#along with one other sorta modern au

[r2y9s-notartblog]

me? writing timeloop au fanfiction? more likely than u think.

[livwritesstuff]

for @steddie-week day 3 | long (and a little bit of mutual pining but the kind when they're literally dating which i think is even more pathetic)

tags: modern day, famous au, actor!steve, rockstar!eddie

Eddie stayed longer than he should have. 

He was supposed to leave Chicago with the rest of the band yesterday after their show at Credit Union 1 – opening night for a year-long national tour.

Eddie didn’t leave yesterday though. Instead, he insisted on spending one last night with Steve, one last morning pretending like they would actually get up and go to that breakfast spot they like even though they both knew they’d be spending the time wrapped up together in their bed, in the home they share, refusing to disentangle themselves until they had no other choice.

No other choice meant Eddie waited so long to leave that he ended up on a flight which would get him into Ohio with barely enough time to make it to the venue in Cincinnati before showtime (and he was missing soundcheck completely – sorta shot himself in the foot with that one, in Steve's opinion, though he won’t be caught complaining).

He won’t be caught doing anything – not publicly, anyway.

Steve and Eddie’s relationship is kind of in the halfway-stage between secret and private, where Steve posts vague, faceless photos of the two of them every now and then but still deflects questions about his romantic life during interviews because – look. He and Eddie are both at weird high-points in their careers at the moment, and that means there’s a lot of eyes on them whether they like it or not. Steve had a public relationship turn sour years ago and there is no way in hell he’s letting it happen again.

Not with Eddie. Not when it counts.

There are speculations, obviously (and after Steve dropped Eddie off at O'Hare, he posted a photo of the Kiss n’ Fly sign to his IG story with the caption i hate this place :( – mostly for his own amusement at the specific way his notifications implode afterward), and they’ll probably get around to an official hard-launch someday, but for now Steve likes that they’re keeping things to themselves, especially when they don’t get to make that choice with much else.

Steve gets a just landed text from Eddie a few hours after he boarded his plane.

(Steve knew. He’d been tracking the flight).

Before he could respond, Eddie added, miss you so fn much

i miss you too, Steve texted back, and before either of them could wallow in it too much, he sent, gonna make it on time?

probably, Eddie answered. Then, getting ready in the car lol

He goes quiet after that (the getting ready, presumably), which is fine.

Steve gets it.

He’s busy too. It’s why he’s not following along on Eddie’s tour like some glorified groupie, and it’s not like the distance is anything new. On the contrary, it’s been an element of their relationship since they met at an awards show after-party four years ago. It’s more that this time around, they were supposed to only have four-and-a-half weeks together before Steve headed off on a press tour for the movie he filmed last year, but then that got pushed out a bit further, and so that four-and-a-half weeks together turned into a glorious nine, the longest Steve and Eddie’s calendars had ever been aligned without some serious planning beforehand.

He just got used to it, Steve supposes.

He got used to having Eddie around all the time, under his fingertips, under his skin. He got used to saying goodnight in person, in their bed together instead of over phone lines, got used to waking up in Eddie's arms and hearing sweet nothings whispered in his ear rather than reading the texts Eddie would leave for him to wake up to when they were apart.

He'll adjust just like he always does, and the worst part will be over tomorrow morning – that moment right between sleep and wake when Steve will realize Eddie isn’t in their bed with him.

Like it or not, the distance is their normal and they make it work (except it’s not even making it work, because it’s not like that. Any situation, any set of circumstances will work without question because it’s Eddie).

The start time for the Cincinnati show comes and goes. A few minutes into the opening act and while Steve is mindlessly flitting between Instagram and TikTok waiting for the algorithm to fill his feed with clips from the concert (ones of Eddie, preferably), his screen lights up with a call.

“Hey,” he says the second he slams his thumb on the green accept button.

“Hey,” Eddie replied, his tone nothing short of grim.

“You geared up for the show?” Steve asked.

“No,” Eddie answered, “I’m quitting.”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, okay.”

“I need you to come tuck my pockets in,” Eddie said, and it’s a goddamn wonder Steve didn’t break down then and there, because Eddie always managed to tug his pants on in a way that made the front pockets stick out just a bit, and throughout their years together Steve had gotten into the habit of tucking them back in for him, squeezing Eddie’s hips a little when he was done and pulling him in for a kiss.

“Yeah,” Steve manages a wet laugh, “I – fuck, man, I wish I was there to tuck them in for you.”

“I want you here so bad, Steve," Eddie says, "I really, really miss you."

“I miss you too,” Steve nodded, even though miss isn't a big enough word for the homesick feeling in his chest, “Only a week until the Indy show though. And I’m coming with you for the Michigan one after.”

“Yeah,” Eddie replied, and if he sounded a little morose about it, Steve was right there with him. Sure, it’s a comfort knowing he’ll be seeing Eddie again so soon, but when those two days are over…yeah, it’s gonna be a long goddamn while until next time, because Eddie will be playing the Midwest while Steve’s press tour is mostly on the East Coast this time around, and after that he heads up into Vancouver to shoot a period drama mini-series while Eddie plays the southern half of the US, and then…well, Steve could keep going. They’re both taking a short break for the holidays, but that and the rare weekend one of them can fly out to the other is about it for the foreseeable future.

Which, yeah, Steve loves acting, loves that he gets to make a whole career out of it, and he knows that Eddie feels the same way about his music, but…the love he has for Eddie definitely edges out the rest of it – enough that he feels the distance between him like a dull, ever-present ache whenever they’re apart.

Eddie only ends their call when his manager practically has to yank the phone out of his hand and shove him onstage, and then Steve settles back into bed, back into scrolling mindlessly on his phone waiting for his finely-tuned algorithms to do their jobs.

Sure enough, it takes less than thirty minutes for Steve’s FYP to start showing him TikToks from Eddie’s show, and amidst all the hair and leather and silver chains and chunky rings and eyeliner and manic energy, Steve sees something else, something that has the hurt of missing Eddie increasing ten-fold, something that has him seriously considering taking an ax to all his contracts and his career and his livelihood and getting on the next plane to Cincinnati.

Eddie left his pockets untucked.

[callooopie]

Modern!au Davos who's hooking up with one of his friends from their big friend group but they have to keep it a secret

Situation Situationship // Modern!Davos

I don’t want your body. But I hate to think about you with somebody else — Somebody Else // The 1975

chat I think I went too sad and not funny with this

What Davos offers you is a beneficial relation between you two. A humble friend’s with benefits scenario, a situationship if you will. An agreement between two friends born out of boredom and driven by the need to just fuck things out. This would have to not affect your friendship, with both of you sharing a friend group; the possible chaos of a relationship between you two would be too much. Rules were then set out: no pda, no posting, no exclusivity.

Plus you were already sorta talking to someone and he was a guy who didn’t like being tied down. And both of you knew that a breakup between you two would make the friend group weird. So Davos couldn’t really complain when you would talk about your other dates or some other guy. He bit his tongue as he let you vent about what went wrong, or what could’ve been better. Oh, that guy didn’t pay? Damn, you should always pay for the pretty girls. This was his grave, and he would lie in it.

Despite this being his idea, Davos really hates it actually. Which is a little funny. The thing that he insisted would not happen, happened to him. It’s a little hard not to fall in love, or not to become attached to you when you’re the only one who seems to understand him. In the daylight when you’re hanging out with the group, when your eyes don’t leave him as he talks, when you text him throughout the day about anything and everything. Your closest friend—Davos. Even worse when it grows into night and he’s in your bed or you’re in his. He does want to tell you to stop doing aftercare so good; the way you caress his face and card your fingers through his hair makes him feel too many things better left unsaid. He refrains from saying anything.

And maybe he thinks the no PDA rule is stupid too. He sees how his friends touch and hold their girls, his own fingers twitching by his side as he watches the displays. He wonders if you think about it too. If you think about the feel of his hand in yours, how different it could be in the daytime. How your held hands could swing back and forth as you walk along a path. Maybe he would pull you into a store that catches his eye, or down an alley to press you against the wall. He wonders if you like it when he holds your hand at night. Do you like it when his fingers press open your closed palm, interlacing his fingers with yours? He always thinks about how your hand is smaller than his. He knows it makes you shiver, his fingertips trailing down your back; he hopes his calloused hands feel gentle against your soft body, maybe just as soft as his kisses. He likes when you sit in his lap, because then he can look into your eyes as his hands slowly run down your spine. No matter the reason however, Davos knows his hand wouldn’t leave yours. Day or night, rain or shine. If the rule did not exist.

Secretly he either blocks your social media accounts or simply deletes the apps off his phone. He wasn’t a big user on those anyways, and to see you post about dates or what you’re wearing to them drives him up a wall. Davos doesn’t wanna think about it but he does; he lets his mind wander to what you would wear to a date with him. Would you like something more formal? A nice restaurant? Or maybe a laidback affair, a movie at his place where you could snack and hide under the blankets. He would offer you his hoodie, would you take it? You already wear his clothes when you’re around anyways, rifling through his closet like a little animal in search of the softest fabrics to wear after you two finish. Sometimes when you’re looking with your back turned to Davos, he’ll stare at you as you pick up shirts or toss them aside. He’ll say he’s attracted to your body, the way it curves or shifts with each singular step or movement. But Davos also knows different; he’s staring past the skin, past your intricate body, and looking—hoping—for you to turn back to meet his gaze. You never leave with them, no. You always give them back before you leave.

He wonders if you’ll think him pathetic or weird, if he begs you to stay. Davos isn’t sure what’s come over him this early morning. It’s your usual routine; you both get up, he makes coffee, you get dressed to leave. Davos knows he’ll throw up if he so much as takes a sip of the warm coffee, feeling too tense and anxious about what he could do—what he wants to do. You’re oblivious maybe, or you’re just ignoring how strange he’s acting today. His thoughts are racing: Don’t look at your phone, keep your eyes on him. Don’t turn away from him, don’t step toward the door. Don’t, don’t, don’t. Davos can’t believe it himself that he’s reached you before you’re even out the door. His breathing heavy as his hand remains wrapped around your wrist. His stomach does somersaults as you look back at him. Davos swallows thickly, he’s this deep in already, might as well keep going.

Whatever the outcome of his stupidity this morning; he hopes you’ll be at least somewhat kind in letting him down as he spills his heart out to you…

[foodiegoogie]

wonder what's in the cards for us?

james potter x ex!reader ✮ 1.7k

summary: you live in james’ mind, rent-free, even after all these years.

cw/tags: gn!reader (no use of y/n), lovers (mentioned) to exes to (???), muggle!au, modern!au, (sorta???) angst... w/ an ending (wink wonk), and as u can probably already tell, this is from james' pov :>

note: now i also didnt know what i was doing with this one even more than the other james fic i just wrote 😭 but thats fine, ive managed to churn it out at least! so to whoever comes across this, well.. i hope you give it a chance 🫶 bcoz james is a very lovesick puppy here despite the angsty vibe LOL and also, this is yet again based on another niki song called, "facebook friends" 😋 ENJOYY !

( ♡ )

Amidst a desk full of open textbooks filled with dog-eared pages, highlighted phrases, and color-coordinated tabs lies a laptop—also opened, the screen glaring brightly within the dark confines of James Potter’s dorm room, with multiple tabs open on a browser; they consist of articles, research domains, and the like.

In front of this laptop is James Potter himself, staring right at the screen with a sullen look on his face. He has his headphones on (most likely listening to a song matching his mood), his forearms are placed onto the desk, and his chin is resting on them. It was easy to say that James was currently not having the time of his life trying to study for finals.

But then again, he was also currently not studying for finals despite being surrounded by his textbooks, along with the multiple tabs opened on his computer. No, he was staring right at an open Facebook tab, eyes darting over every single aspect of a specific profile as his fingers swiped up and down on the touchpad, scrolling through the profile.

He’s inherently aware that he should be studying, of course. Like many other college students think, the finals season was a force to be reckoned with, and it was absolutely critical that every spare time spent is for studying for the examinations. But as far as James was also aware of—he couldn’t sit still and be laser-focused on doing godforsaken tasks such as studying for his finals.

And so, here he was, scrolling mindlessly on your Facebook profile. Because, really, he tends to get into a sentimental mood whenever he studies. It’s either he’s looking at a photo album and reminiscing memories, grabbing random things displayed around his room and thinking about what they meant to him, or, you know, scrolling mindlessly on Facebook because that’s where his past connection with you is immortalized.

He doesn’t quite know how it all started—for one thing, he remembers being a highschool heartthrob, girls and boys alike falling at his feet. And if he was feeling particularly spunky, he’d entertain a few pretty birds or two. All the while, they had never meant anything to him other than an ego boost or just a mere distraction (which, he admittedly thinks now, made him a dick).

But amongst all of these flings, James remembers one differently than the others. He remembers you—you and your smile, your laugh, your ability to make him feel like he’s on top of the world, your ability to suddenly make everything good in the world only ten times better. He remembers absolutely everything about you. Both the good, and the bad.

He never tries to think of the bad, but even as he reminisces on the good times he’s had with you, it makes him feel just as sad as when he thinks of the bad times. So it’s a never-ending struggle against keeping you close in his memories whilst also being aware that it wasn’t right, it wasn’t healthy for him. Only fools have attachment issues with their highschool ex that they carry on to their college life.

Perhaps that was why it had all gone downhill for the both of you, he thought. As a young teenage boy capable of attracting attention from left and right, and regularly switching between person to person, he couldn’t handle ‘serious.’ He’d selfishly wanted you all to himself, but without the limits of commitment. Meanwhile, you wanted ‘serious.’ You wanted commitment. James was scared because he was unfamiliar with it all.

So naturally, you had drifted apart, never again boarding on the seesaw of your ‘relationship’ with each other. The one that bordered on the line between friends and lovers.

And in a petty attempt to ‘get back at you’ and forget about you wholly, James strived to disconnect you from across all his social media accounts, erasing any and every semblance of a connection between the two of you.

Well, all except Facebook.

It’s a guilty pleasure for him, checking on your Facebook profile every now and then. And each time, it comes to his surprise that he’s still even able to view your profile freely, as you hadn’t made the move to unfriend him like he expected you to. He feels lucky that he’s still able to keep up with your life despite not having to be in it anymore. But then again, you had always been kind back then; it’s one of the many other reasons why he still loves you, really.

But oh, how he wishes he was still in it.

James would never admit it aloud to anyone that even after all this time, he’s still not over you. Yet, at the same time, he doesn’t want to be over you. You were the next best thing to something he didn’t even know he was looking for at the time. He had underestimated how much of an impact your presence had made on him, regardless of how brief it was.

He misses you, so to speak.

It’s a pretty shitty feeling, to miss someone he can’t really see anymore, nor talk to or reach out to.

On some days, it’s easy to bear. College keeps him busy, his friends keep him entertained, and he’s been going out on a few dates, too - trying to find someone better than you so he can finally subdue the lingering feelings in his heart, and end this endless cycle of longing and waiting and loving.

And most nights, he’s able to sleep peacefully with dreams of a distant fantasy where he’s managed to finally find someone new, someone better. Someone else who could give him what you took back.

But on the other days and nights, James faces the harsh truths that there was simply no one better than you, and that a part of him will always long for you back in his life, right where you belonged.

And so, as he scrolls through your Facebook profile, and sees glimpses into your life nowadays, he can’t help but miss you more than he already does, unknowingly and unforgivably. Of course, he’s highly aware that shamelessly stalking you every now and then was incredibly creepy of him, yet, he can’t help it. He’s silently relieved by the fact that there appears to be no sign of you in a relationship at the moment, almost selfishly thinking, maybe I have a chance.

But he knows it’s a far stretch, knows that whatever the both of you had with each other was a thing of the past now; nothing but a fleeting memory. And now that he’s a little older and wiser than he was when he met you, James has resigned himself to the fact that he may never be with you again in the way he wants to.

He’s not afraid of ‘serious’ anymore, nor is he afraid of commitment, and he no longer blames it on his unfamiliarity with them either. Now, he wants it too.

But as always, he was late to realize it. And at the same time, you were no longer there to wait for him to.

And so, as James continues to pine after you even after all this time, he’s foolishly hoping that the two of you would cross paths again; get to know each other again, get to know him again now that he’s managed to grow into a better version of himself. He wishes that you’d met this version of him first, because maybe then, you would have stayed together.

But of course, as the harsh reality of things would have it, James is more than happy to just stay friends with you on Facebook. He’ll keep you close in his memories while silently hoping for a chance to try again. To try it all with you again.

Suddenly, he feels the desk shake from beneath him, a vibrating sensation that pulls him out of his thoughts of you. It comes from his phone, which now shows a wacky selfie of Sirius, indicating a call from him.

James stares at it for a few seconds, debating on whether he should answer his friend’s call despite the likely reason that it’s just another one of Sirius’ jests or drunk calls, or maybe even a butt dial. But he decides to welcome the distraction eventually, placing his headphones around his neck as he moved to grab the phone, pressing it to his ear.

“Hello—”

“OPEN THE BLOODY DOOR, YOU MORON! I’VE BEEN KNOCKING FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES HERE!”

James nearly jolts out of his seat as he pulls the phone away from his ear by Sirius’ yelling. He has half a mind to yell back at him and explain that he was ‘in the middle of something,’ which led to his not noticing his friends’ knocking.

But he doesn’t find the energy to do it no matter how annoying Sirius was being. So, he sighs.

James hears the banging on his door now, and the yelling comes again from both outside his door, and the speakers on his phone. It forms an echo of Sirius’ voice demanding that he be let in, and it gives James a headache.

He calls out, “I’m coming!” in an annoyed voice, rushing to close the open tab of your Facebook profile on his laptop so he could finally open the door for his friend.

What James doesn’t notice though is that during the process of closing the tab, he’d managed to accidentally leave a like on one of your old posts. He never visits your profile again after letting Sirius come in and hang around his dorm for the remainder of the day. Thus, imagine his surprise the next day, as he opens the Facebook tab again, finding a message waiting for him, and from you.

hi james :) how are you doing?

And just like that, the inhibitions that had once held him back from indulging in his desires to try another chance with you are completely shed as James hastily typed out his response.

( ♡ )

surprise! it's an open ending ;) thanks for reading the whole thing <333 and as always, likes, replies, and reblogs are very much appreciated :] lmk what u thought abt this!!! <3

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

The Friends We Made Along The Way Crew Modern Au

Fourth and probably final installment of these full character pages.

ASL Brothers Post

East Blue Crew Post

Grand Line Crew Post

Friends we made along the way 2 post

Additional headcanons:

Law was a Nickelodeon child. Spongebob, iCarly, and especially Power Rangers shaped his childhood

Yamato met Ace at a concert, and afterwards ace squatted for a couple days at his house.

Carrot always has some kind of full vegetable that she’s nibbling on. Cucumbers, bell peppers, entire heads of broccoli, she’s done it all. She doesn’t eat actual carrots, though. She considers that cannibalism.

Vivi is also sorta convinced that Sabo is a vampire. At the very least, she doesnt trust him.

Law actually had a pretty normal childhood. Corazon is a family friend who was law’s dad’s war buddy. He now wears both of their army tags around his neck.

Yamato sometimes draws abs and pecs onto his binders with machine washable markers. It makes him chuckle

Carrot is always on the look out for good souvenirs for when she goes back to her home country. The problem with the ones she’s collected is that in no universe could she possibly get any of them past TSA because theyre stuff like a stop sign, a broken glass bottle she found at the beach, a McRib, a Keep Left street sign, a PRIME Hydration drink variety pack she’s planning on selling to the highest bidder while she’s in the uk briefly, and another stop sign. She keeps stealing road signs. Please someone tell her to stop.

Vivi’s locket has a picture of her late mother on one side of it, and a picture of Karu (just a normal duck in this version) on the other side

Vivi is also a kpop fan. She’s not as into it as Yamato is, but sometimes they film TikToks dancing to them with him. Its a fun time :)

thanks for reading, these are fun to do but also sometimes its real hard to come up with so many🙃

[miraclecherryblossomsblog]

I had another au idea......actually been holding onto this one for a bit might as well share it

TW reader's a monkey.......AGAIN omg, interdimensional shi happens, lots of other fandom references, giving birth, babies

Ok so not really sure how to explain this so bare with me ok?

But what if you lived in a world that is jttw inspired? like monsters and gods exist buts its different as if its more modern era...magic exist but also contributes its energy for technology and stuff. Laws work more so the same like ours, mortals and immortals coexist, sorta like hsr (honkai star rail)

what if.....you were the wukong in your world?

this gonna be long I AM SORRY ONCE AGAIN this is the intro so no wukong x reader yet in this one

part 2 here (not yet in the making)

BEFORE YALL COME AT ME NO I DON'T MEAN YOU BEING WUKONG just to be clear....I mean you were sorta in the same place as him like spiderverse I mean

Like you have certain abilities like his but not completely equal

Unlike wukong who was born outta a rock you were born normally, cuz you WERE suppose to be born human hence your parents.

But why are you a monkey if your parents are human you ask? Its cuz u got "blessed" by the stone deity. You see in the time of your birth your family moved to the mountains due to the war that was happening between humans and demons cuz humans dumb and broke the agreement between species

Anyway your family went in, barely escaping the chaos of the situation, they managed to find a cave that looked rather pristine for looking abandoned, they found a small house or rather looked like a house...it seemed to be part of the rocks itself, your ma's contractions are starting so your pops quickly gets your ma inside not before being welcomed by an elder monkey (NOT WUKONG OK just a elder monkey)

He offers to bring help to deliver the baby, your dad not having much choice he accepts and both go in to start the procedure

The elder monkey calls for more of his people to help, female monkeys quickly gather and prepare the stuff

as your mother does the final push a mysterious female voice starts to speak, saying how you're destined to become a strong warrior who will bring peace between worlds and protect to those who can't

Your dad confused sees the others monkeys being in sorta of a praying position as the others help your mother, that's when your cries start your father quickly wanting to see you and mother wanting to hold you. And they do, both are so happy and thankfull filled with tears and laughter until your lil body starts to glow into a yellow light

your body that was once smooth is now replaced by slight damped fur, you face once human now possesses humanoid monkey features, a tail pops out of the blanket slight curled to your body

and now you're thinking "well shi that means were orphan then cuz our parents don't wan us no more-" NUHU THEY LOVE U WITH ALL THEIR HEART they just took a long moment to take everything in lmao

The elder offers yall's to stay and live along with the monkey since now u lil bby self is basically part of the pack now, and ofc they accept and well mark history as the first humans to live alongside the monkey people

Was it bit difficult to get used to? yes, did they had their own ideals that sorta didn't go well in living there? also yes but they decided to learn about the culture and become more open minded for not only their sake but yours too.

You got like a whole village as your family now, they all had their doubts letting humans in but by time it showed that you parents were lot more better than the other humans who they had encountered in past times

so yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy happy life u being a well loved monkey <3

------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: will have a part 2 depending how this goes but hope yall liked this brainrot of mine <3333333

[beneathsilverstars]

Siffrin+Loop system backstory/timeline for my modern AUs!

Age 4 - ▮ is in a major car crash with their family. Their eye is injured, and their parents and sibling die. They split; ▮ has most of the memories, and is inconsolable when they front. ▯ only vaguely remembers events from before the crash without much emotional attachment, and explains that ▮ died along with their family, and being a ghost hurts. They're adopted by their grandmother.

▮ fronts and has a meltdown whenever they hear their name, hear anything about their family, or are forced to drive in a car. Their grandmother gets their legal name changed (to something she knows was on their parents' potential-baby-names list) and moves to a city with great public transit. After going a while without encountering their triggers, ▮ fades out. ▯ mostly fronts at home and a different alter mostly fronts at school.

Age 11 - Their grandmother dies and they enter foster care. ▯ misses their grandma and has trouble adjusting, so they go dormant. The composition of the system changes to adapt to changing circumstances as they're moved between foster homes. Mal stays the most consistent through this time period; it doesn't front often, but its memory is the least spotty, so it tries to keep the rest of the system somewhat organized and consistent and careful. It's kinda annoyed by everyone else coming in and out and making a mess, but better them than it.

Age 16 - They get a shitty part time summer job, and Siffrin pops up to front for it. He's very disconnected from the rest of the system; he doesn't remember anything he wasn't fronting for, and he can't access the same headspace everyone else is in. He's good at quietly adapting to whatever situation he finds himself in, at least. Mal is the only one who can pop over to Siffrin's headspace and talk to him, and it pulls Siffrin away from the front for someone else to take over when it's time to go home. The job ends and he sleeps for a while, and then they get another job and he fronts for it again.

Age 18 - They leave the foster care system and move into an apartment with some college students. Without school or a foster home to return to, Siffrin stays at the front unless something triggers someone else out, which happens less often as Siffrin gets better at holding onto the front and avoiding triggers. They spend the next couple years moving between shitty apartments and shitty jobs.

Age 22 - Siffrin becomes almost-sorta-friends with two roommates, and they stick together for the next lease term. He lands a job with slightly better pay than normal and a decent shift lead, but a particularly cruel manager. One of the roommates starts dating someone who's kind of an asshole.

age 23 - The other roommate unexpectedly has to move out of town, leaving the remaining two with higher bills. After a couple months with no luck finding someone new to sublease or at least move in at the next lease term, the roommate's partner moves in. The roommate often gets into fights with their partner, who is turning increasingly abusive, and Siffrin can't do anything to help. Some headmates from the childhood subsystem start fronting more often again, which is stressful to Siffrin since they have no idea what happens during that time, on top of their own increased dissociation. Mal isn't being very talkative, either, and what it does say is pretty harsh.

age 24 - The decent shift lead at work quits and gets replaced by someone worse, but Siffrin can't afford to change jobs and make any less money, since the abusive partner isn't contributing to bills. After a particularly bad incident between the roommates and then a disastrous attempt to convince the nice one to leave, Siffrin splits into Loop and a new version of Siffrin.

Loop keeps the memories of ages 22-24 (and nearly nothing before that), and copes with them by thinking of all people outside of their system as empty things acting out their roles, rather than real people with feelings and the ability to change. Siffrin keeps the memories from before meeting the nice roommate (though they're a bit foggy by now), and his personality resets a bit accordingly to what he was like three years ago. Loop is fairly aware most of the time when Siffrin is fronting and can chat with him, but Siffrin still totally misses anything that happens when he's not at the front. Loop continues fronting at work, and at home when either roommate is home, and just pulls Siffrin to the front when it's safe. The childhood subsystem stops fronting entirely now that someone else is here to deal with everything.

Since Siffrin is now free from the work/home stress, they're able to find and work a second job, and then another which allows Loop to quit the first. Siffrin mostly fronts for these new jobs, but Loop steps in when Siffrin gets too anxious. When the lease at the current place is up, the two jobs together are enough for them to get a shitty studio apartment with no roommates to worry about.

Age 28 - Siffrin and Loop have found a decent balance. Loop's not fond of Mal, but Siffrin chats with it sometimes. Both Siffrin and Loop still refuse to go anywhere in a car; Loop knows it's some sort of major trigger but doesn't know why, while Siffrin just happens to always choose a different option no matter how inconvenient. They've switched jobs a couple times, and none of them are great, but it could be worse. They've stayed at the same studio apartment this whole time, which also isn't great, but it could be worse.

Mal can still choose to hang out in either the Sif+Loop headspace or the childhood subsystem's headspace. At some point, when they're feeling safer, headmates from the childhood subsystem (especially ▯) will start fronting a tiny bit now and then when triggered by reminders of important memories. Loop is just as cut off from them as Siffrin is, and the moments are so tiny that it's hard to differentiate them from just zoning out, but eventually they'll figure out that there must be at least one more headmate they don't know about.

Find more info on the "current" state of the system in my original headcanon post!

[nmoroder]

Ok so remember how i talked about that modern meurcliff AU where Meursault is the bartender swinging around a stool right? Here's more.

A couple of words for context: so Meursault is indeed the bartender and Ishmael is his superior and the bar's owner and also the cook in said bar. Like, you can not only order drinks but also some snacks along with it with the exception of sea food - the only ones you can get are those you don't need to cook, like dried squid and that sorta stuff (even though she's at odds with those too but tolerates them). She's also infinitely lonely and traumatized by her past experience as she lost a lot of friends and colleagues when the ship she worked at sank, leaving little survivors behind.

Sometimes she asks Meursault to sing something for her and he obeys. There's a piano in the bar and he sometimes also plays for guests but most of them note how soulless his music may sound even though he's just rehearsing what he learned. For Ishmael though, it's a refreshing thing like putting your head in the freezer and trying to calm your thoughts because they're not going anywhere simply because music feels sobering. So she does sometimes go out of her usual detachment like the first pic shows.

Of Ryoshu and Greg there's not much to say now (the AU's pretty new haha its like a draft yet) but they're basically the tattoo master plus florist pair. Not romantically though, they're pals but their shops are still next to each other. Usually their interaction is to borrow sigarettes from each other at the end of the day, but on a serious note Gregor's getting a tattoo removed at her shop - something from his good hand, a tattoo that was forced onto him in unknown circumstances but Ryoshu doesn't ask and just does what she can as a master. The first thing she suggested though was to get rid of that arm and get the second bionic one but Greg politely refused. Ryoshu by the way despite being a tattoo master has no tattoos yet - she's still in search of a perfect art piece that she can engrave upon her own skin.

[lynnthefrenchtoast]

why lyney x aether just makes sense

no traveller ship has ever rlly worked to me (other than ayaka bc it was very heavily hinted in canon) UNTIL TODAY. HERE IS MY FORMAL DISSERTATION ON WHY LYNETHER WORKS

neither of them have pairs - genshin purposefully does this thing where they pair up characters (eg: chongyun & xingqiu, jean & lisa) which is why there are so many popular ships in the fandom. i think lyney's effective pair is meant to be lynette & aether doesnt have one bc hes meant to be a player-insert but that leaves SO MUCH ROOM bc when you think about it the closest thing lyney has to a love interest IS AETHER

siblings - both of them are elder brothers and both are TWINS . they also both have a youngest sibling figure (freminet and paimon; dont tell me paimon isnt a younger sister figure bc if u open a modern au ALMOST ALWAYS she is presented as "aether and lumines younger sister") their backstories are similar (losing their other half) so they canonically understand each other (There's nothing in the world I treasure more than my family, so I know what it must be like for you -Lyney, Friendship LV4) THIS LEADS INTO MY OTHER POINT

the "i see past your mask" trope - this is a very popular trope (and one that ngl kills me everytime i read it bc it preys on the human desire to be fully understood) BUT it was made for lyney . if youve watched ouran highschool host club HIKARU AND KAORUS "we are the only two who understand each other... until haruhi arrived" IS NOT DISSIMILAR TO WHAT COULD HAPPEN WITH LYNEY, LYNETTE AND AETHER . and lyney was BORN to fit this trope bc he already has the whole fake, charming, extrovert persona he puts on. ("Actually, the real me is nowhere near as outgoing or chatty as I appear. (...) I think people would feel sorry for the real me." -Lyney, friendship LV6)

narrative - a big thing about ships is they need to have a faucet for tension . like xingyun is extremely hinted in canon but its nowhere near as popular as kavetham and zhongchi. why? because theyre just childhood best friends. nothing interesting about it. zhongchi especially is hugely popular bc of the potential for reconciliation after the osial arc (zhongli's "im sorry for manipulating you. it wasnt all fake i swear" sorta thing) AND YK WHAT ELSE HAS THAT??? FURINA REVEALING LYNEY AS FATUI IN THE TRIAL "im sorry for lying about my identity. it wasnt all fake" the core that makes ships like satosugu and zhongchi tragic is the betrayal of trust, and, well... ("Nothing could make me happier than having your trust." -Lyney, Ascension 4)

binary opposition - why is satosugu so popular? probably because its the whole 'cruel murderer villain' vs 'strongest hero' trope and audienced like sun vs moon . okay . AETHER IS LITERALLY THE HONORARY KNIGHT OF MONDSTADT, HERO OF LIYUE, ENEMY OF ETERNITY, FIRST SAGE OF BUER and lyney is THE FUTURE SUCCESSOR TO THE HOUSE OF HEARTH . the villain of genshin impact (currently) is the fatui so you cant get better than this.

canon hints - even if ships would theoretically work well and have potential for tension, they need to be grounded in the source material. so does lynether have that?

"Hmm, your eyes are like topaz, precious, pure, and lovely. I like them! I've decided — I'm going to put on a show just for you."

"I thought it was the radiance of the sunlight on my skin that I felt — turns out it was your radiance all along!"

"I should probably emphasize again that I'm rarely so open with anyone — I guess it's because you're not just anyone."

"It seems we're both keenly interested in each other. Well, know that the honor is mine! Haha, relax. I couldn't ever tell lies to your mesmerizing eyes — not even if I tried!"

"Doing all this for me... Are you trying to steal this magician's heart, by any chance? Well, in that case, congratulations, my dear apprentice — or should I say, "companion." For you have succeeded!"

canonically, lyney gets upset when aether thinks abt other things when hes in fromt of him. HES LIKE A POUTING CHILD THAT GOES "pay attention to me!!!" LMFAOO

the rainbow rose, need i say more? lyney literally gets flustered when lynette brings it up too pfft

most of the stuff he says can be attributed to lyney just being a flirt but in cases like the rainbow rose scene where he literally does it BECAUSE HE KNOWS AETHER WOULDNT GET IT... there is no platonic explanation bc if there was, if it meant Friendly Love THEN THE DEVELOPERS WOULDNT HAVE ADDED THE NOTE ABOUT LYNETTE NEVER GETTING ONE considering shes the most important person to lyney...

in conclusion, ive rambled for too freaking long but THEY WORK . AND THERES ALSO POTENTIAL FOR A WHOLE LONG DISTANCE YEARNING ARC BC AETHER ALWAYS TRAVELS SO... FANFIC WRITERS CHOP CHOP

[crystallizsch]

uhhh hi so sorta long post about pre-twst yuusha bc i just need to finally get it out of my system

might be all over the place and incoherent (like it's still proofread but it still might not make sense lmao) but uhhhh anyways enjoy the ramblings of a very (in)sane person </3

(also MASSIVE MASSIVE thanks to @0honeybones0 for making me these name headers, it’s SO cool and pretty 🥺💖) (there’s also one for yuuna i can use when i have the opportunity)

reminder that yuusha’s nrc is set in an au where it's more of a university (everyone is 18+ years old)

so pre-twst yuusha takes place from elementary to middle school and high school

i’ve mentioned before (i think??) that i like the idea that there are counterparts of the twst cast in yuu’s original world. as in like regular people and not the disney characters they are based on.

and yuusha’s original world is just present-day earth so-

i imagine pre-twst there’s parallels to her relationship with the twst cast. they all just know each other through being in a fancy school.

(so essentially this is just like a modern school, magicless au for twst fjdhdsj) that’s why some of the twst cast already has particular feelings and opinions towards the prefect that they can’t understand.

yuusha would have a pet cat similar to grim. ace and deuce are her childhood friends <- all three met during elementary when they were all queued up for the principal’s office after picking fights (not with one another, all separate fights lmao). the trio talked and magically clicked and have been inseparable ever since.

as for yuusha herself, she comes from a pretty wealthy/influential family, oldest sibling of 2 including her (insert doomed siblings narrative here 🤌), and she’s considered an academic and some kind of musical prodigy.

playing instruments comes naturally to her and she enjoys it genuinely (her specialty being the violin).

and if you would ask someone, yuusha has the brightest and most loving personality a kid could have. but she’s also stubborn and headstrong and way too confident.

going back to that bit with her first meeting with ace and deuce, yuusha got riled up and physically fought a kid to defend a friend.

since her family cared about their public image, she was punished by being “taught” to control her feelings and emotions. but that just left her masking her genuine personality entirely from then on-- throughout her preteens -> teens. as a result the bright and loving kid was nowhere to be found anymore.

the only place she can show a semblance of her real personality is when she is performing playing music (or in private with the people she trusts the most). outside that, she was simply cold as ice. the ice queen if you will (yes im still leaning into yuusha being somewhat of a twisted elsa 💪)

anyways yes we have jamil and kalim here too hang on-

due to wealthy/influential families, kalim and yuusha just know each other and they hit it off pretty well. they are good friends but the friendship tend to be just surface level despite having a lot in common (being the oldest, the family’s trophy, etc.)

it’s not a fault of their own that they’re not closer. both families care a lot about public image and influence, and their relationship is just a product of being forced into interactions because they were the only people around the same age during fancy parties/meetups.

kalim and jamil are also childhood friends. they get along pretty well but there’s still that unspoken power imbalance bc kalim’s parents are jamil’s parents' bosses. (the slightly watered down master-servant relationship from twst basically;;)

in this case, jamil still has to be aware of that power dynamic bc i also imagine that jamil’s family are not in the position to just get another job if something messes up.

(and let me live in the delusion that they were genuinely good friends as kids and that jamil just grew more bitter when he grew up as he slowly realizes the position he and his family is in)

(also i imagine jamil as a kid had like an aladdin-type of personality. im basing this on jamil’s scalding sands hometown event where there are childhood stories of him being an absolute menace) (honestly just. obsessed with the idea of a kid jamil being the absolute opposite of his present self)

anyways, jamil was the kid that yuusha physically fought ---

jamil was playing basketball with his group of friends. and yuusha was passing by with her friend (which in this case was riddle) (at first i thought of azul but i thought of a better reasoning for it to be riddle instead)

one of the kids playing basketball thought that it would be funny to throw a ball at one of the “nerds” in the school, and so they did. it was mainly intended for yuusha but it hit riddle instead.

it bruised riddle, and yuusha confronted the other kids. at first she tried to be reasonable, wanting them to just apologize, but it just kind of escalated.

jamil had no part in it but stepped in himself anyway, and defended his friends because of course he would believe them more than the “pretentious upper middle class kids”.

since the tension was already high yuusha ended up beating up jamil after something he said which was the last straw. (girl 🧍)

they were pulled away from each other just in time for a grown-up to catch them. riddle and jamil were sent to the nurse’s office and yuusha to the principal’s bc she was the only one who didn’t suffer any injury and was the one who clearly appeared to be the instigator of the fight (the other kids just ran away and managed to escape any punishment).

mrs rosehearts was already iffy with having riddle be study buddies with yuusha. when she found out that riddle was injured, she chastised yuusha's parents and let them know that she will no longer let yuusha associate with her son.

(riddle then got switched to homeschooling and yuusha didn’t see him again until the start of high school)

the rest is history with meeting ace and deuce and yuusha's punishment.

cutting it off here bc it’s getting long enough 😭

not everything here is set in stone so i might change some things and i still need to figure out some specific details so that i can finally write this in a more proper way ;;;

pre-twst middle school & highschool yuusha + jamil and yuusha pre-twst dynamic will be in a separate post!

thank you for reading if you've made it this far <3333

also im down for questions/suggestions if interested??? idk idk bc a lot of this is very vague or prob doesnt make sense dhjdjd

[sergeantsporks]

I'm sharing my Ideas and Concepts for the Swap AU, actually

Phillip and Caleb are modern day

They're orphaned brothers still, but Caleb is 7-10 years older than Phillip in this AU

Caleb and Phillip were "They are A Set, Do Not Separate" in the system, kicking up a fuss and generally making themselves unadoptable if someone tried to only adopt one of them. Once Caleb aged out (he'd already gotten a job at 16 and had been saving up), he said "Okay, I'm next of kin, taking my orphaned brother with me :)"

As previously mentioned, Phillip is into witchhunting as a concept. Caleb's like "Okay, harmless enough, he understands magic isn't real and most of this was fearmongering/politics/paranoia." It's not your average interest, but it makes him happy, and that's what's important.

Caleb befriends and eventually starts dating a young woman called Evelyn. Phillip thinks she's sketchy, but he doesn't actually have any proof or reasoning other than "vibes" and he's like 93% he's just jealous that his brother is connecting other people which is CRINGE of him, and she makes Caleb happy so whatever. He has a sort of [side eyes] relationship with her. She's trying to befriend him. He's trying for Caleb but thinks she's suspicious still

Caleb tells Pip he's planning to propose. Phillip freaks out at the idea of that change and inviting someone else so completely into their lives, and he runs off

He spots Evelyn hanging around at the old house and follows her, thinking "wait, maybe she really is up to something"

He follows her into the demon realm

Oh, his brother's fiance is a witch

Oh, his brother's fiance is a witch

He makes a grab for the key, bolts for it to get home and leave her in the isles forever, but he sorta. Loses the key in the chaos that is "First Time In The Isles Is Disorienting and Dangerous." Oops!

Now they're both stranded from Caleb/Evelyn's main source of income (human stuff stand, not Caleb, lol)! Well, too bad, Evelyn, you've been roleswapped with Eda. Added intrigue of having already known and having a funky relationship with your new kid. You two WILL learn to get along.

The coven system isn't REALLY a thing? Like, there are different kinds of magics, and tracks are taught separate as their own fields rather than mixed, and there are still "coven heads" as experts (the hexsquad, mostly, plus assorted other Hexsidians for the remaining uncovered tracks) but you can multitrack and learn a little of everything if you want

Evelyn is a wanted criminal on the isles just like Eda; Luz needs the key for the titan's blood so that she can free the Collector, rather than needing the door itself

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Do you have any shuggy fanfic recommendations? I already read and rearead (and reread) yours one piece ff…

i can certainly give you some recs!

everything's hosted on ao3 and set in the one piece universe; i do read modern/mundane AUs but i'm always really picky about how an author adapts a ship's canon history into an AU, so i've yet to find one that really grabs me except that one college AU i forgot to save a link to… i hope i'll find you again someday…

for all my life i’ve watched from afar, i’m too afraid to try by Badopportunities - complete, 18k

this is probably my favorite shuggy fic i've read so far. a canon divergence in which shanks hunts down ace instead of whitebeard to warn him off the blackbeard hunt directly, and just so happens to find ace while he's hanging out with buggy's crew. love the outside POVs on shanks & buggy before their history was common knowledge, love their dynamic while trying to keep that history secret, love the optimistic way the story ends.

uncharted waters by vestigialmoods - complete, 41k

a long, multi-POV sorta kinda get-together—this one written after we knew the warlord system was being dissolved but before we learned about cross guild. buggy tries to figure out what to do now that he's lost government protection; shanks is encouraged to go for what he wants for once, instead of passively letting fate decide his path. features very fun characterization for both crews, and a really well-crafted scene that deals with phantom limb pain and sexual tension simultaneously.

in the deepest depths i lost myself, i see myself through someone else by Badopportunities - WIP, 36k

it may be gauche to rec multiple fics by the same author but Badopportunities has yet to steer me wrong! this is set during the timeskip, while buggy is searching for an island to claim as his warlord base of operations and shanks is trying to look after former whitebeard territories. they clash. uses one of my favorite lines for a childhood friends-to-lovers ship: one of them says he's single because he's having trouble finding a partner with “similar life experiences.” iykyk

currently incomplete at 4/5 chapters, last updated in 2022… but they just posted a new chapter of their other shuggy wip (which i also recommend, buggy time travels and saves ace & uta) this week, so it feels like anything's possible!

I'll See You in My Dreams by doublejoint - complete, 4k

shanks keeps dreaming of being older, on a ship with only buggy for company, wearing matching rings and sailing for who knows where. i love how efficiently and effectively this fic explores his thoughts on these dreams over the years—are they visions of the future, his secret desires, bad gas? the ending is very sweet.

We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together (and other lies Buggy tells himself) by Transformatron - complete, 11k, explicit

i am not much for smut (being ♠️🏳️‍🌈 and all), but occasionally one gets in the mood, and this fic has some intense emotions to go along with the intense, kinda kinky smut. shanks has found out about cross guild and comes to see buggy, not convinced that this is a safe, sane, and consensual situation buggy's found himself in. they fight about it, and then… 😳

there is background established buggy/crocodile/mihawk, but crocodile and mihawk aren't present for the explicit portion of the fic.

i like lipstick on my neck by kiriya - complete, 20k, explicit

if i'm recommending smut-with-feelings, i have to rec this fic. genderbent butch/femme shanks and buggy run into each other in east blue, post-roguetown and pre-canon, and spend three chapters bickering, drinking, and… you know. absolutely fantastic characterization, buggy is an awful little gremlin and shanks likes her very much despite herself.

i don't know if the fic was inspired by this art or if the art was inspired by this fic, but either way… if you read the fic you should look at the art. that butch shanks is just. absolutely inspired.

[lemmetreatya]

@pisspope

was already writing something for him before you sent this but now everyone say: “THANK YOU CAT! for getting us double ony content out of val!!” (not like im vibrating at an extraordinary pace bc of this or anything)

Postcard for the Road — Onyankopon x fem!Reader

content: modern au, fluff, established relationships, afab reader, just really sweet idk idk

“Daddy, look! Another postcard came in the mail!”

“Whaaaat?”

Onyankopon wears an expression of false surprise as both of his daughters run up to your phone camera with small padding steps. If he was there in person, they would have easily been able to climb up into his lap — each one sat on either thigh.

Your oldest daughter — by three minutes — waves the card in front of her face.

“It says it’s addressed to us!”

“Open it then.” He says enthusiastically, his face popping in and out of the screen as he loosens his work tie and places his aviation pins onto the bedside desk.

As your daughter proceeds to twist and turn the envelope for its opening, the youngest twin says something in the back to you, complains along the lines about her sister hogging all the fun. In retaliation, you turn to your eldest.

“Baby, let your sister open it this time. You had your go with the last one.”

At your words, a stank face graces your eldest’s face.

“What?! No I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did.” Replies her sister.

“I sure didn’t!”

“Yes, you did.” Your youngest daughter snatches the postcard out of her older sister’s hand whilst her tone remains calm. “I’d remember because you opened the last one like a uneducated heathen and almost ripped it.”

The gasp of all gasps leaves your eldest’s throat. You even have to make a face to try and hide the fact that it was mildly funny.

“Ohh…” You stifled.

“No, I did not! Ma, tell her!” She now complains as she turns to you.

“Wait, heathen?” Onyankopon quickly pops into the frame. “Who taught you that?”

Momentarily ignoring her father’s question, your youngest carries on taunting her sister.

“I’m telling the truth though, you open them badly.”

In all truthfulness, your oldest wasn’t the neatest card opener, and she knew that for herself. But with no defence left she could only stamp her foot in rage and swing her arms in anger.

“That’s unfair! I want to open the postcard! I’m the one who got it through the letter box!”

A sigh leaves your throat as you continue holding your phone in your hands, your eyes glancing towards your husband who’s only mildly fading in and out of the camera.

With no one stopping her, your youngest continues to tease her older sister.

“You’re just proving my point. Only a heathen would use that excuse.” She snickers but this time you’re not laughing.

“Come on, girls. Stop that sorta talk—“ You try.

“Who taught you that word?!” Onyankopon asks more sternly from the phone again.

“Uncle Zeke taught me. Said I had to right to use it on annoying siblings.” Your youngest shrugs.

Seeing the slight gap of distraction, your oldest daughter attempts to snatch the envelope out of her sister’s hand.

“Give it to me!”

“Hey!—“

As the two girls tug the card between each other, you think to intervene. In mild annoyance, you swipe the card up from both your daughter’s hands.

“Okay, now nobodies opening shi—Jack! No bodies opening jack, give it to me.”

There’s mild bickering going on but you ignore it for the time being. Placing the phone onto your lap, you (neatly) open up the card for the girls before pushing it into their direction.

“There. Have.”

As you pick up the phone again, the girls eagerly hold the postcard between them. You switch the video call so that the camera was angled on the twins and Onyankopon was able to see their reactions.

“Who’s it from?”

He inquisitively asks and both girls shoot the camera deadpan looks.

“It’s definitely from you.” Your youngest drones. Your husband only continues to act surprised.

“What?! From me? I don’t know anything about no postcard.”

With their attention back onto the postcard, the girls inspect it from both sides. When they witness the glossy picture on the backside, squeals leave their throats.

“Oh my gosh! This is the place where you guys had your wedding and anniversary!” Your youngest exclaims.

Even you, who hadn’t much pendant for these postcards, raised your eyebrows. Quirking your head, you look below the flip side of the card and sure enough, they were right.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s the Maldives.” You say matter-of-factly.

That seems to get the girls even more excited. With frantic searching, the twins converse on how they smartly figured out that the very personalised, scribbled and doodled-on photocard was from their father.

“Dad, it’s so from you. It’s literally got your handwriting.” Says your oldest.

“How’d you know what my handwriting looks like?” Onyankopon chuckles.

“I’d know because that’s how I write my E’s! I copied it from you.”

“And you always put ‘With all my love’ in them.” Adds your youngest.

“Really?”

Onyankopon’s voice sounds more in fatherly-awe at this point than anything but your daughters are too excited about the gift to notice.

“Yeah, I’ll prove it! Lemme go get my writing book and I’ll show you.”

“I’ll go get the other postcards from the fridge.”

The two of them shoot off in different directions, determined to prove their father right. You on the other hand look down at the phone with a knowing smile.

“Didn’t know you were taking a Boeing to the Maldives?” You honey.

Onyankopon’s full attention is on the screen, his shirt removed as he pushes himself back to get comfortable on top of the hotel bed.

“Sorry. Did I not mention it?” He smoothly quips and you have to pretend that you’re not swooned.

“Boy, you know you didn’t.”

Onyankopon laughs out loud — boisterous. Caught.

“I’ll take you there again someday.” He ponders. “Maybe relive a few memories who knows.”

“Relive a few, huh?”

You have to try and deduct the man’s implications of the promise, concerning that the last time you went to the Maldives, you left as two but then came back expecting two more.

Onyankopon is quiet for awhile but nonetheless smiling. With a shrug, his eyes glance pass the screen.

“We’ll see. Never hurts to make new memories.” He muses

[caillousweave]

TF2 BAND AU!!!!

Sorta, the band part is more of an extra side thing, it's more of a modern au but they also happen to be in a band.

Me and my tiktok mutual have been working on this au and I've decided to share some of our ideas for it :D I wanna eventually draw something for this au!!

I'm gonna go by character, though keep in mind we are very biased so some characters have a LOT more then others (still this is gonna be a longg post)

But first some general things: their band is called "Team Fortress 2" bc that's the game no way!! They chose to make it 2 bc they thought it was cooler then just Team Fortress. They all go by their canon names (except Spy and Pyro) but I'm gonna continue to refer to them as their classes, even tho they aren't mercenaries in this au and don't have classes but shh ok

Scout

Plays the guitar (can also play drums but insists on being the lead guitarist)

Barely goes to practice, only started going more because Soldier forced him to (they live together)

Practices for performances the day of/a few minutes before performing (or to try impress someone)

Lives in an apartment

Can read, but it takes him really long and he has to sound out ever word (people think he's leaving them on read when really he's just trying to read their message)

Has a motorcycle

Works as a delivery boy for Heavy's family restaurant (more on that later) except the food always arrives cold bc it takes him so long to read the address

Doesn't question the food that "randomly" appears in his fridge, or the raccoon in his apartment (again more on those 2 later)

Has a collection of weirdly shaped guitars (he brings a different one to every practice/performance and it's chaos bc they all sound different)

Streams games on twitch sometimes

He's still scared of Pyro (still)

His room/apartment is a mess, like dirty clothes on the floor kind of messy

Soldier

Plays the trumpet (and most wind instruments, but in the band he plays trumpet. Does it match the rest of the band? No, but he insists on playing trumpet)

Soldier forces Scout to go to practice, like he will physically pick him up ("WE HAVE PRACTICE MAGGOT AND BY GOD WE ARE GOING TO GET THERE ON TIME. NO ONE WAITS FOR YOU IN WAR AND I CERTAINLY WILL NOT WAIT FOR YOU" - Soldier probably)

Changes jobs a lot not because he gets fired but because he just feels like it

Insists he's homeless but he sleeps at Scout's apartment and basically lives there, just sleeps on the couch though he doesn't have a room (Scout offered his spare room but he declined saying he was homeless and not staying there long. He still hasn't left 2 years later)

Brought a stray raccoon he named Lieutenant Bites to Scout's apartment

(Along with Scout) begged Medic to learn how to care for raccoons for Lieutenant Bites

Thinks the food that appears in Scout's fridge is some spirit bringing food for them (he doesn't care, he still eats it)

Pyro

Plays drums

Unemployed, sometimes helps Engie at his workshop

Wears the same thing they do in game, everyone else has a sorta simplified/weapon-free version of their outfit (or the same, depending on the character) but they wear the same thing as in game, gas mask and all

Lives with Engie, their room is super colorful and childish

Has a big cabinet in their room full of lighters (they collect lighters)

Like to paint/draw on the walls of their room, invite people to draw with them but everyone is too scared to enter their room so the only one who really does it is Engie, who isn't scared of them

No one knows where Pyro came from, they showed up to practice one day and killed it on the drums so everyone just accepted them into the band, and then Pyro followed Engie home and just stayed there

No one knows Pyro's name, but they answer to Pyro so everyone just calls them that

Most of the other members can't understand what they say, Engie can

Goes to Medic anytime their stuffed animals are damaged and begs for them to be healed

Makes friendship bracelets for the band but no one wears them at first (they eventually do, after being threatened by Pyro)

Heavy

Main vocals (has the voice of an angel)

Brought his family to New Mexico (from Russia ofc) and his family opened a sandwich restaurant

Their restaurant also doubles as their house so his room is just above the restaurant, his room is pretty clean

Works at the restaurant

Sasha exists we are currently discussing on whether she will stay the same or become like a trombone

Is also scared of Pyro

Demoman

Plays the keytar (and a bagpipe bc he's Scottish but in the band he plays keytar)

Lives in his mansion, it's fairly clean, but his room is messy

Lives with his mom

Works several jobs

Basically just him in the comics tbh didn't change him much

He has a horse though, sometimes he brings it places instead of his car, no one knew he had a horse till they all went outside and saw a horse in a parking spot

Wears Pyro's bracelet before they threaten everyone

Engineer

Tech support for the band

But has his own solo career making country music

Other then that he owns a workshop and takes commissions making things (engineer is one of the only classes that can actually be translated into an actual job)

Loves his daughter-son-child-thing Pyro (he adopted them despite them being a grown adult)

His home is small but he keeps it (mostly) clean, unlike his workshop, which is a mess

Also wears Pyro's bracelet before they threaten everyone

Spy

Plays piano

No one knows like anything about him, he prefers not to interact with the other members much

Married to Scout's mom

Scout's dad

No one knows his real name (except Scout's mom)

Still has his watch and can go invisible

Every week he does Scout's groceries (while invisible) bc he hates him but he does still care about his son (does it invisible so Scout doesn't know it was him)

Medic

Backstage help/helps setting up

Makes German accordion covers of songs

Always has like 5 doves following him around (Disney Princess fr)

Experiments on roadkill (his house smells awful)

Lives in a small house by himself with all his birds

Has a shed for his birds (mostly for the winter when it's cold, other then that they just roam around his garden freely

Crashes weddings to save doves

As well as being a human doctor he also knows how to care for birds (yes he is a doctor)

Doesn't like big lights so his house is lit with candles and lamps, it's very dark

His neighbors hate him (the cops are constantly being called to his house)

Likes to go to abandoned hospitals and research facilities to steal chemicals and stuff

Learned to sew so he can patch up Pyro's stuffed animals

No one wants to go in his house bc they think it's scary (except Pyro they don't care)

Sniper

Plays bass (also does background vocals)

Lives in his camper van, it's fairly messy

Sells "drugs" (doesn't actually, they're just vitamin gummies he says are drugs)

Scavenges for things (definitely dumpster dives)

Hunts for his food

Whenever he has bad luck with hunting he eats leftovers from a chuck e cheese (stole this from a 4chan thread I saw on tiktok)

And that's all for now, let me know if you have any questions or wanna add anything :33

[amarylliasky]

Number 9!

Huiss Academy: Where History is Repeated

Welcome to Huiss Academy, student! I’m the Vice Headmaster and I’ll be taking you on a tour of our school grounds! On the way, you’ll meet all sorts of students and faculty, so make sure to be taking notes of all the major happenings and familiarize yourself with the environment.

As we walk around the courtyard, you’ll notice quite a few students keeping a distance from that fountain in the middle. Would you like to know why? …..No, they’re not afriad of getting wet, if it were that useless of a reason then all the students would throw coins into it like a normal fountain. The real reason they stay clear of the fountain in the courtyard is because there is said to be a legend about the water in this fountain. Would you like to hear it?….

The legend goes “You have tried to trap my child just as you had done in the ancient times. Very well, I shall take aim at he who tries to tame the water that eats the sky. Do not think yourselves great because you can shape the water in whatever way you choose, for the water cannot be contained. The moment of freedom is at hand. For he who touches the sea that strikes the sky, your life is one that is filled with pain and hardships.” …..Kind of eerie isn’t it? And that’s not all.. For those who get closer to the fountain…. ….! As you can see, the water here is grey, not clear. It definitely does the job of scaring students away, am I right? Let’s move on. We’ve go a lot of ground to cover before the school day ends!

Our next stop is the Library! Make sure to keep your voice down as some students are studying. ……What? You didn’t expect there to be so many? Well, believe it or not, there are quite a few students who come to the library each day! Many come here to study history and the ancient times!…The Ancient Times? Oh, that’s a story for another day! Let us carry on. Anyway, there are a great deal of students who come to study history, especially those attending Professor Eruhaben’s class. The Roan History Professor expects all of his students to be well versed in our continent’s past. Other interesting topics to read would be the many books detailing Chemistry and ancient Alchemy, along with the philosophy of matter and mana. I could go on about our vast collection here in the Huiss Academy library, but you probably have better things to is to do than hang around with these dusty old books!

As we continue along the hallway, do make sure to avoid the students with blond hair. Hmm? Which ones? Why all of them of course! Especially those broom- Oh! My apologies, student! I nearly said something disrespectful! Let’s be on our way now! (…)

A little while later……

And that’s all the time we’ve been allotted today! …..It was my pleasure, student! Here at Roan’s finest academy, we strive to make all of our students feel welcomed and included! So if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out! Headmaster Sherrit and myself would be glad to help you adjust in any way we can!

I’ve taken the liberty of calling a cab for you. … Oh no, it was my pleasure. Have a safe trip home, student! I’m sure we will see each other at orientation!

////////

So while writing this, I kinda imagined a sorta otome game style narrative. That’s why there aren’t really any quotations and stuff to differentiate between narration and dialogue. The dots are supposed to be the student(you, or whoever I’ll decide on later). While I don’t intend to add any actual romance in it if I do continue this story, the whole otome game genre is what this was inspired by the most.

Anyway, this is kind of a silly little drabble set in a modern au. I won’t go into specifics, but the idea is that pretty much every major character (including villains) go to this academy or are part of the faculty.

Until tomorrow, everyone!

[stxneflxwers]

The Nanny (pt. 1/?)

⋯⁂ Summary: Mr. Zhongli works at a quaint little daycare, and he’s the children’s favorite. Although, when you come by for the first time with your niece in tow, his curiosity about your anxiety around children has officially been piqued.

⋯⁂ a/n: hiiii this was inspired by a tiny set of asks at @zhongrin's a while back. i've only now gotten around to it lmao. i hope u guys like it! i plan to write more but we'll have to see if that'll work out or not.

⋯⁂ w.c: 717.

⋯⁂ characters: zhongli. gn reader. reader has a niece.

⋯⁂ cw: modern-ish au. reader is nervous around kids and lowkey generally anxious. sorta fluffy.

Mr. Zhongli has been a daycare attendant for quite some time now. He enjoys his job to the fullest—the little ones rarely fail to light up his day. Of course, some days are rougher than others—you can only do so much evading. But he's long since accepted the inevitabilities of life.

He took this job, figuring it'd be much easier than his former jobs. And thus far, he's been right. It is a lot easier for his historic heart, even a couple of years later after taking care of a variety of children from all kinds of backgrounds. To this day, he still enjoys his job—it somehow always brings a sun-kissed smile to his face.

To the average person, the days might blend in a little after a few weeks of working at the daycare. But, for him, he remembers every single day as clearly as the last one. It's his own little curse to bear and has been for an alarmingly long time. Yet, these little ones always make that curse much easier to bear in the long run.

Today was no different for him—people come and go to pick up their kids at various hours of the day. And the kids still adore his stories, at least when he uses simple words and no figures of speech. The less confusing the better. And finally, his deep yet gentle voice lulls many little ones to naptime. Is that his plan all along? He'll never confess.

Today was no different… Keyword: Was.

That's until you arrived during nap time with a sleepy toddler waddling next to you. You're holding your niece's hand while her spare hand rubs at her tired eyes. To Zhongli, she looks like she'll collapse at any moment. So, he speed-walks over to the doors where you entered.

"Hey there…" He greets, accidentally using his baby voice when he speaks. "Ahem—my apologies—good afternoon. You must be new?" He inquires with a soft yet firm voice.

"Y-Yeah, I am." You nod sheepishly. You look down at your niece, muttering her name, to which she doesn't bother responding. You sigh a little. "Uh… This is my niece… I'm babysitting her for, uh…a while… But, y'know… Work…" You sputter out awkwardly.

A nervous gulp restricts airflow when you notice all the tiny bodies of sleeping children behind the attendant. You want out as soon as possible. Children have never been your forte… Even getting along with your peers as a kid was difficult enough.

And Zhongli—while he won't admit it to anyone, especially not you—has never seen someone so fearful around kids. At least, not in this work field. You're the first.

Instead of responding verbally, he gives you a nod before approaching the little girl attached to you. He crouches down to her height, offering a welcoming hand to her—a hand that's gloved with black fabric hiding the old callouses of bygone years.

"Hello…" He speaks with a softer, warmer voice, "What's your name?"

Your niece sleepily tells him her name.

"What a pretty name." He smiles more, "Would you like to join the others in naptime? I'll even let you sleep a little extra—" She immediately runs away from you to rush over to his leg and hold it in her tiny, chubby arms. "Haha," He chuckles, "I will take that as a yes."

Leading her over to the area with all the other napping children, he hands her a fluffy blanket and pillow. She's hasty to flop down onto the floor in front of him and fall fast asleep.

You breathe a sigh of relief at the sight. And then you choke up again when he approaches you again at the door. Even though he's smiling and so very kind, you're not sure where to start let alone do.

"May I have your name? I will add both of your names to the sign-in book." He inquires, and once you tell him your first and last names, he swiftly adds them to the cute, stickered book at his desk.

"Uh…" You mutter, "I'll get out of your hair now…! Bye!" You choke out before nearly charging out of the building at the fastest walking speed he's ever seen.

"Goodbye—" He starts, but by the time he gets the whole word out, you're gone.