Mastermind (The Mother Knows Best Remix), brainstorm (2015-10-14)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

rahndom:

jacksgreysays:

rahndom:

jacksgreysays:

This really won’t make sense if you don’t read @rahndom‘s Mastermind.

So the last chapter has the Young Justice swoop in to save both of the Drakes’ lives–though they are hospitalized–and there is a Janet-Tim mother-son bonding moment. Very sweet and everything. And I always want to know more about Janet Drake and figure that the woman who told her toddler that he can be anything so long as he put his mind to it, would be very supportive of her son as the vigilante named Mastermind.

So I was thinking some more about this universe and had some world-building/brainstorm-y thoughts about what I would like to read in a Janet POV continuation/remix of the fic.

The main one being–why does Janet, immediately upon waking up post-Haiti, decide to divorce Jack? And in answer to that I figured, well, what if most of the time, his parents were gone separately?

Like, Janet goes off somewhere for business and would assume that Jack would stay at home. And she’d say, oh, I’ll be back in three weeks. Then, two and a half weeks later Jack is like, Tim can stay at home by himself for three days, there’s a dig I would like to go to, I’ll be back in a month. Except then Janet calls and is like–I have to extend my stay for another six weeks–not knowing that Jack has already left for his own trip. Etc. etc. I mean, neglect is neglect, but at least this way it kind of explains Janet’s complete 180 in that last chapter.

Because it wasn’t really a complete 180. I figure it was probably something like… Jack was the one who wanted a kid and Janet didn’t really, but of course when she had Tim she loved him–but she still wasn’t ready to be a mother. As opposed to Jack who, even after Tim was born, still liked the idea of a son more than actually having a son. So hence Janet wanting to divorce Jack and stay in Gotham. Because the entire time she thought Jack was staying at home with Tim and finding out that he wasn’t–to the point that Tim became a teenaged vigilante with all his spare time–made her realize that she cannot stay married to this man who is a terrible husband and father.

And then everything else was just in line with what Tim can do and the idea that a lot of what makes Tim Mastermind is actually stuff he got from Janet. Including annoying the crap out of Bruce Wayne.

So of course she’s going to stick up for Catwoman as her son’s godmother. Retroactively claiming friendship with Selina Kyle–why of course, Bruce, Selina and I have been friends forever. It’s shameful that you’ve forgotten. It must be that dreadful alcoholism of yours, it’s practically pickled your brain.

But then she figures maybe it’s not enough. And while she adores Selina, well, Catwoman is a thief, and thieves don’t fight. They run. As Mastermind, Tim may not have the luxury to run, so he’ll need a little extra… something. Thankfully, the Obeah Man thing happens way before Infinite Crisis (which, is the thereabouts of when Blue Beetle dies) so that means that Ted Kord is still alive. That last chapter also mentions Jaime as part of the team even though he doesn’t become Blue Beetle until after Ted Kord dies but… uh… maybe his timeline is a little sped up (like Damian’s).

Anyway. Janet is all for plausible deniability, so she just has Drake Industries begin dealing with KORD Industries… and if that means that Ted Kord interacts with her son, well, if Tim can appoint himself a godmother surely she can choose a godfather. And if Blue Beetle happens to train Mastermind in the ways of non-metahuman vigilante skills/gadgets, well, that has nothing to do with their companies, does it? And it certainly is no business of Wayne Enterprises, butt out, Bruce.

As a bonus, since anywhere Ted Kord goes, Michael Carter goes, she basically gets two godfathers for the price of one. Which is especially great since it’s canon that Batman is ridiculously irritated by Booster Gold’s existence. It makes Booster helping to train Mastermind just absolutely hilarious to Janet (and me).

And I have some other thoughts–like… if Janet had gone to school with Lex as a teenager/child, well of course she’s going to recognize Kon, and similarly annoy the crap out of Lex. Mostly by sort of adopting Kon–because she’s been meaning to get Tim a bodyguard, it might as well be someone he likes. And then whenever she interacts with Lex she’s just so ruthless–“The darling boy is so lucky to favor his other parent’s genes, goodness knows your shoddy business practices are better off not being passed down to the next generation.” and “Oh, I’m sorry Lex, I can’t hear you over the sound of Lex Corp stock prices plummeting.” Hehehe…

Like, I would want this to take over the actual fic, but be more like a… supplemental reading sort of thing.

Sorry, all of my Tim feelings spill over into Janet feelings so… :/

Although… I may actually write this? In a drabble-y choppy way. For now, though, here’s the brainstorm.

I would love to see what you can come up with in my humble AU, sweetie. While I am not well versed in the Ted/Michael dinamics I do have a headcanon in which Janet and Lex were schoolmates (academic rivals in Lex’s opinion, forced acquaintances in Janet’s) and of couse she’s gonna tease Alex (”Please Janet, we’ve gone over this for decades, call me Lex!”) the moment she takes one look at Kon and sees that stuborn chin on him. 

As for her divorce request, canon-wise, she and Jack were having troubles by the time Haiti happened, a part of me wants to believe  that she took one look at her son’s face (bruised, scratched and so terribly sad) and decided it was not worth it following her asshole of a husband around the globe to salvage a marriage that forced her away from her child. 

She loves Tim, he is hers and he needs to come first for once at least in her book, if Jack wants to move away and find himself, fuck him, she is staying. 

Also, she is going to troll Bruce so hard when she notices her baby boy has captured the heart of Brucie’s little monster, Damian is an adorable little cookie that knows perfection when he sees it – of course Tim is perfect, he is her son – and she will encourage their interactions as much as she can if only to see Bruce squirm. 

OMG! I meant  “I would NOT want this to take over the actual fic, but be more like a… supplemental reading sort of thing.” (ugh seriously of all the freaking typos I could inflict, I’m so sorry. Without the not it sounds so arrogant, I didn’t mean to sound like some kind of idea thief)

But, hi! Hello! I’m a big fan of your fic–I’m such a sucker for Tim Drake and his many heartbreaking adventures, and you’re probably the reason why I ship DamiTim.

I just super love the idea that Janet knows about everyone’s superhero/villain secret identity shenanigans but never outrightly says it. Probably because she grew up with those dweebs and is just like–”Alex, surely all this melodrama would be solved if you just propositioned the alien. It’s starting to get embarrassing–and I knew you in the 80s.” or “Bruce, running around in spandex doesn’t make you the bigger man. Far from it, in fact.”

Thankfully, her son knows better. If he’s going to be a vigilante, he’s at least going to be one that is both practically and fashionably dressed.

I actually don’t know that much about the Blue Beetle/Booster Gold storyline, either, but I figure that there aren’t too many non-metahuman vigilantes that aren’t also Bat-sanctioned/funded. So it was either BB+BG, who are independent of Batman and also have the added benefit of annoying the bejeezus out of Bruce, or… well… one of the assassins/mercenaries like Shiva or Deathstroke. Which… I mean, that would be pretty interesting, too.

Janet could easily hire Deathstroke to teach her son–unless Slade Wilson is also someone that Janet has had past experience with and she leverages some kind of blackmail against him so he will train Tim. (And, obligatory Janet trashtalk: “Orange and black scales, Slade? Need I say more?”)

As for Shiva, well, now I’m not saying Janet possibly did her a favor on the wrong side of the law a few years ago, but I do think that if such a thing did happen then it would definitely make sense for Shiva to repay her by training Tim. Just saying.

((I guess there’s also Green Arrow, but I figure that in Janet’s eyes Oliver Queen is even less tolerable than Bruce Wayne)).

Also, hell yeah Janet is going to encourage DamiTim. She believes in multi-tasking and not only will that give Bruce an aneurysm, but it will also neatly tie up the whole Wayne Enterprises vs Drake Industries thing, and confuse Ra’s al Ghul (who she considers a mild but persistent pest in her international business dealings).

You are making me blush so hard, dearest. I’m so glad you like my work (and are shamelessly tempting me to drable). 

To be quite honest when I wrote Janet into the story without leting her die it was because I really wanted to see Tim surrounded by women and how different his vigilantism could evolve without Bruce’s sausage fest.

When he asked Kon and Bart for a year before becoming part  of them, I think he met Lady Shiva (as canon) and she trained him, he lives with Catwoman who usually teaches him what he needs to know, and now his mother who will be wheel-chair bound for a while will be his oracle (methinks). 

As for the heroes and villains, yes, Brucie, Ollie, Alex (Harvey) and Janet went to school together, I imagine she used to tease Alex and Bruce (and maybe even Harvey) by saying Ollie was better than them, and to her, he was, so uncomplicated, that man.. much easier to deal with. .. and you know what?

I think I wanna drable now.

I blame you for everything that comes out of this. :’D

OMG! I read this latest chapter and I absolutely loved it! Janet totally just owning the floor without having to move an inch. *sighs* I want to be her when I grow up

I am honored to accept that blame 😀

Mastermind (The Mother Knows Best Remix), brainstorm (2015-10-14)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

rahndom:

jacksgreysays:

This really won’t make sense if you don’t read @rahndom‘s Mastermind.

So the last chapter has the Young Justice swoop in to save both of the Drakes’ lives–though they are hospitalized–and there is a Janet-Tim mother-son bonding moment. Very sweet and everything. And I always want to know more about Janet Drake and figure that the woman who told her toddler that he can be anything so long as he put his mind to it, would be very supportive of her son as the vigilante named Mastermind.

So I was thinking some more about this universe and had some world-building/brainstorm-y thoughts about what I would like to read in a Janet POV continuation/remix of the fic.

The main one being–why does Janet, immediately upon waking up post-Haiti, decide to divorce Jack? And in answer to that I figured, well, what if most of the time, his parents were gone separately?

Like, Janet goes off somewhere for business and would assume that Jack would stay at home. And she’d say, oh, I’ll be back in three weeks. Then, two and a half weeks later Jack is like, Tim can stay at home by himself for three days, there’s a dig I would like to go to, I’ll be back in a month. Except then Janet calls and is like–I have to extend my stay for another six weeks–not knowing that Jack has already left for his own trip. Etc. etc. I mean, neglect is neglect, but at least this way it kind of explains Janet’s complete 180 in that last chapter.

Because it wasn’t really a complete 180. I figure it was probably something like… Jack was the one who wanted a kid and Janet didn’t really, but of course when she had Tim she loved him–but she still wasn’t ready to be a mother. As opposed to Jack who, even after Tim was born, still liked the idea of a son more than actually having a son. So hence Janet wanting to divorce Jack and stay in Gotham. Because the entire time she thought Jack was staying at home with Tim and finding out that he wasn’t–to the point that Tim became a teenaged vigilante with all his spare time–made her realize that she cannot stay married to this man who is a terrible husband and father.

And then everything else was just in line with what Tim can do and the idea that a lot of what makes Tim Mastermind is actually stuff he got from Janet. Including annoying the crap out of Bruce Wayne.

So of course she’s going to stick up for Catwoman as her son’s godmother. Retroactively claiming friendship with Selina Kyle–why of course, Bruce, Selina and I have been friends forever. It’s shameful that you’ve forgotten. It must be that dreadful alcoholism of yours, it’s practically pickled your brain.

But then she figures maybe it’s not enough. And while she adores Selina, well, Catwoman is a thief, and thieves don’t fight. They run. As Mastermind, Tim may not have the luxury to run, so he’ll need a little extra… something. Thankfully, the Obeah Man thing happens way before Infinite Crisis (which, is the thereabouts of when Blue Beetle dies) so that means that Ted Kord is still alive. That last chapter also mentions Jaime as part of the team even though he doesn’t become Blue Beetle until after Ted Kord dies but… uh… maybe his timeline is a little sped up (like Damian’s).

Anyway. Janet is all for plausible deniability, so she just has Drake Industries begin dealing with KORD Industries… and if that means that Ted Kord interacts with her son, well, if Tim can appoint himself a godmother surely she can choose a godfather. And if Blue Beetle happens to train Mastermind in the ways of non-metahuman vigilante skills/gadgets, well, that has nothing to do with their companies, does it? And it certainly is no business of Wayne Enterprises, butt out, Bruce.

As a bonus, since anywhere Ted Kord goes, Michael Carter goes, she basically gets two godfathers for the price of one. Which is especially great since it’s canon that Batman is ridiculously irritated by Booster Gold’s existence. It makes Booster helping to train Mastermind just absolutely hilarious to Janet (and me).

And I have some other thoughts–like… if Janet had gone to school with Lex as a teenager/child, well of course she’s going to recognize Kon, and similarly annoy the crap out of Lex. Mostly by sort of adopting Kon–because she’s been meaning to get Tim a bodyguard, it might as well be someone he likes. And then whenever she interacts with Lex she’s just so ruthless–“The darling boy is so lucky to favor his other parent’s genes, goodness knows your shoddy business practices are better off not being passed down to the next generation.” and “Oh, I’m sorry Lex, I can’t hear you over the sound of Lex Corp stock prices plummeting.” Hehehe…

Like, I would want this to take over the actual fic, but be more like a… supplemental reading sort of thing.

Sorry, all of my Tim feelings spill over into Janet feelings so… :/

Although… I may actually write this? In a drabble-y choppy way. For now, though, here’s the brainstorm.

I would love to see what you can come up with in my humble AU, sweetie. While I am not well versed in the Ted/Michael dinamics I do have a headcanon in which Janet and Lex were schoolmates (academic rivals in Lex’s opinion, forced acquaintances in Janet’s) and of couse she’s gonna tease Alex (”Please Janet, we’ve gone over this for decades, call me Lex!”) the moment she takes one look at Kon and sees that stuborn chin on him. 

As for her divorce request, canon-wise, she and Jack were having troubles by the time Haiti happened, a part of me wants to believe  that she took one look at her son’s face (bruised, scratched and so terribly sad) and decided it was not worth it following her asshole of a husband around the globe to salvage a marriage that forced her away from her child. 

She loves Tim, he is hers and he needs to come first for once at least in her book, if Jack wants to move away and find himself, fuck him, she is staying. 

Also, she is going to troll Bruce so hard when she notices her baby boy has captured the heart of Brucie’s little monster, Damian is an adorable little cookie that knows perfection when he sees it – of course Tim is perfect, he is her son – and she will encourage their interactions as much as she can if only to see Bruce squirm. 

OMG! I meant  “I would NOT want this to take over the actual fic, but be more like a… supplemental reading sort of thing.” (ugh seriously of all the freaking typos I could inflict, I’m so sorry. Without the not it sounds so arrogant, I didn’t mean to sound like some kind of idea thief)

But, hi! Hello! I’m a big fan of your fic–I’m such a sucker for Tim Drake and his many heartbreaking adventures, and you’re probably the reason why I ship DamiTim.

I just super love the idea that Janet knows about everyone’s superhero/villain secret identity shenanigans but never outrightly says it. Probably because she grew up with those dweebs and is just like–”Alex, surely all this melodrama would be solved if you just propositioned the alien. It’s starting to get embarrassing–and I knew you in the 80s.” or “Bruce, running around in spandex doesn’t make you the bigger man. Far from it, in fact.”

Thankfully, her son knows better. If he’s going to be a vigilante, he’s at least going to be one that is both practically and fashionably dressed.

I actually don’t know that much about the Blue Beetle/Booster Gold storyline, either, but I figure that there aren’t too many non-metahuman vigilantes that aren’t also Bat-sanctioned/funded. So it was either BB+BG, who are independent of Batman and also have the added benefit of annoying the bejeezus out of Bruce, or… well… one of the assassins/mercenaries like Shiva or Deathstroke. Which… I mean, that would be pretty interesting, too.

Janet could easily hire Deathstroke to teach her son–unless Slade Wilson is also someone that Janet has had past experience with and she leverages some kind of blackmail against him so he will train Tim. (And, obligatory Janet trashtalk: “Orange and black scales, Slade? Need I say more?”)

As for Shiva, well, now I’m not saying Janet possibly did her a favor on the wrong side of the law a few years ago, but I do think that if such a thing did happen then it would definitely make sense for Shiva to repay her by training Tim. Just saying.

((I guess there’s also Green Arrow, but I figure that in Janet’s eyes Oliver Queen is even less tolerable than Bruce Wayne)).

Also, hell yeah Janet is going to encourage DamiTim. She believes in multi-tasking and not only will that give Bruce an aneurysm, but it will also neatly tie up the whole Wayne Enterprises vs Drake Industries thing, and confuse Ra’s al Ghul (who she considers a mild but persistent pest in her international business dealings).

Mastermind (The Mother Knows Best Remix), brainstorm (2015-10-14)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

This really won’t make sense if you don’t read @rahndom‘s Mastermind.

So the last chapter has the Young Justice swoop in to save both of the Drakes’ lives–though they are hospitalized–and there is a Janet-Tim mother-son bonding moment. Very sweet and everything. And I always want to know more about Janet Drake and figure that the woman who told her toddler that he can be anything so long as he put his mind to it, would be very supportive of her son as the vigilante named Mastermind.

So I was thinking some more about this universe and had some world-building/brainstorm-y thoughts about what I would like to read in a Janet POV continuation/remix of the fic.

The main one being–why does Janet, immediately upon waking up post-Haiti, decide to divorce Jack? And in answer to that I figured, well, what if most of the time, his parents were gone separately?

Like, Janet goes off somewhere for business and would assume that Jack would stay at home. And she’d say, oh, I’ll be back in three weeks. Then, two and a half weeks later Jack is like, Tim can stay at home by himself for three days, there’s a dig I would like to go to, I’ll be back in a month. Except then Janet calls and is like–I have to extend my stay for another six weeks–not knowing that Jack has already left for his own trip. Etc. etc. I mean, neglect is neglect, but at least this way it kind of explains Janet’s complete 180 in that last chapter.

Because it wasn’t really a complete 180. I figure it was probably something like… Jack was the one who wanted a kid and Janet didn’t really, but of course when she had Tim she loved him–but she still wasn’t ready to be a mother. As opposed to Jack who, even after Tim was born, still liked the idea of a son more than actually having a son. So hence Janet wanting to divorce Jack and stay in Gotham. Because the entire time she thought Jack was staying at home with Tim and finding out that he wasn’t–to the point that Tim became a teenaged vigilante with all his spare time–made her realize that she cannot stay married to this man who is a terrible husband and father.

And then everything else was just in line with what Tim can do and the idea that a lot of what makes Tim Mastermind is actually stuff he got from Janet. Including annoying the crap out of Bruce Wayne.

So of course she’s going to stick up for Catwoman as her son’s godmother. Retroactively claiming friendship with Selina Kyle–why of course, Bruce, Selina and I have been friends forever. It’s shameful that you’ve forgotten. It must be that dreadful alcoholism of yours, it’s practically pickled your brain.

But then she figures maybe it’s not enough. And while she adores Selina, well, Catwoman is a thief, and thieves don’t fight. They run. As Mastermind, Tim may not have the luxury to run, so he’ll need a little extra… something. Thankfully, the Obeah Man thing happens way before Infinite Crisis (which, is the thereabouts of when Blue Beetle dies) so that means that Ted Kord is still alive. That last chapter also mentions Jaime as part of the team even though he doesn’t become Blue Beetle until after Ted Kord dies but… uh… maybe his timeline is a little sped up (like Damian’s).

Anyway. Janet is all for plausible deniability, so she just has Drake Industries begin dealing with KORD Industries… and if that means that Ted Kord interacts with her son, well, if Tim can appoint himself a godmother surely she can choose a godfather. And if Blue Beetle happens to train Mastermind in the ways of non-metahuman vigilante skills/gadgets, well, that has nothing to do with their companies, does it? And it certainly is no business of Wayne Enterprises, butt out, Bruce.

As a bonus, since anywhere Ted Kord goes, Michael Carter goes, she basically gets two godfathers for the price of one. Which is especially great since it’s canon that Batman is ridiculously irritated by Booster Gold’s existence. It makes Booster helping to train Mastermind just absolutely hilarious to Janet (and me).

And I have some other thoughts–like… if Janet had gone to school with Lex as a teenager/child, well of course she’s going to recognize Kon, and similarly annoy the crap out of Lex. Mostly by sort of adopting Kon–because she’s been meaning to get Tim a bodyguard, it might as well be someone he likes. And then whenever she interacts with Lex she’s just so ruthless–“The darling boy is so lucky to favor his other parent’s genes, goodness knows your shoddy business practices are better off not being passed down to the next generation.” and “Oh, I’m sorry Lex, I can’t hear you over the sound of Lex Corp stock prices plummeting.” Hehehe…

Like, I would not want this to take over the actual fic, but be more like a… supplemental reading sort of thing.

Sorry, all of my Tim feelings spill over into Janet feelings so… :/

Although… I may actually write this? In a drabble-y choppy way. For now, though, here’s the brainstorm.

Missed Post (2015-10-13)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Uh, I know this is pretty early to deem today a missed post kind of day but I am like DISASTROUSLY sick and I just took some NyQuil (well, off-brand equivalent) so I really think/hope I’ll fall asleep soon and just… sleep away the sickness.

I did do a rambling recording of a brainstorm/drabble earlier today, but I still need to transcribe it in order to post so I guess this is also a placeholder post until I get that up, too.

Hello there, I was reading your ideas for “The Predecessors” and I found some plot problems with it related with what “The Isle of the Lost” told us for example Jay, Carlos and Evie choose their respective animal sidekicks on Evie’s Birthday party

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

(2/3) In this case Jay choose his eels, Carlos choose a Lucifer’s kitten called Beelzebub and Evie choose a little parrot called Othello, also in Evie’s Birthday party, Maleficent cursed Grimihilde and Evie for not inviting Mal to the party
(3/3) And so Grimihilde and Evie were afraid of the Maleficent, and they didn’t go out of their castle for almost 10 years in which Evie was Castle-Schooled by her mother, but after ten years she dared to went out and go to Dragon Hall the island school

That’s true… a lot of my fic/brainstorms aren’t book compliant, mostly because I haven’t actually read the book and, well, I’m not sure how book compliant the Descendants movie actually is? Or, rather, it’s more like the movie ignores the book and whether or not they match up is a bit of a conundrum. Like, in the movie, Grimhilde and Maleficent (and the other parents) are so friendly with each other but in the book they’re… not. 

That being said, the animal sidekicks aren’t all that important to the plot of Predecessors (The Prequel). In fact, since the animal sidekicks aren’t inherited parent to child, that’s even better because now I/the author don’t have to adhere to the Uri-Ursula-eels-Jay link. Which means Uri is totally free to be a mentor to Evie.

But I guess the other plot problem, that is, Evie being isolated/Castle-schooled by her mother for ten years until she went to Dragon Hall, is the one that I/the author would have to accommodate.

From what I can glean off the Disney wiki, it doesn’t specify which birthday party this decade long “banishment” was decreed. But it definitely has to be either her sixth birthday or earlier. If the book is modeling the Dragon Hall school of an American high school (which are typically four years long, starting with freshman year/age 14) then that could give her almost two years worth of mentoring from Uri (if her “banishment” ended at age 14 and the movie starts when she’s age 16).

A lot can happen in two years. (And, since as far as I know, there is no canon Ursula kid, I/the author could make Uri’s backstory similar to that. Like, Ursula is the only one who lives along the shore and Uri teaches himself how to swim in order to get to the main town and hang out with his gang…)

But thanks for looking out! I know a lot of fanfiction is about picking and choosing what parts of canon you want to keep and which parts you want to alter, but I do like to incorporate canon in my fic as much as I can. It’s probably why I’m always a sucker for fusion/crossovers because it’s TWO sets of canon that I have to blend together. (Or more than two if you check out my brainstorm/outline for the “Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons”/“How To Train Your Brave Tangled Guardians/“The Big Four” crossover)

edit: i guess, instead of Uri only meeting Evie in the last two years pre-Descendants, if the castle in which she lives in is only accessible through creepy forest or by the shore then Uri could meet up with her sooner. Like, if the forest is monitored for some reason, but the ocean is not (because only he and his mother know how to swim?) then Uri could have been mentoring her for a lot longer than two years.

Fake Fic Summaries 8/?, the Descendants prequel edition (2015-10-11)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

A/N1: Heads up, this is super long, so if you want to skip my rambling reasoning behind this fake fic summary and go straight to the brainstorming part, just ignore the parts that aren’t bolded.

Predecessors (The Prequel)

Cruella, Grimhilde, Jafar, and Maleficent were not the only villains banished to the Isle. Carlos, Evie, Jay, and Mal are not the only kids.

Oh no… what have I done to myself.

So let me explain: My subconscious bugged me for a while after I sort of fancast Kristen Stewart as Jemma Hook. And I thought it would be settled when I found and appointed Alfie Enoch as Uri. But then I found Gina Rodriguez’s photoshoot and immediately thought Princess of Hearts.

So then I had three villain kids, who are all older than the Lost kids of Descendants, and my subconscious prodded at my conscious to make the set complete.

And I know Anthony Tremaine is the only named (and only male?) grandchild of Lady Tremaine who, like Cruella, was extremely frightening without having any magic whatsoever. I’m also pretty sure Anthony is older than Carlos, at least, and possibly the other three (since I’m also also pretty sure that the other three are older than Carlos).

Obviously he had to be my fourth.

So it was haunting me–find Anthony Tremaine, find Anthony Tremaine–and at first I considered Dylan O’brien because he’s got that cute upturned nose and also he’s so pretty. But most of his photoshoots don’t really jive with the Isle of the Lost feel. then I remembered that if Anthony is Anastasia’s son, he could be a red head.

Hence, Gustav Morstad as Anthony Tremaine (and, again, just imagine his clothes as a very dark purple, like aubergine, instead of black).

And, foolishly, I thought that would be it.

Except then my subconscious was like… you have to name them. Having been defeated by my subconscious already, I gave in. I named the four of them Predecessors–since they are all meant to be older than the four Lost kids in the movie. And, even more foolishly, I added The Prequel in parentheses because I’m a sucker both for alliteration and parenthetical titles.

The Prequel to what? I asked my subconscious, horrified and resigned.

The Prequel to Descendants, it responded.

… aaaand that leads us to here. Me trying to dispose of this pesky plot bunny via fake fic summaries before it completely takes over my life.

So here’s the actual fic brainstorming:

Descendants makes it very clear that evil is not a nature thing, but a matter of nurture. The Lost kids are good once they’re removed from the toxic environment of the Isle. But I wonder what it would have been like, had some of the villains kids been good in spite of their environment. And I’m not talking extreme charity work and kindness, but a sharp pragmatic kind of goodness. In A Tale of Two Kingdoms, I’ve touched upon the idea that in a new world order even villains will cooperate for survival.

Well, what if they don’t need giant monsters to be pushed that far. Already there exist “gangs,” it makes sense to be protective and generous and vulnerable and kind within your own gang. But what if the oldest of the next generation gangs took it upon themselves to help out the younger gangs? If Jemma, Uri, Cora/Querida, and Anthony are the first children born on the Isle, they would be the first to grow in this environment. They would be paving the way for future children, and I’d like to think that maybe they would want to give them the best possible chance.

Hence, Predecessors.

But, of course, each of them have their own particular favorite. And I want the match ups to be not what you would necessarily expect.

Like–instead of the pirate girl mentoring the boy thief, Jemma has a fondness for Carlos. And, well, it explains why his symbol are crossbones–I practically wrote an entire story about this.

And since Mal’s symbol is two dragons forming a heart, couldn’t that be a nod towards the Princess of Hearts’ dual-colored heart symbol? Which makes her comment in the movie, about not wanting to go to a school full of “prissy pink princesses” interesting. She doesn’t have a problem with princesses–even in canon, because Evie is a princess and everyone on the Isle acknowledges her as such. But if you put it in the context of Mal having been mentored by the Princess of Hearts, her disdain for the Auradon princesses are because they fall short of what she knows.

Anyway, that leaves the two boys, Uri and Anthony, for Evie and Jay. Symbols-wise, it’s a lot more of a stretch. Evie’s is a crown (with a crack in it?) and Jay’s is a cobra. In contrast, Uri as the son of Ursula either has octopus, eels, or a spiral shell. Whereas Anthony, as the eldest Tremaine, has… what are Lady Tremaine’s symbols even? She has emerald broach+ring, a cane, an evil fluffy cat… not particularly inspiring, this.

On the one hand, Jay’s book canon has him being the owner of the eels Lagan and Derelict–who are obviously a reference to Ursula’s Flotsam and Jetsam–and so an Uri – Jay mentorship would make sense. But I don’t really know how to proceed with that? And, also, that would mean Evie gets paired up with Anthony which… I don’t want. At all.

Because, after Princess of Hearts, you’d think Evie would be mentored by the Heir of the Noble House of Tremaine. And you’d think, if she were to have been taken under Anthony Tremaine’s wing, she would have some kind of defense against goddamned Chad Charming.

And, in a way, I like the idea of Anthony teaching Jay how to be beguiling (flirting with Audrey and Lonnie, anyone?) instead of just using physical means. And with Uri, well, I like the idea of he and Evie bonding over not being what they should have been born into? Like… he should have been a sea wizard, and she should have been a princess. And, also, potions bonding.

But the symbols then don’t really make sense, but then again, those aren’t a be all end all thing with me. It might just be that Carlos and Mal bonded more with their respective mentors. I dunno.

Aaanyway… as for actual plot… The Predecessors teach the Descendants some stuff, maybe plant the seeds of goodness in them. And you know what, maybe the Predecessors are training the Descendants to actually be their successors. Or to expand the gang. Because maybe they want to lead a revolution against the parents AND against Auradon, because they know that they shouldn’t be punished for their parents’ mistakes.

Probably they die. Some of them, at least. Or maybe they escape… I mean, one of them is a Hook from Neverland and the other is a princess from Wonderland. If anyone is going to figure out how to go to a different world it would be them. (Oh! What if, a little selfishly, the Predecessors were hanging out with the Descendants because they needed to learn some things about the other villains so they could escape. Like, using them for knowledge, but they were honestly planning on taking the younger gang with them…)

And then the Descendants movie happens. Maybe as canon, maybe a little tweaked. But… meh. That’s all I’ve got.

A/N2: Anyway. It’s ambiguous. And honestly? Not all that appealing to me. Hopefully it’s completely out of my system now.

… UNLESS… 

If the Predecessors did actually escape the Isle by going to either Neverland/Wonderland then, theoretically, the Descendants movie can still happen as in canon.

Then, when they come back to overthrow Auradon (to free the other children on the Isle) they find that their successors are in Auradon and friends with the king of Auradon.

And so, there could be a Successors (The Sequel) in which the two gangs essentially duke it out over the fate of Auradon and the Isle.

The people of Auradon are more going to side against the Predecessors, but that means they have to put their trust in the Descendants four.

Likewise, the people of the Isle of the Lost are more likely to side with the Predecessors, only because living on the Isle of the Lost sucks and it’s not fair that the Descendants four who got a miraculous chance to leave are fighting to maintain the status quo.

I dunno… some politics and this conflict between what the public good is and four kids having to fight against the first people in their lives to show them any kindness.

Ugh, damn it, I love alliteration and parenthetical titles too much.

Fake Fic Summaries 8/?, the Descendants prequel edition (2015-10-11)

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A/N1: Heads up, this is super long, so if you want to skip my rambling reasoning behind this fake fic summary and go straight to the brainstorming part, just ignore the parts that aren’t bolded.

Predecessors (The Prequel)

Cruella, Grimhilde, Jafar, and Maleficent were not the only villains banished to the Isle. Carlos, Evie, Jay, and Mal are not the only kids.

Oh no… what have I done to myself.

So let me explain: My subconscious bugged me for a while after I sort of fancast Kristen Stewart as Jemma Hook. And I thought it would be settled when I found and appointed Alfie Enoch as Uri. But then I found Gina Rodriguez’s photoshoot and immediately thought Princess of Hearts.

So then I had three villain kids, who are all older than the Lost kids of Descendants, and my subconscious prodded at my conscious to make the set complete.

And I know Anthony Tremaine is the only named (and only male?) grandchild of Lady Tremaine who, like Cruella, was extremely frightening without having any magic whatsoever. I’m also pretty sure Anthony is older than Carlos, at least, and possibly the other three (since I’m also also pretty sure that the other three are older than Carlos).

Obviously he had to be my fourth.

So it was haunting me–find Anthony Tremaine, find Anthony Tremaine–and at first I considered Dylan O’brien because he’s got that cute upturned nose and also he’s so pretty. But most of his photoshoots don’t really jive with the Isle of the Lost feel. then I remembered that if Anthony is Anastasia’s son, he could be a red head.

Hence, Gustav Morstad as Anthony Tremaine (and, again, just imagine his clothes as a very dark purple, like aubergine, instead of black).

And, foolishly, I thought that would be it.

Except then my subconscious was like… you have to name them. Having been defeated by my subconscious already, I gave in. I named the four of them Predecessors–since they are all meant to be older than the four Lost kids in the movie. And, even more foolishly, I added The Prequel in parentheses because I’m a sucker both for alliteration and parenthetical titles.

The Prequel to what? I asked my subconscious, horrified and resigned.

The Prequel to Descendants, it responded.

… aaaand that leads us to here. Me trying to dispose of this pesky plot bunny via fake fic summaries before it completely takes over my life.

So here’s the actual fic brainstorming:

Descendants makes it very clear that evil is not a nature thing, but a matter of nurture. The Lost kids are good once they’re removed from the toxic environment of the Isle. But I wonder what it would have been like, had some of the villains kids been good in spite of their environment. And I’m not talking extreme charity work and kindness, but a sharp pragmatic kind of goodness. In A Tale of Two Kingdoms, I’ve touched upon the idea that in a new world order even villains will cooperate for survival.

Well, what if they don’t need giant monsters to be pushed that far. Already there exist “gangs,” it makes sense to be protective and generous and vulnerable and kind within your own gang. But what if the oldest of the next generation gangs took it upon themselves to help out the younger gangs? If Jemma, Uri, Cora/Querida, and Anthony are the first children born on the Isle, they would be the first to grow in this environment. They would be paving the way for future children, and I’d like to think that maybe they would want to give them the best possible chance.

Hence, Predecessors.

But, of course, each of them have their own particular favorite. And I want the match ups to be not what you would necessarily expect.

Like–instead of the pirate girl mentoring the boy thief, Jemma has a fondness for Carlos. And, well, it explains why his symbol are crossbones–I practically wrote an entire story about this.

And since Mal’s symbol is two dragons forming a heart, couldn’t that be a nod towards the Princess of Hearts’ dual-colored heart symbol? Which makes her comment in the movie, about not wanting to go to a school full of “prissy pink princesses” interesting. She doesn’t have a problem with princesses–even in canon, because Evie is a princess and everyone on the Isle acknowledges her as such. But if you put it in the context of Mal having been mentored by the Princess of Hearts, her disdain for the Auradon princesses are because they fall short of what she knows.

Anyway, that leaves the two boys, Uri and Anthony, for Evie and Jay. Symbols-wise, it’s a lot more of a stretch. Evie’s is a crown (with a crack in it?) and Jay’s is a cobra. In contrast, Uri as the son of Ursula either has octopus, eels, or a spiral shell. Whereas Anthony, as the eldest Tremaine, has… what are Lady Tremaine’s symbols even? She has emerald broach+ring, a cane, an evil fluffy cat… not particularly inspiring, this.

On the one hand, Jay’s book canon has him being the owner of the eels Lagan and Derelict–who are obviously a reference to Ursula’s Flotsam and Jetsam–and so an Uri – Jay mentorship would make sense. But I don’t really know how to proceed with that? And, also, that would mean Evie gets paired up with Anthony which… I don’t want. At all.

Because, after Princess of Hearts, you’d think Evie would be mentored by the Heir of the Noble House of Tremaine. And you’d think, if she were to have been taken under Anthony Tremaine’s wing, she would have some kind of defense against goddamned Chad Charming.

And, in a way, I like the idea of Anthony teaching Jay how to be beguiling (flirting with Audrey and Lonnie, anyone?) instead of just using physical means. And with Uri, well, I like the idea of he and Evie bonding over not being what they should have been born into? Like… he should have been a sea wizard, and she should have been a princess. And, also, potions bonding.

But the symbols then don’t really make sense, but then again, those aren’t a be all end all thing with me. It might just be that Carlos and Mal bonded more with their respective mentors. I dunno.

Aaanyway… as for actual plot… The Predecessors teach the Descendants some stuff, maybe plant the seeds of goodness in them. And you know what, maybe the Predecessors are training the Descendants to actually be their successors. Or to expand the gang. Because maybe they want to lead a revolution against the parents AND against Auradon, because they know that they shouldn’t be punished for their parents’ mistakes.

Probably they die. Some of them, at least. Or maybe they escape… I mean, one of them is a Hook from Neverland and the other is a princess from Wonderland. If anyone is going to figure out how to go to a different world it would be them. (Oh! What if, a little selfishly, the Predecessors were hanging out with the Descendants because they needed to learn some things about the other villains so they could escape. Like, using them for knowledge, but they were honestly planning on taking the younger gang with them…)

And then the Descendants movie happens. Maybe as canon, maybe a little tweaked. But… meh. That’s all I’ve got.

A/N2: Anyway. It’s ambiguous. And honestly? Not all that appealing to me. Hopefully it’s completely out of my system now.

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Gustav Morstad as Anthony Tremaine (grandson of Lady Tremaine and son of Anastasia Tremaine… hence the red hair. Also, imagine his clothes as a very dark purple instead of black)

[okay, this is kind of random, but it’s been bugging me. So here is Anthony Tremaine to round out that accidental older set of four Lost kids that I’ve apparently been constructing in my head. For the other three:

Kristen Stewart as Jemma Hook (daughter of James Hook)

Alfie Enoch as Uri (son of Ursula)

Gina Rodriguez as Cora (or Querida? for the Q, or is the similar k-sound enough?) / Princess of Hearts (daughter of the Queen of Hearts)

To be honest, I don’t actually properly fancast them so much as I fancast their outfits/looks. Though I suppose since three out of the four are actors it would work? I dunno…

… for now I guess I’ll tag them all with “predecessors (the prequel)”]

Fake Fic Summaries 7/?, the Check, Please! edition (2015-10-10)

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A/N1: @omgcheckplease and it’s fandom are so freaking cute and I just can’t, ugh.

So here are three plot bunnies which I would kind of like to see, but don’t have a fully formed idea nor the ability to do them justice. If anyone would like to adopt them, go for it (and I would totally love to beta/brainstorm with you).

~

1) Untitled “High Fantasy”* AU

In which the son of the Elf King has slain trolls and dragons, but fumbles in the face of a tiny creature known only as a hobbit.

Basically, the Canadians are elves, and the further south you go the shorter the races get. Therefore, Jack and Ransom are Elves; Holster, Shitty, and Nursey are Human; Lardo and Dex are dwarves; and Bitty is a hobbit. I’m unsure whether or not Chowder should be a dwarf or human…

Um, but, basically… I had some very strong Bagginshield feelings even before reading CP and it certainly didn’t get any weaker after. But since one of my guilty pleasures about Jack and Bitty’s relationship is their ludicrous height difference, I figured Jack ought to be an elf instead of a dwarf.

Also, since Jack was canonically an ugly baby/chubby kid/awkward teenager, it’s super hilarious if he’s an elf who are usually characterized by their ethereal beauty.

I don’t really have a plot in mind, though, just the idea of throwing the Haus (+Frogs) into the “high fantasy” setting and letting hilarious cultural misunderstandings get in the way of an elf/hobbit relationship. I love cultural misunderstandings as a romantic comedy trope.

*[“High Fantasy” is pretty much Lord of the Rings without specifically being Tolkien’s world–for example, an entirely, unrelated world with magic and such and a separate set of universal rules. Uh, in contrast there is “low fantasy” which would be Harry Potter–in that there is magic set in the ‘real’ world; so there are extra rules but those are on top of what already exist. Arguably a high fantasy world could be completely underwater and instead of light/visual cues people use telepathy and sonar. Whereas, if there happened to be a story in which a “normal” person met a mermaid who lives at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and uses telepathy and sonar, that would be low fantasy.]

—

2) In Which Bitty Is A Ghost

Or, rather, in which Bitty cannot be heard or seen by anyone alive, nor can he touch anything. How is he supposed to bake during this time of crisis?

Featuring: a disturbing lack of hockey or pies, Jenny and Mandy the sorority Haus ghosts, and Jack Zimmermann’s butt being better at emoting than him.

Never fear, Bitty is not actually dead. He’s just in a coma. And his consciousness is for some reason stuck in the Haus (or wherever Jack is, but Bitty doesn’t want to distract him from his first year in the NHL… even if Jack is the only one to sort of perceive him).

Uh, I just had some world-building details in mind… like, the reason why Jenny and Mandy hang around Ransom so much (besides him being very good looking) is because he kind of gives off an aura which strengthens them. Enough to write in a steamy mirror, anyway.

And the two of them are very helpful with teaching Bitty how to be a ghost. Not so much how to get him to stop being a ghost.

Now, I’m not saying true love’s kiss is the answer, but I don’t know what else it might be.

—

3) Untitled… I don’t even know… Celebrity!CanonDivergence!AU

I have no summary or title for this particular fake fic, just a brainstorm. So here:

It’s a canon divergence AU in which Jack doesn’t step up his wooing of Bitty, because he doesn’t think he can handle the pressure of being the first out NHL player.

So, probably, a few years pass. Bitty also graduates with a major in American Studies / Food Anthropology / something that allows him to essentially do his vlogs professionally.

Now, whether that means he becomes one of those youtube famous vloggers that live off subscriptions and views, or if Food Network Channel picks him up as the next Food Network Star (or if one leads to the other…) would be up to whoever writes this. But, basically, Bitty becomes famous in his own right in the specific niche of vlog/baking. Just like how the Zimmermann name is also famous in the specific niche of hockey.

Aaaand I guess there’s some kind of convention–maybe VidCon maybe the New York City Wine & Food Festival–in which Eric R Bittle, star of Bitty’s Bites, is holding a panel where he bakes and answers questions. One question is “Have you met any other celebrities?” And… well… sure there are the other Food Network stars (he and Duff Goldman have the strangest friendship/rivalry. Shhh, this is an AU in which Ace of Cakes wasn’t cancelled, don’t harsh my vibe) but those are people he works with and he’s pretty humble so he doesn’t consider himself a celebrity. But you know what, he was once teammates/housemates/friends with Jack Zimmermann, NHL star… so Bitty talks about that.

By which I mean, rhapsodizes about his Samwell years the rest of his panel time and no one really has the heart to stop him because he was so obviously enamored by this… hockey guy… that it’s absolutely fascinating to listen to.

And, well, Bitty is openly gay. So when, at the end, he punctuates that he used to have such a huge crush on Jack, well, his fans go wild. And there’s not much overlap between Bitty’s fans and hockey fans, but there is a little. Just enough that people begin speculating about Jack to the point that, eventually, when Jack is doing a post-game interview, expecting some of the normal questions, out of the blue someone asks about Eric Bittle. Jack hasn’t thought about Bitty in YEARS. So he just kind of… contacts Bitty and is like… wanna get coffee sometime?

They slowly fall back in love. While also being very famous people in very different spheres. And Bitty learns that he is allowed to be selfish sometimes. And Jack musters up the courage to come out (because it’s been a few years, his place on the team is secure, he doesn’t want hockey to be the only thing in his life).

Happy Ending, etc. etc. Bitty goes to Jack’s games, Jack probably makes cameos in Bitty’s Bites–mostly just standing around on screen like a giant and chirping at his boyfriend. Super cute stuff. etc. etc.

Untitled Check, Please! drabble (2015-10-09)

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Here’s the thing about Kent Parson: he’s always been a city boy. The only difference between then and now is that back then, he was a poor city boy. Now he’s as rich as they come.

—

Growing up, it wasn’t easy–sharing a one bedroom apartment with his mama. The walls and pipes and wiring just a half step up from decrepit, furniture and clothes and everything second-hand. Mama coming home for half an hour between jobs before rushing off to the next one. Sometimes having to choose between food and heat and–but he wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

Maybe asked for a little more, but he was loved and they were happy, and it was enough.

—

Then there was hockey.

—

His troubles didn’t disappear whenever he was on the ice, but they became distant. More manageable. No one cared if he was the kid who came to school without a backpack, without food or money for lunch, dressed in old boots slightly too big and clothes with fabric worn thin.

None of that mattered.

During a game it was only a matter of playing his best. And his best? Was a hell of a lot better than everyone else’s.

Suddenly there was something that he could do–that he was good at–and people would give him things so long as he just kept playing.

—

Then along came Jack Zimmermann.

—

When the media talks about his “story,” that narrative that they’ve created to make things more interesting to non-hockey fans (why would they even care?), they talk about him like he’s not even a real person. Like he’s just some place holder in a fairy tale.

A bright shining star. Hockey’s golden boy. America personified. King of Aces.

The particularly cynical ones call him a thief, stealing Jack Zimmermann’s glory out from under him. Or a greedy traitor. Or, for the ones really into conspiracy theories, a saboteur–responsible for Jack’s downfall.

Truth be told, he can handle all that. The bad and the relatively good.

No one ever calls him Cinderella story.

He’s not sure how he’d react if they did.

—

Hard work doesn’t mean shit if you don’t have a fuck ton of talent and luck to back you up.

He knows this, it’s his entire fucking life.

But sometimes, if you don’t have either, faking it can get you part of the way there.

~

A/N: Ugh, Kent Parson, you beautiful, disastrous asshole. You fucking all American, glorious trash can, I love you.

I dunno, this is actually some of my more articulate feelings since the rest of it is just incoherent shrieking.

I have no idea if any of this contradicts with canon? But, like, what even is canon for him?

Gotta confess, I was trying to find a way to stick Kit Purrson in there somehow.