Trabia Garden

doreyg tagged me to answer these questions about fanfiction on Tumblr, and I thought I'd post my responses here as well! As I originally wrote this for a Tumblr audience, I'll probably end up reiterating some things I've already said on here.


How many works do you have on ao3?

On my main account, Riona, it’s 234. I also have 130 works across two pseuds on my secondary account, rionaleonhart (for older works and ficlets), so in total I’ve posted 364 works to AO3.

What’s your total word count?

My combined total on AO3 is 1,136,030 words. If I look at the documents in which I keep all my writing archived, it’s slightly higher - 1,266,834 words - because I haven’t posted everything I’ve ever written to AO3.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My most popular fic, by a long way, is And Again (Danganronpa, Naegi is caught in a time loop, 7,227 kudos). This was the first fic I ever posted to AO3, and I was startled by the way it blew up! For a while I was slightly intimidated to post anything else in case I let everyone down.

The others in the top five: Life Imitates (FFXV, Noctis/Prompto, 5,566 kudos), Vessels (Deltarune, 2,635 kudos), Visitors (Assassin’s Creed/Sense8, 1,607 kudos) and Memory Error (Doki Doki Literature Club!, 1,551 kudos). Most of these were an accident of timing: I happened to post just when the fandom was starting to get big. The exception is Visitors, which mainly picked up readers because it ended up expanding into a vast cowritten series.

Interesting to note that four of my top five fics are gen; I wasn’t expecting that!


( More talking about fanfiction. )


I've really slowed down on writing crossovers, thinking about it. I should send someone to Silent Hill at some point; it's been years!

Over the past few years, I've noticed a pattern where I go into a spiral of writer's insecurity after posting certain types of fic. These are usually little ficlets, or fics made up of thematically connected scenes.

Basically, the fics that set off my insecurity are fics that don't have a story; they're little pieces of character introspection or interaction that don't really go anywhere. I worry that I'm wasting people's time with them.

This is extremely silly for a number of reasons, among which are:

- I don't judge other people for writing similar things at all! Why would I? If it's something I'm not interested in, I don't have to read it; if it's something I am interested in, I'll be delighted that it exists.
- Fics made up of thematically connected scenes are extremely common! The '5+1 Things' format is an entire fanfiction genre devoted to it, and there are 32,000 works with that tag on AO3.
- My fanfiction is not taking up vast tracts of space on the Internet that could otherwise be used for more 'worthwhile' writing. AO3 isn't going to run out of space to host someone's novel-length masterpiece because I posted something frivolous.

Anyway, in an effort to be less silly about this, I thought I'd attempt some low-pressure frivolous writing. Therefore: am I actually going to post a fic request meme? I haven't done this in over a decade!

Tell me a fic concept you'd like to see me write, and I'll attempt to write a few lines of it.

If you're not sure which fandoms I'm familiar with, the fandom list on my AO3 account is probably a good place to start. If you have multiple ideas, feel free to make multiple requests and I'll pick which one(s) to write.

There are a handful of things I'd personally prefer not to write, e.g. suicide, sexual content involving characters under fifteen, Teddie from Persona 4. If you're not sure where my boundaries lie, though, you're welcome to suggest your idea anyway; I can always just opt not to write it.

Also, if someone else in the comments posts a concept that appeals to you, feel free to write it yourself!

drawsaurus tagged me on Tumblr for a meme:

List your Top 5 Canon and Top 5 Non-Canon OTPs.

As the below was originally written for an audience that doesn’t read my Dreamwidth, it might occasionally restate things I’ve said in previous entries.


This is tough, actually! I ship pretty much everything on a low level; it’s hard to pin down the ships I have more intense feelings about.


CANON:

Nathan Drake/Elena Fisher (Uncharted)

These guys are so cute! They balance each other so well; they have such good chemistry! What a great adventure duo. When I saw I’d been tagged to do this meme, Nate/Elena was the first pairing that came to mind.

I love that Nate and Elena have fun together and they make fun of each other, but they also have moments when they’re vulnerable with each other. In particular, I love that Nate, the big action hero protagonist, is allowed to be vulnerable with Elena, and not just the other way around; Uncharted 3 is great for this.

The sequence in Uncharted 4 where Elena just mocks Nate’s videogame skills is my favourite part of the entire series. I would buy a full Elena Fisher Mocks You While You Play Videogames simulator in a heartbeat.


Jeff Winger/Annie Edison (Community)

The episode ‘Debate 109’ is the fastest I’ve ever gone from ‘I’ve never thought about this pairing’ to ‘I ship this with every fibre of my being’. Jeff Winger and Annie Edison have, by far, the most ridiculous chemistry I’ve ever seen in fiction. It’s absolutely absurd. He’s almost twice her age and I just can’t care!

I was not expecting them to kiss for real in the first-season finale, and I flipped out when it happened.


Mukuro Ikusaba/Makoto Naegi (Danganronpa)

THERE ARE CANONICAL IMPLICATIONS THAT SHE HAS A CRUSH ON HIM; I’M COUNTING THIS FOR THE CANON SECTION.

Danganronpa IF gave me a lot of feelings about Ikusaba/Naegi. I’ve got a huge weakness for redemption storylines, and Ikusaba sort of breaks my heart as a character who has the potential to be redeemed but never had the chance. I also tend to like pairing up cynics with the idealists who make them a little less cynical (other ships I have that fall into this pattern: Jeff/Annie, Sora/Riku, Satoshi/Daisuke, the Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler), and Ikusaba/Naegi is a rare example of that dynamic with a female cynic.


Abby Griffin/Marcus Kane (The 100)

In the early episodes of The 100, I got into the habit of referring to Kane as ‘Councillor Dickface’. I was very confused, during the second series, to realise that Councillor Dickface had at some point become my favourite character.

A lot of the canonical pairings on The 100 follow the formula ‘they have a couple of scenes together with some contrived furtive glances and then they make out’, so Kane/Abby, where they had loads of scenes together and loads of chemistry and persistently didn’t make out, really stood out to me. Taking the time to build the dynamic up made a huge difference. I had such intense feelings when they finally kissed.

One of my favourite parts of the buildup: Abby kissed Kane just by the mouth! And I love kisses by the mouth; they create such a strange tension. They’re halfway between a kiss on the cheek and a kiss on the lips: too intimate to be considered normal, not quite intimate enough to be unambiguously romantic. I rewound to watch it seven times.


Chloe Price/Rachel Amber (Life Is Strange: Before the Storm)

One aspect of Life Is Strange I really love is its portrayal of very intense, slightly unhealthy relationships between psychologically damaged teenage girls. There’s genuine love between Chloe and Rachel, but there’s also manipulation, and things can get a little dark sometimes, a little frightening. Sometimes there are beautiful moments: sharing earbuds on a train and watching the scenery pass by, a kiss on an empty street at night. Sometimes Rachel drags you out of school while concealing her real intentions and ends up starting a forest fire while you watch in helpless alarm.

I love that the Chloe/Rachel pairing isn’t overly idealised or included in the game to titillate; they’re humans, sharing intense experiences, and it’s complicated and beautiful and painful and interesting. Chloe/Max is also great, but Chloe and Rachel make this list because their chemistry is slightly stronger in my eyes.


NON-CANON:

Mike Munroe/Sam Giddings (Until Dawn)

Do I ship these two just because they look like Nate and Elena? I’ll be honest: it’s probably a factor. I was so thrilled when the two of them met back up after their horrible experiences, and suddenly they weren’t alone in this terrifying situation any more. I love that they’re clearly not close friends when the game starts – they just happen to move in the same circles – but they bond so intensely and become such a strong team over the course of this terrible night.

If both Sam and Mike survive, the game ends on a shot of Mike clutching Sam’s arm like it’s the only thing keeping him anchored to the world, and I can’t get over it. It’s also possible for Mike to sacrifice himself to save Sam in the last few minutes of the game; he knows full well he’s going to die, but she’ll die if he doesn’t do anything, and he can’t let that happen.

I have a lot of feelings about these two, and I’ve always been sort of amazed they’re not a more popular pairing.


Mark Corrigan/Jeremy Usbourne (Peep Show)

I shouldn’t have actual feelings about these awful people, but somehow I do. These terrible, terrible men who incessantly ruin each other’s lives. They’ll never escape each other. They sort of hate each other, but they wouldn’t be able to survive apart. It’s the bond of knowing that someone else knows what an absolute mess of a person you are, knows all the worst aspects of you, and yet is somehow still willing to associate with you.


Patrick Jane/the entire CBI team (The Mentalist)

This may not technically be a pairing, but I’m listing it anyway. Jane is so casually flirty and tactile and intimate that I’m convinced he’s in love with everyone he works closely with: Lisbon, Van Pelt, Cho, Rigsby. (I love the episode where he buys all of them ludicrously expensive presents out of his blackjack winnings.) I also feel he’s in love with Hightower; it’s a shame she couldn’t be the boss for longer!

I really wanted to put this in the ‘canon’ section.


Noctis Lucis Caelum/Prompto Argentum (Final Fantasy XV)

I’ll happily ship all the FFXV boys with each other, but I’ve got a particular weakness for Noct/Prompto. Prompto falls intensely in love with anyone who’s even vaguely nice to him! There’s all the ‘I’m a commoner; he’s the prince’ insecurity! They’re both kind of useless with their emotions! Plus their interactions are just really, really cute.


Hajime Hinata/Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa 2)

If I say I ship two characters, it could mean either ‘I genuinely think these characters would work together’ or ‘I think these characters would be a fascinating disaster, and I want to watch it all burn’. Hinata/Komaeda definitely falls into the ‘fascinating disaster’ category. I love that Komaeda adores Hinata (and all their classmates) and expresses that adoration by manipulating people into murder; he just wants to help everyone achieve their full potential! I love that Hinata is simultaneously repelled by Komaeda and sort of fascinated by him. Trying to keep Komaeda at arm’s length, trying not to think too much about him, never entirely succeeding.

(I’ve also got a soft spot for Hinata/Koizumi and Hinata/Kuzuryuu, which are slightly more functional.)


Honourable mention to Shay Cormac/Aveline de Grandpré (Assassin’s Creed Rogue/Assassin’s Creed Unity), which I considered, because I do ship it a lot, but decided against because the characters, er, aren’t from the same game and never meet in canon. I wrote a huge Sense8 AU for Assassin’s Creed once and accidentally landed myself with this stupid nonexistent pairing.

And I just remembered Arthur/Merlin! I need to stop thinking about ships, because I’m just going to come up with an endless number I regret not including.


If you're reading this and think it might be fun, I encourage you to steal this meme for your own journal! I'd love to see you talk about your ships.

The final entry in this adventure through my fandom history! I've really enjoyed this.


The Last of Us

The Last of Us came out just before I turned twenty-five. I wanted to play it, as I'd loved Naughty Dog's other work, but couldn't afford to buy it new. My brilliant plan: tell th_esaurus, with whom I lived at the time, about this game where a middle-aged man and a teenage girl travel through the apocalypse together (this concept is absolute catnip for her), then sit back and wait for her to buy it. It worked like a charm.

All of my fics for The Last of Us are over five thousand words long, which is unusual for me! Apparently it gives me ideas that need some space to explore.

The Last of Us is also unusual amongst the things I've written fanfiction for in being really, really good. I'm usually more drawn to write for messy, flawed canons.

Favourite character: Ellie is such a perfectly drawn character. She makes the game so human. It would never have worked without her.
Favourite pairing: This isn't a fandom I'm in for 'shipping purposes, especially, but Ellie/Riley is really cute.
Number of words written: 20,418

Snippet: This tiny thing is all I can find. It was meant to be something about Ellie's perspective on the world before the outbreak, I think. Warning for... discussion of miscarriage?

( The Last of Us unfinished snippet. Ellie and Riley, 2014. )


Assassin's Creed

I tried out my housemate's copy of Assassin's Creed when I was twenty-six. It was a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed it enough to check out the later games in the series, which were great fun.

I've written a couple of Kenway/Kidd fics, a couple of Frye-sibling oneshots, but my main involvement in Assassin's Creed fandom was with a single series. A single, cowritten, extremely long series.

Visitors was originally supposed to be a oneshot. One chapter, containing eight short scenes from a Sense8 AU. I wrote it, and then it was over.

But I couldn't stop thinking of other scenes. So I wrote another eight and posted them as a second chapter. And then I posted a third, and, look, by that point I might as well keep going until I'd written for all twenty-eight possible two-character combinations.

Then salanaland started writing scenes in that universe, and I just kept going, and VampireBadger joined in, and we started making all sorts of plans in Google Docs, and and we all just wrote frantically in this one universe for a year and a half. By the time we drew the Visitorverse to a close, it was 900,000 words long. (Although over half the total wordcount was by VampireBadger, who is terrifyingly prolific.)

It was an absolute blast. We had a table to keep track of who had hugged whom, because it was our duty to make everyone hug and we took it very seriously.

A lasting impact of my time with the Visitorverse, when I was posting a new ficlet every couple of days: I'm now much better at finishing fics. It taught me how to look at what I've written so far and go 'okay, what needs to be added before this is ready to post?' So I've generally got less unfinished fanfiction lying around for my post-Assassin's Creed fandoms; if I start writing something now, I'm much more likely to see it through.

Favourite character: There are a lot of games and a lot of characters! But possibly Haytham Kenway? Repression, sarcasm and fraught parent-child relationships: always good. I wish I enjoyed the gameplay of Assassin's Creed III more so I'd be more willing to replay it.
Favourite pairing: Edward Kenway/James Kidd, for pairings that actually make sense. For pairings that don't make sense: Shay Cormac and Aveline de Grandpré never canonically meet, but I've 'shipped them ever since writing their first scene together in Visitors.
Number of words written: 122,813, of which 116,519 are in the Visitorverse.

Snippet: This was a concept for a Supernatural AU where the Frye twins become hunters.

( Assassin's Creed unfinished snippet. Assassin's Creed Syndicate/Supernatural, 2017. )


Until Dawn

I have no idea what made me think that investigating Until Dawn was a good idea. At the age of twenty-eight I went 'I should watch a Let's Play!' and then 'NO, I HAVE TO BACK OUT, THIS IS WAY TOO SCARY' and then 'NO, I CAN'T BACK OUT BECAUSE THEN I'LL NEVER KNOW THE FATE OF THESE KIDS AND THAT'S WORSE.' I ended up having to spoil myself for everything before I could handle watching. Then I started uncontrollably writing fic after fic where the entire plot was 'IT'S POST-GAME AND EVERYONE'S TRAUMATISED'.

Favourite character: Mike! He combines two character types I have a weakness for: 'confident, kind of a jerk sometimes' and 'desperately trying to atone for a horrible, horrible mistake'. Also, he gets his fingers caught in a bear trap and it's hot.
Favourite pairing: I love Mike/Sam a lot. It's got shades of Nate/Elena, both in their appearance and in their dynamic. I was so happy when they teamed up.
Number of words written: 16,881.

Snippet: This isn't actually a snippet from an unfinished fic; it's a bit from an early draft of a finished fic. My Until Dawn time loop fic, New Game?, was originally going to be much lighter in tone and have Mike and Sam trapped in the time loop together.

( Until Dawn unfinished snippet. Mike/Sam, time loop, 2016 or 2017. )


Final Fantasy XV

What a mess. What a masterpiece. I first posted about my anticipation for this game when I was twenty; I finally actually got to play it when I was twenty-eight. There's so much wrong with it and I love it so fiercely. What a strange joy of a game. The only game I've ever played for over a hundred hours on one save file.

I leapt straight into the fandom and swam happily around in it. I was expecting the fandom to be horrendous, but it turned out to be surprisingly relaxed! Everyone was there to have fun, and I never saw any shipwars or 'you can't 'ship that; it's morally wrong'. I had lots of fun writing for prompts on the kinkmeme.

Favourite character: Prompto! Simultaneously the most fun character in the cast and the most heartbreaking. An absolute joy to write. Suffers extremely well in fanfiction.
Favourite pairing: Ooh, hard to choose. Might have to be the Noctis/Prompto/Ignis/Gladio OT4, although I've got a particular soft spot for Noctis/Prompto. I also like horrible Ardyn/Noctis and Ardyn/Prompto.
Number of words written: 36,651.

Snippet: Here is a Queer Eye AU for Final Fantasy XV, because that's obviously a perfectly sensible fanfiction concept.

( Final Fantasy XV unfinished snippet. FFXV/Queer Eye, 2018. )


Zero Escape

I enjoyed 999 and Virtue's Last Reward well enough, but they didn't capture my attention in a fannish way at all. I barely even mentioned them on here. I certainly didn't expect to write any Zero Escape fanfiction.

And then Zero Time Dilemma happened. I bought it when it was heavily discounted, at the age of twenty-nine, and I played through it at great speed, and I wrote seven fics in the space of a month. I came to the fandom late and there was very little activity (at one point I had written a full third of the fics on the front page of the AO3 tag), but the lack of an audience couldn't prevent me. It was a perfect excuse to write fanfiction about not knowing what's real, which is one of my absolute favourite fictional themes.

Favourite character: Bizarrely, my favourite Zero Escape character is a nice, relatively well-adjusted young man (who I can then make much less well-adjusted in fanfiction). I can't explain why Carlos appeals to me so much. I also think Akane is fascinating.
Favourite pairing: Carlos/Akane. I also love Carlos/Akane/Junpei, but Carlos/Akane is definitely the axis of it that appeals to me most.
Number of words written: 21,136

Snippet: Again, this is a cut scene from a posted fic rather than an extract from an unfinished one. (As I said, Assassin's Creed made me better at finishing fics, so in my later fandoms I have fewer unfinished works and I'm more ruthless about cutting scenes that don't fit.) This was originally going to come in So Close, So Far, my Carlos/everyone fic, at the end of the Carlos/Phi scene.

( Zero Escape unfinished snippet. Carlos/everyone, 2018. )


Detroit: Become Human

I caught a bad case of Detroit: Become Human shortly before turning thirty. I initially put on theradbrad's Let's Play of this for background noise and ended up getting really into this disaster of a game.

My Detroit: Become Human fanfiction is horrible and I'm not sorry. It's got so much awful potential! Android programming raises so many horrible, fascinating questions of consent! Android limbs are so intriguingly detachable!

Some of you have got into this game because I started posting about it, and I'm extremely sorry about that. But I've been rewarded for my evil deeds with great fanfiction by magistrate, so it's hard to feel too much remorse.

Favourite character: Hank! Grumpy, sarcastic, cares more than he'd like to admit, made entirely of unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Favourite pairing: I still haven't really pinned down whether I feel I 'ship Hank/Connor or just enjoy its potential for horribleness, but either way it brings me a great deal of joy. I also like Connor/Kara and Connor/Connor, and magistrate has been sending me extracts of an ambitious fic-in-progress in which I am 'shipping everything, including but not limited to Connor/Markus, Hank/Markus and Hank/Kara.
Number of words written: 12,063.

Snippet: All I have are these few sentences from Hank's perspective, in a document entitled 'detroit feeeeelings.doc'.

( Detroit: Become Human unfinished snippet. Hank/Connor, 2018. )


And that's the abridged version of how I got here! I look forward to finding out which fandoms await in my future.

I rewatched Your Name, and it's still the most beautiful film I've seen in my life, in every sense of the word. I can almost feel it as an ache in my chest. It really makes me think about how powerful art can be, and how it lets us connect with other people and other cultures.

I just cried over the trailer, noooooo.

When I first saw Your Name in the cinema, all I really knew about it was that it was a bodyswap story, so I was slightly taken aback when the bodyswap story ended a third of the way into the film.

I still think 'slowly getting to know each other via long-distance bodyswapping' could be a fun concept to employ in fanfiction for other canons, but it's hard to think of characters it would really work well for. Most characters in my canons don't live in entirely different environments! I suppose Prompto and Noctis swapping might work; they may live in the same city, but there's still a huge gulf between their experiences, given that Noctis is royalty.

It might be fun to have characters from different Assassin's Creed games swap bodies, in theory, but I can't write it because it'd just end up too similar to my Assassin's Creed/Sense8 crossover. (She says, having written four Zero Escape fics about Carlos struggling with his alternate-universe memories in the space of roughly a fortnight.)

There's actually a strange part of me that doesn't want to steal the concept of Your Name at all, because I get so emotional about that film. It feels weird to take the long-distance bodyswap bonding from Taki and Mitsuha and give it to someone else!

I am relieved to report that I barely thought of Higurashi at all during the scenes in Itomori. I was slightly concerned that I would no longer be able to watch anything about festivals and ancient traditions in semi-rural Japanese towns without expecting everyone to start murdering each other.

(Chapter six of Higurashi is out in mid-June! At last! I can't wait to get distressed and go 'WHY WAS I SO EXCITED TO READ ABOUT HORRIBLE THINGS HAPPENING TO THESE POOR KIDS.')

I think this is the twentieth fic I've posted this year! I haven't produced anything long - it's all been between 1,000 and 5,000 words - but I'm still pleased with this level of productivity. I've actually had a few hundred words of this lying around for a year and a half; I'm slightly astonished that I finally got it finished. It was fun to go back to writing Kidd. Kidd is the best.


Title: Below Decks
Fandom: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Rating: light R
Pairing: Edward Kenway/James Kidd
Wordcount: 1,300
Summary: Edward Kenway has never been shy about going after what he wants, even if what he wants happens to be a man. He's in for a surprise.


( Below Decks )

Out-of-Context Theatre:

'To be honest, I'm glad that Google considered my search for "nude Crash Bandicoot" and concluded, "I'm sure she meant new Crash Bandicoot."'


Here is a reaction to some E3 game trailers!

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm: I'm more excited than I would have expected myself to be! I love the shot of Chloe beating up the car in the junkyard. She's a ball of rage and bad coping mechanisms, and it's great. My relationship with Chloe had a bit of a rocky start (she pointed at me and blamed me for her weed! I was slightly outraged!), but by this point I think I can appreciate her for the absolute mess of a person that she is.

I'm glad they're sticking with the soft, sort-of painted visual style of the original.

Are we going to see [unpleasant character] in this prequel? Rachel knew him, but we're playing as Chloe, and, when she first meets him in Life Is Strange, they don't seem to know each other. So I suppose he won't be making an appearance. I, er, probably shouldn't be disappointed by that.

Hidden Agenda: something genuinely cool and new from the Until Dawn developers! A multiplayer anyone-can-die decision-based crime thriller, where you all vote on decisions. It seems like a great way to ruin friendships. I'm tempted.

Assassin's Creed: Origins: come on, another male protagonist? Not counting spin-offs and handheld titles, there have been nine main Assassin's Creed games, and the protagonist has been male in eight and a half of them. I was really hoping Ubisoft wouldn't go, 'Okay, you can play as a woman for part of Syndicate, we've eaten our vegetables and now we can get back to dudes.' The setting looks gorgeous, but this game isn't really sparking any excitement in me yet. I'll probably warm up to it, though.

(To be honest, I can't be too grumpy about protagonist gender when all three of the other games in this list focus on two women, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. I'm so happy. You're improving, videogame industry!)

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy: this looks like so much fun! Action! Adventure! Fraught 'I'll save your life, but that doesn't mean we're friends' partnerships! (Between two women! I don't think I've ever seen that before.) I'll miss Nate and Elena and Sully, but, if you'd said, 'Okay, the central trio are off the table, but we'll make a game about any other two Uncharted characters you choose,' I would have asked for Chloe and Nadine. I can't believe this game is actually happening.

I DIDN'T KNOW WATERLOO IN LONDON WAS NAMED AFTER THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. For my entire life I've thought the Battle of Waterloo was fought in London! I'm so embarrassed.

(I told my dad this. He asked if he could get a refund from my school.)


Just finished a replay of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (it seemed necessary after Pirates of the Caribbean) and got tearful all over again at the ending. Of all the Assassin's Creed games, I think Black Flag has the story I get most invested in, perhaps because it's so small-scale and personal. The focus is very much on Edward and all that he learns and all that he loses, rather than on the Assassin-Templar conflict.

This is why Black Flag is one of my favourite games in the series, even though two thirds of the missions are terrible. Tailing isn't fun! Eavesdropping is a nightmare! Naval combat is - well, actually I enjoyed the sailing bits a lot more on this playthrough than I did on my first. Which is good, and not just on the revelatory 'videogames are better when you enjoy playing them' level; it was difficult to get into Edward Kenway's mindset when he was so at home on the water and I was so miserable. But there's no excuse for the missions where you have to tail in the ship.

Edward/Kidd is still the best pairing. Amazing discovery on this replay: in the opening cutscene of an early mission ('A Single Madman'), Kidd pats Edward on the arse. I want them to have so much sex where Edward's painfully in love and Kidd's just going 'need some stress relief; I suppose you'll do.'

On this replay, I really got the sense that Anne Bonny could have been Edward's second wife if things had gone slightly differently, although there would always have been the strange underlying sadness of their shared loss. It's an intriguing thought, but in that universe we'd never have had Haytham and the horrible but fascinating Haytham-and-Connor relationship, and that would have been a tragedy.


Here's something that's been bothering me. In the original Pokémon games, Professor Oak shows up to congratulate your rival on becoming the Pokémon Champion. On finding out that you've beaten him, though, he scolds your rival: 'I'm disappointed! I came when I heard you beat the Elite Four! But, when I got here, you had already lost!'

Isn't that a bit harsh? However briefly, your grandson was the best Pokémon trainer in the country. Most people are never going to achieve those heights! Give him a bit of recognition, Oak, for goodness' sake.

At one point in Bravely Second, you fight an evil baker. Most of his moves involve quickly whipping up a poisoned cake and throwing it into your face.

Prior to the fight, Tiz ate a tart that Evil Baker had made. Tiz rhapsodised about how delicious the tart was and then turned into a ghost. He didn't die, note. He just turned into a ghost. We cured him of his ghosthood by throwing a bucket of hot water over him.

VIDEOGAMES.


Last night, I dreamt that the Frye twins of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate were the protagonists of Supernatural, rather than the Winchester brothers. I sort of feel this crossover needs to exist. One night, Evie hears someone moving around in the home she shares with Henry. She goes to accost the intruder; it's Jacob; she goes 'what on Earth are you doing in India?'; he goes 'EVIE COME AND FIGHT GHOSTS WITH ME :D'.

Frederick Abberline plays the role of the well-meaning police officer who’s pursuing the Frye twins, having concluded, entirely reasonably, that they’re responsible for the mysterious killings that crop up wherever they go. (Possibly having concluded entirely correctly. I'm not sure whether the Fryes are still assassins in this universe.) Jacob likes to tease him by leaving little notes and clues behind. Possibly the notes end up becoming oddly flirty.

Poor Abberline. He’s anxious enough as it is without a serial killer developing a weird fondness for him.


On an entirely different note, here is an extraordinary WikiHow article: How to Pretend to Have Ice Powers. Some of my favourite lines:

This article will help you convince others that you have ice powers.

Have some winter jewelry like snowflake charms or other wintry patterns. You can wear necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, bows, or anything else that strikes your fancy - but take it easy; don't wear all these things at the same time or you'll look like you're trying too hard and people will be suspicious.

If you don't have blue eyes, get blue eye contacts. Every person with ice powers has blue eyes. They should be bright blue or ice blue, and if possible, they should have a snowflake pattern in the iris to be even more believable.

Wear summer clothes in the winter. If you do, it'll look like the snow or cold doesn't affect you, which is true of people with ice powers. Just make sure you're not shivering all the time - then, people will notice.

Pay attention to wintry topics in others' conversations. Act aware whenever you hear someone say "winter" or "snow" or something like that.

Whenever you watch a movie where someone has ice powers, take a small glance at your hands for a second.

So now you know! Use your new ice powers responsibly, guys.

Here is a fic about Jacob Frye having a sexuality crisis. Er, happy Valentine's Day! I think this is the least appropriate day I could possibly have posted this on.


Title: Floodgates
Fandom: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,800
Summary: Jacob really needs to talk to someone about Maxwell Roth. (Set after Sequence 8.)


( Floodgates )