im really not a fan of Rick's recent trend of recycling bits of his writing that got a good reaction the first time and acting as if that's a valid substitute for. actually bothering to write something original a second time around. It's clearly just there as a callback and nothing more.
It's "Nico's rage exploded" and "Percy's rage exploded" with the exact same paragraph formatting. It's CoTG having titles like "My Singing Makes Things Worse, and Everyone Is Totally Shocked" (reference to TLO, when Percy says he thinks his singing would cause an avalanche) or "Pretty Much the Best Good-Night Kiss Ever" (reference to TLO "Pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time") or any other number of near word-for-word references to the first series. It's Nico calling Percy "seaweed brain" in Un Natale Mezzosangue (when Percy says in TTC that anybody but Annabeth calling him that is a major offense). It's Nico and Will falling into Tartarus in TSATS word-for-word referencing Percy and Annabeth in House of Hades, despite it not making any sense for their characters (and otherwise being written as Percabeth 2™). It's the show making huge changes but keeping random "fan-favorite references" (mostly overusing "seaweed brain" and "wise girl" and emphasizing percabeth) only because they're popular in-jokes and considering that a faithful enough adaptation to market it heavily as such. It's lazy writing.
And it's a disservice to the series and to the audience, because it clearly shows Rick doesn't have original ideas anymore (though given all his writing is heavily derivative to begin with, it begs the question how much was original in the first place and how much he has difficulty when he doesn't have a structured mythological plot to work from) and that there is an expectation that the audience will just sit down and accept that behavior hook-line-and-sinker. Everything recently is clearly such lip-service to the audience, either in retcons that are overt speaking-to-camera acknowledgements of things he's been criticized on or wink-wink-nudge-nudges of community in-jokes that have no business in the actual text (see: over-use of ship names in canon). Especially since Rick tends to be about 5 years behind on the fandom uptake. It's just so disappointing to see.
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tim and bernard who break up and it's nothing big, no one cheated or anything. it's just their lifestyles didn't work out well together. tim cannot give up vigilantism currently and bear cannot handle the level of danger tim puts himself in. and on the other hand, tim cannot handle the fact that bear chooses to run into danger as an emt bc he already worries about everything but now he has to worry if he'll find his boyfriend convulsing from fear gas in a random alley but also bear who felt the life drain out of darla cannot stand the thought of not helping people and runs headfirst into dangerous situation after dangerous situation hoping that every person he saves can somehow make up for the fact that he could not save darla.
(he very pointedly does not think about the fact that there was nothing he could do because if he thinks about that, he'll spiral until they have to lock him in arkham too)
and so they break up but they were tim & bernard in high school and when they started dating they balanced out the worst of each other and they became tim&bernard. and everyone who knows them, knows that they're better together but they cant be together, they refuse actually because they cannot lose another person to the violence of gotham and by the time they figure out that they cant work together as long as the other is an emt or vigilante, it's too late for both them. they've already left too many pieces of themselves in each other.
tim still knows what bear means when he says "tim" in that exasperated voice. tim still goes boneless when he hears bear say "baby" in that firm tone. bear can still read tim like a book. he still knows the right way to massage tim's neck so that tim can go to sleep. everyone at the first responders gala knows not to bother ceo drake-wayne and senior emt dowd when they're talking.
(and if they're standing a little too close to each other than what is normal, who are they to judge? everyone knows that dowd and drake-wayne have history)
and if everyone on the night shift has caught red robin with his head tucked into the crook of emt dowd's neck as emt dowd runs a soothing hand up and down the vigilante's back, well then, they just quietly back away.
(after all, dowd's one of like, five, emts that can get the bats to receive medical treatment so if turning a blind eye to whatever the fuck they have going on is what allows them to give back to their heroes, then the night shift will do it every time)
and of course, tim and bear are practical people. they loved (love) each other sure, but when your lives are fundamentally incompatible, well, you cant get too stuck on the what-ifs, that's for sure. and so they do find love with other people and yeah, maybe it's not what they expected love to be when they first fell in love with each other. it's not the bubbly, stomach-swoopy, cant stop grinning, feeling that permeated tim&bernard's early days or the i Know you/you Know me that was their middle or the quiet despair that was their end but it is contentment. and in a life with as many losses as theirs, contentment is something they hold dearly
and they're happy! truly! but sometimes, at galas when they're making each other snort champagne out their noses or in darkened alleyways when their clothes are both stained with blood or at rallies for stricter gun regulations in gotham where they both sit too close to each other, fingers enclosed around each other in a death grip, when the presenters inevitably bring up grieves
(worst school shooting in gotham in decades, there's blood on their hands and blood in their mouths and darla is dead in between both of them and there is a chasm so wide that they are screaming to get their voices across and she will always be dead and maybe this had always been the problem that she is dead and there is no coming back from that and that there is blood on their hands and blood in their mouth and blood on their han-)
but sometimes, most especially on opposite sides of the street, as life pulls them in different directions, just sometimes, they see each other and just for a second, nothing too long, the flap of a hummingbird's wings, the time it takes to blink, an electron's orbital, they look at each other and for the briefest moment, blue on brown, a barely noticeable stutter in their steps, the space between heartbeats, because this is all they will give themselves because they do not dwell on what-ifs or what-could-have-beens, or what-should-have-beens, or delusions of a softer world, their eyes meet and they think to themselves, god, in another life, i would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with him.
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well. i can't find my original fic rec list so here's a new (updated) one!
Daily Routines by The Garden of Unusual Delights (Shadowland)
A number of people who feel depressed turn to comedy. Routines can also help. / As can having someone to care for.
4k words / oneshot / complete
- TOP fucking tier. this rewired my neurons, shifted my view of Barnaby & his relationship with Wally, and also made me Deeply emotional
How to Greet New Neighbours by The Garden of Unusual Delights (Shadowland)
He doesn't know what's happening, but he knows it isn't good.
8k words / oneshot / complete
- STELLAR. an intriguing and engaging (and heartbreaking!) take on how Wally wound up sending material to the whrp
A Matter of Care by The Garden of Unusual Delights (Shadowland)
When Julie is too sad to take proper care of her hair, Frank is happy to help out.
2.5k words / oneshot / complete
- this person always gets characterizations Just Right, don't they? this a very sweet and tender moment between the besties <3
What to call it? What to call it? by Anonymous
Wally tries to figure out what is different about the Neighborhood. But maybe there is no difference at all.
2.2k words / oneshot / complete
- a fascinating exploration / behind the scenes interpretation of the secret 14 audios. the end always has me in my feels <3
Strings Of Fate by A_Cypress_Coffin
Frank Frankly lived life by simply trudging along most days, but all of that changes when a new neighbor, quite literally, crashes into him.
27k / multichap / ongoing
- a very fun interpretation of Franklydear and how the puppets perceive / experience / handle the true nature of their reality. i Cannot recommend it enough!
To Read a Clock by TurnedWorm
Frank and Eddie try to teach Wally to read a clock. They get a bit more than they bargained for.
2.7k words / oneshot / complete
- sweet and also Haunting! a stellar combination, and an interesting take on Wally's perspective. ngl it gave me chills!
my chest is bursting with abnormality by springtrap_wiki
Wally realizes that something about him isn't as it should be.
1k words / oneshot / complete
- a little peek into Wally realizing that he's different than his others neighbors. I like how this is handled - it hits home if im being honest!
Goin’ Out of My Head by 5_24
Picking someone up from the bus station seems like an easy task. But when adding Eddie Dear to that equation and the passenger just happens to be Frank Frankly, the results may vary...
5.4k / multichap / complete
- genuinely funny, cute, and entertaining. the perfect read for a laugh!
Inside Jokes by The_PastelVoid
In which the puppets are waiting for Sally and discover that Wally apparently has a contagious laugh when Barnaby tells what is called an "inside joke".
2k / oneshot / complete
- pure fluff and laughs <3
Goodnight, Wally! by PastelDemon
... But what would happen if, one day, without any warning, Wally suddenly could sleep just like everyone else?
19.5k / oneshot / complete
- very sweet with a sprinkling of angst, and an entertaining take on what a new-to-sleep Wally might be like
Welcome Home: Fantasy AU by ImaginatorOfThings
What would happen if we took our lovable cast of puppets, and put them into a Fantasy alternate universe?
28k / series / complete
- a VERY fun fantasy au with a fascinating twist. it made me tear up, it made me feel some dread, it made me smile! what more could we ask for <3
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I know Egon's spirit has passed on and all that
but imagine he was still hanging around (incorporeal though) with his family, playing chess with Pheobe, giving Trevor the tools he needs when fixing the car, giving Callie hugs and using tech to 'talk' to her, being annoying and making life inconvenient when they are trying to move because they forgot to pack up with spores, moulds, and fungi to bring to the firehouse
(god what I wouldn't pay for ghost egon to finally be able to punch dickless without much/any repercussions)
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is a Riteru read of ABoT the intended one?
It can be if you want it to be buddy. Go enjoy the world!
More genuine answer: I'm an aro-ace writer with a long long streak of gen-fic. Shipping doesn't interest me. I don't hate it; it just doesn't click for me at all. I joke that the only way romance ends up in the story is if it's a plot-necessity (Tetsuo and Jun are there because 'married man suspected of having an affair' is what pulls Reigen into the entire Mogami-possession plot. The Kageyama parents are married because they're, well, the parents. Teru and Mei's relationship is a joke until it's plot-relevant.)
So to me, I'm not writing Ritsu and Teru's relationship as a ship. But also? This is all pretend. It's all transformative. This is for fun. I absolutely know that if I were a ship-writer, Riteru would be the obvious choice. I know they're one angry-kiss away from being someone's enemies to lovers fic. So if you look at Ritsu and Teru in ABoT and say "they're holding hands, to me", go right ahead, go hog-wild, come play Barbies with me.
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