#thank you for this ask! i had a lot of fun brainstorming stuff

[laugtherhyena]

In a dra/sdra2 zombie apocalypse au, who dies/gets infected first, who was the one who spread it all, and who are the modt lilely to survive? (All on your opibion)

Well someone has been watching those infection Aus going around huh? I've been having a blast watching those but pulling the strings on who does what is a litte harder.

First off, here's how I'm going with the virus:

-Infection spreads only through bites, afterwards there are 4 stages the person goes through in the zombification.

-Stage 1: Starting stage after the person is bitten, they're still acting fine since the infection is just starting to settle in and hasn't started spreading much further from where the bite is. it's the only stage in which amputation can stop the virus from spreading, tho this needs to be done as quickly as possible after the bite.

-Stage 2: Virus is already running through the person's blood system and become very tired as their muscles begin to ache, they develop eyebags under their eyes and their skin starts becoming pale with a slightly greenish hue. This is the first stage in with the infected can spread the virus to another person, it's also where they start feeling hungrier than usual.

-Stage 3: The hunger is starting to become unbearable as the person's body begins rejecting most types of food, they can't sleep and now their skin has gotten greener with an itchy sensation all over. This is where the person's sanity really goes downhill and the decay of the body begins, all the scratching leaves open wounds that only get worse as the infection progresses.

-Stage 4: Final stage, by now the persons mind is completely gone and they're just mindlessly wandering around and trying to eat people to quench their hunger. They're the most aggressive in this stage, however it doesn't take much longer until the decay makes their bodies fall appart completely and the zombie dies of "natural causes" per say.

Anyways, this got really long so I'm putting it under the cut. Taking their chronological ages for this btw (Aka: Dra cast being younger than most of the Sdra2 people)

-Utsuro and Akane:

Utsuro was the patient zero of the infection, spreading the zombie virus as a way to throw the world in despair while remaining fine as his devine luck made him asymptomatic. Roaming around the desolately city watching the chaos unfold, always accompanied by his loyal servant; Akane Taira, who is by now a stage 3 zombie whose devine luck slows down the spread of her infection significantly and leads to her retaining most of her sanity.

She strives to be the perfect servant for her master, carrying out his orders and acting as a "bodyguard" of sorts. Sometimes she wonders if her former classmates manages to escape safely, other times she wishes to see them as decaying zombies.

-Since I'm talking about the luck people here's Nikei, Hajime, Emma and Iroha:

Their devine luck is steadily running out, looking for Utsuro is no longer an option with all these zombies around. The voids stick together in hopes that the remainder of their luck acts in unison and gives them a better shot at surviving this mess.

As their leader, Nikkei is always trying to think of safer ways to traverse the city and places for them to get supplies or steal steal from other survivor. He's stressed pretty much all of the time but tries to control his emotions to not end up lashing out at his friends, he doesn't always succeed. Hajime is the closest they have to a doctor due to his knowledge in health while Emma tries to get keep the group's morale so that they don't all go insane, not an easy task when her own sanity is starting to go down the drain.

They lost Iroha pretty early on, she was very scared, jumpy and paranoid, which led to her lashing out at Nikkei and the others out of frustration (sorta like she does in the void theater segment) then storming off where she was attacked and killed by a hoard of zombies. The remaining 3 voids swear to stick together and survive no matter what.

-Mikado and Kokoro:

Mikado was getting in contact with Kokoro for his future plans and when the zombie outbreak happened, he stayed by her side since they were pretty much stuck inside her laboratory for a while because of all the zombies outside.

Kokoro is scary smart, however, curiosity surely gets the best out of her. So she wants to study the zombies to see how they function, how the infection spreads and affects the body, maybe even try to find a cure in the way. She has chemical components, protective suits and a lot of things to keep herself safe, and since Mikado is stuck with her she makes him work for her so she shares these supplies with him.

So for a while all he had to do was lure zombies into this designated containment area and collect samples from them for Kokoro to study, while also bringing some dead ones in too from time to time so she can dissect and study them as well. But nothing good lasts forever, Mikado was bitten by a zombie he thought had died while collecting a blood sample, Kokoro takes this as an opportunity to start testing possible cures on him.

She was able to develop a solution that keeps his infection from spreading beyond stage 2 (the one Mikado had reached by the time she first tested this solution on him), but there's been no progress on one capable of reversing the effects of the virus so far. Probably because Kokoro's lab is starting to lack a few things by now, not that this will stop her from continuing her research tho, if someone's gonna find a cure it's probably her.

Anyways, back to the Dra cast. This whole apocalypse starts in a similar way to how the cast gets captured in canon, Kisaragi brings them to the foundation's place without knowing Utsuro and Akane (who is at early stage 2 now) are the causes of this mess. The two of them let a bunch of zombies in and reveal themselves as despairs, at this point the class ends up getting divided as they lose track of where the others are.

-Group 1; Yamato, Mikako, Teruya, Satsuki, Haruhiko: It was a hard decision but seing as zombies were everywhere around the facility, they couldn't risk staying for very long to try finding the others. Yamato directed the people with him alongside several other foundation members that hadn't gotten bit towards some helicopters where they left the island and headed towards a secret underground facility/bunker.

So they're safe, but obviously worried about the others. Yamato manages to contact Tsurugi via some kind of communication device early on and hearing that he's got a lot of their clasmates still with him makes them all a little relieved, Yamato sends the coordinates of the bunker to him so that Tsurugi can bring him and the others there safely, he also tent to talk him whenever he has the time to make sure everything is going well and even send supplies to their location when needed.

Because i imagine Yamato would absolutely be overworked on this, trying to keep the people at the bunker safe and sane while getting news from their friends still outside while ALSO trying to find a cure himself. Which is a lot harder to when he is very unwilling to bring infected into the bunker to make tests as in depth as Kokoro is doing. His are done by shooting zombies around the area on the surface with a dart that has one of his solutions and a microchip onto it, he keeps track on these zombies to see if it does anything. Not very precise, but the safety of the people in the facility is more important to him than that.

Mikako also helps with it from time to time but most of what she does is keep check of the people in the bunker and make sure they're ok, while also being in charge of checking and disinfecting anyone that's gonna enter the facility and coordinating ocasional missions to go outside and gather more suplies. Where are these supplies coming from? Otori mart of course! Hence why Teruya also helps with these missions by telling them which stores will have certain itens and where to find them.

As for Satsuki and Haru, I don't think they're doing much, sorta just trying to settle in the facility and reassuring the other people there that they're safe down there. I like to think Satsuki maybe pulls up some performances to boost morale of the people at the facility and make them smile even if just a little.

After getting separated from Yamato and the others, Tsurugi took the lead in guiding his classmates to safety after deciding that they should head down and try to leave the island via boat, but things don't go so smoothly as the group is followed by a hoard of zombies. Kakeru, Mitch and Kinji stay behind to hold back the zombies while the others reach the boat, Maki wanted to stay behind with them as well but Higa insisted that she should go with the others to protect them.

-Group 2; Tsurugi, Kiyoka, Ayame, Kanata, Kizuna:

The remaining members of class 79 stick together as they traverse through the city, making contact with Yamato via Kinjo's two way radio and getting the coordinates for their location. Tsurugi effectively becomes the leader of the group, though his weird morals tend to make him pretty cold and rather unsympathetic during the apocalypse, prioritizing their survival above all else while being somewhat paranoid about the infection and possible traitors like Utsuro and Akane.

Back in the foundation's island Ayame had gotten bit by Taira while in denial that she could have helped cause this, she tried to get Akane to "snap out of it" and return to her senses, but it didn't work out. Seeing as Ayame had gotten infected Tsurugi wanted to put her down to avoid more casualties, which was not taken well by pretty much everyone else in their group, except for Rei who begrudgingly took his side she figured keeping Ayame with them would be risky.

Thankfully, Kanata stepped in and begged to be allowed to try doing something to help Ayame and if there was nothing she could do to save her she would let him go ahead and kill her. They headed towards an abandoned hospital where Kanata performed mant tests on Ayame and ultimately decided to amputate her armnin an attempt to stop tye infection from spreading. She monitored her closely for tge next few days and was overjoyed when she didn't show any signs of infection afterwards.

Because Kizuna is not doing well either, a few weeks into the apocalypse she became absolutely terrified of zombies and the virus which led to her becoming extremely paranoid and scared that she could get it and turn into one. She was never bit, but her anxiety and paranoia makes her afraid that maybe she has gotten it somehow, she constantly asks Kanata to do check-ups on her and asks if what she's feeling is normal or if she's turning into a zombie.

Ayame is.. not doing very well. Her mental health has gotten pretty bad after learning the truth about Akane, she blames herself for not having been able to "see her true colors" despite being so close to her and is generally really hurt over her betrayal of them since she had feelings for her.

Currently she doesn't talk much, doesn't eat much and doesn't do much, which bothers Kinjo since she could have been very helpful due to her talent if she had the strength to be a more active member of their group. Kanata tries to help her mental health improve even if that's beyond her field of knowledge, she's essential always near her and Kizuna to keep an eye on them and reasure them that they're gonna make it to the bunker.

She pretty much doesn't sleep anymore, something Kinjo uses to the group's advantage and tends to leave her in charge of looking over them while they sleep for the night, if she sees or hear anything strange she can wake him up and he'll know what to do from here on out.

With Kanata being their only medical professional and Ayame and Kizuna not being in the best state of mind, Kinjo and Kiyoka are the ones who do most of the work for the group. They scout areas they're about to head towards next (since their goal is to reach the foundation's underground facility, they're always on the move) to see if their safe and look for suplies and food. Maki is essentially his right hand woman and voice of reason a lot of the time, she also taught the other girls how to fire a gun, just in case whatever base they are currently staying in gets attacked while the her and Kinjo are out.

-Kakeru, Higa and Kinji:

While Kakeru and Mitch were killed by zombies back in the Kisaragi foundation's island, Kinji managed to free himself and reach the roadway, unfortunately he was infected in the process. Knowing that he would eventually lose his mind to tye virus, he decided to not go after the others from his class and instead dedicates the time he has left to giving a proper burial to the dead people and zombies he finds on the streets, praying that their souls are able to rest in peace.

Kinji's infection has reached mid stage 3, his memories are starting to become foggy, keeping his sanity while resisting the hunger is becoming harder and harder.

-Rei:

She stayed with Tsurugi's group for quite some time but eventually left after a huge argument with him and generally being fed up with having to deal with them. Having the coordinates to the foundation's bunker written down in a notepad, she decided to find it on her own, believing she could get there way faster without having to wait for a bunch of other people.

She was certain that her intelligence and problem solving abilities would be enough to get by, however, in these situations safety is in numbers. Rei had a close call in the city when she stumbled upon zombified versions if her parents, unable to bring herself to shoot them, she was attacked but luckily a group of survivors came to help her before the worst happened.

She stayed with them for the night, having her minor injuries treated by the father of one of her classmates. While she was offered a place in the group by their leader, Rei refused, adamantly sticking to her goal of making it to the bunker on her own.

She made it out of the city, but is starting to run out of supplies and ammo.

-Setsuka and her crew: Working as a detective for a good while before the apocalypse and having the devil's eye to help her, Setsuka is a master of stealth and doesn't have a hard time at all avoiding zombies by traversing through some safer routes. She set up a base in an abandoned warehouse and overtime managed to rescue a handful of people, these being Ryutaro, Midori, Keisuke, Minako and Yoruko.

Things were going as smoothly as they could be for a while until zombies broke into the warehouse and the crew had to leave in a hurry, Minako was killed in the process and Yoruko was bitten in the ankle, something she only took notice of late at night. When the others woke up the next day, she was nowhere to be found. Ironically, it was while the group looked for her that they met Hikaru, who could possibly have saved her from the infection the same way Kanata did to Ayame.

On a good note, now that they have a medical professional, Hikaru can take care of Midori and tell them what kind of medicine they should look for in this situation, the two of them tend to stay at their new base most of the time (set on the roof of a tall building, stairs barricade to prevent zombies from getting up. The group climbs down usinga rope whenever they need to leave) while Setsuka and the boys go around to gather food and suplies.

It was in one of these small missions that they met Rei and agreed to give her some of their food and a place to stay for the night in exchange for medical supplies. While she was asleep, Setsuka rummaged through her backpack and found the notepad with the coordinates for the underground facility. She used the devil's eye to record it and now there is a new group heading towards the bunker.

-Kanade and Hibiki:

Hibiki panicked and ententered her puppet stage early on into the apocalypse, Kanade found that delightful, now she has her sister all for herself and no facades to keep on at all since the world has gone to shit. Her focus is not on surviving or making to a safe shelter, she's just having a blast brutally murdering zombies all over the place and people too whenever she sees that they have something she wants or simply managed to get on her nerves.

Zombie or human, Kanade likes to sign her work, other survivor have learned to recognize corpses killed by her not only for the guresome ways in which they were left for display, but also for a music note symbol carved in their foreheads. Every once in a while she will be sent to eliminate people or specific trade groups that Syobai considers a threath to his business, in exchange, he allows her to take any weapons he wants from his stock and stay in his shelter if she desires.

The person Kanade talks with the most is Hibiki, which is more like talking to herself by now since she remains unemotional and unresponsive to anything but direct orders from her.. Or is she..?

Either ways, if one hears singing around the bloody city streets, it's better to run away immediately.

-Shinji and Yuki:

Shinji was on a business trip outside the city when the apocalypse started, he was attacked and his car was destroyed by zombies when he tried to come back there when the outbreak was in its peak. In the outskirts, he stumbled upon the place Akane and Utsuro had locked the real Yuki in. Took a while but he eventually managed to free him, the boy was scared and confused, it took a few days Shinji to explain things to him and for the reality of the situation to settle in his mind.

Although scared Yuki is determined to reunite with his mother, just how Shinji wants to find his wife and daughters. Together the two of them are making their way back to the city, with Shinji promising himself he'll do anything to protect the young boy, who is like a son to him by now.

-Syobai:

Being a broker during the apocalypse sure has its advantages! Since money is pretty much worthless now, Syobai makes a living by trading goods (weapons, clothes, medicine, shelter, drugs, whatever you want, he probably has it) by things of his interest, be it food, other suplies, information or even services from people. Though a handfuls survivors tend to avoid doing business with him, aware of the dangers that come with the deal.

Most of his goods were taken from other traffickers/criminal organizations after they were attacked and killed by zombies, so Syobai has a lot in hands to trade and lots of contacts he made during this mess to keep him up to date on the situation, always gotta be one step ahead of the curve you know.

-Yuri: Stage 2 infected, he achived his dream of sacrificing himself to save a woman!.. Now what? His health is deteriorating fast.

[darknight3904]

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐𝘵 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵

𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘹 𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘺.

𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 & 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 (2024).

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦.

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 2.3 𝘬

𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 / 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 / 𝘔𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

Logan watched as you played with Jingle. The cat was now 10 months old and seemed to be in a never-ending growth spurt. It had recently gotten over some of its animosity towards Logan and let him pet it from time to time.

Logan wanted to rip this laptop in half as he scrolled through an article titled "101 Ways to Commemorate your One Year Anniversary!" Every single thing was either stupid or wildly expensive. Who took a journey to the Sahara Desert to ride camels? Seemed over extravagant to him. So far the only tolerable idea was a necklace with his initials on it. He liked the idea but he wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. And, he couldn't just ask, he wanted it to be a surprise.

He glanced over at you again and this time caught you staring at him. He felt the stress ebb away just for a split second as you smile at him.

He had to make this special.

"Wade! Wade!" Logan pounded into the wood of Wade's apartment. He could hear Mary barking on the other side, where the hell was he?

The door finally opened after another minute to reveal Wade in a minion onesie.

"Oh, hey, thanks for waiting so patiently at the door," Wade said as Logan pushed his way into the apartment

"I need your help." Logan said, "What the fuck are you wearing?"

"A gift, you monster. Peter got this for me after X-Force was created." Wade gasped

"You look ridiculous," Logan says

"No, you look ridiculous." Wade sighs

"Forget it," Logan says, "I just need your help with something."

"Peanut, I'm flattered but I'm a taken man. And so are you. I think if you're going to experiment it should be with someone else. I can call Dopinder up, he'll want to do it in the taxi though."

"Not that, you fucking idiot." Logan groaned, swatting Wade's outstretched arms away from him, "We've got an anniversary coming up and I want to plan something, Just can't figure it out."

"You've come to the right place. I'm great at planning things." Wade grins, "How much time do we have?"

Logan cringes and glances at the clock on the wall," About twenty hours."

"You procrastinating son of a bitch."

Much to Logan's surprise, Wade is actually pretty good at this stuff. He approved of the necklace idea and now they were brainstorming how Logan would actually give it to you.

"What if you took a long walk in Central Park during sunset?" Wade asked, "Free and romantic."

"Last time we were at Central Park at sunset, a dog half the size of me peed on my shoes," Logan says, shuddering at the memory.

"Okay, forget that. What about...taking a dancing class together?"

Logan looks at Wade who sits opposite of him on the couch.

"Are you fucking with me?" He asked seriously

"I wish. Vanessa and I actually did that once. It was fun." Wade says, "I can Salsa now. Want to see?

"I'll pass on the dance class." Logan puts a hand up, "And the demonstration."

"Oh come on I'd love to see you in a tutu." Wade pleads

"Different idea," Logan growled, indicating that the subject was done. He loved you but he wasn't sure that love extended to tutus.

"Alright, well has she ever mentioned something she liked to do a lot? Maybe something she hasn't done in a while?"

Logan runs a hand through his hair, what would that even be? You always seemed so content with him, Laura, and Jingle.

"Wait." He paused, "She mentioned star gazing once."

"Now we're talking." Wade smiles

Logan had left you a note, stuck to the bathroom mirror that dictated to meet him on the roof at 8pm. You hadn't seen him all day and were a bit dishearted at his disappearance. Had he forgotten about today and run off with Wade?

You sighed and pulled one of Logan's flannels over your shirt. October was cooler than it was last year and you swore whenever you walked to work, you saw your breath in the air. The bag containing Logan's present caught your eye, it was a simple gift, nothing too extravagant but you grabbed it anyway, in hopes he had remembered

At first glance you thought the roof was empty, except for an odd blob of blankets, it was quiet.

"Logan?" You call, half expecting him to jump out from behind one of the chimneys

A loud shuffle is heard and before you know it, Logan is climbing out from under the mop of blankets.

"Hi." He greets

"Hi," You smile, "What were you doing?"

"C'mon, I'll show you."

Logan beckons to you and disappears back under the blankets. You sigh and follow him, what is he up to now?

As it turns out, the mop of blankets was well, a fort. Logan had built you a blanket fort on the roof of your building at 8pm at night on a Monday. A blow-up mattress lined the ground, one you recognized from Laura's closet and a My Little Pony blanket sat on top, keeping your skin from touching the rubber. A camping lantern illuminates the small space and you even notice a small bowl of pretzels in the corner.

"Logan, what is going on?" You laugh as he pulls you down to sit beside him on the air mattress.

"It's our anniversary, baby." He smiles

"I know." You breathe, relieved he hasn't forgotten.

"This," He gestures to the fort, "Is part of the gift."

You watch, wide-eyed as he pulls a small box out of his pocket.

"Logan Howlett, that better not be a ring." You say, suddenly scared.

It's not like you wouldn't say yes, you just didn't want to rush anything like that.

"It's not a ring, hon." Logan shakes his head, "That's for further down the road."

"I got you something." You say

"You go first then," Logan says, setting the little box down.

Suddenly you feel a bit shy. He'd gotten you jewelry and you had some dumb homemade gift.

"I bet it's perfect," Logan said as he took the bag from your lap, pulling the tissue paper from the bag

You nervously wring your hands together as he takes the gift in. A big homemade album sits in his hands, capturing nearly every moment from the past year.

Logan breathes your name as he turns he pages gently, "I love it."

"You do?" You ask

"Of course." He laughs, "There's even one in here of me sleeping on the beach."

You look down to see the picture that you had snapped of Logan, passed out in the sun when Wade had convinced everyone to pack up in the van and head to the beach in July.

"I had a sunburn for nearly 5 full minutes after that nap." Logan smiles

"Oh, poor you. Five minutes." You groan, "Some people's sunburn lasts for over five days, Logan."

He shudders at the idea, as if the possibility of a sunburn was terrifying, "Your turn, bub."

He hands you the little velvet box and you slowly open it. Inside a delicate silver chain sits a small circular medallion on it, with an L engraved on it.

"Logan..."

"You don't have to wear it. Just keep it okay?" He asks nervously, his eyes scanning your face for a reaction.

"Are you kidding me?" Your gaze snaps up to his, "I'm wearing this."

He laughs as you eagerly hand it to him so he can put it on you. You hear him curse under his breath as he fumbles with the little clasp.

"Are you alright back there, Wolverine?"

"Fine." He grunts as his fingers brush your neck

You pull away when he finally has it fastened, moving it around the chain to center it.

"Perfect." Logan breathes

"Really? I thought it needed to be a bit more to the right." You say, pushing it so it is closer to the center of your chest.

"Was talking about you," Logan says

"Oh." You say, flustered at his flirting

"Oh." He mimics with a smirk

You watch him move a bit, like he's some perfect daydream in your eyes as he switches off the camping lantern and pulls you down to lay on the mattress next to him. You lay there in the dark for a second, listening to him shuffle around.

"Logan, I'm not having rooftop sex with you when any of our neighbors can walk up here and see us." You say

You hear him chuckle in the darkness, "We'll save that for later. I've got something else."

"No blowjobs either." You huff

"You're such a pervert." He says, "This isn't about sex."

You're not sure what else it could be as you lie there on the My Little Pony blanket.

"Fucking, fuck." Logan grumbles

"What the hell are you doing?" You ask

"Nothing."

"Sure sounds like something."

Logan heaves another sigh and lets out a shout when whatever he has works. The small space of the tent is suddenly illuminated with colored stars. A laugh escapes your chest as the light changes from blue to green, and then red.

"What is this?" You ask as he lays down beside you

"Remember when you said you liked star gazing?" He asks

"Yes." You say

"I've brought the stars to you." Logan says, "With the help of this...thing."

You look over Logan's side to see a light-up...dog? With a piece of plastic in its back, creating the stars.

"What is that?" You ask

"Wade said it was a Pillow Pet." Logan shrugs

"Why does Wade have a pillow pet?" You ask

"You're really asking me that?"

"You're right. I should be asking why wouldn't Wade have a pillow pet."

You stare up at the multi-colored stars and wrap your fingers around the necklace Logan has given you.

"Thank you." You say quietly

"You like it? I thought the pillow pet was dumb." Logan says

You laugh and rest your head on his chest, "I love it."

Logan presses a kiss to your head and secures a hand to rest on your hip, "Good."

You lay there with him in comfortable silence. His fingers draw lazy circles into your hip. Your eyes feel heavy as you breathe in his scent, happy in his presence. The shrill ring of Logan's phone as you groan in drowsiness as Logan mumbles an apology.

"Wade? What's taking so long?"

Logan's gruff tone into his phone has you perking up. What was he planning with Wade of all people.

"She's about to fall asleep. You're the slowest motherfucker around. Al could've done this quicker."

You presume Wade has something smart to say back because Logan is scowling and hanging the phone up.

"You alright?" You ask

"Fine. Wade's annoying."

"Well, I knew that." You laugh

Logan's phone dings, this time with a text and you lean over to read it. Much to your disappointment, he places his entire meaty hand over your eyes so you can't see the message.

"Cheating on me?" You joke

"Yeah, I'm cheating on you with a cancer patient who looks like a burned testicle," Logan says

"Knew it." You sigh, sitting up

"Keep your eyes shut," Logan says as he begins to move around again

The sudden blast of cold air has you deducing that he's taking the blanket fort down. To your surprise, it's darker than you thought it would be as you keep your eyes closed. Normally, the outside lights would leak through the thin skin of your eyelids. You feel a blanket drop onto your shoulders, Logan must've taken note of your shivering.

"Open." He whispers in your ear

You open your eyes to, well, nothing. Your eyes blink, trying to get used to the darkness. Somewhere a car honks and the yell of someone hits your ears.

"Logan?" You ask

"Right here." He wraps a big arm around you.

After another moment, you realize, it's not your eyes. and every building around you has gone dark.

"Look up," Logan says

Your eyes, follow his pointing finger to the sky, to the stars that you've never seen here in the city.

"Logan, what...what is happening?" You laugh looking at him and then the sky again

"You didn't really think that I was going to let you star gaze with a Pillow Pet?" He laughs

"How did you get everyone to turn the lights off?" You ask looking around trying to see where this blackout ends

"Oh, that's what Wade was doing." Logan says, "We tracked down the major power plant for the city and Wade cut a few wires."

"What."

Logan looks at you a bit sheepishly. It's hard to see his expression in the dark but you can tell he's making that guilty face he makes when he knows he's done something wild. It's the same face he pulled after eating your Olive Garden leftovers two weeks ago.

"That is majorly illegal." You say slowly

"Wade's fine." Logan brushes you off

"You just plunged the entire city into a blackout, Logan." You say

"But, I did it for you," Logan says resting his head on your shoulder

You sigh and fight the smile that works its way onto your face. He was going to be the death of you one of these days. You sigh and rest your head against his.

"You did it for me." You smile

"So you like it?" Logan asks hopeful, his head coming off your shoulder

"I love it." You laugh, falling back onto the air mattress, pulling him back with you.

"Good. Thought I was in trouble there." Logan laughs

"You're crazy. Can't believe you did all this for me." You say looking up at the stars, you swear you can even see the Big Dipper thanks to Logan.

"Wanted today to be special." He shrugs, moving to lay his head on your chest

"Yeah well, if the police come knocking, it'll certainly be one for the books." You say, pushing your hands through his hair

"Why do you think I had Wade cut the wires?"

Next Extra

I hope everyone knows what a Pillow Pet is. I'm talking about one of the Pillow Pets that was like a night light and had stars that glowed out of it. That kind of Pillow Pet. I had one, he was a little brown dog.

Comment to be added to the taglist:

Tags:

@kellyxo1 @mystiquesvendetta @gingerplague

@veru-boom @qardasngan @fandomsunited @reidsworld

@arrozconpepitoria @iamm3 @gigabitemyass @wordacadabra

@e-ak @khaylin27  @eternallyfrustratedwriter @chaimshelii

@badbishsblog @britttzy267 @lilly4639 @delicateholland

@cherrypieyourface @scrumptiousroadpalaceturkey

@one-of-castiels @littlemissoblivious @littledebbieinabigworld

@kbear8863 @one-of-castiels @jeysbae @moonixlity @spktrlvr

@chronicallybubbly @fearlessxlaurin @m1cky-y-y @loserbaby66

@commanderawkward  @mega-kittyglitter-1 @oidloid @mariaxman

@mariaxman @c3liaaaaa @midcenturymanhattan-blog @batrensworld

@fallout-girl219

@mrs-ephemeral @halepack2011 @insanesosciopath @venusindelusion @wolverines-tits @navs-bhat @tumharisakhi

[historical-fashion-polls]

Ive really been enjoying the Halloween brackets getting to see my favorite progress through the rounds is so fun! The vampire brackets been my fav, it was a great idea. Thank you for running it!

I liked the others suggestions of doing something similar for other seasons too. And I know it's a moot point for the moment since this winter doesnt work for you, but while it would still be a lot of fun to do more themed brackets, if you ever do another please consider doing something that isnt themed around a religious holiday. as someone from a different religion who kinda dreads all the Christmas themed stuff in December I wouldn't be able to enjoy a Christmas version. One that's new years or winter themed would be a fun alternative though!

Snowflake, midnight, pine tree, and candle like were suggested in the first ask about this would all be fun, though candy cane is a little christmasy for my taste. I think hot chocolate would be a good wintery one too!

hi dear anon! 💖

I'm so glad to hear that you had fun with the halloween brackets! 🥰🥰 the vampire bracket was one of my favorites too! 🩸🖤

and you needn't worry – the only themed brackets I would do would be seasonal or based around a not-explicitly-religious holiday (like halloween) ☺️💕 the original ask/answer on that idea was focused on more generally "wintery" topics, and I think it was only the anon who asked the second question who brought up the idea of christmas, but since I didn't want to get into details/semantics further on an event that likely won't happen for another year, I didn't clarify – although I suppose I perhaps should have – that any bracket I did in the winter would be non-denominational, likely based on the color categories I brainstormed in that first post ❄️❄️

if I converted "candy cane" to "peppermint," would that be less christmassy? I only ask since I'm tempted to keep that or a similar category, just because I think the white/red color combo would be really fun and striking, and I can already think of a number of garments that could be part of that category! ☺️☺️ (although I suppose I don't want to go too far into planning the details here, since I'm not even sure if there's enough general interest to sanction another tournament, but I thought I'd ask anyway! 😅😅)

thank you for your thoughtful message, and I hope this has assuaged any concerns you have! ☺️☺️ it has always been my intention to construct any possible tournaments based on non-religious themes! 💕💕

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hey, there! How are you?

I was hoping I could request a Moondrop x reader x Sundrop short fic?

A fic about a costume competition on the main stage of the Pizzaplex with all of the animatronics and then separately a staff costume competition.

Reader would be the daycare attendant and come in either first or second place for the competition.

After the competition, reader goes back to the daycare for a Halloween-themed sleepover! With Halloween movies and themed snacks and stuff! I think it’d be cute ☺️💕

Hi! I've been good, thank you! Finally getting the spooky halloween fics rolling

..........

"So you're a STAFF Security Bot? The makeup looks great on you!"

"Really? Thanks. I guess it'd be dumb to ask who you are, huh?" Vanessa looked at your costume up and down with a raised eyebrow. "You look like you're gonna work for the damn travelling circus."

"Well...that's kinda the point." With a smile, you smoothed out the wrinkles in your striped pants, ensuring that your ruffled two-toned collar was neat. The bells on your wrists jingled noisily, but you quickly silenced them.

"Now I don't feel so embarrassed.." The blonde mumbled to herself, her gaze going back to you. "Don't you think you kinda...overdid this? I mean none of us are getting a bonus for putting more effort into our costumes-"

"There's no such thing as "overdoing" Halloween, Ness." You huffed. "I don't care about any bonuses or prizes. We're here to bring some holiday spirit to the Pizzaplex! I think it's good that the manager asked us to participate. They know how to have fun unlike the last one."

"...jeez, you're sounding more like Sun everyday." That was her only remark before she went back to staring at her phone, clearly wanting to get this over with.

Meanwhile, you were bouncing on your heels, being next in-line to show off your costume to the eager audience waiting outside.

For the first time ever, the Mega Pizzaplex finally scraped together the perfect Halloween event to really kick off the season: a costume competition!

It took place on the main stage in the atrium, which was decorated from floor to ceiling. A small fortune was spent on getting holograms to feature the Glamrocks in spooky costumes, but the employees were the main stars of the show.

Since you and the others knew about this months in advance, you had plenty of time to work on your outfit and makeup. You truly wanted to knock this out of the park by dressing up as your all-time favorite character:

The Daycare Attendant!

At first you had a difficult time deciding which one would be your muse. You'd hate to disappoint either of them, so you ended up designing something that contained aspects of both animatronics!

It took a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and glitter glue..but you finally finished it and now you were here, ready to show it off to the world!

There was an entirely separate competition for the animatronics themselves, who just finished an hour ago. They just brainstormed ideas and their handlers got to work creating their costumes.

The rules were all the same, nevertheless, and the winners were determined by whoever was cheered for the most.

Freddy, who was dressed up as Frankenstein's Monster, ended up winning first place (which you saw coming from a mile away)....while poor Roxy, who actually dressed up as Freddy, got second place. She was a sore loser about it and complained that the entire contest was "rigged".

Despite that, all of the animatronics seemed to have lots of fun.

Now it was the humans' turn to shine. You were 100% ready to give it your all, glad to see your coworkers were getting into the Halloween spirit, too....although Vanessa was less-than-thrilled to learn that participation was mandatory.

Regardless, you were happy with the way your costume turned out.

After telling the announcer your name and character, you waited for your queue to run on stage.

The anticipation was killing you!

"And up next we have [y/n], one of our longtime staff members, decked out as our one and only Daycare Attendant!"

With a big smile spreading from ear-to-ear, you headed out and were met with cheering kids and impressed parents. You did a little twirl so they could see all the parts of your costume, making sure the bells jingled loud enough for them to hear.

Among the crowd, you could see the animatronics hanging in the back, being allowed to spectate this contest. Sun himself was there, dressed up as a knight in shiny armor. But he was ecstatic upon seeing that you dressed like him and Moon.

"[Y/N]!!! YOU LOOK AMAZING STARSHINE!!!" He shouted, jumping up and down as he cheered the loudest.

You spotted him and waved back, your smile growing even more when you realized he loved it (even though he could only admire the details from afar for now).

It did take Freddy's and Chica's hands combined to ensure he didn't try to hop the fence and run over to you.

After your mini-performance was done, you headed off the stage before turning to observe Vanessa, who acted like a stiff and bored Security STAFF bot. She just muttered some of their preprogrammed lines before making a swift exit.

The applause for her was..lackluster, but she seemed relieved to finally be done with it.

You, on the other hand, were still relishing in all the attention.

Soon you'll get to see who won! You weren't counting on yourself winning the grand prize since your other coworkers put a good deal of effort into their costumes, too.

But in the end, getting first or second place wasn't your biggest concern.

Having fun is what mattered most.

............

"You're awful smug about that trophy. Didn't know you were the competitive type, officer."

"Well..I think for tonight, I can afford to be a little proud of myself." You smirked knowingly at Moon, holding up the golden trophy in your hands.

It wasn't made from real gold, of course. It's all just cheap useless plastic that was painted gold.

But you did, however, adore its design very much: Freddy's head shaped like a pumpkin with a #1 beside it, and your name written on the plaque just below it.

This wasn't any bonus check, gift card, or coupon...but it absolutely made you feel good about winning first place in the costume competition.

You made sure to thank Sun for his help before Moon took over the daycare's night cycle--aka his half of the "Halloween Sleepover", another smaller event the Pizzaplex allowed to keep the little ones occupied.

Fortunately, you got to supervise it to ensure everything ran smoothly. You were even allowed to stay in costume, and that got kids complimenting you left and right (albeit some of the tots mistook you for the Attendant himself, but you didn't mind it).

Of course, nobody was prouder than both Sun and Moon.

"I appreciate you considering me in this design. Very well done, indeed." The lunar animatronic flicked the bell at the end of your blue jester hat, grinning as it jingled. "You have quite the talent...unlike Officer Vanessa."

"I'd go easy on her, Moon. She's just not a big Halloween fan." You chuckled, putting the trophy on the security desk, before you leaned back in the chair and looked over the clipboard. "Anyways, we have just a few more activities scheduled...including one more Halloween movie. Then you'll be giving the kids lessons on how to trick-or-treat safely, and-"

"That's what I need help with!" Moon suddenly jumped onto the desk, perching there as he stared down at you. "I can't keep showing them SpongeBob forever."

"..what's wrong with SpongeBob?" Blinking, your gaze went to the small group of children, who were all in their own costumes, watching the "Scaredy Pants" episode through a projection on the wall.

They were all tucked into sleeping bags, candy wrappers scattered in their laps, and unfinished art crafts on the tables behind them. Moon was a tad bit fidgety over the messes they left, but you kept reassuring him everything will be cleaned up soon.

"Nothing, but...grr...listen." He grumbled, growing annoyed. "I know there's two movies in the drawer to your right, and we only have time for one. Look at them and pick for me."

Nodding, you opened the drawer and found the DVDs he was talking about.

But you were quite surprised.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas and..Corpse Bride?" You stared at the covers, before looking up at Moon. "Management...actually approved these?"

"It would seem so, if they're here."

"...I don't know. The kids might be a bit too young for either of these movies, Moon." You frowned a little. "They might give them nightmares-"

"If they can handle seeing SpongeBob's exposed brain, the creatures of Rock Bottom, and the Hash Slinging Slasher...then surely they can handle seeing Jack Skellington or Emily."

"But the animation is totally different and---" You began protesting, although you stopped as you saw how Moon was just...staring at you blankly. He was practically begging you to make a decision lest he strangled you.

"..I'll take care of the movie and let the kids decide which one they wanna watch. You can go clean the tables and work on your safety lesson plan. Okay?"

His grin returned immediately.

"Wise choice, "Daycare Attendant"." He snickered, flicking the bell on your hat once more before he slinked away to cleanup duty.

Sighing, you got up and stretched, before heading over to the children so they could cast their votes on which movie they wanted to see.

After they made their choice, you went back to helping Moon, although at some point you two ended up watching the movie as well.

The night was still young, but so far it's been fantastic and full of Halloween fun!

What better way to spend it than with your favorite animatronics and dressing up as them?

[bunnyinfoxclothing]

Chaggie Cooking/Baking

Okay... hear me out...

This is something I have wanted to talk about for awhile. But it is so out of left field and absolutely nobody asked for this. But I want to rant, and this is my blog so suck it up.

So I read a lot of fan fiction... probably too much and as far as I have seen. A lot of people agree, that Charlie can't cook, but in the same vein most think that she can bake.

HAVE ANY OF YOU TRIED TO BAKE??

I'm talking anything other than premade flour dough, where you just add eggs, butter and water or oil.

None of this:

Baking is almost exclusively about specifics. Everything has to be mixed for a certain time. Over mixing can cause any rising agent to go flat. If you over mix eggs they will become curdled and dry. But if you under mix your bread becomes tough and dense, almost like a brick, making it inedible. With egg whites they can be left too runny and unusable in a meringue. Temperatures have to be exact. Butter has to be the correct consistency. You have to know how to measure, things can be messed up if you are off by a gram.

This is because Baking is quite literally, stripped down to it's most basic form, Chemistry.

All of this to say in baking you need 5 key things.

Organization

Attention to Detail

Co-ordination

Patience

Creativity

Does Charlie have all of these traits? YES! Can she hold all of them at once for 40 min? I am less certain.

However if Charlie is failing to cook... she is not succeeding in baking.

Now that being said. I think Charlie would make a fantastic cook.

If Baking is chemistry, cooking is art.

In baking if you mess something up and it doesn't taste good, you are back to step one. In cooking, you add seasoning and flavors and adjust to your taste and the tastes of others as you go.

Cooking is hands on, taste every step of the way.

Baking is follow this recipe exact or face the wrath of the gods. Cooking is, here is a general guideline, you decide what a pinch is, and always double the amount of garlic we suggest.

In art, there is trust the process, because in the moment things can look bad or strange or use ugly colors, but you can paint over mistakes, you can use markers to color over wrong lines, you can add details to turn something from a sketch to a masterpiece. You can look at something, see the mistake and fix it.

Tell me this scene of Remy dancing, tasting, and adding flavor doesn't seem exactly like what Charlie would do. Throwing stuff in, just to add to the flavor, improvising.

In episode 3 Charlie literally heard the words "I don't trust you" and decided that's what they were doing for the day. No plan, no idea, just straight into it.

(Charlie and Vaggie probably had a brainstorm session right before to decide on trust falls and to make the banner, but still)

Charlie as a Character very much hops into things with full enthusiasm and lets whatever is happening guide her to the next decision.

That is not the personality of a baker. That is the personality of a chef.

Anyway, someone please make an Au of this with Chef Charlie and Baker Vaggie trying to teach each other and fall in love. It would be so cute.

(Vaggie teaches Charlie discipline and subtly, creating a calmer mind in the kitchen, and Charlie applies that to her personal life, so she can better talk to people. Meanwhile Charlie teaches Vaggie how to have fun and go with the flow. Allowing Vaggie to go out and explore the world a bit more. Greet the world with open arms style. iykyk)

Anyway thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[its-an-obsession]

Book Smart

Full Masterlist | Supernatural Masterlist

Part Two

Request: Hey, if it's all good with you, I'd love to put in a request for a S2 Sam x-reader? Kinda of an AU, but not necessarily out of the series. They met at a library. Y/N is an eclectic reader. She just knows the most random stuff and overhears Sam and Dean arguing, where she can solve a little hole in their case? She's a lot like Dean, but more caring and emotional if that works (getting laid is not her idea of fun, however)

A/N: I'm hoping this makes sense. I was worried that the 'case' the two were working on was a little confusing. Enjoy!!

Summary: You had recently moved to a small town a few years ago. When moving, you had done an extensive amount of research on the town. That led to you spending more time at the library. One normal day at the library, you were reading a new book when you overheard an argument between two brothers, but one of the brothers caught your particular eye.

Notes:

Set in season two (brief mentions)

Y/F/O: Your Favorite Order

Warnings:

Mentions of injuries, blood, gunshots, etc

Long imagine

Sam Winchester x-reader

Y/N stood in the library, almost her second home, looking for a new book to read. She already had a couple in her arms. Y/N had been to the library so much the librarian, Jenny, knew her by name. "Just five today, Y/N?" she asked, pushing the books to herself. Y/N nodded her head. Y/N handed Jenny her library card before setting it back into her wallet.

"Do you have any more..." Y/N's sentence began.

Jenny reached beside her and pulled out a patterned reusable bag. Y/N smiled as the woman handed her the bag. "Thank you," Y/N said. She set her books into the bag and looped her arm through the strap. Y/N thanked Jenny, walking towards her usual reading spot.

She dropped her backpack on the chair beside her, putting the reusable bag on the table. Y/N took out her sticky notes and pens from her backpack. She smiled to herself as she settled in for the next few hours. Y/N usually spent a couple hours at the library after checking out a few books.

I guess checking out books and then staying at the library to read the books defeated the purpose of checking them out. But she had been to the library so many times she didn't mind hanging out there. This time, it was different. Two brothers, Sam and Dean, sat at the table a few down from hers.

They appeared to be having a heated conversation, with one boy talking over the other. She glanced over her shoulder at the two of them. One seemed to be more organized than the other, that being Sam. He sat in front of a silver laptop decorated with blue stickers.

There were a few newspaper articles scattered over the table, a brown leather notebook in front of them displaying different Supernatural beings.

Y/N smiled softly when she caught the eye of Sam. Dean smirked at the little interaction. Y/N chuckled to herself, returning her attention back to her book. The more she tried to continue reading, Y/N couldn't stop herself from listening in.

It seemed like they were trying to solve some of the murders in the town, brainstorming about ghosts or entities. "There's a pattern, Dean," Sam stated. "Okay, then what's the pattern, hmm?" Dean shot back. They went on and on for a couple more minutes. Y/N covered her giggle with a cough, flipping the page in her book.

She set a sticky note on the side of the page and wrote a little note, drawing a heart at the corner. Sam huffed and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "I just can't figure it out," Sam sighed. "Figured," Dean grumbled.

"Jerk," Sam said.

"Bitch."

Y/N sighed and closed her book, partially frustrated that she wasn't getting silence, and maybe because she was interested.

After all, she had been living in the town for a while and was also curious about the mysterious deaths. Like most small towns, everyone knew everyone. She had only been living there for a couple of years but was aware of the town's history. After moving, Y/N had spent hours in the library researching the town's history.

Y/N sighed and stood up from the table. She left her books there to find the records she was thinking about. "Aha," Y/N muttered to herself, taking out a file of newspaper articles. She searched through the pages before approaching Sam and Dean.

"1976. Thomas Gates was found murdered in his living room. A hit to the head, then a stab in the chest," Y/N set the book down, "Then, in 1981, Franklin Gates Jr. and his wife, Mary Gates, were found the same way. There were a couple more after that, but then just a couple days ago, Eliza Gates was found murdered the same way."

Sam and Dean looked up at the stranger who stood beside their table. The two of them exchanged a glance, both confused. Dean smirked to himself and leaned back in the chair. "Sorry, um, I couldn't help but listen in," Y/N said. "Huh," Dean replied, sitting up in his chair. She was about to turn around but was stopped when Sam cleared his throat.

He smiled, motioning to the seat beside him. Dean watched the interaction closely, surprised that his brother had even offered her a spot. "Um, I'm Y/N, by the way," Y/N introduced. "I'm Sam, and this is Dean, my brother," Sam said, pointing to himself and then his confident brother.

Dean saluted and leaned back in his seat yet again. Y/N saluted back and opened the file to show them what might help. "You were here the other day, right?" Sam asked. Y/N glanced at him and nodded. "Yes. I'm here almost every day. You can ask Jenny," Y/N pointed behind her.

The sweet librarian sat behind the desk, eating some orange slices with a book in her lap. Her glasses sat at the bridge of her nose. Jenny looked up to send a wave after feeling their eyes. "I'm here so much that Jenny sets up a table for me," Y/N added.

Sam looked at Y/N with the same smile on his face, chuckling (GIF Above). She smiled as well, oddly feeling safe when they locked eyes. Dean cleared his throat, which broke their gaze. "So, what's this file?" he tapped the top of the paper file. Y/N sat up straight and faced him.

She pulled out a few articles. Sam leaned to the side so he could properly read them. "I heard you two talking about the murders," Y/N said, "Kind of like you were saying, you're missing a pattern. See."

"Well, I guess there's more than one pattern," Y/N said. Sam furrowed his brows. Dean sat there in silence, loving the glances between Sam and Y/N. "More than one pattern?" Dean inquired. Y/N hummed in response. He leaned forward to see the papers, trying to make sense of it all.

He looked at the circled word as Y/N pointed to each of them. "The first pattern is about the rooms. Most of them happened in the living room. I'm not sure if that's relevant, but it's common," Y/N said. Dean took the clipping from Y/N to see for himself. Sam noticed the other articles.

"The second pattern is all of these murders took place in the same family," Y/N added.

The two of them nodded along. "Mind if we take this?" Dean asked. Y/N shook her head. "Not at all. Jenny won't mind. I can just tell her I checked them out," Y/N answered. Dean smiled and thanked her. "So, Y/N, do you know anything else?" the older brother questioned.

"Just that the Gates family has a history of scandals and, well, murders," Y/N answered. The boys chuckled at her comment. "Thanks, Y/N, this helps a lot. You have no idea how much we were struggling," Sam said. He saw her take out a red-covered book.

Y/N didn't have a specific genre that she loved, but some of it had to do with the paranormal. She knew that some people believed a ghost of some kind followed members of the Gates family throughout generations. Y/N read a book with a similar storyline.

He took the book from her, looking at the title before flipping to the back. "As much as it sounds crazy, some people think that there's a ghost that haunts the Gates family," Y/N said, "I'm a part of 'some people,' by the way." The two of them turned to her at her comment. Y/N chuckled at their expressions, slightly regretting even saying that.

Sam went to the first chapter, skimming over a few of the words. "Anyways, I've read the book back to back; it's one of my favorites, but I noticed some similarities between that case and the one in the story," Y/N continued, "It could help if you're into that type of stuff." Sam handed Dean the book after he was done looking at it.

Dean folded the corner of one of the pages. Y/N withheld herself from telling Dean not to do that. "If you two need anything, I'm a pretty big reader, so if anything, I think I'd be a good source if you need help," Y/N said. She grabbed her notepad and a pen. Y/N wrote down her phone number on the lined piece of paper.

She folded it and handed it to Sam. Sam smiled and took the paper from her. "Thanks," he said, "I'll-we'll definitely call you." Y/N smiled for the millionth time and nodded in response. Dean's eyes darted between them with himself smiling, too. He cleared his throat, interrupting their gaze yet again.

"Feel free to keep the files. There are more in the back next to the desks," Y/N said. "Great. Thanks, Y/N," Dean broke the silence. She got up from the table, leaving the book and files. Y/N said her goodbyes and hoped that she'd speak to Sam again.

________

(The Next Day)

Y/N had just gotten home from helping her friend move. She hummed to some music from her radio. After the song was over, she walked over and changed the CD before continuing to cook dinner. She finished pouring the sauce on top.

She turned on the oven, popping the Lasagna in. Y/N set a timer and started to clean up after herself. She was just about to set a pan on the drying rack when her phone began to ring. Y/N wiped her hands on a towel and grabbed her phone from the kitchen table.

"Hello?" she dropped the towel beside the sink. "Y/N. It's Sam," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. Dean, who was lying on the bed, perked up when he heard his brother on the phone.

Y/N smiled when she heard her new friend's voice. She stepped away from the counter, checking the dish in the oven. "Hi, is everything okay?" Y/N asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's great. We were just wondering if we could pick your brain about something," Sam said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, trying his bad to ignore his brother's reaction. Y/N nodded and stepped back over to the oven.

She opened it slightly, not wanting her dinner to burn. "Sure," Y/N said. "Is now a bad time?" Sam asked. "No, no. I was just about to eat dinner," Y/N said, then thought of something, "Actually, if it's not too soon, I have enough food if you and Dean want to swing by."

There was a long pause on the other end, but Y/N could tell Sam was asking Dean. "Sure. If you don't mind," Sam said. "Not at all. I'll send you my address," Y/N responded. Sam thanked her and hung up the phone. Sam turned to Dean, who was still lying on the bed, his hands behind his head.

"Get up," Sam walked over to his shoes. He sat on the chair and began to put his sneakers on. "What? Why?" Dean asked, sitting up with confusion on his face. "We're going to Y/N's," Sam answered. "Oh, that cute chick from the library?" Dean guessed.

"Yes. That cute girl from the library," Sam nodded, correcting him. He grabbed his jacket that draped over the back of the chair. Dean pointed at Sam with a sly smirk on his face. "I knew you thought she was cute," Dean got up from the bed, ignoring his brother's glare.

________

(Later)

"Y/N, what beers do you have?" Dean sat at the kitchen table. Sam leaned to the side and punched him in the shoulder. Dean reached a hand up to his shoulder, sending a look in Sam's direction. Y/N stepped away from the kitchen island to look.

"Um, Miler light, Coors, Heineken..." she listed. Dean sat up in his spot as she held open the fridge door. Sam shook his head at his brother's sudden admiration for their new friend.

"Heineken," Dean said. Y/N grabbed a bottle for Dean and herself. "Sam, do you want anything?" Y/N asked. "Just a water," Sam answered. She poured Sam a glass of water. She walked back over to the table, handing each of them their drinks before checking on the Lasagna.

Sam had set up the table with his laptop and the pieces of evidence they had gathered. "Need help with anything?" Sam looked away from his laptop. Y/N grabbed the oven mitts from the drawer. "You could set the table," Y/N said, pointing to the side.

He gave her a thumbs up and stepped to where she directed. Sam grabbed some napkins and silverware. Dean pushed some of the papers away so his brother could set the table. After a few minutes, they were eating dinner and researching. Dean had already finished two plates of Lasagna, about the same as Y/N.

The three of them had already figured out what and where the next murder might take place, using the book Y/N had let them borrow and the files. About an hour had passed, and Sam stood beside Y/N as he helped her clean up.

Y/N smiled at him as he handed her a plate to dry. Dean was packing up the papers in the dining area. "Thanks again for helping us," Sam said. "Not a problem. I'm glad I could help," Y/N set a dish on the rack.

Sam turned off the sink once they finished cleaning. Dean cleared his throat, holding the strap of Sam's backpack. Y/N walked the brothers to the door. Dean winked at Sam before walking down the hall outside Y/N's apartment.

"Are you and Dean staying in town, or..." Y/N said. "I don't know," Sam set his hands in his pockets, "We'll probably finish our case then head out." Y/N slowly nodded, glancing at the ground and then up to Sam's eyes.

"Well, if you're here on Friday, I'm off work if you want to get di-" Y/N began. "Yeah, yeah. We're here on Friday," Sam interrupted. Y/N smiled at his response. Sam took his hands out of his pockets, swaying his arms slightly.

He hadn't noticed that he interrupted Y/N, focusing on the fact that she had just asked him. "Great. There's a good Italian place near my apartment if you want to go there," Y/N said, "Or, we can go someplace else, there's another good--"

"No, no. Italian sounds great. Love Italian."

Y/N could see Dean leaning against his car with his arms crossed. Dean tried to look away, but the conversation between Sam and Y/N was so intriguing to him. Sam looked over his shoulder to see his brother wander his eyes away.

Sam chuckled and turned back to Y/N. "You should get going. Dean seems to be getting more impatient," Y/N stated. He nodded in agreement. "Thanks again for the Lasagna. I'm pretty sure Dean ate half of it," Sam said. "He did. I don't blame him, though," Y/N responded, laughing.

It fell quiet between them again. Y/N reached up and kissed Sam on the cheek. "You have my number if you need any help," she said. "I will," Sam said, nodding. Y/N waved and stepped into her apartment, leaving him there with a smile on his face. Sam walked over to the car where Dean was waiting.

Dean shook his head as he got into the driver's seat, with Sam stepping in as well. "What?" Sam put his seatbelt on, clicking it into place. Dean put the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. "I didn't say anything," Dean said. "Yeah, but your face did," Sam pointed.

He happened to glance at his phone, mainly because he wanted Y/N to call or text him. "Thought we could finish this case then head to wherever on Friday," Dean said, driving in the direction of their motel.

Sam looked away from his phone at Dean. "Actually," Sam began. He cleared his throat, fixing the seatbelt. "Y/N and I are getting dinner on Friday," he said. Dean's smirk grew. He turned to look at Sam once they were at a red light. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's expression. "Don't," he pointed at Dean.

Dean raised his hands as he held the steering wheel. The light turned Green, and the Impala sped forward. "Don't, what?" Dean asked. "That look," Sam continued, "That look you get when I'm talking to any girl." Dean's brows furrowed in response to Sam's claim.

"I don't do that," he insisted.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," Dean fired back. There was silence for a split second. "Jerk," Sam leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. "Bitch," Dean replied.

_______

(That Friday Night)

Y/N sat in front of her mirror after changing for the millionth time. She wondered why she was focused on looking good. I guess everyone before a date wants to look their best. After four frustrating hours, Y/N decided on a white shirt with a green dress overtop. She looked back at her closet and then at her reflection.

She shook her head, stopping herself from choosing a completely different outfit. Y/N didn't have time to rethink everything. She grabbed her purse and slipped on a pair of black flats. Y/N played with her hair in the mirror, again, not knowing what to do.

She had been on a few dates in her town, but this just felt different. Just then, there was a pattern of knocks on her front door. "Be right there!" Y/N shouted. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror, applying a layer of lip gloss.

Sam stood at the doorway, looking very put together. He held a small bouquet of flowers. A pretty ribbon had been tied around the middle of the bundle. "I didn't know what flowers you liked but figured these were good. The florist said they were," Sam said. "They're wonderful. Thank you, Sam," Y/N grinned.

She opened the door for him. Sam bowed his head as he stepped into her apartment. He looked at a few pictures on the wall, surprised that he hadn't seen them the last time he was there. Y/N closed the door with the flowers in her hand. "Who's this?" Sam asked.

He pointed to a picture of her and her older brother, Alec. "Oh, that's me and my brother," Y/N answered, "I think we were at the Grand Canyon for his twentieth birthday." She stepped into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase.

He followed her into the kitchen, looking at the pictures now on the wall in the dining area. Y/N stood on her tiptoes to get a vase from the top shelf. Sam reached behind her to help grab it. "Oh, thanks," Y/N softly smiled.

She turned on the sink, putting some water into the vase. After that, she carefully arranged the flowers into the glass vase and set it on the kitchen table. "Ready for dinner?" Y/N asked, looking at Sam, who was already looking at her. "You bet," Sam replied.

They left the apartment with Y/N almost forgetting to lock her front door. Sam opened the car door for Y/N. She thanked him, getting into the seat. He walked around the front of the car and got into the driver's seat. Dean was nice enough to let Sam borrow the car rather than Y/N picking Sam up at the motel.

A few minutes passed, with the two of them listening to music and talking about random things. Y/N had gone on and on about a new book she read. Sam sat in the driver's seat listening, just enjoying her talk.

It had been a while since Sam had been on a date. After Jessica's death, Sam didn't feel like meeting someone, but of course, Dean insisted that Jessica wouldn't want him walking around all lonely. This time with Y/N, Sam didn't feel forced or like he had to go on a date.

This time. He wanted to go on a date. He felt almost drawn to Y/N, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because of her constant talking about the books she read, her references to her favorite bands similar to Dean's, or just how she handled herself. It was weird how much Sam noticed about Y/N.

Sam was an observer, something that he and Y/N shared. He noticed how she'd play with her rings as she talked or sighed when there was a pause between conversations.

It was almost like she was trying to fill the gaps when they weren't speaking. Which was the truth. Y/N enjoyed talking on dates, but sometimes, when it came to those pauses, a sigh or random comment was what popped into her head.

With a few more random topics later, they arrived at the Italian place. Sam parked the Impala in front of the restaurant.

Sam shut the car door, offering his hand. They held hands for a brief second before separating for Sam to open the door to the restaurant. The hostess greeted them with a welcoming smile.

"Reservation for Y/N," Y/N said.

Cara, the hostess, looked down at the notebook on the podium. She flipped a few pages before finding Y/N's name. "There you are, Y/N," Cara said, "This way." She grabbed two menus and led them to a table on the side.

The restaurant was nice. It was one of Y/N's favorite restaurants. Sometimes, she'd come just for the people-watching aspect and mainly because their pie was good, surprisingly. "So, what do you usually get?" Sam scanned over the options. Y/N looked at her menu.

"Well, their linguini is really good. Jenny gets it all the time," Y/N said.

Sam nodded. Their waiter stepped over to their table. "Hi, I'm Jeremy. And I'll be your server for tonight. Can I get you two started with our wine menu?" Jeremy asked, holding the small menus in his hand. Y/N glanced at Sam and then at the waiter.

"No, thank you," Y/N looked at Sam, "Unless you wanted to--"

"No, no. I'm okay," Sam interrupted. Jeremy nodded and gave them a moment to decide. "I don't even like wine," Y/N said, shaking her head. Sam chuckled and nodded in agreement. He set the menu to the side when he figured out what he wanted. Jeremy came back over to their table.

He took out his notepad and pen to write down their orders. Sam ordered the linguini per Y/N's request. "And I'll take Y/F/O," Y/N said. The waiter nodded while he wrote their orders. He tucked his pen in the apron's pocket. Jeremy grabbed the menus from them and walked to the back.

Y/N took a sip of her beer, glad that she had gotten that instead of wine. "So, how did the case go?" Y/N asked, setting her drink beside the basket of bread. "Good," Sam said, "You were right about the pattern." Y/N looked up from the table with her eyes widening.

"Really?" she said.

Sam chuckled at her expression, nodding his head. He took a roll from the basket, putting it down on a smaller plate. "That's great," Y/N handed him a knife for the butter.

Sam nodded in reply, taking a bite of the roll. It was silent, yet again, between the two of them. There was music playing in the background, but not loud enough for anyone to understand.

A waiter walked over to their table with their orders. Y/N leaned back slightly as they set her food in front of her. She thanked them, setting her napkin on her lap. "So, how do you like solving these cases with your brother?" Y/N asked, putting her fork and knife on the side.

He chuckled to himself and began cutting his pasta. "It's a journey for sure," Sam said. Y/N smiled. "Why do you say that?" Y/N asked. "Well," he took a bite of his food, "Dean can be....well Dean." She laughed at his comment. From the conversation she had with them, Y/N could tell where he was coming from.

"But it's nice. I mean, we're helping people when we close these cases," Sam said. "That must be nice working with your brother," Y/N took a sip of her beer. Sam nodded. The smile on his face never left. "I'd love to work with my family, but that's a whole other story," she said.

Sam looked up from his plate at her comment. She noticed his glance. "Long story short, my family, including my older brother, didn't approve of me moving to start a new life in a far away town," Y/N answered his confusion. He slowly nodded in understanding. "Why'd you move?" Sam asked, digging into his side salad.

Y/N thought to herself, thinking about how she should answer without bringing down the mood. "I lost someone close to me and needed to get away," Y/N explained, "My family was handling his death a little bit differently than me. I know some people say you shouldn't run away from your problems, but that seemed like the best option."

She paused to put some butter on a roll. Sam watched her closely, softly smiling that she was telling him about her life. "But! I'm glad I left because it introduced me to new things, a new job that I love," Y/N added.

Sam didn't ask her further questions, knowing that that was already a hard subject to begin with. "Enough about me, tell me about you," Y/N said. And so he told her about his family, disregarding the Supernatural, and why he was doing this 'road trip' with his brother. Y/N reached over and set a hand on top of his.

He returned the gesture by holding her hand across the table. "I'm so sorry," Y/N said. "It's okay. I've gotten better, and I've learned from it," Sam replied, "Just like you said, it introduced me to new things." Y/N's cheeks grew pink. She didn't want to, but she was first to let go of his hand.

The rest of the date went great. They talked about different things: where they went to school, where they grew up, favorite colors, favorite foods, and things like that. Sam parked the car in front of the apartment building. He walked her up the stairs and to her apartment door. "Thank you," Y/N stood in front of her door.

"Of course," Sam nodded, "I enjoyed it."

"Me too," Y/N said, fixing the strap of her purse.

She debated on offering him to come inside, but she didn't want him to take that the wrong way. "I know it's the first date and everything. And we just met the other day, but," Y/N swallowed down her nerves, "I really like you. And, I don't usually go on dates, but I'd like to go on a second date or keep this going if you-"

Her sentence was cut short by the feeling of Sam's lips on hers. Her hands went to his shoulders, losing grip of her purse. Y/N couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face as they pulled apart.

"I'd like that," Sam said, "A lot, actually."

Y/N nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he looked into his eyes. "When do you leave?" Y/N asked. "I don't know," Sam sighed, repeating the same answer from the other day. There was a pause between them. "But I could stay for a couple days. Work can wait," Sam said. Y/N nodded again and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek.

Taglist: @nix-rose @nyotamalfoy

[fatuismooches]

I'M GIGGLING SO HARD LOOKIGN AT WHAT I CAUSED JUST BY SAYING YOU NEED TO WASH DOTTORE😭😭

But this also gave me a brainrot aboit bathing with harbingers

YES PANTALONE IS A RICH BASTARD and uses tons of skin and hair caring products. He enjoys being taken care of and will do the same in return, that's a fair exchange. Just wash his hair and listen to him complaining about his co-workers asking for budget raise for 10th time this month I think he's very stressed and tired by the end of the day, he might even doze off right in bath, since it's warm here and you gently stroke his hair (he looks cute-but wake him up please or he'll end up with sore neck)

Columbina gives me vibe of a person, who uses a lot of silly stuff, like bath bombs or salt. She's playful and will splash you, which will turn into a war with water being all over the floor (poor people who'll have to clean it up..). She's another one to possibly fall asleep in bathtub, so wake her up too. She also sings in shower

We should stop slandering only Dottore, bc Childe is also a type of person to give you a biiig hug, while covered in blood. But, well, he's easier to get to wash himself. Like Bina, he's also playful and will summon small water animals to entertain both of you (he will create a small narval and gently bup it on your nose... Before breaking it, so you'll have water over your face, bc you're so adorable when flushed!! You're allowed to splash him for this)

I think Sandrone forgets about bathing, drowned in her work and if you invite her, Sandrone will say she'll take a quick shower to return to her work. Please convince her to come with you, she needs rest. In bathtub, all of her thoughts are about unfinished projects :(

YEA STINKYTTORE IS SOMETHING ELSE 😭😭💀 AND OMG THANK YOU FOR THESE BRAINROTS💖💖💖

Hehe YES it's obvious Pantalone only uses the most exquisite, high-end products (have you seen his hair? absolutely LUSCIOUS) He probably made a deal with the company to have the stuff delivered to him regularly so he doesn't need to keep buying it lol, but YES he lovesss to pamper you but he also adores being pampered in return. But you gotta make sure you're a pro at it, don't tug or pull on his hair too roughly, be gentle when washing him, you know what I mean. Make sure to sympathize with him and be very soft as he complains to you about how that doctor is using up his funds with no progress. Make sure to give him lots of kisses when he decides the perfect napping place is laying on your chest in the middle of the big af bath tub 😭 (Also get him out of there because a sore Pantalone is a grumpy Pantalone) But he'd also be the kind of guy to be romantic as hell and put candles around the bath and have a book to read in there too :3

AND OMFGG 100% AGREE ON COLUMBINA SHE LOVES TO DO STUFF LIKE THAT. You two always try out new things to put in the bath, I feel like she's really one of those self-care people so your skin is gonna be ultra soft. Though she is extra silly and loves to set you up for literal ATTACKS by her (throw the rubber duckies at her pls) And yea she can fall asleep literally anywhere so try your best to get her out 😭 OMG the singing in the shower😭😭 I love her she definitely gets the best song ideas in there with you... it's brainstorm time

I HATE TO SAY IT BUT YOU'RE 100% RIGHT ON CHILDE...😭😭 Bro comes back after destroying multiple Hilichurl and Treasure Hoarder camps and is ready to hug you to death... baby i love u but CLEAN UP FIRST. But at least he actually loves the baths/the water in general so it's actually quite fun (you're just sad for the person who needs to wash his clothes 💀) He's actually so cute after a shower because his hair is all damp but then you get to see it fluff up back to life with that long ahoge 😭 He's also extra cuddly and won't let go of you <3

SANDRONE BABY NO... get her robots to turn against her. Don't let her leave until she's had a long, warm bath. Her mind will still probably drift to her robots and incomplete puppets... but give her a really good scrub and wash (she won't admit it but she feels way better after working nonstop) (she dives back right into working nonstop again though) Though i feel like she secretly likes to be pampered, lol she doesn't even walk by herself, her robot carries her. So though she doesn't express her gratitude much verbally she is thankful deep down.

[ghostoffuturespast]

hey ghostie i was gna get specific for the ask game but I wanna know *all* of it now, the acronyms, the full names, all of em! are they for cyberpunk or other fandoms? no matter how much there is to know, i wanna know! talking about an idea helps a lot, i speak from experience! thanks for the mention, ill get on the wip game soon, too! ❤️

WIP Game Here

Thank you for the ask! I appreciate it :) They are all Cyberpunk 2077 things lol. I’ve largely been a lurker in other fandoms until this one, and this is the first one that finally compelled me to make stuff and that I’ve had the bravery to share. Don’t have many snippets at the moment, all of what I have so far is already out there. Since you asked for all of them though, I shall dish and give you a bit of a peak behind the curtain on how all this got started…

(I’m sorry, this got very rambly.)

And def tag me when you do yours! I will come find you and your wips! 🧡

SIG - So It Goes

(The title is based off the radio song from the game that you can listen to on Morro Rock. Never officially released and credited to the fictional band Fingers and the Outlaws in the game. Officially sung by Ryan Kattner, the front singer of the band Man Man.)

SIG is my current V/River conspiracy theory long fic that I’m working on, and the project is coming up on its two year anniversary. It’s also my first fic. I’m hoping to wrap it up this spring so I can move on to other creative endeavors. There are a lot of art projects, fandom and non-fandom related, that I’ve held off on because of this and I miss those hobbies. I also feel like I’ve been missing out a lot in the writing corner of the fandom too because a lot of new writers have popped up on the scene since I started (back when there was still a monopoly on the tag, but that’s a different story) and everyone else seems to be having fun reading everyone else’s fics, except me… Reading’s complicated for me right now. Writing this had a lot of ups and downs, but overall I’ve loved telling this story, learned a lot, and I’m really proud of it!

I think most people get into fic writing for the ships, the romance, the smut, the processing of internalized trauma, a more satisfactory ending, weird niche interests… And don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of appeal with all that, and definitely those aspects in my own work. But this whole thing got started because of conspiracy theories. I fucking love mysteries and puzzles, so after playing the sun ending and then I spotting Mr. Blue Eyes on the balcony during the conclusion of Dream On, I just about lost my damn mind. I went down the rabbit hole, spent hours reading shards and messages in the game, combed reddit theory posts, and started picking up on all the hints and foreshadowing of something larger looming throughout the game.

I initially didn’t have any answers when I made the decision to start this fic (fuck, high probability I still don’t), it was largely me brainstorming and trying to figure out what kind of story I wanted to write. Seeing if I could even piece things together. But in the process of thinking all that through, I came up with this little theory. I thought it was pretty mind blowing at the time (still think it is) but it’s been my little secret since I got here and I’m very anxious to finally share it.

Most people probably would have just written a theory post and been done with it, but I decided to turn mine into a fan fic lol. Which may or not have been a mistake, we’ll see. This is either gonna be game changing or everyone is going to think it’s dumb and I’m gonna be wearing a dunce cap for the next fifty years.

River Ward. The other half of my reason for writing this fic. I actually wasn’t sure if I liked him at first, it took me a while to warm up to him. But the more I got to know him, the more I started to like him. The more he grew on me. He got hotter over time. Plus, I’ve got a fondness for detective characters and unusual coats, so I should’ve seen it coming.

River’s gotten a lot of flak from this fandom. People claim he’s boring. He’s a cop, so acab. Being unemployed and living in a trailer park with your sister, niece, and nephews isn’t a particularly redeeming quality. I don’t agree with most of those statements, but I do agree with the folks who do appreciate his character, that in terms of development, he absolutely got shafted in the game. This fic is also an attempt to rectify that.

For as underdeveloped as his story arc was, there’s a lot of nuance to his character that I think gets glossed over by the game and most people. We didn’t get much, but out of what we did get, it’s been interesting trying to piece a story together that’s in line with what we got. And I did mention earlier that I like puzzles.

I’ve noticed that a lot of folks tend to lean very hard into the cop aspect of his character, but as far as I’m concerned, River Ward doesn’t give a shit about the law. Conducting an off the record investigation, intimidating a confidential informant, illegally obtaining evidence, breaking into a restricted lab, committing arson for your ex so she can pass a medical exam, conducting another investigation after being suspended; those are not the actions of a man who holds the letter of the law above all else. Those are the actions of man who is determined to get to the bottom of things, and protect people, all while navigating a system that is anything but equitable or fair. They are the actions of a man who is willing to go above and beyond for the people he cares about, even to his own detriment. His own safety. For River Ward, it was never about the law, it’s about justice. And pursuing that sometimes involves breaking the rules.

River is also Pomo. Which is something that was only added in subsequent patches, heavily glossed over in the game, and is only disclosed if you choose to actually romance him. But he’s Indigenous. Native American. And yet he still made a conscious decision to join the NCPD. Given the historical participation by law enforcement and government institutions in North America, and around the world, in the cultural erasure and mass genocide of entire nations, tribes, and communities of people. And given the current state of issues regarding law and judicial enforcement on tribal lands, I think River's character is a rather poignant reflection. Of wanting to good, of wanting the world to be better, but being confined in systems that simply won't allow that. There's a billion other little details I could ramble on about, but his character had the capacity to walk a very fine line of complexities which the game never really did justice to.

Diversity and representation in media are important to me, and I want this fic to reflect that. Being bi-racial, I didn’t get very much of it growing up, so if I can provide representation, even in some small capacity, I think it’s better than nothing. And while I don’t know if I’m achieving that, well, shit if I’m not trying.

I wouldn’t say this story was really meant to be original, but rather to fill in the gaps on the story we got and for me to practice writing. Practice telling a story. CP2077 is a violent game set in a violent world. And I somehow managed to start writing a story that accidentally ended up being a love letter to aikido. (Much to my chagrin. It’s everywhere. In everything. I cannot escape it.) Aikido is a martial art that translates “to the way of peace” or “the path of harmony.” Yet again, another study in dichotomies. How can a martial art, an art form designed to inflict violence, be peaceful? Aikido is as much of a martial art as it is a philosophy. We train to practice and learn that philosophy.

One of the major themes I’m exploring in this fic series is the nature of violence. What it is, the forms it takes, how cyclical it is, that it is a relationship - violence requires your participation. So the question ends up being: how do you break cycles of violence when you live in a world where you are beholden to it? V and River are very much two characters that are caught up in cycles of violence. Will they find peace? I don’t know, but maybe they can find out together.

From The Top

(This one isn’t named after a song. I just decided to start from the beginning.)

From The Top is the VP project I started up last spring where I’ve been taking storyboard style photos of all the main missions. Plus whatever else I feel like. I take all of my photos on PS5 in vanilla photomode and randomly started snapping pictures just because. I did landscape photos, shared a few. Got a bit of nice feedback from people who cared to look and then started branching out. I eventually got to the point where I started a new playthrough for the sole purpose of snapping photos.

Taking VP is very different from writing for me. I don’t have to think about. I don’t agonize about making sure every tiny detail is just right, because for the most part I don’t have very much control It’s candid, intuitive, experimental, it’s straight up play. I simply wait for opportunities to present themselves and capture whatever I think looks or feels interesting to me. It’s easy for me to walk away from it if it doesn’t do well when I post. Unlike my writing, there’s no ego attached to it.

I’m getting to the tail end of this project, I still have a couple of the base game missions to get through, but I’d also like to do Phantom Liberty as well. Not sure what my VP career is going to look like after this, might go into soft retirement. But that’s okay.

NR - Night Running

(Named after Night Running by Cage the Elephant)

Is a sleeper wip that’s currently in the notes, brainstorming, and kitchen drawer phase. It’s part 2 of my Nothing Comes Before Night City series. So It Goes is part 1.

It takes a long time for me to mull over and ruminate on ideas, so this document is largely just a repository for notes and thoughts. Jamming the utensils in the drawer until I’m ready to organize them. I have a very broad idea of what I’d like to happen in this fic, key moments I’d like to hit, but there’s still a lot of refinement that needs to happen, and stories this involved require me outlining. I do already have a running set list of songs to draw from though.

Les Preludes

(Named after Les Preludes by Franz Liszt)

Another sleeper wip, also in the brainstorming phase. These are meant to be one-shots or short stories from the Nothing Comes Before Night City series. Moments I mentioned in the series, but can’t fit into the larger story. Character studies and background lore from V, River, Johnny, Jackie, a couple of OCs and whatever else I can think of.

I will probably start casually working on these after I finish SIG and while I’m outlining NR. I’d like the series to go in chronological order. Should be fun. And I think it’ll be good practice for being more concise. Unlike, this response...

If you stuck around for this TedTalk and made it all the way to the end, thank you! 👻

[smolwritingchick]

Helping Taehyung Cook

Ah okay another request done. This is a brainstorm of when Jennie helps Taehyung prepare for Jinny's Kitchen.

-----

"Okay, make sure it's seasoned well. We do not do unseasoned chicken up in here," Jennie advised as she watched Taehyung season the chicken.

Taehyung giggled at how serious she sounded.

"You think I'm playin'? I am so serious!" she giggled.

"I know you are! You've explained it plenty of times,"

Here they stood in the kitchen of Jennie's shared apartment with Jungkook as she monitored how he was preparing the chicken while the oven preheated. 

"Are you free to do this tomorrow, too?" He asked, hopeful as he placed the chicken in a pan.

"We have...what? Like a week or so before you go on the show? We can practice every day if you want. I'm free,"

His eyes lit up. "I owe you, big time,"

"Tae, I got you, always," she said as he smiled and kissed her temple.

"Still, I appreciate you doing this for me,"

"Anytime. Okay, put that in the oven. Let's start the Bulgulgi Kimbap. I have everything on the counter. Let's wash our hands first,"

After they got situated and finished washing their hands, Jennie began to demonstrate while he carefully followed her movements. The first order of business was to season the rice that had finished cooking as she pointed out to him that a little went a long way. Then she watched him cook the beef and eggs.

"Remember not to use too much salt. A pinch," she gently advised and watched as he followed her instructions.

He appreciated how she used a gentle tone with him and remained patient whenever he made a mistake. 

After the food was finished, he had his sheet of seaweed while she had hers as they neatly put rice on it along with the rest of the ingredients.

"All right, let's roll it up," she announced as they began to roll up the seaweed.

Once everything was complete, they cut the rolls into slices, with his looking a little uneven but still putting in the effort. 

"Tada! Great for a first attempt! Let me try yours," she requested.

"Here you are," he fed her a piece and she nodded in approval, enjoying the taste.

"Outstanding! Right amount of everything. I like it,"

"Yay!" he cheered and began dancing around the kitchen causing her to laugh and join in the fun.

"Still at it?" Jungkook asked as he walked out of the bedroom, preparing to go to the gym.

Seeing them dancing, he let out a laugh and watched as Taehyung presented the plate of food they just made.

"Yeah! You want to try it? Ennie said it was pretty good,"

"If you have her teaching you, you're in good hands. Let me have a piece," he walked over to them.

After trying a bite, he nodded and smiled. 

"Good job, hyung," he praised.

"Yay~!" Taehyung cheered again and high fived Jennie.

"I'll be back, later. See you two!" Jungkook kissed her goodbye and left.

As Jennie and Taehyung continued to cook, he brought up, "Remember when we cooked during Rookie King? Namjoon Hyung and you were the judges?"

"Oh my gosh," she laughed at the memory. "I remember! I miss those days. That show was so chaotic. Who knew what time could do for your cooking? You're doing great so far,"

"You think so? Thank you,"

"Of course! Thinking about it, I just hated how people would be so mean about your cooking skills over the years. It always bothered me when people would talk so negatively about you making stuff,"

"Ah, it's okay, Ennie,"

"I know but still...everyone starts somewhere. And it is never too late to learn a skill. You'll prove a lot of people wrong when you attend the show. I want you to have fun while you're there and also don't forget the best ingredient of all when cooking. As cliche as it might be, it's always my number one. Make your food with love,"

"Ah..." he grinned and felt his eyes began to water. "You always know what to say to keep me grounded. I love that. Putting love into your food,"

"How long have we've known each other, now?" she giggled. 

"Very long. And I hope it lasts forever. I'm happy I walked down that hallway to find you practicing,"

"Me too. Deep down I did feel a little bit lonely when I first came to Seoul as a trainee. The other girls were all right but I really wanted to make my first friend and then you came along. You found me practicing in that practice room. You were the one that spoke up first and made me feel like I was the most interesting person ever,"

"You are. That transition from America was not easy but you made it all work out,"

"It was difficult but you made the transition to Seoul much easier with your fun tours and recommended restaurants. Now look at us. The 8 of us. It's crazy. But I'm happy to have the 7 of you with me on this amazing journey in life. I'm happy you are my best friend and have been there to help me through my highs and lows,"

After reminiscing on the past and how happy things are currently with Bangtan, the two took a snack break.

"Thank you for being patient with me during our lesson. I really need that. I'll think of you when I cook. And when I'm on the show and begin making the food, I'll think about your sweet words to me and your advice. Each dish I make will be full of V's love!"

Her smile widened. "I'm glad. I'm proud of you, Taehyung. You've improved a lot in your cooking. I see it and taste the difference,"

He grinned happily. "All thanks to you,"

"And your amazing learning ability!" she added as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

"You want to stay for dinner?" she asked as they pulled away.

"Yeah, I'll stay. Can I help you cook dinner?"

"Of course! I think having a second opinion on your cooking will help, too. So let's see about Kookie's thoughts on what you make,"

"Sounds like a plan!"

[theartfuldodger26]

9, 20, 23 and 24 please 💚💚

Thanks for the ask!

9. Start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

Funny you should ask, because it's complicated. I wrote the first part Fear for the Fearless as a quick oneshot for Tumblr titled Voldemort Meets a Boggart Part A, but, while writing it, had a second idea, so I decided to write a part B and have it published on AO3. It took about a month to add the second part, though actual writing happened within three days.

20. In what year did you publish your first fic?

I read my first fic in August 2012, realised that I had been writing fanfics without knowing other people did this too (I lived under a WiFi-less rock, what can I say), so I published a couple of stuff soon after.

23. Pick three words that describe your writing.

Not comfortable with talking about myself, I honestly couldn't say.

How about "emotion-centric"?

Can;t think of any other words.

24. How do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

Read a lot, either books or fics, and that usually puts me in the mood right away. I might take longer time off and do some drawing or crafts. I also talk to my parrots about my ideas, sort of bouncing ideas off of talking walls :P

Thanks for this, it was really fun brainstorming on the actual process of writing, since it usually just happens!

[bluecatwriter]

For that Director's Cut thing?? uhh uhh O'erthrow Me, please???

Ahaha, you want to see me suffer (ramble about embracing the eroticism of the divine), don't you??? *trying to look offended but actually just grinning like a goofball*

The fic in question: "Renfield asks Jonathan to read him some poetry."

(For anyone unaware, this is a smutfic, so keep that in mind before clicking the "Keep reading…" Also contains mention of sexual assault, Christianity, and spoilers.)

-The idea for this one came when I was rereading some published fics (as I often do), and was thinking about how I'd like to do another Jonathan/Renfield fic. I am obsessed with this ship for many reasons, especially what Jonathan and Renfield bring out in each other, and so I always have some ideas brewing in my head. The thought of Renfield asking Jonathan to read him some erotic poetry seemed like a fun idea to run with, and so the brainstorm began in earnest.

-Despite my premise, I have read very very little erotic poetry, so either I could go on a poetry-reading binge, or I could grab the first one that came to mind: "Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God" by John Donne, which I've always been a little feral about (despite not really reading anything else Donne wrote. Fake fan, I know). It's a poem addressed to God, but it's incredibly erotic, and fit well with the themes of possession and loyalty that had showed up in my earlier Jonathan/Renfield fics. (I think I'm really into the erotic as a path to the divine as a result of 1) being raised in a branch of Christianity that just. does NOT allow eroticism in any form and, paradoxically, 2) coming of age right when the "Jesus is my boyfriend" rhetoric was really strong in evangelical circles. Learning to find God in all aspects of being human, including the erotic, has been a big deal for me the past couple decades.) I looked up some of Donne's other poems, too, to include, and it worked out really well.

-Usually my smutfics have some sort of build-up beforehand to explain how the characters end up in bed together, but in this fic (and in the previous one in the series, "Enough"), I just dive straight into the sex because this is an established relationship and I don't need to justify why they're having sex right now. (Unfortunately in this fic it's not abundantly clear that this whole thing is taking place with Mina's consent and blessing— but that's just a rule of thumb whenever I write the Harkers.)

-This was the first Jonathan/Renfield smutfic I wrote from Jonathan's perspective, but I knew I wanted to because the other ones had been in Renfield's head, and I wanted to show what Jonathan was thinking and feeling here. It also addresses the elephant in the room: in this version of events, Jonathan has been sexually assaulted by Dracula repeatedly in the past, and so having sex with a different intense old man is going to dredge up some memories. I got the chance to delve into that in this fic, showing how this is a healing experience for him.

-Then we get the Sexy Poetry Reading! Again, I bring up an intentional parallel to abuse that Jonathan suffered in the past, showing how even something simple like someone asking him to read can dredge up feelings.

-Figuring out the logistical details of the physical description vs. the spoken lines took quite a bit of shuffling; I was arranging and rearranging stuff a bunch up until the very last draft. But I'm happy with how the sequence turned out in the end.

-Plus the lines in the poem fit really well with a narrative that has emerged from shipping these two. ""Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain/But am betroth'd unto your enemy/Divorce me, untie or break that knot again/Take me to you, imprison me…" Again, brings up a lot of the themes that I'd been exploring earlier in the Jonathan/Renfield series, and fit together even better than I expected.

Thanks so much for the ask! :D

(Ask game here)

[etinceelle]

Hey. Hope you're having a wonderful day

Just wanna say that your characters are amazing. Exactly what got you into creating them ? Any sort of inspiration ?

Hey, I'm having a good night and hope you too !

Thank you so much, I'm happy you appreciate them :) I'm happy to tell the tiny story behind their creation-

So, back in march/april 2021 I was in my last year of my bachelor's degree studying animation, and I still wasn't sure about going in the master's degree in animation as well after that. There were a lot of struggles at this moment but anyway

The thing is that for the master we had to create a short film, alone and (almost) fully done by ourselves, so our teachers asked us to start a sort of book or sketchbook to do researches and brainstorming about the film during summer. Even if I wasn't sure to continue I started it, and sketched a lot of stuff and various ideas I had at this moment

Then I ended up not going in the master's degree and taking a gap year instead, but I still continued to sketch stuff in that sketchbook because I still wanted to do my own film at some point. Uni or not the diploma was mostly a reason to make a film, but I in any case I wouldn't be free to do like I want because of teachers' reviews etc. I wanted to make it truly my own, maybe not perfect but just give it a try and be free to tell the story I want.

But I was frustrated because I wasn't finding something that would make me feel like it's my own stuff, it was too similar to RWBY for a lot of things (already a big inspiration at this moment, I was in the V8 brainrot for the first half of 2021 lmao). So I wasn't really going anywhere

BUT, randomly in december 2021 I had a pretty wild and pretty dream, I decided to paint digitally the main scene of it and doodle some concepts I had from it in my sketchbook :

I also ended up writing and composing a tiny song based on it (in french sorry-). It's not perfect at all or anything because I'm not a pro or super good, but creating a link between visual art & music helps me a lot most of the time so I do it (also for fun 'cause I love it) :

After that it didn't evolved much outside of the fact that I already had some sort of script for a "short film" or a teaser idk, I wrote that when I was in uni last winter. But I still wasn't really sure about the main characters or even their designs, even if Gris was the one I thought the most about and changed a lot of stuff

So last january/february I started to work on a first design and turn around for Gris :] (she didn't even have a name yet at this moment)

I continued to think of it until recently at the end of this summer where I sketched another design for her. As for Fauve, I knew for a long time I wanted Gris to have a strong bond with someone to help her go through stuff (and also a gf lol). I never really worked a lot on Fauve, I only knew she was going to have red or brown hair. x)

And I just sketched a first rough thing after Gris and liked it, so I kept it, it was really simple and easier than Gris' researches aha, idk Fauve's vibes felt pretty natural and logical after Gris was done.

Also if you're curious here are some of the first design ideas for them I had back in 2021/2022 :]

It changed a lot--

Anyway, now I'd love to develop more stuff and make a short film :]

[cilil]

Since everyone are asking about ships, do you have: popular ship that you are not into, but can see the idea; popular ship you are not into and can't understand why; and a ship popularity of which surprises you (in either positive or negative sense).

Genuinely curious, not trying to start any drama, but naturally feel free to delete if you don't feel like answering. Nice day to you!

Hey anon! Lovely day to you too and thanks for the ask!

(I'm going to preface this by saying these type of asks can be a bit tough to answer for me, since I'm just pretty chill with ships and sometimes can't even tell how popular a thing is while drifting around in my comfortable little bubble, and my answers might not be super juicy, but I wanted to try giving some anyway ^^)

Popular ship that you are not into, but can see the idea

I brainstormed a bit which popular ships came to mind and also went on AO3 to filter for the most written Silm ships. I actually love all the ones that came up (especially Angbang haha), so I suppose I have nothing in that regard.

If I wanted to give a funny answer, I'd say Beren/Lúthien (the author's canonical self-insert would count as fairly popular, yeah?) because yes, I get the idea and there's a lot of romantic stuff going on, but I will never understand giving up fucking hot angels in Valinor for the sake of a human man who came crawling out of the bushes one day (listen, you guys do you, and creeping on people in forests seems to be some sort of Ainurin/Valinorean dating tradition, but I would be calling the police, ok? Don't creep on me in my forest please unless your name is Eönwë). Lúthien, girl, I love you, but this choice is personally offensive to me and my efforts to get my hands on hot angels. Maybe I'm also just too arospec for this, happy pride month.

(I should perhaps add that such opinions are always subject to change, all it takes is one person giving me one idea that gets me thinking and the entire thing could look different tomorrow. These are snapshots of a moment in time, if you will.)

((Also in case it needs to be said, please nobody take my funny answers too seriously.))

Popular ship you are not into and can't understand why

Hmmm, to properly answer that I would probably have to get into my NOTPs and that's a topic I don't want to discuss on this blog.

Please don't feel bad for asking, I appreciate it, but that's just one thing I decided for myself because, while I think nobody should put too much emphasis on my - a random person on the internet that I believe nobody here has met! - opinion, some people do and/or get upset that not everyone likes their ship. And I get it, I don't like people talking crap about my favorite characters and ships to my face either. So yeah, I just don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable :)

Ship popularity of which surprises you (in either positive or negative sense)

Heh. This will be a fun one, but bear with me for a second, alright?😅

I'm going to say Russingon. Now, now, put down the pitchforks. When I read the Silmarillion, I was very new to fandom and shipping in general and was also reading mostly just for an overview of everything and to learn more about Melkor and Mairon, so I didn't think too much of the Russingon interactions. Hopping onto AO3 immediately after, I quickly learned about them being shipped, went "oh yeah, I totally see this" and have been a supporter ever since.

The reason why its popularity surprises me is quite simply that I come from a fandom where people were incredibly weird and hostile regarding any sort of incest, including all variations of pseudo-incest ("sibling-coded", found family, etc.). I essentially went from a fandom that bullied me out of shipping two characters who were neither biologically related nor had grown up together nor even knew each other prior to their meeting as adults simply because they apparently had sibling vibes to a fandom whose top ship are half-cousins.

In case I haven't made it sufficiently clear: It was a very positive surprise. I frankly think very little of fandoms who clutch their pearls over pixels on a screen kissing and police what people can and can't ship, and I feel just so much more comfortable in a fandom where people are more chill and used to it. Thank you, Russingon!

[whumpbug]

Hello there Bug!! I've been thinking about Archie and Simon a LOT they have a house in my brain I love them so much

So of course I have obtained some headcanons for them and I just wanted to know what you thought of them. So this isn't an ask exactly but I wanted you to see it :)

You have my permission 100% to make ANY of these canon of course (it would make me super happy but like you don't have to obviously)

SO OKAY onto the headcanons

Archie really loved fireworks pre-superpowers! As a kid he always got very excited to watch them because he had such an appreciation for the beautiful way they lit up the sky with vibrant colors and the way everyone around him seemed so joyful when they came. And after he got his powers he was more than a little heartbroken because he simply couldn't enjoy them any more without enduring excruciating pain every time he heard the booms.

Simon keeps so much Archie stuff at his house. A lot of it is for medical or comfort purposes, like ear muffs and weighted blankets for sensory issues or a million bandages and other med supplies LITTERING a bunch of rooms. But also. Some of it is just for fun, like souvenirs based on Archie's interests (Star Wars figurines?) and many many of his favorite foods all over the kitchen. You've already mentioned him keeping his favorite foods around so that's not really a headcanon but this is kind of an expansion on it

Archie has bad dreams. A lot of bad dreams. Usually he doesn't tell Simon about them, but he does talk to him. Simon can tell something is wrong, but he can also tell that it's purely emotional and that Archie isn't ready to share, so he doesn't pry. He just stays with him and talks to him about whatever he wants to talk about. He'll be ready eventually.

One time it came up in a conversation that Simon was a dog person who wanted to have a dog someday, one thing led to another, and he said he'd let Archie name them. Archie got SUPER EXCITED and decided he would take this job VERY SERIOUSLY and started brainstorming immediately and Simon eventually had to be like "okay I don't even have one yet and you need to take a breath"

As a sequel-headcanon to the first headcanon about the fireworks, Simon goes to fireworks shows whenever they're in his area, not because he particularly likes them but because Archie is always overjoyed when he comes back with blessedly soundless pictures and videos of the fireworks for him.

If you've read this far thank you so much I LOVE YOUR WRITING I LOVE YOUR GUYS

ANON THIS IS GENUINELY ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I COULD HAVE OPENED MY ASK BOX TO. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT.

okay right off the bat. every single thing you said is canon. everything. you got their characterization EXACTLY right and if you ever have more headcanons about them or any of my other Guys PLEASE don't be afraid to send em in because this made my YEAR

under the cut i'll elaborate on them because they are genuinely. so perfect. anon you are so awesome.

✮⋆˙

archie and fireworks:

headcanon IMMEDIATELY accepted. archie loves colorful things that sparkle. he LOVED fireworks as a kid. i'd even venture to say he liked how loud they are. he liked the crackly ones.

i feel like he'd look forward to every 4th of july just to see all of them.

the first 4th of july he had after he got his powers was. rough.

i'd like to think he didn't fully understand what his powers were for a while. he was only 7 after all. so maybe he thought it would be okay.

and then the first of the fireworks went off. and archie though his eardrums were genuinely exploding.

i also would like to think his mom wasn't that equipped yet. she didn't have noise cancelling headphones or anything like that, so that night archie spent the entirety of it in the closet, every blanket and pillow he had pulled over his ears, sobbing.

(don't worry it gets happier in the last one)

archie stuff at simon's place:

UGH THIS ONE IS SO SO GOOD. I GIGGLED AND SQUEALED WHEN I READ IT

so yes. absolutely yes. archie spends maybe 35% of his time in his own apartment and the rest is spent crashing at simon's because he just cant stay away

the thought of simon having things for archie's sensory issues makes me SO happy. he definitely has the weighted blankets and he also installed lights with different undertones that wouldn't give archie as much of a headache.

he has so much medical supplies. everywhere. he is perpetually tripping on first aid kits and empty boxes of gauze (don't worry. archie helps him clean up)

simon has also learned to anticipate archie's snack cravings. he knows exactly when he gets tired of goldfish and goes to pick up some oreos and peanut pretzels because he knows that's next in the rotation.

AND SIMON ABSOLUTELY HAS SOME STAR WARS STUFF. some of it was gifts from archie but also some of it was stuff he bought himself because it reminds him of his Friend. he has a little grogu plush that lives on his couch

archie and bad dreams:

this one is so sad but unfortunately very canon.

archie dreams of a lot of things.

sometimes, its a flashback of the day he got his powers. the excruciating pain. the guys that did it. the needle. those ones hes a little bit more open to talking with simon about. simon knows what happened to him. he's there for him.

the ones he won't tell simon about are the ones where he fails to save simon from something. its a recurring dream. different scenarios, but all the same outcome-- simon dies because he wasn't fast enough. he can't tell simon about those dreams but they eat him up inside. its a constant source of Stress for him.

they will talk it through eventually.

archie and simon's future dog:

i truly don't have much to add to this one because it was so perfect. EVEN THE DIALOGUE YOU HAD FOR IT IS SO PAINFULLY IN CHARACTER. JUST THE

"archie. archie please take a breath. there is no dog yet. archie please."

UGH this one made my heart so warm

archie and fireworks PT 2:

at first, i was like "mmm that probably wouldn't happen because simon doesn't like the fireworks either"

but then i realized that's what made it so good.

sure, simon doesn't really enjoy the fireworks all that much, but he can physically stand to go see them. its uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

so OF COURSE he would do that for archie. every 4th of july, simon sets archie up in his room, with pillows over the windows and doors to muffle outside noise. he gives him the soundproofing headphones and the weighted blanket and shuts off all the lights and then tells him

"stay here. i'll be back."

and he goes all the way across the city to get the best view of the fireworks and he videos the entire thing. all of it.

and the next morning, he and archie watch it together on the couch and archie has to fight his tears every single time.

because he never thought he'd find someone to go the extra mile for him. he never thought he'd find someone that loved him enough to do anything like this.

but he did.

✮⋆˙

anon thank you so so so SO much. seeing people so excited about my boys genuinely filled me with such Glee. if you have ANY more, PLEASEEE send them. i promise my ask box is always open to you. i am forever in your debt. THANK YOU!!

[celestialpaperhaze]

What inspired you to write "The new void"? 🙃

! This post does not contain spoilers for The New Void !

(Yep you read that right)

The Short Answer:

It was fandom, primarily! I discovered fandom around 2021, and it was right after my experiences with the two games. That excitement, paired with the various themes of 2020 and 2021 that somehow worked their way into my story, inspired The New Void!

The Long Answer:

It’s hard for me to think of one specific thing that inspired me, I think it was really a variety of factors. The first is that I played Super Paper Mario just a few months before I played The Origami King, so I was still deeply interested in SPM when the new game came around. This coincided with my introduction to fandom as a whole in 2020-2021. I didn’t grow up in the same internet space as a lot of other people I know, so that was a new experience for me and it really helped me feel connected to something bigger! Having been a writer since elementary school, the pieces sort of started falling into place then. Once I saw what kinds of passion projects a fandom can be home to, I started writing my own stuff for Paper Mario!

(Fun fact: The New Void isn’t actually my first multichapter fic project—the REAL first one can’t be found online because I never put it there. I had two stories that never reached the Archive, one was about Nastasia’s side of things during the events of SPM [it relied too heavily on fanon for my liking], and the other was…Count Bleck’s autobiography? Hey, I never published it for a reason >:()

Anyway, the first idea for The New Void came from a different (again, non-published) fic I wrote, where Olly is taunted about his childish decisions by a disembodied voice. I had no explanation for where this disembodied voice might have come from, at the time it was just me personifying the more critical side of the fandom. But eventually, I had the thought: What if the voice was the Chaos Heart? I was still heavily impressed/influenced by @darkmarxsoul's Chaos Trilogy at the time, so the idea came to me pretty quickly. Then I started brainstorming other things, like how a crossover like that would work, why Olly would have the Chaos Heart in the first place, how it would be talking to him (I didn’t want to copy darkmarx), etc…

And then, eventually…

(I actually started writing before then but it was on undated paper)

(Also it took me awhile before I started posting--I wanted to make sure I could follow through!)

All-in-all, while it was my enthusiasm for fandom that inspired me to write The New Void, it was I think a certain love that kept me going all the way through. Not just love for the games and the characters I was working with, but love for the fandom that I was giving to.

It was also free time. Man, do I miss having that much free time on my hands…

Thanks so much for the ask! <3

[msfcatlover]

msfcatlover: @the-overanalyzer What do you want to know? I have /many/ thoughts for this, and I don’t really know which ones to start with.

the-overanalyzer: @msfcatlover Honestly all of it, this is *such* a neat idea.

All my thoughts? Okay, I’ll do my best.

First, sources. I think my love for the memory-sending version of the time travel fixit trope is blatantly obvious, and I read a lot of them. Then one day, just after I started really getting into Batfam stuff, I read this TMA fic called “Deja Vu” by CirrusGrey (fantastic writer, btw, everyone who likes TMA stuff should check out their fics,) which has all 4 members of the original archives crew getting sent back from their moment of death to just before the series started; the thing is, they all have different amounts of information, so they all have very different priorities. Like, Tim thinks the Unknowing is the biggest threat, so he buckles down trying to stop that, Sasha thinks she just had a weird dream because she died before they really knew anything about what was going on, etc. They might as well be coming from completely different futures, their concepts of reality are so different!

Which got me thinking: What if they were? What if you genuinely had a fixit in the memory time travel vein with multiple protagonists being sent back to before everything went awful, but every single one of them is from a different basically apocalyptic future, so they all have completely different priorities on what needs to be fixed? All tripping over eachother’s plans, not realizing they’re not alone… and at the same time, being so truly, completely alone, because they’re the sole survivors of their individual timelines, and no one really knows what they’ve gone through; even the people they love most and want to rely on are going to be dramatically different from any version of those people each of them ever knew.

And, um, the Batfam is kinda perfect for that setup, isn’t it? But, obviously, I can’t find that fic. It doesn’t seem to exist. (Although, if you like the concept of multiple characters trying to fix the same timeline, “Time to Protect You” is a really excellent read. Also, if you like Dick having a worse adoption addiction than Bruce does, read “Time to Protect You.” It’s fun.)

Ever since I had that thought, I have been brainstorming. This. Monster. Because, y’see, I have to at least rough-draft each of their future timelines to know what each of their priorities would be. So there’s like, five full fics worth of content in the backstory for this fic. (I have made myself cry doing this. More than once. Lotta… lotta funerals & heroic self-sacrifices while loved ones watch helplessly in these WIP notes. And one formal “identify the body” scene that is somehow worse than all of them.) And that’s before they all start meddling in the timeline!

But you asked this on the Damian post. So, everything about Damian?

…This is gonna get long.

.

Damian is undergoing one of the most dramatic time shifts of all of them; he was in his late 20s when he got sent back. Since all 5 affected Robins are being sent back to the day Jason & Bruce were supposed to meet, that puts Damian somewhere between 4-6yrs old on arrival.

Another fic I really love from the TMA fandom (whose title I can heartbreakingly not remember right now) had Jon sent back to his first supernatural encounter, and one of the things that fic emphasized was this dichotomy between Jon’s decades of lived experience and the fact that he still has the body of a child. Which means he has the brain chemistry of a child. Which is going to impact his behavior.

So, in my story Damian’s not just a 28yr old stuck in a 5yr old body trying to get people to take him seriously, he is a 5yr old with 28yrs worth of memories, and that is a huge difference. (That’s not going to show much in this post, since I’m summarizing grand scale things with a few short scenes, and also Damian’s instincts are different from most 5yr olds thanks to, erm, everything. It would mostly be in the minutia of his behavior. But it is important to me.)

.

Is the rest of the family worried about Damian? Yes, obviously, that’s their baby brother. But none of them can rescue him alone (most of them need to completely retrain their bodies, even before gaining allies & equipment,) and as depressing as it is, they all believe he should be relatively safe where he is until they can assemble what they need to go bring him home. After all, both Ra’s & Talia need Damian healthy & intact for their plans to go forward.

Damian on the other hand, is now stranded on the other side of the world from all of his most trusted allies (even if they don’t know him yet,) and trying to hide his sudden shift in personality & priorities while surrounded by people who are very invested in his personal development. Hell, even Damian’s workouts & warmup routines have changed since he was a kid; how is he supposed to explain where he learned Dick’s balance exercises or Tim’s post-computer hand/wrist stretches? And on the other hand, Damian’s not used to a body with these proportions; how is he supposed to do anything like this?

(Damian did come back at the tail end of a fever that left him bedridden for a long while, so at least he has a short-term solution for that last problem.)

And remember: none of them know the others came back. As far as Damian’s concerned, he’s on his own.

.

What Damian does is steal tiny bits of equipment to dissect for parts, and recreates the sound-emitter from Jimmy Olsen’s watch. It’s a huge gamble, because Damian can’t test it. The sound should be outside of human hearing range, but if anyone hears/detects it before Damian’s ready to escape, he’ll be caught. Even if the emitter does work, Damian can’t risk calling Superman to Nanda Parbat; the League has measures against kryptonians (Superman’s timeline is somehow even messier than the Bats’ at this point, so I’m going with Clark & Kara both being fully established heroes already,) so if Superman did come to investigate, he could get hurt or captured, and if Clark gets away or stops to analyze where the sound is coming from then he might realize it’s just a test and assume it’s some sort of trap when Damian does set it off

Basically, Damian has one shot at this, and he just has to trust his own tinkering skills are good enough because a test-run could ruin everything.

.

Damian’s future was an alien invasion that left the Earth like a wasteland, the remaining heroes leading the resistance. He had more relaxing nights then than he has now, constantly monitoring his own words & actions, surrounded by enemies, with no allies to fall back on, in a body that seems more weak & helpless than it ever has before.

(Part of me also thinks Damian might’ve lost a limb in that war? It’s tripping him out—possibly literally—to have it back, when it’s only been phantom pain for so long.)

So, y’know, it’s not just that Superman is the only hero Damian can call who will both probably hear him, get there in time to actually be backup, and won’t be immediately suspicious of Damian (probably.) It’s also that Damian needs access to interstellar resources if he’s ever going to stop that invasion, and even with nearly 2 decades to plan it, the better Damian’s starting point the faster he can do that. (It definitely has nothing at all to do with how much Damian’s missed Clark, Jon, Lois, the whole extended family… it’s been years since Damian’s spoken to any of them, even the survivors off fighting on other fronts. And there were not a lot of survivors; the enemy knew to target their most powerful warriors first.)

.

People who say you can’t lie to kryptonians are idiots who don’t know them. Here’s the secret: have a good excuse for a raised breath/heart rate and make sure the emotions of your lie match what you’re actually feeling in that moment. A stutter, skip, or mild increase will be lost in the racing, and all your pheromones will agree with your words. Easy. (Cass could tell the difference, but she’s not here, is she? Damian has no idea where she is—but she’ll be fine. It took a crashing spaceship to kill Cassandra Wayne, and she survived just fine on her own before joining the family. Damian doesn’t need to worry. She’s fine. She’ll definitely be fine.)

Damian waits for the next time they move him, waits for the first big city, and makes a break for it. He slips through the guards’ fingers with skills they didn’t know he has, and proceeds to make one of the most illogical choices for a normal escape attempt: Damian heads for the tallest building he can get to the top of. As soon as he reaches the roof, even before picking the lock, Damian activates his emitter. He barricades the door behind him, and stands there, buffeted by wind, struggling to stay upright.

Damian can’t hear the emitter. Damian can’t hear his own voice when he raises it against the wind, yelling to Superman for help. Damian thinks he can hear his guards running up behind the door, but that’s impossible; it must be his own blood pounding in his ears.

The wind changes direction, and Superman is there.

Damian knows the picture he paints: a too-small child with too much scar tissue, eyes wide & wild, panting & terrified, still dirty from the run through the city below, clutching a device he shouldn’t have. (A stranger Superman has no reason to trust, even though Clark was always more credulous than any of the Bats. A boy wearing League garb under his clothes, even if Clark might not recognize it.)

(Damian doesn’t remember Clark ever being this big, but it is Clark, cracking through the Superman mask in confusion & concern.)

Damian’s never been one to leave things half-finished. “Please,” Damian begs, glancing back at the door behind him, “I’m running from the Shadows. They’re after me, they’ll be here any moment, they’ll kill me if they do! Please, help me!”

The door jumps in its frame. The barricade holds.

Clark opens his arms. “Of course, son. Where do you want to go?”

Damian leaps into Clark’s arms (and oh, oh, he has missed this. The soft strength & nearly overpowering warmth all kryptonians have. Arms that fold around Damian’s back like a shield—because they are, because Clark & Jon & Kara & Kon know their own strength and would rather risk being hurt themselves than let their charges be hurt. Being held by his uncle, who died over a decade ago and has never met Damian, but still holds on like Damian is something precious & important. Yes, Damian can admit he missed this.)

“Anywhere,” Damian whispers, wrapping his arms around his uncle’s neck. “Anywhere they can’t find me.”

(That last part is lost to the rush of speed, but Damian knows Clark heard it anyway.)

.

Here’s what Damian is counting on: Clark Kent is not a stupid man, even if he can be swept away by his emotions. Superman does not often fight the League of Shadows and will not know where necessarily would be safe from them, so he will take Damian to a secret base. Superman would not expose another hero’s identity without asking first, so it will either be a Justice League base or somewhere safe for Clark. Damian is still dressed like an assassin under his travel clothes and is still very much armed, so hopefully Clark would not bring Damian anywhere Damian might pose a threat.

So, a Justice League base, the Fortress of Solitude, or (if Clark is critically underestimating Damian) the farm.

Damian knows he’s struck gold when temperature drops. The Fortress makes this so much easier than having to find some way to hide Damian’s connection to Batman from the entire Justice League, and Damian never wants to bring trouble to Ma Kent’s doorstep. Damian’s relief is genuine, and he doesn’t bother trying to hide it when Clark sets him down.

The next part is the tricky bit: Damian has to sell his cover. A League-trained child assassin defecting would not know much of the outside world, would not know what was expected of him. Damian knows all that from experience. After months of hiding in Nanda Parbat, it’s not hard to slip back into that mindset, those mannerisms. They’re almost comfortable; hopefully the cold & alien environment will cover for the rest. Damian drops to his knees as he would before any significant authority (his mother, his grandfather, his family when he needed them to understand his remorse was full-hearted & genuine,) and begins with, “Thank you. I owe you my life.”

.

From there, Damian begins spinning the web that he hopes will save the world, rather than collapse & take Damian down with it. Truths & half-truths, genuine emotions, flickers of vulnerability, and a demeanor far too formal & professional to belong to anyone having a proper childhood. Fear of both the League & its enemies, any of whom would kill to have Damian back. Full, open acknowledgment of the suspicions Clark really ought to have, because the second Clark mentions the League to anyone who knows, Clark will receive the full run-down of how dangerous any League operative is.

(Damian insists on being locked up, telling Superman that his allies will only suspect Damian more—rightfully!—if he’s not. Clark is horrified by the idea of imprisoning a child who can’t be older than 6. They compromise with a guest room in the Fortress, the alien architecture as good as any lock any hero could cook up.)

(Damian insists on being disarmed, despite his own obvious discomfort with doing so. Clark tries to tell Damian that’s not necessary, and Damian points out how easy it would’ve been to slip a kryptonite blade into Superman’s chest from the second he let Damian into his arms. Clark looks a little green himself, and lets Damian finish.)

(Damian does not lie about lineage, at least not on his mother’s side. He does make it very clear he is not interested in meeting his father, confirms that his father is a very dangerous man, and heavily implies that his father’s displeasure with Damian’s upbringing might be dangerous to Damian himself. Damian also heavily implies his father knows of Damian’s existence and chose to be distant, drawing on the lingering, long-stifled bitterness of those early awkward days at the manor—wounds that don’t hurt anymore, not really, but that Damian can never forget—to really sell it.)

(Damian knows better than to try to convince anyone he’s had some sort of miraculous change of heart. No hero with experience with the League will see that as anything but a trap. Damian instead simply says he doesn’t like killing, expresses discomfort when pressed on his morals, and implies his escape has to do with a personal betrayal of some kind. Much easier to believe.)

.

The most direct lie Damian tells is that he got the frequency from his grandfather’s notes on known kryptonian biology. Damian drowns that in his own self-chastisement, admitting the inability to test the device in any way that mattered and Damian’s lack of an exit if the plan went wrong. Damian calls himself reckless & stupid for not having a backup. Clark catches Damian’s eye, and tells Damian he’s wrong; that Damian’s not stupid, Damian’s very clever for putting that together.

“You did good, son,” Clark says, Superman gone and replaced with only the kindness & pain of a man with a heart too big for this world, and a father with a boy not that much younger than Damian. “You did the best you could with what you had, and what you pulled off was pretty amazing. I’m sorry you had to go through that alone.”

“…Oh,” Damian says. He blinks. He breathes. And for the first time since Dick died, Damian cries. For everything he’s done, and everything he’s lost. For the family he’ll never have, and the childhood he never did. For a world that will—hopefully—never be. No wailing, no screams. Just soft, hitching breaths and tears that don’t seem to stop.

Clark pulls him close, and Damian buries his face in his uncle’s chest. And cries.

.

Damian knows the picture he paints:

Here is a boy, running for his life. A dangerous boy. A frightened boy. A boy who’s so alone, he has to rely on alien strangers for help. A boy desperate to be trusted, to not be seen as a threat. A boy who already knows there’s nowhere safe for him in the world.

An abused child will tug at any hero’s heartstrings. But Damian knows exactly which ones to pluck to stay safe under Clark Kent’s cape.

It’s intentional. It’s manipulative. It needs to be done. Damian has 17yrs to win trust, to build a network, to stop the invasion. The longer he can stay off the Bats’ radar, the better. He knows he has to play the long game.

(It doesn’t matter that it’s all true.)