#niko pov

[wordingg]

Get Orbed, Losers

Little fic for Dead Boy Ween Day 4, prompt: orbs

Summary: Niko, Charles and Edwin are trapped inside a haunted house with an angry poltergeist when Charles and Edwin are poofed. Niko then has to save the day with only two chatty orbs for company.

London was very different from Port Townsend, not that Niko thought that was a bad thing. She had grown up in Tokyo, so it wasn’t like she wasn’t used to big cities. But, it was certainly a big change from the small relatively quiet town of Port Townsend.

Niko had expected that it would be hard to convince her mother to let her transfer to a school in London. But, she maybe underestimated how much her mother was willing to do to finally get a response back to her letters. If Niko thought about that for too long, it made her feel sad and guilty. So, she did her best to not think about it.

Reconnecting with her mother was hard. They were very different people and Niko didn’t feel like her mother understood her even a little bit, though it did seem like she was trying very hard to do so. Niko hadn’t even gotten close to broaching the subject of her new friends, living and dead, and her new interest in being a detective. Not only would her mother not understand, she probably wouldn’t believe her.

Admittedly, Niko thought most people wouldn’t believe that she spent most of her free time these days helping two dead boys solve mysteries for other dead people. But, she liked the new turn that her life had taken. Even if it ended up with her locked in a very haunted house by herself with only two floating orbs for companionship.

“Oh no!” Niko exclaimed. “How did this happen?” she asked, reaching out a hesitant finger toward the glowing bluish ball of light that she assumed was Edwin. He bumped into her finger and she was briefly assailed by the smell of old paper and a faint feeling of warmth, like warm buttery sunlight on a bright summer day.

“She dropped a piano on us,” Charles said in a wry tone, his own warm red orb sailing in circles around herself and Edwin.

Niko glanced over at the huge upright piano that was currently half embedded into the floor of the parlor.

“Wow,” Niko breathed, tilting her head a little to better see how deeply the piano had sunk into the next level of the house. “She must be a really strong ghost. I wonder what her work out routine is like…”

“I don’t believe her calisthenic habits have an effect on her ability to throw heavy objects,” Edwin said testily.

Charles’ little blush colored ball curled tighter on his next orbit around Niko and bumped affectionately into Edwin, knocking him a few inches to the left. There was a little burst of light when they hit that left sparkling afterimages on the back of Niko’s eyes.

“Oi, how do you know?” Charles asked with a laugh. “I don’t see you doing any squats. Maybe this calls for an experiment. We can work out every day and then see who can lift a piano easier.”

Even without a face Niko could tell that Edwin was rolling his eyes. “Really, Charles,” he said.

Charles laughed, his ball doing a little spin and then looping in a circle before he went back to orbiting Niko’s head. Edwin instead floated closer to Niko, getting close enough to her shoulder that she could feel a bit of the cold radiating off of him through her jacket.

“I suppose I’ll keep an eye out for falling furniture,” Niko said faintly as she turned back the way she came and started back toward the kitchen.

“Oh, shite. I keep forgetting you’re mortal,” Charles said. “We really need to get you of here. If this ghost can move pianos, then she’s too dangerous for you to be around.”

“So long as our poltergeist friend is holding all the doors and windows shut, I don’t think Niko will be able to make her exit,” Edwin muttered near her ear. He sounded like he was just right there, so it was strange to think he was just a little orb hiding behind her hair.

Niko put her fingers up to where Edwin’s voice had come from and he bumped against her fingers again in a friendly sort of way. This time she smelled kerosene and tasted some kind of very sweet candy. It was very pleasant.

“Don’t worry about me, guys,” she said. “You just focus on helping this poor ghost out. I know how to take care of myself.”

Charles scoffed, doing another little loop at the edge of Niko’s vision. “Yeah, well. I’d have said the same thing about us a few minutes ago and look where that got us.”

“Discorporation is just a small set back,” Edwin said stiffly. “Once we gather enough energy from the nearby surroundings we will be back to our normal selves. We can investigate just fine as is.”

It was handy having the boys as orbs for the time being. The servant corridors leading off the kitchen were narrow and had no wiring for electric lights, but their orbs cast enough light for Niko to see where she was going.

“What does it feel like to be an orb?” Niko asked curiously. Turning right, she found herself at the bottom of some very narrow, very steep stairs. They looked sort of dangerous. She imagined that it was probably really hard to navigate them when your hands were full of towels or a tea tray or whatever servants for fancy english nobles had to carry around these tight passageways.

“It’s sort of like if you had to sit in a little dark cramped room and like you have a controller with just a joystick to control your body and you can only see out of a little tiny window the size of your hand,” Charles explained, doing a few more flips in front of Niko’s face. It was distracting, but if that was what it felt like to be an orb, maybe Charles was feeling under stimulated. Doing flips might be the only way he could try and make his sensory input a little more interesting, poor thing.

“A very apt explanation, Charles,” Edwin said, sounding impressed.

Charles must have been happy with the compliment, because he started to spin in tight circles around Edwin, occasionally brushing against him in little flashes of light.

“Charles! Charles, enough! You’ll make yourself dizzy!” Edwin exclaimed, though it sounded to Niko like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve been dizzy a day of my afterlife, mate,” Charles said with a laugh, but did stop spinning around Edwin. “Can you get dizzy without an inner ear?”

They had reached the landing at the top of the stairs. Niko inched the door open slowly to reveal a very tastefully decorated sitting room on the second floor.

Charles dodged past her as she opened the door, his orb partially phasing through her neck as he did so. The flavor of hot spicy curry and thick fluffy rice exploded on her tongue as he did so.

“Mmm!” Niko hummed, pressing her fingers to her lips. The taste and the feel of the rice felt so real on her tongue that she almost thought there really was food in her mouth. “Oh, curry!” she exclaimed after a second. “I love curry,” she sighed.

“Me too!” Charles exclaimed. “There used to be this little place on the way home from school. God, they had the best curry. When I was a lad, it was so hot it almost burnt my tongue off, but I just couldn’t get enough!”

Niko smacked her lips a few times, savoring the lingering flavors that were quickly fading from her mouth and stepped into the room. “Well, you have excellent taste. I think I’d die for a whole plate of that,” she said very seriously to orb Charles.

Charles stopped his constant movement for a second.

“Wait. I’m sorry, did you just taste my favorite curry?” Charles asked.

“When you two bump into me I smell and taste all kinds of interesting things,” Niko explained.

“Whoah. That’s-”

Whatever Charles was about to say, it was cut off by Edwin talking over him. “Charles, Niko! Our ghost is here!”

When Niko turned to look she found that Edwin was right. There was a middle aged woman in a very tight and modest gray dress buttoned up to her chin was standing in the corner of the room glaring at her. The color had completely washed out of her, like she had stepped out of a grainy black and white film, and her eyes dark pits in her angular face.

“No one ever understands,” she said, her voice wobbling. Her hands were clenched in trembling fists by her side. “No one ever NOTICES!” she shouted, black tears overflowing and running down her face. “No one ever APPRECIATES all that I DO!”

“We’re not your family, lady! Give it a break!” Charles shouted, darting over to hover protectively between Edwin and Niko and the angry ghost crying in the corner.

“Charles, please do shut up!” Edwin shouted back, sounding stressed and more than a little scared.

“I’m sorry that nobody appreciates you,” Niko piped up, clasping her hands in front of her. “That must be really hard.”

Both of the orbs floated closer to Niko, but she kept her eyes trained on the crying woman. She looked so sad. It didn’t excuse her dropping a piano on her friends, but Niko still felt bad for her.

“It… It is hard,” the woman agreed after a long pregnant moment. She dashed her tears away with long delicate fingers and frowned out the window. “It is very hard when you work your hardest at something and never receive a single compliment or thank you.”

“You’re so right,” Niko nodded along. “One time I volunteered to make the collage for a group project in one of my classes. And, I spent all day gluing photos and glitter hearts and string to poster board. And the day of the presentation, none of my classmates even said thank you or said anything about my glitter hearts. That really hurt my feelings.”

The woman started to cry again, pressing her own elegant looking hands to her chest. “That’s just awful! I am not sure what ‘glitter hearts’ are, but I would have complimented you for the effort!”

“Thank you,” Niko said sincerely. “You seem like a really kind and thoughtful person.”

The woman started to cry harder. “Thank you,” she gasped.

“What is happening?” Charles whispered, though it was too loud to go unnoticed in the small room.

“Be quiet!” Edwin hissed.

“I know that it doesn’t feel nice when you have to point it out, but can I ask what you feel is going unappreciated?” Niko asked gently.

The woman threw her arms out wildly, tears still streaming down her face. “Everything!” she exclaimed. “I built this house from the ground up! I practically drew up the architectural plans myself, because James was just useless at it. I picked out all the furniture, saw it all delivered and arranged, picked out the rugs, the drapes, the decor! I built this home entirely by myself so that my family could live here and be happy and then I worked myself to death to make it so!” the woman sobbed loudly, the sound wracking her whole body and making her tremble. Faintly, the objects on the shelves began to vibrate. “All of that and now they’re just going to tear it down and turn it into-into-” she took another great gasping breath “a strip mall!” she shouted before collapsing into tears.

They all stood awkwardly for a while, avoiding each other’s eyes while the lady ghost in the corner cried and sobbed.

“The drapes are really very lovely,” Niko commented, reaching out a finger to carefully trace the line of a faded green stem woven into the heavy fabric.

“They really are,” Edwin agreed. “They draw the eye and really warm up the room.”

“Thank you,” the woman sobbed. She took a few steps forward and collapsed onto one of the nearby settees. The objects on the shelves stopped shaking. “I worked so hard while I was alive because I loved my family. But, all my work went ignored and now it’s been completely forgotten. It makes one feel rather unloved, doesn’t it?” she asked tearfully.

Niko walked over to sit beside her. She took her delicate hands and folded them between her own. The woman’s hands were ice cold, but they were also soft and small, like her own. These hands had worked tirelessly and she loved them just a little bit for that.

“I don’t believe for a second that you were unloved,” Niko says firmly. “Sometimes people get caught up in their own stuff and have a hard time seeing things. But, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t love you.”

The spectral hands she held in her own squeezed, sending a cold ache up Niko’s arms. The woman’s face was folded into bittersweet lines.

“You’re right,” she sighed. “Of course you’re right. Perhaps I’m the one who is ‘caught up’ as you said.”

“Maybe,” Niko agreed with a tilt of her head. “It happens to the best of us.”

“Quite,” the woman agreed with a wet sniff.

Then, the room was flooded with a soft blue light.

“Edwin!” Charles shouted, spinning around Edwin in the fastest circles that Niko had seen yet.

“Don’t wait for me! Just go!” Edwin shouted back, already speeding off through the wall in what Niko thought was probably the direction of the foyer.

“I have to go,” Niko said, turning back to the woman’s ghost. She was frowning in confusion at the wall that Charles and Edwin had just disappeared through. “But, a nice woman should be coming to talk to you soon. You should listen to what she has to say,” Niko explained, climbing back to her feet.

The woman nodded, turning toward where the blue light was strongest. She looked younger and happier, the light washing years off of her lined face.

“Yes, I will,” she said, not looking at Niko.

Niko gave the woman’s profile a smile. She would be okay. Niko had faith.

She exited through the door in the wall that Charles and Edwin had flown through. It lead to a hallway that took her back to the foyer with the piano in the floor.

“Niko! Thank God,” Edwin exclaimed, flying up to make his own nervous circles around her as Niko emerged at the top of the staircase.

“Hi, Edwin!” Niko said, happy to see him doing well. She cupped a hand around his orb and he obligingly settled into it, his touch giving her the scent of beeswax and the taste of honey. “I’m glad you two got away fast enough. I think our ghost friend will be okay now.”

“Glad you’re okay too, Niko,” Charles said warmly, settling his orb near Niko’s other shoulder. She cupped a gentle hand around him and smelled fresh cut grass and tasted sweet black tea.

The quiet moment was broken by Crystal slamming through the front door, her eyes wild, her hair a cloud of wayward curls flying around her head, and a huge pickaxe held in her hands. The outward facing side of the door had clearly seen the wrong end of said pickaxe, judging by the huge gouges in the ancient wood.

“Crystal!” Niko said happily, letting go of Edwin and Charles so that she could descend the stairs.

“Niko!” Crystal exclaimed, looking distinctly more ruffled than Niko herself. She threw the pickaxe to the side and then threw herself at Niko so hard that she nearly fell over backward. Crystal’s tears quickly soaked through the shoulder of Niko’s jacket and her thin strong arms were tacky with sweat. “God, don’t scare me like that! Do you have any idea what awful sounds that were coming from in here!?”

“Did it sound something like a piano falling through the floor?” Charles asked curiously.

His voice sounded much stronger than it had for the past two minutes, so Niko partially extracted herself from Crystal so she could look up at him. He and Edwin were both standing at the bottom of the stairs, now in their normal dead boy shapes.

“Oh. Yeah, it did,” Crystal said, turning from Niko to frown at the piano that was still partway through the floor a few feet from them.

“Aw,” Niko said, turning back toward Edwin and Charles. “No more orbs, huh? I’m going to miss Chorb and Orbwin.”

Charles’ eyes went huge with amusement while Edwin winced like he was in pain.

“Chorb!?” Charles shouted.

“No,” Edwin said faintly.

“And, Orbwin!?” Charles shouted.

“No, absolutely not,” Edwin said louder.

Charles turned to Edwin with a feral grin. “Chorb and Orbwin! Mate, that’s us. That’s our orb-sonas.”

Edwin squinted at him. “I don’t know what that is and I don’t want you to explain it to me this time.”

“Guys, this is cute and all, but can we please get out of here?” Crystal asked, looking frazzled. Niko reached out to hold her hand and felt blisters where the pickaxe handle must have rubbed her hands raw. Niko frowned and pressed Crystal’s hand tighter in her own.

“What an absolutely capital idea, Crystal,” Edwin said stiffly, walking across the foyer and toward the front door with long strides that made him look like he was gliding. Edwin had such a pretty way of moving. Niko really envied him that.

“We can get curry,” Niko suggested, giving Crystal’s hand a pat. “Charles knows a good place.”

“I’d like that,” Crystal sniffled, following Niko and Edwin out of the house.

“Oi, it’s been like forty years. The place probably isn’t still around,” Charles said doubtfully as he followed them out of the house.

But, Charles was wrong because the little curry place near his old school was still in business. Even though he couldn’t eat any of his favorite menu items, Niko was more than happy to order them and assure him that it was just as good now as it was back then. Charles looked a little misty eyed to hear that.

And Crystal fell asleep on her shoulder on the cab ride back into the heart of London. And Charles did eventually explain to Edwin what a -sona was, even if Edwin looked like he wanted to phase through the floor the whole time.

And, overall, it was another excellent investigation completed by the Dead Boy Detectives (plus psychic (plus Niko)) and another great day for Niko Sasaki and her friends.

[shaylogic]

Niko's POV of her friend's looking at her with love and amazement (and whatever is going on with Edwin)

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Charles, Edwin, and Monty (Pirate AU: Chapter 3)

Charles still likes Monty, in some fashion. It isn’t the love that Monty has for Charles, he understands- love is for Edwin, not the boy Charles brought with him to this ship- but it is clear affection. Fondness. The sort of feeling that causes a smile to lift to Charles’ lips when he sees Monty, like it does now when Charles sits down on the bench next to Monty, plastering himself to Monty’s side by slinging an arm around his torso and leaning his head against Monty’s shoulder, just like he does playfully with Edwin sometimes during mealtimes, usually earning himself a fond roll of the eyes and a small smile from their Captain. “Aw,” Charles says, “You guys are having a meeting of the Survived-Esther-Finch club without me?”

And god, Monty will do anything to keep that smile on Charles’ face. To never again force him to do anything like what he had to do during that storm.

“More like permanently-scarred-by-Esther-Finch club,” Jenny says, nodding to Charles’ neck, where some of the scabs from the collar are fading into scars that will match the one on Monty’s cheek. “God, most fucked up club I've ever been a part of,�� she adds as Monty offers up his bottle of ale to Charles.

-aletterinthenameofsanity, picture a man turning back to shore (I can only think of you)

In the clearing stands a boxer

And a fighter by his trade

And he carries the reminders

Of every glove that laid him down

And cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame

I am leaving, I am leaving

But the fighter still remains

-Mumford & Sons, The Boxer

@deadboy-edwin @icecreambrownies @anonymousbooknerd-universe @ashildrs

@fandoms-princess @orpheusetude @jaysbraindump

@pappelsiin @itsbitmxdinhere @rexrevri @sweet-like-h0ney-lavender @saffirez

@the-ipre @sunnylemonss @days-light @agentearthling @helltechnicality

@sethlost @catboy-cabin @secretlyafiveheadeddragon @vyther15

@anything-thats-rock-and-roll @queen-of-hobgobblers @every-moment-a-different-sound

@nix-nihili @mellxncollie @tumblerislovetumblerislife @lemurafraidofthunder

@likemmmcookies @wr0temyway0ut @thelakeswillbreakourfall

@sapphic-corgi @occasionaloneshots @troublegoblin

[cordelia-noir]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dead Boy Detectives (TV), The Dead Boy Detectives (DC Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: David the Demon (Dead Boy Detectives)/Crystal Palace (DCU), Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne & Crystal Palace & Charles Rowland & Niko Sasaki, Crystal Palace & Charles Rowland (DCU), Crystal Palace & Niko Sasaki, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne & Crystal Palace Characters: Crystal Palace (DCU), Charles Rowland (DCU), Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Niko Sasaki, David the Demon (Dead Boy Detectives) Additional Tags: AU, Color AU, You can't see color unless you are loved, friendship love and familial love are just as important as romantic love, in this universe and in ours, inspired by one of my other stories, and a comment, Crystal's pov Series: Part 11 of CordeliaNoir's Deadboyween 2024 Summary:

The thing was, Crystal had seen color before, just not through her own eyes.

She was psychic. She’d peered into more people’s minds than she could count. And ever since she could remember, she understood that some people’s minds were just — different.

It wasn’t until she was six that she realized what she was seeing.

Color.

Written for Day 12 of @deadboyween Psychic

[patchworkgargoyle]

oc fic: date night

Another slightly older ficlet for @strangerthingsocweek! There's a few that haven't seen the internet outside of a discord server and I'm excited for others to read them. C:

Pairing: OMC x transmasc Gareth x transmasc OMC || Rating: M just in case || Words: 1,774 || Tags/CWs: vague mentions of non-sexual nudity, so much fluff, song lyrics in fic OCs Featured Tig: OMC, @steves-strapcollection Dominik: transmasc OMC, mine Set in the future of Ger's fics "here i have found some peace of mind" and the latest (!!!) "down on your two knees (to save your soul)" Song List Planet Caravan - Black Sabbath Stand By Me - Weezer Guardian - Æther Realm

It’s late when Tig finally gets home, so he opens and closes the door softly. He has no idea if Gareth and Dom are still awake, but if they aren’t, he doesn’t want to wake them. Gareth wouldn’t even twitch normally, but Dom’s a light sleeper. So Tig slips out of his shoes, nudges them into their spot by the door, and walks quietly in his socked feet towards the bedroom.

The bedside lamp is on, comforting yellow light spilling into the hallway through the cracked door. As he gets closer he can hear faint music—tinny, from a phone speaker—and singing. Gareth, singing. Tig knows the smile that stretches his lips is stupidly fond; he doesn’t sing much, not on his own. Really, Gareth mostly just does it for fun, so hearing him sing, he assumes, to Dom, makes Tig happy in a way that bubbles and bursts in his chest. It’s too bad that the song sounds like it’s wrapping up, Tig loves hearing him sing, loves knowing it means he feels happy, comfortable. Safe. Gareth trails off with it, and Dom hums softly.

“I can see why you like it,” Tig hears Dom say, surprisingly sincere. His walls are down, the armour’s gone, and any lingering worries Tig had about their date night disappear with a small, relieved sigh.

“Yeah?” Gareth asks.

“Mhm, fucking great drum line. And the singer’s in your range, so that’s a bonus.”

Gareth snorts. “Dunno if that’s a bonus–”

“Shut the fuck up,” Dom says kindly, “do you really think I’d lie to you if you weren’t a good singer?” Gareth’s bark of laughter makes Tig’s grin widen. “Fuckin’ thought so. Christ.”

“You’re shit at this complimenting people thing.”

“That’s it, I’m leaving–”

There’s some shuffling, but from Dom’s tone Tig knows he’s joking. He leans against the wall and listens to Gareth's protests, laughter in his voice, and does his best to keep from laughing too.

“Oh my god, you drama queen, get back here.” 

Dom scoffs in offence, complains some more. Gareth teases back, and there’s more shuffling, but it sounds like Gareth’s wrangled Dom back into the bed again with very little effort. Once they’ve settled in again, Gareth says, “Your song next, anyway.”

“Fine,” Dom sighs, his annoyance completely fake. There’s silence before a familiar song starts to play, and Dom starts to sing.

“We sail through endless skies

Stars shine like eyes

The black night sighs”

Tig closes his eyes and listens. He’s heard Dom sing this before, and it clicks that they must be showing each other some of their favourite songs. Singing them to each other.

This is what Tig imagined, back when he first met Gareth and wanted to introduce him to Dom so badly. Well, not this exactly. This is so fucking sweet he can feel cavities forming. But the teasing, the bitchy jokes, the laughter. He knew they’d fit well and it feels pretty damn good to keep being proved right.

There’s a break in the lyrics and Gareth chuckles a little. “Are you really playing air bass right now?”

“Yes, fuck off–” Dom cuts himself off to start singing again and Gareth laughs at him for it. Tig bites his lip hard so he doesn’t make a sound. When the song ends, though, Dom asks, “Any others you got?”

“Uh. Maybe. Just don’t, like, judge me for it.”

Dom gasps. “Me? Judge someone?”

A smack of skin on skin, and Dom gives a muted, miffed ow, my tit while Gareth says flatly, “I mean it.”

“I won’t judge you.” Dom says it lightly, but with a seriousness that makes Tig ache a little.

After a moment, Gareth says, “Okay,” still seeming a little unsure, but then the music starts and Tig straightens up. Gareth’s sung this to Tig before and now he knows why he’s a little nervous.

“When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

So darlin', darlin'...”

Gareth still sings, even though he’s nervous, his voice a little unsteady as the cover plays. But as soon as the chorus starts, Dom begins to harmonise with him. It throws Gareth off and he fumbles the lyrics a little, but Dom urges him on with an encouraging keep going and they sing together as the music swells, Gareth getting more confident as the song goes on.

He can’t bear it. It’s so fucking tender. They’re singing a love song to each other. Tig uses every bit of his restraint to keep from running in there and smothering them with affection because he refuses to break the moment. But then he hears them start to kiss between the lyrics and Tig cannot be expected to hold out any longer, he figures.

When Tig joins in for the last lines, his deep voice complimenting the other men’s in a way that feels so satisfying, so right, he hears them both laugh as the song fades out and he finally peers around the door with a grin.

They’re lying under the covers, shirtless and propped up by pillows against the headboard. Gareth is tucked under Dom’s arm, curled into his side. Their hair is a little messy, and they both look relaxed, so Tig does a knowing eyebrow wiggle that Dom copies and makes Gareth roll his eyes.

“Well aren’t you two just the cutest darn things,” Tig says, hamming up his accent. Both men flip him off simultaneously with deeply unimpressed faces and Tig laughs so hard he has to hold himself up on the doorframe to keep from falling over. Dom and Gareth can’t seem to help laughing too.

Fuck, he loves them both so fucking much that he feels like the luckiest bastard alive.

When he can finally breathe again without breaking out into giggles, Tig walks into the room, avoiding the clothes scattered on the floor. “Looks like your date went well,” he says with an encouraging smile. Dom nods just as Gareth wobbles his hand from side to side with a bored look, which gets him a glare and a pinch in the side.

“Don’t fucking,” Dom mockingly wobbles his hand, “when you said like ten fucking minutes ago you had a great time.”

Gareth’s cackling as he says, “You’re so touchy, jesus christ. Fine, yes, I had a great time. Nine out of ten date, would date again.”

“Nine out of ten?” Dom’s outright incredulous and Gareth looks like the cat that ate the canary. Tig’s so contentedly happy he wants to shake something. Instead, he decides he needs to be in bed with them right fucking now, so he strips all the way down while they bicker and climbs under the blanket—pleased to find them both naked still—to wrap himself around Gareth. Tig sneaks an arm under him and tucks it around his waist, pressing a kiss to Gareth’s hair while his other hand finds a home on Dom’s hip, pulling them both closer.

“Don’t wind him up too much, love, or he’ll explode,” Tig warns with a smirk at Dom, who turns his harmless glare onto Tig. He can feel Gareth giggling against his chest and can’t help but squeeze the both of them.

“You have a good time with Charlie and Eric?” Gareth asks.

“Yup. Fucked around and played some games. Roger stopped by too.”

“Sounds nice,” Gareth says, then tilts his chin up for a kiss. Tig kisses back with a pleased hum.

Dom’s free hand rests on Tig’s, his thumb brushing over his knuckles. “How long were you spying on us for?”

“Just before Planet Caravan. I knew you two were sweet, but singing your favourite songs to each other? That’s the cutest shit I’ve seen in a long time.” Both men grumble half-hearted protests and Tig grins into Gareth’s frizzed-out hair. Being able to smell Dom’s cologne in Gareth’s hair makes heat stir low in his gut, but he pushes it down. For now.

“Since you’re mocking us, we should get to hear one of yours,” Dom demands. Gareth nods, enthusiastic, and Tig really can’t resist either of them so he folds like wet tissue paper and grabs Gareth’s phone to unlock it.

He has a song in mind already, though the thought of sharing it does make his heart beat a little faster. But if Gareth can be vulnerable, so can he. So Tig searches up the song, the first few yearning piano notes ringing out before Tig starts singing, low and quiet.

“When the road is long

And the night has come

I will stay with you

We will see this through…”

Tig’s voice shakes a little at the first pre-chorus, emotions crowding his throat as he sings the harshes clean instead, and he feels Dom squeeze his hand while Gareth leans further into Tig’s chest and kisses his collarbone. It buoys him up through the rest of the song, and when the piano fades out his gaze is drawn straight to Dom.

Dom’s face is a potent mix of heartbreak and so much love that Tig can only sheepishly shrug at. Scoffing, Dom sits up, keeping his arm around Gareth as he reaches over to cup Tig’s cheek. Tig lets himself be pulled closer, sighs into the kiss as their lips meet in a way that’s both familiar and still a little new. When they part, Dom’s giving him this fond look that also somehow conveys how ridiculous he thinks Tig is, which he returns with a goofy grin.

“You’re both such fucking saps.”

That shocks a laugh out of Tig. He and Dom turn to Gareth, who’s doing a poor job of hiding his own fondness. Dom looms over Gareth, gets into his space, and says, “You started it.” He starts to sing Stand By Me again, but Gareth slaps a hand over Dom’s mouth. That, Tig knows, is never a good idea.

Gareth yelps and wrenches his hand away, clutching it to his chest and he stares, affronted, at Dom, who’s smirking down at him. “You fucking bit me!”

“Not for the first time tonight, darling.”

A blush paints Gareth’s cheeks pink, and Tig easily gives into the urge to lean down and pepper his face with kisses. Gareth complains, but it’s just a front. The way he squirms between Tig and Dom says he’s more than happy where he is.

And Tig, gazing adoringly at the two men in his arms, his heart so full it could burst? He is too.

[theflyingfeeling]

fictalkfictalkfictalk

[toasterdrake]

what if all my girls loved each other and maybe they kissed sometimes. what then

Atlas!Spartan Snowdrop with a hastily thrown together Pyrrha design that i’m admittedly getting attached to

[tempest-toss]

tw: death, temporary child kidnapping

Visible to anons, and visible to muses (I have a strange feeling though that some will take this moment to rag on the characters)

~~~~~

The birth had been laborious, but Shuichi did it. Now he sleepily looked out at Fenrir, who was cuddling a bundle of purple fur with fox ears, Fenrir soothing the child like he's done many times prior.

Shuichi's gaze drifted to the door as the nurse entered. Shuichi hated her with a passion. The way she described the baby and the way she described him made him wonder whether or not she wanted to steal Luca from him.

His fears came to fruition as she pulled out a syringe and jabbed it into the distracted Fenrir, and she swiftly pulled the baby out of his grasp as he came crashing down. With an evil smirk she began to leave, prompting a tired Shuichi to reach out."

"Please...I want to hold...my baby..." The nurse turned to look at him, smirked, and walked out, leaving Shuichi to succumb to the drugs in his system for the birthing process.

````````````````

As the nurse walked out with the baby, she sped through the hallways, ultimately being halted by a rare figure.

"What are you doing with a baby outside the patient's room?" Came the flat command of Overseer One.

"The parents are resting, and I wanted the little one to pick a toy so he won't cry while his parents rest!" This lie was met with a raised brow by the archivist before she took a drink from her coffee mug.

"I won't impede the happiness of a baby," One mumbled as she continued on her way down. The nurse breathed a sigh of relief and made her way past the storage room and made her way to the elevator, taking it straight to the car lot.

Partway through the elevator stuttered, the shaking and the nurse's banging on the panel stirring Luca and causing him to cry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The nurse hurried to her car, scolding the baby kitsune, who began to wail even louder. As she starts her car, and preps to look behind her to reverse she hears the click of the key. Turning back the key was switched out of the ignition, and every time she turned it it would switch back. After holding it in place she went for the stick, only for a hand made out of the stick shift wrapping her hand, sharply stabbing her wrists.

"You...stole!... our baby" the radio moaned as it was turned on by itself, the dials turning, tuning to different channels. "You...will pay!"

As soon as the nurse muttered "That fucking ghost", a hand came from behind her and slit her throat. Her free hand clasped her throat as her other hand was released. The sound of Luca being removed from the car could be heard as the nurse stumbled out. As she stood up she had to squint as a green laser went into her eye. Without getting a chance to process it, a bullet shot through her skull, and she crumpled dead.

O5-13 lowered her titular sniper, a smile on her face as she mumbled a soft, "still got it." Victor Jekyll emerged from the car, ceasing his possession of it, while the half-cat man and SnapDragon Smuggler Nikos walked to the both of them, a giggling Luca in his hands.

"Thank goodness Overseer One called us about this. I would shuddder the thought of a new life being whisked away for nefarious reasons, especially my beloved's child!"

"Well, that's all over. And if no one will object, I could sell up the remains for a nice profit." Nikos speaks as he hands the baby to Victor. Nikos begins to bag the body, eager to sell the bones, flesh, hair, and eyes for the Snapdragon Smugglers to earn a profit. Then, he'll play with the new son.

~~~~~

Shuichi and Fenrir are hugging, tears caked on Shuichi's eye tracts. His eyes light up as Thirteen arrives and hands him back his baby. Shuichi begins to cry anew as he finally gets to hold his baby. His healthy fox baby. He allowed himself this moment to let all deception and lies down. No Foundation, No Council. Just a moment with the family.

[symbiote-siblings]

“Tara!”

“Ow- fuck- you bastard!”

‘YAP YAP!’

“AUGH- FUCKING HELL- AH!”

“Furby! YEAH BEAT HIS ASS!”

“Stop STANDING there and get this RAT OFF ME- GAH! THE DAMN EYE- FUCK!”

~whimper~

“SHIT- FURBY!”

…

Mrrrp… gnnn…

“LET HER GO-“

~sneeze~ eeaugh…

“So much trouble… a pity.

But it’ll be worth it.”

…

With a waking sneeze, the small dog’s large eyes burst open. She lay flat on her stomach, covered by rubble. She blinked a few times before sneezing again, a sneeze that shook her entire body upright again, rubble and dust flying upward and away as she stood. Furby cleared her throat with a snarl and shook more violently than necessary to get the rest of that grey rubble off. And her fur poofed back outward and crazier than before.

The small dog smelled something off. Blood. And she licked at her lip, turning her head in circles to try and find the source of it. Only to be stuck on a forever circle because the wound was on her ear and she is failing to realize it. It only took a few seconds before she gave up on trying to find the source of the blood and looked outward.

This wasn’t the stinky city… well… it was… just stinkier than she remembered. Pavement cracked and raised, buildings smoking, destroyed property, rubble and fire. Citizens were injured and had to pull themselves to a flat surface. Emergency services struggled to reach some patients and survivors. And when Furby took another sniff.

It stank.

Stank of what? This wasn’t city stink. That was blood stink. And body stink. But not grimy juvenile human stink. It was rotting stink. Rotting body stink.

She didn’t like that stink.

Where was she?

Where was her weird brother? And those weird gooey things?

Her ears flattened to her head as she turned her head to the side, then the other, turning in a full circle both ways on the cracked street, surrounded by a broken urban land.

They weren’t there.

Furby lowered her head, making strangled whimpers, legs shaking.

Furby didn’t like that.

But Furby doesn’t give up so easily, oh no. Furby is ferocious.

Sort of.

…

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap-

Furby trotted as fast as she could on the broken pavements, serving through crowds and biting ankles of those who got in her way-

taptaptaptaptap-

And would run faster and out of reach when they tried to lunge for her.

However, tiny legs only get you so far.

By the time she arrived near her destination, the sun was slowly starting to set. Bright lights and news casts were screened all over the city and pictured the horrid images of the rampage caused by that weird stinky many legged hairless but not very hairless because he had a bit of hair old human.

She sneezed with disapproval.

…

Sneaking into apartment complexes was rather easy.

By the time she knew it, she was in the room of that weird stinky human with tons of lil spiders but they weren’t spiders they were fake spiders… fpiders.

And she sat on the desk. In front of the computer. And began typing random things to the weird communication center. She thinks. She wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t sure what a communication center was either. All she knows is that if you poke poke poke at this weird keypad thing, you get help. Most of the time. Or just anger.

Maybe help is coming? She wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t sure if they understood nor is she sure if she could understand them. Meh.

Another plan then.

She inhaled slowly, puffing her chest outward…

‘YAP YAP GRRRR YA YA YA- GRRMMMM GEAAAAAAHH MMMMMM EAUGH-‘

This yelling continues even when there’s an old man she recognized when she was left here to fend against the spider cat, eyes wide as he burst through the door.

“AYE! Θεέ μου βοήθησέ με, γιατί είναι ο διάβολος στο κατώφλι μου?!”

…

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Another Dead Boy Detectives Fic Rec List

Netflix sucks and I'm sad, but the Dead Boy Detectives fandom continues to be awesome, so here are some more very quick fic recs!*

Tonight's the Night You Fight Your Best Mate's Dad by Opossum_Subatomic

Everyone's Alive College/University 5+1 things fic featuring Charles bringing Edwin coffee and slowburn payneland. Also Family/Wedding Drama involving Everyone Thinks They're Dating so acute is verges on Fake Dating. This author is seriously fantastic, everything they write is gold.

You should also check out Kissing Lessons, which is a high school AU that does what it says on the tin while also giving non-binary Monty and polyamory.

Ornithology by Rosie447

Monty gets a job working at Tragic Mick's. This one's not actually payneland, being gen and Monty-centric. I know, gasp. It's a fantastic and very sweet exploration of Monty discovering his sense of self post canon and works as a great metaphor for recovery from toxic family/relationships. Also, the ex-animal solidarity and bonding with Mick is lovely.

what some circumstance stole by Chrome

The Sandman crossover featuring Edwin and Hob being kidnapped and tortured together. Their friendship is really wholesome with eventual Father Figure and Found Family Feels for the whole agency and background Dreamling.

dandelion wine (life and death in summertime) by world_wanderer

Payneland Right Person Wrong Time AU in which neither of them die but they still meet and become friends. The May/December friendship is sweet but tragic, with a bittersweet ending. Superb.

Mirror Image by Anonymous

Charles' afterlife gets taken over my an evil shape-shifting doppelganger, leaving him with plenty of time to regret never talking to Edwin about his feelings. Angsty but with Feelings Realisation and the Power of Love and Friendship vibes.

my healing needed more than time by babyseraphim

Case fic with de-aged Charles! Baby Charles is precious but be prepared for discussions of childhood trauma/abuse.

The same author has also written I'm So Aces at Babysitting, which is a really cute two-chaptered AU featuring Charles and Edwin babysitting the kid versions of each other, with bonus Crystal and Niko doing the same. It's very wholesome and the author writes little kids really well.

Pouring into me by tragedy_machine

Love me some "Charles wants to date Edwin to figure out his feelings but gets turned down" fic. Feelings are hard, OK?

thank u, next by KiaraSayre

Edwin fucks and Charles seethes. It's very funny and also features some interesting worldbuilding with the Fae.

Like We've Never Known Hurt by dearheartdont

Just cute established relationship PWP and praise kink. So good.

all of these hollows by handwrittenhello

The boys are alive again but sans memories. Can they still find each other and prove their devotion to the Night Nurse?? While also evading heavenly and hellish forces trying to keep them apart??? Very interesting concept executed well.

Suo Gân by emryses

The agency takes on the case of a traumatised Edwardian ghost searching for her missing baby... Read it for Edwin family feels.

Where Primroses Bloom by PantryJesus

Reading aloud as a love language and Watership Down feels. Idk, I'm now convinced that Edwin is kind of rabbit-coded with the whole "if they catch you they'll kill you. But first they must catch you" thing. A lovely well written fic.

I'm so sick of online love by Hse11z5

College/University AU where the boys meet through a dating app. It's cute.

you can have the best of me, baby (and I will give you anything) by aletterinthenameofsanity

Again, it's the Friends with Benefits but with real feelings and mutual pining for me. Now has a Charles PoV companion fic.

True Love's Kiss by Asidian

In which Charles curses himself with a Sleeping Beauty enchantment in order to confirm his feelings for Edwin and Crystal is the real MVP. I love this one because the boys are both SO stupid but in very different in-character ways.

I also recommend Promised, in which they kind of play the Green card angle to keep Edwin out of Hell? Which honestly needs to be more of a trope. And Tight Quarters, starring the boys trapped in a magic circle, leading to Forced Proximity induced Feelings Realization (in more ways than one! 😉).

Something I Can Turn To by DontOffendTheBees

I love some domestic fluff, in this case as an Everyone's Alive/Childhood Friends AU in which the boys are poor but happy living together. I liked how they both survive their respective traumas, but Reality Ensues.

I also recommend Lived My Whole Life Before the First Light for a lovely but melancholy Soulmate AU that goes for the "seeing colours" trope for extra wistful angst.

Dining at the Ritz by TerresDeBrume

Meeting the Parents fic in which Edwin's parents are awful and Charles is Not Having It. This has Everyone Thinks They're Dating and autistic Edwin stimming representation, plus discussions of racism, classism and ableism. The fic is also part of a great Modern AU series in which the boys attended St Hilarion's at the same time and Charles saved Edwin from a non-supernatural but still almost deadly prank. Highly recommended!

The Case of the Couples Retreat by juliasfanart

Listen, I can't get enough of undercover fake dating/relationships at a couples retreat, OK? Some minor angst but overall very cute and fluffy.

acu (aysar cinematic universe) by ObsessedWithFandom

The agency is hired to solve the mystery of Charles' death and bring his killers to justice. I'm genuinely obsessed with this series; I love its OCs and Charles having an exboyfriend gives Edwin a fun crisis. Plus haunting Charles' killers is very satisfying and cathartic. Just imagine they're Netflix execs, y'all.

*Not actually quick, as it turns out. 😅

I love doing these lists because I always think I've only got a few recs and then I look back over my recent bookmarks and I've got a metric ton of great fics to rec. You guys are so talented. ❤️

[theaceace]

Ok I need DBD to be renewed for a second season because I need a scene in which the gang are feeling really down about something - a case that didn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped, some depressing backstory stuff or whatever - and everyone is sat around looking glum until Jenny (queen of my heart) throws her hands up like 'ok I actually can't stand this!' and puts on the cheesiest most cheerful radio station she can quickly find (preferably 80s, because Charles)

And Edwin and Crystal stare blankly at her, Charles just looks a bit lost, while she gestures impatiently for them to get up and do something before she dies of secondhand bad vibes, or whatever

And Niko (who is of course back with the agency for Plot Reasons) is the first one to get up and start to dance. She pulls Crystal up to dance with her, and Jenny looks on all proud and satisfied, until Charles laughs and gets up to join in. He drags Edwin with him (who is loudly protesting that he's never danced, Charles, not that you can call whatever this is dancing!) and they dance together, all four kids, while Jenny nods her head vaguely in time to the music

And I want there to be a shot through the window of wherever they are (Jenny's new shop? Doesn't matter) of an outsider's POV showing Crystal dancing wildly on her own with Jenny in the background, only to cut back in and show them all having fun together, teaching each other stupid dances, Crystal not giving a damn what anyone outside thinks of her because she's got her family right there, Edwin is laughing despite himself as Charles tries to teach him how to moonwalk or the thriller dance or smth, Niko is literally lighting up the room because she's some sort of supernatural being now, and even Jenny gets (reluctantly, or so she'd have you believe) roped into it, maybe the Night Nurse too, and do you understand. Do you see my vision.

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Palace and Payne Detective Agency Pt. 2!

Crystal’s not blind to begin with. She made her life as a mean girl who could prod at people’s weaknesses and she’s made her death as a detective who can read people well enough to solve crimes.

And, frankly, beyond that, she knows Edwin Payne. She knows him as well as she knows herself, if not better, because she hasn’t seen her own face in a mirror in over twenty years but she has watched Edwin’s reactions to things for fourteen years.

This, though? This is new.

God, the way Edwin stares at Charles. The way he looks at Charles like he’s hung the sun. The way that he is eager to teach Charles about ghost rules and to show Charles around and just indulge this boy.

Crystal wishes she could believe the best in Charles as Edwin does, but she knows the assholes of the world too well.

Crystal was destroyed, ruined, fucking murdered over the way that things went down with David, the way that what she did- both as herself and under his possession- condemned her to Hell and she never lived long enough to prove that she could become a better person.

Crystal had thought that was love, but she'd been wrong. Dead fucking wrong.

And she cannot let Edwin have the same thing happen to him.

(Charles Rowland finally makes his appearance, but Crystal has her hesitations over how quickly her partner is falling for him.)

@qwanderer @nix-nihili @vyther15 @anything-thats-rock-and-roll @wordsinhaled

@bitterdesert @mellxncollie @idliketobeatree @many-gay-magpies @dont-offend-the-bees

@regina-cordium @artsy-waffle19

[clearnachopirate]

DBD actor au where edwin is a struggling stage actor (keeps getting cast as supporting cast in shows that are very much NOT shakesperean dramas) and charles is a film actor trying stage acting for the first time.

where edwin has his small corner of the world (niko, his old family friend crystal, and the few gigs he gets while working his ass off to finally get a lead) and charles comes by to a show and slowly assimilates himself into edwins life

the twist is that from charles POV its a coming of age rom com where he finally finds real friends who push him to be better and a guy he adores

... and from Edwins POV its a psychological horror where this prettier, more charming, and more successful actor swoops into his life and takes his place who his friends all immediately get along with better than him... and the worst part is he finds this guy /charming/

[ticktockheartstop]

DBDA catch/theory time, are you ready?

First, let me remind you of the fact that Tragic Mick gave Niko the bear charm-thing because she listened to his story and tried to help. And then he tells her, “You never know when the good you do may come back around.”

*Big skip through much of the episode*

So. The Night Nurse’s supervisor showing up at the agency in the final episode kinda makes sense, right? The Night Nurse has clearly had a lot of trouble with Edwin and Charles and could use some back up. And the supervisor acts whole lot like the Night Nurse, telling the boys when they protest that she can’t just take them to the afterlife: “I can do anything I like!”

But then: She turns to their case file. And as she’s telling them some technical jargon about forms, she’s looking over the case file. Near the end of her sentence, she squints at something. But then she turns back to the boys and asks them if they have the form she’s talking about.

AND THEN she puts her glasses on, turns back to the case file, and asks about it. And as Charles is explaining, we switch to the supervisor’s POV as she is scanning over all the cases. Her gaze stops at the top and lingers on the file labeled “Niko Sasaki.” And then the camera switches back to show her face, and we see her begin to point at the Niko’s file. Her facial expression changes so that she’s frowning, almost looking sad, and she reaches a hand up to her neck/shirt collar.

That’s weird, right? But it gets weirder.

The supervisor behind listing all the people the boys have helped, and though she doesn’t say Niko’s name, her eyes linger on that file:

After this, she makes the decision that the boys will stay on Earth to keep doing what they’re doing, much to the surprise and horror of the Night Nurse. This isn’t what she asked for help for!

The supervisor turns to Edwin and Charles and says, “You never know how the souls you help, the marks you make — you never know when the good you do may come back around.”

And then she pauses and just looks at them like this:

Idk about you, but she seems emotional to me. So here’s my question: does she know Niko!?!? Because why would she change her mind when she saw Niko’s case file if she didn’t know her or wasn’t connected to her somehow?? And why would she give the boys the hint of using the exact same wording as Tragic Mick used with Niko if she wasn’t trying to tell them something!? She knows they’re detectives! So she’s giving them a clue to figure something out, is she not??

My brain hurts.

[emi-the-gremlin]

Follow up to my Palasakiweek post: it’s the alive boys:D

POV me while drawing this: “wow this sure is going great!” gets to the hands

Immediately starts fucking screaming

No but I swear to God, if you even so much as fucking look at the hands, I will come for you, and boil your fucking eyeballs when you least expect it.

Ok now to actually get to the point, instead of whatever the fuck that was:

I’ll start with a few short details, I didn’t include in the original, and then I’ll go onto the design, cool? Cool.

This first, one was probably pretty easy to guess, but I completely forgot to mention it in the original, so I’ll say it anyway, just to make sure we’re all one the same page: Charles will obviously not be able to see the girls in the beginning, not until he goes through his “canon death” , which Edwin and the girls obviously save him from. But this time instead of classmates, they’re other boys from the home (who do get arrested and kicked out this time:D)

On the subject of Charles, I think he’d have a very similar character arc to Niko with the letters from her mom, just with a very different context, obviously.

Now onto Edwin, I never really thought about why he could see ghosts, but I’m thinking maybe he’s from a long line of witches or something? Since that would both preserve his magical skill from canon, but also explain his interest in the occult.

Lastly, I really just wanted to talk about how funny I find the whole memory thing in its current state, because I just imagine Sa’al yoinking Eds memories, and then immediately fucking the hell off (being banished by Crystal)

Design:

Edwin: I started with the simple vision of a sweater –I don’t know why, but every time I draw that boy I have the uncontrollable urge to put him in knitwear, and this time that urge won out– then I went onto shoes, and I knew I wanted to do something different this time, so I thought about it, and came to the conclusion that ballet flats would be perfect both because they fit well with his whole vibe, but more then that I feel like a modern Edwin would definitely take the opportunity to express his femininity more. And with that thought in mind I obviously had to give him some earrings. And then I added the little lace detail onto his collar, because…ok I don’t know, it was cute, sue me!

Charles: most of Charles’ outfit is already pretty timeless, so really I just tried to differentiate his outfit enough from the original, without losing the core of it. Also I gave him a messenger bag, for no other reason then I really like messenger bags. In addition to that I gave him my shoes, because they kind of reminded me of one of his pins, and they’re hella cute ‘nough said.