#theyre actually CRUEL for taking them away from us

[sircantus]

SBI ROYALTY/PIRATE/MERCENARY/FOUND FAMILY AUS ALL IN ONE ARE YOU READY LET’S GO BABY!!!

so wilbur and tommy are the young princes of the king and queen of whatever kingdom, but the king is cruel to them. so they run away

they end up getting kidnapped and held for ransom…by an infamous pirate. you guessed it!! ✨technoblade✨

phil is a renowned mercenary, recently retired and bored out of his mind. the king doesn’t want the story of his children running away from him to get out (it’s embarrassing and incriminating) sooooo, he hires phil to get them back

cue the found family!!!! techno and phil realize how badly the king screwed wilbur and tommy up

and soooooo he just doesn’t bring them back home

it takes some convincing, but techno finally allows phil and the boys to stay in the…relatively…safe space that is techno’s home when he’s not off pirating

that’s it :)

OH SHIT THATS SUCH A FUN COMBO FOR AN AU

Crimeboys being royalty is so funny in contrast with emduo being men against the law like theyre not spoiled exactly they have struggled in mistreatment but theres also still the factor of living in comfort as royalty and Techno can only offer ok living quarters but its still amazing to them. Techno, showing them the sleeping quarters tucked in the corner of the ship like “Sorry youre probably used to actual beds but this is what we got” “no no this is perfect-“ “THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME”

Also the angst factor of Tommy and Wil fearing being sent Back more than being kidnapped in general. Techno sees the way they freeze up at being told theyll eventually go back to the castle once the money comes through and hes like “hm. Odd reaction for kids lost from home. Shouldnt they be relieved?”

Also them being fearful of Phil when they find out he’s there to take them back too. He tries to calm them down by being like “i was sent by your father the king im here to take you home” thinking thatll have them go along quietly and instead they just start screaming “TECHNOOOOO”

[quigzahhutt]

if only you knew I only smile like this when I'm with you

Alex version (sorta) of this post

[the-s1lly-corner]

Calling them pretty girl 3/3

Yall ever sit down for too long and get pain in your kidney areas yes or no VEE ALSO USES SHE/THEY PRONOUNS LETS GOOOOO I LOVE LEARNING ABOUT CHARACTERS I OTHERWISE WOULDNT LOOK TOO DEEP INTO

Characters: Shelly, vee, ginger, bobette

Notes: reader is gn, toon reader, can be read as pre or post game, mostly focuses on canon character, short post, written on mobile

CWs: none

SHELLY

see youve called her smart before, you love listening to her ramblings and quick facts about her interest in fossils an old species-- but pretty? of course you never made her feel not pretty but...

the wording of "pretty girl" makes her fall silent for a minute- it feels casual, and in some contexts it may even be less innocent... but youd never be cruel or demeaning to her

she definitely thinks hard on it but in the moment she thanks you for it

VEE

heh... of course shes pretty! youve got to look your best for a show..! dont let their tone fool you, vee's definitely saving your words somewhere in her head to listen to every now and then

she wont lie though... pretty girl sounds a little corny, and shes going to (lightly) tease you about it. oooo you not only think shes pretty but you think shes a girl ooooooo/lh

"youre not too bad looking yourself." and she kind of just walks away to do what needs to be done- you thought youd be able to fluster her before her show? HAH think again!

BOBETTE

so so so used to tending to others and uplifting them that your comment on her looks kind of takes her off guard for a second- before she bounces right back into her upbeat energy

pretty girl wouldnt be her first choice of what to be called but she takes what shes given! besides you put so much effort into the words...! and she'd be lying if she said it didnt still make her feel nice..!

happy little gingle noises... you... never could understand where the sounds came from- maybe theres bells somewhere on her..? actually now that you thought of it they kind of sound like theyre coming from her head...-

GINGER

well i'd say she'd hide behind her hair but... no... well she still can, she definitely does hide under her hair... and probably stumbles over something thanks to the sudden blindness

shes... shy.... among other things... sure youve helped lift some of those insecurities of hers, but theyre still... ever lingering... a part of her deep down almost wants to deny you

but you said it so earnestly that she just cant bring herself to do it- you really think shes pretty?

[idiotwhowritesshipstuff]

Hmmm can I get Mukuro and Mikan (seperate) with a male S/O that's actually aware that said girl is a yandere and is Into it but they're unaware that he's aware of their true nature and ends up finding out when he walks in on her after she's killed someone and actually helps her get rid of the evidence surprising her.

Alright you picked some good ones as they would react similarly but I get to highlight the differences between them.

I don't mind being asked to change a gendered request to have a different gender.

Btw unless the request explicitly wants it, Mukuro scenarios will usually have her never reuniting with Junko after running away or Junko ate shit and died. Yandere scenarios will never have Junko as anything other than backstory because she would 1000% kill reader to make Mukuro despair (Unless the scenario is like Yandere Mukuro kills Junko after she tries to kill reader).

Mod Monaca

TW: Yandere, Murder, Medical Malpractice for Mikan, mentions of crippling people (though how theyre crippled isn't specified), child abuse mentions for Mikan and it is mentioned that Mikan tortures people but no detail of the torture she inflicts is mentioned it simply states that she tortures.

Mukuro Ikusaba and Mikan Tsumiki with a male s/o hiding evidence of their crimes out of love for them

When Mukuro finds out you hid evidence out of love for her, her first thought is to kick herself for inconveniencing you. She's a trained killer who shouldn't have made such a rookie mistake and left evidence that you needed to clean up for her.

It never really clicks to Mukuro that you loving her in spite of her being a yandere is odd. She knows she doesn't show love the way most people do but her actions are all for you so the thing that shocks her the most about this situation is that you actually like her in general. Mukuro didn't ever need you to reciprocate her feelings, all she needed was for you to be in her life whether you knew it or not so for you to actually like her personality and care about her enough to dirty your hands is beyond her wildest dreams.

She's never been one to flaunt the things in life like her sister used to but with you two now as boyfriend and girlfriend following her botched coverup, she becomes more bold in the sense that she'll show you affection in public so long as you aren't against it, she's more open to showing how jealous she gets when you spend time with other people but she'll never become the clingy girlfriend, she prefers to be the quiet and intimidating girlfriend who's protective of people oogling at her boyfriend.

Mukuro's not the type of yandere to kidnap you, she'll only ever do it if she felt your life was actually being threatened or if you were someone who had many many admirers but with you two dating and her knowing that you actually like her, she'll only ever keep you locked away if someone threatened your life.

If Mukuro finds herself killing someone again to "protect you" or simply entertain you if you like the act of her committing murder, she'll make extra sure to cover up the crime so that you won't ever have to be inconvenienced by her sloppiness. Honestly bringing up that case will make her extremely flustered which would normally come across as cruel and sadistic considering her actions, to you who loves her willingness to kill others for you, it probably just elevates her attractiveness.

When Mikan discovers what you did and how you feel, she cries. Mikan knows how disgusting her actions are, she hoped you would never know about the fact she either cripples or kills people who take you away from her by getting too close and removing precious time you two get to spend together. She thought you finding out about her actions and true nature would cause her to have a breakdown over you hating her but instead she's having a meltdown from love and adoration over the fact you still forgive her even after knowing she's a killer and a sloppy one at that.

Mikan wants nothing more than to be forgiven for her actions and existence, she hid her actions from you out of fear she would lose the person who forgave her existence so for you to still be able to look in her the eye and say you love her despite knowing how depraved her thoughts can be, it stops her behavior from escalating even further than it already has.

Unlike Mukuro who doesn't want to be the clingy girlfriend, Mikan is more than happy to be the clingy girlfriend who is always by your side. She doesn't care how much she gets mocked for it as all she needs is you by her side to shower her with attention. Having you by her side lets her feel any sort of confidence, normally when people outside of her try to flirt with you she would simply plan to cripple or kill them depending on the person but since she now actually has you as her boyfriend who wholeheartedly supports her possessiveness and jealousy, she may actually be confident enough to get them to back off without resorting to violence though she will resort to it if they either refuse to back down or if you simply want her to.

So long as you two don't break up, Mikan won't ever kidnap you. If you had found out about her crime and rejected her, she would've kidnapped you and left you in a state where you're not suffering in agony per say but you will need to be nursed for the rest of your life but since you didn't hate her for what she did and actually started dating her, she would see no need for such drastic measures.

If Mikan kills again out of jealousy, she would ask if you want to join her or at the very least be able to watch. Mikan has a morbid fascination with torture and gore and with her medical knowledge and abusive childhood, she's quite adept at torture so if you would like to see her do it in person or in video, she is happy to let you see.

[paingoes]

What would LW!Lorelai and Aegean Seas Delta be like? Like if Delta's parents had gotten Lorelai instead of Paris.

oughhh good question!!!! i feel like ive already established lorelai as someone who needs a certain amount of conflict and action to thrive. this is true across both universes. the way Aegean Seas programming works is by traumatizing the students into requiring a certain amount of pressure to hold them together. they’ve adapted to extreme conditions and will decompress without them. like deep sea fish! this is part of why AS!paris is struggling so much.

i feel like lorelai might struggle with this even more? not so much a desire to be useful, but just a desire for something to happen. putting her in a peacetime nation feels like a cruel joke. 

at the same time, a big reason canon lorelai seeks out conflict so much is because she was so sheltered growing up. AS!lorelai cannot say the same. so in the beginning, i imagine the change in environments is actually kind of welcome! shes got a deep appreciation for nature and would probably find the coastal setting very cool. i doubt she’s seen anything like it before.

additionally she lucks out with delta, who is not cruel and also not a creep! Aegean Seas isnt as patriarchal as canon but I imagine there’s still misogyny in that universe and so delta’s reaction to her arrival is not just like. “why the fuck would you buy a person” its also like. “why the fuck would you buy a GIRL??? thats sick. youre sick.”

so i think hes like. lightly creeped out by her being there and only calms down after observing her for a while. lorelai def gets hit w/ the benevolent misogyny whenever she’s in a whumpee position. delta probably feels less of a need to control her just because she’s not unstable or argumentative the way paris is.

she starts chafing after the first two months at around the same time he gets comfortable telling her what to do. its not the bossiness she necessarily minds, she’s used to it, kind of into it. its just that it feels like the things theyre doing are all futile and pointless. she resents delta for his position in the aristocratic and how hedonistic he is about everything. he does not take his position seriously at all and he doesnt dignify the real politics that affect everyone he rules over. its fucked up! 

and she’s obviously not really doing it to spite delta. she just feels powerless and thats her outlet for it. but delta takes it fairly personally in a “can you stop acting like my mom” way at first that eventually turns into a “who the fuck do you think are?” way. will threaten to muzzle her. 

i feel delta must sense on some level thats its very easy to cross lines with her and accidentally find yourself on the other side of something you cant come back from. AS!paris is kind of a kicked dog and AS!lorelai is…not. i think if you damage her trust, you’ve really damaged it, and things will not be the same afterwards. delta cares about her enough to want to avoid this. he still muzzles her ❤️‍🩹

i think her needling will get to him at some point and achieve net positive change in him. but her own boredom and sense of powerlessness will eat away at her until she becomes more reckless and volatile and boundary pushing. shes kind of giving scheming adviser here. takes advantage of her general respectability and guilelessness - “who, me?” - to get away with more and more direct involvement in statecraft and revolutionary signaling. 

tl;dr lady macbeth? but like, nice.

[imlivinginyourtrashcan]

Request granted,tell me everything you have time to tell me about

Ok!!!! So the one thats been on my mind lately thars not exchanged, is a lab/scientist au.

Naven Nuknuk is the lead scientist and he uses his speech therapy program to trick Molly, Feenie and Trixie into becoming his test dummies. Hes successful and mashes the girls into a horrifying amalgamation; like this!

Yoomtah and Zora are his assistance, with Yoomtah being very NOT okay with what he's doing. Zoras indifferent cuz shes getting paid (in this au the events of the Museam arc didnt happen)

Lorelai (who actually cares about her sister in this au!!! WHAT?!?! OMG ITS UNHEARD OF!!!) starts getting the feeling somethings wrong and takes matters into her own hands, searching for the three girls until finding Giovanni (in this au theyre friends) and shes like "yo gio help me out" and hes like "bet, trix is my cousin don't want her getting hurt at all"

Then they go to thw police n are all "yo help us out" and theyre like "mehhh" cuz they dont think theyre serious (Yoomtah has been sending Lorelai clues and tidbits about where they are) but Percy takes it seriously n is like "ok bet gotchu" n sends a search party

Meanwhile Naven is testing on the poor girls and keeps em in a room with Rick (whos his test tube baby and essentially a human fish with sentience)

After a lot of gaps in plot; this happens:

Lorelai runs up to the door, banging on its metalic surface hard enough to injure herself. She pulls it back, shaking it aggressively,

"You okay???" Giovanni asks, peering over her shoulder in order to get a better look at her hand

"No!" Lorelai replies with the obvious, sucking her teeth in. "The doors bolted shut!"

She takes out her phone, pulling up the number that 'The Zinger' had been texting her with, scrambling to type with one hand

LORELAI:We r here ope door

LORELAI:*were

LORELAI:*open

LORELAI:Sort wridt hurts tryib to type wigh one hand

THE ZINGER: LMFAOOO did u try punching the door??

LORELAI: do n luagh at m

The Zinger sends a gif of a smug looking cat

THE ZINGER: Dokayyyyyyy

THE ZINGER: Sadly, naynay kept the outside door non elecy, so ur gonna hafta figure that out urself 😗😗✌️✌️

"Shit!" Lorelai half screamed

"What?" Giovanni asks

"The doors not electrical! Woulda been nice to know that EARLIER, Zinger!"

"Awh come on!"

Giovanni takes out his CRUEL CRIME CROWBAR, walking up to the door. He sets one foot in it, hooking the crowbar beneath the doors handles. Once hes locked it, he yanks it until the door loosens.

"Good thing I had this!" He says, giving the door a light kick as pay back for giving them trouble. He gestures for Lorelai to follow him inside, and they enter in together to see..

Naven..

He turns to face them, with a phone in his hands. Yoomtahs.

"My my my, how persistant the two of you are!" He sets the phone on the table, setting his hands firmly behind his back as he inches closer. "Its almost..."

He stops when he's face to face with Lorelai, creaking open his eyes. The smile on his face laced with hatred and mal-intent.

"Infuritating..."

He lifts his lanky body back from her gaze, his eyes falling closed. He turns away from them

"I'm afraid youre too late, however"

"Woah wah woah woah woah what- what do you mean??" Giovanni asks, his shoulders tensing. Naven lets out a small chuckle in response,

"Would you care to see?"

He begins to walk off, drawing in the uneasy curiosiry of Lorelai and Giovanni.

They stop outside of a room, which Naven opens with the keycard. Giovanni and Lorelai hear strained, pained moans from inside. Naven enters the room, the other two scuttling behind him like scared crabs. Theyre brought to a stop at what they see, a large mushed glue monster of what was once was a person. The faces of Molly, Feenie and Trixie sticking out, all wailing painfully.

Lorelai covers her mouth, eyes wider than saucers. Giovanni can barely speak, even though his mouth was opens.

Navens stands in front of the abomination.

"This is what I had been up to all this time, Isn't she beautiful?"

Lorelais shock morphed into rage, hands forming into fists. "What. Did you do?!"

"Something glorious..." he extends his arms, his pink eyes shooting open for the first time. His smile unhinged and manic, pupils the size of grapes. "ARENT YOU PROUD OF WHAT I'VE DONE?! ARENT YOU PROUD OF MY WORK! LOOK AT HER! GAZE INTO HER MANY EYES AND REVEL AT MY OWN CREATION!"

...

I may or may not have been inspo'd by ur pfp

[upsidedowngrass]

Charlotte post NOW (/j only if u want!!)

AHHH charlotte jumpscare!!!!!!!

im not sure what SPECIFICALLY to post abt her bc this ask is a little vague, BUT i do think abt her a lot!!! tho i DO gotta think about her more, she is a WONDERFUL character

bc idk what specifically, my interpretation of her post canon and WHY (also under a readmore because WOW!! i had apparently a lot to say abt her):

i think!!! she is a LOT more mellow after she gets home. like in one 16 after shes respawned its like. she seems to be friendlier? which. i think has to do w like... i dont think she was a bad person really, and i dont think shed been acting Maliciously, but when it came to having friends i think it was really easier for her to genuinely take things as worst as they could be. we dont actually get much of her backstory, so its up to interpretation as to WHY, but i think she genuinely struggled with being distrustful of those close to her. she likes them, that much is clear, but trusting people is a whole other thing

but i think she really DID view her friends as pitying her. as not respecting her, even when they werent Being cruel. they were concerned for her safety, and how her recklessness was affecting her. and i think that can end up walking a line between pity and not wanting your friends to do things that are pretty unambiguously dangerous, and what was very standard friendship ended up feeling a lot MORE like they didnt respect her or her choices

and i think what changes this is that. she DID die. and i think that contextualized for her that her friends werent concerned because they thought she couldnt handle herself, but because they just Generally care abt her yknow? as fucked up as her dying is, i think it did ultimately make her realize that THIS is what her friends were worried about. they didnt want THIS to happen to her, and i think in an odd way? it kinda made her. idk understand? trust? the people around her more. like in a 'oh, people around me dont only care about me for selfish reasons, or cruel reasons. they care because they CARE' way

and i think that, and the fact that she says that shed been thinking about this a lot? i feel like it kinda all forced her to slow down and WANT to talk to the people around her. because shed been pushing them all away because what was the point in talking to them? and i think once she REALLY noticed how amelia was doing, after thinking so much about all this, it kinda MADE her want to amend things. or at the very least, to talk to people more. shes isolated herself long enough, and its now more than ever that she realizes how much others meant to her in the first place.

(i think in some aspects, amelias method of coping also bothered her. amelias coping mechanisms werent necessarily BAD, theyre not good by real-world standards, but given the situation shes in, it was just... once of the few ways she COULD cope. but i think the flaws in this method of coping really came through once airy came back, because in forgetting everything about who she used to be, earth became a very daunting place, but now that airys back, any amount of feeling like home the plane may have unfortunately gained was completely undone. and i think charlotte actually SEES that, and its not the exact same as her own struggles, but i think she WANTS to help amelia, because she of all people knows how the feeling of being isolated, either on purpose or accident, can feel Extremely Awful. that, and she knew amelia before things on the plane got REALLY bad, and she SAW (since ive seen people note that she!!! was watching amelia do yoga w the others) amelia gradually give up, become comfortable, and then LOSE all of that

and i think, at least right before bryce showed up, it felt fucked up that charlotte WAS the only other person from the same world as amelia and theyd!!! never even spoken about it??? (like how she comments that they NEVER told each other their names. which only applies to her and amelia. that statement was intended very specifically towards amelia) and its like. i think it mightve made her a bit 'no WONDER shes not doing well. even if shes trying to act like she is' (which i dont even think amelia is doing to deflect so much as an attempt at 'if i pretend its ok it WILL be ok right?'))

and!!! once getting home i think this would all really lead her to be a bit more patient with others. i dont think the distrust would STOP being an issue, but i think such a terrible experience causing her to completely recontextualize the actions of those around her would actually help, at least a little . i dont actually know if i think shed stay friends w parker and that friend group, but i think theyd at the least keep in touch. parker clearly, even when they were arguing, STILL cared about her, and i think seeing her disappear probably was. a bit haunting, and so i think at the very least hed like to know shes Okay

also whenever people have the characters live together post canon, they only ever include bryce liam and amelia, and i GET why!!! charlotte didnt really interact w them for a looong time. but after charlotte is revived i actually see her as talking with them yknow? i dont think shed stop talking to them again, and i think her talking with amelia was a genuine attempt to help!! so i think theyd stick together. i dont imagine liam actually gets closer with any of the contestants while hes trying to send them home (tho i dont think it worsens substantially either. i think it just sorta. stays where it is? and if he did have notable interactions with any of them, itd PROBABLY be mainly w amelia and bryce, tho i dont think he DOESNT talk to charlotte too! he just has a diff sort of connection w those to, based on the experiences he Shared w them) so i think he isnt SUPER close w charlotte, but i think the others may become WAY closer w her!!! so i think if they all moved in together? that WOULD include charlotte!!! (that, and i think charlotte would also develop a sort of respect for liam . because he kinda DOES display exactly the type of traits she didnt really see people as having!!! going to EXTREME lengths to help people, including HER! so i think shed generally have many thoughts on him)

anyway !!! thats it the point is that as much as one would fuck charlotte up in her own way, i think, similar to how bryce tried to get his life together after he was first eliminated, shed similarly end up having a better ability to navigate social stuff in not such a pessimistic way as before!!!!!

[vazelbeak]

When I think about it the Cherubs episode was such a missed opportunity to work off research and world build.

Like stay with me here but imagine if when sent to Lyle it wasn't because he was going to commit suicide (partially because i find it a rather tone deaf handling of the topic) but because Lyle is on deaths doorstep after a full life and IMP and CHERUB respectively are tasked with making sure he ends up in heaven or hell.

CHERUB being angels are nice but in a rude way. Blitzø, Millie, and Moxxie are respectively told in sing song voices "go for a walk and don't let the door hit you on the way out". The thing is as angels Cherubs can't be openly rude and risk getting in trouble so their work around is saying mean things cloaked in nice language. The idea would be mimicking that of plenty religious people who say cruel things but cloak it in kindness.

However demons don't need that. They can be as rude as they want which means Blitzø has no problem shoving past them even if Moxxie and Millie feel bad. Blitzø may also be aware that The kindness Cherubs use is an act.

Lyle doesn't have long so there's only a handful of things they can do to get him damned to hell fast.

They go threw various shenanigans of Cherub trying to show all the great things he'd be able to do in heaven while the IMPs argue what they can't do until they get to the mention of not being able to swear and Cleetus is mad. So mad we get introduced to how Cherubs are a form of Cherubim. Meaning Cleetus doesn't normally look like this 24/7 he looks like a rough approximation of your typical depictions as in text there appears to be a lack of direct ones.

Minus the skin.

As Blitzø is grabbed (maybe throw in a cartoony squeak for exaggeration) by Cleetus who yells in his face "Listen here you disgusting mangy fucking rat!" They hear a groan and both turn to see Lyle died of a heart attack from the sight of Cleetus's actual form. The other 4 demons and cherubs were right next to him with shocked looks on their faces as one of them (probably Colin but Keenie who finishes because he can't even finish thr sentence) says "he said he'd rather be in a field of fire than caged in divinity."

His sin was therefore denouncing god. Which hey, Blitzø will take that.

As Cleetus goes back to his Cherub form he starts shaking Lyle and tries to do chest compressions before a portal to heaven appears. Because Cleetus had an outburst and killed a person he tried to argue it was IMP's fault, but because theyre viewed so lowly nobody believes him

"you couldnt handle three little imps? Hells weakest demons? Honestly Cleetus we expected more of you. Looks like you need another anger management class."

And as he's dragged away he yells "Not anger managment! Anything but that! Please! It comes out of my paycheck!"

Once he's gone Colin and Keenie are sent to a sensitivity training class to avoid talking any chances of Cleetus as a bad influence. They insist they were gonna be taking time off this upcoming week but its ignored.

Once it closes Blitzø, Millie, and Moxxie intend to go home but at they do Moxxie asks Millie "Do you think that guy had a point in what he said. That its better to live a life free and in misery, than in one of comfort with the price of subjugation?"

Millie thinks for a moment before responding. "Mox if Blitzø and those little angels were telling the truth about anything they were saying, my mom always told me that if you ever try to buy a horse and the rancher shows you two with different issues. Chances are he has a third he doesn't want you to know about."

What does that mean? I think at some point Moxxie should question why he stays with IMP and doesn't go anywhere else to work. He and Millie deserve episodes exploring why they work here out of all other options.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Uhh i request you

<-forgot everything about creepypasta after stopping reading fanfics

Uhhhhhhh

Um

...slenderman uhhhhm meeting reader who is the same.. species? Found family????? Reader being chipper and welcoming?? Artistic and calming?? Basically um. I dunno. They also live in the woods and collect poor souls, helping them cope and detach from this world??????

I am.. stoopid.

Slenderman x slender-person!artistic!reader ! (found family)

dusts out my slenderman hcs as well as my au ideas on him aheehee ahoo speed running this since i just put my first round of macarons into the oven and im too impatient to wait until theyre done baking for me to write this NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT

okay but im getting this idea out of the way before i forget. imagine the reader, instead of doing paintings and stuff for the "artist" thing they make little structures and statues and stuff and have them around in your area. of course theyre all made with forest material; mud, sticks, pinecones, ect ect i dont know, i just love the nature aesthetic with this idea and rrrraaaaaAAAAH

for some reason or another, you make your home in the same woods THE slenderman lives in; or perhaps it was the otherway around? regardless, it doesnt take long for you to become aware of one another....

okay but how funny would it be if you guys bonded over your annoyances over people collecting your stuff. people taking his pages, and people taking your art projects (at least the ones that are portable). like!

though i cannot think of any lore reasons for slendermans pages in my au.... i will one day i promise, i feel like thats too much of an iconic thing to just cut out

it DOES take a long while for slenderman to get used to you, much less foster a friendship with you... but a family bond? i mean yeah sure, hes very reclusive... but thats not just with humans. he doesnt like interacting with other creatures, either

pats your shoulder

my moot

my dear moot, allow me to go on a tangent about my take on slenderman

basic summary is that he and all other demon/most nonhuman creepypasta characters were made by zalgo in my funky au; basically to bring disorder and that kind of shit. but like in a "this is just a part of this universe's nature" way. thus making slenderman himself in my take the be a simple fact of life... thinks.. and he resents his own existence, i think. i mean how cruel is it that he was made to cause issues, in fact he cant live without it (eats people) but he was granted the ability to be able to grasp the complexity of morals and emotion. like thats fucked

i love it

anyways, theres that and him just naturally being reclusive! hell even his supposed "brothers" (splendor and trender, i refuse to touch the third one) hes still.. distant

basically what i mean to say is that you guys probably arent going to be.. outwardly close... if that makes sense. like hes not going to be very affectionate; so dont expect many familial... things... and its not often that he would seek conversation out... though

as i write that, if i recall correctly i did give him the vague craving of connection, and while i usually save that for traditional x reader stuff, i think this would still apply to found family stuff! so actually, i think he WOULD eventually start seeking your company out, just for the fact of having someone else to talk to who doesnt resent his existence the same way he resents his own

sits

given my silly hc i do think he would have some understanding with your relationship with humans/lost souls. would he do it himself? i think it really depends on the situation... like if hes not actively hunting he usually just drives people out of the woods, no sense in wasting.... things... you know?

sits

im all jumbled all over the place my apolocheese im just excited to write for slenderman again

will get annoyed if you snatch away his "meal" since AGAIN, he was cursed to feed on people . like he understands why you did it, and he has mixed feelings around eating human (like not in a "im distressed and i hate it" way more so "its not totally desirable but i cant survive without doing this" way)

sits

i think

im gonna toy around with my slenderman hcs... this ended up being more of a hc dump than a x reader, my apologies

its also that as im typing this i realize how similar my takes on eyeless jack and slenderman are... which is funny because they live in the same woods in my au but they fucking HATE each other

territorial stuff you know

[writing-for-marvel]

Alright, so I know what kind of pain I’m in for with this first part, I’ve prepared myself as best I can but something tells me that I still won’t be able to handle it without sobbing my eyes out

“I only scream when there’s good reason.”

This feels like foreshadowing and if she ends up screaming it *will* be the end of me

“You’re hovering again, Barnes,” you say without looking up, and feel his gaze move away from you. Even after all this time, he still doesn’t trust you one bit.

“Show-off,” you mumble as you slip past Bucky and his smugly raised eyebrow.

Eeeeeep it’s the start of their journey and I cannot wait to see them eventually so mushy in love 🥰

Then, there’s a sickening cracking noise, and the pressure is gone from your throat. You stumble forwards, coughing, before you’re pulled back to your feet, fast but not roughly. Blue eyes find yours, a look almost like concern in them.

I know they’re teammates, and I know he’d want to save her anyway, but that *concern* ahhh I just sense he’s already got a soft spot for her

“Well—it’s—tradition!” Each of your words is punctuated by a punch. “And why are you looking at my thigh, Bucky?”

Yes sir exactly whatcha eyes doing gazing down there hmmm

He looks like he’s going to kill you himself. “Geez, I hate you.”

Yeah I *totally* believe you Buck

He catches you by the elbows and shoves you to the side in one fluid motion the same moment another shot sounds.

IM NOT READY

You fall to your knees next to Bucky, frantically pressing your hands on the wound in his chest. There’s so much blood. How is there so much blood?

WHY MUST THIS BE SO PAINFULLL

His blue eyes find yours. They’re impossibly wide. “So—so stupid,” he pants and his face distorts in pain.

HE IS ON THE BRINK OF DEATH AND HE IS STILL TEASING HER IM SOBBING BUT THEYRE STILL SO CUTE

You scream.

I KNEW IT

You scream because nothing is okay, because you’re useless, because none of this should have happened and it’s all your fault, and you’re clutching Bucky’s hand in yours because maybe if you hold onto him tightly enough, he’ll come back and all of this will seem like a bad dream.

THATS IT IM DEAD NIKA YOUVE KILLED ME ALONGSIDE BUCKY 💀💀

Okay I needed to take time to calm down… even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn’t handle all the emotions.

You swallow down the bile that rises in your stomach and carefully twist your rings around on your fingers, one after the other. All of them are completely pitch black, darker than you’ve ever seen them.

Why is it that even though I’m in the comfort of my own bedroom that I need to actively remind myself that this isn’t actually happening to me… the emotions are just so vivid

Still, you’ve never gone this far back. And isn’t this about making today a better day, really?

Mmmm something in my gut is telling me she’ll somehow find a way to make this day worse if that’s even possible

Damn those dopamines your therapist keeps telling you about.

lol this made me laugh, just hits a little close to home

“You used that one earlier,” you say, shaking your head in faux disappointment. “Are you running out of nicknames, Sammy?”

Their banter is EVERYTHING 🥰

You turn, surprised at the question, to find Bucky’s gaze lingering on your hands. Not for the first time, you silently curse his perceptiveness. “Yeah,” you say, crossing your arms.

Just his perceptiveness… or perhaps it’s his interest in you 👀

AHH AND THE ENDING!!!! I’m so excited to drive back into this series Nika, I know it’s your baby and I can’t wait to read all the love and care you’ve put into creating such a unique story, you’re fucking brilliant

My favourite thing about how you write is just how many emotions you can make me feel in such a short span, and this chapter is the best example of this, how you give a snippet of hope only to crush it each time (you’re so cruel for that but it makes me love you even more)

time after time [1]

series summary: After what starts out as a fairly normal mission, you find yourself stuck in a time loop. Which would already be bad enough in itself if it didn’t also mean having to watch Bucky die over and over again.

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

word count: 6.0k

chapter warnings: canon-typical violence, accidentally starting a time loop, banter, pretty angsty to start us off with ngl, reminder to read the fic premise. please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning.

a/n: happy groundhog day and welcome to the first instalment of the series i’ve been sitting on since july. i’ve always loved time loop storylines, so i thought, why not indulge myself and put my own twist on it?

series masterlist | main masterlist | read on ao3

one: turn back the clock

Your mother used to call it a gift, but for most of your life, your powers had felt more like a curse.

It began when you were a toddler; small hops backwards through time barely noticeable to anyone but yourself, or an afternoon lost to everything speeding up around you. Sometimes, the world would just stop spinning for an hour or two and you would wander between the frozen people, crying and confused, until things finally picked up speed again and your parents would shout your name because you’d simply disappeared before their very eyes.

When you got older, you found out that this little quirk of yours could be useful every now and then. If a teacher asked a question you didn’t know the answer to, you learned to will yourself back just enough to keep up your participation score. It didn’t particularly feel right, but it was one of the few benefits your strange powers provided, then.

For the most part, you couldn’t control it, though. For the most part, it meant having to relive painful moments and rush through the good ones. It meant screaming into people’s unmoving faces until your voice got hoarse because you couldn’t figure out how to get time to move again.

You assumed what you were going through was what everyone was talking about when they spoke of déjà-vu, until you mentioned it to your mother one day and she sighed deeply and said, “oh honey, I thought it had stopped.”

Maybe your family had more secrets than you’d given them credit for.

“You’re such a special girl,” they would tell you later. Such a special, clever girl. This is a great thing, you know. It’s your talent to make things right, make them the way they should be.

It was your own mistake that you started to believe their lies.

*****

“Something is very, very wrong here,” you say quietly.

“You always say that,” Sam says, securing the room ahead and then nodding for you to follow him.

“Yeah, and I’m usually right.” Your fingers are itching for you to flick them and speed up this terrible silence so that you can at least know what’s going on. You ignore the urge, but keep one hand held out in front of you, your thumb and first two fingers pointing upwards. The other hand grips tightly around your automatic.

The hallway doesn’t stretch out very far, but what little of the low sunlight makes it in through the dirty windows gives it a strange, eerie atmosphere. Maybe that’s what you’re picking up on, you try to tell yourself. The air is thick with a stench you can’t identify.

“Lovely interior design,” Sam mumbles. You follow his gaze to a pile of bones that lie scattered in one of the rudimentary holding cells you’re walking past. A spider runs from his flashlight and you grimace.

“Sam,” you say, focusing on the half-extended wings on his back again. “Did you invent this mission to get us to go to a haunted house with you?”

He snorts lightly as he pulls the cloth off the crates that are stacked alongside the wall. There’s a single red handprint near the bottom right of each of them. You almost sigh.

“Do you think I’d pass up the opportunity to hear the two of you scream in terror when the vampire puppets creep up on you?”

“Gotta disappoint you, cap,” you grin and wait for him to check the map. “I only scream when there’s good reason.”

“I don’t wanna interrupt,” Bucky interrupts over the intercom, “but they’re heading your way now, so get a move on.”

“You’re no fun, Bucky.” Still, your eyes flick to your rings. Almost all of them have turned a deep black, with specks of emerald few and far between. Useless. “I probably only have one reset left. Two, if we’re lucky and you two aren’t being stupid again.”

“I prefer heroic,” Sam says and turns back to you, a concerned look on his face. “You alright?”

You nod. “Just haven’t gotten a lot of sleep since London.” Between Sam’s snoring on the plane ride back and the early mornings, you are currently running mostly on strong coffee and lots of sugar. “It’s gonna be fine. Just try not to get killed.”

“Good old-fashioned survival. Reminds me of old times.” Sam’s voice might be light, but you know him well enough by now to tell he’s still worried. Your stomach twists with it.

“Can’t say that, bud,” Bucky says. “Twenty seconds.”

“You need to repair Redwing,” you tell Sam. “Being the lookout makes Barnes cranky.”

“You forget that he’s always cranky.”

While you’re still bantering, you place the explosives you’ve brought next to the wall Sam has pointed out. It’s not the most elegant way, but there hasn’t been time to research key codes or break in quietly, so you’re going in with a bang.

Sam and you take cover behind the shield. The little timer starts counting down from ten.

“Any time, Buck,” Sam says. “Five. Four.”

Two shots find their marks outside. You turn your head to see one of the people in white fall through the far entrance of the hallway, holding their knee in pain.

“One.”

You shut your eyes just in time before the door gets blasted off its hidden hinges. A cloud of dust hits your face and you start coughing violently.

“Everyone alright?” Bucky shouts and you grimace at the volume of his voice in your ear.

“Yeah,” Sam answers. “Our wrinkle in time here just decided to inhale some metal.” He claps you on the back a few times until the grime has finally cleared from your lungs. “You good?”

“All good,” you rasp, roughly drying your eyes with your sleeve.

It’s times like this, you think, that your powers are truly the most useless. There’s no way for you to go back and unclog your lungs of whatever atrocities you just inhaled. You’re cursed to always stay exactly as you are.

“Are you guys waiting for a formal invite?” Bucky asks, walking past you without a single glance in your direction.

“Any more comin’?” Sam looks down the now opened entryway. Just like you expected, the lab on the other side seems empty.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Bucky answers, “but I’d rather not stick around to find out.”

You take a look over your shoulder back down the hall at where the white jacket is still lying, unconscious. In the gloomy light, there are strange reflections moving across their goggles, and you can’t help but frown as the uneasy feeling sinks deeper into your bones. Like a tingle that claws its way down your spine to settle in your fingertips. You pull your gun out of the holster.

“Don’t you feel like this is way too easy?” you say quietly, reassuming your position between the two of them.

“Yup,” Sam says, shield still held up in front of him. He keeps moving forward.

The lab is smaller than you expected, crammed with tables that are overflowing with strangely colored concoctions and stacks upon stacks of papers. You take a step closer, trying to make sense of the strange chemical formulas scribbled next to a bunch of tables and graphs. It’s not exactly your strong subject, though, and you can’t really concentrate with someone else breathing down your neck.

“You’re hovering again, Barnes,” you say without looking up, and feel his gaze move away from you. Even after all this time, he still doesn’t trust you one bit.

“This isn’t it,” Sam says, closing the last of the filing cabinets with a bang. “They must’ve cleared out before we got—here. Alright.”

Bucky makes him take a step to the side before hooking his metal arm into the cabinet and pulling. With a screech of protest, the entire thing slowly moves open to reveal a broad winding staircase leading downwards. Another wave of the horrid smell hits you, even stronger now, like something metallic that’s being set on fire.

“Show-off,” you mumble as you slip past Bucky and his smugly raised eyebrow.

The stairs go down deeper and deeper for a lot longer than you'd expected, lit by motion detector lights that turn your shadows into overly large figures on the opposite wall. It doesn’t ease your premonition in the slightest. Finally, everything opens up and you look down into a large, almost cave-like room. It extends pretty far backwards before it splits into several tunnels that remind you of the one you spotted when you got out of the quinjet earlier.

But despite the stone walls and your being several feet underground, it is surprisingly warm down here, probably due to the several giant containers placed along one of the walls that seem to be the source of the atrocious smell. They are also faintly glowing.

“Are we gonna get radiation poisoning?” you ask. “Because you definitely don’t pay me enough for that.”

“I doubt they’d send their own people ‘round the perimeter with nothing more than a face mask if those things were radioactive,” Sam says. “And you’re here voluntarily.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” you mumble, but you follow him anyway.

Unlike the lab upstairs, everything here looks orderly, almost pristine. Not a single sheet of paper is unfiled, the metal tables are empty and wiped clean. There’s a gentle whirring sound that leads your gaze to several monitors, some of which are showing different maps and security camera footage while others seem to be tracking the progress of some sort of test.

“Look at that,” Sam says, stepping closer to the containers. “What is that?”

A dark blue liquid is slowly dropping out of a hole near the bottom of one of the containers. Bucky kneels down next to it.

“Don’t touch that!” you say quickly and he rolls his eyes.

“I wasn’t going to.” Sam hands him a little glass vial and Bucky carefully scoops up some of the liquid with his left hand.

“Maybe we can send that to Banner, have him take a look.” Sam walks over to the computers and plugs in a drive. “We’ll make a copy of that for Torres and then get out of here.”

“What do you think that is?” you wonder, crossing your arms in front of your chest. Once again, this mission has you feeling unbelievably superfluous.

“Not the serum. Wrong color,” Bucky answers as if he could read your thoughts. He pockets the vial in his jacket and stands up. “You’re hovering again, Y/L/N.”

You’d roll your eyes, too, if you didn’t know that’d only make that stupid smirk reappear. “Can we leave before I do something he’ll regret?” you shout at Sam.

“That’s sweet,” Bucky smirks anyway.

“I think we have another problem right now,” Sam says, looking up from the monitors. “We’re getting company.”

Only a moment later there’s a thunderous crash and the table to your far left bursts into flames. You stumble backwards. Right overhead, there’s a large round hole where the floor of the small lab on the first floor used to be.

All of a sudden, dozens of people descend upon you from all directions, swarming the lab and surrounding you within seconds. They’re all dressed exactly the same, white jackets over their black overalls, identical white face masks and goggles, and matching black berets.

“Oh, this is like a nightmare flash mob,” you shout as you avoid the first kick to your face. “They must’ve sounded a silent alarm!”

“D’you think?” Bucky huffs, punching another white jacket in the jaw.

You aim your gun just as Sam flings his wings out, swishing your target off their feet. Behind them, another group closes in. You fire without a second thought, and three of them drop to the ground.

Just as you try to reload your weapon, someone rips it out of your hand and hits you across the face with it. You stumble, eyes welling up, as they grab you around the neck, dragging you backwards with such strength you are forced to the tips of your toes. Your heart is thundering with panic, unbidden mental images threatening to come back to the surface as you try to pry their hands loose to no avail. Black dots are starting to dance across your vision.

Then, there’s a sickening cracking noise, and the pressure is gone from your throat. You stumble forwards, coughing, before you’re pulled back to your feet, fast but not roughly. Blue eyes find yours, a look almost like concern in them.

“I’m fine, Bucky,” you gasp. “Thanks.”

“You tryin’ to suffocate today?” He hands you your gun back and you shrug, pressing the memories all the way back down again.

“Sam might give me a day off if I faint.”

Another explosion has both of you turn your heads up. A shower of glass splinters and burning pieces of paper rains down through the hole on the first floor, taking bits of the ceiling down with it.

“We better get moving,” Sam shouts. “If you take care of the drive and these idiots, I’ll clear the tunnels for a way out of here!”

Wordlessly, Bucky holds up his arm. Sam throws the shield, hitting two more white jackets in the face before Bucky catches it with ease. You kick another one of them in the groin, wrangling the weapon out of their grasp.

“Who the fuck brings a knife to a fight like this?” you shout.

“And what’s that thing on your thigh, you planning a picnic?” Bucky replies, holding up the shield to protect both of you from hailing gunshots.

“Well—it’s—tradition!” Each of your words is punctuated by a punch. “And why are you looking at my thigh, Bucky?”

Before he can answer, there’s a string of curses and the sound of breaking metal directly in your ear. You let go of your weapon as your hands move up, and it stops its fall in mid air as time screeches to a stop.

The sudden silence in the middle of everything that’s been going on would be disconcerting if you weren’t so used to it by now. Everyone is frozen around you as you turn and take a step from behind the shield to see what’s happening on the other side of the room.

Sam is still up in the air, and even from a distance you can see the grimace on his face and the splotches of red on his stomach. One of his wings is at a strange angle, and you look around quickly to find the white jacket still aiming the blaster that must’ve hit him.

You take a deep breath and reach backwards until you feel the old familiar tingling between your fingers. It’s fickle, like it always is, and all the more unpredictable because you’re tired. Still, you force it to wind back, if only a little.

Time resets with a start.

“—on your thigh, you planning a picnic?”

“Two o’clock,” you gasp.

Bucky reacts almost on instinct, taking out the shooter before they can do any harm while you punch your opponent in the face again. It takes you two more blows than last time to take them down. When you look at your hands, they’re shaking. There’s nothing but the slightest wisp of green left swimming in the black of your rings.

“I’m really gonna need you to not be stupid from now on,” you shout as soon as you catch your breath again.

Bucky curses. “Sam, we’re coming now. There’s too many of ‘em to wait ‘round for this stupid thing to copy.”

“Do you need me to come get you?”

“No.” He bashes a white jacket on the head with the shield and throws it against the last one that’s still standing. It doesn’t fly quite in the same elegant way as when Sam does it, toppling over itself and landing on the ground next to the unconscious guard. “Just get the jet started. Can you walk?” he asks you.

“‘Course I can walk,” you say, slightly annoyed, but your eyes are fixed on the monitors on the far side of the room. “I think it’s done.”

“Just get out of there,” Sam says through the comms. “I can see at least another dozen heading in up here.”

You look at Bucky and his eyes narrow at the resolute look on your face. It’s your fault you’re even here in the first place, though. You might as well fix it. It’s only going to take a second, anyway.

“No—” Time glitches. “—thing—” Time stumbles over itself. “—stupid, damnit!” Time moves at an unsteady pace and then moves again as you almost trip over your own feet, pulling the drive out of the computer and holding it up triumphantly just as Bucky reaches you.

“See?” you grin. “All good.”

And then the computer explodes.

You’re thrown against Bucky, who catches your fall somewhat, rolling both of you over and out of harm’s way. Your ears are ringing, and you can tell by the buzzing that your intercom is probably broken. Surprisingly, you both seem unharmed apart from that.

Bucky stares at you, face only a few inches from yours and fury still blazing in his eyes. It almost makes you want to laugh. In fact, it’s exhilarating.

“Do you wanna get out of here or what?”

He looks like he’s going to kill you himself. “Geez, I hate you.”

You get to your feet with a low snort, the adrenaline making you strangely giddy as you catch up with Bucky, who is already stomping back in the direction of the tunnels. “I think this was a great success,” you say lightly, stepping over another body. “If Sam hurries up, we might even make it in time for the fireworks—”

He catches you by the elbows and shoves you to the side in one fluid motion the same moment another shot sounds.

Your head whips around and you throw your knife without hesitation. The assailant slumps backwards. There’s still steam coming out of the blaster that never hit Sam, but you barely notice it. You fall to your knees next to Bucky, frantically pressing your hands on the wound in his chest. There’s so much blood. How is there so much blood?

“No, no no no, this isn’t happening. Bucky!” Your head is empty of coherent thought. There’s just panic. “Sam!”

“Ther—half a—”

You tear the broken intercom out of your ear. “Buck, you have to stay with me. We’re, we’re going to get you home, okay?”

His blue eyes find yours. They’re impossibly wide. “So—so stupid,” he pants and his face distorts in pain.

You feel sick to your stomach. “I know. I know, I’m so—I’m so sorry, I’m gonna fix this.”

You flick your fingers, again and again, but there’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing. You don’t feel the pull, not even the tiniest bit of a quiver. You’re just grasping at air, your powers betraying you once again. A curse.

Bucky starts blurring in front of you and you blink the tears away, refusing to let him out of focus. “Please.”

With concerted effort, he raises his hand to lie on top of yours. “S’okay, doll,” he gets out, his mouth contorting a little. “Y/N. S’okay.”

And then his eyes glaze over.

You scream.

You scream because nothing is okay, because you’re useless, because none of this should have happened and it’s all your fault, and you’re clutching Bucky’s hand in yours because maybe if you hold onto him tightly enough, he’ll come back and all of this will seem like a bad dream. Maybe if you try again, and again, and again, you can make this go away, make it actually okay again, because you don’t know how you’re going to live with yourself if you can’t do the one fucking thing you were supposed to do.

Useless.

You don’t let go of his hand as you press your eyes shut and try to grasp at the edges of your power, try to feel the ridges and flickers in the fabric of everything, reaching out for something, anything, any point in time or space that they can connect to and drag you out of here.

And then they do.

It’s tiny at first, a miniscule spec of something, and you cry out again as you reach out. You feel like your soul is being stripped bare by the effort alone.

Then, it crashes over you like a tidal wave, knocking you forward into Bucky once again. You feel yourself covering his head, cradling it as if that would make a difference. It’s an almost automatic reaction.

Your self seems to expand further and further and shrink at the same time, way worse than it ever has when you’re using your powers, and you feel almost seasick. You press your forehead against Bucky’s.

“I’ve got you,” you whisper. “It’s going to be okay.”

There is an explosion of green light all around you that lifts you up into the air, and then nothing but darkness as you fade out of consciousness.

***

You wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume.

For a moment, you’re completely disoriented, staring at your surroundings in confusion. You’re in your own bedroom back at the Tower, your feet tangled in the sheets and eyes still bleary. You almost let yourself believe that it was all just a nightmare, another horrible dream conjured up by some subconscious remnants of the past, although even the worst of your dreams haven’t felt as real as what you just went through.

The idea is short-lived, anyway.

Your hands are still shaking when you lift them to your face. There’s blood all over your palms and stuck under your fingernails, leaving crimson stains on your bedding. Bucky’s blood.

You swallow down the bile that rises in your stomach and carefully twist your rings around on your fingers, one after the other. All of them are completely pitch black, darker than you’ve ever seen them.

Then again, you’ve never tried anything like this.

You clear your throat and take a deep breath. “FRIDAY?” you say cautiously. The music quietens as the A.I. comes to attention with a gentle tinkle. “What day is it?”

“Today is Friday, July 4th,” FRIDAY tells you.

You huff incredulously, your heart still pounding wildly. Somehow, you did it. It’s yesterday morning again. You actually did it.

Stumbling, you reach your tiny bathroom and stare at yourself in the mirror. There’s a tiny nick on your left cheek from where the white jacket hit you with your gun last night, but you couldn’t care less because you’re back. It worked.

You scrub your hands under the hot water until it runs clear again, still stunned. You can’t remember ever jumping backwards that far, not without feeling completely exhausted anyway, but right now, you’re strangely alright, even though the adrenaline is still rushing through your veins.

The mix of emotions running through your head is so confusing that you don’t notice the band around your wrist until you’re drying off your hands.

It’s so close to your skin it almost looks like a tattoo, partially translucent and glowing dimly emerald. Instinctively, you try to rub at it, but your fingers go straight through it and you feel a tiny spark of electricity. When you hold out your hand at the right angle, you can see it’s made up of tiny symbols forming geometric shapes, moving around your arm in a slow, seamless circle. The longer you stare at it, the more hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

There’s a pounding at your door, followed immediately by Sam’s voice. “Rise and shine, McFly! Time to get your ass kicked!”

You look at the clock on your bedroom wall. It’s shortly before 8 a.m., which gives you almost the entire day before you’re called on that mission. More than enough time to recuperate your powers and figure out a plan to make sure everything goes smoothly this time.

Until then, you just have to act normally.

“Not gonna happen, birdbrain!” you shout back, just like you did yesterday, and go through the pile of semi-clean gym clothes by the foot of your bed. As you get changed, you take another second to look at the strange emerald band around your wrist. Then, you pull a sweatband over it to camouflage it. You’ll deal with this later. For now, it’s training with Sam, a shower and breakfast.

And discreetly checking up on Bucky in a normal, non I Just Watched You Die kind of way. You can totally manage that.

“Don’t ever wake me up like that again!” you call out to Sam, closing the door to your room behind you.

He pushes away from the wall and falls into step next to you, grinning. “Sweet white teenage angst not your style?”

“You’re the worst.” The song is stuck in your head now, too, just like yesterday, but unlike then, you can’t find it in you to be mad about that fact. You did it.

“You’re in a good mood,” Sam remarks as you’re climbing up the stairs and you look at him in surprise. This is new.

Yester-today you didn’t talk at all on your way to the gym, what with you being both tired and annoyed at him. You’re usually wary about changing details during your redos, because the tiniest things can make the outcome of a situation unpredictable.

Still, you’ve never gone this far back. And isn’t this about making today a better day, really?

So you smile. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“Not bad,” Sam says, eyebrow still raised. “Suspicious, maybe. Are you gonna salt someone’s coffee again?”

“I did that one time.” You roll your eyes as you push open the door to the gym. It’s a lot smaller than the one at the Compound was, and you particularly miss the swimming pool, but the view from the Tower is without compare. Midtown looks magnificent in the early sunlight.

You drop your rings into the little metal bowl you keep next to the window and climb into the boxing ring after Sam, stretching your back.

“Let’s get this over with, then.”

Before Sam and Bucky found you, you hadn’t sparred for months and not exactly missed it. Training with soldiers and former assassins who held back every single punch and still managed to drop you on the mat with infuriating ease had never been very fun for you, and what with the universe saved and all, you hadn’t really seen the point in keeping up the practice once the dust blew over. Now that you’re regularly going on missions again, though, you have to stay in shape.

And although you hate to admit it even to yourself, there is something calming about being back in a routine like this. It keeps your head from getting stuck in the fuzzy grayness of it all. Damn those dopamines your therapist keeps telling you about.

Today, though, this today, your eyes are continually drawn to the door while you’re dodging and blocking Sam. It makes you sloppy even by your standards, which are mediocre at best thanks to your impatience. Of course it doesn’t escape his notice.

“What is up with you today?” he asks when he helps you get back to your feet for the third time this morning.

You dab the sweat off your face, hissing when you accidentally rub the cut on your cheek. At least Sam hasn’t said anything about that. “Slept weird,” you say evasively.

“Nightmare?” he offers with a compassionate look.

“Sort of,” you answer. “Feels a little … déjà-vu-y.”

“I know the type,” Sam says. “Wanna talk about it?”

You do. But the time stuff is your problem to deal with, and so you shake your head.

“Alright,” he says, rolling his shoulders back and raising an eyebrow. “Come on, then. You gotta get one kick in, at least, and hurry up, because I’m starving.”

“You could stop moving, then we’re done faster,” you grin. Your stomach is growling, too.

“Nice try, McFly.”

“You used that one earlier,” you say, shaking your head in faux disappointment. “Are you running out of nicknames, Sammy?”

“I’m not gonna be creative for someone who can’t kick above their waistline.”

“How dare you!”

You lose that round, too, but Sam deems you motivated enough to call it a day. He throws his towel over his shoulder and heads to the showers while you lay your head down on the mat and close your eyes for a moment. Waiting.

Yester-today, you didn’t hear Bucky come in, either. He was just sitting next to the ring when you looked to your side, hair sticking to his forehead and shirt clinging to his muscles, still a little damp after his shower. Then, you felt a slight rush of embarrassment at how much of a sweaty mess you were.

Now, you couldn’t care less.

“You look like shit.”

You turn your head and there he is. Living, breathing proof that you actually did do it. And for the first time in a long while, you feel nothing but gratitude for your powers.

Oh, fuck you, Barnes. If you’re sticking to the rules you’ve set for yourself long ago, that’s what you’re supposed to say, because that’s what you said the first time. Change as little as possible.

But even if you hadn’t broken them earlier, you couldn’t do it now. Not when you’re feeling this happy to see Bucky alive again. Alive and well, and slightly grumpy as ever.

So what falls out of your mouth instead is, “You’re looking good.”

Bucky squints at you and you smile at the way his cheeks are still slightly pink from his morning run, proof of his heart still beating. “Did Sam hit you in the head?”

You laugh. “Why, can’t I say that you look good and mean it?”

Bucky tilts his head slightly, but then shakes it. “Nah. You’re messin’ with me.”

“No, I’m not,” you tell him earnestly, sitting up to look at him properly. At his chest, solid and whole and moving calmly. “I’m just … glad you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he frowns.

“I don’t know,” you say, tugging at your sweatband. “It’s been a weird couple of days.”

“Yeah.” He looks at you for another beat, then he shakes his head again and gets up. “Take the towel on the right, I already used the other one.”

“Thanks, Bucky.” You smile at him again, but he averts his eyes.

***

“I probably only have one reset left,” you say, trying to ignore the chill that goes down your spine. “Two, if we’re lucky and you two aren’t being stupid again.”

“I prefer heroic. You alright?”

And for a moment, you hesitate. Because even though the rest of the day has passed pretty much exactly the same as it did the first time up until this point, you’ve felt the doubts creeping in ever since you laid down for a nap in the early afternoon, tossing and turning for the better part of an hour, only to find your rings hadn’t regained even the slightest speck of green.

You’re terrified of the moment you’re going to have to use your powers, because what if with this large jump, you overdid it? What if this time, there won’t be any redos?

No. You’re made of stronger stuff than your doubts, you know that. Things are going to be okay.

You nod with newfound determination. “‘Course I am. It’s gonna be fine.” You flex your fingers to reassure yourself. “Just try not to get killed.”

It’s a plea more than anything else, but of course Bucky doesn’t respond, not to you. Not to it.

“Can’t say that, bud,” he says instead. “Twenty seconds.”

But who’s counting? You close your eyes and hold your breath, balling your hands into fists so tightly it hurts.

“I don’t wanna complain,” Sam says as the dust settles. “But I did expect this to be more difficult.”

“Don’t jinx it, Sam,” you say wrily.

“You’re such a pessimist.” He still raises his shield a bit higher. “Any more comin’, Bucky?”

“Doesn’t look like it.” Your heart twinges slightly, but you bite your lip. Your job is to make sure the mission gets done and everyone stays alive. Both of those things, not just one. “I’m right behind you.”

The lab looks exactly the same as it did the first time, small and crammed and somehow even gloomier today, though that’s probably just your imagination. Now that you know to look for it, you can tell the file cabinet on the far side of the wall doesn’t quite touch the floor, something that Bucky must’ve picked up on immediately.

You feign interest in the papers on the table again, shuffling them to keep your hands occupied. “You’re hovering again, Barnes.”

“You sure you’re alright?”

You turn, surprised at the question, to find Bucky’s gaze lingering on your hands. Not for the first time, you silently curse his perceptiveness. “Yeah,” you say, crossing your arms.

His jaw sets, but he doesn’t comment on your dismissiveness. He just moves to open the cabinet. You don’t find it in you to say anything, and so he doesn’t look quite as happy with himself. It doesn’t give you any pleasure.

When the downstairs lab fills with white jackets, your stomach is still threatening to drop, but you grit your teeth. This is exactly the kind of situation you’ve trained for; the most important thing now is remembering the order of things. Like a dance recital.

Duck to the side. Bucky steps right. Wait for Sam’s move. Shoot. You take another step back before the white jacket can drag you away by the throat again and kick them in the stomach until they stay on the ground, which is a way kinder fate than yesterday’d brought them. You shudder slightly as you turn to look at the hole in the ceiling. Three. Two. One.

The second explosion goes off at the same time as someone shouts your name, and you whip your head around only to be roughly shoved to the side and fall the ground. A large piece of ceiling lands right where you’d just been standing. Which is obviously a different place than yesterday because you knocked that white jacket unconscious. Wow, you’re an idiot.

Bucky seems to agree. “Whatever’s happening right now, you gotta snap out of it.” There’s something about the look on his face that makes your blood boil.

“What’s happening is that I’m trying to fix this,” you say sharply.

“By getting yourself killed?!”

“We need to get moving,” Sam’s voice says on the intercom before you have time to reply. “If you take care of the drive and these idiots, I’ll clear the tunnels for a way out of here!”

Bucky stares at you for another second as if he’s trying to decide on the thing that’s most wrong with you right now. You shove him off you.

He rolls his eyes and gets back on his feet, holding up his arm for Sam to throw the shield his way. By the time you see the white jacket aiming their gun, they’re already pulling the trigger. You throw up your hands.

A surge of emptiness goes through you, unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. Time seems to still for just the blink of an eye as Bucky’s head is thrown forwards.

And then you wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume. The room seems to wobble in front of you as you scramble to your hands and knees in bed, trying to get a proper breath of air.

“FRIDAY.” You almost flinch at the panic in your own voice. “FRIDAY, what day is it?”

“Today is Friday, July 4th.”

chapter two

thank you for reading!! you can follow my library blog @intrepidacious-fics for update notifications 💚

[blazesartbloglmao]

im so sorry (2023 REDRAW)

heyo

if any of you happened to have checked out my youtube channel and scrolled back like 7 years ago, you'd have noticed that 1) ive got a lot of shitty art lmao and 2) i drew this same image all those years ago! ive included the original below the cut, as a way of showing how far ive come in making art since then.

its honestly insane to me that its been 7 years since the initial drawing and not only has the artwork evolved, but so has the story. ive been kind of working on a comic in the background for awhile now, periodically. my books still take precedent and im very much more of a writer than i am a cartoonist, but id love to make this story a reality at some point, even if it'll take a long time.

ill also feature some context under the cut, but for now, i leave you with a link to the speedpaint. said speedpaint took forever to edit and i actually had to loop one of the songs to make it work

anyways, back into the void i go

lucifer (cream cat to the left) and bloodfang (ginger cat to the right) left the city they once called home with a group of other cats, all seeking to escape the cruel cult that reigned supreme, in a post-apocalyptic world where humans died out long enough ago that they've never seen them, but their elders can remember them well enough.

upon reaching this new land, lucifer, who had once been somewhat in a position of power, finds he feels incredibly insecure about what theyre doing now. this new place doesn't value what he's good at (mostly violence and committing atrocities), nor does it hold his belief that only the strong should live. he takes out his aggression on tuft (brown cat in the background), who is doing his best to intergrate himself with the new group of cats that live there.

bloodfang, who was lucifers best friend up until this point, used to share a similar mindset until he went through a few things and learned everything he'd ever thought true was a lie. he attacks lucifer to draw him away from tuft (who is comparatively weaker than those two) and eventually manages to kill him, but not before lucifer brands him in the face with an impressive scar of his own. and, in the eyes of this new group, as a merciless cat killer, capable of turning on anyone at any time.

pictured in the background from left to right are timberheart, dovemist, tuft, rat, ebony and jinx. some of them need design upgrades tbh lmao

and here is the aforementioned original drawing! from 2016 lmao. makes me feel old. anyways, hope you enjoyed!

[beaniebabs]

Heyy here to tell yous abt my sunflora gijinka:3

To start off with. Sanii as a young kid was incredibly weak and because of that he learned at an early age, that if you weren't strong enough to fend off for yourself you would be killed. But all he could rly do in those moments was run away or hide, getting to a point where he couldn't FIND the will or reason to keep going. He was just tired and knowing day after day he'd just have to exhaust himself trying to avoid danger, he didn't want to keep living like that so death sounded like a much easier option.

It got worse when he stumbled upon the activities of team plasma, and not wanting their secrets to get out, they started tracking the kid down. If it weren't for someone stepping in and saving him he would have just given up and let himself be killed in hopes maybe the next life things would turn out better for him.

After he was saved there was a period in his life where he was able to relax a bit, he hadn't healed quite yet but he was finally able to live a life that wasn't just running until you got exhausted. Unfortunately it wouldn't last forever because realizing this person who saved him was actually becoming important to him, his fears once again returned- that something would come for him and this time he would be putting someone else in danger. So without a word he left that night in hopes this would at least keep that person safe.

From them on he had a new goal, not motivated by any real desire to live, but out of pure spite towards the world and how it betrayed him, seemingly going out of it's way to make him miserable at every turn. Throughout his life he'd dedicate his being to enacting his revenge on this cruel world, hurting others as if it could ever take away even a fraction of the pain he felt. He never got stronger bc he wanted to, but bc he grew up in a world that seemed to despise him and forced him to adapt to it's cruelties, becoming just as cold and uncaring </33

When he traveled with his team at first he still held a strong distrust,, he'd only ever used other ppl for his own needs and goals and never putting any real faith in them, then leaving after he'd got what he wanted. Initially he thought this time would be no different, but eventually he does grow to trust and care for the rest of the team- learning that maybe there is more to life than hatred and chasing after revenge.

It seems he learned this too late though, as his years of betrayal finally caught up to him and an old enemy comes back to haunt him. Knowing once again that this time, he'll be putting those he cares about in danger- he runs away so the others won't suffer the consequences of his mistakes. Luckily it doesn't work this time when the people he's running away from in order to protect drags him back. One lady in particular being VERY very insistent that he should stay and that it would be worth fighting off anyone if it meant they could be together and that he'd be happy. Really normal bestie things (Theyr in love) anyways that's all for now I'll explain more some other time.....so be prepared 😈

YIPPEE SANII LORE JOIN THE SANII GANG OR ELSE ‼️‼️‼️‼️ He Is Not A Villain He Is Just So Scared And Hurt And Angry And Confused . Little Meow Meow Prrr Mrrp . the 🥺💖

[mlb-a-rewrite]

There is a difference between a Bad Character and a Badly Written Character.

I have actively and fervently disliked many Bad Characters, but they never ruin the viewing experience for me. Why? Because they aren't Badly Written, they are just Bad.

Their role in the story is to be mean and cruel and unlikeable, but not unreasonably so. They aren't overly cruel and if they are it is built up to and makes sense. They don't get away with everything and their Badness is clever and smart and painful.

I have stopped watching plenty of shows because of Badly Written Characters. I don't get angry or annoyed because of the characters, but rather because of how the characters are depicted. Unfortunately, it seems like most villains/antagonists experience this treatment the most and people try to dismiss their evil, mary sue energy by saying, "bUt ThEyRe SuPpOsEd To Be DiSlIkEd." Sure, but they are also supposed to be realistic.

If an antagonist is not treated by the writers the same as the protagonist than when/if the protagonist succeeds over them it doesn't feel earned. The antagonist was never a formidable foe because they were exempt to rules so the writers can just do what they want to move the plot forward rather than actually take the time to make it a hard earned victory. Even if they do put in the effort to make the victory something that is struggled for, it doesn't feel that way because the antagonist was never subjected to established rules.

Obvious examples of Badly Written Characters in MLB are everyone Chloe and Lila, but I think Zoe is an interesting, less explored instance.

Zoe was an unnecessary addition to the story. Zoe was added as a replacement for Chloe. She wasn't added to bring depth to any of the characters or to expand the plot or anything, no she was added to replace a role in the story previously occupied by Chloe (the bee holder primarily).

So from the start, Zoe character was doomed, or at least, to make her an interesting and compelling character would have taken serious work.

I don't hate Zoe like I hate Lila (don't get me FUCKING STARTED on Lila holy shit) because of all the Badly Written Characters in the show, Zoe is the one of the less egregious cases. This is probably due to the fact that she plays a very minimal role in the story, only having, like, 2 episodes about her and otherwise just falling into the background with the rest of the classmates.

To improve Zoe's character she needs more screen time. In the story, she could serve as a great foil to Chloe and the pieces are already in place for this to happen. Show us how similar Chloe's and Zoe's childhoods were. Let us see how they could've been the same person and show us what happened so they aren't. This could be a key event that happens to both of them, a key event that only happened to one of them, a role model in one or both of their lives.

Also push Chloe and Zoe into more situations where they butt heads. Have them face the same problems and come up with different solutions. Create situations where they can be easily compared. This will show how different they are from one another and how "evil" Chloe is in comparison. They both had the same(ish) childhoods, have both face similar struggles, but Zoe was able to rise above this, to be compassionate and kind while Chloe succumbed to cruelty and bullying. This will bring more depth to both of their characters and, more importantly, bring a purpose to Zoe's existence outside of replacing some of Chloe's roles.

What ultimately needs to happen is for the writers and Atruc to get their shit together and actually decide what is going to happen with the show. They need to decide what characters are going to be "bad" and which "good", which characters will grow/change and which will remain stagnant. But if this show has done one thing consistently it's showing us that it can't figure out what is going to happen to any of the characters so MLB will always reside as a great example of what not to do when writing any kind of story.

They're absolutely right...

...It's the writers that deserve the lion's share of the backlash, for poor, innocent, boring-as-hell Zoe is merely a tool of the oppressor, aka Mr Astruc. What's being oppressed, you may well ask? Well, interesting storylines, proper continuity, two-dimensional personalities... I could go on. Everything that makes a show compulsive and rewarding viewing that Miraculous Ladybug conspicuously and utterly lacks in every department due to his increasingly destructive machinations, basically.

This pink-streaked plot device masquerading as a serious character can (along with another equally pointless individual called 'Soquerline' who was so unmemorable I almost forgot she was ever a thing) exists for one reason and one reason only: to diminish Chloe's relevance and role in the show to the sum of precisely nothing. Well after S5, job done I guess guys. Well done. Well done indeed. (Although apparently not... they're bringing Miss Bourgeois back for more torture in the London 'special'. Guess Tommy Boy just can't keep away from his favorite punching bag, can he?)

The irony is though, having such a super-sweet but dull-as-ditchwater Mary Sue to replace a well-established and multi-layered person such as Chloe actually sends out a seriously awful message. Why? Because if I was a bad kid and saw S1-3 Chloe, I'd think 'what a fascinating redemption arc, I can inspired by that and do better.' But after seeing S4-5 Chloe and what an arguable downgrade as a replacement the incredibly tedious Zoe is, I'd be more like 'well, obviously there's no point in trying to be good, because you'll probably turn into a psychopath overnight with no explanation in the middle of your genuine efforts to improve. And if what the show is presenting to me as the ideal for a teenage girl to be is the waste-of-blank-space that Zoe clearly is... then a life of deliquency sounds more tempting with every passing minute! Now, where did I put my spray can?'

The most shameless aspect to this whole argument though, is by those trying to paint the hapless Zoe as some kind of lesbian icon. Pardon? She got a plot-mandated crush on Marinette in one episode and somehow that makes her insipid and needless presence an asset for the gay community? Somehow a few people have got it into their heads if you 'dare' to make someone non-straight in cartoons these days you deserve a big pat on the back for that 'risk' alone. WRONG. They should also be fleshed-out, complex, necessary characters whose sexuality isn't just define them or deflect from deserved criticism as to what the hell they are doing there if they turn up in the middle of proceedings with no prior explanation. See: The Owl House for how it's done.

And that's all Zoe being gay is... an irrelevant trait Mr Astruc can point to cynically and say ' you're a bigot for disliking her whatever your reasons are, so I'm not listening to you' instead of engaging with the actual argument which is SHE IS NOT AND WAS NEVER NEEDED IN THE SHOW. Everything you required to make Chloe the brilliant character she could've been was RIGHT THERE in the script but you CHOSE to rub it all out and scrawl some hastily scribbled doodle with no personality other than being 'very nice' in her place. A tragedy. The worst case of self-vandalism I've ever seen. No wonder Jeremy Zag wants to start from scratch with his rebooted movies. More power to him, IMHO.

Needless to say, nearly all the above in the quoted post about her father loving her (we haven't met him yet, it's DEFINITELY not Andre Bourgeois, his name ends in 'Lee' for a start) her supposed growth (the only 'growth' she's had is when she turned into that giant golden Chloe after being akumatized) her alleged pansexuality (all in the desperate mind of the OP) her 'abusive' family (I think you'll find Chloe had it FAR WORSE over the course of the show in that regard, so why not idolise her?) is complete bunkum. and to be frank I couldn't compose a much delusional post if I tried. Sometimes I wonder: what planet are some people on to reach such implausible conclusions? I don't understand it, I'll never understand it and quite frankly I feel quite sorry for the arbiters of such risibly deluded takes.

Last but not least though, we have...

Now this I ALSO agree with 1000%. And I know just the place to 'flush' her... ;)

[probablynotasquid]

I dont know if you take requests for Genshin Impact, but i'm gonna shoot my shot anyway so here goes

Post imposter!au when everyone finds out that the "imposter" wqs actually the real creator and theyre asking for forgiveness. Reader tells them not to hunt down any "imposters" they find from that point forward. However later reader find out that Venti, Ei, and Zhongli are still killing any "imposter" they come across regardless of whether or not they actually claimed to be the creator. Reader decides to punish them by taking away their powers avatar the last airbender style (weapons, visions, EVERYTHING) and cursing them to walk the earth until they earn the right to have their powers again

What do you think?

ack sorry this took so long!! but i really like this idea and i really wanted to write something up for it so here it is!!!

thanks for the request ;))

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

You trusted them.

It was foolish, really. After being hunted relentlessly for longer than you could remember, your blood was finally spilt, and the world begged for forgiveness.

Like a fool, you gave it to them. The ones who persecuted you mercilessly and relentlessly until you collapsed from fatigue and exhaustion. You accepted, in that moment, that this was the end for you. Your efforts were for naught. The sleepless nights and blurry days only served as false hope. There was nothing left for you. Not anymore.

Not even as you sat upon your throne in the finest silks, adorned with the rarest of stones, fed the most meticulously prepared dishes. The robes were as itchy as rough canvas. The jewellery was as heavy as prison chains. The food was as bland as paper.

Your first act as the newly crowned Creator was to forbid the abuse of any future 'imposters'. Ever the merciful protector, they wailed, ever the glorious Creator. You prayed that your words would hold merit, now that you had the power and influence you needed. You knew first-hand how cruel this world's people are. They desperately needed guidance. Would they be willing to grow?

Your answer became obvious sooner than you would have liked.

The breeze happily caressed your face as you wandered down one of Liyue's many beaches. The sand snuggled into your bare feet and the waves sang you the calmest of melodies. For once, you were alone and at peace, free from the obsessive crowds.

Blood. A deep vermillion stained the beach in front of you. It oozed from a crumpled figure, lifelessly still and pitiful.

It was you. Your empty eyes stared blankly back at you. Your lips began to blue and your limbs had stiffened up. Your hair was matted with blood, your skin was bruised and lashed beyond repair.

No, you realised. It wasn't you. The corpse's build was lankier than your own, just barely. Its eyes lacked the flakes of colour that you used to take so much pride in, back when you were a normal person in a modern world. It didn't have that birthmark you had grown up with.

It was almost you. Someone murdered someone who was almost you. Something you had forbade the moment your blood revealed your identity.

Elemental traced laced the body. Electro, Geo, and Anemo. It was no coincidence, you fumed. Your most loyal acolytes. The three individuals that had cried and begged for forgiveness at your calloused feet. So self-important. They never bothered to think about others before acting. Perhaps your forgiveness had inflated their egos. You forgave them before, you would forgive them again, right?

Right?

Anger flared from the deepest corners of your body. Furious flames licked at your nerves. Hazy smoke blinded your mind and suffocated your heart. The audacity of them. Their impertinence would not be overlooked. They dared go against the one thing you asked of them.

After everything you'd done for them. After everything you had given them. Months of grinding and dedication, for what? For them to use it against the people they were supposed to protect? To use it against you?

In a moment of indignation and vulnerability, you took it all away. They didn't deserve anything. They would never hurt anyone ever again. They would never hurt you ever again.

Five-star weapons. Five-star artifacts. Talent and ascension materials. Visions. You would bestow them upon those who truly earned your favour. The humble and the kind would gain these gifts in their stead.

Elemental power crashed over you in a tsunami of emotion. A cacophony of swirling and crystallising electro manifested in your veins. It was painful. It was cathartic.

They had everything you could give them.

Now they had nothing.

[quidfree]

Weird question: In both Papenathy and Todobaku, who would notice first if their partner got replaced/possessed by an imposter (presumably with malicious intentions) and how?

this is sooooo fun as a q actually but i could go on abt it forever bc IT DEPENDS ON CONTEXT. so im trying to be very restrained here and just go w the overall most likely outcomes. but know that i am so into this hypothetical mwah

papenathy:

this took me some vacillating bc we get several canon bits where richard thinks he has everything figured out and then francis yanks the rug out from under him / turns out to have a better read on richard than richard has on him. BUT because richard is marginally less self involved i think he has to take the win here bc francis literally didn’t even notice his being shot while in the same room as him.

HOW richard would figure it out is actually the difficult bit here. bc francis can be sneaky / cruel / manipulative as setting demands so none of that would be ooc per se. i think either the ominous impostor just overdoes it personality wise (à la fanon francis lol) and is like, too flirty or too clingy or too whatever and richard gets hives, or it’s one of those minute detail things. like the impostor actually is a very studied copycat and there’s nothing overt, and every mistake just feels like normal human weirdness, but then in some intensely specific situation fake francis does something like use a shoehorn when francis always slips his shoes on with a finger to the heel, or henry goes on one of his grammatical monologues and instead of shooting richard a speaking look from across the room francis isn’t even listening and richard just gets this sudden screaming alarm bell ringing in the back of his head. his way of testing the theory is by having someone call francis and see if he lunges for the phone or not.

if this is in established couple territory itd be easier bc theyre more in tune. lots of more little things to pick up. especially the uglies theyve gotten used to working around. fake francis doesn’t cover his abused wrists enough or doesn’t steal richard’s well-worn hampden shirt for bedclothes sometimes or doesn’t press down on the well-healed bullet scar with gentle cruelty.

also if francis is the one who clocks an impostor i feel like it’d be comically fast for a really petty reason. like fake richard being too normal. or actually straight! “oh i could tell it wasn’t you right away he was entirely unattracted to me”

todobaku:

this is tougher on who would notice first bc they both very well could. i guess again it depends on how good the impostor is at acting like them. bc i feel like katsuki would be the underrated victor at detecting shouto acting just a fraction off, but if the impostor is really good then probably fake shouto would be harder to read and so shouto would call it on fake katsuki first.

how they figure it out depends on if the impostor is good, again. in their case i assume it’s a villain w a quirk type situation (doesn’t toga literally shapeshift) so if it’s a sloppy impression i expect they catch on within like five minutes of entering a room and waste no time in attacking the impostor as everyone else there protests in shock. afterwards when people ask how they knew so fast theyre just like… “todoroki would NEVER coordinate his shirt and his shoes that well.” or “i smiled at bakugou when i walked in and he smiled back. it was like a nightmare.” PR tries to run with a heartwarming friendship narrative despite these quotes.

if the villain is better than that, as above, the noticing is in the subtleties, and bc theyre both ptsd-laden hypervigilant professional superheroes who have been fighting together since long before they were friends i think maybe it’d be out in the field that they’d catch on. shouto stands next to a bakugou who doesn’t roll his shoulders just-so before locking into his gauntlets and immediately goes silently hyperfocused, just waiting for the next slip-up to confirm his gut feeling. katsuki watches a todoroki pull a combo move starting from the wrong side and does the same.

[terrence-silver]

what would 80s silver, compared to old man silver, do if beloved left him ? just for a little while to show him if he makes the same mistake again theyre gone for good.

Leaving Terry in the 80's?

Leaving Terry in any decade?

Said this a hundred times before but I really doubt you can if he doesn't want you to, regardless of the mistakes and missteps that took place --- he is the type to follow someone to the ends of the world and he has the resources and connections to pull it off too. Not to mention the tenacity. Terry Silver doesn't need to be a Billionaire with a worldwide network and near infinite resources to get back what belongs to him when he has so much intact willpower and the penchant of extreme possession. But, of course, money's simply always a plus. Private jetting to where beloved is? Following them? Stalking them? Hiring others to watch them? Bribing officials to detain them at leisure? Sabotaging them to eclipse and curve their movements? Rigging their apartments? Utilizing cameras? Eavesdropping devices? Tampering with their employment prospects, even from afar? Tampering with their finances, their livelihood? Those of their loved ones? Using their close acquittances and friends as fodder for blackmail? Covertly hurting people to get to them. Ensuring nothing and nobody is protected from him? Kidnapping them? Being the shadowy silhouette in the arm chair in the darkness of their living room at night when beloved feels safest and most secure that they've outran him and the danger he imposes and clicking on the light, there Terry is, smiling at them, lit cigar hanging from his mouth? Shark-like grin and all? You really thought you could get away from me, huh? He'd say. Thing is, there's no escape if he doesn't specifically want to give beloved escape as a rare extension of his mercy.

And Terry isn't the most merciful person.

Known fact.

He can dismiss meaningless, disposable token individuals with cold, mercenary leisure and acquire new people and new drones all the same with just as much emotional distance, but when someone truly matters, Terry Silver goes the other extreme. Should he step on and break both of beloved's legs? Is that what they want? To provoke him so he'd literally incapacitate them and ensure they can rely only on him? Those are his legs on his beloved, but if push comes to shove...he can and will damage what belongs to him and then proceed nursing it back to health only if it meant he can keep them dependent and by his side.

Do they want painkillers?

Something to relieve that infamous 'ow'?

They should promise to never run and again. Swear it.

He actually rather relishes them when they're so weak and whimpering.

Terry is ironically infinitely gentle like this, a spider with a precious little fly caught in his web, as he hurts beloved some more, a tender, slow sadist --- measured, in control and calculated, here to punish them and reminder how he felt like when they left him and this is just a molecule of the sensation he too contended with. Don't you know how much he drank? How much coke he snorted up his nose? How finely he bled his fists when you ran? How he sought to train every fibre of weakness out of his system with rigorous training and sweating? Well, now you'll experience it too and you'll understand. You'll experience him.

He loves you.

If he didn't, he wouldn't pursue you and you'd be so terribly and awfully free.

But, you'll never be free again --- not truly.

Is he cruel? Does such a thing even exist in nature?

Is the female of a Black Widow cruel when she devours her mate?

Or is it merely how things ought to be?

Naturally, even if he lets beloved go, on his own terms and conditions, naturally, and I'll the words 'letting go' very loosely and with a million quotation marks, it is simply always the calm before the storm. Terry going into figurative brumation. And his brumation can take weeks, a month, years or even decades --- depends how much he feels he strategically needs it and it can include everything and anything from reinvention, a change in bearing, a change in fashion, a change in company, in lifestyle, in the way he presents himself, in a million masks, but in the end, even if half a lifetime has passed and beloved feels they've long since moved on from the nightmare that is his love and devotion, Terry can always return to get back what has always belonged to him even if everything indicated so far that he has moved on. There is, really, no such thing as moving on from adoration for Terry Silver. Not with love. There is no letting go from actual love. No break ups. No divorces. No annulments. The taint of it never goes away, it merely changes shapes and forms. He'd rather impale both himself and beloved on a sword and die pinned on each other than ever contemplate actually setting them genuinely free.