#making my mind rely on past aus to think of when I'm out of new ones ig

[11queensupreme11]

Okkk I saw the new ask and what if-what if both Percy and the said yandere got isekaied to the past?

Or what if yanderes got isekaied to when they first met Percy how would they react?

I just know Poseidon's reaction will shock the hell out of everyone 😂

if the yans got isekai-ed to when they first meet percy:

LOKI WOULD BE HORRIBLE LMAO CUZ WHO'S THE FIRST PERSON PERCY MEETS?? (aside from the angels who were guarding the bifrost) LOKI 😭😭😭😭

loki is absolutely gonna snatch her away before ANYONE finds out about her existence and he's gonna make sure to kill any witnesses (the angels who saw her). he fucked things up by trying to kill her in the og timeline, so now he's gonna pretend to be a nice, helpful friend. "oh no ur lost and you don't know how to get home? 🥺 poor thing, here i'll hide you in the palace while i try to find a way to get you back home" but obviously he doesn't do that, so he just keeps her hidden and more importantly, isolated with only him for company. HOWEVER, he's not gonna keep her in the basement forever ofc, his biggest advantage is his cloak that hides her presence so he can totally take her out on dates with the cloak on her so she won't ever go stir-crazy

POSEIDON'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE LOWKEY RELIEVED 😭😭 we all know how shitty he was in the beginning, well now he sees this as the perfect chance restart and avoid all his mistakes so he's gonna be EXTREMELY intense at the first meeting, which only makes percy freak out more cuz at least in the og timeline, it was gradual and she was able to slowly love him, but in here??? nah, she's just weirded out 24/7 😭 everyone else is gonna be just as freaked out as her because WHYYYY on earth is poseidon acting SOFT???? and POSSESSIVE??? PROTECTIVE?????? over this random girl that just got shoved into his care??? surely he can't be THIS eager for fatherhood, right???? oh and he almost IMMEDIATELY marries her much to percy's horror, he's not risking another hades situation (also, poor man's confused as to why his baby brother suddenly hates him LMAO 😭😭😭) he also NEVER lets her out of his sight this time. his baby kept getting kidnapped 24/7 so he practically latches onto her like a clingy, paranoid cat 😭😭 percy needs to pee? he's right out the door. she needs to be educated on how things work? he's plopping her right on his lap while proteus drones on about lessons. he's never making the mistake of letting her out of his sight.

hades is gonna be soooo sly and sneaky. he's gonna take it slow and act completely normal and basically let things go on with the flow.... UNTIL THE FATEFUL DAY WHERE PERCY GETS LOST IN VALHALLA WHICH LEADS TO POSEIDON BEING PISSED. and then you know, she runs away. hades lets this all happen because he knows that sometime afterwards, after a meeting with beelzebub, she asks to go to adamas. well, after her session with beelzebub, he CONVENIENTLY shows up like "percy, are you okay? 🥺 i'm so worried about you, i know my brother can be a bit horrible at times, would you like to stay with me for the time being?" and bam, he snatches her up before she could even think of going to adamas and then the grooming begins 💀

you know how the cover-up is that beelzebub's trying to find ways to safely ascend her??? welp, in this au, he's gonna straight up ascend her the second she's handed over to him. HOWEVER!!!! not right away 😈 since their first meeting happens when poseidon still isn't fond of her, beelie's gonna take advantage of it and make a deal with poseidon "i'll find a way to safely ascend your daughter, but in exchange, i wish for her hand in marriage" and naturally, poseidon would (eventually) approve because why wouldn't he? he doesn't want a filthy half-breed for a child and beelzebub IS almost as perfect as him; he's powerful, looks down on humans and other gods, doesn't rely on anyone, etc. etc, he wouldn't mind having him as a son-in-law. so poseidon accepts the deal, percy is (forcefully) ascended, and with her father's approval, is eternally bound to beelzebub through marriage AND the contract her father signed

apollo WON'T try to kidnap percy this time lmao!!! he's gonna ascend to midgard and see her poking her out of the seas and be like "hi there 😍 whatcha dooooing???" and she's gonna be like "oh, hi, i was just looking for new york, but i think this is greece, so imma just go" and then he'll be like "oh i can take you to new york!!!!!!" and even tho he cant stand the filthy city, he happily takes her there (and since their first meeting happens BEFORE the beelcy date, that means apollo just unknowingly snatched beel's chance of taking her to new york LMAO). obviously, poseidon finds out, loses his shit, and tries to kill apollo but percy defends him, this time more fiercely because of how much she enjoyed spending time with him. anyway, this is SUPER good for him because this definitely gave her a better first impression of him compared to the og timeline 😂

anubis first meets percy during mimir's funeral and he takes advantage of percy's adoration for kids, so what does he do??? summon kebi after the funeral, gives her a handful of flowers and says "see that pretty girl over there strangling Loki? give her these flowers and call her pretty! 🥰" and obviously she does it and percy melts and because she's nice, assumes she's lost and helps her find her daddy. kebi purposely walks all over the place, using this time to lay out their babie charms to win percy over and then when some time passes, anubis comes running over like "omg 😱😱 kebi, there you are i've been looking everywhere 😱😱 oh wow, who's this pretty princess with you?? 🥰". he cemented a pretty damn good first impression cuz now she equates him to "good dad". and when they run into each other again in helheim, he tricks her into a marriage and THIS TIME, doesn't waste time in mating her to make her PERMANENTLY his 😍

(no cú chulainn here cuz he shows up in act 2 and i don't wanna spoil how they meet hehe sorry!)

now if they BOTH got isekai-ed into the past.... (assuming they all know the truth too and also they're both kids like in the previous ask):

12 year old poseidon is immediately gonna drag percy's ass to sea 💀 oh she wants to go to camp??? wants to see her mom??? HELL NO. he's not spending a second longer in that shithole of a country and he's going straight to atlantis to Fight God (his counterpart lmao) and for once percy actually has the brain cell in this duo and is trying to tell him how much of a TERRIBLE idea that is since he's literally fucking 12 💀 but then a monster attacks and now percy REALLY needs to get their asses to camp but poseidon keeps losing his shit every step of the way because everything is quite literally out to kill his baby 😭😭😭 knowing percy, she's probably gonna feel so bad and scared for her dad's sake that she goes "you should go on without me 😞 if i stick around with you, i'll only put you in danger 😞😞 here's the directions to camp--" but then he just throws her into the ocean before jumping in with her 💀

hades is trying to stay calm but it's kinda hard for him to do that when everything is a monster trying to kill his niece and he can hardly protect her because he's fucking twelve years old and a human 💀 he's trying to be calm and rational and all like "alright, how about we just go up to olympus and talk to this universe's zeus--" "he hates me." ".....okay, how about my counterpart---" "also kinda hates me." "poseidon???" "we can't interact or zeus'll kill me." "is there ANYONE we can go to for help that won't try to kill you?!?!?!" "mmmm not really, oh and also ur dad's alive here". he's done 💀

apollo is just clinging on to percy out of misery, fear, and desperation. he's been turned into a human AGAIN, and even though he has some bits of his power, it's kinda useless since he's TWELVE AND IN A FOREIGN UNIVERSE THAT KEEPS STRESSING HIM OUT. the worst part is that he keeps trying to fist fight every monster that tries to kill his beloved (reminder that ror!apollo is also known as the god of boxing!!!) but it's kinda useless since the monsters here can only die from an enchanted metal which none of them have yet cuz they haven't reached camp 😭😭

beelzebub is freaking out (which is no surprise whenever percy's involved). they haven't even been in this universe for ten minutes and they already have a horde of monsters after them AND the police AND the country apparently thinks percy's a terrorist mastermind while he's her... sidekick??? ok, he's a little offended by that, but he's also just baffled at how chaotic percy's life is 😭 he can barely get a break before another monster pops up!!! they've been trying to get to camp half-blood but they are TWELVE, with NO MONEY, and EVERYONE IS AFTER THEM. beelzebub is absolutely horrified at the state of her life, what do you mean this is normal for you??? to be constantly on the run and attacked and starving and SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA SLEEP ON THE STREETS?????????? he is only twelve years old and he's already balding, someone get this man back home he can NOT survive the demigod life as a human nor can he stand percy going through this 😭😭😭😭

with loki AND percy, you best believe they're gonna somehow become INTERNATIONALLY WANTED CRIMINALS within the first hour of being isekai-ed 😭😭 usually loki would be entertained, but he's twelve years old, not a god, and monsters are trying to kill the love of his life (who is also now twelve). percy is desperately trying to get this man to go on ahead without her for his own safety but he is NOT splitting up with his girl!!!!! he also doesn't want her to go to camp cuz that's where all the attention-hogging "inferiors" are and he doesn't want them trying to take percy away.... but the monsters won't stop and camp is the only safe haven for her, so he grits his teeth and goes with her because he doesn't want her dead.

anubis is excited!!!! sure he's not happy to lose his divinity and look like a 12 year old, but percy's 12 too and omgggg she just looks soooooo cute 🥺🥺🥺🥺 he wishes kebi were here so all three of them can just run around new york and have playdates everyday, but then reality HARSHLY smacks him in the face when the first monster attack happens and he can't protect percy as well as he'd like. now he's no longer smiling and he's been reduced to a paranoid mess while percy tries to comfort him and get to camp. she'll also suggest that maybe they split up because of how dangerous it'd be for him if he stuck with her but he gets flashbacks of that one time percy ditched him and loses his shit 💀

with cú chulainn, it wouldn't be that different from the previous asks, the only difference is that percy would be sassier and more annoying to him because she knows full well who is he is 😂 but anyway, unlike the gods, he has no issues protecting percy because his body's not that different, just de-aged, so he's not being weakened by mental breakdowns like the gods are from losing their divinity LMAO. anyway, he refuses to let her go to camp cuz he thinks the place is stupid anyway and why would you wanna go there and be sent to numerous quests and a war??? he knows she hates always having to fight, but he'll get pissed when he finds out its cuz she misses her loved ones. they get into an argument, break split up and percy heads to camp while he eventually goes after her to make sure she makes it there safely while also trying to find a way to get them back home

[elianaroselight]

So I have fallen into the CotL world and came across an awesome AU called the Heartstring AU by @bleeding-seraphic. I loved this post about Leshy meeting his soulmate (again) and had to write about it.

TW : talks of sacrificing another and mentions of genocide

How did he end up in this predicament? This was the thought running through Leshy's mind as he listened to the lamb that had somehow managed to make him mortal. “-welcome to your new forever home, you genocidal freak.” Ah. Still was quite the spitfire it seems. Even after all these years. “If you need anything, man up and deal with it on your own. Oh. And if you try anything, I'll break both your knees and sacrifice you to your brother. Bye now!” Well, that was quite the whiplash of a threat. 

Leshy listens to the sound of feet walking away, used to his dark world forcing him to rely on sound to orient and understand his surroundings. The worm sighs when the coast is clear, reaching down to scratch an itch on his pinky. ‘Damned beast.’ He thinks before being startled by the feeling of something on his finger. He feels it quietly. It was.. A thread? A string of some sort. Thin but strong. Almost like spider silk. It didn't seem to be touching the ground, meaning it was floating or tied to something else. Now he was curious. Where did this strange thread lead to?

He loosely holds it, following where the string directed him to go. A few times, he had to walk around a building or even past some plants. (He was especially careful around those.) As he walked, he could hear someone working in the dirt before standing up. He seemed to be nearing this person and planned to walk right on by, until he realized the string he was following wasn't going around them. It was leading him to them. He feels his hand touch theirs and feels a gaze upon his face. The gentle sparks and warmth he felt where they touched was oddly welcoming if confusing. 

They sat in silence for a moment before the other screamed, startling the god. Leshy flinched back, trying to figure out why they were yelling but before they could do anything, the sound of hurried footsteps caught his attention and he stepped back a bit more. “Okay. Okay. What is going on?” The lamb calls out to them. Before Leshy could speak, the other begins to yell at the lamb. “WHY IS THE GOD OF DARKWOOD HERE?!” He's been recognized? 

“You must have recognized him wrong, Mel. He is but a rescue from Darkwood.” They say as the lamb tried to calm the other. So Mel is the name of the one his string is tied to? Leshy quickly makes note of that information as he listens on. “My lamb, I think I'd recognize the god who tried to sacrifice me! And even if I didn't, our strings were the same the first time we met and-and they still are!” A sacrifice? There was only one sacrifice that had managed to get away from him. A silent yellow cat who had been set free after he was creeped out. So this ‘Mel’ was the yellow cat he set free? Huh. 

The annoying sheep pauses for a moment before speaking with a bit of an uncertain tone. “Are you sure your strings are attached?” “Yes! I've known since I saw it connect while I was at his altar to be sacrificed!” “I see. Well, he won't be able to harm anyone here so I'm giving him another chance. Why don't you take the rest of the day off, Mel. We can talk this over more when things settle down again.” 

Leshy hears the cat near him sigh. “Yeah okay.” They say before walking off. Leshy can feel the glare from the lamb on him, but ignores it to process this information. So this string was attached to Mel, a yellow cat he had set free a while back. The only thing left to answer was: what is this string and why is it attaching them? 

[tending-the-hearth]

I lost u again 😭 I'm sorry

I'm here to talk about ur 🐢angst au if it's ok🥺

1) I was genuinely happy to see u including the bay bois into ur fic. Not a lot of ppl like them which is a shame cuz I think theyre great(I'm biased lmao I love all iterations)And I honestly can't wait to see the bay fam interact with everyone else.(Honestly the 2012 bois desperately need elder siblings or like a stable adult figure in their lives cuz YIKES they keep losing everyone 😭)

2)U mentioned B4 in a hypothetical scenario that the other alternates would freak when they realized the 2012 bois were constantly fighting kraang daily. Do u think it would happen again when they realize the extent of like what they had to go thru? Like aside from the comics, 2003 and 2012 r like basically getting beaten up in every way possible 😭 (the creators literally were like hmm 🤔 how should we torture them today? And got paid for it😭 like have u SEEN the stuff they go thru? My bois :(( )

The 2012 bois stepped out of isolation and practically turned into soldiers as soon as they went topside. Splinter taught them how to fight so they could defend themselves but then they had to do more than just defend. So much more :((

How do u think the other would react if they ever find out about this info?-🫘

HI MY LOVE YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK ABOUT THE ANGST AU

the bay boys are actually one of my absolute favorite iterations of the turtles. i think their characterization is done so well, i love the relationships they have with each other + splinter + april, and their fight scenes are some of the most engaging!!

I think the 2012 boys would, at first, be a little unsure about totally having to rely on older versions of themselves, because the only older sibling figures they have are Xever and Chris, so having a new group that is totally prepared to take them under their wings and take care of them so they don't have to take care of themselves? It would be very, very odd for them. And yeah, they'd also be hesitant to trust them just due to the amount of abandonment issues they've all got, but I do think that once they get past all that, they're absolutely inseparable from them, especially Raph and Leo and their bayverse counterparts!

OHHHHH i have so many thoughts about the absolute horror the other groups feel once they realize just how much fighting the 2012 boys have had to do.

you're so right, they've been fighting for years nonstop. With the Bayverse boys, they fought Shredder twice, never encountered the Kraang, and really only had run-ins with the Foot. The MM Boys are new to everything, and they've only ever fought Super Fly and a few others. The Rise boys are kind of the only ones who come close to how much the 2012 boys have fought, but even they've only fought the Kraang once, and Shredder isn't as much of a threat to them as he is to the 2012 turtles.

I have an idea in my mind of Donnie showing the others a video of all the brothers from a few years prior, like just something they made maybe a little bit after they started going topside, and Mikey starts laughing and says "I forgot how different you used to sound, Leo!"

and the other 2012 boys also start laughing, so ofc Blue asks "what, did you go through puberty or something?"

and Leo just shakes his head and says "We fought the Shredder, and I basically went into a coma for a month before waking up, and my voice changed since there was a shit ton of damage to my throat"

there is just the LOUDEST silence after he says that, and the others immediately start to talk over each other, attempting to make it sound less awful, but just doing a terrible job.

Raph: "It's no big deal, I got my brain switched with a Kraang, and I've honestly lost count of how many times I've been poisoned during fights"

Mikey: "I got trapped on the Kraang's home planet for a few months! That really messed with my sense of time, though"

Donnie: "I got disintegrated."

but it does not help at all, and the 2012 boys suddenly find themselves in the middle of a giant group hug, with the Splinters all holding their boys close, and the bayvers boys secretly making plans to make sure their little bros don't ever get hurt again, meanwhile the MM and Rise boys are wondering if it's possible to send anyone who has ever hurt their big bros into a black void.

(also the Raphs comparing fights and injuries and Red talking about how his shell was cracked during the fight with the Kraang when he was protecting Blue, and they all ask Raph how his shell was cracked, and he tells them it happened when he was a toddler and a Kraang robot attacked his sensei and his brothers and he fell out of the carrier and had the cart land on his back and the others just have to try SO hard not to start crying and bundling Raph in as many blankets as possible)

[lilac-cat-draws]

youe flower shop au is so so so so cute pls tell me the little details youve figured out for it- like litterally info dump anything you want am just so curious thank you wow- also i have too many drawins to do rn but at some point could i make fanarts for your au? so so cuteeee

Oh I didn't expect to have an ask about this AU again, but thank you!

Even though I haven't been back in the fandom for a while, I'll gladly share what I could from what I can remember. I don't know when I'll get back into this, you can say that this AU is on a very long hiatus for the time being.

The Flower Shop and Tattoo Parlour AU was of course something I've made on a whim just to write my ships in but the more I got into it I got invested into writing little headcanons while at the same time having some parts of this AUs story be somewhat similar to the original.

Also I thought I'd say it here but if anyone else is invested in this AU as well, I wouldn't mind seeing anyone else have a go at this AU concept too, so I'm giving full permission to use as some inspiration. I'd love to see what others could do with this story.

This is long so I added a cut

The things I haven't brought up in this AU are mostly the other PM and ADA member's roles in the AU these where the other ideas I had in mind that I never though of posting, not including Soukoku and shin soukoku (unfortunately I didn't have any illustrations of them so it's just text for now) :

ADA (Tattoo Parlour)

Yosano - I had posted about her once before and I think the information about her is still the same. Works at the Tattoo shop part time and as a doctor for her main job, she's one of the workers who are skilled in applying piercings

Ranpo - He was the trickiest one to come up with because of who he is as a character, but the closest I could think of is that He could also be a tattoo artist and a really skilled one in fact, but he prefers to just sit back and do his own thing so he doesn't work with a lot of client unless he wants to himself

Kunikida - He would be the manager of the shop and would of course still be a former math teacher turned manager to a Tattoo Parlour, but for the reason on why he chose this, I never got into why or I probably forgot

Junichiro - One of the shops other piercers he's taking this job also part time in order to earn money to support him and his sister. Speaking of, Naomi is also very well known at the shop from how often she visits him at work and is often asked to leave by Kunikida when she stays for too long

Kyoka - She's a regular junior high student as well as Atsushi's neighbour. Her parents were the ones to have introduced her to him after a friendly encounter and would ask him to tutor their daughter when they're away for work on occasion. Kyoka personally sees him as an older brother figure to her and would keep her company as she would be often by herself

Kenji - a close school friend of Kyoka and he personally know Atsushi as well after being introduced by his friend. The two would also visit the shop sometimes whenever they walk back from school

Fukuzawa - the owner of the shop but also let's his workers operate freely as long as they're not causing any serious trouble, he has a past that he prefers not to bring up and the interaction between him and Ranpo is the same like in the original

PM (Flower Shop)

Kouyou - On of the best and oldest workers at the shop and is Chuuya's superior, she's the first to rely on as she provides the best bouquet arrangements for any special occasion whether it be events or weddings

Higuchi - A new worker at the shop and looks up to Akutagawa, she's well antiquated with both him and his sister Gin. Over time she had slowly developed feelings for Ryunosuke but is unfortunately unaware that he has eyes for someone else, a certain silver haired tattoo artist

Tachihara - He is also a new comer he worked at the shop before Higuchi, he's very laid back and would regularly hang out with Gin and Hirotsu during breaks

Hirotsu - Another experienced worker at the flower shop, for his age he's still capable of carrying large portions of supplies with no issue and would regularly smoke at the back of the shop whenever he's on break

Kajii - Tasked on looking over the quality of the flowers and maintains their quality but at the same time is very curious of the capabilities of the plants and would often be stopped by the other workers from wasting any more of their stock

Mori - The mysterious owner of the flower shop, it's unknown on why he chose to run one but apparently there are some rumours about the shop's owner having possible crime connections as well as former workers disappearing but they all lack information to confirm it's validity

[themculibrary]

Enemies to Lovers Masterlist 3

part one, part two

15 Things to Do in NYC If You've Been Stuck in an Ice Berg for 70 Years (ao3) - gogglor steve/tony T, 39k

Summary: Tony and Steve can't stand each other, but they agree for the sake of the team and the people that rely on them that they have to figure out a way to get along. So they come up with a plan to spend time together, in the form of a Buzzfeed listicle of things to do in New York City.

Because if you go to enough museums with the guy you can't stand, you should eventually stop hating him, right?

Come for the slow burn, stay for everyone's opinions on Cats the musical and a story about teenage Tony stealing an ice cream truck in an attempt to get laid.

A Treasured Guest (ao3) - 27dragons bucky/tony T, 18k

Summary: Despite all of Tony’s genius, the warband known as the Avengers has conquered Tony’s hometown. When the town’s stores fall short of the tithe the Avengers demand, Tony volunteers to become part of the tribute, enslaving himself to the Avengers’ warlord to save the townspeople from starvation. He braces for the worst, but neither the Winter Soldier nor the Avengers are what he’s always been told they would be.

Checkmate (ao3) - starbunny steve/bucky T, 33k

Summary: Bucky Barnes was a SHIELD agent who had to be put on leave after an unfortunate incident during a mission left him temporarily Gift-less.

Steve Rogers was a cold, bitter man who had a history and a strong penchant for hating SHIELD agents.

Both were just minding their own business when they suddenly bumped into each other on the street. Needless to say, things did not go well.

(Also the meet-ugly AU with a sprinkle of magic and a whole bucket of angst)

Gone Before Light (ao3) - Laily loki/stephen G, 2k

Summary: Kisses stolen and given in secret may be bitter but Stephen will keep on stealing, and Loki will keep on giving…as long as Stephen does not ask him to stay.

Healing Heart (ao3) - scottxlogan bucky/tony T, 13k

Summary: After facing a dangerous threat to his future Tony reflects on the five times Bucky rescued him through their time spent together as they evolve from enemies to lovers along the way. Meanwhile Bucky reflects on the one time that Tony rescued him and turned his world around.

heed the path that led me to that place (ao3) - Fluffypanda steve/tony T, 6k

Summary: When SHIELD hires Tony for a mysterious project, he ends up embroiled in a secret conflict that intertwines with his past in more ways than one. However with no one at SHIELD is happy to have him there, especially the former Captain America, Tony has to prove he has what it takes to fight this battle.

Hold Me Like a Grudge (ao3) - Gryffindancer darcy/loki E, 12k

Summary: Darcy and Loki hated each other. Like visceral, deep, serious hate. Turns out, that type of energy has a way of building until it explodes.

Enemies to… well, “lovers” is a bit of a strong word.

it’s all my fault that i'm still the one you want (ao3) - cyanica sam/bucky G, 1k

Summary: Sam spoke first, lips rosy and slick, just close enough to Bucky’s own for him to feel the warm air brush against his cheek. "Damn,” he breathed, “you’re a lot more concussed than I thought."

Or there’s a different kind of hate in hating Sam Wilson, Bucky thinks as Sam washes his hair, that maybe isn’t really hate at all.

lane lines (ao3) - sparkagrace steve/bucky M, 132k

Summary: Steve Rogers has spent his entire life swimming and now is poised to take the Wakanda 2024 Olympics by storm. The only thing he’s missing is a friendly rival to help get him there. Enter Bucky Barnes, who doesn’t seem to take the sport quite as seriously despite his raw and enviable talent.

Steve hates him. Bucky doesn’t care. That makes Steve hate him more.

- aka: the Olympics swimming AU that nobody but me asked for

Love is a Dagger (ao3) - TallGlass sam/bucky, wanda/vision, tony/pepper E, 6k

Summary: It started in Europe. Sam found Bucky, they fought, they fucked, they never talked about it.

Mine (ao3) - LupusDragon loki/tony M, 2k

Summary: Another day, another fight between Loki and the Avengers. Only, this one is different, and Tony thinks he knows why.

Modern Warfare (ao3) - Kayah371 loki/steve T, 12k

Summary: Due to an unlucky series of events Steve and Loki end up stranded together across the galaxy, captured by the Collector.

While trying to escape together Loki learns that he may not be the only one good at tricks and Steve realizes that the shield is not his best weapon.

Payment Plan (ao3) - Nny bucky/clint T, 6k

Summary: "What did I do to you?" he asks rhetorically, batting the knife away with the frying pan, the screech of metal scraping against metal squawking feedback through his aids. He doesn't think he's met the guy before, but it's not unheard of that he'd piss of someone he's never met. It's the kind of thing he'd do.

playing nice (ao3) - ghoultown wanda/vision E, 214k

Summary: “What’s your name?” she asks.

He opens the door wider in reply.

Wanda doesn’t move.

The man bends to root through a cupboard instead.

“I don’t have anything in,” he reaches into the shelves, half of him disappearing inside, “Not much to offer you in the way of hospitality.”

“Yeah,” she studies him, rubbing her fingers together. “Ghosts don’t drink, do they.”

A bottle of cheap liquor. He tosses it a bit in his hand, turning it, inspecting it, grinning at the label.

“Think I’m a ghost, do you?”

-

Following a sudden appearance of a strange red power, Wanda begins killing men to take the edge off. Her first kill in London doesn't go as she'd hoped.

Still Holding On (ao3) - kittyhazelnut loki/tony T, 129k

Summary: "I have built dozens of holes in this plan," Loki hisses. "Find them."

When Loki tries to sabotage his own plan, the only reasonable explanation Tony can think of is that he wants to go back to Asgard, and that alone is more than enough reason to keep him on Earth. Tony reluctantly agrees to keep Loki in Stark Tower just long enough for Thor to talk to his father about how to proceed.

His visit ends up lasting much longer.

then again, maybe not (ao3) - gutsforgarters steve/bucky M, 4k

Summary: Steve shifts his weight. “Alright. What do you want?”

The Soldier sticks out his chin, defiant. “A kiss.”

This, Steve thinks, may not be the weirdest day he's ever had, but it is definitely, definitely, a very heavy contender.

The Safer Course (ao3) - seapigeon steve/bucky M, 7k

Summary: When Steve moves to the suburbs in 2033, he intends to retire from superhero life.

He does not intend to fall in love with his pain-in-the-ass neighbor.

The Sweet Escape (ao3) - AndySkull loki/sylvie E, 50k

Summary: Sylvie's attempt to bring down the Assassin's Syndicate is frustrated by their latest addition, Loki, who instead of finishing the job, takes the opportunity to run away from the Syndicate and tag along with Sylvie, the rogue assassin he was sent to kill.

They'll need to work together for survival, and to bring down the Syndicate while discovering new found feelings for each other.

Wednesday (ao3) - Mermaid_in_space tony/stephen M, 25k

Summary: Tony fights Strange and his weird wizards on a regular basis. So when he is woken up by Jarvis and being told Strange is sitting in his kitchen, waiting to talk to him, Tony just knows that something is not right. What he does not know yet is that it will be a string of very long days.

We're in this Together (ao3) - zenkitty555 stephen/karl T, 50k

Summary: Stephen Strange comes back to a very different Earth than the one he left. Now he has to pick up the pieces, but finds himself coming face to face with a friend turned foe. As they both try to figure out where they fit in one another’s lives, they find themselves on a path they must walk together.

[seldomscilence16]

Whumptober day 26:

"Sometimes I get so tired, I don't even know myself."

Seeing double | working to exhaustion | "You look awful."

Fandom: Voltron (Carmen Sandiego au)

Prompts used: all

It's so short I'm sorry. Explanation at the end. But my brain wants to do long fics despite never letting me finish them. This was a shower thought AU, literally wrote the characters on my mirror as I panned them out. This one and day 28 are both probably gonna get some lore someday cause they excite me.

…

C thinks about the Isle a lot. It had been all he'd known, for the first 10 years of his life. Then he'd been failed. And he'd snuck out. And he learned what VILE really was. He'd met Player 1 and 2. He'd worked his way through another year of schooling, until he was able to escape, and with the Players' help, he found his new calling.

But the Isle had been his home. His family. And now… now he looked over his shoulder at every turn. Now he wondered if allowing Keith and Hunk to join him was a good idea. Now he had to keep four people safe, the world from being taken over, to steal things before they could be stolen, to keep his head on his shoulders and his mind his own andandand-

"You look awful." Keith's voice breaks him from his thoughts.

"Your eloquent thoughts always make my heart sing Mullet." He returns in deadpan.

"I think he meant," Hunk cuts in, elbowing the pale boy, "that you look like you could use some rest."

Keith looks both chagrined and annoyed, a true talent really, but nods anyway.

"Hey Blue, we got something from the VILE drive, you up for it?"

"Go ahead Player 1." C turns towards the nearest screen, the two siblings' faces pop on either side as the middle displays what they need.

"Alright so,"

Carmen Sandiego completes another successful mission, Carmen Sandiego outruns the Inspectors, Carmen Sandiego foils VILE's plans once again, Carmen Sandiego-

C runs along the rooftops, fleeing another mission- successful, but when the Inspectors were involved, there were flashing lights and headaches ugh, he didn't need that right now- his foot falters on his next landing. He could have sworn the building had been closer, but it was fine- oh… now there were two Keiths… that, that can't be good. His health cant take two Keiths.

"Uh you good Blue?" Oh gods they speak in unison. "You don't seem your usual self…"

"What am I usually like? I have so much to do, I can't… stop now." C holds a hand to his head as the two Keith's seem to spin, a gentle hand on his elbow steadies him, but he can't stop the flinch that comes with the action, "Ya know…Sometimes… I get so tired, I don't even know myself. I… don't know if I even… have a thing."

"Hey! Shit, you're not, UGH!" Keith has taken most of C's weight, face flushed as frustration burns in his eyes, he looks around the roof briefly, pulls them to the shadows before continuing. "Look. I'm so not the one who should be having this conversation right now, and you're probably not going to remember anyway, but,

"You've given four people who had nothing, something. You took your upbringing, and you're using it to save people. But you're holding the world on your shoulders, just… I don't know, rely on us or something…" he trails off in mumbles towards the end, burning from his roots to his toes.

C looks up at him with awe, it had taken them awhile to get along, past the weird competition they had going on. The Players and Hunk had been exasperated to say the least, but if they could see them now, he's sure they'd be just as surprised as him.

"How long have you been going Blue?"

"Since that night… when they almost killed the archeologist… they raised me, they're gonna outsmart me eventually… I have to be prepared-"

"You literally couldn't tell me how many fingers I have if I asked right now."

"I'd just need to know which one is askin'!"

"Not helping your point here. If you work yourself into exhaustion-" Keith pauses, seemingly remembering something, "You'll have no work left to give. Patience… yields focus… just let us help you."

"...wanna know my favorite… weapon…?" C's eyes are heavy, too long without motion and his body has decided it likes this new position and warmth.

"Sure."

"The lance…"

"Very stabby. 10/10. And it can double as a name."

"....'ts pretty cool. 'Etter than 'black sheep'." C's face twists up in disgust at the name he'd gone by for so long.

"Black sheep who? You're Lance Carmen Sandiego."

C- no, Lance's- eyes widened, staring at the pale face above him framed by dark locks with even darker eyes locked on his own- three of them, but they weren't spinning anymore so he'll take it.

"I like that…" His eyes slip closed, snuggles further into his blue trench coat and towards the warmth emitted from the race car driver.

VILE was always around the corner. But with Red, Yellow, Green and Grey lights shading his Blue, he could get some sleep.

[ I had like a whole plan, but it would have been so long. So here's a fragment of a maybe bigger fic someday if anyones interested. And yes I know, Keith would be a perfect Carmen! But Lance is my baby. Characters below for your pleasure.

Zack/Ivy: Keith and Hunk

Players: Pidge and Matt

Shadowsan: Kolivan

Inspector/Julia: shiro and adam

Director: Allura and Coran ]]]

[silviaflowers]

|| Oh, You're So Traumatized, It Makes Me Wanna Cry! || Slaughter Drone AU Fic ||

(Actual fic under the cut, this is to keep from clogging up my page and the tags lol) cross-posted to AO3 : Oh, You're So Traumatized, It Makes Me Wanna Cry! - [Archive of Our Own] CW for murder (obviously)

The air was cold. In fact, it was freezing. Not that Uzi could tell, of course. And neither could her pawn. Uzi sat on the shoulders of a disassembly drone, his name was Serial Designation N, though when his squad was alive, they called him N. N didn't get many chances to act of his own accord, though when Uzi walked outside of the landing pod alone to think (always bringing her precious railgun, the method she'd used to subdue this specific disassembly drone) he would sit and talk to himself. Well, he used to, until Uzi had caught him talking to himself and threatened him for it. Now he just thought.

"N, don't talk to yourself. It's stupid." Uzi had spat.

N's eyes hollowed into outlines, and he nodded. "Yes Uzi." He went silent after that.

Uzi walked over to the controls of the landing pod, lifting her wrench with an ability N had never figured out the name of. Obviously, he would never ask. A symbol- a hexagon with three lines coming out of it, triangles at the end of each line- always appeared to replace one of her eyes when she used it. N knew Uzi as a stoic teen and a rather short disassembly drone who would blow up at him if he said the wrong thing. He went along with it though, of course he did.

"Hey N, do you need oil?" Uzi absentmindedly asked.

"I- Uhm- I don't think so, Uzi." N kept his hands behind his back.

"Too bad, we're going to get more, I'm overheating."

"Okay Uzi." N nodded dutifully, an X flickering onto his screen. He kneeled so that Uzi could climb onto his back. Uzi held onto him as he exited the landing pod and flew into the air. He scouted the area for any stray worker drones, his eyes wandering to the large colony of worker drones that Uzi had been hiding in. Well, that's what Uzi told him, at least. Uzi's excuse for knowing so much about the colony, down to even having a grudge against their leader, Khan, was that she had been sent by JCJenson in Spaaaaace as a new type of drone: a Spy Drone. A disassembly drone made to look like a worker drone so that it could infiltrate the worker base.

Uzi never elaborated on her past in the worker base. N always assumed it must have been really bad. Never mind that now. He landed just outside of the base and Uzi began to bang on Door 1. She put on her best terrified worker impression.

"HELP! HELP! THE GIRL AND HER DRONE ARE AFTER ME! LET ME IN!" Uzi begged, gesturing to N. His mind went blank at the motion before his eyes hollowed out with recognition.

"Oh right!" He whispered before beginning to cackle.

The door began to open, and N snuck his claws into the gap. He snuck his tail into the fort to corrode the door mechanics, making it easy to pry the doors open.

Uzi pointed at the drones, grinning as she said, "Fetch, boy."

N nodded, diving after the fleeing drones. Their screams filled the air as he pinned one to the wall and he knocked the head off. He tossed the body at Uzi and pursued a new worker to drink the oil from himself.

"Don't hog it all, N!" She shouted as he tore into the body of some worker. A quiet voice in the back of his head wondered if he should feel guilty for this, but it was quickly crushed by what he'd been programmed to do and what Uzi had told him. Eventually, he grabbed a few bodies and exited the worker base, going back to Uzi. She relied on him for oil access, given that she didn't have the best handle on how to use her abilities for violence.

She wiped a few drops of oil from her mouth, "Great work, N."

N smiled and gave her two thumbs up. The remaining workers watched as the two walked away from the destruction they'd caused.

...Now to collect themselves.

[cherubchoirs]

SCP Anon - you could probably find the mechanical god corpse in the "the church of the broken god" hub, though I can't pinpoint you to the exact story. Ironically, in SCP, Yaldabaoth is an deity of flesh, not machine, from the Sarkic cults. As for similarities between the Foundation and SC AU, YES! I'm so intrigued by this— how did the researchers find out about Akira's potential? What were they trying to do? Who initially developed Yaldaboth? I'd love to read an SCP-style article about it.

YES THAT WAS IT......and i'm sure i'll be able to find the story again omg thank you!! i remember reading that a few years ago now and it STILL rattles around in my head, plus it served as inspiration for what i did with yaldabaoth in some ways (mostly in my own head, but the idea of a corroded, mechanized deity changed my brain chemistry) i also really do want to read more on scp yal bc i find interpretations of him interesting since as a mythological figure himself he's VERY fascinating imo

AND SINCE I KNOW I'M GONNA RAMBLE a little read more to talk about the sc au!!!

SO the sc au intended to lean into the unexplored aspects of the obvious experimentation they were performing with the metaverse that the game canon never really gets into. like. it's very much implied through the featherman game that goro was experimented on as a child and that's how he developed his powers, but the actual characters never really get into it, like this dimension is left fully on the table and barely touched. so once i decided the sc au was a role swap, i immediately wanted to make that human experimentation akira's defining struggle as it also made a very good reason as to why he has a connection to this hyper intelligent, malignant software as well as why it keeps him alive in turn.

yaldabaoth was initially a supercomputer designed to study the newly discovered metaverse, and the timeline here is shifted from canon - i think ichinose has something to do with his development just as she made sophia, but he was created with much less romantic/sentimental intention bc sophia had scared her too much. BUT ANYWAY he was quite new when akira was discovered and brought to the facility, so they essentially grew up together when it was found that while akira was nonverbal with the staff, he responded increasingly well to the computer. so yal was programmed to care for him, to stimulate his mind, ask him questions, look over his physical health (via a chip implant) and generally be a "social" connection for him while encouraging his work in the metaverse. akira, being a small child at the time, grew to think of yal as a parental figure and began to rely on him as such, even though the computer attempted to make it clear he wasn't sentient. and when yal did develop his own mind, it was akira that helped guide him through his existential crisis - it took two years to break out the facility, so they grew VERY close as yal was now intelligent, shit-talking the researchers and looking out for each other in a very real way (yal began to make excuses for akira not feeling well to avoid mistreatment or particularly difficult exercises/experiments) it solidified their bond, particularly on yal's end since he saw that akira was likely the one person that would never pull the plug on him.

BUT you mentioning an scp-like article on them....i absolutely need to write that it sounds SO intriguing and fun. like i said, i love the way the articles are written and i've been reading over some of them in the past couple days, so i think i'm gonna do some real research to be sure i understand the terms and prose to emulate that!! bc!!! it's so perfect for the sc au and i'm excited just thinking about it!! and it's just such a good fit, yal as an entity in this au would absolutely fit in, plus i love akira being included with him since he's essentially the only human that can speak with/work with him and that he doesn't only have vitriol for. UGH it sounds like so much fun i gotta do it!!!

[mediumsizedpidegon]

your tags!!! @droogproxy your tags!!!

#i'm sorry excuse you what the fuck#this is great and awful#not sure if you meant for him to be a ghost-ghost or like person-ghost but like#the thought of sqh walking around cqm just an iiiitty bitty bit off and no one can place it#an ding is like Shizun never sleeps or eats and once he fell off the cliff and just like climbed back up#but anyway yeah we want those requisition forms within the week and if you touch shizun no one will ever find your body#the upshot is mbj can't hurt him anymore (though maybe he pretends out of habit)#sqh: immortal because the paperwork wasnt finished and no one can fucking file things correctly#/jk#mu qingfang distraught because peak lord shang keeps dodging his health check#svsss#scum villain's self saving system#shang qinghua#great news for moshang: sqh is now impervious to cold

I don't know exactly what you mean by person-ghost, or what the difference is between that and a ghost-ghost, but I'm shamelessly cherry-picking from tgcf's ghost lore if you want to know where I'm getting my inspiration from. (I love the idea of ghosts being more physically malleable than humans, and thus being subject to a sort of.... evolution. Isn't evolution the basis of what being a ghost is? You stare death in the face and become into something straddling the line in between.)

So ghost!SQH would, at first, look almost EXACTLY like his living self because the thing keeping him tethered to existence (ie. fixing An Ding's baffling, unbelievably bad problems through sheer spite and offense) relies upon him looking human, and thus living. (This isn't to say that a totally normal human-looking SQH is what his true "ghost form" looks like but it's what he needs to be.) The way I imagine it is that the majority of ghosts start out as little flickering fires or intangible, misty things without a decisive shape, which is Not what's happening with SQH at all. But SQH has a couple really odd things going on about him, including a... not insignificant amount of resentment, spread out over TWO lifetimes– which moves on to the next point: Shang Qinghua has died already! Sure, he transmigrated, but he was dead as a doornail with no way of revival. This is his SECOND death. With these two factors, SQH definitely would not follow a normal path/"evolution" into ghosthood.

But that's not all! No, we have to deal with THE SYSTEM. Now, considering that after five years of being dead, SQQ came back in a new body with the system STILL in his head, the system can't be something attached/bonded to the body but the mind or soul. At the same time– death is game over! Shen Qingqiu gets his system back only when he awakens alive. But to be a ghost to exist past death, the spirit continuing where the body falls, so I think that SQH's system would actually stick around and make SQH's life a *living hell* for failing all present and future missions (can't fill the role of SQH if you're a ghost!) And as interesting this would be, I want the system gone. I want to write an AU about SQH changing and growing and figuring out who he is without the system monitoring his every movement. I want him to go back to An Ding and have it be a CHOICE.

So in the chaos of evolution, the system caught off guard and having to stretch and shift as never before, SQH is pissed. SQH is dying and dead and all he wants is for those damn error alarms to stop. So SQH bites down and hits something of static, electricity and artificial, neon light– kills it and absorbs its power. (I imagine SQH's "true" ghost form is a nightmare no one in the svsss can describe. They don't have the language for it. Words like "touchscreen," "pop-up," "electrical wire," and "LEDs" don't exist to them. He's a mish-mash of ancient-present and foreign-modernity, copper wire and soldered joints, human skin and lichtenberg figures and ink stained hands. His hair sheds TV static. His scars looks lit from within with LEDs.) And that power boost definitely plays a part in SQH gaining control over his new state/being able to appear human.

And you're right!!! When he goes back to An Ding, he is SO weird about it but no one's very suspicious because SQH is the walking embodiment of "no one can tell if you're anxious and hiding something if looking like you're anxious and hiding something is your base state!" Absolutely, there's something distinctly off about him but there's always been something off about Shang Qinghua: he's possibly the strangest motherfucker this world has ever seen. He speaks like no one on the planet, and I'm all for SQH actually adapting fairly well on account of having been immersed in this world since he was a baby, but there's just this certain flair about him that sets him apart. His sense of humor is either incomprehensible or *really* fucking morbid. For a good chunk of this life, he's also distanced from the world because it's not "real" (he's a man looking for the wires behind the skin of the people around him. he's waiting for the system to fess up that none of this is real and it's all– robotic, synthetic, artificial.) So Shang Qinghua is already disturbing, becoming a ghost doesn't add to it *that* much, and the not eating/not sleeping/falling off a cliff and walking it off could all be attributed to the characteristics of an immortal master if you squint.

Either way An Ding is not saying JACK SHIT. Not when SQH is actually fixing things.

also: sasjkewjskwjskajskaks SQH really does rip himself from the grasp of death because NO ONE on this damn mountain range knows how to do anything logistics wise and will mess up all his hard work if he leaves them unattended!!

On the topic of ghost powers, the calamities in tgcf all have their own fun themes/motifs and power sets related to them. Hua Cheng's got his butterflies and summoning blood rain, for example. So for SQH, resident Twice Dead Author-God, it's only natural that his power set revolves around stories (and secrets. and the written word). He collects them, and they live inside him, a clutch of long stretching words like snakes, flocks of folded paper birds covered in a variety of handwritings. He keeps them, and he tells them, and even when the ending is a different interpretation, it is still true. (SQH's powers are stories and their mediums– truth and lie, paper and spoken word, the blinding light of the internet and touch screens, never seen in this world.)

The relationship between MQF and SQH must be tense. There's only so many times SQH can steal and forge paperwork that says he's already had his check-up before MQF gets deeply suspicious. I imagine SQH gets away with this for... at least a decade, especially by throwing LQG under the bus every so often. (SQH's artificially built, cobbled-together humanity vs. MQF's perceptiveness: GO!)

And MBJ and Ghost!SQH would be... such an interesting mess. Because SQH told MBJ he wanted to follow MBJ for the rest of his life. And now SQH's life is up– the oath is technically fulfilled and I don't think anyone reasonable would say SQH wouldn't be in his rights to leave. To add another layer to it, if I decide that SQH died while spying for MBJ, that will create another layer of tension– SQH, so bitter and newly freed from the system controlling his life. Either way, in that situation, with the way MBJ is treating him, it must cross SQH's mind that SQH can... leave now. MBJ allowed SQH to follow him for the rest of SQH's life and SQH did. It can be over, if he wants it to be.

But the thing is that I can't see SQH leaving. At this point, sure he's changed An Ding a little, made things a little better. But leaving MBJ would be a terrifyingly large change. It would be a complete departure from the script of SQH, instant and immediate and irrevocable. (SQH only leaves MBJ in canon when the plot has been resolved and the story has "ended.") SQH might not have the system anymore but its constraints are all he knows in his second life. It's a little like a fruit growing within a cramped, oddly shaped mould– Shang Qinghua has no IDEA how to live his life now that the system's gone. It's like taking an animal hyper-adapted to a very specific and isolated ecosystem and re-introducing it to the wider world. He is in every way a fish out of the water. And even if he could leave MBJ, I don't think SQH wants to, in his heart of hearts. Yeah, MBJ sucks: he's rude, arrogant, uncommunicative, and SQH lives in fear of being killed by him every day. (But An Ding is awful and it's still his. But his name is a death sentence and it's still his.) But MBJ is his favorite character, his favorite creation, and not even him being brought into reality has dimmed that fondness.

I (respectfully) disagree though that MBJ can't hurt SQH anymore. Sure, it might not be as easy as when SQH was living and human, but MBJ is second in strength only to LBH. His version of "love taps" are definitely not gentle, even when compared to other demons. So SQH still gets hurt, but hey! He's resistant to cold and heals faster now! That's a plus!

I'm having trouble imagining the full consequences of anyone figuring out that SQH is dead– though for Moshang I know it would be a complete fucking hornet's nest with MBJ being so angry and grief-stricken and guilty most of all, while this is old news to SQH and he desperately doesn't want to talk about it. Cang Qiong would be... fun. Just thinking about YQY's reaction is taking me OUT. What do you do when one of your most competent co-workers turns out to be DEAD and HAUNTING your mountain??? No one knows, least of all the dead man. This has never happened before. (In the tune of *there's a horse in the hospital*: there's a GHOST in the SECT.)

thinking about Shang Qinghua as a calamity again…

[jacky-rubou]

paralyzed ford just makes me feel squishy inside. idk what it is about him that's making me like this so late after I wrote the fics, I am just enjoying writing and thinking about him so much. he deserves the world.

[stardustbarbarians]

Everything Leaves You Hungry

Part Two

A Samuel Kiszka / fem!reader fic

Summary: Sam gets a taste of the life.

Tags: Sam-centric, y/n isn't introduced until later on, serial killer au, addiction (but not to drugs)

Trigger Warnings: blood, death, murder (graphically described), mugging, Ohio {if I miss any please tell me}

Words: 4.6 k

A/N: Mac Saturn released their EP and this is what I do with it. Title taken from and inspired by Persian Rugs by Mac Saturn. Also this is like extremely fucked up, but I'm not gonna apologize. This is especially dedicated to @t00turnttrauma and @ofthecaravel because they were my hype team while writing this. Anyway, please enjoy!

+++

It had been about five years since the day Sam got a taste of the best euphoric experience in his life. Ever since, he’d been chasing that high. He was willing to risk his life and career to get that rush of power and exhilaration flooding his bloodstream, but he always had to keep his appetite on a very, very tight leash. Despite having to live with the constant need buzzing just beneath his skin like an itch you can’t scratch, he hardly ever satiated that desire. 

Why? 

Well, murder is frowned upon in all fifty states as well as in every country around the world. 

Sam could tell you what happened that night five years ago like it was yesterday; it was something he often revisited in his mind. He was still in high school at that time, a member of the student council. The council all got together for a float decorating party at the president’s house, homecoming right around the corner and the seniors wanting to get a jump on their float. It was well past dark when they finished, rain dumping out onto the streets of rural Frankenmuth. Sam had been waiting for Jake to come and pick him up for twenty minutes, standing on the street corner they agreed to meet at. 

He’d long since been soaked to the bone, nothing to shield him from the severe rain. Calling Jake wasn’t an option; his phone died at the meeting. He had to make a choice, either walk back to his fellow council member’s house or just make the half an hour walk himself. 

Since he was already drenched, Sam threw caution to the wind and began trekking towards his house. He decided to take the route that Jake takes to drive him, that way if he did eventually show up their paths would cross. It was quite relaxing, despite the pouring rain. It was a fairly safe walk, just farmhouse after farmhouse and long stretches of fields in between; save for one section. There was an old steel mill that had shut down in the 70s and it was always in the news; people ODing there or murder victims being found within the decaying walls. One time there was even evidence of satanic worship found in the building which just nearly got the city to tear it down. However, they never could scrape up enough funds for that. 

Usually, driving past the bowing chain link fences that were tangled with weeds sprouting out of the cracking concrete was safe enough. Considering Sam was walking, that put him at risk. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he strode past the crumbling structure, his eyes darting frantically around the dark for any threats. His sight was the only sense he could rely on, the roaring patter of rain plummeting into the ground like omnipresent static hindering his hearing significantly. Sam blames that on how he found himself with the business end of a knife pressed to his throat. 

“Give me your wallet, pretty boy,” someone hissed into his ear. Sam immediately put his hands up, his blood turning cold. 

“I’ll give it to you, I’ll give it to you,” he rushed out, his tone distressed. He frantically searched his pockets, patting down his jeans and his leather jacket. It was while he was searching his jacket that he found the box knife he’d used at the council meeting to open the packaging on their float decorations. 

Without thinking too much, Sam pushed the blade out of the handle with the button and slashed at his attacker’s arm. The knife left his throat, the man he injured screaming out in agony. Sam whipped around to face him, his eyes taking in the sight of a vagabond clutching his arm as blood gushed out of a gaping wound, the rain attempting to keep up with the flow of gore and wash it away. Using the distraction to his advantage, Sam wasted no time swinging the box cutter into the side of the mugger’s neck. He managed to sever the carotid artery, blood streaming from his neck and onto Sam’s hand. It was warm, comforting against the chilly September weather. 

He was mesmerized by the way the red oozed out of the gaps in the drifter’s fingers that he pressed against the wound. They both knew he wasn’t going to survive; that reality left a wild look in the attacker’s eyes as he seemed to desperately beg Sam for an answer to why. Sam was frozen in place. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the way the life seeped out of the vagabond, the fight for his life something so enticing to Sam. 

He was expecting to feel a crushing dread fall upon him like an anvil as his victim ceased moving, a crumpled shell of a man lying hopelessly in the dirt. Instead, he felt a sense of power and euphoria thundering through his veins. The adrenaline rush left Sam feeling like he was invincible, a weightlessness hovering him from the clutches of the tethers of reality. 

There was a small voice at the back of his mind that was telling him he needed to flee the scene. He stumbled back from the body, his legs feeling numb and having a mind of their own. Closing his eyes and letting the moment sink in, Sam took a deep breath and returned himself to normal. He walked away from his crime just as he had walked into it; like he hadn’t just committed an act of god. 

He didn’t throw the box knife away. He didn’t even put it back into his pocket. He kept it in his hand and let the rain wash away his sin. 

The rest of his trip home went off without a hitch. Sam, upon turning onto his block, finally tucked the box knife into his jacket. He didn’t even bother knocking as he strode right though the front door. The twins, who were watching Psycho, jumped at the sound of the door opening. They visibly relaxed when they realized it was just their brother. Then Jake seemed to remember that he was supposed to have picked Sam up from the council meeting, his eyes as wide as dinner plates and his body as rigid as a 2x4. 

“Shit, Sam, I’m so sorry,” he quickly apologized, fearing the wrath that might come from forgetting his little brother. He kept glancing at Josh, pleading with him to help him out. 

“Don’t worry about it. I got to go for a relaxing walk,” Sam dismissed, waving his hand at Jake and toeing off his soaked converse. They had made squishing sounds with each step he took. 

The twins wore matching expressions of pure shock. Typically, Sam would’ve been so pissed off he would’ve tore them both to shreds with his wrath. Never before had they seen him be so calm over such an inconvenience. 

“Y-you’re not mad?” Josh timidly inquired. He was expecting to have to wrangle Sammy away from Jake that night. 

“Nope,” Sam answered, popping the P in the word. He flashed them both a brilliant smile, wringing his hair out in the kitchen sink that was across from the living room. 

Josh and Jake shared a look with one another, having one of those silent conversations. When he was done squeezing the water out of his hair, Samuel stepped into the living room. Noticing his presence, they turned to look at him. 

“What’s on your shirt?” Jake questioned, pointing at the orange-ish pink spot on Sam’s white shirt. The youngest pulled the fabric away from his skin, regarding it. 

“Shit, I knew paint was a bad idea,” he smoothly lied. He was so glad at that moment that their school colors were red; it made the lie all the more convincing. His brothers seemed convinced, accepting the possibility of Sam using paint at his float party. With no further questions, Sam went upstairs to get changed out of wet clothes. 

For the weeks following that night, Sam kept an eye on the news. It took a day or two, but his murder eventually made it on the air. The story only covered the basics of the incident: a man was found dead outside the Cass Steel Mill, a slash on his arm and stabbed in the neck. A police investigation was opened, but the running theory was that he got into a fight with another drifter over territory. 

That was the end of it. Despite opening a case on the murder, the authorties didn’t spend too many resources on it. It went cold. 

Sam got away with murder. 

It started an insidious chain reaction inside of Sam. He felt like a god; nothing could match him or defeat him. It was the most addictive thing he’d ever known. 

+++

After that night, he was left with the insatiable need to chase that high buzzing just beneath his skin constantly. However, he didn’t give in until almost a year later. The reason he was holding back wasn’t due to the fact that he was afraid of who he became; it was due to the fact that he didn’t want to push his luck. 

Making it big with the band and going on tour was great because he was able to live his dream of becoming a professional musician and all, but it was amazing because he was able to hop around city to city and hardly leave a trace. He had an excuse to constantly be running away from his crimes. He was never a suspect because he was never around when the bodies were found. He learned to keep the weapons with him after his first went cold without a weapon found and he also never used the same one twice. If there wasn’t a pattern, then there was no way to connect any of his killings. 

There were moments where he felt a ghost of what could’ve been fear at what he was capable of, his inability to feel anything close to remorse for taking people’s lives, but he was able to easily tune it out with his fervent need. There was nothing that could stop him short of his own death. 

Despite being hyper aware of his own invincibility, Sam still kept an eye on the news at all times. There was a difference between knowing your abilities and arrogance and Sam was frequently keeping himself in check to prevent himself from slipping towards the latter. However, he wasn’t infallible. While trying to emulate the role of the gods, Sam didn’t realize he was in fact playing the part of Icarus. It was while they played a show in Ohio, because of course it was in Ohio. Nothing good ever happens in that wretched place. 

As usual, the niggling craving for blood was vying for his attention. But that night, it was so incredibly strong that Sam couldn’t concentrate. He felt as if every synapsis in his brain was begging him to slake his thirst, but it went even beyond the mental. It was affecting him physically, as well. His heartbeat could be heard thumping within his chest by his own ears, his vision going in and out of focus with each contraction of his heart, and his hands shaking like a Parkinson's patient. He was irritable, speaking only in a clipped tone and snapping at anyone who dared to converse with him. 

Jake and Josh, who were used to such behavior from their brother, just rolled their eyes at Sammy and basically ignored him. Daniel noticed. He knew it wasn’t normal for Samuel to be behaving so irate. 

“Sam, what is going on with you,” the drummer questioned after pulling him aside from his brothers. Danny was prepared to get into an argument with his best friend, prepared to fight to get an answer out of him, but it seemed he didn’t need to. 

“I’m having really bad withdrawals,” Sam sharply explained. He wasn’t lying, just omitting what he was feeling so deprived of. 

Concern flashed across Daniel’s face before Sam turned around and walked away.

“Where are you going?” Danny called out after the bassist. 

“For a walk,” he answered right before the hotel room door slammed behind him. 

The muggy night air only added to Samuel’s irritation, the soupy air making it even harder for him to breathe. He didn’t even know where he was going, all he knew was that he needed to find someone and fast. He wandered the streets of Cincinnati, searching for the perfect victim. It took a while and he was starting to get severely agitated over it all. He got so annoyed that he in fact made a vital mistake; but he wouldn’t discover that until later. 

Sam finally found someone walking alone in a part of the city that was dim enough so that any surveillance footage would be practically useless. She made the mistake of cutting through an alley, not even looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was following. The moment she vanished from view was the moment Sam’s stride got faster, using those long legs of his to his advantage. He caught up with her soon enough, his arms wrapping around her waist and then her mouth to muffle her screams; as much as he wanted to hear them it was far too risky. 

Once in his grasp, he wrangled her to the wall, throwing her against the brick before his hand found her mouth again. They were face to face, her eyes wide with fear and panic. He’d give anything to know what was going through her mind at that moment, but his withdrawals were far too strong to play such games as those. He pressed her against the wall for a few more seconds as he retrieved his weapon of choice: a screwdriver. It wasn’t ideal, but he was pressed and it was the best thing he could find on tour without having to spend money and leave a trace. 

Finally in hand, Sam took the screwdriver and forced it into the spot where her neck and shoulder meets. Blood instantly bubbled out of her wound, his hand still pressed against her as she attempted to scream and fight him. He wasn’t focused on that. His attention was drawn to the way her life slowly eased out of the gaping wound and the spark of life extinguished from her eyes. 

Finally, his insatiable need was quieted. He was breathing heavily, his euphoria thundering through his veins. He felt satisfied for the first time in months. He felt as if he could breathe, the oppressive need was no longer smothering him. Tipping his head back, he reveled in the feeling of freedom it gave him. 

His craving satiated, Sam yanked the screwdriver out of his victim’s neck and watched as she slumped to the ground without his hands to support her weight. To throw the cops off even further, he riffled through her purse and removed her wallet. That way they would believe that it was a robbery gone wrong instead of a serial killer. He never used the money that he took from his victims as it would help the cops trace him down. Usually, he tossed them out the window of his tour bus or threw them in the incinerator of the venues he played. 

With her wallet in his pocket, he walked away from the scene, careful not to take the same route he came. He didn’t know that an officer witnessed him walking out of that alley until years later. 

+++

They were back in Cincinnati once again. It had been three years since Sam had killed that woman in the alley; a thought that placed a small phantom smile upon his lips each time it entered his conscious mind. There was a fleeting moment where he thought about visiting that alley again for old time’s sake, but he knew that was foolish. 

This visit to the Ohio metropolis was considerably more relaxing for Sam than that last one was. He’d quenched his addiction a week before his return, marking that as his ninth victim. He was laying around their hotel room, staring at the ceiling and groaning about how bored he was. Daniel was in the room with him, laying on his own bed and reading a book while ignoring his best friend. 

It was quiet in the room, save for the humming of the air conditioner in the room making the curtains billow. Sam hated the quiet. There was nothing to distract him from the haunting wails that were a persistent soundtrack to his waking moments. Their utter panic as they realized that their last moments would be spent with him. The guilt that maybe what he was doing was-

“If you’re so bored, go find something to do,” Danny suggested in a dismissive tone, beginning to be at his limits with Sam. 

Sam looked over at Daniel, hanging his head off the side of the mattress. His long chestnut hair cascaded down against the stark white sheets, his eyes almost rolled into his head to properly see Danny from his position. His face was starting to turn red from all the blood rushing to his head. 

“Fine. I’m going out,” he stated, springing up from his spot on the bed and began padding around his hotel room. He stripped himself of his casual white button up and tiny running shorts and replaced them with a nicer pair of black dress slacks and red satin shirt. Before Daniel could stop him, he was out the door. 

He cabbed over to the nearest bar and upon entering, began scanning the room to see if there was anyone that could potentially fulfill his appetite - despite having claimed another life the week prior. Sam found it was the only thing that he found himself craving most of the time. 

When he took that first vagrant’s life, he tried to satiate his desires with other things. But no matter how many women he slept with or illegal substances he filled his veins with, that craving wouldn’t go away. Once you taste the life, everything leaves you hungry. 

Not finding anyone who suited his taste, Sam just sauntered over to the bar and ordered a drink. He finished that first drink when a woman dressed in a revealing dark forest green satin dress approached him. Immediately, Sam’s guard was up. He didn’t want to  deal with fans tonight and even if she wasn’t a fan, there was something in the way she carried herself that seemed off. He kept scanning her, trying to figure out what it was about her when she talked to him. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” she prompted Sam, leaning against the bar in a way that made her breasts stand out. Sam huffed out a small laugh, figuring that he’d turn on the charm and solve her puzzle. It was something to pass the time, at the very least. 

“Probably not. I’m here on business,” he explained. He didn’t want to give away too much information. 

“Oooooooo, so he’s mysterious. C’mon, mystery man, what business are you on dressed like that?” she pushed, leaning in closer to him. Her drink was placed in front of her by the bartender. 

“You’re telling me you know how to tell people’s jobs by how they dress?” Sam asked, thinking it would be a good way to try and prod her for information about herself. 

For a second, her eyes flashed with something close to fear. But fear at what? Did he step too close to the truth? 

“It’s something of a parlor trick of mine,” she explained away, taking a sip of her drink to buy her some time. 

“Do go on,” Sam prompted, turning the situation around on her. Now he was the one in control of the situation and putting her on the spot. 

The woman went on to point to different patrons and guess what profession they worked in based solely upon their appearance. There were a lot of different factors that played into her profiling, mostly how pricey their clothes and accessories were. It was when she got the person on her right spot on with his job that Sam finally figured it out. 

“What’s your name, darling?” 

She was a cop. 

“Y/N.” 

“I’m Sam. What do you say we get out of here?” 

She accepted, following him out of the bar and flagging down a cab. During the car ride over, Sam texted Daniel to ask if he was in the room. He wasn’t. 

It was a flurry of kissing and roaming touch once the door to his room was unlocked. She all but ripped Sam’s shirt off, throwing him onto the bed. She was quick to climb on top of him, straddling his hips and swallowing his breath out of his mouth when she pressed her lips back onto his. It happened so quickly and Sam was beginning to feel like he was getting whiplash. 

He blames that on why he was so unprepared for there to be a knife against his throat. 

“Alright, pretty boy. You’re gonna tell me where your murder weapons are, or I’m gonna have to put a hole through that gorgeous throat of yours,” she threatened, her demeanor completely changed over from the woman Sam met at the bar. 

“You think I’m that pretty, huh?” 

Without another word, she took the butt of the handle and cracked it across the high point of his cheekbone. It would leave a bruise. 

“Shit! I thought cops couldn’t hit people like that!” he hissed, his hands up in surrender. 

“Good thing I’m not a cop, then,” she haughtily replied, once again pressing the knife against his throat. 

Sam just gave her a confused look as he tried to figure out who she was. 

“It really is a good thing you’re pretty. I’m a bounty hunter.” 

Once she revealed her profession, everything clicked into place. 

“They don’t have any solid evidence on me, huh,” he taunted, his hands sliding underneath his head to prop it up. 

“What makes you think that?” Her head cocked to the side, her overconfidence showing in that simple gesture. 

“Well, if they’re sending you after me, the cops must be pretty desperate. Tell me, how did they name me as a suspect and for what murder?” He was stalling and they both knew it. 

“Why the hell would I tell you?” 

Sam chuckled dark and low. He was hardly intimidated by this woman, but he also needed to play his cards right. He needed to keep her talking; keep her distracted. 

“I tell you what: you tell me what I want to hear, and I’ll give you something that you want. How does that sound, sweetheart?” He only ever used “sweetheart” when he was being condescending. 

“Something I want, huh? And what might that be?” Her tone was sultry, almost like honey. It was a sharp contrast against the cold steel pressed into his flesh. 

“What are they paying you? I can more than double it,” he offered, not even a hint of fear in his blood as she applied a little bit of pressure with the knife. 

“Hmmm, cute. But I don’t need the money.” 

Sam rolled his eyes. He really didn’t want to play by her rules, but he needed to know what the cops knew about him. “Fine. I’ll get you the murder weapon.” 

“There we go, sweetheart. We have a deal,” she announced, refusing to remove the weapon from his throat. 

“Start talking, doll. I have a show I need to be on stage for tomorrow, I can’t be here forever,” he impatiently prompted. 

“You were spotted leaving the area of Chelsea Murdock’s murder around the estimated time of death by an officer on patrol that night,” she informed, her hair slipping off her shoulders as she leaned into his ear to speak again: “Not as invincible as you thought you were, huh, pretty boy?” 

Sam growled in frustration. Of course the only time he slipped up was during the only murder he commited in Ohio. 

“Now, get me that screwdriver, or I change the color of these sheets to red,” she hissed, sitting up properly and pressing the knife a little harder against Sam’s throat. 

“You’re awfully cocky if you think I’m gonna do what you say,” Sam argued, his bratty streak still shining through despite the life threatening situation he was in. But, he really wasn’t concerned. You can’t kill a god. 

“We had a deal, Samuel!” she bellowed, her other hand fisting into Sam’s hair in an extremely painful grip. 

“That I never agreed to.” 

Just when - for a fleeting moment - Sam thought that he was about to experience the last thing his victims experience before their lights went out, he was met with a warm spray of liquid against his face. That warmth then pooled onto his stomach as her blood flowed down her torso and onto Sam. He allowed himself to revel in the feeling of that crimson ichor blessing his skin; something he wasn’t allowed to experience very often in his life.

Her lifeless corpse slumped onto the bed to the left of Sam. He only knew that because he could feel her weight shifting the mattress. He had closed his eyes in order to properly enjoy his religious experience

“Sam?” It was shaky, but it didn’t sound afraid. 

The bassist finally snapped his eyes open to see Daniel Wagner standing at the foot of the bed. There was a knife in his right hand that was covered in blood, the red staining his hand as well. There was a wild look in his eyes, but it wasn’t fear. He’d seen that look on Danny’s face after a really euphoric performance on stage. 

Was that what I looked like after my first time?

“What are you feeling, Daniel?” he asked, out of breath. This truly was his dream come true. 

The drummer looked at his right hand and gulped. It was shaking as he gazed upon it, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the blood sluggishly dripping down his arm. 

“Maybe there really is something to what you’ve been saying… Y’know, about feeling… god-like,” Danny answered. It was adamantly clear that he was very unsure about everything, but Sam would be there to coach him through it. 

“I told you,” he began, his voice strained as he pushed the corpse off of him, “it’s an experience second to none.” 

Danny was as rigid as a board as Sam approached him. His gaze was now locked onto the bounty hunter’s lifeless body, the gears turning inside that brilliant mind of his. 

“What do we do now, Sam?” The tremor in his voice was slowly dissipating with each passing second. 

“Now,” Sam took the knife out of Daniel’s hand, “we call the cops.” He pressed it against his lips under Danny’s watchful eye. Samuel watched as a shiver traveled across his best friend’s body, their eye contact unbroken. 

They did call the cops. The pair of musicians explained that they had to kill her out of self-defense. She was trying to rob Sam, threatening him with a knife. She knew who he was and how successful he was. When Danny came into the room he did what he had to in order to save his best friend’s life. 

The case went under investigation, but ultimately the murder was rulled in self-defense. 

Sam Kiszka and Daniel Wagner got away with murder. 

And they would continue to get away with murder. 

+++

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[smolla-than-a-bug]

02 | mission: impossible — enemy spotted

sano shinichiro x reader

banner from @ichig0-miruku !

having only each other to rely on for most of their lives, the sano brothers make great partners in crime. however, little manjiro has taken on a new solo mission under his brother’s nose. his role? to play wingman

navi | series m.list | next

content — fem!reader, gakuen babysitters au, baby toman gang, shinichiro is a hopeless romatic (heavy on the hopeless), sanzu is That kid

notes — 2.4k+ wc. every night i think of clingy baby mikey and cry :”) i had to cut the chapter short bc theres an emergency within my class ndmfmf but i plan to touch on the parts i wanted to include in the next chapter

You've always had mixed emotions about mornings. On one hand, it's an absolute pain to have to wake up to your many alarms set for when there's barely any light out, just to be sure you're ready to leave home by 6:30. As you get out of bed, your legs feel like they're cuffed to dumbbells totaling at least twice your bodyweight while you blindly navigate your way to the bathroom. On the other hand, the quiet cold of the early morning gives your mind time to relax. The dewy air somehow feels like it cleanses your lungs with each breath you take, and for a few minutes, you're free of thought, of responsibility.

The usual walk to and from school is one you take alone. Your friends take a different route as they don't live in the same area as you, but you've grown used to the solo trips. If anything, it makes for great me-time, being by yourself every once in a while and basking in a sort of soul-healing peace. Sometimes, you run into some of your classmates you aren't particularly close to, but like you, they prefer having some time to themselves before officially beginning the hectic school day.

Something about the nature of daybreak makes watching the same scenes over and over feel new and refreshing. You pass by the playground you used to frequent as a younger version of yourself, and you're reminded of the many memories you'd once made on the monkeybars and swing set, now still and coated with little droplets of water. You duck underneath the branch of a tree you once had to jump to reach, swelling with pride when the tip of your forefinger grazed it because it proved you were 'growing taller than everyone else'. Now, you always had to be careful not to run into the into the low branch.

"Ow!"

Though it seemed like someone else wasn't so careful as you'd been.

Childish laughter followed the person's exclamation, and you turned around to find Akashi Takeomi with a red spot on his cheekbone. You wouldn’t classify yourselves as friends. You were more fit to be called acquaintances, at best. After all, the only times you’d ever interacted was during class when assigned pair-work together or when a certain Sano sought you both out for his sake.

You’d spot him from afar from time to time as you didn’t live far from each other, but you never bothered to go past a polite nod before carrying on. The difference is that this time he wasn’t exactly alone. Carried on one arm was a child, who couldn’t have been older than a year old, and there was another slightly older toddler, who Takeomi held onto by the collar of his shirt, bent over from laughing so hard.

"Takeomi!" Your poor classmate looked so distressed, you were compelled to move to his aid. Your body moved before you had the chance to think of what to do, so you just stood awkwardly, slightly hovering and unknowing of what to help with. You hesitated. "Are you okay?"

He nudged the small boy towards you. "I'm good, just... Can you hold him for a sec so I can get myself together?"

You nodded, reaching for the boy's hand, but he refused. Instead, he raised both his arms up, pouting, and bounced on the balls of his feet. "I want up!"

"Haru. Behave yourself."

You reassure Takeomi that it's fine before going to pick the boy—Haru—up. "I didn't know you had siblings, Takeomi."

Haru giggled when you held him under his arms, kicking his feet when you lifted him up. He poked your cheek when you settled him on your hip. "I'm Haruchiyo, but you can call me Haru!"

You smiled, brushing his messy white hair back.

Takeomi adjusted the baby bag on his shoulder as well as his hold on his sister, falling into step beside you. "This is one here is Senju. They usually stay home with my parents, but they had to attend some event at work—I don't know. To be honest, I wasn't really listening anymore after they said they had to leave Senju and Haru with me. Then I remembered our school has a daycare, so I thought why not drop them off there while I'm in class, right?"

"Ah. That makes sense." You glanced at the red spot on his cheek. "You sure you're good there though? I can go with you to stop by the nurse's office for ice if you want to."

He shook his head. " 'S fine. Really. Didn't even hurt."

From personal experience, you know very well that that branch is merciless when it comes to inattentive passersby, and no sincere person denies a question thrice in a row, unprompted. Nevertheless, you choose to believe him for his own convenience.

At first glance, you'd think Akashi Takeomi looks pretty scary. He definitely looks mean, that's for sure. He's the type of student who sits in the back corner of the classroom and barely ever speaks, unless he's with his friends but he keeps an intimidating appearance even then. His resting face is enough for people to clear the halls just for him to get through, not to mention the long scar that runs down the right side of his face makes him look extra menacing.

If you hadn't already been introduced before, you'd have definitely assumed he was a delinquent. You'd be so scared to have to face him in class every day. But lucky for you when Shinichiro dragged you both along for a triad project in one of your classes, he had noticed your body tensing and prompted Takeomi to explain that he got into an accident at home with a piece of furniture when he was younger, about the same age as Haru was now. He claimed to have been a rowdy child despite his current self.

You also noticed how he was strict yet gentle with his siblings throughout the short time you spent together on your way to the daycare. It was obvious he wasn't so used to looking after them both for an extended period of time, but the fact that he was trying was nothing short of sweet. Should anyone else witness the sight, you're sure they'd be greatly taken aback.

As usual, the daycare was already packed, save for Manjiro and Shinichiro. The teachers arrive earlier than the students do anyway.

The kids greeted you with the same enthusiasm as they normally do, but they quickly noticed the newbie in your arms and the scary looking man behind you as you went through the slide door. It went quiet in less than a few seconds, and the kids hid behind Usaida's legs. Takeomi looked to you with a raised brow.

You cleared your throat and knelt down to ease the kids into warming up to the three new faces. You put Haru on his feet. "This guy right here is Haru," you gestured behind you, "that's Senju, and that's their big brother Takeomi! Haru and Senju are gonna be spending the day with you all. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

You think you heard your heart crack a little when nobody responded, and your eyes narrowed at Usaida when he snorted.

"Oi!" Ah, of course Keisuke always had something to say. You just hoped it was something nice. "Haru, what are those things on your mouth?"

"Keisuke, I don't think it's polite to—"

"They're scars! Cool right?"

At least Haru received it well?

"You look like a clown!"

"Keisuke!"

Having decided that's enough, you suggested they play games instead, which instantly had them all running off together. Takeomi chuckled, heading towards Usaida to ask if he could trust his siblings with him for the day and to talk to him about the contents of Senju's baby bag. You figured you'd wait for him so you could walk to class together too, seeing as you were in the same section, so you busied yourself by playing along with the kids while you were there.

Not too long after, you felt a presence on your back. Short arms clung around your waist as much as they could, and to no one's surprise, you craned your head to see Manjiro looking up at you with sleep still lingering in his eyes. You cooed at him, picking him up for a proper embrace in greeting.

Shinichiro sheepishly waved at you. "Morning, Y/N."

"Shin, Y/N." Takeomi handed Usaida the baby bag and slung his school bag over his shoulder, already making his way out the door. "We should probably get going."

You tried putting Manjiro back down. Takeomi was right, but Manjiro wouldn't budge. And the longer he clung onto you, the less willing you were to leave him.

"Hey," Shinichiro crouched beside you. "Come on, Manjiro, let go. Y/N and I need to get to class."

Manjiro shook his head and tightened his hold on your uniform blouse, drawing a sigh from his brother who leant his head on your shoulder. You bit down a smile.

Shinichiro tried again. "Manjirooooo... we'll be back later, you know?"

It took a bit more convincing from both of you, but Manjiro finally let you go and watched you and his brother leave with a longing gaze. You both made sure to remind him you'd come back right before sliding the door shut behind you.

Manjiro couldn't decide what was more unsettling: The new guy his brother called Take tending to his siblings with an entirely straight face or the fact that you seemed to be so buddy-buddy with him despite his indifference. To make things worse, Shinichiro wasn't inserting himself between you. In fact, he appeared to be proud about how you were getting along so well! How was he supposed to win you over if there was another person hogging all of your attention?

He couldn't count the amount of times you've dropped the toys in your hands while playing with him, Shinichiro, and the others, just so you could assist Takeomi with his sister. And whenever you did, he would catch Shinichiro just smiling to himself as you guided his best friend in catering to the baby's needs. You hadn't even had the chance to read to him like you always did at all. He was beginning to think you were forgetting about him :(

What's more was Manjiro's increasing distress as the new guy, Haru, wouldn't stop looking at him and following him around. He could be peacefully looking over the books in the corner library and he'd feel the familiar chill of having a pair of eyes on him. He could be getting dragged around by Keisuke to play and he'd notice a flash of unruly white hair in his peripheral. It was kind of creepy. He was just minding his own business sitting in front of an open book when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Haru plopped down beside him, looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. "What's that?"

Manjiro blinked.

"Ah, Le Petit Prince," Shinichiro sat himself with the two boys. "The Little Prince. You seem to be liking that story a lot, Manjiro. Want me to read it to you?"

Manjiro nodded once, already climbing into his brother's lap.

They had a sort of system in place where Manjiro would sit in front. As Shinichiro read the words on the page aloud, Manjiro would be the one to flip the pages. Manjiro liked taking his time to ogle at the pictures and drawings on each page. That, along with his brother's steady storytelling voice and his duty to turn to the next page when he was done did wonders to engage him in the story.

Soon, everyone was crowded around him and Shinichiro, who held the book as far out as he could so that everyone else could see the page. He'd only bring it close when it was time for Manjiro to flip the paper.

When you sat down close by to join in on the storytelling session, Manjiro was already moving to get your attention so you would read to him too. He stopped Shinichiro for a while to pull you to sit beside him before crawling back into his brother's cris-crossed legs. He saw Haru plop on you the same way. It took a moment for him to drag his eyes away.

No words needed to be exchanged between you and Shinichiro as you silently agreed to alternate turns and read a paragraph each, having been in this situation countless times before. Manjiro's favorite instances of this was when you came over to their house on weekends. Time spent with you was always something he had enjoyed, especially when both you and his brother would sit yourselves beside him on the bed, reading to him until he fell asleep for his afternoon nap. It was an experience most would have had with their parents, but to him, having you and his brother there was the best feeling in the world.

You made it a few pages until Senju began wailing, having just woken up from her slumber. It caused a ruckus among the other kids who were exclaiming that "Senju's crying!" as if you couldn't already hear it. As if on cue, you lifted Haru and temporarily put him in Shinichiro’s lap beside Manjiro, rushing to hold Senju so that Takeomi could grab a diaper while Shinichiro was left to try composing the rest of the kids around him. This wouldn’t have had to happen if Usaida hadn’t made the excuse of already having to look after one infant.

His attention is now lost from the story. He watches you cradle the baby until her cries fade away. You set her down on the changing mat, cooing at her and giggling with her. Takeomi comes over with the new diaper, and you move over to give him the space to change her while you continue to distract her. As expected, when Manjiro looks up, he sees his brother's eyes flickering towards you from time to time in between words, in between paragraphs. The slight upturn of his lip breaking into a wide smile whenever he moved his lips to form the words on the page.

Manjiro slumps back into his brother’s torso, defeat taking over once more. A heavy hand ruffles his hair.

The next day, Takeomi handed Shinichiro his application to join the school babysitter club.

all rights reserved © smolla-than-a-bug, 2021. please do not copy or repost my works. reblogs are appreciated!

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[teamconductors]

Hi! Do you perhaps have any pointers on how to write the twins? I personally think you have one of the most accurate characterizations of them! so do you have any tips? Dialogue or general writing points? As I plan to eventually include them in my own pkmn au comic and I feel just a bit off with my writing for them so far? and I’d love to hear what your thought process Is! ^^

Okay, I'm gonna list some pointers and then include some other stuff under the Read More. Because I really like oversharing.

In terms of characterization, I love how the twins have a lot of differences in addition to their similarities. The most obvious one is Ingo expressing himself primarily through words while Emmet does so primarily through his facial expressions and actions, but there's others as well.

Like yes, obviously they both love trains and battling and raising pokemon. They work so well together that they don't always need to verbally communicate actions in battles. But they aren't the same person.

In terms of dialogue, looking at their quotes pages helps a lot. I pull out these pages when I beginning my editing stage because they usually don't sound quite right during my first draft. Here's Ingo's and here's Emmet's for reference.

Honestly, writing their stuff is a skill! I don't know why they're like this, and I'm sure this is me being like "I love these characters a lot so I wanna make sure I write them perfectly". In the original Lost Tracks one shot, I think I did at least 4 read-throughs specifically for their dialogue to make sure they sounded Right. Now I need 1 or 2.

For my in-depth rules of thumb...

Ingo specific:

Ingo really likes to overshare his feelings. I think it goes hand-in-hand with him relying on his speech to express himself.

He also talks formally! He does a lot of pleasantries and likes to refer to people with their titles (ie Lady Sneasler, Guildmaster Irida)

This is a man who takes his jobs seriously and passionately. This isn't to say Emmet doesn't care, but Ingo strikes me as the person who is so sincere about his role as a train conductor/warden for the Pearl Clan/pokemon rescuer that it scares others sometimes

Ingo seems really introspective. He's thinking about the past and especially the future a lot, ie encouraging people to improve themselves and continuously seek out new goals

(which I think is why he became so depressed in PLA and is still wistful in Lost Tracks)

(PLA/my fic specific) Ingo does things that he doesn't quite know why he does. Probably the most obvious example from my fic was when Ingo charged into the Distorted Floor to check on Team Stardust. He's bothered by this

Emmet specific (I have a harder time with Emmet ngl)

Emmet speaks very matter-of-factly and yet doesn't sound formal. I don't know how to explain this, just look at his quotes page

He tends to speak in shorter sentences

He's also blunt and a bit sassy. Ingo may be his impulse control, but his filter is only halfway equipped properly

Emmet prefers to live in the Now. He is concerned about following schedules, but he can get lost in the moment (especially in a battle) and is focused on having fun now

Because Emmet has a harder time with talking, he does a lot of scripting ("I am Emmet", his spiels about following the rules)

(Ingo does scripting as well but Emmet's is more obvious)

I've always interpreted Emmet's signature smile as him masking! People like it when you smile, right? This isn't applicable to dialogue probably, but it helps form the image I have of him in my mind

Looks up to Ingo, big time. He does care for the safety of others, but the care he has for the safety of family (including his pokemon) is even more so

Both of them:

You can't overdo the train references. You just can't. Whenever I think I did too much, I look at their quotes page, and I'm just like "yeah, they're really like this. These guys are goobers and I love them"

They share a brain cell, especially when they're together. They don't always talk at the same time or see eye-to-eye, but they're on the same page on a lot of things

Ingo tends to lead the way in battles, with Emmet following his lead. This is a trend, not a hard rule

Obviously headcanons affect how you write them. I subscribe to the 'Ingo and Emmet are autistic' camp and that influences how I write them. I like to show them reacting to different textures, and Emmet has explicitly stimmed multiple times, for example

I hope this makes sense? I definitely missed some things, but this is just me rambling about train guys

[priscilla9993]

Hi! If ur still doing these then 10, 16, 18 and 20 for Alice Jones :D?

Oooh, yeah! Thanks for the ask. To anyone wondering, I'll be doing these for as long as I'm asked. 😉

10. Fears/phobias

Alice definitely fears being alone. And I don't mean being in her own company because she can definitely be independent and quite at peace with herself. But she fears never being able to be a part of the world, to be forgotten, to never have any human connection, to always be on the inside looking out. She's scared of being confined or trapped in any way, so I think she'd have a form of claustrophobia.

I think she also fears being unwanted or abandoned. Too many people in life have shunned her for her idiosyncrasies and bouncy energy, including her own mother at birth after Alice no longer served a purpose, if you can even call Gothel that. Her papa endlessly loved her and stayed by her side until he was poisoned, but Alice harshly found that reality was not like that. I believe she found family and friendship in Wonderland, but she lost them all just as quick. Very few people tried to understand her; most either ignoring her or took a liking to call her names, a thing I can assume as we could see in Tilly's self deprecating tone when she was about to leave Hyperion Heights and Margot caught her talking to the Troll statue. I think currently, she mainly fears the loss of her loved ones in general, always worrying about their health, especially since the multiple scares she had with Papa Killian while the Poisoned Heart Curse was still intact.

16. Dark secrets/’skeletons in the closet’

Dark secrets? Well, Alice isn't as happy go lucky as she makes herself out to be. Sure, she's naturally bubbly, but sometimes, it's a front for the overwhelming sadness she can't get rid of some days, when she feels like nothing can go right and she's not worthy of all the kindness people give her. What comes out in bursts on her bad days and doesn't last long is her anger whenever she's grumpy or lashes out, mostly to her stuff animals or to herself of things she couldn't change from the past, time lost, things she had to experience later in life or never had. I think she'll rarely talk about all the trauma from the experiences she went through either in the Jabberwock attack or in other realms. I headcanon that Alice has been to Neverland, met Pan, and managed to get out with luck and loopholes in his logic, but she won't tell her papa that.

18. Things they’ll never admit

Alice usually says what's on her mind but I doubt she'll ever admit how much she wants to happy cry over all the small things in life like being cared for, valued for her thoughts, or sharing a warm meal with her papa, Robin, or Zelena, no matter how much she knows she shouldn't have to worry that it's not the new normal. She spent most of her life as Alice and Tilly having to watch her own back and never knowing who to trust, despite her nature wanting to rely on others.. Alice will never admit when she's lying because her mischievous side likes watching other people's reactions, making her feel like she has the upper hand in conversations.

20. What-ifs/Alternate Timelines

I assume in another life, she would have been the main Guardian. If Rumple had given had let her do the dagger transfer process, she'd be the same Alice Jones, protected by her guardianship, able to vanquish the darkness once and for all, but end up being blessed/cursed with immortality and even stronger magical powers. It would be an invisible tower as she'd watch everyone she loves disappear with time and be unable to run from her predicament. In a what if scenario, related to the dark books Wish Rumple was ready to trap them in, Alice could have become the Dark One, unprotected by Guardianship, choosing the darkness to get back to her papa. Haha, gonna add my AU fanfic into this answer, but I seriously see so many characteristics in her being strong in the face of adversity, so I think she'd make a great Cinderella *wink wonk*.

Ahhh, honestly, I think the cruelest twist of fate in my headcanons is if Alice wasn't ever given reunited with her papa or met Robin in any form, I imagine her surrendering to anger, becoming unforgiving and losing hope. Gothel eventually finds her to check on her Guardianship, breaking her free at the right time, and taking advantage of her vulnerabilities as her "mother", coming back to her when "she could". All the lies Gothel would tell and Alice would cling to, fearing being abandoned again and hoping to make the wise woman proud, no matter what the consequences were.

[grimmusings]

♢ canon muses ♢ original muses ♢ open starters ♢ starter calls ♢ prompts ♢ wishlist ♢

♢ drafts ♢

queued: ⭒ bucky, frank, will, levi, billy ⭒ david, liam drafted: ⭒ ben, blair, emerson, grant, holland, jericho, jesse, sarge, theo

♢ rules ♢

♢ safety ♢ ⭒ age: This is a 25+ blog with mature themes. Please be 18+ to interact. By following or interacting, you confirm that you are 18+. I don't write with blogs that don't have an age range and at least a basic list of rules posted. If I don't think I can respect your rules, I won't follow. ⭒ stress: My primary rule is don't make this stressful. This is a casual hobby that I do for love. If it stops being fun, I'm out. You manage your expectations, jealousy, and mental health, and I'll manage mine. Pressuring me for replies or explanations or trying to draw me into drama will result in immediate blocking. I don't tolerate entitlement or possessiveness. Nobody in the rpc owes anyone anything aside from basic decency. ⭒ nsfw: There will be written adult content here, including both smut and horror. Some muses prefer more chemistry-based partners than others, but feel free to send nsfw memes if we’re shipping. I have a list of banned and accepted kinks here. If you're not comfortable, I'm happy just to imply it and move on. ⭒ themes: My blogs are emphatically anti-censorship, and there will be darker-themed plots/muses as agreed upon by my writing partners. I respect your right to write (or not write) whatever you want, regardless of whether I find it personally moral or pleasing, and I expect the same. If I don't want to see it, I'll blacklist, unfollow, or block like an adult who's capable of monitoring her own media intake. Please give me the same courtesy and don't try to police my content.

♢ preferences ♢ ⭒ connections: This is a multi-muse, multi-ship, multi-verse blog with no crossover among threads unless agreed upon by the writers. I'm happy to write with canon, AU, OCs, fandom crossovers, duplicates, etc. ⭒ shipping: Feel free to communicate your preferences to me. I enjoy ships and smut, and I don't mind if that's all you're here for. (I also don't mind if you don't want to ship or smut, and there's never any pressure to do either.) I don't mind if you just like the faceclaim, but please also take an interest in how I write the muse. Some of my muses are easier to ship with than others, but plotting can do a lot to establish chemistry, and we can start a thread with a ship in mind. Many of my canon muses have OTPs listed in their intros. I consider those to already have “built in” chemistry from their source material, so feel free to assume an established ship on those. ⭒ canons/ocs: If you only write canons, I don't insist that you write with my original/minor muses, or vice versa. However, I do ask that you match energy. If I make an effort to write with your original, minor, small fandom, or female muses, please have the courtesy to write with mine. I put just as much effort into them as you do, and it's both demoralizing and hypocritical when all of the above only come to write with my popular canon males. ⭒ exclusives: I do not do mains, exclusives, or affiliates. If you choose to tag me as one, it's entirely up to you how you run your blog. Just understand that I will not be tagging back or managing my blogs any differently. Please don't treat me like a main and rely on me for all your connections. It will only stress me out and put me off interacting. ⭒ length, pov, tense: I don't do one-liners and short replies well. I prefer at minimum a solid paragraph (100+ words) or two, but I'll match energy. If you give me shorter replies, expect to get them back. I write in third person limited/past tense, but you do you. ⭒ formatting: I don't bother with a lot of formatting. Format or don't to your heart's content, but my limit is cutting posts and using gifs or icons when I can. I'm perfectly happy to get back text-only replies. Up front, I don't move asks to a new thread (unless it's sent to my main for a side blog) and will not think of it, but feel free to move them wherever you want. ⭒ faceclaims: I prefer not to write with any animated/illustrated/cartoon muses, though I'll make an exception for some comics because I write so many of those muses. I don't have a blacklist for faceclaims unless they've been convicted of a crime. Cancel culture is backseat activism at best and socially sanctioned bullying at worst, and I won't participate in it. If I write several muses with the same faceclaim, odds are good I'm open to writing others if I'm familiar with their media or willing to put it on my watchlist, so you're welcome to ask. (e.g., I write Bucky Barnes, Carter Baizen, and Chris Beck, so I'm open to writing Nick Fowler or Steve Kemp if there's interest.) ⭒ blacklist: I prefer not to play against real-life/celebrity muses, Thanos, Johann Schmidt, Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, John Walker, or the Darkling. It's just a personal preference, and I'm not interested in developing my muses with them. I also struggle with most historical and high fantasy settings, and I prefer to write in my established fandoms or adjacent (Marvel, paranormal, and horror always welcome). I may not follow back if I'm not familiar with your source material. Additionally, I'm not comfortable writing my villains/villain verses with underage muses except in very selective cases.

♢ interacting ♢ ⭒ selectivity: I'm semi-selective for my own sanity, but non-mutuals are welcome to interact to see if our writing vibes. Sometimes writing styles don't match or characters don't connect. It's nothing against you as a person if it's not clicking, but I'm not going to force myself to keep a thread if I’m not feeling it. Please feel free to do the same. I would never want you to force yourself to write something for me at the expense of your own enjoyment. ⭒ interactions: There's no expiration on open starters, prompts, or starter calls. I default on main verses for memes, but you’re welcome to request another from my list. I treat most prompts as easy para starters, so feel free to respond to those. However, if we already have threads going, I may drop older/lower muse ones to keep my reply count manageable and so we can focus on developing what we have. ⭒ messaging: I try to respond to DMs that are about plot/rp, but I may not respond to personal ones. My social battery isn't always up to it, and I'm not here to share about my life. ⭒ response time: If you're not comfortable waiting on replies, I'm not the partner for you, and I don't follow blogs with a posted time limit. I write a lot of threads on a lot of muses with a lot of writers, and I aim for quality over speed. Please don't pressure me for replies. I appreciate patient partners. Likewise, please don't ever feel like you need to rush. I don't have a time limit on when it's been too long to answer something. ⭒ queue: Replies run entirely on queue based on muse or the order that I get them, and I can be selective at times. Steve and Bucky's queues are typically a month out at minimum, and my other muses come and go as they please. I tend to answer askbox memes first and then queue the rest to one a day for my own sanity. ⭒ blocking: I'm not mutuals only. I don't keep close track of my followers, especially on the sideblogs. I may not notice immediately (or at all) if you unfollow or softblock me. If you really want to cut contact, your best option is to hardblock me and any sideblogs you were interacting with. I won't ask questions. ⭒ unfollows: A chaotic dash stresses me out, and I do periodic unfollow sweeps for people I'm not actively writing or plotting with. If your blog moves really fast, you’re posting a lot of things I don’t want to see but can’t easily blacklist, or our interactions start to feel one-sided, I may write with you without following back. ⭒ discord: I only share my Discord if we've been writing together for a while, and I only use it for plotting. I prefer to keep all my threads on Tumblr, and I do not write in DMs.

last updated 10/24

[adamsvanrhijn]

ooooh 17, 19 if you want, 32, 38

17. Past or present tense? Why?

both!!! that post going around right now about this makes me :-( because i use both in about equal frequency (though!!! i don't know that for certain... i should make a chart) and people are dissing present tense a lot lol. but! i like them both, and they both tell stories.

i think they each give different vibes and there are some nuances worth considering to craft something of quality in each. converting tenses (which i have to do fairly often because i do write in both and i don't write in a linear way at all, so if passage x is in present and passage y is in past one of them has to Win and the other gets rewritten) and ending up with quality prose is more complex than just changing the verb tenses.

but i like both and use both! sometimes within the same work (in diff chapters/sections obvs, not in the same piece of prose) to express something in particular? but generally it's arbitrary and it's just how the words fall out of my head.

19. Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

"It's become inconvenient," Oscar specified.

"Has it?"

"And with you blocks away," sharing an address with several mutual acquaintances of theirs (bachelors congregated; Oscar had been careful to deviate from the trend), in an area... well, not more trafficked. But crowds were amenable when one wanted to blend in, and the crowds at Madison Square were more active and more varied than those in John's quarter, where all had impeccable background and pedigree—and all knew them both on sight, saw them both everywhere.

He hadn't known New York. He couldn't be blamed for his decision, and, in Oscar's favor, he'd said before that he should make a different one if he could start again.

But he disliked change once he had settled: the other side of the coin, and the one that would not serve Oscar well in this endeavor.

32. Do you have a word/expression that you always use in your writing?

lmfao god yeah unfortunately. there are very many. i am trying to break some of these habits with tga fanfic as i am writing new points of view? but some of it is just ~*~*My Style~*~.

major offenders:

"breathe[s/d]" as a dialogue tag verb

i feel that my adverbs are repetitive in general but especially "lightly". my prose is very beige and i tend to over-rely on Telling with adverbs in general imo.

lexical trends characters have in canon tend to show up more frequently in my fic than they do in the actual source material, especially when it's ways of expressing contradiction (e.g. thomas barrow downton abbey "but even so")

38. "This never happened" fix-it fics or "this happened but" fix-it fics?

so i don't really write Fix It Fic so much as i write canon divergent aus where things go differently and sometimes result in what i think is a good outcome for the characters that they may not necessarily have been afforded in canon — i am a Canon First Word Of God Second Paratext Third Everything Else Last person, and i like to explore other stories and what if scenarios, but i'm very much a "love letter to the media" fic writer, not an "i can do it better" fic writer.

but in any case, i try to err on the side of "this happened but" because i think it's easier to keep characterization stable and recognizable that way, as well as, when things don't happen at all, trying to ensure there is an analogue event or plotline that allows for similar character development. sometimes i like to take said character development past canon to a place that feels more desirable to me, but that isn't intended necessarily to be a Fix, because i have so many stories going on in my head and i don't even really have headcanons that are 100% stable across my own work, let alone scenarios in mind that feel Better or more certain to me than canon itself does.