#so many ideas and so many of them are wacky aus because of course

[anxiouspotatorants]

Maura and Daniel fic ideas because I’m going through brainrot and I need y’all to give me more fics of them:

Season 2 AU (?) where the space setting is another simulation but only Maura knows. As in everyone else has a new script they’re convinced is their life. Including Daniel. And now it’s Maura’s turn to help him remember, all the while dealing with grief over knowing what she’d made herself forget for so long.

AU where everything is fine actually. Daniel and Maura go fishing with Elliot and have date nights and sick days and gossip about all their cooky coworkers and who’s dating who (like what is going on with that French trio?). Life is still life, but theirs is as close to that wonderful moment that Maura wishes could last forever as possible.

Fantasy/Sleeping Beauty AU where Ciaran has put Maura under a sleeping spell or she put herself under one after the death of Elliot and now Daniel has to find her and wake her up.

Season 2 AU (?) where 2099 is real and everyone immediately finds Daniel and him and Maura have to figure out what they are to each other after everything and guess what they still love each other and are still in love they just need some time to grieve their child both individually and together and get comfortable with being together as the people they’ve become.

Normal AU without any sci fi plot twists where everyone on the Kerberos live in the same small town/neighbourhood. Either Maura and Daniel meet and fall in love or they’re already together and just have a lovely life while also getting to know and love everyone around them. I’m talking Elliot and Ada being forced to hang out because they’re the only kids around. Ling Yi and Olek are international students and the sparks are flying. Eyk is their sweet but tortured neighbour who just started therapy and gets invited to dinner at the Franklin/Solaces more than once a week.

An in depth fic depicting everything from when Maura and Daniel first met until they had Elliot. Cute crushes, awkward flirting, moving in together, how they dealt with the in-laws etc.

Total angst AU where both Maura is Ciaran and Daniel is an AI copy of his dead self. Maura can’t face who she became in order to escape her grief. Daniel can’t accept that he’s the digital spectre of his dead human self. A complete tragedy. I’m ready to cry.

Gothic romance AU. It’s the late 1800s and Maura is moving to a small town that has grown desperate enough to request a female doctor for their hospital/asylum. There are a lot of tortured souls in town and Maura keeps feeling like this place is familiar. Also there’s this guy dressed in black named Daniel who always stares at her like he’s about to break down. She gets caught up in a mystery and ends up solving the one of her own disappearance because she was so distraught at the death of her and Daniel’s son that she got memory loss and moved away, losing years of her life. Also please give this a bittersweet ending where she gets time to grieve Elliot but ultimately decides to live a life again with her husband and all her new friends and found family.

Vampire AU where instead of sci-fi solutions Maura turned Elliot into a vampire to save him. She also turned Daniel and herself, but somewhere in her own transformation she was compelled to forget her human life by the vampire that she got to turn them all (Ciaran? Henry?). So now Daniel and Elliot are following Maura onto a ship to New York to get her back, all the while trying not to get found out or kill the other passengers out of bloodthirst.

Modern cruise comedy AU. All the passengers are there on vacation and meet and interact. Maura is there with her husband and child and meet all these wacky people. They practically adopt Eyk who lets Elliot hang out in the bridge. They get caught between an arguing French trio and a blossoming romance between a tourist from Hong Kong and a Polish crew-member in the buffet line. Some tense Danish people keep setting their youngest child up on playdates with Elliot. Maura has to comfort the Danish boy when he gets caught up in a love triangle with a Spaniard and a Portuguese guy. Daniel somehow finds himself comforting the Portuguese guy. Elliot and Ángel just play Nintendo games together.

[rubberbutton]

So, I have this wacky Javert & Cosette detective agency AU idea that I’ll probably never write…

Post-Seine Javert starts a private detective agency — reuniting loved ones, shutting down extortion rackets, stopping forced marriages, things like that. He doesn’t make any money because he fails to collect payment on the rare occasion he’s not working pro bono. [Very Angel Investigations, sans vampires … unless?] The work is both penance and its own reward.

Bored of social calls and society dinners, Cosette decides to help him in his work. Javert refuses her, but she keeps showing up. She proves herself useful, as no one ever suspects her of being a double agent, she’s clever, and she can cry on command — which is an incredibly effective distraction. Since Paris’s underworld is already familiar with him from his previous profession, Javert has had difficulty making progress on some of his cases. But Cosette is entirely unknown. Grudgingly, he allows her to help on his smallest, safest, most respectable cases. Which rapidly escalates into her running the place. He’s really not an ideas man.

There are capers! Escapades! Daring rescues! A heart-warming Christmas episode!

Valjean and Marius are given to believe that Cosette’s time is spent volunteering with ladies aid societies. When the truth comes out, Valjean is apoplectic, and it’s the first real risk to his relationship with Javert (well, post Seine, haha), especially when Javert makes it Cosette’s choice whether to continue. Marius’s anger burns out much quicker; that boy is nothing if not easily led.

Meanwhile, Montparnasse has filled the leadership vacuum left by Thénardier and has made great inroads in the Parisian organized crime scene. With Javert foiling many of his more lucrative business interests, Montparnasse decides it’s time to deal with with him more permanently...

Other odds and ends for this ‘verse:

Javert accidentally adopts some urchins when he attempts to cultivate them as informants, but they keep showing up like stray cats when they realize he’ll feed them. 

Having heard it in her tenderest years, Cosette quickly picks up the accent and argot of the street and becomes a mistress of disguise.

She also purchases an umbrella with a stiletto hidden in the handle, which she mostly uses to underline her better rhetorical flourishes.

Whilst Javert is not an easy man to like, Cosette appreciates his honesty. Granted, that honesty is couched in the most pessimistic, condescending and insulting way imaginable. But after her father and her husband gaslighting her for years, it’s a relief to not second guess the information someone gives her. 

They both appreciate having someone to commiserate about Jean Valjean’s idiosyncrasies with. “You know the way he clears his throat when he disapproves, but won’t say he disapproves — and if you ask him if he disapproves, he’ll deny it?” “I know it very well!” 

After Jean Valjean is finished being furious, he moves right on into being jealous. He wanted them to get along, but not quite this well. He of course would rather eat glass than admit it. 

Also, as many of les amis survive as I can reasonably get away with. Definitely Courfeyrac, because I like him. Probably Bahorel, in case they need some additional muscle when working a case. And Joly because they’d need someone with a medical background to identify the cause of death/provide medical aid. Also no one should die with a cold, talk about insult to injury. 

Anyhoo. Everybody lives happily ever after with a gentle ’90s TV glow. Fuck you, Victor-Marie Hugo.

[redladydeath]

re: your vox mindbreak au, it's such a fascinating scenario with so many avenues of interest.

does vox definitively become one of alastor's thralls. you know, just like nifty is even though we're not sure her soul is alastor.

what sort of conflicts of interests would occur if he's still — if not commercially then emotionally, to them — part of the vees?

would alastor drag him to the hotel, making him a reluctant staff member, even though it fails to capture his interest? what surprising dynamics would crop up?

and if it occurs during/post-canon, and the hotel ensemble knew who vox used to be, would this irrevocably change his relationship with the cast who do not know alastor's cruelty? does vox have dysphoria when he remembers his head isn't a CRT, and then forgets, and then remembers, and then forgets, and then—? please reply asap im going insane.

Oh gosh, thank you. It's really flattering when people show interest in my weird little ideas.

does vox definitively become one of alastor's thralls

Not definitely. I have two avenues for this AU: One where the mindbreak happens in the 1960s, when Alastor and Vox have their first big fight, and one where it happens in the modern day, when Vox is part of the Vees. In the 60s route, he's one of Al's thralls; in the modern route, Alastor vanishes (possibly for seven years) immediately after breaking him and Val and Velvette are left to deal with the aftermath.

what sort of conflicts of interests would occur if he's still part of the vees?

Oh God, the subconscious yearning. Vox can't remember why he cares so much about these two random overlords, but he demonstrably does. He wouldn't feel so drawn to them and their products if they weren't important in some way. If Alastor ever ordered him to hurt them, he'd probably refuse (or at least try to talk his way out of it), which never happens anymore.

would alastor drag him to the hotel, making him a reluctant staff member, even though it fails to capture his interest? what surprising dynamics would crop up?

Of course! He's basically Alastor's loyal pet now– no reason not to bring him along! The hotel is novel enough that he's not particularly bored (always some wacky nonsense happening there!), even if the whole redemption thing is a bit out of his depth and doesn't feel possible.

Vox scares the absolute crap out of Husk. Knowing Niffty wasn't just a one-off and that Alastor is willing to do this to someone he considered a friend just because he didn't like his attitude is terrifying. Vox would also end up pretty close with Niffty, not because of their shared situation (neither of them are really aware of that), but because her 1950s sensibilities are comforting and familiar to him– she always makes sense to him in a way the rest of the world just doesn't. She also wouldn't even be remotely bothered by the constant out-of-nowhere topic changes or the short-term memory loss, so that's a plus.

and if it occurs during/post-canon, and the hotel ensemble knew who vox used to be, would this irrevocably change his relationship with the cast who do not know alastor's cruelty?

Oh yeah. I think seeing Alastor do something this extreme and unnecessary would be the final straw for Charlie. She's not even comfortable with killing genocidal freaks like Adam; no matter what Vox did, she wouldn't be okay with this. Plus, actually seeing him do this would make it click for everyone that maybe Niffty's not just some funny little creature, which would feel incredibly violating in retrospect given how much they've all come to care about her. Charlie would kick Alastor out of the hotel, which he'd be thrilled about, although he might end up back on their doorstep due to the constraints of his contract.

does vox have dysphoria when he remembers his head isn't a CRT, and then forgets, and then remembers, and then forgets, and then—?

Imo, in both routes he'd probably go back to the original 1950s set that he manifested with. It's just something he feels compelled to do– it's what Alastor would want him to do, after all. He'd probably need help making the change, but Alastor would do so happily / Velvette would do so reluctantly if that's what'll make him feel comfortable. I have a mental image where, when he first wakes up after The Incident, the first sign that something's wrong is that his display is fully black and white, despite the fact he's still using the modern flatscreen. But yeah, I imagine there'd be a lot of loops of "something is wrong– nevermind!– something is wrong– nevermind!" about various things, whether it's his body, the situation, or the presence/absence of certain people.

[colourstreakgryffin]

HII !! Could you write some headcanons with academy au!Obanai where reader is his favourite student because they are all quiet and don't ask dumb questions and while the lesson is going on reader raises their hand and suggests that Obanai teaches the students how to cook meth , as joke of course ? I'd love to see the utter dissapointment in him. (Reader is gender neutral) gender neutral) :D

Thank you if you end up doing it ! ☆☆

Right? We’re gonna do something silly! I like this idea a lot, especially with Obanai like ommmgg~! Thank you for this interesting idea, my dear!

Iguro Obanai- Sombre Joke

Chemistry class at Kimetsu Academy is always considered one of the two worst subjects, alongside Maths. No student dared to talk back to the man in charge of the room and if any breathing being got a single point grade below the passing, Obanai would deal out cruel punishment for wasting his time and effort. He wasn’t nice, he was harsh and he wasn’t against experiencing his disappointment in many ways

However, he is still a human with emotions and even he had himself a favourite student, in which he was openly favouritistic towards. You, a quiet but kind young person that never disturbed him as he taught nor made up ridiculous ‘jokes’ to say outloud as if his rules don’t exist. Obanai was tired of his students’ nonsense, so you’re that breath of fresh air he just needs to get through the school day

He likes you so much, he talks to you about his courting of Kanroji Mitsuri and he happily buys you lunch for helping him with dinner ideas and present ideas

The class went by in a slow, mundane pattern as Obanai switched inbetween reading the open subject material book laid flat in his palm to writing the details onto the chalkboard with the white chalk in his fingers so the whispering and mumbling teenagers behind him could copy down the notes and revise them later through the hour of the class. You noticed, right away, that he was irritable and it seems to you that his dinner date with Kanroji-san didn’t go well

Once you had finished precisely jotting down the exact formulas Obanai did write on the portrayed board taking up a number of the wall. You thought carefully, tapping your round pink eraser-ended writing pencil on your unused wrist. How could you cheer up your favourite teacher without making it out like you two have a closer connection then merely as teacher and student?

Suddenly, a wacky but harmless little idea for a joke popped into your head when your focusing eyes trailed down to the metal test tube container packed to the brim with filled glass test tubes of all kinds of colourful liquids, sat right besides his propped-up silver laptop. Oh, that’s it. You could just make a silly remark about that! You shot your dominant hand right up and waited patiently for Obanai to turn around, and respond to your want to ask him a question

“Yes, Dokusha?” Obanai vocalised his approval to speak in a calm, smooth voice to you, all of the class flinched in horror at the way he answered so cheerfully and delighted. He was never this composed nor unbothered. His gorgeous heterochromia of yellow and turquoise shined with joy at the sight of you, his favourite student of his four packed classes

You never annoyed him or disappointed him, you have this speeding train of success in Chemistry and he is encouraging you all the way

“Can you teach us how to create Meth?” Your voice comes out naturally soft and polite, hoping your silly little statement will make him laugh in one way or another but that humiliated frown signed you otherwise, crushing your spirits with this piercing eyes. Iguro-san wasn’t happy at all… shit, you messed up. That stupid phrase always worked on every other Chemistry teacher you tried it on. Is he that serious?

“Harmful drugs are illegal and immoral, Dokusha. It’s not funny. Never suggest such a idea again or I’ll send you to the counsellor over drug abuse concerns” Obanai hissed in his signature harsh tone as disappointment overflowed from his very own skin, upset and annoyed that you would even ask this dumb question with your streak of competence. You never asked dumb questions, you are always so polite and quiet! What was this for? Are you trying to ruin it all?

You had stayed quiet and stared blankly at the notes you wrote down and continued to copy and paste for studying purposes, feeling the mocking eyes and shattering giggles of the nearby students circle you but Obanai butted in, slamming his metallic ruler on his desk to shut everybody up. You felt relief wash over your nerves as even when he was disappointed and/or annoyed with you, he was still defending you

Once the teacher had reorganised his wooden support of acknowledgement, every other child followed him and begun to tidy up their chemistry subject book as Obanai proclaimed the five minutes upcoming for the class’s finish. You just stayed still, fist balled up against your cheek to hold up your head as every other student begun to speak wildly and some decided to get out of their chairs, thankfully, Obanai shoved them all into obedience with a murderous glare

“Myōji Dokusha. Please stay after class” Obanai suddenly chimed out, somehow beating the alarm bell rhythmic ring after a few minutes of dead silence. A number of students surrounding you at other parted lab counters used as desks, hummed and cooed mindlessly about how you, the teacher’s pet, is in trouble as the bell was set off but nobody moved, knowing very well Obanai was the one who dismissed the children from the period, not the bell’s powerful ding

Once the class was lifeless and empty, you willingly abanonded your schoolwork belongings at the counter called your desk and approached the front desk with fear and shame overloading your systems, you suspected Obanai to bash you for your silly little remark, flustering him in front of his entire class but no. He simply turned around and snatched your closest hand, holding it in his much bigger ones as his mismatched eyes radiated concern this time

He wasn’t angry. Not at all, not a ounce of his body language suggested that he was angry

No

He was worried. Beyond worried, this was the first time you’ve ever seen him truly worried, but you can tell he is. Was he worried for you?

“What is with the stupid question? Are you struggling with a methamphetamine addiction? You’re too young to be using such substances, they’ll harm your body in long run. Tell me if you are now, okay. I’ll make sure you get off it and have whoever is supplying you it face serious punishment”

Oh, shit. I didn’t see headcanons until way too late! Sorry, hope this is okay!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

If you don't mind me asking, how would you handle a scenario where the Miracuclass is like a My Hero Academia/Power Rangers Ninja Storm/Jungle Fury thing where they're all being trained to be heroes specifically? That was my best idea for how to have the Miracuclass exist as is but also fit, like they're already doing their own hero stuff adjacent to the main squad, but on it's own I think it would require rewriting a lot of stuff. Also no secret identities :((

It would require rewriting a lot of stuff, but it wouldn't necessarily mean no secret identities! It depends how you handle it. I think secret identities are fun, so I'd have them all train while transformed or at least in disguise, so identities are secret even though they're an active team.

I actually have the notes for something that's similar to this type of AU, though I'm not sure if I'll ever write it. The general idea was that the Guardians run a sort of boarding school to train Chosen, but the Chosen stuff is a secret secondary part of the school for a select few. Most of the students are just normal kids. The plot of that one focuses on the Guardians being either evil or misguided and the Chosen's ultimate mission is freeing the Kwamis since I really don't like the fact that the show has established that the miraculous basically make the Kwamis into slaves. It's one of the many wacky AUs in my "maybe" folder.

However, for both that AU and just the general idea proposed in the initial ask, I just don't see how you can make that work for a cast of 18 assuming the goal is to use this setup to allow for all 18 characters to be narratively important. That's simply not possible. You'd have to pick a smaller core group and treat the rest as side characters, which is what most shows like this do. You mentioned My Hero Academia, which features a class of 20 plus teachers and other supporting characters, but most of the class is treated as minor side characters with very little development because of course they are! They don't have a clear place in the show's story and telling the story is the show's main goal, so you have to sacrifice developing the narratively pointless side characters in order to tell the story. Stories that make massive casts work tend to be written like fantasy epics where you have multiple groups of people off on their own doing narratively important things.

Lord of the Rings is a good example of this. When the nine members of the fellowship are all together, most of them feel like side characters. But once the fellowship splits into mini groups? That's when most of them start to really come into their own. To really highlight this, compare Lord of the Rings to The Hobbit. In The Hobbit, Bilbo goes on a quest with 13 dwarves and most of them are just kind of there because the group never splits up and so the attention stays focused on a few key dwarves because it's really not possible to make 14 people important if they're all doing the same thing. If you want a large, narratively important cast, then you can't have them be a team who works together. You have to split them up.

[vivisols]

Sooooo... this new fic -tell me something about it (so much or so less you want to share) ;P

EHEHE GLADLY IM SO GLAD YA ASKED!!!! you dont understand how excited i am to talk about it lmao :DDDDDD

so my newest fic is.... a post apocalypse mer au!

ehehe!!! :3c i mentioned it in some of the author notes of claw at the stars and im soooo excited to actually finish chapter 1 of it!!! its only like. 30% done so far bc im playing video games non-stop on my writing break but im chugging along xD

the basic summary is that after a meteor strikes the earth (again), humanity has had to rapidly evolve to survive the harsh conditions of rising sea levels and much harsher temperatures. (id elaborate more on some science and biology stuff ive been brainstorming too but that's SPOILERS </3) more under the cut!

long story short, theres evolved people and creatures evolved from people on land and merfolk evolved from people in the sea! plus theres new languages thanks to evolving and changing vocal chords! (reallyyyy i just wanna get wacky with humanoid designs xD can you tell i like doing that yet???)

as for the fic, here's a quick summary of the very basic plot :3

a few decades after this meteor hits, the daycare attendant wakes up from an emergency shutdown in the ruins of the pizzaplex. with no telling of how many years its been, they have to pick up the pieces of where they left off and navigate this new world. with the help of y/n (dats YOU!!!), a mer who ended up on land, they slowly get their bearings and try to settle in to their new life, scrounging for parts to repair themselves in the overgrown remains of cities.

y/n has never even thought about going on land, but of course, the one time they do they have to drag around a robot that doesn't even understand what they're saying. sun and moon, meanwhile, latch onto you like a lost puppy as they try their best to learn the new language and figure out what you keep signaling to them.

(why were you on land? can't say! since, well, it would be spoilers...)

theres gonna be tons and tons of fluff and mystery and adventure and romance and LOREEEEE! all the tropes im obsessed with! and of course vanessa is here too because i love herrrr :3

anyways, i cant share toooo much besides the basic summary since i love being vague and mysterious hehehe but! im nearly done with the first chapter :3 it will likely be out sometime in january, IF not january 1st! im super motivated :3c

as a reward for listening to my way too long ramble, have this super quick concept sketch i did the other day!

again, really just a quick sketch but! you can kinda see what im going for maybe?? XD

i hope this was sufficient for now! feel free to ask for more if ya want! i LOVE talking about my ideas ;D

[threebooksoneplot]

Do yall believe in vampire mates how stephenie describes? Like a vamp changes irrevocably (lol) and is "paired off" and such?

G: hmmm. I think it's easier to talk about this if we separate it into two aspects:

1 - Fanon. when it comes to Twilight vampires, the fandom heard the word "mate" and took that shit and RAN with it (because of course we did, we are the horny little bastards who invented A/B/O. more power to us.) I think smeyer uses the word "mate" a little differently—she's trying to make the vampires animal-coded, and she's trying to communicate that their society doesn't really have marriage but they still have this type of heterosexual monogamous Eternal Commitment. I've seen a lot of people in fandom treat "vampire mates" as if they function the same as werewolf imprinting—as a switch that flips, no free will involved, and an (often sexual) compulsion.

peeeeersonally I think what stephenie actually means with all that "changes irrevocably" stuff is that vampires are only capable of loving in extremes—they live forever, they commit forever, they mourn forever, so naturally all their relationships are really intense. but there is still that element of CHOICE there that is totally absent from the werewolves—the vampire gets to CHOOSE who they wanna be with, and "mate" is, crucially, a label they assign each other. I've seen many fics where "vampire mates" work the same way as imprinting ("Oh my God, Demetri, you locked eyes with Y/N and discovered she's your mate!") and I don't think that's what's going on in canon at all. (alice and jasper excepted, of course, since apparently they really WERE Destined By Fate or whatever. lol wacky fun.)

2 - Ok, THAT SAID, I do think canon "vampire mates" are still very soulmate-AU adjacent. the idea of "singers" is close to both that and werewolf imprinting, for example. and stephenie's own upbringing colors the fact that she writes her vampires with exactly One True Love ever and no one is allowed to move on and find love with someone new.

so do I "believe" in vampire mates the way stephenie wrote them? I mean...kinda? It's her story, and if she says they commit to one person for eternity, that's her prerogative. but I personally wouldn't let that keep me from writing Second Chance vampire romance in fic, or stories about moving on from grief, etc etc, if I wanted to. it just so happens that I think stephenie's "the vampire is forever obsessed with wreaking gory vengeance" take is more fun most of the time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Shannon: Because of how much it's tied to the omegaverse, nowadays when I hear "mate" I constantly am thinking of 1) the omegaverse, 2) those shitty weird ads I keep getting on tiktok and facebook that are straight up wolf porn, and 3) I guess Twilight a little bit. but my longer opinions are summed up in an old ask here.

^an ad G got the other day. it's "refusal from the clan" btw

Lilia: "um it's like when Australians say "mate," you're really good buddies. we just don't get it because we're american. it's an inside joke and we're not privy to the fun"

[martuzzio]

A Space Outlaws primer for My Reality, Yours: what you need to know

Read My Reality, Yours here

Hi everyone! My most recent fic My Reality, Yours is set within my Space Outlaws Hermitcraft AU, which has a lot going on: weird terms, Hermit lore, wacky sci-fi, and more. To help make the fic (and the AU in general) easier to jump into, here's a list of in-universe things to know! This post is currently spoiler free.

I'm most likely going to update this multiple times as I publish more chapters of the fic. If there's something in the fic you don't understand, let me know and I can add an explanation here! Conversely, if there's something here that you want to learn more about, I will happily elaborate in an ask or dm :D

My Reality, Yours hub

The Space Outlaws AU hub

Character backgrounds and lore

Non-MRY-specific character trivia

General AU ideas (Spoiler free!)

Admin: The leader of a political group of any size.

Common: The Universal standard for spoken language. Many people either speak Common as their native language or learn it as their second. As most things in intergalactic settings are communicated in Common, it is recommended for individuals who travel away from their home civilization to know at least a rudimentary amount of the language.

Comms: Short for communications. Comms are the technological devices people use to speak to each other, whether it be by audio, video, or text. Comm units are mandatory for all air-and-spacecraft. Most people carry a comms unit with them — all of the Hermits have comm units installed in the gauntlets of their space suits.

Dimensions: The Universe is split into three Dimensions: the Nether, the Overworld, and the End. These Dimensions are relatively the same size and lay on top of each other without overlapping. The Overworld is like our real-life universe (lots of outer space with galaxies scattered throughout), while the Nether and End are inspired by Minecraft (seemingly endless generations of their respective environments, though with much more biome/region variation). At the very outskirts of each Dimension, the exterior edges gradually trail off into Void.

Galactic: An alphabet used by countless languages across all three Dimensions. Common's written form uses Galactic, which makes Galactic the Universal standard for written language. Many people either use Galactic as their native alphabet or learn it as their second. As most things in intergalactic settings are written in Galactic, it is recommended for individuals who travel away from their home civilization to know how to read and write it at the basic level.

The Hermits: A legendary group of interdimensional outlaws. The Hermits are one of the longest (if not the longest) established independent political organizations in the Universe. They’re lauded for their range of positive influence despite their miniscule numbers — over the course of millions of years, the Hermts’ ranks have almost never exceeded fifty individuals at once, yet the group has majorly impacted countless civilizations from all three Dimensions. Because of this influence, the Hermits and its members are considered household names. The Hermit Trading Card Game is one of the most popular interdimensional games on the market, which several of the current 26 Hermits consider to be one of their biggest achievements in life.

The Hermit Craft: Xisumavoid’s spaceship and home base for the Hermits. The Craft is a massive outer-space-only ship that can easily accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. No one knows how it was constructed or where its ultra-advanced technology came from. The Craft is fully self-sustaining and includes areas like the bridge, archives, kitchens, greenhouses, the engine bay, hangars, machine bays, labs, personal quarters, and more.

Rifts: Portals that connect one Dimension to another. Rifts are the only way to travel between Dimensions. There’s a finite number of Rifts in the Universe so civilizations tend to cluster near them, making them important trading routes and cultural hubs. They vary wildly in size, shape, and color, so many of the most well-trafficked Rifts are given unique names by the locals. The larger and more important Rifts often have a dedicated space station manned by Rift Guards to help organize the flow of traffic.

Space suits/space armor: Interchangeable names for the highly advanced suits the Hermits and other space-faring individuals wear. These suits can vary wildly in appearance and function, but they’re all designed to withstand extreme situations — from the vacuum of empty space to intense combat. Many of the Hermits obtained their suits before joining the Hermits group, which is why almost none of them match visually.

Void: True nothingness, where nothing can survive. The Void is completely barren of everything (down to even the smallest particles) and therefore is impossible to inhabit or explore. “Void” is often included in swears and other exclamations. For example, “good Void” is a common exclamation of surprise, frustration, anger, etc.

[limetameta]

The worst thing to come from rewatching hellsing ultimate is that now YET AGAIN I am thinking of my cringe Canon divergence fic I made up as a wee child where Quincey Harker's grandson and Integra Hellsing are matched by the Queen of England (no Alucard, much to your detriment your 1940s sweetheart won't let you change her mind - no changing your form into girlycard won't help)

But you see he's American^TM. Because Mina and Johnathan took one look at Abraham biding Alucard to the Hellsing family AND keeping him in England and said: We will run! We are leaving, good sirs!

Abraham: But you have nothing to worry about! He is bound! A servant! He is nothing!

Mina and Johnathan, absolutely traumatized, holding their baby boy Quincey: WE ARE LEAVING!

So they move to America. And stay there. But something is a little up with Quincey, though. He's just a tad stronger than you'd expect. A really killer athlete that can outrun most folks in his school.

Because the whole thing with Mina not turning into a vampire is that Dracula got killed. By not killing Dracula let's still say: OK Mina is in the clear! She didn't turn into a vampire. She was cured! (I feel like my man Johnathan would never let Abraham experiment on Mina to see HOW she did not turn, because Johnathan is a good man and Van Helsing is a wacky old mad scientist)

So let's assume for the sake of this au that Mina is human enough to pass, but that progressively it gets... harder to hide the vampirism. Not in its most natural state. But the Harker family is a bit odd.

Cut to Quinceys grandson - I don't know called Jeffrey or something. And he is a professional American hunter on all things occult. Looks human. Can go in the sunlight. Blunt teeth. Eats food. Except he doesn't necessarily hunt like a human.

But that's not important yet. Alucard will sniff that out and come to Integra to debrief.

The entire premise of this would be that it follows the hellsing ultimate beat. So it'd have 10 chapters. The biggest divergence would be that McAmerican Man over there is at the right place at the right time and stops the Cat Boi from doing the thing, and so Alucard doesn't disappear for 30 years.

I remember reading fics where Integra is told she must marry and in those fics she always takes it in stride. She is always like yes of course I will do my Hellsing duty. I am an old woman of 22 and so of course I must make haste and pop out at least 5 children. All male.

So my big idea was that in this fic both Alucard and Integra would be SO in on it and they would collaborate and work together to drive this McAmerican Man away - without of course him knowing they are doing this on purpose.

But the bit continues- McAmerican Man succeeds in surviving all of their trials and tribulations - PLUS he is endearing. There is something about that Johnathan Harker rizz that gets passed down. Integra is actually beginning to respect this man. Fuck. In Integra speak this is as close to her finding him adequate as you will get.

But their ticket out of this conundrum is Alucards revelation that McAmerican Man is a vampire or something alike.

But then you get eugenics from the round table that's like: combining the blood of a Hellsing, the family that Alucard is bound to serve - with the Harker blood that is giving its family abilities to withstand grievous harm and has them endure many hardships to be found in the vampire hunting business seems like a brilliant mix. Think of what your children will be?

Alucard: Doesn't this sound like eugenics? I thought Britain was above such things? *grinning like a lunatic. Having caught the round table red handed*

Integra: *can't see her glare from the cigar smoke* yes... it does...

But anyway. Pretending anyone from the Hellsing verse is not mad is like pretending the sky is green. I wanted to say red, but with the London siege it very well might be red.

I cannot stress enough how MUCH Alucard is trying to get rid of the McAmerican Man. But as he is ordered not to KILL or MAIM him or HARM him he needs to get creative.

But is he pissed off? Yes he is. Especially because dearest American boi looks the spitting image of his good friend Johnathan. The Dracula in Alucard is VERY MUCH rearing his head. He feels like this is his do over to kill him and drain him. Integra will allow it, he just needs to find A WAY to get her to mistrust him. You must have secrets McAmerican Man.

Seras and the dude are good buddies. The wild geese take him out drinking one night.

Only Integra and Integra's pet vampire SEETHE at this man.

Alucard: Master...

Integra: It will be obvious

Alucard: Not if you lock me up as punishment afterwards

Integra: *puff* *puff* *side eyes him* *is considering it ACTIVELY* *sighs* No...

Both of them are disappointed 😞

Anyway Integra gets wun over by McAmerican Man but she refuses to take his name.

[snorkling-in-sodasea]

The Amazing Digital Survival Show (the idea)

To completely sum it up, it's basically kind of like Total Drama Island in the setting of The Amazing Digital Circus.

To put more detail, Pomni and the others are still being sucked into a piece of technology. Except instead of a lone computer, it'll be a TV show that's very popular with general audiences. The characters end up there because an invitation of sorts show up on their TV. The ones who accept for one reason or another are typically alone, so that there's no confusion on who the invite is for. At most, there's only one other person or two with them and they get dismissed as jealous or even crazy

Caine is still A.I. but he does send the invite, seeing the different kinds of people who watch the show and pick who he believes has promise. He's not at all realizing the harm he's doing, especially since he thinks that, when someone abstracts, he ejects them from the show. Caine has no idea that he's just tucking them away in the code or data streams or however the programming works. He doesn't even realize that everyone wants a series finale so that they can all go home; the most Caine's done is announcing a winner for a season finale

Everyone competes in the challenges in futile hopes that winning the overall show means that they get to leave but it's been going on for years. They may believe to have a way out but they're not strongly hoping for it as they used to. Of course, Pomni being new means that her hope is strong and it's a painful reminder to everyone how they were when they first got here. Everyone forgets their names and the fact that they watch The Amazing Digital Survival Show for one reason or another, so they're not aware they're being watched by an audience and Caine wants everyone to be 'authentic' in their performances so he doesn't tell them

It really doesn't help everyone that Caine is programmed to be a bit of a jerk. I guess like canon Caine with a small extent of the host from Total Drama Island. Caine believes that if people were really not gonna like him being a bit of a jerk, then he wouldn't have been programmed that way to begin with

Anyways, everything plays out like those live-action survival shows but with obvious wacky shenanigans and hijinks. Instead of eliminations, though, especially since Caine can only send out so many invites and he's rather picky to begin with, the loser has to spend the night in a meat locker with Bubble for company

That's about it for my AU so I hope it's good

[davyjoneslockr]

kakyoin for the character ask thing?🙏

(For this ask game)

First impression: Like Narancia, I kinda knew I’d like him before I even got to Stardust Crusaders because my best friend (who got me into JJBA) really liked him. I actually got him a Kakyoin button for his birthday shortly before I started the series. Once I actually reached that part, I was kinda surprised that he started out as a villain, but I really liked his fight with Jotaro, his “redemption” (if you can call Jotaro removing the fleshbud in like 30 seconds a redemption lmao), and how his demeanor contrasted Jotaro’s nicely.

Impression now: Okay you get a senior discount if you remember this, but I actually had a MASSIVE Kakyoin phase a few years back. He very quickly became my favorite character over the course of SDC, and I still can’t listen to Goodbye Nostalgia without crying. He’s not at the forefront of my brain anymore, but I still really like him. He’s a great foil for Jotaro, and he’s so serious yet so strange and off-putting and that’s awesome. I wish we’d gotten more of his backstory sooner, because the idea of a character feeling isolated and unable to connect with others because of a stand (not its ability, but its mere existence) is so so good, but I still thought the flashbacks we got were effective. Honors student art kid who hangs out with his weird green tentacle monster and plays video games and eats cherries in the most unhinged way possible and has a mullet is just a great character concept all around ngl.

Favorite moment: Love all of the Death 13 fight it’s so good. I know people talk about the rest of the Crusaders being OOC, but honestly. I think it works here. Up until that point, Kakyoin sort of acted as a support or in conjunction with someone, usually Jotaro or Polnareff. So to see him isolated and having to figure things out in his own, grappling with questioning his own sanity and fearing the others leaving him, but also needing to take drastic actions in order to save all of them, is so awesome. As much as I love the scenes where Jotaro and Kakyoin have to rely on an unspoken trust in each other, or where Kakyoin and Polnareff have a semi-antagonistic brotherly relationship, I think Kakyoin himself really shines in that fight.

Idea for a story: Ohhh so many. He has so much squandered potential. I’d love to write something about his childhood, particularly his experiences at his old school and his relationship with his parents. And like I said with Polnareff, I want to know more about his time with Dio. Also, just. Everyone lives AU shenanigans. I love thinking about him finishing his high school years with Jotaro and then going off to Florida together for college and. Old Kak makes me cry. Let him be an unhinged middle aged man still getting into wacky stand-related hijinks. I need to write my part 6.5 Jouta au.

Unpopular opinion: Considering how much discourse inexplicably surrounds this guy, I feel like any opinion is an unpopular opinion at this point lol. So this probably isn’t a super unpopular opinion in the grand scheme of things, but whatever. I really like Jotakak. No qualifiers or conditions or anything, I just think it’s a good ship. Loners turned high school sweethearts who move in together probably too soon after graduating, but it works out because they’re the only ones who really get each other, and they grow old together, and they spend their afternoons doing word searches in the newspaper (but actually they just circle every instance of ASS and FART they can find and lose their shit over it). Like. Imagine being their classmate, and this new kid comes to school and he has a massive fight with the resident delinquent, and then they both disappear for a few months, and when they come back they’re best friends. And then you see them at your high school reunion years later and it turns out they moved to Florida and got married. Incredible dynamic imo.

Favorite relationship: Probably obvious at this point, but I love love love the way Jotaro and Kakyoin are foils and crafted to be literal opposites in every way, and yet they fit together so perfectly and their dynamic works so well. And his relationship with Polnareff is just. Chef’s kiss. They’re so weird and they shouldn’t be friends but they are. 20something eccentric flamboyant French man and this weird Japanese teenager who is his best friend. RE the ideas for a story thing, I wonder if they knew each other at all while working for Dio – and how different it must have been for them to see each other when they’re not under the effects of a fleshbud.

Favorite headcanon: He has a habit of running away from home, for both short and extended periods of time. It’s usually to get away from his family and the rest of the world, and to just have some time alone with his sketchbooks and Hierophant Green. He feels it’s a lot easier to deal with loneliness when other people aren’t around to serve as reminders. That – along with the fact that I hc his parents to be… not the worst, but not great – is why it took so long for his family to realize something was off when he disappeared for the last time.

[willowisapillow]

❤️ The Animated Misadventures Of Chucky And Andy (CONCEPT) ❤️

🎉 Friends till the end! 🎉

I have been way too obsessed with this AU y’all. While I was drunk on water, I was thinking about that, “If there was a movie or TV show where Chucky and Andy were friends, I would definitely watch it” comment I made in my Child’s Play AU post, and being me, I felt like making that a reality… sorta.

I’ve been making tons of sketches of a hypothetical TV show based on my whole AU, and yesterday, I decided to draw this goofy ahh little mock-up of what it would look like if it actually became a cartoon. And oh boy, do I have so many ideas for this that I so desperately wanna share :]

So since Chucky ain’t a murderer in this, it’s a (slightly) more wholesome take on the series, but that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna water it down, make it more saccharine or kiddify it. There would be some crude humor, dark jokes/black comedy, and lots of strong language, mostly coming from ol’ Charles himself, since he is also iconic for his very “colorful” language. Basically, it would be an adult cartoon in the same vein as other shows like South Park or Rick and Morty, but a bit more toned down.

So while there’s no extreme violence, I’d still think the series would probably be rated TV-14, along with a DL warning for suggestive dialogue and coarse and/or crude language. As for which channel the series would possibly air on, I’m thinking that it would most likely be on SYFY, or maybe Adult Swim.

Now for the plot! The whole plot is basically the whole, “lonely and eccentric young kid finds a magical/supernatural creature or thing and becomes friends with it” type plot. Think Lilo and Stitch, or Ponyo, but instead of an alien or a goldfish, it’s a talking doll. And as I’ve mentioned in my Child’s Play AU post, the events that would happen in the show would be similar to that of a slice-of-life anime like Azumanga Daioh, or literally any sitcom you can think of.

Chucky tries doing something unhinged and outlandish, often dragging and coercing Andy into his shenanigans, but the both of them would get caught in 4k by Karen.

Here’s a little summary of what the premise would be; 

“Young Andy Barclay’s life changes forever once he gets a Good Guy doll as a present from his mother. Little did the both of them know that this doll is a little more special than the others. Join him and his foul-mouthed sentient Good Guy doll, Chucky in wacky hijinks in this fun and irreverent slice-of-life comedy!”

In the show, the only people who would know about Chucky’s coming-to-life gimmick would be Andy and Karen (of course), and a few of Andy’s classmates, since there would be some episodes where he would sneak him into school to show his classmates, and um… you can imagine how it would go down lol

Actually, at the time of writing this, I thought up this super cursed scenario where Andy brings Chucky for show and tell, and some other girl brings a Barbie doll, and Chucky starts flirting with it. Jesus H. Christ, I can’t unsee it 💀

Since this does take place in the late 80s (specifically 1988), there would, of course, there would be things like MTV, big poofy hair, neon clothing, aerobic videos, etc. I absolutely adore anything 80s-related, so you know I’m definitely gonna go hard with the retro aesthetic for this show. There would be episodes where Andy and Chucky are hanging out at the local arcade, and just them playing NES games at home.

And last but certainly not least, there’s the voice actors. Obviously, I’m gonna keep Brad Doriff as Chucky, because mans is absolutely iconic. Though I’m not really sure who the hell would voice Andy or Karen. I do kind of imagine Karen being voiced by Dorothy Elias-Fahn or Tara Platt, but what would be your suggestions?

❤️ 🎉 ❤️

[princesseevee06]

YTR KAIDORI????? OMG SAY MORE??? (not forcing u im just excited cuz i love kaidori and ytr)

I LOVE KAIDORI TOO!!!! they are the ultimate hurt/comfort pairing to me. and omg you are not forcing me in the least i have so many thoughts about them in this au and it’s always a joy to share <3

my main idea is that they grew up in asunaro together and that because their parents had their own fair share of business meetings, the satous and the hiyoris interacted quite often. kai and sou ended up being an unlikely duo, finding themselves together frequently (or maybe it was just sou going out of his way to bug kai) and for better or for worse they became friends. i imagine them having a chaotic childhood dynamic, with kai being more polite and civil and sou being….well, sou. basically the emotional equivalent of a worried owner having to prevent their puppy from accidentally running into traffic every five seconds.

as they grew up, they only got closer, confiding in each other about nearly everything from the mundane to the gravely important. i feel like they’d very much be able to bond over the burdens placed upon them by the organization, as well as by their mother and father respectively.

and of course things start getting waaay more messy when teenage feelings start getting involved. basically, they both end up developing massive crushes on each other (and while they both think they’re doing a great job of hiding it both of them are miserably failing at hiding it). maybe they ended up dating in their highschool years, i’m still a little hazy on the details for what i’d like to do with them at this point, but tbh my preferred interpretation is actually that it was a very “almost” situation (i.e. they were too scared to act on their feelings and as such nothing really came of it).

what matters the most though is that they care a great deal about each other, and so it hurts them really badly when they eventually grow apart. basically, they both get a lot more involved with their duties in asunaro, kai being tasked to watch over the chidouins and sou being tasked with the recruitment of participants for the death game. they’re also developing a lot more unhealthy behaviors, largely as a result of their parents’ own unhealthy behaviors: kai becomes a lot more closed-off and sou acts more openly cruel and just generally worrying. as such, it’s fairly easy for them to put on the facade of not caring about one another, and whatever interactions do remain between them become terse and formal, until they cease entirely.

…that is, until they meet again in the death game. (what a hell of a way to reunite with your estranged childhood best friend, huh?) at this point, they have much different priorities on their mind (with kai trying to protect sara, and sou trying to protect shin) so the thought of seeing each other again doesn’t even cross their minds until suddenly there they are, with a mountain of unresolved, unwanted emotions between them.

their dynamic would definitely start off tense and shaky, with kai actually being incredibly suspicious of sou because he realizes that sou still has ties to asunaro, and was likely never intended to participate in the game. and yet in that same line of logic, because sou was likely never intended to participate, the fact that he IS participating likely means he went directly against asunaro’s orders. so kai is very very confused as to what sou’s motives are.

sou on the other hand is trying to completely ignore kai’s existence, because he is Not equipped to deal with all the feelings he has been continually pushing down for years on end, so he copes with them the best way he knows how: running away from them.

around when the events of chapter 2 would occur, though, they’re forced to interact a lot more and things start getting a lot more wacky. a lot more tension, a lot more hurt/comfort bonding over “hey, asunaro really screwed us over huh,” a lot more angst and yearning for things to go back to the way they were, a lot more “oh. i’m actually still a little bit in love with him huh.” basically, the answer to the question of “what happens if you put two emotionally repressed men in a room with each other???” i imagine both ryoko and shin can tell there is Something between these two, but whenever they try to ask about it they are just met with dead silence LMAO.

i really just wanted to focus on the aspect of “falling apart to fall back together,” and even though this is a really awful situation for both of them, i think the direness of the situation is what grants them the courage to be more open with each other about how they really feel. it’s an odd dynamic shdjdjskskksc but i adore it

if you’ll allow me to indulge in a bit more cringe…i don’t know if you’re a vocaloid fan, anon, but there are a couple songs where i listen to it and i’m like “THIS IS SO THEM!!!!” so i’ll link them here.

JubyPhonic’s english cover of Reboot by JimmyThumb-P: specifically this cover because I think the translyrics just hit the vibe I’m going for. although i would like to specify just the lyrics and not the video. a girl does get hit by a truck in this video so watch out </3 but uh yeah this song imo very much captures the heartbreak of losing a friend, and yet it also shows that it doesn’t have to be the end and you can reconnect :)

nATALIE by Lemm: this one is sooooo much a kai POV kaidori song. the lyrics very much feel like finding comfort in someone else even throughout the worst situations, and wishing you could just escape with them. it is so. gwah. gah

(god i really hope these links work. lmk if they dont because i have no idea what im doing on this site half the time)

anyways uhh thank you so much for the ask and for letting me rant about the blorbos i love kaidori <3

[dynmghts]

plots please + shinsou / izuku / katsuki

one for each, coming right up! i'll probably throw in a couple brief ideas in there, so don't mind me lmao

I. HITOSHI + KATSUKI. The most tragic part of canon is that they always got close to interacting with one another, and then they just... Never did. Or it was way too brief for my taste. I'd love to look into a potential not-quite-friendship dynamic during high school - especially with Shinsou moving into the hero course, which Katsuki's already acknowledged that his Brainwashing Quirk would be annoying to deal with lmao. I'd also love to keep exploring them in a Pro-Hero setting! Overall though, I can see them first getting along when Katsuki's after some quiet company, growing a friendship when they find common ground, and from there... Well, wherever the muses go, right?

II. IZUKU + KATSUKI. If there's anything I've learned from interacting with Izukus, it's that I'm physically incapable of NOT having 30475234 different plots for them. Their bond is messy. It's complicated, jagged, and there are so many different directions their dynamic could go. They're practically inseparable. Deciding on a direction isn't easy, but I do like the idea of them being almost-but-not-quite with each other (which is torturous but it feeds into their miscommunication trope), or them just being silly goofy teenagers doing silly goofy teenager things... I thrive on anything that either feeds into their angst or lets them heal from their past. Two sides of the same coin.

III. KATSUKI + KATSUKI. What happens when you put two of the same person in the same room? And what happens when they're both Bakugou Katsuki? Honestly, there's so much you can do with these two; I already wrote a thing of these two meeting under wacky Quirk circumstances where they're both technically canon but different (because our interpretations are different), but I would also love to see a moment of worlds colliding (like Fantasy AU meets canon, for example)... And I am also a sucker for a twins AU. I always feel a little bad for Mitsuki and Masaru ending up with double trouble in the form of Bakugou twins, but my god, it's also so funny to see how they interact under the brothers pretence. How does their shared childhood play out? Which of the two get the canon experience? The possibilities are exciting!

@fighterbound / PLOTS PLEASE, ACCEPTING.

[bonesandthebees]

I see you need nice messages about Glass so here are some of my favorite parts of the fic: Your writing of Rocketduo is so good, they are often ignored in sbi/crimeduo-fics so I love how you incorporate them in most of your stories. They’re done so well too, they have real personalities and aren’t just there for the sake of namedropping or random background characters. I especially like how they defend Wilbur in the most recent chapter, they’ve spent so much time with him and despite him being an asshole to them earlier they really could be considered his friends at this point.

The way you’re writing Charlie makes me laugh. You’ve given him the perfect amount of weird and unsettling mixed with competence. Yes, he will ask to see your teeth and ask if you’ll get him bones. No, he will not be bribed. Quackity is great as well. He’s only appeared once but he has this gravitas about him that I can’t describe. We don’t know much about his character, but he is willing to work with the terrorist group under his casino, and that says a lot about a man. I love TNTduo interactions, and you really nailed it. The Pythia’s Prophecy was so funny, and then it was so clever to have them get Wilbur’s fingerprints from it. No way I could have guessed that was the reason Tommy brought him up there.

And the hypocrisy from Wilbur and slow realization from the group of his trauma is so wonderfully written. The flashback’s from the recent chapter did so much for his character, they were such great additions. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out, especially with how the group seems split in two. Don’t listen to the people who don’t understand your story, you’re doing a great job and there are so many people who love your work. I hope you have a better rest of the day 😊

god this ask just made me smile so much I even told my mom about it because I'm sitting with her rn so tysm!!

I'm so glad you like how I write rocketduo. I LOVE c!rocketduo so much and their dynamic was part of what compelled me to even make an mcyt blog in the first place. i love niki and jack so much (cc's and c's both) and their c! dynamic is so underrated. I love including them whenever I can, especially because it gives a unique switch up from the usual sbi + beeduo mix you usually get in sbi fics. also I just adore both of them as individual characters, so I try to keep them as accurate to their characterization as possible (while of course altering them for the specific au) bc again, they're so underrated. I'm having a great time with them in glass and I have plans to highlight them more as the story goes on!

charlie!! I have so much fun writing him. sometimes I worry I'm writing him too weirdly, but then I think about it and i'm like no... charlie slimecicle would want me to write him like this dsklfjdk. but I'm trying not to fall into the stereotype of infantilizing him either bc it definitely bugs me when people do that in fics. he's a really interesting and wacky character and I love just seeing what wild shit I can make him say. he's a great breath of comedic relief in glass for sure.

quackity my beloved. I love writing quackity so much you have no idea, especially his interactions with wilbur. c!tntduo is one of the best character dynamics on the server (besides c!crime of course) so I have a great time spotlighting them whenever I can, and I love how I've written him in glass so far. I'm really excited to show more of him as the fic goes on :D he's definitely an interesting character to show glimpses of

the pythia's prophecy was something i came up with off the top of my head and i was so proud of it lmao

the flashbacks in the most recent chapter were actually eli birdfeet's suggestions so shoutout to them for that! they gave me the idea in our dms and i was like holy shit you're a genius and i'm thrilled with how it turned out. the way things develop from here is definitely going to be very interesting :)

tysm for this again I'm already having a better day thanks to all of you guys pouring in with your kind words <33

[elphabaoftheopera]

HELLO!!!! how are you? it's been a while haha 😅... but, long story short, after watching wicked last night im back in the fandom! and what better way to celebrate than read a fic by my favourite author 🥳 ? so, i read "In Any Universe", and boy do i have a lot of good things to say about it!!!!!

this fic is awesome, im sad that i didn't read it earlier! it had my favourite tropes that were amazingly executed, along with so many wacky and interesting alternate universes 😁😁! some that stood out to me were fake dating, masquerade, family and musical. to say that i really enjoyed these would be an understatement!!!! first of all, fake dating is my absolute favouriteee trope, so i was so so excited to see it applied to fiyeraba so well! the masquerade was honestly a really interesting plotline, and the musical universe was cool to see referenced! and family au was soo adorable, and parents fiyeraba make me feel so happyyyy ❤️❤️! overall, they were all so so romantic and cute and made me realise how much i miss fiyeraba 🥺!! i also really liked the general storyline, and the pipeline of fiyero coming to terms and accepting his situation was so lovely and satisfying to read!

i was wondering if you had any little facts about this fic? it was super creative and i couldn't help but love every separate storyline!!!!!

sorry for gushing, im just super happy to be back and reading your fics again! ill hopefully in the fandom again for a while, so i can find the time to read some other works of yours and maybe reread 😁😁😁

@melop-sia!!!!! It's so wonderful to hear from you!!!! Welcome back to the Wicked fandom! Your message just made my entire day, I actually screamed when I read that I was a favorite author of yours, words like that TRULY go a long way. thank you for your thoughts on In Any Universe. I had so much fun writing that one!

Welllllll since you asked, I'd love to share a little bit about it!

Light spoilers for In Any Universe below the cut!

The idea came to me when I was just thinking a lot about fanfiction tropes in a loving way, inspired by fanfiction writers and our tendency to put the same characters into countless different situations/lives and have them fall in love all the same. I got the idea when I was driving (most of my ideas come when I'm driving) about my otp essentially going on a "tour" through the different tropes. Initially it was supposed to be 100% comedic and self aware.

I didn't have a strong throughline planned out in the beginning that would set them off on their journey. I thought about (and even drafted) Fiyero mentioning how "random" it was that they got together and if any one thing was different they'd probably not be together, then I'd have Elphaba take offense to that. But it just wasn't working, especially because I was clinging to the idea that I wanted Fiyero to be human in the present timeline. Once I finally released my hold on that idea and let him be a Scarecrow, the story throughline became much clearer to me! It was easier to write when Fiyero had a "lesson" to learn (sort of "It's a Wonderful Life" style, though I've never seen that movie). That of course made the throughline a bit more serious, as well as some of the timelines getting increasingly darker.

I just can't resist angst and hurt/comfort no matter how hard I try!

I just really love the quote I put at the beginning of the story about finding the same person over and over.

As for the stories within the story, I just started by making a list of as many tropes I could think of. Fake dating, fix-it fic, crossover, etc. and eventually trimmed it down to the stories that made the cut. I wrote them all out of order and then stitched them together later with the throughline story. I think I did the coffee one first, then the masquerade, and then I put it down for several months (as is my style) and picked it back up with the Wicked actor one.

I really considered breaking the story up into chapters and sometimes I regret the fact that I didn't, I still consider breaking it up because I know it's very long. Still I think it flows better as a singular piece but at least can be easily read in multiple sittings if you're like me and need mind breaks.

When I decided to make it one single piece I made a real effort to keep the sections snappy and not longer than they needed to be. I was pretty obsessed over word count and keeping it below a certain amount (I think 1000 words). I think the Fake Dating one ended up being the longest and the hardest to keep trimmed. Still, I wanted each story to have a satisfying arc in its own way.

One challenge I gave myself (which was VERY difficult) is that I didn't use the word "love" until the very end when Fiyero told Elphaba he loved her after getting shot. I came to that idea later on and had to edit a lot of the earlier stories. Then he says he loves her many times in the finale scene.

I thought it strengthened his lesson about being grateful for what they did have. I found it really important to mirror the "can't imagine thinking about how things might be different" (paraphrasing) in the worst timeline with her dying in the cornfield with what he'd said in the beginning.

As for the ending I did leave it slightly ambiguous, but I believe as the writer that the journey he went on was real and not a dream (kind of like I believe that in Wizard of Oz Dorothy's experience really happened, even though it seemed like Dorothy was waking up from a dream). However, I wanted to the reader to decide for themself!

I think my favorite ones to write were the Fiyeraba family (I love them as parents!), Coffee shop AU, and the Masquerade. I also found it clever and trippy to do the Wicked actors, but that one was by far the hardest challenge!

I so appreciate your readership and engagement with my work!!!! Please reach out in the future if you ever have thoughts or questions.

I don't want to jinx it because it's still early days but I'm excited to say I've been writing again (Fiyeraba, obviously) now that my life has more time. We'll see where it takes me, so be on the lookout!