#I TECHNICALLY WROTE THIS FOR THE GHOST PROMPT

[ancha-aus]

Masterpost

Welcome to my new Masterpost! This time including all information on everything on my tumblr instead of just one AU! Asks are always open and I am happy to answer questions <3

Tumblrsona has been made. The icon is still being made :3 The amazing @a-whispering-echo also made a drawing of her <3

AO3 account over here

AUs and stuff.

Ancients and Champions AU - Masterpost Here The big one! My main one! Story is finished and readable over here

Careful. It is a long story with many sidestories. All in the story tab <3 All the information I got concerning that AU is over in the masterpost <3

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Real Age Au - First prompt and start of story Here This one doesn't have a masterpost. It is a drabble series I only upload on my tumblr as it are all first drafts and not always uploaded in order.

Drabble which doesn't have a plave quite yet in when it happens in the timeline.

Summary: Nightmare gets deaged, or better said, reversed aged towards his real age. Six years old. Join him and his gang as they discover how to deal with it and learn to be a family.

My own doodle for this work over here <3

@spotaus has made amazing fanart and a sweet fic in line with the AU.

@mikimakiboo as also made some sweet fanart here and here as well as fanfics over here and here

@driftinbubbles Has also made a very cute drawing!

@rendoa-blog Made some amazing drawings! [X] , [X]

The tag is RealAgeAU <3

The drabble series is completed but I will be editing it to post on my AO3 but that is a background project haha

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Bitty Surpise - An idea and very lose concept because I had bitty brainrot. A story in the works and I may eventually upload or draw more of. Very little aside from a doodle at the moment.

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Ghosts & Medium AU - Technically a collab because @mikimakiboo helped abunch wiht some of the backgrounds :D - Dust is a medium who helps spirits moves on as his job. trouble appears when he meets spirit!Killer. First message in reblog train & ask & general roles of everyone. And people made some doodles, here and here! Link and Link in the same thread. Another trhread over here, here, here, and here - About Dust. - About Killer. - About Cross. - About Nightmare.

Drabble: First Encounter - Killer and Dust meet (and the part 2 of that little drabble)

Drabble: Exorcism Backfire - Cross joins the party. Very unwilling mind you.

Drabble: The Necromancing Medium - Dust and Ash's backstory - 18+ because it is heavy on trauma and heavy subjects. Please mind the warnings.

Drabble: Sleepover - Dust, Ash, Killer and Cross get to Dust's apartment to relax and regroup. Mostly to sleep.

Drabble: Research - Dust gets some work donw to make some progress. Eventually.

Drabble: Moon Ritual - Dust summons a new creature to hopefully fix the situation with Cross and Killer.

Drabble: Mansion Invasion - Dust and the gang goes to clear out an incubus and succubus infestion. What can go wrong?

Drabble: Slow Morning - Dust wakes up and gets ready to do some chores only to come across a surprise that makes his morning much better.

@mikimakiboo wrote a great story about the introduction of Horror to the group! Which i am sneakily accepted as canon so check it out!

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DoubleNoot (name pending) - Turns out that Nightmare that the multiverse knew, was not just Nightmare. Instead it were two beings. Corrupt, the being everyone knew. and Nightmare. The same young skeleton from before he ate the apple that changed the course of the multiverse.

And now they are split? It changes their lives as well.

First Drabble here!

Idea for a possible story/series. Posts are here, here and here.

@mikimakiboo once again made an amazing drabble with the idea! and it is amazing!

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Sans in Wonderland - A possible project idea that would be an interactive ish story with different endings. original message/concept here.

Nightmare backstory.

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SansNautica - Sans crashlanded in subnautica and is trying to escpae the planet but gets sidetracked and distracted by a bunch of very interesting looking mers.

idea for it. [X]

info on issues for sans to encounter. [X] , [X]

The gang and mers. [X]

Crash location. [X]

Sans is a pacifist and cares about the environment. [X]

Time Capsules and how I may use them. [X]

For in the Below Zero section that Undyne coudl have been from the Degasi crew [X]

Drabble for Cross meeting Sans. [X]

Drabble for the gang meeting Sans. [X]

Drabble of Killer and Sans vs reaper Leviathans [X]

@0p1er0 was REAL nice and made a sketch of Cuddlefish Cross adn the finished Cross <3 and good boy Stalker Dust. (X) :D

@sunnybunnybabs made some drawings of nightmare and dream! and the other levi's!<3 and the shiver of good boys :D and of Sans after he adapted <3 and the Snow Stalkers Selkies <3

@rendoa-blog made a drawing as well [X] and some of Sans [X] , [X] and they wrote a drabble for me! [X]

@librarypersonsworld also made a drawing! [X]

ask about Sans adapting to water. [X]

How the shiver and Nightmare met [X] @mikimakiboo wrote a oneshot for their meeting <3 [X]

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Spirit Soul AU - A fic idea I had with info here and here An AU idea I had which is inspired by both Omori and Life is Strange

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Little story for @somegrumpynerd and their amazing comics where Dream and Nightmare get body switched <3

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Little drabble for @spotaus because they made their own version of RealAgeAU but wiht knights <3 Another drabble over here <3 And another one! <3 One more hihi. ANOTHER! I honestly don't know why any of you think i have any kind of selfcontrol at this point. [X] , [X] , [X], [X] , [X]

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That was the stuff I have actual posts about that I can share. Overall progress on other things below:

Ancients and Champions - 100% writen. 100% edited. Fully uploaded.

Mermaid prompt list 2022 - 100% writen. 95% edited. Uploads ever Sunday on my AO3

Bitty surprise (name pending) - 100% writen. 25% edited. Needs to be finished (also needs another drawing of Horror Bitty)

Family Ties - 30% writen (ish?). 20% edited. General storyline in my head, just need to actually write the thing

Real Age AU - 100% writen. 0% edit (No edit or beta we die like men with this one) No real goal and just a fun drabble series <3

Story ideas that seem fun to me/ stuff i am thinking about writing:

UT Zombie apocalyse story.

Background story on Error and Geno and their time growing up - A&C related

Story on what would happen to the multiverse if there was NO negativity, the consequences to an only positive multi-universe

another mermaid story but pairing focus dustXsans

story where all the sanses are just actors and they do a series together (no idea how i would make this work in writing gonna be real with you)

Classic Dust ship story where Dust finds the original timeline and hangs around and watches Sans (I can't find my own original post with the idea anymore. It is lost to the void.)

That is all for now folks!

Edited 24 December.

[rivalriotrenegade]

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader Random "I love you"

About fic: Slight comic references, so if you know you know and if you don't that's still okay. Technically monster Simon Riley x reader but can be read as human Simon also no monster parts described so you can imagine whatever you want. As the title suggests the prompt was "random I love you" so Soft Simon Hours. This fic is for @midnightxsecretary (because they asked for more!) also @luvergirl777 because I think they'd like this based off a fic they wrote. One that you should totally go read after this!

Word Count: 593 (Short read)

Warnings: None, but GN reader.

It’s weird really, to see Simon acting so domestic you think to yourself as you silently watch him wash the dishes. The usual uniform has been replaced with a T-shirt and jeans and the balaclava has been traded in for a black surgical mask instead. You smile softly to yourself as you lean the laundry basket against your hip. 

It had taken Simon months before he felt comfortable enough to let his walls down like this. He had constantly been on guard trying his best not to let you see him down, but eventually you managed to peek through the cracks and slowly he let you see more of himself. Despite the fact that there had been plenty of ups and downs in knowing Simon the more you learned about him the more you grew to love him. All the bits and pieces, broken parts and sharp edges, all the things that made him him.

“Hey Simon?” You call out. 

“Yeah?” He replied without looking at you, too focused on finishing the task in front of him to bother turning around when he could hear you perfectly fine like this. 

“I love you.” You say, smile evident in your voice before you continue down the hall to finish your chore. 

For a moment time seems to stand still as Simon freezes… and just like that, with three simple words, you have shook him to his very core. 

You didn’t see the way his shoulders tensed, the way his hands grip the counter. You didn’t hear the deep breath he takes to calm himself and the emotions currently raging inside of him. You didn’t see the way he has to hold himself together to try and keep from crying. You didn’t see the hand he used to cover his eyes as he leaned over the counter because he wasn’t sure he could stand on his own two feet without his knees giving out. 

It had been a long, long, time since Simon Riley had heard those three words and to hear them so suddenly, for no apparent reason, hit him harder than any punch, bullet or knife ever could. 

He wanted so desperately to say it back, to tell you how much you mean to him. That if given the choice he’d take you over the very oxygen he breathes, because without you what purpose does his life have? He is a man who has lost everything. His mother, his brother, his sister-in-law, and nephew have all been killed for the sake of revenge. His teammates, his friends, have died in his arms. His very identity has been stolen from him, forcing him to live his life as a shadow, as a ghost. For the longest time he had lived for nothing more than to fight another day, to survive. But then you came into his life and for the first time in a long time he didn’t want to just survive… He wanted to live. 

But Simon couldn’t say that. Wouldn’t even know how to begin to put it into words. The strength and courage, the amount of vulnerability it would take to say something like that isn’t something he thinks he could handle. Someday, when he has found the right words and has steeled himself he’ll tell you. 

But that day is not today. As of right now he is doing everything in his power not to fall apart. Breathing in and out, washing the dishes in a circular motion, rapidly blinking his eyes and ignoring the stray tear that slips out. 

Hey! Hope you liked it. If not that's okay too. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, I love interacting with you all. Also feel free to send in your requests! Nothing too weird tho. Have a great day :)

[lunarleonardo]

Just saw art that inspired this thought for an au. I think I've seen some shippy fics floating around for it that take place outside of killing games but not for inside the killing games so idk if it's been done before.

Basically, an au where shuichi can see and hear ghosts (which canonically exist in danganronpa). He's seen ghosts for as long as he can remember and uses that ability to his advantage in investigations (and helps the ghosts move on). He pretends he doesn't think ghosts exist due to the never ending therapy and drugs his parents would try to get his "delusions" to stop as a child. So whenever the question "do you believe in ghosts?" comes up he's like "they're obviously not real, if they were we would have proof by now."

Of course he hides this from everyone in the killing game because they'd think he's insane or being deeply disrespectful to their dead classmates. He's used to getting the attention of ghosts and prompting to follow him to speak with them alone, usually by looking right at them (hard to deny eye contact) and using subtle body language. Part of the reason he wears his hat is to avoid looking at ghost strangers.

As an excuse for writing reasons, ghosts do not remember the moments leading up to their death very clearly, so Rantaro would not remember how exactly he died. Which leads to Kaede's execution happening again. Hoshi would remember the plan but not the moment of death, he would keep it from shuichi though for kirumi to succeed. Angie and Tenko would harass shuichi a lot. Miu... she'd be so mad her plan didn't work and shuichi would take the brunt of her anger, there's no she's helping him. No clue what kokichi would do, I doubt he'd know what to do either since he fully expected to be dead dead without anyone figuring out.

None of the ghosts move on until the killing game is over. Shuichi never reveals to anyone living that he sees their ghost classmates. Kokichi might catch on to something weird going on with Shuichi but Shuichi would never admit it even if he guesses correctly. Well, correctly enough, he might think shuichi believes he sees ghosts but kokichi doesn't actually believe in ghosts. "That's not funny, I don't see ghosts- I'm not delusional. Leave me alone." <- man who will see ghost kokichi during chapter 5. It would probably piss off kokichi so much to see shuichi (and probably a couple other ghosts) stare at him after they find the press and know that his plan is screwed from the start.

The ghosts hangout in shuichi's room because he has a tiny shrine + incense out to deter mean spirits. In this case, mean spirits would be the really annoying dead monocubs. The ghosts usually hang in his room or follow him, they miss the set up for killings. Shuichi never really gets a break to be alone.

Things that tether ghosts to the world are probably special items, places, and people. His classmates would probably be very uncomfortable sticking to where they died so they stick to shuichi and his room (technically the little shrine + incense) instead.

"It's so peaceful looking at the stars isn't it shuichi?" "sure is..." <- man who is currently subject to the yammering of several ghosts.

- @blorboindulgence

Ahh, ghost-seeing aus!! I wrote one of those in my oneshot docs once (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠) This poor kid was probably forced onto so much medication he needed to be :{ that can reallly mess with your head,,. Poor guy. You cant fix something that doesnt need fixing (⁠｡⁠•́⁠︿⁠•̀⁠｡⁠)

I cant imagine what the 5th trial was like lmfao. Would Shuichi pretend not to know who was dead and who was alive the whole time for the sake of Kokichis plan? Shuichi has the power to steer the trial in the wrong direction, so if Kokichi told him the basics of it... Oh I wonder how that would go. Cant imagine how awkward that would've been xD

Oh actually!! Would Kokichi remember Maki shooting him? He might faintly recall someone coming into the hangar after Kaito attacked him, but probably not much else after that (⁠个⁠_⁠个⁠) man if I was Kokichi and that shit happened to me you would've seen me on the news. or whatever ghosts have.. probably haunted radios i dunno

[mangofresca]

Light a Roman Candle and Get Some Rest

Instead, he says, in a voice hollow even to his own ears, “You’re not real.” The shadow snorts and shifts, like it is moving weight from foot to foot, and Spain stares resolutely forward, watching desperately from the very corners of his periphery. “I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” it asks, as if that means it’s real, as if that must mean Spain hasn’t lost himself completely to grief and anger and something irreparably, irrevocably broken within him. In the aftermath of the unification of Italy, Spain finds himself being haunted. He also finds that he doesn’t mind. Oneshot, Spamano.

Words: 10,760, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Relationships: South Italy/Spain (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Ghosts, Haunting, Grief/Mourning, Talking to Dead People, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Touch-Starved, Depression, Mutual Pining, Mutual Adoration, but shhh it’s a secret because they’re both idiots, Angst, Fluff and Angst, remember when i wrote beneath the yellow tiles and i said, no one can have a fat ass and be emotionally stable?, consider this along the same vein, speculation on how Weird Quasi-Immortal Beings would view time, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, does this count as canon divergence? i’m going to say technically yes, essentially romano and veneziano both die in the unification, to make way for a new italian personification, spamanoweek, spamanoweek2024

@spamano-week entry for the prompt of lovesick, bringing a close to my spamano week prompt fills—4 days and almost 30k later. i hope you all had fun :)

[unnamednarrator]

💜 for everlark!

me to me: keep it brief

the ghost of victor hugo: *possesses me*

context for this: modern au, college au, best friends to lovers, surprise kiss/impulsive kiss. enjoy!!!

If anyone but Peeta had suggested this, I would’ve run full speed in the other direction. But for some reason, and it’s always been like this, if he proposes something odd, it intrigues me.

So that’s how I ended up cross-legged on the floor in front of Peeta’s coffee table, blindfolded as he hands me bite-sized pieces of new recipes he’s been testing.

‘Be right back,’ he says and I can hear him shifting noisily as he gets up and goes to the kitchen.

I take a sip of water to cleanse my palette. So far, my favourite has been his “new spin” on a pain au chocolat. I don’t know much about the pastry but it was the most chocolaty so I was happy.

Peeta comes back and I hear the sound of bread being torn off. A moment later, the smell hits my nose. I know this one. It’s my favourite. I don’t need to taste test these. He knows I love them.

For the first time since putting the blindfold on, I hook my thumb on one end and draw it up so I can see Peeta with one eye. He’s already watching me, hands frozen on the half destroyed cheese bun. I offer him a small smile and his shoulders sag down as he returns it. I tug the blindfold the rest of the way off and drop it on the coffee table. Then I scoot closer to Peeta until our knees are touching. He doesn’t move a muscle. Doesn’t even blink. Slowly, I lift my hands, inch by inch, until they’re resting on his cheeks and lean in closer to him until the distance between us is truly a technicality. Then, with an almost imperceptible tilt of his chin, his lips brush against mine. The tiny point of contact sends a bolt of electricity through every cell of my body.

And it becomes the start of a full-on thunderstorm.

wrote this whilst waiting for my dinner to finish lmao. excuse any typos. thanks for sending in this prompt @bbrooklynbabe 🧡💚

from this ask game !

[optiwashere]

Woke up feeling some kinda way, so I wrote something about Shadowheart's memories of her mother. It's very short, gen, and angsty.

Technically for the BG3WIPs Pride Month prompt: "A character is visited by a ghost from the past."

Rating: T mostly for the themes.

Tags: Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Memory Loss, Angst

Summary:

Shadowheart hears echoes of her—ghosts of a lost memory—everywhere she goes.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Gonna give you some of my favourite Haikyuu!! boys for the horror movie prompt. So Bokuto, Oikawa, Yaku, Kuroo, Kai, Hinata and Atsumu. You know I wouldn’t want any one of them to die but just for this AU it’s alright. And I’ll just pretend they didn’t actually die to deal with it 😅

C

Aww, I’m sorry for theoretically killing off your favourites! They are definitely still alive – we’ll say just their characters on screen die and that they are the actors who are still very much alive, if it makes it easier!!

Send me a X and 7 characters and I’ll tell you who would be:

The Survivor

Okay, so to set the scene for this particular movie. A hundred years ago, there was a cute little summer camp set way back in the woods by a large lake. It was to be its first year open and there had been some accidents, horrible deaths that were wrote off as accidents, that set the camp’s opening back several years. There were rumours that the camp was being built over cursed ground, but it didn’t stop the owners from building the camp and opening it up. By the end of the first summer open, all the camp counselors and campers had been slaughtered. It was a horrible incident that completely shut down the camp, with it being left to rot among local legends about the massacre. With the passage of time, it almost became a ghost story around the area. Zoom into modern day – new owners have bought the grounds and have plans to reopen the camp. It’s a few days until opening day when the campers will get there and the camp counselors are all getting the grounds and cabins ready for the opening. The events of the movie take place over the days between us meeting these counselors – the boys you mentioned – and the opening day, when only one of them will be left alive. That survivor? It’s definitely Kuroo in my mind. He has a good mixture of both intelligence, common sense, strategy, and strength that allows him to be the last one standing, though he went through complete hell to get to that point and when he stumbles out onto the road leading to the camp, almost right in front of the bus full of campers, he’s traumatized beyond belief.

The Culprit

Personal bias makes me automatically put Atsumu here, but there’s also some thinking and reasoning behind it as well. Atsumu can be very cocky, almost arrogant at points, and his ego can drive him. He’s very competitive, very motivated by what feels best for him, by what he wants, and by what will make him look good. He’s also scarily intelligent in his own way and all these things kind of culminate into making him the most easily influenced by the evil of the grounds the camp is built on. There’s definitely scenes of the ghosts on the grounds leading him this way or that by appealing to his ego, his competitiveness, and his desire for self-gratification and fun. They lead him to the right spot and boom, possessed Atsumu now has another thing that makes him very happy…killing. In his mind, it’s now all a game – him against the other camp counsellors to see who can survive the longest.

The First Victim

While the first victims we’ll technically see on screen won’t be any of the boys, but the former counsellors and campers, the first victim out of the modern day counselors will be Hinata, sadly enough! I think Hinata would be a lot of viewers favourites, with his sunshiney disposition, his enthusiasm for everything, and it breaks a lot of hearts when he dies. He’s just really innocent, a little too trusting. When he hears noises in the woods and goes to investigate, he’s creeped out, yes. He gets scared more and more, thinking he’s hearing people whispering his name. He’s about to hightail it back to the others, but then he hears someone calling his name and they sound like they’re in trouble. He can’t resist going to help them; Hinata would hate himself forever if he left one of his friends in some sort of trouble. He stumbles into a clearing where Atsumu has rigged up some sort of trap and Hinata finds himself hung from a tree, in a scene that is both heartbreaking, tense, and quite gory.

The One Who Almost Made It

Yaku’s the last of the counselors to die. He’s so close to making it. Bruised, bloodied, sleep-deprived, and traumatized, Yaku and Kuroo have figured out what’s going on. They know who the killer is, they’re aware of the legends, they know what needs to be done. The problem is that there needs to be a sacrifice. No matter how insistent Kuroo is on finding some other option, any other option, that allows them to both live and get out of this, Yaku knows that they just don’t have the time. He sets fire to the cabins and the grounds, letting the fire consume him while he recites a ritual to purify the ghosts. Meanwhile Kuroo is running for the end of the grounds and Kuroo and the possessed Atsumu has a final struggle together right before the edge line of the property where Kuroo kills Atsumu and gets off the property right as Yaku says the last word of the ritual and seals everything.

The Comic Relief

Bokuto not only provides eye-candy for the mostly female audience, but he brings the comedy relief. He establishes himself as a friendly, jokester type of character, someone who doesn’t take himself, or his role as counselor, too seriously. He’s someone where it becomes obvious why he’d be chosen to both work with and lead children, as he’s got that silly big brother energy to him. Even when things start getting bad, Bokuto makes jokes, trying to get his friend’s minds off all the creepy, bad things that are happening, trying to help them deal or to distract them. It’s because he’s the comic relief that Bokuto really does last almost to the end of the movie, dying just before Yaku. Being the person he is, Bokuto dies pushing Kuroo and Yaku out of the way of the killer, allowing the other boys to run away and hopefully save themselves. He faces his death bravely and injures his killer, trying to take him down with him.

The Genre Savvy

I think Kai is probably the best bet here. Kai’s really calm and level-headed. While I don’t think he has an encyclopedic knowledge of horror movies or anything, I think Kai has a lot of common sense and he has watched a couple horror movies, enough to have basic ideas as to the tropes and trends in them. He’s also confident and he isn’t afraid to quietly step up into a leadership position, trying to keep everyone calm, to keep everyone from fighting amongst themselves, and to keep anyone from doing something stupid. It’s because he tries to step up and be a leader that he takes on some of the most dangerous jobs himself and it’s through one of those that he ends up dying, about half-way through the movie. It’s his death that really splinters up the remaining friends/counselors, with everyone kind of giving into fear for the most part.

The Pretty One

While all of the boys are very pretty, all in their own ways, both Oikawa and Atsumu are canonically pretty much stated to be very, very handsome and admired for their physical looks. Because Atsumu’s already been used, I think the pretty one automatically goes to Oikawa for that reason. He’s definitely used for fanservice during the movie. When there’s scenes at the lake, the camera would defintely pan in and do a long, lingering shot on Oikawa as he removes his shirt to go swimming in the lake, one of his favourite things to do at the camp. He was even set to teach swimming lessons to the campers when they arrived. Which makes it even more ironic, and becomes fan disservice, when he’s drowned in the lake.

[missanthropicprinciple]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

Tagged by mah friend @sharky857 <3

1.) How many works do you have on ao3? 117

2.) What’s your ao3 word count? 273,931

3.) What fandoms do you write for? Mainly Pacific Rim but also Sherlock Holmes/Granada Holmes, Ghostbusters, All Creatures Great and Small (the 1978 tv series), and Red Dwarf, etc. etc.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos? Just a Thought (263), Afterglow (216), Ineffable Husbands: Angsty Fluff prompts (215), Side Effects from the Exposure to a Kaiju Femoral Pore by Dr. Newton Geiszler (feat. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb) (201), and The L Word (174).

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?! As soon as I can!! I sometimes forget....for like a month or two...oops. But I love getting kind comments on my fic. It's important to acknowledge readers and their efforts to compliment you.

6.) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The Ghost of Gottlieb Mansion ...I shan't say.

7.) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? OMG pretty much of them!! LOL Unhappy endings are for TV shows on HBO.

8.) Do you get hate on fics? I got a super picky review once. It came from a good place but it came across as super arrogant. And another made a good point about my phrasing (which I fixed) but the feedback was highly accusatory.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind? So much smut. Some of it is raunchy but most of it vanilla with a lot of hurt/comfort and sappiness. It can be said I enjoy the occasional PWP, usually with feelings.

10.) Do you write cross overs? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I'm not into crossovers much. I did write a Ghostbusters (1984) and Granada Holmes crossover: A Hunting We Will Go which was enjoyed by some.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nearly a decade ago now there was a copy-paste kinda website that pulled a lot of fics onto it. I think I filed a complaint. Not sure. Anyhow, I think it's down now.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge. Let me know if you ever want to.

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes, many years ago with a former friend. But I also have great memories of writing RP posts with the Downton Abbey crowd. Good fun!

14.) What’s your all time favourite ship? Newton and Hermann from Pacific Rim....duh. <3

15.) What’s a WIP you’d like to finish, but doubt you ever will Consolation for a Weary Traveler - Lord of the Rings - the fandom is too intimidating. I posted one chapter and got feedback so quick and I was like nope! people will hate me for writing Elrond smut.

16.) What are your writing strengths? My dialogue is pretty good. I capture characterization and voices fairly well.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses? Long fics. I have the stamina for novels apparently but not long fics.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I do occasionally use other languages in fic but I research the crap out of it first.

19.) First fandom you wrote for? Doctor Who! but technically I wrote fiction (a tv script) that was fan fiction adjacent for Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The TV Show. (My writing went so far away from one of the guest characters that it can't be called fan fiction anymore and now it's going to be a novel...whenever I get around to it.)

20.) Favourite fic you’ve ever written? Take to the Skies - RAF Pilot Newmann from Pacific Rim. I was just really happy with the way it turned out.

Tagging: @spengnitzed @hermannsthumb @decadentmousse @k-sci-janitor and whoever writes fic!

[ofanswereddreams]

respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better.

Roleplayer name: Amy… I love nicknaming everyone, but my own name is not conducive to it 😭

Roleplayer pronouns: she/her

Muse name: Rhysand Moonbeam, High Lord of Night, Rhys, Illyrian baby

Preferred communication: I generally start with tumblr DMs and then if I feel like we are jiving/vibing, I will ask about discord because plotting is just soooo much easier there.

Experience: technically I started on Neopets, then moved to invisionfree forums, then took a long hiatus and came to tumblr RP a few years ago

Preferred roleplay type: generally multi-paragraph, because I just cannot shut up lol. Especially in a starter. I gotta set the scene!!!!! But sometimes I’ll do one or two paragraphs. I never expect someone to match length, although a one liner would be really hard to write a response too.

Pet peeves & dealbreakers: uhhhh I guess being ghosted? Also just… if you clearly didn’t read my starter when you replied. Like once I wrote a starter with a very obvious point in my muse’s life (based on their job title), and the other mun wrote a reply set 10 years later when my muse had a totally different role/life circumstances.

Plots or memes: I feel like memes are best first, because I can get a feel for your take on your muse and see if we will gel. If it seems like a fit, then I usually want to plot! And also I loooove chatting about our muses and sharing headcanons and stuff.

Best time to write: weekends or weeknights when I don’t have something to do after work

Are you like your muse? Uhhh hmmmm. I guess in some ways… I would never be cool with having a reputation as the Devil like he did lol. I care too much what other people think of me. 😁

Tagged by: @stareternyl

Tagging: @lifebloomd @meaercies @nightsartist @ircnwrought @firehcart

[mark-seins]

✿ A Life Irreplaceable | Ephemer Week 2024: Day 3 & 4

prompt: Heart | Love // Sea of Stars

pairing: Apollo Agraeus (Destiny 2 OC © @theforsakenprince) & Ephemer (Guardian!Ephemer)

rating: G

word count: 3419

12 year old Ephemer goes to the moon and faces the consequences of his actions. Yet another Sea of Stars drabble rewritten based on a writing piece beloved Arctic wrote for Guardian!Ephemer! Please Enjoy~

This was a terrible idea, a stupid idea even. That, Ephemer knew, as he sat in the cockpit of the stolen ship. Well, not technically criminally stolen, but personal-rule-breaking-stolen ship from obviously one of who Ephemer considered to be his father, Wyvern. Being a young guardian as he is, Ephemer obviously couldn’t pilot the ship. Not without a license at least. That’s why he asked Ghost to pilot it, which is to say did not go well without warning.

“I still think this is the most reckless and awful idea you’ve ever thought of, Ephemer.” Said Ghost as he steered the ship out into orbit, “If your dad finds out-”

“He’ll be very upset. I know.” Ephemer cut him off. There was stiffness in his voice weighted by his anxieties, but the albino kept a brave face, “But it’s not like he’s going to find out!”

Ghost obviously knew better, but sighed as he said, “Right. Of course.”

With that, Ephemer leaned back on the pilot chair, his eyes glued to the front window where stars rained by. No matter how many times he’s seen this exact view of the orbit traveling around the Solar System with his fathers, he couldn’t get tired of the cosmos that surrounds them. Usually accompanied, there would be chatter and Wyvern’s astronomy lessons whenever Ephemer asked about anything regarding the planets and the stars that twinkle among the endless space. However this time, it was silent. Ghost wasn’t very sociable and Ephemer heard nothing but his racing heart.

Ephemer could handle Wyvern’s stern lectures, sure. He wasn’t nervous about that.

He was more nervous about how Apollo will react. He’s never seen him mad. Ever. Which was another reason not to get caught. Ephemer glared, as he pulled down his hunter’s cloak. Just don’t draw attention, and drift in and out. That was what he was taught.

“Why do you want to go to Luna so badly, Ephemer?” Ghost speaks up once more, drawing Ephemer away from his thoughts. “You’ve been told many times how dangerous the moon is. Why do you still want to go?”

Ephemer stared at Ghost for a moment before he looked down. Apollo’s handgun was on his lap, stolen from his nightstand. It had some scratches here and there, but it was still well taken care of. He held it up in front of him, aimlessly spinning it, “I want to know what’s been scaring him over there.”

Ghost turned, “You could’ve just asked.”

“Believe me, I did.” Ephemer said, sulkingly, “But he only told me that it’s not worth knowing and going to know. I have to take matters into my own hands. Besides, Guardians make their own fate right?”

Ghost seemed like he wanted to say more, but evidently opposed to it. Whatever Ghost wanted to say, it wasn’t going to change Ephemer’s mind.

Compared to the rest of the Solar System, Luna wasn’t much of what he expected. Grey rocks as far as the eye could see, with giant craters and cliffs scattered across the surface. It was nowhere near as impressive as the reds of Nessus or the beauty of the Dreaming City. To Ephemer’s disappointment, there wasn’t much of hostile entities that he could leap off the ship and blast away in style. Ghost landed the ship near what he called “Archer’s Line”. A small, secluded area filled with abandoned stations.

Ok, Ephemer can give some credit to the moon for a few dregs he could see. Some poked their heads out before hiding again as the ship landed. Despite being cautious, he couldn’t help but grimace. So far, nothing stood out to him. He could take care of some Fallen as they hissed and surrounded Ephemer. Easy. He unholstered Apollo’s hand cannon and blasted away. Reloading, he aimed towards one dreg before it ran away. Seriously? One could say this could be a good thing. That Ephemer could save up on his ammo, but where’s the fun of a planet or a moon within orbit that doesn’t have at least a bit of hostile lifeforms? Keeping Apollo’s gun closeby, Ephemer kept on walking.

Ephemer walked down a narrow path that seemed more for sparrows than on foot. The more man-made looking structures he’d seen from Archer’s Line became fewer and far between the roads, until all he saw was hive architecture. It seemed similar to that of the Cosmodrome, but older.

And.. he guessed more .. hivey.

Eventually, the trail opened up to a clearing so vast that Ephemer couldn’t see the other side. He could make out clusters of Hive lingering about the craters of the moon and structures unfamiliar to him. These ones were red as opposed to the gray and green chitin he’d see with the Hive back on Earth. Then he remembered the stories Wyvern had told him. The Hidden Swarm. This was Crota’s brood. The one responsible for the Great Disaster.

Ephemer knew, in some shape or form, that part of the reason Apollo despised the moon so much was because of the Great Disaster. Beyond that, he didn’t know much else. Someone close to him died, he gathered that much, but Apollo refused to talk about it any further. That was the reason why Ephemer was here; to see what could have terrified his father so much and what could have killed so many Guardians.

And if... if he could get rid of what specifically scared Apollo, then he wouldn’t have to be afraid of the moon anymore.

The large hole in the middle was what caught his attention. It looked like specific parts of the moon have concaved in, leaving a gaping maw in the middle of it. Ghost materialized besides him, there was almost a mix of fascination and fear in his voice.

“That’s the Hellmouth.” Said Ghost, “The place your dad definitely doesn’t want you to be.”

“That just means we’re in the right place!” In contrast, Ephemer was eager to discover this. He looked to Ghost as his freckles glimmered with his cheeky smile, “Come on!” He motioned to Ghost as he ran into the Hellmouth headfirst.

A few acolytes tried to stop him on his way down, but Ephemer swiftly shot them down with Apollo’s hand cannon. Everything so far had been mildly threatening, which Ephemer couldn’t tell if that was a good or a bad thing. He wouldn’t think Apollo would be scared of a few acolytes would he? Naaah. Even a few knights he encountered went down easily. As more Hive began to surround him. Ephemer couldn’t help but yawn. Luna was a very boring place, he thought.

He reached the edge of the Hellmouth and looke ddown into the abyss, leaning forward slightly to see if he could see any ground from here. There wasn’t. At least not from the pitch black darkness. Though there was a ring of ledges, Ephemer could barely make out the far side of a cavern where a few knight and acolytes were guarding the deeper parts of the Hellmouth.

In protest, Ghost materialized in front of him, “Okay, you’ve looked at it. Happy now?” He spun his shell anxiously, “Let’s get out of here before more Hive show up.”

Ephemer was quiet, before Ghost could see the mischievous glow in his freckles as he looked at Ghost, “I want to go down there.”

“Absolutely not.” Ghost retorted, “Very powerful Hive live down there and you are far less qualified to face them.”

“You said that the last time I went to Nessus! And the Dreaming City!”

“You were supervised, Ephemer. There’s a-” Ghost suddenly cuts himself off, before dematerializing. Ephemer could feel a shadow suddenly dwarf him, as he went immediately for his own handgun before turning too late.

Minutes later, Ghost raised him. Sitting up with a gasp, the young wolf found himself on the floor from the deeper ends of the Hellmouth. A wizard had blasted him over the moment he tried to pull out his gun. Presumably, the wizard from the surface had gone away to occupy their own business. He hauled himself to his feet, dusting himself off as Ghost scolded him,

“That was incredibly stupid.” Ghost bobbed besides him and in front of his face. Before he blipped and switched subjects, “Come on, there’s a path back up on the other side.”

Following Ghost’s coordinates, Ephemer took the time to look around his limited surroundings. The deeper part of the Hellmouth was darker here comparing to the surface of the moon. It felt cluttered, and almost suffocating. Ephemer felt like he could hit a wall at any moment had it not been for Ghost’s little light guiding the way.

He stopped suddenly, as he examined the pillars and the ground. There were runes that glowed slightly, but there was no light that could make anything visible. When Ephemer stopped following him, Ghost immediately retraced him as he gently pushed Ephemer’s shoulder with a huff.

“What more do you want to see? There’s nothing but Hive down here.”

Ephemer didn’t answer, before he sharply turned to Ghost flailing his arms, “Exactly my point! There’s nothing remotely terrifying down here!” He kicked a pebble, sending it bouncing and hitting one of the pillars, “Why am I not allowed in here?”

“I... I’m not sure myself, but your father definitely has his valid reasons. It was called the Great Disaster for a reason.”

“What’s there to be a great disaster if it’s just Hive doing what other enemies do?!” He huffed, before looking around some more, “I’m going in deeper.”

“Ephemer!”

Despite Ghost’s protest, Ephemer jogged to a random tunnel where a Hive lamp sat in front of it, piquing his interest. A solar knife formed in his palm and held it for light as he walked forward tentatively. Comparing to Ghost, he couldn’t see anything five feet in front of him, but he’s walked through plenty of dark tunnels before. This was nothing!

Which made everything less sense to Ephemer. What really was there in the moon to be so afraid about? Why make the effort to tell him ever since he was raised to tell him to stay away from the Moon unless a mission was provided for him to do so? Even Miss Eris advised against him to ever wander around Luna alone. What do these old geezers know that he doesn’t?

Eventually, Ephemer stumbled upon a large, circular room with a giant Hive rune in the middle of the floor. A platform stood at the back of the room, empty for now. Ghost suddenly appeared next to him, “Ephemer you can’t just run off like that!” He scolded once more, “Especially here..”

“It’s fine, the room is empty!” Ephemer rolled his eyes as he stepped towards the rune. “Here, help me examine this thing and then we... can...” He trailed off as he looked back, hearing thundering footsteps approach closer to their periphery. Ephemer didn’t have to tell Ghost to hide. The moment danger was sensed, he immediately knew what to do.

Within his bare sight, he saw a giant knight walk out of a doorway from the other side of the room that he hadn’t seen initially due to how dark it was around him. Its head nearly scraped the ceiling far above, and it held an axe bigger than Ephemer’s entire body on it shoulder.

Striking straight to his mind, Ghost said,

“Ephemer. Run. Now.”

The moment it stared down at him and readied its axe, instead of running, Ephemer’s body wired itself to unholster Apollo’s hand cannon and his solar knife in one hand.

“Ephemer, no!”

He blasted rounds as and quickly tried to dodge the knight’s large swing. However, even as he dodge its great impact from the swing against the ground caused the ground to shake. Ephemer stumbled forward due to off balance, before he shouted at the knight.

“Are you the one that’s scaring my dad?” He said, as if the Hive could understand him. It turned behind itself and snarled as Ephemer continued, “Whatever you are, y-you don’t scare me!” He said, aiming Apollo’s gun at it. “You recognize this gun don’t you?! This is the guy you continue to haunt in his dreams. Well he won’t have to dream about you anymore!” He said, before firing once again as he circled around the Hive. Hiding behind pillars and peering out to try to scope any openings. He fired again and threw his solar knives in a barrage.

Nothing seemed to affect the knight however.

Ephemer hissed, before he aimed Apollo’s gun again. Only to realize he ran out of ammo.

“..Oh no-!”

He searched for his bag to see if he had more...

but there wasn’t. None that Apollo’s hand cannon could hold. He sharply turned to his opponent, who now had the upper hand as it readied its axe once more and slammed down nearby Ephemer. The impact led him to fall back, dropping Apollo’s gun out of his reach as his solar knife disappeared.

“Ephemer!” Ghost shouted in his head.

Ephemer felt rooted to the ground as he stayed on his bottom, craning his neck up towards the knight as it approached him. He couldn’t fight this, he realized. He suddenly realized how small and alone and terrified he was this whole time himself. Suddenly, he felt like he was in Apollo’s shoes. In Eris Morn’s. In every Guardian’s shoes that have faced the Great Disaster. He’s never had to fight something like this alone. He realized that no Guardian he knew from the Great Disaster had faced the horrors of death alone. If anything, they were witnesses of such, suffering survivor’s guilt more than the dreaded loneliness of dying alone where no one will see you or even hear of you ever again.

Ghost suddenly materialized in front of him, trying to break his focus, “Ephemer, get up! Run!” He yelled, trying to divert his attention. Though Ephemer saw the axe rise above Ghost and Ephemer immediately sprung to cover Ghost.

To what felt like an hour or so, Ghost finally raised Ephemer again. Ephemer got up, finding himself patched up and ...

... and back on Earth.

Did the Vanguard find him? A fireteam? Or..

“He’s awake!”

A small gasp of surprise form at his mouth as he heard a familiar voice and turned. A pink short haired girl dressed rather frilly tilted to the side as he finally faced her. It was the traveling girl with a large key he met the other day, her voice cheery but brimmed in worry.

“I’m glad... I was worried I arrived too late. I didn’t see your Ghost until I brought your body out of the Hellmouth.”

As his brain recomputed, the girl’s name escaped Ephemer’s lips, “Mimi...”

Before Mimi could say anything else, the door to the room they were in slid open and the two teenagers faced who entered. Immediately, Ephemer turned pale as he saw the familiar white and blue clothes.

“Mr. Agraeus! Mr. Lancer!” Mimi said, in contrast to Ephemer’s silent guilt. The girl walked up to Apollo and Wyvern, updating them on Ephemer’s condition. “His Ghost rezzed him just now, so he should be fine... though I’m unsure how to report this to the Vanguard... Ah- Mr. Agraeus?” Mimi cut herself off as Apollo walked passed by her. He felt anger from Apollo’s footsteps, and immediately looked down. He heard Apollo’s helmet clatter to the ground as the man spoke to him.

“Eph. Look at me.”

Despite the fury in his voice, he sounded so cold... so exhausted. Slowly, Ephemer rose his head up to face Apollo. His hair was dishelved, and his eyes carried mixed emotions that he couldn’t pinpoint what they were. Fear? Anger? Both?

“...I..” Ephemer began, before Apollo cut him off.

“What were you thinking? How many times have I told you not to go there? How many?” Apollo’s voice became stern, not much quivering but there was something stuck in his throat for sure. Was he holding back on yelling at him?

“I’m... I’m sorry I-”

“You could have died! Permamently!” There was the burst. Though, flames seemed to only spark at Apollo’s shoulders and fingers. The young wolf winced as he looked down again. This was the most he has seen Apollo upset about, and he couldn’t blame him. Back there, if Mimi didn’t find him... he would’ve been dead as long as Ghost wasn’t able to rezz him to, and if Ghost tried to.. he would’ve been...

Apollo shot a glare at Ghost, who flinched to stay near Ephemer as Apollo snarled, “You should have known better.”

“N-No it was my fault!” Ephemer finally spoke up, looking up at Apollo as he cradled Ghost tenderly as if he were hurt. “He... He tried to stop me but I didn’t listen to him. I just wanted to know what the Hive were over there on Earth that were so different on Earth! A-And I still don’t get it!”

“It just is, Ephemera!” Apollo snapped back to Ephemer, solar glowing in his eyes, “You don’t need to know why. You just need to fucking listen to me on this one!”

“Why do I have to listen to you if you only shut me away?!”

Apollo stopped, blinking once out of shock from his sudden outburst - which Ephemer realized what he had said, before he curled up. Holding his knees together before the adrenaline wore off and everything began to process to him. He died twice today, from his hubris and his helplessness. Now his own father was upset at him because he just wanted to know why...

“I-I’m sorry..” Ephemer’s voice shook, “I just.. I just wanted to find out what scared you so much. I wanted to get rid of it so then you can not be scared of the moon anymore. But..” Ephemer’s voice trailed off with a sob, “I get it now... I get why you’re scared. I was alone with nothing or no one to call for help... I would also be scared to die down there.”

“...Eph..” Apollo’s voice then grew soft, his shoulders relaxing.

“If someone I was close to were to die in front of me... I would also be scared..!”

“Oh, kiddo..”

The solar faded from Apollo, as he sat by Ephemer and cradled his head lovingly and comfortingly, “I.. I know you care. I’m sorry I yelled. I just-..” He heard Apollo swallow, “You’re right. I was scared... but moreso that what’s down there will get you too.” He and Ephemer faced each other, Apollo wiping the tears from Ephemer’s eyes, “When Wyvern, Mimi and I saw you dead with that Knight, I was terrified that it had happened again. Only to learn after we’d escaped with you that Ghost was just hiding and waiting.”

“... the thing you are scared of getting me was something similar to the Great Disaster, right?”

“Right.” Apollo nodded, “The Knight you saw? That was the same Knight that killed Percy.”

Percy. Ephemer heard of that name. It was muttered only in whispers and in the night when both of his dads were up late or have been woken up and thought Ephemer was sleeping. Suppose ... he wasn’t ready to tell Ephemer who Percy was yet other than someone important to him that he lost. Just not knowing the why and how.

Apollo then embraced Ephemer, brushing his white curls, “I should’ve told you sooner. I’m sorry.”

Ephemer was quiet, but he felt warmth from his papa that he couldn’t tell if it was the closure he finally got for one thing he wanted to know from Apollo, or their solar energies were doubling together in harmony. Either way, Ephemer huddled further into his dad.

“..No.. I’m sorry for breaking the rules.. Thank you for telling me.” He says, before breaking the hug and facing Mimi and Wyvern, “And um.. Sorry for causing more trouble. A-At least I didn’t crash your ship, dad..”

Wyvern blinked rather confounded before exchanging a glance at Mimi, who only giggled at Wyvern in response. Wyvern sighed before he shook his head, “Nothing that can’t be replaceable. All that matters is that you’re home safe and sound.”

Ephemer nodded, agreeing.

“Besides,” Mimi added, clapping her hands once, “Your life is the one thing irreplaceable to your fathers’ hearts. All that matters is that you’re alive. Right?”

Ephemer blinked at Mimi’s words, before he smiled and blinked his tears away.

“Right!”

[hereghostslive]

8, 15 and 29 for ao3 wrapped please Rose

hi d!

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year

im going to answer this in two ways. published, i have 5 Carlos/TK fics this year versus the 4 BuckTommy fics I have published. So technically Tarlos, however, the number of unpublished wips I have puts BuckTommy slightly ahead. so it's essentially a tie between them haha.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

all of them! im the slowest writer in existence lmfao. But my favorite one is Staring at ghosts, which im reworking slightly based off 8x06.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I answered this here, as well, but there were few I really liked.

This one is from halted beginnings, my tarlos fic that takes place the morning after the proposal. carlos is so happy but there's the looming secret of iris, which he's forgotten.

“You’re my fiancé now.”

It’s the first time he’s heard the word. They didn’t even use it back then, the decision was made so quickly and with very little planning. And, oh. That’s the thing, is’t it? A whisper of a memory. He got the call from a detective first, before Michelle.

They found your wife. She’s alive.

By that point, she was more Michelle’s sister than anything. A missing person, a case to be solved. Before that, Carlos’ wife. Even longer before, his best friend. Carlos doesn’t remember when the latter no longer applied and the former became something he forgot.

He supposes, though, legally, they are definitely still one of them.

Huh. He thinks that seems like something one should remember. The anxious pacing throughout the courtroom, the bored looking witness, plucked randomly from the staff milling about their day. The weeds they pulled from the ground and fashioned into make-shift rings. And the look on his parents’ faces when they showed up to dinner that evening and told them. How a moment’s piercing silence was almost enough for Carlos to doubt that this was what his parents wanted, until cheers and congratulations rang out, engulfing them in a joyous cocoon of happily ever after. The doubt slithered away, defeated. Carlos hugged his parents. In his father’s embrace, he closed his eyes to the look his sisters shared between them, and thought, this is what pride feels like.

--

ao3 wrapped prompts if you want to know more

[theriveroflight]

hoping for a last-minute miracle

This year, I participated in @fyeahghosttrick's Ghost Swap! I wrote for @laughingmango, and used the following prompt: "Any sort of what-if with the detectives". Technically also sort of falls into the prompt with Cabanela/Jowd h/c, but this is (mostly) gen with hints of subtext.

Rating: T (very light cursing; death/violence)

Word Count: 8504 (whoa!)

Summary:

The evidence is getting filed away tomorrow. After tonight...no more second chances. The force is giving up on Alma, and they'll have to give up too.

(AU: Alma's death has been a cold case for the last five years. Cabanela and Jowd, in charge of the Special Investigations Unit together, have one more night to solve the case before the evidence is filed away and it sinks to the bottom of priorities along with every other cold case...)

Read on AO3

Tonight is the last night they have to get any more information on Alma’s case. Cabanela thumbs open the file again. A locked-room murder. There had been a gun hanging on the wall that had gone off, somehow. There were no fingerprints on the gun. The ballistics matched the gun perfectly.

Jowd said that it wasn’t usually loaded. If Alma needed to use it, she could load it herself.

“Cabanela?” Jowd asks, voice rumbling. “Do you think it’s hopeless?”

“I don’t know,” he answers. “It’s not that simple, baby. These cases…they might not even be connected.”

“When the first case happened with the rocker…I thought…” Jowd sighs. “I thought there might have been hope. That we could find some answers.”

“There’s still something I want to investigate,” Cabanela says. “There’s a meeting going down tonight with a man that we both thought was dead.” He grabs a different file and slides it over to Jowd. “I’ve already dispatched some of the force to keep an eye on it.”

“...the Chicken Kitchen?” Jowd asks, looking over the file. “Who’d you send?”

“Detective Memry was planted undercover. Rindge is supposed to keep an eye on things from the outside. Iiiiiiiii like to think it’ll go well.”

“Lynne said she couldn’t be here tonight.” Jowd frowns. “She took the night off. Said she was meeting someone.”

“And just wheeeeere did that meeting happen to be?”

“She never said.” Jowd looks back up. “I’m worried about her, Cabanela. You know she’s never been the best at controlling her impulses. I could blame that one on you.”

“Oh, come on, baby, you were the one that was gonna turn himself in for a murder he didn’t commit.” Cabanela leans back in his chair. “Youuuuu just might be the impulsive one.”

“Well, I never,” Jowd answers, a smile on his face. Cabanela smiles in return — at least he’s managed to get a smile on his partner’s face. They’ve been few and far between since the events of five years ago — Jowd’s dedicated himself to investigating Alma’s death with the rigor of a swordsman.

“Inspector Cabanela?”

It’s the chief on the radio. What could he want with them?

“Chief, what’s wrong?”

“Case at the junkyard,” he answers. “Want you to supervise them.”

“Who’s on the team?” Jowd asks.

“I’ll go, baby,” Cabanela says. He shuts off the radio. “Keep an eye on things at Point X for me, yeah?”

“I will.” Jowd looks at him in a softly familiar way.

Yomiel. The body is undoubtedly his, just as much as the coroner is undoubtedly a fake. Cabanela can tell just by looking. The way people act portrays just who they are — he mostly applies that to himself, but that applies to other people too.

“Inspector!” Both detectives salute him when he gets downstairs. The coroner just keeps working. Yet another sign that something is amiss.

“Evening, boooys,” he says, shooting them a disarming smile. “Hoooow’s it hangin’?”

The two look at each other, mildly disconcerted. 

“Allow me to report, sir!” McCaw’s partner says. “We’ve brought a suspect into custody. She’s being held upstairs in the super’s office!”

“Good, gooooood,” Cabanela responds. “I’ll be right there. And just where is there?”

“Upstairs, sir,” McCaw answers. “Just past where you put your bike.”

“Thaaaaank you,” he answers. “I’ll just be heading on up there for an interview now. See you later, baby!” He prances back up the stairs and over towards the office. He’s been here before. Many a time, actually. Prof’s been a real help over these last few years. But nobody really knows about that.

But the person he sees when he gets up there surprises him.

“Lynne.” He looks at the patrolman keeping an eye on her. “Do me a soliiiiid, would you?”

The patrolman salutes. “Yessir!”

“Inspector Cabanela! I thought…I thought tonight was important.”

“Still got time to see you, baby,” he says. “Jowd’s on it. And you’re more important right now in this crisis.”

Lynne looks down. It pains him to see her distraught. She straightens up. “Wait. You said…crisis? Does that mean…I never even met that guy before tonight! I didn’t kill him!”

Hmm. So it sounds like Lynne doesn’t remember what Yomiel looks like, at least — it happened when she was young, at least, and the memory is probably hazy from how traumatic it must have been for her.

“Never? Then how’d you end up here, baby?”

“Well, uh, before tonight, that is…” Lynne raises a hand to the back of her neck sheepishly. “He reached out to me first, actually. He said that he had some important information about a case I’ve been working on.”

“Hmm…” Cabanela strokes his goatee. “Iiiii don’t believe your precinct assigned you to any big cases. Funny, isn’t it?”

“Huh?!” Lynne asks.

If he had to guess…she’s probably doing the same thing he and Jowd are. Trying to close a case that’s been open for far too long. Trying to heal Kamila’s heart.

Tonight is the last night. It only stands to reason that she’d be desperate.

“Don’t worry, baby. I don’t think you did it. I’m just tryna clear things up a little.” He smiles. It’s not as effective on her, since she knows him better, but it still works. “You’re not the type to shoot like that. And if anything ever happened to you…”

“Yeah,” Lynne says. “Yeah.” She swallows. “Inspector Cabanela…I have one question for you.”

“Go ahead, baby,” he says.

“Tonight is the night, right? That it…”

“I have noooo idea what you— Get down!” He shoves her out of the way as a bullet crashes through the window.

-

“Ngh.” What’s going on? Where is he? What…happened? “Lynne!”

“You’re awake,” a voice he doesn’t recognize says. “Great.”

“What’s…who am I?”

“You’re in the land of the dead,” the voice answers.

Cabanela — so that’s his name — opens his eyes.

“The…land of the dead?” he asks, right before he takes in who the voice belongs to. “You!”

“Huh?” the man who looks like Yomiel asks. Land of the dead…it would make sense. Yomiel is dead, after all. “I’m Sissel. And you’re Inspector Cabanela, I believe.”

“Thaaaaat’s right,” Cabanela answers. Sissel. That’s a name that pings some kind of recognition in him, but…he doesn’t know exactly where he’s heard it before. “So…I take it that I died, then?”

“You’re in the Ghost World,” ‘Sissel’ explains.

“I can’t be dead. Not tonight.”

“Someone told me that something very important was happening tonight,” Sissel continues. “If I had to guess, I’d say you were an important part of it. But…I can bring you back. Learn what happened to you.”

“Iiiiiii’m not sure who you think you are, but I don’t think anyone has that power,” Cabanela says.

“Let me show you, then,” Sissel says.

Cabanela’s death plays out in front of him — from the walk up the stairs to his conversation with Lynne.

“So that’s it, then?” Cabanela asks. “How are you gonna stop it?”

“That’s up to me,” Sissel answers. “I’ll do my best to stop whoever’s shooting you. I’ve already saved other lives before.”

“It’s in your hands now, baby. Nothin’ much I can do to stop it.” Cabanela leans back.

Sissel hums and gets to work. What that work is, Cabanela doesn’t quite understand at first. But then Sissel does…something to the van door and it opens.

A trick. Something that could happen in a locked room. Something that could happen…without a person there to witness it or to explain just what had happened.

Could this have happened to Alma?

Sissel drops some crates on top of the would-be assassin’s head. “And there we go.”

“Thank you,” Cabanela says. “You’ve helped more than you know.”

“Of course,” Sissel says. “Do you…know anything? About me?”

“Whyyyyyy do you ask?”

Sissel sighs. “Figured it was worth a shot, at least. It looks like you don’t have the answers I’m looking for, though. Let’s get back to the present now, shall we?”

Cabanela nods.

-

“It’s the night that her case gets filed away. Forever.” Lynne grips her arm and looks away. “Inspector Cabanela, I know you know what I’m talking about.”

“Well, Iiiiiii’m certainly not at liberty to tell you about it, baby,” Cabanela says. He needs to talk to Jowd as soon as possible — he needs to tell Jowd what he’s just learned. What the key is. “I gotta go now, baby. Get some sleep, would you?”

Lynne rolls her eyes. “You worry too much, Inspector.”

“I thiiiiiink in our line of work, it’s justified.” Cabanela turns towards the door. “I’ll just be going now. I’ll be sending that patrolman riiiiiiight back in, so don’t try to escape now, would you?”

“I won’t!” Lynne says.

-

Back to the precinct.

“Heeeyyyyy, Jowd,” Cabanela says. “Heard anything from Rindge?”

“I checked in with him,” Jowd responds. “He just arrived at the park. He’s keeping a lookout on things now.” His face twists. “At first when I called, someone else responded. He called himself…the guardian of the park?”

“Iiiiiiiinteresting,” Cabanela says. “They’ve got Lynne held up in the super’s office. They think she did it, baby.”

“Lynne?” Jowd asks. “Who…what was going on?”

“I don’t know,” Cabanela answers quietly. “The body…it was Yomiel.”

“Yomiel?” Jowd says suddenly. “No…there’s no way.”

“That’s what I thought,” Cabanela says. “Buuuuuut I have no idea who else it could be. It was…he was wearing the same suit still. Same hair. It’s like the past ten years never happened. Lynne didn’t remember him, though.”

Jowd frowns. “I can see why she doesn’t. It must have been difficult for her. But I could never forget what his face looked like.”

“Me neither.” Cabanela places a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “Iiiiii’m not sure what to do, but we’ll figure this out. I know it.” He smiles. “You and me, baby. Together we’re unstoppable.”

Jowd nods. “Indeed.”

“Iiiiiii’m gonna head down to the chief’s office now,” Cabanela says. “I think heeeee might know something about Lynne’s case.”

“Alright. If it’s really Yomiel, then…”

Cabanela nods. “Lotta things going down in this town tonight, baby. It’s up to us to unravel this.”

“And Alma…” Jowd sighs. “I hope we can put her to rest tonight.”

Cabanela takes a deep breath. “I hope so too.”

“This…with Yomiel…it can’t be a coincidence with what happened ten years ago. There’s just something we’re missing.” Jowd sighs. “I don’t know what the connection could be…or if there even is one. Maybe we’re just chasing ghosts.”

Ghosts. The man that had called himself Sissel.

Would Jowd even believe him?

“Speaking of, actually,” Cabanela says, “there’s juuuuuust one more thing I have to tell you. There’s another player out there tonight. He saved my life. And he looked just like Yomiel.”

“...how?” Jowd asks.

“Took out an assassin. Called himself…Sissel. Strangest thing was, I think he miiiiiight be a ghost.”

“A ghost.” Jowd crosses his arms. “I don’t want to say you’ve lost your touch, but…”

“I’m not quite sure either,” Cabanela admits. “Buuuuuuut I’m keeping it in mind. For when I find out.”

Jowd nods. “Alright.”

Cabanela wonders if Jowd picked up what he was trying to say. That it could have been…that it could have been what happened to Alma.

-

“The super sent us the security footage,” Chief says. Cabanela can hear the almost imperceptible sound of him rubbing his feet together under the desk and fights the urge not to wrinkle his nose in disgust. “I hate to say it, Inspector, but it looks like your protégé is in real trouble.”

“Just show it to me, would you?” Cabanela winks and takes a position to watch as the projector springs downwards. It shows the edge of the junkyard near the fence. He watches Yomiel as he stands in front of Lynne. Yomiel? Maybe it is Sissel. Maybe Yomiel got himself a copycat, ten years later.

The man in the red suit flops back against the fencepost as Lynne takes out her pistol. She fires two shots, looking for all the world like she’s struggling. The first hits the man’s box. The second hits the man. The man flops forwards to the ground as Lynne puts her gun back.

“That’s not where the body was found,” Cabanela points out. He grabs the remote and fast-forwards the footage.

Huh. A black cat in the box knocked down the body. Odd.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Inspector, but…this looks like a case for the Special Investigations Unit.” The chief frowns. “He looks an awful lot like that suspect from all those years ago.”

“You’re right.” Cabanela frowns. “Yomiel…I didn’t think I’d ever see that face again. But to think that maybe…”

“What are you thinking, Inspector?” the chief asks.

“Oh, don’t worry, Chief,” Cabanela says. “I’m sure it’ll be alright, as long as I’m on the case.”

“Still keeping an eye on Point X?”

“Of cooooooourse,” he answers. “I’ve got some officers I trust keeping a lookout on the scene. And Jowd’s got an eye on them, too.” He’d trust Jowd with his life.

“I always wondered…” The chief trails off, and then straightens himself back up a little bit. “I always wondered how you were always so sure that Jowd didn’t do it.”

“I trust him,” Cabanela answers. “If he says he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it. Plain and simple, baby. Just the way he’s always liked it.”

“I suppose that’s true.” The chief sighs. “Still, I have to wonder after all these years…he could’ve been letting the case grow cold for his own sake.”

Well, Cabanela knows that’s…true. At least a little bit true. Jowd’s not doing it for himself, though. He’s got his little girl at home to look after. Kamila…Cabanela hopes she’s safe at home, and not doing anything else besides reading her book and listening to her music.

“Jowd’s not like that. Trust me,” Cabanela says. “I wouldn’t have kept him so long as my partner if I didn’t.”

They have to stop this. It’s simple enough.

“Chief,” he continues, “I’m heading back to the scene of the murder. Lynne should still be there. I’ll take her back to the precinct. Didn’t get the chance earlier.”

The chief nods. “Alright, Inspector.”

Cabanela heads out and bikes back to the junkyard.

But when he gets back to the office, it’s…empty. Or at least the person he’s looking for isn’t here.

“Where’d Lynne go?” Cabanela asks the nearest patrolman.

“I don’t know!” he answers, putting his hands up. “You left, called me back in, and she was already gone!”

Ah.

Cabanela sits down at the super’s desk. “Heeeeeey, chief. I need a favor. Put out an APB on Lynne for me, wouldya?”

“Got a runner on our hands?”

“Indeeeeeed. Now, I don’t like what’s happened, but that doesn’t change that she’s pretty heavily involved in what’s gone down here. And since she ran, it means she has something she wants to hide from me.”

“I’ll do that right away, then,” the chief answers. “Thank you, Inspector.”

“Don’t thank me yet, baby. I’ve stiiiiiiiill got work to do.” Cabanela sets down the phone. And then it starts ringing again.

“Chief told me you were here,” Jowd says, his low timbre vibrating over the line. “I just thought I should inform you that they’ve found Lynne. She’s at Point X.”

“What? Why is she at Point X?” Cabanela demands.

“Dunno. Detective Rindge just informed me.” Jowd sighs. “Do you think that maybe she got in over her head? That she was the one who scheduled the meeting because she was looking for answers?”

“Could be anything,” Cabanela answers. “I’m not sure exactly what she’s been up to tonight. But she told me something iiiiiiiinteresting earlier.”

“What’d she say?”

“She said that tonight was the night that her case was being filed. And she asked me to tell her about Alma.”

“I…” Jowd trails off. “That’s concerning. But I don’t think Lynne has the resources to arrange that sort of meeting.”

“That’s true,” Cabanela admits. “She told me when I asked her that Yomiel had asked her to meet. I’m not sure she was exactly…looking before now. When the opportunity strikes, you’ve got to take it.”

“Like tonight, then?” Jowd asks. “Rindge was heading in, last I heard. He should be talking to Lynne.”

“Thaaaaanks.” Cabanela sighs. “Keep me updated, will you?”

“Of course,” Jowd answers. “I wouldn’t leave my partner in the dark.”

-

Cabanela heads down to the basement.

“Heeeeeey, Prof,” he says as he hops down the stairs. “Get a good look at that body yet?”

“We already knew it was Yomiel,” he answers. Lovey-Dove coos atop his head. “Can’t conduct a proper autopsy, though. Could run some other tests…”

“Why nooooot?”

“Take a look for yourself,” he answers. Cabanela approaches the table. The man attempts to make an incision. The incision instantly heals. “I suspect the healing factor is the Temsik shard lodged in him.”

“Faaaaascinating.” Cabanela looks over the body.

“It’s a corpse, to put it shortly — he’s not truly alive. Somehow or another…he’s inhabiting his own body.” Lovey-Dove coos, as if to punctuate that ominous remark.

“I learned earlier tonight that ghosts are real,” Cabanela says. “That could be it. I just still don’t understand how.”

“Hmm.” He runs a scanner over the body. “Same radiation as the park, though. You’ve got eyes on that?”

“Yeah,” Cabanela answers. “Rindge was put there for the stakeout. We’re fiiiiiiiiine. Everything’s under control.”

That’s when the phone rings.

“Cabanela? Are you there?” Jowd asks, sounding more panicked now.

“What’s wrong?” he demands.

“It’s Kamila.” Cabanela could swear that his heart stops beating for a moment. “They’ve kidnapped her.”

“What?!”

“The demand is my life,” Jowd says. “They want me to surrender myself for her.”

“No,” Cabanela says.

“I have two hours to respond before they kill her,” Jowd says. “I know you can take care of her. You’ve been helping me out for years. I know you can do this, Cabanela.”

“You said two hours, right?” Cabanela says. “I’m going to figure out how she was kidnapped and rescue her before it’s too late.”

“It’d take a miracle to pull that off,” Jowd says.

“And if anyone’s in the business of miracles, it’s me, baby,” he answers. “I’ll find Kamila. Mark my words.”

“Good luck,” Jowd answers.

Cabanela puts down the receiver. “I’m afraid I have other business to attend to, Prof. Catch you later!”

He just nods in response. Lovey-Dove nods alongside him.

Cabanela walks up the stairs and hops on his bike. Time to go. Where could the kidnappers have taken them?

Maybe he’ll start by checking in on Point X. Lynne’s probably left at this point, but Memry and Rindge will still be there.

-

Cabanela sits down at a booth in the Chicken Kitchen and rings the bell three times.

“Memry,” he remarks. “Sit down. Did anyone come in tonight that was suspicious?”

“Besides that other detective?” Memry remarks. “And I’m not supposed to sit.”

Cabanela waves his hand. “Don’t wooooooorry about losin’ your job. It’s not like you’re gonna be here after tonight, baby.”

Memry sighs. “Don’t remind me! I loved the extra pay. Both from here and from the boss. I was making so much moolah it was worth all the crap I get being a waitress.”

Cabanela raises an eyebrow. Then again, she is on the job while she’s here, so she should be getting paid as a detective and as a waitress. Not that waitressing pays well, but depending on the tips she’s getting…he supposes he could understand why she’d want to stay longer in her position.

“Actually, there were a couple people upstairs earlier,” she says. “I tried to plant a bug on them, but Rindge told me that it didn’t work and all he was getting was the chef, for whatever reason. Could’ve sworn I put it on the chicken I was getting to them, but…I guess I’ll never find out what was in that giant suitcase they had. Seemed pretty heavy, too. The guy was having trouble carrying it. I bet that woman he was with could’ve carried it no problem, though. She was pretty strong, if you catch my drift.”

Cabanela rolls his eyes. “And where did they go after that?”

“Not sure,” Memry answers. “But whoever they were waiting for didn’t show up.”

“Iiiiiiiinteresting,” he says. “What’d they look like?”

“The guy was wearing a hat, and he was always a little hunched over. The woman was taller than him, even without her heels. She had a really wild hairstyle, though. Blonde hair, all around her in a spiral. Kinda wish my hair were long enough to do that, but then again, I don’t want to have to deal with it when it gets that long.”

“Detective,” he says, “do you have aaaaaaany idea where they went?”

“Nope! I wish I could tell ya. They left on a motorcycle, I think. Rindge might have the plate number. I heard he was lonely in that park…”

“They might come back,” Cabanela says. “Stay here until the restaurant closes, yeah? After that, you can hang out with him aaaaaaaall you want.”

“Fine, fine.” She rolls her eyes. “Wouldn’t want to get written up tonight.”

Cabanela leaves the restaurant and rides over to the park.

“Stop the park from being turned into a housing site!” a young man says, waving around leaflets. “Protect Temsik, rock of the gods!”

Cabanela grabs a leaflet just to placate him, and then jaunts on towards where Rindge is looking out over the edge, in the direction of the Chicken Kitchen.

“Inspector Cabanela!” Rindge says, straightening up suddenly. “Sir!”

“Relaaaaaaax,” Cabanela says, leaning up against the railing. “I’m just here to ask you something, baby. Did you spot a couple carrying a large suitcase? Memry in there seems to think youuuuuu might have a plate number for me.”

“I saw them leaving on a motorcycle,” Rindge answers, as impassive as ever. “I couldn’t see the plate number, though. Too small. They were heading east, though.”

“Thaaaaaank you,” Cabanela responds. “East it is, then!”

East. What was in that direction? Where would make for a good hideout for a couple criminals?

Oh.

Jowd and Kamila had moved out of their old house a few months after Alma’s death due to the fact that Jowd hadn’t wanted Kamila to stick around there so long afterwards. The house had become derelict since, and known as something that only teenagers occasionally looked through for kicks, to see if the house was haunted. It’d make the perfect place for something like this.

Cabanela gets on his bike and rides over there. There are some candles lit in the front room. He sneaks his way in instead of announcing his presence just to find that there’s a man sleeping hunched over that matches Memry’s vague descriptions…and Amelie, the Justice Minister’s daughter. What is she doing here?

(At least it’s not Kamila.)

“Hello, Inspector.”

He nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound of that somewhat familiar voice.

“Sissel,” he manages to respond, “whaaaaaat are you doing here?”

“I was listening in on their conversation,” Sissel answers, raising one arm to shrug. “Couldn’t let the little lady stay kidnapped. Though I didn’t realize she was…”

“That’s not Kamila,” Cabanela says.

“I know that,” Sissel answers. “They got the wrong girl. She’s sick, though. I feel bad for her. Managed to get her free, but…not sure how to get her out. Get her out of here before the lady comes back, okay? I should go.”

Cabanela nods. “Alright. I’ll get her back to her family. I’m sure they’re worried about her. Sissel…”

“Do you need a favor from me?” he asks. “I’m already helping Lynne, so my plate is pretty full, but…”

“Make sure she gets through this night,” Cabanela says. “But I think you’re already doin’ that. So just keep on keeping on, yeah?”

Sissel smiles, the genuine happiness looking strange with the face he wears. “That won’t be a problem, Inspector.”

Cabanela snaps back into the real world and picks Amelie up.

The man straightens up. Cabanela freezes.

“Just my imagination…” He falls back asleep.

Amelie sniffles. Cabanela takes them both outside before setting her down.

“Heeeeeey,” he says, kneeling down to meet her at her own level. “How are you doin’?”

She sniffles again, and then sneezes. “I wanna go home. You’re a police officer, right? Can you take me home?”

“Yeah, baby, yeah,” he says. “I can get you home.”

“Okay,” Amelie answers. She wipes her nose on her sleeve. “Mommy and Daddy both said that I shouldn’t go out, since I’m sick like this, but I had to get something for Daddy.” There’s a lighter hidden up the sleeve of her nightgown. “Tonight is his birthday, but Mommy forgot, since she’s trying to finish her book tonight.”

“I’ll make sure it gets to him,” Cabanela says. He grabs his bike and places her on the seat, and then grabs the handlebars, letting her grab onto him. He wheels the bike towards her house. “And you, too.”

“Stop right there.”

Cabanela reaches into his jacket for his gun. The woman has long blonde hair, falling around her in rings. Just like Memry described. She has a riding crop, too.

He grabs his badge first. “Inspector Cabanela, Special Investigations Unit. You’re under arrest for kidnapping.” He then reaches for his handcuffs.

“Hmph.” She strikes him. He flinches, puts down the kickstand so Amelie doesn’t fall, and advances on her, cuffing her to a nearby pole.

He flips the kickstand back up and keeps walking Amelie towards the street corner.

“Heyyy, Jowd, I got some gooooood news, baby.”

“Really?” Jowd asks, voice sounding rushed. “What is it?”

“Iiiiiii found her!” Cabanela answers. “Wasn’t Kamila that was kidnapped, though.”

“It wasn’t?”

“As far as Iiiiii know, Kamila’s still at Lynne’s place,” he says. “Say hi, Amelie.” He offers the receiver over to her.

“Um. Hi?” She coughs a couple times.

“Thaaaaanks.”

“Is that the justice minister’s daughter?” Jowd asks.

“That it is,” Cabanela answers. “I’ll be getting her home now, and then I’m headin’ over to Lynne’s apartment to check on Kamila.”

“Thank you,” Jowd answers, voice rumbling. “I’m…I’m not happy that someone else was kidnapped, but I’m glad Kamila’s safe.”

“That’s juuuuuuust fine,” Cabanela answers. “Understandable, even.”

He still remembers the pang of relief that he had felt when it hadn’t been Kamila in there. When he had seen Amelie, sniffling and sneezing instead.

“Then I suppose I’ve got to focus on the case,” Jowd says.

“We can focus on the case when I get back, baby,” Cabanela answers. “I’ll see you soon.”

Jowd hangs up. He’s always been a concise man — that’s one of the things that had made them fit so well together.

“Who was that? And who’s Kamila?” Amelie asks.

“Thaaaaat was my partner in the force,” Cabanela answers. “He’s Kamila’s father. And Kamila’s who we thought got kidnapped, not you.”

“Oh! So you two are her dads?” she asks.

Cabanela very nearly stops in his tracks. “Who, me? I’m noooooot her dad. Nosiree.”

“But you said that you were partners?”

“Detective partners, not like that,” Cabanela answers. “Which way was your house?”

“Ummmmmmm.” She deliberates on that for a little bit. “I think it’s that way?” She points to the west. Fair enough.

-

“We’re here!” Amelie lets go and hops off the bike. “Thanks, Inspector!” She waves as she walks into the house, sneezing one more time for good measure.

He hopes she’ll be okay. Can’t be easy to get kidnapped while sick.

He hops on his bike and rides back to the precinct. Time for him to touch base with Jowd.

That’s when the car hits him.

-

“Seems like you and Lynne are competing to see who can die the most tonight,” Yo—Sissel says. He doesn’t sound like Yomiel, at least — but the face being the same still throws Cabanela off when he’s not anticipating it.

“Is Lynne okay?” Cabanela asks.

“She’s fine,” Sissel answers. “But you’re not.”

“Iiiiiii got hit by a car,” Cabanela says. “What can you do to prevent that?” 

“You’d be surprised,” Sissel answers. “Four minutes is a long time to change things.”

Cabanela just lets Sissel do his thing. As they watch…

Ah. Yomiel was driving the car that hit him. So it was probably intentional. Dammit.

“Who…is that?” Sissel asks. “And why does he have my face?”

Cabanela just sighs. “Iiiiiii’m not sure,” he answers.

“Let’s see what I can do,” Sissel says. “We might have to…get creative.”

“Well, a little creativity never hurt anything,” Cabanela answers, flashing a smile at Sissel. “You’ve gooooot this!”

“Thanks,” Sissel says, a little sheepish.

They start on the road, in front of where he died. Sissel takes him over on a leaf that drifts over, and eventually they manage to come down on top of the car. Yomiel has been…outside Jowd and Kamila’s house. What’s he waiting for?

And then the phone rings.

“Hello?” Yomiel snaps.

“Beauty’s gone! And the kid!” the man says on the other end of the line. That’s the man Cabanela had seen inside — the one that had been napping when he took Amelie back home. “Beauty was supposed to be back a while ago, ya see…”

Yomiel sighs, clearly annoyed. “I’m keeping an eye on the kid’s house. I haven’t seen her or her father all night. I don’t have time for your wild goose chases. You can live without your partner, can’t you?”

The man visibly shrinks. “Beauty’s my everything!”

“I’ll be coming to you,” Yomiel says. “I’m on my way now. You better not screw this up.”

Sissel jumps over to the car and triggers the lock.

Yomiel jiggles the door. “I don’t remember locking this…” He pulls out the keys.

“Looks like we didn’t buy ourselves that much time,” Cabanela says.

“No, but it’s still a little more time for you to get across that road safely,” Sissel says.

Yomiel finally gets the key and unlocks the car.

“Now what can we do?” Sissel asks.

“Do you…not know how a car works?” Cabanela asks.

“I barely remember what a car is!” Sissel responds.

“What?!”

“I’ve been trying to find my identity,” Sissel says. He looks over at Yomiel. “He probably has the key to all that. I don’t know why he’s just like me, but…that’s what I’ve been trying to do tonight.”

“A noble quest indeed!” Cabanela says.

“Do…you know anything?”

“I don’t think now’s the best time to talk about this,” he answers.

“After I save you,” Sissel says. “How do I operate this?” The gear shift.

“Not while the car is moving!” Cabanela says. “Are you crazy? You’re going to get him killed!”

Sissel attempts to move it. “It’s not moving anyway.” He looks around a little more, and swivels the mirror.

The world turns blue in front of them.

“Now then,” Yomiel says, focusing directly on Sissel, “I knew there was another ghost around town tonight, but…I didn’t think it’d be me of all people that was going around and stopping things from happening the way they’re supposed to. Not sure why you’ve got my face, but…things will still go down the way they’re meant to. However you’re trying to stop me…it won’t work. I will wipe out the last traces of Temsik before this night is over — and that will include you.”

Sissel sucks in a sharp breath.

The car speeds up. Cabanela, still alive, stops just before crossing the road instead of going.

The world turns red again.

“I don’t think that was how we were supposed to pull that off,” Sissel admits.

“Hey, I’m alive, aren’t I?” Cabanela asks. “I guess he’ll make it to his destination this time, baby. What’d you say last time? Go back to the new present?”

“Yes,” Sissel answers. “But…before I return you, I have to ask: did you know that man?”

“I did,” Cabanela answers. “He was shot earlier tonight. And I suspect his involvement in some other incidents. Especially after what I witnessed just now…”

“But me?”

“His name wasn’t Sissel,” Cabanela says. “Good luck figuring it out.”

Sissel looks down, but when Cabanela’s next aware, he’s back on his bike. He looks both ways before crossing this time, and makes it across without getting hit by any surprise cars.

-

“Kamila?” he asks. Missile barks when he walks in and runs around his feet.

She sets down her book. “Hey!” she answers. “Missile, could you please quiet down?”

Cabanela squats down and pets Missile.

“The neighbor said she’d try to knock the wall down if she heard Missile barking too much again,” Kamila says, sounding apologetic.

“You’re okay, right?”

“Of course I am!” she answers. “Tonight’s been…good, though I am a little sad that Lynne can’t hang out with me. She said that she’d be busy tonight.”

“And why’d she say that, baby?” Cabanela knows that if Lynne had really intended to stay out the entire night she would have probably told Kamila to stay home.

“I…don’t know, actually.” Kamila frowns. “Why are you here?”

“Your dad was worried about you. Iiiiiiii told him you were fine, but he wanted me to check up on you, juuuuuuust in case something bad happened.”

“Phone’s broken,” Kamila says casually. “I accidentally dropped the receiver earlier.”

“Huh.” Cabanela looks down at the phone. “Well then, Iiiiiii suppose we’ll have to find some other way to talk to your dad. I’ll go ask next door, yeah?”

“Okay,” Kamila says.

Cabanela hops over towards the apartment next door. “Hellooooooo,” he says when the door opens to him.

“And just what brings…a police officer to interrupt me on the holiest of nights?”

Great. It’s the Justice Minister’s wife. What was her name again…?

“My sinceeeeerest apologies, madame,” he says, bowing. “Iiiiiiii just need to borrow your phone for a moment. Could I?” He flashes his most charming smile at her.

“Well,” she says, “who am I to say no to a man like you?” She arches an eyebrow. “Phone’s over by the bed.”

“I’ll be quick, I promise,” he says. He saunters over the phone.

“Cabanela?” Jowd asks. “You were right about the ghosts.”

“That’s one hell of an opener, baby,” Cabanela says. “Buuuuuut I was going to tell you something first. Kamila’s just fine. I just checked up on her.”

“That’s good,” Jowd says. “But…you said a ghost might have caused Alma’s death. I just spoke to one earlier.”

“Greaaaaat,” Cabanela says. “You can tell me all about it later, baby. But I am currently borrowing this phone, so Iiiiiiiiii should probably be getting off.”

“That you should,” Jowd says, a tinge of warmth in his voice. “I’ll see you back at the station, Cabanela.”

He hangs up the phone.

“Thanks again,” he says, firing off a salute towards her. She’s too engrossed in her work to look up, pecking away at the keys one at a time. It strikes him as an awfully inefficient way to type, but then again, what does he know?

-

“You met Sissel?” Cabanela asks when he gets back to the station.

“Yes,” Jowd answers. “The only issue is…how can we prove it? How can we prove that it was a ghost?”

“I don’t know,” Cabanela answers. “I don’t have all the answers, baby. But whatever’s out there tonight is trying to get rid of everything Temsik.”

“Temsik, huh?” Jowd asks. “It’s always going to come back to that day.”

Cabanela puts a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “You’re not a bad person. I know it.”

Jowd frowns. “I could’ve killed him. I might have, even. I’m not like you.” He plucks a speck of dirt off Cabanela’s shoulder. “My coat’s not exactly clean.”

Cabanela rakes a judgemental gaze over Jowd’s coat. “Clean enough, I’d say. You’re standing beside me now, aren’t you?”

“Just because you kept insisting that I had to be here,” Jowd responds. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“I disagree,” Cabanela says. “I don’t want to be here without you.”

Jowd nods.

“Have you heard anything about Lynne?” Cabanela asks, shifting the subject away after a moment of awkward silence.

“No,” Jowd answers. “She hasn’t been seen since the Chicken Kitchen. We’re still looking, though.”

“Alright,” Cabanela says. “I think we need to prioritize Yomiel.”

“I agree,” Jowd says. “It has to be connected. Alma’s death, the meteor strike, Temsik….everything that happened tonight goes back to Temsik Park. The night’s wearing thin. Where would he go?”

“Maaaaaybe he’s trying to escape,” Cabanela says. “He’s working with the people that kidnapped Kamila.”

“And McCaw and his partner found someone crushed by the junkyard wrecking ball.” Jowd frowns. “It looks like he’s part of the same group that was at Point X earlier. Did we get any intel about them?”

“No,” Cabanela says. “I talked to Memry about them, and she said that they were the ones who kidnapped Kamila, buuuuuuuuut when she tried to plant a bug on them all she ended up with was the chef.”

“The…chef?” Jowd asks, confused. “What?”

“That’s what Rindge told me, at least,” Cabanela answers. “Iiiiiii’m not quite sure what went down.”

“I think I might have the answer to that.”

“Sissel,” Jowd says, offering him a warm smile. “It’s good to see you under better circumstances. Is someone dead?”

“Not right now,” Sissel answers. “It had to be the chef. The lady managed to figure out the bug. It caused that detective in green and Lynne to die.”

That…does not make sense at all.

“Could you please explain further?” Jowd asks.

“In the timeline where that undercover detective plants a bug on the chicken, one of them manages to figure out they’re being listened to, and when the bug got destroyed, the detective in green died,” Sissel explains, slower now. “I couldn’t save Lynne without saving him. But if it helps, I’m pretty sure they were waiting for the other man in red.”

“You saw him?” Jowd asks.

“I did,” Sissel says. “I’m…not sure what’s going on, but I have to talk to him again.”

“We’re trying to find him too,” Cabanela says. “He has answers for us relating to an incident we’re investigating.”

“Lynne told me a little about it,” Sissel admits, “but I didn’t get very much from her. A murder that happened five years ago, right?”

“Yes.” Jowd frowns.

“She said…it was something she wanted to do for you,” Sissel says, speaking directly to Jowd. “To repay you for what you did ten years ago.”

Jowd looks down. “Whatever she told you…I’m not as much of a hero as she thinks I am.”

“Sounded pretty heroic to me,” Sissel answers. “Lynne said you saved her life.”

“And I nearly killed someone else in the process.”

Cabanela frowns at that comment.

“Doesn’t matter if it didn’t happen,” Sissel says with a shrug. Cabanela flinches.

“That’s not how I see it.” Jowd’s face is impassive. He’s shut down. Cabanela’s seen that face enough to know it’s high time they shifted the subject of conversation to something else.

“Anything else you have to tell us, Sissel?” Cabanela asks.

Sissel hums. “I learned my name from some people on a submarine. They said they were looking for a man that looked like me, going by the name Sissel. And that I was supposed to give them information.”

Jowd looks over at Cabanela. “The docks?”

Cabanela nods. He could go and make his escape down there to that submarine…

“I’ll see if I can find my way down there too,” Sissel says.

“I’ll call the office there for you,” Jowd says. “That’ll make it easier.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do for you after you saved our lives tonight.”

“Don’t thank me.” Sissel seems to relax, despite the words. “I’m just looking for answers, and you all seem to have them. As long as I still don’t know the mystery of me…I’ll keep going.” He snaps them back into the real world.

“I will neeeeever be used to that,” Cabanela admits.

“It’s easier if you can sense him,” Jowd admits. “He’s waiting in the pen holder.”

Cabanela raises an eyebrow. “And how do you know that, baby?”

“I can…sense him, in a manner of speaking,” Jowd admits. “Call it detective’s instinct.”

“Like you’d know much about instinct,” Cabanela responds, mostly on impulse.

“You were right,” Jowd says. “It never sat right with me to just trust that I was right about what happened five years ago. But you said…”

“‘...if you can’t trust your instincts, trust me,’” Cabanela fills in. “I remember.”

-

It had been five years ago when the payphone on the street corner of Cabanela’s usual route home rang.

He was curious enough to pick up.

“Cabanela?” Jowd had asked, sounding like he was about to cry. Cabanela hadn’t heard him sound like that since his wedding, and this hadn’t sounded like a happy occasion. “Please. I need you here.”

“Are you at home?” he had asked, swinging onto his bike.

“Yes,” Jowd had answered, and Cabanela rode off as fast as his bike could go. When he got to the house, the sight in front of him had been astonishing, to say the least.

Alma was dead. Shot in the chest. Clean. Hit the heart. Cabanela remembers thinking that at the very least she had died a quick death.

And above her, Kamila had been crying, with Jowd soothing her.

“It wasn’t supposed to do that!” Cabanela had heard.

“Report,” Cabanela had snapped, using the same tone as the chief, just to get them to snap out of it.

Jowd looked up. “Thank you.”

“What’s going on?” Cabanela grabbed a pair of gloves from his jacket. They weren’t crime scene forensic style, but they were good enough. The gun on the wall… 

“It’s not loaded, but the ammo’s not hard to find if Alma ever needed it,” Jowd admitted softly. “I taught her to shoot.”

“Every gun needs someone to pull the trigger,” Cabanela had answered, and Jowd had flinched. “So who could’ve pulled this from up here?”

“It was me,” Jowd says. “I shot her. With my gun.”

His tone is too flat. 

“I don’t believe that for a second, baby.” The barrel of the gun on the wall was still warm when Cabanela pressed a hand to it.

Jowd had pulled Kamila in closer. Cabanela watched as her tears soaked into his coat.

“It was her birthday, wasn’t it?” Cabanela had asked, softer now. “Hell of a way to celebrate.”

Jowd flinched. “Watch your language.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Kamila had said again.

Cabanela knelt. “What do you mean, baby?”

“It was supposed to set off the party poppers,” she sobbed. “There was no string there. I’m not supposed to touch the gun.”

“I don’t know who did it,” Jowd said, “but my little girl’s not responsible for this.”

Cabanela looked at the gun in his hand. At the wall in front of him. At the decorations on the table, preparing for a party.

“She told me about it,” Jowd continued. “The machine. The cupid here…it’s supposed to face the table.”

“Then…something must have happened,” Cabanela said.

“I…don’t know what to think,” Jowd admitted. “Kamila, go up to your room. We’ll talk more later.”

Kamila nodded eagerly and scampered away.

“I know…I don’t want to think she could have done it,” Jowd continued. “But…the only person in the house was her. What else could it be? I want to say that she didn’t do it. I want more than anything to say that. But…”

“If you can’t trust your instincts, trust me,” Cabanela had told him. “I’m your partner. If I say she didn’t do it, she didn’t do it.”

They messed with the window, made the lock look like it was tampered with. There was an outside possibility now.

Cabanela had filed the reports, and tried not to think too hard about how he made himself accomplice to a crime.

-

“Sounds like you learned something from me after all,” Cabanela quips half-heartedly.

“It’s been years,” Jowd answers.

The lines start to blur after that long together. Cabanela knows Jowd as well as he knows himself. Maybe better, even.

Jowd picks up the phone and calls the docks.

“Sorry, I meant to dial someone else,” he says, and then puts down the phone. “Sissel should be on his way now. He’s not here.”

“Let’s go, then,” Cabanela says. “See if we can catch him.”

-

They find Yomiel uncovering a motorboat.

“So you’re not dead,” Yomiel says, directing the words to Jowd, bitterness seeping into his voice. “That just means I can do it myself.”

Cabanela reaches for the handcuffs in his coat’s inside pocket, and then he feels nothing at all.

-

The feel of a gun in his hand…the bang…what’s happening? Why can’t he do anything? He can’t see. He can’t feel. What’s around him? What’s happening?

-

When he comes to, he’s flat on the ground. Someone’s on top of his back.

“What’s going on?” Cabanela barks.

“Looks like you’re yourself again,” Lynne says from behind him. The weight gets off his back. He rolls over to see her and Jowd standing above him. “I managed to find my own way here, thanks to some intel Sissel gave me.” She offers him a hand. Cabanela takes it and pulls himself up. “Will someone just tell me what’s going on? I’ve been involved in this the whole time. Are you telling me that he’s the one who took me hostage?!”

“We need Sissel for this conversation,” Jowd just says, and they all pop back into the Ghost World.

“You two have been managing to dodge explaining this whole time,” Sissel says, blankly, without accusation despite the words. “There is no hiding here. Your thoughts are projected into speech. And yet…”

“His name is Yomiel,” Jowd says. “The man who took Lynne hostage. The man we’ve been chasing all night.”

Sissel’s form flickers and glitches before ultimately settling on a blue flame — one with sunglasses, but incorporeal nonetheless.

No more incorporeal than any other ghost, Cabanela supposes.

“I guess I know who he is, at least,” Sissel says. “But I’m not him.”

“No, you’re not,” Cabanela says. “That much has been clear from the start. The real Yomiel…”

Lynne gasps. “He killed Alma?!”

“That’s what we’ve been thinking, baby,” Cabanela says.

Sissel gestures over to Jowd. “He told me that you couldn’t solve the mystery until you found out about ghost tricks.”

Lynne looks down. “I’m sorry I’ve been getting in your way. Both of your ways. I didn’t realize it was all connected. I thought…I thought you had given up on it.”

“So you conducted your own investigation,” Cabanela says, “and you would’ve presented the findings to us if you had figured it out.”

“Well,” Lynne says, “I’m still not really sure. I’ve been hiding out here because it’s one of the shadier parts of town. It’s easy to stay away from the other officers.”

“Yomiel doesn’t just possess objects like Sissel does,” Jowd says. “He can also possess people.”

“So that’s what happened to me,” Cabanela says. “Did I…”

“Everyone but me’s currently alive,” Sissel says. “Missile helped.”

“Though I suspect one of my ribs is broken,” Jowd says dryly.

“Did Yomiel get away?” Cabanela asks.

“I think it’s more important that you’re alive,” Sissel says. “I have one more method of finding him. There’s a phone line to that submarine. And then…I guess from there it’ll be up to me. But what I do know is that whoever he’s working with has something planned for Yomiel and whatever Temsik is.”

“The park?” Lynne asks. “It’s always been named that…”

“He was hit by the meteor,” Jowd says. “That could be it.”

“I don’t have much longer here,” Sissel says. “Supposedly, I’m going to be gone once the morning comes. Not sure that’s true anymore, but…I have to find out the truth, and I think he’s the only one who knows.”

“Good luck,” Lynne says. “I’m rooting for you!”

“Thanks,” Sissel says.

“I know what happened to me now,” Lynne says. “He possessed me, didn’t he? I remember not being in control of myself. I can’t remember what actually happened, though…”

“There’s video footage from the surveillance footage of you shooting him,” Jowd says. “It’s irrefutable evidence. However, we also have evidence that he survived, unharmed. It’s likely that we could get the chief to drop your case.”

She perks up. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“If anything, it’d fall under our purview, due to the…strangeness,” Jowd says.

“And weeeeeeee know for a fact that you didn’t kill him,” Cabanela says. “He’s still alive, after all.”

“More like he’s been dead the whole time,” Jowd says, frowning. “He said that to me while you were retrieving Amelie. He blames me for killing him. Was…”

“No,” Cabanela says. “You’re not right to blame yourself for it. It wasn’t you. It was never you.”

“He was going to make you shoot me,” Jowd says. “That’s what he did when he possessed you. You had your gun pointed at me. That was when Lynne came in.”

“Well, it’s not like anyone else was going to do anything.” She seems distinctly uncomfortable in a way that Cabanela doesn’t see often. “I mean, it sucks that I shot someone I barely knew, even if he did turn out to be totally alive and also evil. It would suck even harder to have shot someone I actually care about.”

“Thaaaaanks,” Cabanela says. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem!” she responds. “So, are you guys going to take me back to the station, then? I had a good run evading the law…”

“I don’t thiiiiiiink you’ll want to say that to the chief,” Cabanela says. The three of them walk back to the police car together.

“Then I just won’t,” she answers.

-

“It’s been a long night,” Jowd says.

The sun’s starting to rise. Cabanela hadn’t even noticed it was nearly dawn.

“We got a lot done,” Cabanela answers. “You think we need the SIU anymore now that we’ve solved the case?”

“We still need to find Yomiel,” Jowd says. “It’s not the end. We might know what happened, but…this isn’t over yet. Not until he can’t cause any more chaos.”

“I agree,” Cabanela says. “A new adventure awaits, baby!” He yawns. “But for now…I’m headin’ back home.”

“Have a good one,” Jowd says. “And I’ll see you then, too.”

Cabanela leaves and gets on his bike, taking one last look at the sunrise before riding off.

[andorerso]

A YEAR IN FICS - 2022

time for one of my favorite New Year’s tradition: taking stock of all the fics I wrote this past year!

Operation Midnight Kiss: Jyn has a plan for New Year's Eve but an eager new recruit complicates things... (1/1)

i’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife: Holy shit. She fucked a hitman. Released from prison after three years, Jyn Erso is just trying to pick up the broken pieces of her life. But the man who catches her eye might not be exactly who he says he is. (1/1) Good Behavior AU. technically written in 2021 but I didn’t post it until later, so now I have to file this under 2022 which annoys me a bit because it skewed my word count for both 2021 and 2022.... but it is what it is

The Replacement Cass: Jyn has a new boyfriend which would be fine... if not for his name. (1/1)

touching the sun: After Jyn and Cassian escape Scarif, they're in limbo. Neither of them really know how to be close to each other. But when Jyn notices a strange bond developing between them that she can't explain, it forces them to acknowledge their true feelings... OR, the AU that's not quite soulmates, not quite not soulmates (2/2) Written for the Rebelcaptain Big Bang project, only second chapter was written in 2022.

Blood Red Rose: 1920, London. An unknown creature dubbed 'the Beast' is terrorizing the streets at night. Vampire hunter Jyn Erso and recently turned vampire Cassian Andor might just be the city's only hope to catch the monster... (22/26) chapters 18-22 written in 2022

home we’ll go: Cassian Andor only comes back to Ferrix for two things: to get Maarva and Bee, and to say goodbye to the people he cares about. Neither goes the way he expects it to. AU for episode 7: what if Jyn had grown up on Ferrix? (1/1)

Amas Veritas: Jyn's a young witch who's just trying to keep her head down. But when Orson Krennic returns to town years after he allegedly killed her father, she can't help feeling like this is her chance to get some payback. What's supposed to be a harmless hex quickly turns deadly, and Jyn must now make sure no one ever finds out what she did or risk going to prison. But the pull she feels towards Cassian Andor, the private investigator the Krennics have hired complicates matters, and it doesn't help that she's sworn off love years ago due to a nasty love curse that sits upon her family. On top of it all, Krennic's ghost might be haunting her... This Halloween is shaping up to be the worst one Jyn's ever had. (5/7) Practical Magic AU

fighting dragons with you: Jyn is injured during a dragon fight, and Cassian is not happy about it. (1/1) Written for the Rebelcaptain Trees exchange

a wolf at heart: She kinda wished she could take him home with her. Jyn, the wolf-tamer. How cool would that be? OR, Jyn's a college student with a crush but Cassian has some secrets (1/2) Written for the Rebelcaptain Secret Santa exchange

always, someday: Sleep… He wants to sleep so badly, but if he does, it means he’s failed. They promised him they’d let him rest if he just gave them the answers they wanted. But that’s not a price he can pay. He can’t betray the rebellion, he can’t give up their secrets, their names, their locations, their weaknesses, he can’t, he can’t, he can’t — He can’t say anything. And he can’t sleep. They won’t let him. (1/1)  Written for the Rogue One Crew exchange

Prompts, requests and drabbles:

I’ve made so many mistakes, but you’re not one of them

I need you to help me reach the top shelf

you’re worth any fight

can you give me a ride?

the lights don’t shine as bright when you’re not here

firefighters AU

single parent & teacher AU

Total works: 17 (15 new ones)

Total wordcount: 104 087

And I outdid myself again this year! I don’t think I’ll be able to replicate it again this year with my new job, but my writing goal for 2023 is to finally finish Blood Red Rose. wish me luck!

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

Short fics from a bygone era

I was digging around in my archive of ancient fanfics and found a selection that had been written from a challenge on Livejournal by @jcrewguy. We all shored up lines, first lines, whatever it was from our stable of fanfics, listed them up on our LJs, and then our little writing family chose lines and wrote new little fics/drabbles/ficlets from those lines, with those lines technically serving as the first line to our new creations. I tweaked mine a bit today and posted them up as part of my Prompted Shorts series on my AO3. These five fics are gifted to either @jcrewguy or @irresponsiblejones, as it was their lines I used.

Death Becomes Him is a post-Bogus Journey Bill and Ted fic.

Summary: At the beginning of autumn, while practicing in their garage-studio, Bill reflects on how beautiful Ted was when they were dead and ghosts.

Chasing Hell is a From Hell, Inspector Abberline/(sort of Mary Kelly) fic.

Summary: Inspector Frederick Abberline has been brought back in so that Scotland Yard can rub his nose in the death of the one woman who pulled him out of emotional purgatory, wanting him to see the sharpness of their power and how they can cut with it. But Abberline is sharper.

By Invitation Only is a Fright Night (1985) Charley Brewster/Jerry Dandridge (sort of) fic.

Summary: Charley watches helpless when his mother invites Jerry Dandridge, the vampire next door, into their home, taking away his last safe space. Despite the rage and fear he feels, Charley can't help feeling something else, something darker, something dangerous: desire.

Reborn is another Fright Night (1985) fic, Evil Ed Thompson/Jerry Dandridge.

Summary: "Evil" Ed Thompson has been misunderstood and picked on his whole life. At one time, Charley, his best friend, understood him, but their friendship has since fallen by the wayside, leaving Ed alone. No one understands him. Well, maybe one person does, and he offers Ed a whole new life.

Lost in the Shadows is a Lost Boys (1987) fic, sort of a found family vibe, definite implications that Paul, Marko, and Dwayne, at least, are involved in a cozy sort of way.

[librathefangirl]

Only answer if you want of course, or pick and choose which ones to talk about, but! I'm very interested to hear about these fics 💜💜💜💜

A Clan of One

First Holy War Whumptober AU

Whumptober - Meliodas & The Boar Hat Regulars

King & Meliodas Whumptober 2022

The Past On My Skin

I usually don't need a lot of encouraging to talk about my fics and wips, so I will talk about these :D Except for the King & Meliodas one, I don't really think I've even mentioned these before. Fun!

First off, Meliodas & The Boar Hat Regulars I talked about in another ask. But as for the others...

A Clan of One

This is one of my remaining Febuwhump fics, but I haven't properly started on it yet (still got a few others to finish first). I do have an idea of what it'll be about though (it's even got a title!). It's for Day 27, and the prompt "Survivor's Guilt". Basically, it's gonna be exploring how Meliodas deals struggles with more or less being the only demon left. While he did choose to betray the demons, they are still his kin, his family even, and now they are gone and he's still here. They're not dead, of course, and one could argue if what he's doing is actually living (with the whole cursed and torment thing going on), but he's got to have a lot of guilt about what happened to the rest of the demons (and for leaving Zel behind to that fate).

Here's a little summary I wrote when I first decided on this idea:

One good thing about the years passing was that people forgot. Millennia later, no one cared to talk about the sealed Demon Clan. To them, they were a thing of the past. To Meliodas, they were an eternity of ghosts in his head.

First Holy War Whumptober AU

Now this is another one of the Whumptober fics I never got around to finishing in time. But I will finish it! I'm actually quite excited to share this one. It's gonna be a 3-chapter fic written for 3 separate Whumptober days/prompts, with the first prompt being "Reluctant Whumper". The other 2 are a secret for now (telling them would be too spoilery). Like my title suggest it's an AU taking place during the First Holy War, the story going off-canon right after Meliodas betrayal. It's focused on our beloved demon brothers, and also features our (here non-literal) queens Elizabeth and Gelda. Oh, and the Demon King, I guess (a proper whumper for this Whumptober fic). That said, since it's Whumptober (and me), there will be plenty of angst going around. Especially for those poor traumatized boys. There are a lot more I could say about this one, but I'm not going to. I feel like the less I say, the better this fic is going to be to read.

However! I will share a little sneak peek. I do have several snippets I wish I could share with you all, but most of them are in the second chapter and (again) that would be too spoilery, so let's go with a (redacted) sneak peek from chapter 1 instead:

Zeldris felt his blood turn to ice as the words repeated themselves in his head. Over and over again. Like an unwanted echo in an empty house. This... This was wrong! This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Meliodas wasn't supposed to [redacted]. He was supposed to [redacted], and Zeldris – Zeldris looked down at his hand; the same hand that had [redacted] just a few moments before – Zeldris didn't know what he was doing anymore. This was all wrong.

King & Meliodas

Ah, yes, the fic with two beginnings (lol). This was technically planned out for Whumptober 2022, but since I ended up not doing Whumptober that year, this fic was never fully written. The prompts I was going to use for this fic were "Protective" and "Stabbed". Since then, I've also written two separate beginning to (what I'm fairly certain is) the same fic. But that's fine, happens to the best of us (right?), and I do think I can combine the beginning without too much struggle (I love them both, plus they're kind of starting at different places).

So the story... This takes place in another undefined timeline; the Sins are all together, fighting side by side, and Meliodas' demon secret has already been revealed. King, like in canon, is struggling with the reveal and what it means in terms of him trusting Meliodas. (I do love making King confront his feelings about Mel being a demon). There is a big fight happening, during which King and Meliodas end up separated from the others. Though not before Meliodas gets badly injured saving King. So that's the plot, I guess, the two of them trying to find their way back to the others, trying not to die, all the while dealing with the elephant in the room (or maybe I should say demon in the room).

Here's two sneak peeks (one for each document lol). First off, Meliodas astounding lack of worry for his own health:

“Huh?” Meliodas almost sounded surprised, as if he hadn’t noticed the blood that was running down his leg. He glanced down at his shirt, pulling it up enough to reveal the angrily red wound, slowly oozing more and more blood. “Oh. Yeah, that’s not good.” “We should find shelter.” “I’m fine.” King didn’t even know how to act around Meliodas anymore. Let alone how he felt. This was not helping. “You almost fell on your face.” “I stumbled. It’s fine.” King felt his annoyance growing, “You’ve been stabbed!”

And then the heart of the issue:

“What the heck kind of question is that?!” Meliodas was sitting up fully now. The levity was completely gone. King had seen him like this before. This was the Meliodas that made no one question who the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins was; gaze sharp, posture serious, status undeniable. Now though, King couldn’t help but wonder where Meliodas had learned to channel that deadly focus so fast and unwavering in the first place. As a Holy Knight in Britannia, or as a trusted soldier in the Demon Real? “Come on,” King countered, the words harder to form than he wanted. There’s no going back now. “You can’t pretend like nothing’s changed.” “Yeah, you’re right,” Meliodas admitted. His brow furrowed as he studied the flames for a moment. Then he met King’s gaze again. The smile on his lips was an empty echo of its usual mirth. “I know you don’t trust me anymore, King.” King struggled to keep eye contact. This wasn’t a secret. They both knew it because King hadn’t tried to hide it. It wasn’t meant to be a secret. Yet hearing it out loud, it felt like a sucker punch.

The Past On My Skin

Ooh. This is a fic that was inspired by a post talking about what if Meliodas had the scars from his deaths, and also by the song "Would Anyone Care" by Citizen Soldier. (Come think of it, I probably started this wip around the time I made that video). Basically, while Meliodas body is healed each time he dies, he also gains a scar (from the "killing blow"). So, in other words, not a happy fic (but there will be comfort eventually, just a lot of hurt too), exploring the darker parts of Meliodas' mind and the mental impact of his curse.

I don't think I have much more to say about this one, so here's a sneak peek:

Maybe he wasn’t completely invincible after all? It had been a nice thought, as long as it had lasted. Though as years turned to centuries, Meliodas was forced to face reality. He was stuck. Frozen. In a way it was pretty fitting. After everything he’d done, he deserved to be stuck in a prison of his own. The scar wasn’t his first and it wouldn’t be his last. The death only one of many. It wasn’t really a conscious thing. Not at first anyway. More like an indifference; recklessness, getting a little too bold during a fight, a little too careless with how he protected the people around him. In the end, what did it matter? He couldn’t really die. And if he started welcoming death and the merciful void of emotions, well, everyone had their breaking point, right? Meliodas had crossed his several Elizabeths ago.

WIP Tag/Ask Game!

[black-cat-aoife]

Tagged by @kathastrophen

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

somehow I need to write words before typing the number 55 because otherwise this very functioning website fucks up the formatting

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

77,339

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sad Cops The last ones were for Blind Ermittelt, Detective Anna, Endeavour and Polizeiruf Frankfurt.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In Which Everybody Regrets Their Life Choices (Daredevil)

The Tale of the Beautiful Professor (Guardian)

Tee Mit Folgen (Tatort Berlin)

Adam, Vincent und die Eule (Polizeiruf Frankfurt)

A Sickbed Visitor (Society of Gentlemen)

OK, technically there's another Daredevil Fic on 2, but it's a collection of shorter fills for a prompt meme so does that count?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. I try to respond to all but occasionally fall in the "Oh yeah I will do that later" trap where I...y'know...don't do it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I had a whole paragraph here, about how I don't usually write Angst and wanted to name a few sort-of-angsty ones, and then I remembered, that I did in fact write Never To Be Told which is very angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A lot, but Look Not Into My Eyes has a veeeery sappy ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

None yet

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Well, if you equate "crazy" with "nobody but me wrote it" then it's my Ein Fall For Zwei/Tatort Saarbrücken Crossover. But honestly: a crossover between two crime shows that feature abusive dads whose heads make sudden contact with blunt instruments and the resulting fallout from that is not particularly crazy. I also have this idea for a Blind Ermittelt/Allmen one, but as it's so often the case that's all vibes, no plot so far.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I once wanted to, and we even discussed some plot ideas, but then I got ghosted

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Yeah, Niko/Alex caught me like few others, but I also always will have a soft spot for Till/Felix

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Currently, I'm having a really hard time with my Alex & Sophie pre-canon fic, because it requires writing Alex shortly after the attack, and I am not sure if I can do that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm quite good at character-voices, both in dialogue and when internal-monologuing

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Getting from one scene to the next. Also in dialogues the right amount of surrounding description. I tend to start off with a screenplay, and then turn it into character says one sentence, followed by three paragraphs of description.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I hate it. Either your POV character understands what is said, and then you can tell the audience what is being said, or they don't, and then you just write "they were talking in XY." Don't make me use Google Translate to understand your fic. And don't make me read phrases like heiße schokolade mit gepeitschter creme, because your foreign language knowledge also comes from Google Translate. (That is an example from an actually published book, but my feelings on that transcend the fanfic/pubfic barrier, and I also read enough bullshit in fanfic).

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. As in write-write. I don't think I ever wrote down any of the Sailor Moon self insert I made up.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hmm I wrote A Sickbed Visitor with me as the target audience in mind, and considering that, I am quite happy that it also ended up being reasonably popular. Because this is the fanfiction for a romance series that doesn't feature one of the main couples but the friendship between two halves of different couples. (Yeah. Having fun writing something is nice. Validation is also nice)

And Es Wird Wieder ein Sommer is well...it's not the same, because it is an Alex/Niko fic, and I always meant it to be one, but it's also about Laura and her relationship with those two and that was lots of fun to think about and write.

No pressure tag for @cricrithings and @tatzelwyrm