#duo writing

[izznts]

NEW STORY YAY

After so long, a story is now in your arms, even after all the lovely comms I bought from artists and shared with you, NOTHING will take me from writing HAHAHAHA.

I am grateful for @gurren42 for also being a great friend and writing with me this piece with his oc Leo Marilyn who is now canon in my verse. The nerdy man of wisdom. Please enjoy what we have shared and more to come!

Barista To-Go!

“Could I get a name for the order?” The cute barista asked, subtly adjusting his work apron, hoping his nametag ‘Leo’ would be obvious to the tan, handsome man that stood on the other side of the counter.  

“Sol, S- O -L,” he grumbled, his name obviously misspelled frequently.

“Sure thing, Sol! Your order will be up soon!” Leo said chipperly as he went about crafting the espresso-heavy drink mixed with protein powder and ice. His last order of the day and his face was flushed as he thought of the large man he had been talking to. Flirting with a little. 

He glanced over at the athletic Sol leaning back against a wall as he stretched his arms over his head. His biceps bulged even through the light blue hoodie he wore. Leo’s gaze drifted down to the exposed few inches of belly above his gray sweatpants, admiring the toned abdominal muscles and faint treasure trail. He smirked and softly murmured an appreciative “mmm” to himself. He again adjusted his apron, this time for a different reason as he finished mixing the drink and went to the pickup counter. “Order for Sol!” He said with a smile, sliding the cool drink across the counter.

Sol walked up, took the coffee wordlessly with a faint, tired smile and a nod, and walked over to a table by the window and began to sip, idly looking out as though he was expecting someone. Leo watched the man sit down at the table, as he took off his apron and got ready to clock out. He made himself an iced blueberry latte  with an extra couple pumps of cherry syrup.

As Leo was leaving his job, his coffee in hand, he fished his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his notifications to catch up. Out of habit he opened the door and walked out, bumping headlong into someone. The cold chill of dread as first he felt the sensation of his hand being wet from his drink and then he looked down to see that he had indeed splashed almost all of it onto this poor stranger. 

“Oh my god, I am so sorry, sir,” Leo frantically tried to apologize, cringing as he noticed how expensive those clothes looked. The well-dressed stranger seemed more concerned with the distressed barista than the stained clothes.

“Hey, hey,” he said in a disarming tone, “it's alright. Accidents happen. I guess it’s a good thing I brought extra clothes today. Be right back.” The stranger chuckled lightly and went back to his vehicle to get his clothes. He returned shortly with a different, comfortable set and went inside to use the restroom to change. Leo waited inside to apologize further, but his anxious thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.  

“What the hell did you do to my boyfriend?” Sol asked angrily, Leo was shocked at the sudden anger, only stutters escaping his mouth as he tried to explain. 

“I-it w-was an accident, I-I was just trying to leave!” Leo said in defense. Sol gritted his teeth as he got closer, backing Leo into a wall.

“Sol! Don't you even think about it!” A stern voice from across the cafe as the newly dressed stranger  walked up and pulled at Sol’s arm, creating some space between the intimidating figure and the wide-eyed Leo.

“Izzy, are you serious right now? He spilt his dumb coffee on your clothes!” Sol retorted, glaring daggers at Leo. 

“It was my fault for not paying attention, accidents happen, so please, don't act out.” Izzy pleaded softly. Sol stood there a moment unmoving before finally he huffed as he walked past him back to his seat from before. 

Leo looked at Izzy and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“It's alright, I'm sorry for that, he gets very protective,” He tried to apologize, Leo chuckled softly as he avoided eye contact. 

“It's fine, I should've been more careful with my drink.” Leo said quietly. Izzy looked over to see Sol looking out the window in the seat he chose for them. Izzy looked back at Leo and noticed his hoodie had the logo of one of his favorite games.

"So, uh…I play Overnight too," Izzy said casually, making Leo smile widely as he noticed that the stranger looked at his hoodie.

"Really?! It’s one of my favorites actually! We should play sometime," Leo said, immediately realizing what he just asked and awkwardly blushed. 

Izzy chuckled. "Sure, how about tonight?We actually planned game-night with him and the others," he answered softly, and extended a hand. “Come on, let's take a seat.” Izzy gestured, Leo tilted his head and nervously took Izzy's hand as he walked and dragged him to the seat quickly. Sol looked at them, facing away from the window, raising an eyebrow. 

Sol gave an up and down look at the barista from earlier, lightly scoffed to himself as he saw the tall man with his lover, looking as if they instantly became best friends from the simple incident. 

“What? You're making me fully apologize now?” Sol grumbled Izzy glared before looking at Leo, letting him sit down in front of Sol as Izzy moved next to Sol. 

“You need to stop, seriously.” Izzy said in a frustrated but gentle tone, wrapping Sol's muscular arms over his shoulder and began rubbing small circles on the muscular hand. Sol sighed as he relaxed a little more, eventually giving a small peck on the top of his lover's head.  

He sat up straight and looked directly at Leo.Sol's assessing stare made Leo kind of wilt, his confidence decreasing. "So....uh, he's your--"

"Boyfriend, yes," Sol interrupted, then folded his large hands together and leaned in slightly. "And you... I assume... are single?"

Leo flushed slightly and nodded. "New to town actually. Starting fresh, new friends, new job...living out of a closet," he chuckled at his joke that wasn't far from the truth.

“Ah, moved because of your sexuality?” Sol asked curiously, raising a slight eyebrow. Leo shook his head, hiding a slight and embarrassed chuckle. 

"Hey, not that kind of closet, though I am out and proud," rolling his sleeve up slightly to show a small rainbow heart tattoo. "Anyways," he continued, "the people are nice enough for a bigger city. I'm used to maybe ....a tenth the population. But there's plenty to do here and plenty of cuties. Cuties into video games specifically" He inquired gently flirting as he looked back and forth at the two. 

"Careful," Sol cautioned, "but yes, Izzy here plays when he has the time." Sol leaned over and wrapped a muscled arm around his smaller, slender lover.

"Sometimes Sol plays them too, but he's a sore loser." Izzy teased, rubbing his thumb on top of Sol's hand , which was wrapped around him. Sol rolled his eyes as he purposefully and gently squeezed Izzy's side, making him squeak in surprise. 

Leo smiled widely at the answer. "What games do you play?" Leo asked Sol. Sol looked at Izzy with an eyebrow raise, shrugging.

“I usually just play Overnight casually. It’s a fun game when I’m not competitive.” Sol answered softly.

“You’ll see tonight at game night!” Izzy chimed in, Sol looked at him wide-eyed. 

"Babe, that's the same time the others are coming back home." Sol answered.

"Hmmm, then he'll get to meet them all. I'm sure he’ll… fit in just fine," Izzy said, elbowing Sol subtly and chuckling. "What role do you play, Leo?" Izzy leaned forward in genuine interest, his brown eyes curious. 

"Support typically!" Leo beamed proudly. "Charity is my main usually. Like to be the healer, you know?”

"Charity is alright, been more of a Noir main." Izzy said softly with a light chuckle, Sol looked at both Izzy and Leo, honestly admiring the connection and bond between the two, despite the incident. 

Sol noticed the time, having to keep watch for Izzy as he gets distracted. "Babe, doesn't your collection campaign meeting start in the next hour? You might need to get ready, traffic looks bad," Sol said. Izzy looked and  softly sighed to himself, having blissfully forgotten. 

"I wish I could stay longer, but I do need to leave. It's been nice meeting you Leo, can't wait to see you again!" Izzy said as he got up, giving a kiss on Sol's cheek before heading out.

"See ya , Izzy!" Leo called after him. "Guess I'll get going then, you take care of him, Sol. You've got my number for the meetup?" Sol nodded and patted his pocket where he'd folded it up and put it. 

Leo smiled as he got up from his seat and headed out the door, beginning his walk home. He placed his giant headphones on his head, listening to his favorite tunes. The scenery was active, cars driving around, bicyclists racing each other playfully, animals strolling around. He lightly smiled when he noticed a black cat follow him as it kept meowing. 

“Are you trying to find a new home, buddy?” Leo chuckled as he knelt down to pet it. As he tried to, the cat sprinted away, looking back and meowing once more before heading off. Leo smiled as he shook his head in a relaxed, joking manner. About to turn around to continue his path home, he saw Sol turning the corner the cat passed. 

He raised an eyebrow as he watched Sol casually walk at a brisk pace to him. Taking his headphones off, he placed them into his bag he carried from work. “Sol? Do you live nearby?” He asked him, Sol shrugged nonchalantly as he curiously inspected the figure in front of him. 

 "Leo, mind walking with me? I forgot to get your number to meet up later," he said as he resumed a normal stride. His stomach rumbled loudly, loudly enough for Leo to hear. 

"Oh sure! Also are you hungry? We can stop in a snack store quickly if you–"

"I’ll eat something when I get home, no worries.” Sol interrupted, keeping the conversation as short and straightforward as possible as they exchanged numbers.

Leo raised an eyebrow as he awkwardly nodded. He looked around the area, trying to spark some sort of conversation with him. “So…uh, when did you and Izzy start dating?” Leo asked curiously, Sol looked at him, a little surprised.

“Shit, it’s been a year with him really. We’ve both grown a lot since he took me in.” Sol answered, his eyes gleamed as he spoke highly of his lover. Leo smiled lightly as he continued to walk down the sidewalk. 

Leo’s apartment was several extra minutes away, he saw an empty bench that was shaded by trees that he guided them towards. Leo sat down on the bench, Sol sitting next to him as they admired the lively neighborhood.

“Are you sure you don't want to get something to eat now? Your stomach has been adding to the conversation a bunch.” Leo mentioned, Sol shrugged it off with a light chuckle. 

“Shit, I need to absolutely stuff myself full, I could eat a horse. Hell, I could probably eat someone if I wanted to.” Sol said with a cocky smirk. Leo raised an eyebrow at that statement, confused and slightly aroused. 

“There’s no way he could… right? Is he a pred?” He thought to himself, he looked over at Sol with an expression of extreme curiosity. 

“What do you mean by that Sol?” Leo asked, Sol smirked as he lifted his sweatshirt-hoodie up, exposing his toned abs. He casually pushed out his stomach for emphasis, making his abs now round out to a basketball-size stomach.

“I like to eat a lot, and I tend to feast more than I need to.” Sol said teasingly; he gestured to Leo to cop a feel as he moved himself to face him a bit. His belly still pushed out for Leo to feel. 

Leo blushed as he looked around to see if anyone nearby was looking. Sol rolled his eyes before gently taking Leo’s hand and placing it on his stomach. Leo felt the taut yet smooth stomach that Sol teasingly displayed for him. 

“Does it feel good?” Sol asked, Leo could only nod as he was too focused.

Sol chuckled as he was looking for somewhere that hid the both of them from view. He noticed an alley, making him look back at Leo who continued to rub his stomach, pushing his head gently down to place Leo’s ear against his stomach to hear the rumbling and bubbling and churning just below the surface.  

“Hey, follow me real quick.” Sol gestured as he relaxed, his stomach going back to its toned abs as he got up from the bench. Leo looked at him confusingly as he pulled down his sweatshirt-hoodie as he walked away. 

Leo awkwardly got up and followed suit, seeing Sol go into the alley. It smelt damp as they vwalked deeper and deeper. Suddenly and gently yet dominantly, Sol firmly grabbed Leo’s shoulder and placed him against the alley-wall.

"S-Sol?! What are you doing?" Leo asked, Sol leaned closer as he loomed over Leo, licking his lips hungrily. Sol slightly leaned down and put a finger over Leo's lips to gently shush him. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you, I need a favor from you.” He whispered as he glanced down to see Leo's pants tented. He looked up and cocked a smirk as he whispered into his ear. 

“Remember when I said I could eat a person? Why don’t you let me eat you?” Sol teased as he licked Leo’s ear gently. Leo instantly went red from arousal.

“Y-You’re able to do that?” He asked, the hunk smirked as he placed his hand onto his stomach, covered by the hooded-sweatshirt .

“Yep, do it all the time, you’ll be safe in here and I’ll let you out later on , I promise. Just let me take control and you'll be fine." His hot breath washed over Leo's face, gently rustling his longer brown hair.

Leo trembled, unaware what he truly meant as he blushed from Sol touching his hair. He felt slightly nervous, yet excited to try this out.

“Ok, I want to give this a try.” Leo said shyly, Sol smiled as he nodded, ruffling his hair in a friendly manner. He unhinged his jaw, opened wide, and engulfed Leo's head swiftly. Not even seconds later, Sol's hungry mouth started gulping Leo like spaghetti. 

Leo could feel himself being tugged inside the man’s hungry body like a snake. Soon he felt himself be lifted up off the ground, allowing gravity to assist him. 

Sol started inhaling and exhaling through his nose as he took each gulp, feeling his abs slowly swell outward, accommodating Leo into his space, Sol took one final gulp and felt his snack fully stretch his stomach to a comparable size of a yoga ball. 

As Leo sat inside Sol curled in the fetal position, Sol rubbed over his enlarged stomach that stretched out a couple feet. His hooded-sweatshirt not even attempting to cover the mass circumference of the belly.

"Damn, you tasted really good, I'm actually glad how things turned out this afternoon." Sol cooed as he rubbed over his belly lightly. The experience was entirely new but surprisingly pleasant for Leo, though he did notice that he was barefoot. Sol must have pulled his shoes and socks off masterfully. In fact, he felt the stomach clenching around him, tugging and pulling at his clothes.

Outside, Sol smiled as he felt his stomach rumble and he gently patted his chest with his fist and suddenly belched hard, sending Leo's pants flying into the to-go bag he'd already deposited his shoes into. Another belch after a minute or two yielded his shirt and underwear. And a last smaller belch for his drool-covered glasses. All safely stowed in the bag labeled 'Soul' incorrectly by the worker he'd rushed.

Sol strutted back to his house, belly bouncing and swaying with every footstep. His distended belly got some attention from bystanders as he walked past them. Some mumbles and cautious glances being directed to him. 

Making it to the mansion-like home, he opened the door entering into the house, closing the door behind him. Taking his shirt completely off as he waddled to the couch.

Sitting down on the couch, his belly sat in between his muscular thighs as he leaned back slightly. Rubbing his muscular hand over the curve of his belly, feeling Leo slightly move around within him. 

"Mmm , nothing but a nice, big ol ’ belly will do for me." Sol purred, patting his rotund gut satisfied. He slowly moved his finger to his bellybutton, fingering the cavernous navel. A soft burp lightly escaped his mouth, making him laugh to himself.

Leo felt everything, every little movement, every balancing tense of his core muscles to adjust to the shifted center of gravity, every pat and rub and now the exploratory prodding in his mid back from the outside. He wiggled and squirmed a bit at the new sensation, also trying to find a more comfortable position.

He eventually, with Sol's external help too, managed to slide around so his back was to Sol's back so he could more easily kick and stretch and rub, finding all the spots Sol liked.

"You're pretty good at this, you know? Are you sure this is your first time?" Sol asked, looking down at his rotund gut. 

"Y-yeah," Leo blushed fiercely, "I just have.... fantasized about this for a long time." He says shyly. 

Sol chuckled, bouncing him around behind the powerful abdominal muscles holding him in place. "Explore, Leo, explore,” the large man purred. “Maybe if you’re good, I’ll keep you there longer for being good." Sol smacked the side of his stomach. He sat back and watched the bulges that were Leo shift and move about, testing and exploring these exciting new waters.

Leo started to push against the stomach walls with his hands, making a faint hand imprint near Sol's bellybutton. Sol bit his lip as he clenched his feet in arousal, feeling Leo adventure within him. 

"Ah fuck man, that was a very good spot there." Sol slightly moaned, rubbing over the imprint before pushing it back within his gut. 

It bounced a bit, making Sol reposition himself on the couch, opening his legs up more for the belly to fully lay in between his thighs.

Leo felt the two tree trunk impressions of Sol's thighs shift and allow more space as they moved higher or rather the belly lower. A new subtle throbbing pressed against him as he rested against the slightly aroused pred. 

He continued to rub and push out, stretching this way and getting various levels of response from Sol, all pleasurable as the space heated up some and he was slowly coated in all the drool the larger male had been swallowing down as his mouth watered due to his prey.

Sol gripped both sides of his stomach, giving it a firm shake. “Better be careful~ I might just hog you all to myself.” Sol cooed as he lifted his gut to his chest slightly, letting go as it bounced back onto his muscular thighs.

To Leo this felt like a big hug as the space tightened and was lifted, feeling strong muscular arms and large powerful hands caressing him then he dropped and bounced, sliding around in the slippery stomach changing position. 

His head was now behind Sol's navel as he huffed while Leo lay on his back in Sol's lap separated from the thick thighs by layers of Sol but his outline could be subtly made out in the  tight gut as Sol went back to playing with his navel, teasing Leo's head within.

Sol got up from the couch and waddled towards the nearest wall, grinding his gut into it.

"Shit, if Izzy were here I would have pounded his ass already.”  Sol roared in arousal as he smacked the sides of his gut.

"Is this what happens to preds after they eat? They get easily riled up? I thought that was just in adult films?” Leo asked genuinely, equally aroused but hiding it from the pred in the dark belly as Sol went to town trying to cool down his pent-up sexual frustration, but Leo kept hitting all his sensitive spots, intentionally or not.

Sol growled lustfully as he kept grinding into the wall with his belly. Something urgently rubbed uncomfortably in his shorts that wanted, demanded release. 

"I just need... Izzy..." Sol says panting to himself as he thought about the noises Izzy would make. His mind was filled with thoughts of the feeling of Izzy’s slender hands gripping and holding onto his gut for dear life as the hunk would pound, each thrust pure ecstacy for both.

The husky growling and the rising temperature of the situation both literally and figuratively had Leo panting and wishing Izzy were here now too as his hands wandered and the rhythmic motions Sol made definitely made it hard for him to think. Simmering inside the powerful pred, he asked in a brief moment of clarity "How ....long. ... until he's back?"

Sol thrust upward long and slow as he slowly regained control and thought a bit. "About two hours, " he huffed, panting gently with aching arousal. "Fuck…need a cold shower then," he grunted and began half-waddling off to his room to do so.

Sol went to his own bedroom, taking off his clothes completely, a slap as his length hit the underbelly of his dome as he walked to the bathroom.

He waddled over and started the shower with cold water. Getting in, he felt the cold water hit the smooth curve of his stomach. Relaxing and letting his riled up thoughts subside as he hummed light tunes to himself idly. Grabbing soap to wash himself, he scrubbed all over his body and belly, covering himself with a fresh lavender scent. 

After several minutes in the shower, he got out and wrapped a towel on his lower waist where his belly hung. 

“Alright bud, I enjoyed you there but I’m gonna let you out so you can shower. I’ll wash your clothes and I believe someone here has spare ones for you that will fit you” Sol said, rubbing the upper curve of his gut in big circles. 

“Aww, but I wanted to stay here a little longer.” Leo lightly whined, Sol chuckled as he gave his gut a little jostle with his muscular hands. 

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Sol promised. 

Leo felt himself, weirdly slide out of Sol’s mouth, deposited onto the cold bathroom floors, covered in saliva. Sol chuckled as he placed an extra towel for him to dry himself with. Walking off out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. 

Leo got into the shower and turned on luke -warm water that gently hit his skin. Grabbing soap and washing off all the saliva and juices from the stomach that came out with him. He had felt very safe, comfortable even within him. 

Leo’s mind replayed everything over and over, as he continued to shower and hum softly to himself. “ I’m really glad I met these two ,” he thought with a fond smile of the adventures to come. 

[astrowarr]

after watching several povs, there's something so striking about the way mumbo died.

he dies at home, first of all, which is notable in its own right because so much of his time was spent running about, usually in pursuit of kills. he dies with grian, too— to a thing grian created, no less, but it isn't actually grian's fault for once.

mumbo dies in that tall tower and when lightning strikes, from all across the server, everyone looks. their eyes land on that tower, and everyone is watching. even in grian's perspective, you can see everyone at renwood mound, lined up and staring. those at the bamlands looked on too.

they didn't see mumbo die, but they saw grian's grief. grian, who, throughout this season, has seemed cruel and untouchable to those outside of his circle due to his involvement with and knowledge of the wild cards. they watch grian immediately crumble under the weight of mumbo's death; several of them even explicitly comment, "look at grian, he's grieving, he's in mourning."

i like to think that, until that moment, grian was almost god-like in their minds; now, though, he's the quintessential concept of humanity. grief can be religious if you do it right, after all. even beyond the grian aspect though, isn't this just the most despairing omen of what's to come?

i mean, there's something about this image of a man fallen from grace, crying out as he holds the mangled corpse of his friend in the home they made together, high in the sky, on display for all the world to bear witness to. and the world did bear witness, be it with pity, horror, joy... it doesn't matter, because they saw.

the canary curse has been broken, but this was a fittingly foreboding, tone-setting image that did a stunning job filling its shoes

[demonic0angel]

Thinking of a Story Idea (click for clarity)

Where Damian is left alone in Gotham (from plot convenience) and refuses to stay home, so he goes out as Robin by himself. However, he gets into trouble and has to run away from the enemy who keeps chasing him. Just as he thinks that he’s going to get caught, Jazz rescues him by making Shadow catch and absorb him.

Thus, an unlikely friendship happens as Robin uses Jazz and her Shadows as a little getaway and convenient portal, and Jazz makes her first friend in Gotham.

[signanothername]

A little life update

Killer making a long awaited call to get somethings off his chest as another step to heal? Yes sir

[tibby-art]

hitman au save me .. its been seven years ..

haven’t been able to draw/write much of this au lately but i want to write a few little scene snippets i have stored my brain :’D ill include them under cut

=+=

“This better be something good,” Scar muttered to Cub as they stepped out of the elevator. The hitman, while bound to his contract, considered ‘boring’ missions to be a waste of his time.

“I hope so,” Cub hummed. “Hope so.”

The ConVex swung open the doors to the NHO conference room, not bothering to check if their bosses were actually ready for their meeting.

“Holy mother of—! Knock next time, will you?” A man setting files down on the conference table jumped visibly as the doors slammed open.

“The Vex require a dramatic entrance, Beef,” Scar said casually. Cub snickered.

“Sure, whatever.” Beef furrowed his brow, used to this behavior. He didn’t have time for this. “Okay. Doc was supposed to do this briefing, but he’s busy with his machines I guess, because of course he is, so.” He huffed, composing himself. “Your new top-secret project. This one’s a doozy. Have a look.”

Beef slid the folder across the table. The hitmen flipped it open, absorbing its contents with hungry eyes.

What caught their eyes immediately were the photos. The person of interest looked nothing like a powerful crime boss or a dangerous anomaly. A young adult with glasses, dark eyes and short, sandy brown hair stared back at them.

“Who’s this?” Scar raised an eyebrow. Is the NHO asking them to assassinate some normal-looking university student?

“That is Grian,” Beef explained, both hands planted firmly on the table. “Grian has been with us at the NHO for months.”

“I’ve never seen him before,” Scar remarked.

“Grian’s case is top-secret. He’s been staying in high-security, private quarters… as well as our research laboratories.”

“I thought you guys seemed super suspicious lately! I knew they were hiding something from us, Cub,” Scar nudged his partner with a grin. Cub did not budge as his sharp eyes combed through the documents. He hadn’t heard a single word spoken to him.

“Cub? What’s the deal?” Scar asked. He preferred to let Cub read their mission files and summarize it for him, anyways. Dyslexia and top-secret government files were not a great mix. Oh, what would he do without Cub?

“Watchers?” Cub finally spoke, looking up at Beef with a quizzical frown. The other man nodded slowly. “You’re kidding.”

“After months of testing and analysis, we can confirm that this individual is the only currently documented case of a mortal possessing Watcher abilities,” Beef nodded slowly.

Scar had heard whispers of the Watchers only a handful of times. As a vex, he knew plenty about the realm of magic, the divine, the fae, you name it! But Watchers were said to be ancient entities, perhaps as old as time itself. So old that they were widely considered to be a myth.

“So this is not a hit,” Scar said after a moment.

“This is not a hit, Scar, good lord, do not kill this person,” Beef put both hands on his forehead and let them slowly drag down his face.

“Mortal, you say?” Cub raised an eyebrow.

“Yep,” Beef said. “She was a completely normal citizen until he got these abilities in some freak accident. Lucky for everyone involved, the NHO was able to take control of the situation before anything… dangerous happened.”

“So,” Scar narrowed his eyes slightly, “If this isn’t a hit, then what do you want from us?”

Beef sighed. “After months of testing to determine Grian’s situation, the NHO has decided that he is too important to return to life as a normal citizen at this time. Instead, we’d like to utilize his abilities in our goals to maintain order in Hermit City, and we need someone to train her how to be a special agent in the field.”

“You want the ConVex to train a Watcher how to be a hitman,” Cub said with a slight smirk at just how insane that sounded.

“Yep.”

“Huh.” Scar put both hands on his hips. “Well, that’s not what I was expecting.”

“I suppose we could give it a shot,” Cub said. Although the ConVex were bound by a fae contract to work for the NHO, the vex took every opportunity to feign control over their situation. There was no choice here. Beef had given them an order.

“Sure, sure! We are very good at our jobs, after all,” Scar grinned. Whatever happened, good or bad, would at least be entertaining, surely.

“You’ll come back here to meet her tomorrow morning,” Beef instructed. “Hand me that file back and be here by 9, will you?”

“Sure thing,” Cub replied coolly, sliding the file back to the man. Scar couldn’t help but grin wider when he noticed Cub’s hand casually in his pants pocket, some folded white paper barely visible in his grip.

“Don’t be late. I’m serious this time,” Beef called out as the hitmen turned and exited the conference room.

=+=

The conference room was tense that morning. Towards the end of the table sat the NHO - Beef, Doc, Etho, and Bdubs. On one side sat Cub and Scar. Across from them, Grian sat alone.

“So, how about introductions?” Doc clapped his hands together. “Er… Cub and Scar, this is Grian. Grian, this is Cub and Scar. You guys already know the deal. Grian is going to come with you on missions from now on.”

The ConVex hadn’t taken their eyes off of Grian since they entered the room, unable to resist their curiosity. They had both read the files, but still found it hard to believe the person before them was a Watcher. Grian sat rigid in his chair, fiddling with his hands, looking tense and exhausted. She eyed the vex curiously as well.

“Well hello there,” Scar greeted. “I’m Scar, and this is Cub.”

“Hey, hey,” Cub said quietly.

“Hello,” The corner of Grian’s mouth twitched in a possible attempt at a smile.

The three continued to stare at each other until Bdubs cleared his throat.

“Wonderful introduction. Now that we’ve broken the ice, let’s talk about your next mission.” The man picked up a small remote, and the large screen on the wall behind them illuminated.

“Before we send our agents out into the field, we meet like this to discuss the details and ensure that the mission is clearly understood,” Doc explained to Grian, throwing a disapproving glare in the ConVex’s direction.

A lengthy file on some high-profile criminal appeared on the screen, as Bdubs proceeded to read off the information. Scar slumped back in his chair. These mission briefings were the worst. It was time to zone out and have Cub tell him the details later with all the fluff cut out.

At about ten minutes in, Scar yawned absentmindedly.

“Oh, are we boring you, sir?” Doc interrupted Bdubs to shoot a piercing stare at Scar.

“Oh, not at all!” Scar said cheerfully, but slumping in his chair slightly lower.

“As I was saying,” Bdubs continued loudly.

Scar glanced over at Grian. Her eyes quickly darted back to the presentation when they made eye contact. Scar looked over at Cub and found he had still not taken his eyes off of Grian. Hopefully Cub was at least somewhat paying attention, because he sure wasn’t.

Grian continued to fidget with his hands. Scar felt a pang of pity for him. The vex were used to this sort of environment, but according to the NHO, Grian had a completely normal life up until a few months ago. Now suddenly, he gains these terrifying powers and spends months in a top-secret lab having tests run on her all day. Who wouldn’t be overwhelmed?

Scar yawned again, this time more intentionally. He earned another death glare from Doc, but Bdubs droned on. He glanced over and saw Grian rubbing a hand on his cheek to help hide a grin.

The art of annoying your boss was a delicate one. Timing is everything. Let enough time pass until they’ve forgotten, or they think you’ve stopped, to continue the game. Scar lets about ten minutes pass before his next yawn, bigger this time.

“Quit it,” Beef hissed. Even Etho glanced over. Doc kept his eyes on the screen, but his jaw was clenched. Grian let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Five minutes later, Cub clears his throat rather loudly. Bdubs stutters over his words for a second, but because Cub is Cub, none of the NHO seems to be able to tell if that was a deliberate cough or not, and they decide to ignore it. Cub shows no emotion.

After an hour that felt like an eternity of Bdubs explaining every possible detail about the case, it seemed to be almost concluded. That was, until a rather loud yawn was heard throughout the conference room.

“WILL YOU LET ME FINISH, FOR GOODNESS SAKE?!” Bdubs finally erupted, whipping around in his chair to face Cub and Scar.

The hitmen stared back blankly. They glanced over across the table, and Bdubs followed their gaze, where Grian sat with both arms over her head in a large stretch.

“Sorry,” Grian said simply when all eyes were on him, lowering his arms. “Just had to stretch a bit.” He stared back at Bdubs innocently.

The NHO stood there, confused. Bdubs was at a loss for words, unable to get a read on the new recruit. He sighed and turned back to the screen. “Well, regardless, I think we’ve about summed things up,” he grumbled.

Scar made eye contact with Grian once again. The two cracked a smile at one another for a second, too quick for the NHO to notice.

Scar had a feeling that him, Cub and Grian were going to get along just fine.

=+=

[tomfrogisblue]

i forgot to post this during june but i think one of the reasons qsmp was so important was how unapologetically Gay it was

for starters, the number of creators and admins involved who are irl queer of some variation, just chilling in a place where any kind of phobia would get Philza's legendary ban hammer faster than you could say "rainbow jelly"

and then the characters.

i remember showing up that first day and being shocked that somehow foolish had an ex-boyfriend already (I had missed the squidcraft lore apparently)

that server. gay. all the gay. all kinds of gay.

govermentally assigned platonic husbands that stayed together the whole time (despite one of them being gone for months at a time), not a chance in hell of infidelity. Proud fathers of two wonderful children.

governmentally assigned partners who yelled full volume at each other about cheating any time they were in the room together and between the two of them killed two children.

a grieving father and ex-convict becoming one of the most solid couples in the server, with a beautiful wedding and consistent public displays of affection via the in-game chat.

a demon ashamed of who she was and a lonely detective struggling with family trauma, now with a lil girl of their own, to love together and take care of, with more moms than could ever allow the little girl to ever be lonely herself.

a 2b2t warrior coming to terms with his sexuality with the support of his beautiful baby boy at his side, slowly but surely opening up to his eventual Brazilian Boyfriend. Where they went from the most cautious couple (baby steps) to the most sickeningly sweet couple on the server.

- and this list doesn't even scratch the surface.

gay characters, trans characters, ace characters, aroace characters, gender fluid characters, all kinds of relationships and families.

all presented without negativity or shame.

the point of the server was to exchange languages and cultures, without the biases and barriers seen so much in both the content creator scene and the wider world.

it also had a beautiful little side effect, practically by accident.

our lgbtqsmp.

[tubborucho]

couldn’t decide which way makes more sense

[mochiwrites]

Grian is a hypocrite. He knows. God, does he know it. He’d never acknowledge that fact, however, would never admit to it. He isn’t exactly the type that goes around readily confessing his flaws, after all.

He had told Jimmy he wouldn’t restart the session if he died, right after he’d been knocked down a few lives. Grian said it without hesitation, as amusement spilled from his voice like it had been paint in a can that tipped over. It wouldn’t be fair, nor right, to restart the session. And if he restarted it for Jimmy, what kind of message would that send the others? It might become expectation if someone permanently died so early on.

He needed to be firm about it—even if Jimmy’s misfortune came from bad luck, things out of his control.

Grian can’t go giving out special favors. He can’t be biased.

He’s a hypocrite for it.

It happens on the mountain, right by the long staircase made of soft pink cherry wood. He doesn’t even notice at first, attempting to avoid his personal harbinger, a snail. Honestly, Grian didn’t mean for things to go this badly. As with most things with him, Grian thought it to be a silly joke. A hat tip toward a well known hypothetical query.

But in typical fashion, Grian overestimated his friends’ survival capabilities. With their own personal snails tailing them constantly, he watched as death after death rolled in, giggling over each one (unless it was Mumbo or Skizz).

Maybe by now he should know better.

“Who would make my snail invisible?! Who would boobytrap my snail like that?!”

Grian looks over at Lizzie, both flabbergasted and impressed, “That’s—that’s devious.”

The second he turns, it happens.

(Sandy domes under their feet, a ravine cutting right through their path. Mischievous giggles shared between them before they’re torn apart, the sound coming to an abrupt end.

With a shout he pushes his hand out, but to no avail. Yellow turns to red and all that’s left are their foot prints in sand, a pile of items below.

He’s left at the top, lips curling around the syllables of a name as hysteric laughter follows it, distress wrapping around it like a ring.

He never did manage to catch him.)

Grian is a hypocrite, because the moment Scar dies right in front of him, he panics. That invisible snail wasn’t Lizzie’s. It was Scar’s. He stops, breath cutting itself short on its own blade, body freezing itself in ice. He gets a second of eye contact with the man, seeing the shock and fear lacing his expression before he’s gone.

“Oh, Scar!” The outcry is loud as it crackles with distress.

This is it, he’s on his final life now. If he dies it’s permanent. No do overs. No restarts. No special favors. Scar will die. Grian can’t stomach the thought, can’t let it happen. He’s failed every other time and this world has only just begun. It’s too early. It’s… it’s not fair.

END THE SESSION. END THE SESSION! END IT. SAVE HIM. END END END END END END END!

Grian is a hypocrite.

Whether it be out of some sort of twisted and tangled guilt, or the lingering feeling of a debt to Death that never truly went fully repaid, he isn’t sure. There is no hesitation, just a natural instinct, an ingrained habit. If it were anyone else he’d let it happen, let the game run its course.

But his choice is obvious when it comes to Scar, even when he doesn’t want it to be. He’s always going to be drawn to him, always going to feel this pull. He’ll sacrifice it all, twist himself up in however many different contradictions he needs.

For Scar.

“The session is over!” he shouts, rapidly typing in the world chat for the others. He spams the message a few times in his hurry before switching to turn the wild card off. And he does it just in time, with Scar’s snail just a few inches away from the man. It disappears, along with the others, and a collective sigh of relief is released from those among them.

He feels Them watching, unhappy with their meal being cut short. But Grian doesn’t care. He never has.

“Man, that was a close one! I thought I was a goner,” Scar laughs over to his side, drawing Grian’s attention. “Thanks for the quick save there, G-man.”

Grian smiles at him, some small thing. “Don’t get used to it,” he returns.

There’s a knowing look in Scar’s now ruby eyes, and the sun on Grian’s hair feels warmer; heated, nostalgic. “Of course.”

He’s not supposed to play favorites, not meant to be biased. He’s not supposed to interfere to keep a player alive (something he made very clear to Mumbo and Skizz prior). But existing in a world like this without Scar feels wrong and near painful so early on. He couldn’t stand around and do nothing. He couldn’t just watch.

Not when it’s Scar.

Grian pretends not to notice the glance Jimmy throws at them, a brow raised. He’s been seen right through.

[davidtennan-t]

It’s been 18 years since Doomsday aired - so that means it’s been 18 years since the Doctor met Donna for the first time. Who would have thought all these years later, they’d be family ❤️

[becauseplot]

qPhilza perching on people because bird

qFit: Mans is built like a brick shithouse—he can totally balance Phil’s additional weight. The first attempt is a bit shaky, sure, but nowadays Phil swoops down or hops up onto Fit’s shoulder and all Fit really has to do is jut out his elbow to give his friend a little more space for his talons to work with. Bam, he’s perched. Works out about 9.9 times out of 10, though Phil delights in trying to catch him off guard.

qEtoiles: He doesn’t have Fit’s bulk on his side, so he’s not as sturdy, but he is strong. The landing is usually a little rough since Etoiles has to work a bit harder to counterbalance the additional weight, but he always finds that center of gravity in no time flat. Phil usually perches with one talon on each of Etoiles’ shoulders since he’s not as w i d e, just so Phil can have a little extra grip. At some point, Etoiles tries fighting a mob while Phil is perched on him, and that goes exactly as well as you would expect.

qForever: Honestly, with all of the hard labor Forever does for his big builds, Phil was expecting him to do better, but the first (several) attempts end up with Forever stumbling over and knocking Phil off of him from his wild arm-pinwheeling. They eventually figure out it’s more doable if Forever himself has something to lean on (a wall, a chair, the butt of his pickaxe) and Phil puts one talon evenly spaced on each shoulder. Phil learns some new swears in Portuguese in the process.

qMissa: Flattened. Full-on face in the floor, mouth full of grass, wind knocked out of his lungs at Mach 5 the first time Phil tries. Phil apologizes profusely, but Missa—once he can breathe again—just rolls over onto his back and asks Phil if they can give it another try. It takes a long, LONG time, but they figure out that if Phil plants his talons on Missa’s shoulder pads and leans forward while Missa leans back, they have a small little window of time where they achieve balance. The best part? Phil gets a perfect view of Missa’s goofy little grin every single time.

[lennjamin-o7]

"Hey, Mate, you awake?"

"No."

"Good. I just had a great idea for your roof-"

"No."

"-because, as it is, you are really going to have to replace the roof soon. It doesn't slope enough and holds water. Its going to fucking rot like that! So, I think I should-"

"It's three am, Phil."

"-first redo the whole section on the back side of the house, make it so it drains better. But what it really needs-"

"Why are you like this?"

"-is for me to completely terraform the cliff so we don't have so much icemelt fucking pouring onto the roof all the time. That way, we can-"

"Bruuuuuuuuuuuhhhh."

"-extend the life of the new roof. Who wants to be redoing the roof again in ten years? We can definitely push the life expectancy out to at least twenty years if we use high-quality materials. It will be worth the little extra cost in the long run. What do you think?"

"If I say yes, will you let me go back to sleep?"

"Yup."

"Fine. Try not to fall off the roof and break your old man back."

"Oh, shut it. Where do you keep your tools? It shouldn't take me more than an hour to get the-"

"You're doing it now?"

"Duh."

"Bruuuuuuuuuh."

[phoenixradiant]

OC Duo Answers Ask Game

So because I'm incapable of doing things the conventional way, here's an idea: for these asks, instead of picking an OC and just saying things (which I like, don't get me wrong), to answer these asks pick two characters, and answer the questions as if each character were talking about the other. These answers don't have to be accurate; they reflect each character's perceptions of the other. They can be friends, family, enemies, anything to each other.

😇- What's their best trait?

👿- What's their worst trait?

⚖️- Are they a good person?

👁️- Do you really know them?

👥- What are they to you?

❤️- What are you to them?

🐺- What animal do they most remind you of?

😘- Are they your type?

😨- What's their greatest fear?

🧠- What's your best memory with them? Worst?

👣- How long have you known each other?

🫂- How has your relationship changed recently?

🫡- Are they a good leader?

If you guys have asks you want to add in the reblogs, go ahead, ik this isn't a lot.

Gonna tag people below the cut to get this started:

@the-ellia-west, @somethingclevermahogony, @thewritingautisticat, @smudged-red-ink, @aesthetic-writer18

@tildeathiwillwrite, @agirlandherquill, @illarian-rambling, @corinneglass, and @diabolical-blue!

[onionninjasstuff]

this is part one! | next

[demonic0angel]

Short Fic Idea

Where all of the Phantom Family are dating within the Batfamily (except Damian— this is important). The Batboys who are dating them think they’re the favorite, but they soon discover that it’s actually Damian.

Damian al Ghul-Wayne is the favorite of Team Phantom for several reasons. 1) he’s deadly, 2) he’s adorable, 3) he tries so hard to be a good person.

Like I think Jazz would love him bc he’s small and tiny, but he tries so, so hard (just like Danny), and Dan would love him because he’s trying his best to redeem himself and he’s damaged (just like him), and Danny would love him bc he’s cute and fun to tease, but he’s also really creative and has a soft side despite his prickliness (like Sam or Valerie), and Dani would love him bc he’s hot-tempered but kind to others and brave enough to create his own identity outside of his parents (like how she wants to be).

I just want the Phantom family doting on Damian who’s like ??? While his siblings are all jealous and offended that he’s the favorite. I think Damian would either react like really confused and somewhat flattered/embarrassed by the attention, or he would take advantage of this to make his siblings’ (Tim) lives hell (and also get some attention).

[its-shells]

“So,” Grian says, “this is awkward.”

Scar says nothing. Scar had said nothing for quite a while, honestly, sitting cross-legged in the void and playing with the hem of his cloak. Or with the flower stems woven through the hem of his cloak, as it were. Lilacs and poppies. Grian had thought it painfully ironic the first time he saw them. Scar hadn’t. Not until now.

“So,” Grian says, again, “I can explain? I think?”

He can hear stifled giggles behind him, Scott and Pearl discussing the last moments of the fight. He feels Martyn’s heated glare between his shoulder blades too, knows that he’ll be getting an earful about taking his final life whenever the fourth winner can get his hands on him, but at least Martyn’s been kind enough to leave him at the mercy of the fifth for now. Or not kind enough, as it were. Whether or not Scar has any mercy for him is an open question.

“Explain what,” Scar says. It’s not a question, which is just as well, since Grian doesn’t really have an answer.

Can he explain?

“Well,” he says, “there’s these death games.”

The death games he technically started, and then technically couldn’t stop. The death games that weren’t meant to be blood sacrifices, but probably count as happening on somebody’s altar. The death games that no one ever wins, but technically–

“Technically, the people who win them get to keep their memories.” He scrunches up his nose. “Or, uh, recover their memories of the previous ones, I suppose. Which is what’s happening to you. And Martyn, and Pearl, and Scott, and I was the first, so–”

“One heck of a headache, right?” Pearl yells behind them. “Was even for me, and you’ve got four whole timelines to deal with!” She flops backwards onto the floor, which is the void, pressing the back of the palm to her forehead theatrically even as she peers up at Scar through parted fingers. Scott rolls his eyes and grabs her hand.

“Give them a moment, Pearl,” Grian hears him whisper. “I know you weren’t there for Third Life, but I’ve explained it to you a dozen times, so–“

“So,” Scar says. “Third Life was real.”

It’s a strange way of putting it for someone who hadn’t remembered it at all until now.

“That’s a strange way of putting it for someone who hadn’t remembered it at all until now,” Grian says, because he’s always loose-tongued after dying. Scar stares at him, unblinking.

“That’s a strange way of thinking for someone who declared the first ever game a double victory,” he says. His head is tilted to the side.

Grian stares back.

“That didn’t count.”

“It didn’t not.”

“You didn’t remember until now.”

“I didn’t not.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” Scar shrugs. He plucks a flower from between the dark threads. It’s a poppy. “No less than the rest of it. No less sense than me waking up with sand between my toes, or burns on my arms, or bamboo in my pockets. No less than the dreams. Those didn’t make sense either.”

“It’s not like you ever asked me to explain.”

“Would you have?”

“Not the point.”

“Isn’t it?”

Pearl is still giggling. Martyn is still staring. Scott is quiet.

“Maybe it is,” Grian admits, quietly. It’s not an apology. It never will be.

Nor is it forgiveness, when Scar leans forward to tuck the poppy behind his ear. Nor will it ever be.

Sure feels like it sometimes though.

[moongothic]

Crocodad AU where immidiately after having left Dragon and his baby boy Crocodile finds an 11 year old Robin. And while he's 100% only recruiting her so they can make a beeline for the Poneglyph and Pluton in Alabasta by the two of them... Crocodile accidentally sorta kinda adopts Robin.

At this point Robin's been running for her life from the Government for three years so her deep trust issues and fear of betrayal are starting to take root in her little heart. Like perhaps they haven't taken fully over yet, and being still a child I'm sure Robin might've still had that genuine hope that she could find a safe place to stay in. But I'm sure the though of "what'll he'll do with me once he gets what he wants?" would be nagging at her at the back of her mind. Meanwhile Crocodile's struggling between the pain and hurt he's already gone through and given him his trademark trust issues, as well as the aftermath of The Dragodile Divorce. But he also has his Fresh Paternal Instincts and probably misses his baby. So when given a small, scared child who is running for her life, being chased by the very same Government that'll want his son dead if they ever find out about him... Yeah that might fuck with your brain a little

You know this post was supposed to be just that first paragraph and just a few footnotes from the following two paragraphs. And then I kept on Having Thoughts. And I kept on writing them down. And oh no what happened when did this post get so long (Look I was going to either kept on writing my Additional Thoughts in the tags or I just put them in the actual fucking post)

Like considder this: based on this one SBS, we can kinda tell that if Crocodile was given a chance to raise a child, that child would be a spoiled little shit, right

So in this scenario, where Crocodile's looking after lil Robin, would he be kind of torn? Unsure how to feel about her?

Because on one hand, this strange child would have the potential to not only ruin his plans, strip him of his Shichibukai Privileges by outing him and his plans to the World Government, but also put his son in grave danger by extension (if she found out about him having been involved with the Revolutionaries and/or having a child). But on the other hand, his paternal instincts could make him want to spoil this poor little girl rotten. But only because he needs to (perhaps literally) buy her trust so she'll behave. No other reason, he doesn't feel sorry for her one bit, no sirree. (But maybe he did feel sorry for her, since his son could very well end up exactly like her. Poor little thing) (Which is why he needs to nuke Marijoa out of orbit as soon as possible, no matter the cost, and this child can't get in the way of Crocodile protecting his son) (But also this is a child. Like how bad could she be. Besides all he really needs to do to win her trust is be nice and make her feel safe, right?)

Of course, while I'm suggesting Crocodile could have some parental instincts, realistically, he hasn't actually spent any time being, you know, a father to a child (looking after his newborn for an unknown though short amount of time aside), so it's possible he wouldn't even know how to parent Robin even if he wanted to, would he? (Like taking care of a newborn and an 11 year old kid aren't the same either) So if he was kind of just emotionally flipflopping between No Trusting Ever and It's Just A Kid for God's Sake, Crocodile trying to be nice to Robin to make her feel safe and then telling himself to stop being so soft and vunerable... Yeah that would make for an absolute mess of a relationship. (Not to mention, let's be real, dude's a scary motherfucker too, and a bloody giant compared to itty bitty baby Robin. He could keep on accidentally scaring the shit out of Robin (who would be On Fucking Edge To Begin With) by just Being Himself. Like for example, can you fucking imagine if he caught Robin trying to cheer herself up with a little "dereshishishi" only to tell her to stop because "it was stupid"? 'Cause I can imagine him doing that, and boy howdy would that make Robin feel bad)

Or who knows, maybe Crocodile was just Born To Be A Dad, maybe he just Fucking Gets It. Like Crocodile is canonically pretty good at manipulating people to do what he wants them to do (see: how he played Vivi like a fiddle), so knowing Robin's position and understanding how she feels, maybe he COULD completely nail how she needed to be treated. Not being too familiar but still making her feel safe and happy, knowing exactly when to be stern and when to spoil her, etc. Dude just goes off and wins the Dad of the Year Award while being a deadbeat dad himself. The only thing Crocodile would have to worry about then would be making sure HE doesn't get too fond of her. And certainly that could never happen, he's so in-touch with his own feelings and so grounded, he's not a softie, get outta here. Or maybe he does but never realizes until it's too late and good luck backpedalling on those emotions now dumbass

Alright so, the reason I went on that whole rmble is just that like. I'm so interested in the relationship Robin and Crocodile already have in canon. I'm so facinated and curious about how the two feel about each other, considdering they did spend 4 whole years of their lives together as criminal business partners, though neither ever trusted the other. A partnership that was only ended because Robin betrayed Crocodile, out of her own trauma. (God, I want to see these two "reunite" so bad, I want to know how they feel about each other now after the timeskip and Robin joining the idiot in flipflops who foiled Croc's plans)

My question here is just that... if they had met 13 years earlier, would things have been different? Especially if Crocodad Real? Because as I mentioned in the begining, Robin would've been on the run for only 3 years by this point, as opposed to 16 years before running into Crocodile. Simultaneously, this would be before Crocodile went onto spend an entire decade all alone, slowly losing his marbles in his emotional solitude. They'd both be emotionally traumatized, yes, but would it have been as bad in this scenario? Like I did start this post kind of joking about Crocodile adopting Robin, and for clarity's sake I don't think they'd have like a father-daughter relationship nececarily. But it would be a strange relationship still, because we'd have two broken people, both struggling to trust anyone. One who had lost her mother and her only friends, leaving her all alone and afraid while running for her life. The other a father who had just given up his son whom he probably missed dearly. Both having these holes in their hearts from loss of family, holes that could not be filled with replacements. But could they find comfort in each other anyway, because they still as people occupy similar roles to their respective loved ones? If they both could just get over those trust issues?

Okay I've been going off on the Emotional Side Of Things for this AU Concept, THERE'S PLOT TOO

So if Crocodile did pick Robin up like 19 years ago, that should be before he set up base in Alabasta, long before he had built is homebase and financial empire etc.

Now the thing is, while we don't know when, where and how Crocodile learned about the Ancient Weapons, Pluton specifically and how the lead on it would be in Alabasta... Considdering Crocodile did once upon a time aim to become Pirate King, it would make perfect sense if he had learned about Poneglyphs during his past adventures, as he would have needed to get the Road Poneglyphs to find One Piece. And while the World Government did bury the truth about why Ohara had been burned down and why Robin had been given her bounty (remember, the WG claimed it was because she had sunken a fleet of battleships, which she had not, it was because she could read the Poneglyphs), considdering this is a Crocodad AU specifically, you could totally make an argument Crocodile could've learned about what actually happened to Ohara from Dragon and co. So, just to make this AU work, you could just assume Crocodile learned about the concept of the Ancient Weapons from Dragon. And who knows, maybe he overheard the truth about why Robin had been given her bounty from Dragon too (maybe Dragon was able to get intel from Garp in secret) or while going to Marijoa himself to attend a Shichibukai meeting or something IDK.

Maybe he learned about Pluton being in Alabasta before finding Robin by accident, and maybe they made a beeline for Alabasta the second Croc recruited Robin. Travelling takes time and the guy would've most likely had to find an Eternal Pose to Alabasta just to get there (also canonically Robin didn't enter the Grand Line until her 20s so they should've met in West Blue probably, since that's where Ohara was) Or maybe Crocodile had to haul Robin around for a few months while looking for That Missing Piece of Information that would lead him to Alabasta. (Imagine the two travelling from like island to island, library to library, Crocodile trying to find that leads while Robin's just so excited about ALL THESE BOOKS (she's helping too with the research) (but to her, research is playtime, so she's just having the time of her life) (Also, notice how Crocodile's Theoretical Child is a fucking loser ass nerd? Yeah Crocodile would encourage Robin reading and studying, surely. And that would be fucking cute))

But like, once they set sail to Alabasta...

Sure, Crocodile could try to do it The Slow Way that we know he tried in canon, building trust and creating his little empire etc. But also, in canon, Crocodile couldn't have jumped into action head first because without Robin, even if he had found the Poneglyph he couldn't have read it and found the location of Pluton. Crocodile choosing to do it the slow way may have been partially because he didn't have much of a choise and it could've felt like the smarter move long-term.

But in this scenario, he already has Robin. Yes, he could do it the slow, secure way.

But what'd be there stopping him from infiltrating Cobra's palace and kidnapping him (in the night, when nobody suspects a thing), demanding Cobra to spill the beans lest Crocodile kills him and/or his pregnant wife* (*Vivi was born 10 months after Luffy so depending on how long it's been between Crocodad leaving Luffy behind and this scenario... Yeah either the wife is there, still pregnant, or there's a newborn Baby Vivi)

Like it'd be a risky move but depending on how ballsy Croc's feeling and how confident he feels in being able to kidnap the king without being noticed... Yeah he could probably do it. And I'm sure he'd have no problem killing Cobra either, if anything it'd be required if he didn't want the Government to find out he was out to find Pluton, and god knows Cobra would tell on Crocodile if left alive. I could see Crocodad being maybe a little iffy about killing Baby Vivi though (it's not like the newborn baby could report him to the WG anyways), but if nothing else, he just needs to be able to pull off the bluff of his life to convince Cobra to do as he's told. And we all know Crocodile's good at convincing people.

The only question is, how would Robin take that?

Watching Crocodile go into Full Murder Mode, hearing him say he'd kill a pregnant woman/a newborn baby if he didn't get what he wanted? Like yeah, I'm sure 11 year old Robin would be fine with that, that wouldn't make any alarm bells go off in her head at all, it'd be fiiiine. IT WOULD NOT BE FINE, SHE'D BE SCARED SHITLESS. That fear of "what will he do with me when he gets what he wants"? Well, Robin may not have found the answer to that question in particular, but she certainly found the answer to the opposite question, and it's not good

So say Cobra, kidnapped (perhaps with Baby Vivi) by Crocodile in the night, guides the two to the Poneglyph under the tombs. Crocodile puts Cobra out of his misery because he's not needed anymore. And he asks Robin to read the Poneglyph for him.

Robin, who has spent the last little while, be it weeks or months with Crocodile, him having become her "guardian", the thing keeping her safe. Crocodile, who has now shown how cold blooded and cruel he can be. Robin, who might be scared out of her mind. Of him.

And the Poneglyph says Pluton, the thing Crocodile wants, isn't there. It's in Wano.

What's she going to do?

EDIT: I wrote a sequel post, enjoy