#AU where Lucy’s there as well but is either not involved and just supporting everyone OR she’s extremely competitive

[spnfanficpond]

Pond Diving - Queen-of-deans-booty

Welcome to today’s Pond Diving Spotlight! We hope that you enjoy this little insight to our members and perhaps even find some useful tips for your own writing. Happy reading!

Want to volunteer, send us an ask! We’re looking forward to learning more about all of you! Not sure what PD is, you can learn more here.

“Don’t Be Koi About It” - All About You

Name: Jordan

Age: 23

Location: Arizona, USA

URL: @queen-of-deans-booty 

Why did you choose your URL: Honestly, Dean is the first person I liked on SPN and his ass is so tight and I believe all women are queens so that’s why.

What inspired you to become a writer: I remember reading a book in middle school about vampires, and it’s the first book I remember reading that made me feel all sorts of emotions that books never used to do for me before then. It amazed me to feel these things from a book, and I realized that I wanted to do that for other people someday, thus, is why I became a writer.

How long have you been writing: Gosh, since 8th grade. Might have been a little bit before that, but I remember in 8th grade writing a full book at 20k words, which if I might say, is impressive for a thirteen-year-old.

What do you do when you are not writing i.e. Job/Hobbies etc? I actually am a security guard at a chemical plant. There is some down time to this job, and I try to spend it writing. I even gush to my boss about the stories I write and where I post, and he is all for supporting me about it. When I am not working or writing, then I am either watching Criminal Minds, Manifest, and movies while in my room. With this COVID thing going on right now, I barely leave my house as it is xD

How long have you been in the SPN Fandom? Since season 11 was on TV. It was actually after season 11 had ended and before season 12 had started, so in that four-month span, I managed to watch 11 seasons.

Are you in any other fandoms and do you write for them? Yes! I am in the Marvel and Criminal Minds fandom! I used to be in The Vampire Diaries fandom, but I lost my passion for it so I knew my writing was suffering, so I stopped it. I am doing series rewrites for all three of my fandoms along with one-shots and drabbles!

Do you do any writing outside of fanfiction? If so, tell us about it?  Yes, I try to. I took a NaNoWriMo class in college that made me write my first real book, so that is exciting. I also took fiction classes that made me write poems and short stories. I do want to get into writing more original fiction, but right now, I am focusing more on fanfiction.

Favorite published author: I love Riley Sager, B.A. Paris, James Patterson, Ruth Ware, and there are specific books I adore, but they aren’t from the authors I mentioned. I tend to like books rather than authors.

Have you ever read a book that made an impact on your life? Which one and why?: Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber. That's the book that I mentioned about inspiring me to write, and I dedicate my love for writing to her.

Favorite genre of fanfic (smut, angst, fluff, crack, rpf, etc):  I really enjoy reading fluff, but I enjoy writing angst because I feel I can have a lot more emotions and feels when I write angst.

Favorite piece of your own writing:  My SPN series rewrite. I am currently planning season 7, and I am in the process of releasing season 6. I have gotten so many good reviews of it, and that fuels my passion for it.

Most underrated fic you have written: I can’t think of any at the top of my head. I tend not to look back on my own writing too much. I’ll have an overwhelming need to rewrite it and fix it up, and I don’t need that right now xD

Story of yours that you’d most like to see turned into a movie/tv show: Is it bad to say my series rewrite? It’s already a show, but I’d like to see my version of the show. If I can’t pick that, then my original fiction novel that I wrote that has over 70k words. That would be pretty cool.

Favorite Tumblr Writer(s): @impala-dreamer, @torn-and-frayed, @crispychrissy, @kittenofdoomage, @acreativelydifferentlove, @saxxxology, and there are others, but those are some of the people that come to mind.

Favorite fic from another writer: Can I mention a few? Rock, Paper, Scissors by @impala-dreamer, The Curious Incident of Episode 14x09 by @luci-in-trenchcoats, On the Road by @notnaturalanahi, Cherry Surprise by @crispychrissy, A Change of Scenery by @cass-trash, and On the Case Files (Criminal Minds fandom) by @hotchnerfuckmeup​.

Favorite character to write: For Supernatural, it’ll have to be Dean Winchester. For Marvel, it’ll have to be either Loki or Bucky. For Criminal Minds, it’ll have to be Spencer Reid

Favorite Pairing to write: I only write reader-inserts so the characters don’t really matter as long as it’s x reader.

Least favorite character to write (and why): For Supernatural, it’s Crowley. I don’t know why, but I can never seem to get him right. He’s more sadistic and hardcore sometimes and I just can’t get that right.

Do you have anyone you consider a mentor?  I don’t really have anyone right now. It used to be my teachers/professors, but I graduated and I don’t see them anymore.

Do you have any aspirations involving your writing? I want to be a published author. That’s all I want. I want to see my books on the shelves, and I’d also love to be a fiction editor! I can’t do anything right now because of COVID, but hopefully one day!  

How many work-in-progress stories do you have: More than I can count right now. Like seriously, I probably have over 100. I have a bunch of bingo cards that I have ideas for, but I have so many that they all just pile on. There will come a time when I get through all of them, but I don’t know when.

What are you currently working on?  Right now? Some requests and my spn series rewrite.

“Pond Diving” - All About The Writing

What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing? Like I mentioned above, it’s Ellen Schreiber. She is the one person that made me want to become a writer. Also, all my followers on all of my blogs. They are the truest influencers because they are what gives me passion for my writing.

Best writing advice you've been given: Write as if you’re the only audience. I’ve learned that if you don’t like what you’re writing about, then your audience will certainly see it. You can’t please everyone, so please yourself. There will always be someone who loves your writing for what it is, so don’t go changing it to please others.

Biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your writing: Trying to pace myself. I’ve heard of people spending two or three days (or even longer) on a fic. It’s either all or nothing with me. I either spend two or three hours on a fic and complete it right there and then, or I don’t write it at all. Pacing is an issue for me, and I am always trying to spend longer on a fic. I guess I just type really fast, I don’t know.

What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction? I find that trying to keep the character as canon as possible is most difficult. While it’s not always super hard, it does have its moments. All fanfiction are AUs, so it’s okay to change the characters to make them your own. While I don’t think one should make them the complete opposite if they are wanting to stay within canon, I do believe it’s okay to change a few things around.

Is there anything you want to write but are afraid to (and why): I want to write ships. Now that I think about it, I’m not quite sure why I don’t write them. Maybe it’s time that I start.

What inspires/motivates you to write: Feedback!!! Reader’s don’t always see it, but every piece of feedback I get makes me want to write. I do better knowing there are actual people out there that are looking forward to what I write. I do better knowing that real people are reading them and judging it. I do my best knowing that there is an audience. If I don’t get feedback, then that motivation just goes away.

How do you deal with self doubt: I’m not so sure I always do. There is always a voice in the back of my mind telling me that my stories are complete and utter shit, and I shouldn’t bother writing anything. It’s why I take a step back from writing so often. When I first started my blog, I came out with fics every single day. I was always writing new stories. Now, I may get a story out per week. Maybe two per week. I know when it’s time to take a break for a few days because it gives that voice time to calm down. My best advice for someone dealing with self doubt is to just take a break. Separate yourself from the thing that your mind is telling you that you suck at. Take care of you before jumping back into it. Trust me, it helps.

How do you deal with writer's block: Kind of the same thing as I mentioned above. I have suffered from writer’s block a lot more than in my earlier years. Sometimes, I just don’t have the motivation or the passion to write, and I just get so mad at myself for not doing it. One of the things that help me is writing down my ideas. Yeah, I get ideas that float in my head about stories I’d like to write, but actually writing them down makes them concrete. Then, I am able to make notes and side notes and notes of my notes about what I’d like to happen, and before I know it, I’m writing it.

Do you plan/outline your story before you start: ALWAYS! Always, always, always plan your writing, especially if you’re doing a series. It’s good to know what is going on in your story. You don’t always have to follow it to the exact detail (you’re allowed to make changes as you go), but having a plan makes it easier to get through your story. You’re able to look back at it and remind yourself why you're writing that exact scene or if something needs to be added or taken away from it. If you have a plan, then you’re less likely to lose that passion since you know what’s going to happen. You’re able to see the finish line well before you start.

Do you have any weird writing habits: This may be weird, but I like to listen to Got U On by Darci feat. Nessly, Highest in the Room by Travis Scott, some music by Juice WRLD, and other loud rap songs. Don’t ask me why, but I find the music soothing when I write. Those rap songs sound the same to me, and their voices just drown out so I’m just listening to the music. There are other kinds of music I listen to like piano instrumentals and rain/thunder sounds, but it’s really any song I can tune out.

Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it? I don’t want to sound arrogant or snobby, but I can honestly say I’ve never received one hateful comment on anything I’ve written (knock on wood xD). I’ve only received good things about my stories, and I think it has something to do with how much good energy I am putting into the world. I believe in karma, and I tend to be nice to everyone regardless of who they are, and I think it comes back to the kind of comments I receive. However, I always think about what I’d do or say if I’ve ever gotten a hate comment. I wouldn’t encourage them to send more hate, but I wouldn’t apologize either. I write the stories I write because it makes me happy. If they don’t like it, they can go somewhere else. Though, I know those hate comments can get to some people, and here is what I have to say about that: remind yourself of when you actually wrote the fic. If you were truly happy about it, then it shouldn’t matter what that person says. You love it, and that’s all that matters.

Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic?  I have to pick a favorite? XD I have an album in my phone of screenshots I took of my favorite comments left by my followers. I’ve been compared to John Green, there have been comments that thank me for giving them an escape from their realities, people have told me they want to write just like me someday, people have told me that my work has made them smile and get chills, that my stories are the highlight of their week, and a bunch of other stuff. I am just shocked that there are people out there who think this. It means so much to me, and I get tears when I read them because this is literally my dream. I can’t thank my followers enough for the comments they leave, and this is exactly why it’s so important to leave feedback.  

If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be? Write for you. I can’t stress this enough. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m going to mention it again. If you’re not happy, it will show through your writing. Your audience will see it based on how you word things and your flow of ideas. On another note, please brush up on your grammar. I can’t tell you how many times I read such an interesting summary, and noticed the story was full of grammatical mistakes. It made me not want to read it anymore. I’m sure it was a great story, but I didn’t want to put myself through that just to read it.

[palettepainter]

(IMPORTANT UPDATES) Look back at 2019

Big changes for 2020! Hey there everyone! 2019 has come and gone, another year passed and a new chance for me to try and improve myself when the new year starts! As far as I know me and my family don’t have plans to celebrate New Years other then of course spending time together, but I want to post this now just so that it’s out of the way it’s posted and I won’t have to worry about. If I can be honest, 2019 towards the last few months of the year has been a real punch in the face..multiple punches. I’ve broken off connections with people who treated me wrongly in the past, had random breakdowns at school (don’t worry they weren’t seriously bad), had trouble with siblings - it’s been overall, a very up and down year for me, but sadly towards the end and in the running up to Christmas, it was mostly down. But hey, 2020 means the start of a new year and a new chance to grow stronger as a person and an artist!..Seriously though 2020, please be kind to me- As you can probably from what’s in the title, there are going to be a few big changes to my characters and stories going into 2020. I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot ever since mid August, it’s been something I’ve mentioned to one or two people, but ultimately I had to make the choice. And now with 2019 gone and done and 2020 being the opportunity to start fresh, I think it’s a good time to make these announcements. I understand that this may upset a few of you and yes it is going to make things a bit confusing for my NGAU, but this is my choice and I’m confident that making this choice will lead to me being much more happier with what I make. 🔸I will not be continuing my Zoophobia: Next Generation book series To anyone new who doesn’t know what I mean, Zoophobia: Next Generation was a book series I started back in December 2018, which included my own NG’s and one or two OC’s from the fandoms Zoophobia and Hazbin Hotel. Since the first book the series has since gained a lot of attention on Wattpad, and believe me when I say that I am truly grateful for how much positive attention the series got! It was my first time ever writing something on my own and it felt really special to know so many of you liked what I was doing! But as the series went on, I slowly began to loose my drive to continue writing. This is something I’ve admitted to close friends, but now that I’m older and I’m more aware of errors in writing and certain ways in which writing can be written to be better, I realise that the series isn’t up to my current standards. The story itself isn’t one that I’m proud of, and as my first book series, I feel like I was biting off more then I could chew when I first started writing this series. Ive realised that the story line I had in mind would be too hard to work into both Zoophobia and Hazbin Hotel without me having to make very big changes to either of those fandoms current stories and/or certain characters personalities, and though yes it is my own AU so if I wanted I could change the characters to fit better with my story, but honestly, I don’t want to change the characters. The characters from Zoophobia and HH I absolutely adore and there isn’t much I want changed about them, so I don’t want to alter the characters drastically to the point where they become an entirely different character. The main drive of the story with the main characters didn’t pick up till around the second book, and when I first started writing, the story line wasn’t even finished, I was just going with the flow and linking one thing to the other, hoping people would like it just as much as I did at the time. And lastly, this is probably the biggest reason why I’m no longer going to be continuing the series, but the first couple of chapters of the first book where too heavily inspired by another book series: I don’t want to continue to create something, when I feel as if it’s been too heavily based around someone else’s work. I want to create my own stuff and I feel as though the first book just isn’t that, it’s not my own work, and that’s leaded to me viewing the first book as my least favourite. This means that from now going forward, any events that took place in the book series is now no longer cannon. Some headcannons will be changed and altered due to this, for one Eve’s Headcannon will be changing as she will now most likely be alive in my NGAU now, so the stories I had planned for her such and the stories I already posted are no longer cannon either: I will say also that this also counts for my Eve X Hatchet NG Diego, he will remain cannon and will most likely be alive also. As for the characters that where involved in the books such as Lucy, Maggot and Bumbuss, I’ll figure out what to do with them. I defiantly want to keep Lucy as she was the very first OC I ever made for the Zoophobia fandom that wasn’t a NG, but I’m unsure on what to do with Maggot and Bumbuss. As much as I now don’t enjoy the series, it was fun to write while it lasted, and I cannot stress enough how grateful I am too everyone who ever read, liked, or commented on the series! But from now on, I won’t be returning to the series. I held off on announcing this and the reason it took me so long to decide this was because I didn’t want to leave you guys without a conclusion to the story, the series was only one book away from completion and I didn’t want to cut off the series so close to it being finished. But again, the book series isn’t something I enjoy anymore, so I hope all of you can understand and will hopefully look forward to the further projects I have planned 🔸New books to come Though my main book series will now be ending, I have a lot of ideas for new book series. Since the second and third book I had been having ideas for stories that could take place after the series, and the reason I kept doing the series for as long as I did was because I really wanted to start work on the stories that would take place after the series was finished. One of my goals for the new year is to try and push out more stories and book series for you guys, I feel like I’ve defiantly been lacking in the story department, mostly because I couldn’t find any ideas for illustrations to go with the story, and because I always felt too tired to ever finish any stories or illustrations. None of these story ideas yet have fully scripted out story lines, so far they’re just ideas and until I can get a script done for them, I won’t be starting work on them. I want these books to be as great and they can be, and not only do I want to make something that I can be proud of, but something that you guys will enjoy as much as I do. These ideas are in no particular order, and I haven’t decided if I’ll defiantly be doing all of these just yet, but here are some ideas I’ve had for books/book series for the future: -A book with my NG Box explaining her past before she came to live with Ribbon -A book with my OC Willem and how he discovers another hybrid like himself -Nidra’s story as she grows up to accept a new family, while letting a beloved friend go to persue their own life -Junior reapers: a story/series of stories involving Lotus, Charcoal, Parfait and Rae as they go on a quest to become junior reapers Maybe a MHA + Dragonous story *Dragonous is a Villainous dragon AU created by shabiest (Instagram), I will need to get permission from them if I want to write a book with this AU* Recently I got into My Hero Academia, and you can all blame that on my cousin When I first saw the series I kinda rolled my eyes at it, I’ve never really been a big anime fan the style never grabbed me when I was younger: and all I can say is that I should defiantly have given the series a try sooner MHA is a series I’ve come too really enjoy and love, I love the characters the story the dialogue, everything about this show! I’ve said this before but what I love about the show is how it’s great at showing us a large range of characters without straying too far from the main plot, and how this show makes me feel: there have been times where this show has had me emotionally frustrated, sad and happy, and if a show or a movie can make me feel a powerful emotion (angry sad or other), then I’m down for it. I’ve since made a few OC’s for the fandom, and I’ve been thinking about making a book about it. It’s not scripted out yet, and some of my ideas play into some events in season 4 - but if you guys enjoy MHA and you enjoy my OC’s, please let me know your thoughts! And Dragonous, a Villanious AU I’ve come to adore! I’ve always been a big fan of dragons, they where my favourite mythical creature growing up! (And still are to this day), with the creators permission I’d like to create a book with the few OC’s I’ve made, this one may not happen because again I need permission, but tell me your thoughts! Merch Again, something I’ve mentioned before, and something I’ve been really wanting to do! Me and my dad have made a shirt design with one of my OC’s, so far it’s only black and white (we’ve decided to go simple black and white since it’s my first time making merch), and hopefully if all goes well we can start to make more colourful merch However this all depends on you guys: I may be opening up commissions in the future, though I can’t say when, but this will depend on you: I have a PayPal and a KoFi if you guys wish to support me and my work (no pressure though!), every little bit counts and it would mean so much to me if you guys would consider supporting me and my work, even if it’s something as small as a pound! 🔸Collabs/art trades/design trades/RP’s There’s nothing really big to say about these things, but I have decided that from now on that I will only do these kinds of things with close friends.

Finally, I want to say a big BIG thank you to everyone who has stuck around on this crazy train ride to support me. This year as I said at the beginning, has not been the best for me towards the end, and I am so grateful to all the support you guys gave me. I know that I'm not very good with replying to comments/messages, and I'm so sorry if I never got round to replying to your message or comment, but I do read the comments, I do see the wonderful things you guys say, and it's absolutely delightful to see the nice things you guys say!  I want to give a big big BIG thank you to these wonderful people who have been there for me, whether it was to geek out over a show to if they where there for me when I needed support: @hazbinextgeneration​   - You've been an amazing pal right from the beginning, you where one of the very first people I met when I first got into the Zoophobia and HH fandom and you've been an absolute gem! You've been there for me when I was down and you've listened through out all of my nerd outs about characters and shows, and to have someone listen to me meant so much! You comment on nearly every piece of my work and you're always so kind and giving! Not only to me but to so many others! You've made me a lot and fanart and I'm sorry I don't nearly do enough for you in return, going into 2020, I want to change that!  @cosmic-artzz​   - If you hadn't been there to listen to me and help me out, I honestly don't know what kind of situation I would be in now. You helped me cut off ties with people I honestly wasn't happy talking with, and despite being dragged into my drama over and over again, you where still there to listen to both sides of the argument and give advice on how I could make things better. You've always been a delight to talk to and I'm so happy we had the chance to become friends! I'm so sorry you get dragged into my troubles as much as you did dude! Going into 2020, I promise you I'll be more confident in putting my foot down when I feel as though I'm not being treated fairly! And lastly, I want to thank all of you! For sticking with me on this crazy journey! Here's to 2020 and hoping its a wonderful year!!

[auroral-melody]

Why do you ship Lucifer/Dream ? I'm just curious.

NONNY I LOVE YOU FOR GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO JUST YELL ABOUT THEM

As with most of the convoluted, context-less things I post (e.g., the full-on rewritten characterization of Beelzebub in Good Omens), it started with a simple conversation between myself, @procrastinatingbookworm​, and @aqueeraphale​…and ended up in a hence unwritten fanfic that maybe we’ll get around to eventually.

Put it this way: self-written fanfiction is the answer to why I ship them. I need to actually write it on a page for y’all. I’m not really going to go into ~Oh, My Ship Is Canon~ because it’s clearly not. I’ll point out a few things in canon I want to talk about, but this isn’t a “I ship them because [] and [] in canon” it’s a “I ship them because I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT STORIES I WROTE/MY FRIENDS WROTE”.

So how did this happen?

I’m pretty sure it started with something along the lines of generally agreeing Dream being bi, on the basis of Lucifer Pretty. Which evolved into an, “oh, that’s fun! let’s write it” RP, along with some doodles (back in May 2018. My art has improved since, and my character design thoughts, but)

Which turned into the concept that basically goes as follows

- Morpheus lonely and depressed- Death essentially brings him to Lux, to definitely set him up with Luci bc hey obvs they’re both bi disasters. Maybe see what happens- Morpheus voice I don’t dance- Death voice Okay I’m lesbian but he’s being nice and offering so I’ll dance with Luci instead- Morpheus voice [shocked pikachu meme]

Basically, it boils down to the fact that Morpheus was a very…lonely and sad person and tends to make enemies easily. Lucifer clearly doesn’t hate him, or Dream would probably be dead in a ditch, but he’s obviously engaged in their relationship as friendly rivals. Lucifer has just left Hell, and is kinda not knowing what to do with himself. He’s looking for something new and different.

They’re both incredibly touchstarved/affection-starved. Morpheus intentionally isolates himself from his friends and family, not seeking out friends, while Lucifer has spent the last billions of years completely alone in Hell.

So the setup here works pretty well. Death wants to help her brother, Lucifer is like, the one person who isn’t pissed at him, Morpheus Sad.

From then on is essentially just what we’ve written. They end up…somewhat dependent on one another for comfort because they just aren’t good at investing in any other relationships. And Death and Lucifer become more friendly.

Morpheus and Luci’s relationship is…tumultuous at best. They care for each other, but they cling so much to the One Thing they like at the moment. It’s not exactly the best thing. So the fact that Dream transformed into Daniel was pretty awful for everyone involved.

This AU fits in with the Lucifer continuity mostly based on Lucifer taking place shortly after Sandman ends. Dream is not often brought up, but allow me to go through some places where he is, and how I interpret them in context of the AU.

Obviously, this will have some spoilers. Also light NSFW art.

Lucifer (2000), issue #8.

[Image Description: Four panels of the Lucifer comic. The first is a backdrop, with Lucifer’s text saying, “But to Dream of the Endless, I imagine it would look like poaching, pure and simple. And since he’s the gamewarden he wouldn’t like that at all.” The second panel shows him holding a sword over a goddess’s son. The goddess, Izanami-no-Mikoto, looks on. She is made of stone. He says, “He’ll do it. I won’t even need to compel him. If I speak his name, he’ll come, and see what you’ve made here. So it’s your call, Queen of Death. Heads I win, and tails -- tails it all comes down.” The third panel shows the goddess holding up a hand to stop him. The fourth, the kneeling son says, “She offers atonement, Lucifer Morningstar. She offers your wings.” End description.]

In the AU, it makes a lot of sense that Lucifer would be able to easily summon Dream of the Endless with a single word. “He’ll do it. I won’t even need to compel him” is an interesting phrase. The absolute certainty in Dream’s actions – even if this is after Morpheus’s transformation (which I’m not sure of), Lucifer characterizes Dream as though he knows him well.

Oof. Lucifer: Nirvana.

[Image description: A watercolor cream and purple comic panel. In the distance, there is a boat. From the boat, Dream of the Endless says, “Bearing in mind our previous meetings, Lucifer Morningstar, might I suggest a bargain? I will ask no favors if you will offer me no gifts.” End description.]

This is the only conversation I recall in Lucifer or Sandman in which Daniel!Dream and Lucifer speak to one another. Yet Dream says,

“Bearing in mind our previous meetings, Lucifer Morningstar, might I suggest a bargain? I will ask no favors if you offer me no gifts.”

In the AU, their relationship soon after Dream becomes this version is tentative. Hostile at worst. They might be trying to figure out what comes next.

[@procrastinatingbookworm​ and I did write a fic on this! Find it here!]

Either way, they’ve talked before.

[Image description: A close picture, misty, cream and purple, watercolor, of a small boat, silhouetted. Dream’s silhouette is on the right, along with a small bird perched on the end of the boat. Lucifer is sitting, lounging on the left side of the boat. Lucifer says, “The situation isn’t likely to call for either. Your predecessor preferred a corkscrew to a stiletto. What’s your position?” End description.]

How did they end up on a boat in the middle of nowhere? Lucifer looks supremely comfortable, lounging, completely trusting that Dream offers him no harm. They’re standing, very awkwardly, on opposite sides of the boat.

Lucifer is making a metaphor here, regarding how Morpheus was not very to-the-point. He knew how Morpheus worked, how he thought. He’s asking in an almost affronting way: “What’s your position?” that could be interpreted as curious or as a thinly veiled hostility.

[Image description: A watercolor of Dream’s profile, somewhat silhouetted. He has white hair. He says, ‘By all means let us be direct. Someone has used human dreamers to stage an assault on you. I assure you, this someone has attracted my attention, too. The matter will be dealt with.” End description.] 

Dream is taking this matter very seriously. It just seems that Morpheus may not have put as much attention into random attacks, but Dream is very involved. In the AU, this is kind of because Dream is keeping an eye out for Lucifer.

This conversation just hints, to me, of much more backstory between them.

They’ve been trying to bargain, offering favors or gifts to one another – something they don’t really have a good reason to do in the comics, except maybe to secure an alliance, but that feels…?? Well, considering the rest of the conversation…

[Image description: two panels, watercolor. The left is Lucifer’s face, and he says, “Actually I intend to deal with it myself. It would be unfortunate if our investigations hampered each other.” The right panel is of Dream, with a hand on his waist, looking down. He says, “I am interpreting that statement as a threat. Very well. This touches profoundly on my interests, but you are the injured party. Your rights are paramount.” End description.]

Lucifer is certainly difficult to make an alliance with. (Tangent, but I love this issue’s art style.) Dream still seems surprised – “Very well.” He is respecting Lucifer’s somewhat “bugger off” statement.

[Image description: A watercolor landscape shot of Lucifer on the left, with black wings spread, and Dream on the right, turned away from both the camera and Lucifer. Dream is saying, “I will conduct my own inquiries, along avenues that will not intersect with your own. Whatever I discover I will pass on to you. Via an intermediary, of course.” Lucifer replies, “As you like. But somewhere discreet. No white ravens.” He is referencing the bird also present but off-panel. End description.]

At this point, Dream turns mostly away from him. In my eyes, I see this as hurt/deflecting, supported by the fact that he says he will pass information via an intermediary – unnecessary, it feels, considering they’ve been talking, they’ve had multiple conversations before...it’s very sudden. Feels like it was based off of what Lucifer said. Which was a threat, but still, Dream knows how to not cross boundaries and get himself killed from a threat.

Lucifer doesn’t seem to have a strong opinion on this, or rather, he says, “As you like.” Letting Dream do whatever.

I don’t really have much to say on that part. It’s just a really fascinating conversation.

The Sandman (1989) Issue 72:

[Image description: Mazikeen and Lucifer sitting on what looks like a bench or stone beside one another. Mazikeen is to the left. She has an arm around Lucifer’s shoulders. Lucifer has his hands steepled in front of his face and his expression is unreadable, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. Mazikeen is almost leaning on him. She is wearing a red dress with no sleeves. Lucifer is wearing a blue suit. Both have curled hair, and Mazikeen is not wearing a mask. Overlaid, there is text from Matthew the raven, talking about Morpheus’s death. Matthew says, “I mean, Despair may be the thing that comes after hope, but there’s still hope. Right? When there’s no hope you might as well be dead. What’s in my heart?” End description.]

I find this significant in the AU because, firstly, it’s a point where Mazikeen shows affection to Lucifer. She has her arm around him. It feels...comforting, to me. Secondly, it’s the one panel of Lucifer I can find in the Wake -- and it’s when Matthew is talking about how he cares about Dream, and he’s figuring out his relationship with this new Dream.

Overall, Lucifer clearly respects Dream as just...another individual. He attends his funeral. He speaks with him multiple times.

In our AU, he and Dream are happily married, and their relationship post-Morpheus is settled, loving, happy. Because I love happy endings!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed reading!! Feel free to shoot me a question about my thoughts on this AU. Because I have a LOT.

[alia-turin]

So, I had pretty rough 2 days, I’m sick in bed now and I just want to go under my blanket and disappear. But since that is not possible I’m writing some self indulging fiction, which probably no one will read because it involves OC, but ah well. I feel like crap and need to lift my spirits. 

For those of you who will bother to read (thank you) I watched Kingsglaive last week with the amazing @birdsandivory and 3 fiction ideas come to my silly mind (3 unrelated ideas) and one of them was about my poor tortured Ada and basically what would have happened if Luche had been brought back to live. It’s basically and Au of my previous Comrades fic lol. You don’t need to have read the previous fic.

Fic Title: Not Strong Enough Rating [Warnings]: G [mention of body injury] all chapters will have different warnings Pairing: Luche x OC Summary: 3 years have passed since Noctis disappeared and Luche finds himself on the side of unfamiliar road with no recollection how he got there Note: I was listening to Apocalyptica’s Not Strong Enough while writing that hence the title. It’s VERY suitable sing for the foc.

If you feel like supporting this writer consider buying me a coffee: Ko-Fi or  Ko-Fi

Tagging: @jojopitcher @birdsandivory @lazarustrashpit @yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy @ladychocoberry

Not worthy.

The words echoed in his mind over and over again. These two words it has been minutes or maybe hours of that, only that. And the pain. How could he forget the pain? His whole body hurt. Skin, flesh even the bones. He never imagined he could feel a bone burning, but now he knew the actual feeling.

Not worthy.

He tried to shout in anger and pain, but he had no voice. In his mind the words manifested but when he tried to speak them out loud, nothing came, not even a whisper. He had to think. He was able to think so he was alive, right? Dead bodies don’t think. There was that pain again. He wondered if his bones were burned would the heat reach his brain. Did he even have a brain? He tried to look around but there was nothing. Complete darkness. He couldn’t even see his own limbs and body. Did he have a body? Of course, he had, he should have one, how otherwise would he think and feel? Maybe it was a nightmare. He used to have those, right? Used to? Interesting way to put it. When was the last time he dreamt, anything? All questions he couldn’t answer. Time had no meaning to him. Was it a day or a night? What was the last memory he had? The ring that was right…and then…nothing. How much time has passed since the nothing started? Hours? Days? Months?

You owe him.

What?

He suddenly opened his eyes. Air entered his lungs painfully, it felt like he had been drowning and just now someone had pushed out all the water from his chest and the oxygen was coming back in. It hurt so bad he wanted to shout but his mouth and nose were too busy taking air in.

You owe him. Don’t you ever forget that.

That voice echoed in his head again. Same voice that said he wasn’t worthy.

“Owe him what? Who is him?” Luche wanted to shout that, but his voice came out so broken as if he has been breathing smoke. Smoke. In panic he looked down his body. He looked…fine. He was still in his glaive uniform, mostly. Pants, boots, his coat was gone he had only a long sleeve shirt. Then he saw his hand. It was whole, that much he should have been grateful for, but the skin, just below his wrist, was covered in scar tissue. He pushed the sleeve up, it continued. He looked around for a mirror, but couldn’t find one. He took the shirt off and looked down his body. His whole arm was scared, his shoulder, his chest on the right side, there was some over his abdomen. In panic he touched his neck and face. Both seemed clean. Once his heart rate slowed down he started studying the scars. They seemed old, probably years old and result of fire. No blade could do that much damage and blade scars looked differently.

He put the shirt back on and looked the place where he was. Old house or maybe a shop, nothing was left inside but the walls and dust. Through the windows he could see it was night, he could even hear the faint screeching of demons. How did he get here? Last thing he remember was…he took the ring, he put the ring.

Not worthy.

Then there was pain. The bone burning. He looked again at his arm, the scars were covered by the sleeve only his hand was showing the disfigurement. That would explain the injury. Why was he alive? Better question was: did he really die? Maybe he just fainted? Someone found him and nursed him to life, that is why the scars seemed so old. It wasn’t Nyx for sure. He put enough bullets in him to kill him, Nyx should be dead by now. Then again if he was alive…no Nyx wouldn’t save him after what he did. Nothing personal, of course, he didn’t expect the man would pick up his pieces after he tried to kill him.

Titus…no, the Captain was going to shoot him as well like an injured horse.

Luche gave up. Nothing made sense. The only thing that made sense to him was that he was supposed to be dead, but even that seemed like very abstract concept. He looked around again for a weapon, but there was really nothing. Even a kitchen knife would do, but he wasn’t that lucky. He needed to figure out where he was.

He walked out of the old building, looking for traces, but there were none. The floor was covered in dust and the only tracks he could see were his own from just now. He must have walked in here somehow or someone walked him here, they must have left steps or something. Slowly he opened the door and peaked outside. He couldn’t see anything for miles. Just sand and rocks, again no tracks outside of the house. He started laughing hysterically. Maybe he was losing his mind. In the distance he could see road so he started walking in that direction. His eyes were fixed on the ground hoping to find a weapon, but there was no such luck. Of course, no one just threw weapons in the middle of nowhere. Somebody, however, had thrown him in the middle of nowhere.

He reached the road, it seemed old but used. Where the hell was he? Was that even Lucis? He looked up to see the moon, but there was no moon, no stars either. What the fuck…He had to pick a direction before some demon appeared and ended him up dead for real. He turned right and started following the road.

He didn’t feel tired which was good, but hunger and thirst would catch up to him eventually. He had to find a settlement or something. He wondered what had happened with the others. Last thing he saw was Nyx bleeding in the square, Drautos had just arrived. He had heard from Tredd just minutes before he reached Nyx, they were doing good. Ada…his heart skipped a beat. No, he shouldn’t think about that. If he was alive, she was alive, right? He didn’t kill her, she was unconscious on his floor and she would have eventually came back to it. She would have made it out of Insomnia. He wanted to think that maybe she saved him but that was a pipe dream. If she had found him unconscious she probably would have stabbed him in the chest. He had to fix that. Just now he realized he didn’t have his phone on himself. He touched his pockets again but there was no trace of it.

Eventually he reached to a sign. Old Lestallum 2 miles. That was a doable hike.

 “Fuck me!” Tredd shouted and every doubt disappeared in Luche’s head that he was just imagining the redhead.

“Can I not?” Luche said and forced a smile on his lips. Tredd walked fast towards him and embraced him in awkward hug. That was something new. “Since when you are a hugger?”

“Just don’t tell anyone.” Tredd let him go and chuckled. There was something different about him, but Luche couldn’t point his finger on it. “How long have you been alive?”

“Since I was born…” that was an odd question.

“You know…I think you need a drink. It will make things easier.” Tredd waved at him and Luche followed.

Old Lestallum looked…different compared to the last time he was there. There was an improvised fence around the place, guards on the fence, the lower windows of the buildings were covered with wooden boards, everyone seemed dusty and wearing clothes that had certainly seen better days. Tredd walked to one of the trucks that were parked near the entrance and after opening a box he pulled out a bottle with suspicious content. Then they walked behind one of the buildings and Tredd opened the bottle and drank then passed it to Luche.

He sniffed it and then drank and almost chocked.

“What is that?” he said after he finally managed to move his mouth muscles and drank again, this time expecting the kick.

“That is Lestallum’s finest, brewed my Axis and myself personally. The best of the best.” Tredd grabbed the bottle from him and drank again.

“Do you add fuel to it? Because I’m sure you can start a car with that.” Luche smile and drank again.

“You are drinking are you not?” Tredd chuckled. “Anyway, it’s good that you are sitting. There are things you have missed. To begin with you died. I died, we all died.”

“I must be in hell because I always thought the bartender in heaven will know his booze, not serve Tredd’s special.” Luche drank again. The afterlife sucked.

“You are just envious.” Tredd fell silent for a bit, then continued. “Well you died, but you are not dead. Nor am I. The Six apparently brought us all back to life. To fix things.”

“Fix things?” Luche was feeling more confused than he was before.

“After we died, the little princeling fucked up. He is kind of gone. Libertus went on suicide mission to Angelgard to look for him, but he has been gone for about two years now, so I’d say he is done.” Tredd drank. “Anyway. The princeling fucked up, the world has been sinking into darkness ever since. Fuck I haven’t seen any light that wasn’t man made in about a year.”

“So, the world is ending?” Luche asked unsure.

“Yeah but in a bad way you know. One would think people will party all day long and fuck their brains out…somehow people are less willing to fuck.” They both laughed, probably for different reasons but they laughed. Luche just couldn’t wrap his head around any of that. Then again if he died, and then the Six brought him back to life, that would explain a lot of things.

“Ada…” he started not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“She is alive. Never died, unlike most of us. Still a firecracker.” Tredd paused for a second and Luche looked at him concerned. “She told me what you did.”

“I was trying to save her.” Luche was quick to say in his defense. He knew he did the wrong thing but he had the right reason.

“Hey, if you guys like it rough, who am I to judge. Some chocking never hurt anyone.” Tredd chuckled for a second but then turned serious again. “She should be here in few hours, not that you need relationship advice from me, but I’d say you should talk with her”

“Nyx?” he had to know that. If Nyx was alive, Luche knew he had target on his back. Not that he was afraid, but it was better to be prepared.

“Still dead or missing.” Tredd drank again. Probably he felt in the same boat as Luche.

“How bad really are things?” Luche finally asked after few rounds of drinking.

“Up and down.” Tredd was serious again. He had rarely seen him so serious and so focused. “Lestallum is stable for now. This place had some bad attacks recently hence Ada myself and few others decided to move here. Some settlements have it good, some bad. Demons attack everywhere so it’s really up to how high your walls are and how many glaives or crownsguard you have around.”

“So we are all on the same team now?” Luche laughed thinking about that. It was insane idea after everything same people fought on the same side.

“Not willingly. I’d be out of here if I knew I had a chance.” They had finished the bottle and Tredd threw it over the fence. “It’s hard to make it on your own outside. You remember how demons were outside the wall? That is nothing compared to now. They are more, stronger and smarter. We don’t even send scouting parties outside anymore. Too dangerous, not enough people after Libertus took most of the glaive with himself.”

“Who leads the parade? Cannot be the captain…” Luche realized he didn’t know what happened with Titus.

“Oh, he is dead. I assume very dead. Don’t see the Six saving his ass.” Tredd smiled. “The Marshal is in charge of the glaive now. The Amiticia boy is taking over his father’s role. Story goes the Captain impaled the old Shield in the throne room.”

Luche didn’t say anything. He felt nothing right now about any of these people. He neither hated them nor liked them. All he wanted to do was save his home, he had failed.

“I should talk to Ada.” He finally said and got up, just now he realized the drink had gotten to him more than he thought.

“Luche…lower your expectations.” Tredd said as he got up and patted him on the shoulders. “I mean if you are hoping for a kiss and a blowjob, lower your expectations.”

“Is she…” he really didn’t want to hear the answer of that question but needed to know. “Is she with someone?”

“Nah.” Tredd snored. “She is working herself to the bone, however.”

A sad smile appeared on Luche’s lips. Maybe things didn’t change as much as he expected.

[coldheartedkitsune]

Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Actor AU

- The cast go by different names in the show. Sometimes they call each other by their stage names when they tease each other. - Abbey is a young Shakespearean actor who is super talented and nobody truly knows why he asked for a role. * He just so happens to be a huge fan of teen dramas and wanted to give it a shot. He also wanted to support his friends who had just made their big break onset. - No one knows (or doesn't want to know) if half the stuff David says is improvised or what the director told him to say. - Lucy and Jordan aren't actually related. However, they still act like siblings offset and are practically inseparable. * They are also the reason that ‘The List of Things We Should Never, Ever Do’ was made. * At the end of any huge dramatic scene that involves one of them, the other can be found cuddling them and offering them Starbucks. - Paulo and Rachel’s chemistry on set is actually a real thing. Rachel was part of Paulo’s band a few years back, so they've known each other for quite some time. * They've been dating for 4 years now. * Whenever someone pans Rachel with some PauloxLucy or PauloxMike spam on twitter, either Abbey or Jessica will post a link to a Star Trek battle scene with the caption ‘Fight me in the pit!’ written below. - Mike is native to Russia, but immigrated with his family when the government started cracking down on free speech. It has taken him years to perfect an American accent for acting reasons, but he sometimes lets his Russian accent loose whenever he screws up a line or whenever he’s offset. - Mike is a famous Russian pop artist, Paulo has been labeled as the next John Lennon, and Augustus is the lead vocalist of a band similar to Oingo Boingo. * When Lucy reveals she had no musical experiences when her character was suppose to reveal she had a beautiful singing voice, the three singers immediately volunteered to train her. What followed was one hospital visit, $5,000 dollars of property damage, threats of lawsuit against the studio, and 17 more things added to The List. * At least Lucy learned to sing better in the end. - Jazzmine’s snapchat, that is all. - When Abbey was introduced into the cast, a rumor popped up saying that he and Paulo hate each other in real life as well. In reality, their rivalry only stems down to the two arguing over who ate the last taco (it's Daisy, it's always Daisy). - Paulo, Abbey, and Augustus have been best friends ever since they starred in a horror movie together. - Mike, Lucy, Paulo, and Daisy use some of their free time on visiting their fans in the hospital. - “Dracula’s balls”, “Jesus Christ on a broomstick”, “Sweet, merciful pandas”, and “Emperor help me” are some of the many improvised curses David comes up with whenever he screws up a line. - Abraham, Abbey’s dad, is literally the sweetest guy off stage. He gives advice to the younger actors about future roles, always brings hot chocolate with him, and is literally the king of dad jokes. * When the scene where Abbey’s character confronted his abusive father came up, Abraham wasted no time to use all his dad jokes. * “I'm not afraid of you anymore!” “Really? Should I have brung my werewolf mask? That thing’s scary as fuck!” “CUT!!!” - When Season 5 (volume 4) was being marketed, the marketing kept hyping up that someone on the main cast was leaving. Purposefully, they kept theories that Lucy was leaving away and tried focusing on either Paulo or Sandy. * The directors laughed silently as they watch Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr explode with shock when Lucy was put on the bus. - Sandy and Mike began dating in real life soon after Season 3 (volume 2). According to Mike, she understands what it's like to flee a hostile country and make a home in a place where you're scorned at. According to Sandy, he's one of the few people in her life to make her laugh. - Jessica, Amaya, and Matt are gay in real life and onstage. In fact, it has become a fact that everyone who stars in the show isn't 100% straight. - Paulo and Lucy both confessed that they were bisexual at a Comic-Con Q&A. When a fan jokingly asked if she was willing to take on Mike and Sandy at the same time, she wrapped an arm around Daisy waist, pulled the mic real close, and stated “Sorry honey, but I've been tapping this fine lady’s ass for 2 years now.” before kissing her in front of hundreds of screaming fans. - Sue and Alejandro are the biggest trolls in the cast. Not only have they made several blogs dedicated to shipping their fellow cast members and theorizing crazy things that would soon happen on the show (but usually no one would believe them), they're also responsible for 75% of the things posted on the list. * They'll still do those things no matter what, just not in her public eye. - Alejandro accidentally hit Lucy for real when he swiped at her face and spent the next half hour freaking out and trying to bandage her face up. - Mike and Lucy nearly went into a mental breakdown after filming ‘December’. It was decided that the show would go into a hiatus for a couple of months while the leads recovered. * The episode actually strengthened the friendship between the two and, for every episode Mike was in, Lucy was determined to help him in both costumes and makeup. - When Lucy came back, the first take she did saw her bust through the wall with John Cena’s theme blaring out of a speaker. * “WHAT’S UP, BITCHES!?!” - Sometimes the cast try to play on the huge shipping wars by flirting with each other or stage kissing in public. It was later added to The List. - When Abbey was asked what if he had to change anything to his character, he coldly replied: “Not treating my girlfriend like property or going full Trump on my friends.” - During a snowstorm that saw most of the cast showed in, they spent the night having a Disney sing off. Paulo and David won after singing ‘Gaston’. - No one dares to bet anything against Sandy after proving she can play Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 blindfolded to Paulo. The poor fool had to walk around set wearing nothing but a cardboard box for the rest of the week.