Sometimes I Want To Make Text Posts

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Ok follow-up now if you know them well enough: The BSC but now they’re Animorphs.

I DEFINITELY do not know the Babysitters’ Club well enough to do this one.  It’s been about 20 years since I read the books, and I don’t know that I ever read more than 4 or 5 of them.  Fellow fandalites who also dove into some of those other paperback 1990s series: any thoughts?

[randomfanfairy]

An attempt at the OG four! - Kristy is still the gung-ho leader of the group! After she and her best friends learn about the Yeerk threat, she decides to found the “Baby-sitter’s Club” as a front to make it easy for them to meet up stealthily, as well as to observe many of the homes of the high-ranking Yeerk officials who have infested many of the adults of Stoneybrook for mysterious reasons. - Kristy’s little stepsister Karen is Aftran’s host (the name coincidence is TOO GOOD); she starts out as an antagonist, but eventually they team up and get involved with the Peace Movement. Kristy wants to keep Karen out of the war but it’s too late. Aftran sticks around as a nothlit, deciding to become a red-tailed hawk. In fact, many of Kristy’s giant menagerie of “pets” are actually members of the YPM! - Claudia is an estreen - her fashion sense and artistic skills appear to apply to her morphing skills, too. Unfortunately, her grades are even worse than in canon, because she’s fighting so many battles, and it starts to become a real emotional crisis for her, leading to huge falling-outs with her family. - Mary Anne, quiet and gentle, has many moral crises over the fact that she now has to battle and sometimes kill, but her efficiently-organized plans often provide the difficult solutions for the rest of the team. Later in the series, her boyfriend Logan is infested, and he becomes a high-ranking member of the Sharing, pitting them against each other. - Stacy has to balance morphing with diabetes - perhaps she has to strategically hide her insulin syringes and medical equipment before missions so that she can check her blood sugar levels immediately after demorphing? (Would be curious to hear thoughts from people who are more knowledgeable!) Regardless, this is Animorphs, so inevitably, at some point things go badly wrong and she is hospitalized. Between that and her father wanting to move back to New York, she quits the team several times…. but she when she discovers that the reason that her mother divorced her father was because she was infested by Visser One, she becomes determined to save her, no matter the risks.

[randomfanfairy]

For the latest @thejakeformerlyknownasprince ask!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Ok follow-up now if you know them well enough: The BSC but now they’re Animorphs.

I DEFINITELY do not know the Babysitters’ Club well enough to do this one.  It’s been about 20 years since I read the books, and I don’t know that I ever read more than 4 or 5 of them.  Fellow fandalites who also dove into some of those other paperback 1990s series: any thoughts?

[randomfanfairy]

An attempt at the OG four! - Kristy is still the gung-ho leader of the group! After she and her best friends learn about the Yeerk threat, she decides to found the “Baby-sitter’s Club” as a front to make it easy for them to meet up stealthily, as well as to observe many of the homes of the high-ranking Yeerk officials who have infested many of the adults of Stoneybrook for mysterious reasons. - Kristy’s little stepsister Karen is Aftran’s host (the name coincidence is TOO GOOD); she starts out as an antagonist, but eventually they team up and get involved with the Peace Movement. Kristy wants to keep Karen out of the war but it’s too late. Aftran sticks around as a nothlit, deciding to become a red-tailed hawk. In fact, many of Kristy’s giant menagerie of “pets” are actually members of the YPM! - Claudia is an estreen - her fashion sense and artistic skills appear to apply to her morphing skills, too. Unfortunately, her grades are even worse than in canon, because she’s fighting so many battles, and it starts to become a real emotional crisis for her, leading to huge falling-outs with her family. - Mary Anne, quiet and gentle, has many moral crises over the fact that she now has to battle and sometimes kill, but her efficiently-organized plans often provide the difficult solutions for the rest of the team. Later in the series, her boyfriend Logan is infested, and he becomes a high-ranking member of the Sharing, pitting them against each other. - Stacy has to balance morphing with diabetes - perhaps she has to strategically hide her insulin syringes and medical equipment before missions so that she can check her blood sugar levels immediately after demorphing? (Would be curious to hear thoughts from people who are more knowledgeable!) Regardless, this is Animorphs, so inevitably, at some point things go badly wrong and she is hospitalized. Between that and her father wanting to move back to New York, she quits the team several times…. but she when she discovers that the reason that her mother divorced her father was because she was infested by Visser One, she becomes determined to save her, no matter the risks.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

First of all, congrats Dr! That's a super big deal. Also I tottally commented this on your more recent David and Rachel meta but I am really curious. What if Saddler a direct result in the battle for the blue box? David needed it, and they had it. Instead of injury ex Machina, what if David sought him out and injured him badly enough that he assumed Jake and Rachel would pull the box out of its hiding spot to trade for his parents? Tom/Yeerks would definitely notice a big cat attack on a random.

I think that exact scenario, where David tries to force Jake and Rachel to recruit Saddler to save his life, wouldn’t work.  In canon, Rachel is already prepared to let Saddler die rather than risk giving the morphing power to him, and I think it’s safe to assume Jake feels the same way.  If David tried to force the issue through harming Saddler then the Berensons would probably be even more opposed to letting Saddler morph.  In that case, David would be right there as an object lesson about the dangers of letting non-vetted people morph.  Also, it’s Saddler, whom both Jake and Rachel describe as being a huge jerk.  Saddler is one of the few people the Berensons know in advance might make an even WORSE teammate than David.

But there’s an interesting question then: what would it take for the pre-David Animorphs to whip out the morphing power for a civilian?

We know the post-David Animorphs’ decision point — i.e. that even immediate danger to loved ones isn’t enough to risk it — but the David catastrophe is a big part of the reason the Animorphs are so reluctant to recruit.  What about a world in which they get the morphing cube but not David?  Or at the very least one in which they have the cube but don’t yet realize what a spectacularly bad idea it was to recruit him?

It’d be a massive risk, no matter what.  In canon, the kids have a 100% guarantee that David isn’t a controller (and can keep him from blabbing to any controllers) and even then they consider leaving him to die rather than recruiting him.  If they weren’t that certain, they’d probably never even try it.  So it’d have to be somebody they know for sure isn’t yeerk-controlled, which is almost no one who isn’t already on their team.

There’d also probably have to be some kind of mitigating circumstance.  A major injury might work, as might an immediate threat of harm, and it’d probably have to affect someone the kids have at least some connection with.  Again, I think the issue of letting Saddler morph never even comes up because Jake and Rachel think he’s an ass (whether or not they’re right is a different question).  But someone they know and like might be a good candidate.

There’s also the issue of age.  If they pick someone even a few years older, the person’s never going to defer to Jake as a leader.  If they pick someone even a few years younger, then the person’s not necessarily going to be mature enough to deal with the godawfulness of being an Animorph.  David’s in their same grade, James and Collette (and presumably other Auximorphs) are within a year or two of their age, and that’s probably the right call.

So all of that leaves... I’m not sure.  Obviously James fits all those criteria, so if it occurs to them that disabled humans are “unfit” and therefore safe in a pre-Loren universe, then that works.  Other than that, I’m not sure anyone is safe.

[randomfanfairy]

What about Melissa Chapman, after the events of The Visitor? Assume they kept the Blue Box from Elfangor somehow, and then Rachel sees how emotionally destroyed her friend is during that mission..... She’s clearly not a Controller, she’s in their same grade, and Rachel already cares about her a lot. Plus, it’s early enough in the fight that they might not have the same concerns about recruiting people they love into their terrible battles - and I could absolutely see Rachel feeling that her friend is already a casualty of this war, and therefore might as well be empowered to fight back.

Melissa’s motives to fight would be interesting though, because her parents are voluntaries... but (for her dad, at least) she’s the reason for that. I feel like that’s some Animorphs-level angst and moral complexity that’s worthy of exploration. Not to mention that he’s a high-ranking Yeerk with lots of intel that she might have some access to, especially as it relates to the Controllers in the school and the Sharing... Added to the fact that Melissa is, at least per the agreement, “uninfestable,” for what that’s worth... I think this could be FASCINATING.

[randomfanfairy]

Papa Garou: A Summary

Marinette: Ugh! I can't believe that I'm gonna declare my undying love for Chat Noir!

Tikki: Well, you don't have to-

Marinette: No, I'm gonna.

[randomfanfairy]

Miraculous Ladybug Matilda AU

Madame Bustier adopts Chloe and Adrien That’s it, that’s the AU

[randomfanfairy]

I would like you to consider a reveal scenario in which Adrien learns that Ladybug is Marinette,

and PANICS.

Because Ladybug? On a good day, he can almost believe that Chat Noir has a shot with Ladybug. She’s dazzling and incredible, sure, but she’s stubborn and she laughs at his dumb jokes and he’s seen her faceplant into the Seine. She’s a superhero, okay, but he’s ALSO a superhero, they can balance that? Maybe???

But Marinette Dupain-Cheng?! THERE IS NO WAY THAT ADRIEN IS COOL ENOUGH FOR MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is objectively the most popular girl in his grade. Everyone has had a crush on her at least once. Adrien breaks out into a cold sweat.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is also tough as nails??? She stands up for what’s right in every situation, she’s faced down akumas without the suit, she even confronts CHLOE. Oh god.

Without a doubt, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is definitely the most talented person in the school. She has a million passions and wins every contest she enters, whether it’s for fashion design or video games or student council. OH GOD.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng designed an album cover for JAGGED STONE when she was THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. Adrien asked for her AUTOGRAPH. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

“Plagg. Plagg, she’s even more incredible without the suit, what do I do, I don’t stand a chance -- Plagg! Plagg why are you laughing!!!! THIS IS A CRISIS PLAGG HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THAT THIS IS A CRISIS, I’M”

[buggachat]

sorry if u’ve gotten this before but like. everyone in pinkdrien au think alix is chat noir right

OH YES OF COURSE

[randomfanfairy]

Okay, but given the fact that Alix’s entire trademark is That Time There Were Two Of Her?

In the Pinkdrien AU, even ALIX is pretty sure that she’s Chat Noir.

[randomfanfairy]

Alix: HEY! CHAT ROSE! THOSE WERE SOME SWEET STUNTS! Chat: *fingerguns before leaping over a building* Alix, tearing up: I’m so cool

[buggachat]

sorry if u’ve gotten this before but like. everyone in pinkdrien au think alix is chat noir right

OH YES OF COURSE

[randomfanfairy]

Okay, but given the fact that Alix’s entire trademark is That Time There Were Two Of Her?

In the Pinkdrien AU, even ALIX is pretty sure that she’s Chat Noir.

[randomfanfairy]

sometimes a family is a smol ghost bug and a stabby sister raised by spiders and a grumpy big sibling infected by an ancient evil and ten thousand personifications of the roiling mass of void itself and i think that’s beautiful

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Female Jake

Jake might be the most interesting one to ponder, because he’s a classic case of “I don’t see gender/class/ethnicity… because I don’t have to.”  Applegate does an awesome job of setting up his point of view (which closely parallels the POVs of most other YA SF heroes) and then subverting that default with every single other narrator in the series.  Female-Jake wouldn’t have the luxury of not caring about clothing or appearance and also not having anyone else care about her appearance the way that male-Jake does.  Female-Jake could just say “fuck it” and wear whateverthefuck she wants regardless of anyone else’s commentary the way Cassie does — but female-Jake would also pay a price for it in the eyes of the school’s social structure the way Cassie does.  Given that Jake might be fairly socially clueless but still likes to be liked, I suspect female-Jake would instead spend at least some more time on appearances than male-Jake does.  Ergo, I think female-Jake:

Would buy designer jeans, but then, like, never replace them.  So she’d still be wearing them four years later and they’d still flatter her, but they’d no longer be in style and would probably have some rips in them that weren’t put there by a machine.  When they were beyond repair, she’d march her way off to a store to go find more jeans that (Rachel assures her) are in style and high-quality, so that she can wear that pair every day for the next 3 - 5 years.

Would get a ton of enjoyment out of exchanging stolen glances and tiny smiles with Cassie every time Rachel started ranting about how they both need to get with the times fashion-wise.

Would roll her eyes so hard at Ax calling her “prince.”  Would also conclude that “princess” is an even worse title, when Ax offers that as an alternative based on his understanding of human languages.

Would grow up constantly arguing with Tom about the superiority of WNBA to NBA.  These arguments would also involve Jake being eternally annoyed that the names imply male professional sports are the default.

Would have one particular aggrieved sigh she used just for occasions when dumbasses commented on how odd it is for a girl to like Sega and Star Wars.  This would be distinct from all her other aggrieved sighs in its subtle variations in tone, volume, duration, and depths of exasperation.

Would probably get a lot more people calling her “spacey” or “stuck up” for exactly the same qualities that lead people to call male-Jake “pensive” and “confident.”  She would, of course, respond by patiently not hearing these comments and continuing on with what she was saying as if nothing just happened.

Would probably respond to most instances of sexism with a shrug and a that’s-life attitude.  This attitude would piss Rachel off to no end, but Jake would just say that she doesn’t have the time or energy to get angry over every condescending mansplainer or cat-call.

Would also pull out the “luckily for you, I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear that” brand of response the first and only time a post-war reporter asks her if she’s so good at fighting because of her older brother.  Only that time it would be ice-cold.  There’d be just a hint of threat in the clench of her jaw and the tightening of her eyes, during the long silence she would allow to spread like an oil spill.  She would then say something very quiet and entirely unrelated about Tom, and no one would ever ask her again if she needed a male mentor to make her strong.

[randomfanfairy]

This is great!!! Some other headcanons: 1. Jake takes a very long time to realize that she has a crush on Cassie, because internalized heteronormativity. Rachel and Marco eventually have to sit her down and give her a talk. 2. Jake the Fearless Leader being a girl would probably be initially tough for Ax to comprehend, and Ax might take a longer time to start calling Jake “Prince,” but I think he’d come around pretty quickly. The other Andalite interactions, however, would probably go even worse than they already do. 

3. Marco hits on Jake throughout the entirety of their friendship in the same over-the-top flirtatious way, and Jake responds with the same good-natured eyerolls and occasional joking flirtations back. The only difference is that Marco had a prolonged secret crisis about whether or not he was actually deeply in love with his best childhood buddy, since there is an overwhelming amount of media that indicates that men and women can’t be “just friends.” In canon, I’d argue that Marco is definitely attracted to Jake and just doesn’t want to think about it too much, but in this universe I think he’d spend early middle school thinking about it CONSTANTLY. When Jake develops an obvious crush on Cassie, Marco is SO RELIEVED that the problem has been solved without him having to reveal any vulnerability in any way, and transitions immediately to wingman status. Jake is 100% unaware that any of this has occurred.