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headcanonsandmore · 1 year

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For Tomorrow

Summary: Ace and the Seventh Doctor have landed in an apparently-empty hotel in the future. However, they aren't the only time travellers in the place...

~~~~~~~~~ Read on FFN. Read on AO3.

~~~~~~~~~

‘Professor, where are we?’

Ace looked around where the TARDIS had landed. They seemed to have landed in the reception area of a grand, swanky hotel. There was a chandelier hanging from the roof, and the carpet below her feet was of a rich red tone.

It would have been lovely, except for the fact that the place seemed to be deserted. The chandelier was missing half its lights and was turned off, while the carpet (judging from the dust covering it) had clearly not been cleaned in a very long time.

‘The Hotel Pompeii,’ the Doctor said, as he locked the doors of the TARDIS with his key. ‘Thirty-eighth century, on the planet New New New Earth.’

‘New New New Earth?’

‘After a while, they decided not to bother trying to come up with a better name,’ the Doctor continued, stepping over to the desk and ringing the bell. ‘Very strange; I wonder if we’ve caught them on a bank holiday?’

Ace rolled her eyes. The Doctor was doing his absentminded act again; she knew fully well that he knew what was going on but, as was often the case, he wouldn’t give her the details immediately. Instead, he would let her work it out on her own, seeing this as a learning opportunity for her.

‘Place is deserted and a little worse-for-wear,’ she said, clutching her baseball bat and looking around them. Beyond the reception area, dark corridors stretched out into the gloom. ‘Professor, I don’t like this. Something’s up.’

‘An abandoned hotel?’ The Doctor replied, raising an eyebrow. ‘Not like you to be scared, Ace.’

‘Well, I am,’ Ace said, not rising to the bait. ‘The hair on the back of my necks stood up; we shouldn’t be here.’

‘Hmmm,’ the Doctor said, dabbing his umbrella at the dusty carpet and sniffing it. ‘In my experience, “shouldn’t” is usually a way of saying someone doesn’t want us somewhere. And therefore to be treated with suspicion.’

‘You want to explore?’

‘Something like that.’

The Doctor strode across the reception area and towards the grand staircase that rose towards the next floor.

‘I’ll take the next floor; you take this one.’

‘And how am I supposed to see? Half the lights have broken.’

‘You have a torch, don’t you?’

Ace sighed. Yes, she did, but that didn’t make her feel any better. Walking through dark, dusty corridors gave her the creeps.

‘Jolly good,’ the Doctor said, smiling and hopping up the stairs. ‘Onwards and upwards, Ace.’

Grimly, Ace set her rucksack down and pulled her torch out of one of the side pockets. Upon checking it, she was pleased to see that the beam was as bright as anything, no doubt thanks to those futuristic batteries she’d borrowed from the TARDIS.

Well, she was going to give them back, so it wasn’t stealing. Not really.

Putting her rucksack back on, Ace set off into the nearest corridor. As she strode forward, she was starting to wish that she’d brought a mask to wear; this dust was pretty unpleasant. No-one had been here in years…

It didn’t take long for the light from the reception area to shrink to a tiny spot in the distance behind her. Blimey, how big was this place? Ace had never really been in a hotel this size before, so she had no frame of reference for what was considered “normal” even in her own time, let alone the future.

Eventually, she came across a doorway on her right. It was labelled “staff only”. Ace hesitantly tried the handle, and was shocked to find that it wasn’t locked.

The door creaked eerily as it opened, and Ace swallowed nervously. Wielding her baseball bat, she entered the room.

It seemed to have been some sort of break room for the staff of the hotel. There were lines of lockers packed tight against the far wall, and a motely collection of seats covered the majority of the floor, aside from a small kitchenette on the other wall. What surprised Ace was that, while most of the chairs were covered in dust and had clearly not been touched in decades, several of them had been knocked over, as if to clear a path through the room. And what was that on the floor-

Ace’s blood went cold.

Tracks. But not just any tracks.

She’d know those weird little tracks anywhere.

Trying to contain her escalating heartrate, Ace hurried back through the door and into the corridor.

Before promptly colliding with someone.

‘Ow!’

There was a moment of brief confusion, with two torches showing random flashes of the corridor, before Ace and whoever the person was collapsed in a heap. Both their torches fell to the floor, bouncing and causing their beams of light to dance around. Ace’s nostrils became filled with the dust that was kicked up, and she let out a sneeze.

‘What are you-’

‘Get off-’

‘Ow-’

Ace quickly climbed to her feet, and grabbed her torch from where it had landed. Turning round, she trained the beam of light onto her assailant. On the floor was a young woman, a few years older than her. She was pale, and had large inquisitive eyes which, combined with long, slightly curly brown hair, gave her the impression of that of a faintly regal scientist. The long maroon jump suit she was wearing gave little to disrupt this impression.

‘Nyssa?! What’s wrong? Are you alright?’

Ace snapped around, the beam of torchlight following suit. Another beam of light appeared from down the corridor, presumably coming out of another room. As the other beam neared them, another woman appeared just behind it, running full pelt towards them. Judging from her accent, she was… Australian? This other woman was slightly taller, with close, cropped hair that wouldn’t have looked out of place in some of the old punk clubs Ace had visited in London.

Nyssa, if that was her name, was being helped to her feet by the other woman.

‘Thank you, Tegan,’ said Nyssa. ‘Sorry; I walked directly into this young girl.’

‘Er, sorry,’ Ace said. ‘I didn’t realise anyone else was here. The professor said this place was abandoned.’

‘The… professor?’ replied the woman called Tegan. ‘Listen, what are you doing in this place anyway? This isn’t exactly a playground!’

‘Oy!’ Ace exclaimed, immediately flaring up. ‘I’m barely younger than you! And at least my haircut didn’t disappear along with the new romantics!’

Tegan looked like she was about to respond again, but the woman called Nyssa rested a hand on her arm, and she promptly seemed to calm down.

‘This… “professor” of yours,’ Nyssa said, speaking to Ace. ‘Are they a time lord?’

‘Er, yeah; I think that’s what his species are called,’ Ace said. ‘He doesn’t like them much, though.’

‘Sounds like someone Tegan and I know,’ Nyssa replied. ‘He shouldn’t be very far away-’

‘Ah,’ said a voice from behind Ace. ‘Tegan, Nyssa; there you both are. And you’ve found a friend, I see.’

Ace turned, a little jumpily.

A man was standing there. He was tall, with blonde hair and a disarming smile. Was that a cricket uniform? Ace had seen photos of men dressed like this in her school textbooks, whenever they were learning about the nineteen-twenties. The sort of men who went to Oxbridge and were irritatingly polite about everything. In Ace’s admittedly limited experience, they seemed like a load of upper class twits.

‘Doctor, this is Ace,’ Nyssa said, gesturing to her. ‘She says she is here with another renegade-’

‘You’re not the Doctor!’ Ace exclaimed, pointing a finger at the befuddled cricket man. ‘I saw him just a few minutes ago; he’s shorter than you and he doesn’t dress like some twerp from Brideshead Revisited!’

‘I beg your pardon?’ the cricket man replied, staring down at Ace. ‘Er… Ace, was it? I am the Doctor, you see, and-’

‘Are you alright Ace? I thought I heard you yelling…’

Ace turned.

Sure enough, the Doctor was striding towards them, a large flashlight in one hand and his umbrella swinging in the other.

Upon seeing the cricket man and the other two women, he stopped in his tracks, sighed and then continued walking forwards.

‘I knew I forgot to do something when I left the TARDIS earlier,’ he said, to himself. ‘Old age will do that; completely forgot to scan for my past selves. A rather bad habit I’m getting into…’

Ace groaned. Of course, this was yet another version of the Doctor. Ace had met a blonde incarnation of the Doctor before, but they had been a young lady. And their companion -Yaz- had been pretty darn cute, especially with that Yorkshire accent. After that misadventure, Ace had assumed that the Doctor would make sure to always check before they left the TARDIS. Apparently not.

‘Oh, wonderful,’ the cricket man groaned. ‘A time paradox; that’s all we need.’

‘Don’t be so dour,’ replied the Doctor. ‘Two heads are better than one, after all. Even if one of them is wearing a decorative vegetable.’

‘Doctor?’

‘Yes?’

Ace looked from one Doctor to the other.

‘So… really attached to those question-mark shirts, huh.’

Ace’s Doctor chuckled, but the cricket man simply rolled his eyes.

‘Oh, don’t you start,’ he muttered, putting his hands on his hips. He looked like an irritated single dad. ‘I have enough flack from Tegan and Nyssa about what I wear.’

‘Well, you have to admit,’ Tegan said. ‘It is rather a strange fashion statement, Doc.’

The cricket man glared irritably at her.

As Nyssa giggled at Tegan’s smirk, Ace grabbed her Doctor by the arm and pulled him a few feet away from the others.

‘Professor?’

‘Hmmm?’

‘I… I saw Dalek tracks in the dust back in that kitchen.’

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, and nodded.

‘For now, I think it best if you take Tegan and Nyssa, and head back to the TARDIS. I’ll discuss the Dalek situation with my younger self, and we’ll meet you back there.’

‘I want to help!’

‘I know,’ the Doctor said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. ‘But you know how dangerous the Daleks are. And it’s even more dangerous that they’re here with two different versions of me running around. My entire timeline could be altered and, given how many things I’ve done over the years, who knows what that could result in.’

‘C’mon,’ Ace said, motioning to Tegan and Nyssa. ‘I’ll show you where my Doctor’s TARDIS is.’

The two older women stared quizzically at their Doctor but, after a querying look at his future self, the cricket man nodded at them encouragingly.

‘Honestly,’ Tegan muttered, as they walked along. ‘Trying to keep us out of danger while he goes headlong into whatever nonsense he’s got planned, no doubt? Sounds like the Doctor hasn’t changed much, aside from in looks.’

‘If you think my versions’ different, you ought to see the version I bumped into a few months back,’ Ace replied, chuckling. ‘Her companion was pretty cute, actually; I wish I’d gotten Yaz’s number-’

‘Her?’

‘Er… time lord, remember? Very different views on the gender thing.’

‘Traken is like that as well,’ Nyssa said. ‘I was quite surprised when I kept hearing Tegan referring to the Doctor as a man; I thought the TARDIS translation circuits were getting confused.’

‘Well, I wasn’t to know!’ Tegan exclaimed.

‘So…’ Ace said, quickly changing the subject. ‘You both travel with the Doctor?’

‘Yes,’ Nyssa replied. ‘It’s been a while now. I think… a year or so? Time is difficult to gauge when living in the TARDIS.’

‘I think it’s about a year,’ Tegan agreed. ‘It certainly seems like a year since all that business with Castrovalva.’

‘Yes; we started sharing a room after that.’

Ace chuckled, grinning at Nyssa.

‘You have to live with this grumpy Aussie?’

Tegan glared at Ace, but didn’t reply. Nyssa smiled, reaching back to intertwine her fingers with Tegan’s.

‘Tegan is rather wonderful when you get to know her.’

Was Tegan… blushing?

Ace rolled her eyes. Of flippin’ course that was gonna happen. The TARDIS seemed to have a habit of attracting women that liked other women (Ace herself included). However, her reaction went unnoticed by the other two, as Nyssa had now removed her hand from Tegan’s. Ace could see a slight flush on Nyssa’s own face as she stepped just under a light.

‘Halt.’

That voice… that harsh, screechy voice…

Ace could recognise it anywhere.

Nyssa froze where she was stood, in the middle of where the four corridors met. Without thinking, Ace grabbed Tegan by the arm and pulled her back several feet into the shadows, turning off both their torches.

Horrified, Ace stared as three Daleks rolled into view, their blasters pointed directly at Nyssa. Ace put a hand over Tegan’s mouth, stifling the gasp she was threatening to make.

‘Humanoid Female.’

‘My… my name is Nyssa.’

‘That Is Irrelevant. Why Are You Trespassing Here?’

‘Oh…’ Nyssa said. ‘I… I got lost after walking in through the front doors.’

‘You Will Come With Us.’

Casting one last worried look towards Tegan and Ace, Nyssa slowly walked away, the Daleks following her along the corridor and around the corner. Ace removed her hand from over Tegan’s mouth and stepped softly out into the light.

Tegan followed after a moment, looking very shaken. The Australians face had gone very pale.

‘Why did you let her go?’ Tegan exclaimed, angrily.

‘Because those things could have killed her without a second thought,’ Ace replied. ‘The only reason they didn’t was because they think she has information.’

Tegan stared at her, mouth falling open.

‘What… what are they, anyway?’

‘Daleks,’ Ace said, grimly.

‘And what’s that when it’s at home?’ said Tegan, folding her arms. Ace decided not to mention the fact that the Australian was shaking slightly where she stood.

‘Horrible little gits,’ Ace said, now setting her rucksack on the ground. ‘Me and the professor ran into them in 1963.’

‘1963?’ Tegan replied, incredulously. ‘You look a bit anachronistic for the sixties.’

‘That’s ‘cos I am,’ Ace said, as she rummaged. ‘I’m from the late 80s. Nice haircut by the way; one of my primary school teachers had the same one.’

‘Hey!’

‘Look,’ Ace continued, pulling several aerosol cans from her bag and handing them to Tegan. ‘We’ll need to cause a diversion to draw the Daleks away, then we can sneak into where they’re keeping Nyssa and rescue her.’

‘But what if not all the Daleks leave her?’

Ace grinned, grabbing her baseball bat.

‘Then we get creative.’

About half an hour later, Ace and Tegan were crouched behind an old food trolley.

They had discovered the main Dalek base of operations. By the sounds of it, the horrible tin cans had set up shop in the old kitchen of the hotel. Which baffled Ace; maybe they liked the metallic quality of the place?

Regardless, this meant that Ace and Tegan could now set their plan in motion. The cannisters of Nitro 9 had been set up on a timer at several strategic points in corridors far away to the left. With a bit of luck, that would cause most of the Daleks to set off to investigate.

Ace covered her ears and instructed Tegan to do the same.

1…2…3…

In the distance, there were several small explosions. Ace was moderately pleased with the timer she had set for them. A few moments, half a dozen Daleks rolled out of the kitchen.

‘Explosion in outer corridor!’ they exclaimed. ‘Investigation in progress!’

Ace waited until the Daleks had disappeared into the distance, then nodded to Tegan and darted forwards.

Ace poked a head around the corner, into the kitchen.

‘Halt!’ The single, solitary Dalek exclaimed. ‘Small human female-’

‘Stop calling me small!’

Ace shot out, dashing across the floor and sending her bat crashing down on the eye-stalk. They were a burst of sparks, and the eye-stalk was left dangling.

‘Vision is impaired!’ cried the Dalek, whirling around. ‘Human assailant is armed!’

‘Shut up!’

Ace brought the bat down again on the Dalek’s laser, which exploded in another shower of sparks.

‘Hit the deck, Tegan!’

Both of them dived behind nearby decaying sacks of food. Barely a second later, there was a huge explosion which shook the room.

The Dalek had blown up, its internal firepower working in reverse and destroying its own internal machinery.

‘W-Where’s Nyssa?’

Ace climbed to her feet. Tegan was already looking around. Ace’s eyes fell on a food storage cupboard, the only place the Daleks would have thought to put a prisoner. The door was already slightly ajar, as if the Daleks had used their blasters to shoot the lock off.

Ace darted forward and threw open the door, illuminating a dingy cupboard. Several trays of long-rotted food were standing on shelves along one wall.

Aside from that, it was completely empty.

‘Where is she?’ Tegan exclaimed, frantically, as she peered around Ace. ‘Look- there’s two manacles lying on the ground- why are they half-dissolved?’

‘Dunno,’ Ace said, turning quickly. ‘We need to move quickly; the Daleks might already be coming back!’

‘But Nyssa-’

‘She’s already escaped somewhere!’ Ace said, grabbing Tegan by the arm. ‘C’mon!’

The two of them hurried out of the kitchen and back along the corridor. They stormed around a corner where-

A single Dalek blocked their path.

‘Halt!’ it screeched. ‘Human intruders!’

‘Watch it!’ Ace said, wielding her bat. ‘I’ve already broken one Dalek today, and I’m developing a taste for it!’

‘Exterminate!’ The Dalek exclaimed, it’s tone rising in volume. ‘Extermin-’

That was a clang had something landed around the Dalek’s eye-stalk.

‘Vision impaired. What is this-’

The Dalek exploded. The force of the blast was so great that the two women were thrown to the floor.

Dimly, Ace felt her hearing return to normal. Along with Tegan, she slowly got to her feet.

‘How…’ Tegan gasped. ‘It just…’

Clang.

Ace immediately raised her baseball bat. It sounded like something -or someone- had just jumped out of a vent. Training her torchlight on the area just in front of the nearest vent, Ace strode forward.

‘Who’s there?’

A figure walked into the light of Ace’s torch.

‘I got to you both just in time,’ said a familiar-looking woman. ‘Sorry about the explosion; I’ve never used that on a moving target before.’

‘Nyssa!’

Tegan charged forward and threw her arms around the younger woman.

‘I’m okay, Tegan,’ Nyssa said, slipping her hands around Tegan’s back. ‘I’m okay…’

‘I was so scared…’ Tegan’s voice quavered, and tears began to streak down her cheeks. ‘I thought the Daleks had killed you…’

‘They didn’t,’ Nyssa replied, very softly. She moved back a little, her hands moving to cup Tegan’s face, her fingers brushing aside Tegan’s tears. ‘I’m here. I’m okay-’

Ace cleared her throat.

The two older woman broke apart, both looking rather embarrassed.

‘Sorry,’ Ace said. ‘But we do have bigger fish to fry.’

‘Y-yes!’ Nyssa exclaimed. ‘We need to inform the Doctor -Doctors- about what’s going on!’

‘R-right!’ Tegan said, grabbing Nyssa’s hand and sprinting along the corridor towards the TARDIS. Ace immediately followed them.

‘How did you escape, though?’ Ace asked, as they hurried along. ‘The Daleks usually keep prisoners secured.’

‘Well, since I always seem to get captured in these situations, I thought it might be handing to conceal a weapon of sorts,’ Nyssa said, pulling back her sleeves to reveal a bracelet on each of her wrists. ‘These bracelets contain a chemical that is safe on skin but disintegrates any type of metal. All I had to do was wait for my moment to use them and… I’m guessing you two caused the distraction?’

Tegan grinned.

‘Nitro 9, wasn’t it?’

‘And a baseball bat,’ Ace elaborated.

‘Fantastic!’ Nyssa replied, grinning at them both. ‘Truly fantastic! It gave me the opportunity I needed to escape; once the constraints binding me to the wall had broken, I snuck away into one of the air ducts and crawled along. And that’s when I saw that Dalek preparing to attack you.’

By this point, they had emerged out from the dark corridors and into the foyer. The two Doctors had moved their two TARDIS’s to that they were both standing in the reception area.

‘The thing about having two time machines,’ the cricket man said, smiling, as he turned to greet them. ‘Is that we are able to create a time loop for the Daleks to get trapped in. And they’ll never figure out exactly what caused it.’

‘I told you that two heads are better than one.’

The cricket man grinned at his older self, before gesturing for the three young woman to head into the TARDIS belonging to Ace’s Doctor.

However, before she followed the cricket man and his two friends into the TARDIS, Ace grabbed her Doctor by the arm and pulled his away a few feet.

‘Doctor, did you know they might attack us?’

‘I thought you’d be able to get out of it.’

Ace stared at him for a moment.

‘Nyssa almost got killed,’ she said, quietly. ‘You were talking about paradoxes earlier; what would her being murdered have caused?’

The time lord fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve. His face was seemingly inscrutable, but Ace could tell that her question had ruffled him. Despite often coming across like a grand chess-master, he wasn’t without emotion. He did care, even if he liked to think otherwise at times.

‘It wouldn’t have come to that.’

‘Wouldn’t it? Professor, I’m used to you using me like a chess piece, but I would have thought you’d act better with people you used to travel with.’

The Doctor coughed, looking a little discombobulated.

‘Er… yes,’ he said, awkwardly. ‘You’re right, Ace. I’m… sorry.’

She couldn’t be sure if he was apologising just because he had been caught manipulating again, or that he was genuinely sorry for putting Nyssa and Tegan in such danger. She hoped it was just the latter. A more cynical part of her thought it was probably both.

‘Thanks,’ she said, before turning and heading inside the TARDIS.

The cricket man was kneeling next to the central console, tinkering with a small machine that seemed to have been made out of spare parts from the machinery of the two TARDIS’s. Ace’s Doctor trotted over and began to tinker with it as well. Tegan and Nyssa were both stood off to the side, Nyssa’s eyes glued to the monitor screen on the far wall.

There was a loud whirring sound, and the time loop spun into effect. The screen displayed a sudden surge of energy outside; Ace could dimly hear explosions as the Daleks were caught up in it.

‘Thank you, Ace,’ Nyssa said, hurrying over and giving her a quick hug. Tegan came to stand next to them. ‘I really appreciate everything you’ve done.’

‘No worries,’ Ace replied, grinning. ‘It was Tegan more than me, anyway.’

Nyssa smiled at Tegan, whose face flushed slightly at the sweetness in her friends expression. Nyssa then patted Tegan softly on the shoulder, before heading across the console room to help the Doctors. There was a lot of mechanical whirring noises as the two time lords fiddled with the central console.

‘Thanks for the help, Ace,’ Tegan said, reaching forward and giving Ace a quick hug too. ‘You live up to your name.’

‘Thanks!’ Ace replied, grinning. ‘Just make sure you don’t lose Nyssa again, okay? You still need to actually ask her out on a date.’

Tegan’s face bypassed pink and turned red.

‘H-how did you-’

‘I have eyes, Tegan,’ Ace said, patting her companionably on the shoulder. ‘I see how you look at Nyssa. And how she looks at you, come to think of it.’

Tegan looked over to where Nyssa was stood, examining the electronics of the TARDIS console as she and the two Doctors reconnected the circuits.

‘You think so?’

Ace grinned.

‘I know so, mate.’

Tegan smiled, a little nervously. As if sensing this, Nyssa looked up and smiled in return at Tegan.

‘So…’ Ace said, grinning as she leant against the console. The cricket man, Tegan and Nyssa had left a few minutes ago, with warm goodbyes. The Doctor had then dematerialised his TARDIS from the hotel reception foyer. ‘Did Tegan and Nyssa leave the TARDIS together, then?’

The Doctor stared down at the console, his face muted.

‘Professor?’

‘Nyssa asked to stay behind on a space station called Terminus,’ he said. ‘And Tegan left a year or so later on present-day Earth.’

‘You mean they never saw each other again after Nyssa left?’ Ace asked, confused. ‘Professor, I know you said about the timelines not changing but, I mean, after all that…’

‘They won’t change at all, Ace,’ the Doctor said. ‘For all intents and purposes, this adventure never happened to Tegan or Nyssa.’

‘But they’re in love!’ Ace exclaimed, angrily. ‘It’s so obvious!’

‘I know.’

‘It’s not fair!’ Ace said, slamming a hand down on the console. ‘They… they deserve some happiness! Was Nyssa always going to be left on Terminus, no matter what happened? I saw how upset Tegan was when she thought she’d lost Nyssa!’

‘I’m sorry, Ace; time doesn’t always work in the way we’d like it to,’ he said, before a sudden thought seemed to strike him. ‘Although…’

The Doctor pressed down on a lever, and the TARDIS shook around them.

‘Professor, what are you doing?’

‘I haven’t checked on them in a while,’ he said, almost to himself. ‘And I could have any number of future selves… maybe they did something to help further along in my timeline…’

Eventually, the TARDIS stopped shaking.

Puzzled, Ace followed the Doctor out of the console room.

‘Sidney, Australia,’ the Doctor said, gesturing around them. ‘Early twenty-first century.’

‘Nice,’ Ace said. ‘But what’s this got to do with…’

Ace’s voice trailed off.

Sat, outside a café nearby, were two very familiar-looking women. Granted, thirty-odd years had clearly gone by, but that didn’t mean much.

Tegan and Nyssa were sat, their hands joined across the table, as they chatted. It was if the outside world didn’t exist for either of them; their entire focus was on each other. Matching rings glistened on their fingers, and their eyes were aglow with the sort of steady love that Ace had come to recognise with middle-aged couples that she had met. The sort of relationships that lasted throughout the years and across an entire shared lifetime.

Ace smiled. Maybe… maybe the future did sometimes work things out for the better.

~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this fic!

#doctor who fanfiction #ace mcshane #seventh doctor #eldritch space dad #fifth doctor #dorky space dad #tegan jovanka #nyssa #nyssa of traken #tegan/nyssa #nyssa/tegan #tegan x nyssa #nyssa x tegan #indestructible #heathrow scientific #doctor who

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tough-girl9 · 2 years

Text

Five Moments of Feeling

Summary: Five moments in which Data experiences emotion and becomes just a little bit more human. A "if Data hadn't gotten the emotion chip" AU.

Part 1: Humor

Part 2: Contentment

Part 4: Offense

Part 5: Saudade

Also posted on AO3 and FFN

A/N: Keiko and Data’s friendship is criminally underrated, so I am fixing that wrong :)

Five Moments of Feeling Part 3: Pride

The third moment was in the Arboretum.

Keiko O'Brien was tending the finicky Talbroan fern that she had picked up at the last star base. The poor thing had been on the brink of death, its pale pink stems nearly translucent and the foliage withered and brittle. It needed precisely a fourth of a liter of water a day; just a few milliliters too much or too little would send it spiraling back into a state of disarray. No wonder they were practically extinct in the wild, Keiko thought as she carefully trimmed off a dead frond and continued her search for other signs of unhealth from the bushy plant.

The sound of the Arboretum doors whooshing open distracted her from the fern and she glanced up to find Data making his way around the potted bushes and shrubs towards her. She bounced up from her squatting position and gave her android friend a cheerful wave. "Data! Over here!"

He acknowledged her with a little nod and crossed the bridge that spanned the artificial stream that watered the main plot of the Arboretum. He stopped beside her and examined the Talbroan fern, making a small sound of interest. "It seems that your fern is recovering admirably since it came into your care. Are you pleased with its progress?"

Keiko grinned at the sincere interest in his voice. Tugging at the cuff of his sleeve, she encouraged him to kneel with her in front of the plant. "She seems to be doing wonderfully. You know, I wasn't sure for a little while there if she was going to make it, but look." She lifted up a large frond, revealing a small green bulge at the fern's base. "Talbroan ferns need to be in nearly perfect condition before they grow pods. If everything goes right, in a month or two, I should be able to harvest the seeds and incubate them in the botany lab. By this time next year, I could have four, five, maybe even more new ferns. It'll be a wonderful opportunity to study their life cycle and maybe even start a project to reintroduce them to Talbroa II."

Data nodded solemnly and looked at her with soft, serious eyes. "I am quite sure that under your competent care and with your passion for the project, it will be a success."

Keiko couldn't help the broad grin that spread across her face, and she pushed his shoulder fondly. "Well, somebody's been learning the human art of flattery."

Data gave her a mournful look of confusion, his lips curving into a slight frown. "My intention was not to offer unfounded accolades. The sentiment was entirely sincere."

"I know, Data." She patted his arm, still smiling. "I was just giving you a hard time."

"Ah," he responded, still looking mildly confused but no longer visibly concerned that he might have unintentionally insulted her.

Keiko stood and Data followed suit. "And how about your project?" Keiko asked, brushing off the knees of her gardening trousers. "How is the Vendikarian orchid doing?"

Data tilted his head to the side, his expression non-committal. "The orchid is in fact the reason why I decided to 'stop by'. Although it is not showing any signs of deterioration or wilting, it has yet to produce a blossom, which by my calculations based on the research I have done on this particular breed, it should have done three days ago. I wished to ask your advice on what I might be doing wrong. Would you be willing to examine it?" "Of course, Data." Keiko smiled warmly at him. "But I suspect you're being too hard on yourself. Actual botany isn't nearly as nice and neat as in a book, and plants don't do exactly what they're supposed to do exactly when they're supposed to do it any more often than people do. Isn't that why you wanted to look after the orchid yourself and get a taste of caring for a plant? To have the first-hand experience instead of just reading about it on the ship's computer?"

Data nodded. "That is true. So far, the act of researching versus engaging in the actual experience has been significantly disparate."

They headed over to the far side of the Arboretum together, following the winding stone path between the alien flora until they reached a row of potted plants by the side wall. Data knelt by one of them. "I have been watering it the recommended every third day, all well as providing it approximately fifteen to seventeen hours of artificial sunlight each twenty-four hour period. What is your opinion on its health?"

Keiko knelt beside her friend and examined the orchid, noting the rich, dark green color of the stem and the paler green of the large flat leaves with deep purple veins. "It looks perfectly healthy to me, Data," she said, squeezing the stem to test its firmness and running the leaves between her fingers to check for dry or wilted spots. "From everything I can see, it looks like you're doing a wonderful job with it."

The corners of Data's mouth perked into a little, pleased smile. "Do you truly believe so?"

"Yes, I do," Keiko replied with a smile, still checking for any signs of ill health, though she expected to find none.

Data gave a decisive nod. "Then I will trust to your superior personal experience on this particular topic and proceed with my watering and sunning routines as I have been doing so far."

Keiko was about to reply when she felt an object different than leaves or stems hidden behind the back of the plant. "Data," she said, pulling the leaves back, "look at this."

As she gently parted the leaves, the hidden growth was revealed. The orchid had produced a delicate stem, on the tip of which was a small bud with lovely pale orange petals peeping through the green casing. Data reached out to touch the bud with a gentle, almost reverent, brush of his long fingers. "It is preparing to blossom," he said softly.

Keiko gave him a fond glance and put a hand on his shoulder. "See, I told you not to worry," she teased gently. "It was just a late bloomer is all. I knew you'd be as good a plant parent as you are a cat parent. It looks like you've done a wonderful job with her, Data."

Data didn't reply, his hand still outstretched with his fingers just barely touching the plant, his body completely still. Keiko tilted her head and rubbed his shoulder. "Data? Are you OK?"

Data closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "I…" he began slowly, "I…believe that I am experiencing a new emotion. One I have not felt before."

Keiko grew still, her face serious, knowing how much an experience like this meant to her android friend. "A new emotion? What do you think it is, Data?"

He shook his head again, eyes still closed, a look of intense concentration on his face. "I am uncertain. It…seems to be a positive emotion. I am happy that I have been successful at my endeavor in this area, but it is more than happiness. I respect your abilities and knowledge as an exobotanist and therefore place a greater level of gravity in your opinions on this topic than I would my other friends. The emotion seems to somehow be related to this respect I feel for you. I feel that I have been successful at accomplishing a goal, that I have done something that I set out to do and that I have done it well. Within the current context, I am unsure which emotion might be the best fit for what I am experiencing."

Keiko's smile had steadily grown as she listened to Data talk. As he finished, she leaned over to him and spoke in a quiet voice. "Try 'pride', Data."

Data's eyes flickered open, though they remained thoughtfully lowered, his head still tilted curiously. But after a moment, his golden gaze darted up to her face, his own features calm and content. "Yes," he said slowly, "yes, that feels right. I am proud."

Keiko hooked her arm around his, grinning. "As you should be, Data. As you absolutely should."

#star trek #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #star trek fanfiction #my writing #no emotion chip au #data star trek #keiko star trek #lt commander data #data soong #keiko o'brien #keiko ishikawa #emotions #friendship #fluff

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fountainpenguin · 2 years

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Hi, another update. Mentioned a while ago that my laptop was no longer functional- I’m still working towards replacing that with something new. Also got a new desktop computer (Replaced a device I’ve had for nearly a decade + transferred lots of files over). Going through lots of changes (Job switch, sibling got married, got a new office, also some other things I don’t want to go into detail about on Tumblr).

No longer have access to my old art program, but I planned ahead for that and bought a new program while it was on sale, so I’ll be experimenting with that in the upcoming weeks. Expect Happy Peppy Gary art. Might be some 130 Prompt spoilers in it but at this point I frankly don’t care, I’ve been actively planning and drafting the 130 since 2016 and I’m anxious to draw for some of the major plot stuff skljdf. My hyperfixation for the last several months has been War & Peace / Great Comet of 1812 and :’) “Pierre & Andrey” is a very good song for a lot of my OCs but also for Gary and the Pixies, I swear...

May also draw some Chloes and Kevins and others. Possibly Dame Sandy, some Longwood, and maybe some Commelina because I read through all the remaining Origin chapter drafts and stuff hit me hard and I cry, idk. I’m wasp dad trash and I’m really excited to share more Origin.

Basically I’m straight-up tired of living in fear of judgment so I hope you’re all ready to remember that this is my house and in this house I post what I want.

Don’t really have the emotional strength to talk to anybody, but I’ve been reviewing my ‘fics. I really want to put the next Reedfilter Rules chapter out- been sitting on that one for a very long time. Writing RR!Anti-Cosmo is extremely difficult but... wow, I often love him more than Riddleverse Classic Anti-Cosmo SKLDFJSKLDJF. In Classic he’s often bound by social status and tradition while RR!Anti-Cosmo straight-up does what he wants and it’s fantastic. I know I’ve been picking at the revisions for his chapter for ages, but he has to be perfect when he goes public because he's very different from Classic!Anti-Cosmo and I want everything to be /chef’s kiss for me.

If you’re new here and/or not up to date with Reedfilter canon, I encourage you to check the Reedfilter Rules tag on my blog and maybe learn some interesting things you didn’t know yet :> RR is an AU of my Classic take on canon, but it remains consistent with show canon and it’s full of dumb cliches and dumb flirting and political idiots and it’s just silly and fun for me.

Should be some Frayed Knots and Origin on the horizon as well, so thank you for your patience. I am extremely anxious to move both stories along and there’s not much left to do before I post, but I’m finicky and want to ensure my buffer is stable before I return to a consistent schedule. Fingers maybe crossed for going back to our one chapter a week schedule, but not promising that yet. We’re entering my favorite part of Origin, but it coincides with the most difficult part of Knots, so it’s a struggle.

Emphasizing again that I basically have not been keeping up with reviews, Tumblr notifs, or FFN / AO3 commentary for a very long time. I thank you for sending them and apologize if you were waiting for a response you didn’t receive. Life is kind of stressful and people always need me for something, so at the end of the day I don’t always want to build up the emotional strength to search my inbox and read comments for my different stories/fandoms that might not always be nice, and even if they are nice then I don’t always have the ability to reply. Sometimes it’s easier to look at nothing and sometimes those avoidance periods need to last a long time. I appreciate any kind words that have been sent my way.

I’ve been extremely busy and still have not watched the FOP live action spin-off thing. I’ve kept my distance from fandom content and successfully avoided spoilers all this time, but I’m planning to watch it very soon now that life is starting to come back under control. I watched the first episode and enjoyed it, but blocking out enough time to binge on free trial isn’t easy and suddenly most of the year goes by... Exhaustion.

Vainly hoped I’d return to Tumblr someday and find that the divider line and/or abilities to create white space dividers with the enter key had returned to the post editor and wow I cannot express enough how disappointed I am that they have done exactly not that.

Sorry for Ask box stuff I haven’t touched in one million years; just didn’t have FOP brainpower for a long time and needed to do other things. There are some heavy topics like war, abuse, politics, discrimination, death, and affairs in my ‘fics and sometimes you need space from that type of content even when you’re the one who put it there.

If anyone knows whether Tumblr still refuses to show posts that contain links, I’d be interested in knowing more about the current situation.

tl;dr - Sorry I can’t engage in long talks; holding conversation via back and forth writing has always been draining on my emotions and frankly everyone should just call me /lh

‘fic updates starting soon? Hoping to get a buffer up, thank you for your patience while the Creature Crossing ARPG has been getting all my love on dA. Anxious to see my fairy kids again, though.

More updates on fanfic schedule to come. Will probably post new FOP chapters on Fridays once it’s mid October. Further details to come.

#The amount of fear in my body when this post went into void for 20 minutes and I had to scramble to confirm it still existed #ridwriting #FAIRIES!#Reedfilter Rules #ridlife #I'm wasp dad trash #The bat with the hat #99% true as far as we remember

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nehswritesstuffs · 2 years

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Basil Oswald and the Caretaker of Dragons - Part 6

The following chapter contains modern Scots Gaelic as a sort of culturally-appropriate “other” sort of language, which I’ve been learning via an app. Some of it I’ve been able to write myself, but other bits I’ve had to run through a translator, so if there’s anyone with more fluency who want to correct my vocab/grammar, please feel free.

Chapter 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - FFN - AO3

Basil meant for his peoples’ secrets to die with him. Now all that threatens to burn up in flames as he brings his daughter to the last place either of them want to go. [2746 words; a HTTYD!Whouffaldi AU]

The flight took what felt like both ages and nothing at all.

Basil’s skin prickled as they flew close to the island, with Idris flying true as she could back to the den of her hatchling years. His face began to shift into a constant scowl and his daughter took notice. She attempted to roughly chart the course while she rode atop Pilot, knowing that when they returned to Berk, she was going to have a better time of it if she handed her stepmother something at least close to a map.

Eventually, they came to the home of their ancestors: Gallifrey. Basil could feel its presence long before Bill could even see it on the horizon—there was a feel to it, an energy, and it was something that he had never wanted to experience ever again. They landed on the island—a rocky expanse of land—and dismounted from their dragons.

“Do you need me to…?” Bill began to offer. She held out her forearm, brushing it against her father’s elbow. He recoiled and pulled away, beginning to walk towards the entrance to the caves that was their former home. “Dad…?”

“Walking around blindfolded was part of our fun as children,” he explained brusquely as he continued on, unassisted. Head held high, he navigated the caves of Gallifrey, once teeming with life and dragons, now an empty husk of nothing.

Possibly, it was a good thing that he could not see the caves and what became of them. Dragon bones lay scattered around the floor of the main cavern and scratches gouged the walls, showing the level of struggle that the den had gone through in the days and weeks after they had first left. An uneasy feeling overcame both humans and their dragons, though they pressed on.

“Are you sure we absolutely had to come here?” Bill asked.

“Of course we did,” Basil replied. “There are some things that are only possible in the Home of the Dragon Lords.”

“Berk is that now.”

“Not in this way.”

Silence passed between them as they entered the tunnels of the humans’ living space, where there were alcoves carved into rock to make rooms, poorly separated by doors of rotting wood and cloth. There was evidence of smaller dragons making use of the alcoves for their own uses, but they too were long-gone and the spaces just as abandoned as the rest of the caves. Glowing lichen illuminated their path, though only one of them could see it.

“I know how long it’s been for us,” Bill mused aloud, “but I wonder how long it has been since Aunt Velda was here?”

“Long enough,” he replied. He continued along, not even needing to feel the wall to know where he was going. Bill followed him dutifully, though as they traveled further and further in, she began to shiver.

“I don’t like it here, Dad,” she said. “There’s too many memories in these caves… and not good ones.”

“More memories than the ones you’re aware of,” he stated. “I intended for them to become secrets, and for them to never reach you, but now I have no choice.”

“...what do you mean…?”

“You’ll see.”

They continued going deeper and deeper into the cave, past where Bill had remembered going prior. When she had been little, there were areas that had been off-limits, and she had reluctantly listened due to the inherent danger involved with below. Though she was now an adult, the winding, sloping corridors were still plenty unsettling.

“Why are we here again?” She looked at her father and frowned. “I would think that this is the last place you’d want to be… ever…��

“There’s a reason why Gallifrey was where our ancestors bred and raised dragons,” he replied. “There is a magic here that has benefited our efforts beyond measure…”

“I remember you saying there is no such thing as magic: only science and skill.”

“All magic is something we don't have an answer for,” he stated. “There are some things we will never know how it works—never know the rules of—but while we are alive, we work to understand what we don’t already, because it means we are that much closer to understanding everything that we can.” He carefully felt along the wall, searching for a specific hold. “What many people refer to as magic is a thing we can do because we have discovered the rules and skills behind it—a Great Plan, chaos, happenstance, it doesn’t matter how—don’t think that because I said one thing now and another thing before that they are supposed to be wholly different.”

“They sound wholly different.”

“Yeah, and that’s why you’re still not a full Dragon Lord yet, despite declaring your Promise.” He turned his face towards her and smirked, knowing that all it did was irritate her—there were sixteen years he needed to catch up on, after all. Sliding his hands over the moist stone walls, he finally found what he was looking for, his fingers catching in a small latch. “Ah, yes, here it is.”

Releasing the latch, Basil stepped back and let the door sink into the wall and shift away. He had last been there decades prior, when it was only him and his sister wandering the caves, though he remembered clear as though it had been the week before instead of in his youth. Once the door was fully opened, he stepped forward, prompting Bill to grab his arm.

“What are you doing?!” she panicked.

“Showing you something I should have a long, long time ago.”

As dragons and riders entered the new chamber, the room began to prepare itself for them. Torches gently sparked on from sconces in the walls thanks to a tripwire on the door, filling the stale room with much-needed light. The floor was smooth and dry, having been carefully-worked at some point in the past, and the walls intricately decorated. Closer inspection showed Bill that some of the decorations were actually bones from dragons and humans alike, which caused their mounts to remain cautiously near the entrance.

“Dad… what the hell is this place?”

“It was supposed to be our final resting place,” he said solemnly. He continued on, scaling a series of steps leading up towards a dais. “This was where I laid my parents, and where I should have laid your mother and aunt both, and now… we are seeing if the legend is true.”

“…which legend…?”

“One of the many that were supposed to die with me.” He made it to the top of the stairs and paused for a moment, knowing that there was an altar before him. The dragonsblood stone was smooth under his hand as he touched it, feeling the powers of the Old Ways jolt through his system for the first time in ages.

“Tha mi a’ faicinn dorchadas,” he told the altar, using words he last spoke long ago. “Nach fhaic thu mi? Leig dhomh faicinn, taibhsean… no am fàg thu mi a ‘fulang?”

I see darkness. Don’t you see me? Let me see, ghosts… or will you leave me to suffer?

“What are you…?” Bill wondered in trepidation.

“If you put your hand on the dragonsblood altar and challenge those who came before us, it is said they will grant your wish.”

“…so, legend states if you blaspheme atop a creepy dragonsblood altar locked away inside an even creepier crypt, Granddad’s ghost will heal you out of spite?”

“Essentially.”

“Doesn’t that sound stupid?”

“When you put it that way, of course it does.”

“…and what did you… um…?”

“You have to speak their language in order to challenge them properly,” he explained. He then turned back to the altar, sneering. “Freagair mi a-nis, taibhsean!”

As he challenged the ghosts of the bones in the crypt for a second time, Basil felt the altar beneath his hand warm to a point he knew was impossible for just his hand to accomplish. Bill gasped as she saw what was happening: golden dust was beginning to emit from her father and the altar, surrounding him in the light from when they were in her den. His head lolled back as he began to float in the air, the magic lifting him as it swirled around and poured from him. Bill even had to shield her eyes, as not only was it terribly bright, but there was a wind that was somehow picking up as well.

“Dad!” she shouted. “What in the hell is going on here?!”

He did not answer.

“Dad! Dad! Come on!” She tried to pull him down to the floor, yet it was no use—she couldn’t even get close to him, let alone touch his hand. The dragons growled from their spot by the door, unable to aid her in the slightest.

Eventually, Basil began to glow so intensely, he seemed white-hot. He slowly sank to the stone floor in front of the altar and crumpled in a heap. Bill reached out to touch him, yet there was a spark that shocked her hand away.

“Idris! Come over here!” Her call was answered and—now free of threat of the Old Ways—the dragon in-question bounded into the crypt. She nuzzled her snout against her human… she was able to touch him. “Wait a moment… how can you…?”

Bill thought for a moment; if Idris could touch her father, yet she couldn’t, then there truly was some sort of freaky Dragon Lord magic at play. She placed her hand on the dragon’s head, feeling her scales beneath her fingers.

“Listen,” she said, “I’m going to go get Clara. If she and Dad are the Hybrid, then she’ll be able to help him. I don’t think there’s much we can do right now.” She and Idris both glanced down at Basil; one more try and she still failed to so much as touch his face. “I’ll be back soon, yeah?

The dragon made a low rumbling noise in its throat and Bill knew it was going to be alright. She dashed for the entryway, Pilot waiting for her there, impatiently stomping his feet. They both ran through the winding corridors, careful in the tight spaces, with her hopping onto his back soon as the caves opened up. Within moments they were in the open air, headed back towards what they hoped was Berk.

There was no time for rest—she needed Clara.

She needed Clara to save her dad.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Don’t worry—I’ll get to the bottom of this.

That was what the note had said, and yet that was the one thing that Clara could do. Night after night, she paced and fretted and picked at her fingers, not wanting to leave Berk in case of her husband and stepdaughter’s return, and yet at the same time, she could not help herself but worry. They had taken both their dragons without even a hint as to where they were or had gone, making searching for them close to impossible.

Thus, for near two weeks, she was left to wait… and if there was anything she was not good at, it was waiting.

“This isn’t good,” she said, brow furrowed in worry. She was panicking, doing laps around the ground floor of her house as Danny sat in one of the chairs, her friend holding a sleeping Aodh. A fire was going in the hearth and a pile of hatchlings slept in the corner. “What if he needs me?”

“Relax, Clara,” Danny insisted. “Something tells me he’s gotten into worse scrapes than whatever he’s in now.” He stroked Aodh’s hair as he rocked the chair gently. “It's Bill I’m concerned about.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean: can we trust her?” he mused. “It feels very convenient that soon after she shows up and dumps her dragons here, the two of them vanish.”

“We can trust her,” she nodded. “That's not even close to why I’m worried.”

“…but the last time we encountered a family member of his, some things happened.” He gestured to his prosthetic leg, which caused Clara to exhale heavily in guilt. “I want to be wrong on that, Clara, but you can’t help but admit it’s suspicious. She seems like a good person…”

“I know, I know,” she sighed. She rested her hand on her stomach—a reminder of what it was at risk. “I just wish it wasn’t like this.”

“All you need to do is say the word and we’ll deploy.”

“I know.”

“We’d figure it out.”

“Without a doubt.”

Clara continued to flit around the room anxiously as Danny held her son and kept quiet company. She couldn’t help but worry—there was so much going on in her head that she wondered what could have possibly been going on in Basil’s. There had been no indication that he would do anything like this—he was done running—so why was he gone…?

Just then, a dull thud could be heard outside and the front door flew open. Bill and Pilot came thundering into the house, causing Clara and Danny both to jump in surprise and Aodh wake with a start.

“Clara! You have to help!” Bill gasped.

“What’s going on?!” Clara asked. “Where’s Basil?!”

“Gallifrey.”

Both Clara and Danny felt as though weights dropped in their stomachs.

“Are you sure about that…?” Danny asked, the small child in his arms now clinging to him crankily.

“I spent the first eight years of my life there, and Dad confirmed it,” Bill replied. “Dad’s in Gallifrey, and he’s in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?!” Clara demanded. “What’s going on?!”

“Dad… he took me to Gallifrey, and showed me this room I’d never seen before,” Bill tried to explain. “It was big and creepy and then he, like, dared Granddad to make him better, and now I think the dragonstone’s too much on him and he’s going mental!”

“…and you just left him there?!”

“I had no choice! I couldn’t get close to him!” Tears welled in Bill’s eyes—she was just as scared as they were. “That place does weird things to people, Clara. I just got Dad back and I don’t want to lose him again—I don’t want to lose anyone else to that hellhole. Please… help me.”

“Of course,” Clara said resolutely. She held Bill’s shoulders at arm’s length, looking her directly in the eyes. “Your dad is my husband, my children's father, and I will do anything to bring him back to us.”

“I can gather the Stealth Riders and be ready to go in the morning,” Danny said. Bill shook her head.

“We’re going to need to plan this,” she replied. “Gallifrey didn’t exactly survive for as long as it did because it's easy to find.”

“…but you just came from there…”

“I had no stars to guide me—it’s often cloudy there, shrouded in mist, and the large amounts of dragonstone ward off many dragons not from the den. The fact my mum was able to sail there was a bloody miracle.”

“Then we wait until morning and gather together the best we got,” Clara decided. "We’ll get the Riders, maybe some accompanying boats, supplies…”

“Bill… where’s Dad…?” Aodh asked, finally awake enough to realize what was going on. His sister took him in her arms and hugged him close.

“Dad’s back where we lived when I was your age,” she explained. “It’s a very scary and dangerous place. Mum and I have to figure out a way to fetch him.”

“Is he hurt?”

“In a way, but we can get him back,” she assured. “Idris is there—she won’t let anything too bad happen to him in the meantime.” She kissed her brother on the brow and held his head to her shoulder, hiding her face from him. It was hard, as she grit her teeth and closed her eyes in an effort to not cry. “We’ll bring Dad home.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, hatchling,” she cooed. “Dad and I found each other the long way around before—we don’t have the time to do that again.”

“You don’t…?”

“Not if we want to spend as much time with you as we can,” the young woman admitted. It was the truth, that was what mattered. The boy hugged his sister while his adults all looked at one another, concerned as to how they were going to live up to that promise.

#Whouffaldi #Whouffle #Twelfth Doctor #Clara Oswald #Bill Potts #Danny Pink #Aodh Oswald #Doctor Who #fan fiction #HTTYD!AU #learning Scots Gaelic has been a wild ride let me tell you #I'm not the best at spelling in English so this is like language on hard mode #AND THEN THE GAELICIZED VERSIONS OF ENGLISH WORDS ALL TRY TO KILL ME #it's a real problem

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aggie-postemon · 1 year

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Moving Out Chapter Two

FUTURE

Danny introduces his parents to his haunted house.

FFN | AO3

Survey on Anonymity and Privacy in Fanfiction Spaces

Graduation Day at Casper High dawned faster than Danny expected it to. Tucker, on the other hand, said that the last month of high school had dragged, even after the fact. Sam was with Tucker on that one - she could not wait for high school to be over, and every second was grueling as they neared the end.

It’s not that Danny wanted to stay in high school, or that he’d relished the “wonderful experience of being a Casper High student,” as Principal Ishiyama liked to worm into every assembly. He’d actually worked pretty hard - including a few years of summer school - to make sure he wouldn’t fail a grade and have to stay there for a measly second longer than he had to. It’s just that graduation had always been a sort of informal deadline. Childhood seemed like it would stretch unforgivably on forever when Danny was fourteen. He thought he had time to repair things with his parents, time to explain things. Four years had gone by faster than he had thought they would.

The ghosts in his house were totally unsympathetic. “I can’t believe you want to bring the Fentons here,” said Jeb.

“At least you get to grow up,” said Charlie. “Don’t complain about it happening too fast to me.”

“If you bring the Fentons here, I’m hiding my garden patch again,” said Tim. And that was a threat, because the backyard looked terrible when Tim hid his work from view.

“Technically, the Fentons are already here,” said Danny. “I’m a Fenton. This is a Fenton household.”

“Funny. I always thought it was a Jeb household,” said Jeb, crossing his arms over his overalls.

“Absolutely not,” said Rebecca. “It’s a Rebecca household.”

There was an ongoing argument over which of them had first begun haunting the house, Danny had learned. Privately, he suspected that they’d both moved in at around the same time, still too new to put off many signals of themselves. With Jeb’s preference for the upstairs and Rebecca’s preference for the downstairs, they might have gone as much as a decade without noticing they had a roommate. Danny would never say that out loud, though. Voicing an opinion, any opinion, was probably enough to take him from halfa to ghost.

“It’s a haunted household,” said Jazz, who’d flown in from her university for Danny’s graduation weekend. She’d been staying at the house for less than twenty four hours and she’d already managed to meet everyone. Including Claire, who even Sam and Tucker hadn’t coaxed out of hiding. “And it’s a haunted household that includes a Fenton. Believe me, I understand being wary about our parents. But we won’t let them hurt you. We’ll be telling them about Danny first, so they’ll have already had to accept him before they even learn this address.”

The ghosts all seemed to trust Jazz implicitly; they took her at her word.

This only made the pit in Danny’s stomach worse. It was one more reason he couldn’t back out of finally telling his parents about Phantom, and while Danny wasn’t planning on backing out, had every intention of going through it, not having an out felt terrible. And he didn’t have an out, not when the wellbeing of others relied on him coming clean.

He held onto that thought in the Fenton Works kitchen, Jazz sitting by his side, hand curled protectively around his under the table. “So,” said Jazz, opening the conversation. “You know about the house, and you know you’ll be visiting it after Danny graduates.”

“Were you in on this, too, Jasmine?” said Mom.

“No, actually,” said Jazz, sending a glare Danny’s way. “I didn’t find out about the house until it was already a done deal. There’s also something else I didn’t find out about until later.”

“What?” said Dad.

“Danny did say he’d tell us everything after graduation,” said Mom. “I expected you to hold us to that. You don’t graduate until Saturday, Danny.”

There was a glob of ectoplasm stuck to the ceiling, Danny realized, looking anywhere but his parents. “Yeah. I figured I’d better give you a few days to wrap your mind around everything before I let you in the door.”

Again with the hurt expressions. If Jazz wasn’t squeezing Danny’s hand under the table, he’d be bolting for his room right now.

“Before you let us in the door,” said Mom slowly, like she was turning the words over in her mind. “Danny, when you said you wouldn’t let us bring our weapons, was it not actually about the weapons?”

Dad visibly recoiled at that sentence. “Oh no,” he said. “Danny, do you consider us a threat?”

Fuck. “No!” said Danny reflexively. “Of course not!”

“He does. And he has every right to.” Jazz did not even spare him an apologetic glance. She pulled her hand - the one that wasn’t still gripping Danny’s wrist - out of her pocket, held up a small box. “Frankly, I agree with him. I know that ultimately you love us and will accept this, but I don’t trust you to react safely in the moment.”

“What is that, Jazz?” said Mom, apparently willing to ignore everything Jazz actually said.

From the corner of his eye, Danny saw Jazz give a small cold smile. “Something I developed with some of my college friends. It shorts out all ecto-weaponry within a small radius for as long as it’s turned on.” Jazz very deliberately flipped a switch on her little box, gave a devious little smile, said, “I call it the Fenton Disrupter.”

“Jasmine!” Mom and Dad were always hilariously in sync when they were horrified.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s a short radius. It’s not affecting the shields around the house or in the lab. Frankly if you don’t feel safe enough within your own shields to go without a weapon, I don’t even know how to help you.”

Mom took a gun from her belt, pointed it at the floor, and fired. Nothing happened. A bit of Danny’s fear slipped away.

“You can show them now,” said Jazz, not looking away from the gun in their mother’s hand. “They can’t hurt you.”

Danny reached for the iciness of his core and yanked.

Thankfully, Jazz was there to coach their parents through their meltdown. Memories of Jazz’s repetitive info-dumps about psychology coached Danny through their parents’ meltdown.

There was denial: “What have you done with our son, you spook?”

There was anger: “How could you never tell us? We would have supported you! How could you let us hunt you, Danny?”

There was bargaining: “Surely not since you were fourteen? Not since the portal turned on? Oh God, it wasn’t our portal that did it, was it? Tell us it wasn’t the portal!”

Then came the sadness, Danny standing there stiffly as his parents wrapped their arms around him and cried into both of his shoulders. “We’re so sorry, Danny. We never would have hurt you if we’d known.”

With any luck at all, that meant acceptance was coming.

When Mom and Dad unwound themselves from their group hug, they wiped their noses and nodded resolutely. “No weapons in your new house,” said Mom. “I understand now.”

“We’ll leave them in the GAV,” said Dad. “And programming them to ignore your ecto-signature has moved to first place on the to-do list.”

“That’s good to hear.” Danny decided to drop his final bomb on the conversation. “Because my new house comes with ghostly roommates and weapons or no weapons, I don’t want you to go in unprepared and end up scaring them.”

“What?” said Dad.

“What?” said Mom.

“I’ve met all of them,” said Jazz. “They’re very nice. So if you can set aside your biases, I think you’ll end up getting along with them! Tim has a vegetable garden going in the backyard that’s just absolutely to die for.”

Letting his big sister diffuse the situation, Danny leaned back in his chair and focused on his breathing. Things were going to be fine.

Graduation passed, his parents hooting and hollering next to the Foleys in the stands. They seemed reserved, though, when Danny found them after.

“You don’t have to bring us over if you don’t want to, Dann-o,” said Dad, glancing around at the crowd.

“I know you said after graduation,” said Mom. “But given the givens, we think it’s more important that you don’t feel pressured.”

Danny glanced around at the crowd. Tucker was hugging his own parents not five feet away, and half-way across the field he managed to spot Sam attempting to shake off the Mansons.

“I want you to come,” said Danny, although he was pretty sure he mostly just wanted it over with.

For all that his parents hadn’t noticed anything beyond their laboratory in the last five years, they seemed to see right through to his hesitance.

“We don’t have to do this now,” said Mom.

Danny felt Jazz touch his shoulder. He let himself be steadied by it, set his jaw. “We do, actually.”

He brought them that very afternoon, still dressed in his cap and gown. There was a double purpose - Sam and Tucker wanted to insist on coming, but this afternoon, both the Foley and Manson parents were insistent on celebrating with their children.

Danny wasn’t entirely sure why this was something he felt he needed to do without them, but it was.

He herded his parents through the door, making sure Jazz was flanking their other side. Danny wanted to trust them, but he felt better when he saw Jazz flick the switch of her Fenton Disrupter anyway. He’d watched them de-arm themselves outside, tossing ecto-guns into the GAV blindly, like they weren’t extremely volatile machinery.

Their suits didn’t seem like they should be able to hide anything larger than a Pokémon card, but Danny knew from painful experience that they could. It always seemed like they pulled weapons out of nowhere. He gave Jazz’s Fenton Disrupter an approving nod.

Mom and Dad, to their credit, didn’t even look hurt. Just resigned.

Then they looked startled, because Jeb and Rebecca were standing right inside the door.

“C’mon, guys,” said Danny. “You said you weren’t going to intentionally sabotage this.”

“Standing in our own house is intentionally sabotaging something?” said Rebecca, crossing her arms. “Because we talked about it. Decided that trying to hide out and give Dr. and Dr. Fenton more space than they deserve would actually be setting us up for failure. Better to rip the bandaid off.”

“Wouldn’t Charlie be better suited for ripping the bandaid off?” There was just something inherently comforting about Charlie, Danny had felt it that very first morning he’d met them.

“We only let them talk to you first because Charlie insisted before we had a chance to stop them. We’ve got Tim and Claire distracting them right now,” said Jeb.

That tracked. Everyone in the household was protective of Charlie, even though Danny was reasonably certain that Charlie had been dead longer than both Tim and Claire. Ghost aging, man. It was weird.

“Well,” said Dad, putting on a brave face and gently extricating his shoulder from Jazz’s grip. “Any friend of our son’s is a friend of ours. We want this to succeed, too.”

“We understand your reservations,” said Mom. “We’re willing to do this your way until we’ve earned your trust.”

Rebecca seemed to approve of this, but Jeb still looked doubtful. Danny remembered that first day, when Jeb’s face had softened when Charlie pointed fingers at Danny’s parents.

“This is important to me,” said Danny. “I don’t want to hide this house from them. I don’t want to hide you from them. We have to start somewhere.”

“That we do,” said Jeb.

“So,” said Jazz, finally inserting herself into the conversation. “I brought board games and some icebreakers. How about we all go into the drawing room and get to know each other a little better?”

(The resident ghosts, Danny had learned the hard way, did not appreciate the term living room.)

“We’d love to, Jazz,” said Mom, all false enthusiasm, voice a little higher than usual.

“We would love to,” said Jeb. His voice was hard

Somehow, Danny thought that these weren’t bad signs. Sure enough, that afternoon went as smoothly as he could have expected.

His parents had been tense and afraid for about as long as it had taken them to realize that they were in a room with a bunch of people that might actually answer their research questions without having to subject sentient beings to human rights violations.

Jeb resolutely did not answer a single question they asked. Rebecca, on the other hand, answered the questions they managed to work into the games they played.

Charlie, having realized that something was afoot, dashed into the house after about an hour. They answered any question Mom and Dad dared to ask, but only in the most unhinged way possible.

Claire brought out cups of coffee. Tim brought in a basket of assorted spring herbs for Mom and Dad to take home. “To cook with,” he said. “Not to conduct experiments on.”

That drew a guilty look from them, which Tim didn’t miss. His lips drew back into a sharp, thin smile.

Danny knew the peace was fragile, but it was still peace. It whispered a tentative promise into his ear: there was a future ahead of him, and it just might be bright.

#phandom #danny phantom fanfiction #danny fenton #danny phantom #ectoberhaunt22 #eh order #future #yeah I'm late to the party with this one #phanfic #fanfiction #maddie fenton #jack fenton #jazz fenton

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asirensrage · 2 years

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there's a heaven above you (don't you cry) - Part 9

Rating: M Pairing: Lost Boys/OC Fandom: The Lost Boys Warnings: sex, some violence and mention of abuse Summary: The thing no one ever tells you about time travel is that you don’t have any control over where you end up or when you leave. It just happens. It also hurts like a bitch. Notes: This will be a poly pairing, so if you’re not into that, don’t read. previous/masterlist also on ao3 and ffn

Part 9: Tainted Love

Clark didn’t show up at the shop the next day.

Darcy wasn’t too surprised. He was likely embarrassed about the whole bruise. Guys were weird like that, especially teen ones. It didn’t stop her from feeling bad. She had no reason to apologize, she hadn’t hurt him, but he also didn’t deserve it. Clark was a good kid. One she hoped would keep coming around if only so she could keep an eye on him.

She took a break, closed the shop and headed for the comic store. The adults who owned the place were nowhere in sight. Fucking useless.

“You run into a vampire?”

She turned to see one of the kids who actually ran the place standing there. “What?” She frowned. “Did that asshole show up again? Try to convince you werewolves are real?”

“No.”

“We haven’t seen him since,” the other said, seeming to pop up out of nowhere.

“So why are you asking me about vampires?”

“Because you’re…”

“Your neck is all…” the darker-haired one waved a hand at her neck.

It took her a second before she realized that she probably still had hickeys on her neck. She grinned. “Boys, I know you’re a bit young, I hope,” she added. “But sometimes adults like to leave marks on each other when they’re...having fun.” It wasn’t like she wanted to traumatize the kids with talk of sex. They were still just kids.

One of them made a face, scrunching up his nose in disgust. “Why?”

“Um…” how the hell did she explain that? “You know what, you’ll know when you’re older. Or not. Different strokes for different folks.”

The kids looked at each other in confusion. They seemed to communicate just through expressions. It was a little impressive.

“Why are you here?” the lighter-haired one demanded.

“Alright, first of all, chill out. Aren’t you supposed to respect your elders or some shit? Secondly, I’m a customer. I’m here to grab a gift for a friend.” She glanced around the store. “What do you recommend?”

That seemed to change their entire demeanour. “What friend?” “What do they like?” “Boy or girl?” “Do they know Superman?” “What comics do they like?”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Woah, hold on. One at a time!”

“Who’s the friend and what do they like?” The darker-haired one asked. She really had to learn their names at some point.

“Clark, and I don’t know. He’s a teenage boy. I figured comics were the safest bet.”

“What about action?” The other one asked.

She shrugged. “Who doesn’t like action?” The boys looked at her like they didn’t believe her.

“You like action?” they asked. It was weird how they were nearly in sync. These kids clearly spent too much time with each other. Made her wonder if they had any other friends.

“Sure.”

They glanced at each other again before the lighter-haired one crossed his arms over his chest. She tried not to smile. The kid was trying to be intimidating.

“Name one.”

“Really?” she raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to gatekeep with me over action movies?” Another shared glance between them told her that they had no idea what she meant. She sighed. “People can like things and not be fanatical about them and you doubting that and making someone prove they’re a fan is a dick move. My suggestion, boys, is that you go out and experience life. As great as comics and movies are, you gotta experience the real world too. It can suck but it can also be great, and you’ll make more friends that way. Okay?” She glanced between them, hoping they would take her advice. “Friends are a good thing. Now, he’s a teenage boy. What do you recommend?”

It didn’t take long for her to actually choose something once they started suggesting things. They gave her a bag for the comic but only actually handed it over once she paid.

“Thanks, boys,” she said as she started to leave. “You ever need anything, come see me in the thrift shop down the road.” She paused as she got to the door. “Oh, and to answer your question, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars and Mad Max.” She held up her fingers as she listed them. “That’s three.” She gave a wink and walked out. Maybe now they’d actually take her seriously.

Summer kept the boardwalk far busier than she was used to but it helped make good money. Darcy kept the place open late to make up for the fact that she hadn’t been there the other day. It wasn’t terribly busy, they usually got more locals than tourists as the latter were more interested in souvenirs. She called out a goodbye to a customer and as she considered closing and going home, Marko walked in.

“You assholes really have no fucking concept of me being done, do you?”

He grinned at her. “Thought you’d want this back.” He held up the bat she had taken to hit David with. She narrowed her eyes but held out her hand for it. He handed it over without hesitation.

“Alright,” she said once her hand wrapped around the bat. “You can go now.”

“Can’t we talk?” he held out his arms, as if trying to show that he was unarmed. “‘Sides, you also left this.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out her knife. He slid it across to her over the counter. She grabbed it quickly and put it back under the counter. She had yet to let go of the bat. Just in case.

“Thanks.” She stared at him for a moment before she nodded. “Alright, talk.”

He hopped up to sit on the counter in front of her. “I think you’re scared.”

“Excuse me?” She was ready to shove him off the counter and beat his head in if he didn’t leave her store.

He sat crossed legged and turned to face her. “I think you’re scared,” he said again, leaning slightly forward.

“I’m not scared of you.”

“I didn’t say us.” He grinned and bit at his thumb. It seemed like a bad habit with him. “You’re scared to want us back.”

She scowled at him. “That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“Why must you all be so insistent?” She nearly snarled. “I don’t know you! Any of you, and right now I’m not sure I want to. None of you make sense!”

He tilted his head and looked at her. “Because we want you?”

“Yes!” She regretted it as soon as she said it.

Marko shifted himself forward and she tried not to succumb to the urge of stepping back. It set her teeth on edge to be his focus. It was easy to get blinded by her anger, ignoring the instincts that told her to run from them. Of course, it was hard to listen to those instincts when she was kissed or even praised the way she had been.

“Darcy,” he sounded unusually serious. “You gotta know that we don’t want to hurt you. No one’s gonna fucking hurt you again.”

She frowned, confused by the promise she heard in those words. “You can’t promise that. How would you know?”

“We’re going to make it true. Everything’s going to be better with us.”

“Why?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Because we’re better with you.” He said it as if he knew that for certain. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was the one from the future. “You’re what we’re missing.”

“This is what I’m talking about! What the fuck does that mean?”

“You’re the missing piece, babe.” He hopped off the counter to stand in front of her. “You’re gonna balance us.”

“And you need balance?” she asked dryly. “You all seem fine to me.”

“Doesn’t mean it can’t be better.” He reached out slowly, tugging at a strand of her hair.

“Oh yeah?” She crossed her arms over her chest, just for some kind of barricade. “What’s in it for me?”

He grinned again. “Whatever you want, babe. Safety. Shelter….orgasms,” he said, eyes glancing down at her lips. “Us at your side.”

“For how long?” her voice was softer than she meant and she hated it.

“Forever,” he said simply. Then his lips were on hers.

He moved slow, kissing her softly until her arms fell from where they protected her and she found herself digging one hand into his curls. Marko pushed forward until her back hit the wall behind her. His body pressed against hers and she felt one of his hands touch her face, tilting it slightly for a better angle. He deepened the kiss. She threw her other arm over his shoulders, anything to fucking keep him there, kissing her like he was trying to map out every single part. He kissed her as though he had done it a thousand times before. She lost herself in it. It was hard not to. He seemed to know exactly what she liked. Her head fell back as he pulled away, scraping his teeth over her neck and seeming intent to add to the faded marks that were already there. His hand trailed across her thigh, pulling it up to wrap around his waist so that he could press closer to her. How the fuck did they all know how to kiss so well? Was it a requirement to join?

It took her a second to realize that Marko had pulled back and was simply staring at her, seemingly content to remain where he was against her. He said something that she didn’t catch and she blinked up at him.

“Hmm?”

He grinned, but for once it made him look younger. There wasn’t a hint of viciousness in it. “You’re perfect for us,” he said softly. “Just the way you are. Let us in, Darcy,”

Her breath caught in her throat. When had anyone ever said something like that to her? She knew that answer. It was never. “Marko…”

He kissed her again, slightly harder this time before he pulled back. “Think about it.” He let go slowly before hopping back onto her counter to get to the other side. He grinned at her again, biting his thumb as his gaze darted down. “Come meet us at the Boardwalk when you close. There’s something you’re gonna need to see.”

“Jesus fucking christ,” she muttered, moving to collapse on the chair she kept there. “What the fuck!” It was official. She was overwhelmed and if they kept kissing her like that, she wasn’t going to be able to hold them off. She didn’t really want to, if she was honest with herself.

She shouldn’t go to the Boardwalk. The last time she had gone anywhere with one of them because they had something to show her, well, that resulted in sex and a subsequent field trip out of town. She shouldn’t go...but curiosity won out. Once she closed the store down, she found herself walking to a place she disliked.

It wasn’t hard to find the men.

They were standing near the carousel, watching it spin. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the amused smirk at the idea that they were there with no sign of their motorcycles. Either they hadn’t gotten them fixed yet or they wanted to make sure she didn’t cause more damages.

“Well,” she put her hands on her waist. They all turned as soon as they heard her. “What did you want to show me?” Darcy was well aware of how all of their eyes scanned her and that some of the others around them had turned to watch. Maybe they were surprised that she was still standing after the night before.

Marko grinned widely at her as if he never had a doubt that she’d show up. It made her want to leave out of spite. She hated being predictable.

Paul moved forward. “Babe! Come on,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and planted a kiss against her cheek. She shoved him off. He just laughed. “This is going to be great,” he pretended to whisper. He looked up at the others. “Ready?”

David didn’t exactly frown, but he turned and walked away. Paul and Marko motioned for her to follow. The crowd parted around them.

She ignored the stares and the whispers that accompanied their presence. It grated on her nerves and the smell of fried food was beginning to make her sick. As much as she loved funnel cake, there were such things as limits. The flash of the rides and screams of the people on them reminded her of a time she didn’t want to remember. Her teeth were already on edge by the time they finally stopped. Paul motioned for her to move forward and as she did her eyes narrowed. The fuckers had found Clark.

The kid had a couple of friends with him and they all looked terrified at the presence of David and the others.

David cast a glance at her before moving forward. The kids all stepped back.

Clark seemed to swallow before seeing her. “You, uh, you found her. So just...cool out.” He held his hands up in surrender. The bruise on his face looked slightly darker than the last time she saw him.

“We’re not here about that, Clark.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. Of course, David had to make it sound like they were here to kill the kid. If they were, Darcy was going to keep the promise she made before. No kiss on earth would stop her from hunting them down.

“Then,” Clark glanced at his friends. “Then what?”

“Your injury was not...intended.”

There was a beat of silence between all of them.

“Um, okay?” Clark said.

“You accept my apology, don’t you Clark?” David leaned forward slightly and she saw Clark’s mouth open slightly, his expression just slightly dazed.

“Yeah.”

David nodded before he turned to her. He stared at her expectantly and she saw Clark’s friends grab him and drag him off. What the fuck was that? “Satisfied, Darcy?”

She turned and walked away. She didn’t know what that bullshit was but it hadn’t been worth dragging her down to this place.

“Where you going, Darcy?” She heard David call out from behind her. She gave him the finger and kept going. It wasn’t until she finally got off of the boardwalk that she realized he was following her. He stepped into place next to her.

“Fuck off, David!”

“Where are you going?” he demanded, his tone slightly darker than before.

“Away from you assholes, obviously.” She turned onto one of the side streets and felt him grab her arm, yanking her back. She turned and shoved him instantly. He didn’t budge.

“Darcy.”

“I said fuck off!” she glared up at him. “I don’t want to be near you and you ever fucking touch me again, I’ll castrate you.” She pulled her arm from his grasp and continued walking.

“What’s the problem, Darcy?”

She clenched her jaw, trying to ignore him. She didn’t know if he was actively trying to provoke her but she was trying not to get arrested in this place. Darcy also noticed that Paul and Marko did not follow. For that, they’d be left out of any castration plans. For now. She was almost at her motel. Hopefully he’d leave once she got inside.

“I apologized, didn’t I?”

She spun to face him. “Excuse me? You call that an apology?” She pointed the way they had come. “That was the most bullshit apology I’ve ever seen. Clark is still fucking terrified of you for what you did and you think that’s an apology? Fuck off, David. I don’t even want to see you near me.” Darcy turned back and walked away. Again.

She thought she heard a growl behind her. He grabbed her arm and stopped her, moving to stand in front.

“You want me to lie?” He glowered down at her. “I’m not fucking sorry.”

This fucking asshole. She shoved him again, this time as hard as she could and he let her go. “That’s the fucking problem! I don’t have the time or energy to deal with your bullshit, David.” She should have brought the knife with her.

Darcy tried to step around him only to have him match her move. It didn't get them anywhere except a step closer to the motel. “You were gone, Darcy.”

“So what!”

“We were looking for you.”

“I don’t give a shit. I have a life, David. I don’t need to advertise my every move to some assholes who think they have a right to me!” She glared up at him. “Now fucking leave.”

“We didn’t know what happened,” he said, stepping forward. His chest was nearly touching hers. “And yeah, maybe I fucking hurt the kid but we figured he’d know where the fuck you were, Darcy.”

“That’s not an excuse!” she snarled back. “He’s a kid!”

“I didn’t fucking mean to,” he snapped back. “I didn’t believe him and it got out of hand.”

“And what? I’m supposed to accept that?” She scoffed. “That’s a bullshit excuse. I told you to leave him alone!” She shoved him again, trying to get him to step back. “I’m so fucking sick of all of you!”

His eyes seemed to darken then. “Even Dwayne?”

Her eyes widened before her lips curled up in a snarl. “You motherfucker!” She punched him hard in the chest. “I didn’t fucking ask for any of this! Any of you!” She tried to move around him again. The motel was in sight. She just had to get there.

“Yet you have us,” he snapped back. “And we were fucking worried. That what you want to hear?”

“I want you to leave me the fuck alone!”

“No.”

Fury welled up in her. “Fuck you!” It echoed slightly down the street. He grabbed the back of her neck, pulled her against him and kissed her hard. Fucking hell. His mouth moved against hers, demanding and seemingly desperate all at once. She kissed back, determined to win even in this. Kissing David wasn’t like the others. He kissed her like he wanted to drown in her. Her back hit a wall and she broke the kiss, confused at how they had even reached the motel. David’s mouth went to her neck, scraping his teeth against her skin. She shuddered before biting down on his jaw out of spite. She felt his grip around her tighten.

“Open the door, Darcy.”

“Fuck you.”

“If you insist.”

She was tempted to kick him to the curb, but his mouth hit a spot behind her ear and she felt her legs nearly give out. Fuck.

“Invite me in, Darcy,” he murmured against her skin.

“Fuck you,” she repeated.

“Unless you want to put on a show, right here,” he pulled down the neckline of her top. He sucked at the bare skin revealed. His other hand was on her ass, squeezing slightly while holding her against him.

“Fuck,” she breathed. “Come in.”

She didn’t know how the door actually opened. David kicked it closed, dropping his coat on the floor while she peeled off her own shirt. His eyes seemed to linger, as if drinking her in. She scowled. Before she could even open her mouth to say whatever retort she was thinking of, he pounced.

He kissed her hard, pushing her back on the bed. He moved and settled in between her thighs as though he belonged there. She opened her mouth, pulling at his lip with her teeth. He groaned, shifting his hips against hers. His mouth moved down, across her jaw and to her neck. She was going to be covered in bruises at this rate. It was worth it.

She hooked a leg around him, trying to keep his body against hers. She dug her fingers into his back. “Why the fuck are you still dressed?”

He pulled back just enough for him to pull off the rest of the layers he wore. How the man didn’t die in this heat, she didn’t know. She took the opportunity to undo her bra. David moved back, mouth on her skin and hand cupping her breast. His fingers dug into her skin as she dragged her nails down his back. God, she just wanted more. She wanted him to bleed.

She reached down, trying to unbutton the jeans he wore. Fucking hell. He nipped at the side of her breast before moving down and unbuttoning hers. He pulled them down and she lifted her hips to help remove them. She sat up, moving up to her knees as he finally kicked his pants off. He kissed her again and she dug her hands into his stupid mullet. She twisted, shoving him down on the bed. He fell back against it, looking up at her with a smirk.

She ignored him, throwing a leg over his waist so that she was straddling him. She could feel him so much better this way. She rocked against him, enjoying the feeling of him hardening against her.

“It’s better inside,” he drawled. She felt like covering his mouth. He twisted his hand slightly and Darcy paused in surprise to find him offering her a condom. She grabbed it and tore it open before shifting back slightly. His eyes seemed to bore into her as she rolled it down over his cock. “Feel better?” he asked snidely.

She shifted back, placed her hands on his chest and shoved him back, holding him down. His hands went to her hips and she half expected him to move her, to demand to be on top instead. He didn’t, just held on as she tried to get herself off. One of his hands cupped her breast, kneading it softly before twisting her nipple hard. The pain shot straight down to her core. She cried out at the feeling.

This wasn’t enough. She needed more. She reached down, angling him before she sunk down slowly. He hissed, fingers tightening their grip. Her head fell back. She just needed a minute, a moment to fucking get used to it.

“Move,” he said. “Come on, Darcy.”

She leaned forward, holding herself up on his chest before she started rocking her hips. She shuddered at the feeling. It was so fucking good.

“Harder. Faster, Darcy.”

“Jesus Christ, shut up!” She moved a hand to his throat, squeezing the sides slightly, just enough to get him to stop fucking talking so she could actually enjoy this. His eyes closed. Of course, he’d enjoy that.

She moved faster, the pressure was building and she was so close. So fucking close but it wasn’t enough. She moved her other hand to touch her clit, as she lessened her grip slightly to let him breathe. She felt her orgasm building and she tried to move faster. David sat up and she moved her hand from his throat to around his neck as his mouth went to her breast. He bit down. and she came hard, legs shaking as David’s arms wrapped around her back keeping her pressed tightly against him.

Her back hit the bed as David moved on top of her. She didn’t even feel him move her. He pushed in again and her legs wrapped around his waist automatically. He grabbed her hands, pinning them above her head and held them there with one of his.

“My turn,” he grinned. He pulled out before thrusting hard. Darcy’s head fell back. David’s pace increased, grip tight as he held her in place. He leaned down, kissing her again. “You’re ours, Darcy.” He reached down, touching her clit and building her up again.

She cried out, begging for release. Of fucking course he’d be an asshole here too but god damn it if he didn’t actually finish what he started. Her legs clenched as she felt herself reach that brink once more. David’s pace seemed to increase before his hips finally stuttered against her. He leaned over her, staring down. Darcy met his eyes, trying to catch her breath. There was something in his gaze that she couldn’t place but she was suddenly reminded of Marko’s comment about being their missing piece.

“Fucking hell,” she muttered.

He moved, pulling out and tossing the condom. He grabbed something off of the floor before collapsing next to her on the bed. She glanced over to see him smoking. She motioned for him to share. He raised an eyebrow but handed it over. She inhaled, feeling the nicotine slightly calm the little nerves leftover from that experience. She handed it back and caught a glimpse of his hands. They were covered in scars.

“What happened there?” she asked, nodding towards him.

There was a pause before he answered. “My father.”

She snorted, turning slightly to get comfortable. “Fucking fathers.” He seemed amused at that and offered her the cigarette again. She’s never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Ah shit.”

He looked over at her. She took a longer inhale. She was going to need it. She slept with him. Darcy had been so pissed off. Dwayne she understood, hell it was a bit romantic but with David half the time she felt like murdering him. She shouldn’t have done this. It was another in a long line of bad decisions. God fucking damn it. Her family was right. She was so fucking stupid.

“Stop that.”

She blinked, torn out of her thoughts and glanced at David. “Stop what?”

He took the cigarette from her. “You’re thinking shit about yourself. I can tell. Next time-”

“Next time?” She propped herself up on her elbow. “You think there’s going to be a next time?”

“I know so,” he grinned sharply.

“Always so fucking confident. I should kick you out.”

“Then who would you steal your smokes from?”

She propped herself up on an elbow and glowered at him. “I don’t steal shit from you. You gave me them. Every time.” She reached out for the cigarette and gazed at him triumphantly as he handed it over. “See?”

He leaned forward, kissing her deeply and stealing the smoke from her lungs. She watched him blow it slowly. It was damn hotter than it should have been.

She took another drag of the cigarette before passing it back to him. “Alright, asshole. Get out of my bed.”

“No. We have to talk.”

“Ugh,” she groaned, turning around and lying on her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d leave.

“You eaten yet?” There was silence for a moment as she didn’t answer him. “Darcy.”

She finally had to move to be able to breathe. She glared over at him. “When the hell would I have time to eat? I came to see you all after I closed the place like Marko asked.”

“Come on.” He moved, throwing his feet over the edge and standing up. Darcy was tired. She didn’t want to get up and have to deal with David longer than she already had. “Or did I wear you out?” he smirked at her as though he won.

“The fuck you did,” she moved faster than she thought she could. “Let’s get cleaned up first.”

“Together?”

“Fuck no,” she went to the washroom. “Stay there.” She slammed the door.

They walked together. David was at her side, practically strutting and seemed very pleased with himself. It made her want to push him off a cliff. Unfortunately, they were nowhere near any.

“What do you want?”

“Take out so I can go home,” she drawled. He gave her an unimpressed look. “Whatever we find first.” It turned out to be a stand that sold tacos. “Fuck yeah,” she muttered as she quickened her pace to get there faster.

She ordered quickly and motioned for David to go. He moved her out of the way while he ordered and forced her back so he could pay. “You’re not going to claim I’m stealing this now too, are you?”

“Did I complain?” He pulled out another cigarette and lit it. He was going to be bad for her addiction if he kept this up. They all were. “You have whatever you want when you’re with us,” he said as he held it between his teeth. She watched him light it.

“For what? Payment for dealing with your cocky bullshit?”

He leaned down slightly. “You don’t need payment, do you? I heard you screaming.”

She grinned back, baring her teeth. “Yeah, because I did most of the work.”

Whatever he was going to say in return was cut off as their order got called out. She smiled smugly as she retrieved it and led the way to one of the tables nearby. He sat down next to her, straddling the bench seat to face her. She pushed his order towards him and started eating. There was nothing like a good street taco. She eyed him carefully before she swallowed the first bite.

“You want to talk, so talk.” She took another bite. He stared at her for a few moments, simply smoking before he finally decided to say something.

“You leave again, you tell us.”

“You’re not my keeper,” she said. “We’ve been through this.”

“Then leave a fucking note,” he snarled. “Price to pay for leaving the kid alone.”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me? Price? There shouldn’t have to be a fucking price for you not to hurt a kid!”

He exhaled sharply, smoke coming out of her nose. He looked like a bull. If she wasn’t starting to get more pissed off, she would have laughed. “We don’t fucking hurt kids,” he snapped. “It was an accident.”

“Well the next time you get overzealous, take your anger out on the fucking Surf Nazis.”

His gaze seemed to sharpen. “They hurt you?”

“Fuck no, but anyone walking around with Nazi in their name deserves a beat down.” She grabbed the other taco she had and took a bite.

“You granting permission?”

“Like you’ve ever needed permission. I’ve known you for two fucking days and I know that.” He grinned at her and for a second she could almost imagine his teeth sharpening. “Just don’t fucking go near kids.”

“Then leave a note.”

“Asshole,” she muttered before shoving the last of her taco in her mouth.

She got up and went to throw out the remains. David grabbed her wrist and she stopped looking down at him. “What?”

“I’m not done. Sit with me.”

Her eyes narrowed automatically. He hadn’t touched the tacos he had ordered yet. Still, regardless of the bad blood between them, he had paid and she was sated. She sat down. “Well? Eat.”

He stared at her for a moment before he ground out the butt of the cigarette into the table. His thumb stroked her skin softly. He was wearing gloves again. She didn’t even realize that he had put them back on. The worn leather was surprisingly smooth where he touched her. It was a stark contrast to the callused hands that gripped her tight, holding her in place as he fucked her.

“Took weeks for them to heal,” he said. She glanced up at him, unaware that she had been noticeably staring at his hands.

“Sorry,” she muttered. Darcy had no intention of making someone feel shitty for something they weren’t responsible for. Still, curiosity won out. At this rate it was going to be the death of her. “What happened?”

“Punishment,” he let go for a moment to light another cigarette before he reached out to touch her again. His hand touched her thigh this time, just resting on it. He took a drag before he continued talking. “Disobeyed orders.”

“Who? You?” she asked sardonically. It slipped out automatically but he didn’t seem offended by it.

“Yeah. Ate before I was allowed so he burned them.”

Fury wells up in her. “What?!” As fucking terrible as her family is, they’ve never resorted to that sort of physical abuse. “He burned your fucking hands because you were hungry?” Christ, if that was the sort of parenting this asshole had it was no wonder he turned out the way he did. “Tell me he’s dead because if that asshole is still alive and well, then fuck karma, I’ll deal with him for you.”

David kissed her hard. Another reward for her threats of murder and mayhem. She grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him closer so she could deepen the kiss. An arm wrapped around her waist, tugging her towards him. She was moved into the space between his legs, up against his chest and she threw her legs over his leg on the outside of the bench, trying to get a better angle.

Darcy pulled back slowly, trying to catch her breath. Holy shit. She looked up, meeting David’s eyes. “I was serious.”

“I know.”

“Well?” she prompted. “What’s his status?”

“Alive,” he said, taking a drag of the cigarette. “For now.”

She considered the implications of that. It sounded like he had plans of his own. “Fine, but if you need help, come find me. I’m excellent at brake lines.”

“So I heard.”

She considered him for a moment and he seemed content to watch her back, still holding her against him. “That doesn’t bother you?”

“Does what bother me?”

“Dwayne.”

“No.” He took another inhale of the cigarette. “You’re ours. If there was anyone else though, I’d rip their head off.”

“How romantic,” she said dryly.

“You have no idea,” he leaned forward to kiss her neck. She arched it slightly, giving him more room to access. He nipped at the skin before soothing it with his tongue.

“Okay,” she pulled away, absently noting how he had slightly followed before he reluctantly pulled back. “I should go home. I’m tired.”

“Come on,” he offered her hand to stand up. He followed after her, his hand at her back as he motioned her back the way they had come. “I’ll walk you.” All of these men seemed to expect her to get jumped out on her lonesome.

“You know I can handle myself, right?”

He glanced down at her. “That I’m certain of.” They were halfway back when she realized she never actually saw him eat.

taglist: @raith-way @ocfairygodmother @lokitrasho @zeleniafic @jvstjewels @reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle @chickensarentcheap @booty-boggins @residentdormouse @dickspaghettii @avengers-fixation @delicateblackrose @stanshollaand @itscapokaybye @artaxerxesthegreat @henhouse-horrors

#there's a heaven above you #there's a heaven above you (don't you cry)#lost boys fic #lost boys fanfiction #the lost boys x oc #the lost boys/oc #lost boys x darcy #oc: darcy

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queenangst · 3 years

Note

any merlin whump recs??? all the ones i read back in the day were on ff.net lol

so, so, so many. also yeah a lot of fic i read was on ffn, but there are also quite a few authors that i was pleased to find crossposting on ao3.

A Tale of Red and Gold by JabberwockyJinxes

It had been a month since the last body showed up, and Arthur was inclined to think that the killer had gotten scared and stopped.

thoughts: this was on ffn! it remains to this day one of my favorite pieces of merlin whump and fic in general. there’s a scene in it that absolutely haunts me from when i first read it. gripping and well-written.

By the King's Hand by DollopheadedMerlin

Uther discovers the ultimate weapon against magic and, mad from the loss of Morgana, turns against his own beliefs in order to restore order. Merlin begins to act strangely and Arthur has the heart to finally ask what is wrong but something is keeping the boy from confessing his own woe. As things unravel, Arthur must rethink all that he thought he knew about his father, magic, and the world he lives in.

thoughts: this is just plain fun.

Whispering Your Name by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

The Dorocha. They are the voices of the dead, my child. And, like the dead, they are numberless.

A different take of the dorocha. Instead of them being faceless screams that attack you, they are actually figures of the dead. Merlin doesn't quite realize how much death affected him until him and the knights go to close the veil.

thoughts: more emotional whump! i absolutely adore this concept. it’s so intriguing and fitting, and it delivers.

Run Ragged by LadyWallace

It's time for another tournament in Camelot but when Arthur offers Merlin's services to a knight whose servant got an unfortunate injury, Merlin finds the man intolerable and demanding. Will he be able to make it through the tournament serving two masters? Hurt/comfort, gen

thoughts: i feel like this is a classic premise but it can’t go wrong.

Open Eyes by N16

After Merlin experiences abuse at the hands of a visiting lord, Arthur decides his manservant needs to learn how to defend himself. But Merlin is unimpressed with Arthur's solution, and Arthur is forced to confront some unpleasant truths about what happens right under his nose. How can he protect a kingdom when he can't even protect those inside his castle? One-shot.

note: a couple months ago i recced N16′s fics, and i stand by this. read all of them. ALL of them. EVERY one. N16 is one of my favorite current merlin authors, and i find all of their works very satisfying.

The Masks that Most Suit Us by Emachinescat

After Uther's death and a mishap on the training field, Merlin chooses to suffer in silence in an effort to allow Arthur to grieve unburdened. But everyone has their breaking point – even the newly crowned king of Camelot. Written for Febuwhump on Tumblr. Day 13: hiding injury

thoughts: Emachinescat is one of the authors i immediately think of when i think “Merlin.” you probably know them. here’s a fic that’s a little closer to home.

falling backwards, falling backwards by onceandfuturewarlock

Merlin doesn't duck the chair in the tavern brawl, but due to delayed response, he doesn't realize how severe his concussion is.

thoughts: love this fic. it completely feels so merlin, and the friendship in this is excellent stuff.

Breathe by kriadydragon

Merlin saves the day - yet again - when he manages to get an injured Arthur and knights to safety. But Merlin's troubles are far from over when an investigation into what had happened to the king and knights leaves him in a bad way, and now it's Arthur and Gwaine's turn to be there for him.

thoughts: made it to the bottom of this list? good. this is, hands down, my favorite merlin whump fic. i read it years ago on ffn and continuously revisit it. it’s so visceral. the hurt hurts, the comfort comes in like warmth on a cold day. when you read this fic, you feel every part of it.

#asks #merlin whump #my WHEELHOUSE?#this is barely scratching the surface but like #condensed recs #also a lot of fics are on ffn :((((#merlin #bbc merlin #fic rec #long post #anonymous

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ecto-american · 3 years

Text

Stuck (Stubbornly)

Phic Phight Oneshot for @deuynndoodles : Jack and Maddie are stuck in the Ghost Zone. Fortunately for them, Phantom's around and willing to help out. However, they'll rather be arrested by a ghost warden and put in ghost jail before they'd allow some teenage menace to help them. Oh wait...

Read on AO3 or FFN

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"Should we call Jazz or Danny?" Jack suggested.

Maddie stared out into the unending void of the Ghost Zone. It hurt to think that their voyage, a trip that they had been planning out for months, would end so soon already, but they had barely made any progress when they realized just how much fuel the Specter Speeder was guzzling. Something was wrong.

"...Not yet," she determined. "We should have emergency fuel. We should be able to get back without any problems. Can you refill?"

"You got it," Jack replied, and he got out of the co-pilot seat. She could hear him go to the back, and shuffling around. He didn't say anything for a while, and that immediately began to unnerve her, but she kept her attention on the dashboard, trying to think of what went wrong when building. Was their fuel lines loose? Was there gas leaking everywhere? "Uh, Mads? I'm not seeing it?"

Her blood froze, but no need to panic. Maybe he just didn't see…

Maddie walked to the back and checked. And checked. Moved some stuff around, checked some more.

They had no emergency fuel.

"Why don't we go outside and check the engine?" Jack suggested. "Maybe we can figure something out." With a dry mouth, she nodded, and they hesitantly went outside to check.

There were no ghosts around, thankfully, just an endless green void. They knew that they would be safe breathing in the GZ air, thanks to their prior tests and experiments. They hooked themselves to a rope using a carabiner clip, the other end tied tightly to the speeder. Floating unnerved her, and she kept a hand on the speeder as they went to the front of the speeder. Jack popped the hood, and smoke floated out, making Maddie's heart sink. This was definitely not a good sign at all, or something that could be a simple fix.

"Need some help?"

Maddie looked over her shoulder to see…

"Absolutely not," she scowled. Phantom was floating nearby.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He floated up a bit higher to glance at their vehicle. "Looks like you got. Well, uh, basically car trouble."

"Leave. Now."

Phantom opened his mouth to say more, but Maddie pulled her ecto-gun out.

"We don't want help from some lowlife ghost!" she hissed. Phantom put his hands up in surrender and flew away.

----------------------------------------------------------------

An hour passed, and they decided to take a break working on the engine. Every possible problem that she could think of had been exhausted, and she had to take a break to both cool down and think. She sat on the steps leading into the speeder, with Jack deciding to lay on the floor of the inside.

"Fuel line wasn't broken, none of the lines were cut or had knicks. There's no reason it should be draining so much gas," Jack thunk aloud. "There shouldn't be anything besides the engine that the gas is going to, and there's no weird random connections to anywhere else. The battery's still good."

"And we forgot the emergency fuel," Maddie slumped over. Jack sighed.

"It's my own fault," he replied. "I should have checked to make sure Jazz and Danny had properly put all the supplies in. A proper exploration team always triple checks before a voyage."

Maddie could only give a low hum of agreement as she stared out into the zone. She felt somebody pat the side of the speeder, and she scowled as she saw Phantom grinning at her, giving a half way.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I brought help this time," Phantom told her, and he jerked a thumb behind him. It was finally then that she noticed the Red Huntress. Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"How in the world…" she murmured, only to trail off as she stared at the two of them. Jack sat up, and he poked his head out of the speeder.

"Oh dope! It's my favorite huntress!" Jack boomed. Red seemed bashful at the comment, shifting her weight onto her other foot and rubbing her upper arm.

"I mean, if you don't trust me or want my help, I figured you'd be willing to let a human help," Phantom explained, motioning towards Red.

"So, do you need help?" Red finally spoke up. She reached down to pat her left calf. "I have some tools with me, but I can always go and fetch more."

Something in Maddie's gut told her that this was very, very odd. Humans and ghosts working together so...willingly like this. She had taken note that Phantom and Red hadn't hunted each other down or fought like they used to, but she just assumed that they didn't quite run into each other that much anymore. Both were unpredictable with odd schedules and routines.

She glanced at Jack, who despite his initial enthusiasm, seemed to share her feelings, and she shook her head no.

"We'll be fine," she insisted. "You two should leave."

Red stared at Phantom, who shrugged his shoulders.

"So, wanna just go get some boba tea?" Phantom asked.

"And just leave them here?" Red scowled, motioning to the Fentons.

"They don't want our help," he replied. Red glanced from Phantom and the Fentons, who studied the two of them. She finally shrugged as well.

The two began to idly chat as they flew off, their conversation becoming more and more distant.

"That was weird," Maddie mused.

"Yeah, I thought she and Phantom were rivals," Jack mused. Maddie shrugged. Right now she wasn't too invested in the mystery. She'd worry about that later when they got home.

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Judging by their phones (which they had worriedly learned that they oh-so-helpfully had no reception in the land of the undead), another hour passed since Phantom and Red had left. Jack was deep into the engine, fiddling with a possible solution to the problem as Maddie stood nearby. She continued to think as she looked around. She was surprised that they hadn't been bothered by now.

"Trespassing in an unauthorized vehicle that is also a real world item," a deep southern voice boomed. Well, she absolutely spoke too soon.

They whipped their heads to see a huge, hulking figure, an all white man with a black hat, black gloves and wearing a suit of white.

"Ghost!" Jack squawked. He scrambled to grab his gun, Maddie already having hers drawn. The ghost frowned deeply. Maddie was finally very aware of just how many ghosts were surrounding them. Too many to count, but they all looked exactly like the ghosts that terrorized Amity Park years before, all identical and matching in uniform that resembled a SWAT team. There was also vehicles resembling police cars and police vans.

"Resisting arrest. That's against the rules," he continued. He opened a large green and white book in his hands, flipping to another page. "Assault and battery with a deadly weapon." He glanced up at them with an angry glare. "Y'all are going away for a long, long time."

"We're not going anywhere," Jack frowned. He charged up his weapon.

Maddie looked around, and she shivered anxiously. There was no way they could take on all these ghosts. She nudged Jack, and he side-eyed her curiously. She lowered her weapon, and she used her head to motion around them. Jack blinked as he looked himself, and all of his confidence left him. He also lowered his weapon.

"We'll go," Maddie finally spoke. The ghost smirked, and he knocked on the side of a police van. The back opened up.

"Surrender your weapons," he ordered.

One of the SWAT ghosts came forward with his arms outstretched. Reluctantly, the adults handed their weapons over, detaching themselves from the speeder and getting into the van.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Their cell was a lot like a normal cell, and it was just them. Iron bars, no windows, single toilet, and four bunk beds. Jack was laying on one of the beds, facing the fall, as Maddie laid on the one across from him, staring up at the bunk bed above her.

Of course. Of course they ended up in ghost jail. It was just their luck. Though a scientist part of her was giddy at knowing that ghosts had some kind of legal system! Who would have known!

As she tried to start figuring out what on earth to do, she heard something banging against the jail bars.

She immediately sat up, staring to see Phantom making the noise by banging something in his hand on the bars. He was staring at them with a bright smile, and it only made her mood drop even more.

"Phantom!" Maddie hissed, standing fully and going up to the bars. "How did you find us?"

"We came back to check on you guys and see if you changed your minds," Phantom explained. Jack got up from his own bed to come over, looking surprised to see the infamous ghost teen. "Technus and Skulker were looting your speeder, and they said Walker arrested you. So we came by as quickly as we could."

The Fenton adults could see Red nearby, glancing around the corner. She was keeping watch.

"We're not going with you," Jack replied. Phantom rolled his eyes.

"Okay, and what? Stay here forever? Never see your kids again?" he asked. Their faces instantly dropped. "So do you wanna go home or not?"

Maddie narrowed her eyes at him before noticing that he was holding a metallic-looking cup of boba tea and raising an eyebrow.

"You brought a snack with you," she said. Phantom shrugged, offering it to her.

"Want a sip?"

"No! Just!" Maddie glanced at Jack worriedly, and he mirrored her expression. They, unfortunately, knew that they really...didn't have a choice. "Get us out of here!"

"Danny, you may wanna hurry it up," Red's voice called out softly to them. Maddie did a double take. Oh yeah. Danny Phantom. Huh, she kinda forgot about that.

Phantom nodded, and he dropped the boba tea, letting it float in the air as he phased them out of the jail cell. Maddie stared at him.

"Wait, you can just phase through?" she asked. Phantom shrugged.

"Uh, sorta yes, sorta no," he replied, grabbing his tea.

"Danny!" Red's voice hissed. Phantom glanced to her.

"Okay, so super quick rundown of Ghost Zone rules. In the Ghost Zone, you guys are the ghosts, so you basically can fly and phase through objects, so Red can phase through objects and you guys too, but this is also a human cell that only I can get you out, and speaking out getting out, we need to leave. Now," Phantom quickly explained. As soon as he finished, he motioned for them to follow him.

He began to fly towards Red, and they jogged after him. Phantom peered around the corner before pulling back. Red did too.

"How's our escape route looking?" Phantom asked. He took a sip of his drink as Red pulled up a map on her suit. She studied it for a bit.

"Hmm. We may run into some trouble," Red mused. "Best bet is for me to take Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and phase with them out of here, and…" She gave a weird pause. "We'll uh. Wait for you to escape on your own." Phantom sucked on his drink, and the sound of air coming through as he ran out of boba tea grinded Maddie's nerves.

"Oh would you just!" Maddie scowled, and she slapped the cup out of Phantom's hands.

"Hey! I paid for that!" Phantom cried out. He scrambled to pick it up. "They were having an unlimited refills special if you got that cup!" Red snorted in amusement.

"Danny, they kicked you out for getting too many refills anyway," she reminded him. Phantom made a face.

"Well maybe they shouldn't advertise it as unlimited refills then," he retorted.

"Most people don't drink twelve cups of boba tea," she replied.

"Maybe I should be rewarded for being able to drink that much then."

"Hm, we'll debate it later," Red replied. "Look, I'll get them out and meet you on the other side. Got it?"

"Got it," Phantom replied. To Maddie's horror and shock, Red lifted her visor up, but not all the way. Just enough to expose her lips, and she leaned into Phantom to give him a light peck on the lips.

"Be careful," she told him. Phantom nodded.

"I will," he promised. "If I'm not with you in five minutes. Just." He paused. "Leave without me, get the Fentons home, and then come back for me." Red nodded as her visor went all the way down.

"Grab my hands," Red instructed the Fentons. Maddie blinked, reluctantly taking one of her hands. Jack took the other. Red summoned her board, jumping in the air and allowing it to manifest beneath her. She held onto them tightly and flew through the walls.

Instinctively, Maddie closed her eyes as she flew through. Only to feel no impact. A blur of walls impaired her vision with constant flashes of the darkness of being in a thick jail wall and the light of the prison rooms and hallways. She blinked as the neutral green skies of the Ghost Zone finally greeted her, and Red continued flying until they were a decent distance from the prison. And now that she had a moment to think…

"What the hell are you thinking?" she exclaimed to Red. The huntress snapped her attention to her in confusion.

"What? You would have died if we let you stay in there!" she scowled.

"No, not that!" Maddie clarified. "I mean, thank you so much for helping us, but you? And Phantom?"

"Exactly!" Jack agreed. "He's an absolute menace! He's a danger! Don't you guys fight? What happened to all of that?"

She could see a glimpse of Red's face under her heavily tinted visor, and Maddie was sure that the girl looked embarrassed and was likely turning as red as her suit.

"Oh man, it's a looong story," Red sighed heavily. "Uh, best and easiest and quickest way I can explain it is; a lot of the things that made me angry with him was a misunderstanding, and I found out that he's...actually a really sweet guy. I know it's weird to say, but, um. Well, I've never met a guy who was so kind, thoughtful and romantic. My life's kinda hectic, and he just...he really goes out of his way to make it easier on me."

"How so?" Jack wondered.

"Well, like. He does a lot of my household chores and stuff like laundry, bringing me lunch when I have long shifts at work, listening to me when I have a bad day," she explained. "He makes life a lot easier and better."

How cute. If it wasn't between a dead teenage menace and this poor, obviously manipulated girl. It honestly reminded Maddie a lot of her own Danny and his little girlfriend, Valerie. Valerie told her a few times about Danny doing some of her chores at home since Valerie was so busy working and doing school. It kinda pissed Maddie off, since Danny never seemed to remember his own chores at home, but she never felt like bringing it up to him because, well, at least he was really good to her. She'd be ashamed of him if he was any lesser.

"Hey!" Phantom called out as he zoomed towards them. "Let's go! Quick!"

Red nodded. She passed Jack off to Phantom, and the two teenagers flew the Fentons home.

#phics #my phics #phic phight 2021

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random-mailbox · 1 year

Text

Random-Mailbox's Favorite Sailor Moon Fics - Week 8 - Halloween 🎃

Our first Holiday themed post! I am excited about 👻Halloween🎃 and trick-or-treaters showing up at our place to get candy. Below fics are all about costumes, pumpkins and having fun at parties. HUGE thank you to @goddessalthena for making this gif for me, when I couldn't find one that wasn't potato quality ❤️

As always, my apologies in advance for spoiling some of these for you (Fic Titles are linked to either FFN or AO3 entries).

The Most Beautiful Costume - @queenrisa14

Motoki is throwing a Halloween Party at the Arcade and even convinced Mamoru to dress up for once. Usagi has made up her mind to try and impress certain dark haired high-school senior and, after getting told that her costume choice is not acceptable, resorts to using the Luna Pen to give herself the Most Beautiful Costume EVER.

Officer Tsukino (Part 1 and Part 2) - @linlamont

Usagi dresses up as a Sexy Cop for Halloween and Mamoru, having had a few drinks, tells her that he has been a bad boy and needs to be punished. What if Usagi REALLY gets into the spirit of the Holiday and has a little too much fun? Definitely read Part 2 for the 🍋🍋🍋 side of this one. Makes me wish there was a year later follow up on this one for a Part 3 😁

Miraculous Musings: Vignettes of a Miracle Romance - Chapter 17: pumpkin - @goddessalthena

This cute little one-shot explores Usagi learning about the traditions of Halloween in North America.

Halloween - @wildriverinthesky

This one shot is based around a haunted house adventure that Darien and his friends go on instead of heading to a Halloween Party, with a promise of ghosts and deepest desires shown. This is technically a series of holiday themed one-shots that @wildriverinthesky occasionally updates and some are more smutty than others. So subscribe and be warned!

Decorating for Halloween - Max333

Usagi decides that the first step in getting attention of the person she hasn't been able to stop thinking about is wearing an amazing costume. Step 2 is letting him see it while helping Motoki decorate for the Halloween party at the arcade before others get there. It definitely has the intended consequences, as the ending is pretty 🍋🍋🍋

we were both young when i first saw you - @goddamnelsa

This one absolutely fits the costume part of this post! Usagi joins her friends at a Ren Fair, where she bumps into a very familiar looking knight that she has known since High School (who doesn't seem to recognize her!), while cheering on Mako in the tournament.

Transformed - Goddess Usagi

Usagi’s friends convince her to dress up as a fairy for Halloween, while Motoki gets Mamoru to be Adonis. What if these costumes were from a shop that suddenly appeared in the neighborhood? Follow our favorite duo as they experience an unintentionally magical evening.

This wraps up our October adventures. Looking at November, plan is to do the following themes - these were chosen together with the wonderful @areptiledysfunction1107 (check out her stories on AO3!):

November 7 - Mischaracterization

November 14 - Non-Senshi AU

November 21 - Current WIP I can't wait to read more of (that have seen progress over the last 12 months)

November 28 - Mutual Pining

Here are the links to the previous posts to explore more amazing works based on different tropes - make sure to check them out if you haven't had a chance!

Sex Positivity

Established Relationships

Groundhog Day

Unfinished Stories

Darker Stories

Potions 🧪

Reveals

#sailor moon #fanfic #fic list #fic rec #halloween #costume #pumpkin

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olderthannetfic · 3 years

Note

Hi I’ve been wrestling with smtg for a bit( aka several years) and I honestly wasnt sure where to even start a convo for this and then I saw a brief mention in the comments so here I am. Im like a big Cassandra Clare fan(i am starting to outgrow her stuff but i still read for like past me’s sake) havent gotten into reading fanfic (for another fandom) until lets say recent years like a year ago, and then well like any person who obsesses over smtg i also learned stuff about the author that sounded well, like she wasnt exactly the nicest person. Especially when it came to how she started as a fanfic writer. Im confused though: the way people kinda like say, oh supporting her is bad ya know cuz of how she was kinda shitty (im being vague cuz any time i tried to look up actual like proof i just got angry sounding articles and i wasnt sure if that was like good enough??) and I look at her material now that I personally find relatable(Izzy was the first character I looked at and thought: oh its okay to be feminine AND badass? More context: my part of the world was/ is INCREDIBLY sexist) and I found so much joy in and very much like all the lgbt rep I found in it, people are still referring back to how shes horrible and im just like: i feel like i missed out on smtg everyone knew once but idk where to look to even get more info.

Anyway I mentioned how recently I got into fanfic because until I started following your blog I didnt know all the history behind it and that started to help me figure out some things about how some authors started out.

I dont expect anyone to like gimme a list or smtg like: oh this person is bad bcuz X. Im just wondrring like: why am i constantly told I shouldnt like cassandra clare? when they’ve done so much good for me. (I dont mean to think my experience is the only one or anything either ofc)

I dont mean to come off like im in denial or maybe I am idk i really just dont know where to go for this convo cuz i absolutely want to have it

You want my honest answer? Butthurt.

Cassie has gotten many, many chances that other people would have liked, and she has gotten them on the basis of whom she knows, from her publishing contract to her film and tv deals. People don't feel she earned those chances, and they are bitter as fuck. For example, her books got made into a film. It bombed. And then, unlike in most other cases, they went on and made a tv series of the same material. I think a lot of people look at her and see a charmed life, and it disgusts them either out of pure jealousy or because she was always kind of a douchbag.

Cassie's an asshole, but her "crimes" are so incredibly minor compared to Hollywood creeps or even compared to JKR. If you want to keep liking her books, you do you.

Now, as for what her "crimes" actually are, they boil down to fandom interpersonal drama, gross e-begging (kind of), and plagiarism.

She got her ass kicked off of FFN for copying lines and even whole chunks from other media and putting them in her HP fic without attribution. She later tried to excuse this by saying her fans were playing 'spot the reference', but I saw fans quoting 'her" lines all the time and not realizing they were borrowed.

She did actually plagiarize. Whether you think this is the crime to end all crimes is another story.

"Laptopgate" and the time fandom bought her an iPod are probably second most serious. CC's apartment was burgled, and she and her roommates lost some computers and things. She didn't directly ask her followers for money, but she didn't have to. A little crying on social media and some active organizing by her friend, and fandom coughed up a whole bunch of money. Something similar happened when she wanted an iPod.

This really doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? The reason it bugged people was that it was pretty obvious she had a lot more resources than many of the people donating. She could have asked her family for help replacing the laptops. I found the whole thing a bit tacky in both cases and thought she sounded like she was fishing for the iPod even if she didn't directly ask her fans to buy it for her, but this is hardly the stuff of undying scandal.

The real reason people remember laptopgate is that a fan with a medical fundraiser tried to get CC's friend to signal boost them, and the friend was dismissive. I do think she handled it poorly. It was also a time when e-begging was a lot rarer than now and when signal boosting was more than just clicking reblog. How much any of that was CC's fault is open to interpretation.

CC was also the unwitting dupe of fandom's most famous con artist, Msscribe, a bully who went after whole swaths of Harry Potter fandom. CC wasn't directly at fault, but her fame and popularity helped this other asshole operate unimpeded. It left a lot of fans disgusted with that whole social circle.

Beyond that, there's a vast list of minor bullshit. CC acted like a celebrity and lorded it over her fellow fans. She pitted her sycophants against each other. She was--and as far as I can tell stayed--an entitled, self-important whiner. Her crying about Shadowhunters not following her derivative biphobic trash books more closely was hilarious, for example. Cry moar about how your boring self insert got sidelined for a better character!

She has some one-off story I remember people being pissed about that is basically her pulling a Not Like The Other Girls and shitting on fandom nerds--or at least, that's how people took it.

CC has also spent a lot of time talking behind people's backs and being a catty bitch--possibly even a bully. But that kind of thing is hard to prove. It's all down to how different people remember and interpret various incidents, and a lot of the people she was shitty to are also major drama queens who don't always inspire much sympathy.

If you stopped reading every author who was rude or self-important at some point, you wouldn't have much left to read.

OTW, which runs AO3, also runs a fandom history wiki. You can look CC up there. I think it covers most of the major stuff, including a rumor I had totally forgotten about about her ~doxxing a minor~. (That was Flourish who explains the whole thing themself, and CC did nothing of the sort.)

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Cassandra_Claire

CC's major crime has always been being a privileged jerk. People see her as a Rich Mean Girl and one of us who thinks she's somehow too good for the rest of us. Except, now, she's also a famous author and not really One Of Us anymore. That's why it's so difficult for people to articulate the problem.

I think her work does have some shitty messages, but for me to engage deeply with them, I'd have to go read the whole thing instead of just chortling at a few horrible metaphors and reading other people's salt. Life's too short for that!

Go forth, nonnie, and read the teen books of your heart. CC isn't problematic in a way where you should refuse to give her money.

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thejudgingtrash · 4 years

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Annabeth is a good person,but not a nice or pleasant one,IMO.

YES.

That’s it. That’s the post. Pack it up everybody, we just cracked the case and cleared up one of the most compelling fights in the PJO fandom since forever. Good job everybody, clap it out and there’s the door! Don’t forget ordering the drinks at Starbucks, Mitch! They’re on me!

Okay, but on a more serious note: YES. YES EXACTLY.

And before some of you roll your eyes or grab your pitchforks – put your biases aside and hear me out for once. I like Annabeth. She’s my in my top three characters only second to Percy himself. I love Percabeth. It’s my favorite ship in the entire series and to be frank, the only ship that I care about PJO wise. Hell, I spend my time creating my own headcanons or writing my own fanfics with Percabeth being the star in them.

But that is not to say that I’m unable to see how certain things have developed over the years or where they stand now in regard to Annabeth. I’m not here to ignore things that have been said and/or done due to or in the name of Annabeth and I’m not here to vilify anyone that doesn’t like her. And I’m here to admit that I’m guilty of some of the things that may be addressed in this meta essay that you will read in just a second. However, I try my best to assure you, that I’m for once able to recognize my own bias.

Warning: a monster essay lies right upon you.

This should count as a paper of its own.

Back to the statement on top: I would go out even further to reframe your claim, anon:

Annabeth Chase is a good character but not a nice or pleasant person.

Annabeth is a wonderful character but she isn’t a nice one. Or at least not nice to everyone. She is (construction wise if I dare say) the best character out of the series. She has her positive traits (she’s caring, she’s emotional, she’s encouraged and volunteers, she fights for what she believes in, she forgives (even if doing so begrudgingly)) but she also has her negative traits (she’s stubborn, she’s brash, changing her mind takes forever, she is prejudiced, she baits others). That balances things out. She is branded as the intelligent kid but does irrational things (like I’ve just said a) she’s a kid and b) she’s not a robot). She should probably know better, but we all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from them. The clouds in the sky do blur and cover our visions sometimes.

Annabeth had clashes with other characters or was about to have fights due to her stubbornness or jealousy (Rachel, Reyna, etc.) and has of course her problems with the mortal world and her family but she also found new friends, some things cleared up throughout the narration and she was/is quite popular in Camp Half-Blood.

The thing is: she doesn’t have to be nice or pleasant (as a character). Or at least not all the time. Her character is humanized. That is what or who she is. Human. She does stand out as a character, not just because she’s the (future) love interest. She feels like someone you could meet in real life and either adore from the top to the bottom or declare as your biggest enemy. And that’s totally okay if you lean either way – liking or disliking her. Or even feeling indifferent about her. Also great!

To say that she has been the best character that Riordan has crafted is easy to say, because she has been sculpted after Riordan’s wife. He had a model he could rub some of real-life events or traits on. That’s not the problem. The problem truly doesn’t lie on Riordan’s side for the most part for once.

The problem is inherently on the fandom’s side. What the fandom does, how it acts and how it treats Annabeth as a character is the problem. The problems vary but it’s mostly the mischaracterization of Annabeth, starting fights and fan/ship wars, internalized misogyny (in some cases) and how some of the Annabeth stans lash out (ha, got firsthand experience in that field among many of my friends and mutuals!). There is a reason why many people are wary of people that have Annabeth or Percabeth related URLs.

The fact that we see Annabeth mostly through Percy’s lens and (until the Heroes of Olympus saga hits) we never really see her in chill everyday situations is essentially Riordan leaving the back door of the house open, ready for all of you asshats to rob his mansion in Boston. Because a frame on a character means that we don’t get to see the character in its entirety (unlike we do with Percy in PJO for the most part). That means a bunch of stuff is left open for interpretation which is the reason why Annabeth gets so many polarized headcanon and opinions tossed around. I think that is one of the true appeals of Annabeth. You can add on stuff and it necessarily doesn’t have to contradict itself.

We have people calling her abusive due to a (n admittedly stupid and unnecessary) judo flip and we have people that act like she’s never done anything wrong. People sorta use this excuse to form and shape Annabeth however they want and distort her characterization.

People in the fandom act like Annabeth is some weird prized possession. We perceive Annabeth mostly through the eyes of others (Percy, Apollo, etc.) and when we had some sort of insight in her ways (MOA, HOH) it felt… weird? Somewhat? Like Riordan left two bullet points of her characterization and told the ghostwriter: aight, fuck it up, gringo, see you on Tuesday and greet Fred the next time you see him for me.

There have been many posts lately (by Tharini, Simi, Sawasawako, Jewishpercy and Annie I believe?) that HOO Percabeth felt weird. That they felt weirdly constructed, that there was no conflict, no growth. It felt stagnating, like we’re turning back. We had five books prior where we had Annabeth and Percy slowly shifting from disliking to liking and crushing each other. True development. And when we finally got the cake it felt… dissatisfying. Like the cheap box stuff and not the delicious exquisite taste that we were promised.

I said it previously in my Percabeth ship roast, but let me repeat myself: many Percabeth related things are straight up fanon. Some of it is very old fanon so that’s been unable to distinguish unless you’ve read the books recently and subtract nearly 99,9% of things you see on Tumblr (and occasionally the other shitty parts of the fandom like Reddit, IG, Twitter. Although they mostly steal and recycle tumblr stuff oh well. But back to the topic).

The way people treat Annabeth is so strange. She’s either an innocent fluffy smush baby that’s never harmed a fly and all that she wants for Christmas is being Percy’s lapdog or she’s the devil incarnate, broke into your house, killed your parents Batman style, kicked your puppy and didn’t flush the toilet on the way out. I think this is what mostly makes people hate her or the ship Percabeth. And both extremes are wrong and right at the same time? She is multifaceted so both stereotypes are true and untrue and sorta cancel each other out in the same way.

The true reason why people dislike Annabeth is because the stans are doing the most. (The haters as well, don’t get me wrong, but oh boy. Piss of a stan and you’ll know what I mean). That isn’t inherently new. Are you guys old enough to remember the ship wars that have happened cross platform? Perachel vs. Percabeth? Oh boy, oh boy. I saw some kids on tumblr a few months ago trying to infiltrate both tags and start shit (and also fail). The fact that Rachel still gets used as the bitchy (ex) girlfriend in fanfics? It’s 2020 guys. I know this apocalyptic year is far from perfect and over but I think we can let this trope die, right? Right? I thought we’ve established that Rachel is a pretty chill charcter by now… right?

If you posted your stuff on FFN back in 2010-2013 and it wasn’t the typical cutesy Percabeth story (Goode High, the gods read TLT, punk/prep Percabeth, college AU, etc.) people would’ve come for your fucking throat. Not because the story or the narration was shit. But because the pairing wasn’t Annabeth and Percy (in the sense that Annabeth had to be paired with Percy. I mean Percy gets shipped with everyone and their mother but for Annabeth it was strictly Percy. As annoying as this whole Connabeth thing is – the people behind it actually had a point. She never had a different love interest unless it’s a Percy centered story and he goes off dating Athena, Artemis and Zoe at the same time for some odd reason. Yeah, FFN Percy ships are something). Or it wasn’t the action filled canon compliant story or it wasn’t an AU that was popular.

People were really stubborn, snobbish and wanted their stuff in the four five boxes that were the most popular ones and that’s it. People have been bullied off the site in many fandoms, so it’s not a PJO-only thing but it’s still sad that it happened. (Off-note: most of these FFN tropes are still alive and well and thriving on AO3. Don’t be so snobbish and pretend that every piece you’d find there is a holy grail. There’s a lot of trash you have to waddle through. Same with Wattpad, Tumblr or anywhere else where fanfics get posted. Also had this discussion with Annabeth stans. Sigh).

And Tumblr back then? Forget it, wasn’t much better.

That view has sorta changed (at least for people that have been in the fandom for several years or have managed to find a way to navigate through it) but some of the negative sentiment from back in the day has survived. Be it by new fans coming in or from old fans that never let their stance die. The aggression feels differently and somewhat not. (I don’t know if the anon function had been abused that much back in the day. I was an observer not a participant in the fandom).

Crack a joke at Annabeth’s expense (Kal’s famous “Annabeth is a Republican” post or Dee Dee’s and many others “Annabeth has the education of a second grader, chill with the college plans, girlie” stance) and you have people insulting you, making callout posts, unfollowing and blocking you (based on only that? Okay, honey), making aggressive counter-posts, etc. in a minute. If you respond with “It’s a joke, it’s not real” you have a 50/50 chance of either getting blown off or embarrassing them so that they apologize for once.

This isn’t just about jokes. You can make a headcanon that’s not the cozy cute convenient mainstream saga and people would react the same way. Or art piece (no, not including the whole Tannabeth Blackchase shtick done by Viria and others) or fanfics.

People project so much onto the unfinished canvas that is Annabeth Chase that any form of negative sentiment as little as someone not liking her to straight up criticism, regardless of how tiny it may be, seems like an affront. Like an invitation to a fight. Like an insult to them, their character, everything they believe in. Let me state something:

You are NOT Annabeth Chase. Annabeth Chase IS NOT you. Annabeth Chase is NOT real. Her feeling cannot be hurt. Someone criticizing, disliking, joking about her or even insulting her will not bother her. Someone making a statement about her is not an insult to YOU.

Let me repeat that:

Annabeth Chase isn’t real. Annabeth Chase isn’t you.

So think a little before you act? I get it when you’re a kid and new to fandoms or haven’t been up with fan cultures in the past and are back in the scene. But if you’re in your late teens or even older as an adult and you’re unable to understand that you aren’t what you like – you aren’t the extension of a fictional character – I feel incredibly sorry for you. Because that’s just incredibly sad. Someone disliking something you like isn’t an attack of your character. It shows you that you are you and the other person is a human just like you. That they just have different taste. Disliking something you like isn’t a crime, you know? But me feeling sorry for the way some of y’all act won’t mean that that’s even remotely okay. Especially if you’re no longer in the intended audience for PJO age wise and should know better.

This isn’t a “white stans” only thing. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand how people of color, mainly women of color, act the same or not even worse when it comes to her character. People have projected their problems and real-life occurring events into her character (I’m sure that she isn’t the only character nor that this is the only fandom where this is happening) and in some cases like I’ve said cannot separate their own personality from the fictional world. Fights with woc happened because of Annabeth fucking Chase. So many things have happened in the fandom the past few months, mostly due to people being forced staying at home because of the quarantine but I’d say it’s 10% on quarantine and 90% on people for acting up like this.

So here’s a little story: There was the act of Riordan blowing the fandom up because of his own stupidity and being unable to apologize for his mischaracterization and lack of research (the whole Piper fiasco) back in June (?) and admits the upset fandom, people on Twitter, Tumblr and Discord legit thought that none of that mattered and that the outcry was destroying Annabeth Chase’s birthday. That’s right. People thought that Annabeth Chase’s non-existing birthday because she’s a fictional character had a higher priority than the rupture and prevalent racism in the fandom. Okay. This isn’t a great look, Annabeth stans. And this of course pissed a lot of people off. I made a post about it and someone not only berated three other people on said post but no, we had a mighty argument which had disrupted many friendships in our circle which haven’t recovered until this very day. We both had our parts in it and no one is innocent. But the cause of this still remains Annabeth Chase or how people prioritize her non-existing well-being. Anyway. I’m getting agitated just thinking about it.

Let’s go back to the characterization thing with Annabeth. Let me remind you:

Annabeth Chase is an asshole. There I’ve said it in a post ages ago (too lazy to look it up, sorry) and I’ll say it again. And that’s not me insulting her. That’s me actually loving that about her. Annabeth is one of the very few unapologetic female characters that really showed all young readers across the world that you can be a girl, a badass, smart, strong, standing up for yourself and what you believe in. You don’t have to be nice. You don’t have to hide your feelings. You don’t need a man in all cases but it’s also okay to accept help and defeat.

A large reason why I think she’s an incredibly important character in children’s literature/YA because many other novels (mostly (sadly)) have the “Oh, I’m a white skinny dark-haired girl that likes unconventional things like READING. I’m not like the other girls, that take care of themselves and pamper themselves by enjoying shopping and wearing make-up. No, I’d rather be one of the boys but a sweet cute little boy and not the jock fuck that drank vodka shots out of a filthy shoe once. Despite me calling myself hideous every man in a 10-kilometer radius falls in love with me and tells me I’m oh so sexy and by the way I’m only 16 years old” shit going on for no goddamn reason.

Yes, I do blame Twilight for this mostly in recent years, but this trope isn’t by any means knew. Pretty sure that you could even use classics as Pride and Prejudice and dissect them in the same manner (Bold statement: Lizzy Bennet is the OG Bella Swan. There. Go fight somewhere in the corner, people). The new wave of YA focuses on girls belittling themselves and only starting to believe in themselves because someone else (mostly the male love interest) tells them they’re worth it. And these books hit the mainstream because they’re incredibly bland and picture perfect white.

With Annabeth it’s different. She shows up for the job and is done with it. (Brie Larson would probably be the perfect in real life version of her. You either like or dislike her. Or you really don’t care). That is what is so refreshing about her. Her unapologetic nature. Can it be off-putting? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes! Hell, every time I read The Lightning Thief, I want to rip her goddamn head off. And it’s just so well written. Her shift from mistrusting Percy but secretly still believing in him to her opening up. Wow, Riordan did something right there.

Annabeth Chase isn’t a young character. She has existed along with PJO for 15 years. She’s on her way to the second decade. I’m pretty sure that with the success of Percy Jackson (and Harry Potter) many lives have been warped and shaped.

But when I say the problem lies mostly in the fandom, it doesn’t mean that Riordan’s completely innocent. The only problem that I have with Annabeth lies not truly with her but the fact that Riordan is only able to produce three variations of female characters:

The sweetheart (Hazel, Silena, Calypso, Hestia)

The strong feminist (Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Artemis)

The bitch (Drew, nearly every female goddess in the goddamn Riordanverse next to every female monster)

And these female characters only know three endings:

End up married with a mortgage, three kids, two dogs and a cat somewhere in Connecticut by the age of twelve

Get dumped into the hunt

Chill on Mount Olympus and only come down to be a nuisance and/or give a cryptic message before going back and doing a godly rave party or something

We know Annabeth as the badass strong female first (or the bitchy character we’re supposed to actually like. Choose your approach), the blueprint so to speak, so some of the other characters feel almost pale in comparison and almost not needed? Doesn’t mean that other characters can’t behave similarly, but it feels kind of redundant especially if their character arcs end in a rather anticlimactic way (Thalia, Reyna). The new additions are the much needed woc as the main story with PJO was inherently white (anyway stan black!Percy and Grover, folks). So it’s not to bash on the new characters, it’s more Riordan’s fault more than anything.

Since Riordan only knows three female character arcs it feels like he tried to copy the formula several ways with different nuances. Some more or less successful. This is where fandom actually comes in handy and helps create more distinguished and fleshed out characters in form of headcanons or fanfiction.

But even in these cases people still make it about Annabeth when it’s time for characters of colors to shine. Remember that whole spiel and discussion that broke out when people (Kal, diver-up, Caitlyn, Bee, reynaisalesbian, etc.) joked about or criticized that Annabeth thinks that she’s having it harder because she’s a blonde? In front of Hazel and Piper? If she would’ve been a real person that’s an invitation for getting decked. And then all hell broke loose because Annabeth stans couldn’t accept the fact that in the real world and/or in fictional worlds the woc/coc have it harder? That the white woman wasn’t the victim that needed the coddling? Yeah, that was mad pathetic.

I hope you people get my point?

Well fuck. I wrote so many things and have the feeling I’ve said nothing. Anyway, I hope I made sense. This is way too long.

TLDR: Chill about Annabeth please. She’s an important character but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like her, regardless of being a character in the books or a reader/fan of PJO in real life. She isn’t nice or a sweetheart all the time. She also isn’t the monstrous asshole that some try to make out of her.

Peace out.

#Mel answers #pjo #percy jackson #Annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #Percabeth #pjo Meta #Heroes of olympus #hoo #trials of apollo #toa #hazel levesque #piper mclean #reyna avila ramirez arellano #rachel elizabeth dare #pjo fandom #coc #rick riordan #riordanverse

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vickyvicarious · 4 years

Note

do u have any atla fic recs? all time faves? can be shippy or not

Fun fact, I am incapable of holding back on reclists. In other words: brace yourself, anon. There’s a reason I put most of this behind a cut.

First off, these are almost all Zuko-centric, because I shamelessly play favorites. I’ll sort them by author rec, gen, shippy, and then by other characters because honestly the numbers break down well that way. Within those categories it’ll be more just as I think of it, so no special meaning to the order. I’m not always good about bookmarking even my faves, so some excellent stuff will no doubt be missing, especially since I haven’t read a lot of the more recent stuff yet/forgot some really old stuff, but this will definitely still give you plenty of fic to enjoy.

There’s a good number of FFN links on here so apologies to people who dislike it, but a lot of great stuff is still on there so give it a chance.

Author recs

Everything by @awesomeavocadolove Such hits as Another Brother (Zuko adopted by Hakoda pre-S1), and currently has a Zukka soulmate fic I’ve been meaning to start reading, as well as Unchained Melody, one of my favorite Zukka fics ever. Always quality, you can’t go wrong.

Everything by KimberlyT. I do not kid. She’s written a variety of ATLA fic ranging from Zutara/other romance to gen, seriously emotional to cracky cabbagebending. I think my favorite is probably Mismatched (S1 Zuko adopts a baby) but honestly just go read it all.

Everything by @emletish-fish. She has a very fun writing style and honestly her end-of-chapter notes on why she’s made the choices she has are fun minimetas worthwhile in their own right. Some of her top fics are the Stalking Zuko series (S3 suspicious Katara to Zutara) and The Worst Prisoner (the Gaang kidnaps Zuko in S1 and can’t get rid of him). I think there’s still a good amount of her fic that can only be found on FFN so check there too.

Everything by @botherkupo. Especially her Undying Fire series (healer!Zuko) but also just literally everything she writes, it is all so great. Tends toward Zutara but strong gen fics as well sometimes and a lot of fun. Check it all out!

Everything by @muffinlance. Loves to toy with her readers’ emotions in the best of ways. Tons of fantastic gen Zuko-centric AUs, I have adored every single fic I’ve ever read by her, can’t praise them enough. Very productive as well, her tumblr is a hub for the ATLA renaissance and her fics inspire lots of others. Has also organized a fanmade ATLA coloring book for charity so get that once it’s out. In the meantime read everything she’s written.

Everything by Haicrescendo. My favorite is What We’re Given (the series where Zuko finds more air bisons and raises them), but there’s a lot of good Zukka fic too. I tend to steer away from explicit works in this fandom unless it’s a smaller part of a much longer plot-centric fic, so there are a number I haven’t read, but I really like the Pokemon!AU Zukka.

Everything by @gaycinema. I really love the EK fight club series (Zuko fights in Rumbles/etc.) but all of it is a good read. Some Jetko, mostly a lot of introspective or emotional oneshots. Which isn’t really a great depiction of how good they tend to be, you’ll just have to read them and find out. You won’t regret it, trust me.

Everything by @captainkirkk. So far eight stellar fics, starting with kind Fire Lord Zuko and ranging to Floating Tea Shop!Zuko who doesn’t want to hunt the Avatar. I love her style and have laughed out loud at multiple of these.

Gen Zuko fic

Bringing Out the Blue by maguena1. [unfinished, long] Definitely worth the read. The first ATLA fic I ever got really sucked into. The Blue Spirit never gets knocked out so Aang doesn’t know his true identity; he joins the Gaang on a recurring basis, while Zuko attempts to tell himself this is only for information on how to catch them, they definitely aren’t his friends.

It’s Impossible by Sandra Phillips. [abandoned, long] One of the earliest Avatar!Zuko fics (sort of) and a really interesting take on some spirit stuff.

Embers by Vathara. [complete, long] A landmark fic in the fandom, and for good reason. I didn’t love everything about this fic, but it is very well-written and an absorbing read certainly worth the praise.

the art of description by incandescens. [oneshot, short] Five descriptions of Zuko and Toph’s field trip from various perspectives. Short, sweet, and funny.

Breaking Point by Kryal. [oneshot, short] Zuko isn’t banished but instead sent to serve in the Home Guard. I love Zuko loving his people, and alternate canon explorations, and this is exactly that.

The Alternative by Lunatique. [oneshot, short] The reason Zuko is so determined is because he fears what will happen if he isn’t the next Fire Lord. An idea I support in canon, to a degree, written well.

Hands and Knees by gigerisgod. [oneshot, short] Zuko reflects on the choices he’s made, and experiences he’s had, when joining the Gaang. A nice introspective fic.

Relative Misery by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Toph complains about her family and Zuko takes her on a field trip. Not a fic I take too seriously, but funny in a sad way.

Second Nature by lazyartisan. [possibly abandoned, long] An AU stemming from Zuko’s capture at the North Pole. Well-written and characterized, an old favorite that I actually find needing to reread to give you more detail, but I can promise it’s good.

Year One by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Lessons Zuko learns in his first year being Fire Lord. I really like explorations of Zuko’s journey as Fire Lord and this is a lovely little window into that.

Soft by PenPistola. [oneshot, short] Zuko and Toph bonding after the Ember Island Players. Short and sweet.

The New Phoenix King by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] Fire Lord Zuko is overthrown, and no one but him is bothered at all. In fact they help. Hilarious crack.

First Name Basis by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] There’s some popular posts going around Tumblr lately about Zuko not knowing the Gaang’s names, but this fic did it first back in 2008. As amusing as you’d expect.

Male Bonding by glamaphonic. [oneshot, short] The original ‘Zuko and Sokka bond and are also dumb idiot boys’ fic. Katara is permanently rolling her eyes.

it’s not the waking, it’s the rising by isamagicdragon, thegracious [ongoing, series, medium] Azulon tells Ozai to kill Azula instead of Zuko, which leads to heartwrenching fire sibs adventure. I haven’t caught up on the last chapter yet but god is it fantastic and also just a really interesting and new perspective on what could have happened.

Doe-Eyed by Anonymous. [complete, medium] Zuko is a baby, Azula is a loving big sister. More fire sibs and a great exploration on Azula’s POV of turning against Ozai.

kintsugi by discordiansamba. [ongoing, series, long] Zuko doesn’t have Iroh after being banished, and winds up hired as a guard to protect the frail Beifong daughter. Fantastic preseries Zuko+Toph found family fic.

Legacies by WildInkling. [ongoing, medium] Far in the future, a historian studies the journal of Fire Lord Zuko. Also, he was secretly a famous author but no one knows. A funny and poignant outsider POV.

#UndercoverZuko series by naggeluide. [complete, series, short] A completely cracky concept written straight enough to be actually quite touching in parts, but also just really funny. Zuko goes Undercover Boss on his ship pre-series.

Avatar Ficlets by JaggedCliffs. [series, oneshots, short] An ongoing series of disconnected oneshots, mostly post-canon and mostly Zuko-centric. Some a pretty fun, one is a great view on Zuko and lightningbending, all worth the read (and follow for when more come out).

The Blind Leading the Blue by BrusselsSprout. [ongoing, medium] An epic Zuko and Toph field trip set in S2. I love them and this.

half in the shadows, half burned in flames by r_astra. [oneshot, short] Iroh dies, Zuko gets caught on the Day of Black Sun, everything ends up all right but damn does it hurt getting there.

A Tale of Earth and Fire by chiiyo86. [complete, medium] Zuko and Toph are married for Politics in a FN Wins AU, and follows them slowly bonding as friends to beginning a revolution. They’re married but it’s not romantic, just some good friendship.

Eight Principles of Yong by psocoptera. [oneshot, short] An exploration of immediate post-show FN politics (sort of), calligraphy, and Zuko. Also has some lovely non-fighting firebending; I always love when people explore other uses of bending.

Healing Properties of Cinder Sage by Dawen. [oneshot, short] Zuko gets very sick in the Western Air Temple. Some good interaction when he’s new to the Gaang, and Toph+Zuko friendship.

We Ourselves Must Walk The Path by WinterSky101. [complete, medium] The Gaang agrees to make Zuko their prisoner in the WAT. Speaking of new-to-the-Gaang, tension, this fic has plenty of it, and also features some good Toph and Zuko.

Frozen by Aris Merquoni. [oneshot, medium] Zuko is captured in the NWT. Some politics, lots of angst, and eventually, healing. Also actually makes me somewhat like Hahn? Incredibly enough.

Reluctant Hero by PAW_07. [ongoing, long] Avatar!Zuko fic. I got to beta it way back when for a little while before I got too busy, and have always been a huge fan of this fic. Great concept, one of the best executions of it I’ve seen, and also one of the first. Definitely read this.

Morality Chain by Pureauthor. [abandoned, long] Azula and Zuko were always on each other’s side; how this changes canon. I love this concept and would happily read a lot more fics with it (please guys, I need more fire sibs).

A viper-lizard’s tales series by Yumi_Take. [ongoing, long] The world needs more of Zuko adopting pets and small children, and those are just facts. This only has one of the two, but it’s a EK baby! Jet plays a big role in this fic as well, a weird kind of uncle-ish to the baby/friend/murderer Zuko needs to watch closely and hold back kind of thing.

(life happens) wherever you are by howlikeagod. [ongoing, long] Katara doesn’t find Zuko and Iroh in the teashop, and canon takes a sharp left turn. Excellent Gaang fic.

The Best Path series by EudociaCovert. [series, ongoing, long] Zuko meets Jet in ‘Zuko Alone’ and winds up getting claimed as theirs by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Really really well-written, I got quite emotional over some scenes.

Shippy Zuko fic

Balm by Thyme In Her Eyes. [Maiko, oneshot, short] A sweet little fic about Mai’s thoughts on Zuko’s lightning scar.

The Black Games by Mrs. Pettyfer. [Zutara, complete, long] Hunger Games-esque AU. It’s the first in a series, and I lost interest after this one but I remember enjoying the fic and it was more personal preference rather than a drop in quality that had me leaving.

Lie To Me by Inkcharm. [Toko, oneshot, short] I’m not actually a fan of this pairing romatically (at least until years down the line), but this little fic of Toph and Zuko bonding through lying to one another is sweet. I choose to ignore the more shippy parts and enjoyed it.

Zutara? What the heck is that? by Ryxl. [Zutara, oneshot, short] Complete crack, have a good sense of humor and I think you will enjoy. Just the mental image of the Gaang finding a Zutara propaganda flyer had me chuckling.

The Three Chores series (1, 2, 3) by Fandomme. [Zutara, threeshot, short] Zuko and Katara slowly bond as he helps with chores. I will admit it’s been years and I barely remember this, but what I do recall is lovely and I always appreciate people lightening Katara’s load.

read the inscription by suzukiblu. [Zuko/Song, complete, series, medium] When Zuko is banished, he is left alone in the Earth Kingdom to fend for himself. Very touching, and I love Song in this.

Hooked by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] A classic ‘Jet didn’t see Iroh warming his tea’ fic. They’re almost all this premise but so many well-written and very long ones.

Something To Hold Onto by Wildgoosery. [Jetko, complete, long] The EK fell and Li stayed to fight with the Freedom Fighters to protect the city during its foreign rule. Jet didn’t see the tea fic that goes very AU from canon.

Foxfire by Rahar_Moonfire. [Jetko, ongoing, long] Zuko loses his memories Jetko fic, but with heavy spirit influence and lovable EK OCs, both of which I adore and should be in far more fics.

Once Upon A Teashop by anaer. [Zukka, Jetko, ongoing, long] Cracky Ba Sing Se AU that gets gradually more and more serious. Jet hits on Zuko a lot and Sokka gets a job in the teashop to keep an eye on both of them. Endgame Zukka but heavy Jetko, and both pairings are handled pretty well, not a love triangle that makes me too mad, although as always bear in mind Jet’s messed up.

Names by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] I feel like I’m forgetting some more excellent Amnesia!Zuko fics, but this is one I do know of. To be honest I don’t remember it super well because it may be mixed up with other Jetko/amnesia fics in my mind, but I think it was really good. I’ll have to reread myself.

Epistles by Lady_of_the_Flowers. [Zukka, ongoing, long] I love epistolary fic and I love Zuko and Sokka bonding earlier in canon. I will be honest I haven’t read this in a long time and been updating all the while, but the premise alone (Zuko and Sokka become messenger-hawk-pals in S1 and then fall in love) is fantastic.

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought. [Zukka, ongoing, long] Zuko rebels earlier and actually is sent to the mines, until he is ‘rescued’ by the Water Tribe. Dark but getting lighter over time, and more reluctant-to-rule Zuko which always wrenches my heartstrings. I prefer super loyal and dutiful to his people Zuko but this trope always makes me feel things.

Crossovers

Fallen Drops of Fire by Chasmfiend. [Fullmetal Alchemist, ongoing] Young Azula and Zuko somehow appear in Amestris, and encounter Roy Mustang. I adore the fire sibs, and their relationship in this strange situation is the star of this fic for me, but it’s also fun seeing the FMA perspective of these two.

The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kryal. [Stargate SG-1, long, complete] The best crossover fic out there. Zuko and Toph get stranded on the other side of a Stargate. I don’t know anything about SG-1 but it didn’t matter, the fic was fantastic, they were badasses, it explored language and culture from an outside perspective, and it was just a ton of fun. Must-read.

Other character fic

Loyalty by Julia451. [oneshot, short] The ship captain didn’t misspeak when he called Iroh and Zuko “prisoners” in the start of S2. A lovely look at a nameless character, giving depth to a small moment and humanity to a FN soldier which I always love.

The Only One by HarlowR. [oneshot, short] An excellent exploration of Azula’s mindset regarding Zuko, her desperate need to be loved and jealousy of him matching his own. I think Azula was one of the greatest tragedies of the show, and this fic makes me feel it.

Blood by theAsh0. [oneshot, short] Katara-centric thinkpiece on bloodbending and healing. Dark but really interesting.

Touch and Go by Cadence. [oneshot, short] After Iroh’s struck by lightning, Toph doesn’t let Zuko drive them all away. A momentary alliance and the seeds of friendship. More Toph-focused but still heavy on the whole Gaang.

Shortcomings by Menamebephil. [oneshot, short] Iroh thoughts during his imprisonment, on the theme of mistakes. I love this man and don’t understand why I am so drawn to fic about him that makes me sad.

Watch And Review, Please by Becca Stareyes. [oneshot, short] The Ember Island Players receive some constructive criticism... sort of. Funny and quick.

Azula Redemption Trilogy (1, 2, 3) by Mistress of Sarcasm. [threeshot, short] Second person and deeply introspective, three short little fics delving into Azula’s head and bringing her closer to redemption.

Echoing Refrains by catie_writes_things. [oneshot, short] I really like nuanced explorations of the whole FN royal family. It’s perfectly fine to write Ozai as pure evil bastard, but exploring what might have been or how he got there, or even as in this fic his talent for music being inherited by Zuko is really interesting too. Iroh-centric.

our curse by ohmygodwhy, and the last dragon by thesometimeswarrior. [twoshot, complete, short] Stay away if you don’t like to cry. In the first Zuko learns Ozai is executing Iroh, and isn’t able to stop it; the second is even worse because it’s Iroh’s POV. I put this in the other characters section because honestly I adore the second fic even more than the first, but they are both fantastically written and will hurt you a very great deal.

Finally, I’m not quite bold enough to put my own fic on a reclist, but just shameless enough to mention I’ve written a few Avatar fics I quite like if anyone feels the desire to check them out on my AO3. ;) But seriously give love to all the rest of these, they deserve it. (And as I said, there’s lots more excellent stuff, this fandom is so prolific and well-written!)

#atla #atla fic #fic rec #reclist #replies #anonymous #i'm haunted by the feeling i've forgotten a lot of stuff #but honestly i need to stop this is huge already #enjoy anon #Anonymous

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