#mtas ao3 fic

[fangbangerghoul]

What Did I Get Myself Into?

My Time at Sandrock fic Fem!builder Ghoul x Owen Ghoul finds the confidence to try to socialize like the rest of the Sandrockians WC: 993 Chapter 1: Playdate?

New mini fic up and live on Ao3! Just like the previous one I am challenging myself to keep each chapter under 1000 words. I won't lie it's been a little hard. I always feel the urge to write 10 more paragraphs but have to stop myself.

Please enjoy the first chapter under the cut and feel free to click on the link within the title to show it love on Ao3!

The sun was baking the sweat against her skin as she dragged a pile of old dusty wood back towards her shop. This particular wood pile had a few boards in it that would prove to be quite useful to her for her current project. Once Ghoul was inside the fenced area of her home she gave in and dropped the heavy boards, letting them fall to the ground and trying to wipe some of the dust off her hands. It was still only nine in the morning but she felt done for the day. Ghoul wasn't sure why she decided to drag the boards across the desert like that and a part of her felt like she should have chopped them up into smaller pieces. 

She knew it didn't matter now because the deed was done and her lips and tongue felt as dry as the area that surrounded her. Ghoul pushed her green bangs out of her face and looked out towards the Blue Moon Saloon that was basically her only neighbor. She could see the faint build of Owen and he seemed to be waving out towards her. She felt flutters in her stomach, anxious and unsure if he was waving at her or not. She gave a small shy wave back. 

Owen seemed to do a different motion with his hands now. She couldn't quite tell from this far but it was enough to beckon her forth. She looked around herself trying to decide whether she should pack up the wooden boards or not but ultimately decided that they would be fine where they were for now. 

Ghouls feet lead her to the saloon and Owen was standing there beaming at her as she walked up. 

“I hope you aren't working yourself too hard in the morning.” The warmth of his voice caused the redness in her cheeks. “I must admit I slept in today but if you've been out for a while already care to come in for a drink?” 

“I think I can afford to stop for a moment.” She said sheepishly. She always was a bit angry at herself for how small she felt around him and how easy it was to suddenly not know how to speak. It wasn't his fault, directly at least. 

“I have a few commissions I need to finish before the evening but I must admit I am thirsty.” Her tongue licked her lips subconsciously as she said this to him and she couldn't help that her eyes were focused on the bulkiness of his broad shoulders. Thankfully she thought he didn't notice. 

“I won't hold you up for too long then.” He winked at her, flashing a toothy grin. She followed his lead as he held the door open for her and stayed close behind. The saloon smelt of the usual fresh herbs, cooked food, and oak wood. Owen went ahead behind the counter and started to grab glasses to fill. Ghoul reached into her pocket and grabbed some gols to pay him. 

“Don't you dare.” He warned her playfully. The large glass full of root beer was ready on the counter. “You can come and buy some dinner tonight but this drink is on the house.” 

Ghoul looked at him suspiciously, always feeling slightly uncomfortable when he gave her things for free. She was never sure how to repay him and no matter what she gifted him, his response was always the same. It had gotten to the point where she made a little game out of it for herself and started to give him random pieces of old parts and berries. 

“You're too kind.” Was all she could manage and as she sipped on her foamy glass he sipped on his own. His eyes always seemed to stay glued on her when they were within proximity, watching to see if she enjoyed herself. She placed her glass down after drinking half of it down. It coated her throat with cool sugary sweetness. 

“Would you…” Ghoul began, tapping her index finger on her glass handle. She was trying to find the courage and the words for what she wanted to ask. “Would you want to hang out today?” 

She regretted it as soon as she said it, the vulnerability of it. Asking for companionship was something she didn't do very often and she expected him to say he was busy today anyway. There was even a small part of her that did wish he would reject her offer so maybe her face would stop flushing when he spoke to her or the flips her stomach would perform would cease to be. She finally looked at him after asking and his brows were raised in surprise and his mouth slightly parted. Ghoul wondered if he was trying to find a gentle way to reject the request. 

“Yeah, I would love that.” He spoke with a small sigh as if the pressure within him finally spewed over like steam within an engine. “I think Grace can take over for a few hours. It has been awhile since someone asked me to spend the day with them.” 

Her heart faltered for a moment before revving back up to its regular beat. She was surprised and now even more anxious because she hadn't fully expected him to accept nor was she sure what in the hell she could take them to do. There were those commissions she had to finish and deliver and perhaps he would be willing to give her company during that. She chugged the rest of her drink before letting the glass fall back to the counter then wiped the foam off of her mouth. 

“Well…um..let’s head out when you are ready then.” She tried to sound confident but she was still bewildered that he even agreed to her offer. 

“After you builder.” Owen gave the willful command as he put both their used glasses behind the counter. 

[pummedraws]

Commission done for Mdmevastra on AO3 for their fic! <3 It took me quite a while to finish it but I am finally done! :D Fang and her OC Builder!

[aviaryworkshop]

Juno Laurent: a pretty boy with an ugly past. Sandrock was his clean slate; he’d finally found a home for himself, a community that welcomed him with open arms, and work that actually helped those he cared about. He could finally relax… right? He wanted to believe so, but the bandit who hijacked his train showed him kindness, and Juno couldn’t help but stick his nose where it didn’t belong.

Chapter three of my Logan/Juno fic is up! <3 This is where the proper plot starts to pick up, so strap in, folks

[i-got-da-rubes]

Meet the artist redraw: a year later!

Hello hello. I'm Rubes, and a secondary name would be Snirkish. I'm transmasc and I go by he/they pronouns(heavy on the he/him). I'm 18 and I love all things TMNT. Specifically ROTTMNT and 2012 as a secondary favorite. This is majorly a TMNT blog. A lot has changed from my last MTA but I still can't draw feet or shoes lmao. I've gotten crazy into writing and don't draw or animate as much as I used to but still love it.

Where to find me

@i-got-da-rubes on tumblr

@/i-got-da-rubes on Instagram

Snirkish on Ao3, Cara, TikTok, and Artfight

My Tags

Rubes art

Rubes writing

Rubes garbage - random thoughts

Rubes nonsense - TMNT analysis perhaps?

Rubes edits

My proudest Ao3 works at the moment

Lucy - Ongoing transfem Mikey 03 Woodyangelo fic (you read that right)

deadname - Raph-focused IDW/2012 AU

Just a dress - Transfem Mikey 03 oneshot

Thanks for giving this a read! I hope you stick around

Previous MTA

[sanddusted-wisteria]

Welcome!

I'm Shady and this is my My Time at Sandrock sideblog! I'm mostly a fanfic writer, but I'm diving into fanart too! Feel free to have look around.

---

Tags

shady's fics - Anything relating to the fanfiction I write. Links to AO3 are on every work/chapter posting. You can also check out my masterlist.

mtas wisteria - Anything with my builder OC, Wisteria! Intro to her here!

shady learns 2 art - My art tag. As the name implies, I'm still a beginner, so go easy on me :P (advice/feedback is great if you have any!)

other shady business - For other things like headcanons, theories, datamining, or any other random stuff.

---

Where else am I?

My main blog (not used too often, but I reblog stuff I find cool sometimes)

[New!] My general cloneverse sideblog - For the rest of my My Time series OCs, other clones like Wis!

AO3

Bluesky

I also go by my regular handle (Shady Groves) on Discord and I lurk on the Pathea server. Do note that unless I know you (either from tumblr, AO3, or the OTAS server), I probably won't accept friend requests or DMs. not usually much of a talker on discord anyway lul

[xmoth-after-darkx]

For those of you who enjoy my fic "Blood in the Sand", I am sad to announce that I will be locking it so that only registered AO3 users can view it. I hope it will only be temporary.

There is, apparently, yet another AI tech company (this one called rivd (dot) net) scraping fics and specifically targeting AO3. Though the company's site seems to be down right now, that does not necessarily mean they are permanently gone or going to stop.

Be safe out there, folks. Protect your beautiful works ❤

(gonna specifically tag the MTaS fandom since that's the fandom my fic is in, but everyone who writes fanfic ought to be aware regardless)

[sandrockianblues]

I may have just binged your Unsuur fic on Ao3 instead of doing literally anything else the past 24 hours. I have to (respectfully!) ask: plans to continue? I understand if not- just genuinely curious. I LOVE your writing and your MTAS HCs I've found here 😍❤️ thank you!

I do plan to continue!

My main issue with the fic itself was that I began writing so very early on when Early Access was released and I sometimes felt like I wasn’t doing Unsuur right not Scout, she’s doing Unsuur perfectly heh

But I do plan to continue and I was working to reign Unsuur back into character. Also, I had to bring the angst my b.

Thank you so much for loving and binging my fic!! It means the world to me honestly. I love messages like these and I read every comment sent to me on the fic 💜💜💜💜💜

[sandrockbandit]

ficscrap 01 [logan/builder wip]

He felt it as soon as the ground beneath evened out into well-traveled rock, and it pricked a needlewave of anxiety in his stomach. 

His horse had thrown a shoe. 

It was a laughably small thing. It barely should have been anything at all. 

("Oughta set out a decent bit of this payout. Go see Hugo and Cooper in the morning," his father mused. He rubbed his jaw, examining his mare. She eyed him right back, soft. "The lady's metalwork is looking a little worn."

And of course, Howlett never did much without reason - locked away in his head as it could be at times - but Logan had spent the walk back home imagining the freshly forged pair of daggers Hugo had been slaving away over. They'd cut much nicer than his current ones, for sure.

"What for? She'll hold out, I reckon." Bemused but not obstinate, he caught his father's gaze with the questioning tilt of the chin. In return, Howlett laughed.

"Son, you and I can hold out. Horses are built to be cared for, and they're liable to burn right out if you don't - you keep your steed healthy and it'll do the same for you." 

Leaning over to give Whiskey's coat a pat, he winked. 

"It's old wisdom, Logan. Favors for favors.")

Although he led a patchwork band of very different people, only a single soul among the gang was a half-decent farrier, and she was resting off an injury. Now, it wasn't one of those things Logan had thought to consider when he first set out on the rough path he did; life out on the dunes had kept only the really important things like water and shelter and spite on the forefront of his mind.

But Whiskey threw a shoe, and Logan wasn't stupid - strong and quick and dependable as she was, a discrepancy like that could easily become an injury.

An injury, for a horse, was just a stone's toss from fatal. 

Casting his gaze across the rolling sand hills and occasional juts of rock, Logan pulled his hat low over his eyes, scowling. With all the shimmers on the horizon, he imagined he could almost make out the very edges of the Cooper property. Fancied leading Whiskey right up and having her refitted right there, like old times. Like when his old man would be right there at his elbow, and his own gelding there besides, and nothing mattered as much as it did these days because everything was alright.

Stupid. (It stung, the thought.) He huffed out a wry, shallow breath.

For all his bluster and every promised gol weighing on his head, Logan couldn't rightly say he enjoyed the hassle of banditry. Unfortunately, these days conducting everyday business tended to involve the business end of a pistol. And as with anything, he adapted, always adapted. 

No professional farriers. Whiskey was built to be cared for. He'd be a fool at best to go knocking on Hugo's door. 

But maybe...

Maybe one of those Builders?

He'd watched from time to time as they fixed up the bridge. They'd taken his water tower stunt and undone it just like that. Two options, both lively and hardworking, and seemingly able to craft just about anything anyone could draw up crude schematics for. The one with the goggles was based further within the town, he reckoned - risky.

But the other one..  

(Acrid smoke on the breeze; Haru's latest had hit like a train, rending the tower to scrap. And she, she'd just left the workshop, frozen in her tracks. Dark eyes meeting his, her hand flexing uncertainly on that pickhammer of hers. Surprise, in those eyes. Curiosity? 

It could have been anything he saw in that gaze, right before he beat his retreat. He knew for sure it hadn't been hostile.)

The other builder, alone across the tracks, would do fine. Casting his memory back, searching for a name, he came up empty. No matter. 

He'd see to it that the exchange measured fairly in the end. Favors for favors.

[sugardoodle]

More MTA drawings!

I LOVED the new chapter!! I was so surprised that Keith found Hunk, and I'm so excited to see how their friendship develops! I also LOVE Kosmo, it makes me really happy whenever he's included in a fic. If you haven't read it yet and you're into Voltron and/or Klance, please go read More Than Alive by @somethingmorecreative1 and @maireep on AO3!

[fangbangerghoul]

AO3

MTAS FIC

Chapter 2: Lucid Dreaming

Prev Chap

Rated: M, 18+

Summary:

Kiichi is back from the desert and is reunited with her dear friends at the Blue Moon Saloon.

“Atta girl” Kiichi whispered to her appaloosa mare while she patted her hair in a soothing fashion. They had just arrived back in town and she decided to pop in The Blue Moon since it was Saturday night. She knew from habit that most of the town would be inside to hear one of Owen’s stories and this way she could eat something that tasted better than food cooked on a stick over fire. Kiichi placed her redden cheeks onto Delilah’s muzzle in an affectionate manner before letting the desert mushroom that was within her closed hand be taken by Delilah’s tongue. The big girl munched away at her treat happily.

Kiichi decided that was enough to convince her mare to stay put while she went and sat in the Blue Moon. She opened the door to the side entrance of the Saloon to see everyone had already started to gather around the stage. It was nice to feel the coolness that the building offered as it embraced her sweaty body. Her skin was warm to the touch and there were places like her face or arms that were sun kissed to put generously. Kiichi’s eyes roamed the Saloon to see if any of her usual friends were there yet and off in the corner under a warm yellow light sat the Fleeting Youth Tea Society a.k.a Kiichi’s closest friends.

They had invited her into their little clique a few months after her arrival based off Amirah’s recommendation. Amirah and Kiichi hit it off with talks of art, poetry, and a love for sunsets. The Fleeting Youth Society was weary at first but with time even Pablo became fond of Kiichi’s contributions of gossip and conversations of art and culture. Amirah, Heidi, and Pablo were sitting in the corner booth waving for Kiichi to walk over so she skipped over and slid in right beside Amirah out of habit.

cont on AO3

[occasionalfics]

touch every star (2)

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ao3 | previous | next

Pairing: Thor X Cinderella!Reader AU

A/N: To those who are reading, thank you! I’m so glad y’all are liking this 💖 Feel free to comment and message me with thoughts if you’d like!

Warnings: Lots of angst, a really, really shitty boss, but overall this is probably the most pure fic I’ve ever written?

Words: 2,643

//

You’re cordially invited to Stark Industries’ Annual Christmas Extravaganza/Charity Gala. Donations optional, but appreciated.

She stared at the email, blinking mindlessly at it for at least three minutes. She’d never been invited to one of these galas before - she figured it was because she was just a secretary and couldn’t afford to make a donation for a charity gala.

But this year, she was on the list. She checked the addresses and CCs and, yup, this email had been personally sent to her. Personally - but most likely from an automated system. Still, hers was the only email listed to be sent to. Someone had put her email in there on purpose (or maybe an accident, but still...she was invited).

She wondered what she’d wear. She didn’t have anything black tie, didn’t have time or money to go shopping. Maybe Nat would have something. Or Wanda, but more than likely, Nat.

She couldn’t go, though. Could she? A secretary from the Accounting offices? Did she mean anything? Enough to be invited to the holiday gala?

Apparently, yes. She knew Nat and Wanda would insist on her going. Her two best friends were kind of like her fairy godmothers. They watched out for her whenever she needed them, encouraged her whenever she felt unsure or insecure, and promised to help her wherever they could. She’d done the same for them, but she was far less well off than they were.

After all, Nat was literally a model and Wanda was making a name for herself as a successful up and coming photographer. Y/N was just a secretary.

As if to remind her of that fact, Jasper Sitwell was suddenly standing in front of her desk. He cleared his throat and glared down at her, one eyebrow raised over the thick rim of his glasses.

“Are you going to sit there motionless all day or are you going to get to work?” he asked.

Man, she hated him. But he’d drilled into her head that he could ruin her with a simple few words. He’d told her nothing if not that he was in charge of her while she was on the clock, and if she didn’t do everything he asked, she’d be out on the street before she could make it to the lobby.

She moved immediately, picking up the papers from the night before to sort through them. “Sorry, Mr. Sitwell,” she muttered, starting piles across her desk for different people throughout the office.

“I saw you stayed late last night,” he said, a little less abrasive but just as cool. “Got everything done?”

She nodded. “Yes, Mr. Sitwell.”

“Good.” She looked up at him in time to see him pull out two sheets of paper, which he placed in her inbound box on the corner of her desk. “I want all of this finished on time today.” With that, he walked into his office without so much as a second glance.

She sighed. The list from yesterday had been one page, single spaced, and it had still taken her almost twelve hours to complete. She’d skipped taking a lunch break and ate while she’d worked, too.

She could only imagine how long this list would take. But first, she still had to sort through the papers from last night and deliver them correctly.

---

Thor had taken bits of pieces of his conversation with Frigga to heart. Just the parts that weren’t directly set up to make him feel guilty for having a high-energy, fast-paced job.

He knew he had to take care of himself. Better care, anyway. He knew he couldn’t sustain twelve and thirteen-hour workdays forever. And, as annoying as Frigga’s nagging about him starting a family was, he did want to start a family. 

He wanted a partner he could come home to, in all senses of the word. Someone kind and generous, that he could care for as much as they cared for him. A true partner. As much as he respected his parents’ relationship, he didn’t want what they had. He wanted something better.

And as he thought on that, his mind drifted to the girl from last night. It was silly of him to imagine her in that spot, given he literally didn’t even know her name, but he couldn’t help himself. Thor’d always been something of a Romantic - even in his college Frat years, he’d imagined a future with a real human, whereas most of his Brothers just wanted easy lays and Trophy Wives.

Loki had always poked his side for stuff like that. But Loki was Loki, and it was hard to know exactly what his idea of a perfect home might be one day.

Thor was thinking of that girl when Tony Stark himself made an appearance in his office. Normally, Tony called people to him, not the other way around, but they both knew Thor was a special circumstance. They were part of a little group of directors and executives - friends, really - so it wasn’t so much of a surprise to Thor that Tony was interrupting his daydream with a pristine white envelope.

“Most people got invites through their email, so appreciate my efforts to come down here. But this year, thanks to Steve, everyone is invited.”

Thor smiled and took the envelope, and despite knowing what was inside, opened it. The annual holiday gala was always a charity event, so usually it was their little group and the board of directors mingling with some celebrities and the like. People with lots of money. Not because Tony didn’t appreciate every one of his employees, really, though Thor didn’t know why this was the first year everyone in the company was included.

“I think that’s a good thing,” Thor said. “Steve’s got some good ideas, you know.”

Tony completely ignored that. He perched himself on one of the chairs facing Thor’s desk and, in his cool and unaffected tone, asked, “So you gonna bring someone? It’s a masquerade this year, you know. Gotta bring a hot date and lose her in the crowd or...some such nonsense.”

He laughed at that, but shook his head. “You know I’m not seeing anyone this year.”

“Oh good because, with so many new people there, you’ll be just single enough to pick someone up.” 

“You’re as bad as my mother,” Thor said. “Did you know that?”

Tony gave him one of those half-smiles, like he’d expected Thor to say as much. “You’re not the first to say so, believe it or not. That I sound like your mother.”

They laughed together, and it took Thor a moment to realize how long it’d been since he’d seen his friends. Too long. They were all busy people but they all worked at the same company, for the same man who was in their group and sitting directly across from him at that very moment.

A gala would be nice. And maybe Tony was right.

After all, if everyone was invited, maybe Elevator Girl would show up. The only problem was that he didn’t know anything about her except that she worked on his floor and that he could recall what she looked like. A mask - kind of required for a masquerade - would make it that much harder for him to find her.

Tony sighed. “Anyway. I’m sure you’re busy - what’d you call it? - ‘protecting our asses’ and all, so I’ll leave you to it. Maybe one day this week we’ll do lunch.” His eyebrows rose expectantly, and Thor hesitantly nodded.

“Maybe.”

“I’ll have my people call your people.”

And with that, he was gone.

---

She managed to finish before six, but well after five. The list was complete - thankfully, most of the tasks Sitwell had left were short or easy to do - and the office was empty, so she sighed and slipped her heels off. The blisters were worse today, but she’d thought ahead and brought a pair of plain flats to change into for the walk/ride home.

As she came up to the elevator, she couldn’t help but look from one end of the hall to the other. There were more people around than the night before, but not the man she was looking for.

The man from last night.

Y/N knew she shouldn’t be thinking about him. She didn’t know anything about him, other than he took the elevator from her floor. Once.

But he’d been nice last night, and he hadn’t done anything at all to warrant her running. If anything, she wanted to be able to apologize for scampering away like a deer in headlights because it hadn’t been polite. Even if she didn’t owe him an explanation, she wanted the chance to give one anyway.

He didn’t show, though. She figured he’d already gone home or something, because the elevator doors opened and no one stepped out onto her floor or anything. The four people already on the elevator looked at her expectantly, so she got on and turned to face the doors without a word.

No one attempted conversation. Hardly anyone moved. Two more people squeezed in before they hit the lobby, then everyone rushed out and onto the street.

Her ride home was just as lonely. No one on MTA ever stopped to talk, except the buskers and musicians that, at least tonight, avoided her car. 

She shouldn’t have taken it personally. No one ever talked to her on the subway because it was New York - everyone kept to themselves and that was how the city worked. She’d never thought twice about it, but something about missing that man - the dashingly handsome man she’d spent all of ten minutes with tops - made her feel heavy as she stepped up onto the street again.

She bit her tongue as she turned a corner to head up her block. She wasn’t going to cry. She couldn’t. It was stupid to cry over nothing like this. If she were upset about Sitwell or something, she’d let herself do it, but right now she was sad about...nothing at all. A missed opportunity.

She knew what would make her feel better. Her mind drifted to the email from this morning. Maybe it was silly, but the reminder of that invitation did make her feel better. Had her walking taller, shoulders back, teeth biting into her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

Oh, she wanted to go to the gala. Donation or no, she was determined. Maybe she’d meet the man from the elevator again, or maybe she’d met the Tony Stark. She’d read the email back six times over the day, so she knew full well that it was a masquerade, but she was still excited.

So excited that Nat could tell something was up the second she stepped through the door. And Nat, being relentless and stubborn, managed to convince Y/N to sit on the couch and spill all the details she had in absolutely no time.

“Holy shit,” Nat said when she’d finished. “You never get invited to Stark parties!”

“I mean, I’m not on the board or an heiress or anything so I get it,” she responded, shrugging. “Some of my coworkers think it’s basically an open invitation this year.”

“And it’s a masquerade!” Nat practically squealed, which made Y/N even more excited than she already had been.

Y/N nodded, the tiniest bit of embarrassment seeping into her joy. She cleared her throat before she said, “I, uh. Kinda need help finding something to wear.”

Nat stood up so quickly she nearly toppled over. But she was lithe and graceful - a former dancer - so she caught herself quickly and turned toward her bedroom.

“Where’re you going?” Y/N asked, trying to follow with her eyes.

“Getting my bag and shoes - we’re going shopping!”

Wanda appeared at that. She asked what all the noise was about, and before Y/N could even attempt to resist or refuse, Nat was back and informed her of everything. Between the two of them, Y/N knew there was no way she’d get out of this.

Nat texted someone as she headed for the door. She sent the message, then looked up at Y/N with a smirk and nodded for Wanda to join them.

“Where’re you going?” Y/N asked.

“We,” Nat answered. “And it’s not even eight. Most stores are still open, but I’ve got an in at one in particular.”

---

“I don’t know,” she murmured, moving the skirt around. “It seems like a lot.”

“Babe, you’re going to a black tie charity gala,” Wanda said. “It’s all gonna be a lot.”

She looked at her reflection and sighed for the millionth time. The dress was gorgeous, she couldn’t deny it. Deep cut and embellished, the soft material flowed around her in light floral patterns and it all made her feel…

Well, she knew what she should feel. She should see her reflection and think Princess, but that had never described her. Nat and Wanda were the only ones in her life that looked at her and saw more than she did, so it didn’t surprise her that they liked the dress.

And she liked it, too. Loved it, actually. The dress itself was amazing, but on her… She couldn’t help but think she was dragging it down. Or, as a consultant on Say Yes to the Dress might say, the dress was wearing her, not the other way around.

“You look hot,” Nat said, standing to walk around the stool Y/N was perched on. “This color is perfect for your skin tone and I have a headband that would go so well.”

“I need a mask,” she responded. She said it like...like it was an excuse not to buy this dress. As if a mask couldn’t be found or made to match it.

Her friends, however, were not going to let her leave empty handed. And they both loved this dress. The last two had gotten nods of approval, but not like this. Not warranting both Nat and Wanda standing at her sides, watching the mirror with her, both moving the skirt around with smiles.

“I’ll take care of the mask,” Wanda said. “You should get this dress.”

“I’m only gonna wear it once-”

“Or we can find you another event to wear it to. Or one of us will wear it next.”

“Exactly,” Nat said. “So, really, what’re you scared of?”

“The price-”

“We’ll help.” Wanda smiled softly, and before Y/N could attempt to deny the offer, she held a hand up. “We want to help. Besides, if we put in some money that gives us more incentive to want to wear the dress so we can all get a use out of it, right?”

“It’s too nice for me.”

“That’s just a blatant lie,” Nat said. “Y/N, you look fucking amazing. We should all get this dress. You’ll just be the first one to wear it.”

She did have to admit to herself that that sounded...fair. Maybe not conventional, but fair. Fair enough that she could hold herself a little higher, stretch her neck a little longer and really see what her friends were seeing. Once she stopped questioning whether she was worthy of such a dress and just enjoyed being in it, she could see herself walking into the gala in it, the hem flowing around her heels as all eyes turned on her. No one would know who she was unless they worked with her, and even then, she’d be wearing a mask.

She’d look mysterious. Pretty. Sexy, even.

Like Nat, who’d have to have the dress taken in a little after Y/N and Wanda wore it, but she probably knew people for that, too.

“So?” Wanda asked.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

[i-got-da-rubes]

Meet the artist let’s gooo

64 layers. this is just a minecraft stack

I referenced @idiot-mushroom ‘s MTA because it was cool. Go follow them.

So hi, my name is Rubes! I go by he/they pronouns, I’m 18, and I prefer masculine terms like “bro” or “sir.” I’m a major nerd for TMNT. I’m into other stuff as well, like BOTW, LOK, Ducktales, and general animated and game stuff. This blog is dedicated mainly to TMNT, but I may drift to some other stuff occasionally. I draw turtles sometimes, as well as animate and write.

Indeterminism

Call me Crisis Jones

pls read them :]

My tags

Rubes art - Including digital art, sketches, edits, and writing

ROTTMNT Indeterminism - MY FIC TAG!!1!1

Rubes writing - Specifically posts related to my writing

Rubes edits - Specifically posts related to my edits

Rubes garbage/Rubes speaks - Random bullshit I spew

Rubes nonsense - TMNT commentary/analysis?? Idk

Rubes reblogs - yeah

Art junk I wanna save - yeah

Asks - yeah

Where to find me

@i-got-da-rubes on tumblr (you are here)

@i-got-da-rubes on Instagram (I don’t use it)

Snirkish on Ao3

Uh, ty for getting this far in my post, and also for all the support. It took me by surprise.

[berseker]

Berseker, em nome dos meus três amigos, estou pedindo encarecidamente para vc postar as fics restantes no ao3. Eles gostam mto do seu conteúdo e eu não aguento mais ouvir eles reclamando do LiveJournal. Eles tbm tem mta vergonha de te pedir pessoalmente (pq te estimam mto e tem vergonha), mas eu não (tenho vergonha, no caso). Obrigada.

Oi meu amor, primeiramente mto obrigada, eu gosto mto de saber q as fics estão sendo lidas, isso me traz mta felicidade <3<3<3<3 o plano é postar sim, o problema é q eu acabo dando uma relida nelas antes e isso toma tempo (e as vezes dá vontade de morrer, dependendo do q eu achar) mas vou ver se aproveito esses dias pra repostar mais algumas.

(e fala pra eles q não precisa ter vergonha não! eu sou basicamente três batatas num sobretudo fingindo ser uma pessoa)

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 25: Terminal Velocity

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At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for MTAS's main story from this point in the fic onward, beginning with the mission "The Goat."

A/N: Welcome to Spoilertown. If you haven't gotten to this point in the game, I highly recommend you pause this fic and play through this act. Don't worry, you'll know where it starts and where it ends.

The back half of this fic's second act is what singlehandedly determined how I structured the plot of the overall story and what expanded my outline/idea dumps into longfic territory. And after several months and some writer's block, I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you guys. Enjoy!

Also on AO3

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At 7:00, Qi woke up.

At 7:30, he finished his breakfast and brushed his teeth.

At 7:35, he was down in his lab to start the workday.

At 9:13, he finished writing the report from his last experiment on the Mobile Suit’s power capacity.

At 9:46, he decided to take a break from drawing up the diagram for the enhanced processor the builder had requested.

At 12:00, he put down the latest issue of the Vega 5 astronomy journal to break for lunch.

At 12:30, he went back downstairs and started working on the builder’s diagram again.

At 1:17, there was a knock on the door.

At 1:17 and 15 seconds, he was staring at the grim face of the sheriff.

At 1:17 and 20 seconds, Qi suddenly felt ill.

At 1:17 and 30 seconds, Qi could no longer hear what the sheriff was saying.

At 1:17 and 45 seconds, the sheriff had left.

At 1:18, Qi remembered to breathe.

At 1:19, Qi began to move again.

At 1:22, Qi was at the back of a crowd. Several people turned towards him with tears and pity in their eyes.

At 1:22 and 43 seconds, Qi wondered if he should be crying.

At 1:23, Qi realized someone was asking him something. He didn’t know what it was. He shook his head.

At 1:25, the crowd dispersed. More people came up to Qi and murmured words he couldn’t hear.

At 1:26, everyone finally left him alone.

At 1:28, Qi remembered to move.

At 1:36, Qi was back inside the Research Center.

At 1:37, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 2:00, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 2:3X, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At 3:XX, Qi stared at the unfinished diagram on his desk.

At X:XX, Qi tried to eat something. He managed a whole three bites.

At X:XX, Qi climbed into bed.

At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.

At X:XX, Qi stared at the ceiling.

At X:XX, Qi wondered why his body hadn’t released the neurotransmitter signals for sleep.

At X:XX, Qi got out of bed.

At X:XX, Qi opened the front door. It was cold outside.

At X:XX, Qi walked up the stairs.

At X:XX, Qi was on the roof.

At X:XX, Qi had collapsed onto a certain spot.

And there he lay. Shrouded in the shadow of the telescope. Alone.

He shivered as a frigid gust of wind rushed over him. Nothing was there to warm him.

No blankets. No tea. No food.

No builder.

Both his vision and his mind were a blur. The only thing his wavering consciousness could cling to was a single, terrible truth.

The builder was gone.

Thrown over a cliff.

A meaningless death.

Maybe it was a good thing that he forgot his glasses. At least this way, he couldn’t see the stars.

The stars…

His greatest source of awe and wonder for so many years. The builder became so entangled in that awe and wonder until they were completely inseparable from it. In Qi’s mind, he knew that the stars had existed long before any of them ever did, and would continue to exist long after everyone was gone. But in Qi’s heart, there were no stars without the builder.

A cascade of memories started pouring out from the dark recesses of Qi’s mind, taunting him with precious memories of their diligence, of their wits, of their laugh, of their touch, of their kindness, of their smile, of their warmth. Many of which were rooted in the very spot he lay.

He still remembered how their hand felt in his last night. He could still feel their last parting hug around his waist.

Deeper and deeper he drowned, as if desperately trying to recreate their presence, soothing and invigorating all at once.

But all it did was remind him of the nothingness he was left with. And the ache in his heart.

…

“Hey…”

And now he was hearing things. He swore the whisper of the wind was the sound of their voice.

“Qi, hey…”

A large blob suddenly appeared above him. Its colors looked familiar. His head shot up.

“Yeah…yeah, it’s me.”

He slowly sat up, breath shaky as he drew closer to the figure. His heart pounded faster as the features of their face came into focus.

Face, bruised and cut in a few places. Eyes, tired but still shining. Lips, curved into a sad, sweet smile.

His builder.

His wondrous, death-defying anomaly.

The tremors in his breath turned to hiccups as tears leaked from his eyes.

At 12:54 and 31 seconds, the builder was in Qi’s arms. He embraced them as tight as he could, as if his arms were the only thing keeping them from falling off that cliff again. Every possible sensation was tearing away at his heart. It was crushed, imploded, collapsed, pulverized into nothing but dust…

The builder said nothing. They simply wrapped their arms around him and buried their face into his shoulder, rubbing circles into his back as he wept.

Qi had so many questions, so many things he wanted to say to them. But all his words were swallowed into ragged sobs. So he let all of the pent-up grief and relief wash over him, desperately clinging to the builder’s warmth as he cried and cried.

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. But his tears gradually slowed and his breathing evened out again. Slowly, they pulled away.

The builder brought a gentle hand up to his cheek and wiped away the last trail of tears. Qi closed his eyes, feeling himself lean into their touch.

“I’m sorry,” the builder whispered, their expression forlorn. “I-it’s a long story, but… I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“W-why are you sorry…?” Qi breathed. He hit himself internally for asking such an idiotic question. He shook his head. “You’re back now,” he whispered instead. “That’s all that matters.”

The builder let out a hum. It didn’t sound too sure.

“Please…” Qi took a shaky breath. “Please… Promise me that you will be safe in the future.” His tongue was barely able to form the words as all his breath threatened to leave his lungs as another sob.

Something swirled in their eyes. Their lips opened, but no words came for a moment. Despite holding his gaze, he could tell they were itching to look away.

I can’t, their eyes said.

“…I’ll try,” they whispered.

Qi gazed far into the depths of their eyes for a moment longer. Then he carefully pulled them in and pressed their lips together.

Fear. That’s what was hidden in their eyes. Something he never thought someone so strong and courageous could feel.

Their lips were chapped, but still so inviting. Every fiber of him ached to go deeper, to soothe everything that ailed them.

But they were still injured. He had no idea how they managed to drag themself up here without collapsing. He probably already upset something with how tightly he held them. He couldn’t make it worse.

So it was chaste. Brief. Just enough to scratch the surface of what they both were feeling.

He pulled away first, opening his eyes to see the builder even more uneasy. A small flash of panic shot through his stomach. That was exactly what he didn’t want.

But before he could think, he saw the builder’s face twist for the briefest instant before their hands gripped the loose collar of his shirt, and their lips crashed into his again.

They kissed him more fervently than they ever had before, causing Qi to gasp. Their tongue parted his lips, and he let them in, tasting iron and smoke and desperation. The last rational part of his brain wondered briefly if he was the one who almost died instead, before being swallowed by a quiet moan from his throat and a shudder that raced down his spine. He melted into them almost instantly. He wanted to commit every stimulation of every nerve in his body to memory, lest it be ripped away from him forever.

The builder pulled away first this time, gasping for air. Qi took one deep breath after another, trying to pull himself together.

The builder was frozen. They didn’t pull him back in. They didn’t reach for him again. They were silent except for their nervous breathing. They only gaped at Qi with shining eyes.

It looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Qi gently put his hands on their shoulders. “You need to get to the clinic.”

The builder mutely nodded.

With one arm around them, Qi carefully led them down the stairs and down the street. They plodded along slowly, Qi being careful not to trip over something he couldn’t see without his glasses.

They reached the clinic door and rang the emergency buzzer. Fang was quickly at the door, releasing a sudden bright light and the pungent smell of herbs into their faces. Judging by the sharp intake of breath, he was just as shocked to see the builder.

“Rawk! What the heck?!” squawked the bird. “It’s a ghost! OooOOOooOOH!! Spooky scary!”

“X!” Fang snapped. “What…happened…?!”

No one said anything for a moment.

“They…didn’t die,” Qi croaked.

“I…see,” Fang muttered. “Need to treat…any injuries…immediately.”

The builder shuffled forward.

“I…assume I can’t stay?” Qi said.

“No,” said Fang, a determined edge to his quiet voice. “Need to concentrate. Must make sure…nothing goes unchecked.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” twittered the bird in a softer voice. “Everything will be okay.”

Qi nodded slowly. “Thank you, Doctor.” He turned to leave.

“Qi, wait.”

Qi froze in his tracks. It was the builder. He turned back towards the light of the clinic, hopefully making eye contact with the blur that was them.

“…I love you.”

They sounded so small. His heart once again pulsed with ache.

“…L-love you too,” he murmured, summoning a scrap of courage despite how his tongue instinctually fought against the words. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He heard a quiet hum before Fang shut the clinic door, leaving him alone in the dark once more, with only the moon and the stars.

At 1:41, Qi started walking back to the Research Center, mind and body humming with an emotion he couldn’t identify.

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

At 7:00, Qi woke up.

At 7:10, he finished washing up.

At 7:15, he had a quick drink of water and was out the door.

At 7:20, he reached the clinic.

Fang was tending to the builder, partially covered by a privacy screen. Qi idled by the door, hands picking at a loose thread on his pants.

“Awk! Ooh, look at the lovebird, honey! Hello! Hi! Hi!” crowed the bird as it flew from out behind the screen and alighted on a perch next to the medicine cabinet.

“Er…hello…bird,” Qi said with an awkward wave, before his head could question why he was trying to socialize with a raven.

Fang looked up at the sound of the bird’s voice. “…One moment,” he nodded to Qi.

“Hey, Qi-Qi…” came a tired mumble from behind the screen.

Fang quietly shushed them. Qi frowned. Qi-Qi…? 

Still probably dazed. Or maybe that was the medication.

He waited until Fang walked back around the screen. “How are they?” he asked in a low voice.

“Stable,” muttered Fang. “Few…fractured ribs. Couple wounds needed…stitches. No infection. Lots of…bruises and…other minor injuries.”

Qi let out a long sigh of relief. “I suppose that’s the best case scenario for almost dying…”

Fang nodded slowly. “A miracle…if anything.”

Qi didn’t believe in miracles. But it did seem like physics had taken mercy on them. “Can I—?”

“Yes.”

Qi swiftly moved over to the screen, cautiously peering behind it. The builder was sitting up in their hospital bed, a sheepish grin brightening their otherwise bruised and bandaged face.

“Aww, Qi-Qi… You came to see me so bright and early?”

They were back to their usual jovial self, it seemed. It was like a different person entirely had kissed him last night on the roof.

“Of course,” he said as he took a seat on the creaky chair beside them, finding himself a little short of breath. “Why…why wouldn’t I?”

“You skipped breakfast again, didn’t you?” Their eyes narrowed, but their grin didn’t falter.

Qi sighed. “I won’t be here forever, will I?” He gently clasped their hand as they extended it on top of the blanket. “This…takes priority over anything else.”

The builder’s face softened. “I’m joking,” they murmured. “But still…it’s sweet. Thank you.”

They fell silent. Qi idly circled his thumb over their palm, feeling all the familiar calluses.

“Sorry about last night, by the way…” the builder murmured.

“Why do you keep apologizing…?” Qi whispered. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

They shook their head. “I got carried away. I just…” Their voice shrank to a whisper. “I…I really thought I was gonna die.”

Qi felt his heart ache. He gave their hand a squeeze, hoping that would be more comforting than anything he could say.

“I…managed to fall into a tree,” they said slowly. “Hurt like hell. Passed out for a couple minutes.”

Where did the fractured ribs come from?

Qi swatted the thought away from his mind. Be sensitive. 

“I saw the goat stepping up a climbable…ish path on the cliffside,” they continued. “Probably going back to look for more rutabaga.” They let out a mirthless chuckle.

“So you followed it?”

They nodded. “Reallll carefully. Took me hours, but I did it.”

Since when did they know how to rock climb? Without the proper equipment, no less…

Qi’s brow furrowed. “And…after all that, you didn’t rest? Why on earth did you come find me instead?”

The builder laced their fingers together, a clouded, faraway look in their eyes. “I…I had… I had to find you. I just…had to.”

If they climbed with no equipment…shouldn’t their hands be blistered?

Qi stared at their intertwined hands. “You should’ve at least waited until you got treated.”

“And leave you like that?”

“…I could have waited at least a little longer,” Qi whispered.

“…I couldn’t.”

They both fell silent. The only sounds in the room were the whir of Fang’s odd equipment, and the bird occasionally stretching his wings out. Qi felt every minute twitch of the builder’s hand against his own.

“Does everyone else…know?” Qi piped up suddenly.

The builder raised an eyebrow. “I was about to ask you that. My guess is no, since, y’know, we all just got up.”

“I’m sure Dr. Fang will…hm. No, on second thought, maybe I should make the report. If I don’t, every person in town will be barging into the Research Center today to tell me something I already know.” And he hated when people tried to tell him things he already knew.

The builder chuckled. “Oh no, what a disaster. Other people showing concern for you? Can’t have that, can we?”

“I have work to do,” Qi rolled his eyes. “It’s a distraction.”

“Well…” The builder gave his hand a squeeze with a wink. “So’s this, isn’t it?”

“Th-this is different.”

“Sure, sure.”

They stayed like that for another moment longer. Qi was out of things to say.

Their hands slowly parted as he stood up from his chair. “I should go. I have to talk to the mayor. I’m sure the rest of the town will be eager to see you once the word gets out.”

“For sure. Got a lot of explaining to do, it seems.”

Qi thought for a moment, before he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of their head.

…Why do they smell like gunpowder…?

“I’ll see you later,” Qi whispered. “Get plenty of rest.”

“Thank you,” the builder murmured. “And you…don’t overwork yourself.”

Qi gave them a small nod, before quietly turning around and heading out.

When the door to the clinic closed behind him, he turned his head up to the sky and let out a long, tired sigh.

He certainly felt lighter than yesterday…but something still creeped at the back of his mind, poisoning the joy and relief he should be feeling in full force.

Doubt.

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A/N: Fun(?) fact: If you've read my angst fic Empty Skies, Hazy Skyboxes (heed the tags), you might've seen a couple of background references to things in this fic, particularly in Act 1 (e.g. Qi hypothetically developing treaded wheels for the mobile suit, the builder telling old myths about the stars). Since ES,HS suddenly sprung into my head as I was starting this fic, a couple ideas for B,R,R carried over into ES,HS to establish the background of Qi and the builder's relationship.

Does that make ES,HS a "bad end AU" to this fic...? You decide. :)

(Btw, ICYMI, ES,HS now has an extension...)

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[somethingmorecreative1]

So I came across the ask you answered about Renegade Dawn, thinking "I remember marking that for later when it had 30-some-k, I'm glad to see it's getting a lot of attention and active." So I went to your page (hadn't thought to look at your username), found a link to your AO3 page, scrolled down and saw "More Than Alive" and started freaking out because same author!! Literally best revelation I've ever had. I absolutely love MTA and am so much more excited to read RD!! I LIVE FOR YOUR WRITING!!

HEY! OMG! yeah that’s me!! I write More than Alive with @maireep and I also write Renegade Dawn! I actually just updated it too! I’m posting the last chapter on Wednesday, so check it out and let me know what you think!!! 

I’m so glad you like my klance fics!!! I’ve got some more stuff in the works so keep your eyes up!! thanks for sending this message, it makes me so happy when people read and like my fic!! xoxo

[atoriv-moved]

ohh então tudo bem eu falar português? E obrigada pelas tags sobre os updates essas eram uma das minhas perguntas aqui lmao mas eu queria apenas passar por aqui para te dizer que a sua fic do saix e da xion é legitimamente a minha fic favorita na tag de KH do ao3. Tipo, sou super dedicada ao trio sea salt mas fiquei apaixonada pelas possibilidades de cool big brother isa e sua irmãzinha xion e a sua fic atendeu todas as minhas preces, então muito obrigada de novo

HAHA pode falar sim!

WAH mto obrigada!! dps de ver as resoluções das histórias em kh3 eu n conseguia parar de pensar sobre o saix e a xion interagindo durante os eventos do jogo e eventualmente eu me forcei a começar uma fic pra jogar os meus pensamentos JGFHHGF 

eu amo a ideia deles lidando com toda a bagagem emocional do days e chegando a um ponto em que eles tem uma amizade verdadeira (especialmente pq não vimos muito disso, e parte de mim não tem mta esperança de ver no futuro já que tem 200 coisas a mais pra resolver nos próximos jogos), me deixa muito feliz saber que outras pessoas gostam do que eu escrevi ^-^!!