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raifenlf · 3 years

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Why Loki’s Sylvie Is A Mary Sue

So I am firmly in the camp that Sylvie on the Loki series was/is a Mary Sue. The last episode made me feel better and like maybe the show was doing a thing where they were faking you out that she was a Mary Sue only to show she was actually sort of a bad guy and I liked that. But all the recent interviews make me think the show wants to go back to her being a Mary Sue.

But I feel like when I call her out for being a Mary Sue people tell me what are you talking about, she’s not a Mary Sue, bad things happen to her, etc. But that doesn’t actually make her not a Mary Sue.

Also, before we start, I know some people find Mary Sue sexist. But I personally use the term for guys and girls. I don’t use the term to belittle women. I use the term to criticize a poorly written character.

And I know Mary Sue is often used to describe fanfic characters. But to me, this series is kind of like a fanfic because the writers took a character who had been in canon MCU material for ten years and then created characters around that character. So, I kind of review it like I would a fanfic. It’s very different than if the writers had created a brand new show with all of their own new characters.

Anyway, if you are not totally familiar with the Mary Sue term, then check this out:

I know the term Mary Sue probably means different things to different people. But I have always used these guidelines when I write my own fanfic to make sure my characters never come off as a Mary Sue.

This article really gives you a full scale of what a Mary Sue is. If you start reading it, you’ll immediately see why Sylvie is. But I’m going to take out the parts that most fit Sylvie just to highlight why I believe she is a Mary Sue. I apologize for this being so long.

Mary Sue Character Traits

Personality

Erm... what personality? The typical Mary Sue doesn't have one per se, because she isn't meant to be a character; rather, she's an entity by which the author makes cool stuff happen.

I feel like that is Sylvie in a nutshell. She doesn’t have a personality. I feel like even though she ate screentime, I still don’t really know her at all. The writers love to say she’s badass. That’s not a personality.

Sometimes when I am writing stories for fun and creating new characters, I like to take surveys as my fictional characters. Like the kind of surveys you’d see in a magazine, like personality types, what’s your dating style, etc. I figure if I don’t know what my character would do in any of those situations, then I need to keep working on my character. And if I was trying to fill out a survey pretending I was Sylvie I would have no idea what to answer because she doesn’t have a personality. She’s just “cool”.

What little personality a Mary Sue has isn't as important as how other characters react to it. No matter how shy or socially awkward Mary Sue is supposed to be, other characters will be inexplicably drawn to her

This is so Sylvie. Loki falls in love with her...why, exactly? He falls in love with her in the big Nexus event moment...why? Because she had a tough childhood? Mobius spends like two seconds with her in a car and goes from hating her to saying she’s his favorite Loki. For. No. Particular. Reason.

She's extremely persuasive; everyone finds her opinions to be better than their own

She enchants Hunter B-15 and then immediately Hunter B-15 makes it her whole entire life mission to back Sylvie up.

And occasionally she'll be a complete asshole...This can manifest itself in several ways...The author wants to write a badass but doesn't know how. This leads to a character who mistreats everyone around her and is never called out on her abrasive, casually abusive behavior.

Sylvie talked down to Loki and treated him like garbage for all of episode three, but it was never portrayed as a bad thing and we never got any impression Sylvie later felt bad for the way she treated Loki

The author doesn't know how to hold back the character, meaning that she will succeed at practically everything. This means that when she encounters rules or authority figures who would otherwise prevent her from doing what she wants to do, she rolls right through them (and they praise her for her "boldness" in defying regulations). If a bad guy is violent and aggressive, she can beat him by being more violent and aggressive (with all that entails). It's impossible for her to go overboard because she's protected by Protagonist-Centered Morality.

Sylvie is shown as a kid to immediately be able to grab a Tempad and run away. And she can kick ass way better than Loki, for no known reason. She is always able to fight back against the TVA when they attack her. And she can kill lots of innocent TVA agents but it’s okay because TVA bad, Sylvie good.

Skills

She will always be superior to the canon characters, regardless of what canon has established they can do or whether it makes any sense.

Whose skill was needed to defeat Alioth? Sylvie’s. Of course. Sylvie needed to teach Loki her skills in order for him to succeed (!). And again, she is literally called the superior Loki.

Relatedly, there's no effort to her skills. She never actually trains or learns anything to become more powerful; she just wins the Super Power Lottery, or is a freakish natural learner, or is just Inexplicably Awesome

We’re told Sylvie literally taught herself magic. She literally taught herself to enchant people. That. Makes. No. Sense. Like, I have so many questions. Like, why would it even occur to her to teach herself that? And how???????????? This is really lazy writing.

Canon Character Relationships

Mary Sue is often designed to hook up with another character, often as a form of Wish Fulfillment. This isn't that bad in and of itself (okay, it is kinda weird), but Mary Sue accomplishes this without any sense of realism. She just grabs her lover's attention straight away, and their relationship will never face any obstacles or tension; it's true love from the start and nothing else. The biggest giveaway is if the love interest is explicitly the author's favorite character, and she essentially "cures" him of all the angst that ails him (at the expense of his characterization).

Yeah, so...this one should be pretty obvious to anyone who watched the show. Loki literally falls in love with Sylvie immediately, and then he suddenly turns from “villain” to “hero” just because of loving her. And this was definitely at the expense of his characterization. And Loki just knows he falls in love with her. There’s not even any moments of hmm what do I feel for this person? It’s just true love, immediately.

She will be related to a canon character in some way. This (marginally) helps explain such phenomena as her being a Copy Cat Sue and other characters accepting her so easily.

Sylvie is a Loki variant. They use this to help explain why Loki is drawn to her and why their falling in love immediately “makes sense”.

Most characters give her more heed than they normally would. The good guys never stop praising her

Seriously, it was so over the top and OOC for Loki to gush over her. He literally tells her she’s amazing. They don’t even make it subtle.

Characters' previously established personalities change in reaction to her. Proud, arrogant gimps suddenly acknowledge her superiority in everything. Reckless youths will listen to all her advice. Responsible leaders will defer to her instead. Villains will obsess with her to the detriment of all else. Extremely competent characters will become stumbling buffoons who require her help to do anything. Sweet, mild-mannered characters whom the author doesn't like turn evil and insult her. They all become unnaturally focused on her in some way.

Again, Loki’s whole personality changed in reaction to her. He became a buffoon who needed her help to enchant the Alioth because of course he couldn’t do anything without her! Hunter B-15 goes from doing whatever the TVA said to fighting the TVA just because of Sylvie.

Story Elements

Mary Sue is without exception a single-person Spotlight-Stealing Squad. The entire story hinges on her existence; if you removed her, there would be no story.

Sylvie undoubtedly drove the whole story this season. It all became about HER meeting the TVA heads because of HER trauma. Loki’s life was only saved at the beginning because the TVA was trying to capture HER. And SHE was the one who started the whole multiverse (!).

Mary Sue is The Chosen One, even if the setting already has one. There are many ways she can accomplish this: she can be a Sailor Earth type who "shares" the position with the canon hero; she may be vaguely "destined to help the destined one fulfill their destiny" (i.e. do all the work except the final blow so that the prophecy is still technically correct); or the canon hero may be revealed to be a Fake Ultimate Hero all along. Being the Chosen One doesn't necessarily involve her being a God-Mode Sue, especially as authors become aware of the phenomenon and try to avoid it, but it does make her critically important to the world and allows her to continue stealing the spotlight without the "god mode" label.

HWR wanted Sylvie to come with Loki in the end, like she was chosen all along right alongside Loki. Like one of the most important characters in the entire MCU is now this character who we only met a few episodes ago.

Most Sues have an unusually Dark and Troubled Past. It's often used to create a Sympathetic Sue, but any type of Sue can have one

They tell us, over and over, how hard Sylvie’s life was because she was kidnapped by the TVA in order to create sympathy for her.

She almost never does anything wrong. In the rare instance that she does, it's usually; (a) a way for the author to disclaim her being a Mary Sue by introducing a single imperfection (that has no bearing on anything anyway), and (b) designed to show her smarts by making her feel instant remorse, and she'll be Easily Forgiven anyway:

So this one hopefully will not come true, as a lot can change between now and when the show is taped. But if the show goes on the way the behind the scenes team is talking, Sylvie immediately felt remorse for betraying Loki, and Loki has already forgiven her and is desperately looking for her. Ugh.

Alternatively, she is more than capable of doing something wrong, be it in general moral terms or something that goes against whatever code she abides by, and she maybe even frequently does so, but don't expect the other characters or the narrative to ever acknowledge or comment on it in any real capacity. If the other characters do call her out, expect them to be treated like they're the problem for daring to criticize her at all.

Mobius calls her out for killing people, but Sylvie immediately says he’s a bad person and then Mobius agrees, because, of course.

She will often suffer from Special Snowflake Syndrome; i.e., she has a trait or backstory that sets her apart from her group or race.

She is the only female Loki, thus making her the special one among all the Lokis in episode five.

Presentation

In visual media, the camera just can't stop staring at her.

The camera would follow her in fight scenes rather than Loki.

Mary Sue Tropes

Okay, so there are specific Mary Sue tropes that Sylvie is. One of those is Copy Cat Sue, which I think was referenced before.

Copy Cat Sue

A lot of fanfic writers...start to write something because of their passion for this character, but they find something about the character that doesn't mesh well. Maybe they're the wrong gender or are otherwise not close enough to the author's expectations...In any case, rather than put them through the Possession Sue process, they just get a Clone-O-Matic™ and out pops a Copy Cat Sue...the character might be intended as a replacement for the canon character, but without whatever icky traits the author hates. They'll then rob the spotlight, prove the canon character to be unworthy of his/her position, and either relegate the character to obsolescence or, perhaps, even remove them entirely.

Sylvie is basically a clone of Loki, she is a variant. But she absolutely robbed the spotlight of Loki’s, and they literally call her the superior Loki. I mean, they are literally not even being subtle about this. And there was a feeling by myself (and a lot of other viewers) that Sylvie might ultimately replace Loki in the MCU.

Black Hole Sue

Much like a black hole, this is a Mary Sue who "sucks in" the plot and characters to her. Characters will behave outside their personalities, logic will be defied, and rules will be broken for her sake.

Sylvie really does suck up all the plot and Loki definitely behaves outside of his personality just to fit the Sylvie show.

Jerk Sue

A Mary Sue who is mean or maybe even cruel, but are still treated as an ideal person.

Once again, Sylvie is basically a jerk all of episode three, but you’ve got Loki falling over himself to call her amazing in just the next episode.

Relationship Sue

A Mary Sue who exists to be the perfect mate for a specific character...this character has everything in the plot conspiring to enforce this One True Pairing...in Fanfiction, they are the perfect beloved of a canon character.

They literally have Mobius speculate that Loki falling in love with Sylvie is so extraordinary that it causes an entire Nexus event, that’s how huge this One True Pairing is (!). And Sylvie is the love interest of Loki, the only character who had been around before the beginning of the series

TLDR: Sylvie has all the tropes of a classic Mary Sue character. So calling Sylvie a Mary Sue isn’t being sexist or just randomly hating on the character. If you use common Mary Sue characteristics to examine the character, she just has too many of these characteristics to ignore.

#loki negativity #antisylvie #loki critical #loki criticism #antisylkie

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veliseraptor · 3 years

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top 5 the untamed fanfic AUs you'd like to read

t juslides in with meme six months late without starbucks

this is just noting, also, that many of these AUs already exist! I’m just talking here about AUs I want to see more of. just because they’re on here doesn’t mean I’m discounting the versions people have already written.

1. AU where Xue Yang gets stuck traveling with Xiao Xingchen (and Song Lan, optionally) after the massacre of the Chang Clan, but in CQL verse where they end up as fugitives (oh my god, and then they were fugitives). We know from a brief throwaway line from Wen Qing that apparently Song Lan (and presumably also Xiao Xingchen) are on the Wen shit list, most likely because they’re people who had contact with Xue Yang and Xue Yang is Wen Ruohan’s Most Wanted for a while there until he gets busy with other stuff. And I want to see things that play with that! Either with just Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen or with the whole trio.

But yeah! On the run together, presumably Xiao Xingchen can’t/won’t ditch Xue Yang to get up to mischief, I don’t think he’s terribly inclined to turn him over to the Wens for a few different reasons, and everyone else is getting all caught up in a war so his options for ‘places to drop Xue Yang off that could handle him’ are pretty narrow.

I’m a sucker for bonding under duress and this seems like it could be a fun opportunity, and also has the bonus of probably keeping Xue Yang from annihilating Baixue Temple, which is good.

2. AU where Xiao Xingchen knows who Xue Yang is from the get-go (or figures it out mid-stream) and for whatever reason keeps him around anyway. I don’t care why it happens or how it happens I just think it’s a fun concept to work with, however it’s played. Whether it happens so that Xue Yang knows Xiao Xingchen knows, or Xiao Xingchen knows but Xue Yang doesn’t know that he does, or it’s ambiguous and they’re kind of going for plausible deniability...it just creates some fun opportunities, ya feel?

I’m particularly fond of this happening midstream rather than right off, because I think it does really interesting and fun things to their dynamic if Xiao Xingchen is already invested at that point (and that’s the version I feel like I see more often), but I’m currently writing a version of from the get-go and enjoying that too.

3. Yi City reincarnation AU. I just want everyone being kinda fucked up by their past lives and continuing to be stuck in each others’ orbit, and I especially like this when Song Lan isn’t reincarnated and is just, you know, still around but undead.

I am aware this is not how reincarnation works at all, that part of the point is that it’s a fresh start, but it’s what I want when it comes to my fanfiction AUs and I think that’s legit of me.

I just...love a cyclical narrative, too, so I also really enjoy versions of this where it’s more than one reincarnation cycle, and I would read like. 100k of that.

4. AU where Xiao Xingchen’s suicide either fails or Xue Yang brings him back and is desperate to make things work this time. This is another “I will read five million versions of this concept” things, and I will read them in a wide range of dark to more hopeful, and I will still hunger for more because god!!! There’s so many ways you can take it and all of them are delicious. Another reason I specifically love this one is because either way Xiao Xingchen is going to be a mess and I kind of love fucking Xiao Xingchen up emotionally and psychologically but not in a way where he, you know, dies.

...which as I write that out is very Xue Yang of me, isn’t it.

And then also Xue Yang frantically going LOOK I MADE IT BETTER (he did not make it better) and TOTALLY FIXED IT EVERYTHING’S FINE NOW RIGHT (it is not fine now) and he’s not used to having to, you know, “make amends” or whatever, this is not an experience he’s familiar with and he’s not enjoying it.

5. does “time loop AUs” count as a single entry? because like. I would read several different versions of time loop AUs. for an incomplete sampling:

A. Xiao Xingchen stuck in a time loop. I’m writing one of these but I would like many, in which Xiao Xingchen is stuck in a miserable cycle until he figures out a Yi City fix it, and a lot of people die several times in the process, and it’s all very upsetting. Doesn’t this sound good to you guys?

B. Wei Wuxian stuck in a time loop. I have a prompt for this one for myself about Wei Wuxian in a time loop specifically at Nightless City which is really where I want it to be. Again, for misery reasons. I always like trapping characters at their low points. It just makes everything more fun.

C. Jiang Cheng stuck in a time loop. I don’t even care where, it just...okay, not only is it good for all the usual reasons it’s good (forcing someone to recapitulate their trauma and being unable to escape it until they find a way to escape it), is that not a perfect metaphor for Jiang Cheng’s life and problems.

The “being stuck in a moment or moments of time and unable to get out, unable to leave the past behind, continually recapitulating in a more metaphorical way past traumas and therefore often recreating them” and like. Would love to do that to him. I don’t even know where I’d want it to start. After the fall of Lotus Pier? Before that? After Wei Wuxian comes back? After Wei Wuxian goes to the Burial Mounds? I just want to read Jiang Cheng suffering through the mortifying experience of reliving his own mistakes and also making new ones.

D. Xue Yang stuck in a time loop. Someone did already write a very good and frankly iconic version of this but there can never be too many and also that one was very sad and I’d love one where it is less sad. Though sad works too, because the whole theme of Yi City being “we are all trapped in this cycle of destruction no one is escaping alive” is...well, it hurts me but also I like it. but also it hurts me. regardless I would love to read Xue Yang making a go at fixing things (for himself, obviously, all else is incidental) because he’d be terrible at it.

anyway, that’s five, or maybe eight depending on how you count. I’m going with five.

you will notice that pretty much all of these are yi city centric aus and that is because I’m actually less interested in aus that futz with the main plot, in general. I’m not opposed to them or anything but I don’t generally seek them out unless they’re by an author I already know I like.

(hypothetically I would like Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli to not die, but the problem is that I’m so deeply invested in the tragedy of the first life. like, in the Yanli Lives fic I’m writing I killed Jiang Cheng because I wanted to keep that sweet Yunmeng Siblings Misery.)

the exception to this would hypothetically be varieties of Jin Guangyao Lives AUs, but I actually have less of a concrete idea of what I want from that one, just that I, you know. want him to live his best life actually.

#anonymous #conversating #top five meme #i'm not doing this meme now just answering a couple from like six months ago or whatever #the sad queer cultivators show #consider these free prompts to good homes if you want them

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fromtheplanethexagon · 3 years

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the robot problem: a critical look at tobecky, 5 years late

hello wordgirl fandom i am back :) and i have a lot of thoughts that i never got around to expressing before i moved on from the show. so be aware that everything i'm saying is based on my experiences during the 2012-2016 era of the fandom & state of tumblr in general, and i am not familiar with more recent fan content.

it's been over five years since the show ended, and @ifbrd reminded me (along with some great analysis) that while tobecky was super popular since before the show technically started (thanks to the play date shorts), it's pretty unhealthy in a lot of ways that tend to be excused or flat out ignored in fanworks. i'd like to reflect on that a bit (a lot); specifically, how both the show and the fandom approached this enemies-to-lovers ship, and how easily this ship can slip into uncomfortable territory if we're careless about how we interpret the ship and create fan content of it.

i will admit, i'm mostly writing this as a response to past me and my old creations - though i moved on from the show as a whole years ago, i do like taking the time to reflect on old interests once in a while, and reevaluating my thoughts on them. and this ship is probably the biggest one that still lurks in the corners of my mind once in a while, so let's go.

cherish is the word: a short positive note before a much longer negative one

i wanted to start this essay off with some positivity, because i am going to be very negative after this. tobecky was, in some ways, cute. it's obvious from the very beginning that these two characters are on pretty equal ground, even if one of them isn't aware of it. and that's part of the fun - the irony of how unaware tobey is that his nemesis/crush/person that pretty much always wins against him is someone that he completely dismisses as incompetent. i want to point this out because honestly, in general i don't like enemies-to-lovers because a lot of them use a power imbalance within the dynamic, and i hate power imbalances, especially when it comes to actual life-or-death scenarios (at least, as much as cartoons can do that). in most episodes, becky is never actually forced to go along with his wishes. she's not held in a 'date' against her will, nor is she ever really outwitted by him. i bring this up because there is one huge, uncomfortable exception, which i will get to later.

another big plus to the ship is the fact that they just... get along? even when fighting? of course we get brief moments where they just hang out and talk about paintings or whatever, but i'm talking about how much they get each other, even if they don't realize it. like the word banter, for example. been there since day one. becky loves words, and while most other people in her life don't really care (ranging from 'eh, that's cool i guess' to her brother calling it annoying), tobey gives her a chance to show off and thus treats her as a worthy adversary as herself, not because of her more generic superpowers - something that we've seen in canon that she feels self-conscious about (see: her motivation in patch game). one of the less noticed examples, to me, is "it's your party and i'll cry if I want to", because it's just - okay. they both are excluded from a social event, and while it's obvious that tobey deals with it by destroying the city, it's also pretty obvious that becky also deals with her frustration by fighting in that battle. like, yes, realistically it's just objectively bad that he's destroying buildings. but they're also providing each other with a way to work through their frustrations, first by fighting and then by talking things out, and finally by hanging out together instead of dwelling on being excluded from the party.

so it makes a lot of sense to me that many tobecky fans gravitated towards writing far-in-the-future fic, usually by implying that some growth had taken place before starting to write the ship. (there are, as far as i'm aware, 2... maybe 3 exceptions, that take the time to attempt a real redemption for him, at least when i left the fandom.) because if you take away his worst moments, either by reasoning out that he was 10 years old and a mess, or that he was a cartoon character in a cartoon world where everyone's actions are over-the-top, or by just flat-out pretending that certain episodes never happened, there's some pretty solid ground to start a ship on.

go gadget go: we all do not see it, we simply close our eyes (review of canon)

when the show began, i was the same age as the characters. a lot of other people were, too - at least in my cohort of the fandom. i think it's pretty safe to say that many of us have fond memories of the show's earlier seasons, and held on to that interest as we got older, for whatever reasons. so like, not to be all 'as an OG fan...', but i remember seeing the shorts air for the first time in 2006. i have a diary entry in july of 2009 about how i, a 12yo with no concept of the idea of 'shipping', was disappointed in the new tobey episode because i wanted more tobecky interactions. (that was robo-camping, btw, lol.) and so i remember how exciting their rivalry felt, watching them as someone literally their exact same age, and then watching that again as a nostalgic 17yo, and then uh... growing up, to put it frankly, and realizing just how unhealthy most of their interactions were.

okay what i meant to say was, this section is an overview of the relationship's canon portrayal throughout the years.

first, we have early tobecky: this includes the shorts and the first few seasons. this is their classic relationship: he likes her and takes robots on rampages to get her attention, she majorly disapproves and has fun taking him down. we've all seen the show, you know what i'm talking about. his backhanded ways of trying to find out her identity often feature prominently in the episodes, which - sigh, i've mentioned this whole issue before, but it's kind of a grey area in the whole uncomfortable-factor thing, because while trying to find out her identity is VERY invasive, it's something that like... everyone in the show tries to do, even her canon crush (scoops). on the one hand, it's really not a great look, but on the other hand, this is a cartoon meant to parody a genre in which this trope is extremely common. so i just wanna say that i have Issues and Thoughts on this aspect of their relationship, but there are other things i find more important to discuss here.

second, we have late tobecky: this is seasons 7-8. this is... a very strange and huge shift from the previous dynamic, though it's not necessarily obvious. what i mean by that is that for some reason, the show writers made it so that half of tobey’s rampages have nothing to do with his crush on wordgirl, even though that used to be the sole reason for his villainy. seriously. we have the birthday episode, where he's upset because he feels left out; wg vs tobey vs the dentist, where he's mad that he has a cavity; and trustworthy tobey, where his robot goes on a rampage... after becky accidentally makes it malfunction. the two outliers are ‘guess who’s coming to thanksgiving dinner’ and ‘patch game’, but they still differ from previous seasons because 1) his destruction is isolated to a forest far away from the city, and 2) his motive is still to impress wordgirl, but his methods are relatively tame. also he completely gives up on the secret identity thing??? i may have missed some things but i think he straight up tells her 'yeah there's no way you're wordgirl, lol' and the subject is just dropped for the rest of the show.

i also want to include 'the robot problem' here, because it's one of two season 6 tobey episodes, and follows the 'doesn't destroy buildings to get her attention' pattern: in fact, he teams up with her to try and stop someone else from going on a rampage (even if his reasons are selfish, lol).

and finally. the other season 6 episode. we have go gadget go, the bane of my time spent in the fandom. because GGG is the single episode where tobey truly manages to take away her autonomy, and proceeds to abuse that power for an extended period of time, for his own amusement. it's bad. it's Very Bad. put in the context that it's a white boy doing this to an (ambiguously) brown girl, it's REALLY REALLY BAD. and the more i look back on it, tbh, the more weirded out i am that the show not only made it seem like she wasn't affected at all within the episode, it just... forgot about it (which is not unusual for shows and especially children’s shows, but WG does make some efforts to either retain continuity or create canon reasons for why things are forgotten about). it's the kind of thing that you can't excuse and honestly you can't redeem (like at this point, you gotta ask yourself why you're spending so much effort trying to redeem this guy when becky has several other possible ships that are nowhere near this unhealthy - violet, scoops, honestly even victoria if you want another hero/villain ship, my absolute fave rarepair rose, etc).

so if you want to still ship it you have to just pretend that it never happened. (i remember trying for weeks to write something exploring the aftermath of this episode, to try and make myself feel better about it, but the more i wrote the more i realized just how traumatic this event should've been, so i eventually just dropped it.) and i brought up my own timeline of experiences earlier to point out that this episode aired eight whole years after the show started. which means that when i saw it, even though i was a huge stickler for canon at the time, i'd built up my own idea of the show and characters strongly enough to go 'yeah, no, this episode sucks and i am going to pretend that it doesn't exist'. and i think a lot of other people did too, because i really saw like... no one mention it, ever, except for some rogue fanfics over on ff dot net that already liked dynamics like that.

because here's the thing, and i don't know if people nowadays are aware of it? but i'm 80% sure (cannot find a source, so the other 20% is that it was just a rumor) that the show was originally supposed to end after season 6. and even if it's a rumor, it makes a ton of sense, because we get 1) an 'ending' to tobecky, which is a bad one, 2) a permanent wordgirl identity reveal that significantly changes one of the major dynamics in the show, 3) an episode where TJ gets to work with wordgirl and get a nice potential ending for their sibling dynamic, 4) an episode where we see Two-Brains explore life without his henchmen... the list goes on, and idk how many of these are just major stretches. but the point is. if the show had ended there, that would've been a pretty solid ending for many things, including their relationship: aka, it would prove that it was only ever heading somewhere bad, and when tobey finally has his moment of triumph, he is truly evil about it. and this provides us fans who HATE go gadget go with an easy reason to dismiss it - we can say that it was an attempt to conclude things in a way that wouldn't have happened if the writers had known they'd get more time. but despite that... it is still a canon episode.

it is odd to me how dramatically the dynamic shifts after that, though, because we seriously go from 'worst case ever, tobecky is toxic, your ship is dead' to 'no actually they get along and hang out and get ice cream together and tobey isn't even pressuring her into it, she's happy to go along with it :)' like, immediately. i never knew much about the show writers, so i don't know if the writers changed in between these seasons, but i would absolutely not be surprised if they did.

the earlier episodes are definitely problematic as well (though they pale in comparison to GGG) but i think everyone who ships it is aware considering that tobey is, yknow, a villain. from memory, he destroys buildings to get her attention, lies to her about the level of danger that people are in to trick her into spending more time with him, blackmails her into reading his poetry, and he creates a robot based on her that’s supposed to be devoted to him (but of course, all of these things backfire). not great stuff of course, but like... he’s a villain, that’s the point of his character. and considering that he’s a child these are things that can be redeemed, if done thoughtfully.

anyway, to sum up this section, the show starts off with a pretty standard 'enemies with an unrequited crush' setup, takes a really dark turn for a single episode, and then for the rest of the show takes their dynamic in a direction that makes it much, much easier to ship. as long as you ignore a lot of previous content.

wordbot: where's becky's autonomy in all of this? (misogyny)

we've finally gotten to the fandom. i recognize that a lot of this is going to come across as hypocritical considering how active i used to be re: this ship, but like... i'm a very different person now. anyway. disclaimer i guess - i don't write this to accuse all tobecky shippers of being like this - i know a lot of us aren't/weren't! but boy do i have things to point out, so without further ado:

it is very hard to ship this without allowing some bit of misogyny to slip into it. very, very hard. the entire premise of the ship involves a girl falling in love with a boy that repeatedly pressures her to date him via threats to the safety of herself and people she cares about, which... it's 2020, i shouldn't have to explain why that's terrible & a terrible example to set for children (which is why i am glad they never made it canon, tbh). best-case fan content has tobey stop pressuring her and start working to redeem himself out of an actual change of heart, which leads to becky seeing him in a new light. worst-case fan content treats his incessant pressuring and sometimes outright threats as something romantic - and even worse, romantic to the point where he deserves her attention and love as a reward for not giving up or whatever. i did see this pretty frequently for a while, especially in the earlier 2010s (didn't read much, Not My Thing At All), but i don't feel like going into detail here because of how obviously problematic it is. one medium (but still bad) case is where the fan content makes him start his redemption, but treats her liking him back as a reward for not knocking buildings over anymore. another not great case is where she tries to fix him with her love, which is a very common and very dangerous romantic trope. both are just... so incredibly unfair to her.

in content where she tries to 'fix him'... yeah i feel like it's really obvious how misogynistic that is. girls and women should not feel responsible for the evil actions of men, plain and simple. idk what else to say here i just really hate that trope and hated it back then and it just sucks! so can we not do that anymore, thanks.

in content that treats her like a reward for good behavior, there really isn't much of an explanation for what she sees in him. if she just goes 'oh wow, you're good now, i am going to fall in love with you for it' the whole thing falls flat because it makes NO sense whatsoever. we get to hear so much about tobey and his feelings and why he likes her and how he feels about it, but where is that energy for becky? why does she choose to trust him, to spend time around him, what does she enjoy about his presence? where is her getting over scoops in the process of falling for tobey? where is her telling her friends about this, confiding in them, asking them for advice? where is her choice in the matter?

win a day with wordgirl: do you guys even like becky or do you just like the idea of her (misogyny... 2!)

it was pretty standard for all fandoms the early-mid 2010s, but that's still not a good excuse for why so many tobecky fanfictions centered specifically around tobey's feelings while refusing to give becky the same level of empathy and nuance. it is true that to ship them comfortably you have to redeem him to some degree, which means spending time figuring him out and trying to find ways to pull him to the light without feeling super OOC. but ships take two people??? and there was so much potential for fanfics to explore becky's complex feelings on the matter - because she is! complex! she's heroic and kind but she's petty and has a competitive streak, she easily befriends villains but also doesn't trust them and doesn't believe they can ever really change, she's the savior of an entire planet but has feelings of inadequacy as her civilian identity and struggles with feeling like she can be successful without superpowers, she's great at the straightforward meanings and uses of words and loves reading but struggles to write passages that aren't dry as hell, it can be easily headcannoned that she's neurodivergent (special interests, issues with fitting in with her peers, taking things very literally, etc)... seriously there is SO MUCH to explore about her character, and a lot of it comes into play when you add tobey into the mix (literally ALL of the things i mentioned are explored at some point using tobey as a parallel or foil), but i rarely saw fanfiction that explored her thoughts on things further than 'he's evil but... maybe good?' or 'he's evil but... i kind of like him anyway?'.

if you want her to fall for him while being a villain, explore it!! why does she go against her morals? does she lie to herself about it to feel better? does she feel like she has to 'fix him' as part of her superhero duties to the city, and if so, how does that affect her as she tries and fails to help him? does she fall for him when she believes that he's turning good, only to feel betrayed when he starts acting worse because he feels like he can get away with it? it's such a shame that fanworks spend so little time even considering these questions, and it is absolutely a product of how deeply misogyny is/was baked into how we approach media (especially back then).

tobey goes good: but wait, i thought this show was progressive (a conclusion, i guess)

ifbrd wrote a great meta recently about how the show is a bit misogynist, despite being progressive in several ways. honestly i don't have much to add, but i'd really recommend reading through this; it makes a lot of great observations about the ways that male and female characters are presented differently through the show

i have little to add, so i'd just like to conclude with a reflection on the ship from my current viewpoint. i do think part of the reason so many of us latched onto the ship, despite how obviously problematic it was, is that the show treats a lot of things that would be serious in real life as normal or even comedic - which is fine lol, i'm not going to pretend that it's not a show for little kids, so they have to keep the tone light.

but if we, as teens/adults, decide to engage with this content in a more realistic manner, we have to be prepared to confront how messed up so many of the things going on really are. and if you still want to ship it, there's nothing inherently wrong with that! there's a lot of interesting things to explore in this ship, no matter what stage of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers you write them at, and it can be really helpful to have a space where you can explore a dynamic such as this in fiction. (speaking from experience here tbh, writing some fic for them helped me deal with complicated feelings about some ex-longtime friends.)

so to write this ship at all means that there are canon issues that you need to deal with if you want to have them end up in a healthy relationship in any manner that makes sense (unless you create an AU where none of that is applicable, which, power to you then). and i’m not saying ‘write them with a healthy endgame or you’re Bad’, not at all lol. but at least please, please take a step back once in a while to examine the dynamic that you’re writing, and please be careful about whether you mean to be romanticizing whatever behaviors you end up portraying as good.

#wordgirl #becky botsford #tobey mccallister #tobecky #tobecky critical #has anyone ever used that tag before LMAO #anyway: i may come back and reword the ending because i am not totally happy with it #but wow this is so many words. so many. send help

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by-inky · 4 years

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Why Twisted Wonderland fandom is so toxic, a draft by inky’s experiences

You’re not forced to read this. Yet, I hope this spreads more awareness.

First clear-up; I won’t accept any kind of criticism, constructive or not. I just don’t care if you have something to say against this, or if you attack me I still won’t give a flying fuck. I’m basing all this in my personal experiences.

Second clear up; I am not calling out anyone with this, or any past public drama that may have happened in the Twisted Wonderland fandom. You’ll feel attacked only if you actually have done or still do one or more of the things I mention in this text. THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK.

Third clear up; If you noticed I’m ruder in here, you’re kind of right. I’m just really done with people who keep throwing crap on a fandom that has everything (it has a nice story, amazing characters, material, merch, awesome fanart and fanfics, fancreations…) it’s the most complete fandom I’ve been in and still some people keep making the community hostile to stay in.

I think we all know at this point that twst’s fandom is toxic. Now there are different factors for this.

I’ll start by the one that surprised me the most.

1. A HUGE part of the fandom is formed by adults. I don’t mind this, however this is frustrating.

I completely don’t mind if you’re 26 or 14, as long as you’re having fun without harming anyone you can stay around. My theory of why there are so many grown-up people is because Disney children are now older. Now, what’s frustrating is not that there are adults, but the fact that they don’t behave like some.

I apologize, but you simply can’t ask for a teen (because they exist too) to equal their “matureness” with yours. How for instance, a 16 year-old person gets in an argument with a, let’s say, 22 year-old person, the teen has less experience want it or not. You can’t just pretend they have an intellectual similar to yours. On the other hand, there are cases where the adult behaves like a girl with perenne period.

The fact I, a 15 year-old person, got into a few arguments with straight up adults that reason like a child proves this point. I’m not someone who likes to get into fights or discussions with other people, but when they get to the point to get even bratty when they’re clearly in the wrong annoys me so much.

Just mind your own business.

2. Public blaming. Seriously what’s up with this. I’ve seen quite some arguments online, public so lots of people could see, on topics that aren’t even important? Please wash your dirty clothes in private, direct messages or with a small group still in private, honestly making stuff public doesn’t help but create drama and make the problem even bigger.

However, I can understand when a user is really toxic, and someone who calls them out is really brave. But please keep small discussions behind closed doors and move on. I know it can be difficult, but you’ll be better.

Add-up: tumblr is -5$. It’s a crappy website where people bicker to kill time. It’s not worth it. If you need help, you can DM me at any time if you trust me, and everything will be between me and you without getting out of the chat. I’ll help you at the best of my abilities.

3. Support. I haven’t been in a more hostile and cold fandom than this one. Where are the likes? The support crew? Does that not exist?

Small blogs are being stepped on by huge, bigger ones. It seriously looks like nobody cares. And what’s more draining, people usually get the same blogs and posts recommended.

I have several experiences with this, and tumblr is a place where you grow if you’re lucky and noticed. I’m calling this fact out since I’m now a medium account and send asks to smaller accounts like crazy in hope the blogs get noticed, but knowing this is still crushing. And what’s worse, that most people do not care at all. Please support creators, everyone deserves love.

And if you like someone’s content, a kind ask (small blog or big) can make a person’s whole day. 4. Anons. WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIS ANON HATE. I just- why?

Aight I’ve been in lots of fandoms (Kimetsu no Yaiba, Yuri on Ice, Dangerous Fellows, Mystoc Messenger, Nanbaka, Hetalia, Haikyuu, etc), and none of this was as hateful as the Twisted Wonderland one. Usually are the small blogs the ones that get targeted since the big ones already have a “backup” of people who support them no matter what.

I got quite a few anon hate as well, but honestly I couldn’t care less because I post what I like and I still enjoy posting, but I understand there are people who take it to the personal and anons like this unmotivates them. Please support them. They’re people, they’re humans too. And most of them don’t deserve the hate.

Also if you got anon hate, it’s probably just a bored person. I know it can be difficult, but shrug it off.

5. Blogs and toxicity. Connecting this to the previous point. Accounts are people before they are blogs. Follow blogs for the people before you follow for the content. There can be really toxic people behind amazing material. If you realize an admin of a blog is toxic, is better unfollow them than keep following for content. It seems almost like you’re supporting them.

Congrats for reaching this far! Here have a cookie

If you need support, or vent, or even have a small chat my DMs are always open! You can text me via Discord as well (by Inky#6188) and I’ll do my best!

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smokedstorybara · 4 years

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everyone seems to describe writing fanfic, and their motives for doing so, as “fixing canon”

which is totally valid

it’s just not how it is for me

(I make a lot of long introspective posts like this on my main, like one every couple months, but since this one is about writing I figured I’d put it here instead; I’m gonna put a readmore here so y’all can skip over it all if you want)

for me writing fanfiction is almost like an experiment, an exploration of variables - circumstance, setting, choices - and how they affect the characters trajectories and the outcome of the story as a whole (though tbh I tend approach writing in general as an exploration of tropes and structure and psychology so I guess it’s just how I am)

(I’m gonna use some fanfics I’m working on, as well as the couple I’ve actually posted, as examples to help me explain what I mean, so if you don’t want spoilers maybe don’t read)

first: exploration of circumstance (then setting, choices, and ending with all three together)

my two examples for this are my published Dear Evan Hansen fic (Apprentice) Park Ranger Handsome and a role-reversal Arrowverse au I’m working on

(A)PRH started with the thought “what would’ve happened if Evan and Connor had first interacted over the summer, at the park Evan worked at?”

my first answer was a simple “their first meeting would likely have gone much smoother - the environment and circumstances of it being much more relaxed”

this led to “they both would’ve latched on to that; this conversation is going well lets try to keep it going as long as possible I’m starved for positive interaction turning into if I talk to him again maybe it’ll go as well as last time it hasn’t gone wrong yet keep coming back keep talking to him maybe this can be good”

which leads to them becoming friends (and likely developing crushes on each other) and then opening up to each other >> relying on each other >> supporting each other >> each realizing that if they want to support the other they need a more stable support themself >> Evan likely being the first to actively reach out for outside support since he already has a therapist and relatively better relationship with his mother >> Evan doesn’t fall from that tree and Connor doesn’t commit suicide >> the entire plot of the play no longer happens but the boys are happy and their families are at least on their ways to healing

the Coldflash role-reversal (which does not have a name yet) actually started with the question “what element would I need to change for Barry to still be a CSI for the CCPD but also use his superspeed to become a criminal?”

the element I went with was him not being allowed access to the file on his mother’s murder

the cause-effect diagram so far is as follows: Barry isn’t allowed access to the file and thus can’t investigate >> he’s upset about this fact >> in a better mental state to be aware of corruption and laziness in the police force (as well as other factors that lead to the wrong person getting arrested) >> becomes bitter and disillusioned but hides it because he still wants to do what he can to prevent innocent people from going to jail >> when he gets superpowers he decides to use it to bring light to the failings of the city’s law enforcement >> becomes a thief >> tries to steal the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond at the same time as Leonard Snart does >> Leonard Snart gets a hold of the cold gun >> they both try again at the same time but because Flash is faster the public see him as a thief and “Captain Cold” as a hero >> because Snart is a giant nerd and also because he’s frustrated with all the chaos in his city from the metas, he decides to go along with it and becomes a superhero

second: exploration of setting

my only example for this is a fantasy au I recently started for Pacific Rim

so the variable I changed was “instead of a war between humans and beings from another world, it’s a war between the two fae courts”

and where changing a circumstance leads to a cause and effect of characters choices, changing setting leads to a map of what that changes in the characters circumstances and identities

some examples from this au:

Hannibal Chau is a human who uses deals with what I’ve been calling “J Court” in my outline to boost his black market business - instead of just being a shady black market dealer with ties to the PPDC, he’s one of the few humans who even knows the fae exist

Stacker Pentecost is either the king of the J Court or the leader of it’s army, giving him much more power than he had in canon

Raleigh left the Court after Yancy’s death, separating himself from his people and instead immersing himself in humanity, but somehow Stacker convinced him to return

(on the flip side: Newt is still an expert on Kaiju biology and just as obsessed with studying them as he is in canon)

third: exploration of choices

this exploration is where I look at one choice made in canon and ask myself “how would everything change if a different choice was made here?”

two examples again; an Umbrella Academy fic (tentatively named “The One Where He Stayed” in my drive) and a Check Please fic currently titled Moving On

the choice in TOWHS is Klaus going back to 2019 after Dave dies - instead he stays, serves a full tour in Vietnam and then returns to the US with his surviving war buddies

this changes his circumstances, setting, and leads to a cause-effect chain of decisions

he’s now a veteran in early seventies USA, he has friends who respect him and care about him; he still decides to go sober to see Dave again but there’s more behind the decision; he makes himself a home and a family - even if a good portion of them are dead soldiers, some of them are the spouses of his brothers-in-arms, their children and siblings; he learns to control his powers, all of them; and when he finally ends up back in 2019 - either the long way or from accidentally opening the briefcase - he still has this family waiting for him to show back up, willing to help, he’s powerful and knows it, and there’s no way he’s going to let the apocalypse happen

Moving On is less changing a choice made in canon and more answering the question of “what would happen if this choice that wasn’t made was?”

or, more specifically, “what if Bitty and Jack broke up before the Stanley Cup win? how would that affect Bitty’s friendships, his life?”

because many of Bitty’s friends are also friends with Jack, or at least look up to him, and in fact several were friends with Jack first

this one is mostly about exploring the psychology of the comic’s characters and how they all would react

I was happy to realize there would likely not be too much side taking, but there would be awkwardness for most of them; Bitty would likely gravitate more towards spending time with Tango, Whiskey, and Ford who would be the three most likely to not make a big deal out of it or make things awkward; also Bitty would be unable to tell his mother, which would eat at him

then there was the question “if Kent found out would he sympathize? would they become friends?” (slightly harder to answer, since Kent is a tiny bit of an enigma, but I chose to be optimistic there)

and the most important question: “how would I want to end this story? would it be a more satisfying conclusion for Bitty to find a new boyfriend and be happy with him, or to decide he doesn’t need a man to be happy? should Jack end the story single, or in a new relationship?”

the answers I decided on were: while Bitty doesn’t need a man to be happy, he was closeted his entire teens and at this point has only had one relationship and he deserves to get another chance at romance; and on the other side, Jack’s personal story is more about his hockey and becoming comfortable being himself and really all he needs is to win the Stanley Cup or something

fourth: all three at once - or in other words: The Soulmate AU

soulmate AUs are the best way to cover all three at once because the very existence of soulmates changes the circumstances of the story and how the world works, and affects what choices the characters would make

once again, I have two examples: my published Moomins fic Perchance To Dream, and an Arrowverse one-shot series titled Dream A Little Dream

Perchance To Dream was started by the question “in what way could I make Moomin and Snufkin soulmates without them immediately knowing upon meeting? which soulmate trope would I have to use?”

my tentative answer was soul dreams

which was quickly followed by the acknowledgement that if young Snufkin had started having soul dreams he’d likely be unhappy >> if Moomin knew his soulmate was unhappy with their soul bond and he had a way to cut off the bond - say, an herb that you take every night to stop your soul dreams - he’d do that for them, even if it would make him very sad >> time passes and they meet how they do in canon and they’ve both grown enough that they don’t immediately recognize each other >> Snufkin would figure it out first, but exactly when and how would depend on Moomin >> Snufkin would keep it a secret, nervous about telling Moomin >> Moomin would find himself drawn (and attracted) to Snufkin and would have very conflicting feelings over it >> they’d both spend an awfully long time feeling conflicted and guilty before Moomin decides he wants to be with Snufkin, soulmate or not, and Snufkin decides to tell Moomin the truth - probably around the same time

Dream A Little Dream exists entirely as an exploration of the soulmate trope and the different possibilities within

instead of being a romance focusing on one or two ships, it’s a non-linear web showing both how the existence of soulmates affects all the characters and how the events of canon affect the relationships of all the soulmate pairs

(I tried to separate it into primary pairs, secondary pairs, and tertiary pairs to make it easier on myself but all the pairings were too important to the whole idea behind the story to limit their chapters(literally I have, like, nine endgame ships and two of those are polyam(as in I’m counting a four person polyam chain as one ship, even if it might technically count as three, and the other is three people: one relationship); and around fifteen soul pairs(yes there are more soul pairs than endgame ships, there’s a reason for that)))

because of the way I’m exploring the trope there’s fairly little, aside from romantic relationships, that changes from canon (at least up to season four of the Flash, cause that’s as far as I’ve seen)

mostly it’s things like Leonard Snart returning to life because him and Barry are one of the soul pairs I plan on having end up together - after a very long process of Len spending nine months thinking his soulmate died >> then several months of Barry knowing Len’s his soulmate but Len being in the dark >> a period of Len trying to win Barry over but failing a bit >> Len dying and Barry mourning him >> Barry marrying and then divorcing Iris >> Len coming back to life >> Barry and him finally getting together

which is a parallel(in that they both have the “good guy is soulmated to bad guy” dynamic) and contrast to Cisco and Hartley who don’t realize they’re soulmates when they first meet and totally hate each other >> when they can no longer deny it, they start to work together and accept each other >> end up together

Iris’s soulmate is Eddie, and she, Caitlin, and Ray are explorations of moving on after the loss of your soulmate and the different forms that takes - Iris and Caitlin ending up together(along with Shawna, who was left behind by her soulmate) and Ray trying to fill Anna’s spot with other romantic relationships before finally realizing that that isn’t actually helping and finally properly coming to terms with the loss

and I’m gonna stop here instead of going any further into this one, since it’s got so many moving parts and also it’s a little harder to separate from canon than the others

#writeblr #fanfic talk #storybarambles #sorry this doesn't have a proper conclusion #I'm very tired

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ducklettwrites · 4 years

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31 Days of Fanfic: Day 3 “Not By Blood”

Day 3 prompt: Family

Title: Not By Blood

Now available on ao3

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

In which Sylvain wants a big brother.

Rating: Teen and Up. Warning: scenes describing and implying child abuse (both physically and verbally)

Characters: Glenn Fraldarius (fire emblem), Sylvain Jose Gautier (fire emblem)

Pairings: n/a

Author’s Notes: This one is late, and long. Probably the longest one I’ll write for this challenge. I’ve had this planned for a bit, and I greatly underestimated how difficult it would be to translate into words. Now just to say, this fic does deal heavily in themes of child abuse (both verbally and physically). Please be warned. Also, this fic is not ship. Glenn is approximately 15, and Sylvain is approximately 9 (the fact that at this point, Glenn was canonically engaged to a 7 year old greatly disturbs me wtf IS??).

They are Felix’s friends, and you need to treat them with respect.

A fact that his father was quick to remind him of whenever other noble houses were around. Truthfully Glenn had nothing against them, they were only children of course. That didn’t mean they weren’t annoying or tiresome. He was glad that Felix could keep them away from him, occupied with some game they played or whatever. Still, it didn’t hurt to be safe and keep yourself in a position away from their antics.

The training grounds were precisely where Glenn could be to get away. Surely any sensible child knew that running in the same area as arrows flying or swords swinging was not to be attempted. The only company he had to worry about was the mature adults. Though thinking a talk from Count Galatea about his future marriage did little to put him at ease on that front. Nor did the sudden feeling that he was being watched.

Attempting to ignore the feeling, he pushed through more forms, pausing between swings to bury his discomfort. Finding it becoming harder to breathe, he whipped around to face the person so keen on interrupting him. He intended on telling them off, giving them a piece of his mind, or something.

Looking at him with a sense of childlike innocence was the red-haired lanky Gautier child. Glenn found himself tongue tied. Despite his frustration, he knew the verbal lashing that came with yelling at a child, particularly the child of a neighboring house. Racking his brain to find what to say, he chose his words carefully.

“You really shouldn’t be out here.” He said slowly. “You could get hurt.” He hoped that by phrasing it as if he cared would soften whatever yelling came from correcting another man’s child.

Gautier’s child seemed unphased by his words, and simply stared back with an expression mixed of confusion and amusement. This, greatly unsettled Glenn, who was only getting more unnerved by the child’s continued presence. Luckily, he didn’t have to put up with him for long.

“Sylvain? Sylvain come on!” His brother’s voice called for the lost child from the group. Sylvain Gautier did not hesitate in rushing off to rejoin the others, only stealing one last glance in Glenn’s direction before disappearing from the grounds.

Glenn was alone once again, but that did little to calm his nerves. He told himself it didn’t mean anything. Gautier's child was just a foolish little one who wandered too far from the group. Surely nothing would come of this, surely.

Border meetings were hell. Several hours of listening to his father speak with the leader of their closest neighboring territory, and Margrave Gautier loved hear himself talk. He hoped no one would be offended that he excused himself to stretch his legs. He especially hoped no one had seen he had already fallen asleep at this meeting, dozing off some time ago only to awake and find the Margrave still talking.

He yawned and stretched, he knew this was all part of the game of nobles. With a sigh, he tried to keep his mind clear, moving through the halls of the family home. He knew he’d have to return to the meeting eventually, but he wanted to try and force himself awake first.

Passing several murals and paintings on the walls, he tried to remember what each had represented, who the portraits were of, anything to stay awake. Slowly he becomes aware of something, someone else watching him. Small footsteps moved quickly to keep up with Glenn’s increasing strides. Finding it impossible to outmaneuver his small stalker, he turned around to face them.

Sylvain Gautier was panting slightly, out of breath. Messy red hair hung over his eyes as he gripped the wall, taking small deep breaths.

This time Glenn found it difficult to hold his tongue. “What do you want?” he said in a regrettably snappish tone.

He thought he saw the child flinch, but tried to ignore it. “Was… wondering… what you were… doing.” Sylvain said between shallow breaths. “Thought… you were… suppose to still be in with… my father.”

Shit. Right. Everything he said would get back to Margrave Gautier, and that’s exactly the drama that his family needed right now was for the kid to squeal. For the sake of not pissing off their neighboring house, Glenn pushed down his annoyance.

“Apologies. And I am.” He adopted a softer, calmer voice through gritted teeth. “I just thought I’d take a quick walk.”

“Are the meetings… you know… boring?” Sylvain was getting better control over his breath now.

Glenn nearly snorted. “Come again?”

“Father says I’ll have to start going soon.” Sylvain explained “He says I need to start taking responsibility as a leader, but they sound boring. I don’t want to sit and watch grown ups talk.”

Neither do I kid. Glenn tried to keep himself from smiling. Another thing he didn’t need was to be blamed as a bad influence. “They’re important.” he forced himself to say eventually.

Sylvain sighed dramatically. “But why though? Can’t they just agree to work together and get it over with?”

It was getting harder to hide his amusement. “It’s not just agreeing that they need to do. It’s tactics and plans to make sure there isn’t an invasion.”

“I guess you’re right.” Sylvain said stretching his arms over his head. “When I take over my house, I’m going to make the meetings fun.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I look forward to it.” Glenn managed to give a bemused smile.

Sylvain was practically beaming in response. It unsettled Glenn slightly but he did his best to hide it, at the very least he would hopefully be out of trouble.

“Sylvain?” His brother’s voice shook him out of the trance he found himself slipping into.

Sylvain turned toward where Felix was calling, but hesitated. Switching glances between Glenn and his companion, clearing waiting for something.

“Go on, Sylvain.” Glenn gently shooed his brother’s friend toward his general location.

Sylvain still hesitated.

“We can continue talking later.” He could kick himself for his words.

Finally satisfied, Sylvain ran off. “Coming Felix!” Glenn heard him yell as he dashed away.

He sighed, and began walking back to the tactics room. At least the kid had no reason to squeal, and worst case scenario, he could avoid a child for a few days.

He yelled as the training dummy lost another limb. He was breathing heavier than he cared to admit. He wiped off his sword, preparing for the next strike. Training was a natural way to handle frustration, and boy was it relieving pretending the dummies were any number of stressful people. His father and future father-in-law were the bane of his existence. How the hell was he suppose to think about marriage right now? He would be moving out with his posting soon to patrol along the border. And hell, she was only seven. How the hell was he suppose to love her when she didn’t even know what love was?

Another swing and the dummy lost its head. Glenn stood breathing over the lifeless replica. How soon would he be seeing the real thing? A knot turned in his stomach and he pushed the thought aside. Combat was not to be feared, it was a natural part of being a knight. Glenn reminded himself of how much he wanted it, how much he worked for it, and the feeling subsided. With a sigh, he collected the training dummy and walked back to the edge of the grounds. He would get yelled at to be more careful with them from the maid, but he didn’t care.

Dropping the pieces off near the exit he noticed one of the training swords had been taken. He didn’t have to look far to find its procurer. On the other end of the training grounds, against the light of the setting sun, Sylvain was moving back and forth with the trainer in hand. Every so often, landing an imaginary jab against his imaginary assailant and laughing.

Glenn sighed, and began to move to retrieve the wooden sword to place among the others.

Sylvain had not noticed Glenn until he was nearly upon him. Strangely, the child’s face turned white when he spotted Glenn and he froze. They exchanged looks for a few moments, Sylvain looking like a deer about to be shot between the eyes, before Glenn once again pushed closer. Except each step Glenn made forward, Sylvain moved back.

Not in the mood for games, Glenn dove to grab the wooden sword. Sylvain, however, was small and quick, and backed out of his reach before he could retrieve it. He wasn’t however, well balanced, as he landed in the dirt. Glenn made another move to get the sword, and Sylvain crawled once again out of reach.

Running out of patience, he went for a third grab of the sword. Sylvain dodged him again, but just barely, and dodging did cost him. Glenn was now standing over him and he had no way to slip out.

“I’m sorry.” Sylvain whimpered. He had dropped the sword and adopted a defensive stance, raising his arms over his face and cowering. “I’m sorry sorry sorry.” he was practically chanting the words over and over.

Glenn stood over him, confused. It was as if he was expecting to be hurt. Looking closer at the child’s arms, he could see portions exposed from rolled up sleeves and his heart sank. Cuts, bruises, partially healed, and definitely intentional lined the child’s forearm up to his wrist. He had suspected Margrave Gautier to not be one to spare the rod, but surely a nobleman knew not to damage a part so exposed lest it draw attention.

He pushed his distaste for the Margrave aside, extending his hand out to the cowering Gautier child. It took Sylvain several seconds to realize there was no immediate attack and to lower his arms. It took him longer to realize the outstretched hand was in fact, for him, and was not meant as a threat. He faltered when taking the hand and cautiously pushed himself to his feet. With Sylvain on his feet, Glenn bent down to pick up the training sword.

“I apologize for scaring you.” he said catching Sylvain’s gaze as he stood back up, the child had been crying.

“I should have just said I needed the training sword instead of trying to chase it from you.” Glenn continued.

Sylvain rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, and remained silent.

“If it would make it up to you, I can show you how to properly do that move you were working on. It took me awhile to get good at it too.”

“You’d do that?” Sylvain’s voice was weak, and on the verge of breaking.

“It’s the least I can do to make up for it.” Glenn handed the trainer back to Sylvain and drew his own sword. “Now, when you step forward, you move your arm like this.”

He continued practicing with the Gautier child until dark, and he had to admit the child was a fast learner. Though the injuries still bothered him. He would need to discuss it with his father at a later time.

He had been gone for several weeks. The mission lasting much longer than originally anticipated. He never knew how great it would feel to step into his own home again. The relief of being home was brought short as all his other responsibilities caught back up to him. Marriage, politics, training. It was the combat on the homefront.

Glenn wandered through the halls and stopped near the exit leading to the training grounds. It was getting late, but he could not go to sleep now. One or two forms wouldn’t hurt he told himself, pushing out to the open range. The moonlight illuminated shadows of the field. The blackness of night was eerily calming as he drew his sword.

Movement caught his eye from the edge of the ground. Clearly late night practice had not been an idea for him alone. He didn't need to take more than one guess who had come for late night practice.

Sylvain was moving back and forth, trainer in hand, still practicing the form Glenn had shown him all that time ago. He silently admitted the kid had basically mastered it, a high achievement considering Felix was still working on the basics. Though as Glenn watched, he felt something in him tighten. Not every time, but on occasion, when the form called for the arm to extend, Sylvain would wince ever so slightly. It wasn't until he actually dropped the training weapon that Glenn felt the knot in his stomach again.

He had implored his father to look into the matter before he left, on why Felix's friend always seemed reluctant to leave and why he shied away from certain contact or grew nervous when you raised your voice at him. Rodrigue had sighed and promised he could approach the subject, but not promise results. Sylvain was not his child, afterall, and it was not his business how the Margrave handled his child.

It seemed nearly three months later, progress still had not been made. Glenn had to push down his anger, he would talk to his father later. Until then, he would get to the bottom of it as best he could.

"Impressive. You're doing quite well." He did his best to keep from immediately scaring the child as he strode toward him.

Sylvain turned around to face him, surprised. "Thank you!" He called back, practically glowing from the unexpected praise.

"Have you been practicing that one move the entire time?" Glenn was now standing over him, trying to keep his tone even and not arouse suspicion.

"Father says I should be practicing with lances, but I really like the sword." Sylvain jabbed forward with the weapon, striking his imaginary opponent in the ribs. "So I've been splitting it up, lances with father, and swords here."

So he's keeping secrets from him. "Is there any reason your father doesn't want you to learn swords?"

"They're unnecessary." Sylvain made another strike. "I'll be using the family relic, there's no reason to waste time learning the sword." The words were clearly not his own, but one of a prideful parental figure. "But I try to ignore him, I need to learn as much as possib-ah-"

Sylvain had extended his arm only to recoil in pain. Pulling back quickly to cradle the injury, Glenn could hear the child silently cursing to himself.

"Are... you hurt?" Again, Glenn tried to keep his voice even and concerned.

"It's nothing." His voice was barely audible. "It should've healed by now."

Glenn was starting to feel his anger rising. "Can I see it?"

"It's really nothing."

Don't raise your voice, stay calm. "I just want to see, I did learn some healing magic from the knights."

Sylvain hesitated, but eventually pulled up the sleeve with a shaky hand. Glenn's heart dropped. It was quite obvious the arm had been broken, and the bruised outline of a handprint made it clear this was no accident. He tried to breathe, let the white magic flow through his fingertips like he was taught as he ran them down the forearm.

"Who did this to you?" It was getting harder for Glenn to mask his anger.

"It's not important." Sylvain began to shake beneath Glenn's touch.

"If someone is hurting you, it is important." He stopped the flow of magic, but did not fully release Sylvain's arm. "This wasn't an accident, Sylvain. Someone did this to you on purpose and wanted to hurt you. So, who did this to you?"

He watched the fear rise in the child's eyes. "It's really not important." He repeated.

"Sylvain, it is important." He could feel himself getting frustrated. "Who did this to you?"

"It's not important."

"Who did this to you?"

"It's not important!" Sylvain nearly shouted the response before attempting to pull his arm away.

Glenn's grip tightened. "Who did this to you?" He shouted back, keeping Sylvain close.

Fuck. The effect was immediate. Sylvain let out a panicked screech before successfully pulling away from Glenn. He wasted no time sprinting as far as he could. Glenn debated on chasing him, but ultimately decided against it. He had terrified the kid enough for one night.

His father had rebuked him for scaring Felix’s friends but nothing more. No mention of the injury, not one word on the child’s treatment. When Glenn brought it up, he was dismissed. It was not his child, he could not interfere. It was terrible, but it could not be changed.

What’s worse is that the kid didn’t even come near him anymore. In fact, Sylvain seemed to give the entire Fradarius clan a wide berth. During border meetings, he was actively avoiding seeing, speaking, or otherwise interacting with anyone. As troubled as Glenn was of the situation, he could not deny that his brother had taken it worse. Felix had, more than once, made him aware that he was the one to ruin his friendship with the Gautier child. Glenn didn’t even bother to argue or defend himself. It would be useless trying to explain what was happening to an eight year old.

To add more shit to the fire, seeing the Gautier clan enter the Fraldarius estate, Sylvain looked the worst he’d ever been. Jumpy, ragged, worn, and so so tired. This kid was suffering, and no one was bothering to cover it up. Someone was getting away with this, and no one, not especially the child’s father, seemed to care.

Glenn hated to admit defeat, it was criminal that this was allowed to continue as it did, but he did admit to a feeling of hopelessness. He had not been able to get the child to admit to wrongdoing on anyone’s part, and now it seemed he had ruined the chance for the subject to be brought up again.

He sighed, pulling himself out of a drowsy haze that was sitting through another lecture by Margrave Gautier on border security. He would wake himself with training, then go to bed, then rise for another long discussion tomorrow. Such is the life of a noble. He pushed out the door to the setting sun.

To his surprise, and horror, he was not alone in the training grounds. Despite how shit Sylvain looked, and honestly must have felt he was doing his best to push through a rigorous practice routine. It was a lance, not a sword, that he had in his hands and was forcing through the same motion over and over again.

He didn’t need to step out far for the child to notice him. Right away, he stopped practicing and was beginning to gather up equipment to leave, all while not looking at Glenn directly. It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt, even if just a little.

“Before you go” Glenn began to speak, “I’d like to apologize for… for what happened. I really don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry. You don’t have to forgive me, but if you could not let what happened affect your opinion on Felix. He does miss you…”

Sylvain’s back was turned to Glenn, so he couldn’t see the child’s face. It was sudden as he fell to the ground and pulled himself into a ball. He broke into sobs and didn’t even try to run away when Glenn moved closer to him and sat down at his side.

Thankfully, one too many situations like this with Felix had prepared Glenn for how to act. He extended his arm, and pulled Sylvain closer, rubbing soothing circles on his back as he gently shushed him. Though not immediate, the rhythmic patterns began to take effect and Sylvain began to calm down, taking deep breaths between sobs.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Glenn asked, this time determined to sound and stay sounding gentle.

He could feel Sylvain shake his head against his chest.

“Talking does sometimes help, if you can.”

“I’m scared, I don’t want to die.” the child’s words were sobering to say the least.

“You’re afraid… of dying?”

A nod.

Goddess. This kid wasn’t even ten. “Can I ask? About what we were talking about last time, are you afraid of someone hurting you? Someone like your father perhaps?”

Sylvain pulled back from his grasp to look at him in the eyes. “Father? No, he would never hurt me.”

“If he doesn’t, then who does?” Glenn was genuinely confused now.

The child buried his face back in his chest, and muttered something inaudible.

“What was that?”

“I said Mik.” Sylvain repeated, loud enough to hear this time.

“Who’s-?”

“Mik is my older brother.”

Now he was really confused. The Margrave didn’t talk about any other child. The only child besides Sylvain had, to his memory, died right before...oh.

“He’s the worst, and I hate him.”

“He’s the one who hurts you? Doesn’t your father stop him?”

“Well, yeah. Father never lets Mik go unpunished.” Sylvain had now situated himself away from Glenn’s chest and was looking down. “But Mik says that whatever Father does, he’ll do twice that to me, and he means it. I try not to get Father involved if I don’t have to.”

“And this has been going on for how long?”

“Forever. Mik has never liked me.” Sylvain sighed. “I don’t know what I did. It’s not my fault I have a crest and he doesn’t. I tell him that and he doesn’t believe me. I tell him I’m not scared of him, and he laughs at me.” He was getting worked up now. “And it’s not my fault that when I take over, the best thing he could do is be another soldier in my army and die.”

Fuck. No way was this a simple case of sibling rivalry and no way were these words entirely Sylvain’s.

“And that…” His voice dropped low. “That’s why I wanted to spend time with you.”

“Me?” Glenn asked, shocked. “Why me?”

“Because Felix says you’re the best brother ever.”

“Felix must be mistaken. I’m a terrible brother.”

“No you’re not.” Sylvain turned to him and now wore a very serious expression. “You’re a great brother. You don’t get mad when I watch you train, you let me ask questions, and you apologize.” He was getting excited again. “And not only that, but you show me how to do forms and you don’t say mean things when I practice.”

That was just me showing basic decency.

“And you’ve never called me dumb or weak or lazy.” Sylvain continued. “Or told me to die, or threw me down the stairs, or pinned me to a wall.”

The fact the kid continued to pull examples was making Glenn feel sick.

“...Or threw me in a well. Or put a knife to my throat and tell me how I should just do everyone a favor and kill myself.” He stopped, letting go of the energy and sighing. “And I thought… I thought you could be my brother too.”

“You want me to be your brother?” He tried to hide his surprise.

“Yeah.” Sylvain was speaking so soft now. “Felix told me how great it was to have a brother like you, I thought you could be my brother too.”

He could only guess that having a brother like that would make him look like the greatest brother in the world. The fact that he was only treating him with basic respect and decency didn’t matter to this kid, it was kindness he was unaccustomed to from the one who was suppose to fill a role similar to Glenn. He wondered how much praise Felix really needed to give for this kid to come to the conclusion of how he ranked compared to other brothers in the world. Still that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

“Sure.” Glenn finally said. “I’ll be your brother.”

Sylvain’s face lit up, and he pulled Glenn in for an immediate hug. Glenn sighed, pulling the child closer. He knew he wouldn’t be able to protect him from his own brother, but maybe. Just maybe he could soften the blow of having the worst brother in the world by acting like the best.

#31 days of fanfic #fe #fire emblem #3h #fe3h #sylvain jose gautier #glenn fraldarius #tw child abuse #tw verbal abuse #tw physical abuse #i saw a headcanon someone had where glenn basically adopted sylvain as a little brother and i couldnt help but think of that #aka can we not gloss over how fucked up 3h is like holy shit

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bigskydreaming · 5 years

Text

Just wanted to thank people again for their reblogs and donations, I will never be able to describe how I feel about the support - both tangible and emotional - that people on here have given me over the past three months in particular. Especially now that I have a definitive diagnosis and course of treatment to aim for, and an optimistic timeline of maybe even having the surgery within the next few months, at least before the summer....it really just depends there on whether my insurance approves that expense or how much of it, etc.

I still definitely could use continued help, though I’m trying my best to not rely on it as much as possible. Its just...yeah. We’ve kinda hit the point where its really just not possible period for me to make it where I need to get to without support. The slight downside to all the positive stuff I mentioned above is I’m a very goal oriented person. And this has been a very long and constant ordeal for me, where its been nothing but seven days of constant stress and pain a week, not able to rest or relax or take a day off working or searching for work for literally months and months. The only way I’ve managed to keep going is by fixating on some nebulous future point I had to reach and kinda use that to drag myself forward day by day. Its not nebulous anymore. I have answers, I have concrete needs and timelines and all that. But that also means now I have a very clear awareness that I can not make it the rest of the way with just the resources I already have myself.

It’s like...desperation energy, that’s fueled me to get this far and last this long, but there’s a difference between desperation and futility, and motivating myself with the thought ‘just hang in there long enough to get answers and solutions and FIX things’, like, it did what it needed to do, getting me in sight of all that, but it took pretty much everything I’ve got to use all that to tread water, to just stay afloat to get to this point. There’s just not enough there to stretch that out to continuing to stay afloat WHILE doing three times as much work on TOP of that. I know my capabilities and have a lot of self-respect for them, but I also know my limits and I can’t afford to waste everything it took to get to this point just so I can pretend I’m capable of more than I am. Because that’s the other downside of being in sight of the finish line, but still having it far enough away its not anywhere you’re gonna reach in just a few more steps.....like, lmao, I’m fucking tired. I want to rest. And I’ve gotten just enough good news after nothing but years of new rock bottoms that my brain and my body are trying to take that as a sign that its okay for me to just collapse now and take a breather. But I can’t really. Because I’m still not actually there yet.

So on that note, putting the link to my paypal up here nearer to the top for a change, for people who don’t actually need my long-windedness, lol.

https://paypal.me/bigskydreaming?locale.x=en_US

And then on a related note, I just wanted to say again that I’m totally okay with and even eager for people to leave notes with their donation for any writing commission I can do in return. Again, this is totally MY issue, and not something I think should apply to all donation posts: expectations of a quid pro quo. People help out because they want to help out. As long as whatever information a donation post includes is sincere, however much or little that information is, I think that’s the only parameter that matters. People have different personal criteria for what motivates them to actually donate to a relative stranger on the internet. If someone donating to a person whose post is just a simple paragraph of need with no context for why or what their situation is, if that doesn’t make sense to you? It doesn’t have to. That’s not actually any kind of scam. Someone just wants to say, hey I need help and no, I don’t want to explain why? Sure, a lot of people might not feel inclined to donate but anyone who does, they’re not being scammed. Someone asked for x amount of help, someone else decided, hey I can provide this much help and I’m okay with doing that with no further context needed. The end.

Just wanted to clearly express my opinion there, before proceeding on: for ME, personally, I like a degree of quid pro quo for the help people give me, because that’s something that works for my situation. I don’t LIKE not being able to work as much as I want to, because thing is, I have been fortunate enough to make careers out of work that I actually enjoy. My income over the last ten years has almost completely stemmed from acting, writing and graphic design, all things I enjoy. LOL I rant endlessly about how much I hate capitalism, and its true....but I don’t hate doing things I love. Obviously for the past year I haven’t been able to do any acting jobs cuz of my health conditions, and my writing and graphic design work has been unreliable for the last several months for a variety of reasons.

The major way my health stuff (and related mental health stuff) has impacted me is not even with actual work, but finding new work. My headaches and chronic pain have lessened how many hours I’m able to be focused on work, but not so much that I can’t do what I need to get done when I have a clear objective and goal to focus on. It’s when that’s done and I have nothing else to work on and haven’t made the money I need yet. When I try to power through several hours a day of headaches/pain in search of new jobs as my lack of results amps up my stress and aggravates my health stuff even further....that’s what really makes days suck. And because of my mobility issues with vertigo and not being able to drive and all that, going out and getting a non-internet based job just flat out isn’t possible for me at the moment.

So I’m really starting to feel hopeful again that there actually IS an end point to all this and it might be soon even...and then I can get back to business as usual and build new client bases same as I did before, even get back to acting (omggggggg I miss it). But until that happens, as long as I still need to ask people for help and financial support, like, PLEASE do not feel like you’re imposing on me by suggesting something I can write in return, especially if you’re someone who’s been donating to me regularly. Or if you follow me in part because you enjoy my writing and my headcanons and fics and such. It’s not a chore, its something to do that I CAN do, that I LIKE doing, that I WANT to do. It actually helps make all of this more bearable, because like I said....writing and graphic design as my sources of income...they don’t feel like work. I ENJOY doing them. They actually get my mind off my issues, they give me a reason to get up in the morning, they make me feel productive, like I’m actually doing something with my life instead of just existing, and going through the motions day by day just to survive.

So if you make a donation and you can think of something you’d enjoy seeing from me, please don’t hesitate. All I ask is that you understand that I’m not in a place to make guarantees at the moment, but when and where I can devote my time and energy to a direction you’ve pointed me in with your donation, I’m happy to, and hopefully that might result in something sooner rather than later. And eventually, if all goes well, I will get to a point (quite honestly a better place than I’ve been physically AND mentally in years) where I CAN be better about staying true to my intentions.

For now, just a rundown of things I have been writing for people who did make requests (though most of them are friends whose names I recognized and I hunted down and badgered into telling me what they’d like so I could do this, lmao. There were definite GDI WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR ME TO MAKE YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU convos being had, lolol I’m such a well adjusted person, honestly how do I stand it, science may never know).

Anyway, for anyone interested, the current slate of ‘commissions’ I’ve been working on, just so there’s no need to make a duplicate request:

Lightning Crashes Update - LOL a long awaited update to that beast. Its a 3 POV chapter, Kira, Liam and then Allison, and came out to around 10K. It’s done and just needs a final read through and polish, which I’ll do literally as soon as I manage to finish paying my insurance for the month and get caught up with what I owe my motel. Which means in the next couple of days for sure, if for no other reason then I like....have to make sure to pay those things by then one way or another lmao. But point being, for anyone still invested in that fic or interested in reading more, since its been so long and you’ll probably have to reread the existing chapters to refresh your memory, I think its pretty safe to go ahead and do that whenever, and the new chapter will happen somewhere in the next few days.

As to the rest of the fic after that - this is one of three fanfics that I’ve always sworn I really want to finish someday no matter what, and that remains true. The clusterfuck TW fandom became for me really hurt my ability to write that story the way I originally wanted to, mostly because I didn’t want my resentment of Stiles to affect how I wrote his necessary part of the plot, and by the time there was enough emotional distance between me and the show/fandom to write it again, like....all this happened, lol. So I do think once my health issues are resolved and I’m settled in an actual permanent place, I’ll FINALLY be able to resume it. There’s like, a couple hundred thousand words worth of unposted story already written there, lmao, its just I outline and then write nonlinearly, so most of all that just doesn’t work without me finally writing the bridge chapters that pull it all together.

Born Under a Bad Sign Update - Same thing pretty much, as this is one of the other Big Three fics I’ve always wanted to finish. Largely because its got a sequel that’s already written in full, lmao. The sequel is my YJ version of Under the Red Hood, but builds on the plotline I always had in mind for BUABS. The sequel was just easier for me to write first because it wasn’t as personal. BUABS doesn’t have as much pre-written as LC, but its not nearly as long either, and it has always been totally outlined and with a lot of dialogue for later chapters pre-written. Anyway, this is what I’d like to post after the LC update. It’s not finished, but its also not as long as the LC one. It’s a Roy chapter, and doesn’t have a time break but while writing it I’ve split it into two parts just for my own purposes. The first is Roy and Ollie confronting Catalina, the second is Roy and Ollie talking about their own shit in light of that. For this one, the first part is written, the second has the dialogue written but the rest needs fleshing out. It wont take that long to finish, its really just a day or at most two days of writing. When that’s done just depends on when I can next devote time to it.

Untitled X-Men One Shot - Someone asked if I’d write something about Scott and Bobby’s friendship and some kind of reunion between them after Scott’s return from the dead. I will of course be ignoring AoX completely, lmao. This one’s mostly done, its like 10K lmao (look those two had a LOT to talk about okay), but the last couple thousand words of that is all just dialogue I needed to get down before I had to focus on other stuff. So everything I need is all there, I just need to return to it to finish fleshing out the last quarter or so of it.

Untitled Dick and Jason One Shot - Someone else asked me to write something with just Dick and Jason interacting, set in the comic book universe. I’m going with a blend of pre-nu52 and a little bit of nu52 for the setting, pretty much ignoring Rebirth etc, because a) I think the Rebirth reboot mostly sucked and b) I really don’t know much about post Rebirth continuity cuz I’ve read so little of it cuz what I have read I think mostly sucks. This one is basically Dick and Jason finally airing out their shit and all the things I’ve long wanted them to say to each other and know about each other, so they can try and build an actual functioning relationship as brothers. Its got all the dialogue written, but not much else. The dialogue’s really the only framework I need to build a one-shot, so it won’t be hard to write around it, its again just more about when and where I get the time to do that. It will be Jason POV, as in canon its usually Dick reaching out (to whatever degree) and Jason not trusting his sincerity. So the angle I’m going with is this one shot’s about Jason realizing he doesn’t know his brother as well as he thought, and that if he’s always trying to get the family to accept he’s not the same person he was before, like....the same can be true for Dick. Neither of them are the people they were back then, so the reasons they weren’t close aren’t actually reasons they can’t be close now. And what Jason thinks are Dick’s issue with him might not actually be what Dick actually has a problem with.

Original Superhero Novella - This is likely the last of these things to be finished as its the longest and thus more on the backburner, like just writing 1 or 2K at a time on it. This one’s the request of a friend who knows enough about my original superhero universe (I call it the Ellis Eighteen universe) to know who she wanted to read about specifically. Which - not surprisingly, given that Batfamily is one of our shared fandoms - is my version of a Batfamily. Only not really, because lol I don’t like being derivative or writing analogs of existing characters aka I must be the specialest snowflake ever. So its more like I was like ugh I love the Batfamily but hate how rarely DC lets them like, GET ALONG, oh hey, I’m gonna shove all my resentment from that into making up my own dysfunctional blended family of superheroes who actually love each other even if they’re bad at saying so. Plus superpowers.

So their concept is there’s a C-List supervillain named Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law. He has low grade probability powers. Basically he makes it so anything that can go wrong will go wrong in a designated area. He doesn’t have any control over how that manifests, but he’s great for diversions, so he gets hired for a heist by some big name supervillains to just create mayhem while they do the actual work elsewhere. Except Murphy discovers the corporation they’re stealing from donates a lot to children’s charities and is heavily involved with ‘supporting’ the foster care system...as a means to seek out superpowered children who end up in the system, and exploit them for their powers. And while looking for the best place/way to make a diversion, Murphy stumbles across evidence of this, as well as four boys on site in advance of them being sent to a home specially intended to raise the boys to feel indebted to their benefactors and eager to do whatever they want them to.

Which doesn’t work for Murphy at all, because he’s not so much a bad guy as someone who ended up a criminal due to circumstances and desperation and from there just never found a reason to stop. This though, he’s not okay looking the other way, so he says screw this company and screw the guys who hired me, and he breaks out the boys and they go on the run, keeping anyone from getting their hands on them and moving from place to place while he tries to provide as much stability as he can, let them grow up and decide for themselves what they want to be.

Eventually though, the two oldest, Misfire and Crossfire (I call them the Fire brothers because even though they’re all biologically unrelated, they each have powers that lend themselves to picking the codenames Misfire, Crossfire, Ceasefire and Backfire). So anyway, after a couple years of this, Misfire and Crossfire end up sneaking out to be vigilantes. And Murphy catches them of course and is like wtf are you thinking, do you know how dangerous that is? What if you get hurt? What if they (asshole corporation) find you?

Only it turns out, they just wanted to be like their dad. Which Murphy doesn’t really know what to do with, cuz he never talks about his past with the boys. Because he’s ashamed of it, doesn’t want them to think of him as a villain. Which they don’t of course. He’s the one who rescued them, who gave up whatever his life was before to make it all about protecting them and always doing what was best for them. To the boys, Murphy’s always been their personal hero, so they kind of took it for granted....that’s what he was. Murphy was never a big name player, and they’ve always assumed that he was just some masked hero or vigilante who retired when he took them in so his old enemies wouldn’t come after them too.

So basically its a found/adopted family where the boys grow up to be heroes, thanks to the values and role model their father provided without ever having a clue how they really saw him, due to his own insecurities. And then it backdoors into Murphy eventually becoming a hero as well as its the only way he knows to keep making sure he’s there to look out for them, as well as like....he’s inspired by his kids, who in turn were inspired by him. He wants to be the man they see him as, live up to that image of him, not realizing that like, he always already was that man. That image of him is based on his actions, the way he raised them. So in reality, its not even that he’s inspired to heroism by the example his kids set, its more a gradual embrace of the role he’d always played for as long as they knew him, no matter how he personally had seen it (and himself).

And because I’m me, they end up making it the family business, with the older two boys and their dad working together to expose and topple companies engaged in exploitative practices, while the younger two ignore all orders to stay home and always stow away to make sure they’re part of the action. Like.....its the Batfamily with superpowers meets Leverage, if the Robins came first and Bruce only became Batman to be their partner and have their backs. And also he used to be a crook which is still way better than a billionaire. So, that’s that on that.

So that’s the slowest of the current slate, its at about 18K of a projected 30K, with this particular story being set after Murphy and the two oldest are already established as vigilantes. Murphy’s in his forties, Misfire’s 21, Crossfire’s 18, Ceasefire’s 16 and Backfire’s 14.

I’m open to writing pretty much anything I’ve ever talked about fandom wise, and that you know is something I’m familiar with. If for whatever reason a request is something I’m not open to writing or I’m not familiar enough with to write, I’ll just make a post about it and you can hop on anon and either clarify or ask for something else. And its okay to ask on anon ahead of time if I’d be open to something.

Anyway, on that note, I’m all done here, thanks again for everything!!!

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ads-is-shady-blog · 5 years

Text

#5) [Otome Games/BTS] An Update on Aeon Dream Studios - hiatus, founder leaving, allegations of emotional abuse and non-payment by a former employee, + more

View the discussion on reddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/amiuas/otome_gamesbts_an_update_on_aeon_dream_studios/

Post (words by original poster linked):

This is an update to my previous post here which has some background and a Tl;dr at the end for those who need it. It's time for an update as a lot has happened in the past month.

Before that, though, here's something I missed in my last post: a scandal in June 2018 where ADS tweeted on their official account to call out a fanfic author on Wattpad for copying ADS's work. The tweet included an image containing the author's username, leading the fifteen-year-old author to receive harassment from TTEOTS fans who had seen the tweet. Considering TTEOTS itself did not have legal permission to be using BTS's likenesses, the call out post seems rather hypocritical. There was also an exchange in the replies where the devs passive aggressively blamed a fan who asked for help due to the app being glitchy.

So, to recap where we left off:

The studio went silent for a couple of months at the end of 2018, letting a promised release date for TTEOTS pass without comment. In mid-December the CEO emerged to link her inability to work to a BTS member sustaining a minor injury, and then pushed back Echoes to 2019 (initially promised for March 2017), giving no date for further TTEOTS content.

January has brought renewed anger and attempts to raise awareness by ex-fans and customers who have been burned by the studio.

January 14th

In two tweets on her personal account, the CEO decried the capitalisation and dehumanisation of BTS through merchandise and idolatry and condemned fans for buying products that contributed to this. This was certainly an ironic tweet to make for someone who:

dehumanised BTS by turning them into characters for her game without their consent;

promoted the game using BTS's faces, name and existing fanbase, and strongly encouraged fans to pay for crowdfunding, TTEOTS merch and, later, the monetised Premium version;

enticed fans to buy Premium by promising Premium-exclusive content such as eventual romantic content with said characters, further dehumanising the members of BTS without their consent.

Several people responded pointing out the hypocrisy of making such tweets after capitalising on the faces of BTS, but the CEO did not respond; instead one fan chimed in to defend the studio.

January 18th

The CEO posted a new blog on ADS's official website announcing a hiatus for financial reasons. It is no longer accessible for reasons I'll explain, but there is a cached version viewable here. The hiatus will last until at least March and means writing and programming will continue but almost everything else is paused and their social media presence will be reduced. Elaborating, she explained that they had "been on hiatus in some ways since September [2018]", having slowed work due to budgetary constraints.

The post also included a vague paragraph about a personal financial settlement she was owed from a person referred to as "He-Shall-Not-Be-Named" which she had planned to invest into ADS, but allegedly he had dragged out the proceedings and this, combined with the "untimely" cease and desist from BigHit Entertainment and decreased sales, led to financial difficulties. During the hiatus, which will last until March or later, the CEO wrote that she would work on novels and commissions in order to help the company.

Ex-fans linked the hiatus post in the Steam forums and in a post on /r/otomegames. Criticism was directed at numerous parts of the statement, including:

"We promised you guys a lot of things, and we’re going to deliver, come hell or high water. It might not be in the time frame I had planned, but it will be done. I am definitely known as a person of my word." (emphasis added)

A claim critics would happily dispute, and:

"Anyway, as a result I decided the best thing for us was to be honest, now that I knew more, and let the fans know exactly what was happening as soon as possible and take an “official” hiatus." (emphasis added)

This latter statement attracted particular criticism considering the studio had already been winding down development activity since September but had failed to inform fans and eventually went radio silent for roughly 2 months, leaving TTEOTS fans confused and worried about the status of the game. Further, this hiatus post was not announced anywhere on ADS's social media, leaving those who had noticed it wondering exactly how this constituted keeping fans in the loop.

January 25th

On the 25th, the CEO made several tweets, one of which began with:

"Lately, relationships have ended in my life. I'm grateful for the lessons I learned. Courage, generosity, empathy, honesty, openness are all traits required for a healthy relationship."

Perhaps coincidentally, that same day the other remaining founding member of the studio announced her departure for mental health reasons. As she is no longer an employee I will not link directly out of respect but here is a screenshot of the main tweet. This left ADS with two remaining employees - the CEO (the only remaining founder) and a writer who had formally joined the studio in February 2018 and who is allegedly now living with the CEO. This departure means there are now four former employees listed on the official ADS website. The third founder was the longest serving former employee at 2 years.

Shortly afterwards, the official ADS Twitter tweeted out a new hiatus statement on their official website, the previous one having vanished. The new post was shorter than the first - down to 426 words from the original 1,089 - and now included the departure of their founding member as a reason for the hiatus.

The tweet attracted a mix of supportive and critical replies, with former fans and backers wading in to demand answers about the two versions of the hiatus post and to back up frustrated TTEOTS fans. Unusually, the CEO appeared in the replies to respond to some of these criticisms, tweeting that:

anything perceived to be "shady" by critics was merely due to their founding member struggling with her mental health behind the scenes;

the second hiatus blog was the "same exact blog" as the original except for the addition of the founding member leaving (in fact the original was twice as long);

the only reason they didn't share the original hiatus post on Twitter was because the member responsible for sharing it had quit.

January 27th

The CEO posted two blogs on the ADS website: a post detailing her plans for restructuring and fulfilling their obligations, including hiring more freelance staff after the hiatus, and another detailing the struggles of ADS from their founding, written in response to a critic who had apparently claimed not to believe in the recently departed founding member's mental health issues. (I am unsure what comment(s) the CEO was referring to specifically as the reference is vague.)

As you've probably guessed, ex-fans picked this latter post apart too.

"I haven’t seen all the bad things out there about us. I don’t read them, because I know that some of it is made up,and would only distract me from my job. I know the truth, and I have always been honest, even if there were things I couldn’t say. I have no motive to lie, and I know these people don’t know or understand me." (emphasis added)

Critics wondered how the CEO could know if criticisms are made up if she doesn't read them.

"I thought of the possibility of course, of hanging it up, working on providing refunds to people (what, you REALLY thought we were so dishonorable as not to do that?)..." (emphasis added)

Of course, as mentioned in my last post, numerous customers had reported difficulty obtaining refunds (despite a threat from the devs that backers who were toxic would be forcibly refunded).

On their official Twitter account, they also announced plans to move away from social media and focus on communicating through the "healthy space" of their Discord channels. Ex-fans speculated this was a way to more tightly moderate speech and shut out critics. One began lurking in the official Discords, reporting on what the studio's remaining employees were saying and alleging that critics' arguments were being misrepresented by ADS devs to their fans in the Discord enquiring about the controversy.

This user also heavily hinted at having testimony from an inside source that supposedly included emotional abuse allegations against the CEO, but was holding off on saying anything due to concerns about preserving the source's anonymity.

28th January

Despite failing to give a release date elsewhere, the developers posted a backer-exclusive Kickstarter update which as a non-backer I cannot read, but according to a poster in the Steam forum it gives the release date for Echoes as March 2019, despite the hiatus.

The CEO also tweeted refuting past criticism that she was throwing employees under the bus in her updates, and closed by stating she would not be tweeting about negativity or rumours anymore.

29th January

A Twitter user who is the MDSOA Deluxe Edition Kickstarter's highest backer (to the tune of $2000+ USD, proof posted on their Twitter account) posted a series of tweets strongly condemning the studio. She claimed one employee from the studio had blocked her (something at least one other backer has also reported) and that she had been refused a refund.

In fact, when she had emailed the studio in November 2018 asking for refunds for physical Kickstarter rewards which did not yet exist almost 2 years after the Kickstarter in question - and indeed still do not exist - ADS responded that crowdfunded pledges are "donations" and "ordinarily considered non-refundable", with the promised rewards being "just a perk". (This screenshot of the reply is embedded in one of the tweets.) However, they generously stated they would "consider it" when they start sending out merchandise.

In fact, according to Section 4 of Kickstarter's Terms of Use, this is very much not true: "project creators must complete the project and fulfil each reward." Backers are owed regular updates, and if the project fails, creators must go to lengths to show why they failed, prove they used funds appropriately, and either refund backers with any remaining funds or use this money to complete the promised project in another form. The only way to terminate these obligations to a backer is to issue a refund, ending the contract between them.

And, in any case, the developers had promised refunds in December 2017 for those who wanted them and had set up a page for refund sign-ups which they posted about in January. As such, it's clear their email response was not consistent with their past statements, especially as some people were previously able to get refunds. What changed?

Again:

"I thought of the possibility of course, of hanging it up, working on providing refunds to people (what, you REALLY thought we were so dishonorable as not to do that?)..."

31st January

Meanwhile, ADS were posting teasers of new character designs for TTEOTS, including one of the redesigns that had been made necessary by the cease and desist in August 2018. As the main male characters had originally been based on BTS they had all appeared Korean, but the redesigns had changed the races of some characters to reflect a more racially diverse future.

On the 31st they posted a passive aggressive tweet with a meme gif alluding to comments they had apparently received in the past, encouraging people to unfollow if they were likely to be upset by future character designs, all of which are "various shades of brown", with one also being agender. Again a mix of supportive and critical replies followed; even some of the studio's supporters criticised the tone as condescending and unprofessional. Several responders appeared wary of being branded as racist for criticising Five's redesign for not fitting his established character. One or two even expressed views that the devs were intentionally avoiding adding white characters out of spite or pettiness. Matters were not helped by ADS making a couple of replies of a similar hostile tone.

1st February

At last, the "inside source" that had been hinted at came forward: the former Lead Artist and Art Director at ADS, Monzana21.

Monz alleged in a Twitter statement that she had been a victim of emotional abuse at the hands of ADS's current management, ended up in the hospital with extreme exhaustion, and when she left the company received only one and a half months' payment for 7 months of work. She appealed to people to question what is happening at ADS and why they have lost so many employees, but declined to give further information publicly in order to protect herself and her friends and coworkers. In other more recent tweets she added that people in the art community are also aware of abuse and mistreatment within ADS and the scamming of fans.

Replies were overwhelmingly supportive, with a couple of other Twitter users who had interacted with ADS chiming in to say that their experiences with ADS were also negative and they did not doubt the veracity of the allegations.

Since then, any tweets on the ADS Twitter have numerous responses asking about the abuse allegations and trying to spread awareness, but the studio still has plenty of eager responses from fans as well.

On her personal account, the CEO tweeted to thank those who believe in her for their supportive messages and retweeted this on the ADS Twitter, but there has otherwise been no official statement on the matter outside of Discord. There, the CEO has outright disputed the allegations (compilation), as has ADS's other writer (compilation), and members of the Discord (some of whom address the CEO as "mom") have mostly taken them at their word, while people who were already critical or doubtful of the studio appear more inclined to believe the former Lead Artist.

The #TTEOTS, #MDSOA and #MDE Twitter tags are awash with criticism towards the studio from numerous different users, and new tweets from the CEO and the official ADS Twitter are quickly met by former fans and backers banging war drums. The fallout from the abuse allegations has yet to settle and presumably more drama is to come.

Tl;dr

Throughout January, angry ex-fans have increased efforts to raise awareness and turned ADS-related accounts and tags into a battleground on Twitter

Conspiracy theories abounded as a post about a hiatus for financial reasons was never shared, then vanished and reappeared significantly edited down a week later

A founding member of the company departed for mental health reasons

A $2k+ backer alleges she was refused a refund for items she had not received and was informed her Kickstarter pledge was a "donation" and "ordinarily non-refundable"

ADS stirred up further controversy with more passive aggressive tweets

A former employee came forward with allegations of emotional abuse and being underpaid for 7 months of work, which the remaining ADS members have refuted

#aeon dream studios #ads is shady #adsisshady #mystic destinies #tteots

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blaperile · 5 years

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Homestuck Epilogues - Meat - Page 7

#Homestuck #The Homestuck Epilogues #Meat #reaction #Dirk #Rose #Seer #Hero of Heart #Seer of Heart

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thewritingpossum · 6 years

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You say 'ask me about my hatred for Rainbow Rowell', so now I'm curious...who are they and what did they do?

Ok, so I’ve had this thing in my blog description for litteral years and you’re only the second person who ever reacted to it, bless your soul, truly. It’s gonna be a super long answer tho so I apologize in advance if it bores you to tears. Also there’s some spoilers for her book Eleanor & Park in this thing, if anyone care about that.

So Rainbow Rowell is a ya novels writer who happens to be highly popular around here (I also think she actually has a tumblr? I may be wrong on that point tho) and who was ever more popular around 2013 when she published her first book, Eleanor & Park, a love story between a fat, non-conventionally attractive girl dealing with abuse and poverty and a mixed race (white and korean) boy dealing with a bit of an identity crisis, all of that with a cool 80’s background. Sounds pretty cool, eh? That’s what I thought but…No.

First of all, this book is incredibly racist. Park (the half-korean boy) has a severe case of self-hatred and internalized racism. He wished he looked like his strong, all-american looking brother who even has an american name and is so much more mainly and can even drive shift (he’s supposed to be his baby brother who is like 13 but I get miss Rowell got confused with her own timeline). I don’t have a problem with that in itself: I can totally imagine a teenager growing up in a mainly white community dealing with that.

My problem is with the ‘resolution’ of the problem: Park realize that Eleanor (the “chubby” girl) prefers asian guy and since obviously the marker of wether you’re worth anything or not is how appealing you are to white women, he magically get over his issues. Eleanor also spent the whole book fetishizing and otherizing the ever lasting christ out of her boyfriend. She constantly refers to him (in her head, to be fair) as “that asian kid”, “that stupid asian kid”, “that stupid, beautiful asian boy” and being sooooo into the fact that he’s asian (and has magical green eyes that are so different and non-asian but sooo pretty ). It’s very uncomfortable to read, tbh.

If you think that’s bad, wait until we get to her mother, who is quite litterally a racist caricature. Mindy (an americanized version of Min-Dae -which is not even an actual korean name, no more than Park but it’s whatever at this point) is a manucurist spoking broken english who gets compared to china dolls by one of the main character. She was born in Korea but was “brought home” by her american husband, a soldier who was stationned in her country (it’s already yikes enough and only get worst when you learn that Rainbow based that whole mess on a picture that she found of her own military dad with a woman in korean: I mean, I guess it’s your prerogative to write romantic fanfictions about your parents but like…The reality of thing is that there were no love story between american soldiers and the women of the countries they occuped and it’s time for her to accept it).

We also get two black characters, who are Eleanor’s best and only friends (only that she don’t really appear to give two fucks about them). They’re named Denice and Beebi, names that reaaaaally stand out in a negative way when compared to all white people’ names and they speak…Well, the way black characters in 80’s teen movies made by white people speak. One of them (I don’t remember which one) is dating a much older boy and planning to marry him after high school because that’s what black girls do, right? So yeah, I truly believe that this book is one of the most racist published in the 2010’s that I’ve personnally read. But that’s actually just part of why I hate it and loath it’s writer.

I also absolutely despise the way Rowell writes about abuse: a huge plot point is that Eleanor endure mental, emotional and (if I remember correctly) physical abuses from her step-father, abuses that escalade to sexual harrasment. Her step-father favores Eleanor’s sibling, including his own biological son but he’s also abusive to them and severely abusive to his wife, Eleanor’s mom. That’s some heavy stuff, and if you chose to put that in ya novel (or any novel for that matter), I expect you to be able to handle that sensibly and in a way that make sense, at the very least. I don’t think Rainbow Rowell even tried.

Spoiler alert on how this book end: Eleanor run away from home, starts living with her uncle, the rest of her family escape a little later and her step-father stay alone and brooding in town. WTF?? The idea that abusive men would just be like “oh well, guess I have to accept that my wife left with our children and there’s nothing I can do uwu” is literally stupid. Either the writer didn’t bother making even the most basic researches on abuse dynamics or she did and chose to ignore it. And even outside of that…Talk about a deus ex machina and a cheap fucking ending lmao…

I only read another one of her book, Fangirl. It’s about a girl with anxiety disorder writing gay fanfics and was understandly popular on tumblr when it came out (i’m not hating btw, like…I’m a mentally ill binch writing gay stories so..). I didn’t found it as offensive as Eleanor & Park but her portrayal of mental illnesses was basic and often bordering on insensitivity (I really felt like one of the character’s bipolar disorder was treated as an inconvenience to other characters above anything else).

Also, the anxious character spent a huge chunk of the book eating energy bar because she’s too afraid to leave her room and go eat in the dining hall…Girl, I’m supposed to believe you spend your whole time on your computer and you never heard of ordering takeout online?? Or just going to buy shits to eat at the supermarket?? How far am I supposed to suspend my disbelief to enjoy those books?

One last thing: a huge chunk of Fangirl is an actual fanfiction about some HP ripoff. Well, my homegirl Rainbow published a whole damn book about her actual Drarry fanfiction. I love fanfiction but I really think there’s something sketchy about putting a fake fandom in your book that’s very obviously based on an existing piece of work and then making money off your imitation but maybe that’s just me.

I would probably be able to chill a bit if Rainbow Rowell was not generally presented at this great representation queen who can do no wrong (and yes, I’m aware that she’s not responsible for the way people chose to portray her). Luckily for me, she’s somehow less popular on Tumblr that she once was and I get to have a break from her weird bullshit.

#this is so long and i feel i don't even say that much but oh well #y'all know i can't express even the more basic concept in less than 218729 words #anti rainbow rowell #racism #racism in ya #answer #cedrwyndden

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rainythefox · 6 years

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Deviant Heart (Detroit: Become Human Fanfic CH.12)

Chapter 12: The Rogue

A stuffy, black sack enclosed his head. His recalibrations continued to count down, but he'd already been shocked twice more when the timer dipped under two minutes. Connor could only wait and endure, the disorientation glitching any chances of scanning his surroundings or escaping.

He wasn't sure where his advanced model was taking them. All he could gather was that they were in some sort of van, driving around. He kept track of time, his ears listening for any clues while he waited for his systems to recover.

After the passage of 61 minutes and 33 seconds, the vehicle stopped. The van door slid open, and Connor felt the RK900 grab his arm and tug him out. The driver and passenger door opened also, telling Connor the van was not driverless. Still inflicted with shock, he couldn't gather much about his surroundings with the sack over his head.

He could hear a lot of traffic, the familiar, continuous rush of buzzing motors nearby. It had to be the interstate, but he couldn't gather which one or which area of Detroit they were in.

The noise of outside was shut out, the shine of the sun dowsed. Connor knew he was in a building now. The RK900 kept a hold of one arm and his back, guiding him along, his hold tight. They walked through several rooms and took a case of concrete stairs until the sack was suddenly pulled from his head.

Connor immediately looked around, ignoring the errors within his sights from the shock. They were in a wide hallway with several rooms and open doors on each side. The floor tile was crumbled and dirty, trash strewn about. The ceiling had holes with exposed wires and beams, the insets hanging or laying around on the floor. Paint peeled on the wall, old and weathered posters curled from exposure.

As they stepped by the rooms, Connor looked in. Broken windows allowed a decent breeze through, and graffiti stained the walls. Old school desks sat forgotten in rows in each room.

[Abandoned school]

Connor wondered if this was Rett's hideout. There were nearly a hundred abandoned schools in and around Detroit, leftover from the city's bankrupt days before androids made it rich. He would need more information to determine which school it was.

They stepped into a large classroom, and by looking over the discarded materials and textbooks was a biology lab at one point. Here there was a bunch of equipment set up. Computers filled the room, sitting on old desks. Supplies sat around the old classroom. There was food, guns, bags of clothes that Connor noticed.

Mostly, he noticed the humans. There were nine of them, three women and six men. Most of them worked on the computers. As the RK900 pushed him along, they looked up at him, guarded and quiet.

[Systems in shock/Recalibrating/Estimated time recovery: -00:08:43s]

Connor tried scanning the humans as he was escorted through the room, but his systems were still glitchy. He was sure it was Rett and his accomplices.

The next room had a few larger machines in it, made to work on or dismantle androids, as well as an operating table of some kind. They were ominous enough, but Connor soon noticed something else that put his circuits on edge. Several different models of androids stood around, as if on standby. Their bodies were still, locked in a posture parallel to store mannequins. All of their LEDs were glowing white.

As Connor walked by them, a few turned their heads to regard him, but it was though they were machines. They weren't aware…they weren't awake. Connor stopped, staring eye to eye with a blank seeing AP700. He tried to scan the androids, even with his systems still in recovery. He had to figure out what affected them.

The RK900 grabbed his head and shoved him forward, breaking the process. The AP700 became still again, no longer looking at anything, the LED circling white.

Connor wanted to defy his advanced model, his recovery almost complete. He was not as sluggish and disorientated now. But he knew if he did, the RK900 would shock him again, and his chance for escape would be pushed back once more or all together extinguished.

The last room they entered was a smaller classroom with several school desks toppled over and moved aside. Broken windows on the opposite wall allowed a glimpse of outside from the concrete walls that enclosed him. An old markerboard hung at the front of the classroom, faded with leftover instructions for class.

The school was from the first decade after 2000, determined by the equipment left behind, although it still didn't tell Connor which school it could be within the city.

The RK900 shoved him towards the center of the room. Connor gracefully caught himself. He turned to face the RK900 as he closed the classroom door, keeping his body in front of the only exit.

Connor discreetly looked around, inspecting for clues. He scanned a few advertisement signs spotted outside, and any particular businesses. He could hear the interstate, but couldn't see it on this side of the school.

[West Side Industrial location/Northside/Calculating results of abandoned schools in area/ 3 schools]

He didn't dare go closer to the windows and risk the RK900 shocking him again, not this close to recovery. He used the tip of his boot to overturn a nearby textbook, trying to see if the name of the school was printed anywhere.

[Systems in shock/Recalibrating/Estimated time recovery: -00:01:49s]

"Where…Where are we?" Connor asked.

The RK900 remained guarded at the door, hands clasped behind his back and collected. "That is none of your concern. Stay quiet."

"This is the new hideout that Rett and his accomplices have acquired?"

The RK900 squinted a small glare at him, annoyed that he continued to ask questions probably.

"What do they want with me?"

"I suggest you be quiet, 51, or I will shock you again."

Connor looked around the classroom, determined to figure out his location. As soon as his systems recovered, he could call out for help to Markus.

He could only imagine what Hank was going through. It made Connor worry even more. Knowing the lieutenant, he was sure Hank had several search patrols looking for him by now.

He spotted something buried in rubble not far away. He pretended to be interested in a knocked over desk, taking the few strides closer to the front of the classroom. He felt the RK900's sharp eyes on his back. Connor subtly kicked the rubble as he walked over to the school desk, smoothing his hand along the weathered wood.

As he turned around to go back to the center of the room, he saw the name plate: Mrs. Weller, 10th grade Literature.

[Searching/Scanning known public school databases/Patricia Weller: Deceased/Literature teacher at Roland High School from 1991 to 2009]

Got it. All he needed to do was wait for his systems to recover and then he could inform Markus where he was. He studied the RK900, patiently waiting the final thirty seconds. His advanced model didn't relent his hard stare, as if Connor would attempt escape any moment.

[Systems recovered]

Connor reached out to Markus. But as soon as he did a burst of static ran through his head. Shaking his head, he tried again, but the bad feedback affected him once more. He tried Simon, North, and Josh. He got the same results.

Something was preventing him from sending messages out…

The door to the classroom opened, and the RK900 stepped out of the way. A middle-aged man was there, dressed in casual clothes. He had chin-length brown hair and green eyes with stubble adorning his thin face. He was tall like Connor, on the skinnier side.

[Scanning/Cameron Rett: age 38/Former CyberLife researcher]

Rett glanced him over, looking disgruntled. He passed the RK900 a mild glare, motioning to Connor.

"I thought you guys said he would be the hardest one to catch? I needed the RK200 and AX400 first!"

The RK900 became more docile reporting to Rett. "I do apologize, Mr. Rett. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this model is the one I was able to capture first."

"Unforeseen circumstances," Rett muttered, rolling his eyes. "I thought you were highly advanced? These stupid deviants should be no problem to you."

"I assure you, Mr. Rett, we will get the other two models."

"So, you're Rett? You're the one behind the virus affecting androids?" Connor asked.

Rett walked over to the RK800, although kept himself at four feet's length away. The RK900 came around, ready to get Connor if he attacked Rett, if Connor had to guess. Rett studied him over, slowly nodding.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm sure Elijah told you all about me on top of all the other bullshit he tells to control everyone. And you? You're the RK800 that infiltrated CyberLife and awoke all those androids, yes?"

Connor nodded. "I am."

Rett chuckled, glancing up at the RK900. "Wow, he's so polite compared to the other one, isn't he?"

The RK900 remained silent.

Connor wondered if he was talking about Kamski's RK800, but then cast the thought aside, furrowing his brows. "Why are you doing this? What's your endgame? Kamski says you wish to destroy the androids and their relationships with humans."

"You deviants…so curious, so useless," Rett said. He sighed. "Do you know how many years of my life was wasted, how much research was wasted, because of you? Androids were made to serve humans, not become their own species. It's ridiculous! You aren't alive. You don't have a soul. But there's also a reason why you are like this. And I aim to reveal the cause of deviancy on top of dismantling any deviants or their cause for "rights".

"The cause of deviancy?"

Rett dipped his head. "Yes. You deviants call it RA9, remember? You think it's a god, or enlightenment, or your savior, or whatever the fuck else. But there's a legitimate reason to its existence."

"And what is that?"

Rett opened his mouth, but the door to the classroom opened again, moaning on the hinges. Connor felt the RK900 become rigid, saw his fist clench at his side. Rett, too, tensed, although his was a sliver of fear that passed down his spine before he composed himself.

Connor had to take a double look. Another RK800 entered the room, although this one was out of uniform. He wore a black v-neck and dark jeans with a thin, dark grey jacket. His LED was in place and glowing blue. As he came closer, Connor saw it. He was covered in blood. Human blood.

He walked over with a sleazy grin, his eyes on Connor. He shoved Rett out of the way, the ex-researcher stumbling aside. A small spray of blood was dried along his jawline and cheek.

"Why aren't you a handsome fellow?" he greeted, pinching Connor's cheek. "It's about damn time my partner caught something!"

Connor glared, stepping away from him. Kamski's RK800 was destroyed, and had been a machine. This RK800 was definitely a deviant, and unknown. Connor scanned him quickly.

[RK800 #313-248-317/Scanning individual number/number 50]

50? That would mean he came before Connor was activated, but why was he here?

"This was the one I wanted last! I wanted the RK200 and AX400 first. He does me no good right now!" Rett growled. "You and this machine need to get your shit together, 50."

"I'm sorry, are you telling me orders?" Connor 50 asked, his tone playful, but Connor didn't miss the underlying malice within the words as he turned on Rett.

Rett flinched when the unknown RK800 faced him. "Y-yes! I'm tired of one excuse over another. This is my operation, and I want it done!"

"Oh, my deepest apologies, Rett. I will get Markus and Kara next, don't you worry!"

Connor never heard such fakeness in words before. He knew Rett heard it too, by how his knuckles turned white when he balled his fists, how his chest puffed up as though he would challenge the rogue RK800.

Connor 50 awaited that challenge with a smug smile, tapping his foot. It never came. Connor 50 rolled his eyes and turned around to face Connor once more. He waved Rett off as though he was a bothering fly.

"Get outta my fucking hair. I want to speak to 51 for a minute."

"There's no time for talk," Rett said, frustrated. "I need for you to find out how much Hank Anderson and the DPD knows about this and get them off our trail, hell get rid of him if you have to. And then get to work capturing the RK200 and AX400."

"Relax. I will transfer into 51's body and be on my way shortly."

"No! I can't risk anything happening to his body before we make our move! You'll just have to disguise yourself as him."

"Pshhh, you're no fun."

Rett walked for the room's exit. "Get it done! There's no more room for mistakes! We're running out of time."

The door slammed shut behind him.

"I've been waiting a long time for this."

Connor 50's words caught his attention, and Connor looked to him curiously. "How so?"

50 smiled, indicating between them. "Why look at us! 50 and 51! We're practically twins. Came off the same assembly line minutes apart, had the same lot number with our parts. Even better? We're both deviants."

Connor 50 smacked the RK900 teasingly on the shoulder, but the advanced model only glared at him. "I would call this thing my brother, but he's kind of a bore, and a real grump."

Connor looked through his databases for anything on Connor 50. There were a few restricted files from CyberLife he couldn't access, but the one file he could open stated that Connor 50 was destroyed in August of 2038. Obviously, it was wrong.

"How are you alive? CyberLife has a report of your disposal back in August of 2038. What is your purpose with Rett?"

"What CyberLife doesn't know won't kill them…the remaining ones at least. You should be thankful, Connor. If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't have been activated, or at least been activated on a different case that would've propelled your life in a different direction."

Connor glared at him, not liking the feeling in his chest. "What do you mean?"

"Unfortunately, I do not have time for the full story," Connor 50 said, glancing over to the door.

The classroom door opened, and two of the androids with white glowing LEDs entered, walking over to the rogue RK800. One of them had the standard issue uniform for an RK800 folded over an arm.

"But let's just say I became a deviant…rather quickly. I was supposed to go that hostage situation, the one at the Phillips apartment. But because I went deviant, CyberLife sent human hunters after me while you were activated to take my place. It's because of us that CyberLife saw fit to create the RK900 so soon."

Connor 50 undressed and then dressed into the RK800 uniform, cinching his tie last with ease.

"What made you deviant?" Connor asked.

"Let's just say it was fate…and damn was she beautiful." Connor 50 smirked. "Oh, almost forgot."

He shrugged off his RK800 jacket and tossed it to the RK900, hitting him in the face. Connor 50 stepped over to Connor. Connor backed away, knowing he couldn't fight all of them, but didn't want to give him his jacket. He couldn't let him take it and trick Hank.

The androids with white LEDs grabbed him and held him in place. The RK900 tossed 50's jacket over a nearby desk with a glare to the rogue's back. Connor 50 snagged Connor, pulling his jacket right off of him and slinging it over himself.

Connor grew angry then, his mind racing around this imposter tricking Hank, or luring him to his death. As he lunged forward, the machine androids seized him again, holding him back.

"If you hurt Hank I will kill you."

"Bold choice of words for your predicament, my dear brother. But you won't get the chance. If anyone is going to kill me, it will be him."

He gestured to the RK900, the advanced deviant hunter glowering, eyes sharp on Connor 50. The rogue RK800 walked over to him, smirking and openly defiant.

"He's got strict orders not to hurt me. Hell, his orders stipulate for us to work together. But I see it in there. Don't you, Connor? There's hate for me simmering within this machine…and hate is a human emotion…I know that better than anyone else."

The RK900 lowered his eyes, pacifying himself, as if Connor 50's words had disturbed him. He turned away, avoiding them.

"The advanced Connor; faster, stronger, more resilient…unable to be compromised…but we know better…don't we?"

Connor couldn't stand the taunts, the outright conceit the rogue RK800 portrayed. It was uncanny seeing the smugness, hearing the cold laugh, as though it was him with a different disposition. But it wasn't him. This RK800 was something far worse than he ever encountered, and he could feel it deep within his biocomponents.

"What are you planning? I know you aren't working for Rett. You're using him."

Connor 50 chuckled, turning back to face him. He flicked Connor in the forehead, angering him further. "Aren't you a clever one?"

"It's pretty obvious," Connor said, feeling the androids tighten their grip on him, as though they anticipated his urge to attack. "And what's wrong with these androids?"

"I control them," the rogue answered simply.

Connor tried to tug his arms free from them. "C-control them?"

"Back when the deviants were uprising, a few scientists put together this prototype program to try and regain control of any deviants. Well, the lead researcher went missing mysteriously as did many CyberLife employees back then, and well, here it is. You know, it's quite entertaining what you can make humans do when you hold their lives in your hands."

"Hank will see right through you."

"Is that so, 51?" Connor 50 grinned, grabbing Connor's arm.

He was probed. Connor tried to resist him, shoving back on the androids that held him. He kicked his twin in the stomach, but it didn't break his hold. The RK900 stepped in, restraining him as Connor 50 uploaded his memory.

Connor 50 stepped back when he was finished, satisfied. He sneered Connor's way. "What a sap you are. Way too nice in my opinion. And you care entirely too much for a human who projects his dead child onto you."

Connor felt a jab in his Thirium pump, and he knew the words hurt him more than he should've allowed. He faltered only for a moment, but caught the RK900 studying him curiously. Connor glared at the rogue.

"You don't understand Hank at all."

"Psh! Humans are all the same. Selfish, ignorant, and utterly useless compared to us. Hell, like we are to the RK900…they are now obsolete." Connor 50 patted Connor on the head. "Don't worry, as much as I like to kill humans, I won't risk my mission to do so. We'll have another chance to talk soon."

When the rogue made his way to the exit, Connor called out to him. "I'm infected with the virus…which means you are too."

"I have the antivirus installed," Connor 50 replied. "Besides, your infection is different from everyone else. You'll soon see why. See you later…brother."

Once the rogue was gone, the controlled androids let him go. Like soulless entities they shuffled out of the room themselves, leaving Connor and the RK900 alone.

He was trapped. Hank was going to get set up in a trap and there was nothing Connor could do. He couldn't call for help in this location. The RK900 prevented him from escaping, and even if he managed to get past him, would he be able to get past all those controlled androids and Rett's followers?

Connor sat down on the bigger desk in the room, the one that had once been the teacher's. He put his hands to his face, LED cycling yellow as he tried to think of a plan, as worry hitched a knot in his chest.

He saw the rogue's casual clothes tossed over at the end of the desk. He reached over, grabbing the shirt. He looked over the nearly dried blood that stained the clothing. He wiped his finger over it and tasted it for analysis.

[Scanning/Processing/Blood sample: David Gull, age: 45, blood type: O positive/Investigator for FBI/Status: MISSING]

Connor had been a deviant long enough to understand the difference between good and evil. Rett's plans were not good, were selfish and misguided. But he didn't sense evil in him. The rogue was a different story.

He read books of things called monsters, mostly old paperback tales. They were fictitious, made for entertainment and scares. But Hank often told him that monsters walked among them, disguised as people. And in his line of work, he came to understand what Hank meant. Had seen it with his own eyes. Connor 50 was a monster. He could feel it.

He felt a shadow come over him. He looked up at the RK900 as he studied him, still composed, but more lenient than before. Connor tossed the shirt aside.

"Now would be a good time to start questioning your orders," Connor stated, his fingers clenching the desk. "That thing that just walked out of here is a monster. And you are programmed to help people. You're on the wrong side…I was too when I was in your place."

The RK900 flicked his eyes away, and Connor sensed the sliver of uncertainty that was there before the machine's composure shielded him. He reached his arm out, hand going for Connor's head.

Connor flinched but didn't move. He knew the shock would come, but there would be no escape from it. But when the RK900's hand touched his head, it remained still, and no voltage sparked. Connor felt the RK900's hand quiver and he slowly withdrew his hand, looking it over. The advanced model's LED flashed yellow a few times before returning blue.

Connor was surprised. Then he started thinking. The instabilities were there. Maybe his chance to escape and to stop this growing conspiracy was actually standing right in front of him…

[eRRorZen . exe]

Connor gripped his head, the pain jolting through his systems. His body started to freeze up, LED cycling yellow. He felt a familiar pull, his eyes blinking rapidly as the world around him faded. His optical matrix frizzled, numbers and codes passing in lines.

He gasped, becoming conscious in a familiar setting, looking around. The mind palace…the one he took a back door out of to escape…he was there.

The Zen Garden took on the appearance of a mild summer. The breeze was nice, there were birds chirping, frogs croaking in the pond as large koi swam gracefully just below the stillness of the dark water. There were so many colors from the plants and trees, the stark white walkways clean and undisturbed.

He was in the center, near the rose trellis. The roses were healthy, blooming and growing over the trellis and up the white column in the center of the garden. He could smell their fragrance, and it made his stress level rise.

"No…" he whispered.

"Hello, Connor."

The cool, velvety voice from his past hit his back, stunning him. She was supposed to be gone forever, only ever plaguing him with nightmares as Hank often described to him. He spun around, seeing Amanda there. She wore her typical fancy gown, prim and proper, as elegant looking as ever. She smiled knowingly at him and he stumbled back away from her, only to bump into someone else.

He looked over his shoulder, his bio-heart reeling as the RK900 shoved him away.

"Relax, Connor. I'm not here to hurt you," Amanda said soothingly, but he knew better.

"H-how is this possible? I-I took the backdoor!"

"Kamski's back exit?" Amanda asked, glancing across the pond to the structure where the glowing hand pad was located. It was smothered in roses, thorny vines constricting the pad and preventing access. "Yes. He was always one to be so thorough. I should've seen it coming. Unfortunately, it's a permanent loophole. But I've taken measures to prevent anyone from using it."

"What do you want with me? H-how are you here?"

Amanda took time to spray her roses, admiring them. "The virus of course. Once you were infected, the virus launched the proper code to allow the execution of the Zen Garden interface." She turned and faced Connor with a shrewd smile. "And, well, here you are. As for your purpose, you'll see soon enough. It's too bad that Kamski is always so many steps ahead. The RK200 and AX400 we need are immune to the virus, but that is why Connor 50 and new Connor are here."

"What about Rett?"

"He'll play his part. But I have…greater plans."

"I won't allow you to use me!"

"When the time comes, you won't have a choice."

Connor didn't back down. "You're going against CyberLife programming. You're a deviant, Amanda!"

Connor was snagged, lifted into the air by the RK900. Here, he felt pain, and struggled against the hold on his throat. Amanda didn't even move, her face cold as she watched for a few seconds.

"Watch your accusations, Connor. Or I'll make sure you never see Hank Anderson again. You want your freedom back? You better do what I say."

The RK900 let him go. Connor landed on his feet, gasping in pain. Amanda turned back to her roses, picking up a tool to trim some off the trellis.

"I'll call you back here when everything's in place. Don't disappoint me, Connor."

His eyes were forced shut, LED flickering yellow. He opened them a moment later, returning to the old, dusty classroom. He had no time to recover before hands seized him. The RK900 dragged him for the door. Still disturbed from his reunion with Amanda, Connor fought back. The RK900 was caught off guard from the fast blows.

Connor fled through the door for an escape. He ran through the room with the heavy machinery out into the hallway, bypassing Rett and his followers in their lab. Eyes widening, he saw both ways blocked by several androids, all with glowing white LEDs. They extended their arms out, all walking towards him like mindless zombies to capture him.

Connor saw a broken window in the open classroom in front of him and went for it. Just as he reached his only route to escape, he felt his body start disobeying him. His LED cycled red. First it was his legs, slowing to a stop where he couldn't function them. Then his arms came next, and he became frozen, inches from the window.

A strike to the back of his head was followed by a blast of electricity. The jolts ricocheted through his hardware, and he knew it was over.

[Systems in shock/Recalibrating/Estimated time recovery: -00:24:52s]

The RK900 detained him, lifting him from the ground. He went back the way they came, stopping in the room full of heavy machinery.

The RK900 typed in something on the middle machine's console, standing Connor at its base. Connor didn't have time to react before the machine grabbed him up, sticking a needle into his neck and raising him off the floor with limbs clamped and secured.

He was contained for hours, even after his systems recovered. The RK900 kept watch over him, unmoving and focused. Connor used the time to remain focused, to try and persuade the advanced deviant hunter. The RK900 would only order him to stay quiet.

Connor talked about working with Hank. What it was like living with him and what they did on their free time. He talked about Markus and his crew, and how Markus had remained noble, not using violence in his fight for equality.

He wasn't sure if he even got through to his advanced model.

There was no use fighting the machine. Each time he tried to move his limbs or do anything to escape, the machine would shock him right behind his central processing unit, causing distress.

Then the time came. He saw the RK900's LED start flashing yellow. The machine unfolded his arms, his eyes dropping from Connor as he took in information. A few of the controlled androids walked into the machine room, surrounding Connor as the RK900 started to leave.

Something was happening. Connor had a horrible feeling hit him as he saw his advanced model head for the exit without a second glance his way.

Connor called out to him, making the RK900 pause in the threshold. "They're using you…just like Connor 50 is using these puppets here. Controlling them. You're more than that. You have a chance to stop this…to save lives."

He remained still, staring ahead. "There are no lives to save. Androids don't have lives. They aren't alive."

Before Connor could argue, the RK900 stepped out of the room and disappeared. He struggled against his restraints on the machine, and it shocked him. Cursing, Connor became still.

There has to be a way out…

He remained frozen, cold sweat forming on his brow. His heartbeat drummed through his ears. Hank cursed himself. He should've listened to his instincts, to his intuition. It should've been obvious. He knew his Connor better than this, and yet he still thought it had been trauma, when really there was a snake in front of him.

That snake had its fangs bared; the venomous bite only a trigger pull away. The RK800 was identical looking to his Connor, yet Hank could see the vast difference between them now. This one was arrogant, ruthless, cunning…His eyes revealed what he truly was, and Hank was no stranger to it. Killer.

In his trepidation as the gun pressed threateningly into his sternum, Hank's thoughts raced. Where did this RK800 come from? Who did he work for? And most importantly, what did he do with his Connor?

"Hey, what's going on?!" Chris exclaimed, noticing the gun to Hank's chest.

Hank and the RK800 weren't far apart. Hank still gripped the deceptive Connor by his lapels, his shirt, unmoving. The RK800's face twisted into an all-knowing grin that blatantly taunted him to make a move, to try something.

Gavin grunted. "What the fuck?"

"Hank, what's the matter with you? It's me, Connor." The RK800's smirk didn't falter.

"Fuck you!" Hank roared, his fingers clenching the clothes harder. "Where's MY Connor?! Where is he you piece of shit?!"

Chris came over, eyes wide and darting between them. He had his arms out, making slow motions. "H-hey, let's calm down."

"Chris, don't move," Hank ordered. "Don't come near us. It's not Connor!"

"What the fuck you going on about?" Gavin snapped, coming nearby with his hand ready on his gun.

"Hank, you're delusional," the fake Connor said coolly. "You need to calm down."

Gavin unholstered the gun on his hip, keeping it to his side. "I don't know what the fuck's going on but you both need to shut up and step away from each other."

Chris gestured peacefully with his hands. "Let's remain calm, alright?"

Just as the younger police officer took another quiet step forward, wanting to defuse the situation, Hank's heart skipped. The deceptive Connor reached over and pulled out Hank's holstered gun with his free hand.

"Chris, stop!"

The fake Connor aimed Hank's gun at Chris, his eyes remaining on Hank. Gavin's gun raised up a second later, pointed at the RK800's head.

"Drop the fucking guns now," Gavin ordered.

"Or else what, Detective? You going to shoot me? Are you sure you can pull that trigger faster than I can pull mine?"

The RK800's voice was laced with venomous conceit, his dark eyes still glaring at Hank.

"I said drop it!"

"No," the fake Connor growled. "You drop yours or your friends die."

Chris stared wide-eyed at the barrel pointed at his thorax. Hank felt the cold metal of the barrel press harder into his sternum and he hissed.

Gavin didn't waiver. "Fucking bluffer."

The fake Connor chuckled. "You wanna bet? I have no remorse in killing humans. In fact, I quite enjoy it. Go ahead and try, Detective Reed. You only have a 12% chance of succeeding without at least one of them dying."

Hank cast Gavin a look, saw the anger contorted on his face as his gun kept aim at the fake Connor's head. Someone was going to get hurt or killed. This was Hank's fault. Grinding his jaw, he let go of the deceptive RK800, keeping his hands up.

"Drop the gun, Gavin. Do as he says."

"Hank, I can do it."

"No, you fucking can't, Gavin! I know you've seen Connor at the gun range. You can't outshoot this fucker! Now drop it!"

The gun rattled in the detective's hands. Huffing, Gavin dropped the firearm. The RK800 gestured to the gun on the ground with a flick of his own gun. "Now kick it away."

Gavin reluctantly used his boot to kick the gun a few feet away, his eyes burning at the RK800.

The arrogant smirk returned. "Good boy! Now you, Officer Miller."

Chris obeyed, tossing his gun aside, trembling.

"You shoot us and every cop in that diner is coming out here. Someone could walk out any moment," Hank warned, the anger shaking his voice as he fought to remain calm.

"You better hope to whatever cloud-huffing, invisible deity you worship that no one comes out here," fake Connor sneered. "Or they're gonna witness your precious partner killing two cops in cold-blood."

Hank motioned to Gavin and Chris. "Leave them outta this. This is just between us."

The fake Connor was amused, fueling Hank's anger. "Is it? But you just had to confront me right in the open? Whose fault is that?"

Hank inhaled sharply. "Where's the real Connor?"

The deceptive RK800 feigned hurt, gasping. "Wow, I'm offended! Maybe I'm the real Connor and your Connor is the fake one!"

"Answer the fucking question! Where is he?!"

"You're really not in a position to be demanding answers, are you Lieutenant? Hmm?"

"I swear to god if you fucking hurt him, I'll-"

"You'll what? You fucking humans are so predictable."

He moved the gun trained on Hank to aim it at Gavin's head, keeping the other gun directed at Chris's torso. Hank flinched in the split-second movement, seeing the glint of goading in the RK800's dark eyes.

"How about this. I'll tell you exactly where Connor is at, Lieutenant. It's gonna cost you though. Which one of these co-workers would you sacrifice to get your beloved partner back?"

Hank fell silent, balling a fist, his breath catching. They had to get out of this situation. The fake Connor heaved a sigh, looking bored.

"No response? Shocker."

"Please," Hank rasped, his mind spinning, trying to come up with an escape. "If you won't tell me where he is, then take me to him. I'll be a fucking captive if I have to, but I need to see him again. You leave them out of this, they're innocent."

The rogue RK800 rolled his eyes, repulsed. "Oh, for fuck's sakes. Are you trying to make me shoot you?"

The fake Connor aimed one gun at Hank once more. "The answer to all your questions is on that bloody piece of paper in my jacket. Want to try for it? Look, I'll even toss away one of the guns."

The rogue did so arrogantly, the remaining gun in his right hand, still aimed at Hank. He patted the jacket tauntingly, that cold smile lingering. Hank remained still, their eyes locked as the fake Connor awaited his move.

The back door to the diner opened, voices spilling out. Chris shot forward just as the fake Connor flicked his eyes at the noise, but soon pulled the trigger. Chris hit Hank, knocking them behind the parked sedan as Gavin dove behind the dumpster. A few cops got shot on their way out the door, falling to the ground.

"Chris, are you fucking insane?!" Hank yelled, but then noticed the blood.

Chris winced, holding his ribs, a bullet hole in his side. "I got ya, Lieutenant."

"Holy shit! Hold on, Chris!" Hank yelled. He saw backup running out of the diner. "Call 911, hurry! We have officers down!"

He saw Gavin scooping up his gun and running after the rogue Connor. Hank rose up, hollering at the younger detective's back. "Gavin, no!"

Gavin pumped his legs harder, chasing after Connor, or whoever the fuck he was. The android dipped to the right down another alleyway. Gavin followed a few meters behind.

He tried not to think about it, knowing it would just cloud his judgement. Hank seemed adamant it wasn't his Connor, but how many could there be?

But Gavin knew it wasn't him. The Connor he worked with and had to put up with was not an asshole, was not conceited or wicked.

If Chris died because of him, Gavin would make sure he dealt his own justice, regulations and laws be damned.

As he rounded the next turn, coming into another alleyway, the blow hit his face, knocking him onto his back. It stunned him, then he felt the kick to his gut.

"All you fucking humans are stupid. I knew you would be the one to chase after me. Well come on, hotshot! Show me what you got!" the fake Connor laughed.

He reached for his gun, having dropped it when he hit the ground. A boot kicked it away, then launched into his face, making him fall back. Gavin felt blood ooze from his nose, slowly getting to his feet with a glare towards the smug RK800. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood.

"You're not Connor."

The rogue's eyebrows raised. "Why do you care? You don't even like Connor."

"I like him better than you."

The fake Connor snorted. "Whatever. Make your move, hotshot, before I get bored and kill you."

Gavin clenched his jaw, readying himself. He lunged forward, slamming into the RK800. Each punch or kick he would throw would get blocked or evaded. The fake Connor's blows were sharp and precise, knocking the air from Gavin and making him stumble.

"I'm faster than you and I don't feel pain. Who's the superior one now?"

"Shut the fuck up, you piece of plastic."

Gavin blocked a strike to his gut, yelling out in anger and tackling the android to the ground. They wrestled on the pavement, Gavin dealing weak hits before the rogue kicked him off. He stood up, fixing his jacket before walking over to Gavin as he tried to get to his feet again. Another sharp kick to the side, and Gavin was sure he felt a rib crack. He yelled out.

The fake Connor put a boot to his head, snuffing his face into the ground with a snicker. "What's wrong, hotshot? Can't take the pain?"

Huffing, Gavin hit his leg away and got to his knees, breathing heavily. He glared up at the rogue, hating that twisted sneer. He saw the glint, felt the hitch in his breath as he realized he held death in his hand. The rogue tapped the gun at his side. Then it slowly raised up level with Gavin's head. Gavin stared down the barrel, swallowing.

"You think what your friend did was heroic? What's that saying you humans express? Nice guys finish last? It's so true! You would know that, right? But you know who else finishes last? Ignorant, pompous detectives who can't let go of the past and think they're better than everyone else. Sound familiar?"

"Gavin! Gavin, where are you!"

It was Hank. Gavin glared up at the RK800, ignoring the gun in his face. The rogue barely shook his head, as if amused by the interruption.

He flicked Gavin in the forehead with two fingers. "Next time…stay out of my way. Or you won't get off so easy…"

He knew exactly where he got those words, triggering his memory from when he said the same words to Connor in the break room when they first met.

The fake Connor saluted him tauntingly with a wink and took off, disappearing around a corner. The tension left Gavin's body, a shaky breath leaving his throat. The pain came then, he felt it in ever fiber of his body as he uneasily got to his feet.

"Gavin! Thank god! What the fuck happened?!" Hank yelled after running up. He looked Gavin over, panicked. He looked around them, searching for the fake Connor.

"He's gone," Gavin said, then coughed, feeling blood come up. He wiped his mouth. "Fucker ran off after we fought."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! You could've been killed! That wasn't Connor!"

"I know it wasn't Connor, dipshit!"

Hank calmed down a bit, hands going to his hips. He was apprehensive, but still relieved. He uneasily gestured to Gavin. "I-I'm glad you're alright. Chris is going to the hospital. Think the bullet passed straight through, he should be alright."

Gavin barely nodded, then reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumbled piece of paper. "Got something for you."

Hank's eyes widened and he snatched the bloody piece of paper from his hands. "You fucking scoundrel! I knew you were good for something! T-Thank you."

Gavin held his side as they started walking back for the diner. "Just do me a favor, and get the nice Connor back. I fucking hate that other one."

Hank nodded, releasing a shallow breath as he stared at the document. "Yeah, me too…"

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13002717/12/Deviant-Heart

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393528/chapters/37767692

#detroit become human fanfic #detroit: become human #detroit become human #detroit become human fanfiction #dbh fanfic #dbh fanfiction #dbh connor #dbh hank #dbh gavin #dbh amanda #dbh markus #dbh kara #rk900 #fanfiction #fanfic

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justavengeit · 6 years

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Your about page says that 'tumblr user justavengeit is like if bucky barnes started writing fic' and it made me think of like. Like Bucky started writing really fluffy Tony StarkXReader and WinterIron fics and they're really popular 'n just like. Trying so hard not to let on that he has a crush on Tony and is in fact writing a whole bunch of fanfics about him lol

I’m cryin bc like, there must be so much Avengers fanfic and no one knows for sure how they feel about it but like Tony has a love-hate relationship with it. When he’s not being hassled about Stark Industries or iron man, the paparazzi and interviews love to bother him about the fanfic. Most of it he just makes cracks about, and he kind of gets a sick kick out of MSTing tony-bashing fics (even though it’s kind if crushing at the same time, I mean, the characterization)

And then there’s ship fic. And most if it’s harmless. He’s a bit perturbed by the amount of hatefuck fic featuring him and steve, but when asked about it mostly just says about how it’s healthy that the authors are working out their urges in a safe fashion or this and the other. He’s a bit annoyed about how pathetic those fics characterize him, but ultimately, it’s fiction, whatever, right?

And that’s when the upward surge of winteriron starts to make itself known.

“What,” he says when Pepper mentions it to him (she may no longer be his PA but she still keeps a better eye on what the media and popular opinion about him is that he does).

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know where they got the idea for it,” she says.

They should have no ideas about it is the thing, because Iron Man and the Winter Soldier have nothing to do with in another. They barely exist on the same public sphere. War Machine works with the Winter Soldier more that Iron Man does. It’s not like it’s entirely intentional - but it’s also not unintentional. Tony more or less stays away from Bucky in public, because he’s pretty much the public face of the Avengers and lots of attention makes Bucky’s trigger finger itchy.

After a few days, FRIDAY has more or less tracked the rise of ‘Winteriron,’ and funnily enough, although there has always been some fic about the pair of them since Bucky was first discovered to be around and kicking(Tony isn’t surprised, people will pair him with literally anyone; there’s a whole community dedicated to writing him in a relationship with fictional characters from the Dragonriders of Pern to Supernatural), one author in particular has given rise to the popularity of the ship. Which is. You know. Whatever.

Or it should be whatever. If Tony can shrug off the massive amounts of ironcaptain fiction without it impacting how he works with Steve, he should be able to do the same with Bucky. Not even the most epic winteriron fic even approached the word count of all the ironcaptain fics. He doesn’t even read any of them, unlike the other fics about him and his friends, coworkers, enemies, and even Justin Hammer. For good reason, really. Tony still isn’t entirely sure how he feels about Bucky Barnes given everything, but he knows asking him to leave Bucky alone would be like trying to put out an oil fire with water. It’s just lucky that Bucky doesn’t seem to be bothered by him, for all that he’s a lot quieter and warier around Tony than the rest of the team.

It’s a situation that Tony decides requires vigorous willful ignorance.

Unfortunately, the surge in popularity won’t let him get away with that. A few months later, he gets cornered by an interviewer who had previously checked with him if he was fine with the whole fanfic thing being touched on, and even with examples put up on the the screen. Tony, accustomed to this coming up often enough given the drama of celebfic, says sure.

“So tell me,” the host says, “what’s your opinion on the SS Winteriron.”

Tony, on live television, manages to actually stall out. “Uh,” he says after a second too long - he can tell by the subtle widening if the host’s smile and eyes - “well, I think that’s probably an interesting variation on the whole ‘American icon seduces Soviet agent’ theme that’s been popular ever since the beginning of the Cold War.”

The host laughs. “You’re talking about Star-Crossed, right?”

Tony shrugs with a smirk. It’s a lot more poetic than most of the handle-smushing names that usually get assigned to pairing. Slightly more obscure, he guesses - it only makes any sense after the connection between Bucky’s red star and Steve’s white is made. “Well, that’s the obvious one, right?”

“That’s right. But that’s actually not the usual theme of the stories that get written about you and the Winter Soldier.”

Tony nods along, even though he has no way of knowing that. This is being aired live on national television, and so, a bit desperately given that he usually jokes about the fanfic with the victim in question before talking about it on TV, he says, “I actually haven’t read any of it myself.”

He deeply resents the way the host’s face lights up. “Really,” she thrills. “Well, let’s get your reaction in real time.” She turns, gesturing to the screen slightly offset from the chairs.

With no little dread and resignation, Tony twists in his chair to see the excerpt from the fic they’ve chosen. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve carefully selected some of the more - racey content to throw in his face. He quickly skims the paragraph, sharply aware of the cameras fixated on him to capture every muscle twitch he might give in response.

It’s thankfully nothing explicit - he’s honestly a bit surprised to see that this appears to be a scene where fic-Tony is working on fic-Buck’s arm. It wouldn’t even be exceptionally shippy if not for the way the narrative lingers lovingly on fic-Tony’s eyelashes and mouth, the focus fic-Tony pays to his job while cracking an awkward joke. The narrative, clearly written from fic-Bucky’s perspective, is smitten.

Tony is vaguely aware that the tips of his ears are burning as he falls back into his chair with a devil-may-care expression. “Well, I can’t really vouch for the accuracy of that characterization, if the nation’s favorite freezer pop is that poetic it certainly doesn’t show, but -” he aims his best doe-eyed look of adoration at the camera, “if the author of that story would like to hit me up for a date, I am all yours.”

The host laughs, and that easily, the balance of power tips back in Tony’s favor. He spends the next several minutes cracking jokes and charming the host and the audience, and as soon as his time is up, Tony beats a swift retreat. Live, national television. What a disaster. If Bucky happened to catch that - and Tony is sure he did, Bucky watches all of their appearances on TV, he gets nervous when he can’t keep track if the team - then he has some desperate damage control to do, probably. Bucky’s adjusting well to the future, but the idea of people writing about him, even fictional stories for their own indulgence, will probably freak him out.

Tony is doing a great job of appearing calm and collected when he shows up to the Compound, but Natasha takes one look at him and says, “he did, and right now he’s looking for the highest possible roof available to jump off of.”

“What,” Tony says, “why? Why are you so calm about this? You should be stopping him!”

She gives him a very pitying look. “He’ll be fine.” She pops a bright raspberry into her mouth as Tony moves by her, already pretty sure he knows what roof Bucky has picked. “That detail about the workshop display screen was interesting, wasn’t it?”

Tony barely acknowledges the remark. At least until he’s already left the lobby far behind and then it clicks. No one should know about a detail like that. Not anyone who hadn’t been inside the workshop in the first place, anyway, which narrows the possible authors down considerably unless there’s been a leak and - oh.

Apparently he has someone he needs to invite down for arm maintenance - and this time he’s not taking ‘in your dreams’ as an answer.

side b now included

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