a little pride month self indulgence:
There's an 'au' of sorts I play with where the only real change is I get to write Alan as Transfem.
She figures it out sometime post canon, because she wanted so badly to be one of the boys that she ignored the possibility for years, and just figured that she must be doing something wrong when it never seemed to click for her. It doesn't really come loose until she's an adult and actually looks at the fact that it's kind of.
Not necessary? To try to force herself to fit into a box that no one else asked her to? And that she was a part of this family no matter what being herself meant.
She goes throw a couple of names before landing on one she actually to keep, coming back to Allie in between.
She ends up getting the name Kathryn from Scott of all people..
Because it used to be his name, and he doesn't need it anymore, hasn't used it for years. Surely, it'll make his sister happier than it ever made him.
First proper fullbody piece, received as a gift from @viridian-snow!
And then this was the first properly piece of her period, drawn by @xsilverberryx!!
The red stripe serves a purpose I promise. (I like it and also she was playing with her hair by adding extensions and why not play with color at that point.)
More stuff copied directly from discord under the cut:
^^^ First things first, a chat between me and Silver from when Scott helped her figure out her name finally...
Side note: Yes, Jeff has feelings about hearing this name again. Not only did he get to indirectly help Kat with her name change... Lucille did too, from well beyond the grave.
May have been part of the reason Kat latched on to the name so hard
... Meanwhile Gordon thought picking on his sister by making silly nicknames was the next step when he was told.
Self Explanatory.
I will probably inevitably come back and post more when I think about it but I want to throw her into the void for people to look at.
"Scott, you have a call from Alan." John alerted him, making a holographic appearance in the conversation pit. "Try not to lose your cool before hearing him out please."
"Well that's reassuring." Scott sighed. "Patch him through, John."
John nodded, and his hologram was replaced by a holo screen, of Alan with an expression between ticked off and sheepish. And if Scott took half a look at the background, he could guess why. "Scott, it wasn't my fault!"
… What had Alan done? "What's not your fault?"
"I… uh. Might have. Gotten arrested."
The Slingshot Analysis, or:
How a nice comment can still hurt, Kayo's a good big sister, and Imposter Syndrome is a bitch.
@thunderversary-rewatch-party, you guys take metas, right?
So I don't suppose I've made much a secret that Alan's my favorite character. So I don't suppose it'll come as much of a shock that I also spend a lot of time just thinking about him. (I say, running a damn RP blog for him.)
This has lead to me over thinking Slingshot in particular way too much. Specifically from Alan's conversation with Kayo while they're repairing the comms on Thunderbird 3. And as it turns out, I have so many, many thoughts about it. And I ramble a lot. Bare with me.
Under the cut it goes - this will get long.
Alan: My brothers always say I make it seem so easy; Like I don't even try. I think I started to believe them.
So, this line. Up to the point that this line is spoken, Alan kind of has been making it seem easy - or at least like he's not taking it very seriously. Like nearly falling asleep while John was briefing him, wanting it to be just a solo mission because he was only picking someone up.
And then when Kayo joins in and the two of them head off for the mine, Alan seems more concerned with showing off to Kayo than the actual mission. When he's warned that speeding up will make slowing down harder, Alan dismisses the worry as "Don't worry, it's me."
Outwardly, at least, he's got a lot of confidence in his own skill.
Inwardly? Eh.... We see that the moment things do start to go wrong, that confidence starts to slip. We do see he genuinely does know what to do! It's just...
That initial moment of "Wait. Do I really know what's going on?"
And then it builds. He figures it out, with some encouragement from Kayo, and god bless her for having his back this whole episode. As stated in the opening, Kayo's a good big sister.
Including her having to tell Ned off multiple times for being rude to Alan. And we do see! That Alan is good at thinking on his feet. Throughout the episode, he's just... really good at taking even the offhand comments that Kayo or Ned say and turn them into a solution to get them out the trouble they're in.
Coming to mind, of course, is finding a way to communicate with Ned in morse code, and figuring out how to use the crackers to reroute first the asteroid itself, and then to give Thunderbird 3 an extra kick without using up extra fuel.
Amidst this all though, is the quote at the top of this section.
Alan: I'm an idiot.
Kayo: Can you be more specific?
Alan: My brothers always say I make it seem so easy; Like I don't even try. I think I started to believe them.
Kayo: None of this is your fault Alan; It's a mission. Things go wrong.
Alan: But I wasn't ready! Now we're probably going to die!
Kayo: Don't say that. You've been through worse.
Alan: I've never been this far away from everybody. We're all alone out here. Brains, My brothers; They can't help us!
Kayo: Alan, I've known you long enough to know you don't need anyone's help.
So to be clear, this isn't quite the first time that we see Alan get nervous under pressure. The satellite in RoF part 2 comes to mind. It just seems to me that after Ned picks at him, Alan knows that he's getting nervous, and Alan knows that maybe he wasn't taking it seriously enough, and it's getting to him.
Especially since I'd imagine a lot of the prior confidence was coming from the thought that he could just call for help if he needed it - He's just a kid, he's still very much used to having the safety net of his family there.
And Kayo is at least able to help him get out of his head. Again, she's a good big sister. But are we surprised? She learned from the best how to big sibling.
The other thing that stands out, of course, is the fact that the thing Alan quotes is probably a thing he's over heard. (And considering we hear Scott repeat this exact thing later in the episode, it's probably not something he's misremembering.)
He probably feels like he's letting them down at this point. Because when the going gets actually tough, he's choking. He's scared - that's not making it look easy, right? He feels out of his depth, he's got no support, is that being so good it looks easy?
Because it doesn't feel like it. It's not easy. He's not the man they think he is at home.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
That is to say, Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome is being defined as follows:
the subjective experience of perceived self-doubt in one's abilities and accomplishments compared with others, despite evidence to suggest the contrary..
His brothers almost definitely meant this as praise, and I find it hard to think of any interpretation where it isn't that's still in line with the characters of the other Tracys. It hurts to feel like you're not living up to how everyone else sees you.
And while it seems as though he cheers up..... ("Sorry I doubted you" "I'm sorry I doubted me too!")
At the end of the episode, when he's giving his debrief to everyone at home? He's having a good time... Until Scott gets up to praise him for doing well on the mission, and that they're all proud of him.
At which point, Alan suddenly gets nervous and excuses himself to go to bed. Which is in sharp contrast to the previous energy in his debrief. Wonder if he's still bothered by that thought, huh?
(And when Scott sits down to speak to Kayo, she speaks to his bravery, calling him a True Tracy. But when Scott says to her face that "He makes it look easy, doesn't he?" Kayo seems almost unsure of that.
But she saw how much it bothered him when they were talking...)
I don't know how to end this ramble.
Just that Alan almost sees his siblings as Supermen, and he's very decidedly not that yet.
Just that Imposter Syndrome is a bitch, and I love Alan very much. And this episode itches at my brain.
So this one was a bit of an RP done with @xsilverberryx, set in the same universe @fullmoonsonata is set in.
Alan's 13, and he gets an unfortunate surprise :(
So uh, for the record?
Running out towards the lookout when there were clouds on the horizon already? Not really his best decision. And normally he would have stayed in the villa anyway, because it was his birthday and that was supposed to be fun and happy!
...
And he had already been upset when he turned 12 and he still didn't know even if he was really the same as his brothers. But not all of them got their power on their birthday! John took two months! Virgil took a couple weeks!
Except he turned 13 today. And he still was left out. And it was kinda looking like he wasn't going to get to join his brothers here.
... And now the rain clouds were close enough he wasn't going to make it back to the villa in time to avoid them even if he tried.
This birthday officially sucked.
Alan eventually gets his power. At 16. He was a late bloomer... an exceptionally late bloomer.
It was not fun for him.
(But in the mean time he's got a pretty great family looking out for him. This RP continued with Scott flying out in the rain to come hunt him down and comfort him, with Virgil following not too long after..)
Less sharing, a little more taking without asking. But I've also loved this trope forever, and its a damn shame I almost chose a different a different one!
Anyways, this is in fact how I'm jumping feet first into writing for this fandom, huh?
(When he was younger, he practically swam in them, and that helped too. Alan had liked being able to disappear into the entirety of the hoodie, be completely surrounded in it.)
Alan maybe kinda sorta totally found comfort in other people’s hoodies.
It’s not something he did consciously okay? Like, he didn’t sit down and decide on it one day. It just so happened that when people were out on work around the world, and he didn’t know when they were coming home, he took some kind of comfort in digging around in their closets, and pulling them on.
Nowadays, it wasn’t so much an option. He had gotten too tall to hide in them, and hiding in his brother’s hoodies felt a little dumb most of the time anyway.
Alan still found himself throwing one on when he wasn’t feeling great. Nowadays, it was mostly John’s, with him so far above in Thunderbird 5.
(Alan would say it aloud to himself, that he had a boyfriend, and it made him want to giggle.)
Honestly, he hadn’t put this much thought into it in a long time. It was just a thing. A thing he felt silly about, but a thing nonetheless. Until the part where he had someone besides his family to go see when he had downtime.
And fine, Brandon only left him alone for a minute, just grabbing something from the kitchen, but there was a hoodie, thrown carelessly over the back of the chair, and okay. Maybe he was a little bit weird? But He slipped over over to the chair anyway, grabbing it and pulling it on over his head.
Brandon made a confused noise, checking the thermostat, before shrugging it off. “Must be cold compared to a tropical island.”
The sleeves were a bit long on him, but the rest was perfect. It was warm and it smelled kinda like Brandon, in a really nice way, that was familiar and safe. Or maybe he was just a little too infatuated?
... Did it matter?
“It’s not that cold, is it Al?” Brandon finally peeked out of the kitchen, and saw him with his stolen hoodie. Alan blushed slightly, giving him an awkward grin.
“Not... really.” He admitted. “But its cozy.”
And he gives Alan a kiss on the cheek with a laugh, and shoves one of the controllers into his hands. “Let’s play already!”
Well, it was the middle of the summer on the island, so it was easier to feel cold... even if that had nothing to do with why it was so damn comfortable. Brandon stepped out properly finally, tossing a can of pop in Alan’s direction.
He may or may not have fumbled a little bit on catching it, but Alan was going to blame that on the slipperiness of the sweater sleeves. That weren’t his and he didn’t ask before putting on.
... Shut up, you judgy internal voice. He doesn’t want to listen to you. Really sucks that he has to have you in his head.
Brandon plopped onto the couch next to him, with their game controllers nearly bouncing off onto the floor and he has to scramble to keep them from falling. Controllers saved, brown eyes looked to him.
And dang it, why did Brandon have to look at him like that. And lean in like he didn’t even notice the red in his cheeks-
“It looks good on you, Starshine.”
Geez, Bran was trying to kill him.
--------------------
Alan couldn’t help the bewildered stare as he returned to his room with a bowl of popcorn in one arm and a couple of bottles of soda in his other.
His boyfriend was very seriously examining himself in one of Alan’s own hoodies. “What are you doing.” He probably shoulda been able to tell, but his brain may have also kinda sorta short circuited.
Brandon said something about it being too tight in the shoulders, and Alan only kinda heard that too. Okay, it was official.
It was stupid when he did it, for any multitude of reasons. It was unfairly attractive when his boyfriend did it.
Hi @chornayadrakoshig ! I'm your santa for @codesecretsanta !
I do hope this makes for a fun little read this christmas day! I haven't gotten a chance to write much Litalise, so it was fun to see that pop up again.
Merry Christmas!
AO3
In one world, they meet as the amnesiac princess, and the bard who brings her songs of far off lands. Maybe it brings trouble, maybe it doesn’t. But the journey home is a little more lively.
The bard doesn’t fight, but she brightens the princess’s day. And everyone serves a role in her life for sure, but the bard’s music lands with her in a way like nothing else.
Maybe she’ll make music like that too, when her homeland is reclaimed, and there’s no more wars to fight. She wants to follow the bard’s footsteps.
In another they meet in port, a team of pirates stopped in, in between to find freedom on the seas, to reclaim the captain’s home. And when they stop in at port, the captain meets the bartender who has stories and a warm bed for her crew. The captain, who wanted nothing more than to relax and listen to her stories.
It’s the captain's favorite place. It's a home away from her ship, and she cherishes it with everything she has.
In yet another, they meet once again by the ocean, with an artist seeking inspiration taking a walk by the shore. And there she meets a mermaid seeking to learn more about the world above, to hear about the humans directly, instead of just from the artifacts lost in the ocean.
The mermaid turns out to be the inspiration that the artist was looking for. She loved nothing more than to share those stories of the world around them, to share her art with someone who wanted to appreciate it.
------------------------
In this world, the world we actually knew, their time together isn’t defined by adventure and conflict. Not anymore, anyway. It’s Peaceful. There’s Aelita, who’s finding her feet in a world that she spent far too much time away from. Not that Lise would ever know that. But it was a relief that she didn’t. Aelita loved her friends, the ones that fought alongside her for years to bring down XANA and, for better or for ill, put to rest the skeletons of her family’s past. Never think that she didn’t.
But when she had met Lise at the same DJing audition, both hopefuls looking to make a name for themselves as the opening act for the Subdigitals. Maybe… Just maybe. Making friends uninvolved with her prior life was the first step to moving on. Because her life didn’t - couldn’t end at middle school.
And maybe the feeling about the other DJ was right, if the string of decorative vinyls lining her wall were any indication. You didn’t put that kind of effort in for someone you didn’t care about, right?
What to do about it is another question. Aelita here - a princess and a captain, maybe, once upon a time, depending on how you wanted to define her - was a kid. And one who had a lot learning to do.
So she’d ask her friends of course. Because that was supposed to be normal classmate talk, right? When she brought it up of course, opinions were mixed.
Jeremy just wasn’t much of a romance guy, much as she appreciated his help in other areas.
And asking Ulrich and Odd went about as well as one could expect.
“Y’know, if you’re really interested in this girl, I could help set you guys up - I’ve got plenty of experience!” Odd had said immediately, a grin like the cat that got the canary.
Ulrich immediately swatted at his arm. “Yeah, if you want a love like his, be my guest. Lise would probably run for the hills.”
Odd pouted. “Oh come on, she’d at least get a first date- You know I’m the master of those-”
“That is not the word I’d use, good buddy.”
So maybe they didn’t have the greatest advice. But they were supportive where it counted, right? Just listening to the two of them bicker set her mind at ease, at any rate.
Yumi was helpful enough, though she lacked a lot of personal experience in asking someone out. Which. Given her own relationships, it wasn't all that surprising. But even more importantly…
“If you need ideas though, I heard William happened to take Laura to the Ice Skating rink that just opened. He says its pretty nice. It’d make for a fun experience, anyway. It’s something new.”
And wouldn’t it make memories indeed? Aelita thought she was pretty good at ice skating on Lyoko. And in this world she was just… Aelita now.
“Thanks for that, Yumi!”
--------------------
With the encouragement of her friends and determination in her heart, she texted Lise to meet up at a little cafe out in town.
Lise looked around, seemingly surprised that she turned up without any of her other friends. “Is it really just us? I don’t want to monopolize your time! Not for the holidays!” She wrings her hands.
An endearing sight, honestly.
“Everyone’s getting ready to head home for the holidays so…” She shrugged.
“... I trust you, Aelita!”
The two of them start towards the rink. Neither of them had ever been, as it turned out. (Though, Aelita privately thinks it can’t be that different from her time on Lyoko, from sliding across the ice sector, from that kind of balance.)
(But of course, that’s not her world anymore. That’s not this world.)
(She’s making new memories here.)
“You promise not to make fun of me if I fall, right?” Lise asks, as they get rental skates and are sitting down to lace them up.
“Of course not. I invited you - I didn’t want to invite you just to make fun of you!” Especially not now. Especially not now.
The waddle over to the rink with the ice skates on was already proving to be a new challenge, but Aelita’s always had a decent sense of balance, and when Lise had to lean a little on her that was pretty nice too.
…
The two of them set off onto the ice together, staying close to the wall and moving slow. They weren’t the only young pair out there making use of the weather and the season to make memories.
And the others they shared the space with were too wrapped up in their own little worlds to notice their silly mistakes. And that suited the both of them just fine really.
It’s not a bad life, in this world. Even if it’s not sailing the oceans and adventuring across the land.
(It was running through a digital world nearly daily, at one point. That’ll never be Lise’s reality.)
They’re behind Aelita in this world. But she still ended up with Lise. So… it’s pretty good. It’s hardly the worst constant.
Hmmmmmmmm
Why not an AU?
So for a while one of my favorite games was a game called Slay the Princess. And despite the name of the game, and the fact it is quite scary in some places, and you do in fact Slay the titular princess in many of the routes... it's a game about love.
Spoilers under the cut
It's also a time loop game that specifically has you do 5 distinct routes in each playthrough as you build your way to the final confrontation.
So... Five routes + The Prince(ss).... Hey we just so happen to have enough people with The boys + Kayo!
So began an attempt to put together a world where each different run was a different Tracy Brother (Or their Sister) trying to slay... or save the prince, and me, being me, made Alan the prince. And the rest of his family the "slayer", with everyone's memories being modified to forget about their existing bonds by whatever spell is creating this accursed loop.
Featuring:
Scott willingly waiting for an eternity with the one who was trapped.
Virgil wading through the vines to make things right with the one he hurt.
John saving the lost one from himself.
Gordon helping the sharp one find excitement in his life (and more than a few terrible jokes.)
And Kayo finally setting them free.
Eventually the six of them manage to break the loop and go home, but permanently changed by the experience, having ultimately learned a lot about their family, put some old skeletons to rest, and... having to figure out how to live in the real world now.
I could honestly be here all night getting into the like
Very specifics of this AU, but I would like to post this in the next decade laskjdlkasjdlkas
Chapters: 1/23
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Yubel (Yu-Gi-Oh), Tenjouin Asuka | Alexis Rhodes, Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton, Marufuji Shou | Syrus Truesdale, Edo Phoenix | Aster Phoenix, Tyranno Kenzan | Tyranno Hassleberry, Johan Andersen | Jesse Anderson, Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Cult Behavior, Implied past soulshipping, In which Jay released her goddamn brainworms, Internal Conflict, Deteriorating Health
Summary:
The Light wanted to see it's greatest enemy fall. And no one was more fitting to bring about the light's reign of destruction than the darkness's herald himself. He only needs a little more of a push to fall into the light's hands.
But the darkness still has those who can and want to fight back. And it turns out not even a trip to space can stop the herald's own defender from returning to save him.
... Even if it does mean having to meet new people.
(Season 2 Role Swap/Season Rewrite)
My entry for @ygobigbang this year! With wonderful art to look forward to Here (by @stellartrishula ) and Here (by @marblesmind ) (This art has the mature tag for some reason. It is not NSFW, I promise. Tumblr, Why.)
Gonna be posting this throughout the next day, so be prepared for a rapid fire of chapters :)
