#moving forward au

[anonymousboxcar]

Moving Forward AU: Romance?

(This was something I meant to have out by Valentine’s Day, but… yeah. No spoons. The silverware drawer was empty. Apologies for the lateness, folks!)

I’m pondering what romantic shenanigans Stanley might get up to in my AU. I imagine it would be years before he felt up to pursuing that kind of relationship. But once he’s had time to settle into his new normal, process his trauma, and make new friends, he might feel more comfortable with it.

One possibility I see is that he and Duncan decide to give it a try!

I like the idea of Duncan falling for this rough n’ ready, plainspoken engine who helps him not blow up over the little things in life. And for awhile, Stanley is too busy adjusting to his new life to see it. But he feels ever fonder of his grumpy friend who makes him laugh and doesn’t ask him to be patient all the time.

Once they sort themselves out, they’re not ones for extravagant gestures. They do what they did before, watching tapes of George Carlin and cracking jokes, with the new understanding between them. It’s very easygoing and comfortable for them both.

(There’s also an ongoing competition between them to call each other the most ridiculous, nauseating pet names possible.)

Another possibility: you know how there’s a notion in the RWS of engines being paired up with coaches, almost “courting” them? I like to think Stanley scoffs at this. It seems silly and quaint to him. But he’s also rejecting any closeness due to his old, ingrained fears surrounding derailments and getting somebody hurt.

And then, at the rail museum, he meets a truck.

The truck works with Stanley in his capacity as an exhibit on trench railways. They used to carry troops and supplies during WWI, though not on the same railway as Stanley’s old wartime circuit. At the museum, they haul passengers around the grounds.

They notice Stanley’s uneasiness over this business and try to reassure him: “So what if you slide off the track? I blew up once!”

“…what?”

“Well, it was a ways ahead of me in the train. Got a face full of shrapnel and a bent axle. But! Point is, I’ve had worse. I can take a bump or two.”

Full of irrepressible cheer and optimism, the truck helps assuage the worst of Stanley’s anxieties. In return, Stanley — grateful and a touch bemused — does his best to give smooth rides. This wins him the trust of the truck, who never experienced such gentleness in an unpatronizing package.

They start chatting on their runs and at the end of the day about museum gossip, guests, and their old lives. The truck shares their adventures with other trucks after the war. Stanley tells the truck about operation on a more typical railway like the SKR.

Hearing about Skarloey and Rheneas’ treatment of their coaches, the truck wonders what it’s like to be treated the way a civilian engine treats their coach. Stanley, thinking of his own struggles to fit into a “normal” railway on the MSR, offers to help. The truck accepts.

Stanley stumbles over calling the truck “dear,” as well as the other typical flowery compliments and language. He’s self-conscious and a little embarrassed by the time the day’s over.

But he’s also flustered by the warmth in the truck’s responses, their own compliments towards him. They’re not flowery, demure, nor outrageous, but honest and open.

The truck, seeing how red in the face he is, apologizes for making him uncomfortable. “You already made me feel respectable, proper-like, before I asked you to do this.”

Stanley admits he liked their compliments. “Just didn’t know what to with ‘em, I guess,” he says. “But… I really did like ‘em. Made me feel good.”

“Oh. Well, you can tell me that, if you like.” The truck looks Stanley in the eye. “You can tell me anything. I won’t laugh.”

“Not even if I ask you to keep doin’ what you did today?”

“Not even that. Though — if I’m honest? I’d like it if you kept up your end of things, too.”

So they keep at it. Their exchanges become more natural, more like second nature over time. They become mixed into casual conversation, become less about meeting expectations of engine-rolling stock relations and more about what they like in each other.

After a certain point, one curious child visitor asks for how long they’ve been married.

A pause follows. It’s long enough for Stanley to realize he isn’t surprised or confused by the child’s assumption. It’s long enough for him and the truck to make significant eye contact, to see his happiness and hope reflected back at him.

“A year,” they both say at the same time, smiling.

[quesocheeso]

Heavenly War Part 3

Woooo this was another long one, the action parts had me dusting my skills a bit but we got it done✨

Both Erlang and Macaque are warriors in their own right and respect each other for it. Erlang’s mercy at the end is what keeps them amicable in the future since Mac was able to see that he didn’t’ want to be doing this in the first place (as well as see the first cracks in his loyalty)

Next part should be (hopefully) the last chapter of the Heavenly War arc,,, I can’t promise a schedule for when it’s posted but I already have most of it drafted👍

Next time we’ll see the return of Wukong

Prev | First | Next

[13mary-gold]

PART 5

Part 1 | Part 4 < Part 5 > Part 6

[cubbihue]

Uhm is Chimmy Changa doing well? Its seems he has started to divert from what changelings are supposed to do and act like is the static not staticing correctly is he become aware that something is wrong?

Diverting? Well we can’t have that!!!!

Don’t worry. I’ve increased the noise since our last interference. If it happens again, we will issue a good reset!! Thank you for your report.

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[deikshen]

Crown Prince Shen Yuan (just... Crown prince, cultivates as a hobby, but no further) which is forcibly compromised with the Demon Emperor Luo Binghe in order to strengthen a peaceful relationship between the human and demon realms. And Shen Yuan is FURIOUS. HOW DARE THEY PROMISE HIM IN MARRIAGE TO SOMEONE HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW?! EVEN IF HE'S TRACED THE POWERFUL DEMON EMPEROR, THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE WANTS TO MARRY HIM!!

Anyway, he'll do whatever it takes to break that engagement. Ha! If those tutors and advisors think he'll just stand by and watch them manage his life, NO WAY! Shen Yuan may have a boring palace life reading about monsters and plants (and trashy novels that traffic in servants when no one is looking) but it's HIS life. He decides what he'll do! They can't steal that from him!!

He will ruin that engagement. No marriage commitment is necessary, gentlemen! Hasn't anyone heard of peace treaties and trade agreements? Seriously! And he's the irresponsible young man, according to reports!

So, fully determined, he will do all kinds of things necessary to ruin that engagement. Disdaining wedding gifts? Done. Sending clearly offensive and uncharacteristic wedding gifts? Done. Dressing inappropriately for peace celebrations? Done. Get drunk and be rude and hostile to prove that he's a silly, conceited guy and that no one will benefit from marrying him? Done.

Shen Yuan does everything he has to do, but NOTHING WORKS? REALLY? Why do the damn demons at court think that behavior is acceptable!? He's being hostile!! Rude! Why do the demons think he's accepting courtship satisfactorily!? Idiots!!!

Determined to go all out and flout all the rules of engagement, Shen Yuan runs away to the Demon Emperor's palace, determined to meet him in person and ruin any expectations Lord Luo might have of him. Then Luo Binghe will see that he is a hostile, rude, noisy boy, that his life will be fucking ruined if he marries him, and that this arranged marriage is a horrible farce!!

... So he meets him in person. Oh god. Okay. Shen Yuan has new plans.

Well, their arranged marriage and peace agreements are on the table for late fall. Shen Yuan needs to fuck Luo Binghe before that, then, it will be a scandal!!! Which will make them get married quickly, without arrangements, without festivities, and of course without forcing him just the way his palace court wanted!! No fancy wedding arrangements! No more having any say over him! Ha!!

If Shen Yuan is going to marry Luo Binghe, it will be on his own terms, thank you for nothing!!

[hey-hey-j]

"Maybe they let him go, or—or he left, or.... I don't know!"

"Then why wouldn't he come looking for us? For him?"

"I—..... I don't know!"

I'd love to take this further but I am currently stuck on dialogue 🙃

......there's always the third option none of them want to think too hard about :)

[daranatsus]

Life Moves On

Commentary under the cut!

Sooo I was originally going to make the full design before posting this, but sifloop beckoned me to draw this.

This takes place post-canon, around 5 or so years after the events of Two Hats and the main ending. All his friends eventually split up as life calls them in different directions. Mirabelle goes back to Dormont after a long pilgrimage with the family (including Nille). Isabeau ends up starting an internship with clothing designer with the hopes of starting his own clothing business. Bonnie and Nille still travel around, but that becomes more difficult once Bonnie goes back into school. Lastly, Odile goes back to Ka Bue after a long journey with Siffrin.

Within the main AU (can it be called that if it's supposed to be a continuation of the main story?) Siffrin has to navigate a world without the support of their companions. Turns out, having no goals for the future besides being with your friends makes it really hard to have a purpose in life!

Eventually, he becomes an astronomer after some support from some people he met (I wonder what could have motivated this, teehee~!). This is also when gets a new outfit. They still keep their original one, but it's mostly used for when they know they're going on a long journey since their og cape self regulating temperature craft.

The sifloop is more implied than anything else (so far). After all their friends go their separate ways, Siffrin gets some special earrings as to remember Loop by. They occasionally dream about them. Sometimes it's sad, sometimes it's happy. He's just glad that he gets to see them in any way.

I did not mean for this to get this long... UH anyways! Have this music playlist that I'm going to use as inspiration for this AU!

[elliewiltarwyn]

well.

i think we all knew what was going to happen.

all of us except Ellie herself, that is.

please chomp your friends responsibly.

(with @verysmallcyborg's Fornax!)

[anonymousboxcar]

RWS Stanley Time: Museum Edition

In my posts about my Moving Forward AU, I’ve talked a lot about Stanley on the SKR. So here’s tidbits about his life at the museum!

———————————

-Stanley pulls visitor trains around the museum grounds. He doesn’t like being an indoor exhibit, but he can manage being stationary if visitors see him in his shed with the doors open.

-The museum primarily uses him as an example of a trench engine, educating its visitors about trench railways. As part of his job, he’ll explain his class and his WWI service to visitors.

-If guests ask about his MSR days, he’ll wince. But he’ll still talk about them. It’s important for people to know how railways used to treat their engines, even if it’s difficult to talk about.

-Stanley also shares embarrassing stories about the MSR management. Is it petty? Yes.

-Does he delight anyways in generations of children knowing That Time Manager Fell in a Scummy Pond Trying to Catch His Hat? Yes.

-It can be difficult for him to discuss WWI, too. But unlike the MSR management, he respected and befriended the soldiers. Those young men never left him behind. He wants to make sure people remember them — and what they endured.

-On Remembrance Day, he wears his wartime livery. He also pulls replicas of the rolling stock he hauled in the trenches. He tells guests about names and faces, about in-jokes and tragedies.

-For the most part, Stanley gets along well with the visitors. He’s still a little rough around the edges, but he’s a smooth runner and he’s patient while answering questions…

-…unless you’re rude to him, other engines, or other guests. Then he’ll make a game out of telling you off without violating museum policy about “professional language.” And he’s very creative.

-He credits Neil with teaching him how to interact with visitors. In fact, Neil showed him the ropes of museum life in general.

-In return for helping him adjust, Stanley covers Neil’s work during Skarloey’s visits so he can spend more time with him.

-Because he goes back and forth between the SKR and the museum, Stanley is popular with the museum’s full-time residents. They crave information about “the outside,” hounding him for news and gossip.

-He spills the tea during a weekly occasion: To practice for his poker nights with Duke, Skarloey, and Rheneas, he teaches the museum engines how to play. One of the coffeepots is his star protégé.

-But there’s one person with whom Stanley isn’t popular — George.

-I don’t have any justification for how it happens, but I like to think George winds up at the museum after his company retires him. He demonstrates how little sense he learned when he tries to razz other “has-been, useless” engines in front of Stanley.

-George says he’s only being honest. Stanley snaps back that since George is out of service, he’s describing himself, too.

-George hates Stanley for this. He either tries to goad him or sulks whenever he goes by. For his part, Stanley manages not to waste too much time needling him.

-However, others notice that if anyone else tries to trash-talk Stanley, George shuts it down with the insistence that only he gets to do that. It’s up for debate if this is a sign of character growth or not. Stanley, who learned the value of hope, spares a little bit for George.

[peachesofteal]

Blood bag WIP

The first 3kish of this is on Patreon (all non con redacted for Patreon's TOS)

[queenbeekb13]

AU where Simon does go with Edwin to escape Hell and Edwin convinced him + crew that he should stay on with them. After a few awkward weeks Edwin and Simon eventually become friendly (Edwin has someone new to infodump to who is clearly attentive and also someone who understands what’s it’s like to be displaced from his specific time) and maybe Simon even gets brave and a lil flirty now that he knows he and Edwin ARE the same (gay) and that Edwin has forgiven him since the whole murder WAS an accident…..

Meanwhile Charles is perpetually in the background absolutely seething bc that’s the boy who’s responsible for his best mate ending up in Hell (and also he’s super jealous)

[sugarpasteltmnt]

Congrats on getting into the TMNT AU COMP again with The Neon Void!! I was wondering what do you think your boys would wear for the high fantasy theme?

I SAW????? OMG WOW 😭 Thank you to those of you who nominated my silly little story!!! I'll try to do something special to celebrate (like uhhhhhh fixing all my typos LMAO WHOOPSIE)

and gosh, that's a hard one!! sorry to say that my first thought is DND parties lol (i'm not well versed in high fantasy creatures and dynamics so forgive me lol)

I can see Raph as a kind of paladin. Perhaps a "giant" paladin because he's so big compared to his brothers LOL. I think it would be cute if Mikey was fairy-esque, or an elven-esque theme-- but definitely a fun cleric. Donnie would be a goblin because 1) that would be hilarious 2) he's my scrunkly little gremlin who loves to be in his lab mehehe. Definetly an arificer.

as for Leo....

perhaps a lost bard turned "evil" sorcerer lol

[lixel-5]

i have this headcanon where long story short stanley gains consciousness but the narrator hasn’t, and once stanley does something stupid (goes so far out of bounds the narrator is left to his own devices to get him back in bounds lol) it knocks the narrator into consciousness

and when he resets and realizes he’s not being dictated by code anymore the narrator is PISSED

like how DARE you make it so i’m having actual thoughts. i can remember more than 20 seconds ago and ITS ALL YOUR FAULT. now i have to deal with wants and desires instead of just following a script for eternity! kys!!!!!!!!

[amielot]

They head back to the barn when the rain lets up.

@arialerendeair def gave inspo for this one hehe

[artscheese]

These two clowns together for my au!!

(Also a bit of a revival of the Vincent key art)

[daranatsus]

thinking of you

two hats spoilers under the cut

"Maybe we'll meet again, but it's time to stop waiting for things to happen. You have a life to live, Siffrin."