HELP WHILE Ao3 IS DOWN SOME PEOPLE ARE POSTING FICS IN THE DOWNDETECTOR COMMENTS 😭😭😭

i can explain why zutara DOES NOT work because of maths. all anyone ever talks about is how they have so many parallels. fire/water, banished/respected, painted lady/blue spirit etc. "nono that only makes them a better couple" guys parallel lines never meet. they dont intersect. AKA THEY ARENT TOGETHER. AND LIKE IF WE WERE TO COMPARE ZUTATA TO ZUKKA YOU CAN SEE ZUKKAS BETTER

older brothers, prodigy sisters - similarities

fire/water, bender/non bender - differences

its a healthy balance smh

doing a couple of these cause im bored :) idk if anyones gonna see this but pls provide a trope that you really really love OR hate with your whole heart. i'll try reply to all but preferable cherik jily scorbus and zukka :)

Balance

yall i miss jily😭😭😭 not like its gone but like the marauders used to be so happy sunshine gryffindor vibes. but also i feel like we collectively all forget how much james potter HATED slytherin. idk i also think that yes death eaters were humans BUT they also killed so many people like are we forgetting that barty crouch jr literally tortured alice and frank longbottom he is at fault for neville growing up without his parents😭 i genuinely think that people forget that evan, barty etc. actually killed people and killed people who were probably friends with the marauders. ik that everyone deserves a second chance but seriously???? do you actually think that the rosiers were good people and didn't hate and discriminate against muggleborns??? NOT EVERYONE HAS A TRAGIC BACKSTORY IDK SOME OF THEM ARE JUST EVIL. the way everyone defends evan rosier (love his character but i have beef with the way he gets away with being a death eater later on) but snape, who i absolutely detest, hate and think should have died earlier, who also actually did something that was not evil in his lifetime, is the most hated marauders character like????? and the black sisters???? yes love a complex female character but are we seriously trying to redeem bellatrix? do we not remember WHAT SHE SCARED ON HERMIONE LIKE WHAT. and love the newer marauders fandom but everyones so emo and depressed this is supposed to be FUN. also the characters feel so ooc. everytime i see casanova remus lupin im like 'huh thats supposed to be sirius and james???' love remus but my boy aint rizzing anyone up hes a shy af introvert. and jegulus is so cute but remember that james is #no.1slytherinhater and he was absolutely smitten with lily evans FROM THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. REMEMBER WHEN JILY WAS THE BACKBONE OF THE MARAUDERS? like they ate fr. this became a whole ass paragraph damn i did not know i had so much to say about this. i can lowkey already sniff the comments or thoughts saying 'oh let us have our fun its just a story' im not stopping you this is just my opinion. 'oh none of this is actually proven' please give me a break😭🙏 like most of the source material goes against the fandoms perception of the marauders. 'fuck jkr we'll do what we want' youve basically just made 10 million ocs and give them names of characters like im eating up all the marauders content but genuinely can we go back to the happier times??

jily variants cause theyre all i think about right now:

PERCABETHHHHH - they are so jily and i love them sm

peraltiago - EXTREMELY jily coded

hiccstrid - theyre just missing astrid being an academic gal and hiccup being a bit sillier

ronmione - they are the friends to lovers part of jilys enemies to friends to lovers

flynn and rapunzel - flynn is SOOOOOO james potter core

alvin and brittany - tbh jeanette is more lily BUT LIKE THE DYNAMIC

laurie and amy - more like a combo of laurie and amy and laurie and jo tbh but it kinda still works

marinette and adrien - SPECIFICALLY marinette and chat noir cause the other dynamics are a bit different

Cherik Fic

I've been looking through my old Cherik fic and found this in my drafts. It's complete enough to share, but not really worth posting on AO3. Set-during X-Men Apocalypse, a what-if Nina lived, but Magda didn't. What would Erik's next move be?

---

Charles senses Erik as soon as he turns onto the drive up to the school, and freezes, dropping the chalk he’s been writing on the board with.

“Professor?” one of the students asks.

“Um,” Charles says, trying to get over his shock. “Class dismissed. We’ll pick this up tomorrow.”

The children don’t argue, rushing out of the room as quickly as they can gather their things together. Charles weaves through them and makes his way towards the foyer. He gets outside just as the car Erik’s driving pulls to a stop in front of the fountain. (It’s old, with rusted wheel wells, a dented back door, and half of the front bumper missing. It’s the sort of car Erik had always turned his nose up at, during that road trip so many years ago, saying it was a crime to let a perfectly good car get to that state. Might as well melt it down for scrap at that point.)

Erik climbs out of the driver’s side and crosses his arms against the top of the car, looking over at Charles. “Hello Charles” he calls out.

“Hello, old friend.” It takes Charles a minute to tear his gaze away from Erik—he looks good, a bit scruffy and with a beard coming in, but then Erik always looks good. He’d come out of ten years trapped in an underground prison and he’d still looked good. There’s another person in the car, a child, and Charles doesn’t do more than brush against her mind. She’s tired and a bit scared, but awed at the size of the house.

Erik swings his car door shut and comes around to open the passenger door, saying something to the girl that Charles can’t hear. He takes her hand and leads her up the steps until they’re standing in front of Charles.

“Charles,” Erik says, “I’d like you to meet my daughter, Nina.”

Charles can’t help but stare. Of all the ways he’d ever thought about Erik coming here—and he’d thought of it frequently, at first, and less so as the years had gone on—he’d never considered this scenario. He swallows, and says, “Hello Nina.” He smiles at her, trying to look friendly and welcoming and not as surprised as he is. She looks to be about eight or nine, and doesn’t resemble Erik much at all. Perhaps she takes after whoever her mother is.

“Hello,” Nina says, voice quiet.

Erik lets go of her hand in favor of resting his hands on her shoulders. Nina leans back against him. “I told her you were a professor,” he says. “And that we’re old friends.”

Charles looks at Erik for a long moment before turning back down to Nina. “Your father and I have known each other for a long time now,” he says. “And this is a school.” He glances up at Erik again, but he’s as unreadable as ever. Charles doesn’t quite dare to try and read him with his telepathy. “Would you like to see it?” he asks. The question is aimed at Nina, but he feels like he’s really asking Erik.

He’s not sure why Erik has brought her here. And if he’s learned anything, it’s that being unsure of Erik’s motivations and plans never ends well for anyone involved.

It takes a moment, but Nina finally nods. “Papa said it’s for mutants.” Her English is heavily accented, something European. It’s different from Erik’s accent, but Charles can’t place it immediately.

“Show him what you can do,” Erik tells her, squeezing her shoulders encouragingly.

Nina points to the bushes along the edge of the porch. “There’s a rabbit over there.”

Charles turns to look, but of course the animal is hiding. “You can sense animals?”

“I talk to them,” Nina says. “She’s looking for food to take back to her burrow for her babies.”

Charles turns back to her. “Really? That’s extraordinary.” He’s never encountered a mutant who could speak with animals before. They’re immune to Charles’ own powers. He grins at her. “It’s totally rad.”

Nina looks confused by the slang, but smiles at the praise.

“Come along,” Charles says, turning his chair around and nodding towards Erik in thanks when he waves a hand at the door to swing it open. “I’ll show you around. We have lots of students your age, and I think you’ll enjoy the back lawn and the lake especially. We get lots of furry critters out there.”

Nina and Erik follow him inside as Charles keeps playing tour guide. He tries to treat it just like he would any parent who’d brought their child to visit, but the curiosity about what brought Erik here, now, won’t leave him alone.

- - -

Charles doesn't find out why Erik’s here until that evening. Erik’s been upstairs putting Nina to bed in the room Charles had found for them, and Charles isn't surprised in the slightest when he wanders downstairs to Charles’ study.

“This looks different,” Erik says, surveying the room. Charles has replaced the desk with one that's more comfortable to sit at in his wheelchair, and there’s more space between all the pieces of furniture, less clutter.

The chess set is still there though, and Erik gravitates towards it.

“Did you want to play?” Charles asks, stacking the papers he's been grading into a neat pile to deal with in the morning.

Erik’s answer is to sit down in front of the chess set and spin it around, offering Charles white.

Charles pours them both a brandy before joining him. Erik closes his eyes as he takes a sip, and Charles can't help but watch his throat work as he swallows. “You always did have the best alcohol,” Erik says.

“There are some things that one shouldn't skimp on,” Charles tells him.

Erik tilts his head a bit in acknowledgment, but doesn't quite smile. “Your turn,” he says.

Charles moves a pawn without really thinking about it. It's going to come back to bite him in the ass, but this game isn't really about winning or losing. Chess has always been more of a conduit for them, an excuse to spend time together, deep in conversation.

Erik’s quiet this time though, concentrating on the game, and Charles isn't sure what to say so he waits as patiently as he can. He finishes his drink before Erik has even drunk half of his.

Erik moves his rook, capturing one of Charles’ pawns, and says, “My wife died.”

Charles, who was about to take a sip of his second glass of brandy, nearly drops his glass in surprise. A wife… He should say something comforting, he thinks, but what comes out of his mouth is, “You had a wife?”

Erik nods, not looking up from the board. His mouth is set in a straight line, the non-expression he always uses when he’s trying not to acknowledge how much something is affecting him.

“I…” Charles starts, then closes his mouth, unsure how to proceed. “What happened?” he asks.

“Some coworkers saw me use my powers and figured out who I was.” Erik leans forward over the board for a moment, as though studying it closely, then sits back and looks up at Charles. “They shot her. With a wooden arrow, so I couldn't stop it.” His expression doesn't change, but his eyes do, welling up a bit before he blinks rapidly and looks away, raising his glass to take a long sip.

Charles feels like every response he thinks of is inadequate. What can he possibly say that won't sound like an empty platitude?

“I'm so sorry, my friend,” he finally says. He can't think of anything to add to it. He is sorry. Erik’s been through so much already, and it seems impossible to Charles that the universe could let anything else happen to him.

Erik meets his eyes again. “I killed the men who did it.” Charles doesn't say anything, so Erik adds, “I won't apologize for that.”

“I wouldn't ask you to,” Charles says. He glances back at the board, but can't summon up the desire to figure out his next move.

Erik takes a deep breath and blows it back out, not quite a sigh. “I need— Nina needs someplace she’ll be safe. If anything happens to me…”

“She’ll always be safe here,” Charles promises. “That's what this school is here for.”

“And when they come for your school?”

Charles doesn't ask who they are. “I won't let anything happen to the students here.” He catches Erik’s gaze again and says, “I can promise you that.”

Erik raises an eyebrow. “You can't promise anything, Charles,” he says. He raises his glass again, gulping down the rest of his drink and not quite slamming the glass down onto the table before he stands up. He leans forward, moving his queen. “Checkmate in three moves.”

Charles looks back at the board, startled, then back up as Erik steps away.

“I'm going to bed,” Erik says.

There's a long pause before Charles says, “Goodnight.”

Erik nods but doesn't turn back, leaving Charles alone in his study once again. Charles looks back at the chess board. Sure enough, Erik had led him into a trap. He raises his glass and takes a long drink.

REMEMBER HOW CUTE NINA WAS?! HOW DARE THEY KILL HER OFF!

talking to guys vs girls is so different like for example -

me: i love taylor swift

girl: omg me too

me: omg really???? whats your fav song????

*instant friends*

VS

me: i love taylor swift

guy: ew youre a basic white girl

me: wtf im not even white

guy: idc she sucks and is stupid

*instant block*

this was based on two very real conversations i had in the past two weeks anywyas

This..... *chef's kiss*

credits to the artist of this masterpiece : @ansdrela

atla/tlok characters that i think did *it* (but i just can’t prove it)

this is the most unserious post i’ve ever made. (AND I WANT TO PREFACE BY SAYING BY *IT* I MEAN KISSING)

Sozin and Roku

and history will say that they were just great friends…

this is the only one where ill legitimately die on this hill

like i’m 90% sure roku just showed Aang their friendship in the flashbacks to prevent awkwardly explaining to a 12 year old monk that he was romantically and/or physically involved with the person who committed a g*nocide against his people

LIKE CMON WHY IN THE WORLD WAS SOZIN SO PRESSED IN THE BACKGROUND OF ROKU’S WEDDING ??? AND FOR NO REASON?? WHY WAS THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO INTENSE?

sozin i feel loved roku (to an obsessive level) and roku literally dgaf. king shit

Wan and Raava

genuinely what the fuck was going on between these two. like i don’t even have any words

canonically at the very least it was a domestic partnership

S2 korra doesn’t make sense at the best of times. imagine trying to explain the intensity of this pair’s devotion to each other, to someone who hasn’t seen the show- all the while knowing raava is a disembodied spirit practically older than time

she’s the embodiment of everything good and light in the universe and he’s just wan. (and he’s wanough <3)

‘do you think we’re soulmates in every life?’

‘bet’

‘wait that’s not what i-‘

Cabbage Merchant and his cabbages (or at least a cabbage)

yeah i’m not touching this one with a 10 foot pole

Every member of the red lotus squad

ah yes it’s my favourite evil polycule

amidst plans to kidnap children and topple monarchies what else is there to do except… kiss.

let’s be real there’s something so inherently romantic about being apart of an elite, vaguely murderous anarchist squad

they all share one exact bed. it’s canon

(p’li somehow big spoons all of them)

The S2 Nomads

these dudes are the textbook definition of anti-monogamy

like they’re obsessed with love so i fully believe that they think ‘it should be spread amongst others’ or some shit

oh to be a travelling communist nomad in a band, wandering the wilds with my wife, and our several partners

they’re somehow the opposite of the red lotus and yet the same. they all share a single bed/sleep area

The dangerous ladies (but all separately)

i don’t ship any of these particularly and yet can still admit that it’s canon

ty-lee and azula have kissed bc azula probably made up a dumb excuse like ‘oh i don’t want my first kiss with a guy to be… erm… bad’

mai and ty-lee have kissed because they both probably have genuine, vaguely deep rooted romantic feelings for each other

mai and azula have kissed to purely spite zuko (and yknow what ty-lee too)

HOWEVER A KEY ASPECT TO THIS DYNAMIC: azula is completely unaware about the ty-lee and mai thing. it’s uh… better off that way.

Hakoda and Bato

i ship this about 50% but like… it’s got to have happened once right? considering all that down time they spent together on a boat away from the repercussions of water tribe society…

also considering they were leaders i doubt the other warriors were in a position to ever call them out on it

like cmoooooooon what’s a little kiss between the homies every now and again?

hakoda is where sokka gets his rizz/flagrant bisexuality from and i can’t change that guys