#fic: mistakes were made

[sunnydbeam]

I want to politely ask Alpha to bend down so I can kiss him on the cheek and see his reaction (whatever happens, I'm ready)

SFW. Fluff Word count: 1500+ I can't draw, so I'm trying to get back to writing.

edit: Link to AO3

______

Alpha isn't quite sure what to anticipate when you ask him to stoop down a little to meet you. In his optical sensors, you register as polite, perhaps even... endearing. So, after a slight tilt of his head, he complies, leaning his tall frame forward. Even bent, the height difference remains significant, almost comically so.

Alpha lowers himself further, bringing his face level with yours. Your gaze meets his; the red eyes are void of expression, yet somehow intensely questioning. That signature robotic seriousness washes over you, unsettling.

You feel judged somehow, a wave of nervousness making you feel small and foolish. The truth, however, is far simpler: Alpha isn't thinking about anything in particular.

"Like this?" he asks simply, his voice a flat monotone.

You manage a hesitant nod, doubt flickering within you. The robot tilts his head again, a minute adjustment, and a knot of anxiety tightens in your stomach. Was this really a good idea? What intricate calculations were running through his complex positronic brain as he stared? Would delaying anger him? Would your intended action infuriate him even more? Unbeknownst to you, Alpha's mind remains a blank slate regarding your intentions.

Taking a shallow breath, you edge closer. Tentatively, trying not to make any sudden movements, you gently rest a hand against his cheek. You instantly notice a flicker of confusion in his red eyes, though his imposing frame remains perfectly still. He doesn't push you away, but your doubt blossoms into genuine fear. Will this next action sign your death warrant?

You decide words are useless now. Instead, you lean in further and finally, delicately, press your lips against his right cheek. It's brief, just a fleeting pressure, but firm enough, you hope, for the contact to register.

His reaction is instantaneous and explosive, startling you so badly that you fling yourself backward, scrambling away as fast as your legs allow. And thank whatever higher power exists that you did, because you know, with absolute certainty, that if you hadn't moved, the robot would likely have grabbed you, and that would have ended very badly for you.

Alpha snaps upright to his full, intimidating height, towering over you. His eyes blaze wide and bright, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He stares down at you as if he could bore holes straight through your skull with his gaze alone. He doesn't move an inch, yet every fiber of your being screams at you to apologize profusely and flee for your life. The way he looks at you feels like a terrible, deadly omen. You swear your intentions were completely innocent!

You stumble as you try to get to your feet properly, poised to turn and run when Alpha makes a sudden, stiff movement. You freeze mid-motion — partly from shock, partly from fear, and partly from a morbid curiosity desperate to know what he thinks, what he'll do. But the sight of those four flexible, weaponized limbs extending slightly to his sides certainly doesn't look friendly.

"What was that?" he questions, his voice surprisingly less agitated than his threatening body language suggests.

Your mouth opens, your mind racing for a convincing explanation, but nothing comes out except the unvarnished truth, which you fear might enrage him further. "Just... a kiss? Out of curiosity..."

The words tumble out before you can stop them, your posture radiating nervousness, timidity, and worry.

To your immense surprise, honesty turns out to be the best possible approach. Alpha stares at you as if you've suddenly sprouted a second head, yet simultaneously, as if he's just encountered the strangest, most baffling phenomenon imaginable. The robot steps closer, looming, almost cornering you. You tremble like a leaf.

"Kiss?" His voice is softer now, less aggressive than you'd expect, laced with a strange sort of curiosity. Thoughtful, almost, as if he's genuinely pondering the concept. "Why do humans do that?"

"I-it's just... a way to show affection..." You stammer, unable to meet his intense gaze. You could cry right now from sheer stupidity, from acting on impulse without considering the potentially lethal consequences. "I-it wasn't anything bad, I promise..."

"Affection," he repeats the word, tasting it, analyzing it. He leans closer again, his face near yours, his gaze scrutinizing. "Why would you do that?" Why him, of all beings?

You don't answer. He doesn't press.

"Are you afraid?"

You shake your head quickly, a blatant lie contradicted by your trembling body and the tears welling in your eyes. Everything about you screams, "Don't be angry, please don't hurt me." Alpha may or may not fully parse the sentiment, but he certainly observes you with a softening gaze, perhaps finding your vulnerable state... adorable. To him, you are a lovely creature. You, however, remain oblivious to this internal assessment.

Alpha places a large hand gently on top of your head. "Were you being... affectionate... with me?" he asks, a surprising note of naïveté in his tone.

You blush crimson, the heat rising in your cheeks. "Huh..."

He analyzes your reaction. "I still make you nervous. Scared?" His hand drifts down, the tip of one gloved finger lightly tapping the bridge of your nose. "Don't be afraid."

You give him a pathetic look. "... You're not angry… ?"

"No."

"You're not going to kill me...?"

"Why would I do that?"

You avert your gaze, deciding not to answer that. Instead, a reckless impulse takes over. "C-can I give you another kiss?"

Okay, what on Earth possessed you to ask that?

Alpha's eyes narrow fractionally. His hand lowers, fingers curling under your chin, gripping firmly, tilting your face to the side as if forcing you to look away. The grip is strong, bordering on painful. Yet, you can distinctly feel his red eyes boring into your very soul, a threatening, ominous aura surrounding him.

"Don't move."

With deliberate slowness, Alpha leans forward. He presses his brief, experimental “kiss” to your cheek, a light brush of coolness mimicking your earlier gesture. Even as he holds you fast in his steel grip, seemingly ready to counter any hint of movement or escape, he then surprises you by sweetly nuzzling his face against your hair.

"Like this? Am I doing it correctly?" he whispers, his voice muffled slightly against the soft strands. His grip on your face loosens but doesn't release you entirely. "Showing you... affection."

Your face flushes hot again. What is even happening?

"Yes... I mean— W-why would you do that?" You stammer, your voice slightly distorted by the pressure on your cheeks. Your question seems to mildly irritate Alpha; apparently, he doesn't know the answer either. But he felt the impulse — the need to investigate, to understand why that brief contact had felt... surprisingly not unpleasant. Why does it make him feel less cold?

"Curious," he states simply.

A particularly brave part of you wants to argue, to question why he had to grab you like that just to try it, but something in his simple admission feels... oddly endearing.

"...And? What conclusion did you reach...?" You venture, emboldened.

Alpha regards you for a long moment, his expression unreadable. He traces the line of your jaw with a gloved index finger, a flicker of fascination in his otherwise impassive features. "Uncertain. I still don't understand it... Why do it that way..." He touches his cheek briefly as if committing the strange, yet not disagreeable, sensation to memory. "What conclusion did you reach?"

You blush for the third time, a reaction the robot does not miss. "I don't know... Honestly, I thought you were going to murder me for trying."

"Is that what you want?"

There is no way he just asked that as casually as discussing the weather. Now you're profoundly disturbed and feel an urgent need to escape.

Alpha releases your chin as you instinctively try to pull back, and you just pray he isn't serious. You stumble backward on unsteady feet. He watches you from his still-crouched position, a massive question mark seemingly hovering over his head.

"Oh, look at the time! They must be looking for me, haha..." You spin around to leave, but a large hand clamps onto your arm, pulling you back firmly to face him again, bathing you once more in the red glow of his optics.

“If you’ll allow me, I’d like to show you my favorite human gesture of affection before you go.”

You're too stunned to react. When you don't struggle, he gently pulls you towards him, against his chest. His four arms wrap around you, engulfing your smaller frame. You're initially surprised and tense, bracing for the worst. But then, slowly, you feel one of his hands carefully stroking the hairs on the back of your neck, and you realize... He's holding you with such unexpected tenderness, such comfort, that you feel yourself practically melting against him.

Alpha rubs your shoulders and back with slow, careful, circular motions as if consciously trying to soothe you. It works. Soon, your tension drains away, and you find yourself relaxing, hesitantly wrapping your arms around his torso. He is incredibly good at hugs.

"Cute," he murmurs.

You stay like that in silence for a while, enveloped in the strange, secure embrace. Eventually, Alpha seems to decide it's sufficient. He loosens his hold, though he doesn't let go completely. You, however, don't release him yet.

"You may leave now," he informs you.

You cling tighter.

"Just a little longer..." you mumble, your face buried against his chest. "They can wait."

_____________

[ Have to be honest here: I was one sentence away from making Alpha go weird, but the only thing that stopped me was how long this was getting :p ]

[okay-gayass]

sleepwear swap ^-^

[evilasiangenius]

“I need an evil rug,” Aziraphale had announced, after dessert.

“...what?” Crowley looked up from his empty coffee cup. “You need a wh-”

“An evil rug. I need an evil rug. Not extremely evil, but you know...evil enough. Moderately evil. Gently evil.”

“So mail order one from the States,” Crowley said. “Get the cheapest one possible, from a company in the South so that it’ll either have been made in a private prison or...wait, those overseas factories are like prisons too, just in another country...”

“No, I mean...not passively evil like most everything manufactured but actively evil. Intently evil. Stained with evil.”

“Then go to an Ikea showroom and ask to buy a floor sample-”

“No, that won’t do,” Aziraphale pouted. “That won’t do at all. It should be stained with evil but not physically stained. It wouldn’t do if it were dirty. I have standards, after all.”

“Angel, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re no help,” Aziraphale muttered.

“I can’t help you if I have no idea what you want. Now, tell me again why you need an evil rug?”

“I…” Aziraphale’s mouth closed. “I can’t. I can’t explain it, but it is important.”

“All right. Then...at least the dimensions. Are you looking for like...an evil floor mat?” Crowley suddenly imagined that this was about some kind of a present for his bathroom because Aziraphale had commented on his lack of bath mats. Which was ridiculous because one didn’t need bath mats when the bathroom floor was carpeted.

“No, a rug. About...say, two meters in diameter.”

“That’s too big.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re trying to get this for me, it’s too big. I don’t have anywhere in my flat to put in a rug that size.”

“It’s...it’s not for you, it’s for me!” Aziraphale scowled, and Crowley arched an eyebrow at the angel, hearing the implied idiot in his words. “For the bookshop. And ideally I want something nice.”

“Nice?” Crowley’s brows furrowed. “You want something nice. But...evil.”

“Aesthetically pleasing, morally bankrupt.”

Crowley opened his mouth, but nothing came out. A moment later, he tried again. “Angel. I don’t think it is possible for an inanimate object to be inherently morally bankrupt…”

more

[starry-bi-sky]

Blood blossom: The solution to battinson living in a penthouse during the movie is after finding danny, they move back to the mansion. For better security as well as a less populated place and therefore easier to keep danny out of the public eye

Problem though! in Batman 2022, Thomas Wayne moved Martha and Bruce into Wayne Tower when he was a kid and Wayne Manor was donated to become an orphanage (that's since been abandoned), so it's no longer within Bruce's possession. Although ofc Bruce could just buy it back after gaining Danny.

In all honesty though, I actually don't mind that Bruce lives in Wayne Tower instead of the Manor after sitting on it! I found out that this:

"A lot of the previous Gothams have had Bruce situated in a mansion in the suburbs. He comes in to fight crime and goes back to the suburbs. Bruce is of the city, a part of the fabric […] That made perfect sense as a center for operations for Bruce and it allowed us to explore all the beautiful decay and patina which set the tone for the rest of the film"

was the reason why he was in the tower instead, and I do really adore that reason. I think it's perfect, and after a little bit of thinking I realized I didn't wanna change that, it felt integral to Bruce's character and even though I don't plan to make WTNS 1:1 with the movie, it's still the inspiration for it and I wanna honor that.

PLUS, it helps solve a logistical issue I was having with Danny originally being in the manor, cuz the cave in the movie and in WTNS is in an old Wayne train station situated below Wayne Tower, and thus not connected to the manor. Hopefully you can see the problem with that lol.

And after a little bit of digging I found that Wayne Tower is a separate building entirely from Wayne Enterprises, which makes a ton more sense and makes things a little easier for me. And there was no indicator in the wiki or anywhere else that said anyone other than Alfred and Bruce lived in Wayne Tower, other than.. like, Dory, but I don't think I'll include her in the fic just for my own sake. Sorry Dory. So its just them in that big fuck-all building.

Overall the switch from Manor to Tower is,,, pretty easy after I sat on it for an hour and talked about it with Gen. The pros and cons are ridiculously evenly split, and I've already got ideas on what challenges that living in the tower come with. My last hangup was that it meant I had to go through the chapters and comb for every moment Danny mentions being outside of Gotham -- which turned out to be only once, with Bruce only verbally calling the house 'the manor' once too.

In the end though, if i need them to move to the manor i can just have them move to the manor instead :]

[courfee]

i have made the mistake of making my characters watch a horror film, and while this is one i actually have seen i dont remember enough of it to sufficiently write my story here so i fear i might have to. rewatch it ://

[cuz-reasons]

Summary: Emmet gets a call about a verrrry lost child

Now for the other side of this story

[tvxcue]

the position so many ppl take towards polin where they see the largest conflict in the relationship being colin's obliviousness just gets deeply silly at some point bc they can't even take a step back to understand the most basic plotlines bc the issue MUST be that colin doesn't return penelope's feelings

[anastasia974realqueen]

So a few days ago instead of listening of what my teacher was saying in my online classes, I suddenly have a thought.

So for starter, a few days ago, in the morning, I was playing Pokemon Go, the problem is that on my phone, the app was LAGING. So as the afternoon start, my online class begin and I was still angry about it. As I was trying to calm myself, trying to think about something else (while still not listening to the teacher) I suddenly have a thought :

"If Alex and his gang have the game, what team would they be in ? Team Red (Valor) ? Team Blue (Mystic) ? Team Yellow (Instinct) ?" then it became "If Alien was a pokemon, I think he will be a Minun" to "What would be the gang as Pokemon Trainers ? In the Pokemon World, what region would they be from ? For Alex, I can totally see him being from Kalos. Ruby, I can see her at Alola, because the region is made up of four tropical island (+ one if Foudation Aether count) and in the show, Ruby came from the Gunpowder Island, who seems like a tropical place (if we move away from the boat port). Also, to go to the other islands she will have to sail, something she like to do (does that means she will love Hoenn if she visit the place ? Because you know, water). As for Gene and Twinkle, I don't know..." at

"WHAT IF ALL THE PLACE IN THE SUPER 4 SHOW WERE LEAGUE CONNECTED ! LIKE IF YOU WANT TO TRY AND BE THE POKEMON CHAMPION OF ALL THE ISLANDS YOU HAVE TO FIGHT EVERY GYMS, WON AGAINST ALL GYMS LEADERS FROM EVERY ISLANDS, FIGHT AGAINST THE ELITE FOUR OF ALL THE ISLAND AND THE POKEMON CHAMPIONS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE ISLANDS WILL BE THE FINAL ELITE FOUR !"

SO

yeah, I got on a hyperfixsation for this Super 4/Pokemon AU

SO

Let's start with how I imagine the background of this AU :

This AU is settle in a modern era, which means that everybody have access to thecnology and the internet. It's totally normal to have a TV, phone and stuff like that.

Fairies, witches and unicorns doesn't exisct in this AU. The closest thing you could have of a unicorns are Ponyta and Rapidash.

Médiévalia, the Enchanted Island, the Gunpowder Island and Technopolis kinda work like the Alola region.

As you known, Alola is made up of four islands + and artificial one. Over there, they have the island challenge (or the island trials ? I'm not sure how you say it in english) and if you become the Pokemon Champion after winning against the Elite 4, you are the Pokemon Champion of all the islands.

In this AU, it's different :

Each islands have their own Pokemon Champion, to be able to face them you have to collect all 8 badges from all the Gym Leaders and challenge the Elite 4. It's possible to be the Pokemon Champion of all the islands, but it's extremely difficult and almost impossible.

Now, let's start with how I imagine our characters works in this AU :

Twinkle

In this AU she would be a human

She would totally be a Fairy Type trainer

She came from the Enchanted Island. It was named this way because there are numerous fairy type pokemon in the area

Twinkle would have a LOT of fairy type pokemon (the exception being Alien)

She is the type of person to catch a pokemon mostly because of his cuteness and she will also totally give her pokemon cute nicknames

Twinkle is a pokemon performer, she wish to be a successful pokemon coordinator in the future

Here, the Fairy Queen (who is also a human) is the Pokemon Champion of the Enchanted Island, she is as well a famous and well known pokemon coordinator (she is the NUMBER ONE in this area). She is also known to train a few girls who are pokemon performers, because she see in them potential to become great pokemon coordinators in the future. Unfortunately, she had to retire early in this career due to an incident. Something happen to her legs and since then she lose the ability to walk, she can only move in a weelchair. Whatever if her being paraplegic was Twinkle accidental fault or not, the Fairy Queen will forever accuse our poor Twinkle for this tragedy.

Also, Fairy Queen is not her real name, it's the nickname her fans gave her

Her being paraplegic doesn't affect her work as a Pokemon Champion, but she still longs for the days of when she was still a pokemon coordinator and was able to perform on stage with her pokemon

Since Twinkle is ban and forbidden (by the Fairy Queen) from performing, she disguises herself as Miss Mystery so she can continue doing what she loves with her pokemon

Her performance attire (while disguises) will be the clothes she wears in the episode "The Golden Wand", a pale blue dress with a cyan blue mask

Over time, Miss Mystery will have a fanbase. It will be small at first, but it will grow bigger as she continue with her performing

As for her pokemon, I like to think that when Twinkle meet the group, she will already have a few pokemon with her, such as a Sylveon and a Cutiefly.

Sylveon was given to her by the Pokemon Professor of the Enchanted Island, the Wise Fairy, when it was still an Eevee. With her Eevee they caught Cutiefly.

At some point, during the journey that she will have with her friends, her Cutiefly will evolve into a Ribombee. She will cry tears of joy, just like when her Eevee had evoled into a Sylveon.

During her journey, she will caught other pokemon who will be fairy type (which pokemon ? Idk)

Once the Fairy Queen realise that her being paraplegic wasn't really Twinkle fault, she will lift the ban and allows Twinkle to perform again, without her needing her secret identity. Twinkle will also be an official pokemon coordinator. As an official pokemon coordinator, Twinkle will create a new category of contest, a category that let people and pokemon, with any kind of disability, able to join in.

And just like this, the Fairy Queen got her career back and is no longer retired of performance.

Alien

Since he look like a bunny, I associate him with Minun, but now I don't think that it suits him. Alien just doesn't look like the electric type to me.

Personally, Alien give me psychic type vibe or at least he has a double type, and psychic is one of them (what will be his other type ? Normal ? Rock ? Plant ? Idk)

Why did I choose pyschic ? Because, in the episode "Origins Part - I" Alien was able to show Alex something in the past, something that happen to his species and in "Origins Part - IV" at the end of the episode, he was able to show the group something that will happen to them in the future. I meant sure, he use an object for that, that triangle thingy things that glow

But in the World of Pokemon, the only type of pokemon that has the ability to see into the future are only psychic type, so.....

What if, Alien also have the ability to see people's aura ? That would explain why he showed our group his visions and not other strangers : it's because the aura of his friends are powerful, strong and good. Perhaps this was why Alien stayed with them in the first place, after which he geniously developed an affection for the group.

(Will that mean Alien give a Meowstic and Lucario vibe)

Alien can also maybe be that mysterious (legendary) but cute pokemon that is always with the group and traveled with them, he is also under the good care of Twinkle (kinda like Bonnie and Squichy in the pokemon anime).

Alien actually came from a unknown place : The Lost World, the very mysterious and hidden fifth island. That place is only known by rumours and legends. It tell that if you go there, you will never come back.....

EXCEPT FOR OUR HEROES OF COURSE !

So when the group were able to get there, they will discovered the species of Alien and learn they actually are Legendary pokemon. Twinkle will name their species Mysterios.

They will also realise that Alien doesn't have the same colour pigmentation as his peers. After an examination from Gene, the group will learnt that Alien is in fact a ✨shiny✨ (cue to Gene who is losing his mind because he always wanted to see a shiny and all this time, since the beginning, he had one in front of him)

In this AU, the dinosaurs can be Ultra Beasts who came into the island because of Ultra Wormholes

While exploring the caves, fauna and flora of this new world, they somehow found Rock Brock who was chilling in a hammock. He tell the group he doesn't remember how he got there but he loves the place so much he has decided to stay and live here.

Rock Brock knows the Lost World like the back of his hand and he considers himself to be a good friend of the Mysterios. He wants to be best buddy with the Ultra Beasts (you just know the Mysterios are just sooo tired of his shit shenanigans)

The Furios (name giving by Twinkle) are the other species of Legendary that live on the Lost World. They are more hostile towards humans than the Mysterios.

While the Mysterios are more peaceful, friendly, pleasant and unwarlike. The Furios are more hostile, aggressive, confrontational and warlike.

The Mysterios and the Furios are kinda like the pokemon Unown. So that's why there are many of their species, there are just many various forms of Mysterios and Furios

Both of their species are the duo Legendary of this AU (kinda like Kyogre/Groudon; Reshiram/Zekrom or Yveltal/Xerneas)

Alex

In this AU he isn't a prince nor a knight

In the social class, him and his family are privileged. They have a lot of wealth (he is a rich kid but a nice rich kid), yet he doesn't show it off

He lives with his sister and dad in a large mansion. Over there, it's the domestics who do the chores

He has never being at school, all his education was made at home by his private tutors (same for his sister)

He sometimes felt like he's trapped in his house and he is very eager to start his journey as a pokemon trainer

His father Kendric is the Pokemon Champion of Médiévalia

Alex wants to be the Pokemon Champion of Médiévalia (just like his dad)

He had a friendly rivalry with Ruby

On his 5th birthday, he received his first pokemon : honedge

Before he will start his journey with his friends, honedge would have already evolved into a doublade. At the end of his adventures, his pokemon would evolve into a aegislash.

Between the fact that I can see him well with a Mudsdale or a Rapidash, idk what other pokemon Alex will catch and have. I'm able to see him with some steel type pokemon (maybe because knights have a lot of steel armor on them and since in the show Alex is a knight......)

I don't really have many backtstory idea for him, sorry

Ruby

In this AU she isn't a pirate

She came from the Gunpowder Island. On the island, she lives near the port part (think of it like Slateport City in Hoenn)

Her dad owns a little restaurant. He mainly works in the kitchen and prepares the food for the clients.

In her dad's restaurant, she usually mopped the floors and cleans the cultery. She was rarely the waitress, because if a client said something slightly bad towards her, her temper would get the better of her and she would fight him.

As punishment for fighting with a client, her father makes sure she is on chores for at least a month. Of course, if the fight was disserved because the client said something inappropriate to Ruby, the girl will not receive any punishment and the client will be banned from the restaurant for life.

Upstairs is where Ruby and her dad live. The ground floor is reserved to the restaurant only.

The restaurant is located not far away from the League

Since the place is close to the League, a lot of strong trainers came here to take a break and eat. Sometimes, the Elite Four as well as the Pokemon Champion, whose is known as Shakebeard, came also here to eat. The folks who come here mutually tell each other about their adventures, travels and journeys. They also retail stories and legends that they have heard.

Young Ruby will overhear the stories of the clients, and all of this tales will awake in her the love of pokemon battles. She dreamt of meeting strong trainers and having to fight and win against them.

Her first pokemon was Gimmighoul. She have him his Roaming Form

She spotted him one time when she was outside, as she was walking home and about to enter the restaurant. Gimmighoul was hiding behind a barrel. Ruby ask him if he was cold and if he want to come inside to get warm and have some food. He shyly nodded and accepted the offer. And since then, he never leave her.

Also why the Roaming Form and not the Chest Form ? Well in the show, when Ruby was close to a treasure (or with anything that have to do with gold and jellewry), she always has to leave it behind, so I went to give her a Gimmighoul, who like her, leave money behind

So, as she grew older, her desire to become a strong pokemon trainer and win pokemon battle against strong people grew even stronger

One time, the Elite Four and Shakebeard, the Pokemon Champion, were there. So she tell them about her dream, that one day, she was gonna be a strong pokemon trainer, and win all her fight, just like them

Their answers ? They laugh at her face.

They were hysterical, tears were pouring through their eyes, some laugh so hard that they even fall off their chair. When they were able to recollect themselves, Shakebeard said to Ruby "Stop dreaming ! A little girl like you would never be able to win in a pokemon battle. Also, you know the League is close by, right ? Tell me, have you ever seen any women coming here to eat and take a break ? No, never. Why ? Because no women were able to win against all Gym Leader in Gunpowder Island, because the men here are too strong. Sorry laddie, but women are just weak."

Shattered by those sentences coming from the mouth of her idol, Ruby, who tried to hold back her tears that might falls at any moment said that "She would show, to him and to everyone in this room, that she going to be a great and strong pokemon trainer, so strong and great that she will be the Pokemon Champion of all Four Islands."

Cue to more hysterical laughter that is coming from everyone in the restaurant and more people fall off their chairs. Some even call Rubens, Ruby's father, to tell him the nonsenses his daughter is saying.

At that, Ruby ran upstairs to her room and cries hot tears. She was a wreck. Humiliated and hurt, Ruby oath to herself to never felt like that again, the feeling of being inferior for being a girl. And she promised herself that she will be the Pokemon Champion of the Four Islands, just to show them what a girl can do ! Whatever it takes, she will be ready for it.

And so, before it was time for her to go on her journey, she searched and researched a lot about who she has to battle against for winning the title of Pokemon Champion Master (that's the title you won when you are the Champion of all Four Islands). She knew that she have to battle against all Gym Leaders of all four islands. She learned that she have to battle the Elite 4, from each of the four islands too. But she boil with eagerness to face and battles The Supreme Elite Four who are of the Pokemon Champion of their respective islands : Kendric, Pokemon Champion of Médiévalia, the Fairy Queen, Pokemon Champion of the Enchanted Island, Shakebeard, Pokemon Champion of the Gunpowder Island and Dr.X, Pokemon Champion of Technopolis.

Later, when she will start her journey and before meeting her friends, Ruby will learnt the true reason why there are no women coming to fight the Elite 4 in the Gunpowder Island : it's because, when a girl win against a Gym, the Gym Leader will refuse to give her the badge, their ego being tarnished by the fact that they have failed against a girl. They would also banned the girls from returned to the Gym, making them unable to go to the Elite 4, because of the missing badges. Ruby is fuming at this.

Honestly, idk what Ruby's pokemon team will be. I can se her catching some water and fighting type pokemon, but except from that, I don't know.

She had a friendly rivalry with Alex, they often have pokemon battle.

Her father didn't at first believe in her dream, but seeing that his daughter was able to get some badges from some Gym in Médiévalia, Technopolis and the Enchanted Island, he now supports her at 100% and believe in her dreams.

She communicate with her father by letters or by landline phone. When Gene ask her why doesn't she facetime her dad with the phone he create and gave her (Gene also gave it to their Twinkle and Alex), Ruby answers that her dad is very bad with technology and explaining how facetime works to him will lead to nowhere, so she prefers to communicate with him in the old fashion way (the truth is, Ruby is like her father, she is not very bright with technology. She doesn't remember how to do a facetime even though Gene have already explain it to her in the past. She is to proud of herself to ask Gene for help again. Also, before Gene gift her the phone, she was the only member in the group who had a phone similar to a Nokia)

In her friend group, Ruby is the best cook (it help having a dad who own a restaurant who is also the chief cook). Twinkle is second, she knows how to cook BUT her foods are either delicious or unconsumable. There are no in between. Alex doesn't really know how to cook, at home it was the domestics workers who use to prepared all his meals, it was like this throughout his whole life. Now, he isn't sure how to proprely prepare a healthy good meal, but he is willing to learnt. As for Gene, throughout his life, he has only ever eat meals that was reheated in the microwave. He doesn't know how to cook. Don't let him near the kitchen. This man can't cook to save his nor his friends lives.

Gene

The scientific and inventor of the group

He came from Technopolis who is an artificial island (like Aether Paradise) who is known to be the home of genius and prodigious individuals. It's an island whose at the cutting edge of technology. Of all the other place, Technopolis is the most modern and futuristic, but it's not as futuristic like on the show.

He, Magda and Franz are the assistants of the Pokemon Professor who is also the Pokemon Champion of Technopolis

Dr.X is renowned for being the Pokemon Champion AND the Pokemon Professor of Technopolis BUT he is also known for his prestigious and fantastic inventions. He is also acclaimed for his scientific discoveries, having many, many, many degrees.

In this AU, his vanity and pretentiousness are bigger than on the show.

Dr.X loves to ear the individuals of Technopolis cheers him, he also loves feeling validated for his wonderful creations and incredible scientific discoveries. He doesn't like people (like Gene) having different and "better" opinions than him on a scientific subject or on inventions. He is used to always being told yes.

Because he is often very busy with his work as Pokemon Champion, inventor and scientific. He decided to employ assistants, since he needed help in his tasks and works as a Pokemon Professor. Which makes him very rarely present to gives the starters and pokedexes to the new young trainers, but it's rather Magda, Gene and Franz.

I still don't know what will be the reason that will push Gene to start his journey. Maybe he had argument with Dr.X about something, and to prove that he was right he decided to leave and to came back only when he would have found the thing they were arguing about. Or maybe he was just tired of staying in Technopolis, he began to feel like he was locked up and want to see the world and pokemon outside ? Whatever the real reason is, he left Technopolis and start his journey.

His first pokemon (he caught this pokemon before he was even Dr.X's assistant) is Rotom. He has giving his Rotom a nickname : Lenny

Franz partner will be a Chatot as for Magda..........Honestly I don't really know which pokemon is good for her. Maybe not a pokemon whose type is plant, because she has pollen allergies (she canonically said that in the episode "Let's Be Rational").

As he starts is journey, he and Lenny will get attacked and chased by wild pokemons. As they tried to runaway from them, Gene realised that he doesn't have the necessary skills to battle them, since he is mostly an inventor at heart, not a battler. Thankfully, him and Lenny will be save by Alex and Ruby, both of them are used to pokemon battles and so, battling against wild pokemon isn't new. As the wild pokemons fled, Twinkle will see that Lenny is not well and will use one of her potion on him. Gene didn't know this yet, but this is how he meet the people he will call his best friends

Gene will join Alex, Twinkle and Ruby in their journeys. Alex and Ruby will also teach him how to fight in a pokemon battle, because Gene never really have a pokemon battle before, since he was more focused on his inventions.

During his journey, I can totally see what will be Gene's goal : aiming to complete his national pokedex at 100%

Talking about pokedex, Gene will create the Rotom-Dex. It's an electronic device that works thanks to a Rotom possessing it and living inside it, and in this case, it will be Lenny. In addition to functioning like a classic pokedex, the Rotom Dex also has other features : such as being able to speak, having a map and having the ability to tell their exact locations. As time will go, Gene will give it further new updates and several new features.

(AND NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO LENNY, HE IS PART OF THE TEAM ! HE MATTERS ! HE IS ON THE JOURNEY JUST LIKE ALIEN !! What ? Gene, Techno-Explorer - Part IV ? It doesn't exist here)

Gene will later gifted his friends a new invention that he created. He said that with this, they will be able to stay in contact even when they are far away. He gift them a Rotom Phone.

The design of the phone is 100% inspired by a Rotom (Gene's favorite pokemon)

It work just like a normal phone, with the exception that a Rotom can possessed it. When it happened, it will somehow be much easier to use the phone. The Rotom Phone is an electronic device, it host a multitude of functions and features. In the future, Gene will give it further updates, making it possible to have a large amount of applications, such as a pokedex app

As the Chameleon doesn't exist here, Gene and his friends carries around their bikes. Each of their bikes has a different appearance, it's because it represents the place where they came from.

Each of their bike have some similarity with one of the Chameleon mode. For exemple :

Gene's bike is white and green and have some futuristic looks. (kinda like the Chameleon on his Classic/Regular Mode)

Twinkle's bike is mostly pink and purple, with flowers patterns and design on it (kinda like the Chameleon in Enchanted Mode)

Alex's bike is mostly silver and brown, with some touch of blue and yellow on it. His bike is more metalic than the others (kinda like the Chameleon on his Medieval Mode)

Ruby's bike was previously own by her dad, he gift it to her as she was about to start her journey. So it's not very new and you can see that it has been used before, but nonetheless, Ruby loves it. The colour of her bike are light brown and bits of white. (I tried to make it like the Chameleon on his Pirate Mode)

Gene is very protective of his bike, and like in the show where Ruby wants to pilot the Chameleon, here she (stealing) pedaling Gene's bike. Cue to Gene being mad a Ruby for using it without his permission, and telling her to use her own bike.

As for Gene's pokemon team, I see him as the one with the least pokemon on the group. But I can see him catching and having a Kecleon, because you know.....this pokemon looks like a chameleon

I can see Gene's having both electric and normal type pokemon

BUT THEN ONE DAY

At some point on their journeys, as they walk on a rocky and quite deserted place in some part of Médiévalia, Gene and his friends will found a egg.

As they look around for his mom, hoping the egg wasn't abondonned, the egg hatched and the pokemon inside show itself.

In this AU, the hatchling is a Charmender, and he immediately became attached to Gene, much to his dismay.

As they searched around, with very few hopes of finding the mother of the egg, Gene will developed a fondness for the little fire pokemon. As the moon start to set and there was really no trace of the mother, Gene decided to keep Charmander as his pokemon

Now, cue to him learning how to take care of a baby pokemon who has fire breath (he's still not use to that) but after a while, he get the hand of taking care of a hatchling

Thereafter, his Charmander will evolved into a Charmeleon. Gene will be emotional at that and he will cry a little, tears of joy will be rubbing through his face because his baby pokemon has evolved. He will totally denied that he cry to Ruby and Twinkle, whose already calling him the mommy of the group

AND THEN, AFTER A WHILE

As they were resting in a Pokemon Center, our group began to ear some trainers talking, quickly their conversation spread throughout the Pokemon Center. Our group learned that the conversation was about trainers that have face a team of crazy people, and those persons have stolen their pokemon from them.

Five months ago a trainer got his Pidgeot stolen from him, for another one, it's been a month since he no longer have seen his Beedrill who was kidnapped. As for that girl who is crying in a corner, it was her Audino that was takken by these madmem just a few hours ago.

So the trainers that got their pokemon stolen warn the others about those crazy madmem. Our heroes promise they will be careful and cautious.

But

✨Par la magie du scénario✨

Our heroes (somehow) came face to face with those crazy guys

They learned that they call themselves the "Team Dark Knights" and meet one of the Admins, who call himself Black Baron.

Our heroes will learns that the "Team Dark Knights", in addition of stealing trainers pokemons, also have kidnapped and snatched an amount of wild pokemons from their place.

When Alex asks why they are doing this, the Black Baron answers : "Well, I don't see any harm in telling this to the four of you, since you and your friends are never getting out of here ! We kidnapped these pokemon because we want them to Mega Evolved. But since our boss doesn't have much more information about Mega Evolution and how this can be realised, he ask us to try by any means, in any way we could. And as we were about to begin another one of our experimentals tests, you four have disturbed us !"

An (epic) pokemon battle then ensues, while Alex and Ruby fight, Gene and Twinkle, with the help of their pokemons, free the pokemons who were locked in their cages. Many flee, but a Charizard had stay with them to help free the others pokemons.

At the end, Gene and Twinkle were able to free all pokemons who were locked in their cages and cells, while Ruby and Alex were able to win against the Black Baron (who had ran away but swears he will get his revenge)

So yeah, that was their first meeting with the evil Team of Médiévalia

As they were finally outside, the group looked up at the sky and saw that it was sunset and night was about to come. As they were going to continue on their way to found a place to sleep (without forgetting to notify and warn the authorities as soon as they had the opportunity), they meet again the Charizard who had help Gene and Twinkle free the others locked pokemons.

The group thanks Charizard for the help, but as they start to leave, Charizard follows them.

The group doesn't understand why Charizard follow them, but as Gene look at Charizard Gene realised that the pokemon eyes were locked with his Charmeleon, and then it hit Gene. Charizard must be Charmeleon mother. She actually never wanted to abandon him, it's because she was captured by force, she had no choice but to left him behind.

It wans't fair for him to keep a pokemon that wans't meant to be abandoned and therefore he made the painful decision to give Charmeleon back to his mother. After tearful goodbyes, Charmeleon is reunited with his long lost mother.

While still sad, Gene calls the next day his friends from Technopolis, Magda and Franz, to ask them if they have any infomations or documents about the "Mega Evolution". They both said they would look at that.

In the meantimes, to hide his grief, Gene works much more on his inventions (which causes him to starts neglecting his own pokemons)

It took many weeks, like a month, for Gene to get a call back from Magda and Franz about the "Mega Evolution"

They said they didn't find much, just three papers covering the subject, dating back from before the birth of Dr.X

They show on the video call that one of the papers have a symbol. The group recognize it, having already seen this in a cave, back on the Lost World.

(the symbol in question)

Franz, being very interested into the subject of Mega Evolution, want to do more research about it. He also want to prevents the "Team Dark Knights" to have more informations about this. For that reason, he decided to go on an expedition to the Lost World, wanting to have more research on it (he has the support of Dr.X for the expedition)

Our group helps him get there and introduces him to Rock Brock. They said Rock Brock can surely help him in his research because he knows the place like the back of his hand, and he will be able to help him find news symbol or informations about it. Franz accept the offer.

Cue to Franz and Rock Brock becoming besties ^^

So yeah, this is what happen when I have a hyperfixation about a AU, I write A LOT about it !

I have other ideas so there might be a part 2 of this post in the future

But if anyone reading this have other ideas for this AU I'll be happy to ear !

[kennimu]

Why does Twitter hate Bernard so much??? Like what the hell did he do to them?? 😭😭

They all acting as if he killed their families, I thought we were over the Bernard hate train. Like they don't understand you can still like timkon/timsteph and not pray on Bernard's downfall just for existing -

(This is from someone who loves Timber and also enjoys timkon and timsteph, they're all good pairings but holy shit why can't they accept Bernard is a good character)

[drbtinglecannon]

Hm yeah Frimmel is kinda driving me insane nowadays

[evilasiangenius]

Aziraphale swallowed. “Oh dear.”

It followed that Asmodeus would have given him the largest room; he would have been the more difficult of the two to keep and a larger enclosure would be more suitable for keeping him quiet and occupied during those times when he would have to be locked away or separated from Crowley.

Aziraphale felt the pace of his breathing speed up along with his heartbeat. A flat metallic taste went through his mouth but he moved deliberately across the room and if one were watching, no one would have known the intense fear that jolted through Aziraphale’s body at that moment.

He closed the door, ostensibly to change, but in reality to sit down for a moment upon the pristine white leather chair at the desk and breathe very hard, clutching at the edge of the desk so that the edges of unfinished wood underneath the desk bit into his hands.

“Oh dear, oh goodness gracious…”

The words ran out as he realized he had nothing more to say.

It was not as if he didn’t know that the trap was around him, but it was a different thing to feel the edges of the teeth closing around him, slow and persistent.

“Damn,” he said softly to himself, realizing that the Prince of Hell had been on his own offensive with that regular evening book reading together, changing tactics to better meet what Aziraphale might himself be interested in and he had walked right into that – no, thrown himself into that with nary a second thought.

No, this would not do, and he took a moment to have a Moment, angry at himself for being played so easily, angry at Crowley for not telling him anything, and even more angry at Asmodeus for putting him in this ridiculous situation. But the anger passed like a hot wave and he spent a minute breathing heavily, hands clenched, before he stood up with deliberation to deal with the clothes. Time was an issue here and he did not want to upset the Prince of Hell.

So what would Asmodeus want him to wear? With an aggrieved sigh Aziraphale walked over toward the bed. This suit was quite handsome and more than sufficient to go to almost any event in, even the opera, but...oh.

“Oh.” Aziraphale felt the sound drop out of his mouth like a stone into water, sinking down and perhaps it went down so far as to bop Satan upon his forehead.

There, spread out upon the bed, was a beautiful glittering mass of silk and crystal and yes, this had to be an evening gown.

more

[starry-bi-sky]

you can't choose what stays and what fades away

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes I never knew daylight could be so violent A revelation in the light of day You can't choose what stays and what fades away

(and I'd do anything to make you stay)

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

Shen Yuan wakes up in a woodshed.

He's in a body that's not quite his own.

(WIP also available on ao3!)

He wakes up in a woodshed.    

No, actually— let him correct himself. Shen Yuan does, indeed, wake up in a woodshed, but it’s not the first thing he realizes upon waking. No, in fact, consciousness comes quite slowly to him; sluggish, his mind attempting to slog through calf-high bogland without exhausting itself. It’s like he’s trying to drag himself to the surface of a river with a weight tied around his ankle, the weight trying desperately to drag him just as quickly down.    

His senses come to him just as slowly, his hearing and touch and smell and taste all trying to claw its way up back into existence till they’re thrumming beneath the thin skin of his body. Yes, it’s very much like trying to wake up from a long, deep sleep where he didn’t get quite enough rest, and he wonders, not for the first time, if he had collapsed again. His mouth is dry, his lips feel crusty, and his eyes are sealed shut by congealed-whatever-mixture of disgusting bodily fluids his eyes are capable of producing.    

Much like breaking free from sleep-paralysis, the moment he’s able to register that he’s actually sensing things again, the strange, spongy film that had been dampening them suddenly crumbles and collapses. Everything rushes forth like water spilling out of an open dam, or maybe like blood from an open scab, and Shen Yuan is abruptly accosted by the world and its sounds and sensations.   

The sun is hitting his eyes in just the right way that he can see the light burning behind his eyelids – which, that can’t be right, his curtains should be drawn, -- and there’s the distinct and gentle sound of wind rustling past, of birds singing softly, and the faint trill of music floating through. Shen Yuan is abruptly imposed with the mental image of a yellow autumn leaf falling delicately onto a still pond, that is how tranquil the world around him sounds.    

It is so, so, incredibly cliche, that he can’t help but open his eyes with a deep rooting incredulity planting itself firmly in the core of his chest. What he expects to see is the ceiling of his bedroom – the ground is hard enough that, for a moment, he thinks he may have fallen asleep on the floor again, or perhaps the hospital, because then that would at least explain better the tranquil sounds in his ears and the sunlight hitting his face.   

(Except he doesn’t smell the familiar sting of septic and cleaner, nor does he hear the beeping of the heart rate monitor beside him, the bustle and soft murmur of nurses outside that are always on the move. There’s no paper thin and slightly scratchy blanket laid over him. And never, not once, has he been subjected to the sounds of an eight-hour tranquil music ASMR while in the hospital.)  

(In fact, his nose feels rather stuffy. The same way it gets when he has a runny nose that just dried or a bloody nose that just finally stopped bleeding. He smells dirt and wood, and— and… is that blood?)    

There’s still crust clinging to his lashes and the corner of his eyes when he opens them, so his vision is immediately blurred in the way only recent consciousness can create. But even then, he can see the roof clearly enough to know that this is neither his bedroom nor the hospital. Shen Yuan sits up while his heart drops right out of his chest, regretting the action immediately as an ache shoots up his arms and staunchly reminds him of a terrible soreness spread throughout his body, one that he was not previously aware of.   

The hiss he makes is involuntary, and the sound rusted and weak, irritating his sore throat while his head pounds behind his eyes like a hammer against a nail. Get your bearings, Shen Yuan, he thinks, vision swimming, sucking in his dessert-dry bottom lip between his teeth and catching it on the incisors. The air does nothing for the inside of his mouth. Where the fuck am I?  

His eyes flick around the crust poking irritably at his corneas, as he tries to soak in where exactly he is. On instinct, his hands come up to flick away the crust obscuring his sight, and when he pulls his fingers away, there’s dark, brown-red buildup crumbling against his skin.   

Wh—? Shen Yuan rubs his eyes again, and realizes there’s a flaking trail coming from his eyes down his cheeks that, when he rubs at it, peels off into what can’t be anything but dried blood. It does nothing for his rapid-beating heart and the sinking shock and horror settling between his ribs. Why has he been bleeding from his eyes?    

He looks up from his hand. That shock and horror rising as he finally, finally takes in his surroundings, while also realizing, his dry tongue running against the back of his teeth and the corner of his mouth, that he was tasting blood too. Faint and stuck against his gums, but there.   

Shen Yuan is surrounded by cut wood, and beneath him he’s sitting on an old, tattered blanket. He’s wearing robes. Robes, worn and slightly dirty, made of a pleasant-to-the-eye green and white fabric, and straight out of every single Xanxia novel, drama, and poster he’s ever read and seen. There’s a simply, if slightly tattered, white fan tucked against his thigh.   

Oh, oh no. His hands fly up to his hair and— yep. Yeah, slightly tangled but undeniably soft and smooth, black hair slips against his fingers like silk and pours over his shoulders and down his back. It’s ten times longer than it should be, ten times longer than he’s used to, and he’s sitting on the ends of it. He releases his hair only so Shen Yuan can slap his hands against his face, automatically picking at the trail of dried blood on both corners of his mouth. His fingers are chilled against his skin, and he ignores it to trace his new (he thinks—the bow of his mouth and the curve of his cheekbones feels achingly familiar) facial features.   

Whose face am I wearing? What book have I entered? Because wasn’t this transmigration one-oh-one? The last thing he remembers was becoming incensed with the ending of Proud Immortal Demon Way and, in the middle of his scathing rant, dying of food poisoning. This was totally transmigration one-oh-one. Dying after reading a book, only to wake up in a place that was not the modern world, only to realize shortly after that they were now in the book they had just read?   

Wait— if he follows that trope, then... Shen Yuan’s heart decides it’s had enough time in his stomach, and leaps right into his throat. His eyes flitter around anxiously. There are bamboo stalks rising out the window, and the music he’s hearing, Shen Yuan realizes belatedly that it’s the sweet plucking of a guqin. Oh no. Don’t tell me--   

Like an activation phrase, a too-loud notification ‘ding!’ goes right off in his ear, resulting in Shen Yuan flinching violently as a too-bright and eye-stinging blue message box seals open into existence right before his eyes.   

[ SYSTEM Successfully Activated! Welcome to the world of Pride Immortal Demon Way! You are ‘Shen Jiu’ -- otherwise known as Shen Qingqiu, thirteen-year-old Disciple of Qing Jing Peak. Currently your actions are restricted due to a frozen OOC function that will eventually be unlocked after you familiarize yourself with the world. ]  

No! Of all the people he could have been transmigrated into, did it have to be the villain? Scum Disciple Shen Qingqiu? No— no, of course it was the villain; wasn’t that also transmigration one-oh-one as well? That the transmigrator was either the hero, the villain, or an NPC related to either one?   

Was this karma? Was the world enacting karmic justice on him for all those late nights spent arguing with internet randos online when he should have been doing something productive with his life? Of all those hours spent countlessly researching mythical beasts and animals and folklore all so he could tear the author a new one for his terrible plot and even worse papapa? Did Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky inflict some kind of curse on him that resulted in him being dragged into his shitty, shitty, stallion novel to act as the same guy who later gets his limbs torn off and pickled by the main protagonist?   

It had to be. That’s exactly what this was. This was karma.   

(Oh god, he’s never going to see his family again, is he? He’d died. He’d died in his world, he knows it. That’s how this always goes. At least he hadn’t been hit by a truck, at least he’d died somewhat originally. But he died. He’d been choking and everything went dark. The fluid filling his lungs, the lack of air, the steady crawl of blackening fuzz slowly encircling his vision--)  

(Who will find his body? How long will it take? It’d only been a week prior that he’d gotten into a fight with da-ge and the others, and they usually give him space for a while when they do. It’s not like Shen Yuan had any close friends left either--)  

(Will they find him rotting? Will they blame themselves? What will they think?)   

--(...Oh god, who was going to tell Hai-ge--?)--  

Shen Yuan drops his face into his hands, ignoring the throbbing of his skull and the influx of nausea that sloshes from his chest to his stomach as he does. He groans, low and painful, ignoring the sharp sting of his throat it causes. Does it have to be Shen Qingqiu? He asks, and wonders if the SYSTEM needs an audial vocal command or if it would just--   

[ You have been chosen to play Shen Qingqiu, the Scum Villain Disciple! ]   

Annoyance burrows into his throat. That’s... not what he asked. His teeth grind against each other, the stupid message box burning into his eyes. That at least answers that question, though. He won’t have to talk aloud to communicate with the SYSTEM, so at least he won’t look insane for talking to himself in public. Why does it have to be Shen Qingqiu?   

[ Shen Qingqiu plays a vital role in Pride Immortal Demon Way! You have been chosen to take on his role as the Scum Villain Disciple. ]   

What vital role!? Shen Qingqiu, sure, had a role in the beginning of the book as the disciple who did nothing but cause a ruckus and trouble on Qing Jing Peak when the protagonist’s back was turned; trying to drag Peak Lord Luo Binghe’s precious name through the mud while inciting what was basically tyranny by clawing his way up to a Head Disciple position through being a green tea bitch. He then went and used that power to abuse and bully the younger disciples when the adults weren’t looking.  

He only got away with it for so long because Luo Binghe was so busy with important missions and night hunts and the sweeping-of-peerless-beauties off their feet off the peak, that when he was on Qing Jing, it wasn’t long enough to realize just who was behind the disruption. And Shen Qingqiu was sneaky about it, so it took even longer. 

Only coming to a head at the Immortal Cultivation Conference when demons attacked and it all came to light like a hellish volcano, resulting in Shen Qingqiu not only finding out about Luo Binghe’s status as a half-heavenly demon, but also him being pushed into the Endless Abyss. He re-emerges half a decade later, brimming with demonic cultivation and a half-crazed lust for power and vengeance — revenge that ends up failing because he’s going up against the powerful protagonist.  

He causes a handful of actual problems before Luo Binghe finally has enough, and in the end, Shen Qingqiu ends up with his non-vital limbs cut off and stuffed inside a jar like a human pickle. A horrifying and befitting ending for any villain and antagonist of the main character.  

That is to say, nothing about him is actually vital. He was, for all intents and purposes, pretty much a low-tier cannon fodder villain meant to boost up and accentuate the protagonist’s abilities in the beginning of the book. A way to introduce the audience to the might and intelligence of the main character and their problem-solving skills when there is a ‘mysterious figure’ going around besmirching his name.  

Which... may just work in his favor, actually. Shen Qingqiu ended up with the fate he got because he went against the protagonist, a big no-no in practically every trashy novel. So, solution so Shen Yuan doesn’t end up a human stick? Don’t get in the protagonist’s way.  

That annoying ‘ding!’ rings in his ear, causing yet another flinch out of Shen Yuan as a notification unapologetically forms in front of him.  

[ WARNING: OOC! Host’s refusal to stay in character will result in automatic point deductions. If Host’s point score gets too low, SYSTEM will automatically mete out punishment. ] 

Of course it wasn’t that easy. Of course not, because why would it be easy? Of course there was a point system, this was a SYSTEM after all. Of course he couldn’t just avoid the villain’s fate, because that’d be too easy. His annoyance simmers out across the plane of his chest, and he decidedly ignores the faint tremor in his arms and the pulsing beat of his heart as he picks himself up off the ground and stands.  

His legs, much like his arms, tremble, and his head swims. He pushes through it, ignoring the ill-feeling of fear making itself home in the pit of his stomach. He should ask what those punishments are; what they’ll look like. He should ask about the point system, about how to increase his point score, about all the functions in the SYSTEM and what he has available, and what he does not.  

He should ask how old he is – because he’s much smaller than his old adult self had been; probably child-sized? -- and where he is in the book. What year is it, how long until the Immortal Cultivators Conference. Just when is he? 

Shen Yuan reaches out to grip onto a particularly towering stack of firewood, careful not to knock it or himself over. It feels like physical therapy all over again. Granted, a primitive, unsupervised, cobbled-together version of physical therapy, but physical therapy, nonetheless.  

His foot kicks against the fan, he’d frankly forgotten about that, and it slides off the blanket and across the dirt. His fingers twitch to grab it, something possessive and uncomfortably vulnerable rearing in his lungs – ah, an instinctive emotion from the original goods then? He’s heard of that in other transmigration stories he’s read, the novels failed to mention the full extent of how strange it felt.  

(It felt so eerily natural to want to pick it up. Of course he’d be upset about kicking it, and the unhappiness of dirtying it slots itself against him like second nature. How strange. How creepy.)  

Instead of asking any of that though, Shen Yuan turns his bitter mind inwards to the SYSTEM and asks, perhaps, the most important question of them all; Why did you bring me here if you were just going to kill me again?   

Isn’t that unnecessarily cruel?  

[ Host has been brought to Pride Immortal Demon Way because it is our sincere hope that Host can transform this stupid work into a magnificent, high-quality, first-rate classic! As part of the welcoming package, and to help ease the transition, a few things have been left in Host’s inventory! We hope you enjoy your time in Pride Immortal Demon Way! ]  

To change-- 

To change--?  

To CHANGE--?  

Indignancy surges itself from the tips of Shen Yuan’s fingers to the crown of his head, anger not unlike every single time Airplane threw away an interesting plot point for sex fuzzes out his vision and turns his pounding headache into a full-fledged migraine. His grip on the firewood tightens, and he can feel the rough and textured bark digging into his skin. 

His mouth curls inward, the cracked skin splitting down the middle of his bottom lip as Shen Yuan threatens to snarl at the SYSTEM. How the fuck am I supposed to change the plot if I can’t even change the way my character acts!  

[ Reminder to Host: The OOC Function is frozen, but not permanent. Once Host has become properly settled in and completed the tutorial will he be able to unlock it. ]  

Fine, fine! He has half a mind to unload a string of curses at the SYSTEM, because apparently its rules were as stupid as the author who made this world. Shen Yuan refrains; he doesn’t know how sentient the thing is, and upsetting it right now when he has no idea when he is – nor does he know a thing about the point system -- would only be detrimental for him in the long run. 

Instead, he lets loose a groan from his throat that could be more accurately compared to as a growl. With his one free hand, Shen Yuan drags his palm down his face, and then loops it back up to comb it through his hair. ...His hair that is much longer than it used to be, and which is snaggled with little knots and tangles that he’ll have to get out.  

He hits the first knot and immediately withdraws his fingers, freeing up a few strands of ink black hair while he’s at it. With a quick wrist shake, the strands fall to the floor and Shen Yuan leans the rest of his weight against the log pile. Some of his anger cools down until it’s nothing more than boiled water gone cold, and he sighs out through a clogged-up nose until there’s nothing more than a quiet pressure of unease curled around his shoulders.  

There’s really not much he does know about how Shen Qingqiu acts – after all, he put up a responsible and dutiful disciple front when he was in the presence of Luo Binghe, and was only then revealed to be a scumbag later down the line. Which only got backed up with secondhand accounts of the other Qing Jing Peak disciples.  

He didn’t show up often either, since most of the time Luo Binghe was off the peak. Nobody wants to read about a powerful peak lord being a teacher after all. Many more interesting things in the world around him than his students.  

SYSTEM, how old am I? He must be pretty young if he bases it off how small he is – although, Shen Qingqiu didn’t have much of a description in the first place. He was only described as having skin as white as jade, with glossy black hair and a noble air surrounding him. Height, eyes, and finer details like that were left unmentioned. Why did I wake up in a woodshed? What time is it? 

[ Host is currently thirteen years old! Last night Shen Qingqiu experienced a severe Qi Deviation after having an altercation with the Head Disciple. It is early morning; the other disciples will be getting breakfast. ] 

That doesn’t explain why he was in a woodshed. But at this point, Shen Yuan was starting to believe that he wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of every question he asks. That does explain the blood in his mouth and crusted on his face – and the soreness and exhaustion currently wrought through his body, though.  

In a rapid set of blinks and a little bit of mental fiddling, the message notifications disappear out of his sight and the rest of his senses begin to filter back in, the SYSTEM seeming content to disappear into the back of his mind – which, wow, feels just as weird as the original goods’ instincts from earlier. 

More of his own strength had returned, enough that Shen Yuan feels comfortable with pushing himself off the firewood stack and standing on his own. Making sure that his legs won’t collapse under the weight of his own body, he takes a tentative step forward and drops his gaze down to the little white fan sitting on the ground.  

...The idea of leaving without it returns that discomforting, vulnerable feeling from earlier, as if he had walked out without a shirt on. The hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up on its own with unease. Shen Qingqiu was mentioned to hide his face behind a fan in every appearance he made, it must be the original goods’ emotions he’s feeling then. Again.  

He leans down, his core trembling just a little, and plucks it right off the ground. The grooves of the wood fit against his fingers perfectly, hinting at weeks, if not years, of use and the oils of his hands wearing it down. He beats the side of the fan against his leg lightly, ignoring the bruising-aches it shoots up his thigh, and brushes off the dirt clinging to it.  

Without thinking, Shen Qingqiu flicks it open and flutters it about for a few quick beats. The unnerving, skin-crawling sensation marking across his spine settles down, and he snaps the fan shut before reaching for the door.  

[ OOC: Host should make himself look presentable before being seen in public. Failure to do so will result in immediate point deduction. ] 

Shen Qingqiu grits his teeth again, there’s nothing in here but dirt and wood, how am I supposed to do that? It’s not like he had the whole layout of Qing Jing Peak memorized; Luo Binghe was barely on so where everything was, wasn’t important. Is there some kind of bathhouse somewhere?  

Which, if there was, he wasn’t planning on using until it was entirely empty – the mere thought of it returned that gross, uncomfortable skin-crawling discomfort. He’ll shower at night, thank you, repressing a shudder at the horrifying idea of someone potentially walking in on him.  

[ OOC: Shen Qingqiu would never bathe with the threat of other disciples around. There is a nearby creek that Host can clean himself up at. ]  

That’s really not much better.  But, so long as he isn’t undressing in public, he can probably just... wash the dirt off and get his hair damp enough to detangle it. If Shen Qingqiu was sleeping in here, then he probably has a change of clothes somewhere around here, right? He should look around for any hidden bags before leaving.  

He finds a small qiankun pouch tucked safely between a set of wood logs near the blanket, and inside it is a clean set of robes for him to change into, which, perfect! The robes he was wearing right now weren’t terribly dirty, but there were a few dirt spots visible enough that Shen Qingqiu was sure that he’d probably get a point deduction out of it, or a scolding from senior disciples.  

(Does Shen Qingqiu sleep in the woodshed often? Shouldn’t he be in the dormitories?)  

He plucks the bag out of its little hidey-hole, giving it a place on his belt, along with his newly acquired fan, and turns towards the door. Shen Qingqiu crosses the room in the span of a few large steps, and just as he’s about to curl his hand around the handle, he... pauses.  

It’s only for a split second, a moment of hesitation, of personal confirmation that, once he opens this door, there will be no going back. Not that there was since he opened his eyes, but, it would cement it.  

Shen Qingqiu breathes in a shaky breath, and then opens the door to the rising sun.

[the-names-nine]

NEW CHAPTER OF OUTRUNNING KARMA!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62299186/chapters/165207724

Thank you to @bumpsyp1ains for agreeing to let me use his OCs for less-than-noble purposes.

[therealvinelle]

That little drabble crackfic y'all just posted was downright hilarious. I loved the authors notes with the complicated ABO stuff and then the author's life update lol. Both a perfect parody of the usual form.

You're both so good at it I kinda want to see more "authors notes" and "parodies of silly fanfic things" from y'all! Any chance of a chapter two?

Anon is referring to Mistakes were made by @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin and myself.

Shockingly, there is a significant chance we might. We had entirely too much fun with the first chapter, so while it's not on the agenda (so many things to write, so little time) it might very well happen.

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

genuine question but is there any fandom where a character is well written by the majority. im thinking about fandom culture and the spread of frustration when people dont write characters well but. honestly in all the fandoms ive been in there's only like, a Select number of authors who i trust to write Well, let alone write Well AND In Character. character analysis and writing and getting inside characters' heads are all separate skills (all of which are trained by roleplaying fyi can CONFIRM playing pretend with your friends is good for you). there's been more than once where I've disagreed with an interpretation that others agreed with, and then I turned out wrong. or i turned out right. like it doesnt matter WHO is right it just matters that differences in character analysis exist, so even if you DO write well AND write in character, your in character is still going to be someone else's out of character

there's this sort of. vibe. that to play in the sandbox you Need to be able to make a castle, and if you can't make a castle then you shouldn't bother, and it completely dismisses the idea that youre in that sandbox to PLAY in the first place. there's this Weight of disappointing someone if you can't build something that they like, but that forgets that you aren't there to build them a castle. like, be KIND. if you disagree with someone then please make an effort to do so kindly. i dont give a shit about fandom discourse but there is a reason kids get removed from sandboxes if they keep throwing sand in people's eyes. but if they don't like your misshapen sand pile, then youre not obligated to change it. even if you yourself end up hating that same sand pile later- youre not building a legacy. youre playing. and sometimes the result of that play is out of character drivel. theres a reason there are so many authors and so few who i like to consistently read and thats because everyone is Fucking Around in their hobby space. hash tag brag or whatever but i can build castles. ive built several that im v proud of. ive also dug holes in the sand for fun and then tripped on them when trying to get up. I often dug a hole and then got up and fucking- whoops, its a castle now, and i didn't realize i'd made something to be proud of until after the fact. the whole time while creating shit i was Convinced it was bullshit that didn't make sense. and then other times i was Convinced it was bullshit and then i was Right and i can look back and go. huh. ew. but it doesn't matter what the end result was, because i had fun playing in the sandbox

this wasn't meant to turn into a ramble but i have Feelings about bad art and art that's badly perceived and how public perception can screw with your head and how making art youre proud of is fucking. it's so difficult!!! it's hard!! it's really fun, which is why i try to make it, but i promise you it is Okay to not tryhard creativity. even if you CAN, it's okay not to do it all the time. or ever, even. fuck around find out have fun etc

[aster-aspera]

Fuck