#that feeling that i'm not doing the characters enough justice

[his-heartguard]

Really really necessary that these last couple of episodes pick up the pace. Historically this show has been really good at using a lot of filler in the middle of the season and throwing us tidbits of good stuff here and there within that middle portion while giving us the meatiest and most important parts of the seasonal plots at the beginning and especially finales of the seasons. They kind of cram all of the important stuff in at the last second. And like duh, it makes sense because at the end of the day this is a comedy show first, and that's basically the recipe for comedies with actual built-in plots.

However this show also takes itself just seriously enough and is known to have a large enough fan base that I wish that they weren't following that same pattern for this final season. I'm worried about whether they will do this show justice and give us a satisfying conclusion. There's still a lot of old plots and characters that could/should be re-visited and finished off and we run lower on the amount of time available to do that with every passing episode. Plus we still need to get this season's main plot lines moving along (those being Jerry's American takeover plans and Cannon Capital's likely downfall (which we did finally start getting on with at the end of ep. 7 thank god)), never mind the individual character development arcs and romance plots which are also running for this season and throughout the series as a whole. It feels like we're really going to have to rush through these last couple of episodes to get everything sorted and my anxious ass can't handle it.

me in my room yelling at the writers like

[fiftysevenacademics]

I love the idea of Wen Xiao as a glorified border officer. That really helps clarify her larger role in the story. The story is all about borders and boundaries of various sorts, and the main point is that they need to be flexible, that we need to learn to live in the gray zones and borderlands.

The Baize Goddess was often accused by humans of loving demons because she would let them into the mortal world and not administer harsh enough justice for some people's liking when demons transgressed. To demons, she was a petty tyrant to be resisted and overcome. But she upheld a delicate balance that was thrown into chaos when she lost her power.

Her vulnerability reflects how fragile the balance is, and how difficult it is to restore once upset.

The idea of balance is also why there is a throuple instead of a love triangle. Their relationship requires balancing several kinds of love: romantic, familial, and a soul bond that may or may not be platonic.

And it's Wen Xiao who is the "emotional border officer" in their relationship, stabilizing the most wobbly leg of the triangle by keeping Zhuo Yichen's feelings for her on the familial side of the balance. Zhuo Yichen doesn't just grudgingly tolerate this. He learns to reframe his feelings as those nurturing.

I do wish we'd gotten to see her do a little more goddessing, but I'm also happy with her character and role. I enjoyed seeing a character as weak or maybe even disabled as she is nonetheless play a central role in saving the world.

One of the main messages of the show is that what can look like weakness or indecisiveness is really the willingness to live with ambiguity and contradiction, which is what opens the heart to kindness. And kindness is its own kind of justice.

When it comes to Wen Xiao as a character, she is very weak, obviously, but she explicitly has a disability (Baize token definicency) and yet instead of giving up she still tries to do whatever she can to help with demon/human relations. She also had an interesting emotional journey, though it wasn't as emphasized as ZYC's.

I think it might have helped people like her character more if we knew that the Baize Goddess was a glorified border officer from the beginning. You hear that she's some powerful goddess so you have expectations but then that scene where you see the job and it's giving demons hand stamps so they can visit the mortal world (like at the club!). She can also do imprisonment but it's pretty clear this is not a fighting sort of power.

Wen Xiao does a much less steep enemies to lovers arc than ZYC because she begins her journey far more sympathetic to demons and less vengeful, but if ZYC experiences ZYZ'S loss of control, Wen Xiao experiences his suicidal despair. In the ice cave, she doesn't think it's possible to go on anymore having lost so much.

Anyway, I liked her as a character and I didn't think she was superfluous because she was important to the found family aspect of the drama.

[rykno-j]

Thinking of you (j/jk)

(after writing the whole thing out, it actually got pretty long, arghsgd.)

I wrote this with s/atos/ugu in mind but I ended up not establishing it explicitly, so I'll leave that up to interpretation.. but obviously they are in love.

Anywayy, my first full fic for j/jk? And it's for them? I mean of course it is. Who else would it be for?

2.9k words

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They were currently in another city, on a mission, having been specially requested.

The exorcism was done quickly (of course) and Gojo suggested they shop for souvenirs to bring back for their friends, to which Geto agreed with a rather reluctant sigh.

Unbeknownst to Gojo, Geto had been struggling through a suppressed cold for the past few days, and it was making him become easily exhausted.

However, in an attempt to avoid the stew of questions that would follow if he turned Gojo down, Geto opted to go to the nearby mall instead of returning to the hotel for much needed rest.

He followed Gojo around for an hour before he felt his body begging him to stop, to let up. At the moment, Gojo seemed to be absorbed in the wide array of sweet snacks on display. Geto considered this to be his first little glimmer of luck for the day.

"Satoru- I'll just be over there alright? There's something I want to look at."

"Mm, yeah, okay-" Occupied with his basket full of goods, Gojo didn't spare Geto a second glance nor did he notice anything, much to Geto's relief.

Making quick escape from the store, Geto looked around desperately for a bench, a stool, anything for him to sit down and rest.

And he found one, an empty seat by the side of a big fountain right in the middle of the mall.

As Geto sat down, he resisted the urge to curl his knees against his chest. Isn't is supposed to be summer right now? Why is he freezing?

Water from the fountain splashed around him. He had noticed the slight temperature drop due to the flowing water. Normally, it would have been a good relief from the heat. But right now, it only served to make him shiver harder.

He should really move to a warmer spot.

Geto considered getting up from his seat, but his eyelids felt heavy, and his legs were begging him not to stand up for the next few minutes.

It wasn't as if he could find another place anyway. Everything suddenly felt really blurry, and Geto was sure he could fall asleep right there and then, if not for the dull tickle that formed at the back of his nose, courtesy of the cold temperature.

"..h'-hngxtt!! hh-tch'gxt!!"

They came out louder then normal, due to Geto having no energy left to stifle them into complete silence. He crossed his arms around himself, pulling the jacket he was wearing tighter around his body.

He shivered. Not warm enough.

"..hhH'-!!"

And to make matters worse, the urge to sneeze creeps back up on him. Preparing a fist in anticipation..

It never comes.

"hh'H-!! a-ah'.. m'n.. snff-"

A quick glance around the mall gave Geto the comfort that he was indeed alone. If need be, he could always give his nose a mildly rough rub to send him back into a building hitch. But doing that has only ever led to sneezes that came out harsher, and that would be hell on his throat. He'd rather avoid that at all costs.

As if fate was playing with him, some of the water from the fountain splashed onto the bit of exposed skin on his neck, causing rapid shivers to run down his spine.

Raising an arm to wipe the droplet away, it was quickly re-directed away from his back and in front of his face-

"..haH'-ngXxt'chh!! hH'..hNgxt! "

The first one manages to escape due to how unexpectedly it came. However, the second that followed was quickly pinched into submission.

Geto sighs inwardly, rubbing his nose softly. He could feel a dull ache starting to pool between his eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a lot worse. He could already hear Gojo reprimanding him for not taking care of himself, all while begrudgingly making a cup of warm tea for him.

(of course i meant 'begrudgingly' here not in a literal way but more of an endearing 'take care of yourself, dammit! or i'll do it for you.' way)

It may not seem like it most of the time, but Gojo cares about people in his own way. Geto had been on the receiving end of several of such telling acts before.

As an example, Geto was half sure that Gojo had put a little more effort into the exorcism this morning than he normally would have, allowing Geto to take is easy.

Or it could have been sheer pure coincidence. Whatever it was, he was grateful.

Speaking of which, where was he? Geto was fairly sure a good chunk of time had passed since he made his timely escape. A quick check of his phone showed no missed calls or messages.

All he wanted to do at the moment was to burry himself under the covers of the hotel bed. Why did he even agree to follow Satoru here in the first place? Oh, right. It was the fear of being alone in this state.

Gojo was as much of his weakness as Geto was sure he was to the other.

Geto leaned forward to hold his head in his hands. He must be having a mild fever, if these thoughts running through his mind was any indication of the fact.

"..hH'tchh'w!! hah'dtchh!!"

With his hands still covering his face, Geto decided against stifling those. His head hurt, and the sneezes were soft enough that the noise from the fountain behind him muffled the sound. Besides, nobody was watching.

Geto remembers the first time he sneezed in front of Gojo. it was an accident, one that he normally didn't make in front of people. He remembers Gojo reaching for his wrist and pulling it away from his face as he geared up to stifle another.

"..Suguru, don't do that."

Nothing else was said, but Geto distinctively remembers the way Gojo was looking at him. No disgust in his eyes at all. Just pure tenderness.

"..haH'dZzch!!"

"See? That's a lot better, isn't it?"

There was just something about that interaction that melted Geto's heart.

Back to the present, Geto had shut his eyes, and was starting to drift off into a light sleep when a gentle hand on his back made him jolt up in surprise.

"Bless you."

"..Satoru? are you done shopping?"

"Suguru- are you feeling alright?" He had completely ignored the question about shopping.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what makes you think otherwise?"

Behind the sunglasses, Geto could make out an unamused look coming from the other. Then, he notices the cool palm resting against his forehead. How long had Satoru's hand been there for? Had he really not felt the touch until now? Maybe he was more out of it than he gave credit to.

"Well I don't know. Maybe the fact you've left my side for a good half hour? I thought you were going to come back once you were done looking at whatever you left for. I was waiting, only to find you crouched over here! Not to mention the fever you're running right now."

Geto winced at the scolding tone of Gojo's voice. Moments of silence passed before he heard a soft sigh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. Want to head back? Can you walk?"

Geto nodded in response to the question. Using Gojo as a crutch, he rose to his feet, making sure the world stopped spinning before he opened his eyes.

The comforting hand that was on his back never left its place throughout the whole trip back to the hotel. Halfway through, the coat that Gojo was wearing even found its way onto Geto's shivering frame.

"Suguru, go lie down. I'll make you some tea."

There it was. The tea, just like he had expected.

"I was wondering if this morning was a fluke. Guess it wasn't after all. I have quite the foresight, don't I? Putting in a little more effort so you didn't have to," Gojo remarked rather smugly, though there was a tone of softness behind it.

"You're lucky exhaustion only caught up to you at the mall, what was I supposed to report if you collapsed while the exorcism was still happening? You need to take better care of yourself, Suguru."

And there was the scolding, just like he had expected. But he wasn't going to take that sitting down, fever or not.

"You're one to talk."

"HaH?? I take perfectly good care of myself."

"Says the one who passed out through lessons last week."

Gojo grumbled something that Geto couldn't quite catch in response to that statement. When he finally turned around, mug in hand, Geto could have sworn he saw a look of concern flash past Gojo's features.

Either that, or it was the fever making him see things. No matter what it was, Geto reached out a shaky hand to clasp at the steaming mug Gojo held out for him. He hopes the shivers had went unnoticed.

"You know, a few more sugar cubes would never hurt."

Geto couldn't help but smile.

"Well, I'm not you. Thank god I'm not you, a-actually. hH'..having two of y-you running around would cause our teachers a b'hH!! ..bigger headache, I'm sure."

Gojo watched, unamused as Geto turned to the side to stifle three itchy sounding sneezes into silence.

"A bigger headache than you're giving yourself by doing that?"

"..Yes."

Gojo let out a small sigh of defeat before making his way to where their luggage was. Carefully, he pried Geto's open, before realising that he should actually ask where the thing he was looking for was.

"..So where's the medicine?"

"..Medicine?"

"Yeah, for your cold. You packed some, right? There's no way you just caught that today."

Geto felt his legs curl up under the blanket. He considered lying, saying a quick "I didn't" or a quick "it started today". But then Gojo would probably leave the hotel to go buy him some, and he didn't want the other to leave his side, not yet.

"..Top half, middle pouch, shoved all the way to the bottom."

After a bit of digging, Gojo pulls out a small packet.

"When's the last time you took this?"

"..In the morning."

Gojo hummed in reply, moving to push one of the pills out before returning to Geto's side.

"It's a new pack too. Recently bought from the store? Is that why you randomly left school alone the other day?"

"..Maybe."

"How long did you intend to hide this for?"

"..Until i got better.

"You weren't going to tell me?"

"No."

"Why? You don't trust me?"

"..I didn't want you to worry."

"Suguru- you know I only worry because I care."

Geto had to laugh at that, softly. "You're saying weird things, Satoru."

"It's weird that I care about you?"

"No. It's weird that you're expressing it so openly."

Gojo let out a small sound of exasperation, holding out his hand as he looked away. "Take it, you need to get that fever down."

"Mm, thanks."

Once the mug was empty, Gojo made a quick trip to the sink to clear out the teabag, before he returned to the bed, this time crawling onto it from his end instead of standing by the side.

He flops onto the pillows, fluffy white hair spanning out. A hand makes its way onto Geto's chest, tapping it lightly, an unspoken invitation.

Beside him, Geto sighs. "It's still early, Satoru. You sure you don't want to go walk around a little by yourself? We're heading back tomorrow anyway."

"M.. yeah. I already bought everything I need. And besides, there's no way I'm leaving you here alone."

"Because of your 'worry' again?"

That same little sound of frustration left Gojo's lips as he threw the blanket over himself rather haphazardly.

Right. The only person he'd get this worried about was Suguru. It always has been this way, and probably would stay this way. He was the only one Gojo would show this side of himself to.

Instead of a response, Gojo slipped his arm under Geto's chest, pulling himself closer to the other.

"..Enough about that, you should rest now."

Geto allowed himself to get pulled under the covers, allowed Gojo to press his head softly against his chest.

He could feel Gojo's heartbeat, steady but fast. The rhythm slowly lulled him into a state of drowsiness, and Geto would have fallen asleep right there, if not for yet another tickle that buzzed at the back of his nose.

"S-Satoru.. hH'-!! I- I have t'hh-!!"

Gojo made no signs to move despite Geto's light tapping against his back. Just his luck that his arms were trapped under Gojo's sleeping body.

The light tapping turned frantic, before Geto squeezed his eyes shut, bracing his forehead against Gojo's chest, trying his best to keep the outburst as quiet as possible.

"hiH'tchh-w!! hah'zchh!! ..snff- hh'ngxt!!"

The last one, painfully stifled without his fingers, sent a shiver down Geto's spine from the effort it took.

"..Suguru, you should just let them out."

So he was awake after all. The bastard just wanted to watch him suffer.

Geto sniffled, pulling his arm from under Gojo's body.

"I.."

"If you're worried about it getting everywhere, you can just use my shirt, you know?"

Geto blinked once, twice. Did he hear that right?

"Why do you think I'm wearing this one? It's the softest I've got." Gojo pulled up the edge of his shirt in demonstration, bringing it to Geto's cheek and wiping is softly. "See? You can just use it, it won't irritate your nose further."

Geto opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a hitch in his breath.

"hH'-!!"

Taking advantage of the other's sudden vulnerability, Gojo grabbed both of Geto's wrists, pinning it against his own chest.

"Trust me, Suguru."

"Let.. m'hH-!! ..me g-ghh'!! ..go-"

"Not until you-"

"..hH'!! ..haH'dzZchh!! ..hiH'zzch-w!! ..hH' haH'DshH!!"

"There we g-"

"..heH'DzZtchh!!" hah-hH'dtch-iww!! I'm s..shH' haH'tzcHH!!"

Geto refused to lift his head, instead choosing to ram his forehead into Gojo's chest. Underneath his fingertips, Geto could feel Gojo's heart racing.

"See? That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

When he was met with no response, Gojo reached under his shirt with the hand currency not occupied with securing Geto's wrists to his chest. He lifted the soft fabric with careful fingers, bundling it before gently pressing it to the base of Geto's nose.

Gojo felt the other stiffen against him as his shirt made contact with the sensitive skin. Geto could feel Gojo's slender fingers through the cloth. If he didn't know better, he would've sworn that they were quivering.

After a moment of silence, Gojo was the first to speak.

"See? It's okay. Don't worry."

"..You don't think I'm- ..it's ..disgusting or anything?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

If there was any point in time that Geto felt like crawling into a hole, it would have been this moment. He was sure inside his ribcage, his own heart was beating as fast as the one under his palms.

He sniffled uselessly, the thought of pulling away completely leaving his mind. Satoru was right, the shirt felt really soft against his nose.

"Suguru, You're shivering."

Was he?

Gojo sighed, letting go of his wrists to reach over, pulling the blanket over to cover up to Geto's neck.

"Get some rest, okay? We have an early flight tomorrow."

"..snff- That goes for you as well."

"I'll sleep, after you."

Soon after, Geto drifts off into peaceful sleep, his head pressed against Gojo's warm chest, arms wrapped around the other as if Gojo was the only thing grounding him to reality.

Gojo on the other hand, watched with endearment as Geto shifted in his sleep, letting out muted stuffy snores every now and then. The hand on Geto's back remained through the night, all whilst rubbing comforting circles into it.

He remembers the words that Geto once told him a while back when he was in a similar situation, knocked out from a bad cold.

"Satoru, you've been too strong for too long. Let me take over, even if just for a little while."

And now it was his turn. Gojo lowered his head to Geto's, his voice a soft whisper, afraid that he would disturb this much needed sleep.

"Suguru, I'll take over from here. Get some rest, okay? I'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

With that, Gojo let his chin rest softly atop Geto's head, palm finally slowing to a stop. And if they shifted in their sleep such that they woke up with their limbs all entangled with each other? That would be a memory for another time.

And the shirt? Gojo had folded it gently into his bag in the morning, only to take it out on their flight back home to be used as a pillow for Geto as he dozed off against his shoulder. And if they held hands under the armrest, fingers intertwined? That never happened.

Gojo's lips curled into a contented smile as he tilted his head to rest against Geto's. Truly, he did not even remember the grade of the curses that they had exorcised last morning.

Not that it's important, Gojo thought. Nothing is. At least compared to you.

-end-

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My first full fic for j/jk, and my first fic in a long while too ahhhhh

oh god i hope i did the characters justice. it was rly fun to write this one, i won't lie about that.

Maybe gojo was a little ooc in this, but i genuinely think that when he's alone with geto, especially with the state that geto is in, his soft side would shine a little more.

This started out as a 100-200ish word scenario, but i have NO IDEA what happened, but i kept typing, and this was the outcome

▪︎•▪︎

but anyway, i hope it was a nice read either way

Edit: theres a sequel now shsjhs

[necrotic-nephilim]

PLEASE MAKE A MASTERPOST I watched titans Just for the gay shit and it delighted me. and then Hush and Titans Tower and then the GK game.....there's so much

THE WORST PART IS MY TAGS GOT CUT OFF ON THAT POST. i had other tags talking how absolutely gay JayTim comes across in Titans, in the clips i've seen. having Jason save Tim and then go on to train him is... an interesting direction to go with them but the clip was so gay i had to send it to my partner so they could witness it. had the classic "let's go a few rounds" shit and *everything*. like it was baffling and if it wasn't "batcest" i do think it would've taken the fandom by storm as a ship. i have stopped and started that show at least three times bc i always get too frustrated to get past s1, but for JayTim, i think i gotta.

making a masterpost of every significant JayTim relationship throughout DC media wouldn't be *too* hard, i feel like. i've done one focusing just on the New-52, and i've covered all the pre-Flashpoint ground through various posts here. ironically the hardest thing would be Rebirth, because i can't think of many Rebirth era comics i've read with them significantly interacting outside of Robin: Knight Terrors. and i'd have to actually get through Titans.

also for the sake of completion, Wayne Family Adventures would probably get its own section. which is the real torture for me bc i have beef with WFA.

but. i *could* do it. and it would take me like a month, it'd be such a fun pet project. i think exploring what seems to be a recurring consistent theme across every universe could be incredibly fascinating. what similarities and differences exist and what tends to cause those similarities and differences. it'd be a magnum opus. but more chaotic. and gay.

anyway you're right. now i gotta. it'll take me three business weeks to catalog all of it and also add meaningful commentary. but i can and i will.

[boku-no-anime-phase]

Some evil FMA AUs etc that I think are fun

Riza Hawkeye creating a squad of flame alchemists loyal to her and using them for her own (or Mustang's) purposes

Mustang's body used as a host for Greed instead of Ling's

Rose joins the military to try to watch over Ed, a la Hawkeye to Mustang

Sibling homunculi defect from Father together with Greed (bonus: to Ed's chagrin, they view him and Al as something like uncles); now they're all on the run from their dads

Ling not feeling easy in his own mind after Greed leaves - it's too quiet in there

Scar gets his brother's reconstruction arm instead

Winry gets adopted & trained by Hawkeye

Re-embodied Al donates his armor to a cat rescue so it can always hold cats hehe

Olivier as the boys' parent figure instead of Izumi

Found family for the boys comprised of Mustang, Hawkeye, the Mustang Gang, and Mustang's family (his "sisters" and Madam Christmas)

Mustang dies instead of Hughes, and Hughes carries on his work to honor his memory, despite not being as ambitious as Mustang was

The boys as Ishvallans

[lnkedmyheart]

I mean I am one of the few people who genuinely did not care for Keith Allura endgame at some point past season 2. As cute as I found them in the pod escape moment I don't really see the chemistry or any kind of grounds to truly connect on for them past the tangential ones and Keith is too fixated on Shiro for the first couple of seasons. I genuinely loved the Allura Lance development in later seasons with Lance growing into a better person and genuinely falling in love with her. I also feel like historically Allura and Keith have had a very slapped together relationship in 2 of the 3 previous iterations (I greatly prefered Lance and Allura in the og one because i genuinely dislike the celibate hero who never shows interest in the girl vs the girl loves the guy but they still end up together trope).

I did however enjoy the shallura and sheith dynamic as well and I feel shallura could have been a decent path to go down at some point but hey, I'm not gonna complain about my baby boy being queer rep. It's time we get non stereotypical rep for gay men.

I agree the whiney Keith part of the fandom is odd but I have arguably not seen enough of that in fanfics in general. I think I learnt to avoid those kind of fics early on since a lot of people who write those are generally younger people who project onto specific characters and you can usually tell within a couple paragraphs if it's that kind of fic. Most of the content I have read has been pretty in character for the most part. I also moved in Shiro lover circles so...

I would argue that Keith suggesting leaving Allura behind is harsh but also not...wrong. Not in the sense that they should have left her but Keith is capable of making difficult choices unless he himself is compromised (aka struggling with Shiro's loss). Even Allura agreed that they should have left her behind. Shiro is for all his groundedness, an idealist. He wants to protect everyone, even at the risk of making things worse for himself. Shiro the hero is right, he is your main heroic archetype, always save the people, always fight for justice, against all odds. Keith leans more realistic in that you make hard morally ambiguous choices in war and it's not like Keith has much of an understanding of war/this specific conflict like Shiro and Allura do. But yes, Keith is single minded and prone to rash decisions, he's definitely not as bad as that. For one Pidge absolutely deserved a chewing out for trying to ditch the crew in the middle of a war and Keith was right, everyone barring Lance and Hunk was dealing with some kind of loss. Mind you, at this point they did not know that the Lions would even pick another Paladin. Shiro imo was being way too lenient and probably still dealing with the guilt of having left the Holts behind and being saved instead. I do dislike the fact that Keith stopped being pragmatic and became Shiro the Hero point dos. It would have been a good comparison of how both are genuine ways of being in the middle of a war. But oh well.

I'm not really in the Keith defence squad. Lord knows I have issues with some of the Gary Stu crap that came later. But i do think sometimes we tend to expect too much from an isolated, socially inept, orphan with life long abandonment issues as he is navigating through a war in the early seasons.

I want to talk, for just minute, about the amount of self-disparagement in Shiro's statement, here. He's grievously injured, ailing, and trapped in a tiny cave with creatures lurking outside, waiting for their next opportunity to attack him.

Despite this, he's been repeatedly assuring Keith that he's "all right", and inquiring after Keith's well-being whenever he hears Keith struggling over the comms. Then, Keith expresses his belief that Shiro's presence and influence changed his life, and Shiro agrees. On the grounds that he's actively made Keith's life worse.

Keith's response to this extremely concerning assertion?

Nothing. He hears Shiro cough, tells him, "Stay with me, Shiro," and that's it.

This is an example of exactly what I mean when I say that Shiro has no support system. His best and closest friend hears him say something seriously disconcerting while in a state of utmost vulnerability, placing all of the blame for Keith's current predicament on himself, which is objectively not true, and does nothing to refute him. No, "Hey. Stop beating yourself up. We're gonna be just fine". Or, "How could this possibly be on you? Did you purposely eject us from the Castle?". Or even, "When we get out of here, we need to talk about why you feel like you don't matter and something completely out of your control is your fault. It's not like you asked to be here, either."

Maybe I'm expecting too much from a young adult with his own trauma whose interpersonal skills have already been shown to be lacking. I know I expected too much from a team of showrunners who believed that dark content automatically equals mature content, and insisted on shoving as much disturbing subject matter and questionable to outright deplorable messaging as they could manage to get away with into a series aimed at children. Shiro was never meant to heal from his trauma. The intention was to kill him to pave the way for Keith to take his place as The Chosen One.

But, in this fandom's determination to woobify their favorites to the extreme based on said favorites' moments of insecurity, they seem to have forgotten that the most blatantly traumatized member of the cast is the most blatantly traumatized member of the cast. Self-loathing and passive suicidal ideation are every bit as much a part of that as Shiro's flashbacks and the fear-induced paralysis that seizes him when a repressed memory resurfaces from the dark corners of his mind to drag him under. And, he, too, deserved all of the sensitivity, care, and love that they believe their favorites do, which makes it all the more abhorrent that he was repeatedly denied it in this show's canon.

[shannonsketches]

he's so important to me

[pitter-patt-art]

Ace Attorney AU August (halfway progress update!)

Okay technically it's the 16th (lol, 17th by the time this is done) so a little over halfway actually, but still I thought since I haven't had anything finished to post the past few days this would be a fun alternative!

I've been going a little nuts (affectionate) over @augustwritingchallenge's AU-gust prompts list this year so August has been a wild ride (about 40k words of one, in fact. so far.) but seeing as I will get attached to even the jokiest of AU ideas instantly, I've completed* a whopping 5 whole fics of 16, lol. Considering the shortest of those is over 3k and the longest is over 12k, I think the problem with not finishing these in a timely manner is entirely on my verbose foolish thick skull, haha, but I'm still having a blast with it.

Here is my ao3 series where I'm posting!

And a rundown / progress report / quick teaser of all the AUs including those I've yet to finish, if anyone's interested:

(*by "completed" I should note two of the already posted fics are basically assuredly going to be continued past the challenge, but let's say "completed enough to post and be on theme")

1. Canon Divergence - complete - 4.5k words ("For the Murder of Mr. Wrong" link)

Mia POV, gen. What if Dahlia succeeded in poisoning Phoenix and framed Doug Swallow instead (and then Mia defended him in court)? Basically a 3-1 rewrite. Fun Fact: I only came up with this AU because before I even remembered AU-gust existed at all, I'd come up with like 4 totally separate AUs in which I poison Phoenix in various ways With Real Consequences because it amuses me, lol, but he survives all those other ones and I eventually realized I hadn't even considered straight up killing him off yet so I figured I should try it at least once, haha.

2. Colorless - complete 1st chapter - 3.2k words ("Grey Matters" link)

Phoenix POV (for 1st ch --prob alternating after), wrightworth. "You can't see color until the first time you touch your soulmate"-soulmate AU. 1st chapter is their first meeting as kids (skipping the class trial itself). Fun Fact(s): I really love a color soulmate AU! Big fan of the "only see the color of their eyes" type of one too but uhhh on top of that working better for things that have wild anime eye colors, you could not pay me enough to try to figure out what the HELL is going on with Ace Attorney eye colors at any given time lmfao. (Also--spoilers for what i haven't written yet but hey if you're here you earned it--this IS one of my very many "teehee what if i poison Phoenix just a smidge as a treat for me" fics. NOT my fault the man ATE GLASS. That's on him.)

3. Dark Academia - complete "1st chapter" - 4.4k words ("The Spirit of the Laws of Magic" link)

Mia POV, lanamia. Magical boarding school setting featuring corruption and missing-student conspiracies and a most likely overthought system of magic with hierarchies and prejudices in societal views of academic/formulaic vs folk/innate magic. Fun Fact: I really thought for SURE i was going to skip this day entirely, lol. (foolish.) I don't think i've actually ever personally read anything "dark academia", technically--so if this doesn't read EXACTLY that way, there you go, but i did my best. I also then thought I could live with keeping this vague but I accidentally thought about it too long so... plus at least two people on top of myself at this point have expressed interest in more of this and so I have some semi-concrete Plans™ now.

4. Zombie Apocalypse - conceptualized (but not started)

Concept: probably gen and Phoenix POV, but also because I'm me and they're them, at least a little bit wrightworth even if it isn't necessarily explicit in any meaningful way bc they are Not Normal about each other lol. A little sketchy on how much of an "AU" this counts for, since it could probably be argued to be canon compliant somehow, but basically just: Universe where they make a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-type Steel Samurai reboot movie thing (featuring, you guessed it, zombies), and Miles comes over and forces Phoenix to watch it with him just to have someone to bitch about it at, and then during that time Maya blows her way into Phoenix's apartment as well with the exact same intentions except her "day job" isn't quite as time-sensitive-strict so she's already finished watching it earlier and knows all the spoilers. Honestly a good chance Phoenix and Pearl (who came with Maya) end up hiding out in the kitchen together to let Maya and Miles rile each other up in front of the TV, but I'm never exactly sure where they'll take me once I wind them up and set them loose on the page, so who knows. I also hadn't necessarily determined the exact time frame yet but for it to make sense as a reboot-type movie/special episode/whatever it probably should be 7yg-or-later so Trucy may or may not be there as well. (That said, in my struggles to complete an actually short one-shot, I probably shouldn't even include Pearl let alone Trucy, lol.) Fun Fact: I also thought I'd skip this day bc I'm not the biggest zombie guy in the world, and to be fair, I managed to do Way Less with it than the dark academia prompt so, yippie?

5. Chess Players - incomplete (currently 3k word WIP)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Miles is a chess grandmaster and back in Japanifornia for the upcoming world cup tournament, but his greatest challenge is actually to FINALLY best Franziska in their annual who-can-get-the-best-Christmas-gift competition. Luckily, he just so happened to hear of an artist who makes bespoke chess sets, so the plan is to get a custom board made for Franziska without her finding out. The plan is not to get trapped in a weird art collective labyrinth with some model-photographer named Cindy who keeps hitting on him but also happens to be protective of the artist he's there to see because "she and her boyfriend kinda-sorta owe him big time", but this is what he gets for coming here without doing any extra research into the artist besides seeing his work and hearing only "his name is White, or, eh, something like that, you know how those artist types are" from Mr. Amano. (AU where we replace law with chess and no I don't think Phoenix could necessarily hack it in the top-world-grandmasters-level of chess tournaments HOWEVER have you considered he DID go to art school so what if he just tries selling custom chess sets until somehow that reconnects him with Miles. Is that somehow a more insane plan than studying law? Maybe. Did Manfred still shoot Gregory but now it was over fucking chess? Maybe. Idk. But I did let Greg live this time at least!) Fun Fact: we can all DEFINITIVELY blame my lovely, terrible, very wonderful friend Ben (shameless friend plug! she's an outstanding writer and has some AA fics of her own too!! @kindlystrawberry on tumblr!!) for making a total joke about "well what about au where they make chess pieces instead" while i lamented not knowing enough about chess to write an actual match and spawning this ENTIRE concept. It is her fault. 100%. She is the guilty party. (I want to finish this one VERY BADLY. Save me.)

EVIDENCE!!!!! Guilty.

6. Reality Show - incomplete (currently 700 word WIP)

Phoenix (& Franziska) POV(s), background wrightworth wedding planning going on as set up but it's also definitely just one of my many excuses to set Phoenix and Franziska up as bitchy worsties who can't admit they enjoy each other's company and will cut you down if you suggest it as such. So far I've only written the quote "set-up" section which is in Phoenix's POV, but that was SUPPOSED to be like 5 paragraphs and cut away and then lead into my actual plan for the main body, which was to be in Franz's instead, so. This is very similar to the zombie one in that it's them watching reality tv instead of being contestants on a show (I don't personally like or watch a lot of reality tv so my creative well was somewhat dry on how to make that work) and then I accidentally thought about Phoenix and Franziska watching something just to judge and tear apart the decisions of every person on it and that was too fun to not consider further, haha. Basically the plan is just they get left alone together and don't know what to do with that and end up wine-drunk and making fun of some reality dating show of some kind and Miles and Trucy come back to them losing it together over something stupid and are like "......uh. what's happening." Fun Facts: I really love the thought experiment of Franziska somehow discovering how often Phoenix's internal dialogue/reads on situations and especially people can be So Bitchy And Judgey despite his affable complexion, and her unfortunately finding his opinions to SOMETIMES be somehow slightly okay. Moderately correct, even--occasionally. I know the section she follows you-as-Phoenix around in T&T is really not long at ALL, but I adore it. There's something about it that so badly makes me want to force them into proximity more (to both their chagrin, I'm sure).

7. Farm/Ranch - complete - 12k words ("Two Little Dickey Byrdes" link)

Gumshoe POV, gumbyrde (tho i still think dickeybyrde is a funnier ship name). 5+1 things--except more like maybe 7-or-8+1 to be honest--so it's more: over 5 times Dick and Maggey sit on a wall together and 1 time they find someone else there instead. AKA: Dick runs his family's small farm (think fantasy farm like in a farming sim or maybe horse girl novel type of thing that has nothing to do with what a real farm is like lol don't worry about it) and Maggey starts working at the next farm over as the latest of her many odd jobs. Fun Fact: oh god this one got so far away from me. it was not supposed to be this long lmao. it's literally the elaborate set-up to a very silly Nursery-Rhyme-I-Didn't-Even-Know-About-Prior-To-This -based punchline!?! still, i was pleasantly surprised by how happy i was with this once it was done... two sittings and about 16 total hours later. haha).

8. Nomad - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Apollo (or possibly Klavier) POV, klapollo. Sort of Jove-Thalassa swap adjacent, but basically: AU where Jove survives the Khura'in fire but loses his memories for [contrived convince sake reasons]. (And also possibly loses some or all of his eyesight just to really go for the parallels?) Therefore: Jove and Apollo stay with Dhurke and Nahyuta and the Defiant Dragons for a time, while Jove recovers, but eventually they leave and head out on their own, just the two of them, and do the traveling musician thing, both because it's dangerous in Khura'in and Dhurke already canonically didn't want Apollo to get caught up in it and potentially get hurt to begin with and because with a functioning actual parent Apollo doesn't need to be taken in by him--and also Jove from what little we know seems like he prefers to be on the move and was already a world traveler anyhow, so even amnesiac maybe he gets a little antsy stuck in one place too long. And so like amnesiac Thalassa, Jove thusly becoming a renowned mysterious musician--and then Apollo, sweet tone deaf Apollo, becoming the sonager of all time (like a momager but...you get it) because he's not that into music but he IS into arguing for better conditions/making deals (contracts!! international legalese!! woohoo!!) with venues and promoters and stuff. And then--oops dang Lamioir still exists and now they have a meet-cute (2 electric bugaloo) (but by then it's later enough Trucy still exists because it will be a cold day in hell when I don't find a way to make her work) and they do music collabs or join up to form a group or whatever and OOPS this means now that Apollo and Jove are with Lamioir when The Gavinners / Klavier specifically meet her and get her to come to do the Guitar's Serenade concert eventually. And Apollo and Klavier ofc thusly also have a meet-cute and then talk and bond etc etc. AND THEN the au STOPS THERE and I DON'T think about how without Apollo Phoenix is totally getting convicted of Zak's murder because there's no way that trial works out as well for him with some other attorney and I also don't think about how reasonable it would then be that maybe Trucy ends up helping Valant with his work setting up the trick for the concert afterward on account of the one father in prison and the other being dead and having left behind a notarized confession clearing Valant's name of suspicion, etc. AND I DEFINITELY do not think about how i could then still so easily get everyone in one place at the concert for Turnabout Serenade and/or any possible funny Sibling (And Thalassa) Reveal that could happen i dont i dont i do not--

9. Accidental Baby Acquisition - conceptualized (not started)

Gen, possibly my weakest / least defined idea on this list, but basically: Phoenix kind of already lives this in canon, lol (insomuch as an 8yo counts as a baby) so I thought, well, how to take it a different direction, then? And I thought, I don't usually go for a Phoenix Fey kind of au because I personally really love the relationships he has with all the Feys as-is in canon and so it's not quite as funny to me as, say, a Miles Fey AU where like Misty and Gregory are married, or any of the ones in that bent, because I'm sorry but that's just SO funny (and sad, but mostly funny) any way you slice it--plus his NAME is RIGHT THERE mia-miles-maya he FITS--anyhow, that completely aside, there are just a lot of reasons I really love the platonic relationships the Feys already have with Phoenix and I don't think it NEEDS to be made specifically familial to still be so very important, y'know? BUT. That said. AU where Phoenix is idk abandoned as a baby or maybe his parents die young or something and it's like a Thing to leave babies at temples or churches or whatever, right? So like--Phoenix adopted by the Feys AU but only because the more i considered it the more i thought it would be WILD for him to literally know Maya her entire life, and it's fascinating to me to consider a Maya who ISN'T basically left all alone to her own devices (and Morgan's) and who has someone absolutely in her corner in the village the entire time even after Mia leaves (who isn't a baby when Mia leaves, love you tho Pearls), AND also and perhaps more importantly, the ships-passing-in-the-night-ness of a scene where, like: Morgan does something sketchy or whatever and Phoenix wants to keep Mia updated but for whatever reason decides to go down to the city and actually tell her in person and so he's waiting outside the courthouse or something (possibly part of or perhaps Most Of the reason he goes in person is because he knows her first courtroom trial is that day and he wants to see her + hear how it went) and when he gets there she's in a heated argument with some asshole in a fancy over-embellished jacket and once that guy leaves Phoenix is like "Sheesh, what's his problem?" You know???? And maybe he really would never even know!!!! Bc he grew up in Kurain!!!! And has no reason to care!!! About some random prosecutor who was mean to Mia!! Aaaah!!! So that, and on top of that, Diego would be there too ofc at that point, and I feel like he would ALSO be quite a funny interaction in this scenario. ("Wow, someone's popular, kitten, you have all sorts of guys waiting on a chance to talk to you, heh?" "Uh.--I'm sorry, WHAT did you just call her")

10. Enemies-to-Allies - incomplete (currently 370 word WIP)

Ema POV, faraskye. Cyberpunk AU where Lana is still under Gant's thumb and Ema, with no other way to stay close to her and getting rejected from any of the sorts of jobs she really wants to do, decides to just join the security force (or cyber police or w/e I decide to call it) and is tasked with hunting down the Yatagarasu, guerilla hacker supreme who is threatening the sanctity of the capitalist overlords. Except Ema's squad gets ambushed and she's captured and tied to a pole, and with her useless fop partner seemingly not coming to rescue her (if he even noticed her absence), she does some quick cost-benefit analysis and decides she didn't really like that job anyway and maybe there's another way she can get her sister back in her life. So she breaks free of her own handcuffs (which she definitely didn't modify into incidental ineffectiveness she's still testing for bugs) and helps fix the "Little Thief" device her captor seems to have broken despite how obviously valuable and impressive the tech is, and they eventually come to something of an agreement. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and all that. Either Ema as the hardware-engineer one and Kay as the software-programming one as the two sides of the tech coin, or else Kay can just be like doing the physical sneaking kind of spy stuff only--or maybe she knows a little about software but not so much she's a pro the way she is with infiltration and such. Possibly toying with the idea Kay herself is just completely an android, but if not, I think she has some cybernetic cyborg things going on regardless. Possibly from or inspired by her father? I also like the idea that Gant did something maybe more drastic with regards to having dirt on Ema to get Lana to do his bidding--like maybe Ema has a whole cybernetic hand because instead of just her handprint on a leather jacket, Gant has some sicko jar with her entire hand in it in his office safe, or something. I don't know why this would be useful to him but it is certainly an image. I also find it funny if Miss Fingerprint Powder Enthusiast doesn't actually have any fingerprints of her own anymore somehow in this AU, lol.

11. Retail Worker - complete - 6.7k words ("The Bake Anything Boulangerie" link)

Apollo POV, gen. Phoenix gets a job at a bakery instead of the Borscht Bowl Club during the 7 year gap, and Apollo happens to stumble across it and ends up meeting the Wrights while he's still in high school. He becomes a regular at the bakery and is already close to them by the time "Shadi Smith's" murder comes around. And also, yes, sibling reveal right away--at least as soon as Phoenix realizes and can reveal it. As a treat. (Other reveals, though, I might put poor Apollo through on a delayed basis. Also as a treat, lmao, just not one for him.) Fun Fact: I'm being redundant bc this is also in my a/n, but, Baker Phoenix lives rent-free in my brain because Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright was in fact the very first Ace Attorney game I ever played, technically, and Maya and Phoenix semi-brainwashed in that bakery was literally one of my first impressions of them. ........followed immediately by starting a let's play of Justice for All (which i watched through the first case, after which I was like oKAY fine maybe i DO need more context here, i should probably figure out what the actual first game is, and went back to start the series properly at the beginning hahaha). What do you MEAN i have a disproportionate fascination with amnesiac Phoenix, even if I have yet to finish and publish one of my myriad AUs that utilize stupid, unrealistic, plot convenient re-temporary amnesia?? Hm???? Idk what you're talking about. Also everyone who complains about 2-1 is wrong lmao it's objectively (okay subjectively is what i'm saying yes BUT objectively) such a funny place to start without knowing broad plot strokes, it's great. I both knew so much and absolutely shit-all nothing about Maya after PLvPW and 2-1, LMAO. god.

12. Animagus Wings (Joker) - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Angel/Demon AU, except I'm playing super fast and loose with the rules on that because all my knowledge of Christian-mythos comes from firstly and unknowingly the Chronicles of Narnia and more recently and cognizantly Lucifer (Netflix) and Good Omens. I know that's probably more or less what we're all doing with this kind of AU but still, I'm not even sure I want to refer to Heaven and Hell here, I'm kinda on the fence about maybe just keeping it all very vague? I also accidentally semi-worldbuilt more than i intended incidentally on account of "But Then How-Why Names If Angelic Creatures?" Format-wise it would semi-follow gomens s1 where it's hopping through some meetings between long stretches but also a kind of pre- and post- Fall type of thing? And potentially à la Lucifer becoming, like, these are My Mortal Humans and i will be Spending Time With Them, screw you celestial duties, I'm making my own Free Will, etc. And i mean i guess Lucifer is also a crime procedural lmao maybe they still solve crimes in the end too. Fun Fact: I didn't want to do the original prompt for several reasons, and sure fuck jkr is one of them but even before I knew about her I still wasn't really the biggest hp person in the first place? So i wouldn't know/don't remember at all the way it works without having to do the specific research and i...don't want to haha. Hence. And I know the prompt seems to be using it loosely / might just be borrowing the word and not actually referencing hp specifically but tbh either way human-animal shifter things just in general I can be somewhat picky about haha. (Okay okay plus full disclosure the ONLY idea I have for this sort of thing actually ties into my day-3-dark-academia-extended-au-verse and i COULD make my life simpler by just connecting the two days but Heh who would I be if I simplified things for myself... *sigh*) All that to say: I saw "wings" on the wild card list and I thought, ooh, well that's still sort of a related concept! Let's tag that one in! So it's still kind of day 12 prompt-adjacent, if you squint.

13. Found Footage - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Video Transcript POV? Is that a thing? Possibly capped by a little Phoenix POV (but i don't want that to get too long), wrightworth. Larry's new girlfriend of the month bakes weed brownies and Larry does not realize this and swings by the Wrights' apartment to beg some kind of help off Phoenix and forgets the whole tray there somehow (because it's Larry) and they leave to deal with Larry's thing and by the time they figure the brownies out, in some twist of fate Miles and Trucy have been hanging out (last minute babysitter/adult supervision? but she's at the very very least 14 or 15 here and most likely older, and Nick clearly isn't the most strict about like uhhh supervision in general lol sooo idk. he's helping her with a project or smth. it doesn't really actually matter; he's THERE, that's the important thing.) The point I'm very clearly getting at is they accidentally get incredibly high (not dangerously so because I'm not going that far haha but also, neither of them has actually been high before, so they are Affected) before Phoenix finds out what was in the brownies and tries to warn Trucy and hurry home to like, dispose of them or at least put a warning label on them or whatever, but he is too late lol. By a lot. Definitely an underage drugs tag on this bad boy because it's definitely sometime 18-or-earlier for Trucy, let alone 21. (idk about other places but as a Californian I can tell you Japanifornia "LA" could theoretically have it legalized at 21 for anyone (like alcohol) and 18 with Dr's permission--which Trucy definitely does not have in this AU lol.) Basically, Phoenix grabs Trucy's phone to get photo evidence so he can let them never live this down (after making sure they're okay lmao), but he ofc doesn't get technology so he doesn't realize he leaves the phone still recording when Trucy asks him for something / needs his help, so the recording just keeps going and captures a lot of tomfoolery and eventually some inebriated-to-Extremely-sober Feelings-Adjacent confessions (or maybe more like allusions). Idk, this was actually a fic I thought of before August and wanted to use as an excuse to try a Weird Format for fun, but then i saw this was a prompt on the list and...well. Fun Fact: Cannabis was legalized in California on November 8, 2016 (the first election I could vote in!!! ......uh, rip. lol. but yeah babey I helped legalize weed at least!! gotta remember the positives), which means it was legal right in time for Miles' case(s) / Turnabout Goodbyes!!! Yay!! I mean, I suppose that's genuinely seriously one way to try to mitigate nightmares and manage insomnia--not that I think Miles Edgeworth would ever deign stoop so low as to use an aid to manage his severe PTSD and trauma symptoms, psshaw, who do you take him for? (Get these people some help lol. They all need so much therapy.)

14. Princes & Princesses - conceptualized (not started)

So I've been reading a lot (a LOT) of isekai and/or revenge reincarnation romance fantasy manhwas lately (like, oh, too many, hahaha. they're quite good and they're VERY popular in webcomics at the moment.) Soooo. Soft pitch: Apollo already gets slapped into so many wild backstories he's constantly trying to dodge in an effort to be just a Normal Guy, he's honestly, like, the PERFECT protagonist for one of these lmao. And tell me Kristoph doesn't make a perfect "Upstanding Duke" kind of persona, and Klavier couldn't be the "wild rake" younger brother no one expects much from, and all I'm saying is it wouldn't be that hard to contrive a reason Apollo tries to get Klavier to agree to a contract marriage the way all these stories go, lol. And also, something something, Apollo from the "real world" is an orphan/has an absent family (also like so many of these manhwa protagonists, lol) but then he gets to actually have one in his second life!! I'm such a sucker for that shit. Slightly harder pitch, and the reason I did not let myself actually start writing anything (...yet): so what if the actual plot of the "original romance novel" Apollo is familiar with from the "real world (Earth)" is actually about the slightly older generation and something something instead of admiring Phoenix as a defense attorney, it's just that he instead was Apollo's favorite "love interest" character (not, like, for himself, just the one he most liked to read about) in every way except what a blithering idiot he became when the author had him fall for the female lead--but BEFORE that, he's a cool information guild leader guy who seems like he's trying to work toward some way to improve conditions for commoners in the kingdom (but abruptly there are no more mentions of this after he gets involved with the lead, which is annoying). Aaaand... I guess what I'm saying is, Dahlia is the original female lead because she REALLY fits the whole White Lotus trope, and I'm thinking Klavier is the original male lead because A) hilarious, B) fits in with the idea there's more going on in the ACTUAL world Apollo ends up in that is written in such a way as to make things seem different in the novel (like, that Dahlia and Klavier are actually as nice as they seem and that the terrible things that happen around them are just the trials and tribulations of being main characters and not anything they're directly involved in). And Apollo, the character in the novel Apollo, is an adopted prince of Khura'in, but he's the sickly younger prince and of course not actually of the royal bloodline (and also a man, considering Khura'in is matrilineal), so Rayfa and Nahyuta are the ones the public and other nobles actually know and care about and deal with. But wait! As it so turns out, The Wright Anything Information Guild (I feel like the actual guild name CAN'T have their freaking name on it front and center lol but you get the idea) happens to know some other things that aren't really expanded on in the original novel, and might be key to preventing Apollo's death so he doesn't follow the path of the original story, and also idk maybe Apollo and Trucy are half-fae or something like that and instead of like Aw Yay Bracelet in this AU it's more of a secret Iron Shackle Tool That Will Hurt I Mean Totally-Definitely-Help Us Later (still, in a way, passed down to him by Thalassa, but more as, like... she's kind of a secret hostage and does not manage to hide pregnancy number one so Apollo's now also a secret hostage, but she manages to escape so they don't know about Trucy, only she didn't tell Apollo basically anything to "keep him as safe as possible" or w/e, and......) Well, anyway. It got away from me before I even really wrote anything, that's all.

15. Secretly Alien - unfinished (currently 2.6k WIP)

Trucy POV, gen. Apollo gets sick of very consistently always losing the card games they play at the Wright Anything Agency (usually and in the specific instance the fic starts, Bullshit/BS) and in a stroke of inspiration somehow ropes everyone into playing Among Us instead. ("What! It's still a game of trying to lie/trick everyone else--like you like!--but I actually stand a freaking chance, so we're playing this or I'm going home.") Yes. This is my Among Us AU. Hi. They play Among Us. I'm justifying this one as prime AU territory however because A) Among Us has to exist in this universe, and even more pressingly, B) I found a way to force Phoenix to have--for at least a period of time if not moving forward in perpetuity--an actual smartphone instead of a Nokia-type brick cellphone. Which even under the wild but somehow plausible considering Ace Attorney circumstances I contrived, is just automatically a complete AU lmao. Fun Fact: I am so mad this one wasn't just totally finished day-of, lol. Why I ever thought I could give myself run of an entire WAA 4-person conversation and NOT get instantly derailed is beyond me. (And I want to get the prosecutors there, too?? Someone take the characters away from me.) Anyway. No, I have not written ANY of the actual Among Us part yet. Sigh. Also I haven't personally played amogus since like, 2021? maybe? And I know (now) that it's been pretty updated since then, but, ehhh, I'm just gonna run off like, lockdown-era amogus rules and vibes, lol. If I can get to the game part.

16 - Hobby Drama - conceptualized

I'm going to go out of order this time to say: Fun Fact: I have ALWAYS wanted to write a Reddit-style fic!!! I absolutely love them and I've read some REALLY, really good ones, so I've always wanted to try my hand at it. So theoretically this is the perfect time to make that a reality and write a r/HobbyDrama subreddit fic, buuut I got stuck before starting because I'm torn on two possible routes to take it (I can easily foresee myself caving and just doing both lol). - Option 1: Steel Samurai fandom discourse, always a fun/funny thing to think about, definitely would enjoy having Maya and Miles post some stuff for that. - Option 2: courtroom law fandom discourse, because come ON, how are those galleries ALWAYS SO FULL. The little wiggling rabba-rabba onlookers have GOT to have investment in this shit. And why WOULDN'T they, honestly. I've seen those trials and I have, in fact, spent a Lot of time thinking about them, not that any posts I've made lately would reflect that in any way or anything. Like I know it's hard to tell, but if I can be invested in the Lawyers Fandom, who's to say the people in the courtrooms aren't????? And I LOVE an outsider POV fic actually, I think they're so fun. So anyway. Reddit fic. You will be mine. Just as soon as I can hone my energy

And, what the hell, since it's so late now by the time I complete this "Heh This'll Be So Quick To Throw Together" post, I'll include today's, too:

17 - Flower Shop - conceptualized (at work earlier today. lol)

AU where Daddy Hawthorne is like, 97% less shitty. And the Hawthornes have a flower shop instead of like a gemstone industry or whatever. And he takes both Dahlia and Iris with him instead of dumping one of his daughters at a fucking secluded mountain temple and seemingly forgetting about her forever. On second thought, maybe what I actually mean is he's like 999% less shitty, lmfao. Anyway, Iris POV, but Dahlia (while not a "nice" person by any stretch) is not pushed to such extremes or nearly as desperate as canon, so Valerie lives, Terry Fawles lives, Doug Swallow lives, and Dahlia gets to live a good life overall--because as much fun as I love using her as a villain, she's really such a product of the absolute worst circumstances and I really do find her interesting so I've been kind of wanting to explore her in a less cartoonishly evil light, haha. (Don't get me wrong, I do love the cartoonishly evil light too, but I like spicing things up sometimes.) Like, she does (more) normal teen rebellion things ("Look at my inappropriately older boyfriend, Dad" "I'm going to talk my way out of speeding tickets and petty shoplifting as a bid for attention" etc.) and she still totally orders Iris around and Iris still totally does whatever she asks very much to her own detriment and has to learn to break away and be her own person. Fun Fact: I have a very passionate love for Iris/Adrian Andrews. Is that. Um. Is that a ship anyone else has ever considered before? Is that just me? I'm not sure but very possibly I'll just make this a rarepair fic as a treat, for me alone, teehee. (Like... it's about the becoming the master of your own destiny it's about breaking out of codependent cycles it's about how I genuinely honestly think they'd be each other's type and have chemistry even though they've obviously never interacted lmao... idk what to tell you.)

AND THATS MY AU-GUST UPDATE POST!!!

If you made it this far, take a sprinkle of my undying affection, and may you be blessed with AU inspiration if you so desire it!! (If you do not desire it, hopefully you are not cursed with it. I do not take refunds if you are. Sorry.)

Wish me luck with completing some more fics soon!!! Unfortunately weekends are actually my least free time because I work the most and the earliest hours so I have less time and am more tired, but also on Wednesday I'm leaving for a family vacation, which will either be the BEST thing to happen in regards to AU-gust or the WORST thing lmfao. If nothing else I have 2 flights, and I actually Love writing on an airplane, so fingers crossed for it being Good. <3

EDIT: Now with part 2 for the rest of the month here!

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Me @ Netflix if they cut Foxglove and Hazel or A Game of You or yassify any of the girls

[magnetic-dogz]

I'm not gonna really talk about the movie outside of those posts I reblogged and "why the fuck is Gerald alive." I was excited for the movie before but the more I hear about it the more disappointing it sounds and the more I don't care about seeing it

[wandixx]

[genspiel]

.....................well now i'm just thinking about how echo and noise could've provided a really interesting exploration of mental illness and trauma and stigmatization but canon kinda missed the mark on that one huh

[appalachianapologies]

I don't want whatever the threat is. I dont eanna live in fear

Your ocs. Hand em over

OKAY i know it has been. weeks. months, even. however, I considered how I wanted to say this because too many characters too little time. but here we go:

A Penchant for the Ordinary

Jamie Caldwell is everyone's favorite character and by that I mean she's chaotic as hell, makes knee jerk reactions, definitely unknowingly has ADHD, extremely low self control, and her stress relief is punching people who (probably) deserve it. She's a gay mess in every sense of the word and has seriously tried so hard to get her life together and it's just. it's not working out for her. so, after accepting that fact, Jamie begins to embrace the chaotic and darker sides of herself. if her life is going to hell, she may as well take a free trip down as well and see what it's all about

Chloe and Gus together, because they're so codependent we quite literally never see them apart except for a single scene near the end where Gus hangs around to say one last thing before following her. As mentioned: codependent as hell. Not romantically involved but they know every single in and out of each other- moreso than most couples. While Jamie feels regret for her sudden reactions, Chloe basks in them and has never once wished she made a different decision. Gus typically has the braincell, but usually not for long- he's as much of an adrenaline junkie as everyone else.

Madison did not sign up for any of this shit. When my dad read my book, one of the things he told me was that it was so not necessary to put her through everything that I did. And although I agree, it was sadly necessary for Jamie's questionable character arc. Sorry Madison- but trust me, you're better off with a different girlfriend

Kat absolutely signed up for everything she gets herself into, even if she claims that she didn't. She goes around saying "I'm not involved with any of these people :|" and then actively hangs out with them and invites them to her apartment. for multiple days. She's the type of person that would claim to want to have a relaxing life but she literally chose not to. girl what

Davy tried his best. kind of. he could've done a hell of a lot better, but he also genuinely tried to do well to fix his mistakes. He's the type of person who will feel genuine regret for what he's done and try to rectify his mistakes, even if it takes uhhhhh a lot of time :)

Evelyn is a bastard. absolutely mad woman and in not a fun sexy hot way. Power hungry, unfazed by hurting anyone else in the process of getting what she wants, and yet she still sees herself as benevolent (she's not). Believes she's the main character of the book (she is not).

James did not deserve any of that. I'm sorry dude. That being said, your coping mechanisms were a little subpar. Sorry we still don't know exactly how you died (it's not a spoiler okay it's happened like ten years ago).

Daniel and Edward are absolutely in love but neither of them realize it and it's not a standard love. think qpr. think: they've known each other since elementary school and have gone through all of life together. loyal to a fault but would change on a hat to keep the other safe.

Obligatory Did these characters interest you? Do you want to read a subpar book but support a young author? You can buy A Penchant for the Ordinary here! Thank you in advanced for your support :D

and now: Paradigm

Delilah's trying her best except she makes about a few wrong turns, which ends up shaping her life for the next decade. Surprisingly little self esteem for a person in her job market, though she acts the opposite. She doesn't have enough of a filter but manages to charm her way past a lot of things that should've ended badly. The queen at pushing things down and pretending it never happened. Is aware that she's pretty much trapped, but doesn't believe she can get out.

Charlotte is still Delilah, but she's determined to change into someone else. A new woman who's better, stronger, more confident than Delilah. She becomes the femme fetal that Marcus had wanted since day one, and embraces it. She likes being the bad guy, relishes the feeling of knowing she's in the wrong, and pretends that she doesn't have a nagging feeling that she is, in fact, in the wrong.

Taylor is still Delilah, and parts of Charlotte bleed through to her as well. A changed woman. Mature, who believes that she's seen so much of life that she's immune to anything else that could be thrown at her. Truly believes that she can't change and was created to be bad. Acts like she couldn't give a damn about other people when in fact the opposite is true and she's just afraid of having weaknesses. Aren't we all.

Marcus is pretty much the worst person you can imagine. Runs a cool home business called "assassins for hire :)" (paraphrased). Although he used to do the dirty work himself, he now has employees that he keeps on a tight leash to do everything. Always has multiple contingency plans in case something goes wrong and the authorities get wind of him. If any employee screws up, Marcus gives them zero chances to fix it, and will round up everyone who fucked up last quarter, shoot them, and give them a shallow grave in the Nevada desert. Has an insanely creepy infatuation with Delilah.

Sid is quite possibly the only employee of Marcus that is somewhat on the genuinely good spectrum. ...or at least the "not actively trying to do bad" one. Ex-military, classic "never really left [insert place of war]." Hates Delilah until he begrudgingly doesn't hate Delilah. He knows that everything Marcus is doing is screwed up, but Sid's just going through the motions of life at this point. What's one more life for one more paycheck?

Lainey's name is still pending, but it'll probably end up as Lainey. Smarter than anyone in the world gives her credit for, and is very calculating. She knows more than she lets on as well, and uses that to her advantage. She's probably more forgiving than she should be, but that makes Lainey who she is. Eventually, the only one who knows the most about Delilah (and that isn't just because she sleeps with her. oops)

Rebecca is the classic TV CIA agent except she's actually real. She has poorly controlled OCD but pretends like she has everything under control at all times. After spending over half of a decade attempting to track and take in Marcus, she's eventually promoted to a higher up position, where she gets to create her own team, to finally, once and for all, bring in Marcus. Is pretty much willing to sacrifice it all for the job with little hesitation.

Carter is somewhere between Rebecca's second hand man while also being the worst (affectionate) gay hopeless romantic there is. He thinks he can juggle a relationship and CIA work but let me tell you. He's never learned how to juggle. Keeps Rebecca sane in every way you can think of, and the two often spend nights at each others' places because that's just what they do. Like Rebecca, he's on thin fucking ice with every higher up in the CIA. However, unlike Rebecca, he's excellent at damage control with their supervisor.

Unnamed Classic Hacker Character is still unnamed because no name has truly suited or worked with her. Trusts literally no one, especially not Taylor. Hates her guts, actually. Probably the only one who's actually confident about things, though she knows the least at any given time because she's a junior agent. Rebecca immediately was like "I want her" despite the fact that she graduated worst in her class. Opinionated and full of spite, in the way that every person in a fandom would fucking hate. Absolutely, without a doubt, a character I would love to write an 11 book series spin-off with

finally: Lou is for Lavender

Lou, originally Louisa, is going through it. The book is a journey on her life- or rather, the three months after escaping somewhere between an abusive boyfriend and being trafficked. With little identity, she finds herself constantly trying to figure out who she is, who she should be, and if there even exists a woman beyond the girl she used to be. She's genuinely trying her best, but fuck if it isn't hard. I love her. I love her so much. She is so lost but she's trying so hard to find her way back on a path. I could write five more paragraphs about her at any given time.

Maria is a six year old with far too much energy for someone her size. Absolutely infatuated with her grandmother and the way she used to read to Maria every single day and night, Maria begged her grandmother and Dana to teach her how to read by herself, which quickly morphed into writing. She'll write pages of six year old nonsense for hours without getting bored, and is absolutely thrilled to have a new friend around the house! never mind that she's an adult- Maria sees Lou as a built-in summer friend.

Dana has been putting on the best face for nearly five years. Although it wasn't her intention, after her mom got sick, she moved back to her family's ranch along with her three kids- Maria and two older boys. After her mom passed, she stayed, unable to bear the idea of leaving once more for good, but she's great at hiding that fact. The youngest of seven, Dana is caught somewhere between constantly feeling the need to prove herself while also knowing that no one's waiting and watching for her to grow anymore. Six kids came before her, and Dana genuinely believes that she simply slipped under the attention of everyone.

The Flowers are how Lou refers to the other women she met along the way. The girls who all had an intimate understanding of what she was going through, and yet nothing at all. The flowers are constantly living inside of Lou, always on the edges of her thoughts, nearly controlling her at some points. They stay with Lou, sometimes causing guilt, sometimes causing pain, sometimes just to remind Lou of the dandelions that used to sprout up in between cracks in the sidewalk.

The Journal that Maria gives Lou (after declaring them best friends forever), isn't technically a living character, but it may as well be. It's where Lou's thoughts reside. Where her fears and regrets and memories live so they don't have to live in her head. The journal is an extension of Lou, and the scariest thing she could think of is losing it, but the journal was never meant to stay against her chest for the rest of its life.

Anyhow, if you'd like to support some of my original work, I have a Ko-Fi! Covers are expensive as h e c k - But also, reblogs support me as well :D a chaotic way to spread the chaotic characters 'round these parts

[nerdnag]

I have not played disco elysium!! The poll is based on a meme 😅 BUT de does seem way up my alley and it’s on my radar to eventually play probably lmao

Aaaah I see 😅

But either way I think you'd love Disco Elysium!!! It's one of my all time favorite games and actually inspired me to learn how to make interactive stories myself (though I've yet to finish any)

[mossdeep]

ok i finished rift apart, i'm on mobile so i can't do a read more but i will be rambling in the tags to save you all from a category 5 autism moment

[askshivanulegacy]

It was SUCH a good scene. Though, contrary to the first post, it was INCREDIBLY justified, and that's part of what was so good about it.

Osha took all that hurt and betrayal, and it didn't matter that Sol was unarmed and not fighting back. The only thing that mattered was his terrible lie to make a child trust and believe in him just so he could have his Padawan, and the unprovoked murder he committed so he could have that Padawan.

He forgave her because he knew that he deserved what she gave him. He forgave her because maybe he finally understood the great evil he'd been committing for years.

Osha's actions were human. Her feelings were dark. Faced with the shock of this horrifically, terrible betrayal, you can debate whether they were evil. They were not unjustified, that's for sure. Sol got exactly what was coming to him, and that the show allowed Osha to unapologetically deliver that justice was wonderful.

One thing I did appreciate is that The Acolyte did not hold back on that Osha went full dark side, that Sol's kyber crystal was crushed by her anger and hate to the point that it bled into a red saber. She straight up murdered someone who was not fighting back. She killed him because she was hurt and angry, not because he was a threat. Osha's feelings of betrayal and rage were valid, her actions were not. She murdered an unarmed man who was not fighting back, who had no intention of fighting back, who literally forgave her as she choked the life out of him, and nothing of her actions were justified. She wasn't even regretful about it. The dark side can be humanized to a degree, it always has been in Star Wars, that's nothing new. Anakin's everything ever, Maul's pain and desperation for a connection through an apprentice, Dooku's clinging to his care for people like Yaddle or Asajj, the dark side has never been about detached or unsympathetic anger. It's always come from a very human place, that's why the Jedi constantly caution that no one is beyond it. But Osha embraced it here, she stepped over the line and murdered a defenseless man because of her rage, not because it was in any way justified as a killing, and the kyber crystal screamed and bled because of it. You don't get a red saber by being justified, you get it by crossing the line into an act of evil. And props to The Acolyte for not shying away from that, as human as Osha is and will continue to be, her actions were over the line of evil.