#no its not 1am

[timethehobo]

His cute expression when Rook first started flirting tho…

[kendyroy]

logan, you’ve known this guy for 10 secs

[k0mmari]

SYSTEM! SHEN YUAN AU

Okay, look, I've head a System SY idea for a while now (in fact, some of the ideas for this were used when I was first planning out Locked & Loaded), but after seeing @/artsarasp's System!SQQ AU, the brainworms have been once again come alive and I just need to get this out into the world. This is a very bare bones idea that I (probably) won't actually write, so walk with me for a second! Also this is going to be a very, very long post.

In this idea, the System actually is an interdimensional organization that deal with creating new worlds based on stories and making sure these worlds continue working as intended and (eventually), sending transmigrators to worlds that need 'improvement' (this improvement being very subjectice depending on which worker is assigned which story).

In SY's case, he's just someone who usually works behing a screen, in the most exciting cases he gets to guide transmigrators around but most of the time he just makes sure the stories 'code' is running normally and nothing world-breaking is going on in the stories (like someone managing to find a hack to skip defining plot points, or activating God-Mode somehow). He's very happy with this arrangement, btw! He was never one to run around and his boss has warned him once or twice for apparently being 'way too harsh' on the few transmigrators he got to be a System for.

Unfortunately, one day he is assigned to 'manually inspect' a world because a certain co-worker of his (Shang Qinghua) had been sent down there to handle a glitch but had gone missing instead. When SY asks why was he being the one asked to do this (not that he doesn't care for his friend, but he REALLY isnt made for running around), his boss says SY is the only other one who is familiar enough with the world to not get lost.

So that's how he find out SQH had managed to get himself stuck on the world he created (as a joke even, he hadn't even expected that when he was messing around with the company's program he would actually be able to create a new world based on the shitty novel he'd written as a human). And of course, SQH only having one friend, subjected SY to the story.

SY grumbles and denies ever seeing anything about SQH's story (or liking it, even if his boss kindly points out they never mentioned SY liked it) but eventually he agrees; and that's how he finds himself being teletransported onto the world of PIDW, carrying a pair of Debugging Sheers he'd never thought he would have to hold (he calls them Big Scissors), with the mission of finding SQH and dealing with the glitch that was still somewhere in the world.

Though, when he goes to message his supervisor about the specifics (where he should go or what was the last known location of SQH), he finds out that his Personal System has apparently already been affected by the glitch ("ALREADY??") that he was realizing worked more like a virus. Fortunately some messages were still going through, and his supervisor notified him they couldn't send him directly to the location he needed to be, specially because the virus seemed to have fragmented and spread to various parts of the stories timeline. SY now has to jump around through time a few times and slowly cut doen the glitches caused by the virus.

Thus begins Shen Yuan's Great Narrative Haunting (in real time.).

Luckily, for him, the place he first appeared was already one of the spots the virus has infected the world, and it seems to be in a town not too far away from him, so with a quick activation of the 'Ghost Mode' function (avaiable for all System staff to make it easier when they have to manually fix something, making them invisible and untouchable), SY heads to the town.

The glitch actually doesnt take too long to find (it was a buggy tree clipping onto a nearby river, which only needs a snip of the Big Scissors to disappear from reality), but when SY and passing through the town to find some better signal for his Personal System so he can jump forward to the next stop, he sees a group of snickering kids leaving an alleyway. A bit curious, he passes by the alley and barely manages to see through the pouring rain and spot a trembling figure on the floor. Of course, PIDW was never meant to be a happy or forgiving world, so SY is not surprised at the idea that some kids were bullying a smaller kid, though it still makes him upset.

He kneels close to the child and turns off 'Ghost Mode', pulling out an umbrella from his inventory (yes, System staff ALSO get an inventory, no one wants to have to carry aroung those big ass scissors), covering him from the rain. The boy is shaking from the cold, and even if SY can't check the boy's identity (since his system is still buggy), he reasons the probability of him coming into contact with an important character is very small, and even if System staff aren't supposed to interact with characters, he limits himself to at least getting the boy out of the rain.

Luo Binghe later wakes in a bench underneath a small shop's roof, covered in a thick cloth, having no idea how he'd gotten there besides the vague dream (or memory?) of a strangely dressed person patting his hair and taking him into their arms. He notices the rain has stopped and he's perfectly dry. Shen Yuan, seeing the kid seems to be doing well, finally jumps to his next location.

It doesn't take long for SY to figure out where he is when he loads onto the next mission location, in fact, he's almost certain he'd recognize the bamboo forest and calm, almost dream-like atmosphere of Qing Jing Peak anywhere. Seeing there that Qing Jing even exists in the first place, he deduces Binghe is still not emperor, so this time he makes sure to not be seen by any characters. It also doesn't take for SY to find his next target, as a commotion behind him catches his attention.

And oh, if he isn't familiar with the scene. A few older looking disciples push around a smaller looking boy, while a girl insistently shouts for the leader of the older disciples to stop. SY barely managed to appreaciate how Luo Binghe looks so cute as a child before (who he assumes is) Ming Fan snatches rips an amulet out of Binghe's neck. It's quite the heartbreaking scene to watch live, poor Binghe fighting for the only remaining piece of his adoptive mother without even knowing he's destined to never see it again. SY's Personal System may be buggy but it's still functional enough to detect if SY has a direct impact on the main storyline, so SY is basically forced to stand still and watch.

Though, since he had a clear view of the whole scene, when Ming Fan throws the jade pendant into the forest, SY can perfectly follow the arch of the necklace and sees where it landed, which is when an idea pops into his head. Distantly hearing Luo Binghe and NYY frantically searching for a necklace they'll never find, SY spots where the fake jade glimmers high up on a tree brench, though it's glimmer is distorted by the distinct sight of a glitch corrupting it's form. If SY were to follow standard procedure, he'd just have to bring out his Sheers and snip the necklace out of existence, but looking at it... Would it be so bad if he debugged the necklace the longer way?

Besides, if Binghe has the necklace or not, it's not like this one item is going to interfere with the major story anyways. SY isn't stopping Binghe from falling into the Abyss, he's just... Returning a lost item to it's intended owner.

Later, after an exhausting afternoon of what seemed to be searching through every nook and cranny of Qing Jing Peak's surrounding forest, Luo Binghe goes back to the shed he sleeps in utterly defeat and feeling strangely hollow; that is, until he opens the door and finds a new, thick blanket neatly folded in the middle of the shed, way too clean to be anything he had previously owned, and atop of it, his precious jade pendent, sitting there as if it never even dissapeared. Luo Binghe distantly notices that nobody that visits the shed ever lets the door closed after they visit.

The third location SY goes to leaves him no time to acclimatize, as he's immediately attacked by a beast, and only after (struggling to) kill it, does SY notice the unfortunate situation he was placed into: the Immortal Alliance Conference. By this point, he's already figured out his Personal System is most likely using Binghe's energy as Protagonist to make up for the energy it can't use due to it being partially corrupted, and the energy it needs to save up so SY can go back to the System's head quarters, so it really wasn't a surprise that he would be sent to this specific plot point, but dammit can't he avoid having to be near the place where his favorite character is thrown into hell??

And, well, there's also the problem that a beast attacked him, which meant it saw him, which meant his Ghost Mode was also glitching out, and after fiddling around which a half functioning System interface, it seems that the presence of the virus here is stronger than the other places, though still not the biggest chunk. Truly, just the cherry on top of his situation that he'd have to scurry around and somehow manage to not bump into anyone.

As is his luck, as SY tries to head closer to where his System is signaling the glitch's presence, other monsters continue attacking him, which besides slowing him down a considerable amount, it also causes the risk of him being picked up by the people watching the Conference through the Spirit Eagles circling the area, which is the last thing he needs.

Eventually he goes to the closest spot he can to the glitch, but a snapping sound behind him sends him into full panic. A person stands behind him, which leaves SY wondering how he managed to miss someone sneaking up on him like this. "You seem to have dropped something." the person says, and SY eyes immediately fall to his body, scanning himself to what he might have lost, and his hand basically flies to his throat when he notices the tassle that is usually nestled there is missing. He quickly turns around, only to come face to face to the golden protagonist, mister Luo Binghe himself.

Binghe tries interrogating SY as to what he's doing, sneaking around the supposedly sealed off Conference grounds, and SY, in his panicked state (slightly fuelled by a fanboy-induced craze) tries to fumble for excuses, but only when Binghe finally understands that the feeling he gets when looking at this strange person is an undeniable sense of deja-vu and tries asking SY if they'd met before, a loud rumblind shakes the ground: the Abyss has opened.

SY feels even more panicked, cause what this means is eventually, not only will he be discovered by Luo Binghe (his supervisor is going to kill him), but he could possibly be discovered by Shen Qingqiu, of all people! He doesn't get too much time to think about his grand escape however, as a piercing shriek comes from the Abyss rift. Right, how could he forget about the Black Moon Rhinoceros Python? And-- Oh, of course! Of course the damn thing would be virus-infected object!

After teaming-up with Binghe, the both of them manage to subdue the monster long enough that SY managed to snip it, though while they both catch their breath, SY belatedly realizes he just helped Binghe fight with the monster he was supposed to fight. Alone! The monster who was supposed to break his demonic seal! And, like clockwork, he can distantly hear what can only be SQQ's hurried steps through the forest! FUCK!!

With no other option, and Binghe now wanting to continue his interrogation, SY hurriedly start to walk towards the Abyss rift, frantically giving Binghe tips about what he could do in the Abyss to have an easier time, though when he catches a glimpse of green robes between the trees, SY types something on a floating screen and jumps backwards, Binghe letting out a shocked scream. Unfortunately, the protagonist won't be able to do nothing about the seemingly insane and way too familiar man who just jumped into the Abyss, as a rustling sounds behind him, and he's met with a newly regenrated Black Moon Rhino.

SY feels horrible about spawning a new one after Binghe just finished fighting one, but the story must continue, and with his Personal System finally free from most of the virus corruption, SY leaves one last gift as an apology and warping away before hitting the Abyss' ground. Later, when Binghe wakes up at the bottom of the rift after being pushed by SQQ, the first thing he sees is a qiakun pouch, full of useful items and tiny note at the bottom that reads 'Sorry!'

Pt.2

Pt.3

[kijeu]

who's the cute boy in the white jacket and the thick accent?

[iid-smile]

as much as you tried to convince megumi that having a sleepover on this specific day was a coincidence, he wasn't so easily fooled. fortunately, he played along for your sake, because nothing was worth more than getting to see you smile on such a special occasion.

to your misfortune, things didn't go as planned.

you've been struggling to stay awake all night, just waiting for that clock to hit midnight. what wasn't helping was his fingers slowly raking through your hair, tracing behind your neck and over your cheeks. soothing — and he knows exactly what he's doing, trying to soothe you to sleep. after all, he's been trying for hours just to get you to rest, knowing full well you'd try to stay up for him. and it was working... sorta.

"megs..." you manage to mumble, nudging your thigh against his to catch his attention. at first, he remains quiet, assuming you're talking in your sleep, but he responds to your second call. "megs..."

"mm?" he softly mumbles.

"happy birthday, baby..." a drunk sounding giggle leaves your lips as you snuggle closer to him, arms wrapped around his torso with your head nestled perfectly into his shoulder. you don't even know what time it is, going off of pure intuition.

it's adorable to see how far you were willing to go just to make him happy.

carefully, he reaches for his phone on the nightstand, the soft glow of the screen illuminating the darkness around him. he quickly turns down the brightness in fear of disturbing your rest and reads the numbers plastered over the top of his lockscreen. 23:59.

you're a minute early, but who cares? you've still the first person to wish him happy birthday. you're the first to hug him, and now...

megumi watches the clock as the seconds slip away, anticipation building. when it finally ticks over to 00:00, he leans down, a warm smile playing on his lips. his breath brushes against your skin just before his mouth meets yours in a gentle peck, soft and fleeting, yet filled with affection.

you're the first to kiss him too.

jjk m.list

[inklores]

──SPOILERS FOR PDTG CHAPTER 6

the meta below contains a reply to a wonderful comment made on the ao3 mirror of chapter 6 that i wanted to explore further but once again, major spoiler alert!

"nothing cuts like a scalpel. or a mother."

i wanted the depiction of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship to be more raw so i felt that this two-sentence summary was pretty succinct. i went back and forth with developing xo's mother, including how their conversation would deviate and be manipulated by what is very clearly her disapproval, envy, and secret disdain for her daughter and the choices she made in her life. i was very heavily influenced by the line in barbie: "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they've come."

and while that quote is so tearjerking and heartwarming and pure in a sense, my mind kind of went along with the idea of "what if the mother didn't WANT to stand still?" i guess that's what framed the riffs about aspirations and i hope it's alluded to julieta having had dreams that she had to hang up in order to raise two kids. especially having xo in her 30s (with glossed-over birth complications), it was kind of the nail in the coffin which—while unjustified—explains why she treats xo more of a chore or a laborious entity. and considering the bits and pieces of xo's life that i've dropped, she was seen as a daddy's girl, she got pregnant before marriage but was still able to balance being an accomplished surgeon and mother (though she wrestles with that confidence a LOT), i definitely think there's a bit of jealousy on julieta's end.

writing some of those nasty snipes from a mother to her DAUGHTER was definitely difficult but i like to think of it as a representation of how the apple really does fall far from the tree. it's cruel that a turbulent mother like julieta still has her child while xo was robbed off that. i also love torturing my ocs but yeah teehee :)

stephen variant was such a fun little scene to kick off xo's surgical life and while he is still the arrogant and ambitious guy that earth-199999's strange was pre-accident, he's still a good guy at his core and was certainly there for xo during the harder parts of her life <3

THE MIGUEL SCENE AS WELL HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. xo's father, captain solano, is indeed alive in his universe (atsv didn't indicate whether miguel endured the loss of a police captain close to him... food for thought). also not sure if we'll get more of his backstory in btsv but i figured it was a good place to play around in and see what a spider does when (or IF) he ever clocks out. knowing that miguel survives off of guilt and bears many crosses, i wondered how that could be extended to his past and especially earth-928 xo. i briefly allude to this during the scene where he hijacks 510-xo's phone call, but i imagine he was a bystander to some of the fights that his xo and julieta had before her death and that hopeless pain is felt even more by watching history repeat itself. and clearly, with how completely broken the 928-solanos are without xo, i can imagine miguel feels culpable for witnessing that phone call and having dinner with them anyway.

this chapter is very special to me for multiple reasons:

1) it delves more into xo's backstory, career, platonic friendships, and her damaged relationship with what's left of her family. (also meeting victor for the first time but there's obviously some gritty distance between them!)

2) there are distinct cut-offs that are explored with 510-xo and 928-miguel's lives. she has the marriage and the child, and what miguel believes is the "what-could-have-been" ending while miguel is stuck with the "never-knowing." however, the complications of either being gone (a xiomara without a miguel and a miguel without a xiomara), are very different, and it's prevalent in this chapter.

3) just the mother-daughter mess in general 🥲 the fact that julieta is evidently more damaged WITHOUT her daughter than she is with her and it's just ajdfsbjhdfbsj

i'm sure there's more i can talk about this chapter and how xo's dysfunctional relationship with her mother is influenced by the relatively unstable/intricate relationship with the male figures in her life, ALONG with how it affected her own experience with motherhood and marriage but my laptop is quite literally at 1% 🥲

i promise this isn't gonna be a regular thing with my pdtg updates but i just had to explore this chapter a bit more <3 thank you to anyone who read this!!

[hinamie]

brighter days ahead

[0bir]

im late for yuri day since its already 26th for me as of posting this but Great Horror yuri

[shitpostingkats]

My toxic trait is I think Apollo should have more crazy backstories. Make him suffer.

[mothwingwritings]

Zayne goes back to work the day after his birthday and everyone takes note of the pep he has in his step. The usually stern, down-to-business doctor has been grinning ear to ear since he stepped through the door, and all the patients, doctors, and nurses can't help but notice how vibrant he is. Zayne is positively beaming- his grim aura nonexistent through the brilliance he is currently exhibiting

Most people are confused by this sudden and aggressive shift in his demeanor, but chock it up to Zayne just being in a particularly nice mood after his trip. Whatever happened on his leave must have been truly wonderful for the doctor, and that happiness was contagious. The residents of the hospital can't help but be pleased that Asko's pride and joy finally seemed to get a moment of blissful respite.

Only Greyson and Yvonne exchange knowing looks, understanding the truth of the situation immediately. Hit with the realization of just how good his mini-vacation was (and how most of that was thanks to you), they can't help but tease their friend a bit, taking turns asking prodding questions, snickering when the only response he provides is clearing his throat and demanding they get back to work.

However it's up to Yvonne to break the news to Zayne, as it became apparent that while Greyson noticed it as well, he was too flustered by seeing it to say anything. Zayne probably thought he was being safe wearing that turtleneck under his lab coat, despite the fact that it was still far too hot aside for such attire. Unluckily for him the signs of your affection would not be so easily contained, and the large red and purple splotch the crept past the hem of his collar was not something that could be played off as a simple wound-the teeth marks made sure of that.

She had never seen Zayne turn quite so red as the moment she pulled him aside and told him, and for a moment she felt almost bad for telling him, wondering if maybe she should have let him figure it out on his own to save him from the awkwardness. However when she looked back on the man as she was departing, watching as he gingerly touched your mark, a roguish smile dancing on his lips as it no doubt made him reminisce about the moment he received it from you, that she realized his blush was not from embarrassment alone.

[n0ahs-ark]

how the reunion in elysium looked like

[melomarts]

I need hi,m

[glodenflower]

[g0ddyke]

Forcemasc except instead of pushing you to go to the gym, it's pushing you to do your physio. it's pushing you to take up space and take your wellbeing seriously - use your mobility aids, take your meds, stop letting other people push you too hard. stop pushing yourself too hard. Understand that you deserve to be here, deserve to be who you are, deserve to be respected. That your masculinity isn't defined by your physical strength or your athleticism or how you look or what other people think of you - it's just part of who and how you are, and now you have someone who sees that. That sees You, and won't let you back down from who you really are.

[ncutii-gatwa]

#this is what greets you at the gates of gay heaven no arguments

[lovwbugg]

i think they can make eachother worse