The Jem fanfic Ultimate Misfits
is a reinterpretation of the Misfits and the series as a whole.
The story starts with the recently orphaned toddler Phyllis Gabor being taken in by Emmett Benton. Emmett was a family friend of Phyllis' parents and was her father Harvey's best friend from a young age. As adults, Phyllis, her sisters, and their foster sisters start a band together, however Phylis finds herself unwilling to sing the bubblegum-pop music. This is the start of Phyllis - now going by the Stage Name "Pizzazz" - splitting up into her own band.
The fanfic began in 2002 and has been updated occasionally since then. It's still being updated as of 2018.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: As a result of her different upbringing, Pizzaz is a lot less spoiled and angry then in canon.
- Alternate Universe Fic: The backstory, characterizations, and much of everything else is tweaked. For starters, Harvey and Emmett were best friends and Pizzazz's parents died when she was two, leaving her to be raised by Emmett.
- Childhood Friends: Stormer grew up as Kimber's best friend. She's known Jerrica, Aja, Shana, and Pizzazz since childhood.
- Happily Adopted:
- Pizzazz was adopted by her dad's friend Emmett at age two after her parents died. She's fine with being adopted, but she's dealt with some bullying due to it.
- Aja and Shana were both taken in by Emmett as children.
- Death by Adaptation:
- When Pizzazz was two, both of her parents died in the same plane crash that killed Jerrica's mother.
- It's implied that Aja's biological parents are dead. In canon, it's never mentioned whether she's an orphan or not.
- Modern AU Fic: The story is set in the 2000s instead of the 1980s.
- Named by the Adaptation:
- Pizzazz's mother is named Evelyn.
- Techrat is named Terry Peters.
- Parental Abandonment:
- Jerrica and Kimber's mother Jacqui died in a plane crash when Jerrica was a toddler and Kimber was a newborn. Their father died of illness when they were nearing adulthood.
- Pizzazz's biological parents died in a plane crash when she was two. Her adopted father died of illness when she was older.
- It's implied that Aja is orphaned.
- Parental Title Characterization: Pizzazz called her adopted father "Daddy" when she was young but later switched to a more mature "Dad". She calls her biological father her "father" because she was only two when he died.
- Related in the Adaptation: Pizzazz was adopted by Emmett Benton, who was best friends with her father David, as a toddler.
