that she can take care of herself, since he’s at least partly responsible for her continued existence, he feels it’s his duty to look out for her. As much as he can, at least.

“I’m never gonna hear the end of this,” he tells her aloud, conversationally. She hasn’t even done him the credit of coming any closer from where she perches towards the skinnier end of the branch he’s perched upon, trying to coax her closer. He’d been about to climb back down, about to head inside and call someone better suited to de-treeing a cat—when he’d discovered that, no, actually, that wasn’t quite possible. Actually it’s quite a lot further down than it had looked from the ground, and with the way the embankment falls away and drops steeply towards the river, failing to keep his feet after even a good(unlikely) landing, would probably send him tumbling down the riverbank.

But he can’t just stay up a tree all day. He’s running out of options and is uncomfortably aware of the fact.

“You wouldn’t get spooked and fall if I started yelling, right?” he asks, though it’s been lurking in his mind as possibility, and it’s the reason he hasn’t, yet. “You’re tough. You’re a mean old—well, okay, young—and I mean, not even that mean actually—but you’re an alley cat, anyway. You’re tough. You wouldn’t get startled and fall out of the tree if I yelled for help. And even if you did, probably you’d land on your feet anyway. With better odds than me. I’ve read the statistics for accidental high falls. I’ll be honest, I don’t like my chances.”

As though seeking her permission, John reaches slowly, cautiously towards her, and is rewarded with a flattening of her ears and a bristling of her tail, and the sort of warning, moaning growl that immediately precedes a hiss of pure loathing. When he pauses for a moment, and then doesn’t give up on reaching for her, she goes so far as to take a swipe at him, though the movement destabilizes her already precarious perch, such that she clings with every available claw to the bark of the tree, and his reflexive retreat makes the branch tremor slightly, enough that he freezes and tightens his grip around the trunk. He feels the spike of his heartrate as his pulse pounds in his ears, and the scare is enough to change his mind about the risk of shouting.

“Wow! You’re kind of a brat. And if I didn’t like you so much, I’d—”

In the aftermath, he’ll never be sure if the sharp crack that lingers in his memory belonged to the branch, breaking; or the back of his skull, hitting the ground. The whole incident is a muddle of disconnected sensations that he’ll only recall piecemeal, and won’t be able to connect together. The swoop of vertigo as he’d lost his balance and toppled backward, too startled even to shout about his shock at falling. The way his knee had caught for a moment where it had been hooked around the branch, arresting his fall for only a fragment of a second, before gravity won the way it was always going to. The blur of black and a pair of green eyes staring down at him, from even higher up the tree than he’d found himself. And trying to push himself up from the ground. And then then sudden sharp shock of agony from some badly broken something being enough to plunge the sky above him into inky blackness.

John’s luckier than Virgil was, when Virgil had jumped out of a window, because he gets Scott, not Gordon. Although all Gordon had offered was his usual blistering sarcasm, and coming groggily back to consciousness to find Scott looking grim and mildly terrified, kneeling at his side makes John wonder if maybe Virgil got off easy The fear lurking in his big brother’s expression might be worse than anything Gordon could’ve said.

“Don’t move,” Scott orders immediately, with the sort of authority that must make criminals quake in their ill-gotten boots, and the hand he’s got braced against John’s shoulder is enough to prevent any attempt, though John doesn’t even begin to make one. “Ambulance is on the way.”

John blinks up at him, confused and still in pursuit of context for what he’s doing, staring “…Am I under arrest?” he asks, dazed and dizzy and damned if he can remember what the hell’s just happened.

“If I could figure out how to arrest you for being a stupid fucking idiot, you absolutely fucking would be. What the hell were you doing up a goddamn tree?”

Scott’s mad, which is a good sign. John still doesn’t move, but he has to think for a minute to answer the question, which makes his head ache horribly. Almost worse than the rest of them. “Cat,” he supplies eventually, and hopes this is helpful, because it’s the only detail his brain offers. Scott’s a cop. Could probably make detective if he wanted. John’s pretty sure he can figure it out.

“Cat? What…why—you’re not a cat!” Scott’s outrage at this explanation, admittedly rather light on the details, seems to run contrary to John’s assumption that his brother could make detective, if he just put the effort in. John blinks at him, bemused that he’s gotten it so wrong.

“…does one of us have a concussion?”

Scott just glares. “One of us absolutely has a fucking concussion.”

“…me?” If he doesn’t try to think too hard, his head doesn’t actually seem so bad. John’s back hurts, and he winces slightly, not moving, but wondering aloud, “…I think I’m lying on my phone.”

If John were working this call, he would be reassured by the fact that the victim was conversant, and alert enough to notice details like that. Scott just seems exasperated. “If you’re lying on your phone, it’s because you landed on your phone, which you emphatically haven’t used to call anybody about this.”

“…did somebody call about me?”

Scott’s glare becomes a glower. “Well, we didn’t get a call about a stupid idiot lying unconcious at the foot of a tree, we got a call—from your office—about a cat screaming behind the building like it was being skinned alive. Non-emergency, even! Dispatch only threw it my way because I was in the area and I owe Animal Control a favour. I said we’d make sure it wasn’t a false alarm.”

“I hate false alarms,” John agrees, and closes his eyes. Just for a moment. The sky’s getting properly bright overhead, and the dawn for which he’d named a friend starts to spread properly across the sky. It makes his head hurt, even if it reminds him of her. And despite everything, somehow he isn’t mad. “I like cats, though.”

Scott’s only mad because he’s frightened. John probably hasn’t helped, but somehow his last statement seems to be enough to get his brother to crack a grin, weary and worried though it is. “Well. Hope this one was worth it.”

“Yeah.” John smiles to himself and closes his eyes again, as he hears the distant sound of an approaching siren. Usually he hears it from the other end of a phoneline. He wonders if it’s scared Eos. Then he wonders if she’s nearby, watching, and feels certain that probably she is, actually. After all—

“She’s my friend.”

[halekingsourwolf]

1/9 So this started as a joke & then it fit until it didn't & now I don't know what to do so I'm sending it to you. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to, just take it as a fun (?) ramble. This'll probably be long, sorry. So I was in this conversation about how Teen Wolf missed out on having a big bad. The series long villain. And I made the joke "Well, they could've always stolen from Harry Potter, if they'd wanted to". And then I started thinking about it, if Teen Wolf *had* stolen

from Harry Potter how would that've worked out?

Hey anon! Since this is long, I’m gonna be breaking your ask down and responding to the individual pieces instead of trying to respond to it all at once at the end. Your parts will be bolded and mine won’t be.

First off, I think this is a really fun idea, I love thinking about how characters would fit in other situations. This will be extra tricky, though, since we’re trying to not only parallel characters but also individual season arcs to each of the books. I think what we’re going to end up with, probably, is a lot of elements that we can say connect (this situation is like that situation, this character is similar to that other character in some way) but might not really tie into a coherent narrative on its own. If we want to, we can look at it again later to see how TW could work if it broke more from its own structure and just became more of a loose Harry Potter AU, but for this one I’m mostly just going to focus on similarities and differences.

 Let’s see how we do!

One problem is how you would count the seasons. Are seasons 3A&B 1 season or 2? Either way it doesn't fit. You either end up with 6 seasons and 7 books or with 9 seasons and 7 books. So I took the first option, which leaves me 1 season short. But if TW *had* stolen from HP maybe they would've been more successfull *shrug*. So in the 1st book (very, very roughly summarised) the hero goes against the severely weakened big bad who (we later find 3/9 out) put the hero in this position in the 1st place. When applied to TW season 1 you get: Peter. (Sorry Peter fans, I like him too but for this ramble he's gonna be our big bad.)

There are definitely some fun parallels here. 

We start off with Scott, a slightly awkward and out of place teen, definitely more optimistic than Harry but also in a better place physically than Harry, until one day he’s attacked by a crazed, half-feral Alpha werewolf (just as Harry was attacked by Voldemort, albeit earlier) and is introduced to the supernatural world. This attack, we’ll eventually learn, starts our hero down the path toward becoming a Super Special Chosen One/”True Alpha.” If neither of them had been attacked, chosen, by the Big Bad, this wouldn’t have happened). Scott’s skeptical at first, to say the least, but he’s introduced to new mentors and learns how to start harnessing his new abilities.

Throughout this, Scott seems to have a mysterious connection to the unseen enemy, shown in flashes of headache and visions of what the Alpha is doing. Scott suspects his brooding mentor figure Derek as being the enemy, due to his harsh and closed off attitude, but eventually realizes Derek’s been doing his best to protect him (so yes, Derek’s Snape in this, at least for book one). Eventually they have a showdown with the Big Bad (Alpha Peter and Voldemort), burning him (molotov and physical contact) and seemingly destroying him for good.

(If we wanted to change things up a little at the series’ start to tie in more with HP, we could have Rafael McCall still living with Scott. Having the drunk and generally abusive father still around would pull in more parallels between Scott’s pre-magic home life and Harry’s, and once he learns to harness his abilities he could use them to shift and scare the man into shaping up or getting out.)

The 2nd book: the hero fights a phantom of the big bad, a girl gets possesed by said phantom & a big snake petrifies people. Ok, so that kinda fits. Peter is still the big bad. The only thing that would need to change in seasons 1 & 2 is that Peters resurrection *doesn't* work (that comes later). So no Peter in 4/9 season 3 (what did he do in 3A besides narrate the flashback? who would narrate it now? Cora? what did he do in 3B? show Scott how to enter Stiles mind & anything else?). 

This book/season is my favorite for parallels. 

Ginny/Lydia (both redheaded secondary characters at this point) get taken in by a shadow of the seemingly defeated Big Bad, who appears as an attractive, charismatic young man to gain their trust while insidiously taking over their minds and forcing them to do his bidding and try to resurrect him.

Meanwhile, various people in Beacon Hills are targeted and paralyzed by a snakelike creature, and the heroes make it their mission to discover the guilty party. CoS has a recurring location/theme of bathrooms, while TWs2 has a recurring theme of swimming pools. …I don’t know what to do with that, except that it popped into my head as vaguely parallel :P

There are also a few smaller parallels, like the ineffectual Dueling club Snape and Lockhart co-run, which could be paralleled to Derek’s training sessions with his new betas, and the slightly stalker-esque photographer who runs around after our heroes, snapping pictures. (Yes, poor Colin Creevey is being tied in to Matt here.)

Book 3: a person from the heros past who they think is a villain isnt, a animal is a human and later helps the big bad to life. So for 3A we have, Scotts dad and for 3B Malia? (I kinda get a laugh out of making Scotts dad Sirius, but making Malia Pettigrew? maybe if she had been a villain in TW but with how everyone hates 5/9 her now, ugh) So Peter doesn't show up in 3A&B. Allison doesn't die (yet). Kate doesn't come back. (In HP the dead *stay* dead.) I guess Malia could kidnap Derek but better to keep Mexico for the end of season 4. 

Well, you know I would have loved it if M ended up being a villain, or if there was something more complex to her story to explain all the things that don’t make sense. But... ok, that said, focusing on what actually happened in TW, we could potentially pull in Jennifer as Peter? Someone our group trusts, with a specific tie to one group member in particular, who ends up betraying them and kidnapping some of our heroes to be used in a dark ritual to gain power, there are definitely parallels there. Granted, that’s tying together books three and four, and that’s where this whole parallel starts to break down because I think there are definitely some elements from season three that fit better with book four, for example; not to mention that 3A and 3B are completely different stories with independent villains and climaxes, so trying to fit them both into PoA is just a recipe for confusion. I’m gonna put my focus on 3A, I think.

So we have Jennifer as Pettigrew, disguising herself as a friend until she’s revealed as the murderous Darach. We have our main characters’ loved ones waiting to be executed by dark magic (dementors), with Stiles, Allison, and Scott subbing in for Harry and Hermione to perform potentially dangerous magic (ice bath/time travel) to set them free.

I really want to tie Lupin in to someone but no one’s coming to mind unfortunately.

Which brings me to the next question... do I skip 3B (my favorite season) entirely, or do we try to parallel 3B to book 4? That would fix the six season/seven book problem. But for now I’m gonna stick with season 4/book 4 since that’s what you did. 

So book 4: A competition keeps the heros occupied while the big bad plots his resurrection with someone the hero thinks is on his side & in the end a "friend" dies. So deadpool (hitlist!) = turnament & Meredith is Moody? The season ends in Mexico were Peter with the help of a 6/9 Banshee, kidnapped Derek & *something* from Scott resurrects himself. Maybe Allsion dies. How would Peter resurrect with only Scott knowing? idk 

I’m going to jump in and mention that in the end of season four someone does die dramatically: Derek. And while he does revive afterward (...somehow), he leaves Beacon Hills, leaving the pack noticeably floundering and Stiles in particular moody and desperate to cling to the people he has left. So as far as s4=book 4, I think Derek holds up as a good parallel for that loss. (If we were doing 3B=book 4, Allison would be a good fit.)

The end of the season I think is the best parallel between this book and this season, since the hero is swept away to a new place unexpectedly and made part of a dark ritual. I know you mentioned not wanting Kate back, but she would make a good parallel for someone the group thought was dead (Barty Crouch Jr) who abducts the hero to complete the ritual.

Berserkers sub in for Death Eaters, and as for Peter’s resurrection... however nonsensical, Kate and Peter working together in s4 is canon. And Peter wanted Scott gone and to gain his Alpha power back (at least... I think? His motivation was so nonsensical in s4 but what else is new) so making a deal with Kate to make that happen ties together as well.

So then book 5 (here is where the stories stopped fitting & I couldn't make them either, if you have any ideas go plot): everyone but the hero thinks the big bad is still dead, the hero and the big bad are "connected", a evil teacher appears, there's a prophecy and another "ally" dies. TW season 5: doctors experiment on teenagers, Theo tries to 7/9 get Scott killed, Mason turns into a beast, Peter doesn't show up & a Nazi escapes. So yeah. I got nothing. With Peter as the big bad it could've been interesting. Nobody belives Scott that Peter is back, Peter and Scott share a pack bond, no idea about the prophecy or the teacher, Scotts dad dies? 

So just a reminder/heads up that I stopped watching the show after s4. What I know from the rest of the seasons come from other Tumblr users talking and gifs I’ve seen floating around. s5 was also another split season, meaning we can either choose one arc to parallel the book or try to blend them together into a muddy mess. The main parallel I can think of would be Stiles subbing in for Harry in this one, becoming moody and emotional after a traumatic loss (Derek), damaging his relationships with his closest friends.

Beyond that... yeah, I’m getting nothing.

So onward to book 6: the hero learns how to take the bid bads plot armour, a good guy may be a bad guy afterall & the mentor dies. TW season 6A&B: the wildhunt takes everyones memories, a 8/9 Nazi-werelion (omg) eats peoples brains, an anchient god of fear turns people into stone & Deucalion dies. (This show, I swear). So how would the new season 6A&B work? What is Peters plot armour (Hocruxes)? Does Deaton die? Who is Snape in this scenario? idk but I wish I did. What that season could've been. 

Again, I’m going off very minimal information from these seasons. The mentor dying could be Deucalion (though... again, I can’t really deal with the fact that everyone’s so cool with him now after what he did in 3A. At least Derek wasn’t around and didn’t have to deal with everyone being buddy-buddy with Erica and Boyd’s murderer. *sigh* Pushing aside my issues, I am...)

The weird fear creature could be Dementors, though they didn’t really play a role in book six (here, again, we have the issue of trying to parallel specific books to seasons instead of tying in general themes). For book six.. maybe the liquid Dumbledore drinks that’s protecting Gaunt’s ring? It makes him fearful, pulls up some bad memories from his past, and more or less paralyzes him, weakening him while he drinks it.

Since Peter’s not actually a villain at this point in the season, it’s hard to pull up a parallel to the Horcruxes for him.

Which leaves book 7: the hero (& friends) find & destroy plot armour, get some info about the mentors life & all ends in a big battle not everyone survives. This would be TW fictional 9/9 season 7 (or TV movie?): Scott finally defeats Peter (& Stiles& Derek finally kiss, ofc). There you have it, well partly. I hope this was a fun read for you. Sorry, if I bothered you with it.

Overall I found this analysis really interesting, but I do think we were battling through the problem of balance between making our own story using TW elements and HP themes, or just pulling in parallels from the existing content, which makes it hard to build a coherent story.

[magicrobins]

So I don't know if you noticed, but the #MakeJaalBi tag has gotten really angry and hate-filled all of a sudden, I think due to some rumored leaks implying that they made Jaal straight due to fear of straight gamer backlash. I don't know the full details, but now I'm really concerned about the people in the tag. A lot of them abandoned all hope, and I'm worried for what'll happen, even if the devs do exactly what we want. I just don't want all our work to be squandered. Do you have any thoughts?

I did notice that, actually! I think considering it’s coming from some leak, we should take any information in these leaks with a grain of salt. They could be true, but they also could not be true. If what they say are true, they’re upsetting and disappointing, but I’m not inclined to believe them because they don’t have sources. Lack of sources doesn’t always mean information is incorrect (sometimes people genuinely forget to include their sources and will post them when asked), but I don’t think people should jump to getting so upset over something that might not be true - or at least act on these upsetting leaks. The devs are still working on the improvements to mlm romance in Andromeda, and we don’t want to risk negatively affecting their process.

I think it should also be pointed out that a lot of people in the tag seem to be upset that they’re still waiting on the improvements, on the next patch, and they have every right to be upset, however when we were first told about the patches for Andromeda, we were informed that they would be coming over the course of two months at the least. It has only been one month since then. We’re at the halfway mark basically and yeah, people are losing hope because when you wait for something, the wait feels much longer than it is. But they need to remember it’s only been one month. We waited one month, if need be, we can wait another. We just won’t wait forever.

And to be honest, if it’s true that they made him straight because they were afraid of straight gamer backlash, like… Would anyone really be surprised? It’s shitty, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all. That doesn’t mean it’s right, but it still wouldn’t be surprising.

I do think at this point, the devs have already committed to making a patch that will improve the mlm romance options for broRyder. Now there is the possibility that these improvements will be small and just their attempt to shut us up, which is frustrating and disheartening to think about, but on the flip side - there is the possibility that the improvements to mlm romance will be great improvements. The perfect endgame would be Jaal being returned to a bi romance as well as improvements to Reyes and Gil’s romance, and shit like this not happening in future games. In a perfect endgame, there’d be no more bi erasure and mlm romances would be given the same thought and attention that wlw and straight romances are (also wlw romances wouldn’t be thrown in there for the straight male players but rather for the wlw players).

In my opinion, if people in the tag keep getting upset at leaks that aren’t sourced and probably won’t ever be confirmed or denied by Bioware or EA, if they keep getting upset at every new Jaal romance voiceline we discover from Scott’s VA (which happened), it won’t affect the outcome of #MakeJaalBi. What will affect the outcome is if they voice their anger and frustration in what come off as verbal attacks, then there is a chance the tag can be negatively affected. People have a right to get upset and they have a right to voice that, but tweeting their anger directly to the devs, well I don’t think that really helps. I believe Mike Gamble, though it could have been another dev so I could be wrong, even tweeted that they are working on patches right now and no amount of “salt” will make the process go faster or slower. It’s fine to vent, but when you (using the general “you,” so not directly referring to you, don’t worry

I know it is hard to keep hope, I know that, but they did listen to us. They are making improvements, though yes we don’t know what those improvements are. If the devs do make Jaal bi, I know I’ll play the game and enjoy it and then when the next one comes around, I’ll be wary and I probably won’t preorder it like I did with Andromeda. I think there are some people in the tag who, after all of this, even if they make Jaal bi, won’t play the game or buy the next one (if there is a next one). Some will be too upset over having to fight for this representation in the first place and will be just done with the Mass Effect franchise, and I get that, but I think, especially if they make Jaal bi, we need to show them that they have regained our support. If they make Jaal bi but we continue to throw negativity at them, they may just end up regretting listening to us and labeling us as whiny brats who won’t ever be happy.

Back to the leaks, even if they’re true, what they’re talking about happened in the past. We can’t change that. What we can do, is continue to campaign and make sure it doesn’t happen with the next game. I think we need to take this information in the leaks with a grain of salt because they might be true and they might be untrue. We can keep them in the back of our minds, but I don’t think we should act on them because we can’t change the past and neither can the devs. All we can do is continue to campaign politely because when people use the tag to attack, it will backfire, unfortunately. People against the tag will use that against us.

That’s basically what I think, sorry it’s kinda long and maybe a bit over the place. Thank you for asking though! I haven’t been as active in the tag because I just finished school, but I’ve definitely been keeping an eye on it, keeping in touch with many people in the tag, and occasionally sending out a tweet when I’ve got the time (which thankfully with my class over, I have more free time).