#my brain: perfect. write some [REDACTED]

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[jademight]

[theorbess540]

Was bored and mentally assigning Pokémon to Spy x Family characters, so I figured I'd write it down here instead of leaving it to rot inside my brain :D.

Probably not going to do anything else with this, but it was fun to comb through Pokédex entries to find the best matches. I even limited myself to one Pokémon per person (with a sort-of exception for Twilight/Loid) to make it a challenge. It ended up longer then expected, since I ended up doing a sort of deep-dive for each, so you have been notified.

Text: Reasonings behind choice.

tl;dr: of my explanation included.

Small Text: Backstory/In-Universe Lore.

Twilight (Loid Forger)- Mew (Audino)

Understandably, Twilight's Pokémon seems overpowered, but there was more thought behind it then just "protag has powerful legendary" cliché. Let me explain.

First priority for the partner of Twilight, Master of Thousand Faces, was a Pokémon that could match his talent. The classic shapeshifters, Zoroark and Ditto were immediately considered. After some thought, however, neither felt up to the standards expected of Twilight. Zoroark illusions are incorporeal; one touch and the gig could be up. This is a world filled with Pokémon capable of creating illusions, so anti-illusion measures will be available to anyone with the money. Twilight needed something solid to make his disguises authentic. A Ditto could provide physical solidness, but its shapeshifting abilities are not the best. Its capabilities are limited to simply copying, which not only requires a secondary Pokémon to copy from, but it does not adapt to rapidly changing scenarios very well. Twilight is known for his improvision, smoothly adapting to overcome obstacles, so a partner who cannot do the same would drag him down.

Mew, on the other hand, can know practically every single Pokémon move. Combined with how Twilight picks up new skills like a sticky-fingered thief in a crowd of oblivious rich folk, this makes them a powerful duo that can prevail over the impossible. Mew literately becomes invisible to avoid others, Twilight can become unnoticeable, and therefore invisible, to the enemy eye. And since we would have a more somber Mew, then there is symbolism of both Twilight and Mew losing their child-like innocence to war and being forced to become personalities opposite of their initial natures.

Another note. Zoroark and Ditto felt too predictable in-universe wise. Anyone who knew of Twilight would immediately guess either one as the partner and create countermeasures for those Pokémon specifically. But no one would expect a Mew, Mythical Pokémon long believed extinct. And secretly, it was also a little bit of "protag has powerful legendary" fun.

The quest for Loid Forger's partner Pokémon, a.k.a a disguise for Mew, sent me through multiple Pokémon. He needed something average as to not stand out, so I scrolled through both Normal and Flying Types. Settled on an Audino because they sense the emotions of others and are associated with healing, which is perfect for Loid's cover as a psychiatrist. Chansey/Blissey could have also worked, but their happiness eggs seem more like temporary methods better used for emergency scenarios. An Audino could help a psychiatrist get to the root of a patient's problem for more permanent healing.

tl;dr: Twilight needed a Pokémon that could match his disguising skill and adaptability, and Mew was the only one up to par. With a somber Mew, there is a symbolism of losing child-like innocence to war. Loid has an Audino because therapy.

SORRY, BUT THIS IS SPOILERS FOR ANIME ONLYS AND PRE-CHAPTER 62 READERS. SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH!!!: Twilight and his beloved Pokémon partner met in the immediate aftereffects of the destruction of Kielburg and the death of [Redacted]'s mother. [Redacted] was bawling in the streets after finding the body when he was approached by similarly distraught Mew. Born and raised in the forest surrounding the town, Mew was the last of its kind. It had clung to the few remaining reminders of its family and was devastated when its home was blown up by the same bombs that wiped out Kielberg. Mew was drawn in by [Redacted]'s crying, hoping to find solidarity in shared sorrow. The two bonded as they struggled to survive the wreckage of their war-torn country. Once [Redacted] looked old enough, they decided to fight by taking on fake identities and joining the military. Mew pretended to be Roland Spoofy's partner, a snappish Bisharp. They rose ranks quickly, rage over their losses powering them through the war. It wasn't until an eye-opening interaction with an odd Ostanian deserter that their anger stuttered and slowed. With the second loss of [Redacted]'s friends, they accepted the "invitation" to join WISE in order to bring and maintain peace in the world. After years of intense training and mastering multiple skills, the two quickly became WISE's best agents. :END OF SPOILERS, YOU CAN LOOK NOW.

Officially, Agent Twilight's partner Pokémon is unknown, often suspected to be an especially talented Zoroark or a well-trained Ditto. Or perhaps he uses new Pokémon each mission, discarding each one afterwards. Ritualistic hazing of WISE and SSS newbies involves spreading rumors of the legendary agent having a Mew, and only the most gullible believe the whispers that he is a Mew in human form. The agents are quickly reprimanded by their superiors for spreading false information. (Unofficially, and off any records, Handler still is in shock over the accidental reveal, and often encourages both of the Mew allegations with vague implications subtly dropped to new members, to Twilight's eternal annoyance).

While Twilight does occasionally work with other Pokémon, Mew is his only partner. Its ability to transform supports Twilight's disguises by pretending to be the identity's Pokémon, and that it can use every Pokémon move has eliminated many challenges that he might face. After an incident launched Twilight into international fame, Mew has been banned from transforming into other Legendary/Mythical Pokémon unless specifically required by a mission.

Loid Forger's Pokémon is an Audino, one of two types of Pokémon given to Ostanian medical students upon achieving their Masters Degree. It is actually the transformed Mew. Mew approves of the changes that having a family brings upon Twilight, often encouraging him to be softer and play house more sincerely. Twilight disagrees, retaining that they are spies who should not become attached, but often falls into genuinely caring anyways (It's for the mission!). Yuri's Pokémon partner attempts to intimidate Audino constantly whenever they meet, but Mew is more amused then anything and never plays along.

Yor Forger (Thorn Princess)- Roserade

Wish there was a need to write multiple paragraphs of explanation like Twilight's, but the choice behind Yor's Pokémon was so simple that more then one paragraph would be unnecessary. I even resisted the idea at first because it seemed too obvious, but the conclusion was inevitable. Thorn Princess' aesthetic is roses. Roserade. They are both wielders of poison and thorns. A Roserade's right hand is red roses, the left hand of its shiny has black roses. With some funky genetics, we can have a Roserade with red and black rose hands. It also has a cape similar to bottom of Thorn Princess' dress. They are both elegant and merciless, sweetly attracting prey before striking without hesitation. Literately perfect for each other. Meant to be.

tl;dr: Matching rose aesthetics and poison.

When she was thirteen, Yor befriended a Budew from the forest around her house. The Pokémon was recently outcasted from the rest of her kind due to her strange coloration, the little bib underneath her face being half green and half purple. Understanding Budew's sorrow since she'd recently lost her parents herself, Yor took her home and raised Budew alongside Yuri. While Budew loved both of the Briar siblings dearly, Yor was her partner, and the two stuck together through thick-and-thin over the following years.

Yor and Budew trained to be assassins. The Garden based Thorn Princess' outfit off her partner once they reached a high status. In the beginning, they relied more on Yor's incredible strength, but after careful dietary restrictions they were able to coax a deadly and nearly undetectable poison out of Roselia. The Garden also informed Yor that Roselia is a pigment chimera, a mixture of shiny and non-shiny colorations. Once gifted a Shiny Stone, Roserade was fiercesome with her bouquet hands of red and black, a body of two shades of green, and blood red eyes.

After Yuri grew up and left the house, Yor and Roserade moved to the city to be closer to their jobs. Without Yuri for an anchor, they floated through life, mechanically going through the motions until the Garden or Yuri phoned. The introduction of Yuri's adorable Pokémon partner made the floating worse as they realized their little brother didn't need them as much. They were only broken out of the numbness when Yor's coworkers mentioned she could been seen as suspicious for being unmarried.

Worried about imprisonment by SSS, Yor noticed a handsome man who couldn't keep his eyes off of her in the tailors and asked him to be her pretend boyfriend for a party, and when the time came, was the one to bring up the idea of marriage. Roserade wholeheartedly supported the decision. She immediately settled into the family dynamic and forged an easy friendship with Audino. They like to watch and gossip about their human's interactions to each other. Anya had her adoration from the beginning. Roserade has immense control over her poison in order to prevent any accidents. In the beginning, this is partly done by being physically stand-offish and only touching the immune Yor. But after a couple months of practice, Roserade is willing to lend a helping bouquet when needed.

Anya Forger- Bond (Furfrou)

I really wanted Anya to have a Psychic buddy for psychic-to-Psychic solidarity. Several Pokémon were considered and discarded. The Hatterene line (too violent for little kid with Big Emotions™), Indeedee (didn't want a second babysitter), Slowpoke (too lethargic. good nap buddy though), the Spoink line (opposite problem, too much energy), and the Ralts line (can sense emotion, but didn't want a repeat gimmick with Audino/Mew). I was going to pick Wynaut due to personality similarities and have a Cleffa as another friend, but I reread the manga and realized that Bond basically acts like a Pokémon and he is incredibly jealous of competitors for Anya's attention (R.I.P Agent Penguinman, at least your battle scars are cool), so it would be good to prevent any future conflicts by only having Bond. Maybe Anya can have a Cleffa after she earns all her Stella Stars.

Pokémon-wise, Bond only gave me slight trouble, but I knew I needed white and I needed fluffy. Wooloo was a contender because of the extremely fluffy wool and black legs, but then I remembered that Furfrou has those characteristics while also being a dog, so it won. He's even got a very large mask across his face like Bondman. And since Bond was also experimented on, I could technically make him Psychic-Type too! Just mix a little Xatu genes in there, and we've got a Normal/Psychic fluffy white dog who can see the future.

tl;dr: Bond is basically a Pokémon in the series, so its official in this. Furfrou is white and fluffy with black paws, similar to Bond. He has Xatu genes for the future-seeing ability.

A survivor of unethical scientific experiments, Bond found that added Xatu genes gave him the ability to see into the future. The story of how he came to be part of the Forger family has already been told, a frightful tale of terrorist, bombs, and ketchup sketches. He now lives a content life where the only thing he truly fears is Yor's cooking. Now if only a pair of scissors could conquer his extremely fluffy fur.

Bond gets along with all the members of the Forger family, though he is particularly close to Anya and is often regarded as her Pokémon partner. He tries to keep Anya out of trouble, though he has a habit of getting into trouble himself because of attempts to prevent his visions from coming true. Bond has immense respect for Audino, able to sense the powerful Psychic-Type underneath the disguise. Roserade, though sweet, scares him in the same way that Yor does.

Yuri Briar- Riolu

(In honor of chapter 85, the pokéball is a conclusion, any conclusion, and the blank face is Yuri missing it.)

This was a rough one. It was hard to even pick a Type, because his partner would come from the SSS, and most Types could be used to fit the their needs. The SSS seem like a Dark-type society, but all the Types could be used for interrogation/torture tactics. In the end, I think the SSS would have a healthy mix. But for Yuri's Pokémon, I decided that it would be chosen around other Pokémon's Weakness; more specifically, Twilight's assumed Pokémon's Weakness. Yuri seems to have made Twilight's capture one of his major goals, so he'd build his team around that. As a newbie, he's allowed one Pokémon, so he picked Fighting. Since Twilight is thought to have a Dark-Type or a Normal-Type, Fighting would be Super Effective against both.

That decision really helped to narrow down the options. Yuri's Pokémon needed to be tough yet a first-stage evolution to reflect his own amazing stamina and inexperience. After a discarding a few (Mankey was super close, but is constantly angry), it was between Kubfu and Riolu. I liked Kubfu's grit, sort-of babyface, and dedication to becoming stronger. It could potentially evolve into One-Strike Urshifu, a Fighting/Dark that could seriously harm Twilight's Mew, like how Yuri has the potential to become a serious threat to Twilight.

However, the references to stamina and sensing emotion in Riolu's Pokédex entries caught my attention. A Riolu could easily keep up with Yuri's intense work ethic because it has boundless energy. It would also support his job by reading targets emotions through aura. And while that repeat gimmick is the reason why I rejected Ralts for Anya, Yuri is detached enough from the main family unit that it doesn't feel overlapping, and it adds to the challenge of convincing Yuri that Loid and Yor are happily married. Riolu's evolution line are seen as noble Pokémon used by honorable and important people, which fits into Yuri's idea that he is doing noble and important work for his country.

tl;dr: The SSS uses all the Types of Pokémon. Yuri chose his Pokémon to counteract Twilight, since Fighting-types are super effective to Twilight's predicted Pokémon. Riolu can keep up with Yuri's intense stamina by having a lot of energy and can read the emotions of his targets. This ability also increases the difficulty of keeping Yuri convinced of the Forger marriage.

In the beginning, the Briar siblings were too poor to support another Pokémon. In order to reduce the stress on his sister, Yuri made the choice to go without a Pokémon partner. He would get his own partner when he was capable of supporting himself. The decision set, Yuri easily pushed aside his dream for Yor's sake. He was satisfied that Yor had Budew to bring her happiness. Even after Yor picked up her job and earned enough money to support another Pokémon in the house, he refused to find one. Yuri vowed to support his sister in anyway he could as he grew older, throwing himself into his studies until he made it through school and into the watchful eyes of the government.

The SSS granted Yuri his choice of a partner Pokémon six months into his employment. Confident that he could support himself, he accepted the offer and chose the Fighting-type Riolu to counteract the infamous Westalis spy Twilight's possible Pokémon. Riolu was born, raised, and trained to serve the SSS, and he was beyond ecstatic to be chosen and vowed to give Yuri his all. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm caused some trouble, getting in the way of a chase and accidently let the traitor slip away. Angered, Yuri yelled, and a distraught Riolu accepted the reprimand while beating himself up about it. Riolu retreated into himself, moping and doubting his every decision. It took Yuri three days to notice something was wrong and another day to diagnose the problem. On the fifth day, Yuri apologized and awkwardly patched up their relationship by sharing his determination to catch Twilight and keep his sister safe. Accepting the olive branch, Riolu vowed to help his partner accomplish his goal. Yuri and Riolu were in tip-top shape, even catching the traitor they accidently let escape. Riolu likes to copy Yuri, physically and emotionally. Though still in the beginning of their partnership, the two are a formidable team that could give a careless spy trouble.

Riolu, Yor, and Roserade absolutely adore each other. Yor and Roserade treat Riolu the same as Yuri, and the little Pokémon is absolutely blinded by it. Both Yuri and Riolu hold the same regard for logic about Yor, which is to say they have none, and neither one of them were pleased with Yor's surprise family. Yuri is still icy, but Riolu warmed up to Anya quickly but still isn't sure about Loid, mostly just following his partner's lead. Riolu can't sense any false emotions from the adults, so it believes the relationship to be real. He takes pride in having Type advantage over Loid's Audino and tries to intimidate the older Pokémon, but Audino ignores the bluster to kindly pat him on the head every time, much to his annoyance.

Franky Franklin- Granbull

Originally, I'd picked Morgrem as Franky's partner because of their shared tendency to be opportunistic attackers. But upon reading the Pokédex entries and realizing that Morgrem were generally more cruel and prefer gloomy people, I realized that Franky wouldn't match all that well. However, the Fairy-Typing stuck with me. Franky can be whimsical, a bit of a prankster, and serious when needs be, which fits with the fairies of the real world. So I scrolled through the Fairy-Type list, trying to remember which ones were known tricksters.

But that ideal ended up being useless since I ended up picking Snubbull/Granbull because of its popularity with women. Outside of being an informant for another country and providing comedic relief, Franky's attempted skirt-chasing is one of his main characteristics. The Pokédex consistently states that Snubbull are loved by people, particularly women in the earlier entries, and Franky would be the kind of guy to completely depend on that information. He would swagger up to women, fully expecting them to be swept off their feet by his Snubbull, only to be absolutely stunned when they turn him down. It makes his failed attempts to get dates even funnier.

Upon evolution into a Granbull, both human and Pokémon would be unconventionally attractive/cute. They have matching square faces. Franky and Granbull are sensitive and reluctant to fight, usually backing down when in disputes. But when cornered and left with no other options, they are capable of doing damage, either with giant fangs and powerful jaws or inventions that pack a mighty punch.

tl;dr: Franky is whimsical yet serious, while also a prankster, so it was a Fairy-Type for him. Franky would unsuccessfully try to use Snubbull's popularity to get dates and he holds a lot of similarities to Granbull, such as sensitive personality and unconventional attractiveness.

SORRY, BUT THIS IS SPOILERS FOR ANIME ONLYS AND PRE-CHAPTER 62 READERS. SKIP THIS PARAGRAGH!!!: Franky met Snubbull days into his desertion. He was running from his hunters when he tripped on something and faceplanted into the bushes. It turned out to be a wild Snubbull. High on adrenaline, and not willing to leave Snubbull to the metaphorical hounds on his heels, he snatched her up and kept running. Confused and terrified, Snubbull tried to fight out of his arms, but Franky wouldn't let her down. The next person Franky met was a young Westalis soldier and his Bisharp. The soldier didn't immediately shoot, and he even shared cigarettes and conversation up until the soldier got riled up and they were attacked by Franky's hunters. Once again, Franky snatched the reluctant Snubbull and ran. They escaped and would continue to escape until his pursuers gave up. By the time that happened, the two had grown attached after many harrowing incidents and decided to stick together. :END OF SPOILERS, YOU CAN LOOK NOW.

Together, they scrounged a reasonable life from the rubble of the war. When given the opportunity to become an informant for WISE, Franky snatched the job to stick it to the Ostalian government. He and Granbull operate the cigarette stand together. Granbull loves to fetch things for him, whether its an item from the back of the stand or classified information from a trusted source. She knows the streets and alleys of Berlint, including their residents, like the back of her paw. While Franky gathers information from the humans, Granbull asks the local Pokémon. They've set up a system to share information with each other. If they are ever scared, Granbull jumps into Franky's arms and they both cower (Scooby-Doo and Shaggy style).

Franky has tried to rely on Snubbull's reputation to get dates for years. It started after he saw some women cooing over Snubbull when he had to step away for a moment. He immediately sidled over to ask them out. They all scattered, except for one. That following date ended ten minutes in. Optimistic of his chances, Franky tried this tactic again and again. Even though Snubbull loves the extra attention, she is tired of Franky's horrible flirting. She thought they would stop when she evolved, and while Franky was discouraged for a short time, he returned to his usual attitude two days later. After years to get used to it, Granbull just rolls her eyes when Franky starts to talk and just soaks in the extra compliments before the women are driven off.

Becky Blackbell- Aron

When it comes to the Elite, I think their Pokémon are like their family crests. They pick one species to represent them and stick to it. Considering that Becky's family manufactures weapons, which are generally made of metal, it made sense that theirs would be a Steel-Type. It had to be an impressive Pokémon that is rarer because the Blackbells are a Big Deal™. The Corviknight, Aegislash, Bisharp, and Bronzong lines were all considered but eventually turned down.

I settled on Aron for a couple reasons. First is because of the Pokédex entries about its evolution line. Lairon's search for iron could form a symbiotic relationship that helped a local smith grow and expand over many decades into a country's largest manufacturer weapons. Second, its first-stage is cute enough to seem less dangerous but is capable of biting back, reflective of Becky herself. I imagine Becky gives it cute little outfits with matching accessories. And once fully evolved, it turns into a fierce creature with the ability to smash through bedrock, who will continue to rock the cute accessories as it rips and tears.

tl;dr: It had to be a Steel-Type because Becky's family manufacture weapons. The Pokédex entry of Aron/Lairon/Aggron could have created a situation where one helped out Becky's smithing ancestors, so each member of the Blackbell family have had the evolution line for several generations. Aron is cute and feisty like Becky.

One hundred and four years ago, Edmund Blackbell was a simple village smith trying to support his family. He lacked the resources to perform his craft, as the rival smith bought all the iron from the mines. Edmund was forced to traverse the nearby mountain to look for iron on his own. He constantly competed with a local Lairon for the iron, cursing the brutish creature fiercely as he limped home, either empty-handed or victorious with bruises. One rainy night, one contender dangerously desperate for iron, both rivals forgot to pay attention to their environment and ended up ruining the nests of seven mighty Salamence, and were driven into a in a cave by the furious Pokémon. After an endless night of fear and terror, Edmund and Lairon pushed aside their previous rivalry and worked together to escape. Once their lives were no longer in danger, man and Pokémon struck a deal. Lairon would lead Edmund to iron deposits and Edmund would protect and feed his new partner. Edmund's business boomed once he had material to work with. In honor of his dearest friend, Edmund vowed to have Aggron's descendants partnered with his own. After several generations of clever business deals and the economic boon of a war, the Blackbells now stood at the top of society, far from their humble beginnings. They never forgot about their Pokémon promise, and every Blackbell to ever been born has had an Aggron evo-line by their side.

Becky could hardly wait to receive her own Pokémon partner. She was a bit surprised to be given a Pokémon egg instead of an actual Pokémon, but she was determined to give it the best care. Becky did it on her own (mostly), not wanting any help from Martha or any of the family employees. After two months of immaculate care, the egg hatched into a healthy Aron. The new baby Pokémon proved to be a happy, if clumsy, little fellow, though he was quick to bite rude people/Pokémon and quite stubborn. Martha had to hide her smile whenever Becky complained about these traits, since Aron copied them from Becky herself. They were quite a fearsome pair in kindergarten.

They were quick to befriend Anya once they got to Eden. Aron almost started a fight with Damien's Pokémon, but Anya stepped in first and socked Damien in the face. Becky and Aron were instant fans and stuck with Anya like glue. Anya and Aron constantly bump into each other, knocking Anya off her feet. Aron feels terrible for it, but it keeps accidently happening. It's to the point that Becky automatically supports Anya whenever she starts to go down.

Damien Desmond- Deino

The Desmond's are also Elite, which means they would have a family Pokémon as well. Right away, I kind of knew what I wanted. The Hydreigon line. Since the Desmond family seems to be looked up to and feared, their family Pokémon would have to match that reputation, to which Dragon-Types usually fits nicely into. And the mysterious lure of Dark-Types goes well with the uncertainty of the Desmond's moral alignment. Are they good? Misunderstood? We cannot say for certain yet, even with the clues we have received. Donovan certainly likes his solitude, which could fit either Types. And the griffon on the Desmond family crest could be replaced with a Hydreigon in the same position.

Reading the Pokédex entries for Deino reminded me of Damien. They are both blinded, one by fur and one by the need to please a father. It stops them from seeing past what holds them back. Deino is constantly injured because it bumps into things due to this blindness. Damien's perfectionism causes self-afflicted wounds because he sets himself up for failure. He throws himself into anything that will get approval head first, trying his hardest to earn his father's attention and only ends up hurt when he bumps into Donovan's apparent disinterest. Zweilous is always covered in bites because the two heads are biting itself, which could represent Damien excessive self-reproach for not achieving the top scores and earning his father's love.

Both boy and Pokémon harm others to learn about their place in life. Both of them are uncertain, so they must act out to feel like they have a place. Deino bites physically, Damien bites with harsh words. He was pretty open about being a bully, and can be cruel to those he doesn't care about (even if its unintentional). Approaching either carelessly is dangerous and it takes a lot for him to warm up to others. Entries state that Deino bite to learn, and new trainers will be bitten constantly. He first had to 'bite' Anya before realizing he liked her, and even then he is still rude to her as he slowly starts to get used to her. But after time, Damien relaxes and stops being harsh, like a Deino getting accustomed to its company.

But those who earn his trust have it, just like Dragon and Dark-Types. He's still learning to completely trust new people in Eden, which is why he is in a rough state with his other classmates.

tl;dr: Dragon/Dark-Typing fit the vibes of the Desmond family, fierce, mysterious, and lonely. Deino's Pokédex entries matched with Damien's attitude. Also, bonus alliteration.

Damien was introduced to Deino only a year before Eden. The meeting was abrupt and empty, as per Desmond tradition. Damien was called into a meeting the Estate's Pokémon Caretaker. Melinda and Demetrius were there. Donovan was not. He made sure to keep his chin high and face stoic anyways. The Pokéball was shoved into his hands after some ceremonious words and he was escorted out of the room. Neither mother or brother stayed long.

He released Deino for the first time, alone, in his room. The first thing she did was bite him. He yelled back. Their relationship started out rocky, to say the least. But Damien was determined to prove himself. Day after day, bite after bite, he pushed through the pain until Deino softened and accepted his presence in her life. The first time she let him pet her, her fur was incredibly soft under his bandaged hands.

The two butt heads constantly. Deino is never afraid to snap at his fingers or arms. If he turns away for a second, she will snatch food off of his plate. For revenge, he fluffs up her properly groomed fur so she can't see, his annoyance correlating to how viciously its tussled. But at the end of every day, she will cuddle on his lap as he carefully brushes her fur silky-smooth.

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

Ta-da! This is the end! Congrats, you made it! Thank you for reading! (Apologies for any gross mischaracterization in my little deep dive parts. Y'know how it goes, 'got too focused, forgot other aspects', it happens. I tried to look out for it, but things slip through.) I have a couple more combinations bouncing around, like Ewen with a Indigo Core Minior, so we'll see if I ever do a second part. Hope you enjoyed!

[wordsandrobots]

So the problem with my brain's capacity to plan stories is that it doesn't know when to stop.

Because here I am, 6000 words into writing the final part of Wishing on Space Hardware, which is essentially a superfluous coda to make up the numbers and tie off a few loose emotional strands from the main plot, and of course I'm already thinking about the other Iron-Blooded Orphans stories I'd like to write. Indeed, some of them I have already started, because of course I have.

Now, to be fair, most of those ideas are slash. Smutty slash too. Did you know writing sex scenes triggers the same 'choreography goes brr' synapses as writing fight scenes? I didn't until a couple of years ago and now here we are, with at least two collections of explicit short stories in the offing.

First up is Sympathy and Other Mistakes, which I would already call done if not for the inexplicable urge to add more chapters to it. This is the one that I previously mentioned goes well to Great Night by NEEDTOBREATHE and is for the . . . let's call it 'crack-ship taken seriously' that I'm still not sure I want to publish anything for. I'm fairly nonplussed by moral-purity hand-wringing over age gaps and so forth, and firmly of the belief that getting laid is the least problematic thing anyone in Tekkadan has ever done, but it's a pairing that essentially requires the entirety of Wishing on Space Hardware to have happened to work. So, about a decade of character development beyond the show, which probably narrows the audience past the initial 'wait, what' filter. Thing is, it's an interesting pairing that I think actually works incredibly well with established canon. A thoroughly unromantic thing that swerves from dubcon to somewhere that's honestly kind of sweet, rooted in a search for redemption both characters know is ultimately hopeless. So . . . yeah. We'll see.

Second is the one I suspect would be most popular, You, Me and Everyone Else, which is the logical extension of deciding Shino and Yamagi are poly i.e., how much of the rest of the cast can I ship them with?

Technically, I suppose the bit I've written most of already isn't actually that premise at all but rather them unlocking the most blindingly obvious kinks imaginable. Still, it's fun and should be interesting when placed alongside the other ideas I've got planned. To whit:

Yamagi/Shino/Eugene/Sri (OC) -- The poly relationship I've been building throughout WoSH, in a situation I can't discuss yet

Yamagi/Chad/Shino -- Because I'm curious if I can make that work. If you've been following along so far, you'll have noted the emotional heft in the Yamagi/Shino/Eugene relationship is skewed such that Shino/Eugene is more intense than Yamagi/Eugene. I kind of want to play with that in the other direction, by giving Yamagi a partner he's more strongly attracted to than Shino is. Also I want Chad to have nice things.

598/Yamagi/Shino -- Look. My perfect gremlin child managed to squeak out of that game in one piece and so I get to imagine him grown up and happy, OK? And by grown up I mean roughly barrel-shaped and capable of out-wrestling Shino, and by happy I mean slightly drunk and blurting out “You're really pretty" at Yamagi in the middle of swapping 'holy shit, you're not dead' stories. It'll be fine.

(Chapter titles are already themed: Fantasia for Chains, [REDACTED], Variation on a Theme, and Guest Soloist. Because yes.)

Beyond that, I suppose technically that idea of cadet!Cyclase trying to come on to young officer!McGillis is also slash but I don't believe it would actually go anywhere per se. More that McGillis would take one look at Cyclase and go 'not today, thank you', and Cyclase would get to a point in the conversation and come to the realisation that killing McGillis wouldn't achieve much. I don't know. I'm intrigued by the idea of McGillis accidentally prompting Cyclase off the path of vengeance and on to the path of whatever-the-fuck he was trying to achieve in Urdr Hunt, and there is the challenge of actually writing the bastard's POV (I scrupulously avoided writing either McGillis or Orga's perspective in WoSH).

Oh, speaking of POVs, I was considering doing something with the Venus gang as the other side to Eugene Sevenstark and the Hesperus Treasure, but the idea's not really stuck past how the Urdr Hunt plot wound up going. Maybe if the theatrical presentation version gives me more food for thought? (I am crossing everything that they don't pull a diablous ex machina on us and kill anyone else; I already wrote 598 a cameo in the fic I'm posting at the moment, damnit.)

And then, well. Then there's the actual . . . calling it a sequel to WoSH would be a stretch. It's set another ten years on in the same version of events, but it's very much detached from WoSH's plot and would be my attempt to do a 'what if Akatsuki grew up and starred in a Gundam show' story. The short answer is that he's the most throw-himself-on-the-wire pacifist you could hope to meet and he's gone and got himself caught up in a big mess involving interplanetary medical testing, pirates, and the IBO equivalent of the Gundam Fight because mobile suit battles for sport and the Jupiter equivalent of Las Vegas feels like a fun setting to explore. He'd be a dutagonist alongside a female Gundam pilot who I know lots about but don't have a name for yet. And the story would also feature me performing an act of character necromancy so devilish, you'll probably curse me for it. Because I worked out how I could pull it off and now I think I've got to. Overall this would very much be a one-and-done thing. I'm thinking like Narrative is to Unicorn: a story technically following on and handling some of the same themes but with much punchier pacing and an entirely new cast. No idea when I'd get to it and I don't expect it'll have as much traction as WoSH on account of largely being OC-focused, but I think it could be fun.

OK. There we go. Those are the currently-percolating ideas. I will answer questions on them if you have any but this is mainly just me jotting them down in the hopes that if I just focus on these, I won't spontaneously generate more.

*laughs hysterically*

Yeah, we all know it doesn't work like that. But I tried, damnit!

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Which redacted listener do you think would hide/ not mention that they speak different languages until some random or funny moment happens? because the fact that I speak 5 languages has put in a lot of funny situations 😂

Omg I wanna know some of these interactions. That kind of thing is literally some of my fav things ever. (I was gonna write a fully fledged fic in answer to this but I have way too many WIPs to do that. 😭 Maybe I'll do it in the future idk.)

N E WAYS

Personally, I think all of the demon boys can speak any language used on Earth. Like imagine Gavin travelling to Spain for example. Considering how big he is on consent and for simplicity sake, he would need to be able to speak Spanish to communicate with those he wants to feed on.

Do all demons use this? No. I'm pretty sure Vega's words just get translated into the person's native language on the rare occasions he does communicate with people.

Outside of the d(a)emons? Oh here we go.

This could just be me pushing a French Baabe agenda, but they give off the vibe of knowing another language. And as soon as Angel finds out, they immediate want Baabe to hold onto that card for whenever they need to lay the smack into Christian.

Sweetheart is another one, but I think they needed to learn multiple languages for their job. (Same with Cutie. Probably Cutie even more so since people think in their native language, and if they need to investigate someone mind, language barriers would be a pain in the ass.) Sweetheart would purposefully mistranslate words to people, just for shits and giggles. Even better if it's Milo.

But idk if any of the wolf boyos would hide it since theyve all known each other since they were kids. I also don't think they would mess with each other's mates to that extent.

Lovely and Vincent though? Those two would totally fuck with each other or other clan members when it comes to languages. Sam would probably give them the silent treatment after the fifth time in one afternoon. It got to be too much.

I feel like Huxley thought Lasko was speaking a different language when they first met simply from how fast our local fan company was talking. Especially since Huxley's speed of talking is much slower.

But you wanted listeners. So here's my list.

Cutie - nothing malicious. Work related reasons.

Sweetheart - pranks galore

Baabe - forced by Angel to wait for the "perfect moment"

Lovely - malicious menacery.

Warden - demon things

Mentor (Ollie's listener) - nothing malicious. Simply a fact of their life. They don't really bring it up, but their ability of more than one language is there when needed.

Anton's listener - I don't think they would hide it since they give off such a heavy wholesome vibes. But I also headcanon that theyre European and English isn't their first language.

Asset - AI computer tings

Honey - they only learned curse words in multiple languages (hahahaha me tho 😅)

Darlin - they got sick of falling for Lovely and Vincent's bullshit and decided to start learning the language (up in the air what it is) also since it was confirmed that they're a menace, they also started doing the same to Sam and the rest of the pack. (Sam can't escape it. Someone save southern yee haw vamp daddy)

That's all I can really think of off the top of my head (I'm having bad cramps so brain not fully operating.) But bonus:

Angel: Im learning French, Davey!

David: oh?

Angel: yeup. Like Angel is Ange in French. And please is sil vous plait

David: what else

Angel: oui oui Ange wants your baguette

David: ...

[jessequinones]

Be kind to young writers

When I was young, I started my writing career through fan fiction and it was brutal. I didn't just get hate, my stories was put on a forum called the "The Literate Union". It was a group of gatekeepers who tried to keep Fanfiction.Net a "pure" website, or whatever. To make sure everyone followed the guidelines and my stuff was reported on mass.

Un announced to them, FanFiction.Net doesn't actually do anything when you report stories so nothing happened but some of the reviews were so nasty, I legit cried. I'm actually surprised I'm still a writer. This was one of the reviews I received and keep in mind, I had to censor most of these words because this "review" would violate every possible harassment guideline on any social media website.

I'm only sharing this as a reminder, I was a child who had no idea what I was doing. Be kind to young writers, they need support not harassment. Oh, and if you want to know what fandom I was in to received this level of hate? it was the Warriors Cats fandom.

"I'm not going to sugar coat this; your 'story' is so very, very bad that I would prefer being force fed a glass full of [redacted] that has been thrown in a blender with coffee creamer and toenail clippings and made to look like a smoothie before being heavily diluted by [redacted] and [redacted] and covered in [redacted]. It is reminiscent of a kindergartner's first attempt at a story, minus the endearing spelling errors and five-year-old innocence. In fact, a [redacted] from the [redacted] could have done a better job of this.

Now that I've given you fair warning, you are free to stop reading at any time, as I'm sure your tiny little brain may have trouble understanding some of it.

This 'story' is a perfect example of how a twelve year old with a keyboard and half a brain cell can thoroughly [redacted] the English language, then laugh as it lays sobbing in its own [redacted] and [redacted]. I was fighting tears and vomit with every line, because quite frankly, this is the worst horror you could ever inflict on a person. A respectable author would have first written everything out, proofread it, realized it was shit, deleted it, tried again, and then sent it off to a Beta who would then tell the writer that it was shit, and repeat these steps until you have a story that is both readable and good. At one point I actually pulled out a screwdriver and began to take apart my computer in an attempt to destroy this plague against all works of fiction, when I realized that destroying my computer would not handle the problem efficiently. My cat's [redacted] has more creativity and format than this 'story' does, and it saddens me that no one has informed you of how extraordinarily awful this abomination is. I do hope that you'll find yourself a respectable Beta and some self-respect before you continue to ruin the eyes of whatever unfortunate soul happens upon this 'story' next.

Hugs and Kisses,

Ker0s3ne K1d"

[tavina-writes]

Thanks to @thebiscuiteternal for tagging me! :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 192 public works on AO3 at the moment, and a [redacted] amount unrevealed as part of various ongoing exchanges I'm writing for!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 1,244,211

3. What fandoms do you write for? I think I mostly write for MDZS at the moment, but Naruto is the major fandom I've spent the past ten or so years in, so it's always going to be my favorite. I also write for ASOIAF, various book fandoms, various other cdramas...etc.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh dear.

A Bolt of Silk - Naruto - 2,180

Prophet - Naruto - 1,889

My Teeth In Your Heart - ASOIAF - 1,833

Time Travel Tandem - Naruto - 1,593

It's not time that passes - Naruto - 1,521

None of my MDZS fic makes the list but I think that's normal! I've only been in the fandom for a year and a half, and I mostly write niche stuff so this makes perfect sense to me!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I answer comments sometimes! With irregularity because "answering comments" gets filed in the "send emails" part of my brain and I spend a lot of my professional life sending emails so it's more difficult to reply to comments. I also get concerned when I don't have a lot of say in response to a comment because I'm afraid that I don't sound too enthused when I respond with "Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!" or maybe get too infodumpy with my responses to some questions. In short I think I psyche myself out of responding to comments and I'm trying to do better about it.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm this is a difficult one. I don't think I go for angsty endings as much as I go for like, hopeful or not utterly bleak ones? I think that the ending for An Inherited Creature where WZL and JYL are still married and still stuck in Nightless City might be the suckiest ending, though the ending of maybe I'd make it alive where YZY and Madam Jin are just on the cusp of marrying their canonical husbands is on a level of aaaa re: how we know this story ends.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I DEFINITELY think this is A Bolt of Silk considering that right after the ending I wrote them a 6 chapter, 30k wedding epilogue where everything goes great!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Man. I would say no except sometimes I can recount really terrible stories. Mostly I think I don't get hate because my readers tend to be very kind, but I have, gotten some pretty odd and preachy comments at times. Once notably, when someone told me that I shouldn't've translated the nobility titles for a certain fic and kept them in the original Chinese, and I was about to respond with "my brother in Christ, we are in a Naruto fic and I am already stretching canon like a rubber band. Lets not make readers learn SO MUCH NEW WORD?" Or that one time when someone didn't. Read my fic but wanted to shill theirs in to me in the comments of my fic. But it's mostly odd and mildly entitled rather than hate commenting.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I DO write smut! This is a new accomplishment, but I have skipped right to the sexy sexy noncon/dubcon object insertion porn instead of uhhh any of the tamer things in between that and "literary sex scene where everyone is miserable"

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't really write crossovers! I have a hard time figuring out how characters from one story would react to the characters of a different one. :(

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A number of times yeah. It's bothered me before but like, mostly nowadays I'm just like "in the year of our lord 202X?????"

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not! It sounds like it would be really flattering but also So Much Work since I write longfic so often.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have occasionally but they've never really been posted. @autumnslantern very patiently listens to me yell about all of my fic ideas in her dms a lot though, which I consider vital to my writing process. Does that count as cowriting? :D

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Man this changes by day. I'm also a consummate multishipper so I can't say I have an all time favorite and more just yelling about "ISNT THIS NEAT?" about the niche thing I've discovered recently.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

God. I have no idea. If I've posted a wip I hope to finish it but I have no idea. Maybe some of my oldest Naruto works might never get done.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I handle emotionality, stories that occur over a long period of time, and atmosphere in a piece really well!

I also really like writing about grief and mourning, trauma, and trying to define ourselves inside difficult family histories. I enjoy writing about character histories, and how that informs their present, as well as complicated loyalties and internal conflict, but the jury's out on whether I can count those as strengths lol.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Man. Plot. Plot. Plot. The weakness is always the plot. I love a good parallel but a parallel is not a plot. Also at one point one of my fics was 30% man sitting sadly in a bathtub nearly dying by volume (like 3 out of 9 scenes in that fic was just this man having a bad time in a bathtub) and this is not a plot either lolll. I admire the people who can write a tightly plotted fic so much, godIwishthatwereme.jpeg. Also I'm perennially long-winded so I also think I struggle a lot with writing a 1.5k-2k fic where just, a snapshot happens. I love admiring other people's beautiful oneshots as well.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't tend to do this with dialogue though I'll include words from other languages depending. I feel like it's always so difficult to like, get the reader to know what you meant with [dialogue snippet in different language] but I've seen this handled really well in fic before so like, it does work!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh definitely Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Jin Yong when we were in the pits of that 13 year translation of the work. I wrote like, speculative fic based on what we already had? But mostly scene snippets and outline ideas of what would happen instead of formal fic. None of that was ever published anywhere though. In terms of "Fandom Where I First Published Fic on the Internet" it's probably Katekyo Hitman Reborn I was really big on that fandom in 2014. You won't take me alive on where that fic is though lmao.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

In terms of best written and most beloved to me at the moment and also complete it's definitely but I'm not in charge of sorrow (so please don't ask me when). How will I ever get over NHS's post canon journey in that fic honestly.

uhhh let's see, @im-sublimey, @woobifiedvillain, @lgbtlunaverse, @cerusee and anyone else who sees this and wants to play? If you've been tagged in this game already sdjdgkah APOLOGIES.

[pleasedontkickme]

quid pro quo!!!

17, 19, and 27!!!

17. talk about your writing and editing process

Now here’s what I do. I take either my laptop or phone and I go sit on the couch in the living room. If my roommates are there instead I’ll go back to my room and cry. But otherwise I’ll sit in front of the big tv and put a YouTube video on of some sort of nature ambience—it CANNOT have music in it, but it can’t be too silent. Typically, I find that the peaceful background noise of a harsh blizzard works the best. Blizzard and nighttime snow videos get me in the best space to write sots specifically. I love this one video of a car driving on a snowy forest path at night for sots, but if my roommates walk by they say it’s “creepy” so then I’ll turn it off. Anyways then I make some English breakfast tea with 3 tablespoons of sugar and oat milk. Then my blinds need to be lifted just about an eighth of the way up so as to not let too much light in my delicate, failing blue eyes. It should be noted that morning is the best time for my brain to write, so the angle of the sun is perfect. If all of these conditions are met, I can get my attention span to MAYBE let me focus enough to write. If not, I’ll go back into my room and cry if I haven’t already.

To edit I simply give my eyes a 24 hour break, go back for grammar and spelling, take another 24 hour break, and then rewrite the whole thing. I have been told I should give myself longer to edit. I’m too impatient for this.

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

So as I was writing the nightmares for sots chapter 4, I originally only had the first two parts of it in the draft. As I was hinting at these nightmares, and about how Ryan feels about [REDACTED], my friend my good friend @oh-cosmia was like “I bet he feels like a bunraku puppet” and I said. Huh?

Anyways so I watch some videos and i immediately have the inspiration to add the puppet part and last part of the nightmares, which I write all in one sitting, which helps get me to finish the chapter overall. Seriously, have you seen those things?? Look them up.

27. your favorite part of the writing process

When the perfect inspiration for a really good sentence hits and it gets you to write and you’re able to send a screenshot to friends going “hey look at this” and the rush you get from it is what I imagine people get when they send nudes.

[artsyriv]

TAZ NC Day 5- Promise

Wanted to do a Lupcretia piece, and ended up projecting onto my girl Lucretia. While there are no trigger warnings really applicable to this piece, please be aware that Lucretia in this is suffering from a mental health episode, implied to be BPD. I want everyone to be safe, this is based on my own experience with the disorder. Story below the keep reading line :)

Lup was like a dream. She drifted between the billowing curtains, the sheer ones that let all the light in--a stark contrast to the heavy duty ones Lucretia preferred with her sleep schedule--, and danced to music that no one else could hear. Lucretia's hands ached, to draw her, to hold her, to write about her, anything at all. But she was stuck. She was paralyzed. Lup said something Lucretia couldn't quite catch, and she turned to look at her but Lup had no face. And then Lucretia woke up. 

It was familiar now, the nightmares that came from losing Lup to the world. Barry was still looking, as was Taako, and Lucretia found herself paralyzed in indecision. Their plan was clearly not working, but she didn't want to be the one to bring it up, she couldn't be the one to bring it up. It would destroy Taako, destroy Barry. 

Plus she had promised. 

Lup laid across Lucretia's lap, the casualness making Lucretia's heart flutter. She felt whole with Lup, the sort of belonging that she only felt when she was emotionally dependent on a person. She knew it was terrible. She couldn't stop. 

Lucretia was an emotional person, given to bouts of finding everything good or bad, black and white. Lup was an anchor in the storm, reminding Lucretia why she still tried so hard to be around. Why she still took the time to record everything. Lup was stable in a way that Lucretia never was, despite Lup's chaotic upbringing and Lucretia's perfect one. It seemed perfect from the outside anyways.

It was after a stolen kiss, well, not stolen, but it felt that way to Lucretia. Any physical affection had to be stolen as there was no way to receive it from others honestly. Barry knew about them, he even made it clear to Lucretia that this was ok with him, but laying in bed with Lup with legs tangled always felt like a betrayal somehow. She always felt as though she was betraying others. 

It was after a stolen kiss when Lup made her promise. "Hey Luc," her golden eyes had been earnest in the moment Lucretia could meet her gaze, "if anything happens to me, I need you to promise me that you won't run this time."

"I wouldn't run." Lucretia argued, knowing in her mind that she had a bigger plan, although the shape of it was still rough. "That's not what I would do."

"Well, what would you do?" Lup leaned against the wall, crossing her arms and smiling. "Got some big plan that no one knows about?"

"I wouldn't do it." Lucretia looked at the ground, at their shoes. 

"But?"

"But I would go back to my plan."

"Then promise that."

"Promise what?"

"That you won't enact that plan." 

"I promise." She meant it at the time too. Lup had smiled and taken her hand, and they had run onto the deck together, and Lucretia had meant it. 

But that was when Lup was here, when Lup was safe. When Lucretia was relatively stable and had an anchor. She knew she should have developed some coping skills, some way to cope with what her brain put her through, but her coping skill had been Lup, and Lup was gone. 

She had promised though. 

Lucretia took a deep breath, tucked a braid behind her ear and decided. She had broken promises before, so what was one more? After all, they would never remember after this anyways. 

She began to redact. 

[kineticallyanywhere]

Out of pure curiousity you mentioned once that you were thinking of maybe some sort of sequelish thing to MoM- is that still something you have as a potential project or is the book closed on MoM? No pressure either way, I'm just curious because in my opinion MoM has one of those perfect endings that makes you wish the journey was longer just because you weren't ready to say goodbye and the idea of more MoM maybe even more then Actually Having More MoM interests me

It has come to my attention that I have newer followers who were unaware of my Red vs Blue fixation phase. For those people, here's a link to the fic in question: Mind over Matter on Ao3

The book is almost certainly closed on that, my fixations have moved on and I agree with you about the ending being this bittersweet balance of wanting more but not quite being willing to risk how well the landing stuck. but I had two ideas, one for a companion and one for a sequel.

(summaries and writing excerpts below the cut)

The companion is basically a long one-shot from Carolina's PoV that takes place during MoM. I actually wrote quite a bit of it! it's the most likely to get finished one day. you'd get to see her and everyone else's reaction to Wash and Epsilon going missing, and it would fill in a lot of details that Our Boys don't get to see. For example, in the last chapter Wash's helmet is present because Carolina and Tucker managed to recover his armor during their frantic raiding of enemy bases to find them. Also, Sarge and Simmons weren't supposed to be the team at the base where Our Boys got rescued. It was supposed to be Tucker and his team, but Tucker was so distracted looking for Wash and Church that they had to put the Reds on it. You'd also get a bit of Emily talking about more technical details for what was going on with Wash's brain while he and Epsilon were super-fused together. Oh! it also would have explained how they were able to get a new chip printed for Wash so fast. the base they raided to get Wash's armor also had the equipment and data used to make the taser-chip that they put Epsilon into in chapter 1.

An excerpt, because of course this got me to find my old file. Takes place after the rescue:

Grey finally puts down her datapad. “I'll keep chipping away at what I can, but I just don't have an answer for you right now, Carolina. The science of neurotechnology isn't exactly new, but it's still very unexplored. We may have to prepare ourselves to wait for answers until they can fix themselves.” “And how long will that take?” Carolina asks, as if she hasn’t already assigned herself indefinitely to this chair.  “Ooh, feisty! Careful, or Caboose will grab the spray bottle again. Can’t have you climbing any more walls.”  Carolina’s patience for jokes is about as thin as the arm rests on her seat, which creak under her hands. “So you can’t tell me anything.” Dr. Grey’s smile dims a few watts. She tilts her head, thoughtfully. Then she says, “My best guess is: whatever protocols got broken, Epsilon would have had to have broken them himself.” “But--” “But, he would never have done that to himself. Or to Agent Washington. They're both prickly and emotionally constipated -- and there's a buffet of redacted history between them I would simply love to sink my teeth into, given the chance. But. They care about each other. Church wouldn't have taken it this far without Wash's input; and Wash wouldn't have let him. They got into this together. They'll get out together, too.” Because Carolina’s life makes no sense, suddenly all she can think about is Caboose, several days ago, in the meeting room.  “They’re gonna be okay.”  Back in the present, Grey chirps, all sunshine and rainbows again, “So we’ll just have to hurry up and wait!” Carolina slumps back in her chair. “You are really… not my favorite person.” “Well of course not!” She leans over the bed to frame Wash’s face with one hand. “Look at my competition!” Then she swaps out the bandage on his face with ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ fluidity.

the sequel would have gone full AU from before the epilogue of MoM. It would really just be me self-indulgently sinking my teeth into all of Blue Team's issues, with the added bonus of Wash and Epsilon having sorted through their own issues and it casts a harsh light on how every other relationship on the team hasn't really sorted out theirs. Accomplished by trapping them all in a tunnel system through Chorus with a bunch of mercs/pirates and juggling around which combinations of characters are split up with each other.

Carolina and Tucker probably the juiciest, because their understanding and history of every other member of the team is starkly different from each other:

“When Wash led you all back for us--” “‘Wash led?” Tucker parrots back. He actually laughs. “Love to break this to you, but Wash was the last one who wanted to go back for you.” Carolina’s head, maybe her whole body, empties out in a single moment. “...what?” Tucker jabs himself in the chest like he wishes his finger was sharper. “I’m the dipshit who couldn’t live with himself if you both suicided. He just got swept up in every other idiot suddenly growing a hero complex. I don’t know what Agent Washington was like, but Wash is the stone-cold asshat with abandonment issues."

Also featuring Caboose getting to hug Blue Squared.

Maybe one day I'll spend a summer sinking back into that hottub of Red vs Blue brainrot, but for now we can daydream

[middenska]

New Year’s twiyor posting

HAPPY NEW YEAR *fireworks*

I have no recent responses, so how about a little post reveal twiyor? (It has nothing to do with the new year’s lol)

NSFW WARNING

It’s short, but I enjoyed writing it! It’s supposed to be part of a longer story but it’s so close to where it’s supposed to end i just skipped here for funsies~ Enjoy!

“Loid,” Yor moaned as Loid rammed his stiffness into her. His strained breaths wettened the back of her neck creating a puddle of sorts of spit and pure excitement. She tightened her bite on the pillow and yanked it closer while Loid prodded her nipples, playing with them in the fashion that she so admired whenever they became one. He felt Yor’s perfect void tighten around him and he instantly recognized the feeling of his imminent end. He pulled out—though only for a moment—to flip over her in such a way that he faced her, replacing the spit-soaked pillow with his own sweat-soaked body.

“Yor,” he purred, “I don’t think I can last much longer. You’re so tight.”

“You like it like that, don’t you?” She tried her best to say without moaning. “I like making you feel good, Loid.”

“I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have all the fun.”

“You’re not. I’m enjoying this even more than you are, I’m sure.”

After a few heavy breaths and moans, Yor continued.

“I don’t think I can handle much more.”

“Me… neither,” Loid mumbled. His brain steadily clouded as he approached climax, taking no note of his redundancy. Though, with his steady pumps increasing in speed, it seemed that some parts were perfectly clear.

“Loid, I’m…” And she came. She relaxed around him and tightened again as a rubber band would. Her wail of pleasure as she finished ended up being his demise. Fueled by nothing but animalistic desire, he blurted out the first thing he thought of.

“Yor, you’re the only person I wanna be with,” he said, panting, “for the rest of my life.“

At that moment, cum exploded out of his shaft and into Yor’s womb. What he said immediately caught up to him.

“For the rest of my life? I… I can’t be with her for the rest of my life. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. (he very much wanted to) I can’t let myself get attached to you, Yor. I’m sorry that I can’t fall for you.” (He already did)

This IS post reveal, just Twilight trying to come back into [redacted]’s mind! /[*u*]b

[ophelia-thinks]

3, 4, 5, 9, 25!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

collected nonfiction by joan didion - i spent a week in january in the sacramento valley working my way through this book. i'd read stuff by her before, but this year some switch flipped in my brain and i Got it, i understood the obsession, the veneration... it's the details for me, the odd little turns of phrase, like "a little japanese on the horizon" describing the oilfields outside of LA, or the dress the color of the sac delta "for a few days in spring, when the rice first showed." didion would have snubbed me, descendant of okies and japanese immigrants, but i love seeing the landscape i was born and raised in refracted through her exacting, conservative mirror.

dear friend, from my life i write to you in your life by yiyun li - utterly obsessed with this. i can't describe the feeling it gives me, the quiet passage through a singularly strange and perfect mind. "had i been more disciplined, i would have written nothing and lost nothing." this is a book about being unable to convincingly describe a chrysanthemum.

the lover by marguerite duras - having a weird psychic moment with this book. "and it really was unto death. it has been unto death."

dispatches by michael herr - he mostly stopped writing after this. he saw that there was something basically fucked-up and evil about it, it being language, and especially the pathetic human use of it to conceal and protect. even worse, images; photos that appear to prove the existence of evil but communicate nothing behind it. which wasn't at all true of me, herr writes, father of all motherfuckers; i was here to watch.

dirty work by eyal press - i want everyone to read this book. it gave me a way to understand my world, a path to compassion, a path to forgiveness. i think about it constantly when i'm at my day job in the [redacted] world, and i want to make everyone i come into contact with read it too. we all follow orders; we all injure and are injured; we are all going to hell so that someone more fortunate doesn't have to.

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

CAN XUE!!!!!!!!! vertical motion blew my mind. also kind of getting into richard brautigan, i love his poems which are like haiku with bombs strapped inside of them.

5. What genre did you read the most of?

hard to say because i'll read anything... i did read a lot of nonfiction this year, plus my usual sci-fi detours.

9. Did you get into any new genres?

nah. i did have an intense philip k. dick moment though, does that count as a sci-fi subgenre?

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

i want to get deeper into a few authors whose books i've loved recently but haven't read all of (robert walser, anna kavan, can xue); i want to read more poetry, and read poetry more adventurously; and i have a stack of hyperspecific nonfiction/history stuff on my shelf that i haven't cracked yet.

[akitomojito]

I HAVE FINALLY AWOKEN FROM MY FUCKING SLUMBER. Anyways, take yet another brain rot of two characters of mine, the next thing will be soon, since I’m actually not rotting and feel the need to feed the few sleep deprived and needy people here <3

(Word count: 1,513)

(NOT FINISHED ‼️ I add to this occasionally since I made this while I was newer to tumblr, but I’ll keep updating it every now and then 😈)

”You have quite the wondeful garden, my love. And doing this all on your own? I’m truly impressed.” A small chuckle erose from [REDACTED’S] lips as he made his statement, leaning back against a white, polished table. The flowering designs carved into the furniture made it blend it perfectly, yet simultaneously with the surrounding garden. From the lush green bushes, to the fruit that either sprung from tree’s or other neighboring bushes, it truly looked as if a fairytale had been made reality. The sunset had begun to fade in, coating the garden in shades of pink and orange, making it all the more grand.

“Well, didn’t I tell you I grew up in a cottage? Of course I’d be dealt down with the cards of my trade from my home. Besides, it calms me down, and keeps me sane.” Another male replied to the other man’s comment. A slight bit of eagerness in his tone. That came from the humble joy of picking his garden’s fruit, to be more specific, his delightful strawberries. Nobody could grow them the way he liked, so he simply did it himself. He sighed, looking down at his basket. Looking at the name, “Quinn” carved into it, slight embarrassment crawling up on to his face.

“Did you seriously write my name down on my basket?” Asked Quinn, turning his head around to suspiciously stare at the face of his beloved. He couldn’t lie, he certainly was something to the eye. From the brown pants and boots, all the way up to the cream turtleneck, it was as if he was staring at a higher being other than human. [REDACTED] seemed to catch on to Quinn’s staring, raising a brow and proceeding to look around the heavenly area. “Just perfect for our wedding venue, wouldn’t you agree?” Quinn simply scoffed, slowly getting up from his crouched position from picking the fresh berries. But it couldn’t be denied how that of a strawberry color spread along his cheeks, even making as far down as his hands. He could practically feel the flirtatious stare from the man near him, smelling it.


”This is a garden, not a playground, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Gently snapped Quinn, slightly avoiding much needed eye contact from [REDACTED] as possible. He was taking few steps to meet the face of the brute, pondering his own thoughts. A wedding? The idea at first seemed brash, but the more he thought about it, the more his cheeks grew in color. It was as if his cheeks were like thin paper, and some ink was slowly seeping through, leaving behind an annoying, yet obvious stain. How could this man say a simple sentence, and made him feel like he was questioning himself more than he already was? “Oh, shucks. Let a man dream now, sweetheart. That is,” With a sly movement of his hand, [REDACTED] lifted up Quinn’s wrist with his index finger, grinning that infamous grin of his. Slowly, his index finger traced along Quinn’s palm, seeming to follow the permanent lines in his skin. “Unless you’d like to make my dream a reality.”


Quinn could feel his eye slightly twitch, this time deciding to stand his ground against the one in front of him. He didn’t quite glare at him, but gave him a subtle, warning stare. It was a mixture of a demand, and a plead. Almost begging for him not to fluster him more, yet at the same time, continue to adorn him in his love. His attention quickly caught on to a small, white plate. It sat perfectly still on the table his lover was up against, the reason Quinn payed attention to it was due to the fact there were once, a good amount of strawberries laid out across the plate. Now, there was nothing. ”Did you really eat all of the strawberries I picked? Didn’t even bother to leave one for me?” Quinn proceeded to give [REDACTED] a heavy side eye, attempting to counter the statement made previously before. Internally, he smirked to himself. There wasn’t much of a reason he suddenly felt cocky, perhaps now he could put the somewhat of a pain in his rear end in his place. Oh, what an utter joy that would be. The male had been messing around with him all day, he just had to be taught a lesson.

“No, no, I did leave you one. It’s right here. Maybe if you paid more attention to me, you would’ve noticed.” Quinn looked up at him, realizing that in his other hand close to his face, another strawberry sat comfortably in between his thin, slender fingers. Quinn pushed his bottom lip out just a small bit, fiddling with the bottom part of his blouse. He tried to distract himself with the color of his top, a dark, forest green color it was. One of his personal favorites. He looked back up at [REDACTED,] however only with his eyes. “. .I can see that quite well, but you still ate them all. You’re rather lucky I happen to have more on me currently.”


”Or you could simply say I’m lucky I have such an adorable future husband to pick through the thorn bushes for me.” Quinn rolled his eyes, [REDACTED] couldn’t tell if he did that to be playfully rude, or just straight up nasty. In an attempt to distract himself, he offered the strawberry to Quinn with a warm smile. Quinn looked up at the fruit, then [REDACTED], cautiously, slowly but gradually moving his hand towards his to take hold of the fruit. Eventually taking it away from him all together, simply holding the strawberry in front of his face. “I just love it when you’re so kind enough to leave me your leftovers.” Quinn remarked sarcastically, not even realizing how [REDACTED’S] hand was slowly closing in around his wrist. He only noticed when he felt his hand being moved. By the time he looked to see what the man was doing, the fruit was almost pressed against his beloved’s lips, barely inches away. Quinn’s eyes slightly widened, not entirely expecting such a thing to happen. “Well, how about this? I’ll eat my last strawberry, and you could have the rest you just now, picked? If you’d like, we could share.” [REDACTED] Brought Quinn’s hand a little bit closer to his lips, smirking. “So, why don’t we make this one extra memorable?”

Quinn barely had a moment of thought, before the feeling of soft, glossy lips grazed the sides of his fingers. [REDACTED] Slightly licked the strawberry Quinn held in his hand, gradually taking small bites of the berry. As if wanting the moment to last longer. His eyes stared teasingly into Quinn’s, pleased with the redness that had spread all across his face, as well as the heat from his hands. Softly, he ate the strawberry completely from Quinn’s hand, leaving nothing left. However, he didn’t let go of Quinn’s wrist, seeming to gently lick away the apparent “leftover” of the already eaten strawberry, slightly sucking on the tips of Quinn’s fingers. Leaving the male left out for words of rationality. 

A smirk grazed over the lips of [REDACTED] without fail, not once breaking eye contact with Quinn. He felt like he couldn’t if he would have chosen to done so. There was just something about the man standing right across from him, something that echoed in passion. From the day he first met him, there was something special deep within his pulsing veins and body, and [REDACTED] wanted to have it all to himself. He didn’t mean to be greedy, but he simply just couldn’t help it whatsoever. The way Quinn’s eyes were widened with shock, blush coating his face as if it were thick raisen rolling down the bark of a tree, the trembling in his eyes. Oh, how couldn’t he not tease him? He was utter perfection in his eyes, and, [REDACTED] being the person he was, simply couldn’t let such a divine appetizer scurry away on him without getting a taste.

“Oh, darling, don’t tease me with that look. You’re too adorable that way!” [REDACTED] chuckled slyly, seeming to be enjoying the look in his beloved’s eyes. He began to pull his lips away from the blushing hand of his lover, pulling back to lean against the polished white table once more. He stared down at the man below him, with a grin larger than he could’ve ever thought he could have. Something [REDACTED] always loved about himself and Quinn was the height difference. He, standing at nearly six feet, while Quinn only was a mere five feet, along with six other inches. Quinn used to get so defensive when he brought it up, but over the years, there was a glint in his eyes. Hinting that he in fact loved it equally as much. “Oh, enough of that! Do you have no sense of embarrassment when it comes to these types of. .things?! You’re always initiating them, anyway, but why in the most visible of places?”

[imanes]

Dear Imane, hi! I would like to ask how you stay afloat in times of stress? I was invited to be a part of a research team in (redacted) late last year and we’ll be here until October this year. What started out as a dream job is now… well… the stakes are higher, there is little to no room for errors bc things can’t be easily fixed as we go further into the project. I am also stationed with two other nationalities we have nothing much in common but it’s my only form of socialisation for now bc we are located in (redacted) where only planes come like twice a week for supplies. Now I know all I have to do is hang on til October and I’m not a girl who breaks easy, but this is taking YEARS off my life. Constantly worrying about something going wrong and not so much other forms of recreation bc of where we are situated. Girl HELP 😫

hi angel! first off i'm so sorry you're experiencing so much stress at the moment :( this sounds like a really extreme situation like complete isolation for months at a time... i have a lot of admiration for your strength!!

i can't tell you what i do to relieve stress in my normal life bc the difference of context is too wide but if i were in your shoes i'd definitely rely on alternate modes of communication, i.e., talk to friends and family and just people in general online. like it might seem out of pocket but to channel some of that stress i feel like i'd try to learn chess in order to set my mind on something completely different and rather consuming brain-power wise (the learning of a new skill) and play online with other beginners. it doesn't have to be chess it can be digital painting, writing, ... something that makes sense to you and that takes your mind off of how much pressure you are under due to the nature of your project. i don't know how stable or sporadic your access to internet is but make the most of it as a communication tool!

there are also live reading sprints on youtube all the time, like you can read a book collectively (not the book itself but the time spent) and then have 15 min breaks to talk to one another in the chat. when I'm under a lot of stress and i don't have the intellectual capacity to actually read a story i usually turn to mangas and webtoons. check out what's popular on mangadex and give it a try! the perfect distraction for brain-fried people

another thing i'd do is HIIT training or something intense like that (basically not yoga) like whatever i have bad knees but i need the post-workout boost of endorphins MORE

and honestly when it gets stressful you can treat my inbox as your brain dump! i won't publish the messages if you don't want an answer but if you need to talk shit about your coworkers and detail the ways in which you're losing years of your life know that I'll read your messages and that basically there's another person who cares on the other side of the line

you got this!! do check in regardless of whether or not you actually want to talk to me ajdlfg I'm invested in your continuous well-being now. and sorry for the lousy answers honestly i wouldn't know how to cope under your circumstances either so props to you

[guesst]

❔❔❔❔❔❔

ask game ❔choose a random wip and talk about it (x6)

well if you insist on 6 whole wips heeheehee

okay first off

because we both like dc i have one (1) single dc wip which is a fairytale au and i cooked it up it quite a while ago with [redacted] in eeby deeby. i started writing it somewhere *rummages in folder* well it’s been quite a while, but i like it a lot still because it ended up fusing a bunch of fairytales together. for example, bruce is the beast from beauty and the beast, dick is snow white — although obviously with no romance: instead it’s his arriving at the ‘beast’s’ house for shelter from the evil huntsman (that guy who killed his parents) and i was planning on some sort of sleeping beauty-goldilocks fusion for jason where he joins bruce and co. just by breaking in and finding the perfect lunch n bed and later falls under a sleeping curse. with jason it also ties in a lot with tim because tim plays a rapunzel in this au — guarded by the same witch that puts the sleeping curse on jason for breaking into his tower. as you can see there is a trend of jason breaking into places and witches putting curses on people. incidentally talia is also a witch and damian is red riding hood. if i did decide to put duke in — though i dont know about him much, so it might be hard — i’d say maybe he’s the goose girl? (because of the ‘we are robin’ thing) or maybe cinderella? it would be interesting either way. anyway thats about the extent of my plan, though ive written a lot less (its just bruces origin story and dick arriving at bruce’s house :p)

here’s a snippet to get you through the rest of this rant

secondly

PURSON FIC PURSON FIC PURSON FIC

im not going to spend a lot of time talking about this one. im pretty sure it’s a character fic. i just spend a lot of time trying to figure out how purson thinks and acts and feels especially in the earlier arcs of iruma. somehow i feel like there’s not enough knowledge in my brain of him and so it feels like he’s too serious and its fun trying to balance his snark and aversion to attention. this wip’s meant to span the manga up until the music festival arc (so, until probably season 4 of iruma?) and yet i havent figured out what im going to write about the harvest festival. on the other hand i started this fic purely because i wanted a reason to write purson making friends with a caretaker that lets him onto the roof so he can become pixie. caretaker has become an oc with a whole backstory, which will probably mever show up in canon, but im still attached to her. yeah

and THIRDLY

iruma again! it’s an amnesia fic!

this one is for panda’s prompt for an ask game which they sent in last year. as you can tell, it is taking a long time. however, i love it a lot because i get to write iruma pre-canon-development (considering he hasnt got any of his memories!!) interacting with azz and clara who are simultaneously attempting to seem like normal humans, and have become his coworkers somehow, and who keep making ‘secretive’ comments about iruma which seem really suspicious to iruma because he keeps hearing them out of context. i have absolutely no clue how to end it, but it’s a lot of fun :D

FOURTH

these speeches are getting shorter and shorter arent they. hm.

OK WHATEVER this one’s iruma again (promise its the last one) nd this time it’s a rarepair that afaik nobody has written! although it’s platomci and not romantic. anyway it’s a childhood friends au with kiriwo amy and urara valac and kiriwo gets to become friends with urara valac because they run into each other a lot — i havent written much for it, again, but i did try outlining and formatting the outline slightly differently and it’s worked pretty well so far, actually! i think the part im most looking forward to writing is the part where kiriwo realises he’s properly stuck with the valacs, and that he doesnt actually care, nor does he really want to see them despair properly. so he grows pretty differently to canon, because canonically, afaik kiriwo’s only proper friend was the one childhood friend whise bracelet he destroys and after that its just demons who dont give a shit because hes too weak. so it’s fun exploring how that would change if he had people like the valacs who are strange and different, and also really caring.

hhhh next is number 5

number five isnt a fic it’s the choose your own adventure ive rambled about a few times. im terms of the routes the mc could take ive changed up the dragons route and also added one called the bakery route, which ive also been thinking of taking back out. let me backtrack a little in case you forgot. the premise is that mc is a kid and has been prophesised to defeat the great dragon. however when the great dragon rises mc is still a little Kid. now the player can make one of two choices: choose to escape this situation (which lends itself to human and orc found families) or choose to fight the dragon (high risk of death but there is a chance you can make friends woth the dragon) . so i added two new characters that might be p important in the dragon route: bel and caelan! bel short for belesis. he’s mc’s village friend and caelan is his sister and they’re both a bit older and more streetwise than mc. and also! i changed up the setting a little bit so it’s hotter and more deserty. when mc discovers the Forest where the great dragon lives they are going to be very shocked at the Wet

FINALLY NUMBER 6 LAST ONE

league theatre troupe au. this is an imaginary wip but its so stupid funny i want to write it so bad. i am planning to when i get the time also do not fear. if u didnt read the conversation it’s that shigaraki talks like shakespeare because afo lived longer than everyone thought (like, since the middle ages) and when he got his face pumched in his brain reverted to shakespeare talk. now when shigaraki got kidnapped by afo at a young age he also started speaking liek afo. this spreads to the league of villaims. everyone now thinks the lov is a theatre troupe and applauds them whenever they appear. they are legally licensed to use quirks in public because everyome thinks they are performing. stain is a big fan and so is present mic. all might asks for shiggy’s autograph at one point. shiggy calls him a knave.

[ancient-reverie]

s/o to my fellow systems whose brains are just wild and will see a nice rock and make an alter. like okay brain, that's nice thank you. no idea what started us as a system, but over the years we've had many new people form and the causes are varied. this is not a full list, just a couple of experiences

i want to preface that there is nearly no way to "prove" if these are true reasons or not as is the nature of dissociation. but they FEEL right and it's our brain so we would have some idea. and it Doesn't Really Matter in the end being as what matters is that we Are Here Now.

really we made this as a list so maybe someone who needed to could relate to or laugh at one or more of the things

a lot of feelings about not being able to sing gave us a vocaloid with a broken voice

almost drowning landed us a transmasc siren

started writing a new character and oops hi pretty okay and strong girl

"i need a big brother"

some really bad shit went down in mindspace (this happened often when we were younger) and an alter or two were traumatized so write a note to wait two months and start looking for a new one but still be surprised and confused when the new one comes up anyway

some symptom got too much to handle so now it's this guys turn wait who is this guy

discovered a new song and listened to it on repeat and maladaptive daydreamed someone a new friend or child

bestie said we weren't friends no more so i'm gonna become someone who has never met bestie

We Aren't Talking About The YouTuber That We Watched Too Much Of And Used For Emotional Support Until They Showed Up And We Pulled Off A Perfect [redacted] Accent And Refuse To Speak Of Since (sorry)

uncomfortable moment you will only ever be Confused about despite being able to remember it and what was happening

every alter rotating out during the Suicidal TimesTM until there's no one else who can handle it so yOu MakE ONe and they're actually really happy for a minute and can appear to break the depressive session but very quickly realizes what they're in for and joins the rest of the Sad Club, thanks for the help buddy, sorry and welcome to the club we have weed

Bird Hyperfixation

"i need a new mom"

Vampire hyperfixation

literally just a different version of an existing alter. alternate-timeline 'if this had happened or hadn't happened' or future/older selves

you really liked this character in that show but your brain for some reason won't take the actual character. oh no it has to make its own person that is an exact mirror of that character! but it wont tell you! you have to forget all about that character until 10 years later when the alter realizes it but they're so different now you don't actually know but it probably shaped you in some way

had a slut phase on discord and the fake personality 2 of the alters used online turned into her own person

You haven't met the alter that you know exists because you asked for them to exist at the same time you heard your father cry for the first time at 27 when you all Lost a creature who the whole system considered their daughter.

people just form when the brain decides it's a good idea for us. it's been awhile since we've had a new fully fleshed out alter who has the energy and desire to be out/slots into the main group that takes care of most things. when new ones form these days (like 2.3 every 4 years) it's "quieter" people that pop up, introduce themselves, and then chill in mindspace with the rest and we don't really hear from them much.

Last we counted we have about 50 people (we counted a long time ago i'll be honest), but on a daily basis only about 3-5 people are active and it's not always through the whole day. at least 2-3 are always active. Siruss is the only one who can solo we dunno why.

our usual routine someone will be out and they'll have a co-fronter and or a couple background buddy(ies), and then the co-fronter and background people change after a week to a month, it depends on who it is. sometimes one of the background or co-fronters will swap out and be the main one for however long they can manage (depends on who it is)

but if we're leaving the house and around other people the routine is totally subject to change.