#✻ future au ╱ in another world

[mintharaestermont]

closed starter for @feraylocke, @darkenedsvn, @ellievswann, @ofgoldengrove location : a medieval castle theme escape room

"i found a key!" minthara declared, before the door to the escape room had even been locked. never mind that it had been left out in the open - she had spotted it first, and so, it was her find to claim, and she held it aloft, proudly. she didn't know what it opened, either, only that she wanted to be the one to unlock it. she was not giving up her key easily.

"there's a book here, too," she scooped it up and flipped it open, eyes scanning the page. it was slow going - without her glasses, the words blurred together on the page, but she noted with disappointment that it didn't seem to be a clue. "oh, it's just a little story. you are prisoners awaiting your execution at sunrise, yadda yadda," she tossed the book carelessly at someone else to read properly, her interest in it pretty much non existent.

"what do you think it opens?" she gestured to the key again.

[teenagenutant]

a bit more weird, wild, and less structurally stable than the 2-turtle fusions, here's bosch (raph+mikey+donnie) and machiavelli (leo+mikey+donnie)!

pure impulsive destructive excitement and 'what if your annoying little sibling was also the world's most acrobatic awful cat'

[mintharaestermont]

minthara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, the tension of the moment shattering. she was pleased with herself, relieved they had managed to avoid an argument. there was something different about it this time around. there were still issues, and perhaps they'd never really go away, forcing them to bicker their way through the rest of their lives, but minty knew how miserable she was without him, and knew that she was trying to be better, to approach things more rationally, communicate with more thought and less fire.

"just not when you're driving," she pointed out, though the lightness of her tone indicated it wasn't another swipe at him, but a joke. with the hand that wasn't linked with his, she reached out, brushing her fingers gently over the back of his neck, where hairline met soft spot at the nape.

"yeah," she responded. "yeah. we're good."

they had to be. since the day she had gotten involved with amir manderly, nobody else had measured up to how he made her feel. even when he wasn't in her life, she had only ever found herself looking at one other man, and that was more to prove to herself that she could - a wager she had well and truly lost. she was determined not to go through that again, no matter who would like to see it happen.

"then drive faster." the mischief in his expression was met with a challenge in minthara's own. they were nearly there, but getting out of the car and into a hotel room still seemed like an agonising wait. "i'm sure when we get there i can find something else to be jealous about." she withdrew her hand, picking up her drink from the cup holder and taking a nonchalant sip.

a cackle of laughter escaped her when he admitted to being sent edits of her, finding the idea hysterical. "good. as they should." she tossed her braids over her shoulder, wiggling in her seat a little to try and stop the backs of her thighs going numb. "i still can't believe you showed up to see it." it had been a surreal moment, made all the more bittersweet by the fact it was probably her last olympics to actually achieve her comeback. gymnastics had a shelf life, and retirement was looming.

❅

it were moments like this that truly mattered the most, moments where their ability to communicate was tested and only reflected whatever it was they had promised one another time and time again. when the voices had quietened and the passion had ceased, what was left in the exhausted voices of them both, staring up at the ceiling or curled up on the sofa of some hotel room: this was what they needed the most.

and so, despite the urge to respond to her initial statement about it just being a statement, he only looked sideways in her direction.

his expression was one that clearly said "are you being serious right now?" - but he said nothing, only looked at her. and then, just as quickly as it had begun to boil over, it also simmered down. that was the key he noted; sometimes saying nothing, and finding a way to divert her insecurities. and then he felt her hand twirl around his own, an indication that whatever wall was building was slowly falling again.

if it wasn't so dark, one would see the relief on his face.

"ask as many questions as you want baby, yeah? i ain't got no issue with you asking me anything." he assured her, letting his palm remain wrapped up in her own, coming up a hill and finally seeing the main lights of kings landing in the distance. his gaze flickered back down to the gps in the car, and he rolled down his window slightly.

"you're good. we're all good." and he meant it, because he meant what he said. they were doing it differently this time, listening to her as she reassured him. he did not need her to apologise over and over; he wouldn't make her do such a thing. and she was right. he would be fine. and then there was a slight grin that came over his features. a mischievous glint. "look at you. getting all jealous and shit. least wait 'till i can do something about it."

"aye, cut that shit out. you got gold at the olympics, with a comeback and a half. you think your fans ain't been sendin' me these tiktoks edits of you?" and he half scoffed, letting out a chuckle, his head shaking slightly as he reached to squeeze her thighs. "most of these man ain't nowhere near as talented as you. what, percival templeton is good at driving fast cars that do all the work for him?"

[johnslittlespoon]

There we go!

Now- John would either be flabbergasted or impressed. I cant really decide. Lmao

bikeriders clip for context | LOL okay when i saw this teaser yesterday, i was thinking about whether leaving!bikeriders au gale would have pulled stuff like that when he was younger, and a scenario immediately popped into my head; here's a little drabble :-)

we've established that when john and gale first starting seeing each other, john's pretty shy regardless of his impulsivity and not–at–all–discreet thirsting over gale. he's probably very respectful of gale's privacy, not prying a lot despite his curiosity when gale dodges certain questions, scared of being 'too much.'

but a few months in (maybe less knowing him), once john starts to figure out what buttons he can push and which ones he shouldn't, and once gale proves to him (many times) that he's not going to blow up at him or leave him when he messes up or they have arguments? it's game on in terms of making himself at home when he's at gale's place, and clinging to gale like a sloth, and being stubborn and nosy and less guarded, etc.

so one day he's at gale's house, and gale unexpectedly ends up busy with something; maybe he has to get on a lengthy phone call with some parts supplier for the shop, or a guy from the club shows up to chat. either way, john's left to entertain himself, and he's come straight to gale's from college so his laptop's dead in his bag and his phone's plugged in at the table charging. he decides to do a little snooping out of pure boredom.

nothing too out of line, and he's not looking for anything in particular, just trying to pass time, but he stumbles across a stack of newspapers in a drawer of gale's bookshelf that are dated back to like a decade and a half earlier, and of course this catches his attention, because people usually don't hold onto newspapers unless there's something interesting in them, right?

he sits himself down cross legged on the floor next to the drawer and pulls out the first paper and begins flipping through, scanning for anything interesting, and then he sees it:

'gale cleven of casper, wyoming was arrested and charged with 18 traffic violations, but not before reportedly running through 7 stoplights, hitting speeds over 85mph in two 20mph school zones, and causing damage to 4 municipal vehicles as a result of the pursuit.'

john reads it over three times with wide eyes, trying to imagine his gale being so reckless. he thinks about the gale that says "safety first" or "helmet on" every time john gets on the back of his motorbike, and the gale that can hardly handle letting john drive his bike around an empty parking lot under his watchful, nervous gaze, and he laughs to himself in disbelief, feeling like he's just stumbled upon a gold mine of information.

but gale walks into the living room, fondly asking "what's got you giggling in here?" before his eyes land on john and his box of papers. john feels guilty for about half a second before he's swept back up in his shock and excitement, waving the newspaper around and exclaiming "eighteen traffic violations? a 2500 dollar bond??" with unbridled glee, cackling at the defeated expression on gale's face.

"john–"

"–municipal vehicles? what, did you hit cop cars?"

"–i left you alone for twenty minutes–"

"–gale, c'mon, you gotta tell me the story now, you can't just leave me hanging!"

"you're the one who went snooping," gale grumbles, but john can tell he's close to caving, so he puts the newspaper back in the box and pulls himself to his feet, bouncing over to gale and placing his hands on his arms to walk him backwards to the couch.

he knows he's won when gale allows himself to be pushed down onto the couch with a resigned sigh, and john grins like a cat that's got the cream as he settles himself in gale's lap, waiting eagerly.

and gale can't even pretend to be mad.

[frozenartscapes]

*All the Edelgards standing around the counter in their apartment, staring at a broken kettle*

Hegie: So... Who broke it? I'm not mad - I just want to know.

*tense pause*

Christmas: I did, I broke-

Hegie: No, no you didn't. Beach?

Beach: Don't look at me! Look at Brave.

Brave: What? I didn't break it.

Beach: Huh. That's weird. How'd you even know it was broken?

Brave: Because it's sitting right in front of us, and it's broken.

Beach: Suspicious.

Brave: No, it's not.

Flame Emperor: If it matters - probably not - but Student was the last one to use it.

Student: Liar, I don't even drink that crap!

Flame Emperor: Oh really? Then what were you doing by the tea cart earlier?

Student: I use the wooden stirrers to push back my cuticles. Everyone knows I prefer teatimes with- Nevermind...

Christmas: Ok, ok! Let's not fight. I broke it. Let me pay for it, Hegie.

Hegie: No! Who broke it?

Brave, looking suspiciously at Legendary Edelgard: Hegie... Legend's been pretty quiet lately.

Legend: Really?

*fight breaks out*

Hegie, aside: I broke it. It burned my hand so I punched it. I predict ten minutes from now they'll be at each other's throats with war paint on their faces and a pig head on a stick.

*looks back at the chaos, turns around with a grin*

Hegie: Good. It was getting a little chummy around here.

[mintharaestermont]

minty leaned close to the mirror, steady hand carefully applying eyeliner while she waited for her brother to get dressed. she had planned to be ready ages ago, but was running behind schedule - not through any fault of her own, but because her brother's taste in fashion was so tragically frumpy that it had taken this long to put together an outfit that wouldn't have him embarrassing himself, or worse, embarrassing her. she was already in her own dress, form-fitting, made to resemble the texture of sand, and so tight that she couldn't actually sit down, but it was a sacrifice she would make if it meant looking good.

she whipped her head around when luc emerged from the bathroom, her pleased grin turning to a stern expression when he mentioned changing. "absolutely not. you look perfect." luc scrubbed up well when he tried. "who cares what norbie thinks? he's only going to show up in a brown vest and a bow tie anyway, it's not like he's the paragon of fashion. you're not changing." it was a demand. "you look hot, luc. he'd be blind not to like it. but more importantly, i like it." she nodded, and that was that.

"come stand in the light. we have to take a picture before you do something stupid like changing your mind."

location: before the hollywood glamour night, luc is getting ready in his room his outfit

@mintharaestermont

there was a crime scene of discarded and piles of his clothes strewn across his and norbies room. not from any fault of his own but his dear sister who was insistent to have gone through them earlier. he did eventually find a suit that would be more appropriate than the normal clothes he was wearing. the collection of vests that norbie and him seemed to share were put on the backburner. it did not get by him that the suit he was wearing minty helped him pick out before. he'd be sure to keep that one a secret. didn't need everyone knowing he needed that much fashion help from his sister.

"are you sure i don't look too much?" luc asked stepping out of the bathroom, adjusting the collar of his suit jacket. he turned to look at himself in the mirror. he did like it but he was always nervous wearing something outside the comfortable safety of his tweed jackets. "the light blue isn't too much?" he asked worried. "should i change? do you think norbie will like it? i haven't seen him, he was seeing his family….i should change right?"

[daceystvrk]

closed starter for @ulises-tarth location: at the fair

"i think i had my eyes closed for that last one," dacey admitted, leaning against the outside of the photobooth as she waited for the little strip of pictures they had just taken to develop. it had seemed like a fun, cute idea at the time, but almost immediately as she had stepped into the cramped booth, she had been unsure how to pose, what to do with her face, where to put her arms, and she was sure that they'd just taken nearly four identical photos.

the strip finally printed, and she picked it up, gingerly, careful not to smudge it before it dried. "yep. see? eyes closed." she sighed a little, before a smile came over her face. "i like the first picture, though." in it, ulises was facing the camera, but dacey wasn't, her chin upturned to instead look at him. she looked happy. "do you want this, or can i keep it?"

[eliaofdxrne]

closed starter for @darkenedsvn location: the 2000's party

quite frankly, elia thought she had the best outfit here tonight. her skirt was tiny, a pleated pink thing that showed off her legs, her tube top doing the rest of the work in ensuring her figure was on display and she was turning heads. she had always been a vain, fashion-conscious creature, and she had spent far too long putting together the perfect look that would have her at the centre of attention.

she was glad of her efforts, though, when she spotted her ex-boyfriend in the crowd. the mature thing to do would be to ignore him. he was with somebody else now, someone elia actually quite liked, and so was she. unfortunately, mature was something nobody could accuse elia of ever being.

"what are you supposed to be?" she tilted her head, appraising aleksander's own outfit with a critical eye. "when they said 2000's theme, they meant justin timberlake or jersey shore. not the guy who worked at blockbusters."

[norbiegrafton]

[starryluminary]

I have. Drafted the rest of the episodes for the WT Noco kiss comic universe (which I’m henceforth calling “World Tour but NoCo are the only ones kissing.”) My brain is so close to exploding and turning to mush

[mintharaestermont]

closed starter for @blocdinthewater location: the casino

minthara swore loudly. she had lost far too much money tonight, and was banking on one final bet to earn her back at least what she'd already handed over, and avoid a lecture from lucerys in the process. unfortunately, the cards hadn't been in her favour, and when she had confidently asked the blackjack dealer for another card to add to her hand, she had ended up bust.

throwing her cards on the table, she turned to find herself a drink and drown her sorrows, only to find herself nearly face to face with someone she had not seen in some time. she and gaia had once been thick as thieves - but the argument between them had been explosive. with time and hindsight, she had come to realise that what had happened had not been gaia's fault, nor her own - but myrcella's, the sister she no longer spoke to, who fortunately could not be in attendance tonight.

"hey," her voice was smaller than usual, as she stepped forward, ensuring that gaia could not pretend she did not see her. "can we talk?"

[mewgatori]

One thing I haven't seen explored much in mg stories where your negative emotions can lead to you becoming the center of a monster of the week event is how does this effect the civilians long term?

Would some people become more emotionally repressed if this situation continued long enough because they know that being openly negative is risky? Like sure you could tell your friend they're doing something that's bothering you, but what if their level of distress at being told this becomes so great that they become a grief monster? Would you really want to take the risk of telling the hard truths to someone knowing they would become incredibly durable, violent, hard to restrain, and almost impossible to reason with?

Would openly emotional people start getting ostracized as people piece together what type of situations normally precede monster attacks? Like do you really want to spend time with the local crybaby knowing anything could set them off at any time and you will need to have an escape plan ready because you can't help them when that happens?

Medical professionals giving diagnoses of terminal diseases is already straining enough but imagine knowing there is a nonzero chance that your patients' struggle to cope with their feelings about the diagnoses would make them become a superhuman level threat to society and you will be in a very small closed room with them(and probably alone) when you break the news. That would make the whole event so much more stressful

I think that's a type of idea I'd like to delve into in the future

[formal-frog-shoes]

Twiststuck stuff i just wanna get out

Im a huge Cater multi-shipper

Normally this wouldn't be a problem

BUT I CAN'T HAVE ALMOST EVERYONE IN THIS AU HAVE A FLUSH OR PALE CRUSH ON HIM THAT'S ABSURD!!!

[benblvckwood]

closed starter for @emiravmallister location : winter's dance

ben's neck craned, and he observed the man approach the auction box and drop in his bid. he'd been distracted, keeping an eye on who approached it, having already dropped in three bids of his own, all larger than the one he had dropped in before. it was a lot of effort to go to for a signed football jersey, but ben clearly wanted it quite badly, and his competitive side had kicked in.

"what do you think?" he asked emira. "has he outbid me?" he observed the other's outfit as he walked away, trying to deduce if it cost more than his, as if that was an indicator on what kind of bid he had made. "you think i should go higher? i should go higher, right?" he turned to her, waiting for her opinion.

[devanitoland]

closed starter for @wyldewillow location: winter's dance

"hey!" devani called out, catching sight of a face that was both familiar and welcome. in case there was any doubt who she was talking to, she reached out and grabbed the wrist of the woman in question - willow wylde, an easy grin spreading across her face. she'd had many lovers in her life, some lasting one night, and some a little longer, but there was something about willow that kept her coming back, every time.

"we have to stop meeting like this," her tone was playful, if not suggestive, and she had yet to let go of willow's wrist. "but since we're here, a drink?" her eyebrows raised in question. "wine, champagne? what are you thirsty for?"

[conallblackbar]

closed starter for @omerflorent location : conall's hotel room

the chair conall was stood on wobbled under his weight, far too small to hold his frame. yet, it did not break, allowing him to slide a sock over the smoke alarm. "there," he said, satisfied as he hopped down and returned the chair to its place by the desk. "we should be fine to smoke in here now." the window was already cracked, allowing the cold air to stream in.

he'd be lying if he said it wasn't awkward. he'd already heard all ronan had to say on the matter of omer and brianna, his refusal to make peace despite con's attempt at mediating. but omer was his friend, too, and so he had resolved that the best thing to do was nothing.

"you want a beer?" he offered. "there's some whiskey in the minibar, but if you drink that, you're paying for it." the beer, he'd brought with him.