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WiP Weds: Whether It Be Dream or Truth ~ Persona 5 ~ New Game+ ~ Joker/Akechi

It's just nice to have something to share, I guess, lol

(Also, I'm following folks on bluesky who are good about posting for wip weds, and having today off meant more brain power for actually picking something out to post...)

"So," Akechi said, once he'd stopped laughing, "Kaneshiro fits right in with the rest of his allies. He's unlikely to become a threat to any of you, especially so long as Niijima keeps her nose out, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have victims. And your sense of justice won't let you ignore him." Ren considered that for a moment, then nodded and asked, "And your sense of justice?" Akechi's expression contorted into a grimace. "I think you know I don't give a damn about Shujin's students," he said. Ren sighed and nodded, because he had resigned himself to Akechi's antipathy towards the majority of humanity in January, when he'd made it crystal clear that the only reason he cared about Maruki, was that he refused to be controlled again. "I know. But taking him out will ruin Shido's day." That won him a smile, wide, with far more teeth than would be deemed polite by society. "Yes," he agreed in a pleasant tone, "it very much would." He tapped his fingers against his mouth twice, then caught Ren's gaze, something dangerous in his own eyes. "Would you mind terribly if I took care of this one?" Ren hesitated and, as Akechi's mouth thinned, held up a staying hand. "I don't care what you do to him," he said. "I just..." He sighed and drooped back against the wall, tugging on a lock of his hair, vaguely surprised to not feel his glasses against his hand. "I don't like you going into the metaverse alone. I told you." Akechi scoffed. "You are entirely too concerned about my wellbeing." "One of us should be!" Ren snapped. Akechi just stared at him, blank-faced, until Ren sighed and dropped back against the wall again. Then he said, "Your concern is noted. Tell me about his palace."

May or may not drop back in for another Sunday Six with this one. We'll see.

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FICLET: You Better Take Cover ~ MCU ~ Gen

Title: You Better Take Cover Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Warnings: animal transformation, cat!Loki Summary: Loki sneaks into the Avengers Manor to cause some minor chaos (& maybe get some help).

“Hi, Loki,” Tony said, carefully tugging his plate out of claw-range so he could fix his sandwich. “How have you been?” Tony had never before thought a meow could instil terror, but, then, Loki had always had a way with words. Tony cleared his throat, then said, “Jarv, see if someone can bring something for our guest? Maybe some of the ham cubes Bruce and Steve buy in an attempt to make the rest of us eat more salads.” “Captain Rogers is on the way with the requested food, sir,” JARVIS reported after a long moment, which Tony and Loki had spent just staring at each other.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: There's No Night That Doesn't End ~ Star Wars: Prequels ~ Teen

Title: There's No Night That Doesn't End Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: Jedi Apprentice series, post-Melida/Daan, implication of child abuse, implication of starvation, PTSD, trust issues Summary: Once things have calmed down, following the bombing of the crèche lift, Mace realises he mis-stepped in that interaction with Obi-Wan and goes to check on him.

"Do you want me to check the Halls?" Depa offered. Mace didn't even need to check to know Obi-Wan wouldn't be there—he had a long history of trying to take care of his own injuries, to his crèchemaster's grief—but he nodded to Depa, anyway. "If he's not there, let Vokara know she needs to catch him for a post-mission check-up." She would send a message to his room comm, and probably send out some of the Halls' padawans to try to hunt the boy down, which would help Mace without also starting a panic. Depa nodded, chewing her lower lip for a moment, and then asked, "What about you?" Mace drew in a deep breath, let it settle his stirring panic, so he could lean into the Force, let it guide him towards the best path. "I..." He frowned at the direction of the nudge, blinked twice, and then announced, "I am going to stop past the mission stores." Depa raised both of her eyebrows in clear surprise, before quickly rearranging her expression into a serene mask and intoning, "In mysterious ways does the Force move." Mace resisted the urge to roll his eyes and took that as his cue to follow the Force's guidance, leaving Depa to cackle to herself behind him.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: The Way Home ~ Star Wars: Prequels ~ Alpha-17/Obi-Wan ~ Gen

Title: The Way Home Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Pairing: Alpha-17/Obi-Wan Kenobi Warnings: AU, post-war, no Order 66, established relationship, chronic pain, chronically disabled character, Anakin leaves Jedi Order, nonbinary clone troopers, trans clone troopers, pranks Summary: Seventeen enjoys retirement in Temple, watching over their Jedi and the troopers who found their own homes there.

Ahsoka failed to muffle a giggle against Seventeen's back. Rex's jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, before he managed to gather himself enough to stiffly say, "We're sorry to bother you, Alpha-Seventeen. By your leave, I'll take Ahsoka—" Seventeen snorted. "Why? She might have planted it, but we both know she didn't mastermind it." Rex's spine went, impossibly, even straighter. "Cody," he snarled, then snapped off a salute at Seventeen and stormed back the direction he'd come. "Oh no," Ahsoka said, before starting to giggle.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Tears You're Holding Back ~ Star Wars: Prequels ~ Teen

Title: Tears You're Holding Back Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: post-Occupation of Naboo, survivor's guilt, grief Summary: Padmé struggles with her position after the occupation, but her handmaidens are there to support her.

“You’re being maudlin,” Sabé said. “I am not,” Padmé insisted, because she had most certainly not been tearful or overly emotional. (A part of her didn’t believe she had the right to shed those tears.) Sabé snorted, then leant in, pressing her shoulder against Padmé’s, comforting and grounding in a way she hadn’t realised she needed. “You saved them, when none in the Republic Senate had a care. They know that, and they are grateful. You punish yourself for appearing strong when they are weak, but it is your strength they need, not your grief.” “I know that,” Padmé whispered, leaning into the heat of Sabé, unsurprised when she shifted, wrapping an arm around Padmé and taking her weight. “I just...” “You grieve what was, as we all do.” “Yes.”

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Shine, Starlight, Here at the Dawn - BBC's Merlin ~ Gen

Title: Shine, Starlight, Here at the Dawn Fandom: BBC's Merlin Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Warnings: AU, post-magic reveal Summary: Merlin realises this is his best chance to convince Arthur that not all magic is terrible.

Note: This is something of a spiritual sequel to The Truth of Who We Are, which was a ficlet written for 2022. You shouldn't need to read it to understand this one, just know that Merlin, Morgana, and Arthur got kidnapped, after Morgana goes bad, and had to work together to escape, and Merlin's magic was revealed.

"I reheat your bath water," Merlin said. They both turned to stare at him, and Arthur said, "What?" Merlin cleared his throat, swallowed—no backing out now—and explained, "It takes time, to cart all that water up from the kitchens for your bath. It starts to grow cold, and then you complain, so I reheat it. Just enough to be comfortable." Morgana blinked, tilted her head to one side, and said, "Huh." Arthur just kept staring at him, brow furrowed. Merlin shrugged. "I use magic, sometimes, to clean your room, just to dust the harder to reach places. Light the fire. Some mending. Spilt some wine on your bed, once, and magicked it away; there's no stain. Use it to help find herbs for Gaius, sometimes, especially the rarer ones. Little things, things no one is around to see or paying enough attention to notice."

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Shadow Cast By Your Grave ~ Persona 5 Royal ~ Teen

Title: Shadow Cast By Your Grave Fandom: Persona 5 Royal Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: 3rd semester spoilers, character study, implied Akechi/Joker Summary: When Goro hears Sae explaining to Ren that she’ll need to take him in to solidify the case against Shido, he offers himself instead.

No, it was not Goro who approached Ren, but Sae. There was regret in her eyes, a hesitation that Goro did not think he had ever before seen in her stride, and that got him moving, stepping forward, close enough to hear over the holiday crowds, as she told Ren he would need to turn himself in, if they had any hope of toppling the remains of Shido's fetid empire. The hollowness haunting Ren's eyes widened, deepened, and Goro recognised it better, now, as a loneliness that throbbed a sympathetic pulse in Goro's own chest. (He remembered cups of coffee and disguises of mussed hair and glasses and the unexpected companionship shared over drinks at his favourite club. The softening of an ache Goro hadn't even realised he'd been feeling, until he found someone he could match wits with and not feel like a failure if he did not win. He remembered that huddle viewed from afar, a willingness to ignore danger in seeking a shared sense of justice, and moments of self-sacrifice in Sae's palace—in the one-on-one matches in the colosseum and when someone had needed to draw the police—and he knew that Ren would place himself at the mercy of the courts without a thought for his own future, or those who would be left floundering in his absence.) Goro had already sacrificed himself once to save Ren; it was even easier the second time.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Ration Your Time ~ Arrowverse ~ ColdFlashWave ~ Teen

Title: Ration Your Time Fandom: Arrowverse/DC TV Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Pairing: Barry Allen/Mick Rory/Leonard Snart (& component parts) Warnings: AU, fix-it, established ColdWave, Time Vortext!Snart Summary: Barry trips over a Snart who keeps getting mentally lost in time on his way back from Flashpoint.

"You changed things," Snart said, the first sign of consciousness. "I changed them back," Barry muttered into his food. Snart opened his eyes and they didn't look quite right, the pupils blown too-wide and the iris swirling with that same blue iridescence that had been on his skin, and Barry couldn't quite stop a grimace at the sign of the Time Force still clinging to Snart, despite the Speed Force's best attempts to wrench him free. "It's not perfect. There's changes," he said, sounding strangely distant. "Good changes. Bad changes. Neutral..." He shook his head, sharp, and there was something that sounded a little like panic in his voice when he asked, "What happened to me?" "There was an explosion, and you got tossed into the Time Force," Barry said with a level of certainty he didn't know the origin of. Snart stared into the middle distance for a long moment, the iridescent swirling of his irises seeming to speed up and slow down in waves. And then— "You changed things," Snart said, again, his expression going placid and distant.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Open the Moon for You ~ MCU x Marvel RPF ~ Loki/Tom Hiddleston ~ Gen

Title: Open the Moon for You Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe (especially Loki) & Real Person Fiction Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Pairing: Loki/Tom Hiddleston Warnings: pre-ship, AU, post-Loki Summary: Loki discovers that he can sometimes save his variants when they fall through the Void from Bifrost.

"Hello!" a voice called from nearby. "Are you okay?" Loki groaned and twisted towards the speaker, trying to drum up the energy for a biting reply, only for the words to slip off his tongue to nothing, when he found himself faced with...himself. "Oh," said the other, sounding as surprised as Loki felt. Not quite the same, Loki realised as the immediate shock softened into consideration. His mirror was fair of skin and hair, both, with eyes a colour more closely related to Thor's than Loki's own, but the shapes of their faces were the same, and the other looked lean and tall, as Loki had always grown. They were dressed, too, in Midgardian clothing, cool colours that bared far more skin than any in Asgard would have dared. His mirror licked their lips, something hesitant about their expression, before they reached a hand down, towards Loki; a silent offer of assistance.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Worn Down Glories ~ FF8 ~ Teen

Title: Worn Down Glories Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: post-canon Summary: Seifer finds a place for himself in Balamb Garden after Time Compression.

The thing was, Seifer hadn't expected to be welcomed back to Garden. He'd sent the message asking Squall if he could come back certain it was a pipedream, so he hadn't been surprised when the blunt, near-immediate response was, 'You've aged out.' Of course, because this was Squall—who had never once held a grudge for anything, so far as Seifer could remember, and was also a sadistic bastard who knew damn well that it was an asshole move to give what amounted to a 'hell no' answer without even an implication that there was a 'but' at the end—waited two fucking days before sending, 'You've got some options in staff positions. Visit and we can discuss.'

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: May You Stay Forever Young ~ FF8 ~ Gen

Title: May You Stay Forever Young Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Warnings: post-canon, humour Summary: The whole team meeting up again, after months apart, for the Trabia Garden reopening.

Rinoa and Zell had joined him in travelling by Ragnarok—Rinoa had made a comment about making certain Squall didn't get distracted and forget to come, which Squall had rolled his eyes at, but hadn't really been able to argue against—which meant he was not travelling by himself. It also should have meant that, when they disembarked and Selphie threw the first snowball with a wide, slightly chaotic smile, one of the other two, having stepped down the boarding ramp ahead of Squall, were the ones hit by it. But that was not how it happened, and Squall ended up with a face-full of cold, white fluff. There followed a long silence, while Squall turned a flat look on Selphie's wide grin, before Zell shouted, "Avenge the Commander!" and ducked down to grab a handful of snow, only to get a snowball to the side of his head, courtesy of Irvine, who had risen from hiding behind a snowbank behind Selphie, revealing some sort of slingshot contraption, which he was already loading with a new snowball as he stood.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Look Who's Digging Their Own Grave ~ Star Wars: Prequels ~ Teen

Title: Look Who's Digging Their Own Grave Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: hazing, pranks, Kix is done, sibling shenanigans, nonbinary clones Prompt: From @aniseandspearmint, Kix &/or dealer's choice, "I'm pregnant" Summary: The 501 is in hyperspace for a while, after picking up a new batch of shinys, and Kix is waiting to see what sorts of injuries this round of hazing brings to his door.

Kix held up a hand, glancing towards his comm to ensure no emergency alerts had come through in the past two minutes, but it was all quiet, and the 501st might be made up of absolute kriffing lunatics, but they knew better than to not send an alert, first thing, to the medic on call. "Stop. Breathe," he ordered. CT-6217 sucked in a big breath— Kix pulled out a hypo and raised an eyebrow. CT-6217 let out their breath in a woosh and took a much more sensible-sized breath, clearly taking the threat of the hypo to heart. Kix slipped the hypo back away; it was the sort of threat that any sensible medic always kept on their person, because clones and Jedi were both far too capable of being kriffing morons, but they also were quick to sit the kriff down and shut up when a hypo was threatened. (Usually.) Kix glanced over at his comm again—still silent—while CT-6217 settled down, then said, "Now, enunciating clearly, and at a sensible shipboard volume, what's happened?" Because it was best, he had learnt, to remind new medics to keep their heads when giving reports, especially when it wasn't an emergency situation. CT-6217 shoved their scanner at him and said, "I downloaded a module about Togruta, when I found out about the commander, and I asked her if I could do a quick scan, test what I'd learnt, but—!" they got out a little too fast, but at a reasonable volume; half-points.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Lived Your Life of Make Believe ~ Persona 5 Royal ~ Gen

Title: Lived Your Life of Make Believe Fandom: Persona 5 Royal Author: Batsutousai Rating: General Warnings: AU, 3rd semester spoilers, Hermit platonic route Summary: Futaba needed to talk to Ren about her perfect reality, even if it meant hunting him down, for once.

Futaba dropped into a crouch, feeling suddenly too big and exposed, wrapping her arms around her knees. A hand dropped onto her head, heavy and familiar, and Futaba felt some of the tenseness seep out of her shoulders, like the contact was a safety net. (Maybe it was; she might have found the courage necessary to go out on her own, but that didn't mean she liked it. But...Ren was safe, would keep her safe. That had been true when she was half-mad with terror and reaching out to a group of other kids who rumour had it could change hearts, and remained true even after the new year turned her universe on its head.) "I'm sorry!" she called, reminded, all at once, about why she'd sought him out, instead of just waiting for him to come to her, like usually was the case. "For?" he asked, utterly non-judgemental. The thing is, Futaba believed that he didn't mind that they'd all forgot him, while living their perfect dream lives—she had a hack in his mobile, and she couldn't help but notice the complete lack of contact attempts from any older friends or family in the almost five months they'd been friends—but that just made it worse. She couldn't do anything about the others' guilty consciences—she assumed they had them, or would develop them, once their brains had enough time to finish rebooting to reality—but she could try to mitigate her own.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Let's Call Forth a New Wind ~ FMA '03 ~ Ed/Roy ~ Teen

Title: Let's Call Forth a New Wind Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Pairing: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, Kain Fuery/Jean Havoc Warnings: AU, post-canon, post-Conqueror of Shamballa, period-typical homophobia, masking, background established relationship Prompt: From @kirk-spock-in-the-impala, Roy/Ed, comfort/respect Summary: Ed discovers that he has a lot of survival skills to unlearn, once he finally makes it back home to Amestris.

Mustang had made his excuses, and must have explained at least some of the truth to the rest of the team because, when Ed snuck—figuratively speaking; he'd apparently never been removed from the military payroll, which he still didn't know how to feel about, even if it had been nice to have the funds to set himself and Al up without having to resort to begging—into their office with some pastries to serve as an apology, Havoc opened with, "So, what's the worst slur you ever heard?" Ed squinted at him, while Fuery and Breda let out similar-sounding sighs, and Hawkeye turned her best 'I am one more dumb comment from shooting you' face—which Ed hadn't realised would comfort him to see again until that moment—on Havoc. Havoc cleared his throat and ducked his head. "Hi, Ed." Ed huffed and set the pastry box in front of Fuery. "I deserved that," he admitted. "I'm sorry. It's...surprisingly difficult to unlearn some survival tactics." Breda snickered and reached over for a pastry and said, "We'll work on that."

Read on AO3!

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FICLET: Healed My Heart and Life ~ Star Wars: Prequels ~ Cody/Fox/Obi-Wan ~ Teen

Title: Healed My Heart and Life Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Pairing: Cody/Fox/Obi-Wan Kenobi Warnings: AU, no Order 66, post-war, polyamory, established relationship, PTSD, nonbinary clone troopers Summary: Fox thinks about all the reasons living in Temple instead of the Guard apartments is the best.

"You're home," Cody said, pulling Fox's attention from the Jedi to where they were standing in the kitchen doorway, smiling at Fox with clear delight. Fox took a moment to look Cody over, trying to spot any changes from their month off-planet as part of a team shadowing Ahsoka on her first mission as a newly-minted Jedi Knight. Cody rolled their eyes and stepped forward, into Fox's space, and leant in to press their forehead against Fox's. "I'm fine," they muttered. "Stop worrying." "No," Fox intoned, even as he closed his eyes and relaxed into the contact. "Ahsoka coming by for dinner?" he asked, assuming that, if Cody was home in one piece and calm enough to have been humming when Fox came in, the mission must have gone well. "She's celebrating with her friends tonight," Obi-Wan answered from much closer than his meditation spot, meaning he'd got up to join them. "Depending on whether or not Barriss manages to keep their plans sensible, we may see her for breakfast, or we may simply have to wait until dinner tomorrow."

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Hard To Let It Go ~ Star Wars: Prequels/OWK Show ~ Teen

Title: Hard To Let It Go Fandom: Star Wars: Prequels & Obi-Wan Kenobi Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Warnings: AU, time travel, post-Order 66, post-Obi-Wan Kenobi show, nonbinary character Prompt: From anon, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Jaster Mereel, something about life after war Summary: Jaster finds himself trapped on Tatooine far into his own future.

Over late meal, Ben told Jaster everything they hadn't wanted to hear before: That they were on Tatooine���clear on the other side of the galaxy—and fifty years had passed since the day Jaster had stepped into those ruins. It had been another week before Jaster had been prepared to hear what horrors had befallen the galaxy in their absence, and another week besides that for Ben to fully catch them up, as often as Jaster had needed to walk away and process orphaning Jango a second time, everyone who had sworn to follow them being wiped out, the New Mandalorians striping their people of their armour and language, Jango's death and an army of clones, the galaxy ripped asunder by a civil war, and the Republic—which Jaster hadn't held any love for, in truth—fallen to an empire. "Where were the Jedi when that happened?" Jaster had spat. "Isn't their whole purpose to keep the damned Republic together?" "The Jedi are gone," Ben had said, very quietly, and then walked out into the desert night and not returned for two days.

Read it on AO3!

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FICLET: Even As I Wander ~ FMA:B ~ Darius/Ed/Heinkel ~ Teen

Title: Even As I Wander Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood/manga Author: Batsutousai Rating: Teen Pairing: Darius/Edward Elric/Heinkel Warnings: post-canon, homophobia, polyamory, established relationship, canon-typical violence, Edward Elric swears Summary: Travelling together outside of Amestris after the Promised Day isn’t always fun, but at least they have each other.

"Listen, asshole," Ed snapped. "I can break your arm in three places with very little effort; you really want to keep pissing me off?" "Peace, Ricardo, or you're banned for a week," the innkeeper said. Dickwad grunted something that mostly served as an agreement, so Ed let him go and turned to leave with the other two. No one followed them, not even Dickwad, and Ed was a little upset about that, because he wanted to break someone. "Thank you," Heinkel said, once they were beyond the lights of the little village, "for not pushing."

Read it on AO3!