#i don’t have an ao3 so enjoy my fanfiction here since i have no idea how to get an account :)

[janewaywatches]

Some super fluffy Berena fan fiction hope everyone is having a great day and if not then I hope this can be a bright spot and make your day a little bit better.

A little narrative about why Bernie loves Serena so much as she reflects on their relationship on their wedding day

When you live your life like you’re running. Your heart beat never slowing for a second. Your eyes constantly watching. Do you know? You do know what you’re running from. “Bernie you need to stop this.” Was the voice she heard inside her head. The tears told a different story. The denile the want to make everything right, she tried to write a different ending to her story. Marcus wasn’t a bad man, misguided maybe. He was justified in his anger in his bitterness. However, Bernie she needed someone to guide her too. When you live life repressed hiding under lies you tried to believe were true. When you ‘believe’ you love someone and try to hide the niggling doubts deep down inside you. You need someone to guide you. She had never truely lived in the way others talked about. Never her love for Alex was at best a desire for a different kind of life. Her first shot at really feeling. Then everything changed. Things tend to change, life is the most fleeting and beautiful of things. Even the state of dying is impermanent in itself. Love doesn’t belong to the holder love is in most instances in the most special of cases a shared experience. She found this to be true… after everything getting outted to the ward the argument over Cameron the lying to the police. The running… the running had stopped. She decided the moment she got back from her sabbatical. She had been avoiding the one heart that could ever beat in sync. The one person who saw her and all of her imperfections. The one… it hit her then as it always did. Except this time was special they were dressed up to the nines. Today was the day. The day the rings would be on both of their fingers. The day Bernie celebrated the fact that the woman she loved most in world had made it possible for her to stand still. That when they were next to each other there was no where else she would rather be. That she didn’t have to pretend to be perfect. She didn’t have to be the perfect wife the perfect mother because Serena would love her no matter what. No matter how much hurt how many things changed. Their love would always be a permanent fixture within the memory of their lives.

[no-where-new-hero]

This might be self evident to everyone but I’m New Here so—

The best thing about fanfiction is reader engagement. I’ll log into Ao3 and see 2 new kudos and I’ll know that my words have reached someone enough that they’ll click a little button to show their satisfaction. Because I also write and publish some small short fiction in online lit journals (drabbles basically and if the journal is nice they’ll give me grown up money for it which is absurd) BUT even if I have a nice editorial acceptance letter, I’ll have zero idea if any reader of that journal has thought anything about what I wrote. (This might be different if I were on IG/X since I see some interactions like that there but that also really only happens to the writers who are Someone.) It’s just out there in the void and a bit too much having the mortifying ordeal of being known without constant reaffirmation of being loved.

Writing fanfic feels more like being a novelist in the sense that you have your audience and you know where they are and they can echo back at you so that it’s not as if you exist in this dark vacuum all alone. So yes it’s fulfilling in a fandom sense, of finding community and bonding over characters and situations, but also very fulfilling in a writerly sense in a way that I don’t really experience otherwise.

HOWEVER (I wrote the first part of this two weeks ago and never posted it and then dug it out of my drafts because I have more thoughts—of course) now I’m starting to wonder whether I’m doing this for the kudos or to put on paper what exists in my head. It’s not really an “Am I doing this for the right reasons” question so much as “Shouldn’t I still enjoy it even when the hits go up but the kudos and comments stop”? Because Yes? But also somewhat No? idk. i should go touch some grass maybe.

[forabeatofadrum]

Just Some Guy (1/9)

Summary: Matt Christopher Davis lives a simple life, since he doesn't do much. He wants to study magic at Watford, find a girlfriend, and hang out with his best friend John Johnson at the Watford Chess Club. After all, unlike his famous classmate Simon Snow, he's just some guy.

Notes: Hello, hello and welcome to Just Some Guy, the story of all years of Snowbaz at Watford told from an outsider perspective of someone who doesn't really care about them. I came up with this idea back in 2022 and I am glad I can finally share it. I was inspired by Niamh Brody not keeping track of the Chosen One bullshit and by Patrick Ness's book The Rest Of Us Just Lives Here. I hope you guys like Matt as much as I do.

The name Matt Christopher Davis is courtesy of @mostlymaudlin​, @raenestee​ and @aristocratic-otter​, with the idea to use MCD as initials from @facewithoutheart. I asked the Carry On Discord for suggestions for a basic bitch name, and they delivered. Matt is sometimes referred to as Matty Chris D., a nickname from @cutestkilla.

Lastly, it's time for a good ole fanfiction disclaimer, but not because of Rainbow Rowell, but because of Ngozi Ukazu. John Johnson belongs entirely to her. He's originally a character from her webcomic Check, Please!, which y'all should totally check out. The reason Johnson is in this fic is because, well, I thought it'd be funny, especially since Johnson is as usual aware of his fictionality. "John Johnson" is the most basic bitch name possible, and I almost picked it for MCD till I realised there's already a John Johnson.

And with all that, enjoy.

AO3

--

Year 1

MATT

To be honest, I can’t quite believe I am finally at Watford. My parents give me a final hug before it’s time for them to leave.

“You’re going to have an amazing time,” my mum says as she pets my hair.

I shrug. It’s not as if there’s going to be anything interesting happening in my life. You could state that I am the most generic person ever, and that is fine by me. Not everyone needs to have a grand adventure, and that is definitely what I realise when I see Simon Snow walk around the Great Lawn.

Of course I know about the Chosen One. Of course I know that the Chosen One starts Watford in the same years as me, but I don’t really care about him. I’m here to learn magic, make friends, and maybe meet my future spouse, which is a must for the World of Mages.

After all, I am just some guy.

--

I leap into this new magickal life. The Crucible casts me together with John Johnson, who claims he’s in the wrong universe, which is off-putting, but we still become fast friends.

“Like, I should be playing hockey,” John grumbles during breakfast somewhere in the year. I nod absently. John talks a lot about hockey.

“Sure,” I say. There are plenty of other sports to join, but I don’t really know. I have eight more years to figure out what to do, so I am not in a rush.

“Whatever man, you’re about to go on your own narrative journey. It’s going to be amazing for the both of us!” John says excitedly, “Look at me, I’m British now! I am eleven!”

I shove some toast down my throat and I look around the dining hall. There are so many students. My eyes fall on the Chosen One who’s talking to a girl, who nods along to every word. I don’t really keep track of what the Chosen One is doing with his life, but I’m glad he’s made a friend. The first few weeks of classes were unbearable because of his sheer magic exuding into the classrooms. We’ve all gotten used to it now, but it did isolate him a bit.

I don’t know the girl’s name, but she doesn’t seem to mind the magic.

I take a look at the Chosen One. He has only been part of the World of Mages for a few months, but he’s already gotten himself in a lot of trouble because of this whole Insidious Humdrum stuff. He’s constantly missing classes and Miss Possibelf says he’s on missions for the Mage and the Coven.

I hear him coming home quite late. Yes, John and I live across the corridor. It’s honestly quite annoying to live on top of a tower. There are so many staircases to climb. I occasionally hear the Chosen One bicker with his roommate.

What a life he must be living.

But honestly, I don’t care. I mean, I care about the Humdrum, because that thing eats magic, but our Chosen One can be the hero who saves the day. The rest of us just lives here, you know?

--

“Mate!” John slams the door open. The window in our small shared room almost seems to shatter. Did John do that?

I nod towards the window, but John shakes his head.

“No, it’s a dragon!” John screams.

I jump out of my seat. That’s when I hear the roar. Our window shatters for real this time and I duck to avoid the glass.

“The Humdrum sent a dragon to Watford!” John grabs my hand, “We have to run!”

“Where to?” I yell as he leads me through the corridors of Mummer’s Hall. We descent the many staircases, not knowing where to go. Right now, we just want to get outside before the building collapses. Merlin’s pants, what will happen to us now? The Humdrum was always this entity sucking the magic out of the atmosphere, but if John’s to be believed, it (he?) can now also attack? That’s never happened before!

More students are making their way outside. There are screams and panicked cries. John doesn’t seem too bothered by it. Instead, he is determined to get me out of here as fast as possible, and he succeeds. He manoeuvres us between the many, many students and the teachers who are trying to keep everyone calm.

We finally make it outside and more students are evacuating to Crowley knows where.

To my shock, it seems like John is leading me towards the Great Lawn.

I try to stop him. I’m pretty sure that the dragon is right there.

“Are you mad?” I yell, “We can’t go there!”

But John is stronger than I am and he drags me towards the Great Lawn. I was right. The dragon is there, with its wings spread wide. The Chosen One is in the air. He must’ve jumped from somewhere. His skin is shimmering and his eyes are glowing. He has the Sword of Mages raised over his head.

Then he plummets it into the dragon’s neck.

The dragon’s eyes widen and it lets out a horrendously loud roar.

Then I watch the dragon fall to its side.

A hush falls over the Great Lawn. Students and teachers alike are stunned into silence. Even the Chosen One’s chatty best friend looks shocked.

“Wicked,” John mutters next to me.

I blink a couple of times. Is this the life of the Chosen One? Of the elusive Mage’s Heir?

Speaking of, the Mage runs towards the Chosen One to help him clean up the dragon. Where was that man? He’s our headmaster, for Crowley’s sake!

“Well, that’s enough adventure for today,” John says. He’s broken out of his shock and he isn’t the only one. The Chosen One and the Mage leave the Great Lawn. The Chosen’s One’s friend (sidekick?) (isn’t that how it works with chosen ones and heroes and what not?) rushes after them. Slowly, everyone’s coming back to their senses and it’s clear that people talk about what just unfolded, but life goes on, even though the Chosen One just saved the school.

I need a bloody nap.

--

My parents pick me up at the Gates. It’s summer vacation and I am glad. I like Watford, but I love my family as well. We talk plenty over the phone, but it’s good to see them.

We drive home in silence. There is a weird tension between my parents, but I brush that thought aside. I just haven’t seen them in a while.

Eventually, my dad breaks the silence.

“And how would you describe your first year at school, Matty?” my dad asks.

I think about classes, and John, and my daily life here.

“Uneventful,” I answer. I didn’t do much.

[sushis-brainrot]

That sounds interesting …. what kind of ideas for Basim and Eivor? And that’s alright if you ever did write it when you have time I would love to hear it and read it!

I was also a bit shy at first since my ship wasn’t popular either but once I submitted it I realised how silly and wrong I was, the community is absolutely amazing. I’ve met so many nice people through fanfiction and even made a few friends here and there. You’ll find there’s nothing to be afraid of.

The Valhalla and Odyssey community on fanfiction are absolutely amazing. As for recommendations out of all your ships I only know one (Which is Kassidas) I might inbox you privately about it. And lol there’s a chance you might have seen my fics as well since I’m on A03.

What is your username? If you don’t mind sharing it out with us. So I can keep an eye out if you do post fics. I might even add you as well on there. If you don’t mind .

I don't mind at all! :D I go by Risushi on AO3 :D But you have me much intrigued as to which fics you might have written👀

As for ideas, at the moment, I have two for some Eivor/Basim stuff 🫣 Now it remains to be seen if I ever get to write them....... 😶

Celebration Mostly fluff, maybe smut... with a drizzle of sad 🥺

During a feast in Raventhorpe sometime after The Siege of Portcestre - maybe during Yule or Ostara. Eivor finds Basim observing the celebrations and takes it upon herself to make him join the revelry. Eivor, drunk on festivities and sweetest mead, miraculously manages to convince the master assassin to join her and the clan for a dance.

The night continues its celebrations - Basim lets some of his walls drop and surprisingly enjoys himself. They talk, they bond. Basim pokes some fun at Eivor. At some point, she kisses him, to shut him up. Smirking she pulls away, "Do you taste my heart, sly-tongue? Is the taste enough to sate your hunger or does it leave you craving more?"

Basim seizes the unspoken invitation, claiming her lips with a hunger akin to a man starved.

Eventually, it ends on Eivor, lost in thought at Gunnar and Brigid's wedding. With heart aching, she finds herself wishing Basim was there.

Fates of Two Sometime around 861-865 - before Valhalla and during Mirage. Based heavily on a "what if" scenario. Young Basim is such a sweetheart, and I couldn't help but wonder what it might be like if he and Eivor met during Mirage.

Baghdad. Basim is a newly initiated assassin - Eivor a thrall from the North, whom Basim is tasked with freeing, and then protecting.

Eivor holds his gaze, "If you're willing to stand with me, I won't turn you away. For now." Basim answered with a smile that touched his eyes. "For now," he agreed.

Basim has no idea why Roshan wants him to guard Eivor - as the Norse seems perfectly capable of defending herself - but for now, he doesn't question his mentor.

As the assassin tasked to protect Eivor from harm, it seems like Basim continuously gets her in trouble instead.

Sometimes, Basim finds himself trying to impress her, swinging his sword with an added flair. Flashing her a grin before disappearing into a crowd. Stealing sweet apples for her just to see a glimpse of her smile. Sometimes it gets him caught.

He grabs her hand, vaulting over walls and running over rooftops, never letting go as he guides her.

Eivor laughs. Loud and free. And suddenly, it's all worth it to him.

I have a few ideas for where this one could go, but I haven't gotten to work a whole lot on them, yet 😜

I've come to realize though, that this one, on some points, can sound a little like @newengland-shrike / TheAmberOuroboros' Past Voices Call My Name/No Quiet Life for Me, so I want to check with them if it'd be okay for me to write it before I do anything 😌

But, until then, it has a little mood board that makes me very happy 🥺

[rmwb-fanfics]

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party - what type of fanfiction do you write/currently write? You mentioned an RU fic?

Morning/evening/afternoon anon! Thank you for asking, hope you’re well.

Well, I write a lot of fanfiction, (Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park/World) but the only stuff I post is for Harry Potter.

I have two fics posted, both in a WIP state. There’s one other that I haven’t posted and I’m waiting to be finished before uploading, here is the list.

Available:

Regretfully Uncaring (RU)

My long fic. My baby. I looooove it with all my heart. Currently rewriting/editing the vast majority of it because this was really my first proper toe into creative writing, and as it’s gone on my skill set has improved considerably and, as I say in the summary on AO3, I want the story to be as accessible and enjoyable as it can be to the most amount of people.

It’s a werewolf fic, but it’s also a lot more than that. As the name implies it’s about regret. The name actually comes from something an addict I know told me, where when you’re hooked on something you regret your actions but you can’t get yourself to care. It’s about learning how to love again. It’s about acceptance, revolution. But really it’s about addiction. I say all that from the perspective of the author. It’s a ton of other things and my readers get different stuff out of it I’m sure.

It’s an ensemble cast story, so the perspective shifts quite a few times per chapter. I think there’s something like 20 characters that each lead a role at some point. Plenty of pairings, but the focuses are Harry/Ginny and Ron/Daphne. There’s time travel, there’s world building, the entire plot is essentially original and that’s why it’s my Bebe.

Because Regretfully Uncaring is a test run. Once the tournament concludes in chapter 28/29, it’s basically just a Harry Potter version of my original work that I poke away at. I want to make movies someday, and maybe Hollywood and general audiences as a whole will be more up to some original stories and less remakes/sequels because fuck I have so many ideas and this really is one of them.

FFN | AO3

Big thanks to @curse-04 and @muib92 who I can’t tag for some reason. Their genuine interest in what I’ve written has kept me going through so much, more than just writing. Even if you’re the same person with an alt account, I appreciate it.

A Short Life Full of Long Years (ASLFOLY)

Yeah so I don’t have as much to say about this one. Only reason it isn’t a one-shot is because my brain can’t just let things end so here we are. It’s a post-war soul bond fic, again: Harry and Ginny are the focus here. Together they go travelling in search of Andromeda and Teddy, who have gone into hiding in the muggle world somewhere in Europe. They have a vague map without any marked destinations, oh, and a vengeful Death is after Harry since his survival in the forest. I really wanted to explore what a soul bond post HBP/DH would look like, and I’ve enjoyed myself so far. Eventually, if I feel like it, they might become a secret agent duo. At the moment I have very little plan for this story, i just like writing it as it goes. People have loved it so far, so there’s that.

FFN | AO3

Biggest thanks to @fizzyginfizz for leaving the best review I’ve ever received on any story, let alone ASLFOLY. I still think about it.

-

So yeah that’s what’s uploaded, that’s what I tend to talk about. The stuff I won’t post is pretty simple.

My PotC fic is a follow up to the fifth film that explains Davy Jones and Jack’s actions in the Sea of Thieves portion of the story line. It’s pretty good and I’m thinking I might eventually post but there’s only like 20k words at the moment.

My Jurassic Park/World fic is just a rewrite of the latest film. Call me stupid or whatever but I was hella invested in the Jurassic story and I was looking forward to the conclusion/follow up after Fallen Kingdom. But *NO* they had to FUCK IT UP. Anyway it’s pretty damn good as a story but I will never ever post this one because no one is learning about my obsession for Jurassic Park that intimately.

Thank you for asking anon and sorry for rambling. Going to grammar edit this now, have a wonderful day.

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No.15

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Malice and I’ll be your host today. 

Here today to talk all things whumpy is the fabulous @actress4him!

We’re thrilled to have you here, @actress4him! Let’s start with a non-whump fact or two about yourself!

I go by Jada! I’m a mom of two girls, ages 6 and 8, and it’s a blast watching them play all the whumpy things we did as children and wondering if they’ll grow up to be whumpers, too. When I’m not writing, I enjoy creating cosplay, occasionally drawing, and going on adventures with my family.

Let’s get straight to the point! What does the term whump mean to you? 

Anything where the character goes through a hard time, physically or emotionally, or ideally, both! And we’re actually allowed to focus on it and see the beginning, middle, and aftermath.

And how did you find the whump community? Anything specific that made you want to join?

It all started on fanfiction.net with the hurt/comfort tag, then led to AO3, where I learned of Bad Things Happen Bingo and first started seeing the term whump. That prompted me to create a Tumblr account, so that I could participate in all these whump events I was hearing about, and the rest is history!

Has your view on whump changed since you joined? Maybe your choice of OC vs Fandom?

When I first joined I was solely writing fanfiction, though I did write a series with an OC 

insert, and I had been writing original stories for most of my life. It took a bit of time and seeing how well other people’s OCs were received on Tumblr to get the courage to go back to writing my own characters and universes. 

And now everyone’s favourite bit: let’s talk whump tropes! Do you have nay particular favourites?

Lady whump, if that counts as a trope! Also captivity whump, restraints of any kind, especially gags/muzzles and stress positions, using whumpees against each other, playing on fears, whipping, stabbing, touch-aversion, even better when combined with touch-starvation…I could go on.

They’ve all got to be in my top favs too! Do you mind sharing a couple of your favourite pieces that you’ve written?

Oh my, that’s hard to decide. If I’m allowed to pick two, I’d first say Again, the opening piece for my series Obsession. The writing muse was just flowing that day and I always liked the way that one turned out.

Then from my favorite series, The Shadow of Death, my other favorite piece is I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure. That was a bingo prompt that I had way too much fun writing, there’s just so much pain all around for both the characters and so much angst to go along with it!

Damn, I love the lady whump in“Again”! So good. Do you mind sharing what your writing routine looks like?

I do most of my writing at night after my kids are in bed, usually between 10-11pm. I also sneak in writing time while they’re in dance class, though I do more rp during the day than personal writing. I have been known to get struck with a certain sentence that I don’t want to forget and quickly open Google Docs on my phone to add it, but most of the time I need to sit down with my laptop and get the words flowing to get much done.

And is there an easy thing for you to write? Or something you struggle with writing? 

Dialogue usually comes easily to me, especially when characters get angry. That seems to be when they have a tendency to take over the plot and do whatever they want! 

My biggest writing struggle is battle scenes, which is unfortunate considering the number of characters I’ve created that need to have physical fights fairly often. 

GIve us a sneak peak! Is there anything you're working on at the moment? 

Currently I’m putting the most work into the Soldier Boy AU with my OC Kamaria. I’m not entirely sure how it’s going to end yet, since it started out as a simple idea that I thought would only take 2-3 parts and I’m now on part 6, but it’s been a fun ride so far. 

I’ve also been having fun brainstorming, role playing, and writing a bit of Kamaria’s Royal AU, and am hoping that my brain will let me write another chapter of Liliana’s story sometime soon.

Is there any writing advice you’d like to share?

For me, what works best against writer’s block is having multiple series/WIPs so that I can bounce around to whatever is inspiring me at the moment. It’s when I try to force myself to write something that I’m not feeling that I start getting stuck and bored. And when the block still hits, I do a lot of reading - of others’ works and my own old ones! - and roleplaying and brainstorming with friends and searching for prompts to get inspired again. Most of all, though, just be patient with yourself when the muse is in hiding! It’ll come back eventually. 

Finally, shout-out time! Let’s hype some people up!

Shout out to @painful-pooch for being my best online friend and brainstorm partner and for bringing her OC Bruno into existence!

Also to @aprilwaters and @sableflynn for being so welcoming when I was first finding my way in the whump community, and to these fantastic people for being my ongoing rp partners:

@inscrutable-shadow

@peaches-and-dumbs

@ocean-blue-whump

@crash-bump-bring-the-whump

@whumpy-arts-and-crafts

And to everyone else on the Slices of Whump Discord server for making it a great place to hang out!

Anything you'd like to add?

Thanks for this interview, it was fun! And to anyone reading, I love chatting whump and meeting new people who share the same interests, so feel free to stop by my blog and say hello anytime!

Thanks so much for joining us today, @actress4him!

And to all you lovely folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[mtdthoughts]

Chocolate-Covered Cherries (Fanfiction)

In the spirit of Valentine's Day (I know, I'm late), I decided to write a short and silly fanfiction where the twins practice making chocolate-covered cherries for White Day.

Here's a link to it on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53851984

Or, if you wanted to read it here, you can proceed below.

It is March of 1991. Valentine’s Day has already passed a couple weeks ago, and White Day is approaching.

Migi and Dali had many admirers at school, so they received an overwhelming amount of Valentine’s Day chocolates from their classmates. There was so much chocolate that the twins needed to put them all in a large box and carry it home together with both arms.

While Dali took his time eating his chocolates, Migi gobbled his up over the course of a few days. This led to Migi getting a few stomachaches from eating too much chocolate at a time, followed by him getting scolded by his brother.

It is now a Saturday morning. Migi wakes up in bed with his pajamas, stretches his arms, and yawns as he slowly opens his eyes.

He notices that his brother is not in the room.

Dali is probably downstairs, Migi thinks, as he changes out of his pajamas and slowly walks to the dining room.

Migi then sees his brother standing behind the kitchen counter, wearing a light blue apron with white stripes. In front of him is a bowl of bright red cherries soaked with liquor, several bars of chocolate, and various other ingredients. Dali takes the cherries from the bowl and pats them dry with a paper towel.

Dali then notices his half-awake brother shambling into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Migi.”

“Unnh… Good morning, Dali…” Migi mutters, with his eyes half open, and his blonde hair in a mess. He rubs his eyes and yawns.

“Mom and Dad already left to go shopping today, and she left your breakfast on the table. You wouldn’t believe how long I had to watch it so that the beast didn’t get any funny ideas.”

A distinct woof can be heard from under the dining table.

“Thanks…” Migi says as he walks to the table and sits down. In front of him is bread and butter, slices of various fruits, a glass of orange juice, and an omelet with his name and a heart written in ketchup.

He feels a sense of warmth at the sight of the bountiful meal prepared just for him.

As he eats his food, he begins to feel energized as his awareness returns to him. He then looks to his brother.

“Dali, what are you doing?”

“I’m making chocolate-covered cherries.”

Migi’s ears perk up as he is now fully awake.

“Chocolate-covered cherries!? That sounds yummy! Can I help?” Migi asks while drooling a bit.

Dali smiles.

“Sure, you can help. You want some as a reward, right?”

Migi nods enthusiastically, as he quickly shovels down the rest of his breakfast, and after a short while, he runs to put on an apron and joins his brother.

“Alright, what do we do, Dali?”

“First, we put on gloves,” he replies as they simultaneously put on disposable gloves.

Dali grabs a bag of confectioner’s sugar and pours a few cups of it into a large bowl, and then throws the cherries into the same bowl.

“Next, we toss the cherries with the sugar.”

The twins each grab one end of the bowl and toss the cherries together for a while.

“Hey Dali, why are you making chocolate-covered cherries?”

“Mom let me use her spare cherries to practice for White Day. You do remember about that, right?”

“…Ah,” Migi says, as he suddenly remembers this holiday that was talked about in school and that he forgot about. His face turns pale as he realizes how many gifts he would have to prepare, especially after enjoying so much chocolate.

“B-but Dali, what do I do? I don’t remember everyone who gave me chocolate.”

“Don’t worry, Migi, I have already taken care of that. I wrote down a list of names of the people who we need to get gifts for.”

“As expected of Dali,” Migi says, admiring his brother’s usual reliability.  

Dali continues, “Today is just practice since it’s my first time making these. Next week, we’ll be making these for real and for everyone’s White Day gift.

He then puts his hand on Migi’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Migi, I’ll make sure we get through this together.”

“Dali!~” Migi exclaims, as all his concerns wash away.

The twins finish tossing the cherries and put the bowl down.

“Alright, now we prepare the chocolate,” Dali says as he grabs a knife and cutting board.

As Migi pushes each chocolate bar across the cutting board, Dali chops it with the knife. Together, they end up with many small, uniform pieces of chocolate.

“Next, we melt it,” Dali says, as he grabs most of the pieces and places them in a bowl, and then places the bowl over a pot of simmering water.

The twins watch the chocolate gradually melt as they take turns stirring it with a spatula.

After a while, Dali measures the temperature with a thermometer.

“Time to take it off the heat,” he says as he removes the bowl, “Now we add the rema-“

Before he finishes his sentence, he sees Migi with a clump of chocolate pieces in his hand, about to eat them. He looks at Migi in the eyes.

“Hm?”

“Migi, that chocolate’s not for you! They’re supposed to go in this bowl.”

“Oh. Yes, Dali.”

They add the rest of the chocolate into the bowl, and again they take turns stirring the melted chocolate.

While it is Dali’s turn to stir, he notices Migi walking towards him with a spoon in his hands.

“Wait, Migi. What are you doing?”

“Adding sugar. It’ll make the chocolate extra tasty.”

“No, no, no. The recipe does not call for sugar.”

He looks at the spoon.

“Wait a minute…” Dali says, as he pinches a bit from the spoon and drops it onto his tongue.

“Migi, this is salt!”

“Whoops, sorry Dali!~”

After the chocolate is uniformly melted and cooled, the twins begin dipping the cherries into the chocolate and then placing them onto a parchment-lined tray.

Several times, Dali catches Migi attempting to eat either the cherries or the melted chocolate. Though Migi knew his brother would disapprove, he just couldn’t help himself, as his gluttonous urges were too strong.

Nonetheless, the twins are able to dip all the cherries in quick fashion. While they wait for the chocolate to set, they clean the workspace together and wash all of the bowls and utensils they used, except for the bowl containing the melted chocolate.

“Hey, Dali. What do we do with this? Can I eat it?” Migi asks, holding the bowl in his hands, drooling again.

At least he’s asking this time, Dali thinks, as he smiles.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Migi’s big blue eyes brighten, and without hesitation, he laps up the bowl and savors the remaining chocolate they didn’t use. Joy is written all over his now chocolate-covered face.

“Mmm!~”

After Migi is done, Dali wipes his brother’s face with a paper towel, and together they clean the bowl.

The chocolate-covered cherries are now finished, and the twins gather them all together. There are sixty of them.

“Alright, looks like we’re done.”

“Finally! Can I taste one, Dali?”

“…Sure, wait a moment.”

Dali takes forty of the cherries and places them in a separate bowl.

“These are for Mom and Dad, and for Akiyama and Maruta when they come visit. And the rest are for us.”

Dali grabs one of his cherries and brings it to Migi’s mouth.

“Here.”

Migi opens his mouth and closes his eyes.

“Ahhh~”

Dali immediately pulls the cherry back and throws it into his own mouth.

After a few seconds, Migi opens his eyes, wondering what happened.

“Huh?”

Migi sees his brother savoring the cherry he was about to feed him.

“Wha-!?” Migi exclaims as he sticks his tongue out in surprise. Dali smirks in response.

“Dang it, Dali, you tricked me, you arro-”

Before Migi could finish his sentence, Dali brings a clear bag of chocolate-covered cherries up to Migi’s face. The bag is wrapped with a shiny red bow.

“Here, your reward for helping me.”

Migi takes the bag into his hand. These were all the chocolate-covered cherries for themselves, except for the one Dali ate.

Migi is stunned.

“You aren’t going to take any, Dali? We made them together after all.”

“No, you can have them. I just wanted to know how they taste. They’re a bit too sweet for me, but overall it seems today was a success.”

He continues, “Besides, unlike you, I still have plenty of Valentine’s chocolates left to eat.”

Suddenly, Dali forms a warm expression with a soft smile and sparkling blue eyes.

“Here’s my White Day present to you.”

“Huh?” Migi reacts as he looks at his brother with bewilderment.

Dali’s face returns to normal.

“Well, how was that expression? Good enough for White Day?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah, that’s definitely good.”

Dali then tosses his gloves in the trash, takes off his apron, and heads to the living room.

“Great, then I’m going to take a quick nap. That was a bit more tiring than I expected. Hopefully, next week will be smoother with Mom helping.”

As Dali lays on the couch, Migi spends the next minute staring at the bag of cherries in his hand.

He looks forward to doing this again next week.

[jasontoddiefor]

Saw your recent “drama” with the book lotf and some fanfic you posted about reading, and all I have to say is: I’m so done with chronically online people. Some fics out there are gross, especially the ones that outwardly show cp, but jeez not EVERYTHING is sexualizing minors

I fairly dislike omegaverse, but I read that one for the sake of seeing what the fuss was about, and I will say that it is extremely tame, it was definitely much more than just alpha/omega porn fic (especially since there wasn’t porn)

I’ve never read lotf so that could mean I’m biased. My advice is to ignore them. I don’t wanna go point by point into why I don’t believe it was sexualizing kids, but I think you get my point lmao. Hopefully they won’t start stalking your blog now over this. Speaking of which, if any of the lotf fandom users see this, move along, because we obviously don’t agree with your statements.

also you mentioned you had a main blog, could I check it out? thanks!

lol I've been through so much fandom drama, two people (who, going by tone, I'm fairly sure have never attended university-level media classes, most likely due to their age) commenting on a fic rec annoys me for two hours and then I'm done with it. I hope more that this doesn't have any bad repercussions for the author? Because honestly, like I said, I enjoyed that fic a lot.

and tbh - general thing here - I don't like calling any fanfiction "gross" or "disgusting" or anything like it, even if I personally dislike the matter it deals with, simply because the fic means something to, at minimum, one person, and I don't want to disregard that. What's that cinema wins quote about how every movie is someone's favorite for a reason? That. Also if you start with that, you end up with "please public share your top 10 traumatic life experiences so I can evaluate whether you deserve to post this tagged fic that personally offends me".

And like, I've written several fics that I'm fairly sure a lot of people will call me gross for, I know for certain that a person I was having a pretty great conversation with blocked me right in the middle of said conversation when they saw some of my other stuff on AO3. And like. you know what? Good for them! If engaging with me after seeing that is something they're uncomfortable with, they ought to block me. Curate your online experience and all that.

And, to open that can of worms, I am pretty sure most people have no idea what actual sexualization of minors is or they wouldn't use those words so liberally when discussing a fictional text. Shout out to my professor who sat my class down and made us research the government statistics on CSA. Very interesting seminar, made you feel absolutely terrible and terrified of becoming a teacher and being constantly on a lookout for students, who might be abused at home.

Anyway, I'm going off topic. I don't really have anything more to say on this.

And this actually is my main blog! I was just referring to when I was into a more "problematique" ship (shout out to obikin I still love you <3) and blogged about it constantly ("on main") here. My writing side blog is @loosingmoreletters, but that's mostly general writing stuff and mdzs fanfic rn.

cheerio that's my take on it.

[pixiedust-poppers]

Okay so after you reblogged my post about jatnp I’ve been stalking your blog and I didn’t realize there was a fandom for this show?!?

Anyways while I was looking down your blog I kept getting more questions so I figured I’d do it all in one ask.

Do you think all the Disney neverland stuff exists in the same universe (the Disney verse or just specifically the neverland stuff) and if you do what’s your explanation for the discrepancies. Ex the missing lost boys in jatnp and then the lost boys showing up in Peter pan 2 or Captain Hook not knowing how to use pixie dust in jatnp but he flies well in the pirate fairy etc? I have some of my own theories that I’ve been adding to my notes app of Disney timeline from Covid but I’d love to hear someone who is clearly a strong fan, since you definitely would be more knowledgeable than me.

And if you don’t think that it’s the same universe, like athena p (ooh name twins), that YouTuber who made a video on jatnp (thank you for posting that on your blog, it was a very enjoyable watch - she has a stf video?!?! That show was my Covid) or do you have a different theory on why / how it’s not the same timeline.

Also going off of athena p’s video what’s your thoughts on the time loop / fairy’s controlling everything theory that athena p mentions?

And then what are your ships? By what I’m seeing for your posts and reblogs that Izzy is basically shipable with anyone. Anyways I’d love to hear your favourites.

And then I’ve seen you mention fanfiction, have you written any on ao3 or Wattpad? I’d love to read it.

Along with that if you have any ff recommendations with either grown up / aged up crew or darker themes, that’s something I’d read.

And then this is my half baked theory but how do you think the doubloons come from? Because it’s like green pixie dust do you think it’s another form of fairy alchemy zarina created that’s like transportation? Idk if that’s a popular fanon theory or if it’s a stupid idea that is easily disproved.

Along with that what do you think the origins of the crew are? (Because I’ve seen some mentions of izzy being adopted by fairies which is very interesting)

Ok that’s all you don’t have to answer everything, I’m not sure if one big ask is preferable to a whole bunch or smaller asks, but what’s done is done.

Well well. this took a few days to craft. Its a bit of a long one so buckle up, I decided to do this all in one go, because it makes more sense than breaking it up even though it would be faster. So enjoy this long-ass ask…

cracks knuckles Ok Let’s break this down 

Yes! Yes hello! We are very small, but we are here!

To start off, I don’t think it's in the same universe as the regular Disney neverland, or well they could be but you would have to cut out certain episodes to make it work. Also JATNP’s neverland would mess with the Original Peter Pan movie/Neverland universe, timeline + world the movies have set. So Jatnp is just in another version of Neverland that’s a mix of the Disney property and some elements from the original book. Because in Peter pan remember they don’t like Pirates so why would Peter have a pirate team in this movie? The boys would be lost boys and Izzy wouldn’t be here. But Peter Pan obviously happened (in Jake’s universe), but he never told either group about one another for some reason, like Jake and his crew didn’t know about Wendy till literally that night when Peter asked them to go get her. But Wendy + the brothers did meet the lost boys as she lead them to The Hangman’s tree, where hammocks and Peter’s bear throne was set up as well as some of the brother’s things were there (no Jake and his crew didn’t know where this was, implying that he ALSO never told them about this or the Lost Boys) Speaking of lost boy’s where are they? It’s obvious why the Native Americans are not mentioned but The Lost Boys, I can only assume that they weren’t in Jatnp because of money reasons or that the animators didn’t want to animate six more kids? For show reasons, you could theorize that the lost boys left once they realize they all missed having mothers and are now out in London with their adopted families, and Peter never told Jake and his crew about Wendy, or the lost boys was because he didn’t want them getting the idea of leaving. After all he DID bring them to neverland to protect it and they can’t do that if you present them with the idea of how the others left lol

But judging by the pitch bible, these guys (minus izzy) were supposed to be the lost boys Jake was originally named Slightly and Nibs... well Nibs, and Cubby while not exactly like Curly there is some semblance, or maybe they were place holder names until they could finalize things. I mean if you’re a showrunner trying to pitch to your boss that “hey we should re-visit that Peter Pan property again, but this time make it preschool show and more pirate!” you are going to have to sell them that certain characters could totes work and once it gets approve either rework them or drop them once you realize they don’t work. 

*Quick Peter interlude- He also couldn’t be the same movie Peter because he’s just. Too nice, less childish and older brother-y in the series, to be considered his movie counterpart. But he seems lowkey negligent of them considering whenever he comes these kids are willing to do just about anything for his undivided attention.

As For Captain Hook, you’re just going to have to take Zarina out of your mind for this show’s canon. I’m sure the other Disney fairies do exist but for Jatnp, his history with that woman just does not exist and I don’t think they ever intended to make it so. He’s ‘supposed’ to be Hook from the original movie not from the Disney fairies’ movies. The Pirate fairy didn’t debut till 2014 and by that point the show was already on for 4 years why they never did a ‘crossover’ or have a pr marketing thing to promote the movie is beyond me, especially since she’s a pirate and all. I guess they thought girl related pirate things and fairies wouldn’t sell??? … then again Pixie hollow online did shut down in 2013..I guess Disney didn’t think fairy anything was worth heavily promoting? Dunno.

But back to the show’s canon, you could put Zarina in there (like the rest of the fairies) and Hook either distantly remembers her or doesn’t remember her period since that was a long time ago, and who knows how long it’s been since he’s aged? (Continued below)

Speaking of aging let’s go into that Time loop. But before that my thoughts on the video, I’ll admit... It wasn’t my favorite. I feel like she skimmed over alot about the series and the certain things within it for example, time does pass in neverland as they do have holidays and seasons (well ... just winter apparently). And the idea of Sharky and Bones being the ultimate gods behind the scenes of things, I just no, if I wanted to really care about pirate men in a more meaningful way, I would watch Pirates of Caribbean or Our Flags Mean Death. And I wished she focused on the kids more because they are their own little individuals and there some points you can bring about their dynamic that are like ‘wtf?’ for example, Jake never leaves his friends with a sword or his previous ones to protect themselves when he gets a new one. Or when he does give over his sword, he always gives it to cubby for some reason despite Izzy being his first mate. Then Izzy, she clowned on my girl so badly that she didn’t bring up the point that Izzy from beginning to end the only useful thing she got from peter or neverland is the pixie dust, while the boys got more (i.e. Jake… everything and Cubby a map, a compass, learning magic with Beardini) meanwhile she’s also pushed to side in favor of letting the boys shine, she does get her episodes don’t get me wrong . (Also, it’s interesting because the series tries to show that girls and women can be the lead, be captains and princess without being tied to men… but it fails because Red Jessica, Molly, and Winger were clearly made to be love interest. Misty, the PP, Queen Caroline, and Marina fades from recurring to basically non-existent. The only woman to make to the S3 final was Beatrice and then poof she is gone. Leaving Izzy, who slowly loses her usefulness + main identity as the less they go on adventures together and the more Jake just solves the issues with his sword and they give her NOTHING ELSE to focus on or anything, despite her being close with the mermaids, knowing a lot about neverland + its items, and she’s willing to adventure by herself if the boys don’t give a shit about what interest her. Not counting Wendy + Tinkerbell they’re special characters.) Which I find both sad but also a bit ??? considering if you look in her gallery on the Fandom wiki under merchandise has her own ship and they also give her a sword with one of her minifigures, so they could have given her more things but they just never did. But I will say her line at 1:12:14 (“And Izzy turns invisible, just like every other girl in this series”) did get a laugh out me and unfortunately, she is telling the truth. BUT I also know that Athena was Busy with important IRL things and JATNP is ALOT especially when you factor in the other Neverland universe so it can get overwhelming and she was already stressed about the video so while I’m still happy we got the video, I think that some things could be improved. 

But ANWAY BACK TO TIMELOOP. I think its an interesting theory that could explain why Hook or the others don’t emotionally mature and there’s something that is just devastating about that, because he can be shown to change but because of this time loop he is unable to and in the end no matter what lesson he learns will be fruitless because the loop just resets and he's back to square one. It’s honestly sad if you think about it because if you think about it with the Kids, he could learn to be a better person (sort of) and eventually realize that it's time to move on. He can’t chase Peter forever. But Neverland will always need a villain and even with all the threats they continue to introduce no has come as close to matching the Icon that is Captain hook, plus Peter doesn’t give a shit about them lmao, who’s going to be his biggest hater other than hook. 

But I do not think that the fairies are doing all this, I think it’s neverland itself. I was told by @/perciouslittletoonette that the neverland in the book can apparently physically stop and hold you in place you from entering it if it doesn’t want you there. Also, that it’s always moving?? (towards Peter) AND can also look into your mind and see if you want to go somewhere and if it does not want you there it can fuck with its own geography and make something that takes usually 30 min to get to a 2-day trip. Which is so terrifying that I have to make neverland responsible for all the mindfuck things that can possibly happen and considering that this island geography changes almost daily for these kids I can’t fathom other horrifying shit this sentient island can do. Also, since it can also make you forget about your past life and according to Battle for the book, Neverland itself entirely if wendy’s book is away from them for a long period of time…Yeeeeeeeeah this island is fucked, why did Peter leave these kids in the vicinity of this place.

The doubloons? I have no idea where those things come from, hell the island probably just teleports them from other various hidden treasures around Neverland when the kids survive or do sometimes it deem as morally good as both a reward and motivation but also as compensation. Because I’m not sure how the fairies would know of all the kids happen without them noticing the fairies at least ONCE. so, this is probably the island’s magic again. But I do think it would be funny if the doubloons just came from the bottom of their team treasure because their chest is so full that they don’t even notice them missing. 

Now onto origins! Jake + Cubby are obviously from the Mainland, because they recognize a lot of sport and modern objects that show up on pirate island. Hook doesn’t, which is why he often takes their things and then doesn’t know what to do with them which then brings up the question “Hey if it's 1906 in London…where did Peter get these kids from?” In which my only thought is that when he was traveling in the lands beyond the neversea after the lost boys left, he went through a different star and landed in a new era of the mainland and on a different continent each time. For example, I think he got Jake from Britain (so he’s British), Cubby from Scandinavia (Sweden; I headcanon him as German/Swedish, yes, he can still speak both.). Izzy is Latina/French (she would be from the US, specifically Miami) if she’s from the mainland.

 I say “If” because I’m not sure Izzy is from the mainland. Listen, this girl knows too much shit about this island, and the artifacts + legends within it at 7 years old. Which brings up this theory that I saw in a fic and really liked it, and it’s that Izzy is from the mainland, but she has already been in Neverland for DECADES before she ever met Jake and Cubby (in case you're wondering how long she has been missing in the fic she has apparently been missing since 1907, she was born in 1900. Jake was born in 1935, cubby in 1941. And she doesn’t meet them until 1944 and 1948 with the forever quest taking place in 1950.) I could not imagine being stuck in this place for 43 goddamn YEARS, I do not know how she did not go insane by 1917 (well she did later... But like for different reasons) Remember this is someone else’s interpretation but I really do like this as an explanation on why she knows too much shit about neverland. My theory that does not involve the mainland is simply the island quite literally created her. Peter was Gone, maybe the lost boys followed him and the island was lonely and with some help of the natives and fairies, boom made herself a child so it wouldn’t be lonely. Yes, I do think a sentient island can do this, this thing is like an eldritch cosmic being to me. And to make a long story short; Izzy was created (no infant-toddler period; she was just born a child) by the island to replace Peter + Lost boys, then it lured her to the dense part of the jungle once they returned and basically trapped her there via endless jungle loop. This side of the jungle also just so happens to hold the fairies and Pixie Hollow and they eventually take izzy in as their own. ….I’m still trying to think about the rest of this but this is the general idea and I KNOW this would be easily debunked by watching Pirates sitting pirates but whateverrrrr, headcanons rule. Now for the fun stuff. Ships* and Fics

*I should note that like my other fandom, if a ship doesn’t involve my favorite character, then I’m either neutral or I don’t care. Unless I vehemently hate it for reasons.

Jake/Izzy - From a shipper to anti-jizzy to once again liking it, the essay I could write about these two and how despite my early love for it, the fandom basically made me fall out of love with them, because no one ever went anything beyond surface level and no one ever did anything new - it was crush -> love -> marriage -> shitton kids -> that’s it, nothing interesting with it. OR when someone did, it was once again the most surface level shit (Abuse and SA, no they did not explore the complex trauma that comes with Izzy being Abused by Jake, someone she has trusted for years, Also no Jake faced no consequences.) and became “oh it was just a ‘’’mistake’’’, we’re still besties”, and in the end they got married and kids anyway. So it was the same method but with unnecessary steps that doesn’t affect their dynamic in a scenario where it def should. Also, I’m not saying that traditional fluff and love between them can’t be done but when you see it over 1000 times and can predict the end result each time, it got boring.  

But to me now (going to overanalyze the hell out them for a moment excuse me), Jake x Izzy could be the interesting case of “We’ve known each other for DECADES, I’ve seen you at your highest and I’ve seen your absolute worst, yet I will still be by your side till the end. I know I won’t find someone like you again.” They’re so familiar with one another that trying to do the same with someone else from a different planet (earth) would take alot of time so why bother? I also think they ground each other in a way that they both do need, Jake for example sometimes need to be told No and that he’s being reckless, and Izzy is going to do that in a really blunt manner. Or sometimes Jake will have to be the one to calm her down and not be so hotheaded and not let the first things that slip out her mouth be something that is hurtful or rude, but to more empathetic and be nicer. I know it’s not their original personalities. But please bear with me I’m trying to make them less as a unit and more individual-

John Darling/izzy - Nerd x nerd come on. His gentleman Bri ish swag won her over, and they’re very cute when they interact. I think that if Izzy were to leave neverland and stay with him I think they would be okay, though that depends if he survives WW1 if he doesn’t then I think that she would go back to Neverland or maybe emigrate to America or something... That got dark fast uh anyways-. 

Marina/Izzy - You said something about tragic sapphic relationship? I’m here for it. Now you could do this cute thing, where after they realize it’s pointless to have beef over liking the same boy, he’s probably not interested anyway so what’s the point of being enemies? And their relationship begins to heal, and they become close friends again and then realize “holy shit... I like her.” and boom love. They are now in a relationship yay!

Now let's think about this tragedy, come walk with me a bit- Who do you think is willing to sacrifice their livelihood for the other? After all, Marina is a mermaid and Izzy is a human Pirate with legs. The question is “Do you love me enough to become a mermaid forever or have legs forever?” Because while I’m sure both options have their pros they most certainly have their cons. Cons for Marina being - her family is down there, her livelihood and things she holds dear, the ocean and its creatures are important to her and who says the potion that makes her human is reversible and what will you have to sacrifice for said potion? Such a spell doesn’t come for free you know. Then there’s Izzy, she’s a pirate, I know she’s pushed to the background, but she enjoys her life going on adventures and the fairies still trust her with pixie dust. Not saying there isn’t adventure in the ocean as well but one might go insane with how much blue and ocean there is, not to mention that most of her friends would still be on the surface so who will she communicate with? Who is willing to constantly go out on adventures with her that farther and farther out of the mermaid's comfort zone?

I could see Marina being worried whenever Izzy goes off with Jake on more dangerous and dangerous adventures, and don’t let them be adventures where they go beyond the neversea. She wants to sail alongside them to make sure Izzy will be safe but at the same time, she doesn’t want to venture far because she knows if she’s captured out there then she’ll be mermaid meat. Each time Izzy comes back there is a new scar from battle and she wonders one day if Jake will bring back her corpse. Izzy knows there are no reassuring words she can give Marina that will relieve her worry. You can consider their relationship a constant worry “What if you never return?” and the other trying to downplay the very real possibility that she CAN die.

✨crossover👑

Sofia (yes the first) x Izzy - Pirate x princess girl edition boom. A very sweet relationship and Izzy would probably tell sofia to sit the hell down every once in a while. 

Amber x Izzy - Pirate x Princess enemies to lovers’ girl edition. I’m pretty sure Izzy and Amber would buttheads more often than not. But I do think they can encourage and bring out different sides of one another for the better... Or for worse!

Fics!

Oh gooood do I! 

One of my favorite fics of all time is this one from ficbook

Часть 1, Тонущий корабль — фанфик по фэндому «Джейк и пираты Нетландии» (ficbook.net) (Sinking ship) - Oh my god. The concept that Izzy was supposed to be the new Peter Pan and Jake was supposed to be the new Captain Hook. But Jake being selfish and wanting to be Peter pan himself because he thinks he’s worthy of it. He basically spits on the crew’s friendship and changes his destiny. Leaving Izzy to go to Captain Hook and tells him to train her to be like him. (Cubby stayed with her, she couldn’t bear to leave him to someone like Jake, who already abandoned him). And in the end, she fills his role both figuratively and literally. Girl. She fucking WILLINGLY feeds her hand to tick tock croc to LITERALLY fill his role, took his hook and everything. That is so fucking metal of her, and I love her for it. It’s a good read, I really recommend it. Sad ending tho :(

Часть 1, Потерянные детки — фанфик по фэндому «Джейк и пираты Нетландии» (ficbook.net) (Lost Kids) - BITTERSWEET. The trio just trying to do their best to stay sane on an island they so desperately want to leave but can’t. It's mostly from the third Povs of Jake and izzy but still I can’t help but feel for these guys. It does make you wonder, what if these kids want to leave someday, once they get tired of being pirates will the island or Peter let them leave? If not, then why? How many times have they tried to get out? It makes you think.

I am the Psycho Pirate Chapter 1: What Happened?, a jake and the never land pirates fanfic | FanFiction Jake gets back from traveling with Peter from the lands beyond the neversea and the weird thing? He has grown up to the age of 15 AND neverland is quiet AND half of pirate island is burned down, Cubby is acting strange yet bitter toward him. Skully is nowhere to be seen and Izzy is as well. Yet there are rumors going around about this Psycho Pirate… who is this psycho pirate and why is everyone being so weird about it. The abuse Izzy and cubby suffer through in flashbacks will get dark, particularly for Izzy so uh content warning for physical abuse and sexual assault. The sequel is currently still in progress! So, after you read this and maybe the prequel if you can stomach it, check it out!

Eye of the Storm - Chapter 1 - Seerless - Jake and the Never Land Pirates [Archive of Our Own] It's unfinished but it's basically about the crew breaking apart and going their separate ways and what they go through during this period away. But they’re going to reunite in the end dw. So far only Izzy and Cubby’s chapters are out but they’re still a good read. The Hand is Gone - TheBackyardigirl - Jake and the Never Land Pirates [Archive of Our Own] Evil Peter hours! And he gives Jake the hook treatment! and it's very well written and a bit gory too. But Jake stumbles around as he loses blood all the while trying to comprehend why Peter did this to him, leaving an ambiguous ending. I really hope the author comes back and does a part 2 :[

[Content warning for physical abuse and some sexual abuse for these next to fics, I’m so serious if you are uncomfortable with stuff like that don’t read these]

Peter's Wrath Chapter 1: The abuse begins, a jake and the never land pirates fanfic | FanFiction We got evil Peter hours again hellll yeah! Not on purpose this time, however, though it might seem that way. This is purely Peter verbally and physically abusing them the fic and them trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with him. It can get brutal but does get ridiculous towards the end especially when they figure out what's wrong with him. If you think he’s going to jail after this you will be disappointed. 

The Wrath's Revenge Chapter 1: Prologue, a jake and the never land pirates fanfic | FanFiction

Sequel to Peter’s Wrath, my Roman fucking empire. This is from Izzy’s pov and if you thought Izzy had suffered enough under Peter, Jake is about to show you he needs to be locked up immediately. This is Izzy just being domestically abused and she’s only 11. You're going to question why she didn’t just run or try to blind him with pixie dust at points. Also shit will get very brutal and bordering on Sexual assault towards the end. However, it's the ending that makes me lose my fucking mind, the WAY that Izzy gets Jake back to normal is the Stupidest fucking idea I’ve seen simply because if you were to try to apply it to a real-life situation, it absolutely wouldn’t fucking work and the assaulter would just laugh in your face and probably think you want it more. And then he faces NO consequences for his actions, and Izzy somehow isn’t weary, or nervous or doesn’t feel any negative emotions or feeling from this simply because he was “possessed” MY ASS. That being said, this fic for me is important because when I read it when I was young, it was something that was new and violent and it involved Jizzy no less, so while it might not be the greatest thing in the world, it’s a nostalgia read. 

Now to end this, I do have an ao3! It's MaggotsMeat. If you’ve looked on there and Saw a work named “Clarity” that’s my writing!^^ I have a lot more WIPs in my google docs lol that I can barely focus on but I do hope to crank them out soon and write more… eventually!

[infiniteimaginings]

Introducing, me! The author!

note**: This isn’t that organized because I just got back from the lake and I’m actually exhausted. I just had to post it now since it’s been in my drafts for forever and if I didn’t do it today, I wouldn’t do it at all.

Name: You can just call me Space or Infinite, or anything space related!

Pronouns: I go by any pronouns, I don’t mind what you refer to me as. I’m AFAB and people typically use she/her for me, but I really don’t care, female, male, non-binary, I just don’t have labels on anything me wise. (it just doesn’t bother me, you can use they/he/she, literally anything and I promise, i’ll be okay.)

Writing info about me!:

I apparently get sick easily (recent months) if I take a prolonged break (with no scheduled fics out), I probably just got sick, couldn’t write, and I’m trying to recover [in my bio there’s a question of ‘am I sick?’ This is how I update you guys if I’m actually sick.]

I’m in a lot of fandoms, it’s just that I forget. So I write for more fandoms than listed, and for more characters than listed, I’m just forgetful. (You can just send an ask or message me if you want to know if I write for something)

I love writing and I take the stories I write seriously! I spend a good amount of time on them :) I’ve been writing stories since I was very little and I’ve even been writing a book.

I write on ao3 (I post these stories there along with others, don’t get on me too much though because I haven’t been transferring the stories over, I will soon lol)

I was a wattpad kid before ao3 and here (what an era 💀, no i will not talk about the horrors I wrote there that will never leave my mind)

My favorite character at the moment to write for (out of the ones I’ve written so far) is Max Thunderman because he’s fun and he was my favorite as a kid.

I have a million ideas a day, so if you see me yapping about god knows what (i’m so serious about god knows what, because i don’t know what i’m talking about half the time) and then I don’t post for three days (just of me being silly, not fic wise) it’s because I’m writing everything down into my notes and planning them out for when I have time for writing.

I swear I also write for what I enjoy not just requests, but I love answering requests! Even on the list of fics coming out, some of them are stories I just really really wanted to write and requested for myself (not like through the inbox, just in my head)

The reason I always make any of my fics neutral for the reader (unless gender is specified in the request), is because of experience. I’m black, so to be honest as I grew reading fanfiction, it wasn’t very thought of to include black reader descriptions within x readers. It always had to be specified “x black!reader”. If it didn’t, it always said pale skin, long flowing hair, etc, etc. I don’t have pale skin and I have short coily hair unless it’s in braids, so it never resonated with me and I didn’t really get to connect with them, unfortunately.

So, I automatically do gender neutral but also, if you haven’t noticed I don’t specify skin color, eye color, height (but sometimes i make characters put their head on the readers, just depends on the placement, but i try to consider it), nothing of the sorts. It’s completely neutral so that everyone can enjoy it and not feel left out. I try my best to be all inclusive in my fics, because the fics I read for my favorite characters weren’t.

Random things about me:

My favorite color is green (dark forest green) (yes, I know I’m specific)

I play instruments (Piano, ukulele, drums) and I also sing. I was in chorus, theatre, and plenty of clubs growing up.

Studying is something I enjoy which is why I research for the fics I write! If you see anything specifically accurate I either already knew it or decided to research for it. Don’t be surprised if someone asks for where I found information and i put it in mla format as a response.

I genuinely enjoy conversation with everyone, so I encourage you guys to message me for anything.

- You have a question about my blog? I’ll answer it quickly since I have notifs on (for messaging only).

- You’re wondering if I write for something specific since it’s not in my listings? I’ll tell you if i’ve watched it, and if I haven’t i’ll watch it myself and then ask for details on your request.

- You want to ask how I do something? I’ll give you a step by step with links.

- You want to ask about me in general? Go for it!

- You just want to talk? I’m a professional talker, and also a professional listener!!

I’m currently studying psychology 🌝, as a major

I watch anime and read plenty of manga

I always fill my time doing something. I read, write, sing, draw, craft, build, clean, etc. I do anything and everything because I personally believe if I don’t, I’ll just rot away in bed and I hate the idea of that.

I cant do a single thing in the same spot for over two hours, not even that. If i’m writing, I’m constantly taking a break to watch tv, dance break to music, chores, planning for something else, or moving to a different project. (I get uninterested so quickly)

Trust me when I say I actually sleep a lot lmao. Some of you guys go into my messages saying you’re worried I don’t get enough sleep. The latest I’ve stayed up to write has been to like 12:30 in the morning, and I wake up at like 7:30-8:00 in the morning every time. Then I take a nap if I get tired in the slightest.

Most of the time though, I stop writing by 10:30, and go to sleep at 11. If I don’t, me staying up to two in the morning is because of my own poor choices (webcomics, manga, fanfiction, reading my own writings multiple times). Please don’t worry about me, I’m big on sleep so I’m never deprived of it. If I complain it’s just because I’m tired and can’t go to sleep because I’ll end up even more tired.

I have 3 piercings in each of my ears, one on my nose. I have 0 tattoos, because ironically, I’m terrified of needles.

I genuinely love literature more than the average person. I also just love reading and stories in a general sense. I ache to read every book I ever see, even though people say it’s impossible I will try to fulfill my dream until my death. To the point where I can whisper the words of poets who died centuries before my existence has come to mind. Only to keep their spirits alive for a little while longer, to tell the world that these authors are still desired and that the words paint pictures society should be craving to see.

**Any images are from a board I’ve been saving to on Pinterest for the past two years. Images I think reflect how I act majority of the time.

I can’t think of any other useless information about me, so I’ll stop here! I’ll probably add more stuff since I’m a talker lololol! Thank you for reading, love you bunches!

[janewaywatches]

Ok so here’s some old fic I wrote set after the last episode of Holby with Bernie and Serena being married but also Jacs death.

It’s Jac” Serena wispered breathing deeply the phone still in her hand Hanssens low monotone voice still rining in her ears. They scrubbed in in silence washing their hands and looking at each other knowingly .

Serena thought of the first time she ever saw Jac , Jacs reputation as an eminate surgeon had proceeded her along with knowledge of her cutting commentry and go get it attitude.

Serena had mentioned Jacs Cheek bones shared a silent laugh their relationship was difficult and tense especially after Jacs sister died and the way Serena had treated her after her own daughters untimely passing but Serena always held respect for Jac cared for her even.

Bernie saw it now the sadness in her wife’s eyes the tiredness of loosing people they shouldn’t even know that what was in the bag behind them, an organ, belonged to Jac but Hansen knew.

Word travels fast among family and Jac always was family. 16years at that hospital 16 years of hard work she gave her self to her patients even right at the end she gave her heart.

Lexie has it beating in her chest the goodness of a woman who gave herself to the pursuit of surgery.

Here lies Jac Naylor saving grace of so many but she could not save her self.

Bernie cried as soon as the door closed behind them when they got home. She sobbed for a woman who did so much when all her son seemed to do was take away.

Oh how she hated that that woman was gone. Serena held her pressing kisses to her head and running her fingers through Bernies hair as they sat on the floor in the hallway proped against each other a perfect union of souls.

It was midnight and her phone rang out Ric had just got out of theatre “Serena how are you?” They cried and laughed talked about Jac and about Bernie how lucky she was to have explored the love she has with Bernie as a heart broken Fletch laments what he never had.

Sat on the bed next to each other as Serena finally put the phone down in the early hours of the morning “ i was thinking of taking some compassionate leave fancy a holiday?”

In response Bernie simply held her hand and alowef the corners of her mouth to rise kindly into a smile. “Where to?”

“ i would go anywhere with you. But no where with mosquitos, lots of flies or freezing cold temperatures “

“ ah that rules out Scotland then”

“ what?” Serena started laughing “ theres a good anotomical museum in Edinburgh actually always wanted to go”

“ Scotland it is then, even with the bugs”

“ good night darling “ Bernie said as they held hands falling asleep slowly rolling closer to each other before their heads hit the pillow.

[zaunseye]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? ━━ Well, I suppose my love for the character came first and foremost, but I had some ideas about him that I wanted to explore. I started out writing some fanfiction for him on AO3, but found that I really wanted to interact with other writers in the fandom, and roleplay is the most straightforward way to do that! I'm really enjoying it so far!

is there anything you don’t like to write? ━━ There's a few things I prefer not to roleplay, the first and foremost is Jilco. Sorry you will just never catch me doing anything concerning that. Another thing is Silco getting his way 100% of the time. I like there to be struggle in most aspects of his life and work. He doesn't make it easy on himself with his choices, and it gives me more to do in roleplay.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? ━━ I love writing Silco getting himself injured or in peril. He's delightfully stubborn, which usually ends up with him getting himself into some terrible situations, in canon and otherwise. I also really enjoy writing him being protective over those he cares about, because he expresses those emotions in such a unique way from other people.

how do you come up with headcanons? ━━ Usually I just get inspiration from a scenario I'm writing or a perspective I'm exploring. Silco makes his opinions pretty openly known in the show, which gives me a great base to start from. Another blessing of the great writing team on Arcane. So yeah, most of the time I just search for inspiration. Sometimes I turn to ask memes and quizzes, but other times I just think of it on my own.

do you write in silence or do you play music?  ━━ I have to have music on. I have entire playlists dedicated to characters I play, and Silco is no exception. His playlist mainly comprises of dark techno, industrial, and some alternative pop. It's mainly music that either matches his character or the vibe of The Last Drop under his reign. It just helps me get into his mindset with a touch more immersion.

do you plan your replies or wing them? ━━ I try to plan where I can, but also leave things loose enough that it doesn't feel like it's railroaded. I prefer to have heavy communication with my rp partner, and a general direction of where the thread is going. Goals, themes, tropes, etc etc. That being said, I also don't mind having a bit of improve for shorter form roleplay, where there's a paragraph or less to write at a time.

do you enjoy shipping?  ━━ With Silco? It depends. He's not exactly a very open person with his love since Vander, but it's not impossible. When he does form a bond with someone, it's usually deep and passionate, regardless of its type (platonic, romantic, familial, etc). I've had some interests, but really I wait for my rp partner to bring it up, because the last thing I'd want to do is overstep! Let's just say I'd be happy to explore it with the right people.

what’s your alias/name?  ━━ Zigg / Ziggy / Z

age? ━━ 30

birthday? ━━ June 4th

favorite color? ━━ neon green

favorite song? ━━ Too specific!! Here's a few:

Kill or Be Killed -- The Bloody Beetroots, Leafar Seyer Supermassive Black Hole -- Muse Cyka -- Russian Village Boys, Cosmo & Skoro CVNT -- Sophie Hunter Farben -- Orange Sector

last movie you watched? ━━ Batman: Ninja

last show you watched? ━━ Arcane

last song you listened to? ━━ Nature Calls - Iguana Death Cult

favorite food? ━━ tinola, corn chowder, pork schnitzel, japanese curry

favorite season? ━━ spring / fall

do you have a Tumblr best friend? ━━ I have several people on here who I consider close friends and great RP partners! @system-contact has been around my whole life as my closest friend, and I cherish them as someone I can always count on to be a well-versed and engaging rp partner. @bleedinghearth is a friend I've had for a while now, and I love their characters and originality, as well as their wicked humor. @jynxd has been wonderful to write with and get to know over the time I've spent in the Arcane RPC, and I love our little chats in DMs! @shimmerbeasts is a fantastic writing partner with a fun world to play in, and has been so kind and welcoming to me in the RPC, which I really appreciate. @ferinehuntress is a fun person with a wide range of characters, many of which I've had fun reading and writing with, and Panda's happy energy is just contagious.

tagged by :: @jynxd (tysm!) tagging :: anyone who wants to do this!

[quotidian-oblivion]

Out of context lines shitpost

Quo in normal text and Nogolsta in bold.

So! It's Quo again. And this time with Nogolsta (ao3: I_Is_A_Fangirl_Yee) with me! She was the one who introduced me to fanfiction on that fateful dreary night during camp, reading out loud to the whole dorm. The BarbiexRacquelle wattpad fic will never leave me. And that's not a good thing, me being here is all your fault.

You're welcome :)

Anyways, it's been years since that happened and we finally officially met during our childcare course. And! We found that we were both in the batfam fandom too! So yeah, we got plans for fics in the future, mainly me writing with Nogolsta creating half the plotline and beta-ing.

Don't worry fic readers i make sure she is punished for her crimes against the bat boys. I personally make sure of it

Guys I'm being whacked with a crochet hook.

Stabbed. You're being stabbed with a crochet hook.

But other than that! We're both agents of chaos and say the most random shit that doesnt make sense to others. Therefore, we bring to you: ✨out of context lines shitpost✨

Enjoy reading them as much as we found it funny to document them. There will be more.

That sounds like a threat.

It was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Out of context fandom shit: 

Nogolsta: Realistically, you can physically torture a 4-year-old

*Learning about how important child development is* Quo: I think I just got an angst idea

Quo: Nogolsta, Nogolsta. I need more torture ideas Nogolsta: *sighs* Share the doc with me and I’ll add my ideas onto it.

Quo, while talking about emotional development: Hey Miss, so can little kids get anxiety or like panic attacks and stuff? Nogolsta: *turns to Quo with the most disappointed look* Teacher: Yes, if they’ve been in a traumatic situation. Quo: *turns to Nogolsta with the most victorious look*

*Teacher talking about negative signs in child development* Quo: Holy shit Nogolsta: *sneakily snapping a photo* I gotchu dude Quo: Thank you

Quo: I took a test while I was sick and got a C :( Nogolsta: I once took a test while high on pain medication Quo: What Nogolsta: 11 different pills. Swallowed all at once. With coffee. Quo: Sometimes I wonder if you’re the real Tim. Nogolsta: And I got an A. Quo: You’re definitely the real Tim.

Teacher: So a child being in a negative environment like an abusive family can cause them anxiety. Now what’s the opposite of that? A loving supporting family— Yes? Quo, lowering hand: So if a child is in that abusive environment… Nogolsta: *turns to Quo for the second time with another disappointed look* Quo, ignoring her: …and you say if they had anxiety, would that mean that they would have… panic attacks? Like a toddler as well? Teacher: Well, it really depends on each person because no one can tell by just looking. They can have panic attacks, emotional outbursts, bed wetting, a number of things. Quo, whispering: Bed-wetting. Missed that. Nogolsta: *stabs Quo with a crochet hook under the desk*

Teacher, scrolling through the document: Oh look, here are some negative examples of bad childhoods. Nogolsta, turning to Quo: That's for you! Quo: I’m getting so many fic ideas rn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Non-fandom:

*Makes a 126 cm long poster of child development areas* Nogolsta: I hope this isn’t offensive, but could you realistically put this on as a hijab Quo: Quo: WeLl WhY NoT tRY iT? Note: It worked.

Quo: I wanna kill myself Nogolsta: Oh, don’t do that. I care for you too much for— Quo: I wanna commit war crimes then Nogolsta: I support that

*While making a poster* Nogolsta, drawing a pair of hands reaching out to a toy: Quo: It looks like a cult sign. A hand reaching out to the sun Nogolsta: Don’t judge my fingers!

*talking about drawing a baby playing with feet and toes* Quo: Alright, but as long as you don’t draw— Nogolsta: I’m NoT DRawiNG tOeS!

*Talking about drawing what a 3-5 year old is able to do* Nogolsta: We could do dresses themselves here and then moving along to music in the other one Quo: …I kinda like the going to toilet by themselves bit Nogolsta: I’m not drawing a toilet Quo: I wanna draw a toilet Nogolsta: We’re not drawing a toilet Quo: I wanna draw a toilet… Nogolsta: We’re not drawing a toilet. Note: We did not end up drawing a toilet :(

Nogolsta: So my cousin got slapped with a pancake Quo: No one around me gives me context!

Teacher: So what’s the next section… ah, gifted and talented children! *Quo and Nogolsta both flinch* Nogolsta, whispering: The flashback I got from being a gifted kid Quo: Who’s a gifted kid now Nogolsta: Ha not me! Quo: Me neither! *Fist bump*

[winderlylandchime]

I really am my brothers sister because I completely forgot that I came to your blog to tell you something the second I saw Gale’s face. My bad!!

But now to tell you what I came here to say originally. My dumb brother (yes, that is necessary) sprained his ankle. He’s fine but he is now again on bed rest for a few days or whatever and he has crutches which has been proven is a dangerous thing for him to have.. And on top of that he got sick with a fever…again (cus the face palm moment)

Now i know you’re probably wondering what the hell did he do now? Well let me tell you the story that is making the whole family laugh (in a loving way) He took out the trash and kept his door just slightly open to keep the cat inside and as he was trying to sneak back in, Brian took his opportunity and broke free and my brother ran after him and since he was only in slippers and it was raining like crazy he- and I say this with love- ate shit. And in the process of that he also locked himself and the cat outside. In a tank top and shorts.

The good thing is our aunt lives near him so he just went to hers and she took him to the ER and helped break into his house again but the bad thing is that when she took him to the ER, they’re also used of him there bc i wish this was the first time he stupidly injured himself. So the second he walked in they went “oh come on (his name), what did you do now?”

Since he has a ring camera we now have a video of him trying to sneak inside going ‘move, Brian, moooove. Bri, don’t make me use grown up words’ and then Brian escaped and he after him screaming ‘BRIAN YOU LITTLE DICK COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU LIL SHIT COME HERE ITS FUCKING RAINI- (this is where he ate shit)’ and you just see darkness and then hear him go ‘oh now you come to me!’ He sent the video to everyone he knew. And ngl it is my favorite thing in the world.

But anyway the reason why I’m even bothering telling you all of this, is to say that this bed rest and him being sick for like two days lead to something that he called extreme boredom and he ended up making an ao3 account. I repeat, the man made an ao3 account. He briefly entertained the idea of tumblr but since he sucks, so he just made an ao3 account. I was actually shocked when he asked me for the invitation and how it works and everything. He has not told me yet if he just wants to use it to leave kudos or what but i guess this is a PSA.

OH NOOOOO!!!! Brother anon!

Listen, I sliced my hand last week in a (failed) attempt to save skincare from falling out of my medicine cabinet and learned that my partner of 17 years gets faint at the sight of blood. So we FaceTimed my father-in-law when it was 1 am his time because he's a former paramedic to determine if I should go to the ER.

I also once sprained my ankle trying to save my coffee while I was mid-trip. Spoiler: I did not save the coffee AND my ankle was fucked.

One time my partner when ass over head tripping over my sister-in-law's dog and it was caught on a nanny-cam and I made it into a gif.

So there's a long history on my end of injuries in dumb ways so I feel empathy for your brother. This is a good lesson that a cat is gonna cat and will definitely sneak out if given the chance.

BROTHER ANON IS ON AO3!! That is incredible! Welcome to the incredible world of fanfiction Brother! My collection of my favorite QAF fics is here Also every other TV show and movie he has ever enjoyed probably has fanfiction on AO3.

[imagine-a-sanctuary-like-this]

Thoughts on AUs in fanfiction and why they may fall flat

So the other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about fanfic on ao3 and shared some thoughts on a very good SteveTony AU I'd read recently on ao3. We talked a little about that, and I was surprised to discover that my friend didn’t enjoy AUs because he felt that they defeated the point of writing about those specific characters. For him, an alternate universe (not canon-divergence, I mean like a serious AU that changes the setting completely) is more like an original work thinly veiled with the names of characters from fandom. Out of their specific stories they become something else - i.e., they are no longer the characters they are claimed to be, but simply OCs.

As someone who loves all kinds of AUs and who regularly filters by the Alternate Universe tag on ao3, I found this idea interesting. It got me thinking about the kinds of AUs I find successful and those that I feel fall flat, and in the end I came to the conclusion that it’s absolutely possible to write an AU that is wildly different from canon but still tells a story about the same essential characters. Since I've been reading a lot of SteveTony recently, I use Tony's arc (the MCU one) as an example here quite a bit, but you don't really need to be in the fandom to understand the point of the post.

Before all that, though, a quick poll:

Okay, so with that done...

I’ve decided to post my simple musings here, where perhaps other people would like to contribute to the discussion. I know many people enjoy AUs like me, and I always like to hear their reasoning for things like this.

Character Essence

First I guess we have to think about what makes a character who they are, since this is what the whole issue seems to hinge on. I’d imagine if I were asked to loosely define a character, I would say that broadly speaking they are a person (not necessarily a human person) in a work of fiction. This is good enough in that it seems to capture what I think of as the concept of 'character', but it's not helpful in so far as it gives us nothing to really differentiate one character from another.

So maybe what distinguishes a character from others is their personality. But if this is the case, it certainly does not encompass the whole idea - otherwise we would have no real way of distinguishing between characters who are as people the same, but end up in different circumstances that force them to act differently (an example of this would what I call type-b parallels within a same story, where characters with the same essential personality are thrust into different circumstances, probably to highlight their differences or make a thematic point). Probably a bigger issue here is that characters personalities change, sometimes almost to the point of becoming unrecognizable, or at least significantly different as a matter of personality (Jaime Lannister in season 1 vs season 4 of Game of Thrones, Bucky Barnes compared between Captain America: The First Avenger and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Powder/Jinx or Jayce over S1 of Arcane to name a few examples). Still, we would generally consider someone whose arc includes a strong change ‘the same character’, even if they are not the same personality.

Obviously things like ‘character name’ or how they look don’t really seem to work on a fundamental level. I think a little closer to the mark is something like ‘the story the character goes through’, i.e., the events that happen to them or action they take over the course of canon. These define the arc, because you bounce the character off the events around them to form an image of how they change (or how they stay the same, in the case of flat arc. Basically imagine this as mapping their internal journey as a function throughout the story) or a deeper look into their psyche.

I think this is where me and my friend would diverge, because while I think characters’ specific stories and events are important, this view sort of misses why they are important.

Why tell stories?

The story is about something. I suppose the conventional term for this ‘about’ would be the ‘theme(s)’. The story - and therefore the character’s arc - has some essential components that align with the theme, or else act as a mode of its expression. What I’m saying is that in terms of narrative layers, the theme is probably the most fundamental. What comes on top of that - places, names, specific events - map onto the theme and all those core ideas underlying the narrative, usually in a way that follows ‘narrative beats’ (in that, moments in the story that are significant to the theme) that are usually not one-to-one specific to that situation. Often these involve exploring questions about human nature, psychology, morals, etc., which don’t in themselves require a specific context to be followed to a T.

By the way, I’m not saying it’s just this that differentiates a character, that would probably be too reductionist, but at least for me when I analyze a story, this is mostly what makes a character ‘who they are.’ Themes, beats.

Which is why I think AUs have great potential to be fully in-character and in line with ‘who the characters are’ in canon (if that is indeed the goal. To be honest though, I don’t always see the point of writing strong OOC on purpose because here you’re certainly not writing about the canon character anymore) while also adding fun new elements and worlds into the mix. This way you can change events dramatically, but as long as they have the same thematic relevance or fulfil the same beat in the story as in the original, it is hardly out of character at all.

Compatibility

Of course this works better for some universes than it does for others. Some thematic beats are simply too fine-tuned to the story - for example, I have trouble visualising a drastic AU of something like Better Call Saul that keeps up with even most of this stuff. ‘A drastic AU’ here would be something like removing the ‘lawyer’ element from the story completely. I mean, one of the other reasons you probably couldn’t do that is because ‘law’ is among the themes of BCS. Some themes necessarily imply certain content, so you can't really write about these characters without writing about the law somehow.

On the other hand, other arcs are very adaptable to this kind of AU-fication. An example that springs to my mind is the MCU (not 616!) Tony Stark’s arc. It’s fairly complex, but after some reflection - and drawing on a LOT of SteveTony AU fics done well - I've found the themes are very ‘universalizable’.

To illustrate, here are the main things Tony's story is about: sacrifice/selflessness, redemption, purpose (very big in Iron Man 1), moral choices like security vs freedom (Civil War), identity I guess (big in IM3), security taken on its own (obsession with extra-terrestrial threats after what he saw in the wormhole in Avengers 1 is the cause of PTSD in IM3, creation of Ultron in Age of Ultron and the whole thematic thing they did with Thanos in Infinity War), dealing with strong emotions (Civil War)…

So there’s a lot to draw from. And what I mean when I say this kind of arc is 'universalizable' is that a lot of these can be mapped onto other stories without losing much of this meaning. This is coincidentally why I believe AUs “before ‘modern science’ was a thing” still work for Tony, because nowhere in his arc is Tony necessarily a scientist. I see it more as a tool for these themes than a theme of its own. It seems there are many beautiful AUs out there where Tony is not a scientist/engineer, yet remains in character (though I guess if you consider it a necessary part of his character, he isn’t in-character, and my argument is circular. I don't think it is though. I might make a post about this sometime...).

Anyway. That's some stuff in favour of AUs from a the story structure standpoint. They can be non-OOC.

Now, of course, an AU is not bad if it isn’t in line with what the original story was about. Well, okay, firstly there’s probably gradations of how close you are in terms of loyalty to the shape of the original story. Some AUs are almost one-to-ones moved into a different setting, some are a little more vague but follow with the general idea and map onto the most important things in the original story. If your criterion for a 'good' AU is just characters staying in character (which in my view is a little... shallow) then I guess you have a way of differentiating between fics. Personally, I think a lot goes into a good AU, and being in-character or OOC is just one factor (though not a small one).

Interpretation

There's just one more thing to talk about, and that of course is the matter of interpretation.

Different people may interpret what a character's story is about very differently. This is a complicated question that tracks back to the nature of truths and all kinds of things that are beyond the scope of this post, so I'll only touch on this briefly. Coming back to the Tony Stark example (I swear I have others, but months of reading SteveTony are... showing). I have seen people claim that Tony's arc is essentially about him realizing that 'making weapons bad' and finding ways to right his wrong and become a better person. I don't think this is... entirely wrong. That does happen in the first Iron Man movie.

But the broader point is: the people who claim this and me have looked at the same material and drawn different conclusions. Is either of us mistaken?

I think the answer in this case is yes. The reason is evidence. There is a lot more evidence against the above statement than for it (this doesn't mean my vision of Tony's arc is accurate, mind you, only that this one is inaccurate) which I think resolves the question nicely.

Some people think that discussion about literature consist of nothing but opinions, and evidence is... irrelevant. I disagree. Value-statements are certainly opinions, but examining a character's arc is not entirely a value-statement, a lot of it is working with material. The material is the story, and a lot of it can be used as concrete evidence - events, things characters say or do, things they think even. These do form a picture, and while it's sometimes hard to find a single thing they point to, it's usually pretty easy to weed out things they definitely don't point to.

Now of course, I think some variation will exist without any statement being correct or incorrect, but most of the time for the fundamental ideas in stories there will be a bunch of clearly wrong interpretations, and very strong - true - evidence that shows why those interpretations are wrong.

Endnotes

Anyway, wrapping up, that’s my thoughts on AUs and why some of them may fall flat for people like my friend. I think for a guy like him, the reason he hasn’t read many good AUs is that he hasn’t read many in general, so there’s not a big sample to draw from. And then once you’ve made a judgement about a kind of fic, you don’t try it again, so you never really end up changing your mind even if there is a chance that it might be.

If any of y’all have thoughts on this (you like AUs/dislike AUs, maybe your ideas about what makes a good AU) I would love to read them. Drop a comment!

- S

[lelitachay]

Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: An accident in the North mountain forces Elsa to spend several weeks in her brother’s apartment under Anna’s care. And during this time, Anna begins to notice there are peculiar things about Elsa’s life she wished she could understand. Everything starts to make sense after a family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP.

Links:

Fanfiction.net - HERE

AO3 - HERE

Tumblr - Chapters 1 to 10 - Here   Chapters 11 to 20 - Here Chapters 21 to 30 - Here Chapters 31 to 40 - Here Chapter 41 - Here

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Fault line

On the walk back from the cliff Marshall took a wrong turn somewhere and they both ended walking in circles for a few minutes. Elsa noticed this and even though she was tired and she wanted to tell him 'I knew exploring late was a bad idea', there was a part of her that was enjoying the stroll and quiet company, despite her body's complaints. It reminded her of the first times they had spent time together, when they would walk the mountain or go skiing to secluded slopes. It made her smile to know their friendship had evolved the way it had, and she was somewhat glad about the accident — even if the guilt whenever she looked at his arm was very much present.

"Okay… where to?" Marshall asked as soon as they found his car and got into it. He was pretending he hadn't got lost and only expected an answer. It made Elsa smile, knowing his pride was stopping him from saying anything about it.

"So?" With the keys in his hand, he waited for her to say something.

That's when she remembered everything that was waiting for her in the city, and the smile dropped from her face. Having talked to Marshall didn't erase the fact she had kept serious information from Kai and the rest of her family. And to make matters worse, she had disappeared in the early morning without a word. It was a matter of time until Kai realised she was avoiding him. "I'm not sure," Elsa said. "What time is it?"

Marshall raised an eyebrow, but looked at his watch nonetheless. "It's past midnight. I guess we stayed at the cliff longer than I imagined."

And we spent over twenty minutes wandering aimlessly. She wanted to say, but instead nodded her head and wondered what was best to do. Getting home so late was not going to help her in the least. It'd only give Kai the idea that she was sneaking in the house. She knew that she had to talk to her parents sooner or later, but having their conversation in the middle of the night, after everything that she'd lived that day, was not going to end well. She was feeling more and more exhausted with every passing minute and the ever present headache she'd had since early morning was becoming more and more unbearable.

"Kristoff's? Your parents', perhaps?" suggested Marshall, unsure why she was having so many doubts.

She massaged her forehead trying to ease the pain. "I don't want to see my family right now…"

"Is everything okay?"

"It's a long story…" She was tired of having to explain herself all the time. "And I'm too tired to deal with that tonight."

"...home?" said Marshall, understanding her request not to press the subject.

The idea of going back home so soon after everything that had happened didn't make her feel better. She wanted to sleep and not think about anything for a couple of hours, and by staying at her house she risked Kai coming knocking at her door in the early morning.

Running out of options, and not wanting to be alone, she asked, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

He opened his eyes in surprise at first; but after a moment, a small smile drew on his face. "Sure. My door is always open."

She smiled grateful and that was his cue to start the car and, with it, the long way back. They were over an hour away from Trolheim and another forty minutes away from the North mountain. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to stay awake, but she thought it was best to try. She was certain Marshall was tired as well and needed her company.

As if he had read her mind, he turned the radio on, saying he needed the noise to stay alert. Elsa nodded and looked at him as he tried to find something worth listening to in the few stations that were still on. It called her attention that, even after having found something he liked, he kept his head turned in her direction, trying — and failing — to look at her discreetly as he played with the radio buttons.

Elsa tried to ignore it for a minute, but after the third obvious glance, she had to ask. "Why do you keep looking at me?"

"Nothing…" He tried in vain to pretend he wasn't and grabbed the steering wheel with both his hands and cleared his throat. "It's just– So many things start to make sense about you now."

So he was still wondering about her and her abilities. She should've guessed he was not going to drop the topic so easily. She only hoped he wouldn't start asking questions she didn't have an answer to. "What do you mean?"

"You're insanely good at winter sports, for example," he said with a smile.

Elsa couldn't help but roll her eyes, she'd like for people to assume she was good because she was good at sports for once and not because of her powers. "You're good at Winter sports too."

"Well…" He bought himself some time, trying to find something else to explain what he meant. "Your spirits always lift with the first snow of the season."

"A lot of people enjoy—"

"You wear insanely light jackets when it's freezing outside," he continued, not giving her the chance to contradict him.

"And you wear insanely warm jackets, so?" countered Elsa. Deep down she knew what he was doing, he was trying to find the cold represented in the simplest things and somehow link that to her powers. Gerda and Kristoff had driven her mad trying to convince her they were part of the good things she was, as well as the negative ones; but it hadn't worked. "It doesn't mean anything."

Showing his characteristic stubbornness, he said, "Your slope always, and I mean always, had fresh snow. Even when it didn't snow. And when it did snow, your snow was somehow better. It didn't make sense."

"Well, I–" she tried to argue absentmindedly before she realised what he was saying. "Wait, you noticed?"

He showed her a proud smirk, knowing he had actually noticed something that belonged exclusively to her. "Of course I did. As I said, it didn't make sense. Now that I think about it, it stopped while you were living with your brother. You weren't there to do it."

"Do you think other people noticed?" A sudden concern overwhelmed her. What if other people living at the mountain realised about the snow and they were wondering where it was coming from?

"Not a chance. Don't worry," he reassured. "I'm the only one who's always– uhm…" He stopped abruptly and gathered his thoughts. "The slope. Using the slope, I mean."

Elsa looked at him, trying to understand why he was struggling with his words. But she decided not to pay too much attention to it. Since he had come up with the topic, she wanted to use the opportunity to ask him about something she had struggled with since she began working on her slope. "Do you think it's unfair to use my powers to my advantage?"

"What?" he asked with a laugh. "No. Westergaard has got money and uses it to keep his resort in good condition. You've got your powers. Seems fair to me."

"Seriously?" She knew he didn't like Westergaard; but even then, she hoped for an unbiased opinion on his part.

"Of course, Elsa. He was born wealthy. You were born… umm…"

He didn't know how to finish the sentence and Elsa offered him a logical choice. "... a monster?"

He turned to look at her with a frown, his smile dropping faster than Elsa thought was possible. "Don't say that."

"It's the truth."

"I don't want to hear you say that," he said as he grabbed her shoulder, making sure she listened. "I'm serious."

She was certain that if she tried to push the topic, he'd get truly mad at her and she understood him. She always got mad when he bad-mouthed himself, but this was completely different than anything else he could do. "You're really okay with me being… like this?"

Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, he met hers and kept a firm grip on her shoulder. "You wouldn't be you if you were any different."

The certainty in his voice and his tender look moved Elsa to tears. Not trusting herself to speak, she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder as a silent thank you. He extended his arm over her shoulders and gently caressed her back. She tried to fight against the sleepiness she felt, but she failed to do so and closed her eyes, giving herself the chance to enjoy the peaceful moment.

---

By the time Elsa opened her eyes again, Marshall was turning the radio off and they were already parked at the North mountain. She apologised to Marshmallow for falling asleep and he just laughed it off.

She couldn't remember the moment she fell asleep, but clearly it had happened soon after their conversation. It surprised her how tired she felt even after sleeping for two hours straight, and deep down she wished she could stay where she was, leaning into Marshall. The last thing she wanted was to walk the long way to his cottage.

After Marshall made sure the SUV was locked, they began the trek to his house. Several times along the way Elsa wondered if it wasn't easier to just sit on the ground and sleep against a tree for a few hours. With every step, she felt her legs getting heavier and the exhaustion of the day pulling her down. At some point, Marshall noticed something wasn't right and stopped to ask her if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she lied. "I didn't remember your house was so far away from the car park, that's all."

"It's a bit farther than your place, yes." he said, nodding his head. "But we've walked farther distances before."

"I guess I'm just tired."

"We're almost there. Come on," he reassured her and then put his arm around her shoulders, encouraging her to keep going.

---

It had been a while since Marshall felt so relieved to arrive home. For the first time in days, he could get home and not feel like there was more he should have done. He had finally talked to Elsa; and what was best, there was something different between them. Elsa rarely allowed herself to relax around him — or anyone for that matter. But after the truth came to light, she showed him her powers and he reassured her that he was okay with her being the way she was; he felt something changing. There was something in the way she looked at him and the small smile that wouldn't leave her face that told him he had done something right for once.

What he didn't expect when he got home was the avalanche of Snowgies charging at him. He had left them alone for several hours after all. "No, no. Please," he said as he tried to walk into his living room. He sighed, knowing it was best to feed them before they made sure to irk him. "Don't mess with my patience, you beasts."

Elsa laughed when she saw him struggle with all his cats, and he smiled back at her. At least he could make her grin for a while.

"The snowgies keep getting bigger and bigger," she said, as she leaned back with a tired sigh on the couch and watched him feed the cats.

"And my savings keep shrinking and shrinking." He wouldn't complain about it if he had a stable job, but the amount of food the cats demanded as they grew older was starting to alarm him, and Winter couldn't arrive soon enough. "They eat more than me."

"I doubt that," Elsa said with a laugh and he sent her a warning look.

Once he was finished feeding and cleaning the mess the cats had done around the house, he sat on the armrest of the couch next to Elsa. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be ready to fall asleep. "Come on, I'll make my bed for you," he suggested.

"What?" Elsa said, opening her eyes and looking at him seriously. "No. I'll sleep on the couch like last time."

"I won't let you sleep on a crappy couch full of cats."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch," he said with an embarrassed smile.

"I didn't invite myself over for you to use the crappy couch," Elsa said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's not argue about this. Go to my room."

"I'll stay here," she said with resolution. "Good night, Marshall."

Sighing in defeat, he agreed with her. "Fine. But give me two seconds, don't fall asleep just yet." He went into his room and grabbed his pillow and an extra blanket for Elsa to use. He might not force her to take the bed, but he'd find a way to make her sleep as comfortable as possible. He wasn't at all convinced by Elsa's claims that she was feeling okay, and he wanted to make sure she could sleep the whole night without interruptions. He only hoped his cats wouldn't disturb her too much.

He returned to the living room and threw the pillow on the couch. "Here. Take the blanket," he said as he put it over her shoulders and crouched in front of her. "Your powers don't bother me, but your tolerance to cold weather drives me insane. The temperature drops during the early hours and I don't have any more logs to start a fire."

"We're still in Summer."

He didn't care if she thought he was being ridiculous. He liked having his house properly heated all year long and he'd make sure people around him felt comfortable if he could. After that, they both stayed in silence. His eyes fixed on hers and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look away. The quietness was welcomed after the stressful day and there was much left to say at that moment.

Deep down he wished he could use the peacefulness of the moment to say what she meant to him. But Elsa was only starting to open up, and the last thing she needed was for him to start talking about feelings not even he could understand.

"Thank you for caring about me, Marshmallow. Not many people have done that," she said out of the blue with a sad smile and it disarmed him entirely. Not thinking much about it, he grabbed the blanket and pulled from it, forcing Elsa closer and into his arms. The hug was rather awkward since he was still on the floor, but he held her close. He was so relieved they had finally talked things through.

Elsa returned the hug by putting her arms around his neck and resting her head on top of his. She seemed calmer now that he knew the truth, and her powers were still under control. It made Marshall wonder how they worked and how it was possible for them to manifest so suddenly and strongly at one moment and disappear, leaving no trace, at another. They were something he had to get used to, but he was certain it was worth the effort.

"Are you sure you don't want the bed?" he asked as he put some distance between them.

"No," Elsa said, rolling her eyes. "Go to bed."

"Wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

"Go to sleep, Marshmallow. I can see you're as tired as I am."

"Wake me up," he insisted with a smile and bid her goodnight.

---

A couple of hours later, Elsa woke up feeling rather uncomfortable and cold. She was startled by the chills running down her back and she sat up on the sofa, the blanket falling onto her lap. She looked around and tried to make sure her powers hadn't manifested. The still, dark room seemed to be in perfect condition and Marshall's cats were still soundly asleep on the armchair. Everything was okay and she sighed in relief.

She was feeling extremely cold, and she couldn't understand why. Normally, she could feel when the temperature dropped, but it never bothered her. Not the way it was bothering her right then. She then tried to cover her arms with the blanket, thinking how ironic it had been to laugh at Marshall for insisting she kept the blanket at hand.

She rubbed her arms and laid down once again. Her head throbbed behind her eyes as she did, and for a short moment she felt sick. She turned around trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch, but her back and left arm ached as she did. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way. And even though she had become accustomed to the pain as a child, she couldn't stand feeling cold. Being cold meant there was something wrong, and wrong meant her powers could react at any moment.

She tried to fall asleep again, but the pain and chills she felt wouldn't let her. Marshall's offer came to mind and a sudden urge to call him overwhelmed her. She didn't want to wake him up, but the blanket he had given her was not heavy enough and she had no idea where to find another one. She was about to get up from the sofa and search around, but decided against it. Every movement made her feel worse and she thought it was best to deal with it on her own. She was fully clothed after all. She was certain that it was supposed to be more than enough to keep her warm. Her body was probably reacting to something and she just needed to sleep it off.

She turned once again, trying in vain to find a comfortable position. She envied how normal people could be warm and cosy to the touch, unlike her. Marshall's hug before bed had made her feel warm and fuzzy, and now that she was alone and feeling cold, she longed for it.

The idea of getting up and calling him came to mind again, but she tried to get rid of it. She didn't want to expose him to her powers, even if they were still dormant. Her body could react in an unpredictable way.

After a few more minutes, her eyelids became heavier and she welcomed the much-needed rest.

---

The next time she opened her eyes, there was light outside and she could hear the sound of someone moving not far from where she was lying. She guessed Marshall was already awake and getting ready for his day. Each step and sound he made felt like a bang on the head and forced her to close her eyes. She couldn't understand what was wrong, but somehow sleeping had only made her feel worse. She was still cold and she couldn't stand it. How people lived their lives constantly feeling the cold was beyond her. It made her feel terrible for inflicting it to others with her powers.

She tried opening her eyes again, but the light was too bright and the sounds too loud. She tried to sit up but the rest of her body protested. She shivered from the cold and gave up on the idea, resting her head on the pillow once again.

She heard Marshall getting closer and felt relieved, at least she was not alone at her place. If she didn't get well soon enough, she was certain he'd be able to help her.

"Morning." His voice was coming from above and when she opened her eyes, she saw with his arms resting on the back of the couch and a goofy smile on his face. "Would you like some coffee or something to eat?"

"No." She shook her head at the idea. She wasn't hungry in the least and she wondered if it was normal.

"But… we skipped dinner last night." She could hear the surprise in his voice and knew it was a matter of time until he noticed she wasn't feeling well. "You must be hungry."

He waited for her to say something, but her mind felt foggy.

"Are you okay?"

She made an effort to sit up and, when she finally did, look at him. "Yes."

"I've got a headache, that's all." Elsa said, not having the strength to explain she was actually feeling cold and as if a bus had run over her.

Walking around the sofa, he sat on the coffee table in front of her and placed his hand over her forehead. His cold touch felt nice in spite of the cold. "I think you've got a temperature. You don't look too good either."

She kept a straight face, trying not to show how weak she felt. Marshall would try to help her if she did and she couldn't risk hurting him again. She tried to stand up, but he stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"My back hurts. Maybe I should've taken the bed." It was meant to be a joke, to pretend the sofa was responsible for her pain, but one look from him told him he didn't buy it.

"Is this because of your powers?" He asked in concern. "I shouldn't have asked you to use them, should I?"

"No. It doesn't work that way," she reassured him. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I'm just tired."

Using his good arm, he helped her stand up and suggested she used his bed for a while. Not giving her the chance to complain, he walked her straight to his bedroom. He waited for her to get under the covers and left the room with the promise of bringing her some water.

---

Gerda hung up the phone with a trembling sigh and turned to look at her husband. It was the third time she tried to contact Kristoff that morning with no luck. "He didn't answer," she said, knowing Kai would lose his mind any minute now.

"Elsa's been missing for a whole day. Now Kristoff doesn't pick up." He hit his fist on the wooden table to release some pent up anger. "I'm about to call the station and request an arrest warrant on those two."

Gerda knew that was something he'd never do, but still she hated to hear him say it. Kristoff and Elsa were good kids who'd never given them any trouble, aside from the issues related to their unusual upbringing. She wished Kai realised that too and understood they were bound to make mistakes sometimes. Though, Elsa disappearing for so many hours certainly worried her. She wasn't dealing with her problems in a good way lately and their conversation about her wanting to give up kept resonating in her head. The mere idea of something bad happening to her made her hands tremble and as if someone was squeezing her heart.

"She isn't missing," she tried to reassure herself and her husband. "She was at Kristoff's place yesterday. At this point I'm starting to think she's avoiding you, which is completely different from being missing."

Kai turned to her, an angry expression written all over his face. "Why would she—?"

Gerda didn't give him time to argue and said, "Elsa's not stupid, Kai. She realised you were a police officer the other night, not her father. She noticed it and decided to avoid it."

"I was not going to interrogate her," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You and I know it was important to discuss whatever happened between her and Hålkesen. All we know is there's someone out there who knows about Elsa's powers. Someone who's been hurt. And Elsa's avoiding this matter entirely. This is serious, Gerda."

"Perhaps she discussed it with Kristoff and Anna. She was with them yesterday."

"You're not doing Elsa any favours by justifying everything she does — good or bad. She's an adult, and as such she needs to take responsibility for her own actions."

Crossing her arms and adopting a defensive attitude that matched his own, she insisted, "Perhaps she has already taken responsibility."

"The broken girl who couldn't even look at us?" he scoffed. "That girl has taken responsibility? Are you sure of it?"

Gerda knew he loved Elsa just as much as she did, he was merely mocking her idea, but somehow she couldn't stop the irritation she felt at him. "You're talking about your daughter, Kai. I'm not going to let you—"

"Elsa's not okay," he said, sternly. "The sooner you see that the better. She needs help. She's always needed help. We were just blissfully wishing the mountain and some bad-paying job would help her overcome her issues. What we are doing is absurd."

To hear him say what they both had always known made her stop her tirade and she felt something inside of her breaking. She knew Elsa was not okay. Even during her good days Gerda could see a shadow of sadness in her eyes. A sadness she was starting to believe would never go away.

"Do you think I haven't noticed? The idea of losing her won't let me sleep at night," she admitted.

If they were going to talk about it, then she'd let him know exactly what she was afraid of. "A couple of months ago I was terrified of losing her to her biological family. Now, I'm terrified of someone knocking on my door to tell me she has taken her own life. Of course I've noticed!"

His face paled and he tried in vain to deny that possibility. "Elsa won't—"

"You've seen people make drastic decisions for far less than Elsa has gone through." Her voice barely over a whisper. She dried a couple of tears she couldn't stop and continued, "We can't push Elsa to her limits only because we think we know best. What do we know, Kai? What have we lived that could even remotely compare to Elsa's life?"

He stayed silent, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"Please, tell me," she insisted.

"Nothing."

"Absolutely nothing," she repeated with more strength. "Yes, she's an adult. And yes, probably she should be more careful and start doing things differently. I won't deny that." She hoped Kai would finally understand her indignation. "But that doesn't change the fact that her life, her childhood, has been extremely different." She allowed a few more tears to fall and tried to stop her hands from shaking. "I love her to pieces and I would excuse anything as long as I know that she's okay."

Kai took a moment to gather his thoughts and when he was about to talk, a knock on the door stopped him. The both looked at each other hoping Elsa was the one on the other side.

Gerda made her way to the door, not before turning around and giving her husband one last warning. "Please, stop to think for a second before you do or say something stupid and hurtful. She's been trying hard. It's not her fault that hard seems to never be good enough."

---

As soon as his mother opened the door, Kristoff knew something had happened to her. The sadness in her eyes was something he couldn't stand, and it was in moments like that he knew he'd do anything for that old woman.

She hugged him tight before he could ask if something was wrong. "I'm glad to see you," she said. "I've been trying to call you. Is your sister with you?"

And that's when he realised there was no point in asking what was going on. What was worrying his mother was clear. "Elsa isn't here?"

"No." Gerda's small smile dropped and it was replaced by a look of concern Kristoff didn't remember seeing in her.

"Wasn't she supposed to be with you?" The voice of his father called his attention.

"She was at home last night. I thought she'd come here after talking with Marshall."

"Marshall?" Gerda asked, her spirits lifting. "So she talked to him?"

"He was waiting outside for her when she left the apartment. So, I guess they did." Only then, the realisation that Elsa hadn't talked to their parents came to his mind. "Wait, do you know what happened?"

"We think we do," Kai said, seriously. "Where did they go?"

"I'm not sure. They didn't say." He didn't want to stop her once she had made up her mind, but now he felt like an idiot. "The mountain, I guess? Elsa wanted to go far away."

"Did she tell you what happened between them?"

"No, we didn't have time to talk. Marshall talked to me." He felt like in an interrogation, and Kristoff knew there was something in his father's head. "What are you aiming at?"

"I just don't trust him. Hålkesen wouldn't say anything to Anders and me the other night. Her house is a mess. There's blood everywhere."

Blood everywhere? Kristoff tried to calm down and think about things more clearly than Kai. "When did you talk to Marshall?"

"It doesn't matter," Kai said, not wanting to waste anymore time. "Where does he live?"

"At the North mountain."

"I know that. Where?"

"I have no idea." The exasperation in his father's voice made him worry, and Kristoff thought it was best to call in sick and stay to make sure his father's paranoia didn't control him.

Sighing in annoyance, Kai walked into the kitchen claiming to call Anders and find the information himself.

"Marshall's not a bad guy," Kristoff called after him.

"I'll believe it when I get to talk to him."

---

After making sure Elsa was somewhat comfortable, Marshall let her sleep for as long as she needed. Throughout the morning, he checked on her every now and then, but didn't interrupt her slumber knowing she was probably feeling worse than she had let on.

When he walked into his room in the early afternoon, he finally found her awake looking at the ceiling.

"Hey, you're awake," he said, relieved. "How are you feeling?" He noticed she had listened to him but still kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Elsa?"

"Seventy-six planks and eight beams," she said after a moment, finally looking at him with overtired eyes.

"What?" He looked up and then at her again.

"Your ceiling. It has seventy-six planks and eight beams."

"And that's important because…"

"I count things to distract myself." After that, she sat up in bed as best as she could.

Marshall noticed she kept his blanket close and tried to cover herself as much as possible. She was still feeling cold and her eyes weren't focused. It made him worry that perhaps she was feeling worse than he originally imagined. "How are you feeling?" He said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fin—"

"If you say you're fine I'm going to be enraged" he warned. "How are you feeling?"

Looking down, she admitted, "I feel awful."

Feeling conflicted about her answer, he placed his hand on her forehead again. He was glad she was finally being honest, but he didn't like the answer in the least. He frowned at how hot it felt to the touch. He caressed her face with the inner excuse of checking her temperature and smiled when she exhaled as if she welcomed the feeling. "You're burning up."

He wasted no time offering her some water and he then pulled from the blanket until he found the hem of her hoodie. "Come on. I need you to take this off."

"My clothes?" Elsa asked surprised, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.

He wasn't sure if her blush was the result of the fever or plain embarrassment at his request, but he wouldn't deny he enjoyed seeing her so flustered. And decided to make sure to tease her after she was feeling better. "No. Not all your clothes. Just this hoodie…" He began pulling it over her head as he explained himself. "Let me help you. We need to lower your temperature."

Understanding it was for the best, she complied and allowed him to help her. Elsa shivered as soon as it was off and he noticed that the white t-shirt she was wearing underneath was drenched in sweat. He looked for one of his clean t-shirts and offered it to her. It was twice her size but it was better than nothing, he concluded. He looked the other way while she changed and used the time to find a thermometer he had somewhere in his closet.

If someone had told him Elsa would end up being partially naked in his bed three days after their confrontation, he would have laughed at their face. But there he was, acting as professional as possible with Elsa partially naked in his bed; and he felt like slapping himself for even pointing it out in his head. However, if he had to be honest, one thing he liked about their current situation was knowing Elsa did trust him. And he even felt stupid for thinking the opposite the days before.

"It's too cold," Elsa said, pulling him back to reality.

"It'll help. Trust me," he reassured as he turned around and saw her hugging herself to keep warm. "Hold this under your armpit." He sat on the edge of the bed facing her and gave her the thermometer.

Elsa complied and a small smile drew on her face, making him smile back. "What is it?"

"You're even more serious when you're in your medical role."

"Stubborn patients require more attention." He laughed as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Elsa's smile broadened when she heard him laugh, but it was soon replaced by a frown as she shivered once again. "I hate feeling this way," she said and leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

Marshall caressed her back as they waited, and noticed that even the soft touch made Elsa tremble. He guessed her temperature was probably higher than he had anticipated for her skin to be so sensitive.

He asked for the thermometer after a couple of minutes and Elsa reluctantly sat back.

"39.1… No wonder you feel and look like crap." He regretted not checking her temperature sooner. He should have known Elsa would minimise whatever was happening to her, like she always did. "Your powers have nothing to do with this?" he wondered, as he thought what was best to do. He had run out of medicine that could help her reduce her fever; but even then, there had to be a reason her body was raising its temperature.

She shook her head and pulled the blanket higher, trying to stop herself from shivering.

"Then, what—" The memory of her injured hand came back to mind at that moment. With everything that happened, he had forgotten about it, the same way he had almost forgotten about his burn. He had only changed his bandages in the morning after his shower, as part of his routine. But he hadn't thought about it at all until he got in the shower.

He wasn't sure when was the last time Elsa had changed her own bandages and cleaned her wound, but something told him it had been a while.

"Let me see your hand," he said and tried to hold her arm before Elsa could even register his question.

Hissing in pain at the touch and pulling away, she said, "Easy, my powers become unpredictable when I'm like this. Maybe you shouldn't be near me."

"I barely even touched you," he complained. Then he silently asked her to extend her injured arm and began examining it. "By the way, I'm not going to let you on your own when you can't even sit straight. Does your arm hurt when I do this?" He held it firmly and pressed.

It didn't take long for Elsa's face to start contorting in pain, soon after she begged for him to let go.

"The injury is in your hand. The rest of the arm shouldn't hurt."

"What do you mean?" She asked, as if it was the first time she thought of it.

"Can I see?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

Marshall sighed, knowing it would take a long time until Elsa understood he could help her and things wouldn't necessarily end up in disaster. "Did you take care of your wound when you got home the other night?"

Looking down in shame, she said, "not really."

"You are an idiot."

"Well, I didn't—" she tried to justify herself, but he had more important things to pay attention to. He grabbed her arm once again and began taking the bandages off. "Are you crazy?" Elsa complained. "Do you want me to blast your head off by mistake?"

He continued unwrapping the bandages, pretending he couldn't hear her. Her forearm was swollen and her wrist had a red streak coming from her hand that made him more concerned than he originally was. He stopped what he was doing and began touching her neck.

"What are you doing?" asked Elsa, confused.

He ignored her question and asked, "your hand has been hurting for a while now, hasn't it?"

The way she looked down again, avoiding his eyes was all the confirmation he needed.

"You are an idiot."

He continued taking the bandages off and the smell stopped him just before he finished. He didn't need to see her hand to know it was terribly infected. What did call his attention was the fact that bandages were wet inside.

"Why are you so worried?"

His face must have said more than he intended for her to ask the question. "Your arm is swollen. So are your lymph nodes."

"I have no idea what that is."

"It doesn't matter." There would be another time and place to explain some biology to her.

"Shit! What is wrong with you?" She complained when he finally peeled the rest of the bandages off.

"Elsa, your hand looks awful. This is badly infected. And wet. Why on earth is this wet? Why wouldn't you say something?!" He was talking more to himself than Elsa at this point, but he addressed the last question to her.

"My powers manifested many times yesterday. I can't control it. It must have damped the bandages. I didn't think—"

"You clearly weren't thinking!" he exclaimed. He was angry at Elsa, but a bit more angry at himself for not noticing she was hiding her pain. There was no way she wouldn't have felt her hand throbbing or itching or something. Her involuntary movements and her struggle to walk the trail to his house made a lot more sense now. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"What? No! I'm not going." She said as she pulled her hand away from him.

She was so fast to react, it almost seemed like her fever had disappeared. "You need to go to the hospital. You need antibiotics."

"No, I don't," she said, stubbornly. "I've got a fever, yes. And maybe my hand doesn't look pretty, but it's nothing Gerda can't fix."

Forgetting about her powers, he grabbed her hand and showed her what was his main concern. "See these red streaks? That's a bad sign. This is a serious infection."

"Marshall, I'm not going."

"You'd rather get seriously sick than be treated? Are you out of your mind?!"

She looked at her hand, her face contorting in what he thought was disgust. "Take me home. To my parents' home, I mean."

"You need a doctor to clean this. You need antibiotics. The sooner, the better."

"I'm not going to a hospital," she insisted.

Even if her eyes were still overtired and unfocused as a result of the high temperature, she stood her ground, and Marshall couldn't believe it. "What— I can't—" Not finding the words nor the patience to deal with her at that moment, he stood up and put the blanket over her shoulders. "We're leaving. We'll see what we do when we get to the city."

Elsa's eyes brimmed with tears and she held his hand tightly, forcing him to look at her. Her good hand was extremely cold, and Marshall regretted letting his emotions control every situation.

"I need you to listen to me for once…" Elsa said, making sure he listened. "I can't go to the hospital."

Why, he wasn't sure. But he guessed there had to be a real reason for her not to yield, even when she was so weak. "Fine," he said, holding her hand back. "Fine. I'll take you to Gerda. Just, please, cooperate with me now."

She must have noticed how worried he was as well, since she nodded and allowed him to help her.

---

I honestly cannot believe I was able to write this in fifteen days. I had some dialogues written down for some of the scenes, but I had to put so many things in order I thought it was an impossible quest. But here I am. Unbelievable.

You'll notice that I've changed the rating of the story. It was originally T rated, but since this is the first time that I openly let the characters mention the possibility of another character taking their life, I decided to be cautious and change it. Before you start to worry, that's not a route I feel comfortable taking, it has never been my intention and I'm pretty sure it won't be. But I couldn't stop myself from stepping on Gerda's shoes and expressing her concerns. Bear in mind that she's not lying when she says Elsa means the world to her, and she has seen her at her worst. She knows better than anyone how much help Elsa needs and she can't stop her anxiety from coming up with the worst scenarios.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter and the way the story is progressing. Feel free to point out anything you want! For those who had left a comment and I still haven't answered, I read your messages and loved them all. I'll try to answer as soon as possible!

Read you soon!

Take care.