#summary of the team here and future posts about specific character ideas

[hezele]

Bg3 Cyberpunk AU

6 people get hired by a mysterious but powerful group called the Absolutists to do a job. These 6 strangers are all down on their luck, desperate enough to take the job even if everything about it screams sketchy. The rewards they’re promised could be the key to turning their lives around.

The Team:

The Face: Wyll the rockerboy, protector and voice of the people. He can charm his way out of near anything. His one-man band is known for its uplifting energetic tunes and its messages that urge to stand up in the face of injustice. He does occasional merc gigs, some for people down on their luck, and some for a mysterious woman who stinks of the corps

The Runner: Gale has always been a talented netrunner from a young age. His ingenuity and grasp of coding are superb, beyond many peoples capabilities. He wound up in a relationship with the legendary Mystra, the woman who invented the current net system. Rumor has it there's been a falling out.

The Ninja/Techie: Astarion knows how to sneak around and take people out quietly. He also has the tech skills to take apart someones security system and modify his weapons for maximum efficiency. He used to work as a doll for many years but has recently quit, taking up this new gig.

The Driver/Killer: Lae'zel is a skilled no-nonsense fighter with the resources and teachings of her nomad clan to back her. Her clan is known to be ruthless but effective fighters. To say they are wary of outsiders is an understatement. But the clan needs money, and Lae'zel is willing to take a gig to pull some cash in.

The Medtech: Shadowheart might be ornery with questionable credentials but she’s a highly competent medic. She knows how to tend to wounds just as well as how to make them. She has a strange piece of tech whose function is unknown. She carries it with her everywhere but refuses to explain what it is.

The Muscle: Karlach is a solo skilled at a variety of melee fighting styles. She used to work as a hired corporate assassin but has since gone freelance. She has a prototype piece of cyberware tech installed thats extremely handy in a fight, but faulty and dangerous both for those around her, and herself.

[thankskenpenders]

I've been catching up on the BumbleKast after getting behind so here are some interesting tidbits from various September 2022 episodes. Lots of behind the scenes info, discussions of canonicity, hints of what may be coming in the future, and also just random fun stuff

1. I'll put the most intriguing one up front:

"Is there any chance the IDW comics will connect themselves to future games?" Ian: "Mmmmmmmmaybe." Kyle: "Is there any chance that the IDW comics have already connected themselves to any future games?" Ian: "...Not in the direction of comic into game."

Ian's wording is intentionally vague here, and I'm not sure if the phrasing of "comic [connecting] into game" would mean he's ruling out the comic connecting itself to the game or the comic being referenced in the game. He's already outright said Tangle isn't in Frontiers or anything like that, so don't expect something THAT big, but previews have also said that Sonic will occasionally make surprising references to characters from past games while exploring the islands. Maybe the IDW comics will get a nod like this? Or maybe he means it the other way around, and we'll see some Frontiers stuff in the comics next year?

Regardless, you KNOW I'll be reporting back on this when Frontiers is out

2. Ian very strongly hints that Silver will be relevant in 2023's comics. This isn't exactly a surprise, given his story in the Annual and the fact that Evan's lead writer. (She's shown immense restraint not shoehorning Silver into every arc lol.) But it's nice to know that setup will pay off before long!

3. In general he's been saying that how the Classic era games fit together is being discussed behind the scenes, especially now that it's considered the past of the Modern series again. Things like Chaotix being non-canon may no longer be true. It's probably best not to think too hard about these things (Sega didn't care about "canon" in the '90s), but he reiterates that the version of events depicted in Origin is what Sega considers the definitive start of the series

4. Ian was very pleasantly surprised (and jealous) when the Scrapnik Island team was allowed to use Mecha Sonic and other Classic elements. He's holding off on commenting further on why Sega might have allowed this

5. Ian gave his ideas for what he could do in a crossover between Sonic and Homestar Runner complete with impressions

6. He also described how a TF2 match on 2Fort between the IDW Sonic cast would go

7. The question of whether or not Nicole could still be a lynx if she came back in future media has come up on here a lot, and sadly Ian seems to think the answer is a definitive "no." If the Freedom Fighters were to ever return, ALL Archie-original elements would likely be gone, starting back at square one with only SatAM (and, technically, their Spinball cameo) as inspiration. Nicole would not be a holo-lynx, Antoine may not be able to use a sword, etc.

8. On the subject of Mega Man, Ian picks up the homoerotic vibes fans always read between X and Zero and wonders if it was intentional lmao. Ian's a real one

9. Ian gave a loose summary of what would have happened in the unreleased third issue of Archie's Sonic: Mega Drive. The story would have opened with the team working together to hunt for the Emeralds in the Special Zone, which wouldn't quite be 1:1 with any specific previous version

10. Several ideas have apparently been pitched for using the Warp Topaz again, since Sega requested they leave it intact at the end of the Metal Virus Saga so it could be used again, although no idea has stuck just yet

11. Ian does not want to admit that Starline is already a Tumblr Sexyman

I was going to add more to this post as I continued getting through the backlog, but this is already long enough

[thewatcher727]

Updated 7th August 2024

Time for introductions!

Greetings to all you lovely people. My name is Jack (or John as I commonly go by). Welcome to my Tumblr! I took an interest in writing FanFictions back in 2012. I’ve written several stories, also took breaks here and there, but now I am back and writing primarily for Sonic! It’s a franchise I’ve adored since I was a kid and I always wanted to find the confidence to write stories around them. With that said and done, I post regular previews to my next updates. Feel free to drop me a message anytime!

FanFiction Profile:

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4420290/Assassin-s-Creed-Master

Archive of Our Own Profile:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssassinsCreedMaster

Writing & Reviewing Tips & Advice:

I've been writing FanFictions for over 10 years now. It's safe to say I've learned a thing or two. That's why I wanted to take this time to share what I have learned with you guys. However, one thing I do want to make perfectly clear is I am not a professional writer at all. These tips are solely based on my own personal experiences.

Review Tips:

What Is Constructive Criticism?

Don't Be Afraid To Speak Your Mind

Understand The Difference Between Constructive Feedback And Just Being Mean

Explain Properly Why You Like Or Dislike Something

Don't Take Offense If The Reader Doesn't Decide To Take Your Feedback On. It's Up To Them

Remember, At The End Of The Day, It Is Just Your Opinion. You Might Not Always Be Factually Right

Writing A Review Tips:

How To Differentiate Between Criticism And Rudeness

Expressing Your True Thoughts

Clarify How Feedback Benefits The Story

Explaining Likes Or Dislikes

Don't Be Offended If Your Feedback Isn't Taken

Be Specific With Examples

Offer Solutions, Not Just Critiques

Even If There Were Several Negatives, Focus On The Positive Aspects Too

Discuss Various Aspects In Your Review

How I Write A Review

Writing Tips:

Never Think You're Done

Ask For Help

Never Think You Are The Best

Identifying Your Unique Style

Upload Schedules

Don't Worry About Making It Perfect

Have Fun

Be Inspired, Not Controlled

Make Sure To Have People Who Tell You The Truth, Not What You Want To Hear

How To Make A Scene Immersive

There’s Always Different Ways To Approach Writing

Revise and Shine

Portraying Characters Out Of Character

Unnecessary Descriptions

Writing Description Notes:

These notes describe various styles and specific details, and they will be continuously updated. Feel free to use any of them for your stories as you see fit! Additionally, please feel free to contribute your own notes and ideas via message.

Writing Description Notes

A handy list of my Sonic FanFictions:

The Untold Tales Verse

Have you ever wondered what Sonic and friends were up to between thrilling escapades? The Untold Tales Verse is a groundbreaking series that unravels the enigmatic gaps in the Sonic universe

Sonic: The Tournament of Chaos

Plot Summary: Weeks have passed since liberating the world from Dr. Eggman. The announcement of the mysterious tournament with the Chaos Emeralds as the prize calls Sonic the Hedgehog back once again. Determined to win the powerful gems, Sonic assembles his team for their toughest battle yet. (Story 1 of the Untold Tales Verse)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14084460/1/Sonic-The-Tournament-of-Chaos

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49636771/chapters/125281660

Be One World, Be The Light

Plot Summary: Plagued with nightmares of a future that never came to be, Silver the Hedgehog seeks answers in the past. Meanwhile, Blaze the Cat is confronted by a being like no other who threatens to erase those she cares for. Join the heroes as they learn some secrets are best remained buried. (Story 2 of the Untold Tales Verse)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14128690/1/Be-One-World-Be-The-Light

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49716742/chapters/125491246

Our New Life Together

Plot Summary: Reunited at last, Blaze and Silver begin their new lives together in the Sol Dimension. While spirits are high, emotional pain continues to leave invisible scars. Follow the reunited friends as they learn the true meaning of friendship and adventure. (Spin-Off of the Untold Tales Verse)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14165460/1/Our-New-Life-Together

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49951156/chapters/126114025

Sonic Chronicles: Return of the Dark Brotherhood

Plot Summary: Shade's loyalty is put to the test as the Nocturnus Clan make their return. As they face their greatest challenge yet, the heroes reflect on the memories they've made and the bonds of their friendship that will last forever. With high stakes and dangerous obstacles ahead, they must come together to save their world one last time. (Story 3 of the Untold Tales Verse)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14214179/1/Sonic-Chronicles-Return-of-the-Dark-Brotherhood

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49951984/chapters/126116539

After The Storm

Plot Summary: The heroes find themselves grappling with the aftermath of their greatest challenges yet. Memories of triumph and sacrifice linger as they lean on each other for support. With the past as their guide and the future as their horizon, they stand resolute, ready to write the next chapter of their legendary journey. (Story 4 of the Untold Tales Verse)

Status: In Progress (Updated 14th September 2024)

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14341784/1/After-The-Storm

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54817303/chapters/138943699

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast Again Verse

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast again is a thrilling continuation of the beloved anime, promising action-packed escapades and heartwarming moments as our heroes embark on their next chapter.

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast Again

Plot Summary: After the defeat of the Meterax, Sonic and his friends return home, relieved to finally be back where they belong. However, their respite is short-lived as new adventures beckon. With peace restored, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of the gang find themselves facing fresh challenges and foes. Sonic’s back in style! So watch out… For Sonic X!

Status: In Progress (Updated 9th August 2024)

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14344080/1/Sonic-X-Gotta-Go-Fast-Again

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54991219/chapters/139406080

Solo Chronicles

Dive into Sonic's world through standalone stories that break free from the constraints of continuity, offering fresh adventures and endless tales.

The Lone Guardian: Shadow's Search For Purpose In A New World

Plot Summary: Shadow the Hedgehog finds himself at a crossroad. After living for over 100 years, he is filled with a sense of emptiness, wondering what his purpose is now that he has outlived his friends and allies. As he wanders through the deserted Station Square and visits Angel Island, he is visited by a friendly face who helps him to understand that he still has a purpose.

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14196978/1/The-Lone-Guardian-Shadow-s-Search-For-Purpose-In-A-New-World

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50273557

Chaos At Play: Sonic & Friends Take On The Ultimate Day Off

Plot Summary: Sonic and his friends take a much-needed break from their usual battles with Eggman, enjoying a day of fun and relaxation. As they explore their world without the pressure of danger looming over them, they discover new things about each other and themselves, forging stronger bonds along the way.

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14200635/1/Chaos-At-Play-Sonic-Friends-Take-On-The-Ultimate-Day-Off

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50830051

Sonic & Amy's First Date: A Night To Remember

Plot Summary: After years of asking, Sonic finally agrees to take Amy out on a date. But the blue hedgehog has no idea what to do on a date. Join the two hedgehogs as they experience a night to remember forever.

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14203138/1/Sonic-Amy-s-First-Date-A-Night-To-Remember

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51156406

Whispers In The Storm

Plot Summary: In the midst of a stormy night, Amy finds unexpected solace and security when Shadow seeks refuge in her cottage. As the rain persists, their shared moments become a cherished memory, leaving both of them contemplating the possibility of something new. Through acts of gratitude and heartfelt conversations, their connection deepens, revealing the potential for a lasting bond.

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14292740/1/Whispers-In-The-Storm

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51156646

Under The Sun, Beside The Star

Plot Summary: In a world finally at peace after the absence of Eggman and Starline, Sun the Hedgehog finds the courage to ask out his long-time crush, Staria Amantha. Together, Sun and Staria navigate the highs and lows of their budding relationship, discovering that love can be just as thrilling and unpredictable as any battle they've faced before. (Non-canon story set within the Werehog Verse)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14299175/1/Under-The-Sun-Beside-The-Star

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51649651

The Art of Dance

Plot Summary: As the Celestial Yuletide loomed on the horizon, Blaze prepared to embark on another Christmas keeping suitors at bay. But her plans take an interesting twist when Silver unexpectedly dropped by for another visit. Little did he know, this particular visit would lead him to an intriguing crossroads of a shared adventure, where they discover the true magic of the art of dance.

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14310640/1/The-Art-of-Dance

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52520977

Gala of Secrets

Plot Summary: Shadow and Rouge are assigned to infiltrate a high-society gala to recover a dangerous illegal artifact. As they navigate the glamorous but treacherous world of the elite, Shadow's past comes to light once more, bringing new challenges to light. Through thrilling espionage and unexpected revelations, Shadow and Rouge discover the power of trust and friendship in the face of adversity.

(Co-written with FantasyLover88!)

Status: Completed

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14366564/1/Gala-of-Secrets

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56791795

Tumblr Exclusive Writing Snippets:

These are basically just random little one shot ideas I have for short and simple stories. They won't have as much writing detail as my longer stories simply because I just wanted these little fics to tell their tale and leave it at that. Enjoy.

Grief

Plot Summary: The world was saved, but at what cost?

Link: https://thewatcher727.tumblr.com/post/708869363083722752/tumblur-exclusive-one-shot-grief

Thank You, Amy

Plot Summary: He never thanked her for her kindness... Until now.

Link: https://thewatcher727.tumblr.com/post/708903835723251712/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-thank-you-amy

Partners Forever

Plot Summary: Shadow has something he really needs to share with Rouge.

Link: https://thewatcher727.tumblr.com/post/708904149510750208/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-partners-forever

Omega's Quest For Societal Integration

Plot Summary: Omega excels at many things, but social interaction is not amongst his many skills.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/708982688851410944/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-omegas-quest-for

My Favorite Pillow

Plot Summary: Silver would do anything for Blaze, including being her favorite pillow when she's exhausted.

Link: https://thewatcher727.tumblr.com/post/709345935722938368/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-my-favourite-pillow

The Rage Of A Gentle Soul

Plot Summary: Mephiles is about to face the most dangerous being of all - a gentle soul consumed by rage.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/709785881501925376/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-the-rage-of-a-gentle

You're My Brother

Plot Summary: Sonic and Tails reflect on their adventures together.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/709983044341219328/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-youre-my-brother

Guardians

Plot Summary: Knuckles and Blaze reflect on their roles as guardians.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/710613374615126016/tumblr-exclusive-guardians

I Miss Him Too

Plot Summary: Rouge just wanted to know if Shadow was really gone again.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/711247550498439168/tumblr-exclusive-i-miss-him-too

Cooking Lessons With Silver

Plot Summary: Romance in the kitchen?

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/711881748974288896/tumblr-exclusive-cooking-lessons-with-silver

Who's Weak Now?

Plot Summary: Infinite makes Shadow relive his worse moment.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/712515963622490112/tumblr-exclusive-whos-weak-now

High Five Mishap

Plot Summary: Amy doesn't quite realize her own strength at times.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/713150096977657856/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-high-five-mishap

Storm Preparations

Plot Summary: Team Dark hunker down for the night as a storm rolls in.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/713784233154494464/tumblr-exclusive-storm-preparations

The Outsider

Plot Summary: Blaze has always felt like an outcast, until now. Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/714418448587014144/tumblr-exclusive-the-outsider

Story Time With Shadow

Plot Summary: Shadow has quite a talent for storytelling. Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/715052667581366272/tumblr-exclusive-story-time-with-shadow

The Joys Of Chao Dolls

Plot Summary: Omega has quite the fascination with Chao.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/715686831089500160/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-the-joys-of-chao-toys

The Last Dance

Plot Summary: Why does Rouge have to be so difficult?

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/thewatcher727/728521629009870848/tumblr-exclusive-one-shot-the-last-dance

[hccn-overseer]

Issue 6, 5/24/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

Before our wonderful stories, I would like to give a shoutout to one of our writers, Lydia! You will notice, she wrote most of this week's stories and made many of the games as well to help cover other people who are busy this week! Lydia, you absolute madlad, we appreciate you so much on the team and this server, please do not do that again.

This week’s news is once again accompanied by a PDF version of your latest news brought to us once again by the lovely Cheer! Pick it up right here for your viewing pleasure!

Show Off Your Citizen Creations with Citizen Jams!

By Lydia

Creative minds of all kinds, listen up! The Hermit Citizen Hub has introduced a weekly community event, inviting all artists and writers to participate through a series of prompts released each Friday. If you are looking for an excuse to draw your citizen but are feeling shy about it, or you feel you are running out of ideas, here’s a way to scratch that itch to create with the Hermit Citizen Hub’s new Citizen Jams! All forms of artistic mediums are welcome!

Citizen Jams, or creative prompts focused on encouraging all members of the Hermit Citizen Hub to show off their citizens, were created by Gene, also known as FireApyr, on May 11th. Found in the Discord server, these prompts have encouraged a greater number of people to broaden their citizens’ horizons through various scenarios and costumes. This thread, Citizen Prompts, can be found under Citizen Art, with a specific thread linked in the initial post to Citizen Prompt Suggestions. Your fellow citizens have added several suggestions and there is always room for more!

These suggestions have a wide range, including but not limited to displaying your citizen wearing their favorite pajamas, participating in Zedvancements, showing up in Empires, appearing in pixel art, appearing as a Villain (or a Hero if they are already one), attending a board game night, during their favorite season, drawn with the opposite color scheme of their design, cosplaying a Hermit, and training a Warden.

Two prompts and many submissions have debuted on the server as of May 24th, much to the delight of our server member participants! The first prompt, suggested by Hyo, was “Your Citizen as a DND Character,” prompting artwork of citizens as paladins, rangers, wizards, and more. The second prompt, suggested by BitterTea, for this week, is “Your Citizen at a Tea Party.” Please leave your submissions to the Citizen Prompts in the overall Citizen-Art thread. We look forward to seeing your citizens in all kinds of situations and costumes!

Now onto other news below the cut!

Affiliate Summaries

By Roo

Bdouble0: Bdubs has shark grabbers, platform boots and a stepladder now.

DocM77: They’re plotting something. There’s been no further explanation.

GoodTimesWithScar: New HotGuy merch!! Not IRL, which has been a disappointment, but they’re enjoying the new graduation hats nonetheless. Hotguy may have a shotgun in future events, it is unofficial.

Grian: They anime-d Grian?? I think. It’s honestly really concerning.

ImpulseSV: He’s sweeping your chimney right now. No, it’s not a threat. Goats are great at sweeping chimneys.

MumboJumbo: They joined the biker gang and also predicted the future. Mumbo affiliates, if you are looking for a job that is NOT in a biker gang, the Seers is always open. (/j. Kinda.)

PearlescentMoon: She’s so small!!!! Itty bitty pearl :) 

Rendog: They’re all so excited about the boat race! Yay for boat races. The newspaper should probably cover that, huh.

Welsknight: They’re working hard on the scrapbook! It’s looking splendid so far.

XisumaVoid: He’s a hermitcitizen now? Apparently. He’s also adopted everyone, so if you’re looking for a father figure, we’ve got one right here. He’s at the Scarland lost and found.

ZombieCleo: They’re just vibing and getting absorbed into other games! A lovely time, really.

If you do not see your affiliates here: Yet again, this is because  some channels have not been active or are not notable. Please notify us if there have been any typos or misinformation.

Citizen Appreciation: Topaz, the Quintessential Patron of the Arts!

By Lydia

If you have ever visited the art channels of the Hermit Citizen Hub, you know that every artist is on the edge of their seat as they read the latest compliment from our endlessly hardworking artistic cheerleader, Topaz. Since April 19th, our fellow citizen and adamant patron of the arts, Topaz, has tracked down each art piece posted in our Citizen Art channels on our Discord server and to leave positive affirmations for each artist’s piece. She points out specific details and praises each piece for the artist’s personal flair, highly motivating the spirits of every drawer, painter, pixel artist, and crafter who crosses the threshold from merely observing others’ art pieces to sharing their work with a larger audience in that of the Hermit Citizen Hub.

Topaz is a fellow artist herself, having depicted her own Hermit Citizen as a member of Pearl’s cleaning team, who also takes care of Bdubs’ horses and leans into her medium as a video game character, providing her own sound effects when jumping and upon deaths. She lives in a treehouse north of Mumbo Jumbo’s vault and shows her skill strengths in Mining, Exploring, and Overall Dexterity in navigation. She is also a very decent prankster and builder. Many citizens recognize her art style for its high emphasis on bold shapes and straightforward colors, with thick outlines to give her work that extra punch of polished realization. In addition to her own citizen artwork, she has also created fanart of The Life Series, Empires SMP, fellow citizens of the Hermit Citizen Hub, has shared her own artistic improvement in redrawing her older character art, and has drawn several Hermits for the Hermit A Day art challenge. Topaz also crochets in addition to drawing traditional and digital artwork. All citizens are encouraged to take a look at her pieces in the art channels if they have not done so, yet!

Topaz’s eye for both her own and others’ artistic traits is exceptionally perceptive. In her affirmations, she highlights every wonderful peculiarity and characteristic that each artist wishes to convey. Everything from the details of how meticulously textured a character’s costume is, to the dynamic color choices of each character’s design, to the uncanny lifelike nature of a character’s eyes, and anything else that you may not say aloud but want to make a known idiosyncrasy of your artwork, will be featured in Topaz’s assessment of your piece. Another staple of Topaz’s affirmation is the returned “Thank YOU!” to each person’s gratitude, turning it back to the artist for sharing their inimitable creative styles and depictions of both their own and others’ characters. 

Topaz’s unbridled enthusiasm towards her fellow artistic community is returned as frequently as the awestruck members can muster, many of whom had insisted that she receive recognition for her crucial influence on the server. Because of this, Topaz has received a special role in the Hermit Citizen Hub in honor of her foundational presence as the quintessential patron of the arts: Hermitcity Art Society, as a seal of appreciation from the moderation team. This was given in reflection of the thanks that the community would like to show her.  We would like to congratulate Topaz for her emotional labor, support, and dedication to this community, and we wish her all the best!

Weekly Weather Report

By Lydia

Wednesday - MOSTLY SUNNY, High 19 Degrees, Low 10 Degrees. Balloons in the shape of Withers are expected to fly through all areas.

Thursday - WINDY, High 22 Degrees, Low 9 Degrees. Several sets of DND dice will roll through all areas. Enjoy your free dice!

Friday - RAINY, High 26 Degrees, Low 11 Degrees. There is a 65% chance of rain to be iced tea instead of water.

Saturday - SUNNY, High 24 Degrees, Low 12 Degrees. Whirlpools may form in all oceans.

Sunday - PARTLY CLOUDY, High 18 Degrees, Low 7 Degrees. Temperatures are expected to drop in the early afternoon. A low growling may be heard from The Rift from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Monday - RAINY, High 23 Degrees, Low 12 Degrees. Umbrellas will be provided to any passers-by in the shopping district, courtesy of The Overseer.

Tuesday - MOSTLY CLOUDY, High 26 Degrees, Low 9 Degrees. Jellyfish are expected to wash up on many shores. They will be entirely transparent.

Wednesday - WINDY, High 20 Degrees, Low 11 Degrees. Sand storms are expected around 4:00 PM. Make sure you have a way to cover your face.

WARNING: Explosive Wither Skulls Hovering Over Scarland Central Square All citizens in Scarland are recommended to remain on high alert due to Docm77’s retaliation to The Incident (Grian and Scar breaking his Redstone). Several explosive Wither Skull Mines have been transported to Scarland’s Central Square by Docm77. They hang ominously over Scarland’s main central street. They will very likely reign destruction upon Scarland in the near future.

Editor's note: Again, if any of our readers are rich and generous, we ask for assistance in paying Rainy’s ransom. The kidnappers’ identity is still unknown, but leaving a pile of diamonds on the doorstep of the Overseer offices may be enough to reach them.

Come and Visit the Citizen Shops and Services!

By Lydia

A number of citizens in the Hermit Citizen Hub are hard at work making sure that their shops and services are in tip-top shape for the benefit of all who visit the Hermitcraft server. With the addition of an officially documented list of shops and services, we are happy to share the wares and whereabouts of our community’s bustling businesses, many of which are always on the move for your convenience! Enjoy exploring and meeting your fellow shop owners, for there is always help right around the corner! The following is a collection of official citizen businesses that help us liven up the server with everything from materials in bulk, to clinics, researchers for hire, and more!

Do you need to send a package, letter, or perhaps a collection of prized trinkets to your favorite citizens? 10K Blocks is a delivery service run by Hyo the Human that can handle everything and anything YOU need to be sent to anyone on the server! Diamonds are the commonly accepted form of payment, but if you’re short on diamonds, sentimental items will also suffice for anything you’re looking to swiftly ship to your companions! If you would like to make a delivery order, come and visit the Hyo Delivery Interaction thread!

Do you think you might have a slight touch of Watcher Trauma? Do you experience growing anxiety over your safety as an affiliate of Grian or Scar? Are you getting a twinge of bloodthirst, but afraid of hurting your companions? Glowberry Therapy, with multiple locations across the server for your convenience, is here with open arms to help you process everything from finding that your companions have been captured by The Watchers to recurring guilt over setting off an unfathomable chain of events in your past! Therapy from Theseus of Glowberry Therapy is available if you only ask him with a message in the Citizen Talk thread. Therapy is free, but donations are especially appreciated.

Do you crave cookies, pies, cakes, muffins, or any small pastries? You’re in luck because Z (or Zee) has your perfect fix with Painted Wings, their mobile vendor cart running all through Scarland! For just a few diamonds, usually within the 1-5 range, you can taste just a lovingly baked magical treat! Send Z a message in the Citizen Talk thread if you find your stomach growling!

Is your curiosity about a certain mob or biome itching the corners of your brain? Come to Cloud’s Office, located in the Shopping District, and see Azure Clouds to find yourself a researcher who will tell you anything you want to know about these creatures and locations! Send them a message in the Citizen Talk thread for any of your creature and environment studies needed! Any chance for them to share their knowledge is a chance for you to look at your chosen subject with brand-new eyes. All they ask for is 1-10 diamonds (depending on the level of danger) and an attentive ear!

Do you need any medicines or potions? Come to The Pharmacy, located in the center of the shopping district, run by Ender R. Enderwoah! Prices fluctuate based on Ender’s mood and your own demeanor, so put your best face on when you stop by! If you’re pleasant enough, you could even find common items for just a diamond a piece! Find Ender’s thread, The Pharmacy, and leave them a note!

Are you looking for materials from the deep dark areas of the Overworld? Sculk Shriekers, Deepslate, Glowberries, and more are available just east of iBuy at The Quarry Crop, run by Ashes! Give them a message in Citizen Talk, and keep your inventory open for materials in bulk! Prices vary depending on the danger factor, but are well worth it!

Are you looking for a prosthetic or mobility aid from one of the most skilled crafting citizens on the server? Look no further! You can find something perfectly suited to yourself and your style from On the Move! Located at a small workshop near the beach behind iBuy, you can purchase individually customized, hand-crafted, efficiently made, personalized prosthetics and mobility from Fin! Find their Citizen I.D. card and leave a message for them!

Do you need a child, pet, or an inebriated companion to be looked after? For 2 diamonds per hour (or a stockpile of building supplies), you can drop off your ward at The Copper Clinic and Daycare, run by Doc Zero in the Shopping District! In addition, if you are injured or looking for a medical check-up, you may receive a free referral to The Pharmacy as well, though donations are appreciated! Find Doc Zero’s Citizen I.D. card and leave him a message or leave him a message in the Citizen Talk thread if you’re looking for a sitter or clinic!

Many of these shops and services are just getting started, and are more than ready for a full string of customers! We hope you all enjoy your stay in the Hermit Citizen Hub, no matter how long you plan to be with us!

Lost and Found

By Lydia

The following items were brought in from across the server this week. As nobody knows who they belong to, they have been categorized as lost. If you recognize any of the following or would like to report a lost item, do reach out to us at lostandfound@thehermitnews.org*

*Not a real email address

Item 1: A blue glass bottle with a scroll inside. The scroll shows a blueprint for a hot air balloon station. This bottle was found near Keralis’ shipyard. The blueprint seems to be recently drawn, however, the paper is turning yellow due to age. When asked about these blueprints, no one in the area had claimed them, nor had they heard of any plans for a hot air balloon station. The blueprints are drawn in colored pencil and the bottle itself glows in the dark. If this bottle belongs to you, please tell us if you are still planning to create a hot air balloon station when you come to claim it!

Item 2: An old notebook containing transcripts of a quiz show. This notebook is a spiral notebook with an orange and yellow cover that contains several transcripts and notes from a quiz show of an unknown name. It is unknown what the title of the show was, as it was never written down. The transcripts of the show appear to involve a tumultuous style of hosting which involves bringing in contestants to fist-fight each other before answering questions related to various Minecraft mobs. To the person who owns this book, please know that we have been very entertained by its contents!

Item 3: A cloth doll found near Enchantea depicting a gothic baseball player. This doll was found in near-perfect condition just outside of the shop. It is approximately 11 inches tall and has a black baseball uniform with gothic jewelry around the neck and wrists, with four ear piercings. It has curly green hair and silver button eyes. A patch of a peanut shell is sewn onto the back of its shirt. Neither a baseball nor bat was found with it.

Item 4: 6 2-inch coins made out of brass, all depicting images of fish tails and birds’ wings. These coins are green and surprisingly heavy. Four of them appear brand new, but the others appear to have rusted over many years. Each coin depicts two fish tails and four sets of bird wings, specifically the tails of Rainbow Trouts and the wings of California Condors. Anyone holding these coins notes that they feel as if they are about to be chased down by a threatening being, and everyone we have asked refuses to touch them. If these coins are yours, please claim them as soon as possible.

Item 5: A beige amphora made of clay, depicting the image of several Striders walking across a lava lake filled with dominoes. This amphora was found near Total Chaos. The artwork is painted in shades of orange, red, and dark turquoise. The images are crudely drawn and one of the handles is missing. Nothing was found inside the amphora, and it appears to have never held anything at all, as the inside is perfectly clean. If this amphora belongs to you, please consider displaying some of your plants inside of it!

Spectating Science: Warden Science with Tango Tek for Decked Out

Recapped by Cirrus, the Shoebill, written by Lydia

Scientific advancements throughout the Hermit Citizen Hub and among the Hermits themselves continue onward, allowing greater insight into familiar faces. Any citizens who are interested in the instinctual behaviors and idiosyncrasies of creatures of the most dangerous caliber are invited to share their theories related to the focused mob of this article. Wardens today are not as mysterious as they were during their first debut on all servers, however, this does not deter many from inquiring more about the aspects that we do not fully understand, or that we may elaborate upon concerning these sensory beasts.

While last week’s edition of Spectating Science focused on the study of Ravagers from the perspective of your fellow citizen, a biologist and animal behaviorist, Redfeather, this edition focuses on a single day’s experiments conducted by your Hermit, Tango Tek, as he fine-tuned his knowledge of Wardens and continued the early planning stages of his hand-crafted dungeon-crawler game, Decked Out.

Wardens are set to be integrated into the third and fourth levels of Decked Out as the primary threats to Players attempting to collect their artifacts and escape the game with their life. In addition, Wardens were stated to have many intimidating traits that can be used to strike the right level of haste and panic in these Players, but they needed great adjustments to their environment due to their many setbacks. Tango Tek’s live broadcast from May 17th featured trials and experiments conducted on these Wardens in a two-and-a-half-hour session. These experiments centered on necessary changes to increase Warden sensitivity and aggression to make the levels a greater challenge than the previous ones.

One of the Warden’s most significant obstacles, according to Tango Tek, is the extended length of time that a Warden takes to find a Player. This required several assessments of both traversal and sensitivity ranges at the beginning of his broadcast. His initial tests aimed to assess the traversal capabilities of the creatures, finding that the presence of lava slows down a Warden’s walking and running speed, causing it to struggle through its presence. Soul sand will also slow down a Warden’s walking speed. A flow of lava will also easily push a Warden in the stream’s direction, making it unusable for a Warden’s pathing. Wardens do not take damage from lava and are capable of swimming up walls made of lava, but this is not an ideal construction. Instead, Tango Tek settled on using fire in the place of lava for the time being, because it works well to slow down the Player while allowing the Warden to walk and run at its normal pace.

A given advantage for Wardens is their ability to move in a path toward a Player despite their inability to see, and this remains consistent even with the presence of trivial, small dead ends in maze settings. Larger dead ends may cause issues for Wardens, which affects the layout of the third and fourth levels to accommodate a Warden’s initial patterns of pathing. Tango Tek stated that he would likely make each corridor 2 blocks wide at a minimum. He also added that railings are imperative to any staircases if a Warden may risk falling off of them when chasing down a Player.

The next tests conducted centered on Darkness and the sound of Wardens’ heartbeats. Wardens give Players within a 20-block radius the effect of Darkness, which lasts for twelve seconds and is reapplied every six seconds, in addition to creating the sound of an audible heartbeat from approximately 50 to 60 blocks away from a Player. Each Warden’s heartbeat accelerates depending on how aggravated it is, meaning that multiple Wardens will not synchronize their heartbeats with each other. These heartbeats come in tandem with the effect of Darkness given to each Player. The level of Darkness pulsing can physically be changed by each Hermit through their out-of-world settings, and can even be set to not pulse at all. Tango Tek stated, however, that this is not an ideal way to play the game and interferes with the way that he wants them to experience the game’s environment. He also confirmed that the primary heartbeat sound effect that was added to Decked Out overpowers the heartbeat of the Wardens, but he does not see this as a large issue and prefers the sound of the Decked Out sound system to take priority in order to build up the Player’s sense of urgency.

The most intensive tests during the broadcast related to the aggravation and ability of a Warden to track down and kill a Player. With the help of a data pack created by his friend, Grifter, Tango Tek proceeded to measure the way that Wardens’ aggravation becomes affected by different factors. The first section of these intensive tests related to distance, a Warden’s sense of touch, projectiles, and a Warden’s use of scent. Wardens sniff when they are idle and can detect all Players within a 25-block radius. This does not make them aggravated, but it does send them on the path to the Player. A Player walking is the first step to aggravating a Warden, with the others being a Player throwing a projectile that physically contacts the Warden and touching the Warden with one’s bare hands or a weapon. A Warden that is hit with a projectile is easily aggravated faster than in any other way that a Player may antagonize it. A Warden’s roar is also a sign of its aggravation rising. Sneaking is the Player’s first line of defense against aggravating a Warden. If a Warden is not able to reach a Player with its long arms, it will release a Sonic Shriek, dealing a heavy amount of damage as well. A Sonic Shriek has a range of 16 blocks horizontally and 20 blocks vertically.

The second part of this intensive period related to environmental sounds and how they affect a Warden’s attention. Wardens always prioritize the vibrations of a Player over the vibrations of other objects but are also drawn to other objects that create sound within their vicinity. Wardens will not use their sniffing ability when they are distracted by noise-making objects when the Player is over 16 blocks away, which limits the way that Tango Tek may use such elements in relation to Wardens.

The third part of this section involved Tango Tek running through a maze of three-block-tall walls to get to the other side and successfully outrun a Warden. He then added more Wardens upon realizing that merely one Warden proved to be unsatisfactory. The testing area ranged approximately 70 by 70 blocks, the approximate size that Level Three is planned to match. Level Three may be larger, and will also include vertical portions. The goal of creating Level Three is to make the terrain harder for the Player to navigate, but easier for the Warden to traverse and track the Player down. Due to the set of Wardens placed within the testing area taking a longer amount of time to track down the Player and become aggravated, Tango Tek needed a solution to enhance the Wardens’ sensory input. These tests confirmed the need for a new set of experiments to increase the Wardens’ range of aggravation and tracking time.

The final portion of the broadcast showed Tango Tek’s solution to these timing issues. Tango Tek, through the use of calibrated sculk sensors (a future addition to the game), amethyst blocks, and pistons, successfully increased the range of a Warden’s aggravation from 16 blocks to a full 50 blocks. Through the connection of these “nodes” (single units consisting of a calibrated sculk sensor, amethyst block, and piston), he not only increased the range of aggravation but significantly increased the speed of a Warden tracking down a Player and shortened the time in which a Warden would become aggravated by said Player. He describes this grid format of nodes in the way of activating them through the pistons, set off by the amount of clank generated by each Player. During the Player’s run, they will activate the connected calibrated network depending on how long they stay in the dungeon. Despite this critical improvement, Tango Tek must moderate the nodes that are used throughout the entire dungeon to ensure that the game is not too difficult for the Player to complete.

The broadcast ended shortly after this experiment, leaving its viewers with a greater understanding of the capabilities, setbacks, and potential enhancement of Wardens. With this research and experimentation, Tango Tek has greatly enhanced the intelligence and threat levels posed by Wardens to Players for Decked Out, specifically through increasing their range of traversal and aggravation towards the Player. Thanks to Tango Tek’s use of calibrated sculk sensors, Wardens will be a more formidable presence as they take center stage in Levels Three and Four of Decked Out. The overall goal in this endeavor is to encourage the Player to be stealthy and quick, rather than to frustrate them and tempt them to brute force their way through the dungeon.

We invite any applied researchers to bring forth any growing developments that they would like to share in this segment and look for Cirrus, the Shoebill, for an interview about themselves and their work. In addition, tangents and rambles are more than welcome. No discovery is too small, and it is never too late to teach your fellow citizens something new!

[If you would like to be interviewed for Spectating Science, please look for Cirrus’s Citizen I.D. card in the Discord server and leave a note for them.]

Ask the Seers

By Seers Jester, S, Vi, and Nes

Has your favourite little guy been put into a situation they can’t get out of? Do you have questions about how a mountain appeared on top of your house last night? Question no more, for The Seers are here to help! Questions can be submitted through the ask box and are collected throughout the week.

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Dear Seers,  I took your advice and got things done :] Bobby now has a better room with much more space, and the cats are finally getting along with him! Too well actually. Call me paranoid, but what do I do if I feel like my cats and warden are trying to plot something against me? I feel like the snack barrels aren’t gonna safe anymore. - Paranoid Cat And Warden Parent

Hello Paranoid Cat And Warden Parent,

Apologies for the delayed response, we here at The Seers all mysteriously disappeared to a death game. But we’re back now! Hopefully just in time to save you from your scheming pets…

The most important thing is to find out why they’re plotting, have you not been feeding them their favourite snacks often enough? Are they not getting enough attention? Did you step on one of their feet last week? Figure out why they’re mad and try to bribe them with extra of whatever they’re mad about. 

If that fails, separate them. They may be friends, but if they’re dangerous they cannot play together. I’m not saying rehome any of them, just maybe move Bobby away from your base until things blow over!

If you try that and Bobby ends up escaping and returning to plotting with the cats, make a noise machine. It will entertain him long enough for him to forget about whatever they were plotting about. 

If all else fails, pack your bags and leave. Perhaps consider the perimeter, because that’s probably more safe then your house right now. - The Seers

ADVERTISEMENTS

By Jamie

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Have a package to deliver? A letter to send? Contact Sirius Postal Services NOW for all your mailing needs - the cheap, quick, and easy way of delivery! All letters and packages are insured to get to their destination at precisely the correct moment, whenever that may be.

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Come by Ashes’ shop just east of iBuy for various 1.19 blocks! Don’t want to bust your hands mining deepslate? Not to worry, in The Quarry Crop you can buy things in bulk! Be sure to clear out your inventory before shopping. Disclaimer: Prices may vary depending on the danger factor.

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This week’s Garden club meeting is being held at Etho’s Alien Gateway! He may be washed up and late to the season but things are going swimmingly for this wet cat! Members please remember to bring your most exotic flowers so we can make Etho feel a little bit better.

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Have those pesky SSS members lit up your base without your permission? Are you losing your mob buddies at night because of safety precautions? Here at the SUS we can fix that! Your base will go back to exactly as it was before, and you’ll no longer be lonely on cold nights.

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Fun and Games

This week's fun and games are brought to you by Lydia once again and Azure

Word Search by Lydia

Crossword by Lydia

Coloring page by Lydia

Brain Teasers by Azure

And that’s all for this issue folks! Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful week!

[numberonepeacock]

Hybrid of the Seven Sins AU Masterpost

Summary:

Now this is a two-book series about the life of a Demon Angel Hybrid named Daniella Stella Fenton, the Queen of Infinite City and the Empress of the Human World. Daniella or Ella as she is called, is the second daughter and fourth eldest child of Jack Fenton, younger twin sister of Daniel Eleanor Fenton, younger half-sister of Dan James Fenton and Jasmine Madeline Fenton, and older half-sister of Diana Elizabeth Fenton. Jack was her and her brother’s donor for their mothers; Stella and Eleanor Phantom. He became their guardian after their parents died when their house was purposely set on fire when they were only a month old. The only reason the two survived was because their mother, Stella, who is an angel, used the last of her life to protect them from the flames (talk about a mother's love). Daniella had a relatively happy childhood but her life changed the day she witnessed an extermination. She became determined to put an end to it but this road has many obstacles, requires lots of sacrifices, and pain. She experiences this when she loses one of her family members but that just pushes her harder. However this is the future, let’s start in the past.

Note from author:

Ok, so this is just to explain a few things. For every single picture I use, I don’t own any of them and I will try to give credit to the artist but if it’s a picture from a shopping site then there’s no reason to do so.

Also while this story says that the Fandoms are Danny Phantom, Hazbin Hotel, and Helluva Boss, THIS IS NOT A CROSSOVER, this is an Original Work with characters, specific locations, and elements from the two fandoms. I am a big Danny Phantom fan and like to write fanfictions about it. I also have ADHD, so I create a lot of stories in my head (not all of them get written for severe reasons; one being I lose interest fast). While listening to the new Hazbin Hotel songs, watching the new episodes, and getting bored in school causing my mind to wander; I created this AU! I will be using some of the songs from Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss (Danny Phantom has like one song and there are a lot of covers for it so I will use one of those) as well as using episodes from the main two as outlines for some of my chapters as the second book is based off of the plot of Hazbin Hotel and the first book is based off the plot of Danny Phantom.

Also shout out to the person who inspired many of the changes to the episode plot within the chapters because a lot of these ideas for how the chapters were written came from her books. This person is Mikaela Miller, who created “The Phantom Twins: Season 1”, “The Phantom Twins: Season 2”, and “The Phantom Twins: Season 3”. You can find her on Wattpad.

Books:

Series Post

Book on Ao3

Book on Wattpad

To remember while reading:

Types of Chapters

Types of Characters

Species' Magic

Species Design

Clarification

Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Heavenly Virtues

Heaven and Hell Ranks

About the Characters:

Here you will find the species, sin, element, magic level, look, and so much more about the characters. There will be no pictures as I own none of them.

Actual Character (AC), Look (L), or Personality (P)

Team Celeste

Why I chose what Sins for the Team

Team Celeste Allies

Team Celeste Family

Inhabitants of Hell

Minor Characters

From School

Information Posts:

Most of this stuff came from Ao3 but I put it here so it's easy to find incase you need to go back.

Demon Angel Hybrid - A Dangerous & Rare Breed

Twin Bond

Government

Changing DNA or Genes

Enchanting Birthday

School (Magic Edition)

How The Body Works (Magic Edition)

Changes from Show

University of Magic

Nine Rings of Heaven and Hell

Anything Else:

Ella’s Symphokinesis

Story Help (Please help me if you can)

Spotify Link:

1-90 are in The Rare Hybrid Girl’s Life Starts Now!

91-157 are in The Kings of Infinite City and the 8 Divine Dealers

There are 160 songs total however the other three songs aren't on Spotify but they are on YouTube so that's where I have the full completed playlist. One of those songs are in the first book while the other two are in the second book.

[aph-japan]

{Digimon Adventure}/{02}/{tri.}/{Pre Epilogue-verses} {Index} IzzyIzumi / KoushirouIzumi’s Fanfics for Koushiro Izumi, Taichi Yagami, & Koushiro x Taichi {KouTai}/{Taishiro}/{Etc. (+Friend)Ship[s]}

I know there’s been a lot of Digimon Adventure-relevant fandom/fan-events going on lately. I usually can’t participate in events for varying reasons, but I’m glad to share my past works in the form of this index. ALL were created out of Positivity and respect for this series. Please feel free to reblog anything relevant if you have a fan-event going on and I've made a relevant work, as long as you follow my general Interaction rules! (Looking over my F.A.Q first would be beneficial to you too!!)

{This post is initially marked as 'no reblog', so I can go back and change later; but feel free to 'Like' if wanted!}

[I'm trying to keep this out of less commonly-used tags; but I do use {many of} these for organizing on my blog, and I hope they can reach more fans of these pairs this way!] As usual, many of my works can be found via my AO3! {Anything else will be linked here, then likely to AO3 in the future!}

Title: REPEAT?_ Ship{s}: KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} (Main Focus) YamaSora {Yamato x Sora} is implied for a few very fleeting, brief moments {along with a single ambiguous timeline one-shot} Summary: Taichi wasn't sure what he was expecting. …He just knew it wasn't… this…

(Please see inside for all Notes!)

Title: The Past World Rating: PG Notes: Implications about self-loathing (both Taichi & Koushiro) & Koushiro's previous self-depreciation {Novels-implied} in general - Royalty!A.U.; however things may not be as they appear... + Dark!Chosen Children A.U. appears in some parts (mainly in flash-back form, until...). Characters: Taichi, Koushiro, Adventure Chosen team, 02 Chosen Ship{s}: (Same as "Infalliable" listed below can be read in) + KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} focus. Ken x Miyako has a scene where they're both present, but not completely in a relationship yet; as friendly. Yamato x Sora is implied for a few very fleeting, brief moments Ken x Daisuke is implied for a total of one (flash-back) A.U. scene, but will come to have a heavy presence in future sequels to this A.U.

"-- About that, you'd be better off asking your new advisor," "H-huh?--" When suddenly -- -- as if out of nowhere -- -- from a short distance -- a shy gaze peers up at him

… pure black eyes.

Title: Possession Rating: PG-13 / R (Violence implied) Notes: Epilogue era / Taichi and Koushiro are adults, 30-35+ - can be conidered a spin-off timeline / part of REPEAT?_ - partly based on general head-canons, partly based on my old as heck Digi-O.C. fic and the head-canons I / Young me had for its own future / epilogue era - Leans more post-02, {no Tri} canon compliant overall (thus many things happen differently between these two things) - (still) partly based on new ideas gained from Tri - KouTai + Government Corruption A.U.??? + Ambassador!Taichi (Koushiro hasn't quite reached the "Digital World" Researcher position Yet) Summary:

"We’re… being targeted," "but not just by---"

"One, a certain one, among them" "had the power to open the gate" "–and immediately close it again" Title: Ten Rating: PG-13 Characters: Koushiro Izumi & Daisuke Motomiya {Friendship} Ship{s} KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} heavily Implied Summary:

“…Can you turn around and— - it’s April 2004. (..Or is it April 2003? Spring 2003?) - at the end of Spring 2003, something else astonishing occurred: Daisuke’s sister Jun, the Inoue sisters, & Shuu Kido all became Chosen at once. - an incident, (occured, and then) —

“I’ll help, so we, you, can get out of here !!—”

“They {Won’t come}”

…TAICHI-SENPAI’s GOGGLES ( … Are probably absolutely unfitting for Koushiro Izumi, but…. ) Title: Candles Rating: r18 Implied ? (Pre?-Fade-to-Black) or Mature / technically Work-safe Notes: some Specific Headcanons are heavily implied technically part of REPEAT?_Verse, ( ficverse version here ); - it can be read as a standalone fic - it can be read as an AU and/or spinoff of the main REPEATVerse; - or as its own standalone AU/spinoff Verses: Post-Advs (can also be post-Tri/Kizuna); pre-Epilogue [+Kids]; Taichi has graduated a while ago by now. Taichi has been involved with his Ambassador career for a while, but it’s still getting off the ground too. (And it’s . Stressful) +Taichi and Koushiro are heavily implied to be living together already here. Summary: Taichi is having ... a hard time. Featured Head-canon: Jewish!Taichi (+Koushiro) Implied

Title: Dreams Rating: r18 Implied ? (Pre?-Fade-to-Black) {It's a bit Ambiguous. You Might Get An Idea} Summary:

Sometimes, Koushiro dreams. (Of Brown hair, Brown eyes.)

This can serve as a prequel spinoff to my other Koushiro-centric series, "REPEAT?"_-verse or be read as a standalone.

Title: (Dirty) Computer Summary:

"Do you like computers?" Tentomon had asked Koushiro, once.

“You just like working with machines more THAN PEOPLE, don’t you?!” … But why does it MATTER if Koushiro – DID —

A character study and analysis on Koushiro Izumi's Canon personality, (with a touch of heavily implied headcanons), with brief references to Koushiro's notable relationships, Family, and those Interests. "It's OK for you to be obsessed with computers!" - Mr. Masami Izumi, Adventure Episode #38 (There are some light references to the novel's given backstory details for Koushiro, including Koushiro's mindset there.)

Title: Koushiro Izumi Is Touched By Death Rating: PG Notes: Implications about Death & Grief (for passed loved ones), + the mourning/grieving process in general Characters: Koushiro Izumi & Daisuke Motomiya Ship{s}: (Implied) KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} can be read into the background, but is not actively discussed / mentioned Summary:

In which Koushiro Izumi Is Traumatized, Has Always BEEN Traumatized, And Daisuke Motomiya {NOTICES}.

Takes place shortly before "the summer of" a somewhere between 2003~2005. (02 takes place in April~December 2002, Tri takes place in 2005 June~December.) {Tri knowledge is not required to read, but may be helpful to understand continuity.}

Title: Infalliable Rating: PG Notes: Implications about self-loathing & Koushiro's previous self-depreciation {Novels-implied} in general Characters: Koushiro Izumi & Daisuke Motomiya Ship{s}: (Implied) KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} can be read into the background, but is not actively discussed / mentioned; Daisuke x (Girl)!O.C. ("Hikaru"); in background; (My O.C. does not appear much within the context of the fic, but the dialogue refers to an event she was involved in immediately previously, with a Koushiro-focus and Daisuke-relevant aftermath.) Daisuke x O.C. aren't "together" yet; it is developing relationship. Ken x Daisuke x O.C. may be Implied in spin-off fic{s}; Ken x Miyako may be implied in canon-compliant 'verses, with former Ken x Daisuke heavily implied / mutually requited-yet-unrequited (as purssuing a direct relationship) / hinted. Poly-ships may be included in any future spin-off, but none are referenced in this specific one (yet). Summary:

Daisuke stares moodily ahead. Koushiro does the same, except Daisuke genuinely doesn't know - cannot even tell - if Koushiro's doing it "moodily" or not, because Koushiro's blank staring is that unreadable. They sit, Daisuke next to Koushiro, for a few long, long moments. And then -- Koushiro... opens his mouth -- "I'm not infalliable." Daisuke's eyebrows furrow, even if he can't look at Koushiro in this exact moment --

"Unshakeable? Indestructible--" Daisuke's head hurts. "I admit there was a time when I thought, ..." "NO!! That's not true!!"

"When you asked me, 'What about YOU, Daisuke-kun' -- the one who gave me that push -- that was you."

A "missing scene" of Daisuke & Koushiro friendship from my other Adventures & 02 Chosen fic; "The Past World" You do not have to read that one to appreciate this "missing" moment, as its mainly friendship. There is a slight hint of Daisuke/Original ("Girl") Character OC, but its more lightly implied; (Epilogue semi-canon compliant) There are also background relationships like Taichi/Koushiro, the slightest hint of background Ken/Daisuke, others hinted.

Title: Words Rating: PG Notes: Implications about self-loathing & Koushiro's previous self-depreciation {Novels-implied} in general; with a focus on self-acceptance + Koushiro's heavy use of formal speech and communication in the J.P.N version is referenced frequently. Tri is referenced / implied-as-AUs or for semi-canon compliancy (light spoilers for Kokuhaku; but not majorly referenced; just a quote) {plus a gif of a small moment involving Taichi + Koushiro} [also one more small conversation moment between Taichi and Meiko] (a scene from the first episode of the 2020 Reboot is referenced) - it can be read as a standalone fic - it can be read as an AU and/or spinoff of the main REPEATVerse; - or as its own standalone AU/spinoff (i.e. this can be read on its own) Characters/Groups: Taichi & Koushiro; Koushiro Izumi & Tentomon; Koushiro Izumi & Mimi Tachikawa; Koushiro & Izumis Ship{s}: KouTai {Koushiro x Taichi} focus Summary:

– To be honest,

Taichi and Koushiro don’t need words.

( They have a lot more than Just )

( words )

[taqato-alim]

Analysis of: "If I Ran Marvel..." entertainment commentary/criticism by Dan Murrell

In the following text the term "document" refers to the subtitles of the video.

Summary of the discussion:

The genre of the document is entertainment commentary/criticism based on its informal, analytical tone and focus on the MCU.

It demonstrates strong knowledge of its subject matter and presents its critique in an engaging, well-structured manner.

The perspective presented is an idealistic, constructive vision from a passionate fan's perspective.

Some arguments could be strengthened by addressing counterarguments and alternative views more directly.

Implementing the proposals may benefit fans and creative talent most but risks short-term financial impacts.

Strategies like enforced rewatching or divorcing business from creativity have limitations and risks.

Moderate, balanced approaches that consider stakeholders and complexity may have higher chances of success.

The author's personality seems to be that of an creative, enthusiastic visionary focused on improvements.

Overall evaluations found reasoned arguments but also opportunities to qualify statements, address challenges, and strengthen logical reasoning and evidence.

Here is a summary of the document in bullet points:

The speaker is pretending to be Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, and discussing what they would do if they were put in charge of Marvel

They would stop all current production except for projects already in late stages, and re-evaluate planned projects

Everyone at Marvel would rewatch all previous MCU movies to analyze what worked and didn't work

Future projects would go back to focusing on individual heroes and their stories before setting up larger crossovers

All ideas would be eligible for exploration without being ruled out due to past failures or other factors

Creative decisions would not be based on marketing or financial factors like release dates

Major characters like the Avengers would be given a break from team-up movies

New focus would be on rebooting properties like Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Spider-Man

The multiverse concept introduced in movies would be fully leveraged through one-off crossover projects

Budgets would match projects' actual needs rather than being excessively large by default

Reshoots would only be used to improve existing projects, not rewrite entire scripts late in production

Future plans would slowly be hinted at without being rigidly locked in

No more than 3 movies and 3 Disney+ shows would be released per year to avoid oversaturation

Based on the content and style of the document, I would classify its genre as entertainment commentary/criticism.

Some evidence that supports this:

The speaker is providing their perspective and commentary on Marvel Studios and the MCU, criticizing some past direction and offering suggested changes.

It has an informal and conversational tone, but analyzes creative decisions and business strategies in detail like a film critique might.

It references specific movies, shows, characters and storylines from the MCU to support points, demonstrating knowledge of the material being discussed.

The purpose seems to be entertainment and starting a discussion about Marvel, rather than strictly informative like a work of journalism might be.

It is posted on a YouTube channel focused on movie reviews and commentary, suggesting this genre of entertainment commentary.

The style is presenting an imagined scenario ("What if I ran Marvel?") which invites critique and debate, rather than stating facts.

So in summary, while it touches on business and creative aspects, the primary genre is entertainment commentary/criticism - evaluating and opining on a popular media franchise from the perspective of a knowledgeable fan. The target audience seems to be other passionate MCU fans.

Based on the information and perspective presented in the document, here is an evaluation of the situation of the MCU:

Both critical and commercial success appear to be declining based on specific films and shows cited as disappointments. Data supports box office declines.

Fan enthusiasm may be drifting as well, supported by need to "rekindle passion" and make properties essential viewing again.

Overly relying on crossovers and large-scale team up movies risks repetition and dilution of character/story importance.

Quantity over quality with high output may be saturating the market and lowering demand. Movie theater struggles support this view.

Lack of strong singular hero/property focus risks characters becoming generic cogs in a machine vs compelling individuals.

Reshoot-heavy production implies some planning/writing flaws as creative process extends into costly post-production.

However, some high points still exist like Spiderman:NWH suggesting market potential remains if executed correctly.

Overall, while still a lucrative franchise, credible evidence suggests the MCU is facing serious challenges to sustained quality, audience appetite and cultural relevance if course is not corrected. The diagnosis seems a reasonably accurate portrayal of real issues potentially facing the shared universe model long term.

Here are some of the key stakeholders that could be affected by the proposals in this document and an evaluation of the impacts:

Marvel/Disney executives - Major changes proposed could impact business strategy and planning. Both risks and rewards discussed if creativity/quality improve.

MCU creative team (writers, directors, producers) - Freer creativity suggested but also pressure to meet loftier goals. Potential for burnout with tighter limits and "rewatch week".

MCU actors - Less steady work opportunities with fewer projects in production at once. But potentially more beloved/compelling roles.

Movie theater chains - Potential upside if proposed changes boost box office. But risks with fewer guaranteed tentpoles spread evenly year-round.

Marvel fans - Clear prioritization of fan experience/satisfaction. Proposals aim to rekindle passion and demand for future projects.

General moviegoing public - Broader relevance depends on commercial success of proposed changes appealing beyond hardcore fans.

Disney+ subscribers - Suggested emphasis on quality over quantity for streaming shows impacts service value proposition.

Overall, while challenging stakeholders like executives, the proposals generally seem aimed at prioritizing the sustainment of creative talent/passion and enhancing theater and audience experiences long-term. However, precise impacts would depend greatly on execution of ambitious vision discussed. Risks and rewards seem reasonably balanced across parties.

Here is an evaluation of the idea of everyone at Marvel rewatching all previous MCU movies:

Potential benefits:

Provides a holistic perspective on the entire narrative across films/shows that individual projects may lack in isolation.

Allows identification of broader tonal, character, and storytelling trends across the universe at a macro-level.

Encourages collaborative analysis and discussion that incorporates varied roles/viewpoints within the company.

May surface insights not apparent from single viewings or strictly relying on past analyses/reviews.

Potential limitations:

Time intensive process that could hamper ongoing work for creatives and executives with full schedules.

Subjective interpretations may vary significantly between individuals affecting consensus.

Earlier films may appear dated and be reevaluated through a modern lens rather than context of release.

Difficult to systematically catalog learnings in an actionable creative brief from such a marathon.

Risks of fatigue, diminishing returns on later rewatches in a binge format.

Overall, a rewatch endeavor could yield some dividends but may be challenging to implement effectively across a large company in a tangible way that directly guides future plans. A more targeted, facilitated analysis amongst key creative roles may prove more fruitful.

Here is an evaluation of the idea of creative decisions not being based on marketing or financial factors:

Potential benefits:

Allows creative vision/storytelling to take priority over commercial imperatives which could improve artistic quality.

Reduces risk of projects being rushed or altered purely to serve release date/marketing windows.

Gives filmmakers more freedom which may increase job satisfaction and ability to attract top talent.

Potential limitations:

Removes important business considerations that impact investment decisions and revenue/profitability.

Release schedule and marketing strategies are still major factors for audience awareness and box office potential.

May lead to disjointed long-term planning without any business oversight of creative output levels.

Difficult to execute fully given scale of MCU as a major commercial operation rather than solely an artistic endeavor.

Risk of ballooning budgets without fiscal responsibility or rationale for release timing/pacing.

Overall, striving for more balance between creative and commercial priorities rather than a total divorce from business realities may be a more pragmatic approach for a blockbuster franchise operation. Some coordination is likely still needed.

Here is an evaluation of leveraging the multiverse through one-off crossover projects:

Potential benefits:

Allows for fresh matchups and stories not possible in main continuity. Could excite fans.

Provides opportunities to utilize beloved characters in new contexts.

Lowers risk profile of each project since success is not essential to larger narrative.

Testing ground for ideas that could inform future plans if successful.

Potential limitations:

May dilute importance and impact of crossovers if overused in a non-essential format.

Risk of disjointedness or lacking synergies if not carefully coordinated long-term.

Securing rights agreements across studios/IPs adds complexities for partnerships.

Each project requires full development/production which strains resources if not managed carefully.

Demand uncertain without obvious connection to ongoing story or characters audiences follow regularly.

Overall, one-offs could work if used judiciously to build hype but Marvel's strengths have been longform storytelling. Leveraging the multiverse most effectively may require balance between self-contained projects and those driving a larger narrative. Strategic coordination would still be needed.

Here is an evaluation of the idea of limited reshoots only for improvement rather than rewriting:

Potential benefits:

Ensures scripts are thoroughly developed before filming begins, avoiding costly structural issues late in the process.

Promotes a properly planned, organized production cycle rather than rushing aspects.

Filmmakers and actors will be executing a cohesive vision developed during pre-production.

Budgets and schedules can be managed better without unpredictable late additions.

Potential limitations:

Allows less flexibility to course-correct major flaws discovered during post-production editing.

Risk that minor polishing reshoots still spiral into excessive workload if not tightly controlled.

Creative flexibility is limited even if some rewriting could genuinely strengthen a project.

May stifle innovation that occasionally occurs through non-linear creative processes.

Overall, striving for more thoroughly developed scripts makes sense, but a total ban on any rewriting could also hinder improvement in some cases. Clear guidelines and oversight would help strike a balance between structure and flexibility.

Here is an evaluation of releasing no more than 3 movies and 3 Disney+ shows per year:

Potential benefits:

Reduces risk of audience fatigue/loss of excitement from an overabundance of cross-promoted content.

Forces higher selective curation and spacing to boost desirability/hype of individual projects.

More development time may improve creative quality by avoiding strained pipelines.

Fewer concurrent productions means capacity for higher budgets on focused projects.

Potential limitations:

Revenue stream becomes less predictable with fewer guaranteed annual tentpoles/shows.

Talent/resources are not fully utilized if pipelines are intentionally kept under capacity.

Third-party platforms may see the MCU as less integral/impactful with reduced exclusive output.

Risk that some creatives will seek work elsewhere if opportunities are more limited.

Overall, moderation does seem prudent given quality concerns, but a total threshold may be overly restrictive and limit commercial upside if demand remains high. Flexibility based on monitored audience reactions could be balanced.

Here is an evaluation of who may profit and not profit from the ideas presented in the document:

Potentially profit:

Fans/general audience - With a renewed focus on quality storytelling and characters, engagement and enjoyment could increase.

Creative talent - Greater freedom and emphasis on original concepts may boost job satisfaction.

Marvel/Disney (long term) - Improved quality leading to enduring fan passion and box office could outweigh short term risks.

Potentially not profit:

Marvel/Disney (short term) - Fewer guaranteed tentpoles annually means less predictable revenue streams in transition.

Movie theaters - Loss of volume of assured blockbuster content could dampen box office until demand is reinvigorated.

Product/retail partners - Slower pace of new films/shows impacts merchandising and licensing opportunities.

Shareholders - Short term financial impacts from changes may not be welcomed on balance sheets.

Executives - Significant shifts in strategy open the company up to increased risks in an unstable period.

Overall, while creative talent and fans stand to benefit most, corporate stakeholders prefer stability. The proposal aims for long term profits but transitions inherently carry risks disrupting business as usual in the short term for those prioritizing predictable revenue. Quality improvements may eventually outweigh all costs if successfully executed.

Based on the content and style of the document, I would characterize the perspective it presents as:

Passionate fan perspective: The speaker clearly loves the MCU and wants it to succeed long-term, coming from a place of fandom rather than detached analysis.

Constructive criticism: While identifying flaws, the goal seems to be offering solutions to get Marvel back on track rather than just negativity.

Engaged viewer perspective: References experiences watching the movies/shows, critiquing them as an attentive audience member invested in the quality of storytelling.

Idealistic creative vision: The proposals imagine envisioning Marvel with unlimited resources/freedom, advocating for ambitious creative risks rather than just fiscal prudence.

Skepticism of current plans/direction: Implying recent strategy drift led to failures, wanting a return tobasics that made early movies so beloved.

Optimism for potential future: Tone is one of hope that Marvel can regain past glories with right leadership, not pronouncing the franchise doomed.

In summary, the perspective presented can be characterized as an engaged, passionate fan's idealistic creative vision for Marvel - criticizing respectfully from a place of love for the universe, rather than detached or antagonistic analysis. The goal seems to advocate constructively for maximizing future storytelling quality and audience enthusiasm.

Based on the style and content of the document, here is my analysis of the likely personality type of the author:

Idealist/visionary - They see possibilities and propose ambitious, big-picture changes to optimize long-term creative potential.

Passionate/enthusiastic - The author clearly loves Marvel deeply and wants the absolute best, evidenced by emotion and detail in critique.

Creative/innovative - Solutions demonstrate divergent, imaginative thinking beyond standard industry practices.

Persuasive/articulate - Able to synthesize vast knowledge and advocate coherently for their reformed vision.

Analytical/detail-oriented - Supports points by precisely referencing specific MCU elements and story decisions.

Constructive/solutions-focused - Goal seems to improve Marvel rather than just criticize; offers a path forward.

Leader/initiator type - Envisions self in top creative role making bold moves, not staying stationary.

Overall, these tendencies suggest a personality tending toward traits like extraversion, intuition, thinking and judging on the Myers-Briggs scale - someone energized by conceptualizing innovative improvements and advocating them persuasively to enact change. A visionary Idealist/ENTJ type best captures the apparent attributes.

Here is an evaluation of the quality of reasoning presented in the document:

Provides specific examples and evidence from past MCU works to support many claims about what has worked/not worked creatively. This gives arguments more factual basis.

Clearly lays out a full vision for reform with 12 numbered action items, giving it structural logic and comprehensive quality rather than vague assertions.

Qualifies some statements with reasonable caveats about flexibility and openness to new ideas, showing awareness of complexity.

Makes intuitive rationales for why proposed changes could have intended effects, like boosting demand through reduced output or focusing resources.

However, some arguments could be strengthened by addressing alternative views more directly or providing additional evidence from film/biz studies.

Limited acknowledgment of potential difficulties or unintended consequences of ambitious proposals being put into practice.

Reasoning is strongest when sticking to creative/storytelling aspects versus some industry/financial claims with unknown variables.

Overall, while passionately argued from a perspective of expertise, the quality of reasoning is good but could be improved by more directly grappling with counterarguments, acknowledging complexity, and providing broader evidence/data to support some conclusions presented as fact. The vision is cogently laid out but its practical feasibility relies on some logical leaps.

Here are some potential logical fallacies present in the document:

Argument from inconsistent premises: The author argues both for being less restricted by rigid future plans but also says Marvel should "call their shot" with 5-7 year game plans, which seems internally inconsistent.

Slippery slope: It argues reshoots have become overused creative crutch, implying this will inevitably lead to declining quality, without proving that logical step.

Anecdotal evidence: Cites one critic/audience-disliked film as proof reshoots don't work, without broader evidence this strategy won't ever succeed.

Hasty generalization: Suggests quality issues are due to overproduction while only citing specific recent movies as evidence without a larger sample.

Appeal to authority: Proposes having actors/filmmakers involved in "rewatch week" as if their subjective views would determine flaws/strengths objectively.

False dichotomy: Acting as if a creative vs marketing focus is an either/or choice when there may be balance or middle grounds.

Overgeneralization: Assumes fan dissatisfaction means the Multiverse hasn't been fully leveraged yet, when individual projects' quality and audience reception vary.

While providing impassioned perspective, the author's arguments could be strengthened by addressing some of these potential logical inconsistencies and gaps in evidence/reasoning. The perspectives advocated may ultimately be reasonable but aren't proven absolutely or exhaustively through the methods of logic and argumentation presented here.

Here is an evaluation of the document based on common criteria for entertainment commentary/criticism genre:

Knowledge/Expertise of Subject Matter: The speaker clearly has in-depth knowledge of the MCU movies, shows and storylines, demonstrating expertise in referencing and analyzing specific creative choices.

Persuasiveness of Arguments: Tost points are well-supported by providing examples from MCU works and logical reasoning. A few arguments could be stronger (e.g. budget section).

Engagement with Audience: Informal, conversational tone keeps it engaging. Imagining "running Marvel" invites audience participation over dry critique.

Creativity/Originality of Perspective: While drawing on common fan critiques, synthesizing all into a cohesive vision for change shows creative thought beyond routine reactions.

Structure and Organization: Clear introduction, body organized by numbered proposals, conclusion thanking sponsor - flows well for listeners/viewers.

Quality of Writing: Writing is clear and accessible without being simplistic. Able to tackle complex creative/business topics understandably.

Entertainment/Enjoyability Factor: Passionately presented critique should appeal strongly to fellow MCU fans seeking more engaging discussion of their interest.

In summary, the document demonstrates strong knowledge of its subject and presents its critique in an entertaining, engaging and well-structured manner that invites thoughtful discussion - scoring highly based on this genre's typical evaluation criteria.

Here are some ways the document could be improved:

Cite additional evidence/data to strengthen some claims, like box office trends or surveys of fan opinion.

Directly address potential counterarguments or limitations to proposals more thoroughly.

Qualify some definitive statements as opinions rather than presented as irrefutable facts.

Provide more context on the current MCU situation beyond just citing recent projects.

Suggest metrics for evaluating success of changes implemented to provide accountability.

Consider including a section on stakeholder buy-in/realistic implementation challenges.

Structure some sections with more focused subheadings for easier digestion.

Lighten the criticism in places with acknowledgement of past successes too.

Proofread for typos, formatting or structural consistency throughout.

Consider a conclusion that reaffirms vision rather than just thanking sponsor.

Include references/citations to allow verification of some references made.

Overall, while passionately argued, strengthening logical reasoning, adding nuance, qualifying statements and tightening structure/flow would help make the proposals even more persuasive and solution-oriented for stakeholders.

gataigWd88DwWhEih1FU

[aerialflight]

Fic Rec (it's been too long and I read a whole lot of fics)

I've read so many fics these past couple of months and my need to share them to the world has seized me by the throat. Please enjoy and support these fanfic writers! They are the best. XD

-

[Naruto]

Nine-Tailed Foxes are Dead by RowlettLesbian

Ship: Shikamaru/Naruto

For Konoha, it's been one month since the preliminary Chunin exams. For Naruto, it's been six. And he wasn't in Konoha.

At the end of his ordeal, Naruto walks into the Chunin Exam finals without his left arm.

Shikamaru is very concerned. And, eventually, very precious to Naruto as they work together to solve the mysteries of Konoha and bring kindness to the Shinobi world, one adventure at a time.

(I would die for this fic. I know the summary sounds doom and gloom but IT'S NOT. This fic made me fucking cry, I don't think I've ever read a fic that characterized Naruto so right. He's so full of hope and love and develops into the best version of himself and I'm so HERE FOR IT. And it's not just Naruto, Shikamaru is absolutely amazing here along with Kakashi and surprise surprise Ino, I can't BELIEVE it took me this long to stumble across this fic. Also THE WORLDBUILDING IS TO DIE FOR!!! And the plot! Is! So! Interesting! Just, everything about this fic is just amazing so please PLEASE read this!!!)

The End of the Uchiha by RowlettLesbian

Ship: Naruto/Sasuke

“I promise, little electric spirit of this shrine,” he whispered into the soft dirt and fallen leaves, “I will never gain the eyes. I will never pass them on. And I will make sure the eyes end in my brother, so that they can’t hurt anybody anymore. I will be the last Uchiha, and see to the end of the Copy-Wheel Clan. Then all of the hatred here can stop, and my family can rest peacefully. I promise, little shrine.”

Sasuke is more than his brother thinks he is. He's more than any Uchiha has ever been. He will kill his brother, but it will not be vengeance.

It will be mercy.

(Same author as the one above, they are the gift that keeps on giving. Seriously, HOW did I NEVER FIND THESE FICS before now??? One of life's greatest mysteries. The author's sense of humor is so on point here along with the atmospheric writing that's so vivid in the mind. Their writing style is so recognizable to me now and makes me fall into the world they're creating, it's stunning. Sasuke here makes me want to hug him and the idea of him living like a feral ghibli character has me LIVING. Check the tags of the fic, all of it is true, hand to god. Please give all of the author's fics a shot, it's a rabbit hole I'm thankful I fell into!)

mil fantasmas (gritan en calma) by LegaciesandMemories

Post-Tsukuyomi, something in Uchiha Sasuke's mind shatters. The same night, Yamanaka Ino falls asleep and doesn't wake up for 15 days.

---

In which Ino and Sasuke both wake from the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre with the ability to see ghosts, and no one is prepared for the fallout.

(This fic has arrested my curiosity and eagerness to know what will happen next. These poor kids need so many hugs and Ino is getting the spotlight she deserves. I am so excited for this fic and what it has in store! Please read! XD)

Lichtenberg Figures by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)

Name: Kakashi Hatake Rank: Jounin Status: Missing Nin Missing Since: June 15th, 271 AD Note: Flee on Sight . . . Haburashi looked his team in the eyes— three, fresh out of the Academy genin— and resolved to teach them as best as he could. And right now, his lesson was simple: “Stay. Away. From. Kakashi. Hatake.”

(Dimension travel fic with a slice of Kakashi being an absolute troll and dealing with the shitty hand he's been dealt with. Seriously, the man has the worst luck in all of Konoha. Also, the mystery of the other Kakashi's history has me leaning by the edge of my seat, I need to know.)

The Governess by Ysmirel

Ship: Kakashi/OFC

"“What,” he finally asked, “is so funny?”

Ibara bit her lower lip to keep the chuckles in, still smiling and making absolutely no effort to get more space between them, seemingly perfectly at ease within reach of a trained shinobi. Her self-control wasn't all that good, as she ended up snorting and was overcame once again by another fit of laughter. “I just- It's just-” She struggled to speak, trying to catch her breath and wiping away tears of mirth with the hand that wasn't still holding onto his vest. Finally, she looked him in the eye and said, with a smile that was all teeth and without a hint of her previous drunken stupor, “and who's going to believe you?”

As he stood there, stunned by her words and change in demeanor, he realized with dawning horror that she was right."

In which Kakashi finds himself at the other end of the troll shtick, and he doesn't appreciate it all that much.

(It's so hard to find self-insert fics with a fresh concept these days, especially in the naruto fandom. Not that I don't enjoy and devour a lot of self insert fics like it's going out of style, but it's just so nice to find something new and shiny and really damn good. I'm so pumped for this fic and how it's going to develop so please join me in rooting for this fic!)

half a league (until the valley of death) by SpectersShadow117

Kakashi can think of no reason for Sasuke's inexplicable and drastic change in behavior. He doesn't like the desperate, haunted gleam in his student's eyes, and he also doesn't like the nagging feeling that he's missing something very important. Aka: Future Sasuke goes to Past Sasuke and gives him a reality check with Specific Intentions, but as with most Uchiha, his methods leave much to be desired. (Featuring: Childhood trauma FTW, Konoha's shitty care of orphans, and absolutely no one having a fun time.)

(Sasuke wanting to change the future out of complete and utter spite has me LIVING. Sasuke is such a Mess here and the twist on the time travel premise is so good and the kid is so Traumatized and Desperate and Not Having A Good Time. Naruto and Sakura developing as better ninjas and Kakashi trying his best makes me want to scream. Also, how Sasuke thinks about Itachi makes me want to cackle. I am 100% down for this. I am rooting for this kid, go get them! XD)

-

[Harry Potter]

fruit loops in time (circle around me) by justprompts

Ships: Harry/Draco, Remus/Sirius

"This is Crabbe, and Goyle," the blonde boy says, pointing at the two boys next to him. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Ma - "

Ron laughs, and Malfoy immediately bristles.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy says, angrily. "No need to ask yours - "

"You're honestly so cute," Ron interrupts, yet again, shaking his head. "So tiny. And so angry, all the time. It's adorable."

Alternatively Ron Weasley, Time Traveller Extraordinaire, is stuck in the same seven year Hogwarts Loop, repeating the same thing over and over again. Naturally, he's so done with everything.

(This is the greatest hp fic I've ever read. I LOVE RON WEASLEY and by the time you read this fic SO WILL YOU!! This is the fic I WISH I have the ability to write. I read this entire fic aloud to my brother and we spent literal hours howling and talking about how utterly insane and incredible this fic is, it's amazing. This is hands down my favorite Ron Weasley. You Can Pry This Fic From My Cold Dead Fingers.)

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[Boku no Hero Academia]

Kacchan's Cult by Ourliazo

Pro Hero Ground Zero is attacked, originally meant to be de-aged out of existence by a desperate villain but is instead launched into his 14-year-old self.

But Katsuki is a fucking pro so whatever, time to fuck up someone's day. And sure, maybe he's only one man, but that's why he conscripts the entirety of the UA student body into tearing down some criminal empires.

(It's time travel, crack, and Bakugou being his usual explody, competent self. What more in life do you want? Seriously though, please read. I'm obsessed with this fic and having a Good Time!)

Cleaning Crew; Teaching Kids to Value their Safety, for Fun and Profit by Reavv

Takenaka Hideo is a thirty-two year old, in mild desperation for money, who has just been hired as a new janitor for UA's support staff. He has a quirk that lets him find lost objects, a liaison with the police because of it, and desperate desire for competent co-workers.

Oh, and he's already lived a previous life, in a world where quirks and heroes didn't even exist.

Not a big deal, though. It's not like you ever see the janitor playing a big part in action movies. He's here to get paid, and that's it.

On the opposite side of the equation, class 1-A has to wonder at the new UA cryptid that always seems to show up when things are on fire, and who keeps trying to convince them to let the adults handle the fire extinguisher.

(A great deal of fun packed into one fic. That is how I title this fic and nothing will change my mind! Hideo just wants to quietly do his job and not get in the way. I Relate. Please read!)

Poltergeist by WriterGreenReads

Class 1-A is haunted.

Well, not really.

I AM dead, though.

World's friendliest poltergeist, at your service.

(I don't know how I got so sucked into OC fics, but I found some fantastic fics along the way so I have no regrets. The author really tries to push the premise and I just love all the interactions and dynamics that form as the fic gets further in. And the OC character and all the hijinks they get up to cracks me up! At the same time, it's pretty heartwarming and it's practically a friendships galore fic! Definitely recommend it!)

invincible by supercrunch for Engrin

Ship: Bakugou/Midoriya

This is the way the world works: the sun rises in the east. The strong come out on top. Bakugou Katsuki rockets through life like a comet and Midoriya Izuku stumbles after. If he believed in such things Katsuki would say it was written in the stars. That some god of war had looked at him and said this one. That he’d been passed along a line to get his blessings – genius, willpower, fearless ambition – and dropped off on earth.

Then, of course, there is the question of Deku. The spitfire runt. Deku, no matter what the world does to him, never stops hoping.

Until, of course, he eventually does.

(Katsuki broke him. Snapped him in half like a twig and now has to scramble to put Deku back together. “We can do this, Deku," he says slowly. "There are so many mysteries that never got put to bed. Criminals roaming around looking to hurt people and you and me, we can fix that.”

There’s a long pause. The comforter slips a little off Deku’s skinny shoulders and drowns him. “You mean like a team?”

In that split second, Katsuki makes a decision he’s never even considered. He swallows his pride. “Yeah, Deku. We’d be a team.”)

(If there was any other way canon could've gone, this is the story I would've wanted. It's perfect.)

Inadvertent Wilderness Therapy by Cacid

Following an unfortunate encounter with a teleporter on the last day of internships, Bakugou Katsuki and Hakamata Tsunagu spend some quality time in northern Canada.

In no particular order they will: build ugly survival shelters, stalk rabbits, run from polar bears, reflect on the chemical composition of trees, insult each other, and complain about krumholtz.

(THESE TWO. TOGETHER. IN THE WILDERNESS. IN FUCKING CANADA OF ALL PLACES. I still can't believe this fic actually exists and just how INVESTED I became in their relationship. Blue Jeanist instantly became my favorite ranked hero with this fic alone. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR IS TERRIBLE, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FNIEWOPAF. BAKUGOU DOES TOO. IT'S FUCKING INCREDIBLE. *incoherent screeching into the wild*)

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[Stranger Things]

Baci D'aria by RabbitDarling

“Love is worth the sum of itself, and nothing more.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

Steve learned a lot at his Aunt's side before she passed but his favourite thing she taught him was baci d'aria; special little spells that you created from the heart and put into the food you shared.

In opening his heart and gifts to those around him Steve slowly finds himself a family in a way he never thought he'd get to experience. One by One he collects pre-teens to trail in his wake like ducklings and Steve can't even refute it by the time he realizes what has happened.

(This fic is so soft and Steve is just collecting people and winning them over with his magical food (literally). I am always a sucker for heartwarming, good for the soul fics so if you want to make yourself hungry and feel all warm and gooey inside, read this!)

(Don't Fear) The Reaper by TeaFourTwo

Ship: Steve/Billy

He looks down at the blood on his hands and on the floor and wonders why the memory hasn’t broken yet, why he isn’t back in Starcourt mall with control of his body again, wonders if he's even still alive at all. Is this hell then? Or perhaps purgatory? It certainly isn’t heaven, that’s for sure. None of this makes any sense…but then what's new—nothing in Billy’s life makes sense anymore.

Billy laughs then, loud and long and unhinged. It's the only sound in the whole house, and it bounces off the walls like a fucked up echo, like the world is laughing with him.

“Jesus christ you’re insane…” It’s Max’s voice and it’s shaking. It only makes Billy laugh harder, because Max has it all wrong. Billy isn’t crazy, it’s the rest of the world that’s insane.

--

Billy dies a hero of sorts. He wakes up back in his bed on Saturday morning, the third of November, 1984...nearly nine months earlier.

(Billy is stuck in a time loop and it's slowly driving him crazy. And the fic shows just how much influence Billy did have in the plot and how doomed the world is without him in it. Great character exploration with Billy's character and all the ways he's so messy and human. Definitely recommend it!)

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[Knives Out]

The Road Less Traveled By by UisceOneLove

Ship: Marta/Ransom

If Harlan wants to leave Ransom to be on his own, fine. He'll show him just what Ransom Drysdale is capable of.

or, where Ransom chooses to prove his abilities through means of the non-homicidal variety and finds himself becoming exactly what Harlan was hoping he would.

(I found this fic out of sheer chance and god, Ransom is just, so fascinating to me as a character. Marta of course is the Best here and I will forever stan her. Seriously, this is such a good fic! Please read!)

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[Haikyuu!!]

Sky Full of Stars by grilledsquids

The Hinatas are twins. They're practically identical.

But while Shouyou seeks out Karasuno's volleyball team to become the next Little Giant, Natsu is scouted to to play soccer for Shiratorizawa. While Shouyou sets his eyes on playing volleyball at the highest level possible, his sister wonders how much longer she can play soccer... and if it's worth it to keep going.

A Natsu-centric story featuring: Shiratorizawa VBC shenanigans, too many soccer OCs, mild teenage drama, a little bit of plot, and Semi Eita not knowing what a period is.

(It's just!! So cute and wholesome!!! The Shiratorizawa volleyball team is so fleshed out along with the OC characters for the girl's soccer team and I swear, it's been a long while since I've laughed this much at the sheer shenanigans that happen in a fic. It's surprisingly hard to find good gen fics in this fandom so finding this gem made me so happy! If you want a fic that brings a smile to your face, read this!!)

like water by speakingincode

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi says, and when Tooru looks at him, he can read My best friend’s an idiot off the crease of his eyebrows. “Are you telling me you spent the last three years weirdly obsessed with Kageyama – I still remember the time you made us play him on a dumb whim, you know – and now you’re at his beck and call? Are you okay? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m— I’m not at his beck and call! I said no last week. It’s… It’s like you said. I get bored easily. I saw him at the park a couple weeks after they played Nationals and called him a perfect little tyrant, and he pestered me into spending time with him after,” Tooru says. “I’m not a monster, Iwa-chan. If he wants the company of his cool, handsome ex-upperclassman that badly, who am I to begrudge him?”

Or: Oikawa doesn't know why Kageyama keeps asking to meet him on Saturdays. He also doesn't know why he keeps saying yes.

(The fact this fic is canon-compliant and covers post-canon too makes me want to shout to the heavens. Fucking incredible! One of the best Oikakage fics ever and it's a crime how it's not at the top of the ship tag. Please please read!!)

twist into your shape by kakkoweeb

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

The only thing better than sweets were sweets containing paper that told you whether your future would be good or bad--or in Kageyama and Oikawa's case, paper that somehow caused you to live inside each other's bodies.

(Everyone probably already read this fic but it needs to be said, you need to read this fic. How these two try and manage each other's lives and slowly start to care about one another is so beautiful and sincere and I am ready to wrestle anyone to the floor and comply them into reading this fic. Doesn't matter if you like the ship, you will become a fan if you read it, I promise. Please please read!!)

Take the Long Road Home by pepperfield

Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura

When Azumane Asahi goes missing before his engagement meeting with Kozume Kenma, what other option is there but for Daichi to impersonate his brother and fake his way through a first date with Asahi's fiance?

Okay, let's be realistic - there were probably at least four other options.

Unfortunately, Tetsurou couldn't come up with any of them either, so now he's here flirting with Kenma's future husband while trying to keep his web of deceit from collapsing.

It's going to be an eventful day.

(I got obsessed with this ship alongside Oikakage and SO WILL YOU. THE POTENTIAL. THE BANTER. THE FACT THEY'RE BOTH DORKS AND THE FIC HAS IDENTITY SHENANIGANS DANCING ALL OVER IT!! I had so much fun reading this and these two are MEANT TO BE FENIWPAF. If you don't see the potential of this ship, you will now.)

a misunderstanding a day keeps the boyfriend away by bartallen for betuls

Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura

Kuroo doesn’t fall in love hard and fast like many others do – he falls slowly, and very very softly. Most of the times he doesn’t even realise he’s in love with someone until it’s too late.

(Kuroo is the dumbest man alive and I've never related to someone so hard in my life. God help me.)

You like me. by roseknight

Ship: Daishou/Kuroo

Kuroo nearly lived a Daishou-free life, and sometimes he looked back and wondered how much better and how much worse that would've been.

(I didn't even know who Daishou was until I read this fic and now I can't unsee the potential this ship has. I'm a ruined woman and I regret NOTHING.)

Kings of the Road, Kings of the Universe by EzzyDean

Eight magical captains, one bus, an entire summer (and country) waiting for them.

What could possibly go wrong?

(The magic of friendship meets the magic of a summer road trip meets pure magic.)

(CAPTAIN SQUAD IS THE BEST SQUAD SOMEBODY PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SEND ME SOME CAPTAIN SQUAD FICS I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS SQUAD IT'S A PROBLEM AAAAHHHHHH!)

宿縁 : See You Soon by MissKiraBlue

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

Upon arriving at the train station of death, an impure soul is granted a second chance at life against his will. Reincarnating into the body of Kageyama Tobio, a 15-year-old boy who recently committed suicide. Tobio's soul will depart at death and the soul needs to slip in to replace it. If the soul's reformation succeeds, he’ll reenter the cycle of rebirth and regain the right to be reborn. He will have three months to accomplish this task.

“Even though you had enough of life,” the soul whispered into the void of the room, “you were still afraid to hurt your hands, Tobio.”

Afraid of giving himself a scar, if he survived.

He touched his pulse and grasped life and couldn’t help but pity Kageyama Tobio.

"You wanted to die and now I’m here making you live again," he whispered into the night.

(I'm not even exaggerating when I say out of all the fics in this entire goddamn, too long list, this is the fic I'm anticipating and heart eyeing the most. It's only starting, but I already cried on chapter fucking 2, the power of this fic, holy shit. The author also wrote the hq time loop Every Tomorrows series, which I have an undying love for and am full on praying for the day it updates, so you KNOW this fic will be just as good. (Anybody who hasn't read this series, where the hell have you been?? Read it!!) Just, everything about this fic hurts me and something in my chest just aches when I read this fic. Go into it blind with an open heart and I swear to you, it's going to change your life. I'm already calling it. Seriously though, please please read!)

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[Crossover]

Learning to Fly by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)

Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, Naruto

The number three hero is a walking (well, flying) contradiction in every sense of the word. This includes his teaching skills. Why had Tokoyami agreed to this internship again? Oh right. He’d thought he was actually going to learn something. …….remind him to never be so optimistic again. . . . OR, Kakashi Hatake is reincarnated as the pro hero, Hawks. Tokoyami Fumikage suffers as a result.

(The reincarnation fic I never thought I needed and it's so good!! I've never really paid attention to Tokoyami and this fic sent me headfirst into loving him. Their dynamic is so interesting and I just love how their relationship develops. Also, Kakashi trolling the poor kid made me cackle, it's great! Definitely recommend it!)

Si Vis Pacem by athenoot

Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, John Wick

Everything has a price. That's what John has always known and will forever remember, even in death.

Which is pretty ironic considering his current circumstance.

Instead of a grown, scarred, weary body belonging to a man as cruel and broken as him, he's inhabiting a younger, smaller, unblemished one belonging to a child with strangely colored hair, and is living in what seems to be a superhuman society.

Well. May it never be said that John isn't a strategist. He can live with this. Maybe.

(Somewhere out there in the universe, he's certain he could hear the laughter of his enemies from beyond the grave.)

-

Or: John Wick is reincarnated as Midoriya Izuku. The world should probably watch its back.

(This should be one of the crackiest fics I've read in a while, but it's taken so seriously and I'm so HERE FOR THIS. John Wick being John Wick in a world of quirks and heroes is the GREATEST, honestly, he's so badass. Bakugou, I feel for you, you must be so fucking confused lol. Bakugou trying his best to be a good friend is one of the best things about this fic. Trust me, this fic will make your day, promise!)

A Girl's Mind is a Dangerous Place by clenastia

Fandoms: Naruto, Fairy Tail

Natsu wakes up in Sakura's body. It only gets worse from there. Also known as: In Which Natsu has No Idea what to do with Boobs.

(I binged this in two fucking days, I couldn't put it down. This fic reminded me why I liked fairy tail when I was younger and why Natsu is honestly such a great protagonist, god. And the fic does that thing, you know, the Thing where when two worlds collide, the characters struggle to acclimate and adapt to a completely another world with different rules and mindsets against their own. This fic is seriously one of the best when it comes to that aspect, it's incredible. I am going absolutely feral over here for this fic to update, I'm waiting in the wings, ready to pounce like a tiger, all the metaphors man. For the love of god, read this fic.)

Give me a landscape made of obstacles by Melise

Fandoms: Naruto, Natsume's Book of Friends

Kakashi Hatake isn’t who he says he is.

Because the truth is that he’s actually a youkai in disguise, a wolf spirit named Madara who stumbled across the Hatake clan during the Warring States Period. Intrigued by the shinobi he saw, he’d proposed a temporary alliance in which he would offer the clan protection in exchange for their teachings.

Decades later, Madara is surprised to find himself inadvertently summoned to Konoha by the last living member of the Hatake clan. Sakumo Hatake, who is mourning the recent deaths of his wife and stillborn child, doesn’t want to be alone anymore. So with his permission, Madara takes the place of Sakumo’s deceased son in order to watch over the last Hatake.

(Fusion in which the youkai of Natsume’s Book of Friends all exist in the Naruto world. No knowledge of Natsume’s Book of Friends required).

(Before this fic, I only had a very vague idea of what Natsume's Book of Friends was, and honestly, I still don't know much about it. But I didn't really need to know to get into this fic. I love the worldbuilding and the relationships Kakashi forms, both supernatural and mortal. I love how Kakashi's inhumane ways affect others around him, whether to stress them out or become used to the strange. You can go straight into this fic without knowing anything and absolutely still have a fantastic time. I definitely recommend this so please read!)

[gingersnapwolves]

Follow up fic-related post to my Untamed primer, for those who specifically read this whole thing in order to be able to read my fanfiction! Firstly, I’m flattered. Y’all are amazing. Secondly, here’s a handy dandy list of my fics that might help you get started. (There’s tons and tons of great fanfics in this fandom, though, so you should explore if you feel so inclined!)

First of all, um, I feel compelled to write a disclaimer about all my Xiyao fic lmao. Writing the last two sections of this I was like ‘ugh, Jin Guangyao is the worst’ but like ... he wasn’t always? It feels weird to say, but I ship Lan Xichen with Meng Yao but not Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao. Meng Yao was genuinely treated very poorly all his life and had legitimate reasons to be bitter and resentful, but he didn’t turn into a monster until after his father got a hold of him. I know that not everybody will agree with that! But I just want to say, after writing those last two chunks I wanted to clarify, yes, I write a ton of Xiyao, but it is all based around the idea that although Meng Yao is morally ambiguous and can absolutely be ruthless when necessary, with actual love and support he wouldn’t end up being so terrible, and I love the idea of turning all that conniving cleverness for good instead of evil.

Anyway, moving on!

I’ve written two fanfics that are complete AU, fusions with other media. These might help you get used to reading in the fandom without worrying about all the plot nuances and politics and such.

Like a House on Fire – loose fusion with 9-1-1, characters as first responders, Wangxian and Xiyao

The Weight of the World – fusion with Pacific Rim, Wangxian and Xiyao

Here are the others, by canon divergence point. Worth pointing out, I have actually only written one fic that take place in the latter half of the show (in fact, it’s post canon). Although some of my fics have young Wen Yuan or Jin Ling in them, I don’t generally deal with the 16 year gap because it’s just too damn depressing for me. So sadly, I don’t really write about the juniors. The juniors are great! And I’m sure there are great fics about them! But I’m invested in fix-it fic, which means making sure that 16-year-gap doesn’t happen.

Also probably worth pointing out: the older the fics are, the more likely I was to make factual errors in them. Like in my first fic, I didn’t realize Meng Yao’s mother was dead, because it’s never explicitly mentioned, and in several of my earlier fics I got the pieces of yin iron confused all to hell and back lol. Be kind. XD

Canon diverges prior to or right at the beginning of the timeline:

An Atypical Courtship – Meng Yao becomes a prostitute after his mother dies. Additional bonus AU because Wen Ruohan isn’t evil and there’s no war because I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Mainly Xiyao, background Wangxian.

The Third Young Master of the Qishan Wen – Wei Wuxian is adopted by Wen Qing and Wen Ning’s family, instead of the Jiang sect. This might actually be a good one to start with as it covers almost the entire canon (pre-death canon) but just slightly to the left. Wangxian, Xiyao, Chengqing.

somewhere to belong (WIP!) – Meng Yao stays in Cloud Recesses for the lecture and makes friends. 3zun (the pairing name for Nie Mingjue/Lan Xichen/Meng Yao) and background Wangxian.

Canon diverges prior to the Sunshot Campaign:

hope dangling by a string – Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian end up psychically connected and it prevents a whole host of misunderstandings. Also covers a lot of canon but slightly to the left. Wangxian and Chengqing.

Canon diverges after the Sunshot Campaign:

No More Masks – Meng Yao isn’t legitimized and goes to live at Cloud Recesses after the war. If you want to know why I’m obsessed with Xiyao, this is the fic to read as it’s the one I wrote to specifically indulge. Mainly Xiyao, some Meng Yao/Xue Yang, background Wangxian.

Aftermath – Jiang Yanli kills Jin Guangshan in self defense when he tries to assault her. Without him around after the Sunshot Campaign, everything goes much better. Mostly focuses on the sibling relationships, but also has Xuanli, Wangxian, and a little light Xiyao and Chengqing.

The Lost Cause – Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao team up to murder Jin Guangshan. It’s more fun than it should be. Mainly gen, background Wangxian.

the cycle of regret – Lan Wangji gets stuck in a groundhog day loop of trying to save Wei Wuxian just before his death. Wangxian only.

 Canon diverges after Wei Wuxian’s death:

picking up the pieces (WIP!) – Jiang Cheng is killed at the massacre of Nightless City instead of Jiang Yanli. She then convinces Lan Wangji to come live with her at Lotus Pier and raise their kids together. Actually fairly gen, Wangxian later.

The Way it Wasn’t – Jiang Cheng wishes that Wei Wuxian had never existed, only to find out that without him, they lost the war. Wangxian, Xiyao, Chengqing hints.

where do we begin (the rubble or our sins) – Wei Wuxian survives falling off the cliff, resurrects Jiang Yanli, and ends up with amnesia. Wangxian only.

Post canon:

the hardest part of ending (is starting again) – Wen Ning and Lan Xichen comfort each other after going through hell. Mainly gen, hints at future Ningchen, background Wangxian.

again, if you have any questions, either while reading the summaries or while reading any of my fics, feel free to ask me! <3

[libsterslobsters]

I'm Gonna Crawl: Post 1

(Divided because of length)

Post 2

Summary: Five years. That's how long the reader and Bucky have been apart (although for him, it was only five minutes) Now with Thanos defeated and both of them taking up the mantle of Avengers, can their relationship return to what it was? Or will they have to discover a new normal?

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x fem! enhanced! super-soldier! Reader (Reader can see pieces of the future in visions as well as speak every language)

Warnings: Angst, fluff, language

Author's note: Tumblr is being a poo-poo head and won't let me post the whole fic because it's too long, so this is a two parter.

*************************************************

The text comes when she’s in the middle of teaching English feminine and masculine pronouns. Immediately, she knows it’s something important. There’s a very limited amount of people she’s allowed to filter through the “do not disturb” status she sets her phone in while she’s in the classroom. Her first though is Barnes, but at this point, he’s memorized her schedule even more thoroughly than she has, so it’s unlikely he’s responsible for the disturbance. Pepper, maybe? But no, she’s a powerful enough woman that if she needed anything, she could simply ask and it would be hers. Peter? It’s within normal high school hours, so if he’s messaging her, she’ll give him a lecture next time she sees him for texting in class. That only leaves one person, or rather, organization. As she instructs her students to come up with a few examples of common words which can be said different ways to demonstrate masculine and feminine, then takes a moment to check her phone, her suspicions are confirmed. Rhodes. The Avengers.

“You guys keep working. That’s an example of an English masculine. Now what would the feminine be?” A chorus of ‘gals’ follows her out the door. Once she’s rounded the corner, she dials the number, completely skipping the texting process. The line only rings once before Rhodey answers.

“Hello?”

“Soothsayer. What is it?”

“You need to come in. We’ve got a mission, and it has to be you.” She lets out a silent groan before asking,

“How much time have I got to square things away at work?”

“Wheel’s up in ninety minutes. You need to be here at least fifteen before to read over your orders.” Her boss isn’t going to be happy, but it’s doable.

“Right. I think I just got a crippling migraine. I’ll call you back later.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“You’re damn right.” She mutters it as the line goes dead.

Thirty minutes later, she’s on her way after giving the sub her notes and her boss a bullshit excuse. So far, no one’s worked out that she’s one of the people who fought in the battle against Thanos, and she hopes to keep it that way.

She speeds across the city, driving a little faster than is responsible, but her reflexes are fast enough to cover for it. If this is going to be the sort of mission where they need her brawn as well as her brains, she’d like a few minutes to warm up before she has to hop on a quinjet. Grabbing her go-bag (complete with weapons, her suit, and a set of spare cosmetics), she jumps out of the car as soon as it’s parked in front of the newly rebuilt Avengers compound. Warm up, and make a call to-

“Well, look who the cat dragged in.” She turns her head towards the voice, catching sight of Sam and-

“What’d you tell them? Stomach flu?” Barnes. Okay, maybe she won’t have to call him after all, but that brings up more questions than answers.

“Migraine.” She falls into step next to him while Sam rushes on ahead. “They called you too, huh?”

He nods, grimacing. “Looks like it’s something big.” Obviously. If they’ve called in both him and Sam, not just one or the other, then it’s a guarantee the situation is FUBAR. Plus her? She’s usually in the background. If she’s being pulled then-

“You alright?” She nods, smiling with more confidence than she feels.

“Yeah. Just wish I knew what we were getting into. If they want both unstable super soldiers-” It’s a joke, which thankfully, he gets.

“Then the situation must be pretty hairy.” That’s putting it lightly. They’ve never been called up together before. Never.

If the mounting evidence weren’t enough to clue her in that this is going to be major, the final factor would be, after Rhodes explains to all three of them that with the return of so many people to Earth, a former dictator who disappeared in the snap has gathered up his forces and is attempting to usurp a now-peaceful democracy in hopes of using the territory to levy compliance from surrounding nations. Usually that wouldn’t be their thing, but when the words “dirty bomb” and “gamma radiation” are brought into play, it’s no mystery as to why they’re being called in.

It’s about what she expected. Falcon is running point, Winter Soldier is the man on the grassy knoll (she shudders when Rhodey goes with that particular descriptor because of a confession several years back just after he woke up in Wakanda; “I really hope I’m remembering this wrong and it was just a dream, but I think I was behind what happened to the president.”), and she’s on evac and rescue, making sure there’s as few civilian casualties as possible. However, when the briefing is called to a close, it’s a total shock that Sam is let go while she and Barnes are told to stay back.

Rhodes sits at the edge of his desk, arms crossed, wearing his most serious expression. “You two have completed the appropriate training hours together, correct?”

“Yes.” They say it at the same time, and she has to bite her cheek to keep from yelling out, “Jinx!” It was a requirement after the defeat of Thanos that the two of them specifically learn how to work together as a team, play off of each other’s strengths, just in case something truly catastrophic happened. She also trained with Bucky and Sam as their third. What she’s wondering is, why ask a question Rhodes clearly knows the answer to? He’s the one who set up the training, after all.

“And you’re comfortable working as a squad?” She catches Bucky’s eye, and it’s clear that he’s come to the same conclusion as her: this isn’t what Rhodey is really after.

“We’re fully capable, yes.” He’s the one that answers, while she reaches out into the unknown, hoping for a vision. No dice.

With a sigh, Rhodey stands.

“What I mean is, can you be objective out there on the battlefield? Can you work together like anyone else?” This time, she’s the one to speak up.

“Can we be objective? Yes. Can we work together like anyone else? No, but that was your goal with the training program.”

“You wouldn’t have called the two of us up if you didn’t need what we can do together.”

For a moment, she feels sympathy for Rhodes. The poor man is clearly struggling to make a point. That’s when it hits her, a vision of what he’s prepared for them to do. As soon as it passes, she kicks Barnes’ chair leg lightly, which is enough that he gets the message.

“Just say it, because she’s already seen it.” She wouldn’t want to be in Rhodes’ position for the world right now with the news he’s about to deliver.

“Fine.” Rhodey nods. “If we get in a tight spot, someone is going to have to draw fire. It can’t be Barnes for obvious reasons.” Part of their mission is to obtain stolen scientific data located deep inside enemy lines. She’s smaller and therefore faster, can fit into tight places more easily, but he’s been trained to go unnoticed, and what’s more, to incapacitate anyone who sees more than they should. It’s an obvious choice. She’s in essence the diversion, the boy crying wolf while the real thief makes off with the shepherds’ wallets. Her size and speed will work to her advantage, as well as the fact that they won’t recognize her, so they won’t know right away that she’s the decoy, whereas the second they have eyes on him or Sam, they’ll know to batten down the hatches.

She doesn’t have to look beside her to know what he thinks of that idea. She can practically feel him seething. But, it’s a scenario that, along with Sam, they’ve trained for.

“What I need to know is that, once the bullets start flying, you won’t fall back on instinct and run to protect each other. Out there, you are not a couple. You’re teammates, fellow soldiers, nothing more. Got it?”

She keeps her eyes focused on Rhodey’s face as she nods, otherwise hers will show what she’s feeling. “Agreed.”

“Barnes?” There’s a pause, so long she’s about to kick his chair leg again just to get a reaction.

“Understood.”

“Good.” Rhodes’ posture immediately changes. “Now, suit up. Quinjet is leaving at 1300 hours.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

“Oh!” Bucky looks up from the building schematics he’s studying at the surprised noise from the woman next to him. “This one’s actually not bad.”

“Which one?” He leans towards her, scanning the house listing on her phone. “Nah. I don’t like the look of that roof.”

“True, but it says here they’re willing to knock some off the asking price if we’re willing to do our own repairs-”

A groan issues from the other side of the jet.

“Are you two really searching realtor.com while we’re on our way to save the world?” Sam asks, scowling.

“No, of course not.” She shakes her head, smirking. “It’s zillow.” That reminds him-

“Scroll down. Let’s see when it was built.” It looks like… ah. “Hard no. That thing’s older than me.”

“And like you, it has character.” It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up. He sees an opening, and he’s going for it.

“Did you just compare me to a house?” She snickers.

“Now that you mention it, there are some similarities. Good bones, had some renovations done, could use some landscaping-”

“You know, you could’ve just said ditch the beard.”

She gasps, clutching a hand to her chest. “I would never!”

“Alright, I’m gonna stop you there.” Sam holds up a hand. “If you’re gonna talk about his hair anywhere below the neck, I’m gonna open up the hatch and jump out.” It would be a more effective threat if he wasn’t already wearing his wings.

“Mind out of the gutter, Sam.” She half-heartedly scolds before returning to examine her phone. “The market is just shit right now but there’s got to be something listed that’s less expensive than renting an apartment in the middle of Brooklyn…” That’s what all of this is about, really. After the snap (at least from what he’s read) the price of renting was lower than it had been since the fifties. Now that everything is back to normal, everyone and their mother is looking for a place to rent. Not that he can blame them. He’s one of the returned, after all.

“I guess we could move into the complex once it’s repaired. Just for a little while-”

“Nope.” Sam cuts them off. “Hell no. It’s enough that I gotta deal with you and Judge Dredd here being all domestic on missions. If I have to hear you two going at it, I’m gonna lose my shit.”

He may not understand the pop culture reference, but he caught the sexual one. The truth is, they haven’t slept together since he returned. It’s not like things have been platonic; they shower together, cuddle, and make out like teenagers walking down lovers’ lane. However, five years is a long time (even if for him, it was barely more than an instant), and while he’s ready to resume their sex life, he’s not going to push in case she’s not there yet.

Before he can go too far down that rabbit hole, the intercom crackles to life and their pilot announces that it’s time for the drop. He’s not a huge fan of parachuting (falling to his near death and losing an arm sort of took the magic out for him), but he calls on what remains of his training now that HYDRA’s brainwashing has been deactivated and puts on an emotionless front.

“Com links on.” As Sam speaks, he activates his own com. “Everyone getting a signal?” He is, and if the face she just made is anything to judge from so is she. “Okay. I drop first, then on my mark, Winter Soldier drops; five seconds later, Soothsayer follows. Copy?”

“Copy.”

“Copy.”

Sam shoots them a grin that doesn’t completely hide his nerves. “Good luck.”

As soon as his partner’s exited the plane, he catches her eye. “Love you. See you on the other side.”

“Love you. Come back in one piece.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Even before Sam hits the ground, he knows it’s going to be a shit show. Even though he doesn’t activate his com to tell them as much, it’s obvious as the super soldier plummets past him that his chute didn’t open. Sam might worry about this if it weren’t for the fact he saw Steve jump out of many a plane without anything to keep him from free falling. Their tag-along, however? She has activated her coms (either that or she forgot to deactivate them) and she lets out a gasp. That’s all, a gasp, but it’s enough to put Sam on edge. This is why coupling up is dangerous in this line of work. Your affection can work to your disadvantage.

Because he can’t have his team scattered, worrying about each other, he asks, “Barnes, do you copy?”

“Copy, Falcon. Don’t think I’ll be doing that again.”

“Oh, you are so getting shit for that when we get home.” He rolls his eyes.

“Let’s cut the chitchat. We have a mission. On my mark, Soothsayer heads into the encampment to lead any P.O.W.s and civilians away. Copy?”

“Copy.”

“Copy.”

He lands just before she does, and as soon as she’s detached her shoot, he gives her the go ahead.

Any thought that they might have succeeded in having the element of surprise on their side goes out the window when a shot whizzes past his head.

“Barnes, cover me.”

“Copy.”

Even with the rain of bullets from his own personal sniper, he barely gets past the first defensive line in one piece. He takes out at least a dozen hostiles, incapacitating when he can, eliminating where he must. Just outside the main fortress, he asks,

“Come in, Winter Soldier. How many hostiles between you and my position?”

“Eighteen.” A muffled shot follows the statement. “Seventeen.”

“Alright. Clear a path. Let’s show these sons of bitches what they get when they threaten innocent lives.”

He thinks that maybe they’ll be able to turn it around when they find their human target fairly easily and are able to capture and incapacitate. The orders, however, were not just to bring him in alive but also to seize the assets they’ve lost before a bomb squad and team of radiation specialists comes in and sweep the place. The only way he’ll be able to get their target back to the jet unharmed (not to mention survive himself) is if they do the one thing he was hoping it wouldn’t come to.

“Soothsayer, this is Falcon. Come in. Over.”

“Copy, Falcon.”

“Winter Soldier is going in. Deploy “big bad wolf” initiative.” In other words, go get shot at while at the same time covering me.

“Copy. Be advised, there are hostages in the building. I repeat, hostages in the building. Over.” For a moment he wonders if she saw it in a vision or if one of the people she’s just helped escaped has started talking out of gratitude, but pushes it to the side. He has biggest issues.

“Winter Soldier, Soothsayer, get into place. On my signal, we move.”

“Copy.”

“Copy.”

“Three… two… one… go!”

Sam kicks off into the air, thanking whoever the hell out there invented this tech that he doesn’t have to fly with an extra 250 pounds of dictator in his arms (Redwing is handling that). Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Soothsayer making a run for it, shooting as she goes. Where the hell did she get the gun? Problems for later.

He’s just about to radio into the jet to see if the ‘package’ was delivered when the shots turn in his direction. He returns fire at the same time a dagger flies past his head.

“Throw it a little closer next time Soothsayer. I dare you.” It’s muttered under his breath.

“So you wanted a sniper’s bullet in your back?” Damned super hearing.

“Aren’t you supposed to be causing a distraction?”

“I am. Close your eyes and cover your ears.” He complies just in time for the flashbang to go off over his head.

“Fuck! You could’ve told me that’s what you were doing!” There’s no reply. “Soothsayer?” A grunt followed by the sound of impact comes over the com.

“Little busy. Hold up.” Hand to hand, if he had to venture a guess. More shots are fired, and he flies lower, returning them, kicking a few assailants in the head as he goes.

“Winter Soldier, this is Falcon. Come in.”

“I read you.”

“Do you have eyes on the target?”

“Almost there. There’s a few more obstacles than we thought.”

“Copy. Over and-” He doesn’t get to finish the sentence as a yell of “Get down!” pierces the night.

It all happens in slow motion. He reaches for the shield, but he can already hear the gun discharge. A force runs into him, knocking him to the ground. Realization hits him: it’s her. He doesn’t see the bullet impact, but he hears her cry out. On instinct, he covers both of their vital organs with the shield, and that’s when he sees the splotch of red blooming from her right shoulder, which so happens to have acted as a human barrier, blocking what would have most assuredly have been a kill shot to the head for him.

“Falcon, Soothsayer, come-” There’s a muffled shout over the com, followed by more sickening thuds and a few shots.

“Barnes?” He hears a whisper of movement from behind him, and without looking, fires. “Barnes, do you copy?” As he speaks, several hostiles gang up on him at once. Using the shield to it’s full advantage, he knocks two off their feet, kicks another in the gonads, then chin, and punches two more’s lights out. He starts on the one that’s left, but out of nowhere, the hostile’s legs go out from under him. What-

“This is Barnes. I have the target. Moving hostages out now.”

Sam opens his mouth to speak again, but a tug at his ankle draws his attention. She’s sitting up, features drawn in pain and still bleeding, her fist bloody from the last hostile’s face.

“Don’t tell Barnes.”

Internally groaning, he speaks again. “Copy. Meet us back at the ship. Over and out.” Grabbing her good arm, he hauls her to her feet and drapes her body over his shoulder. “Pretty sure the blood’s gonna tip him off. And the bullet hole.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

“It’s not that bad.” This has to be the tenth time she’s repeated that sentiment in the past five minutes since arriving back at the quinjet, and yet it’s still not making an impression. As she stands yet again, Sam gives her good shoulder a hard push.

“Sit your serum-ed up ass down. You’re gonna bleed out if-” She narrows her eyes at the man with the shield. “Fine. You’re still dripping blood everywhere.” Yeah, well, it’s not like it hit a major vein or artery. She saw it coming, after all. Still… it fucking hurts.

“Shouldn’t you be hailing Barnes again?”

“Who’s in charge here? You or me?” She thinks about snapping back with something truly brutal, but bites her tongue. “Only thing you should be worrying about is how we’re gonna get that slug out of you.”

“Give me a pair of pliers and I’ll do it myself.”

“The hell you will.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! It’s-” Before she can repeat herself again, the door opens. Her breath seizes in her throat a she takes in Barnes’ appearance. Dear God.

“Target acquired?” Sam nods and motions towards the back of the plane.

“What about you? Package secure?” With a thump, a black bag is dropped onto the floor between them. Sam opens his mouth (more than likely to make a sarcastic remark about being careful with the brain child of at least a dozen scientists worldwide), but before he can-

“You’re hit.” He’s in front of her, crossing the narrow space in just two strides.

Biting back a wince, she stares pointedly at the oozing bullet wound in his thigh. “So are you.”

“It’s nothing.” She’s about to call bullshit (that’s a fuck ton of blood, and also she doesn’t remember that cut on his forehead last time she saw him), but he turns away, fixing Sam with a hard stare. “Why didn’t you say we had a man down?”

“Not a man-” She starts.

“And technically, she never went completely down. Plus-” She knows what he’s going to say, and mouths a silent ‘Don’t’, which Sam ignores. “-she told me not to.” There it is. She’s never gonna hear the end of this.

Returning his gaze to her, he asks, “You told him-”

“It wasn’t a big deal. Can we talk about this later?”

“I second that.” Sam nods. “Preferably when you’re not both about to bleed out in the air.” Bucky’s lips twitch momentarily, and she barely contains her own smirk. They’re not about to bleed out. Still-

“You want to go first with the pliers, or do you want me to?”

“For the last time, no one is using pliers to go spelunking for bullets. Aren’t you two supposed to be smart?” She raises an eyebrow in Bucky’s direction, and he smirks.

“Technically, I think the serum just turned us into better soldiers. Not geniuses.”

“Right, and since it would take us what?” She glances at her phone, checking the time. “Five hours to get home? More than likely we would’ve already started to heal pretty significantly around the bullet and would have to disrupt that so they could dig them out.”

“So, pliers.” She nods.

“Pliers.”

With a groan, Sam stands and, digging around in the compartment overhead, produces a first aid kit.

“Fine, but if either of you starts to hemorrhage, don’t come crying to me.”

Rolling her eyes at his retreating back, she asks, “The question still stands. You want to be the surgeon first or the patient?”

“That depends.” Bucky motions to her own bullet wound. “Is that as bad as it looks, or worse?”

She attempts a shrug, but the motion makes her wince. “It’s just a scratch.” The look on his face tells her he’s not convinced.

“Then I guess I’ll dig yours out first. If push comes to shove, I can fix myself up.” This time, she’s with Sam. The hell he will. She’ll just power through.

“Alright.” She motions to the few members of the TACK team still hanging around. “If you don’t want to see me shirtless, I’d suggest you find somewhere else to be, or at least look away.” Shockingly few heads turn at her words. “Okay smart-asses. What I mean is give a lady some privacy and avert your eyes.” There. That’s more like it.

She’s kinda pissed off that she’ll have to junk the suit. It was a new one. Even more infuriating is that when she goes to unzip it, thanks to her injured shoulder she can’t manage it, and what’s worse, she lets out a groan of pain.

“Easy. Let me help.” If they were alone, she’d make an off-colored joke (something along the lines of “any excuse to get me undressed”), but she swallows it down and grits her teeth as the material tugs at her wound. She’s just going to have to toughen up and rip it off like a band-aide.

“I think there’s a water bottle somewhere, so we could soak-” Bracing herself, she gives the material a sharp tug, completely exposing herself. “-or you could just do it the hard way.”

“After all these years, why would I start doing things the easy way now?” She feels more than hears the short intake of breath that signals a laugh.

“Good point. Hold tight while I check the kit.” Taking advantage of the brief lull, she closes her eyes. She’s not exactly squeamish, but there’s something about seeing a bullet lodged in her shoulder that’s somewhat unsettling. “Alright. This is gonna sting, and then it’s gonna hurt like a son of a bitch.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” That one earns her an actual snicker.

Sure enough, it does sting. That is, if by “sting” you meant “feels like I scrubbed myself with a sandpaper washcloth and then rinsed off with vodka.” Still, she manages to keep still and wipe any expression of pain from her face as the disinfectant is poured on, completely soaking her.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head.

“Nothing a towel won’t take care of.”

He’s in front of her now, so she opens her eyes, concentrating hard on his face so she won’t look down.

“You alright?” It’s completely false, but she pastes on a smile.

“Splendid. Thinking of taking this up as a hobby, actually.” He frowns.

“You couldn’t just take up embroidery like a normal person?”

“No one-” Her breath catches as he starts to probe for the bullet. It was a distraction. “-takes up embroidery as a hobby anymore.” Deep breaths. She needs to take deep breaths.

“Shit.” Shit? That’s not comforting. “Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

“Dealer’s choice.”

“Good news, it’s in one piece. Bad news-” He looks up, holding her gaze. “It’s lodged pretty far in there, Doll.” Of course it is. Just her luck. “Do you want to wait ‘til we get home, or-”

“Just do it.” Once more, she closes her eyes. “Sooner we get it out, sooner the super soldier mojo can do it’s thing.”

“You sure?” She nods.

“Just do me a favor. Don’t tell me when you start pulling it out. I don’t want to know.”

It’s silent, no one saying a word. Still, she clings to the little sounds she can make out in order to keep herself occupied. The engine running. The air filtration system. Her own jagged breaths and his measured ones. Despite her attempts at distraction, she can feel it the moment he starts easing the bullet out of her shoulder. On instinct her body seizes up, and she has to force herself to relax each muscle. It’ll only be more painful if she’s tense.

“Do you want something to squeeze? Maybe a hand to hold?”

Taking a slow, deep breath, she answers.

“That depends. How much do you like that arm?” If she takes out the pain on anything else, she’s almost certain she’d crush it.

“I’m sort of attached to it, so-” She chuckles, and that’s when the bullet slides free. “And, next time you make fun of my corny jokes, I get to remind you of this.”

The patching up process is simple from there. The bleeding is easily staunched and although it’s in an awkward place, they manage to bandage her without much trouble. She’s so nervous, she expects her hands to shake as she takes her turn and, with her good arm, digs the bullet out of Barnes (his is in fragments but luckily, a vision hits and shows her the shards’ locations), but surprisingly, her hands are steady. She glances up at his face just as she pulls the last shard out, but of course, he’s shut down, completely expressionless.

Finally, the quinjet touches down outside of what used to be the Avengers’ compound. Normally they would disembark, then head straight off to a debriefing, but under the circumstances, Sam calls it a night and tells them to get some rest, then come in tomorrow to go over mission reports. As they watch Falcon climb into his car and drive away, it hits her how terribly exhausted she really is. Between her bum shoulder and his bum leg, neither of them is really fit to drive home, so-

“Think we can get a cab this time of night?” Great minds think alike, it seems.

“I don’t know, but I’m willing to give it a try.”

It’s only once they’re home safely and she’s climbed into bed that she allows herself to wonder if they’re ever going to talk about today.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Alright HERE WE GO...SOME PRESS!

By which I mean, Tom King was on ComicPop discussing Supergirl! So we have CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND INFO! WOO!

Gonna get into it below, but my recommendation, as always: the best way to have an informed opinion is to get the info firsthand, so don’t just take my word for it! Go forth! Watch the thing! (Language advisory, though. There is some swearing.)

Okay. With that out of the way, LET’S GO!

Gonna lead off with a summary of the Supergirl bits, as they discuss a variety of things, from Strange Adventures to Batman/Catwoman to the canned New Gods project:

How Tom King came to be the writer of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow:

King’s longtime editor, Jaime Rich, was moved from the Bat books to the Super books. 

King, historically, likes to take on characters that ‘need help.’ He cites the example of Kirby who, upon coming to DC, asked what their lowest-selling title was, which is how he ended up on Jimmy Olsen.

So, when King asks which character needs help, Rich, to King: Supergirl. We have trouble selling that book.

King, describing Supergirl: ‘She’s singular in a way Mr. Miracle and Vision are not.’ Says that if you ask any four year old who Supergirl is, they know.

Editors asked him, ‘what’s your take? what are you gonna do with her?’

King then discusses the difference between his approach to Bat people vs. Super people.

Bat people: It’s a deconstruction approach. King brings up Kite Man from his Batman run. You tear the character down and build them back up, a la Dark Knight Returns

Super people: It’s not about deconstruction. Let them be themselves. They’re wonderful, let them be wonderful. 

But he does mention sort of stripping down the character to their purest form; he describes it as chiseling off the barnacles that have built up on the character, over the years.

Additionally, he says ‘evil doesn’t work for the Super family of characters.’

He mentions Superman: Up in the Sky. He says that there’s deep stuff in Up in the Sky, but the theme of every page is simply: Superman is awesome.

King: “I don’t want to make Kara mean or sad. I want to test her.”

The host compares ‘angry Kara’ stories to ‘evil Superman’ stories in that there are many of them, such to the point that people think Kara is relatable because she’s miserable and angry all the time. 

The host: I don’t get that.

(Same dude, same.)

King talked to Steve Orlando

They discussed the fact that Supergirl knew her planet; the people who died were her friends, family, classmates.

King summarizes Kara’s original Silver Age origin: she witnessed three huge, traumatic losses of life. First, when Krypton exploded. Then again when the Kryptonite started killing Argo residents, and then again when the meteorites destroyed the lead shielding that was keeping Argo safe. 

King: “That’s some f-ing trauma! I don’t know if you’ve read my books, but I love the trauma in characters.”

King thus describes Kara as world-weary, she swears, ‘she has seen some sh*t’.

On the new character, Ruthye:

She’s a child on a vengeance quest.

She’s named after King’s niece, Ruthie.

The pronunciation for the comic character, though, is Ruth-Eye.

One of his sons told him to add the ‘e’ on the end to make it look cooler.

Further discussion of Kara herself:

King noted that there’s sometimes a tendency to be very precious with the character.

King: ‘Let’s not be precious with Supergirl.’

This is not the story of a sixteen-year-old girl discovering the world; King says that Supergirl has been that sixteen-year-old for a long time now.

He describes it more as a move from Supergirl to Superwoman.

Art and Influences:

Talking about the red sun planet that Kara visits for her twenty-first birthday, King says he was reading a lot of Conan, which influenced the look of that portion of the story.

The impetus for getting Evely on the book: King said his editor emailed him, ‘Hey, how about Bilquis?’ King: “And I did a happy dance!”

Evely sent King a mood board of the types of things she wanted to draw; Moebius, Kirby, Wally Wood, landscapes in particular. 

Also, King says Evely is fast! She’s already halfway through the book, art-wise, and King is confident the book will release on time.

The host asked him, following up on King’s description of the book as a fantasy/western, ‘Is this True Grit?’

King: “It’s True Grit inspired. The novel AND the movie.”

If asked to give the Hollywood pitch: ‘It’s True Grit in space with Supergirl as Rooster Cogburn.’

Details about this book, as compared to Other Tom King titles:

He’s using captions on this comic--he’d thrown out captions as a storytelling device after Batman, but he found a ‘good voice’ for this comic.

King was prepared to do his usual twelve issues, but they said no one buys Supergirl comics, so it’s eight issues.

King says that Strange Adventures, Rorschach, and to a lesser extent, Batman/Catwoman, were written at a time when the world felt very apocalyptic.

He considers them to be angrier books; they are about what happens when evil is in our life, and how we deal with that.

Supergirl is the start of the ‘next generation’ of titles. 

It was written during the pandemic, but King hoped that by the time it was released, the pandemic and this very dark time in our history would be past.

He says it’s a ‘roaring 20s’ book. Not about anger, or trauma, it’s about stepping into the future and kicking a**. 

THUS CONCLUDES the Supergirl portion of the interview. 

Okay, so! Now that we’ve been objective and presented the information in a straightforward, unbiased manner...SOME THOUGHTS AND OPINONS!

The thing I was most curious about was how King got the book, so I was EXTREMELY PLEASED to get the full story.

This wasn’t like. King desperately wanting to do a Supergirl book, nor was it DC coming to King like, ‘Take Supergirl!’

Sadly, it was, ‘which book needs the most help right now? In the Superman lineup?’

He even said that Supergirl was kind of just sitting around, no one was doing anything with her/there were no plans.

(So the idea that King stole this opportunity from a woman is not true. There were NO PLANS.)

(Also it’s not based on the FS stuff, I suspect they gave the FS team some ideas from his pitch to work with, as that entire event was sort of a stop-gap/fill-in as they hurried to relaunch their line.) 

Anyways!

My initial thought that this is DC’s attempt to sell some dang Supergirl books? Not that far off! XD

Boy, I hope it works.

(Important to note: This is not news. Supergirl has historically always sold poorly. I’ve heard from actual Supergirl writers that the trades do not sell, which is a huge problem.

So King, who is KNOWN for having really good trade sales, is as solid a gamble as they could probably hope for.

He said Superman: Up in the Sky is his third best-selling trade. A WAL-MART BOOK! Is just behind Vision and Mr. Miracle!

Basically: If this doesn’t work, I don’t know that anything will.) 

As for the specifics of King’s take in particular!

Again...I really want to see it, before I pass judgement on it.

I liked the Andreyko run! And that was pretty edgy! 

Also, we have never seen a twenty-something Kara, post-Crisis. She’s always been a teenager. Thus I’m pretty willing to go along with this approach because it’s entirely new territory.

And it does seem like King is enjoying leaning into the idea of a Super who swears and kicks butt and is just a little ‘done’ with it all.

It might not mesh with my ideal Kara but again. I need to see it, before I come to any firm conclusions. 

Honestly the thing that gives me the most pause? Is that King says this book really focuses on Supergirl, not Kara, which is a more recent identity for her.

(That is somewhat true! The ‘Kara Danvers’ identity is wholly new to the show; she’s always been Linda Lee, Linda Danvers, Kara Kent, or Linda Lang, when she has a secret identity. Sometimes she doesn’t.)

(Also of note: Tom pronounces it ‘Care-a’, like the cartoon.)

(PERSONALLY I like KAHr-a, like in the show, because it creates a phonetic consistency with ‘KAHl-el’ but that’s not really relevant to a comic book. You can mentally pronounce it however you choose! XD)

So, yeah, I like the Kara Danvers part of her identity, I like earth-bound Supergirl stories, but. This isn’t that. Which I’ll need to make peace with, I guess. XD

Otherwise? Tell me a story, Mr. King. Even if I hate it, Evely will draw it beautifully, Lopes will color it masterfully, and that’s half the battle, right there. 

I’m sad King didn’t mention the Gates/Igle run! But I also understand he’s probably been looking at more recent stuff; those Gates/Igle comics are fifteen years old, oh man, oh geez, how are they that old already.

King did confirm that this is 100% in-continuity, and will affect the character going into the future.

But, IDK, given the sort of. Grim beginnings of how this book came to be, what with the reminder that the Supergirl title doesn’t sell well...who knows what the future will look like, for Kara!

I stand by my guess that Kara will graduate to ‘Superwoman’ and the Supergirl mantle will pass to someone else, maybe Ruthye? She might be a bit young, though.

Mmm. What else, what else?

Oh, this is pretty funny, IMO: when King first teased the new character, Ruthye, a bunch of SG fans rushed to google to see if there was any clue as to like. What it could mean.

And they freaked out over some obscure connection where that name appears but hey, turns out! It’s just a made up name! Based on King’s niece!

It’s funny because SG fans never learn, man. Just chill out, read the dang book, then get all upset and huff and puff and blow your twitter house down.

They briefly mentioned the Peter David run; King said the PAD stuff was great.

He’s already teased that ‘treat’ and, okay. Time for some rumination on that specifically.

I’ve read the whole PAD run. It wasn’t my cup of tea, I don’t really like the DnD, angels and demons stuff. Also, it wasn’t Kara; it’s an entirely different character who uses the name ‘Supergirl.’

Also, stuff from that run didn’t age well.

And on top of that, PAD turned out to be...kind of a jerk! As so many folks in the comic industry are.

There’s also...an extremely weird, mean-spirited vibe through the whole back half of the run; I thought maybe I was imagining it at the time, but I recently went back to “Many Happy Returns”, the final story arc of the title, and David’s introduction in the trade...it doesn’t read like a guy who was in it for the love of the character, you know?

All of which to say! I’m not excited about connections to the PAD stuff. 

But I know a lot of fans who love that run, love that version of the character.

So like. Eh! Not for me, but to the folks who enjoy it, I hope it’s cool/fun, whatever it is.

(Still think it’ll be a variant or an easter egg or something, but we’ll see.)

(Oh, hmmm! Evely *did* post a WIP of like. Some creepy skull gate that they presumably encounter...hmmmmm.)

Okay, this is crazy long, and there’s no fun art or anything to go with it--OR IS THERE?!?!?!

BOOM. From Bilquis Evely’s twitter today. (GO. FOLLOW. HER. FOR THE GOOD ART.)

(LIKE!!! I look at this and I just! Can’t! Bring myself to not be hyped as all heck! LOOK AT THIS! AND iT’S JUST THE PENCILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

God, wish that Supergirl sold better, so we could get a full year of this. HNNNNGGGGGGG.

Oh! That was another thing King discussed in detail; that 8 is way different from his usual 12, in terms of pacing and story. The beats fall at different places (obviously) so it was a bit of a challenge for him.

Actually, now that I’m thinking about it...maybe 8 will be good. Issue 10 just dropped for Strange Adventures, and wow, it has felt LONG. (I mean, the last four? Three? issues are also bi-monthly so that doesn’t help but. Still.)

(Superman: Up in the Sky was twelve issues but half the length, because it was a Wal-Mart book, so it was more like six.)

OKAY! For real, I’ve gone on long enough. XD 

SOON. Soon. June 15th, to be exact. Mark yer calendars!

[sterling-silvers]

Star Wars: The High Republic #2 Review

Ultimately a 7.5 out of 10, this installment was slightly better because of how Cavan Scott decided to advance the plot. While there some are nice nuggets of good-story telling and character interactions, even worse than last time, it’s bogged down with cardinal errors that truly make me question Scott’s competency as a writer for this story.

The issue comes right off the back end of Keeve being promoted to a Master Jedi and chronicles her first mission in the position. She is still dealing with the growing pains of what it means to be a Jedi which is depicted with her ongoing internalized self-doubt as well as her difficulty expressing certain Jedi mantras, such as “May the Force be with you.” Arguably exacerbating this bottled up uncertainty are the Keeve-proclaimed legends of Jedi Masters Sskeer, and identical Kobati twins Terec and Ceret. These twins are Bond-twins and as so are able to share the same mind and experiences of each other.

As they exit “hyperspace” (more on that later), the four masters come across the leftover demise of a ship that has been attacked. The Jedi were tasked with responding to the scrambled distress call that the ship had sent out sometime ago but, it seems as if they arrived too late. Both Keeve and one of the twins, using the Force, are able to sense survivors within the ransacked ship. As so, they board and enter.  Almost as soon as they are inside, they are met with poisonous Nihilian ovax gas and utilize a device called “rebreathers” to mitigate the effects.  Fully aware that the Nihil have raided this ship, they continue their investigation and split up to cover more ground. Traversing in groups of two, Terec – who is accompanying Sskeer – can sense the Trandoshan experiencing extreme trauma which means that Ceret can feel it as well via their bond; specifically, Sskeer is having flashbacks to the exact moment he lost his arm in the Battle of Kur.

On Keeve’s side of things, she and Ceret come across the corpses of a Hutt and Gamorrean guards. Upon further examination, it seems the Hutt was killed via an amalgam of stab wounds, blaster bolts, and nagnol poisoning – the latter being a toxic natural gas, capable of disrupting starship sensors, poisoning beings based on dosage, and a key element in the Nihil smokescreen.

On Sskeer’s end, he comes across a barley crop and together the Jedi deduce that the Hutt was capitalizing on the grain shortage that has occurred thanks to the Great Disaster. As the twins work on trying to ascertain where exactly the crop came from, Ceret is attacked by a Nihil that has been left behind; this causes both twins to feel the pain but, the wounds are not fatal. Sskeer charges ahead and chases after the Nihil raider, who is already suffering from serious injuries previously sustained in the raid. While Sskeer is perturbed that he cannot sense the attacker he is able to fatally strike down the assailant; coming to gripes that he has just killed, Sskeer goes on a rampage and continually slashes the bifurcated carcass only be brought back to his senses when Keeve addresses him.

Afterward, the Masters relay their findings to Marshall Avar Kriss and with the analysis from Master Maru, come to the conclusion that the barley – specifically Vratixia Renanicus – is a key ingredient in bacta; moreover, the shipment likely came from the Sedri System – principally, Sedri Minor. With this in mind, Kriss assigns Sskeer and Ceret to got to Sedri while she and Jedi Master Rwoh convene with Keeve and Terec to collect the Hutt ship that is breaking trading sanctions. Keeve moves to go with Sskeer but, Sskeer stonewalls her to stay with Terec.

Arriving on the planet, Sskeer is met with unwecolmedness by a citizen, Kalo Sulman who makes it clear that the Jedi’s presence will interfere with the colony’s independence. As the two are discussing, Ceret sees a Rodian in the crops motioning him to come over – as Ceret goes deep into the brush he is attacked by Drengir.

Back on the ship, Kriss and Keeve are discussing the remains of the corpse that Sskeer has left; Kriss reprimands Keeve for not telling her sooner but, also admonishes herself for not looking deeper into the signs the Force were giving her – such as not being able to hear Sskeer’s “song”.

As this happens, Terec – who is being medically assessed by Rwoh – screams out in pain feeling his brother’s anguish and relays this to Kriss. Kriss immediately contacts Sskeer and asks if Ceret is with him; when Sskeer realizes that the twin is gone rushes into the fields only to find his lightsaber.

What I liked:

A growing plot pivoting off of the bacta manufacturing that was touched on by Jedi Grandmaster Veter; this is much welcomed world building within the parameters that is the High Republic.

A very competent and aptly written investigation, analysis, and deductive reasoning done by the Jedi as a whole. The way the Jedi got on the ship, looked for clues, relayed their information to the data analyst/forensic expert, and hash out a plan to go to the planet where the clue originated from was great and definitely resonated with the idea that these Jedi are analogous to Texas Rangers. They certainly seemed like proto-Jedi investigators, not unlike future Jedi Master Tera Sinube.

The continued delving into Jedi Master Sskeer. I like the balancing act that is being conducted with his character. He’s a virtuous being that is dealing with trauma but, that doesn’t, ultimately, stop him from being a Jedi – it just tests it. He is still a “knight” and applies that chivalry when it needs to shine. Witnessing his accident and how it is affecting his psyche, ability to use the Force, and his morality is the highlight of this issue. This is what should be focused on to establish WHY Keeve looks up to him – give her these thoughts in accordance with herself doubt.

The dynamics of Ceret and Terec as interconnected Force Twins (could be seen as “Dyad Force-bond” inspired). Their link is a double-edged sword that reminds me of the Tomax and Xamot Paoli from Cobra Command. The original Star Wars was centered around Force sensitive twins and it’s nice to see that element played with more here – haven’t really seen that since the Mikkian twin sisters – Tiplee and Tiplar – in Clone Wars.

The holster to the lightsabers – it’s a nice, subtle way to convey how the Jedi of this era are more in a time of peace and reservation. To have a weapon holstered means that they have to take the extra moment to consider brandishing it. This underlying detail syncs really well with the time period considering that most of their enemies would be lifeforms and could be reasoned with – “life is precious.”

This can be seen as succinct yet distinct dichotomy between this era Jedi and the Skywalker Saga Jedi, as their sabers were without a holster and normally fashioned around the hips allowing for both instant access and draw in an age encompassed by war with droids – “droids are replaceable.”

What I disliked:

The application of Keeve’s personality traits continues to feel like a mismatch for the particular time period and volk she supposedly has been training and studying with; Ezra Bridger – who by the High Republic’s standards would not even be a Jedi – acts more like a Jedi than Keeve does. If anything, the uncertainty, quirks, and misapplication of Jedi traditions would have fit Ezra WAY more than it does (or really doesn’t) with Keeve. The concept itself is fine but, the iteration is what is flawed. Keeve is fast feeling more like a Jedi from post revenge Revenge of the Sith – like Kanan Jarrus – that a High Republic Jedi.

The sloppy fan service – there is a scene not only of a Hutt but, the Hutt is dead with its tongue out, surrounded by dead Gamorrean guards. It would be one thing if we just had a dead Hutt, I can even look past the Gamorrean guards (even though it would be nice if we saw this race in more roles than guards – there are some but, it does seem like guards is niche as far as the universe is concerned) but, to also have the Hutt dead with its tongue out to me just screams “DO YOU REMEMBER THAT ONE SCENE IN RETURN OF THE JEDI WITH JABBA?!!!” Just, how much are you going to dilute a reference? Make the fan service substantive and or just not in your face – the Rodian luring Ceret is a good version of fan service; present, notable, but not impeding in terms of the narrative.

What I Marked Off:

The completely wrong depiction of hyperspace; Star Wars Hyperspace is blue and certainly not immersed in stars when one is traveling through it. This error is on the very first page of the issue. This shook me to my very core and yanked me out of the immersion. IT’S THE FIRST PAGE! HOW DOES ONE MESS UP ON THE FIRST PAGE?!!! To add grave insult to mortal injury, hyperspace is a FOCAL element of the High Republic Era – you CAN NOT mess this up. Ultimately, it’s a team mess up but, Scott gets the brunt of this reprimand because this is his story and arguably his script is the one that should be guiding the artist.

The fact that Scott continues to fail to make the necessary references about crucial dynamics, events, and positions within this era. I had to learn from a YouTube video (link below) that Sskeer is actually the “Steward” to Kriss’ Marshall role. As of issue #3, this position is still not established to be held by Sskeer which is a real shame as it adds more substance and weight to his plight as a perturbed Jedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPeRcyJE5dk&feature=emb_title

In summary, this issue was a 7.5 out of 10; slightly better than issue one because of how the writer decided to advance the plot and who he decided to advance the plot with. The genuinely good moments of story-telling are bogged down by ineptitude that can literally throw one out of the immersion. Nonetheless, if you can tolerate the faults there are elements to enjoy, especially when it comes to the characters. I hope those elements promptly become prominent.

[geometricalien]

oh dear i'm super duper late but I have a lot of questions about your wips!! I wanna know more about sick Akashi, nekoma pirate crew, BoKuroo/BokuAka midsommer, Pining + Jacket, The truth burns and destroys, feeling good, Punk Noya, Strawberry Blonde, sunspot and the merman au!!! Thanks babe <333

Hi Vee!!! This is it, I spent wayyyyy too long on this, I think my finger is cramping from typing. But thank you for asking, I love sharing my ideas, sorry if it’s incorherent.

This is super long so it’s under the cut, saving people room

Sick Akashi 

So, it’s based off of a line prompt “I’d like it if you’d stay” and as the title suggests, 3rd year Akashi gets sick, sorry Vee it’s not fatal, Furihata comes to Rakuzan to check on his friend after he doesn’t answer his phone. The entire premise is Akashi works himself sick with his various responsibilities he takes on as “perfectionist who can’t show any cracks at all”. I don’t want Bokushi Akashi showing up so it’s minus the mental break elements. (also technically in canon terms it's after they have merged so yeah) I feel like they deserve a cute little “nurse” the other from a sickness ficlet. And… maybe… sick Akashi confesses…….. It’s almost a writing challenge for me because Akashi has a more polite sophisticated way of thinking and speaking, so cough yep

The rest are Haikyuu aus so buckle in

NEKOMA PIRATE CREW 

Admittedly this is more loose, less of a solid idea. It’s Yaku centric, and how he went from a merchant from his grandfather’s company searching for lost merchandise and became the first mate who keeps track of the ship's finances and keeps their captain Kuroo on track. Other things of note, he meets Kuroo first as a pirate on another ship who stole his merchandise, Kenma is a sea witch (is that science or magic? That's always the question), and about halfway through the adventure they get Lev on board as a new member. So yeah! Kinda a fetch quest but on of my favorite fanfics is legitimately a fetch quest so it's okay fjdkaljf

BoKuroo/BokuAka Midsommer

This is based off of a fanart by desdelasombra my friend Shayla showed it to me and we threw this idea around together, we really don’t want to write it but it's also spectacular. So it's the movie Midsommar, right? Bokuto is a “gatherer” bringing his friends to come join in his village’s rituals. But we didn’t want anyone to die (except for Kenma sorry he’s dead as the substitute for the main character’s sister), so a grieving Kuroo comes with his boyfriend Bokuto, joined by their friends the smart studious and jaded Oikawa and bright bubbly Hinata. Obviously the three react badly to the first ritual and Bokuto doesn’t understand because for him it’s always been a joyful experience and he wanted to share it with his friends. A Lot of things happen, but most important is Akaashi and Kuroo dancing under the may pole together. BokuAka was in the past when Bokuto was home so part of this is them coming together as poly and escaping the final scene of the movie. Again this is very painful but that art is beautiful and the world is better for it being created

Pining + Jacket (KuroLev)

Again this is a line prompt about lending a jacket because it’s cold and it had so much potential for pining and who is the most pining bastard that I know? LEV and Shayla told me about KuroLev and somehow this happened. It’s currently going to be a sequence of drabbles of Lev pining after Kuroo, what else could you ask for? Uh? Lev confessing to Kuroo and them going out??? Sorry I can’t hear you over the exquisite angst and pain of one sided love that I want to explore

The truth burns and destroys

GOOD CHOICE, I began this on saturday night and it has earned a very special place in my heart. Sometimes I fear that my writing is like a lazy pool, sure it's nice and easy and smooth but there isn’t an intensity or raw emotions, BUT THIS this accomplishes what I want. And I’m really glad, its metaphor and imagery heavy but it really captures their emotions and thoughts without it sounding like I’m a 7th grader writing my first fanfiction glances to my abandoned wips from that time. Okay, Vee, I am a glutton for punishment and angst and I choose to pursue cheating fics. But specifically where and how they build the relationship up again after finding out. So, I was reading a KageHina cheating fic and how the character’s reacted felt off somehow so at midnight I wrote this snippet to fullfill my craving, you know what they say the best fanfiction is self indulgence. Here is a short excerpt,

He wants to brush this aside and continue their lives. He wants to wake up next to Tobio and still be seen the same way. He doesn't want anything to change. 

Tobio is his favorite book. He has read it time and time again. Highlighting, underlining, cherishing. So Shouyou is able to read the silent begging in his eyes. The right clenched fist. 

"Shouyou," a deafening pause "What is this?"

Please lie to me.

…

It stretches on. The eternity of silence. They sit together holding on to the last hope they have. Shouyou memorizes those beautiful hands, each crease and bump. Hands that helped shape him become who he is and that reached out unwaveringly. 

Tobio sighs a world ending sigh. 

Shouyou was the one who created their world, it's only fitting that Tobio is the one who destroys it.

In summary I like angst, I want to feel something 

Feeling good

AAA, okay uh, This is a BokuAka pop star au. Akaashi sings “feeling good” at a big charity event hosted by Akashi (... yes I am AkaFuri trash and I can and will sneak them in anything and everything I write) while he is singing he walks down a big staircase remembering moments in his relationship with Bokuto, how much they have grown and how much he loves him. I love the concept! But I tried to write smut in the beginning of it and OOF THATS A NO. I actually have the majority of it written but I do want to add more emotions and thoughts (the lazy pool writing) and make it Ao3 friendly because I have all of the lyrics for feeling good in it as “post signs” for what he sings and that’s against their rules. 1 major aspect of this fic is it's all leading up to the point where Akaashi says “I love you” for the first time to Bokuto after finishing the song, on stage, in front of everyone and on every screen broadcasting it.

Punk Noya

I have a love for feral boys, especially feral alternative punk boys (and girls and humans) so this whole idea is that Noya goes to another school for high school, embraces more punk aethsetics, and on the first day of the preliminary tournaments he hears the rumors about a high schooler in a gang, getting up to nasty things, and he decides to confront them. He finds Asahi, rants him out and leaves. The plot then follows canon, at the winter tournament Karasuno faces Dateko, Karasuno loses even more badly because Noya isn’t there. Asahi quits volleyball, BUT Asahi and Noya run into each other at the store and talk leading to friendship which leads to romance. Idk man, I want more punk haikyuu characters, it gives me life. Alt Yamaguchi is my favorite but onwards we go

Strawberry Blonde

!!!! So this is Mitski’s song and to give a vague idea this is a pining Kageyama fic where he tries to pull away from Hinata and that back fires. (I  do have more to say but I’ve been typing this for over an hour and I’m getting really tired fjkdaljl) There is one paragraph that I love, so here it is! Kageyama and Hinata are practicing by themselves outside of school and they are playing pepper (its a volleyball warm up practice routine where you partner up with someone pass, set, and spike the ball to each other sesquentially) Hinata goes to spike the ball and for a moment Kageyama sees it, 

They are at nationals and they made it to finals. The crowds are screaming, but everything except the court is thrown into shadows. They are at match point of the final set. Everything is at peak intensity and at the center is him. Flying in the air. Orange hair waving with the momentum. His loud take off echoing in the gym. Arm poised for the kill. Eyes sparking with ferocity and passion as he aims. And finally, tipping the world over is the loud slap of his hand, sending the ball to the far side of the court-

This was actually going to be finished and posted in time for Haikyuu season 4 coming out and the manga wrapping up.... clearly I failed my goal fjdaklfj

Sunspot

You don’t know this about me but I love royalty aus, and this is BokuAka Prince Akaashi and Knight Bokuto. This was a short snippet of this grand idea I have for them where they run away from Akaashi’s inherited destiny together. It has potential to be really wide and expansive with the differnet teams as different kingdoms (AGAIN ILLUSION OF CHOICE, that fic really influences me doesn’t it fjdskalj) But this was a short glance at Akaashi taking a break from studying and watching Bokuto and the other knights practice duel. The title comes from the fact that Bokuto is a sunspot in Akaashi’s life, and his day is substantially better basking in his golden shining light.

Merman au

I’m so glad you asked about this and its technically the one I’ve written the most for since it's actually the one I posted on my haikyuu writing side blog. But brief recap, long term it’s a BokuAka little mermaid au but instead of a sea witch it’s an underwater deity who makes “wishes” (it's a deal) with every royal who is born. And Akaashi has a lot of siblings: Ushijima, Oikawa, Suga, Terushima, and Hinata, and its in that order. So I have information on every sibling’s deal, what they wish for, what they give for it, what happens to them in the future, romantically and otherwise. But, this is the one I haven’t updated in over a year, I am working on it!! I’m currently on Koushi’s (suga’s) wish/deal, its just taking forever. If you want to learn more about it I’ll link it in parts  1  2  3  4

BUT I will work on Suga’s part and then Terushima’s and then to the meat of the idea with Akaashi. 

If you have made it this far, thanks, you are cool as always. My brain and fingers is ded. 

[mechanicalinertia]

What’s next for Divine Patronage?

So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.

Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.

That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.

1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE

Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.

Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.

2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS

Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.

Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.

So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.

Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.

3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS

Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.

(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)

Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)

4. GAMES OF THE GODS

The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)

5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL

Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?

Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC

6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING

The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)

Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live

7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE

Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.

Crossover with: What do you think, genius?

8. ETERNAL SUMMER

Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.

Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura

9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY

A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.

Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.

10. COPS AND ROBOTS

Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.

Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)

11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.

Crossover with: NOTHING.

12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT

Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.

13. TALES FROM THE OOPS

An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out

Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood

That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:

- Cannon God Exaxxion

- Eva

- Gundam UC

- Muv-Luv

-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)

Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.

[iamcinema]

IAC Reviews #016: Captives / Mama’s Home (1988)

It’s almost funny how things happen sometimes. You’re just going about your day, and something will just pop up in your thoughts or memory that you forgot about a long time ago. When you decide to follow it to see where it takes you, and when it finally decides to turn up, it completely chucks all your original plans out the window and you have to see it to believe it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, we need to finally, after so long, get around to talking about Captives aka Mama’s Home. And, oh boy, we have a lot to cover here.

As a side note to make this easier, I’ll be referring to the film as Captives for the duration of the review when discussing Gary P Cohen’s original film. However, when I’m discussing the release by the original production company, Majestic Home Video, I’ll refer to it as Mama’s Home to help clear up any confusion since I can’t even call them the same movie. _______________________________________ 

Captives is 1988 horror-drama revenge SOV film directed by Gary P Cohen, who is best known for his Video Violence films that were made just before and after this. To quote VHS Meltdown on the plot, it goes as such;

“Three weirdos invade the home of a well-to-do family while the husband is at work. They aren’t there to steal anything; they have a video they want to show the wife. On it is the past life of her husband, something much more violent and drug-fueled than she ever could have expected. When things go wrong for the invaders and blood gets shed, the wife must reconcile what she has seen and what she knows, and her new knowledge of the past makes her future unthinkable.”

According to Cohen, this was intended to be a serious commentary about violence, which was tonally different from the sort of black comedy nature of the Video Violence films. He originally pitched the film to Camp Video, who turned down Captives, but took in Video Violence 2 after distributing Video Violence the year before. So, Cohen turned to Majestic Home Video for help, and they took the film in for release.

Well, what happened to the film was beyond a travesty and feels criminal.

If you want to learn more about that, I highly recommend seeing Paul (Analog Archivist/VHS Collector)’s review of the tape because he goes more into the history of the film and included Cohen’s interview where he discusses the treatment of Captives; which included large chunks of dialogue being manipulated, bad amateurish editing, and loud music being played over the dialogue scenes. It’s just a shameful butchering of the film, but this does sort of have a happy ending because Camp Motion Picture picked the film up in 2011 to be showcased on The Basement: Retro 80s Horror Collection; which included Timothy O’Rawe’s The Basement (1989), another SOV horror film that was widely considered lost for nearly 20 years. Copies of Mama’s Home are considered extremely rare, with one user saying they saw a copy of it go for over $335USD.

The film stars many of the actors from the first Video Violence film, including Cohen himself. So, if you’re a fan of the film, then you’re in for a bit of a treat. But, if you’re in the other category that hated the film, then, well, you’re in for something. Plus, I don’t think the notoriety of Mama’s Home helps much either as far as what you think you can do with your expectations. It’s going to be a rough ride for some of you, I’m sure.

VHS Collector | Mama’s Home Review:

So, now we’ve been finally given the opportunity to see Captives and all it’s glory without the cloud of shame that Majestic put over us. It’s been a long, long time coming to see Cohen’s true vision unearthed - even if I’m about ten years too late for the viewing part.

Captives (1988) in One Gif:

Oh. Okay, then. So, let’s really dig into this one. _______________________________________  

First, I think I should comment on what VHS Meltdown said as the plot summary since there’s a bit more to it than that. The primary thing is who our “three weirdos” are, which are that of Nikki, Chick, and Paulie whom we learn have a personal vendetta to some degree with Ellen and her family - more specifically her husband, Barry. So, I don’t know, the vague descriptor can make the invasion seem a bit less personal.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about our guests of honor more.

The ringleader of the group is Nikki, who has more stake in the home invasion and a motivation for revenge due to her treatment and abuse by Barry and former mother in-law, Estelle. She’s accompanied by her brothers, Chick and Paulie. Chick is the arms of the group, having a hot temper and seems to take the most pleasure in the violence and madness. Paulie is, for a lack of better terms, the slow “idiot” brother of the group and he’s a trope you’ve probably seen in other slasher films of the time like Mother’s Day, Redneck Zombies, and Cannibal Campout. He’s the docile one of the team and only tagged along because he cares about his sister and was pressured into it, not because he’s out for blood or vengeance.

If you’re a fan of Video Violence, then you probably already recognize Art and Jackie Neill right off the bat who are playing polar opposites of their other characters. It makes for an interesting watch to see them relish in the violence they cause, rather than be repulsed by it. On the opposite side of things, we have Ellen, Estelle, Barry, and little Zach.

There isn’t a whole lot to really say about them. Ellen is the unsuspecting housewife, Estelle is the loaded mother in-law that would do anything for her son, Barry is a two-faced, mama’s boy husband with a secret double life, and Zach is, well, a baby that links them together in a few ways. Much like their co-stars, some of them were also in Video Violence with a similar take on things. Seeing as how this (or Video Violence) was their first acting role, and one of their only ones point blank, you can expect something mostly amateurish and nothing too special. If I had to name any specifics, I’d say the trio is the best in their own right; Chick being a great sleazy dirtbag, Paulie being sympathetic, and Nikki being almost justifiably unhinged with the lengths she’d go to for revenge.

Plot wise, it’s not all that bad and it’s not to see something that isn’t like Blood Lake where the motive isn’t sloppy or feels like a complete after thought. It’s a bit shocking to say the least to see a topic relating to child death or murder done this way, something I don’t think I’ve really seen in some time since Las Vegas Bloodbath or Beware! Children at Play. It’s a bit of a slow burn after the trio makes their motives known to Ellen, with the occasional burst of violent mayhem and the trio trying to figure out an exit plan when things don’t go as they planned. We also get some occasional cut scenes with what Barry’s doing with his time, but they’re brief and only add to what kind of a picture Nikki paints for us of him.

As far as the violence goes, it’s not all that bad. However, some of it was a bit hard to make out what was going on because the quality was on the low end. But, that’s kind of how it is with SOV some times, so it is what it is. There’s also not a whole ton of blood either, so don’t expect a total massacre. What we do get isn’t too shabby or rough around the edges either, which is a really nice surprise. There’s some general torture, humiliation, and sleaze scenes too, and those are also nice when it comes to adding a bit more grime to the mix; including a really bizarre moment where a drunken Chick is groping and coming onto Nikki (and she may or may not be into it) and we see what Barry is doing when he’s not at work.

If I had to say something that really hinders this, it’s the sound and music aspect.

Just like with Mama’s Home, there’s moments where the sound mixing doesn’t feel right, so the dialogue is a bit drowned out by the music. On the bright side, it’s a bit better here with Captives than Mama’s Home since you can at least make out most of the conversation that’s going on and I had to do a side by side comparison with this and the clips Paul included as a reference to be sure I wasn’t hearing things. If it’s not that, it’s how the music robs the tone and mood of the film.

As I said earlier, Cohen intended for this to be a serious film about violence, and having this audio track in the background for so much of it kills the mood for me and it unintentionally brings it back to Video Violence with it being a dark comedy. On the flip side, the tracks on their own aren’t that bad and are exactly what you could expect for a low budget SOV trash flick from the time period. So, if you’re like me and you have a guilty pleasure for this type of thing, you might have some fun with it. I’d like to hope that Cohen still has the masters for these somewhere and would be open to releasing them if they weren’t included on The Basement: Retro 80s Horror Collection.

The film ends on a weird open ended note and since there’s no post credit scene, we’re largely left to wonder if Ellen is able to follow through with her choice given what she’s seen and learned and she’s able to escape. I think it was probably for the best as well since it plays into this being a revenge flick as well, but I’d like to hear Cohen’s thoughts and what he thinks happened after the final scene.

________________________________________

So, where are we at now with this?

I’m a bit disappointed that it took me so many years to finally get around to seeing this, and I was initially nervous going into this given all the things I heard about Mama’s Home. As excited as I was, I wasn’t sure if I was going to waste my time with this and I was prepared for the let down early on thinking I was just getting a hybrid of Captives and Mama’s Home.

In a lot of ways, it was worth the wait to see what I was missing all these years, because if I found out it got taken down yesterday, then I knew it would be a long time until I would have this chance again since the box set from Camp Motion Pictures is currently out of print. If you told me that it would stay online and it wasn’t going anywhere any time soon, then I’d say I wouldn’t really rush to seeing it or writing this mock up with what I know now and shift my focus onto the other really obscure SOV material that I wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for SOVHorror, A Slash Above, or SRS Cinema having bits and pieces of them up. In this case, I could probably go a few more months or so before I’d get an itch to hunker down for it.

Is it worth a watch? Sure.

If you’re a sucker for SOV films, then you should consider crossing it off your list since it feels like not everybody has seen it, let alone is aware of it. If you liked the Video Violence films, then I think you’ll have an alright time with this one. It’s probably the ToeTag fanboy in me saying this, but I’d like to think that this is another one of those proto August Underground movies with how it wanted to push the envelope with the brutality and humiliation, something I still feel would have been better if the incidental music was toned down way more. Nonetheless, if you find this type of thing boring and uninteresting, then you aren’t going to feel like you missed out on something amazing or mindblowing. It’s another run-of-the-mill horror-esque low-budget tier SOV flick from the time, just with an emphasis on revenge. Don’t be too dismissive, but don’t expect anything too impressive.

Rating: 4.5/10

[tenroseforeverandever]

Optimal Distance

Characters: Tentoo; Rose Tyler; Tentoo x Rose

Tags: lemons; lemons on video chat; mutual self-applied lemons; basically loads of lemons!; and the usual fluff, hurt/comfort, humour stuff

Summary: Rose has been feeling sad, lonely, and a little bit envious, left to endure the dreary London winter, while the Doctor has been posted on assignment in Rio, setting up a new Torchwood branch. But a comment the Doctor makes about a strangely bare desk in his otherwise cluttered study inspires Rose to find a way to bring them closer together, even though they are half a world apart.

Notes: This fic is one of many that had been lingering, stagnating in my collection of unfinished fics, just waiting for inspiration to strike.

Many thanks as always to my wonderful betas, @rose--nebula and mrsbertucci. You are absolutely brilliant, and I have no idea what I would do without you. And thanks to @aintfraidanoghosts who is always a voice of inspiration and encouragement (especially if she hears lemons on the menu!) I love you all!

I made quite a few tweaks and edits since they saw it, so as always, any mistakes are mine.I hope you like it!

Also read on AO3 and Teaspoon

OPTIMAL DISTANCE

“Done! You should be getting it any second now!” Rose crowed into her mobile with a rather disproportionate sense of triumph. All she had accomplished was to send the Doctor an email, albeit one with a very important file attached; a file she’d had to navigate his shambolic cataloguing system to find, and that only after she’d excavated his laptop from beneath heaps of books, papers, and crumpled sticky notes on the floor beside his desk.

“Got it!” he cheered. “You are brilliant, you are! A real lifesaver, Rose Tyler! See? My lucky pants, near or far. It’s a good thing you couldn’t come with me, after all. Where would I be now, eh? Without you holding down the fort?”

“Yeah, right,” Rose muttered with a sulky huff, her victorious mood evaporating as she plopped down in the desk chair. She fought against the prickle of tears. She refused to cry about it anymore. It was her own fault she was restricted to paper-pushing for another six weeks. To be specific, she was tasked with reviewing and classifying field reports, a chore that only served to rub in the fact that she wasn’t out in the field, herself, defending the Earth from both alien and earth-born threats. Instead she had to read about it second-hand.

She knew she deserved every bit of punishment she’d received, from her brutal dressing-down from Pete and her subsequent demotion, to her month-long stint inventorying the Small Parts Department (literally the “nuts and bolts” of Torchwood, and ten times as dull as it sounded.) She had been careless and impulsive on a mission, showing off for the sake of a dare, and had nearly gotten herself killed.

The worst part had been the look on the Doctor’s face as he’d rushed into the Torchwood infirmary, not knowing what her condition was, thinking he might have lost her. The guilt she’d felt over worrying him would have been enough (a kazillion times over) to curb any future reckless, thoughtless acts. After everything they had been through, with only a single, human lifetime each, pledged to be spent together, she had nearly thrown it all away in one rash moment.

As it was, she had been lucky to have come away with only deep laser burns to her left shoulder.

She and the Doctor had clung to each other all that night, desperately making love until they were too exhausted to move.

That had been weeks ago now, and Rose was chafing at her restrictions, especially since Pete seemed to be intentionally sending the Doctor to conferences in the most wonderful, exotic locations around the world, places Rose was dying to explore with him. But Pete resolutely refused to allow her to join him.

On this current trip, the Doctor was helping establish a new Torchwood base in Rio de Janeiro, addressing the fledgling team on the importance of employing diplomacy and mediation in First Contact situations. Rio, for God’s sake! And here she was, stuck in the middle of the damp, chilly London winter. She huffed again over the phone.

“Would it help if I said I wasn’t having fun?” the Doctor asked over the upbeat sounds of Samba and boisterous voices in the background. She could just picture the scantily clad, feather-adorned (female) dancers.

“Yes…” Rose picked at the worn piping on the leather arm of the desk chair.

“Oh…”

“Sure doesn’t sound like anyone’s ready to listen to your First Contact presentation. Don’t know what the rush was…”

“Weeell, lunch is almost over, and we’ll be heading right back in. Then, I’ll be cracking the whip! But, blimey, the Brazilians know how to party!  As you can probably hear, they’d arranged for some entertainment over lunch: live band, dancers, the lot! Didn’t want to seem churlish.”

She’d been right about the dancers, then… “Don’t worry, Doctor. I’m just feelin’ sorry for myself. I should be gettin’ to bed, yeah. Loads of field reports to review, tomorrow. You have fun.”

“Right… weeell…” Rose could picture him scrubbing the back of his head with his right hand. “Thanks again. And for the record, I do wish you were here, love. It’s just not the same without you.”

“It’s a bit lonely here too.” She looked around his study, filled with reminders of his presence: it was cluttered with books and papers; an assortment of swivel-chairs, beanbags, and exercise balls; and seemingly arbitrary writing surfaces at various heights and orientations. The traditional desk, where she was currently sat, was essentially an afterthought, a horizontal surface suitable for a computer or a place to deposit bits and bobs, books, and papers. Except it was completely clear of clutter and serving no purpose. It was a beautiful piece of furniture, but she couldn’t imagine the Doctor ever using a desk like that.

“We should redecorate your study when you get home, Doctor,” she mused.

“What? Why?”

“Well, for one, this desk is taking up a lot of valuable space. We really should get rid of it. It’s nice. I bet we could sell–”

“No!” he cut her off. “I love that desk!” There was an overtone of panic in his voice.

“But you don’t use it for… well… for anything.”

“I’d rather hoped to use it someday… erm…” His voice trailed off, but quickly returned with his classic exuberance. “It’s nice and sturdy, Rose, and just the right height.”

“What the hell for? The right height for what?” Honestly, she was afraid to ask, but it was just lovely to talk to him and listen to him prattle on about nonsensical things. She missed this when he was abroad.

“Weeeell…” he stage-whispered into the phone, enthusiastic, but clearly not wanting anyone else to hear, “the height is exactly the optimal distance to take advantage of the length of your legs…”

“Wha? My legs…?”

“Blimey, Rose! This is not a good time. I’m not able to control this stupid body the way I… erm… weeell…” His tone became clipped, irritable. “I need to be focussed for this presentation.”

“Oh, never mind.” Though Rose’s curiosity had been piqued by his cryptic comments and the urgency in his voice, she knew he was on a tight schedule. “You better go give that presentation. Go on, then. Love you. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you, too.”

It was only once she was in her bed, half asleep, with her thoughts restless and drifting, that she realized exactly what the Doctor wanted that desk for… She was suddenly wide awake, the whispers of a plan forming in her mind.

 --ooOoo--

Rose had spent the better part of the night ordering the things she needed to set her plan in motion. The online shop guaranteed next-day delivery and she hoped everything would be there when she arrived home from work. If she managed to slip away for the afternoon (without Pete finding out) as she’d planned, she would be able to message the Doctor just before his lunch… perfect!

She was relieved to have been able to escape the confines of her office with no one noticing, except Donna, the administrative assistant who, being every bit as brilliant as her Prime Universe counterpart, noticed everything. But she had just winked at Rose and signalled with a swipe of her thumb and pointer finger that her lips were sealed.

Rose’s excitement grew when she arrived home to find several large packages waiting for her in the hallway by the door of her flat, kindly left there by the landlady. Rose beamed, her heart pounding as she bustled into the flat, hurrying to get everything set in motion before she chickened out. She had never done anything quite as bold as this before – at least in terms of trying to seduce someone – and she rather hoped the Doctor would be… receptive. Considering he had seemingly procured the desk for a very specific (erotic) purpose, she figured he would be.

An hour later, she was turning up the heating against the chill of the wintery air. Her new outfit was not exactly intended to keep her warm. To be honest, she didn’t think she’d ever worn anything so barely-there (and glittery) before. She flushed, looking at herself in the mirror. It was a bit generous calling it an outfit at all. It was really just strategically placed jewelry.

It was a Samba ensemble, made of thin strips of pink, yellow, and clear crystals. The bra was a halter design, with clusters of gems dripping in simple floral patterns from her throat to just above her breasts. A single, large sparkling clear crystal shone between her breasts, supporting a band of smaller clear crystals that curved below them. Her nipples were (only just) covered with bright pink and yellow crystal flowers. She turned around to look at herself from the back. Her bum was essentially bare, the lower part of her outfit, a thong, impossibly skimpier than the bra and crafted of more of the glittery crystals. Matching wrist and shin cuffs adorned her limbs. Not for the first time that afternoon, she thanked the stars for her Torchwood training and active lifestyle for keeping her fit and trim.

After applying her most alluring make-up, she was ready for the final piece of the puzzle. With shaking hands, she positioned the headdress over her hair. It was heavy, heavier than she’d expected, encrusted with crystals over her forehead and in a band around her head. A pink and yellow fountain of ridiculous, great, feathery plumes erupted from the top.

Rose laughed at her image in the mirror. Ridiculous didn’t begin to cover it: it was completely daft. But the Doctor would love it… or so she hoped.

She made her way to his study where she had set up cameras to take photos of herself using a remote control. Her first pose had her facing the camera, one stilettoed foot hitched up on the desk, and her opposite hand touching her sex through the thin fabric of her bejewelled knickers. She made a point of allowing her tongue to poke out at the corner of her smile. That always drove the Doctor mental.

For her next pose she leaned over the desk, her bare bum inviting the Doctor to take her from behind, as she looked suggestively over her shoulder at the camera. She elected to forgo the third pose she had planned. She’d had to stop her headdress from toppling off several times during the second pose and was feeling rather hot and bothered… and not in a sexy way.

Regardless of the headdress mishaps, she was able to select an image she liked from both sets of photos and upload them to her mobile.

So, you like Samba, do ya? she texted the Doctor, along with the two photos. Meet me for lunch… video chat. I’ll show you my moves.  

If she’d worked out the timing right, he should be receiving the messages about ten minutes before he usually stopped for lunch. She intended to make sure there would only ever be one Samba dancer in his future. Her.

She giggled nervously. She really hoped he would take the bait.

She didn’t have to wait long. Her phone vibrated on the desk. She laughed at the Doctor’s message: Blimey! Don’t move! I’ll be there in five minutes. Meeting adjourned!

He’d taken the bait all right – hook, line, and sinker!

Now for the really challenging part: video phone sex. She’d never done anything like that before. She hoped she could pull it off.

 Rose scrambled to set up her mobile on the apparatus she’d purchased, just for this purpose, at the same time as she’d bought her Samba costume. She took a few quick test shots of herself, perched on the edge of the desk with her leg hitched up the way it had been for the first of the photos she had sent the Doctor a few minutes earlier. It took a few rushed and panicked adjustments, but she eventually got the angles just right to ensure the Doctor would get an eyeful!

She was just situating herself on the desk with her leg up again when her phone pinged with the Doctor’s incoming call on video chat. Her tummy was in knots with equal parts anticipation and mortification. Her fingers shaking, she depressed the button on the remote control she’d programmed to her phone and accepted his call.

The Doctor’s eager, bewildered face filled the entire screen, his eyebrows rising into his hairline at the image before him. “Fuuuuuuck…”

He was swearing, a sure sign she’d gotten his attention in the best possible way. There was only one time he ever swore (well, mostly) and that was during sex. Rose smirked as he reflexively licked his lips, boosting her confidence even more. Her voice still trembled, though. “Like what you see, Doctor?”

His hand ruffled his hair. (Rose was jealous of that hand.) “Weeell, I mean… yes! Of course, I do! Blimey! What’s not to love?” Two hands ran through his hair this time.

“B-better… better than the Samba dancers from lunchtime yesterday?” Rose pressed her lips together, and dropped her leg from it’s provocative pose, and she slid off the desk, suddenly uncertain again and feeling vulnerable, both craving and dreading his response.

The dazed shock on his face softened, full of sincerity and love. “The only person I’ll ever want to dance with, Rose Tyler, is you.”

“I feel so… stupid… doing this.”

“NO! No, no, no, no! This is perfect. Brilliant!”

“I don’t know what I’m doin’…”

For several anxious moments, they watched each other in silence. Then, suddenly, the Doctor spoke, his voice husky and low: “Oh, Rose, I wish I could touch you. I wish I could lean you over that desk, take you from behind, and fuck you senseless.”

Rose released a tense breath. He seemed to be taking the lead, putting that unstoppable gob of his to good use.

“But first, first I’d love to have you like this, facing me. I’d spread your legs and–”

“Like this?” Now that she was relaxing, Rose found herself quite eager to play her part. Holding her headdress in place, she hopped up on the edge of the desk again, leaning back on her hands, her legs splayed.

“Yes, just like that! Beautiful! You’re fucking gorgeous!”

Rose bit her lip, her breath hitching as a flood of warmth pooled low in her abdomen. Blimey, she loved when he talked dirty.

“I’d kneel down before you, goddess that you are, and pull aside those skimpy knickers and bury my face between your thighs.”

“Like this?” she repeated, drawing the soaking strip of fabric to one side, exposing her dripping core to the Doctor.

“Oh, you’re so wet, Rose. I just want to taste you.”

“Guuuuuuuhhh… yeah! Love your mouth on me.”  

“Oh, yes! I’d dip my tongue inside you, savour the taste of you (you taste so good, Rose!), and lick you all the way up to your clit. Fuck, you’re perfect,” he blurted as Rose used her finger to simulate the actions he described.

She sighed at the sensation, closing her eyes, wishing it was his tongue lapping along her aching slit, twirling around her clit.

“Oh Rose, my Rose… I’d stroke that lovely clit of yours with my tongue, up and around, up and around…”

Rose groaned out her pleasure, her fingers dancing over her damp sex. “God, Doctor, I love it when you fuck me with your tongue. Please,” she begged, looking him in the eyes, “I want to see you. I want to touch you too. I want my hands on your gorgeous, thick cock.”

“Fuuuuck, Rose! Wait! Just give me a moment.” His face disappeared from the phone. “Keep going!” his voice called from the background. “I’m still here, licking you, sucking you.” There was a loud clattering noise, and the image on the screen spun around. And then Doctor appeared again, from further away wearing only an oxford. His cock, long and hard, bobbed up against the fabric, leaving a wet stain on the front of the shirt. “There. I’ve propped my mobile up. Can you see me, love?”

“Yeah. ‘S good. So good!”

“Are you still touching yourself?”

“Yeah.” Rose’s eyes rolled back as she pressed down on her clit.

“So I see,” he moaned. “Oh, love…”

“I want you inside me, Doctor. I want to feel you fill me.”

Rose watched with a hooded gaze as he wrapped his hand around his cock. “Oh, I want that too. I want to feel you so hot and tight around me. Nothing feels better than that.” His hand stroked down, then up, with a twist at the top. “You’re so soft and wet…” down again, “and so fucking…” up and twist, “tight!”

At the same time, Rose plunged two fingers inside herself, finding that oh-so sensitive sweet spot, as she continued to work her clit with her thumb. She moved her fingers in and out, matching the rhythm of his stroking hand, the jewels around her breasts chafing her nipples with delicious friction as she moved. She added a third finger, stretching herself wide. “Oh, you’re so thick and hard… I love how you fill me. You feel so good!”

“Fuck, Rose… so do you. You look so fucking sexy.” His hand began to stroke faster. Rose watched, mesmerized, as the dark, throbbing tip of his cock disappeared and reappeared from the circle of his fist. “Are you getting close?” His voice was tight, strained.

Rose continued to work herself, thighs trembling, slick, wet sounds accompanying her lusty groans. “So close…” she whimpered, feeling the familiar heat burning in her core, the pressure building. Her head lolled back… and suddenly she yelped as her headdress tumbled to the floor behind the desk. “Oh no! No!” Her hand stopped moving as despair welled up inside her.

“Rose! Don’t stop. Keep going.”

She wailed, “It’s no use.”

“You’re so beautiful, my precious girl. Oh, let me touch you more. Let me feel how warm and wet you are… I want to fuck you forever and never stop.”

Rose watched him on the small screen of her phone looking so wonderfully earnest, his cock in his hand, still hard, glistening with pre-come. He was bloody hot, and he was hers. The shock of losing her headdress was forgotten in a fresh rush of desire, and another flood of arousal, warm and slick, coated her fingers. “Touch me, Doctor,” she breathed, her thumb renewing its caresses over her clit.

“Oh, yes love… I want to run my fingers over your body; run my hands up your thighs and deep inside you. I love the sounds you make when I stroke you…”

“Please,” she whimpered, arching into the pressure of her thumb on her responsive skin.

“Let me fill you again…”

“Yes!” She watched, in awe, as his hand slowly resumed its motions – up, down, twist – over his long, hard member, and her fingers began their pumping motions again, curling and rubbing against her sweet spot rebuilding her sense of urgency with every stroke.

They were soon lost in their passion, both keening and groaning in a haze of lust and need. The fire within Rose burned hot again, deep in her sex, as she rolled her body over her fingers. The Doctor’s hand increased its speed once more. He was getting close, she could tell, he looked so wonderful and dishevelled, and his cock pulsed with every stroke of his hand. “Doctor!” she cried out. “I’m… I’m… gonna…”

“Hnnnngghhh…” he groaned. “Come for me. Let me see you come!”

Rose’s body vibrated with the need for release, her hand frantically pumping, her thumb pressing down, circling her clit, the heat and pressure building within her… and then, the Doctor shouted. Mesmerized, she watched as his seed spurted in ribbons from him, coating the front of his shirt, drizzling over his hand. The look of ecstasy on his face was enough to bring her over too. Her sex throbbed, grasping around her pumping fingers as she arched off the desk, the burning pressure in her core suddenly exploding outward, engulfing her.

 --ooOoo--

“Well, I need to get out of this ridiculous get-up,” Rose chuckled, pushing herself up to a sitting position. She had made her way back to the bedroom and lain down on the bed, while the Doctor lay on the bed in his hotel room. They had stayed that way for many wonderful minutes, gazing into each other’s eyes and talking quietly as they came down from the high of their orgasms.

The Doctor pouted. “And I suppose I need to get back to my meeting. They’ll all have finished their lunches.”

“Oh my God! You didn’t get to eat! Sorry. I guess I should have timed this better…”

“What? NO! This was perfect! A brilliant surprise. I feel perfectly satisfied.” He winked and flashed her an impudent grin. “I just can’t wait to take you over that desk in person, and peel that ‘ridiculous get-up’ off you, myself!”

“How much longer do you think you’re going to be there?” Rose bit her lip, clutching her mobile and regarding the Doctor’s image with imploring eyes. Training new teams of Torchwood personnel and operatives could be a time-consuming business and was an open-ended job. She and the Doctor could potentially be separated for several more weeks or…

“Just a few more days.”

“Really? You’re not jus’ sayin’ that?”

“Rose, (mostly) Time Lord here! If there’s one thing I know about, it’s time. Have you ever known me to misjudge…?”

Rose gave him a pointed look.

“Nah, don’t answer that. But honestly, love, we’ve only just started getting this lot familiarized with all the tech, today, but they seem to be a quick study, and a few of their key people will be returning to London with us for a tour and more in-depth, hands-on experience. Then Pete’s going to be relocating some of our more capable people to Rio for a few months to get things up and running properly. So, at most, another week.”

“A week?”

“At most… I promise. Now, as much as I would prefer to spend the day here with you, I have to act the responsible adult (complete rubbish, that!) and get back to my meeting. I’ll see you later, love.”

“Not if I see you first.” She blew him a kiss and offered him a little wave of her fingers before disconnecting their call.

 --ooOoo--

Five days later, she stood, poised sexily (she hoped) in the doorway of the Doctor’s study, wearing the Samba outfit, minus the ridiculous headdress (it would just get in the way), and watching as the Doctor pushed his way through the door of their flat. Her heart thrummed at the sight of him.

“Honey, I’m home,” he called out cheekily, making her laugh out loud.

“Right here… erm… Sugarbear,” she droned, her voice as sultry as she could make it through her giggles.

“Sugarbear? Really, Rose,” the Doctor closed the door behind him, “of all the names you could…” As he turned and took a step into the flat, his gaze locked onto her, eyes darkening as they roved over her bejewelled body. “Blimey… now this, this is a proper welcome home!” He dropped his bags and coat, leaving them behind, forgotten, as he strode toward her across the room, loosening his belt along the way.

Rose shuddered at the sight. Bloody hell, he was fucking gorgeous. And he was here. Home. With her. Her Doctor.

“You. Inside. Now,” he commanded, his hands settling over the bare skin of her waist, guiding her backwards into his study with firm pressure. Rose’s core ached in anticipation, a yearning heat coursing through her. His lips crashed against hers as they staggered further into the room, the kiss equal parts demanding and desperate, and Rose was sure she had never felt so desired, so loved.

When her bum hit the desk, she gasped, and suddenly, all the emotion she had been suppressing over the last few months surged to the surface: guilt and remorse, loneliness and jealousy, all whirling together in a maelstrom of unfettered passion, love, and vulnerability brought on by the Doctor’s assertive touch. The tears she had been holding back gushed over her cheeks.

“Rose? Love?” The Doctor broke the kiss, looking down at her with concerned eyes. “What’s wrong? Is this not all right? Was I too… weeell, enthusiastic?”

“No, oh my God, no,” she wept. “It’s… it’s perfect… Better than. I jus’… I jus’… I missed you… I didn’t realize jus’ how much…”.

In one swift movement, he swept his hands behind her legs and lifted her to perch on the edge of the desk. Then, spreading her thighs, he stepped between them and tipped her chin up for another marvelous snog, still passionate, but this time it was a sweet and tender, unhurried sort of passion. Rose melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, drawing him against her body and breathing in the comfort of his scent. They eventually drew away from the kiss with gentle pecks and nibbles.

They pressed their foreheads together, and panting softly, Rose spoke into the space between them, “Sorry, I’ve gone and ruined all this,” she gestured to the desk.

“Nah, don’t be silly.” He dabbed the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “Besides, I have a bit of news too. Might as well get it over with.” He sighed dramatically and pulled slightly away from her to fish in his jacket pocket. He pulled out an official-looking Torchwood envelope that he tossed down on the desk beside her.

“W’at’s this?”

“My new marching orders, I’m afraid. I leave in two days.”

“Two days,” she sobbed. “But you jus’ got home and–”.

Taking a deep steadying breath, she dragged a hand through her hair, pulling it back from her face. “God, I sound so needy and selfish… but I just missed you.”

“And I suppose, the fact that I was in Rio,” he smirked at her, his left eyebrow arched, “had nothing to do with it?”

“Oh, that just made me miss you even more, but I admit, I was a bit… envious.” She chuckled, leaning back to look him in the eye. “But you know that stuff doesn’t really matter, yeah, all the travelling? Never did. Just that we’re together. That’s what’s important.”

“Oh, I know,” he reassured her with a kiss on the forehead. “And you know I feel the same... don’t you?”

She nodded, placing her palm over his single, human heart. “Yeah, ‘course I do.” 

“And that’s why, Rose Tyler,” his deadpan expression transformed into a brilliant smile, “I’m happy to announce that your assignment is in that envelope too. This time, you’re coming with me.” He beamed at her, waggling his eyebrows and looking very pleased with himself.

She gawped. “But… wait. What?”

“That is, if you think you can be ready to go on such short notice.”

“You wanker!” She swatted his shoulder. “Of course, I’ll be ready!”

He giggled. “But, really, I mean… if it’s too much trouble, I could always just go back to Rio on my own, I suppose.”

There was a long silence as Rose processed what he had said. When she finally found her voice, the words tumbled from her mouth: “Shut up! No way! Rio? RIO?”

“Yu-p!” He grinned. “We’re the experts Pete’s going to send over for a couple of months to make sure everything’s up and running properly. He said he only wants to send the best, and weeeell… I mean look at us. The choice is obvious.”

“I don’t believe it. There must be a catch.”

“No-pe!” He popped his “p” again. “He wants to make sure the Brazilians get everything exactly right. And the best part is, we’ll be there for Carnival. It’s just a few weeks off.”

“What? Carnival? Really?”

“Yes-siree, Rose Tyler! You can even wear this outfit again, in an official capacity this time, of course, complete with headdress. And ooooh, we’ll bring the baby TARDIS along, too. She’ll love a change of scenery!”

“I still don’t believe Pete would just… Nah, you must ‘ave said somethin’ to ‘im, yeah? Not that I’m complainin’. It’s just he’s been so… lecture-y lately.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s been a right misery. And now this sudden change of heart…?”

“Weeell, I admit,” he pulled on his right ear, “I was all ready to go in today, guns-a-blazing, to try to convince him that enough was enough, but believe it or not, he had already made up his mind. He gave me the news during my debriefing this afternoon. By the way, you’re to meet with him tomorrow–”

“Urrrghh, that’ll be fun…”

“–to go over… erm some… stipulations, but essentially, it’s all set. Said he thought your diplomatic skills would be hugely beneficial over there. Personally,” he flashed her a cheeky grin, “I think he was just getting sick of your constant moaning.”

“Oi, Mister!” She feigned offence. “Is that so? Watch out! I’ll give you constant moaning!” She grabbed his tie and dragged him toward her for another impassioned kiss, then reached between them to fondle him through the fabric of his trousers. As she sucked and nibbled along his jawline, tracing her fingers up and down his growing length, a strangled sound tore from his throat.

She smirked. “Now, there’s the moaning…”

“Stop!” He grabbed her hand, his eyes blazing into hers, and she quivered in response, the hot rush of renewed arousal pooling between her legs. “No more teasing. Brilliant as the video-chat sex was, I’ve had enough of foreplay and imagining over the last few days to last me a lifetime. I am going to take you right here, right now, against this desk, and fuck you so hard you see stars.” He scrabbled at his trousers and boxers, pushing them down over his slim hips. Looking utterly debauched, with his suit jacket, oxford, and tie dishevelled but still in place, he took his thick, throbbing member in hand and gave it a few hard pumps. “You ready?”

“Am I ready? Fuck! I’ve been ready for days. Could hardly think of anything else.” She licked her lips as she took in the sight of his impressive length. “My fingers are no substitute for that.”

With an impatient growl, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her off the desk. Then he spun her around and pressed in behind her, rutting against her bum. “This all right?”

“God, yes!” she sputtered, the ache of desire burgeoning inside her as he encouraged her to lean forward over the desk, applying a steady pressure to her back, until her breasts pressed against the surface, making the jewels of her outfit rasp over her taught nipples.

With a nudge from his foot, he prompted her to spread her legs, opening her to him. “Oh, yes,” he groaned, “the optimal distance, indeed!” Rose shuddered as his slender finger stroked over the sodden strip of fabric covering her sex and she arched into the contact with wanton abandon.

No further invitation required, he yanked the fabric aside and plunged into her welcoming depths.

She saw not only the stars he’d promised: entire constellations burst before her eyes.