#uni au that I still haven't written

[florenceafternoon]

Lily Evans - from the uni/ band au that I constantly dream of writing

She's taking a law and arts double degree

Interested in immigration law

Tea drinker except for when she's not

Rock climber 

Florence Welsh gets her like nobody else does

“It's not far, we can just walk” type of person

The memory keeper friend who has a highly curated (main) Instagram feed

And a spam account which she posts on basically daily

70s soft rock and Virginia Woolf enjoyer

[wave2tyun]

project: matchmaker (teaser)

pairing: classpresident!soobin x reader

genre: highschool!au, late 90's!au enemies to lovers, fluff, slight angst (i'm still deciding whether to make the kiss scene a bit suggestive or not hmmm), inspired by 20th century girl! (but not fully!!)

summary: when your best friend asks you for help to score a date with her newfound crush - and apparent “love of her life” - you, of course, are here to deliver. going through hell and back to gather what she deems vital information for this mission, you constantly feel like something- or rather, someone, is trying to get in your way.

warnings: alcohol consumption, some curse words

word count: 7k (estimated- might end up being a bit more or less)

release date: (hopefully!) by the end of march!!

a/n: this fic just keeps on growing and growing- i haven't written something this long for a while, so i'm a bit nervous amdbjdn honestly still have plenty to go with it, but i've been feeling the need to tease it to maybe keep myself on track with everything!!😼 though please, if this by any chance ends up being delayed, kindly keep in mind that because of uni i've mostly only been writing during weekends😭😭

taglist (open!) - please write a reply under this post or send me an ask if you would like to be added!!<3 if i by any chance forget to add anyone, please do not hesitate to let me know!!

@huekalover3000 @boba-beom @my313 @ur-mother-realnotclickbait @bunnyeonny @online--princess @etherealcherrie @20crowsinahoodie @maybabe00 @skzeyeu @binniebakery @nap-of-a-starr @sunoooism @yyeonzi @baekberrie @txtbrainrot @jeniihss @bgomtori @viciousdarlings @304files @lily-loves-kpop @royallyjjk @lalalaloveallmydays @matcha-binz @mxviltwst @vocaloshin @curiousgworge @lonelybutterflytae @rosie-is-everywhere

[wanderingblindly]

“It’s because of 90s lesbian vale isn’t it” :)))

(WIP list)

ok so @cx-boxbox sent me this Oscar art from xhs that was like, Oscar with longer hair and a fuck ton of facial piercings. Which, naturally, begs the question: how can we make this landoscar?

my gut instinct was to make it into a uni AU -- lando sat in the back of the lecture hall, silently pining after the hot guy in his lecture that's seemingly half asleep 90% of the time but still gets some of the best marks in the class (does he end up being lando's tutor? unclear).

but then the next question was like, what kind of universe would oscar EVER have any sort of body mod? i'm sure the pain isn't an issue, but oscar wears drawstring jeans and doesn't own a comb -- mans does nawt care enough to go through the healing process over and over again, right?

WRONG

I haven't really written much in it that I like, I just tried to get some sort of intro? so this might not ever see the light of day, but whateverrrrrr:

It's Because of 90s Lesbian Vale Isn't It?

Lando raises a brow, attempting to lean back in his stiff seat. It's a nice vantage point, up in the rafters, tucked in the very back of the lecture hall; it's an extra nice vantage point, he's realizing, as he watches the rest of the students flood in – forced to take the much less ideal middle and front seats.

He walks in with a hand holding one of his backpack straps, the other dangling haphazardly off his shoulder, and looks around the room. Lando notices his hand first, strikingly pale against his black sweatshirt, his black bag; he notices the rest of him next.

And there sure is a lot of him left to look at.

Messy brown hair, overgrown rather than intentional, falls across his brows – long, sharp, disinterested. He looks broad despite his sweatshirt and slightly hunched shoulders. Lando's eyes hone in on his lips – at the hint of tongue he can spot toying with the hoop through his lower lip.

[shalomniscient]

TELL ME MORE ABOUT SEVCHINO LORE PLEASE🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

hello alba !!! i admit i haven't thought about canon-compliant sevchino in a long time...... but modern!au sevchino has been ping-ponging in my brain instead. this is about to be so delusional so bear with me ,,,,,,,,

i used to brainrot ceo!arle but then i was given the vision by apollo himself of pediatrics!arle and that has been how she appears to me ever since. i most definitely would not be working with her in the hospital because i was simply not built for the medical grind, though in an ideal world by the point arle becomes the head of pediatrics, i'd be at best an associate prof or at least an assistant prof of ecology, though on tenure track regardless. going into academia and teaching at a university level specifically has always appealed to me so i'm going to indulge a little hsdljfhslf

in modern!au i think arle and i would meet a lot later than in canon. i'd probably find her when we're both in uni, out under a tree somewhere near the campus and just staring at a particularly interesting spider. we would have a nerd to nerd moment and talk some shop about spiders or bugs in general until it becomes kind of a routine. the rest of the relationship would be a pretty linear and typical progression. we don't really go on regular dates because premed is ridiculously demanding, so most of the time it's good ol' study dates. i offer my arm or leg for her to draw all the various veins and arteries on when studying anatomy because her own limbs have that black tinge and she can't really see her own veins. despite that, i feel like arle's hands tend to run a little hot, like a noticeable kind of hot, which makes for excellent massages whenever i'm dying over a 3k word report.

anyway the university i would teach at would have an affiliated hospital, which is also the hospital arle works at. my schedule would definitely be more relaxed than hers, so i'd probably be the one crossing campus to meet up with her for lunch in her office if she's free. from my own experience, if you turn up at the hospital often enough people start to remember you and then you unlock the honorary staff member pass and can head in through the staff walkways. arle's office is professional most of the time, though i can tell if she's had a patient come through recently by the miscellaneous children's toys scattered on a section of the carpeted floor that she didn't clean up in time. she keeps a family picture on her desk, and in her drawer, tucked away in a large, meticulous file are nearly a hundred thank-you cards written by her patients that she's kept over the years.

arle definitely draws a few stares on the rare occasion she meets me at my office instead. funnily enough, i think it draws a bit of controversy with the students. arle doesn't wear her ring on the job (there's a risk of damaging it or accidentally hurting her patient, and the fact that wearing any sort of jewellery is generally discouraged when scrubbing up) while i do, so the students put 2 and 2 together and it's not a pretty picture. but things clear up when a student comes in for a thesis discussion and sees the wedding picture on my desk. it still makes for a funny story in hindsight though. in any case, arle is most certainly a local dilf, and if any of the sevchino kids are in university at this point they do NOT hear the end of it. arle always showing up in the labcoat-over-scrubs fit and somehow eating it up does not help.

we have a place close to campus, though with arle's salary as a department head we definitely also have a beach house. we'd go there on weekends when arle's not on call, and it's her time to unwind. she'll wake up early just to spend the dawn on the deck and watch the sunrise over the ocean before crawling back into bed. i am still in charge of breakfast though because arle would make toast and steak tartare, and while it is certainly tasty it is also generally not a breakfast food. anyway, long walks on the beach in the morning, evening or night are definitely a must. it's nothing special, just walking and talking. sometimes it's just quiet, but it works for both of us. OH and arle 100% does her fuckass hand fishing nonsense...... i could tell her i plan to cook fish tonight and she'll look up from her newspaper, nod, change into a pair of swim shorts, leave, then come back with like. a whole ass flounder. do i grill her a little for going out and just grabbing fish? yes. do i still give her a thank you kiss? also yes.

ok it's. 0100 and i need sleep for the gym grind tmrw so i will end it here but this brainrot goes DEEP i fear........................ my chronic inability to stfu is rattling around in my skull like a terrible creature and i fear it will return 😔😔😔 tqsm for the question though, i really enjoyed answering it !!

[sohnric]

2024 REWIND ☆

thank you so much to beam @sungbeam for tagging me in this! I really love stats and numbers so this is definitely something I enjoyed doing. I know I haven't posted in a while but I think it's still great to look back a little on what I managed to put out this year!

first fic of 2024: beloved (eric sohn)

I remember being super super scared of posting this one. I wrote it when I was having a really hard time dealing with a lot of thoughts and emotions. definitely self-indulgent and very personal, but I am happy it's out there 🫶🏻

last fic of 2024: cool kids (sim jaeyun)

not gonna lie this drabble was the most spontaneous thing ever 😭😭 for the length of it it surprisingly took me a lot of time to finish and I wasn't even 100% happy with it, but I think it's a sweet harmless little drabble!

longest fic of 2024: partners in crime (ji changmin) - 33k

this was a work that I've wanted to write for literally years. this idea has been bouncing around my head since like 2020, so I am happy I finally got to write it. I think the timing was just right, since changmin really fit the role of who I wanted the main character to be, and although I was really scared to put this one out there, I am very proud of it.

most popular fic of 2024: cool kids (sim jayeun)

not gonna lie I believe I have works that deserve the number of notes more and I didnt even expect this drabble to get so much traction, but I am thankful to enhablr for this 🫶🏻 over 1.4k notes is truly crazy

personal pick of 2024: to. my first (kim sunwoo)

this fic (alongside with millennium bug) might just be the works I truly love the most. I posted this in early january, so it almost feels like last year, but I am still going to count it because this fic has a very very special place in my heart. I love everything about the plot, characters and the universe I created with this 90s au and I will definitely revisit it in 2025!

total fics written: 16

total words written: ~ 131 600

I battled with writer's block a lot this year and was also very busy with uni since september started, so I can't really be mad at myself. Happy that I focused on writing so much in summer and hopefully there are many more words waiting to be written by me next year, when I have a degree and a lot less to worry about haha.

top artists/muses of 2024:

kim sunwoo ~ 58.5k words written

eric sohn ~ 44.4k words written

ji changmin ~ 34.5k words written

nothing surprising here, not gonna lie HAHA. although he is not my bias, sunwoo is just the most fun to write about for me. I adore creating his character because I feel like we are similar in many ways (I am in his walls.)

last words:

thank you so much for everyone on this site that has read anything written by me this year. It's crazy to think there are so many people out there that cared enough about what I have to say and I am insanely grateful for every ask, reblog, follow, comment, message and like I've recieved this year 🫶🏻

thank you also to all of my friends on this site but mainly @csenke my belovedest. you helped me insanely in a lot of ways this year, but also with writing by always listening to me rambling, beta reading for me, brainstorming and giving me inspiration. I owe you my life and love u forever my best friend, can't wait to see u again in january <3

not sure when there will be a new work posted by me, since I need to write a bachelor's thesis before I let my brainrot win and write a fanfic, but trust me when I say I WILL BE BACK. the ideas in my drafts are too good to abandon.

happy holidays. I wish everyone's 2025 will be kind.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hiiiiii

Do you have any fics where john or sherlock are mutants/ have powers?

Hi Lovely!

OOOOOOOHHHH I love this; I have a few fics that could be qualified as "CLOSE" to mutations and superpowers, but not 100%. I have a lot more "changelings" than anything else. I've compiled together some of the ones on my MFL list as well, but I can't guarantee that they're mutants in them since I haven't read them.

If anyone has any fics that they can suggest, please do! I'm kind of into MCU fics right now so if I can have Sherlock-style in there too, that would be awesome! PLEASE let us know if you have mutant or Superhero Johnlock fics!!!

MUTATIONS or SUPERPOWERS

See also:

Magical Realism Where John is the Powerful One

Telepath / Empath AU

Hybrids and Shapeshifters

Soaring Above by Corporate_cards (G, 394 w., 1 Ch.  || TRF, Light Angst, Superpowers) – "Have you ever though about having a super power...?" Part 2 of the Random Things I've Written In Class -- Johnlock series

The Frost Child by twistedthicket1 (M, 9,994 w., 2 Ch. || Frozen-ish AU || Magical Realism, Christmas, Angst, Fluff, Powerful John) – In a world where people are born with a Gift of varying levels, simple John Watson is the last person one might look at when thinking of any strong Magick capabilities. Hiding comfortably in the shadow of Sherlock's brilliant deducing abilities, John is content to keep it that way...

Conductivity by Coquillage Atlas (K,11,051 w., 8 Ch., FFNet || Fantasy and Friendship) – John Watson, alone in London with a healing power he can hardly bear. A description of his life with magic, before and after Sherlock. SEQUELS: Resistance || Reciprocity

Invisible by chappysmom (K+, 25,947 w., 11 Ch., FFNet || No Slash, semi-canon compliant) – John had had the knack for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him. SEQUELS: Still Invisible (ASiB) || Too Visible (THoB) || Invisible Once More (TRF)

Left by lifeonmars (M, 45,153 w., 9 Ch. || Magical Realism, BAMF!John, Slow Burn) – John Watson is left-handed. He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible.

Out There by DiscordantWords (T, 131,695 w., 10 Ch. || X-Files Fusion || Past Soldier John, Panic Attacks, POV Alternating Present Tense, Anxious John, Canon Adjacent, Deductions, Obsessive Sherlock,, Travelling, Sherlock’s Family, Jealous Sherlock, Mind Palace John, Awkward Flirting, Kidnapped/Abducted John, Semi-Reverse Reichenbach, Worried/Anxious Sherlock, Hospital, Slow Burn, UST, Case Fic, Government Conspiracy, Aliens, UFOs, Mutants, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Coma John, Forehead Touching, Hand Holding, Drinking/Bars, Past Jolto) – FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

How to Build a Heart out of Ashes by Teumessian (E, 144,931 w., 31 Ch. || Changeling AU || Slow Burn, Drug Use, Mentions of Child Abuse / Bullying, Mentions of Student/Teacher Relations, Uni-Age) – In an AU where a small number of the population become Changelings at a young age, at 17 John Watson believes he's destined for Normal life but then the Change takes him and he is sent to the Baker Institute. There he meets Sherlock Holmes.

MARKED FOR LATER

(I Love You) Infinitely by helloliriels (T, 20,072+ w., 14/16 Ch. || WiP || Marvel Cinematic Universe AU || Post-TRF, Post Infinity War, Not Endgame-Compliant, Super Humans, Happy Ending) – With a snap of his fingers, Thanos had caused the heartache and loss of half a planet's population. And Watson, of all people could have kissed the glove that did so. Part 2 of the Liriels Chaptered Fics series

Trenchcoats and Capes by jomochi (T, 35,275 w., 3 Ch. || Superhero AU || UST/URT, Mutually Unrequited, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Love Confessions, Secret Identity, Hero John) – He’s twirling a strand of hair around the finger of his other hand. His coat, which honestly looks more like a cape than anything, is spread out beneath him. His chest rises and falls slowly with calm breaths, the tight black material of his suit stretching to accommodate the movement. John has seen many pictures of him but not one did him any justice. The sight before John is breath-taking. It isn’t right. Evil shouldn’t look this good.

The Alchemystics by elwinglyre (E, 69,014 w., 16 Ch. || Full Metal Alchemist Omegaverse AU || Non-Traditional ABO Dynamics, Major Character Injury, Angst, Human Transmutation) – Since youth, Sherlock was forced to hide who he was from the world. That time has ended. With the world torn apart, he must embrace who and what he is: an alchemystic and an omega. Fortunately, he finds another, John Watson, who is a true compliment to himself. With Watson’s help, Sherlock strives to obtain what’s needed to right the world. But the past, present and future aren’t aligning, and what is needed to succeed comes at a high cost: for to gain, something of equal value must be lost--that is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. No one knows this lesson better than Sherlock. He’s lost his father, his brother and his arm attempting to bring his mother back from the dead. What will he need to sacrifice to save the world?

The Destruction of Ice by All_I_need (E, 91,682 w., 28 Ch. || Psy - Changeling Crossover/Fusion || Changeling John, Psy Sherlock, Murder Investigation / Case Fic, Slow Burn, Touching, Forced Lack of Emotion, Silence Protocol, Sci-Fi Elements) – The year is 2081 and Sherlock Holmes never expected to encounter a threat to his Silence, the conditioning that keeps him sane and unfeeling. John Watson, on the other hand, never thought he'd find a flat in London. He certainly didn't expect to find one that comes with a Psy flatmate: brilliant, emotionless and more intriguing than John would like. When a series of brutal, random murders shakes London to its core, it is up to them to stop a vicious psychopath - preferably before Sherlock's latest experiment gets them both killed.

A Vintage Exceptionally to Your Liking by EmmyAngua (E, 95,334 w., 19 Ch. || Alternate Dimensions AU || S3 Fix It, Lies, Angst, Pining Sherlock, Superpowers, Domestics, BAMF Mary, Hiatus, First Time, Magical Realism, Slow Burn, Colliding Universes, Moral Dilemmas, Betrayal, Mary’s Past) – Sherlock and John met seven years earlier than canon and fell in love. When John dies, Sherlock is introduced to the concept of alternate dimensions and given the opportunity to visit a different universe where he can have a second chance with a new John Watson. A love story across alternate dimensions.

[crazylittlejester]

So... because of timezones (i think) you posted that question about what fics we're looking forward to at like past midnight and I didn't have the mental capacity to answer. Now it's 10am where I am and my first order of business is to send you an essay on the fics you've written that I've enjoyed!

So if I remember right, I started following you when you were writing the Your A Part Of Me series. I LOVE your portrayal of Warriors and Time (and sometimes Wind) and I'm pretty sure you're the reason i love war of eras found family fics! Though if I could choose a single one of these fics for you to update it would be the body swap fic. For a fic with only 2 chapters, I've re-read it an unhealthy amount of times 😅

I was also here when you were brainstorming the Twilight but Wars is Bella AU and I'm waiting with baited breath for that one. Crack fics usually don't interest me, but for some reason this one sounds amazing and I can't wait to bingeread the whole thing in one sitting! (No pressure though!)

And of course I can't end this rant without mentioning your modern au. I love aus like this, I love seeing each authors interpretation of what our blorbos would be like in a different setting, I find it FASCINATING and yours is one of the great ones! You've put so much thought into it and the only reason I haven't read/kudos more of those fics is because uni started up again last week for me and I've got a deadline soon for a project that is the equivalent of a dissertation (AND I'm doing a dissertation as well which was a ✨️mistake✨️ im having fun cus im writing/composing video game music but theres so much work!!!) and i use fic to escape the real world not be reminded of it. I'm sure I'll get round to your other modern au fics after my deadline 😀

Anyway, before I go back to lurking, I just wanted to remind you to write what YOU want to write and not force yourself to write something you've lost the motivation for just because people are asking for it. I can say from experience that writing out of obligation is a great way to take the joy out of writing and I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone!

I'm going to sink back into the void whence I came now. Bye! 🩷💚💜

thank you so much for this!!

im definitely working on chapter 3 for the body swap fic so dw dw :)

I told myself i was going to finish that entire au before i start posting it so it can have consistent updates aldkdkk but its taking sooo long. i have not forgotten about it, im still slowly working on it, maybe i’ll post chapter one when its half done or something

im glad you like the modern au!! and good luck on your work 🫡🫡🫡

take care if yourself!! 💙

[little-shadow-club]

Because of your texts I'm obsessed with SLR... Just freaking out over your gay texts about Suho and Tiel.

Although I don't know which chapter of the novel the Manhwa is in...(Could you send more of that lovely Suhiel/Tieho dialogue?

Also, I read your Pirates Au fic.... IT WAS DELIGHTFUL TO READ

I would love to see more of your writing work.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH AND YIPEEEEE MORE SLR FANSSS, and I'm so happy you read my fic thank you SO MUCH I'm on my way to either send more or crash out because I've yaoi too close to the sun, 50/50 possibilities. Either way I'm really happy to know you enjoy Sutiel/Tieho. As for the Novel we uhhhhh Tiel doesn't exist in the novel (still it's such an amazing novel for me tho, hope the author just manifests Tiel in the future to yaoi about novel suho and him there— no seriously I KNOW the novel author's other work. I KNOW he can write that homoerotic shit while also not giving in to the 'male power fantasy must have waifu' trope LIKE OF ALL PEOPLE I TRUST WITH PLANOTIC FRIENSHIPS. IT IS DAULLLLLL. If Tiel had been in the novel I would have assended as the Yaoi Bodhisattva, that author can write God bless him every day.) and the manhwa has decided to just completely go off the rails, so he's a manhwa only character (I'd even go as far as saying someone decided to omniscient reader' it and place themselves in the story to be homoerotic foils with MC).

They haven't met in canon —kinda. As far a I remember this started first with just being funny 'haha Suho but evil' but then it spiraled from the moment someone on Reddit went "Suho is going to Miho from a dangerous situation and fall in love with him." Classic damsel in distress style, and then I re read the chapter where Tiel got rescued by Suho and I was like... Oh Oh he... he questioned why Suho save him which means he's questioning the reason of why we protect others, which is the main archetype of Suho, that he's protecting others... Upon fusing with 3rd fragment he decided to make Suho his ally, oh, oh, he thinks he can sway Suho to his side, the one person that can literally tilt the scales of war in this galactic battle. Oh he's apostle, a ruler to an extent, controlling over the living while Suho controls the dead. He's a blind follower for his creator destroying the world while Suho is reconstructing a world his father once destroyed. *Gets hit with flashbacks of Link Click, Alien Stage, Devil man Crybaby, ORV, and other shows with black and white yaoi* OH THIS HOMOTRON 3000. IVE HEARD OF THIS YAOI BAIT BEFOREEE. IVE KNOWN THIS DOOM GAYS BEFORE

AHHHHHHH. And now I'm here. Currently on the twelfth bloc note, 4 docs, 100+ messages of brainrot on discord and 1 hour recording of the divergence plot. I have written drabbles these past 4 weeks so much you'd think it was my 2025 resolution (it is).

Anyways outside of this one shot, and the other series I posted on anon (scared moots know I'm making yet another series) I have shared a lot of my thoughts on discord since it's a more relaxed format than posting the blogs, so if you wanna share brainrot with me on Sutiel, I recommend entering @jdah 's server.

Beautiful server (tho I have been away there for a month since I got exams... in <12 hours rn. But anyways thank youuuuu so much for reading this long rant. I will be sure to post more Sutiel content as I go! (Maybe even Greek Mythology content since my next semester's studies are all about that. Same on taking notes for ceramics and Arts so I can allude to so many romantic moments for a uni AU. Or maybe A lost kingdom AU. Ghosts AU. Mythical AUs. Canon divergence where Tiel meets Suho years before. Some arranged marriages. Some Isakaid! Deserted Villain x Duke. Gosh there's a lot! I've even got some screenshots from the notes I've been taking just about everywhere ;-;.

[amethystfairy1]

Hi! I've been reading your works for a couple months now and I think I said it before, but I love your stuff! I don't have the vocabulary to gush about everything, but the dialouge and everyone's inner thought process is incredibly well written!

From what I understand, university is kinda kicking your butt right now and because of that you haven't been able to post as much. I know sometimes people forget the writers they like are human beings with their own lives and get kinda pushing about posts and whatnot. So I just wanted to encourage you to take your time! I don't think any of your readers would want you pushing yourself to hard just so we could have another chapter.

It doesn't seem like your readers are pushy or anything, but I just thought I'd say it anyway!

Good luck with Uni!

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

My readers have all been so incredibly supportive and encouraging with the AUs and whenever I end up taking longer on updates than expected, but even still I really appreciate you coming by to say this! 💖 I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying my work!!!

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 3: Paranormal Teens

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

The jolt happens again, and Bro finds himself--well this is not ideal. It's a public bathroom. A very clean public bathroom, with pastel blue and white tiles forming a checkerboard pattern, but still. Not ideal. At least it's empty. 

Bro reorients himself and then blinks in confusion. “Huh… well, this is a first…”

There's some faint music coming from the closed door leading out into the rest of the building. 🎵 The sun goes down, the stars come out, and all that counts is here and now, My universe will never be the same, I'm glad you came, I'm glad you came 🎵

Bro’s ears pick up on the music and he heads over to the door to peek out of it.

This is a restaurant of some sort, with pastel pink-and-blue walls and a checkerboard floor. Looks pretty crowded. There are all sorts of people sitting in booths and at tables. The music is almost drowned out by their chatter. There's a big set of front windows showing a nice sunny day outside.

Bro whistles a bit to himself as he walks through, “this is a cute place! Heh… I would take Stacy to a place like this…” he smiles to himself.

As he walks through the crowds towards the front of the shop, he suddenly hears a shout. "Holy crap!" a voice says. "Hey! Bro! Is that you?!"

Someone sitting at a table by a window suddenly stands up and starts waving. A teenage boy wearing an oversized T-shirt and black jeans with rips in the knees...and a snapback cap pushing down messy brown hair.

Bro jumps slightly and looks- then smiles wide and bright. “yooo no way!! Little me???” He hurries over, grinning, “…wait what??? Who said you were allowed to get this much older, huh?!”

The younger Chase laughs. "Yoooo it's been forever since I've seen you! I was like--thirteen or something? That's wild! It's so good to see you again!" He holds up a hand for a high-five. 

Bro high-fives him instantly. “Jesus… what are you now? 16?? It had not been 3 fucking years oh my god-“ Bro laughs breathlessly. “That’s insane…”

"Older Chase?" Someone else stands up--the other person at Chase's table. It's a girl around the same age, with wavy blonde hair. She's wearing a pink pair of glasses, a pink skater skirt, and a T-shirt with the graphic of a skull wearing a pink bow and the words Monster High. "What're you doing here?"

Bro blinks at the girl and his eyes widen. Oh hey- she… kinda reminds him of Stacy… “uh? Hi? Iii don’t think I met you last time! But hi! Uh- we’re here to actually fix our multiverses traveling thing… that’s why we never got to come back to visit you guys!” He takes off his hat and pushes back his hair, “God… I feel like when I would visit from Uni and suddenly Alt grew an inch-“

"Huh? What d'you mean?" The girl blinks, confused. 

"You don't remember Stacy?" Chase asks. "I mean... you guys didn't meet her the first time you showed up.... And what d'you mean you never came back here? What were all those other times?" 

The girl--Stacy--puts her hands on her hips. "Is there some weird time stuff happening?" 

"Ohhhh, that must be it." Chase nods. "So like--those visits haven't happened for you guys! God, this must be even crazier, then."

Bro blinks in bewilderment. “What?? Yeah uh- we didn’t come back since the first time! …oh no this is gonna break my brain oh god-“

"God, I know, right?" Chase laughs. "I have no idea how Jays deals with everything." 

“Jays?? He deals with this kind of stuff??” Bro asks with wide eyes. 

"It's a long story," Chase says, shrugging. 

"Anyway, um... in that case, hi, I'm Stacy!" Stacy smiles and waves. "You guys are here to fix your TRVLR?"

Bro focuses back on Stacy and smiles, “Nice to meet you officially then, Stacy! And yup! It’s- god such a long story but basically it got broken and then got sucked into other worlds and we almost got all the pieces! But now we gotta go collect what’s left! Which led us here!”

"Ohhhh, cool." Stacy nods. "Is there anything we can do to help?" 

"Wh--I mean--Stacy, we were--" Chase suddenly stammers. "I-I mean--we didn't even... get our food or anything..." 

"Oh, I mean, uh... yeah! We can totally keep going!" Stacy looks embarrassed. "It's not that I, uh, don't like this or want to leave, I just... it seems important." 

"Uh, yeah, it does, but uh... I-I was gonna... I mean, uh..." 

"We can come back here some other time. Any time!" 

"Yeah, I just uh... yeah." 

They are both blushing.

Bro blinks a bit in confusion and looks between the two of them. Then it clicks and he goes, “OHH! Oh! You two are-! Awww-! It’s okay little dudes you two can finish! I gotta figure out where Alt went anyways!”

"Wh--I mean, we're, uh--y-yeah, we're--I-I mean we've done stuff before, but like..." Chase messes with his hat distractedly. "This is like... stuff." 

"Yeah, it's like... stuff." Stacy fidgets with a bracelet on her wrist. "Um... he'll probably be with the others, I guess. Or... nearby." 

"So he's gonna be at Jackie's house," Chase says. "They're all hanging out there. They asked us if we wanted to come, but uh... stuff."

Bro laughs, “You guys are so cute- you can just say it’s a date!” He waves himself off, “You guys gimme an address and I can find them then! Maybe you can come catch up once you’re done!”

The blushing intensifies. "Y-yeah, it's like... a casual thing," Stacy says. 

"Uh, yeah, hang on." Chase grabs a napkin from the napkin holder. "Stace, d'you have a pen?" 

"Yep." Stacy takes a sparkly gold pen out of her pocket and hands it over. 

"Thanks." Chase writes something down. "Here!" He hands it out to Bro. On it is written the address 45 Hyder Lane, as well as some other stuff. "Uh, I know you can fly so you'll probably be able to just go there, but just in case here are the bus lines to get there from Zelly's--that's here, by the way."

Bro takes the address from them and laughs, “yeah but that’s probably not a good idea here-! Luckily I got my phone- …that should still work right?” He whips out his phone to type in the address.

For some reason, the maps app takes a lot longer to load. Chase and Stacy lean over his shoulders. "Oh, you have a GPS on your phone?" Chase gasps. 

"I hear they're gonna do something like that soon!" Stacy says excitedly. "This fall or something." 

Eventually, something seems to connect and it shows the address.

“Oh right- this is still the past.” Bro giggles, “it’s… 2012 now then?” He whistles, “man.. that’s crazy.” Once it’s loaded he grins and shows them. “Alright! See we’re all good! You guys can enjoy the rest of your date!”

The two teens blush again. "Th-thanks," Chase says. "Good luck with your, uh, search." 

"We'll see you later, maybe?" Stacy says. 

“Hopefully!” Bro grins as he waves, heading towards the door- “have fun you guys!”

"See you!" Chase waves Bro off.

 ----------- 

Alt lands in a hallway at the base of a staircase. The floor beneath his feet is covered in a brown shaggy carpet and the walls are painted pale yellow. There's a door to the left that's ajar, showing a laundry room of some kind. There's also a door to the right that's ajar, through which come a series of voices and shouts. 

"How are you guys winning?! You don't have a fucking Medic!" 

"You don't need a Medic when you got mad skillz--oh god damn it!" 

"Hah! That is what you get for talking shit!" 

"To be fair, we are like, four years older than you guys--" 

"And so? That means you're better at video games? I beg to dif--fuck! Where were you?!" 

"Ahahahaha! I could be in this very room! I could be you, I could be me, I could even be right behind you!"

Alt shakes himself out and blinks as he takes in the hallway. All those voices… it sounds like a bunch of teenagers? …weird- he glitches a bit forward and tries to peek in through the door.

This room is full of stuff. Right by the doorway there's a bookshelf full of stuff for something called Caverns and Creatures. Up against the opposite wall, underneath a high-up window, are a series of stacked plastic boxes full of what look like old clothes. In the corners of the rooms are piles of outdoorsy equipment. But in the center is a small island made by pushing a desk up against two folding tables (looks like the desk had been pushed over from a spot by the wall, judging by the impressions in the carpet). On this island are a bunch of computers, most of them laptops but two clunky older models. 

Six young guys are sitting there, all focused on the computers. "Jameson how the fuck are you typing while shooting me?!" one shouts. Another one just grins and sticks out his tongue in response. 

"Marvin I need to fucking heal you!" 

"Oh that's you, I thought that was Aodhan, sorry!" 

"It could be me! You don't know!" 

"Dude, shut the fuck up." 

"Hehehehehe."

Alt blinks a bit in confusion. …are these all? But- last time they were like- 13! These can’t be the same guys right? He furrows his eyebrows and tries to lean closer- but then leans too far onto the door and it flies open- leaving him standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

The nearest guy--wearing an old red hoodie, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, a bit of stubble on his face--looks back towards the doorway first. "Dad, did you want--" Then he stops. And grins. "No way! Alt?!" 

Alt glitches a bit in surprise and awkwardly waves his hand. 

The others all look up. "Holy shit, it's Alt!" one of them shouts, standing up. He has a black streak dyed in his hair, and is wearing a black t-shirt with a band name over a longer-sleeved striped shirt. "Hey! Alt! You probably don't recognize us! It's me!" He waves, and little green fireworks pop off around his hand. "Marvin!" 

Alt grins big, “No fucking way- what the hell?!” He laughs. He glitches further into the room and his eyes widen as he sees the magic. “Oh my god hey!”

"Alt?" A boy with round glasses and a blue flannel shirt looks up. He grins. "Alt! It is so good to--" 

"From behind!" 

"Hey!" The glasses boy glares at the guy sitting across from him.

Alt pushes his hair back in disbelief, laughing breathlessly, “Jesus Christ… h-has it been that long since we’ve seen you all? You’re all… you’re all grown up..!”

Marvin laughs. "Yeah it's been like--three years or something? Fucking insane!" 

“Jesus- it hasn’t been that long for me and Bro!” Alt laughs.

"Huh?" One of the guys looks over, wearing a blue hoodie and an Irish flat cap. "Oh, so you're that Alt guy from their one adventure with other worlds?" 

"Yep!" The guy in the hoodie--obviously Jackie--nods. "Alt, this is Jack, we met him a bit after you guys." 

Alt blinks at the new kid and smiles. “Yo nice to meet ya! Any friends of these lads are a friend of mine!” He grins.

"Nice to meet ya!" Jack says cheerfully.

"Schiesse!" shouts the boy with glasses. "Jackie, pause the fucking server, Aodhan is making camp on me!" 

"Noooo, I'm camping you, that's different," the guy next to Jack cackles. He's wearing all black, a black leather jacket over a black t-shirt with only highlights of silver on his bracelets and the choker around his neck. 

"Okay, I'm calling time-out," Jackie says, turning back to his computer and pressing some buttons. 

Alt looks over at the computers and chuckles, “oh man whatcha guys playing? Sounds intense-“ he laughs.

The guy in black looks back at Alt. His eyes are bright green. He grins. "Hey! I remember you!" 

Alt blinks at the boy in all black and his eyes widen, “Woah- you’re … you’re A-Anti??” 

"Yeah!" Aodhan nods, grinning. "Look at me! I'm normal now! Well, almost." He's suddenly over by the the corner of the room. Then he's sitting up on the ledge of the window, crouching awkwardly since it's so close to the ceiling. Then he's back in his chair. 

Alt blinks rapidly then grins, “You’re just like me!” 

"It's still crazy to have him here," Jack laughs, leaning closer to him. Aodhan leans close as well and the two of them bump shoulders. 

The last boy stands up and waves. He's wearing a green t-shirt over a white button-down shirt, and has an old-fashioned pocket watch on a chain around his neck. It's so good to see you, Alt, the boy with the pocket watch says. It's me, Jameson! 

"And I am Schneep." The boy with glasses grins. 

Alt glitches around to look at Schneep and Jameson properly, “Damn! Look at you all! …some of you are taller than me what the hell?!” 

"Chase and Stacy were gonna be here, but they had plans," Marvin says. He wiggles his eyebrows, making JJ laugh. 

Alt’s eyebrows raise at the mention of Chase and Stacy. He shakes his head and laughs, “you guys have a lot to catch me and Bro on it seems! Man… I was hoping it wouldn’t be this long before I got to see you all again…” he sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

"What are you doing back here, Alt?" Schneep asks. 

“Well… We wanted to visit long before this but… we ran into problems that broke the TRVLR and now we… we gotta find the missing parts. One of them should be here.”

"Oh no, your TRVLR is broken?" Schneep says, distressed. "That is terrible! I do not think we could help put it back together, but we can help find your piece that is stuck here." 

Alt smiles, “We just gotta find the parts but thanks Schneep-“

Alt's phone lets out a squawk of static. "Actually there are two parts in this world," Anti's voice says. "One of them arrived here at an earlier time, closer to when you were first here, but the second was shot to a later point in the timeline. That's why so much time has passed." 

He jumps when Anti’s voice comes out of his phone and he pulls it out, “I gotta get used to you just speaking randomly…” he grumbles.

Aodhan gasps. "There's a voice in your pocket! I know that voice!" 

"You do?" Jack looks at him. 

"Yeah, that's the guy who showed me the Fissures, I'd never forget him." 

"Oh. I don't think that was me," Anti says. "But it was probably that other version of me." 

"Ah, okay." 

Alt blinks at this and tilts his head, “wait ...does that mean we gotta travel even further into the past? Man.. that’s gonna get confusing-“ He blinks a bit shocked at Aodhan then nods at Anti, “Oh yeah it’s…complicated- this guy is theee same guy- just a different timeline basically.” He flips his phone to show everyone Anti inside, “This is Anti guys- he’s from one of the first worlds we ever went to!”

Anti waves as the guys crowd around to look at him. "Oh he's a little guy!" 

Marvin gasps. "And he does look like Anti--Aodhan!" 

Your phone is so cool, Alt, Jameson says, smiling. 

"I'm not normally this little, I'm just hanging out in his phone until I regain my energy," Anti explains. "And no, Alt, we won't have to travel further back. The piece still exists in the future, after all. We can pick them both up from here." 

“Oooh- right okay. What I said sounds dumb now-“ Alt laughs sheepishly.

"Ooooo." Aodhan reaches out and pokes Alt's phone screen. He abruptly disappears, reappearing on the screen just like Anti is. 

Marvin laughs. "C'mon, dude! You're probably gonna fill up Alt's memory storage." 

"Sorry!" Aodhan pops out again. 

Alt jumps a bit at this then laughs, “Dude- we’re more alike then I thought! Though I don’t think I can appear on the screen like that… maybe I could though.” He muses. 

"Never know until you try, Alt," Anti says from the phone. "But uh, not right now. The teen Marvin is right, I'm taking up a lot of your storage." 

Schneep narrows his eyes at him. "Were you using your powers to cheat?" 

"I'd never do that!" Aodhan gasps, mock-offended. "Not for TF2, you all suck too much at the game for cheating to be necessary!" The others all immediately shout out protests.

Alt listens to the others bicker and laughs more, “Oh! TF2! Man- that takes me back!” He grins.

"Oh yeah, they said you were from the future!" Jack gasps. "Or, a world that's in the future. That's so cool." 

And it explains the phone being so cool, JJ says. 

"Yes, look at the apps, they are all so smooth and without texture," Schneep says. 

Alt laughs, “Yeah in my world it’s 2020!”

Jackie shakes his head. "We're getting distracted. Alt, d'you know what these pieces you're looking for look like? Or where they might be?"

Alt blinks at Jackie then digs in his pocket to pull out the tracker, touching the pupil. “Oh I can find out, one sec-“ The two TRVLR pieces are in in the city, one in Hollewych Park and one just outside city hall.

Alt looks at the others, “There’s one in Hollewych Park and one just outside of city hall-“ He relays to the others, putting the tracker back in his pocket.

"Ooooo, was that magic?" Marvin says excitedly. "Like some sort of--scrying thing?" 

“Oh yeah kinda?” Alt chuckles, “that’s probably the best way to describe it!” 

"We are kinda close to the park, but we'll have to drive a bit farther to get to city hall," Jackie says. He sighs. "I don't really want to go back there. I mean, I know it's fine now, but like..." 

JJ looks at Alt. Do you remember the Circle? They used to have a location at city hall. I think we all remember city hall for that, even though it was years ago by now.

Alt blinks at Jackie’s response but then his expression darkens a bit. “Oh yeah- I remember you all talking about them… but hey you got rid of them it sounds like! So it should be fine- but you guys don’t have to come if you don’t want to!”

"No, it's fine," Jackie insists. "You're right, the Circle is gone now, so there's nothing to worry about. I just get nervous, you know?" 

"You can wait in the car or something," Jack suggests. 

"I mean... I definitely want to come. I wasn't around for the other times these guys showed up!" 

"We are going to the park first, yes?" Schneep says. "So we can think about city hall on the way there." 

Marvin frowns. "I don't think we can all fit in Jackie's car. And Chase is the only other one with a license so we're shit out of luck for taking two cars." He looks at Alt, eyes wide. "Can you glitch us there?!" 

That's probably too many people, Jameson points out. 

“I can try- it is kinda reaching my limit though-“ Alt says.

"I can try to help?" Aodhan suggests. "But shouldn't we ask something first?" The others stare at him. "Like--where's the other guy? The big Chase? And did that cat guy come along?"

Alt blinks with the others then smacks his head kinda, “Oh yeah! Bro should be around here somewhere- probably with little him since the rest of you are here! And no don’t worry- Mag isn’t here this time, thank god.”

"Oh good." Aodhan relaxes, looking relieved. 

Alt seems to process something and looks back at Jack, “Wait…you said other times- as in plural? We’ve only been here once…” he says, looking confused.

Jackie blinks. "You mean you don't... remember your other visits?" 

Maybe it's more time stuff! JJ says excitedly. Like Dr. Who! In the episode with the angels where they meet the lady who gives them a guide for the questions-- 

Alt’s eyes widen as he blinks at the boys in surprise. “…woah- this is some fucking timey wimey shit all right-�� he laughs. “…god that makes me feel a bit better- I was really bummed that guys thought we just… forgot about you guys.” 

"Oooo, yes, of course!" Schneep nods. "Like your watch!" 

That too. JJ grabs the pocket watch around his neck. 

Alt tilts his head at JJ then glitches over, looking at his watch. “Oh? Do you have magic now too??” 

JJ grins. I found this a couple months ago! I don't know if it's magic, but it's very cool! He shakes his head. I'll hold back for now though so I can explain to you and Bro at the same time.

Alt nods, “That’s fair! I’m very interested to learn more.” He grins. 

"I wonder if Chase and Stacy will want to come," Marvin says. "Or d'you think they'll want to, yknow... do whatever people do when they date?"

Alt looks at Marvin and laughs, touching his necklace. “Well- probably the latter if I had to guess. Lemme see if I can catch Bro and tell him where we’re going-“ He pulls out his phone and calls Bro.

Bro has been walking for a while, despite how Chase gave him bus directions. He's in an area with tons of businesses and restaurants, and a lot of people walking around, enjoying the sunny day. That's when his phone starts to ring.

Bro grumbles to himself, “Fucking- should have listened to little me… why isn’t flying more wildly accepted?” He sighs. Then blinks as his phone rings. “Yo? Alt?” 

“Hey Chase- where you at?” 

“Trying to walk to Little Jackie’s house-“ Bro grunts. 

“I’m with the others! The TRVLR parts are at hollewych park and then city hall- are you anywhere close to there?”

"Oh, if he started at Zelly's then he'll probably be kind of near the city center," Jackie says. 

"Is he surrounded by five-story buildings or two-story buildings?" Schneep asks. "Because they tend to get taller the closer you get to city hall."

“Here let me put you all on speaker so he can hear this,” Alt laughs, “Say hi to the kids, Bro!” 

“Yooo little dudes!” Bro’s voices says over the speaker.

"Hi!" Jackie says. 

"What's up, bitches!" Marvin shouts. 

"As Chase would say, 'sup?" Schneep says. 

Jameson whistles. 

"You haven't met me before, but I'm Jack, nice to meet you!" Jack says. 

"And when you met me I wasn't normal!" Aodhan says cheerfully. "It's me, Anti! But my name is Aodhan, too." 

“Oh wow hi eveyone!” Bro laughs over the speaker, “and uh- hi Anti! Glad you’re … normal now?” 

"Bro, where are you?" Jackie asks. "What bus did you take?"

As Jackie asks his question there’s a long pause on Bro’s end before he mumbles, “I- uh… didn’t take one-“

A second passes in silence. Then Aodhan starts laughing. Marvin starts giggling after him. "Are you--are you fucking walking?" he asks. 

Schneep frowns. "I know this is a small town, but it is not that small." 

Alt covers his mouth to hide his laughter, “Chase… really?” 

“Well I can’t fly right now can I?? I thought- how bad could it be?? Plus like- don’t you need to… show id or something on buses or- be a citizen?? I don’t know how buses work I’m a superhero goddamnit!” Alt rolls his eyes. 

"You need to pay for a bus, so if you don't have money, that's an excuse," Jack suggests. "I don't think you have to show ID? At least, they've never asked me or Anti."

"So you're probably still close to Zelly's then," Jackie says, nudging Marvin and Aodhan. "You probably didn't get past Queen Cleo's--that's the pizza place with the red roof. I mean, assuming you don't have super speed or anything." The pizza place Jackie is mentioning is right next to Bro.

Bro looks over at his side and then makes a face, “…yeah I see the pizza place-“ he says in a defeated tone.

Jackie holds back a snort of laughter of his own now. "Okay, okay, it'll probably be easiest if you head towards city hall. I can drive over there to pick you up and take you the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Alt can take some guys straight to the park and look around for your TRVLR thing there, then once they've found it they can go to city hall." He looks around. "Does that sound good to everyone?" 

“Sounds good to me!” Alt grins. 

Bro sighs heavily, “Yeah that’s chill- lemme see if I can pull up directions there-“ 

“You’re using your gps?? Dude it tells you how long it takes to walk there-“ Alt laughs, “Did you see how long it would take and still chose to walk?” 

Another long silence follows before Bro says quietly, “…I had it still on the drive time-“ 

“Oh my god chase!” Alt bursts into laughter now.

Schneep chuckles. "You really are an older version of Chase. I am not quite understanding this conversation, but it sounds like something he would do." 

Alt laughs, “I can see it.” 

"Alright, who wants to come with me to pick up Bro, then?" Jackie asks, looking around. 

"I, uh... want to meet him," Jack says. 

"I do not imagine being much help with the park search, I will go, too," Schneep says. 

"I can do both!" Aodhan grins. 

JJ and Marvin look at each other. They nod in unison. "Me and JJ will go with Alt to the park," Marvin says. "If that's okay."

Alt blinks then grins wide at Marvin and JJ, “Of course dude! Us magic bros gotta stick together!”

The twins grin right back at him. 

"Great." Jackie nods. "Now... I just need to think of a reason why I'd be driving off with Jack and Schneep. To tell Dad, I mean. He'd want to know. Maybe we're getting snacks...though in that case we'd need to actually get snacks." 

"I should text Chase all this, yes?" Schneep says. "Or do you think that would interrupt him?"

Bro chuckles on the speaker, “We can get snacks- we aren’t in that big of a rush. Alt could always use extra anyways if you all are glitching pretty far.”

Jackie laughs. "Okay, okay, we'll stop by, then." He looks at Alt, JJ, and Marvin. "You guys will probably have to glitch right out of here. If you went upstairs Dad would be confused as to who this older guy is and when he got here." 

“Yeah I don’t wanna alarm your dad,” Alt laughs. “Keep me updated bro-“ 

“Will do dude- see you all soon!” Bro says before Alt hangs up. He then stuffs the phone in his pocket and offer a hand out to the boys. “Alright! Let’s get moving then~”

Marvin grabs JJ's arm and then Alt's hand. "Great!" He looks at the others and grins. "See you all later! Tell Bro we say hi when you find him!" 

"No problem!" Jackie says.

Alt waves his other other hand and then glitches the 3 of them out of there towards the park.

They appear on a concrete path surrounding a wide green space. More paths crisscross the area, as well as some steps, as they seem to be standing on top of a slight hill. In the center of the park is a large fountain with some angelic looking figures--though one of them is missing a wing, like it broke off. There are some people wandering around the park. A woman walking a dog, a family with two young kids, some teenage boys in the corner skateboarding. 

"Heheh. Hey look, it's Chase's people," Marvin says, pointing at the skaters. 

Suddenly, Aodhan appears next to them. "Hey, this is where I first saw Chase!"

Alt laughs at Marvin’s comment then can’t help but jump a bit as Aodhan joins. “Oh right- hi,” He laughs. He pulls out the tracker again to see if he can get a more accurate read on where the piece is as he looks out over the park. “This is a nice park! Cozy almost.”

"Yeah, it really is!" Marvin nods. "When me and JJ were younger we used to take the coins from the fountain that they threw into the basin for wishes. But as we got older it started to feel kinda bad doing that, y'know? Like, if greenlight is real, what if wishes are? So I started doing like, pet sitting stuff for money. I'm really good with cats. We have a cat, named Sinney, she's a Russian blue and very adorable." As Marvin talks, the glass eye tracker tells Alt that the TRVLR part is in... what do you know? The fountain basin.

“Oh yeah I remember you talking about Sinney!” Alt smiles, “and that’s a good way to get money dude - hanging out with cats all day? I’d do that!” He blinks then laughs as the tracker tells him the location. He starts to walk towards the fountain. “Hey! The part is actually in the fountain apparently!”

JJ laughs. What a coincidence! The group heads down the path and reaches the fountain. 

Aodhan looks up at it. "Did I break the wing off that angel?" 

"Yeah," Marvin says.

 "Oops." 

“That sounds like a wild story,” Alt giggles.

JJ leans over the edge and looks into the basin. Do you know what the piece looks like, Alt?

Alt sighs and leans over the fountain, “Not really- but I guess something mechanical will be easy to spot, right?”

"Well, your TRVLR was very small, wasn't it?" Marvin says. "Like... this big?" He pantomimes holding it. "So there's probably a lot of small parts in it..." 

"Guess we just have to look close!" Aodhan says, leaning right up to the water, his nose two inches from its surface. 

JJ chuckles. Don't get wet, your eyeliner will smear. "I don't have the time for eyeliner! I'm not Marvin!" 

"Hey!... well, that's true," Marvin admits. "But I'm not wearing eyeliner today."

“Oh my god the eyeliner phase-“ Alt laughs, hiding his face a bit.

While they're talking, they circle around the fountain. Alt sees a glint of something gold--unusual compared to the rest of the copper and silver coins. 

Marvin also notices it. "Oo! What's that?"

Alt brightens and reaches over for it, “I think this might be it!”

It looks like a little rectangle, no bigger than the coins it's surrounded by. Most of it is black, but there's a smaller gold rectangle in the middle that's the source of the glint. 

"Hey! What are you doing over there?"

Alt snatched up the rectangle before standing up quickly and looking towards the source of the question. “I-I dropped something in here! Just getting it real quick!”

The asker is a man in a gray suit, looking very out of place among the casual summer fashion of everyone else. He nods slowly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bite your head off. But I hear some people like to steal coins from the fountain." 

JJ and Marvin glance at each other. 

"Are you all... family? Brothers, cousins, what?"

Alt tilts his head and then answers quickly, “Yeah I’m uh- cousins with these two! Just visiting-“ He smiles.

"Hmm." The man looks at Aodhan. "And you?"

Aodhan just stares. A slight static hum comes from him. 

"He's just our friend," Marvin hurriedly says. "You know--" 

"Stranger," Aodhan mutters. 

The twins look at him in confusion. 

"Well, I'm also from out of town," the man says, seemingly not hearing Aodhan's comment. "It's a lovely place, isn't it?"

“Yeah I love visiting here,” Alt says carefully, narrowing his eyes at the man. “…but if you’re from out of town, why do you care who’s in the fountain…?”

"Oh, I don't like to see people causing trouble," the man says. "I hear there was a lot of trouble in this town about three years ago? Have you heard of that?" He looks at Marvin and JJ. "What about you boys?" 

"Uh... yeah, we remember it," Marvin says. "It was crazy."

Alt narrows his eyes a bit more, crossing his arms. “…can we help you with something?” He says shortly.

The man stares at the four of them thoughtfully... then sighed. "Alright, I can see you're the type to see through the small talk." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card. "I work for an agency, we're very curious about what happened here in Hollewych three years ago. I know it was very confusing for everyone who lives here, but we've already had the details of what happened. So we've been going around asking people if they know why it happened."

Alt just stares hard at the man and his card. “I don’t think we can help you with that. These guys were just kids back then- and I wasn’t here.”

The main raises an eyebrow. "Teenagers are more observant than we think, you know." 

"Sorry, we don't know anything," Marvin says. "It was fucking weird, that's all." 

"Alright. If you need to contact us, if you remember something, our phone number is on this card." 

Jameson silently takes it. 

The man nods. "Be seeing you, maybe." And he walks away.

Alt glares at the man as he walks away, “that was… really fucking weird. Everything about that seemed off.” He mumbles.

"I don't like him," Aodhan mutters. "He reminds me of the people in the Circle." He looks over at Alt. "Bullies." 

Alt nods, “Yeah I get that vibe…”

"Why'd you take the card, JJ?" Marvin asks. 

JJ hands the card to Marvin so he can sign. 

He seemed like he wouldn't go away otherwise. 

"Hmm." Marvin looks at the card. "Department of Impossible Sciences? Never heard of it."

As Marvin reads out the card, Alt feels a pit in his stomach and glitches over to look at the card.

One side of the card has the department name on it, along with a phone number. The other side is black, and has a white design of an eye on it, complete with eyelid and lashes. It does not have three irises.

Alt deflates at little bit- a bit relieved. Still he shakes his head, “I wouldn’t trust anyone who says they’re from a ‘department of impossible science’-“ He grumbles. “I’d definitely stay away from those guys.” 

"Yeah, no, definitely fucking not," Marvin agrees. 

Alt checks to make sure he still has the piece of the TRVLR and cleans it off before putting it in the black bag. “Well- at least we got the piece! Let’s head over to the others-“ 

"I'll go right now," Aodhan says, and disappears. 

No fair, JJ says, rolling his eyes. 

"Well... guess we're going to city hall without him, then," Marvin says, laughing a little. 

Alt chuckles, “I can just as easily glitch us over too- or do you guys wanna walk?”

"No that's what I meant." Marvin holds his hand out, grabbing onto JJ's arm. "It's just like--funny that he did it without us."

Alt shakes his head with a laugh, “maybe he just prefers glitching solo!” He grabs Marvin’s hand and glitches after Anti towards city hall.

----------- 

Meanwhile, Bro has been walking for a while. The businesses have taken over the area, pushing out the restaurants. But then a car pulls to the side, a silver car with big windows and a rounded top. The driver's side window rolls down, and a guy with long brown hair and an old red hoodie looks at him. "Wow--you really haven't aged a day!" Jackie laughs. "JJ's right, there must be some weird time stuff going on."

Bro idly looks at the buildings then blinks as the car rolls up. He grins as he sees the familiar face. “I can’t say the same about you! Look at ya!! Couldn’t even drink the last time we saw ya! Now you’re old enough to be in uni!!” He pauses then sticks out his tongue, “Ugh- I sound like an old relative coming to visit-“

Jackie laughs. "Yeah! It's crazy." He grins. "I--I'm actually on break from uni right now. I've made some friends there, I think. Here, get in the passenger side. If you think I look really different, you'll be so surprised to see Schneep." 

"What is that supposed to mean?!" A voice comes from the backseat. 

"It means you had a massive growth spurt, you doof," Jackie calls into the back.

Bro grins and hurries into the car. He climbs into the passenger side and quickly turns around then gasps in delight in seeing Schneep. “Oh my god! Little Hen!! You’re definitely not little anymore!”

"I was not that small, was I?" Schneep says. 

The other guy in the backseat laughs. "Hey, the first time I saw you, I legit thought you were, like, eight years old." 

"Hmph. Well, at least that has changed now!" Schneep grins. "It is good to see you again, Bro!" 

Bro grins back. “It’s good to see you all too! I can’t believe it’s been so long for you all! I wanna say it’s been… god… maybe 6 ish months?? Since we last saw you? Maybe longer-? Things have been kinda crazy.” He laughs. 

"Only six months? It sounds like there is some strange time stuff happening," Schneep chuckles. 

“Right?? It’s blowing my mind!” Bro laughs.

"And it's good to see you at all. I'm Jack." He holds out a hand for a shake. 

Bro blinks and takes Jack’s hand and shakes it, “Pleasure, Jack! I’m Chase but you know that’s confusing so call me Bro~!”

"Bro, then!" Jack laughs. "That's Chase's favorite word, it's really fitting that it's what we call you." 

Bro grins at Jack, “It’s my favorite word too! Why do think I picked it as my hero name?” 

Jackie puts the car into gear and pulls back into the street. Bro can tell that he's a lot more confident in his driving skills. "We're gonna find a corner store or something to get snacks from, then head over to city hall."

Bro sits the right way in the seat now and grins, “Sick! I can get some 2012 food- …was there anything good from then we don’t have now?” He asks himself, making a thinking face.

"Hey, I mean... you'd know more than us, we haven't been any time after 2012 yet." Jackie laughs. "That's sort of how time works, usually." 

Suddenly, there's a whine of static, and someone appears in the empty seat between Jack and Schneep. "Hey!" 

"Jesus focking christ, Anti!" Jack jumps.

Bro screeches a bit in surprise and grips over his heart- “…you think living with Alt I’d be used to this kinda shit!”

“You never get used to it,” Jack mutters. “Trust me.” 

“Sorry,” Aodhan says. “But look! It’s me! I’m not a shadow anymore!” He leans into the space between the two seats and grins. 

“Hey man! I’m so glad! I bet that’s a fucking crazy story,” Bro grins. 

“What are you doing here, Anti?” Schneep asks. 

“Telling you that the other three are going to city hall,” Aodhan says. “And that there was a weird guy talking to us.”

Bro blinks and tilts his head, “A weird guy?”

“Weird guy in a suit,” Aodhan continues. “Asking about what happened three years ago. He said he was from the Department of Impossible Sciences.”

Bro knits his eyebrows together, “…that sounds familiar… weird though- why ask about that now?”

“Yeah… I mean, it’s been a while,” Jackie says thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s only like… relevant now? For something this department is doing?” 

“If it’s a department, what is it a department of?” Jack wonders. “The government?” 

“Well they are not going to get any answers from the townspeople,” Schneep says. “It seems everyone has agreed to forget about it.” 

“Corner store,” Aodhan points out the window. “Snacks.” 

“Yeah, I see it, thanks,” Jackie says. 

“Yeah… seems weird that a guy like that would just- approach Alt and a bunch of teenagers… just out of nowhere…” Bro muses.

“I’m not a teenager,” Aodhan grumbles.

“Yeah, we’re old enough to drink in America!” Jack adds. 

“To be fair, Aodhan, you do act like a twelve-year-old a lot,” Jackie says.

Bro giggles, “I mean- still seems weird to approach a bunch of younger guys about this- out of just nowhere right? You all weren’t like- doing anything weird or magic?”

“We got the TRVLR part out of the fountain,” Aodhan says. 

“In the fountain?!” Schneep repeats. “Are you sure that the part will work?” “It looked like a solid thing. No place for water to get in or ruin it or anything.” Jackie pulls up to the corner store. “Well hopefully this was a one-off thing,” he says. “Now. Snacks.”

Bro hums in thought but then nods and hops out of the car, “Snacks!”

[buryyourthoughts]

Downpour

Ellie Williams x f!reader

Summary: You head to your boyfriends house early to surprise him for your 6 month anniversary date and get the shock of your life. Modern AU I guess.

a/n: I haven't written fanfics in YEARS but I've been so inspired by all the other amazing writers for TLOU ❤️ This is so un proofread and hidden on my NSFW sideblog lmfao but let me know what you think!!

contents: Slight abuse warning, slight drug and alcohol mention, cheating, angst, fluff.

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

You hated going on dates. Every single one you had to plan and organise and pay for but you did it for him. You felt bad that you made more at your part-time office job alongside uni so you paid for all your dates together and he never offered to change this. However this was your 6-month anniversary so you pulled out all the stops to prove you were the best girlfriend. He had been distant lately which had you concerned but every time you tried to talk about it, he brushed you off.

You went dress shopping with Dina earlier this week and found an amazing deep red dress that showed off your chest but was flowy and kept it "restaurant appropriate". You had a million other slutty dresses that you loved but he didn't like it when you showed off too much skin. You even went out your way to get some lacey lingerie that you know he likes if his instagram likes were anything to go by. That should have been your first red flag but he reassured you that he was just looking for present ideas for you and you believed him.

You quickly checked your watch and cursed at the time showing, he was always running behind so the earlier you turned up, the better. You knew the lingerie hiding beneath your clothes would put him in a good mood so you threw on a big jacket and grabbed your umbrella to protect yourself from the downpour outside and headed over.

You posted a quick selfie to your group chat for some courage on your walk over and Dina replied instantly with

"You're hot babe 🔥 he wont know what hit him 😉 "

"You're still with him, fr?? Cute dress tho." Ellie's reply came through seconds later.

You knew they both didn't really like your boyfriend but really, he was sweet when he wanted to be. He was just a bit rough around the edges, he said no one had ever really shown him "proper romance and love" before so you felt it was up to you to show him how you wanted to be treated. He hadn't really started to be super romantic yet but it had only been six months so you weren't worried, everyones relationships started out like this, right?

You got to his apartment block and shook off the excess water from your umbrella and left it in the entrance to drip dry before you headed out later. After going up the elevator you paused in front of his door, biting your lip. You were suddenly really nervous, a sinking feeling appearing in your stomach as you pulled out his spare key from under his doormat to let yourself in. The door closed softly behind you and you didn't immediately hear or see him. Your phone lit up his hallway as you were about to text him when you heard some noise coming from his bedroom. You locked your phone again and headed over, the click of your heels echoing in his dim hallway. You figured that he was actually getting ready on time for once, you could hear his music playing now and you smiled to yourself at the thought of him singing or dancing in the shower getting ready for your date.

You turned the door knob softly so you didn't startle him and headed in.

"Surprise baby-" you started, the door continued to open on its own to reveal the awful scene in front of you.

There he was, tangled and sweaty in his sheets with some random brown haired woman. She was bent over, face in the sheets and he was drilling her from behind. Her lewd moans filled the room and you felt claustrophobic. You couldn't think, you couldn't speak. You just stood there, open-mouthed and shocked.

"Y/N! It's not what it looks like, I promise!! She's just a friend!" He started, pulling out and yanking his sheets up over himself and the woman. Did he think you were stupid? You couldn't even see a condom.

"No, Levi don't, please. I'm not fighting you on this, I'm leaving". You managed to say. You honestly surprised yourself, you've never broken up with anyone before and if you were honest, you were a bit of a pushover. You believed in second chances, maybe third and fourth chances too but that's just the way you were. You spun on your heel and started to leave when he ran after you, now half clothed. You stumbled when his hands grabbed your waist, he turned you around and pushed you against the wall in his hallway.

"Y/N, please don't go, I promise she means nothing to me. I just had to let some steam out!" He was really close to you now, breath stinking of alcohol fanning out on your face.

"Please just let me leave, I don't want to fight on this." you whispered. His towering body was intimidating you now and you were starting to lose your bravery from earlier. You arms were held to your side by his strong hands. You had turned your face to get away from his breath but he wouldn't let you look away.

"Don't be such a bitch, it's not my fault that you won't sleep with me! What was I supposed to do?". Your heart shattered in this moment. He knew you wanted to wait, you had made mistakes before and slept with people too early and it led to your heart being broken so you decided this time that you would wait. You had really only planned on waiting a couple months, maybe four tops but as time went on you noticed you just didn't have any interest with sleeping with him. You had brushed it off as nerves and had decided that tonight was the night, and you wanted it to be special. You even had candles and fake rose petals hidden in your bag for after your date.

"LOOK AT ME" he yelled, your face squished in one of his hands. You froze, not breathing and staring into his eyes in the darkened hallway. You briefly wondered where this other woman was right now when his hand came down on your cheek, smacking you out of your daze.

"Are you even going to listen to me?" He continued, shaking your body against the wall. You quickly pushed his chest and ran out, dropping his spare key in the hallway. You rushed to the elevator and pressed the ground floor button multiple times to hurry it along. You felt weird, like you weren't really here. You face still stung from his slap but you couldn't think about that right now. You could feel the wetness of tears on your cheeks but it didn't feel like you were crying yet despite your heaving chest.

Your phone buzzed in your hands, it was him. You quickly declined his call and blocked his number. A few texts had come through from your dorm group chat that you browsed as a distraction until you left his building although reading about who had slept with who this week didn't entertain you like it normally would. The rain was still pouring down but you didn't even think about your umbrella in his building, you just walked out and kept walking until you couldn't anymore. Searching around you quickly found a bench in the entrance to the nearby park and headed towards it, as you were striding forward you tripped on a piece of raised pavement and twisted your ankle and fell to the floor in a heap.

Great. you thought, just what I need right now.

You examined your ankle, it stung but seemed ok. Your knees and shin had started to bleed and one of your heels had broken off. The tears really started to fall now, at least with the rain passerby's could barely tell you were sobbing. You pushed yourself off the ground and hobbled over to the nearby bench and slumped down and continued to sob. How could this have happened? Should you have been a better girlfriend? You always cheered him on when his band played at a local pub, handing out flyers in your uni or on the street. Selling t-shirts and organising adverts. Should you have just slept with him?

You immediately shook your head, trying to rid yourself of this thought. Suddenly your phone lit up, it was a text from Ellie that simply read "You ok?". You sniffed and unlocked your phone and dialed her number.

"Hey y/n! Everything ok?" she asked. Only two rings, she must be bored.

"H-he cheated" you cried. "Can you come get me? please?" you begged. You hoped she would, Ellie always knew how to cheer you up. You knew Dina would cheer you up as well but there was just something about Ellie that was different. She always made you smile and you felt safe in her company. You always looked forward to seeing her whenever you could find time between your coursework, job and your boyfriend. Ex- boyfriend you reminded yourself.

"Uhh, yeh sure! Are you ok though? Can you send me your location?" Panic creeping into her voice. In your head you could see her biting her lip and rubbing the back of her neck, she always did this when she was nervous. You quickly sent your location and mumbled "Yeh, no I'm fine, just come get me El?". After agreeing and promising to be as quick as she could.

Not long after you hung up, her truck pulled up across the road and she jumped out and ran over.

"Y/N! You're soaked! Did you not bring anything?" Her hands rested on your arms and you flinched slightly and you looked up at her. You felt like you couldn't speak, your eyes staring into hers when the tears started again. Ellie's eyes filled with concern as she took in your drenched form.

"You were both right" you sobbed, "he's an asshole and I hate him". The scene in front of Ellie wasn't quite what she was expecting. As much as Ellie hated your boyfriend, she didn't really want to be right, not like this when you were clearly so distraught.

"Can you take me home?" you plead.

"Of course, pretty girl. How 'bout I take you to mine? I can make us some dinner and put on those shit movies you like. You know you like my couch better!" she joked, now squatted down to your eye level. You liked her whole apartment more than your own, It was just so Ellie and it always smelled amazing.

"Can we smoke too?" you asked. The quicker you forgot about tonight the better. She grabbed your hands and got you standing and you wobbled, forgetting that your heal was broken and you had hurt yourself in this whole ordeal.

"Fuck, sorry Ellie. Can you help?" her eyes widened in concern, noticing the blood moving down your leg before picking you up bridal style, a small scream making it past your lips at the movement.

"My knight in shining armour." you joked, hand dramatically going to your forehead and giggling. Ellie huffed out a laugh and carried you over to her truck, opening the door and popping you in.

"Always for you, darlin' " Ellie said "Y'know I picked up a new strain as well that we can try, my treat" she winked at the end and you felt your face heat up and she closed the door. You sighed and sunk down in your seat, fastening your seatbelt whilst you waited for her. More often than not your cheeks were hot and your belly felt tight when you were around Ellie, she was such a casual flirt and you tried to not think about they way it was making you feel right now.

"Right, let's get you home and dry otherwise you're gonna catch a cold and I will be checking those cuts so don't think you can get out of it this time." Ellie always took care of you, even if it was a paper cut she would be there with a plaster and some alcohol on a cotton pad in an instant. It was almost like she had a sixth sense for you.

Ellie's hand rested comfortably on your thigh, spreading some warmth through your stomach whenever she squeezed it. You flicked on her radio for some background noise whilst she drove, you noticed that she was looking over at you every couple minutes, eyes scanning your face for a reaction but your face remained neutral. All you could honestly think about was the hand on your bare thigh. Her hand had wiggled its way under your dress and it sent your head spinning.

To distract yourself you quickly pulled down the mirror to scan your face, finally seeing the red finger and palm marks appearing on your cheek, hopefully Ellie hadn't noticed this yet with the cold and her flirting previously staining your cheeks. Ellie was fiercely loyal to her friends, but you noticed that she defends you the most and has punched men in clubs before for harassing you so who knows what she would do.

"Hey pretty girl" She said, turning her truck off "Y'there?" She tapped the side of your head bringing your attention back to here. You quickly smiled at her, and began unbuckling yourself, Ellie was already out and running to your side to help.

"Thank you Els, really." you replied solemnly.

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

A/N: I won't lie, I've forgotten how tf to end a chapter so I simply just ended it. I have some ideas for a second chapter but I want smut and i'm AWFUL at writing it lmfao. Any tips or requests are appreciated 💕

[sarcasmandships]

his! do you have any peterick fic recommendations? i've already read all your works on ao3 and i'm waiting desperately for updates so until then i need something to read because i feel like i've already read soooo many fics and i'm running out of material plz help :)

hiiii, im glad you like my fics and I'm sorry im terrible at updating i used to be so consistent but uni is just killing me with assignments rn! but i promise the restaurant au will get an update soon and im planning to edit death by a thousand cuts before i add to it again cos im just not really happy with the quality of it, but that will also be coming soon i promise!

anyways onto what you're really asking about; recommendations. im not sure if you're looking for smut or stories with plot so here's just a mix of things i've really liked ( i suck at bookmarking things so I've just searched through my history and there's deffos stuff i've missed im sorry)

Literally just read kick me in the face & ask me how my head feels by fkingdeathwish today - devoured this in a few hours and this fic made me like stories in first person. its so good and also has the best andy/joe/pete friendship dynamics i was smiling the whole time. but also features a lot of petekey tho which might not be ur thing

(smut) going down, down by @pyrchance - i read this the other day and its 10/10

Anything by snitchesandtalkers but some of my favourites are i've been checking my list, crooked love, making out inside crashed cars (smut), silver screen dream, the antidote to everything (except for me), we're friends when you're on your knees (not finished but still so so worth reading), amateur pornographers (smut obvs), a little less 16 candles (a little more bite me)

brutal love by @notastumph- this one is so good but like i also had to take a 5 min break between chapters cos the angst and heartbreak was getting to me so much (in the best way)

and i'll burn by jiksa - just read the tags first

the house on rosewood lane by scarredsodeep - this one is so fucking good, i don't even like horror and i was obsessed with this and couldn't stop reading

hey doctor, i'm certifiable by derridoid (smut) - so good and the ending made me laugh sm

husband on the payroll by das_verlorence-kind - what can i say, i love the fake relationship trope

also ive changed my plea to guilty by das_verlorence_kind - again just check the tags incase it’s not ur thing

accidents will happen by rusty76

again pretty much everything by @annoyingpetekey but some favourites are (i just wanna) get some, so pretty (when you're on your knees), and come on (and fuck me like you doubt me) - all smut

That Schrodinger guy made some really good points, you know? by @earlgreytea68

but i'm reflecting light by looks_a_scream - this one is deffos a favourite

the purgatory of my hips by auralcosm

edgar allan potato by emeralcitydowntowngirl - another absolute favourite, i have such a soft spot for soulmate AUs but I've never read one as good as this, again features a lot of petekey but it is all in the past

to take what i'm given with grace by likeasugarcube - their whole 'marriage of convience' series is amazing but this is the main fic and it is sooo good

anything by littlesnowpea but favourites include love in the middle of a firefight, but there's no preparing for this, and nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy (pls read tags first tho)

december is for cynics by looks_a_scream - another favourite

secrets i don’t want to keep by perceived_nobility (although i think they’ve changed their name to invisible_man now) anyways this one is only accessible if you have an ao3 account but it is so so good an hurts in all the best ways, would advise paying attention to some of the tags tho

Also pretty much anything written by appleremix or vampyerika

Ok so I have like another 30+ pages in my history but this is already so long, so i hope you enjoy some of these assuming you haven't read them already!

[willesredlights]

May never make it out challenge

Post a 1-5 paragraph excerpt of a WIP / fic idea that may never make it out of your drafts but is near and dear to your heart

Thank you @saynomorefic for tagging me in this and making a very fun and lovely tag game again🩷🩷

(I really do regret not working with folders (everything is chaos rn) and I had to fish this out of countless wips and uni documents)

I present you my singer-songwriter Simon x drummer Wille x a hot summer full of festivals AU called "where the music takes us" (I haven't written on this in a while but it really is dear to me and I hope maybe someday I can get this finished and post this. Maybe something for the summer??)

Pretend these are 5 paragraphs

Simon walks out of the container that is made up as his dressing room. The backstage of this festival is quiet big with a lot of these trailers and a few food stands and other fancy stuff artists can make use of. He walks to the Italian food stand as he really craves some pasta.  “Can I have two pepperoni pizza's, a pizza margherita and a pizza hawaii please?”, the person in front of him orders. Simon can only see his slightly broad back and which is being covered by a white t-shirt with a logo of the pop-rock band “Permanent Price”. They are famous around whole Europe and just ended their American tour. Simon listens occasionally to their music when he is doing house chores or going for a walk to clear his head.  When the guy has his order and turns around he almost walks into Simon. “I'm sorry”, he says with an apologetic smile while balancing the pizza boxes in his hands. “It's okay”, Simon answers. Their eyes find each other and for a short moment it feels like time is standing still. Maybe it only lasted for a few millisecond but it definitely felt longer. His amber eyes are sparkling in the bright sunlight.  He walks away and Simon looks at him until he disappears in one of the containers. The lady behind the counter draws his attention again by clearing her throat. “I know it’s very impressive to see a member of Permanent Price but I have other customers to serve”, she says quite annoyed. Simon just smiles, thinking about those amber eyes, and giving his order which is a pasta carbonara.  Back in his dressing room, Simon can’t let his encounter with a member of Permanent Price go. He searches for the band on Instagram and finds their account rather fast, which isn’t hard as he follows them. He looks at one of the pictures and sees a guy with the same beautiful eyes and same brown hair as the guy who almost ran into him. He looks at the tags and now sees that it’s Wilhelm, the drummer of the band. He knew his face looked familiar. He clicks on his profile and scrolls through the pictures. Most of them being from gigs. Him behind his drum, mostly with a concentrated face but sometimes with a smile on his face.  “Brussels, what a pleasure it was to play for you!”, is one of the captions under a picture of him, holding his arms in the air while sitting behind his drum. The picture is followed by some random pictures of him and his friends taken in Brussels. It was during one of the shows of their Europe tour they did earlier this year.  Simon has never seen them live. Not because he didn’t want to or didn't think about it, basically just because his life is so busy. If he is not working at his school, he is in the studio or in his bedroom writing songs. But he loves doing his jobs. He loves working with kids and helping them. He loves making music and coming up with new lyrics he can use in a song. He also loves working in the coffee shop because most of the customers are nice and he just loves giving them a good day  always finding a way to make them smile.

The name of Wille's band is based on this Wallows song

I'm tagging: @rose-and-clover @nerdyfangirl76 @vvachillessongvv <33

[jfleamont]

purely off vibes I’m going for the Band AU

But I’d love to hear about Friends to lovers canon divergent AU as well

Hi Maya! Band AU? Say no more! Okay, this one's fun! I haven't written much so I can't really share a snippet at the moment, but I've outlined the plot so I'm gonna share that (or parts of it at least).

First year of uni, they have seen each other because they both perform at the local pub (Lily with Snape, James with Sirius, Remus and Peter) but they officially meet at a Halloween party and things don't go well: James is a bit of a music snob to her on purpose because she's friends with Snape and thinks she deserves it. She obviously gets annoyed and they don't speak to each other for the rest of the year.

It's second year, months after her big argument with Snape and James and Lily meet again but this time at a house party with karaoke. He sings, Lily watches for a bit but then retreats to the balcony. After the song he walks outside to smoke and meets Lily there. He asks where Snape is, she simply says they're not friends anymore; their conversation is somewhat civil, but still brief. Some time passes, and Lily and Remus are studying at the student union while James appears out of nowhere. She's a bit cold to him (not really, she's just focused on studying), then James asks Remus if he wants to go to the cinema and Lily can come too. It's an olive branch, and she'd take it, but tells them that she has a date. In the following weeks they meet at more open mic nights, and afterwards Lily starts hanging out with the Marauders more. By December, James and Lily are sort of friendly but the band is having trouble finding a new bassist since Peter suddenly left (he's from another uni and hates commuting) so she tells them she can fill in for him just this time, but by mid January she's played with them a few times already and they ask her to join the band; they start performing more seriously from then on, and write music together, then spend their summer playing gigs (very small ones, in dingy bars in remote towns all over England, Scotland and Wales).

There's a time jump (I still haven't decided whether their undergrad degree is 3 or 4 years) and now they're months away from graduation. James and Lily are just friends, but they secretly have feelings for each other: they're afraid of being rejected, and on top of that they don't want to jeopardise everything and risk making things awkward because the band means too much to both of them. The band has a decent following, they even record some songs in the studio and release them independently. They receive a couple of offers from labels and they end up signing shortly after graduation. Some of them get a summer job, but they also start working on their album; they start touring as supporting acts for other artists in the following year, get more radio play, perform at a few festivals... and then it's time to release their first album, and when one of their songs goes viral, things change pretty quickly.

If this seems like spoiling the entire plot... don't worry. This is just the first half (not even that, probably just the first of three acts) of the story, and I'm sure this will be a beast to write with all the research I'm going to have to do. I'm scared honestly!

Sorry for the late reply, I meant to post this yesterday but it turns out that you can't edit a post on the mobile app if you started writing in on your laptop :/

[lilolilyr]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Oh thank you so much for this ask! But this is so hard to say, which is why these have accumulated in my ask box for ages xD

I think for my absolute fav, as seen in my header gif, I'll still have to say Andromaquynh "In Your Stead", or the Just You And Me series it's part of! It might not be my longest fic but it is one of my longfics and the one I just, idk, put the most heart into? I worked a lot on that one and it's still very dear to me <3

main fic 30k M, series 50k T-E

For places 2-5 it gets way harder to decide! I guess I'll have to cheat and look through which fics I've tagged 'author's favorite' xD

Ohh I definitely adore my Star Trek University AU, it's basically my time at uni except Better and Queerer? xD

It's technically unfinished but it doesn't have a cliffhanger or anything and you can read them as standalones, idk whether I'll ever get back to actually writing for it tho I do have some small drafts and ideas

10k rated T-E, Milippa and KiraDax(Kahn)

And another Star Trek fic comes to mind, I haven't actually reread it in ages and don't remember it well but I remember that I really loved it back in '21!

Milippa, 10k, rated T, no warnings

Oh, and back to Andromaquynh, also a University AU and I think my longest ever fic even when counting series?

50k, rated T, no warnings

Ohhh and then there's my first ever GM fic! There's just something about the first fics I write when getting into a new fandom, especially when I write them right after watching the film they're for for the first time, they always have a special place in my heart!

Floreleine, 7k words, starts rated T and has a skippable E-rated part

[liuisi]

2, 3, 4, 13, 21, 23, and 24! I WANNA KNOW ABOUT YOUR OLIVIAVERSE YES YES

2. Summarize this au in 5 sentences.

im always so bad at this kinda stuff but i will try my best

olivia saves herself and tries to slowly relearn how to live. eli's been saving himself every day for years. mariam tries to keep them (and herself) together. they love each other so much :(. it'll work out, eventually.

3. Did anything inspire this au?

lichrally any story ive read that has slice of life/bittersweetness TBH!! but for the latest thing id say the line tender by kate allen / après céleste by maude nepveu villeneuve (french book saurry)

4. What is a major change you made?

this story used to have magical realism with birds as a thouroughline but i ended cutting that part out i felt like it was Too Much for this story yk... but i do wanna end up writing magical realism sometime soon

(that's why there's a bird in the parking lot in that snippet i posted a while back!!)

13. Write a lil snippet set in this verse.

thought id give a little uni arc olivia + lauren (for the first time? i think?)

Lauren pulls the headphones away from her ear. "Anybody you want to talk to?" Olivia, who's sitting on the small couch bolted to the side of the ship, gives a dismissive wave. "No," she says, still typing away furiously at her laptop. Lauren frowns and lowers the headphones to her neck. "Are you sure? It's been two weeks. No one that needs to know that you're not dead?" Olivia's fingers still, and she shoots Lauren a quick smile, all teeth. It's somewhat tight at the edges. "Nope," she says, shutting her laptop screen and gingerly setting it aside. "It's fine. I'm going to go get some fresh air. All that screentime is starting to make my eyes hurt." She leaves before Lauren can get a word in edgewise.

21. What makes you most excited about this fic?

i just LOVE writing these guys. you dont understand they live in my head so much that putting them down into words is a relief. like i just think that a dynamic like theirs is so fun to write... its about the deep love its about the loyalty its about the care its about the you-might-mess-up-sometimes-but-i-will-love-you-anyways DO YOU UNDERSTANDDDDDD

23. Do you have other ideas for how to continue this au/other fics that could be written in the same universe?

honestly the way im writing this now its kind of just disconnected scenes for fun yk so i could write Literally Anything... BUT for the sake of answering this question i do want to write more scenes for what i call the uni arc (olivia moves away for uni and everything she's tried to ignore blows up in her face)

24. Ramble about something you haven't gotten to talk about yet.

okay. honestly. been trying to figure it out but i lowkey want to make this story christian in some way?? idk like theres christian poetry there's christian fiction (mostly fantasy) but i havent ever read a christian story with These Vibes you know. i want to write a good story that is also christian!! is that too much to ask!!! i have no idea how .... honestly everything i think of sounds cringe and corny but maybe thats the like. social conditioning talking. fantasy stories have it easy because they can have magic and stuff so its easy to integrate but for this story thats like. the POINT is that its realistic and down to earth and they're all just People trying to get by. i cant really make it an allegory or a metaphor yk? it has to be real .... but then if i say "olivia starts to believe in her uni arc and becomes a christian" that just sounds silly to me!! (or maybe. again. its just that the worlds pov is that christianity is corny and silly and it could actually be good but IDK!!!)