#surprising lack of trans hcs to me.. where is the gender in here (<- trans)

[mothbeasts]

unpopular ieytd headcanons? /nm

seeing as I've dedicated myself to being the world's biggest fabricator enjoyer (joke). i think it will be obvious who i'll take the opportunity to talk about :] with some other headcanons thrown in also.

I think a lot of my Fabricator headcanons count as "unpopular" if only because not many people talk about her in general. The first thing that came to mind for me is that I personally headcanon her as trans for no reason other than I'm trans and my favorite characters get hit with my beam attacks. I also think she's not really mean once you get to know her - She's much more relaxed around friends, it's just that she has. One friend total, maybe two if we're being generous with the definition of friend. And I just generally see her as a different kind of "mean" than other people seem to, if that makes sense? She has fun with it, yeah, but she has reasons and such. even if those reasons can be petty. I don't know if she enjoys drama for drama's sake, she's got a reputation to uphold and all. She uses more subtle verbal attacks, sarcasm and such.

Another unpopular headcanon, but for Agent Phoenix this time: My Phoenix is a lesbian. Got them with my beam attack also. I also tend to see them as less... Chaotic? They're cautious, taking their time to figure out the situation. They do still put things in their mouth though. That's important to me.

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

You ask for prompts and I'm here again to seek new content to read: 3. How often do/can they see each other (due to living on different planets, having stressful jobs, etc) with Gashir (/Garakshir) 🤩🤩

 Eyyyyy. I am just gonna… casually fold into this… a little trans-Bashir as a treat…. because it’s trans day of visibility!!! Also I hc Cardassians as intersex, in the sense of they as a species don’t call themselves intersex, but their genders are far more loosely determined at birth, because there’s not really sexual dimorphism (or rather, there is, but it’s so many different factors that it’s not classified) and then gendering comes later in life depending on what role they’re supposed to play in society ahem – different post to make!

Also Garak has a tail in this, also casually.. also this got longer than intended… oops?

—– Letter Analysis ——

1.

Their lives have a sort of normality that many families in this day and age exist with. Space travel, careers that necessitate being off-planet for long stretches at a time, the struggles of being a representative for entire planets or systems, all of this isn’t out of the ordinary.

Still, it takes them a little while to adjust, if only because they spent so long not getting it together that now that they have, well, they want to savour it. On the flip-side their relationship functions much better than so many who enter into partnerships of some kind without fully considering the difficulties of spending so much time apart and inevitably crumble.

Because of all that time they know, without a doubt, that their lives are entwined for good, regardless of how much of it they spend without one another’s physical company.

They fall into letter-writing naturally. After all, they had been doing the same before, why stop now.  

2.

It has become something of a competition at this point: who can write the longest letter. Thus far, Julian is winning and Elim is still in the process of reading his when they see one another again. He pretends to be blasé about it, but Julian can read him easily these days. He wonders at the time when he couldn’t and can’t really picture it.

While Elim is giving him a back-handed compliment at the way he’s managed to fold three words worth of content into whole paragraphs, Julian realises that he’s never known anyone as well as he knows Elim. And every detail of himself is known in turn. From the scars of his chest surgery that he purposefully kept, to the ridges at the base of Elim’s tail, it feels like everything about them was perfectly made for the other.

It’s strange, how many tiny moments are filled with love, they both learn.

(After Elim sends him a letter of 3000 pages, Julian simply answers: You win).

3.

They consider what it would be like to have a family with the way their lives are run. Elim generally lives on Cardassia unless his diplomatic duties take him elsewhere, while Julian is hopping from emergency to medical find to distress call to conference.

Still, they approach the matter on the premise that it will happen. Their letters during these years follow a trajectory of thought with little variation, as they can’t actually be together for the discussion.

They discuss pregnancy – both of them are capable of bearing a child, but the time needed (nine earth months for humans, even longer for cardassians) makes it a challenging prospect. Moreover Julian and Elim, each for their own reason, have issues with concepts surrounding an uncontrollable force fundamentally changing their bodies.

It doesn’t take them long to agree that adoption was always the only option. Still there’s the matter of their careers being incompatible with children. Neither of them wants to put a child in harm’s way and both of their careers contain elements of danger. I believe, writes Elim drily and with an underlying sadness that Julian wishes he could heal, that this sixth assassination attempt may contain a sign that a child would not be particularly safe in my company.

4.

The way this resolves itself is oddly perfect for what they need and who they are and comes through both of their continued work with mixed-species war-orphans, who more often than not are homeless, ostrasized and suffering from any number of easily treatable diseases. Garak opens a series of institutions in the name of Ziyal and habitually lends a hand in their various gardens where he befriends a number of the kids.

This plan also works to ground a lot of Julian’s focus in the space of mixed-species research, specifically writing papers on the future of the galaxy needing to see species integration for the sake of these kids as an inevitability as cultures mix and to understand the medical and cultural implications thereof.

Kira and Ro get heavily involved on the Bajoran side of things – in general a bunch of adults from DS9 days come together to give kids a better chance than they had.  

Beyond that though, they come to realise that they’re okay on family. With these kids – many of whom they get to know personally over the years – with Molly and Yoshi O'Brien and Rebecca Sisko getting older and the two of them functioning as uncles, there’s more than enough for them to be getting on with on the children front: Elim and I were very happy to see you all again – Don’t worry, I’ll keep Yoshi safe – we’ll be making a stop at Bajor where Nerys is very excited to see him again –

Their circle is actually a sizeable, cross-galaxy household. They come to realise that it doesn’t matter if your family is someone you can’t see often, what matters is they’re all inhabiting the same space.

5.

They don’t argue often. With the lack of time they have together, what would be the point of raising petty squabbles. There are things like the time Julian forgot about a very important dinner that Elim was a guest of honour at, which opened up a box of the kind of loneliness Elim thought he’d overcome, but it wasn’t about anger or arguing, it was about the two of them figuring out that sometimes this not seeing one another was actually damned hard. It was about asking for forgiveness and receiving it even before the asking. It was about making sure that they wouldn’t let things ever be unsaid, because their time together – comparative to their whole lives – was always going to be so short.

The actual worst long-standing consequence is that Elim and Julian are political celebrities, and so whatever tabloid-equivalent exists publishes one thousand pieces on their apparently irreconcilable relationship. Julian finds himself referred to as everything from a “heartthrob who found he needed more,” to “a cheater who habitually has several affairs at once.”

It’s amazing, remarks Elim in his latest letter, how these kinds of spurious articles are written even today, and how they still don’t seem to know the facts. On that note I hope you have a wonderful time with Data, and Parmak sends his love from my lap - it’s making it very hard to write this.

6.

They’re both twenty years older by now, but things aren’t slowing down with their work by the looks of things. Julian’s work centres more and more on the various groups whose medical needs are considered less valid or even non-medical, because of their social status and who often have medical issues of kinds that don’t come up in normative societies – mixed-species, augments, A.I. (for awhile his standing suffers, when he argues that mechanical needs for A.I. ought to be taught in Starfleet Medical), non-bipedal species, Ex-B’s, Jem'Hadar, clones.

Elim keeps his Carrington Award on the wall for everyone to see. Partly to mess with him – To The Prestigious Winner of the CA – many of his letters begin for several years after, but mostly out of pride.

(In return and with as much love, Julian addresses him as Ambassador and Castellan – the joke evolves as they find ever more flowery titles for one another. Julian wins this one: My Dearest, the Ambassador to the United Federation of planets, Castellan of the Cardassian Union, Blusher when Being Whispered Compliments about the Length of Your Tail, Not-So-Secret Reader of Austen and Pratchett, Seducer of Doctors (No Doubt Currently Spluttering in Denial), Possessor of Biteable Ridges (Blushing Again, I Hope) and of My Heart… this opening continues a further four pages. The letter itself reads: I expect to land on Cardassia within the next three days. Surprise.)

7.

At the end of it all, Julian finally comes to Cardassia for good. Along the way it’s become his home more than any planet, station, starship, or system, for the simple fact that he’s been returning to Elim, and Elim is home.

There’s a strangeness to all the time they have. The walks they take, the languid mornings, the discussions of books they’ve read whilst in each other’s company, it’s all far more surreal than the years spent wanting to see one another again and catching whatever moments they could.

They can’t shake the habit of writing one another letters, even as they’re sitting in the same room. They don’t need to be long or well-formed any more, although occasionally silly competitions spring up, just for fun.

The one Julian’s reading right now, as Elim’s tail languidly curls around his waist, simply says: I am glad that you’re finally home – E

–— The End ——

Submissions for drabbles are now closed, thank you for sending me asks!

[heylinfanclub]

CANON DIVERGENT SHADOW YOUNG | WILLOW YANG

Some Headcanons (more like 13+ paragraphs of THE REWRITTEN STORY): 

(Season 1)

› Shadow was created by Chase to be the sort of perfect lackey after recognizing the disappointment of outside apprentices, a child born of dark magic and his own blood. A literal shadow for Chase, if you will. But the fact of the matter is, her potential is far greater, as her magic runs deeper and is entwined far greater with her essence. Chase keeps her in check through a talisman that binds her magic to his control.

› Despite being essentially a clone of Chase, her development was incredibly fast paced and she is born with the draconic qualities Chase adopted later in life, giving her an unnaturally greenish pallor and a serpentine disposition. Due to the speed at which she aged, she is typically more gaunt than Chase, as she burned calories faster than she could get them. › Shadow infiltrates the temple in disguise as Willow (also: Weilu), the Dragon of Metal, a sheltered girl from the valley who has spent most of her life caring for her aging parents (she says they live in the city now, and it’s f i n e, but her excuses to see Chase are always ‘I have to visit my parents’). She spends much more time there than in XC, becoming closer to the monks and struggling with her loyalties as they treat her like family and Chase treats her only as well as he treats obedient pawns (a distinct lack of interest in her growing knowledge of the outside world and ever annoyed of her distractability). 

› When Chase begins to recognize her waning allegiance, he tries to manipulate her, to tell her that the monks will reject her for who she is, for what she has done (Shadow has been used for many evil tasks, and she is very morally gray, not regretting them as much as she fears the judgement of her good friends) and for what she is. But when Shadow finally turns against him (or so, he perceives her lack of obedience as such, she may have never been truly willing to leave knowing he could do what he did next), he merely uses her magic to turn her against the monks, using her as a magic puppet. In the struggle for control, she breaks the talisman. Never having control of her own magic, the loss of structure turns her into a dragon and she runs away.

(Season 2)

›  Shadow escapes to Jack Spicer, a man who she knows is not of any real threat to her. Jack is surprised, but not unwilling to protect her, as she tries to take control of her magic and continues to struggle with her allegiance. Jack gets pretty attached to her, sympathetic to her feelings of rejection and need for isolation. He does his best to help her and in return, she began to lose some of the thorns she often had towards him, as he picked up where the monks had left off with introducing her to the modern world. Which makes it sting all the more, when the monks come for her. 

› She does learn to control her dragon form and she can shift between forms without the Lao Mang Long soup, but it is difficult. It can be easy to shift when angry and difficult to shift back unless she feels safe.

› It’s Jermaine who is enlisted to get Willow back. Jermaine is the Dragon of Wood, trained by Master Monk Guan, to unlearn what Chase may have taught him in his short time as the mans apprentice and to have someone who understands what it is like to fall for Chases charms. Jack is incredibly protective and when Jermaine suggests he’s manipulating Willow himself, Shadow comes to his defense. 

› She tries to convince them that she’s a monster, not Good and better off with Evil. It’s what she was Made for. Even Jack had reservations to such a decision, he had tried to convince her to carve her own path, to live for herself, but also hadn’t minded the idea of her sticking around. Shadows fears that the monks would be suspicious of her, fear her, or perhaps, she fears herself and what she could become. Jermaine tries to tell her that Master Monk Guan would be able to tell, that together at their temple they could help her thrive, and the transition is not a smooth one (taking likely more than one conversation, i could even see a fight breaking out as Shadow tries to scare him off), but eventually, Shadow is convinced. She slowly makes her leave of Jacks lair, leaving him with a final hug and he’s upset, but wishes her the best and says he’ll kick her butt if she shows up again. She knows he means well, and tells him he can try.

›  She takes a while to reconnect with the monks. Jermaine tells them she needs some distance. She doesn’t ever turn back into her Willow form, as it was always just a mask, and has to learn being comfortable in who she is (though she presents far more comfortably, thus differentiating herself further from being Chases clone). But after a while, the monks are invited to MMGs temple, and they find her laughing with Jermaine, dressed comfortably and trying to copy his dance moves, and after a beat of laughter halting and silence, she’s moved to tears when they eagerly accept her back into their easy friendship. 

[okay now that was mostly me writing the story here’s actual hcs] › Shadow is trans and nonbinary. As Shadow can look very similar to Chase, she’s definitely been able to pass as a younger, gaunter version of him. She doesn’t really get gender politics and is more invested in her own comfort than anyone elses’ approval. Chase just uses they/them for Shadow usually (as I hc him as agender w/ he/they pronouns), and Willow uses she/her to differentiate herself from him.

› When Willow joins the monks, she dressed pretty delicately. Billowy dresses,  and open sandals. But Kimiko is quick to recognize that Willow cannot sit in a skirt and is almost always cold. She takes it upon herself to help Willow be more comfortable, and it’s a quick switch to t-shirts, flannels and combat boots for this dragon! When she stays with Jack, she picks up painting her nails and wearing leather bracelets, as they feel grounding and familiar to the talisman she always wore (but with the upside that she can take them off as she pleases). 

›  Willow isn’t sure what she wants to be called after she rejoins the monks. So she just lets them keep calling her Willow, though she does occasionally feel a bit more ‘Shadow’ at times, whatever that means (usually when she’s being mischievous). Jack calls her Slim Shady. Chase still calls her Shadow. 

›   Shadows natural shapeshifting is three fold. She can turn into a dragon, she can turn into a shadow, and she can chameleon her colors. The Willow form was much of Chases control, she isn’t quite sure how he managed to shapeshift her features so fully. It was likely another magic placed over her. 

›   IN THIS CANON WE GET CUTE  HINTED SHAMIKO (mostly willow crushing hard on kimiko cause she’s so damn nice to her season-1ish and not knowing how to act on it), SHACK (mostly sweet platonic hurt/comfort) AND JERMILLOW (jERMAINE IS A GENTLEMAN AND SHADOW IS DEEPLY AFFECTIONATE FOR HIM).

›  But on that note, Willow ain’t ever used as a seductress in the heckin temple. She’s instead played off more as the completely nonthreatening sort, a bit of a hapless damsel who can barely control her powers (mostly because they’re being blocked) but incredibly promising martial art skills (she really has to force the lack of understanding and slip ups, because she has been training since she was born). Much like Omi, she was sheltered and doesn’t understand a lot of modern things, tends to be quiet and seems solemnly distracted much of the time, and the monks are more protective of her than anything else. As she opens up, they’re more proud of her than anything else, though maybe Kimiko and Clay who spend the most time with her may feel something (if you don’t subscribe to the gay/ace clay hc i love). 

›   SHES A D OG PERSON.