#in other news: hello its been some time but I'm alive and the last few weeks of hell are behind me BLESS

[shou-jpeg]

I need someone to sit on my lap and blush when I call them pretty. That would fix me.

[sheriffaxolotl]

Fallen: A Path to Redemption (Chapter 2) Alastor x Reader

"Solace, you say? Well, my dear fallen friend, in Hell, solace comes with a price."

“What kind?”

“How about... your soul, my dear.”

Word count: 5,403 ✿ Friends to Lovers ✿ Slow Burn ✿ Eventual Romance ✿ Drabble | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 |

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Well, this certainly wasn't how you envisioned spending your day.

Taking in your surroundings, you find yourself standing in the grand foyer of a hotel. Normally, a hotel lobby would be alive with the hustle and bustle of guests and staff, but here, it resembles more of a ghost town - nothing but a hollow shell.

Despite its dilapidated appearance, there was an undeniable charm to the Hotel. Its faded grandeur spoke of a bygone era, a time when it had been a beacon of luxury and opulence. But now, it seemed destined to fade into obscurity, a relic of a forgotten past. Maybe that’s why you liked it.

With a wry smile, you couldn't help but shake your head in disbelief. It's a disaster in every sense of the word. This place would need a desperate touch-up. As you scan the room, you notice a few other individuals, their curious gazes fixed upon you. Some faces are familiar, adding a touch of familiarity to this otherwise surreal moment.

Charlie Morningstar. The name echoes in your mind, stirring up a knot of conflict over what you heard her discussing on the news this morning. Her vision for the hotel clashed and aligned with your own beliefs, leaving you torn between admiration for her ambition and concern for the consequences of her actions.

Husk. The feline demon's presence brings a wave of familiarity, and you share a silent acknowledgment with him. There's no need for introductions between the two of you; you were witness to the deal he struck with Alastor to retain his powers. You remember the mix of pity and sympathy you felt for him at the time, though you tried to convince yourself it was for the best.

Niffty. Your absence during the deal-making process for her doesn't go unnoticed. You had been on annual leave at the time, a rare break from the chaos of Hell. The irony isn't lost on you as you inwardly chuckle at the thought. Who would have thought the Radio Demon would grant you such a luxury? In some twisted way, the perks and benefits he offered over the years almost rival those of Heaven.

Alastor, the enigmatic Radio Demon, his presence here still puzzles you. What could have possibly prompted him to bring you to this strange place? You mull over the possibilities, the puzzle of his actions spins through your mind, each potential answer more confounding than the last.

The angry-looking moth lady and the arachnid demon are two figures you're unfamiliar with, though there's a nagging sense of recognition with the latter. You rack your brain, trying to recall if you've crossed paths with the arachnid before, but nothing concrete comes to mind.

Sensing that they're waiting for you to break the ice, you take the initiative and step forward, offering a polite introduction. "Hello, I'm (Y/N). It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," you say, placing a hand over your chest and executing a graceful curtsy.

The princess's eyes light up with excitement as she eagerly returns the gesture, albeit with a hint of haste and clumsiness. It's endearing, and a small smile tugs at your lips. She seems harmless enough – at least, that's the impression you get. But in Hell, appearances can be deceiving.

"Oh my gosh!" Charlie practically leaps towards you, her enthusiasm palpable as she seizes your hand and shakes it vigorously. The boisterous energy of her greeting threatens to jostle the rest of your body as she welcomes you to the Hotel with unbridled excitement. "Welcome to the Happy Hotel! I'm positive you are going to love it here!" she gushes, her words bubbling with genuine warmth.

You offer a forced polite smile as you reluctantly withdraw your hand. "Ah, well, we'll see," you reply, unable to shake off the uncertainty lingering within you. "I still don't know the exact reason I'm here for…" Your voice trails off as you cast a sidelong glance at Alastor, who looms over the scene with an intimidating presence. You can't help but feel dwarfed by his stature, a sense of insignificance washing over you in his grand shadow.

"Well, what else if not to help me and keep track of paperwork!" Alastor interjects with his signature taunting grin, gesturing mockingly to a stack of paperwork piled high on the reception desk. You suppress a grimace at the sight, inwardly bracing yourself for the daunting task ahead. That's a lot of paperwork to tackle …. It's going to be a long day.

"Wow. That's definitely a lovely stack if I don't say so—" You begin, making your way over to inspect the paperwork, but before you can even lay a finger on it, the poor pile collapses, sending papers cascading across the lobby in a flurry of chaos. "Oh! Oh no!" you exclaim, scrambling to gather the scattered documents before they disappear into the chaos of the hotel.

"I'm so sorry!" Charlie rushes over to lend a hand, her expression mirroring your panic as she apologizes profusely. "I really haven't had time to organize it, and Vaggie has been so busy—" Her words tumble out in a jumble of apologies and explanations, but before you can reassure her that it's okay, Alastor intervenes.

"No harm done, dear!" Alastor's voice cuts through the commotion, his wide grin betraying a hint of amusement as he surveys the scene before him. "Accidents happen, after all. No need to make such a fuss, dear!" Alastor interjects smoothly, his voice oozing with confidence as he effortlessly lifts the princess off the floor. " (Y/N) has an innate ability with paperwork! She'll get it sorted in no time! No time at all!" With a smug grin, he gestures grandly with his arm, the epitome of self-assuredness. "So, what do ya think?"

Charlie's eyes light up with unbridled excitement as she gazes around the lobby, taking in the flurry of activity Alastor has set into motion. "This is amazing!" she gushes, her cheeks flushed with amazement. She can hardly believe her luck right now. Before her was a real group of staff for the hotel. That Alastor had pulled out of thin air.

"It's... okay," Vaggie huffs, her demeanor a stark contrast to Charlie's bubbling enthusiasm. She stands by her girlfriend's side, arms crossed tightly over her chest, radiating skepticism. It's clear that she doesn't share Charlie's excitement about the new staff, her distrust evident in the furrow of her brow.

Vaggie's reservations stem from her deep-seated mistrust of the newcomers, all handpicked by one of the most dangerous and powerful overlords you can come across in Hell. While she loves Charlie dearly, she can't help but feel a sense of frustration and apprehension. She knows her girlfriend's heart is in the right place, but she also recognizes her naivety. Not all demons deserve a second chance, and Vaggie fears that Charlie's unwavering optimism might blind her to the true intentions of their new recruits.

Despite her reservations, Vaggie remains committed to supporting Charlie's vision of redemption. She wants to believe that there are demons out there genuinely seeking redemption, eager to turn their lives around. She's determined to protect Charlie and the hotel from becoming another pawn in the Radio Demon's twisted games. ‘At least one of the sinners Alastor brought looked half decent..’ Vaggie thought as she glanced over at you, watching as you had been glancing curiously through the paperwork. You don’t seem half bad.

Alastor's laughter fills the air as he pulls both girls close, his arms enveloping them in a deceptively warm embrace. "This is going to be very entertaining!" he declares with a mischievous glint in his eyes. With a swift motion, he distracts Charlie by extending his hand, inviting her to dance, while simultaneously maneuvering to push Vaggie out of the way. The room is suddenly filled with the faint strains of music, drifting in from some unseen source.

"Ugh," you groan softly to yourself as you gather up the last of the scattered paperwork, carefully restacking it onto the reception desk. Despite your best efforts, you couldn't help but be reminded of Alastor's flair for theatrics. It's almost impressive how seamlessly he manages to orchestrate chaos and entertainment in equal measure.

"You have a dream, you wish to tell," Alastor croons as he spins Charlie around the room, his magic weaving through the air to transform their outfits into something far more dapper, as if they were out dancing of an old fashioned movie. The sudden change catches Charlie off guard, but she adapts quickly, twirling gracefully in his arms. "And it's just laughable, but hey, kid, what the hell?"

As the impromptu song and dance unfold before you, you find yourself tuning it out, focusing instead on the task at hand. With a determined air, you break down the pile of paperwork into smaller, more manageable piles. Inventory. Bills. Subscriptions... You pause, a furrow forming between your brows as you come across a particularly peculiar document. What subscriptions could possibly be of interest in Hell? With a shake of your head, you push aside the thought, deciding it's best not to dwell on the mysteries of paperwork in Hell.

Caught off guard by the snap of fingers, you're swept up in a whirlwind of theatrics as a strange sensation washes over you. Before you can even comprehend what's happening, your clothes morph into an elegant V-neck black 1920s flapper dress, complete with fringes that sway with every movement. But as the music fills the air with its lively melody, you feel yourself being pulled into the rhythm of the dance by a mysterious force. It's as if invisible hands guide your movements, coaxing you to join the lively spectacle unfolding before you. But amid the musical chaos, your gaze catches a familiar sight—– the silhouette of a shadow whisking in front of you, unmistakably one of Alastor's shadows. The shadow pulls you further into the song and dance, its presence both eerie and mesmerizing. Despite the uncertainty of the moment, you can't help but surrender to the magic of the music, allowing yourself to be carried away by the rhythm.

"Inside of every demon is a lost cause," Alastor sings, his voice carrying through the room as he grabs Angel and Husk close, manipulating their movements as if they were mere puppets on a string. In the blink of an eye, hats appear atop their heads, completing their transformation into characters straight out of a vintage cabaret. Husk seems torn between irritation and resignation, his fist raised threateningly before ultimately settling for a defiant flip-off directed at the Radio Demon. Angel, on the other hand, merely smirks and responds with finger guns, already embracing Alastor's proclamation with a devil-may-care attitude. "But we'll dress them up for now with just a smile!"

Before you could even register what was happening, Alastor materialized in front of you, his presence commanding and unmistakable. A fox fur draped around his shoulders added a touch of elegance to his attire as he deftly wrapped it around your neck, the soft fur caressing your skin with a delicate touch.

With surprising dexterity, he spun you around, the fur trailing behind you like a playful companion. The sudden movement left you momentarily stunned, your senses reeling from the unexpected whirlwind of events. As you tried to regain your composure, your eyes widened in shock at the audacity of his actions.

A teasing grin played on Alastor's lips as his hand landed firmly on your backside, the gesture bold and brazen. A wink accompanied his playful demeanor, adding to the mischief dancing in his crimson eyes. The sheer audacity of his behavior left you speechless, your hand instinctively flying to cover your open-mouthed gasp.

Caught off guard by his unexpected antics, you found yourself at a loss for words, your mind struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.

Alastor seems satisfied with his handiwork, his grin widening as he dances away with a flourish while he continues his song and dance. But on his way, he shoves Vaggie out of the way, a move that doesn't go unnoticed by the fiery moth demon who angrily shakes her fist at him. Anger burns in Vaggie's eyes as she glares daggers at Alastor, her frustration palpable even from across the room.

As I try to collect myself after the unexpected encounter, you didn’t how to interpret Alastor's bold actions. While he's always been comfortable enough to nudge me or place a guiding hand on my back, his recent actions were something he had never done before – even in jest.

Lost in your thoughts, you're suddenly jolted back to reality by a deafening explosion from the other end of the room. The doors to the hotel are sent flying, taking little Niffty along with them in a whirlwind of chaos and confusion.

As the chaos settles and the others rush to inspect the hole in the wall, you can't help but grimace at the impact the tiny demon took, already anticipating the soreness that will undoubtedly plague Niffty tomorrow. While the rest of the group shares a look of surprise, you divert to get the door off of Niffty, who miraculously bounces back up the moment the door is lifted off her.

"Again!" Niffty exclaims with a gleeful grin, her enthusiasm undiminished by the unexpected collision. Before you can offer any protest, she darts off, joining the others who have ventured outside to investigate the cause of the explosion.

It's only a few moments later that you emerge from the hotel, your gaze drawn upwards to the sight of a looming aircraft hovering ominously above. The sound of voices reaches your ears, and you strain to make out the words amidst the chaos.

"...harboring the striped freak!" The declaration draws your attention, and you look up to see a familiar figure—a snake-like demon you recognize from encounters with Alastor in the past. Memories flood back to you of the times when he would orchestrate ridiculous attacks on the Radio Demon, his antics once a source of amusement. But now, faced with the reality of the situation, amusement is the furthest thing from your mind as you brace yourself for what comes next.

As the snake-like demon addresses Alastor with a less-than-menacing expression, you quickly make your way to join the others, glancing up just in time to catch Alastor's contemplative expression.

"Do I know you?" Alastor's question is met with a wicked grin from the demon, his malicious intent clear despite the seemingly genuine tone of his voice.

"Oh yes you do!" The demon's reply is accompanied by a retreat into his aircraft, his actions accompanied by the aggressive clanking of levers and buttons being pushed. The tension in the air is palpable as everyone braces themselves for whatever comes next.

"And this time I have the element of... Surprise!" With those ominous words, a giant weapon emerges from the aircraft, positioned directly in front of you all at eye level. The air crackles with energy as the weapon charges, threatening to unleash destruction upon everyone in its path.

"Hahahaha, I'm so evil!" The snake-like demon's cackle echoes through the air, sending a shiver down your spine as you prepare for the inevitable confrontation that lies ahead.

As the menacing aircraft and its looming weapon are ensnared by fiery rings and engulfed in smoke, monstrous black tentacles emerge, gripping the ship tightly. The cacophony of sirens blares through the air, mingling with the snake demon's horrified screams as it struggles against its inevitable demise. Amidst the chaos, Alastor remains unperturbed, his signature grin etched upon his face.

Static crackles and arcane symbols materialize around Alastor, his figure shrouded in an aura of otherworldly power. His shadowy minions swirl around him, a silent testament to his mastery over the dark arts. The tension in the air is thick as the inevitable unfolds before your eyes.

With a deafening explosion, the aircraft erupts into flames, scattering debris in every direction. The group stands frozen, a mixture of dazed and terrified expressions etched upon their faces. However, you can't help but shoot Alastor a knowing look, silently questioning the necessity of such a dramatic display. After all, you've seen worse from him before – unfortunately.

Despite the destruction wrought by his actions, Alastor remains unfazed, his grin widening as he revels in the chaos he has caused. It's a chilling reminder of the darkness that lies within him, a darkness that you know all too well.

With a sudden shift in demeanor, Alastor's cheerful and oddly friendly persona returns in full force, his arms outstretched in a display of excitement.

"Who's hungry for some grub?" he exclaims, his voice exuding enthusiasm. "I'm in the mood for some jambalaya! My mother once shared with me her wonderful recipe for jambalaya. In fact, it nearly killed her! Ha ha ha!"

As he makes his way back toward the hotel, Niffty skips along beside you, her boundless energy infectious. You fall into step behind Alastor and the others, observing the dynamics between them. Angel Dust blows a playful kiss to Husk, who looks on with a mix of confusion and irritation. Charlie offers Vaggie a reassuring smile, but the worry still lingers in her girlfriend's expression.

When you lock eyes with Vaggie, you offer her a small, reassuring smile of your own, hoping to alleviate some of her concerns. However, your attempt at comfort is short-lived as you hasten your pace to catch up with the group. The events of the day whirl through your mind, leaving you with a sense of unease about what lies ahead.

You didn’t notice the sign on the hotel changing from ‘Happy Hotel’ to ‘Hazbin Hotel’.

You followed the group through the makeshift entrance, the remnants of the door scattered around. Your steps quickened as you headed toward what you assumed to be the direction of the kitchen, but your focus was abruptly diverted by the sight of the paperwork once again strewn across the reception desk floor.

"Oh boy," you muttered under your breath, a tinge of frustration evident in your voice. With determined strides, you hurried over to the mess, bending down to gather the papers. As you sorted through them, a sense of order began to emerge as you stack them into piles. Bills, reminders, a letter from... oh, coupons, and yet another bill—

"It’s not very polite to sneak up on people. One of these days something is surely going to happen," you remarked, your tone laced with a hint of mock warning as you sensed a familiar presence behind you. Turning slightly, you were met with the sight of Alastor, his grin as unsettling as ever. His presence always seemed to catch you off guard, his sudden appearance feeling like a twisted game of cat and mouse.

"Now, now! That's never going to happen, my dear!" Alastor dismissed your concern with a wave of his hand, stepping closer to inspect the stacks of papers you had organized on the desk. His jovial demeanor didn't waver as he continued, "Come on! This can be dealt with later, we have-"

"Am I not here to work?" you interjected, cutting him off abruptly. Alastor paused, his gaze shifting down to meet yours, towering over you with his imposing presence.

"Well, yes! But only charity work that I have volunteered you for!" His tone was almost gleeful as he spoke, seemingly reveling in the idea of assigning tasks to you. Despite the lightheartedness of his words, you couldn't shake the feeling of unease creeping into the back of your mind.

As you glanced up at Alastor, you noticed a strange mixture of pride and something else in his expression, something you couldn't quite place. It left you feeling grateful for the opportunity to contribute to something greater than yourself, even if it was labeled as "charity work." You had been working alone in that radio station for seven years. A change of pace would be nice. Yet beneath that gratitude lingered a sense of suspicion – it was unlike Alastor to offer assistance without some ulterior motive.

Lost in thought, you hadn't noticed his lean a little closer to you until you felt a stray strand of your crown braid being twirled gently. Startled, you glanced up to find his piercing gaze fixed on you, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes.

"You still wear your hair like you have a halo," he remarked, his fingers delicately toying with the loose piece of hair. His touch sent a shiver down your spine, igniting a strange mix of confusion and familiarity within.

A rush of warmth flooded your cheeks at his words and actions, the subtle intimacy of his actions stirring something deep within you. Despite your efforts to maintain composure, you couldn't deny the blush that heated your cheeks. You chalked it up to his absence, convinced it had impacted you more than you realized. Surely, it was just the result of your lack of social interaction or contact with others for the past seven years.

Your heart skipped a beat as he twirled that loose strand of hair and you found yourself holding your breath as you met his gaze. For a moment, time seemed to stand still, leaving only the silent exchange passing between your locked eyes. Was it judgment you detected in Alastor's gaze, or was there something else lurking beneath the surface?

The fleeting moment of connection sent a shiver down your spine again, but you quickly pushed aside the unbidden thoughts, refocusing on the task at hand. There were too many questions swirling in your mind, too many uncertainties to dwell on in that fleeting moment of intimacy. You forced yourself to maintain composure, burying the stirring emotions deep within as you turned your attention back to the paperwork, determined to remain professional despite the unsettling encounter.

With a small, nervous smile, you nodded in response to Alastor's comment, feeling your cheeks still flush slightly under his scrutinizing gaze. "Old habits die hard, I suppose," You replied, attempting to brush off the unexpected intimacy of the moment.

Alastor's grin widened, a knowing glint flickering in his eyes. "Indeed they do," he murmured cryptically, his tone laden with unspoken meaning. He lingered for a moment longer, his presence casting a shadow over your thoughts before finally stepping away with a flourish.

He simply grinned at the state you were in before turning away, his demeanor shifting seamlessly as he made his way back to the kitchen. You followed in his wake, your mind still reeling from the brief encounter. As you both navigated the bustling corridors of the hotel, a sense of unease gnawed at the edges of your consciousness.

Despite your efforts to quell your doubts, you couldn't shake the lingering questions about your friendship with Alastor. Was his warmth genuine, or was there a darker motive lurking beneath his charming facade? He had been gone for seven years – maybe you were just overthinking a little bit. You had spent too much time apart, and now that he was back, you were struggling to readjust to his presence. Memories of your past interactions flashed through your mind, moments of camaraderie and laughter mixed with shared experiences and moments of your odd friendship. You found yourself torn between the familiarity of your friendship and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. 'Mistaking a friendly gesture for something more… Come on, (Y/N)…'

In typical Alastor fashion, he moved on as if nothing had happened, his attention already focused on the task at hand in the kitchen. You hurried to join him, eager to lend a hand and put the unsettling encounter behind you.

As you worked side by side, the familiar rhythm of their collaboration brought a sense of comfort amidst the uncertainty. The clatter of pots and pans, the little calling of ingredients being pulled out —it was a welcome distraction from the whirlwind of emotions swirling within you. It reminded you of old memories of similar moments like this – some with Rosie at your side as well. It causes you to smile to yourself a little.

You watched him move with effortless grace through the bustling kitchen, you couldn't help but wonder what he had been doing for seven years.

Before you could dwell on it further, Alastor snapped his fingers with a flourish, and in an instant, both he and you were adorned in matching aprons. The sudden change brought a startled laugh to your lips, momentarily breaking the tension that had been building within you.

"Ah, much better, don't you think?" Alastor chimed in, his grin widening as he gestured to their new attire. "Now we can tackle these culinary delights in style!"

You couldn't help but chuckle at his remark, feeling the tension easing between you. "Absolutely," you replied, a genuine smile spreading across your face. "Nothing like a bit of flair to spice up the cooking process."

As you worked together, the playful banter between you and Alastor flowed effortlessly, each teasing remark and shared laugh easing the tension that had lingered in the air. It was moments like these that reminded you why you had missed him during his absence, why his sudden return had stirred up such conflicting emotions within you.

But amidst the laughter and camaraderie, there was an undeniable undercurrent of something more—a subtle shift in the dynamic between you that left you feeling both exhilarated and apprehensive.

As you continued to work alongside Alastor, your attention occasionally drifted to the tender moments shared between Charlie and Vaggie. Their love for each other was palpable, evident in every glance and touch.

And of course, there was Niffty, flitting about the kitchen with boundless energy and enthusiasm, a ball of energy. Her antics never failed to bring a smile to your face, even if she was a bit odd at times.

You couldn't help but notice the way Angel Dust flirted shamelessly with Husk, his usual charm turned up to eleven as he attempted to win over the grumpy bartender. It was a sight that never failed to amuse you, the sheer audacity of Angel's advances paired with Husk's deadpan responses never failing to bring a smile to your face. You chuckled to yourself as you watched their interaction unfold, grateful for the lighthearted distraction.

During all this you got a moment to introduce yourself to Vaggie and Angel Dust, even if it was just quickly. The latter seems to really look you over with a raised brow. But you tried to not read into it.

Once everything had been finished and everyone did their own little jobs to get the table set – even with a bit of complaints from certain individuals -, it was a nice moment considering everything that happened that day.

At the head of the table sat Charlie, her vibrant energy filling the room as she presided over the idea that her vision for the hotel was coming to life, with a wide smile and infectious enthusiasm. To her left, Vaggie sat with a stoic expression, keeping a watchful eye on the newcomers, while to her right, Alastor lounged in his seat, his signature grin never leaving his face.

You found yourself seated between Alastor and Niffty, the energetic maid chattering animatedly as she passed around platters of food with lightning speed. Despite the chaos of the moment, there was a sense of warmth and camaraderie that permeated the air, a feeling of belonging that you had rarely experienced in the past few years.

As plates clinked and glasses clattered, conversation flowed freely around the table, a cacophony of voices and laughter that filled the room with life. The sound of Husk getting annoyed at Angel Dust flirting or Niffty popping off for a moment to chase something on the ground added to the lively atmosphere. It was moments like these that made you feel like maybe you had been missing out on something.

Despite the cheerful ambiance of the dinner table, you couldn't shake the nagging feeling of unease that lurked beneath the surface. As the conversation flowed around you, laughter ringing in your ears, you couldn't help but feel like an outsider looking in at that moment.

Charlie's infectious enthusiasm and Vaggie's watchful gaze created a sense of warmth and inclusion, yet you couldn't shake the feeling of being disconnected from the group. Memories of past betrayals and broken trust danced at the edges of your mind, casting a shadow over the otherwise joyous occasion.

You found yourself retreating into the safety of silence, unable to muster the courage to contribute to the lively banter. Despite the genuine smiles and friendly gestures directed your way, you couldn't help but question the sincerity of it all.

Was it all just a facade, masking hidden agendas and ulterior motives? Or were you simply allowing your past experiences to cloud your judgment, projecting your own insecurities onto those around you?

You tried to push aside the nagging doubts and insecurities that plagued your mind, but they stubbornly persisted, whispering cruel reminders of past betrayals and disappointments. The laughter and conversation continued to swirl around you, but you felt like a stranger in your own skin, unable to fully immerse yourself in the moment. You couldn't help but feel like you are a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. It was a familiar feeling, one that had haunted you since your fall from grace —a constant reminder of your inability to trust others completely.

As you sat there, feeling disconnected from the lively atmosphere around you, a subtle shift in the air caught your attention. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Alastor's gaze lingering on you, his keen observation picking up on the subtle signs of your discomfort.

With a knowing smile, he turned slightly in his seat to face you better. "My dear, forgive me if I'm mistaken, but you seem a bit... unsettled tonight," Alastor remarked, his voice low.

You glanced up at him, surprised by his perceptiveness. "It's nothing, Alastor," you replied, trying to mask your unease with a casual shrug. "Just... feeling a bit out of place, I suppose."

Alastor's smile faltered slightly at the edges, a flash of something flashed in his eyes before it was gone. "Is there something troubling you, (Y/N)?" he asked, his tone gentle yet probing.

You hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. But with Alastor's gaze fixed on you, you found yourself opening up despite your reservations. "I suppose... I haven't been the best socially since your disappearance," you admitted, your voice tinged with vulnerability. "It's always been hard to trust others completely, especially after everything that's happened."

Alastor's eyebrows shot up in mock surprise, his lips curling into a playful grin. "Well, well, well," he teased, his tone light but tinged with amusement. "You mean to tell me that my absence has left you socially inept, (Y/N)? I must say, I'm quite flattered."

You rolled your eyes but couldn't help but chuckle at his jest. "Oh, please," you retorted, playfully swatting at his arm. "Don't let it go to your head, Alastor. I'm sure I'll manage just fine without your charming presence."

Alastor feigned offense, clutching his chest dramatically. "Ah, but where's the fun in that?" he replied, his grin widening. "Why, you'd be denying yourself the pleasure of my company, my dear."

"Perhaps you're right," you conceded with a smirk, enjoying the banter despite your lingering worries. "After all, who else would I have to keep me on my toes with their ridiculous antics?"

Alastor's grin widened, and he leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "Ah, but my dear (Y/N), you know you wouldn't have it any other way."

"But fear not, my dear (Y/N), for I promise to make your suffering as enjoyable as possible."

You couldn't help but laugh at his audacity, the tension in your shoulders easing as you shared this moment of camaraderie with him. Despite the uncertainties lurking beneath the surface, you found solace in Alastor's familiar presence, grateful for the brief respite from your worries.

Little did you know, however, that the calm before the storm was merely a fleeting illusion, and that soon, your world would be turned upside down once again.

♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿ ♡ ✿

My AO3 account!

Before I sign off, I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for your comments and kudos/likes. Your support and engagement mean the world to me, and I'm genuinely surprised and grateful for the response the Drabble and the first chapter has received. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to share more with you soon. Until next time! - Ivory

[ripdragonbeans]

Love In The Darkest Of Places // modern!Aemond x Reader

Chapter 7: A Brief Respite, Perhaps?

Summary: You take a break from everything for a while but Aemond somehow shows back up in your life anyway.

Warnings: none

A/N: Thank you @exitpursuedbyavulcan for making this just a hint messier lol ❤️

Chapter 6 // Chapter 8

He didn't look back.

He didn't look back.

He didn't look back.

Those were the words that echoed in your head. Your heart crumpled. Tears ran down your cheeks. You hugged yourself tight.

A week has passed since you last talked to Aemond. He held true to his word; you were still blocked on his phone. Any attempt at a call went straight to voicemail. He was really cutting you out. You didn't exist in his life anymore.

“Sweetie?” There was a knock at your door. “You can’t stay in your room forever. You’re going to have to come out eventually.”

You talked just loud enough to be heard through the door. “Please leave me alone, Hel.” You sniffled a bit, and a few more tears dropped down. 

Yes, it’s been a week. Yes, you haven’t been able to stop crying for more than a few hours at a time. Yes, you miss him. Yes, everything hurts. No, you don’t feel like you’ve healed at all. You felt everything and nothing all at once. It was unreal; nothing felt real.

For a few more hours, you stayed in bed, curled up, occasionally crying. Whenever you thought you were done crying, a new thought would make its way to the front of your mind, and you'd start all over again. Once you got out of bed, you still wrapped yourself in your blankets but walked out into the living room. 

“I'm alive,” you said unenthusiastically. “I feel like shit, but I'm alive.”

“And I'm glad you are,” Helaena nodded. “Now, what would my friend like to do today except stay in bed?”

You shrugged and mumbled something incoherently.

“That's not going to work, sweetie. You need to get out. Let's go for a walk around the park. Maybe we can find some cute dogs!” 

You smiled at your friend as you gave in. “Fine, let's go find some dogs.”

You waddled back to your room to change into your usual day clothes. This time you chose to go with a casual dress and tights with a jacket and boots. While spring was nearing, it was still a little chilly. You looked at the sapphire necklace on your vanity. It took everything in you not to cry again. You softly caressed the necklace, wishing you could put it on, but you promised Aemond you wouldn't wear it anymore, and you were done breaking promises to him. Even if it hurt you. 

Leaving your room once more, you met Helaena in her car, already warmed up.

“I was thinking we could check out the dog park. It's the best place to find dogs, of course,” she said as though it was an amazing discovery.

“What about the shelter? It's a little smelly, but they're all looking for love.”

“Oh, but I don't want to give them false hope!”

You sighed. “That's fair. To the dog park we go!”

Despite the chilly day, there were quite a few people out with their dogs. You and Helaena sat on the bench and petted every dog that came by to say hi.

One husky came up to you, all friendly, and even jumped on you.

“Down, girl!” A voice called. It was a very familiar voice.

Looking up, you scrunched your eyes in the direction of the voice. “Cregan?” 

Cregan came jogging over to you and Helaena, his shoulder length hair tied in a half up half down ponytail.

“Hey,” he smiled. “Haven't seen you in a few years.”

“Yeah, it's been a while,” you agreed.

Over the years you kept in slight touch with Cregan but not actively. You would like each other's posts on social media and wish each other happy holidays when the time comes around, but that was about it.

“This is my girl, Tempest,” he said while he petted his dog. “Tempest say hi.”

Tempest let out a big “woof” to say hello to you and Helaena. 

“She’s well-trained. Did the training myself. You two got a dog here?”

“No, we just wanted to visit the pups, honestly,” you told him.

“We needed a break from the world,” piped up Helaena.

“That's fair,” Cregan chuckled, then looked at you. “How's you and um, what's his name? Oh, Aemond! How are you two doing?”

Your face dropped immediately. “We're…fine. I guess. We're not together, if that's what you mean. I haven't talked to him in a while.”

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I thought you two were really close.”

You hugged yourself. “Yeah, we were,” you said quietly.

Silence hung in the air.

Helaena broke the silence. “How about we all go walking downtown? There are plenty of dog-friendly places there!”

Cregan was quick to jump in. “Yeah! Tempest would love to walk around, wouldn't you, girl?”

Tempest barked in excitement and wagged her tail.

“Meet us outside the library, yeah?” Cregan asked before he left.

“We'll be there!” Helaena called after him. “Come on,” she turned to you, “let's go walking with an old friend.”

Once you met up with Cregan and Tempest at the library, it was fairly easy sailing. Everything was okay again. Your heart felt lighter since this morning. It was nice to have something else occupy your mind other than Aemond.

The three of you and Tempest walked up and down the streets of King’s Landing. There were soap shops, clothing stores, tourist shops, and antique stores galore. Every now and then, you had to stop to allow a stranger to pet Tempest; she was more than happy to receive affection. 

You were at a peculiar knick-knacks shop when you felt a pair of eyes on you. Something wasn't right. You turned to ask Helaena about it when you saw them at the front door. Alys and Aemond. Your stomach dropped at the sight of them. You were ready to throw up.

Once again, they were holding hands but didn't show any other signs of affection. They were looking straight at you. Alys looked devious. She grimaced at the sight of you and tried to turn Aemond around but failed. He couldn't take his eye off of you. 

You silently mouthed his name. He was here, and he was so close. You wanted so badly to run to him, but you held yourself back. Not with Alys right there.

He took a step forward, like he was about to try to talk to you, but Alys pulled him back. She got up on her toes and whispered something in his ear. That's when his eye darted to Cregan and his close proximity to you. His jaw ticked, and he quickly turned on his heel, letting go of Alys’s hand and leaving her in the store. Alys didn't seem to mind. Instead, she winked at you and began to browse the store.

“What was that about?” Whispered Cregan.

You brushed it off. “Nothing. Nothing happened.” You bent down to pet Tempest. “Right, Hel? Nothing.”

Helaena nodded her head in agreement. “We should actually get going. It's been a long day.” She gave Cregan a quick hug and Tempest a kiss on the head. “It was nice to see you again.”

After you said your goodbye to Cregan and Tempest, you followed Helaena out the door and to her car, quick to avoid Alys.

When you got home, you sighed, heaviness starting to settle in your heart again. “That was…”

“Weird?” Helaena finished the sentence for you.

“I didn't know if I was going to cry or if I was going to scream at Alys.”

“Did you see how he left her, though? He left her behind.”

“Well, whatever she said to him pissed him off. It probably had to do with Cregan. Gods, she just wants me out of his life,” you groaned. Fear and sadness enveloped you once again. “And it's working. Aemond doesn't want me around.”

“Don't say that, you know that's not true!” Helaena said. “He was about to go to you. Alys just stopped him. If she weren't there, he would have talked to you.”

“If he wanted to talk to me, he could unblock me from his phone,” you countered. You sighed as tears gathered in the corners of your eyes. “I just want him back,” you whispered. 

“He'll come back, I'm sure of it.”

“...okay.” Your heart was no longer light anymore. It was heavy and difficult to carry. “I think I'm gonna go to bed now.” You got up and slowly made your way to your room.

“No, please don't. I need you to stay up,” pleaded.

“I'm drained, Hel. Thank you for the day, though. It was nice to be outside for a bit.” You gave her a sad smile from the hallway, then went to your room.

Curling up in a ball after changing clothes, you thought about the day. It was so nice until you saw him. Gods, you almost didn't even want to think about his name. Just his name made you want to cry. You let a few years fall before settling yourself into a deep sleep.

A few more weeks had passed. Graduation was almost upon you, and soon, Aemond and Alys could be open about their relationship. That was your only thought as finals were coming around the corner. You wiped away tears that threatened to fall. You haven't stopped crying completely but it certainly wasn't as bad as it was before.

You were about to head to class when your phone vibrated. When you unlocked it to see who it was, you almost dropped your phone.

Aemond.

Aemond Targaryen was calling you.

He was calling you.

You fumbled with your phone. “Yes?” You answered.

“Hey, can I come over? I know I've been gone, but I need…I need someone,” he said.

“Are you sure you want me and not Alys?” you asked.

You practically see him nod. “I don't want her. I need you. So, can I come over?”

“Yeah. Helaena is out for classes all day, so it would be just you and me.”

“That's fine.”

“Okay, I'll see you in a bit. To - I mean, bye.” And with a click, you hung up.

Aemond showed up fifteen minutes later. When you opened the door to let him in, the first thing you noticed was the exhaustion on his face.

“Aemond, are you okay?”

He tackled you in a hug, then quickly stepped back. “You were right.” Aemond ran a hand through his unruly hair and curled up on the bed. “She was cheating on me. I caught her with another student.”

“Aemond…” you were careful with your words. “I'm so sorry.” 

You slowly reached out to touch his shoulder, giving him enough time to turn away, but he didn't. He welcomed your touch. Aemond’s hands went to bury his face, and for a while, that's how you stayed. It was comforting, but at the same time, it wasn't enough. You wanted nothing more than to wrap him in your arms and hold him. How dare someone play with his heart after all he's been through.

Aemond suddenly started clawing at his face. “FUCK!” He sat up, ripped off his eyepatch, and threw it across the room. “What the fuck did I do? What did I do to deserve this?” He turned to you. “Tell me. What did I do that made the gods hate me?” Tears began to trickle out of his good eye. His sapphire shimmered as though it had tears as well.

“Aemond, the gods don't hate you,” you tried to reassure him. You slowly brought your other hand to his cheek. “No one hates you. I certainly don't.”

Aemond sniffled. “What about Alys?”

You took your hand away from his face. Alys. Of course he's still thinking about Alys right now. She was the reason he was feeling like this. 

“Alys…made her choice. I'm not saying she never cared about you, but it's showing how much she does by not being faithful.”

“Gods fucking dammit. I hate this. I hate her.”

Hearing Aemond proclaim his hatred for Alys should have your heart soaring, but instead, it made it sink. She was such an important person to him that she made him feel this way, and she didn't give one shit.

“That dinner, when you met her?” Aemond asked. “Guess it was all a fucking lie. She didn't care about me. She cared about getting you out.”

You let his words wash over you. Alys just didn't want to be fired from her job for hooking up with students. It was always about alienating you from Aemond to make sure she kept her job.

“You have a choice now. You can either break up with her and leave this all behind,” you took a deep breath. “Or you could go back to her like nothing ever happened.”

Aemond looked at you with unease in his eyes. He was conflicted. “I choose…” he started, “I choose to leave her.”

You stopped yourself from grinning. “Good. You deserve someone so much better than her. You deserve someone who cares about you.”

“Do I, though? Every person I've cared about has hurt me.” Aemond looked down. 

“Listen to me.” You cupped his face in your hands. “You are the most deserving person of all good things I have ever met. Every wrong that has ever happened to you never should have happened.”

Aemond’s good eye was glossy. He shook his head. “It's difficult to believe that after everything.”

“I know, and I'm so sorry that I'm one of those people who make you feel that way.”

Aemond sniffled. “Not all the time,” he admitted. “You've always been there, except for those few months, but even with everything with Alys, you still stayed.”

“Of course I would.”

He looked at your neck. “You're not wearing my necklace.”

“I didn't want it to remind you that I broke my promise.”

Aemond hummed. It was more of a comforting hum to himself. “Do you miss us?”

You sighed and gave him a small smile. “Of course I do, Aemond. I've missed you every day I've been away from you. Leaving you alone was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Not wearing the necklace hurt my heart. It was my own reminder that I fucked up.”

Aemond moved closer to you. “I've missed you, too.”

And there you sat, holding Aemond closely as though he would disappear.

“I know I've said it before,” you whispered, “but I'm truly sorry for everything.”

“I know you are,” he whispered back. Aemond looked up at you and cupped your face. He sat up and began to lean in.

As much as you wanted to kiss him, you stopped it by placing a gentle finger on his lips.

“I want to kiss you, gods, how I've been wanting to kiss you, but you're hurt right now. I don't want to take advantage of you.”

Aemond flushed and backed up. “Yeah, I understand. I'm sorry, I just -” he stuttered. “Yeah.”

“Let's take it slow, okay? For both of us.”

“For both of us,” he echoed. He looked at you hesitantly. “Can we start with a date?”

You blushed. “Yes, we can start with a date.”

"Together forever?”

You smiled and kissed his forehead. “Together forever.”

[thewritingofspencerrose]

Just Another Weekend

George Russell x OC!Vettel

It had just been a weekend like any other in May.

Well, the same as any other weekend when your father has spent the majority of your life racing and he's the only parental figure that you have.

But it was Monaco. And Monaco is its own breed.

I guess that's how we had ended up drunk off our asses, my father nowhere to be seen, George and I sneaking off ourselves.

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rosannavettel we're up early this morning in the josie & rose house and we're ready to watch some racing!

sebastianvettel can't wait to spend the day with my two favorite grils :)

rosannavettel who taught you how to do non-emojis

"Papa, ich verstehe nicht, für wen wir uns einsetzen sollen," (dad, i don't understand who we are supposed to be rooting for) I whisper, eyeing the headphones that are sitting snuggly over Josette's curls, her eyes shut tight with small snores escaping her lips.

She sounds just like her father did.

"Wir feuern Redbull an, meine Liebe," (we're rooting for redbull my dear).

"I'm going to pretend that I don't take offense to that," A sassy Monesque voice chimes from our side, making sense since the walls are painted red.

"Charlie, you know Papa means nothing harsh by it, you know that," I assure, him kissing my cheek and Josette's head in response before side-hugging my father.

"He knows he's tied with Mick for my favorite Grid Kids," Papa assures, Josette giggling brightly without reason, simply happy to be alive.

"And how is my favorite princesse (princess)?" Charlie asks, kissing Josette's head.

"I thought I was your favorite princesse?" Lando's voice rings, bringing more laughs out of the little one, clad in black romper with polkadots. "But if my replacement is as cute as this little muppet, I'm sure I can accept my fate."

"Lando, please meet my daughter Rosanna and her daughter Josette. Rose, meet Lando Norris, -"

"McClaren driver, number 4," I recite, "We met last year when I visited for the Monaco GP."

"Right, you told me you were barely 19 at the time, we bonded over being too young for all these old people," Lando laughs, eyes now drifting to Josette. "But you're a new addition, aren't you muppet?" He asks, leaning in shaking her hand jokingly, giving her enough time to get her other hand weaved in his curly hair and offer a yank.

"I am so sorry, we've been working on the hair pulling," Is all I can offer, untangling my daughter from his head as he waves me off.

"Don't worry, she get's me all the time," Papa assures the boy, who's name is called from somewhere behind us, earning the attention of the little group we have formed. It's when turning that I see them. See him. The other 2019 rookies.

"Sebastian, didn't know you'd be attending today!"

"Wanted to see Lando, Lewis and I for our home race?" George asks cheekily, Alex shoving his shoulder into the blonde when he makes eye contact with me.

"If it isn't Baby Vettel," Alex is the one to greet, gently pulling me into a hug around Jo. "You know, Lily was wondering why you were never up to go out when we've been in the area. But now I see there is a new baby Vettel, hello sweetheart."

"She's adorable," George compliments, an awkward smile gracing his handsome face.

"She kind of looks like you Georgie," Lan jokes happily, not realizing the magnitude of what he's said, with no one understanding what's been said.

Except for George. Because he's actually a very intelligent man, and he knows how to do basic estimation and math.

And based on the look in his eyes right now, this man is feeling intelligent today.

"Could I offer you two a tour of Mercedes? I'm sure Lewis would love to see you both."

Fuck, he used the secret weapon. He knows I adore Lewis, and so does my father.

"You go on Rose, I want to go say hello to a few more people," Papa assures, swatting my presence away before wrapping his arms around Alex and Charles, leading the group of drivers away.

"So."

"So?" I can't help but respond, Josette's head tilting slightly to the side at the presence of the man in front of us.

"Um, how have you been, Love? I see you have -"

"Just ask the question I know is swirling in your mind, George, there's truly no point in beating around the bush," I can't help but interrupt, never a fan of small talk.

"So then she's mine?" He asks, knowing the answer. "I had a feeling, but given what you've just said I'd say it's pretty clear what my answer is."

"Biologically she's yours, yes," I respond, Josette giggling and throwing her arms around my neck. "I would have mentioned it, but given that it was a one nighter and you didn't answer my calls for the first two weeks, I'd say it was difficult at best."

"What calls?"

"Don't pla-"

"No I'm being genuine Rosa, I never got any calls from you. I would have dropped everything if I had known about..."

"Josette Elise," I supply, "We call her Joss, although my dad calls her Ettie."

"Josette," He mumbles, his accent making Joss giggle as her attention is drawn to him. "I love it," He continues, her little hand reaching out and holding his finger, too tuckered to fully reach out for him but wanting the connection. "And she's wonderful."

"I'd like to think so, but she is entirely too much like my father," I can't help but complain, not at all meaning it.

"I'd like to get to know her, if you'd let me? Get to know you better as well, outside of being Vettel's daughter?"

I can't help but smile. He genuinely seems like he wants to get to know her. Know us.

"What do you say, Joss? Do we want to let him get to know us?"

She just giggles, smiling a cheeky smile and babbling happily.

Looking to George, I can see the love and admiration in his eyes.

So with a soft smile, I look to the man in front of me. "Looks like you'll be getting to know us."

And he smiles back.

"Brilliant."

two years later

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georgerussel63 my everything 🤍

rosannavettel we love you georgie 🤍

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Hello! Thoughts on what year did we see lg diving in? (s2e12). My lovely best friend pointed out that while we know 0913 as the date and 00:05 as the time, we dont know what year this happened in...its been intentionally blurred out. My brain is going a few hundred miles a minute, thoughts and theories clattering around my head but not making sense so... thoughts? I wonder if this is the first time he's going back and this is to link the season to Yingdu arc??

The exact year isn't important, I think. Honestly, I'll go as far as to say, being used of Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff: it's probably a red herring. The real question should be regarding when this scene happens in the timeline we're on, as the audience.

We're actually missing so much context. Is Lu Guang here actually Lu Guang? Does it happen in a previous repeat or will it happen in the future? Who's blood is this? What does it have to do with Yingdu Chapter? Lu Guang is in the studio but it has been implied that Cheng Xiaoshi's first death happened on their trip 3 years ago, right?

I'm the same as you. The more I think about it, the more my brain provides insane theories, some of them I already sent into the void of tumblr.

Here are 5 of them:

This is Lu Guang's first failed attempt at saving Cheng Xiaoshi. Li Tianchen takes possession of him and forces him to kill his friend. This is my least favorite of all theories out there, because it's kinda boring even if very sad anyway-

It might not be the time of Cheng Xiaoshi's death but the time of their first meeting. In China, school starts off the first days of august and Cheng Xiaoshi calls Lu Guang the new guy. 1) He noticed him. 2) Lu Guang wasn't around the first few weeks, at least. Arguably, Lu Guang feels guilty and believes that's when it all started. Maybe they shouldn't have met. Without their powers combined, Cheng Xiaoshi wouldn't be in danger, probably. A bitter-sweet memory, then.

Only Cheng Xiaoshi's death allow a repeat. Lu Guang cannot dive if Cheng Xiaoshi is alive, as a rule set by Vein. In this reality, Lu Guang made a deal with Vein, of course. And if a repeat isn't satisfying enough (Cheng Xiaoshi can't walk anymore or Qiao Ling has been targeted by a killer), Lu Guang would have to kill Cheng Xiaoshi to find the Best Route to the Happy Ending, as a punishment. Think of this theory as perfectionists playing a game with multiple endings.

This isn't actually Lu Guang but Cheng Xiaoshi in Lu Guang's body. As in, Cheng Xiaoshi with his abilities (that he canonically keeps when he dives into others' body), in Lu Guang's body using his own power to dive as Lu Guang. Diveception. I don't know if it makes sense but basically: Cheng Xiaoshi is the one we see in this scene and the voice over we hear is a letter that Lu Guang left for Xiaoshi before he died/disappear from reality or something.

This is Lu Guang's last attempt and this time he decides to keep them from meeting altogether. Until now, he was being selfish by trying to save his friend while having a whole life with him, which is revealed not possible. So he either erases himself from the timeline entirely or he changes the past by never putting foot on this school's ground.

Dark Bonus Theory: Lu Guang tried to khs and Cheng Xiaoshi got stabbed trying to stop him

Whatever happens, I'm sure: this scene has nothing to do with Yingdu Chapter. These episodes are a special season, not a third season, so I'm guessing it's either a prequel or a parallel timeline: perhaps they're finally going to prove that you can unravel an unchangeable node. If we speak about the process of telling a story, I believe Yingdu Chapter is only complimentary information and not actual groundbreaking plot.

I hope I replied to your question accordingly haha. In any case, I have a very different perspective on Link Click than most people I talked to in this fandom. Which is not a bad thing at all, but I sure have unique opinion lmao

[tales-travelling-trashheap]

Hey, hi, hello! 👋 How do?

I got post day this time, and also a few more drawings 😁 I'm still stuck on this crossover AU of Outer Wilds and Grow, and I've just decided to merge this AU with my Quantum Travelers AU.

And so now we have Quantum Alchemists!

Still working on the designs for the other travelers but for now we've got Hatchling (Sodalite in this AU), Solanum and the Prisoner as the Apprentice, Book and Coppertop respectively.

Ramble ramble ramble 😅 This is a big one.

===

This is another one of those AUs set in the new universe and everyone only kind of exists to some degree.

I think I've explained a bit of the gist of this before (probably also said that I'm merging this au and the other one before but I can't remember) but here's a few thoughts I've had since the merge, I'm kinda just copy-pasting some a lot of my notes.

The travelers have basically set up shop on the Eye of the Universe (I'm saying that as if they are all still alive but in reality they've been long dead and gone for eons now)

Sodalite is the last Conscious Observer (Last as in the most recent). There's probably been hundreds of conscious observers over many different universes but they all felt that they'd all had their fun and decided to "retire" (they know their time is over, it's time for the new era)

Soda, unfortunately, doesn't have that possibility for right now, because there's a problem with the Eye. And that's why they still exist as quantum in the new universe.

The Outer Wilds travelers (Esker, Gabbro, Chert, Riebeck and Feldspar) are taking over from some of the Everkin, they just have a bigger role in this AU. The Hearthians are still the main source of explosions just on a much bigger plane.

Solanum and Kaepora take the roles of Book and Coppertop, main reason being this: neither got to join their kinds in death. Solanum was 5/6ths dead on the Quantum Moon and Kaepora's body and soul was imprisoned by their own people.

The Eye of the Universe is the source of all life. It sang into being galaxies, whole civilizations with the Song of the Universe (Song of Myora), and many life forms had lived in harmony for a time.

But sometime during the creation of Soda's new universe, it stopped creating new life because the song shattered and something else has taken root; the Bramble (taking over from the Withering). This Bramble had somehow survived the old universe, or maybe its presence was inevitable, but it was very quick to fill in the gaps.

Maybe a few billion years have already passed in this new universe, though it doesn't feel that way to the travelers. It probably feels like only a few months or years have passed (time doesn't really exist when you're in a quantum space/you're also quantum). It's been long enough for them that everyone's gotten quite comfortable around one another.

Oh, and Alchemy! There is a new mechanic for this AU! The Travelers are trying to use Alchemy to create little world seeds to help the Eye. There had been many spectacularly colourful alchemical disasters over the years, but eventually they'd cracked the recipe.

Anyway! There's that ramble, hope you like it 😅

[dykevotions]

what's the buntom lore I've seen u post abt it a lot and I'm curious

HI. HELLO. WHATS UP . i be keeping this shit Short and Compact. Trust me

here are summaries of friday league and saturday league of beastlife. aswell as my beastlife guide post . neither of the summaries include the most recent season which. is the one buntoms in. but yknow. you win some you lose some.

SO. BUNTOM. WHATS HER FUCKIN DEAL !??!?!

feat. mild spoilers* for beasts, and . decently wordy! *some of you know already, but im trying to film a cool video about it and edit it tonight alright... .

SO. buntom is a animal crossing inspired cartoon character, who is an mctom (my cubito ocs) who only speaks in animalese and tomlang! now you might be asking. what the fuck is tomlang. as you should be. Ask all the questions ever.

Tomlang is a conlang I(1) made, based entirely off of symbols on a standard english keyboard. pretty + right?

link to the tomlang guide. not required reading, but its pretty short, and < think its pretty cool.

now if you read it (which. again. not required!) you'll have seen.... this

now this is not Andromeda(2) but is LUNATIC !! I LOVE LUNATIC TSHIRT THAT SAYS I LOVE LUNATIC (this is about buntom i swear. this will make sense)

lunatic (atleast this specific one!(3)) preforms hexes to be less than a pixel tall and understand buntoms thoughts. lunatic is the only person that has ever understood buntom, and nobody knows he exists.

insert comics . Yeah

so buntom exists with lunatic for a bit of time. not a while, but they just chill in the forest.

then buntom gets pulled into a death game (with a skyblock gimmick this season! how fun!) , with lunatic alongside her. this is where 🎈s #story really starts

to summarise everything to happen to buntom throughout the season (saturday leauge s4, plus a guest visit to friday leauge s3) : she is dehumanised , treated as an animal or uncontrollable/feral by multiple other teams, downright called his teams PET by someone (hi sonicmike. hows your day . ) and destroys shit and kills people over it. as you do. and also helps build a giant network of paths in the sky (skynet) which are burnt down (he rebuilds them) (wtf sonicmike)

he gets mixed up with sheeptom (the other mctom in beastlife) after they go to a wedding on applecraft (another server. hard to explain) and deals with new people who are.... nice to xem for the most part? And treat er like a person? he has to bury one of them. besides that, it was good for him. she likes the people in friday league.

and then ves back. and he wakes up at her teammates grave. with more time(4) and signs from sheeptom telling her that it was sorry that they had to do it. and that their teammates love them. there's a funeral for someone else. hardly anyone honors space for dying too. he resents them for this.

the only teammate he has around at this time, is echidna. and echidna is walking away from where they live, so fuck it. and he follows. and theyre in the middle of nowhere together, far above the others. and hes safe for a while there. they both have a few hours till they die, but its peaceful.

they shouldve broken the path to where they were. practically the entire server comes to find them and hunt them down. they spawn kill them. they barely escape. they go back to their old base. they get found. echidna runs out of time. buntom dies, but still has time. he hides. she goes to the nether. tom covers the portal in lava. xey trap themself in the nether for the last hour(ish) heart has to live.

he resents herself for this. xey cut their dyed parts of hair off (they liked their dyed hair. it was her favorite part of how he looked, but it made him not fit in. if only he was like the others, then maybe they wouldnt have hated him. maybe then echidna mightve been alive.) and play tic tac toe with lunatic. over and over. and over and over.

and its the last session

and you have 24 minutes left to live

and you play tic tac toe

over and over

and over and over

and you admit that you're scared to die (this isnt the first time you've told lunatic this. you did it when you first hid.)

and you make your own grave (and lunatic, you are buried together.)

and you make echidna a grave

and you play tic tac toe (your move!)

and you have 10 seconds

and you look at how you hid from the world

and you die

and you're coming back next season! but in the meantime, shes in hell :D ! all mctoms get their own personalized hell, and buntoms is made for two! buntom has lunatic ignoring and not listening to xer, and not moving, and is so scared that his best friend is like the others. that she really is what everyone else thinks of him. that this is how it was always going to end. and lunatic just has to stand there! and cant talk, or move, or communicate at all. horrible world for autistic people

thats . basically it. Yeah . i think that covers most of my bases . buntoms also canonically aroace and autistic. so . Win!

footnotes :

1: okay my brother helped a bunch and so its like. partially him aswell

2: echidnas friday leauge character! her name does that when he tries to say it.

3: see. worldhoppers vs worldbounds. except lunatic is a seperate third thing. theres multiple lunatics out there thats all u need to knoww

4: limited life gimmick. u know the deal

[lexosaurus]

Hello! Very random and no worries if that's not your intention for the blog, but I love reading about your teacher experience and insights! Take this ask more so as encouragement to write more about it if you feel like it, because I'm going to start teaching soon (and yes, many people I've met have warned me about both its miracles and horrors lol) and it's really helpful to hear others' experiences :)

Thanks for the ask! Honestly I'm just a first year, so I don't have a tonnnn of advice to give. But here's a few general first year tips from one to a future another:

1 — No matter what, having a good department team is ESSENTIAL. You're going to be relying on them a lot your first year for help, advice, curriculum stuff, behavioral management stuff, etc. Talk to them, get to know them, have lunch with them, share issues/seek advice from them. You're going to encounter situations that your degree did not prepare you for (likely, in the first week lol. For me, it was Day 1) and having people around to help you judgement free is going to be crucial. I was super lucky that my department team and all the teachers from other departments that I work closely with are really amazing, easy to work with, etc.

2 — You're also going to want a good relationship with the "other" departments. The library staff, tech staff, sped department, guidance, janitors, etc. They're all lovely people, so don't be afraid to pop in to introduce yourself on the first week!

3 — Crazy things are going to happen. Like....all the time. Don't bring them home with you. As soon as you exit the doors, shake it off. All your students made it on the bus to their parents alive, so it's fine. Your job is done for the day. I've been going to the gym a lot right from school, and it's been really helpful to prevent myself from taking anything home with me so to speak.

4 — Document, document, document. Did something happen? Document it, email a copy to whoever's applicable: admin, guidance, sped, BCBA, etc. "Hello, just emailing a summary of what happened today" is not an uncommon email for me to send out. If an IEP isn't working, well at the next IEP meeting it shows they have 10 emails in the last month from you about little Timmy's hourly verbal threats and attempted physical violence to his classmates, so maybe the BCBA needs to do some data collection to adjust his BIP, or they need to give him a 1-1, or give him more resource intervention, etc.

5 — This isn't so much of advice, more like reassurance. The small moments when it clicks for a student and they get something, and then the confidence and excitement shows, it's really the best. That's probably why I've fallen so in love with working where I did. The other day, after weeks of struggling to help this student with Downs with his math, I tried a totally different approach based off a few example problems I saw in a math intervention workbook and hOLY HELL IT WORKED. It totally clicked for him, and the kid was so excited to do a problem out on the board for the class. It was amazing. Another student with an LD who I've been helping heavily school aced a quiz in one of her classes and legit ran into the room to show me. Cue me literally jumping out of my chair to high-five her, and her calling her parents to deliver the good news. Like, little things like that are really really special, and they're going to mean so much to you. And I hope you get to experience LOTS of them too!

[purplesigebert]

WIP Wednesday Week #16 - DW Crossover

Hello, hello everyone, I'm back!

This week we are stepping inside Miss Rose Tyler's mind. She's new to the TARDIS, and is still finding her way around.

Caroline helps her.

The past few days had been mind boggling. Her job had been blown up, she had been threatened by window shop dummies, and a bitchy trampoline had declared herself “the last human” at the end of the world.

Oh, and "Toxic” by Britney Spears had been described as a “classic Earth ballad.”

The future was weird.

But if the future was weird then the man who brought her to it was weirder.

Honestly, he thought he was so impressive, she rolled her eyes, a tiny smile coaxing its way onto her lips.  She looked around the room that the machine, the TARDIS, had provided her, amazed that it very nearly matched the one in her mum’s flat.  The only difference was the view - instead of the roofs of London, there was a lush waterfall.

As Rose left her room, she bumped into Caroline.  She wasn’t sure what to think of the twelve year old that travelled with the Doctor.  Clive hadn’t known much about her, but she had appeared in a few of the pictures and drawings that the conspiracy theorist had.  What was disturbing was that in some of the pictures, the Titanic one in particular, Caroline looked even younger then she was now.  How long had she been travelling with the Doctor?

“Hi Rose!” The younger girl grinned. “How are you settling in? Do you need anything? If you do then you just have to ask the TARDIS and she can get or make it for you! Or you can ask Dad!” 

Rose was overwhelmed by the amount of information and questions that the other girl flung at her.

The box was alive, and female? The Doctor was Caroline’s father? And what was going on with Caroline’s accent. It shifted from the Northern burr that the Doctor had to an American one. What was that about?

“Er no, thanks Caroline, I’m fine at the moment, still getting my bearings,” she aimed for a reassuring smile. Inside her thoughts were still whirling.

“Cool, just let me know if you need anything.” She paused, seemingly deciding whether or not to ask another question. Rose sent her what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

“So, what you did to save all of us from the Nestene Consciousness was fantastic!” 

Caroline started to walk down the unending hallway that already Rose had gotten lost, twice in her brief time aboard, the other blonde looked perfectly at home here, like she could walk around blindfolded and still find her way.

“You mentioned that you were a gymnastics champion?”

“Yeah, I got the bronze.”

“That’s so cool! I was wondering if you could teach me some stuff? I’ve always wanted to learn how to do a roundoff!” Caroline was flushed with excitement as she rambled.

“Sure, I can do that.” Rose sighed in relief. “We just need a big enough space.”

They stopped in front of a door that didn’t look any different than the ones that had come before it.  Caroline smiled and opened the door.

Rose gasped and nodded when Caroline asked if the room was big enough.

The door led to a large gymnasium that was easily three times the size of Jericho School’s.

Rose didn’t think she would ever get used to her new life. 

****

She wouldn’t.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Hello!!! I’ve just started gently reintroducing myself to The 100 after 7 years these last few weeks (rewatching for the first time since 2016 in fact!) and of course part of that involves checking out what the fandom’s up to since then. I’ve just started reading fic again and I’m really enjoying your Medusa AU so far!!! Combining one of my most nostalgic ships with my favourite Greek myth scratches an itch in my brain quite nicely and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds! I haven’t read any of your other fics just yet but I’ll definitely check them out ASAP :) Keep it up!!! 🫶🏻

(PS I love how involved you are with your readers and how passionate you get about your ideas, even in a fandom which someone more cynical than myself may have expected to die down quite a bit some time ago. I find it really lovely.)

Well that? Is just one of the loveliest things I think I could've read this morning. I'm really glad you're liking the myth setting for the fic. Ngl I was talking to another clexa writer about how I've been nervous since Medusa is such a well known and loved myth. Been afraid people will go into it thinking it'll be a retelling of the story or that it'll be entirely myth style instead of the... strange... amalgamation I've contrived 😅. So yeah, I'm really glad to hear you like it 😌

Also, oof. Bless you for rewatching the whole show. Idk if I could do a full rewatch after everything so you are stronger than I lol. And the truth is the fandom has shrunk quite a bit, but that doesn't necessarily bother me. I understand, people move on and find new ships, and honestly I'm happy for them. I just personally haven't found anything that resonates with me like Clexa so I'm, whew, still here 🥴. And I find that the smaller fandom has its perks. I mean it sucks because it's harder these days to get people to share work and comment and stuff, but there are advantages. A lot less drama and fighting than in its heyday for sure. A lot of the ride or die OGs are still kickin around and keeping the fandom alive, which I always appreciate. And it's funny, there always seems to be newbies all the time showing up who've just discovered the show and wanna jump in, and it's always fun to kinda catch them up on all the fandom lore that they've missed. It's just fun. This is a wonderful fandom, hands down the best I've ever been in. The pairing is timeless, the people are pretty damn great, and the talent is just unmatched. It's just really easy to get passionate for this stuff, so I'm really glad it shows 💕

[kissorkill16]

Baby's First Chase: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Delroy runs from Mr. Peterson for the first time.

Delroy stayed behind after school. He saw another dude in a black robe and beak sneak their way to the boiler room, but not sneaky enough for Delroy not to notice.

He followed the figure down to the boiler room, and he thought of himself as lucky when that idiot forgot to close the entry way to the tunnels. He slid down the hill, and walked through the tunnels, trying to see where that guy had gone.

"If our principal is a cultist, does that mean some of the teachers are too?", he thought to himself. "Man, I can't believe I was so chill most of my life. But I'm thankful I'm learning about this now."

He walked down the tunnels for a while, and he was beginning to think he was probably seeing things.

Or maybe the cultist was faster than him.

Delroy didn't know about that. After all, he was pretty quick in getting away from all of those other beak freaks in the woods.

But those don't count, they weren't really chasing him, just toying with him.

Delroy was snapped out of his thoughts when he stumbled upon a door.

That's strange, he didn't remember seeing a door the first few times he'd been down here.

He knew he probably shouldn't, but that cultist could be in here, and he wanted to see who else was part of this bird cult. He twisted the knob, and was surprised to see that it was actually unlocked.

...But when he pushed it open...

Oh dear God.

The sight of a dead cultist hanging from the wooden ceiling nearly made him scream, and then he felt a hand clamp over his mouth.

"Hello, Delroy.", growled out a girl's voice.

He recognized that voice.

Trinity. But she was wearing casual clothes now.

The last time they'd seen her, she was wearing a cultist dress.

The delayed scream made its way out of his mouth, and Trinity silenced him by pointing a dagger to his throat.

"You make a sound, and you won't be making it out of these tunnels alive tonight.", she threatened. Delroy bit back the scream that built up in his throat.

"Trinity, I mean, your highness! What the hell is wrong with you?!", he said to her. "I'll tell you what's wrong with me, baby.", she said.

"I've become obsessed with a new thing.", she said, the knife she held going down to his chest. "I've already lost everything, and they're helping me get it back."

"Are they helping you get back your sanity?"

Trinity pushed Delroy against the wall and kept the sharp blade near his chest. "I'll give you one more chance to shut up.", she growled.

Delroy squeezed his eyes shut, "Oh my God, I guess this is it. Auntie, I'm gonna miss you.", he thought.

But then, a loud screeching sound was heard through the hallway of the room. The kids looked down the hall, and a chill went down Delroy's spine.

Down the hall, walking straight towards them with a wrench in his hand, was a tall, hulking man in orange pants, an argyle apron, broken goggles, pale face, and peach fuzz on his chin, was Mr. Peterson.

They had forgotten how scary he could be.

But Trinity sharpened her glare.

"You again.", she growled at the man. "I thought I told you to fuck off."

She pointed her dagger at Mr. Peterson, "But oh well. I'm sure they would be pleased to see you dead."

"I'm not here for you, brat.", he growled at Trinity, then he looked at Delroy. "I'm here for you."

He stalked closer to him, picking up the wrench from the floor, and the screeching stopped.

"You and your little friends stole my book. First it was Trinity, and now it's little Maritza.", he said, patting one of his hands with the wrench. "I'd very much appreciate it if you gave it back.

Delroy smiled nervously and looked at Trinity, "I'll tell Enzo you said hi.", he said.

Then he sprinted out of the room and down the tunnels, and Mr. Peterson pushed Trinity out of the way and chased after him.

He ran as fast as he could, not daring to stop as the man in argyle was catching up to him. Is this what Nicky was going through whenever he had his adventures with Mr. Peterson?

Messing with this man and somehow surviving was some kind of miracle.

He was now super grateful that one of the cultists didn't close the entrance to the tunnels, and now he was using that advantage to get away from Mr. Peterson.

When he got back to the school hallway, he slammed the door to the boiler room shut. Mr. Peterson banged on the door, trying to push it open with all of his strength, letting out an angry growl with each push.

Despite it not opening, Delroy ran out of the school. He just ran as fast as he could, and wouldn't stop running until he met up with his friends.

[the-oc-lass]

Nimona OC - Charlotte Swiftheart/Corova

Aaaaand HELLO! As a special treat for this being the last part of my canon + Charlotte storyline, you get to have it an hour earlier than usual.

Reminder that the poll to vote what I write next should (if I've done my math correctly) have about one hour left, so vote while you still can!

But all that aside, here we go! By the way, was no one going to tell me that there's a damn WHALE PLUSHIE in front of Nimona's memorial wall? I'M GOING TO CRY SOME MORE, DAMN YOU.

First, Previous

Golden "Twins" Rebellion AU

Snippets?

Knight Charlotte AU

Whatever else comes next?

"Mom?"

"Yes, Charlotte?"

"Why are things the way that they are?" Minara purses her lips as she thinks, and Charlotte watches her carefully. Her mother looks so very tired, and Charlotte is old enough to know that she has a great deal on her shoulders. Minara Corova is much too young to have seen as much as she has. Finally, she speaks again.

"This kingdom is broken in ways that its people simply don't understand, my love. These cracks have been woven into our society for longer than any of us have been alive. It was always doomed to be this way," she says. Charlotte tilts her head.

"What do you mean?" she asks. Minara hums softly, closing her eyes for a moment as she thinks. Then, she looks down at her daughter.

"Look at how people treat Ballister, dear. Look at the lies we had to tell so that you could join the Institute. Does any of that seem right?" Charlotte shakes her head.

"No."

"But do you know why that's how things are?" Charlotte frowns, casting her eyes down.

"Because we're commoners. They think we're less than them." Her mother sighs.

"Yes, my love." After a few moments, a hand reaches out and gently tilts Charlotte's chin up. "Our ways of life are broken, Charlotte, but they don't have to be. They can be changed and fixed. It may not happen today, nor tomorrow, but one day, you will stand in this kingdom as you are, not as the lie that we've woven for you, and you will be seen for who you are, not by what blood runs through your veins."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, I know so. You will be there to help bring in a new era of this kingdom, one that's better for us all. It will take time, but in the end, it will be beautiful."

The past few weeks (months?) have been like a dream, but the type of dream where you know that something is missing. She knows exactly what (or, rather, who) that missing thing is, but she tries not to linger on it too much. She mourns, but she lets life move forward. The wall had been broken open on that fateful night, and a thousand years worth of knowledge and history had been brought to light and questioned. But they've been healing, rebuilding. Ushering in a new era for their kingdom, just as her mother once said. Things have been getting better every day. People are traveling beyond the wall, and the Institute is being reformed into what it always should've been. The wall itself is no longer simply a structure to protect them, but has been transformed into somewhere lively and beautiful. The cannons are still coming down, but soon, even those will be gone and forgotten. The Knights Betrayed have disbanded, instead turning their attentions on these reforms, and on the new sanctuary. A sanctuary that no longer needs to hide in the shadows. She still heads it, of course, but Ambrosius has been there to back her, financially and otherwise. After he and Ballister had both recovered, the three of them had gotten to work, working to fix not only the kingdom, but their relationships with each other. Ballister and Ambrosius's romance had rekindled as if it had never gone out, and Charlotte has found herself just as close with her two best friends as she once was. And the kingdom knows Ambrosius not only as her friend, but as her brother. He'd been adamant about it, actually.

"They should've always known. I never cared what it might cost me. I just wanted my sister."

And the reception had been mixed, but that's always what she expected. What matters to both of them is that it's not a secret they feel that they have to hide anymore. Maybe things would've been different if the truth had been known sooner, but they'll never really know.

But she has to return to the elephant in the room sometimes. Or, rather, the lack of elephant. Nimona is still gone. The kingdom is finally changing for the better, seeing her for who she truly was rather than what they'd all been brainwashed into seeing since birth. But Nimona isn't here to see it. She's still gone. And Charlotte's very being aches when she thinks about that for too long. Yet here she stands, before the memorial wall made in Nimona's honor. Covered in drawings from the sanctuary's kids and others, gifts lain at its base. Charlotte cradles her bouquet in her arms, staring at the wall for a moment before she looks at the flowers. Paper, made by her own hands, in all of the most beautiful colors.

"I hate the way the real ones make me feel, but I don't know how to tell the kids no."

She's only broken from her thoughts when she feels a gentle nudge against her shoulder, and she lifts her head. Ambrosius smiles softly at her, and she smiles back just as softly, leaning over and nudging his shoulder back. They both look toward the wall again, and they linger in silence. Eventually, she sees him lean down in the corner of her eye, and she looks down at him. He lifts a drawing from the ground and holds it out in front of Ballister, who takes it carefully and looks at it. She watches a small smile appear on his face, then a look of scrunched contemplation. Finally, though, the smile returns and he looks up at the wall. Eventually, he looks over at them.

"There's something I need to do," he says. They smile back at him, and Ambrosius nods in understanding. Ballister's eyes find Charlotte's after a moment, and he tilts his head. "Do you want to come?" Her smile saddens slightly, and she shakes her head.

"You go. That place belonged to you two, not me," she says. She moves around Ambrosius, however, to set her hand on Ballister's shoulder. "But if you need us, need me...Just ask." His smile softens, and he reaches up one hand to place it over the one on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"Thank you," he says softly. She smiles back, then leans forward and kisses his cheek. When they step away, she plucks a light pink paper flower from her bouquet and offers it to him.

"These were her favorites," she says. He takes the flower, holding it like a treasure, then gives her a final nod before he turns away and heads off on his own. Charlotte turns away as well, finally walking forward to set her bouquet among the dozens of other gifts. She looks up at all of the artwork lovingly decorating the wall, and her heart aches. A hand settles upon her shoulder, and she rises, turning to look at Ambrosius.

"Let's go home." She nods, settling against his side and slipping her arm around him as his wraps around her shoulders, guiding her away from the memorial.

Although she and Norshe finally have a home of their own, Charlotte admits that Ballister and Ambrosius's place feels a lot more like home to her. She's here a lot, both with and without her fiancée. Being here, with them...It helps.

"Do you think he'll be back soon?" Ambrosius asks, his mug of freshly brewed tea between his hands. Charlotte sips at her own tea for a moment, then finds herself staring down into the mug.

"I think it depends on how he feels now that he's there. It's one thing to be somewhere she never was. It's another to stand where she should be," she says. She had almost broken down when she'd returned to the sanctuary after that night. She had broken down when she'd found Nimona's stash of trinkets and gifts in the small nook she'd once commandeered for herself. She takes a deep breath and lifts her head, looking over at Ambrosius. "But he needed to do it. For himself as much as for her." Ambrosius looks at her with a sad, sympathetic gaze.

"I wish I'd gotten to know her how you and Bal do," he says. She blinks back tears.

"Me too." She can't help but smile a little. "When you weren't fighting on opposite sides, I think you would've really liked her." She lifts her hand to brush away a tear, but she quickly realizes that the tears aren't stopping. Ambrosius takes her mug and sets their tea aside, then tugs her into his arms. The cry isn't as bad as others have been, but she still loses track of time. They might sit there for hours before she finally pulls away, sniffling slightly. Ambrosius gently wipes the remaining tears off her cheeks, shushing her when she tries to apologize for crying.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he says, soft yet firm. It's what he always says when she cries these days. She's tried to argue with him before, but he shuts her down in the way that only he can. Once she's properly calmed down, he reaches over and picks up her mug, handing it back to her. As she takes a long drink, she hears the front door being unlocked, and it opens shortly after. Ballister must be home. She lowers the mug from her lips to call out, but whatever her words might've been die in her throat. She must be dreaming.

"Nimona?" she all but whispers. Nimona smiles softly at her.

"Hey, Chari." Ambrosius takes Charlotte's mug from her before she can drop it, and she rises and rushes around the coffee table, practically tackling Nimona in an embrace.

"Nimona." When she squeezes the shapeshifter, she's squeezed back just as tightly, and the tears begin to flow again. Nimona's alive. She's back. She's home.

Perhaps Ambrosius will get the chance to know her after all.

Fin.

Lovely tagged people:

@ammonitetheseaserpent @perfectkittystranger @madlad06 @xxlunadrawsstuffxx @floxu

[theallenshorefangirl]

ISM OC Tape (Updated Version)

Zoe's Tape Intro (Before the Accident)

Desmond Was in his chair clasping onto his clipboard,clicking his pen as Allen walked out.Desmond hear a thud before Zoe walked in."Oh Zoe are you ok?" She nods as her purple and black hued scarf that was wrapped around her face and shivered."I'm just…ugh…mmh…yeah cold." She sat down in the chaise lounge. Desmond clicks the tape recorder.

(Tape 1) "Alright Zoe how about you tell me about how your sleeping has been" "It's just not good,I've been seeing something lurking at the corner of my eyes and when I go to check nothing is there,and I seen men in suits just like Allen has and well its very bad." the nervous tapping of what sounded like her shoe could be heard from the tape and a nervous and shaking sigh. "And I could see a man with red irises with them and he looked me dead in the eyes and he seemed to mouth your next or something." (End of Tape 1)

(Tape 2) "How about we run a rorschach test.Do you know how they work?" "Yeah,you show me a ink blob and I say whatever it is and then you will probably call me crazy and then send me away." She stood up pacing the floor. "No,I won't,may we just run through the test…please." Desmond sounded concerned.(End of Tape 2)

(Tape 3) "Ok first one,what comes to mind?" "Umm a man yelling at a kid" Desmond nods and shows another. "A group of people laughing at someone." Zoe sounded like she was on the verge of tears."Deep breaths,only a few more." She nods.He shows her the next one and oddly it looked like one he showed Allen only more detailed."A man being pulled into a bottomless pit." Desmond nods and shows the last one."It looks like there's stars in the back with a woman and tears falling from the eyes with a weird mouth and dripping jacket of some kind?It's making me feel nauseous and…..kinda umm…yeah." (End of Tape 3)

(Tape 4) "Interesting,well you got through it.I see you said something about men in black? Allen mentioned them too.And I don't know about the other one you said,but I believe I saw almost the same thing here or there." She clutched her knees to her chest crying"Is everything alright?" She ran out of the room and the tape clicked off.(End of Tape 4)

⚠️ Abuse,drinking,mentioning of death and other dark and heavy topics ⚠️

(Tape fragment 1st session 1/5)

"Oh hello you must be new to Milton Haven." "Y…yes I am." Desmond clicked his pen and scribbled down on a piece of fresh paper."What's your name,date of birth you know all that,I want to know all about new patients and how I can help them." "Oh ... .I'm ... .Zoe or Z I'm 18 I'm a March 25 born kid and kinda…well." "Go on, I'm listening,I'm here to help.Tell me about your past and why you came to Milton" (End of fragment tape 1)

(Tape Fragment 1st Session 2/5)

"Well I was raised with my parents, my mother worked with pharmaceutical prescriptions and my father is a truck driver…..and well It was a nice time till the seams came undone like a fragile doll." Desmond wrote down on the clipboard."And one night my mother passed and I called grandma and we held a funeral for her ... .and when my father came home he went right to the bar and came home badly drunk ...." Zoe sniffled.(End of Fragment Tape 2)

(Tape Fragment 1st Session 3/5)

"He had a broken bottle and he slashed my my arm…he left a good cut too,I was gonna called the ambulance,there was a lot of blood or so I thought I could see through my….m..my tears and well he dragged me to my room and he locked me in there." Desmond looked terrified and very worried."That must have been really hard,did you get help?" "Yeah…..but I had to wait till he left again….." She sobbed and sniffled "When my mother was alive he was happy and now ... .its gone!? All gone…" (End of Fragment Tape 3)

(Tape Fragment 1st session ⅘)

"He would go through this never ending cycle and I'd sleep with the lights on in fear of him sitting in the dark,and then I started not sleeping and then I seen movement of something not there and my grandparents took me to the doctors like twice and well said I was fine just bad case of sleep insomnia and deprived and depression they said.And then they would take me home and he would be there…..ANGRY." She scooted herself back in the chair sobbing,burring her head into her knees."It must have been very terrible living there wasn't it." She nodded "And he would yell at me saying it's my fault my mother's dead,I couldn't do anything if it was a heartattack and a stroke at once what do you want me to do!? I was only 10 when it happened and he was out busy taking loads out in the middle of God knows where!?" She sounded stressed and panicked.(End of Fragment Tape 4)

(Tape Fragment 1st Session 5/5)

"So who brought you to Milton? If I may ask?" She huffed and sniffled."I did it myself!I was done with my fathers shit…of his yelling and screaming mad drunk at me for something I couldn't really do much about….." "How did you get here?" "Few days ago I packed my things,took some money from my little plastic vault I had owned and some from my dad's wallet,bought a bus ticket and I arrived here.I was done with his shit…." "Are you staying with anybody? Or in a safe place to rest?" She nodded "Yeah with the local lighthouse keeper in a spare room he cleaned up for me and said I can stay….I said I can help and get a job at the shopping place that opened up ... .and maybe learn a thing or to at his job at night." "Oh Mr Shore,and Homa Mart if I'm not mistaken.I see your in a rough patch right now,maybe after a few more sessions we can work things out slowly.I promise I'll do everything that I can to help you.Alright." "I hope you can,I really hope you can." (End of Fragment Tape 5)

(Ending Tape Night of Accident)

(Tape 1) "You've reached the office of Dr.Desmond Wales please leave a message after the tone [Beep] "Desmond….Desmond!? Damn it,something bad is happening I can feel it,Allen went to his house to try and rest an I see them,the men in black!?Allen is in one of the rooms I can see a lantern on down there." She struggled to talk with her panicked tone in her voice (End of Tape 1)

(Tape 2) "They are close,those men in black and I see….Him…Max Nygaard,I have a afternoon sitting job and I know his kid Maddison Nygaard and Virginia's brother Freddy Ruhl….no time for that they have cameras and they have something in the back of their truck?" She was heavily breathing….panicking.(End of Tape 2)

(Tape 3) "The guy with the red eyes I thought I saw too!?" She he took a sharp deep breath."Allen and I saw a list for a shipment that wasn't scheduled and then the lights at the lighthouse just stopped.He went to go check and I tried to p…po…power back on the lighthouse ... .Wait, something is happening……" A loud explosion could be heard and the line went quiet. (End of Tape 3)

(Tape 4) a gasp and hyperventilating could be heard and the name "Allen" could be heard as the line went dead from the blackout.Desmond looked down at the last recording that was near the dark midnight sky like sea that had glowing stars in the water that was mesmerizing.He could feel and picture her fear and sadness that night and he began to cry kneeling at the last tape recording by the sparkling door.He felt his heart was torn out like he failed her,like he could feel the pain she felt.After about a hour he got up and left through the door.(End Of Tape)

Her file and what seemed to be two tarrot cards and her kitsune plush were near her files on the file cabinet. Instead of the shelf, one was the sun tarrot with Allen's Shade form on it, and the other was the Moon tarrot with Sorrow her shadow form on the card and the kitune plushie was her weighted therapeutic plush.He doesn't know if she's safe or not but he's hopes she's alright and safe.

[postgamecontent]

Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the Week Ending November 23rd, 2024

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the week ending November 23rd, 2024. A pretty rough week this time around, but I suppose that's to be expected as we make our way into the last weeks of the year. Still, there are a few reasonably well-known games in the lot, and a few interesting oddballs. Let's check out this week in the world of Switch!

Featured New Releases

Stray ($29.99)

Annapurna's stylish tale of a stray cat exploring a very unusual city makes its way to the Switch with a clear but acceptable visual downgrade. This game got quite a lot of attention on other platforms, and if you haven't had the chance to check it out elsewhere yet, you could certainly do that here. Be the cat. Knock stuff off high shelves. Cat stuff.

MySims: Cozy Bundle ($39.99)

I've been saying for years that EA should bring The Sims to the Switch, and… well, close enough. The MySims games were hybrids of The Sims and Animal Crossing aimed at the Nintendo audience. There are two here: MySims and MySims Kingdom, both ports of the Wii versions. These games certainly had their fans back in the day, and I'm sure they'll pick up some new fans here.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure ($49.99)

Here's the latest in the Life is Strange series, this time bringing back Max from the original game. Her friend has been murdered, and Max attempts to use the powers of time reversal to fix things. She instead ends up shifting into a parallel universe where her friend is alive, but still at risk. You'll have to jump between realities to try to set things right for everyone. Opinions have run the gamut on this one, so it's really hard to say how well you'll like it.

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit ($6.99)

A person might be inclined to ask why such a nice-looking Inti-Creates game would debut at such a low price. Well, hypothetical person, I'll be the one to satisfy your curiosity. Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is a pretty solid combination of top-down action and first-person mech battles. But it is quite short, and I suspect most will finish it in an evening. Is that bad? Well, I suppose it depends what you're after. But that's probably why it's so affordable.

G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra ($24.99)

After the success of Shredder's Revenge, pretty much every 1980s pop culture IP that could be made into a cartoony beat 'em up has been pulled out of its grave and put into service. Here's G.I. Joe's take on the idea, and all things considered this isn't the biggest stretch for the property. Choose from several Joes and battle the evil forces of Cobra to thwart their plot to steal the world's landmarks. Yes, even that part was borrowed from TMNT. This isn't a terribly good example of the genre, but it isn't awful either. It's not like G.I. Joe fans are feasting on video games these days, so it might be good enough.

Touhou Spell Carnival ($49.99)

Most of the Touhou games tend to mash up bullet hell with some other genre, and that's the case here as well. This time, it's a bullet hell strategy RPG. Alright. The familiar characters are here, and fans will likely enjoy what it has to offer. As Touhou Project games go, it's not bad. Certainly unique, if nothing else.

Zero to Dance Hero ($49.99)

This is a fitness dancing game from the folks at Imagineer, who also developed the Fitness Boxing games. I'm sure it's as well-made as it could be, but I can't imagine any world where someone picks this over the similar Just Dance given that the latter has tons of recognizable tunes and this has nothing of the sort. Still, it's here if you want it.

Shinjuku Soumei ($29.99)

A visual novel set in the slum of Kabukicho, it follows the life of a man who is immortal and unable to leave Shinjuku. An intriguing premise, but I'd caution against picking this game up. The localization is absolutely dreadful, and I would not be even remotely surprised to find out it was a machine translation. I feel if you're charging this much for your visual novel, you can at least get a decent English script in there. Oh well.

Sanya ($14.99)

A little narrative adventure game set in a town in 1990s post-Soviet Russia. You play as a kid and are just hanging out enjoying your summer. Help people out, run around on fetch quests, and take care of a dog. It has a chill vibe to it, but for some reason decides to be a bad platformer at a certain point in the game. I could imagine some people getting a lot out of it, though.

Kuukiyomi 4: Consider It ($7.99)

The fourth in this wacky series about trying to find common sense in nonsensical situations really just offers up another plate of the same. You get one hundred new tests of your ability to consider others, each of which amounts to a micro-game where you have to manipulate whatever the red object or person is and find the right action. Kind of a variant on the Wario Ware idea. I've enjoyed this series so far, and I like this one too.

Spirit Mancer ($19.99)

This game combines action platforming with creature collecting and some light deckbuilding stuff. It's fine. Not something you'll run around telling everyone about after playing it, but you likely won't have a terrible time with it. Some solid background music, I suppose. Not much more I can say about it.

Super Bunny Man ($14.99)

Sure, why not a co-op physics platformer about weird guys in bunny suits? Fifty levels. A party mode. It's a thing you can play. It's stupid, it's funny, and it's definitely best enjoyed with friends so that you can mess with each other along the way. If you're in the right mood, you'll really have a good time with this nonsense.

Arcade Archives Final Blow ($7.99)

This week's Arcade Archives pick is Taito's 1989 boxing game that is probably best known for its Genesis port under the name Buster Douglas Knock-Out Boxing. It's more spectacle than anything else, and that spectacle is understandably less spectacular in the present day. It's certainly a change of pace within the Arcade Archives line, but just be warned that it's not and never has been anywhere near as good as Punch-Out.

EGGCONSOLE Guardic MSX ($6.49)

Ah, another EGGCONSOLE release that you can actually play without knowing Japanese. These are fairly uncommon. This is a single-screen shooter from Compile that has a slightly puzzle-ish component to its mechanics. If you remember The Guardian Legend on the NES, that was an in-name-only successor to this game. They aren't similar games at all, but that's fun trivia. Bust it out at parties to be the coolest person in the room.

Super Rolling Heroes Deluxe ($10.99)

You know, it's one of those games where you're rolling a ball through various courses. You've got sixty to get through here. You can customize your little ball hero's look if you want. And you might as well. Adds a little needed texture to the whole thing. I've played better games like this, but I know some folks out there can't get enough of them. Maybe that's you?

Arida: Backland's Awakening ($10.99)

This is a survival game set in the 19th century in the backlands of Brazil, which is a rather cool setting for this kind of thing. Gather your equipment, look for resources, craft things, and follow the story. It's relatively short, and you probably shouldn't expect too much depth from the survival mechanics. This has been out for a while on other platforms, and the general response has been lukewarm. But you know, not cold. So that's something. Do what you will with it.

Servonauts ($14.99)

We don't get as many Overcooked take-offs as we used to, so it's nice to see one pop up. In this couch co-op game, you're running a gas station. It's not a normal gas station, because you actually have to make the requested gas. Which, you know, makes it work out a lot like Overcooked. Something to play with the friends or family on a gaming night, at least.

Loco Motive ($17.99)

This is a comedic point-and-click style adventure game where you have to solve a murder mystery on board a steam train. There are three playable characters, and you'll have to swap between them to do what needs to be done. There are lots of strange characters to meet, and plenty of puzzles to solve. If you like this genre, you'll probably have a great time with this excellent game. Very well done.

Eraser VS Ruler ($7.00)

Truly a battle for the ages. This is another SAT-BOX joint, but you can only play solo offline. Online, you can engage in battles between four players. That might be a bit more interesting. I don't know, I bounced off this publisher's games ages ago. I suppose I could see a kid having fun with the building aspect, at least.

Bridges & Docks ($4.99)

A chill game about building islands and decorating them. You'll be given goals to complete, and as you do you'll unlock more parts you can use on your island. I know, bridges and docks seem like a lot to ask for at five dollars. But it's true, both are here.

Time Walker: Dark World ($6.99)

A fairly straightforward auto-battler roguelite, one that reminds me a bit of Battleheart. Remember Battleheart? There was that Guardians of the Galaxy game that just slapped a skin on Battleheart that was only around for a few months, too. Anyway, this isn't as good as Battleheart. But it's not bad on the whole. There's a demo so you can give it a shot and see for yourself how much you like it.

Idle Devils ($11.99)

If you're up for an idle game, here's one of those. A bit lewd, so make your own call on that. I know I'm saying this a lot today, but this is neither particularly good nor particularly bad. Surely there are better things to spend your money and time on than something that gets only a shrug from the ol' Shaunster? Well, do as you will.

Ichima-san ($10.99)

This is… pretty nifty. You've been transformed into a traditional Japanese doll and need to explore the house to try to find a way to turn back. You need to be careful around humans, because they will freak out if they see you. A little stealth, a few supernatural tricks, and a lot of wandering around checking things out. There's a whiff of Chibi Robo to this, albeit through a very different lens.

Samuza ($9.99)

Some kind of weird platformer. You can play with another person in a split-screen mode. It has weird physics and likes to throw out obstacles that could have been pulled from that TV show Wipeout. Not the awesome Psygnosis game Wipeout. Rail guns and platforming are rare bedfellows.

That's all for this week, friends. We'll be back next Saturday with another Round-Up as we finish out November. We might see a few more decent games next week, but most of the heavy ammo has been spent for this year. As ever, I will plug both my Patreon (where you can find lots of cool exclusive articles) and my Ko-Fi (tips help me run this blog). There, plugged. I hope you have a super Saturday, and as always, thanks for reading!

[cdroloisms]

hello hello!

not to add onto an old post, but i thought i'd add a few thoughts into this bc guard dog has evolved quite a lot since its earliest iteration and it's kind of funny, looking back--but at the same time, for something so ubiquitous in the fandom in the current day, a lot of its origins have obviously become quite murky judging by this post xD so, might as well supply a little bit of context?

to clarify: Guard Dog AU kind of spread itself around c!Dream apologist spaces in mid-2021 and beyond, but its initial origins come from a c!Dream centric group chat on twitter (🟩⛏️, iykyk) and a conversation between myself (hai o/) and @stabbysideblog in spring 2021. I deeeefinitely can't pull up the original chat (unless I feel like scrolling up in a twitter group chat for the next three days straight LOL), but a little digging meant I could find the first time Sunny mentioned the AU on his twitter account on April 4th, 2021. For context, this would've been 19 days into c!Quackity's beginning to torture c!Dream, over a week before LN2 was streamed on Quackity's channel, and almost a month before Wilbur's revival. Safe to say, meta about c!Dream, the prison arc, and the future of the server looked very different at that time.

of course, the AU spread quite a bit from that initial "bouncing ideas off the wall for fun" conversation, and a lot of the details evolved in fandom spaces quite far removed from my and sunny's personal input, haha. (which, for the record, was really cool to me! I never did much personal writing for GD AU, even though I was one of its cocreators, but watching the way it evolved in c!Dream apologist spaces beyond that initial conversation was awesome.) so, obviously, i'm not going to sit here and claim total final say on Every Detail on Every Version of an AU that was written and rewritten by sooo many people in this fandom. that being said, I think I can answer some of the logistical questions with the context of the AU's creation and some details about the version of the AU in its earliest iteration, haha.

Onto the logistical considerations as outlined by swordfright! (very good considerations all around, xD, and definitely things that would've been considered more heavily and fleshed out more if the AU was written later + more fully developed before it entered the public consciousness) --

Sam would never let Dream out, even on parole. This is true--and I think any level of writing this AU now would have to consider a LOT of samity Rituals (tm) around c!Dream. That being said, it's interesting because in the earliest version of the AU, c!Dream is never "borrowed" as much as moved to a new prison. A lot of the AU surrounded the idea of abusing the revive book as a means of control, and without the consideration of the possibility of the revive book holder being able to revive himself (and without the knowledge of the depth of c!Sam's obsession with c!Dream, alive), Limbo-as-a-prison was utilized. Very heavily. The only prison more inescapable than Pandora's Vault was death itself, and Sam and Quackity now had access to that key. A lot of the answers to c!Sam characterization came quite a bit later into the arc, tbh--at the time, I don't think there was much specific reason to assume that c!Sam would be so invested in keeping c!Dream alive; after all, the last time we had seen him do anything, it was let Quackity in to torture c!Dream into giving up the book. His interests in preserving the book, at the time, seemed more pragmatic than personal. All of that being said, in the earliest version of GD AU, c!Sam was c!Dream's primary handler--not c!Quackity. To summarize--c!Dream can be "securely contained" through Limbo as well as other additional security measures, c!Sam prefers him under control to completely gone, and c!Quackity has the choice between putting this time in his life to rest and reveling in his success at making the most powerful man of the server his bitch. He chooses the latter.

What is Dream actually capable of contributing to LN? In other words, would initiating Guard Dog actually pay off for Quackity in tangible ways? Honestly, the biggest payoff, even at the time, was about c!Quackity's ... complexes, about power. Having control over Dream is a sort of high, isn't it? The other main aspect of this question has a lot to do with Las Nevadas--and more specifically, the expectations that the fandom had around Las Nevadas. When c!Quackity described wanting to make a bustling Vegas to serve as the center of the server's activities, at the time, a lot of people were pretty excited for Las Nevadas to become something...quite different than its ending. Even though the server population limited it from ever feeling like a true urban center of the server, the concept of it being closer to c!Quackity's original aspirations was something that I think quite a lot of people were hoping for, and writing it as. c!Dream was therefore conceptualized as a sort of executioner's axe, for those who crossed c!Quackity or couldn't pay off their debts. There was a little bit of finagling with the idea of messing with the revive book to take people's lives for yourself, as well--a bit of additional insurance that would've appealed quite a bit to c! "keeps getting fucked over in his power grabs and revenge plans and can't PVP for his life" Quackity. Mostly, though, it's a power play. c!Dream, as a character, is a sort of status symbol and has been for a long time--fear, power, etc.

What threat is Dream even guarding LN from? Tbh, it wasn't ever really about guarding c!Quackity from any particular threat as much as it was about using him as an, uh, asset he casually tried to take over the world the server with his beautiful insane villain plot that he made with c!Sam in that one stream. It wasn't really meant to antagonize c!Techno--though in all fairness, the guy reeeeeeally went for c!Techno again in the prison arc even though it went HORRIBLY for him in NLM, wonderful decisions all around, c!Quackity--but etc etc power as a zero sum game and c!Q is trying to amass as much of it as he can. There's probably something to be said about the influence of that scene in LN1 where c!Quackity talks about having c!Schlatt work for him in the casino as well, in that there was already a concept in canon of c!Quackity utilizing dead enemies to his benefit--though obviously he tells Glatt that he'll never revive him. Anyway. Probably attributed more thinking ahead than is reasonable to this guy (lol) but the concept of c!Quackity being more of an antagonistic force than he ended up being to the rest of the server as LN never really became as much of a conflict-begetting entity as a place like, L'manburg, meant that c!Dream-as-guard seemed way more reasonable earlier on into the LN arc than later.

Dream's presence in LN would change the faction's dynamic and Quackity is sooo poorly equipped to navigate that. For sure!! Hence c!Dream being...well, a sort of secret. When we made the AU, c!Dream was actually kept dead until he was needed to Fucking Terrify Someone or whatever, and most of the time he spent when not dead or Being Tortured in c!Quackity's secret murder basement was spent with c!Sam trying the good cop act, which is probably the biggest ooc crime in this AU thus far (joking, joking). That allows c!Quackity to spend a vast majority of his time cosplaying as benevolent dictator (sorry LOL) of peak success country on the server. Of course, there's also an aspect of this where c!Quackity is a little more comfortable with being openly ... fucked up, I think, than is usually seen from him at that time on the server, but at the same time this is mister "decided on butcher outfits to execute Technoblade" and "ate his exhusband's heart at his funeral in front of everyone" and "open and obvious glee at humiliating c!Dream on the wall and having total control over him before Spirit speech" and [coughs in that one scene from the mexican lmanburg negotiations] and "makes tongue in cheek references to the torture for no good reason" etcetera. Point is, I don't think it's pushing it that far for him to weigh the cost/benefit power/fear balances and come out the other side concluding that hey, showing off the power he has by killing and reviving Universally Hated Guy Who Deserves Everything He Got Because He's The Fucking Worst is going a little too far. Mostly on account of the "eating his exhusband's heart in front of everyone" thing, because wtf man.

The revive book complicates all of this. Yeagh. It's a situation, I think, where it's like ... the AU began from a hypothetical surrounding c!Dream's giving up the book. Of course, his giving up the book in itself never would've worked out for him, which is why it never happened, lmao, but this was early into the torture and the foremost question on most of our minds was 1) would c!Dream give up the book and 2) what would happen if he did. Obviously, the fact that he's giving up the book at all isn't exactly "realistic" and the AU's whole premise kind of emphasizes that, because giving up the book is part of what gives Quackity and Sam the ability to control and torture him, but well--the point of the AU was to explore this hypothetical, so a level of contrivance is a little inescapable :P . It's true that c!Dream giving up is something that would never go well for him and the whole point of the AU is how bad it could go for him if he gave up...but that doesn't stop the AU from starting from a perspective of "what if he gave up?" which I think is especially understandable considering the context of the timeline when this AU was created.

ANYWAY. It's safe to say that if I were to write a Guard Dog inspired AU now, with way more context on Las Nevadas, way more context on the natures of all three of our main players (my understanding of c!Dream was quite different in spring 2021, LMAO, never mind the other two), etc, it would look quite a lot different from this! (There'd be a lot more awesamdreamity, for one XD) -- a lot more c!Sam and c!Quackity rituals, a lot more finagling with the revive book in particular, a lot more emphasis on c!Dream's attempts at survival + escape and judgement calls, good and bad, in the prison and out of it. I still like the idea of playing with the idea of Las Nevadas in the vision that it was first outlined as, but obviously a more canon compliant version of LN would involve a lot of the logistical concerns outlined by swordfright. It's a fun thought exercise, even though I don't see myself revisiting this AU with a more current understanding of the Dream SMP any time soon. And of course, seeing how much this AU evolved in this fandom was in itself really, really fun. Hope this helps :D

what are your logistical questions about the guard dog au?

Ohhhh boyyy. Well. First of all I'm sorry it took me like a month to answer this, I got busy.

I wanna start by saying I wasn't around when Guard Dog AU was created, it was before my time (just barely) but I have read dozens of fics with this premise so bear in mind that I thiiiink I have a pretty solid understanding of how GD is supposed to work?? But I could be wrong about some details, in which case please feel free to correct me! Also, I wouldn't normally poke holes in someone's AU because at the end of the day, AUs are supposed to be fun fantasy what-if scenarios and not airtight canon-compliant thought experiments. The only reason I feel comfortable doing it with Guard Dog is because, from what I can tell, this AU wasn't created by any one specific person, it just sort of manifested on twitter in like 2021 and now there are literally hundreds of pieces of fan content about it. What I'm saying is, Guard Dog is The People's AU and that's the only reason I don't feel weird answering this ask.

Yeah, so. My logistical questions are as follows:

What's Sam's motivation for letting Q borrow Dream?

When in the timeline is this taking place? (because that affects EVERYTHING)

What threat is Dream purportedly guarding Las Nevadas from?

How does Dream's presence change the preexisting dynamic in Las Nevadas?

What is Quackity actually getting out of this?

Who does or doesn't have the revive book at this point?

I'll try to address these as neatly as I can. So, my understanding of the premise: Quackity somehow gets Sam to agree to let Dream out of the prison so he can live out the remainder (or some unspecified portion?) of his life sentence acting as security for LN. In some variants it seems like this is happening after Dream gives up the revive book, but in other variants that's not the case or it's left unclear. There are a couple points at which this feels implausible/OOC, namely:

1.) Sam would never let Dream out, even on parole. He does not want Dream under anyone else's watch. He wants Dream in Pandora at all costs. You cannot convince me he would just let someone borrow the prisoner for a bit, for any reason - especially not Quackity, who imo Sam probably sees as a greater threat to his authority as warden than almost anyone. Think about it: aside from Sam, Q has probably had the most consistent contact with the prisoner during his incarceration; Q's violence and general temperament mean that Sam likely knows Q killing Dream is a possibility, and that without the warden's supervision this could very well happen. Sam obviously isn't concerned for Dream's wellbeing, but he does want his prisoner alive because otherwise he's not a prisoner and Sam's not a warden. So yeah. "Just me and him" line etc etc. Dream ain't never gettin' outta there if Sam has anything to say about it.

2.) What is Dream actually capable of contributing to LN? In other words, would initiating Guard Dog actually pay off for Quackity in tangible ways? It depends on where in the timeline we are. If this is happening post-torture era or even mid-torture era, Dream is likely physically incapable of performing the feats of combat he was capable of prior to prison. Hell, even if Guard Dog era is happening instead of the torture era, Dream has still been in prison for a while and is probably already experiencing the disabling effects of prolonged malnutrition and neglect. So if Dream is known for PVP and his PVP skills took a severe blow recently, then what use is he as a security guard? Which brings us to the next question...

3.) What threat is Dream even guarding LN from? Quackity's foremost enemy is Technoblade, who has largely peace'd-out between Doomsday and Jailbreak. Q is evidently not eager to reignite a direct conflict with Techno because he got his ass handed to him last time. Also, he's aware that Techno and Dream are allies, so why would he put Dream in a place that's easier to rescue Dream from than Pandora? You could argue that maybe by publicly turning Dream into a glorified slave laborer Q is indirectly flaunting his power (the power of ownership) in Techno's face, but I don't see this as terribly likely given that (based on some of the visitation dialogue) Q misunderstands the nature of Dream and Techno's relationship. Critically, he doesn't seem to realize that they are comrades in addition to allies. And I think flaunting ownership of Dream would only make sense if you thought you were really hurting Techno in the process - Quackity just doesn't seem to have picked up on the fact that this is even a possibility. Based on all this, the enemy Dream is supposed to be fending off probably isn't Techno, so who is it? Las Nevadas is pretty much a neutral state. Q has people he doesn't like, but his list of Actual Real Enemies is surprisingly short. The population of the server is also comically small, so like...intruders? What intruders??? It's not as if Q really has to worry about strangers breaking in and robbing him or something, which is usually what guard dogs are for. My current answer to this question is that the threat would have to be the Egg. Possession by the Egg can turn people you know into strangers, and the entity that is the Egg can travel/infiltrate new spaces by way of the vines. Also, this conveniently answers the sub-question of "what threat can Dream defend LN against that the actual members of LN couldn't?" If you suddenly have to worry about contamination, it makes sense that you would send someone disposable to deal with the contaminant - not your own friends or employees. Speaking of which...

4.) Dream's presence in LN would change the faction's dynamic and Quackity is sooo poorly equipped to navigate that. Quackity's whole shtick is that he's charismatic because he can't be strong. He's volatile, conniving, violent, insecure, hedonistic, profit-motivated and has poor impulse control, but he's also able to project confidence and affability in ways that have been advantageous to him. There are two sides to Quackity and he seemingly likes to keep them separate. If Guard Dog is happening after the torture arc, then Quackity is used to showing the worst aspects of his personality only around Dream. In Pandora, he's a torturer; in Las Nevadas, he's a leader. So what happens when those two places effectively become the same place? If LN is Dream's new prison, how is Quackity supposed to act there? Sure, he's not particularly kind and caring when dealing with his staff (most of them were recruited via intimidation, after all) but they've never seen the side of him that Dream has seen. How is he supposed to maintain that authority over Dream while continuing to be the version of himself that Fundy and Purple and Foolish and co. know? Quackity talks a big game about (and makes gestures toward) not caring that people know about the torture, but he obviously does have reservations about it. When Wilbur asks him about visiting, he dodges around the question. When he discourages Foolish from breaking in, he's weird and cagey about it even though he knows he needs to come clean. When Tommy confronts him about the torture directly, he says "Don't ever say that, not even as a joke." He's defensive. This is another one of Q's hilarious contradictions: he wants to enjoy the benefits of being known as a dangerous person without the downsides of people being actually scared of him or finding him repulsive. He wants to have his cake and eat it too, and Dream's presence in Las Nevadas puts that impulse in jeopardy. There's a big difference between people suspecting you may have done some torture vs people actually witnessing that torture firsthand, or even seeing its aftereffects. Not to mention, there are now other people for Dream to interact with besides Sam, Q, and the prison guards! That changes things, even if Dream isn't allowed to speak to them directly. In Pandora, Bad and Ant had one job, which was to keep the prison running and keep Dream inside it - that's not the case with the LN crew. These people have shit to do! Foolish is building Quackity a replica of the Eiffel Tower, he doesn't have the time or interest to be a prison guard. I could go on but you get my drift. Things would get so weird so fast.

5.) The revive book complicates all of this. If Dream actually did give up the book and Sam understood how to use it, I could be convinced that maybe he would let Quackity borrow Dream for a bit - because hey, if he kills Dream then Sam can just revive him! However, I don't feel confident saying that Q wouldn't just kill Dream immediately after getting the book. We know Q enjoys torturing Dream, but we also know that he seemingly gets bored of it after a while. We also know he has at least some level of concern for propriety/his own rep, so he does have plausible reasons to just straight-up kill him after getting the book. Like, he got what he wanted (necromancy knowledge + a fun 3 months of recreational activity) and if he kills Dream then that's one less person to potentially spread word of Q's uhhhh proclivities around the server - which, again, he paradoxically does seem to care about. Even if Q's plan was to relocate Dream to LN to better access to his fave chew toy and never intended to kill Dream, would Sam believe that?? Q can't directly go against the warden's orders when he's visiting Pandora because that would be stupid and dangerous, but in Las Nevadas? Hm. I think Sam may see Guard Dog as an attempt on Q's part to move the prisoner to a location fully under Q's control so that he can kill Dream without risking retaliation from the warden. Basically, I think this au only has a chance to work in a scenario where Dream has given up the revive book to Sam, but not to Quackity. Because otherwise, Sam just wouldn't let him go. Quackity does want the revive book, but moreso he enjoys torturing Dream, so I do find it semi-plausible that Q would initiate Guard Dog even if he didn't have the book yet.

Ummmm so yeah! These are my questions and thoughts about Guard Dog! i think it's a really fun AU with a lot of potential, but there are kinks in the premise (pun intended) that I find it difficult to wrap my head around. anyway please talk to me about this because I think about it all the time and I wanna hear some other folks' takes too.

[yellowspiralbound]

Okay so for a while after The Lightning Thief musical release I really wanted them to keep making musicals (now I'm glad they didn't) but to this day I want songs based in HoO. Here are my favorite ideas, some with more thought than others:

A Nico reprise of Good Kid sung to Percy where the premise is basically "Hey remember how no one ever wanted you and how if anyone should have understood me it should have been you but instead you pushed me away and dismissed me as a bad kid?" It could be during when he told Percy he had a crush on him too - one of the lines could be something about someone you loved from afar seeing you as just another enemy when you're just a "good kid with a bad run."

A duet between the crew of the Argo II and Nico in the jar would be phenomenal - Nico starts, begging someone to save him and he slowly gets drowned out by the crew wanting to abandon him. Hazel has a cadence part that calls for saving him and she could do like an operatic high note to get them to shut up and listen to her. Just,,, the possibilities for an absolutely heartwrenching song in that scene are basically endless

Hazel could have a song while she dies. It ends in not-quite-silence. Like, horror movie silence where they use a high pitch or a tune specifically designed to inspire fear. There'd be a reprise when she comes back to life but it still ends the same way because she just went from one war to another.

A song that Sammy sings to Hazel about "undying [insert word here: love, devotion, etc.]" that Leo has a reprise of later.

Frank has a song about the Stick called St(ick)yx or something where he compares the Stick to Achilles' heel because it both keeps him alive and is his greatest weakness.

Idk what it would be about but there would definitely be a song called Panda Pillow Pet. Possibly with some sort of chorus like "I don't know who I am but I'll be okay as long as I've got my panda pillow pet"/"It's just me and you, my panda pillow pet"

Leo has a song as he flies Gaia into the explosion. It starts with him talking about how he's burned everything he's loved to the ground. Gaia reveals his mother's death was her doing (I know its not book accurate timing wise but ✨️drama✨️) The song ends with a verse along the lines of "Do I even want this cure to work?" followed by a bang a la Dead Girl Walking Reprise from Heathers. Perhaps even a line about how he's "had two lives already; do I even deserve a third?"

Thalia and Jason have a duet - think The Mother We Share by CVURCHES

A HERA & ANNABETH DUET

A percabeth duet that starts in Arachne's web and ends in hell

Hypothetically, there would have already been a song about Zoe's death in a previous musical and Bob would have a reprise of it ending in "tell the stars I say hello" this is immediately followed by a poorly recorded version of Escape by Rupert Holmes. Not the full thing, but just that and nothing else as the elevator rises.

A Last Day of Summer reprise following the final battle - Dionysus gets Percy's name right this time. He sounds exhausted - borderline sorrowful, not angry.

A duet between Reyna and her father's ghost

I want a solangelo song because I love them. I'm thinking Will has a few lines in a song during the Battle of New York and there's some kind of call back. "I've lost more lives than I've saved - don't make yourself the first blood shed today" Nico has no idea how to react to being cared about and his verses reflect this. [spoken not sung, interrupting Will's verse about keeping Nico alive] "why do you care?" "...why wouldn't I?" "You need a soldier ready for action. Right. Stupid question." "No!"

You can probably tell I'm bad at comedy lol. Anyway feel free to share your song ideas because I LOVE THEM.