#[my ao3: answers: flynn]

[mammalsofaction]

Those Moments When We Didn't Get Along

Rating: G

Relationship: Heinz Doofenshmirtz/Perry the Platypus

Add tags: Human Perry, mute Perry, POV Outsider, the whole Flynn-Fletcher family, set during the breakup scene from About Time.

A/N: The lore behind Perry and Lawrence's relationship is in compliance with the Human Perry Lore post I've made a while back here. Perry's sister, Lawrence's ex-wife, was named Evelyn, AKA Agent Eve the Echidna. (Get it, egg laying mammals native to Australia?)

Now read it on Ao3!

---

"Perry?" Lawrence calls out, knocking on his door. The room is dark, unlit, but the answering churr is unmistakable. He sounds...

"Are you alright, dear boy?" This time, an indecipherable grunt. "Linda sent me up to tell you dinner's ready. May I come in?"

When he hears no response, which is as good of an answer on its own, he pushes the door to let himself inside, and instinctively reaches for the light switch.

Perry's face down on the bed, still partly dressed in his teal work clothes. He doesn't flinch.

"My word, old boy, what's happened?" Lawrence demands, mildly alarmed. Perry bats his hands away when he plops himself down next to him on the mattress, shoving at his shoulder, but he does it without twisting himself around. "Don't be like that, let me look at you. Perry. What's gotten into you?"

Then he hears it. The unmistakable sniffle.

Lawrence gapes. "Have you just broken up with someone?"

It was an educated guess, but the way Perry leaps up to slap at his face all but confirms it. Lawrence supposed he had said it too loudly considering the kind of household they're in. He could swear Candace's hearing could be supersonic sometimes. "We didn't even know you were dating anybody," Lawrence chides, half despairing. Perry tries to plop back down into bed, and Lawrence doesn't let him. Going so far as to physically set himself between Perry and the miserably crumpled mattress so his foster-cum-brother-in-law was throwing himself into his embrace instead.

Lawrence pats Perry's back, commiserating. Perry's buried his face in the crook of Lawrence's throat. He hadn't gotten more than a glance at Perry's face, but what he's seen has practically torn his heart apart; nothing but swollen eyes and visible tear tracks. "What happened?" He asks again, helplessly. "Will you tell me?"

Lawrence half-expects being ignored. Both of them knew that Lawrence knew, at least partially, the hidden truth of Perry's career, but it wasn't from anything Perry ever tells him in person. There are some unmistakeable aspects of himself that he still clamps down on, and Lawrence would never presume to push.

So he's taken by surprise when Perry shrugs, noncommittal, then raises his hands to sign; Think I just got cheated on.

"You what?"  Lawrence hisses.

It's fine, I don't-

"No, Perry." Lawrence fumes emphatically, and the teak haired man stops short in surprise. "It is very clearly not fine."

Lawrence-

It's too late. Lawrence had already gotten to his feet, hands on his hips in a way that Candace had once told him made him look his own age, in a derogatory manner. He isn't thinking about that now, though. Now all he is is vibrating at an visible frequency of second-hand outrage. Dinner first, Lawrence thinks to himself. Then he will...he will drive out, and get Perry some ice cream so they can. Can stew and Perry will eat his heart out and they can cry and rage all about this....this no-good heartbreaking bedswerving cad.

This he tells to Perry, who responds by simply burying his face back into his pillow so he could continue wallowing. Lawrence feels generous enough to let him, but he leaves the lights on as he stomps his way downstairs, where the family was happily eating dinner before they see the look on Lawrence's face.

"Dad?" Phineas asked innocently. "What happened? Where's Uncle Perry?"

"I'm afraid Uncle Perry will not be joining us for dinner tonight, boys, and will unfortunately be out of commission until spoken otherwise."

"Out of commission?" The boy gasped dramatically, kneeling on his chair. Candace and Linda had both curiously put their spoons down. "He's sick?" Phineas concludes in dismay. Ferb blinks, shocked.

"Of a sort." Lawrence answers grimly.

"Of a sort?" Candace grunts. "What kind of answer is that? He's either sick or he isn't." Her tone was haughty, skeptical, but Lawrence could hear the concern in her inflection from a mile away. Candace loved pretending she cared less than she truthfully did.

When Lawrence feels the tug on his sleeve, he turns to see Linda, who had a carefully concealed look of concern. A single flick of her eyes in the direction of Perry's room was all she needed to communicate her offer; Dinner?

Lawrence nods, then points to the car keys, hanging by the front door.

Her brow furrows further in concern, but they both know that it wasn't the right time to properly ask. She turns to back to the kids instead. "Honey, why don't you help me make a plate of dinner, and Candace can send it up to Uncle Perry?"

"I want to help send it up!"

"There shouldn't be too many people in Uncle Perry's room, dear, he might have a headache."

"Me and Ferb will be really quiet, please please please please please-,"

Lawrence leaves them to it, pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of Linda's temple and ruffling Ferb's hair as he makes his way out. He feels the boy's gaze follow him all the way to the door, but doesn't realize he's being followed until he turns around to shut the door behind him.

Ferb blinks expectantly.

"Oh, go inside, my boy, it's chilly! I'll just be a moment."

The boy responds by pulling a pair of mittens, and his purple bobblehead hat from his deep pockets, blinking again once he shrugs them on.

There was no talking Ferb out of something he's clearly made his mind about. Lawrence sighs, taking his hand as they walk to the garage.

"Alright," Lawrence concedes. "But promise we'll keep this between you and me, alright?"

Lawrence doesn't doubt he will. Ferb blinks eagerly in compliance.

-----

Lawrence figures the boy's figured it out, on their way home from the supermarket, cradling a chilly tub of Perry's favourite ice cream between his legs on the ride home and nothing else. He had snuck a couple packets of antibiotics and fever patches into the basket while they were out shopping, and Lawrence had awkwardly put each one of them back.

When Lawrence returns the sachet of night-time tea they both know Perry favours when he's actually sick, the boy had turned to him with such a deeply knowing look Lawrence felt busted for something he hadn't even been trying to hide, much less of any sort of trouble. The boy said nothing. He didn't have to. He reached for nothing else (save for a packet of gum from the side of the register of both his and Phineas' favourite brand) and remained perfectly well behaved for the rest of the trip.

"Now Ferb," Lawrence says warily, as they start pulling into their street. "You will have to promise me to keep this between us, not even to Phineas if he hasn't figured it out yet. Your uncle is the private sort, and I can't imagine he will want his dirty laundry waved all across town in the state that he's in. He's feeling vulnerable, you understand?"

Ferb nods firmly. Lawrence stretches out his pinky.

"Promise?"

Ferb takes it, and they shake on it like men.

"Good boy." Lawrence says proudly, once again ruffling his hair, and pulls into the driveway of the house.

Ferb rushes inside to put the tub in the freezer (Lawrence hears Phineas happy greeting from the kitchen, "Oh, there you are, Ferb." ) and Linda comes forward to take his jacket, welcoming him home with a gentle kiss. "Welcome home, stud. Found everything he needed?"

"As far as we know. Did you get to talk to him?" 

"He's not in a chatty mood. Though Candace squirreled a thing or two out of him; think she figured out faster than I did."

"She's always got a good head on her shoulders." Lawrence concedes, unsurprised.

"When need be." Linda agrees, before her facade drops and he spies a glimpse of regret. "I didn't even know he was dating someone."

Much less it was anything this serious. Goes unspoken. "I'm inclined to think it's deliberate. Not that we didn't have our suspicions."

"Did he say anything to you?"

Lawrence hesitates. "Not much." He hedges, unconvincingly, from the look of his wife's face. He sighs, and triple checks that the children had dispersed their own ways out of earshot.

"He did say," Lawrence begins carefully. "That there was some matter of. Infidelity involved."

Linda gasped. "Oh, that poor man."

"Not particularly forthcoming beyond the statement."

"Do you think it's one of his...co-workers?"

Lawrence glanced at Linda with a raised brow, but she seems firm with her line of questioning. She's one step further removed from any personal knowledge of Perry's life choices, and occupation-but Lawrence could hide from her as well as blood from gauze. She knew everything he did of Perry's career, which was never much at all. Enough to go by. Enough to reassure her it wouldn't harm their children.

Lawrence had never even considered this, but now that he was, it made a terrifying amount of sense. "I'm obligated to think it might be." He acquiesced. "Might be more complicated than your run of the mill splitting sob story."

Linda hums in agreement, before tactfully changing gears. "I'll reheat your dinner. Did you get him rocky road?"

"Mint chocolate."

"Oh my."

"I'm afraid we'll have to pull out all the stops this time around."

"Maybe I'll pull out my cake pan."

-----

In the days that follow, Perry remains inconsolable.

He's mostly taken to stuffing his face in chips and junk food in front of the TV, half watching re-runs, but for a couple of hours each day the children manage to convince him to participate in their backyard projects, and Candace even manages to coax him to come with her on a trip to the mall. Perry had come home laughing, with a new pair of jeans and flip flops, raving for some obscure chinese martial arts movie they had watched together. The joviality didn't stay, but it was still such a relief to see.

On a pleasantly windy Thursday night, while they've set up a fire and a couple of beers for a Men's Night In in the backyard, Perry nudges his shoulder to tell him, lightly, that he's thinking of quitting.

Lawrence inhales his drink down the wrong tube, and practically coughs his lungs out. Perry thumps him helpfully on the back, and politely refuses to comment.

"Perry," Lawrence gasps, when he's gotten his breath back. "Perry, that's-,"

That's good, he wants to say. But was it really? Bias aside...

That's odd, seemed a bit more truthful, but what kind of response would that be? Nothing at all.

"Are you really?" Is what he ends up saying, more baffled than he meant to put out. Perry shrugs, avoiding his gaze. A moment passes as he takes a sip, and running his thumb around the circumference of the tap.

Maybe not really. Perry admits. Just. I'm getting on in years, maybe I'm not fit for any of the fieldwork I used to do in my twenties. Maybe train some recruits, let someone new take my place.

This was the longest, most honest conversation they've had surrounding Perry's career. Even compared to the one surrounding Evelyn's death, almost a decade ago now.

He knows Perry enjoys fieldwork. It's been largely implied he prodigiously excels in it. So had Evelyn. He had never begrudged her for it, not even till her very end.

Lawrence wonders what changed. He doesn't have to for very long.

The honesty in the air makes him bold, almost uncharacteristically so. "This partner of yours," he starts, careful, careful. "Who was he? To you?"

Perry smiles, a small, bitter thing.

He was everything.

------

Then one day, Perry comes home and he's...better.

Not a 180, but it's. Close. A noticeably stark difference than how he had been last night that it even puts Phineas off, but only for a moment. Mostly he was just ecstatic.

"Uncle Perry's better!" The boy cheers and giggled, dangled beneath Perry's pit like a sack of fresh loam. Ferb's hanging from the back of his shoulders, kicking happily and trying to pull himself up. The man doesn't seem to notice, or mind, the pain. "He's better! He's better! Candace look!"

Ferb manages to haul himself up to sit and wrap his legs around Perry's shoulders, and Perry grunts, reaching back to help him establish balance as he drops a wiggly Phineas back on his feet to reach his mother, chopping lentils in the kitchen.

"Perry? Oh!" Linda says, surprised as Perry swoops in to plant a kiss on her cheek. She giggles, and pinches his. "Welcome home, you blasted rouge. Are you going to help me with dinner?"

Perry responds by taking over chopping duties, pulling the board closer to himself and stealing away her knife to commence vegetable slicing duties. His speed, and the nonchalance that accompanies it-despite the heavy burden around his shoulders, swinging his legs- was almost terrifying, but Linda barely notices. She's reaching for her phone by the cooking stove, sending her husband a red alert. Perry was whistling.

"I gather you had a pretty good day at work, huh?" She muses, half-serious.

He gives her a cheeky one-shouldered shrug, eyes rolling up. His smile dimples. Maybe.

She's practically burning with curiousity, but knows that now wasn't the time to ask. "Well, I'm making braised chicken. Why don't you help me with the asparagus? Ferb, sweetie, you want to get down and help me with seasoning the chicken breast?"

"Oh, but mom!! Asparagus makes Ferb farts so stinky!" Phineas complains.

"It also makes your farts stinky, mister. Now go help Perry pre-heat the oven."

-----

After dinner, Lawrence drops by again. In contrast to the state of things when the trouble began, his room is well-lit, and instead of resting, Perry's at his desk with his reading glasses, and a stack of documents he folds and puts away, out of sight, before he lets Lawrence in with a warm chitter.

As if the last few days never happened at all.

Lawrence has been witness to something like this a few times before, but it never gets any less off-putting, to realize he was so distant from the heat of things -the state, the conflict- and being privy only to the resolution.

Perry had been cheated on, by a man who meant everything. And now?

"Just wanted to check on how things were going." He says, closing the door behind him. "The kids were telling me you're feeling a lot better."

Perry, confoundingly, began to blush, looking down at his pen, rolled and fidgeted between his fingers. I am, he tells Lawrence. Wish I could say it was a huge misunderstanding, even if it was, a little bit. We just never put it into words, what we were, and I think it never occurred to us how much it would hurt, for him to have done what he did.

Perry put down his pen, picked it back up again, uses it to scratch the back of his nape as he looks at Lawrence a little bashfully. Then he puts the pen back down. It surprised me too, that I took to it as bad as I did. What we had was something...special. I didn't realize...

Lawrence looked at him intensely, arms crossed. When he determines Perry had nothing else to say, he asked -what he knew to be- the most important question of all. "And did he apologize?"

Perry smiles. It dimples. This time, it's directed at Lawrence himself, instead of a special man in the distant mind. He did. Perry signs.

"And he meant it?"

As much as he could.

"Well," Lawrence proclaims brusquely. He's trying to sound stern, but the undeniable lovesick smile on Perry was contagious. "So long as he doesn't do it again...,"

Oh, Perry signs ominously. He won't.

Lawrence finally lets himself smile, echoing the childish joy on his brother-in-law's face. "Well," he chuckles. "Then I suppose that's all that matters, doesn't it?"

Perry concedes with an affectionate roll of his eyes, but when Lawrence comes forward to hug him, he returns it right back tenfold.

Thank you, he signs meaningfully.

"You're family, Perry." Lawrence replies, with a shake of his head. "What slights you is a slight to all of us, and your joy is ours. Family sticks together."

It's an old catchphrase of a woman long gone, beyond what's left of her in both their hearts, and Perry tears up. Though he plays it off with a dismissive sniffle, and a bump of their shoulders.

You can be just as insufferable as she was. He signs, more affectionately than he wants to pretend to be. His tone shifts, grows bashful again.

Lawrence, he signs. Slow, hesitant. Do you think....if things ever....and I brought him over to meet...would you...like...?

The implications of Perry's broken up request was as strong as a punch to his gut, and Lawrence fears he might have lost his cool in his eagerness. "Of course we will!" He restrains himself to a stage whisper. He fears he would wake the neighbourhood in excitement, otherwise. "Perry, of course we will. I'll...we'll be honoured, my boy."

He means it too, and Perry could tell. His smile was blinding, and his blush had spread brighter than his skin tone, all across the bridge of his nose. You have to be cool about it. He makes Lawrence promise.

"Oh, totally." Lawrence reassures him. He's putting it on a little bit, on account of it making Perry laugh. "Chill. 100 percent-o. Call me liquid nitrogen the fact that I am lighter than air. I am pre-emptively cooling a block of ice. Call me Fro-zone the way I'm-,"

Get out, Perry demands. Barely. He's also doubled over in laughter. Oh my god, just get out before you make me regret this.

"Getting out!" Lawrence complies with a salute, and dashes out the room. He can still hear Perry chuckling as he closes the door behind him. His cheeks ache from his grin. All better, indeed.

Flushed with triumph and good tidings, he embarks on a mission to find his wife and share the wonderful news.

[gleefulpoppet]

Sonder Chapter 87: An Answer to a Question [~4300 Words]

“Figures,” he teases and reads the questions aloud. “What color describes our intimate relationship?” He looks at Blaine and shrugs playfully, giving him his best ‘Flynn Ryder’ smolder, and says, “Obviously, my first thought is red—passion, heat, and fierce urgency, like consuming flames.” He gives him a scrunchy-eyed wink at using that word again. “But I think I’m going to choose green.” “Green?” Blaine asks, surprised.

You can read Chapter 87 [here] or from the beginning on AO3 [here].

[lou-writes-things]

Hello. I have again written something. ao3 link here

***

Mirror Mirror

Flynn stared at Alex’s “ghost friend” over the coffee table, watching him flip one of Alex’s drumsticks end over end, catching it in his palm with a soft smack before tossing it again. 

The others were gone, doing “band stuff,” and so here she was sitting in the studio collecting dust with a fossil. They squinted at him and his gaze flickered to theirs for a moment before he looked away again, his face screwing up slightly. Flynn just stared a little more, narrowing her eyes. 

“Um,” he finally said, pausing in his drumstick throwing to look up at them, “Can I…do something for you?” 

Flynn huffed, sitting back against the couch, “No.” 

“Ok…”

Flynn’s gaze drifted up to the ceiling for a minute, looking at the chairs hanging there, those had always seemed like a particularly inspired design choice to her, they were fucking weird, which she loved. 

“What would you do if you had tits?” She asked. Willie didn’t respond, so Flynn tipped their head down to find him staring at her incredulously. 

“...What?” 

“Like. If you woke up with tits tomorrow, what would you do?” 

Willie stared at them some more, opening his mouth a few times before closing it again. 

“Why are you asking me?” he said finally, setting the drumstick down on the coffee table with a clatter. 

“I kind of want to get rid of mine.” Flynn said, a foreign knot of anxiety forming in her stomach, “So I was wondering what you thought.” They had no idea why they were bringing this up with Willie of all people, but the thought hadn’t left her alone for a week, and they guessed that they just really wanted to tell someone about it. 

“I probably wouldn’t do anything different,” Willie answered, his voice hesitant. 

Flynn raised her eyebrow, “You’d just be comfortable walking around tits out like that?”

“No,” he huffed a little frustratedly, “Just. Nothing would change.” 

“Ok…?” Flynn furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

Willie screwed up his face again, seemingly debating something with himself before speaking, “Nothing would change because I already have them.” 

Flynn paused, “What- really?” 

“Yeah.” 

Wait.

Fynn leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, looking at him with wide eyes, “You’re trans?” 

Willie nodded a little stiffly and Flynn grinned, jumping to their feet and rounding the table to flop down next to him, turning her body to fully face him and crossing her legs under her. “Oh my god! You should have said before, this is the best!” 

Willie leaned a little bit away from her but smiled anyway, watching Flynn practically vibrating in her seat. “Wait,” she said, “So you were trans in the 80s? What was that like?” 

Willie turned to face her, shoving his socked heels into the crack in the couch cushions between them, “It sucked.” 

“Wait,” a thought struck Flynn and they considered him for a moment, “Were binders invented yet in the 80s?” 

Willie laughed a little at that, “Not really. But we didn’t use ace bandages either if we were smart,” he sat up straighter and tugged at his crop top,  pulling it up to show Flynn the bottom of what looked like a wide elastic band, “They sold them for stomach control, but we figured we could repurpose them.” 

Flynn hummed in understanding, “Is it uncomfortable? How long can you wear it?” she questioned.

Willie shrugged. It’s not the worst, it’s way better than walking around,” he paused, tilting his head back and forth a couple of times “...without it. And we didn’t really have guidelines for the health of these things, at least I didn’t. Nowadays it doesn’t matter,  I’m dead anyway.” 

Flynn supposed that was true, “That’s so cool,” They said.

Willie laughed at that, “I guess so. Thanks.” 

Flynn was silent for a moment before thinking up another question, “How does it feel?” 

Willie furrowed his eyebrows, “How does what feel?” 

“Being flat, having them gone.” Flynn said, tucking her hands into her lap. 

Willie cracked a small smile, “Amazing.” 

Flynn grinned back, letting themself rock forward a little bit into Willie’s space, “Oh we’re definitely gonna hang out again.” 

“Yeah duh,” Willie said, “Let’s talk about how we’re going to fix your problem first though.” 

Flynn laughed a little bit giddily, “do you want to help me do some binder shopping?” 

“I would love to.” 

An hour later found them pressed together on the couch looking at Flynn’s laptop. Well, as pressed together as they could be when one of them was an incorporeal being. Willie’s knee passed through hers every once in a while, which was slightly unsettling.

They were on their fifth website and Flynn had a bright red binder pulled up on screen, clicking through the pictures of the model wearing it. 

“Wouldn’t it be smarter to pick something more neutral?” Willie asked. Flynn raised their eyebrows at him, looking down at her outfit. Willie huffed, “right, forget I asked.” 

“This one’s got personality you know? Yours is so plain and boring.” 

Willie raised an eyebrow at them, “Right, sorry we didn’t have bright red binders in the 80s.” 

Flynn shrugged, “I’m just saying, it seems like just the decade to like something like this.” 

Willie rolled his eyes, “Yeah sure, if we weren’t all dying from a death plague I’m sure we would have been right on that.” 

Flynn paused, “Oh shit yeah. That must have sucked.” 

“Yeah.” 

Flynn was quiet for a minute after that, debating on whether she should continue the discussion. She clicked off of the binder and found a new one, this one a pretty blue color. It didn’t seem as fitting to them, but they supposed it was fine. 

“What was it like?” she finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“What? AIDS?” 

“Yeah.” 

Willie paused for a moment, considering the blank wall opposite him before he answered, “I died in the late 80s,” he started,”I was too young near the beginning to know anything, but from what people told me, they didn’t get angry for a while, they were mostly just scared. Everyone was dying and they didn’t know why. By the time I figured my shit out we had a name for it. And we knew no one cared to help us.” 

Flynn was silent for a moment, “Did you know anyone who died?” 

Willie’s eyebrows raised, “Yeah. I knew a ton of people who died. Everyone knew people who died. I attended like, a funeral a week.”

“That’s horrible.” 

Willie hummed, returning his gaze to the wall, “When I died, we were starting to get angry. Act Up was a thing. And, have you ever seen the Silence = Death posters?” Flynn nodded, “You would see those everywhere by the time I died.”

Flynn fiddled with their touchpad, “Good.”

Willie flashed them a small smile before it disappeared again, “Sometimes I wish I’d lived, just ‘cause it was stupid to have another person die, and not even of the fucking disease.” he said, sighing and leaning back into the couch cushions, “That’s a useless thought now though.” 

Flynn didn’t know what to say to that, but she did have a pressing issue she could use to break the silence, so she snapped her laptop closed, “What do you think Julie will think?” 

“About what?” 

Flynn wrinkled their nose, “Me getting a binder.” 

Willie turned to look at them, frowning, “She’s already ok with you being non binary right?” 

“Yeah,” Flynn admitted, “but what if this is too much? What if I’m not enough of a girl and she doesn’t want to be my best friend anymore?” 

Willie lifted a hand and then dropped it back into his lap, like he wanted to reach out for them, but knew it wouldn’t work, “I haven’t known Julie for very long,” he said instead, “But I still can’t imagine a world where that would happen. Julie loves you, you’re her favorite person in the world. I don’t think anything could change that.”

Flynn let out a shaky breath, running her hand down her face, “You’re probably right. It’s just hard.” 

“I know.” Willie said, and he really did. He was the first person Flynn had talked to about this who truly did understand her fear about this, and how wrong her body felt, and how everyone around her seemed to be fine in their own skin, so why didn’t they? 

“Do you want to help me take my measurements?” she asked after a moment. 

Willie smiled, pushing himself up from the couch, “yeah sure.” 

By the time the band got home, Willie and Flynn were crowded into the small studio bathroom with a sewing tape measure, trying to get Flynn’s measurements. Willie had it held up to the width of her shoulders, trying to get the measurement without touching them and having his hands phase through their back. 

They heard the studio door open before Julie stuck her head into the bathroom, “So I guess you two are getting along fine,” she said, “What are you doing?” 

Flynn turned to look over her shoulder, causing one of Willie’s hands to pass through her shoulder blade. It was a weird feeling, and she let out an involuntary shiver. Willie made a noise, stepping away and pressing his back to the wall to get out of her way. 

“Getting my measurements,” Flynn said. 

“For what?” Reggie piped up from his spot, crowded in behind Julie with the rest of the band. 

“I’m gonna get a binder,” Flynn said, more confident sounding than they felt. 

Julie’s eyes lit up, “Oh that’s fantastic! What color are you going to get?” 

Flynn smirked, hiding the relief crashing through her chest, “Red.” 

Willie huffed behind her, “I still think you should get something more neutral.” 

Flynn turned around to look at him, “Can it, ghost boy.” 

Willie just laughed, slipping behind them and out of the bathroom. He made his way over to Alex and wrapped an arm around his waist. Alex leaned down to whisper something in Willie’s ear, making him smile. They were disgusting honestly. 

“Hey Jules,” she said, grabbing Willie’s abandoned tape measure from the counter, “you wanna help me with this? Willie keeps phasing through me.” 

Julie smiled, taking the tape measure from them and stepping into the bathroom, “Of course.” 

Flynn turned away from her, catching Willie’s eyes in the mirror, as Julie started to measure. 

“Thanks Willie,” she said.

“Anytime.” 

[astercontrol]

when AO3 is down but I cannot wait

yeah i did not mean to write a whole other Tron fic that was not even on ANY of my burners a few hours ago.

But, I was thinking about my fic "Scored" and my fic "All The Way Home" that comes right after it in the series, and how they would really work better with a little transitional ficlet in between to connect them, and... it JUST HAPPENED okay

...it's T rated, Tron/Yori, implied Tron/Ram, implied polyamory/open relationship.

Also implied major character death, two of 'em, or at least Tron thinks so, because this is right after You Know What Happened.

*****

-All Gone-

*****

-

The moments after losing Ram and Flynn, and before finding Yori.

Sometimes a life of grief happens in a few nanocycles.

-

*****

-

The lightcycle comms are silent.

More silent than any moment before. Quieter than the thrumming, rushing moments between the crack in the game grid and the crack where pure power sprang up into the cavern, cool and fresh for them to drink.

Quieter than all the moments since they leapt, circuits glowing fully charged, onto their cycles and darted like bright photons into the maze of canyons--

Quieter than any picocycle of silence in all that time-- because this silence has a reason, more deafening than the silence itself.

It's full of what was said-- mundane notifications of turns to the left and right and up ahead, pings warning of a tank or Reco from this side or that-- in the noisy moments between silences.

It's full of what could have been said and now will not be.

It's full of the last things said-- the first one from Tron's comm, the next one picked up by his cycle's reception subroutines, chatter between inter-tank comms on the enemy side.

"Ram! Flynn! Do you read me?"

"Pursuit force reporting. Two escaped units derezzed."

An answer uncaring whether he heard it. But an answer.

His own unheard answer does not count; it was too empty to be a word. It was nothing, a binary zero, the hollowest cry of No.

-

*****

-

---

Yori would love you.

---

He's said it to Ram so many times-- through the hard transparency between cells-- through the lightcycle comms to give Ram the strength to push through a grueling match-- through Ram's hair, face pressed desperately into curls, in one of the rare, rushed, secret moments when they managed to steal the time and opportunity to touch.

More times than he's ever said...

...Has he ever said the other thing? He doesn't think he did. And now he can't.

He knows Ram knew it, of course. He knows Ram said it. And that Ram knew, accepted, that it was hard for Tron to say (and why? Why was it ever so much harder to say the words on behalf of himself, than on behalf of Yori? ...Because Yori is love. Because Yori's love is a fact of the System, guaranteed. And Tron's is... well, Tron will never trust himself, not fully, never as much as he trusts her).

She would have. Tron never felt a moment's guilt promising on her behalf, because he knows it deep as any core programming. She would have loved Ram. Would have welcomed him to their life. Would have known how to make things work between them, as three, that never quite worked as two. Would have been the data transfer, the communication, that Ram deserved so, so much more than Tron ever knew how to offer on his own.

---

Yori would love him.

---

This one hurts deeper even though it's less true-- sent to Ram in silent data-transfer, more in jest than sincerity, a joke and a laugh pinged three or four times to punctuate the rhythm of the time since Flynn appeared.

Because laughter is the sharpest, deepest thing to miss, once it's gone.

Yori would love him, he's so funny. Did he-- did he just walk into a forcefield? Oh, Yori would laugh so hard-- we have to tell her.

He survived? Really? The Ring-Game match? All right, Ram, I stand corrected. You've backed a winner this time. We'll have to take him home. Yori will love him.

Did he just--

Oh, Users.

We're--

we're free.

He did.

He really did.

Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes yes yes, Yori will--

-

*****

-

The Call from Alan-1 reverberates through Tron, charged on the energy from the pool, the bright hot energy glowing and pulsing within him-- perhaps the last thing Tron has left that he shared with them, with those two companions who are now two escaped units derezzed, the ones that Yori would have loved with him.

It aches and burns and he must save it for Alan-1-- to power his transmission, to cry his prayer up into the I/O Tower and receive an answer, instructions, upgrade, anything that may guide him to his purpose.

If he still has one.

And, if Alan-1 decrees that he no longer has any purpose--

--that he has failed his purpose, forfeited himself, by losing Ram, by losing Flynn-- that he will accept, too, as the deserved end of his functionality.

But, for now-- he sets his jaw, does not allow tears-- for now Tron has his directive.

Find the Tower, find Alan-1.

Which he must do by first finding Yori-- if he has not lost her too, and oh, he cannot think of that, because then everything would be lost.

-

*****

-

The room is bright.

Bright with the white of too many shells, too many workers uniformed in identical white and running near-identical processes on the line of the Solar Sailer dock.

He has sustained himself to this moment with the knowledge that he would know Yori if he saw her-- in any uniform-- in any room no matter what else was there-- oh, no, no, if Yori is not here, or if, oh, Users forbid, if Tron himself can no longer trust himself to know her-- or even if--

He freezes, immobile as the realization strikes him.

They are all discless.

It's a sick horror, sinking in.

Each back is marked. Not intricate like the scars of his own back, where the altered battle-disc was branded onto him at conscription, to track and control and make a weapon of him.

Not that, but marked instead with just a simple forked blue shape, where a program's simple, natural disc could attach... if it were there.

But it is not. They are discless, all of them.

Yori! Yori!

He pings his desperation into the void. If she has-- if she has been kept discless, to the point of degrading into a Stray, then she will not hear him-- then she does not, truly, even exist.

The screams within him are as deafening as the silence of the lightcycle comms that will never, never again carry him the voices of Ram and Flynn. Please. Please hear, Yori, you are all that is left to me, please--

He does not hear a reply.

But-- but he sees.

There she is, turning a corner, a curve of a white-clad back and arms, a flash of unique motion and energy and-- And he was right, after all, about himself--- he knows her, instantly, on sight, though he has not seen her before in this uniform or in a room like this. It is Yori. His recognition routines sing like the ground-shaking whirr of Recognizers.

Does she know him? Does she know anything? Is she-- oh, no, no, no-- she is walking past him, showing no sign, and pain stabs into his core, and he--

He should not have seized her so fast, so fiercely. He was desperate, he couldn't let her walk on past and miss the chance, he did not know what else to do, but oh, she must be hurt now and frightened, oh, Yori why did I do that-- He realizes too late that his whispered warning "Don't scream!" was a terrible idea. If she was frightened enough to scream she would have done it either way. But he has never been the one to make good plans. This plan so far has been failing, falling apart.

Please, Yori, please be yourself, be Yori enough to guide me-- I am lost without you.

The program in his arms does not scream. Nor does she smile. She stares, blank. But she does speak, and her voice, too, he recognizes.

"Thirty, fifty-six, ninety-nine are correct. Limited four and eight..."

Her voice... Yori's voice... and yet, in every quantifiable way the voice of a Stray.

-

*****

-

"No."

It's a hollower "no" than even the one he cried unheard into the canyons.

And yet--- and yet less meaningful. Because-- because he cannot allow himself to absorb the meaning of this negative. The absence of Yori, of her mind, of her strength-- that is a negative that cannot occur. Cannot.

His hands clasp around her face. His eyes connect to hers as if they could give her strength enough to bring back life.

And her head turns--

left, right--

"Tron!"

Arms wrap around him, clutching their bodies together as if to merge into a single script. The glow of her circuits against his, the life of her, all real, warm, back in his arms--

"Yori."

Pings burst between them before any more spoken words. A torrent of data, both sides at once, tangling and interweaving into each other's starving minds.

Missed you and Ram and love and Flynn and freedom and so many, many microcycles of separation.

Then, rushing in to meet him: so long here, so long, so lonely, they took me, took me, away from the laser, my purpose, oh, LoraB, oh Users, this place, my disc, my quarters, I can only go home to sync after work and the shifts here are so long, Tron, so very very long and I'm fading away--

But her eyes are bright and sharp and so, so Yori, as she holds him back far enough to look at him again. She's fading but she isn't faded yet, and he'll-- oh, he will tear apart the System itself to save her, if he has to.

If her disc is in her quarters he'll take her there-- bathe her in its energy until she's strong enough to snap it onto her own back and run away with him, far across the sea--

And she will.

She will know how-- she's already formulating plans inside that brilliant mind, he can sense it-- oh, she will save him. She will save... everything.

Not everything.

A cold reminder stalls his processes for a pico. She cannot save everything. Some things that he loved-- that she would have loved-- are beyond the saving Yori can do.

But she is here. That will have to be enough, for now. It will have to.

---

Yori will love... me.

---

-

*****

-END OF LINE-

*****

-

[legolasghosty]

So. About a year ago, the lovely Innytoes created a list of spicy writing prompts. And I, being the dorky ace that I am, decided to take it as a personal challenge to see just how UN-spicy I could do some of said prompts. The actual giving of prompts was kept to a few friends, and it was mostly a silly thing back when I could actually sit down and spin up a one shot in an evening. (A few of said prompts actually made it to ao3 at various points, you can read them here, here, here, and here!)

HOWEVER, I took a couple of the prompts off of the list before I offered it to my friends for prompts. Mostly cause I just had no idea how to make said prompts not sexual. But one of them has continued to haunt me for over a frigging year now! SO, here's some little snippets of how one could de-saucy-ify the prompt, "The lube is what flavor?"

Option 1 -

"Okay so what am I supposed to be getting again?" Alex asked, the phone to his ear as he entered the O'Reillys.

He heard Bobby groan on the other end of the call. "We've been over this at least five times, Lex." Alex could feel his exasperated glare without even seeing him.

"I'm sorry," Alex sighed. "I just know literally nothing about car fluids. Blame the gay in me or whatever."

"You do realize I'm gay too, right?" Bobby pointed out. "But again, you're looking for silicon lubricant. And for the love of God, don't get that Red and Tacky garbage Chad 'recommended'."

"I'm sorry, the lube is what flavor?!" Alex demanded, turning onto the aisle marked 'Fluids'.

"You're not supposed to-whatever-just get the silicon stuff," Bobby said instead of answering. "Valvoline usually works just fine."

Alex glanced around at the overwhelming shelves of bottles and jugs. He drummed out the beat to a song Luke and Julie had shown them the day before on his leg as he narrowed down the options. There, that looked right.

"Okay I found it," he told Bobby. "But you're explaining how car lube can be 'red and tacky' to me later."

"Deal," Bobby responded, sounding relieved.

Option 2 -

"-and the vocal folds need to be kept moist," Julie explained.

Luke nodded, but Julie knew she was losing him. His vocal health notes had dissolved into scribbles and half-finished lyrics. She'd better wrap this up.

"So they're naturally lubricated with a really thin layer of mucus," she continued. "And in order to keep that layer thin and stuff, you have to stay properly hydrated."

She paused to pick up the light blue plastic water bottle from the studio floor. But when she looked back up to whack him with it, the mostly full container seeming like a decent way to make a point, he was already staring at her, eyes full of confusion.

"What?" Julie asked, one hand flying automatically up to her ponytail to see if it had come loose or something.

"The lube is what flavor?" Luke asked, mouth hanging open a bit.

"I-what?" Julie asked again, now feeling almost as confused as her bandmate looked.

"The voice cord lube stuff," Luke responded. "You said it's like mucus. But isn't that just... snot? Your voice is covered in stuff that tastes like snot?!"

Julie tried to hold back. She really did. But she failed. She burst out laughing, dropping Luke's water bottle in a futile attempt to hide it. "Luke, mucus is more than just snot," she tried to explain through her giggles. "But yes, that's what keeps your vocal cords moist."

Luke shook his head. To all the world, he may have looked like a man who'd just been told he was colorblind, that everyone else could see a universe of shades his eyes couldn't comprehend.

But only Julie would know the truth. At least some part of her mini-lecture on vocal health got through.

Option 3 -

"Okay, and then pass me the 205?" Flynn requested, holding out a hand to Reggie, who was sitting on the floor along with most of Flynn's tools.

"Um, the what?" Reggie asked sheepishly, glancing around at the various brushes, screwdrivers, and small tubes surrounding him.

"Oh, the switch lube," Flynn clarified, pointing at a small jar. "It's GPL 205G0, and there's lots of types of keyboard lubricant, so we usually just use the numbers to ID them."

"Oh, right, sure," Reggie responded, passing her the container. "Sorry. Computers aren't really my thing."

"Well that's what you have me for," Flynn pointed out, smirking. "I fix your glitchy keyboard, you keep me from failing math."

Reggie laughed and leaned back against Flynn's bed while she worked. After a minute, she passed him back the jar and started fitting the keys back into place. He entertained himself by inspecting the black lid.

"Wait, so the lube is what flavor?" he asked, looking up at Flynn again. "Da-vinny-key?"

"Divinikey," Flynn corrected easily. "And that's a brand, not a flavor. Please don't eat keyboard lubricant."

"Well I wasn't planning on it..." Reggie said, letting his sentence trail off suggestively.

"Reginald Jacob Peters, you wouldn't dare," Flynn warned, shooting him a glare over her shoulder.

He held her eyes for one moment. Two. Three. Fo-

Reggie burst out laughing, with Flynn only a moment behind.

"I make no promises," Reggie wheezed as he got his breath back.

"I'm not taking you to the hospital when it poisons you," Flynn shot back, her grin betraying her words.

Thank goodness Reggie's keyboard was done already.

Thank you, sorry for wasting your time with my brain worm!

[nathaniel-zellos]

Writerly Questionaire

Thanks for the tag, @davycoquette

About You

When did you start writing? I started back in elementary school, but didn't really do anything with it until late 2016, which was when I uploaded my first ever chapter to FFN and AO3.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write? I really don't think they are that different. I enjoy what I write and more.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared? Oh, there are too many to name that I want to emulate.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? Not much to tell, really. I write wherever I can, whether that is my crowded trailer with my two cats (where I have little to no room for my crappy laptop), at work on my phone, or even just at the local coffee shop.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about? I would like to believe that they have. Especially when it comes to my OCs and the like that end up heavily involved in the plot. Though some I've found do resemble things I've felt about myself growing up...

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all? ... Trauma. Lots of emotional trauma. Doesn't surprise me much, knowing myself, though.

Your Characters

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life? Probably Flynn. He may be as elegant as herd of oxen at times, but he has his moments where he does open himself up and show his true self.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them? 0_0 It'd have to be Nathaniel... my first OC.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters? Probably not surprising, but they all seem to reflect a certain aspect of myself.

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing? Originally it was just a form of stress relief for me when I was starting out with posting, and it kind of still is. But nowadays it feels more like a way to organize myself, keep my head in a certain direction.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers? Honestly, anything that isn't negative just to be negative. I appreciate any comments, good and bad, until they're downright rude out of left field.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? I don't hold myself on any podium or platform or what-have-you, and I really don't expect others to do the same. I'm just an average person, like everyone else.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer? Probably grammar and punctuation. Maybe being able to run multiple subplots at once on purpose, but that's probably pushing it.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others? Definitely the way I can pull the readers along and keep them wanting more.

How do you feel about your own writing? It could be better, that there's always somewhere I can improve, that it's never enough and I should be trying harder.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write? Honestly, probably. When I first started posting, I never expected anyone to read my (at the time) atrocious writing. Especially with the pairing at the time.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence? It's a kind of mix of the two, with my own enjoyment being at the forefront.

This is an open tag. Feel free to hop on with your own answers. :)

[flurry-bace]

W R O N G ! T R Y A G A I N .

don't forget your daily clicks!

my name's Pluto, but you can also call me Lemonhead, Venom, or Citrus! mutuals can call me Demon or Monster too!

my sideblogs are @incorrectquoteslobby, and @finding-tv-girl, @creektail

if i suddenly stop replying while we're dm-ing/having a conversation, it's not out of malice or boredom! i go online and offline very sporadically!

my Spotify , my Pinterest , my Pronouns Page , my AO3

Main fandoms:

-> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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-> Grishaverse

-> Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul

-> Five Nights at Freddy's

-> Stardew Valley

-> The Amazing Digital Circus

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Post tags:

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Character / ship tags:

#macaque my boy , #lmk shadowpeach , #lmk spicynoodles , #lmk freenoodles

#future leo my love , #donichi , #shellshocked , #rottmnt donnie , #rottmnt raph , #rottmnt leo , #rottmnt mikey , #rottmnt april , #rottmnt frida #rottmnt brains and brawn , #rottmnt disaster twins , #rottmnt smarts and crafts , #rottmnt buff and bluff , #rottmnt sunset duo , #rottmnt tidepod duo , #rottmnt turtle tots

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T H E C O R R E C T A N S W E R I S

Y̶ ̸-̴ ̷O̴ ̷-̶ ̷U̷ ̵.̸

[bubblegumbeech]

Bee’s 2023 Fic Review

2021 2022

My AO3

Works: 8

Word Count:  154,635

Events: Invisobang | Phic Phight | EctoberHaunt (Mod Tucker)

Here’s my  fics! I didn't write nearly as much as I hoped but I did start a Masters Program so I am learning to write better hopefully! (I actually wrote a lot I didn't post that I am saving for when I am more caught up on my WIPs tbh >>)

Danny Phantom:

WIP:

Pieces of Time (26,520 words) Subscriptions: 154 Hits: 3,390 Kudos: 267 Comment Threads: 45 Bookmarks: 118

Some questions don't have answers, some answers aren't worth having and some make you wonder where the truth is being hidden. Danny asks Clockwork a question, now, what about the answer?

Finished:

We Interrupt Your Scheduled Programming (10,062 words) Subscriptions: 5 Hits: 486 Kudos: 70 Comment Threads: 7 Bookmarks: 20

Nocturne generally hates doing favors. He’d honestly rather be sleeping, or messing with someone’s head or … well anything really. But Clockwork got himself into a mess that even he wasn’t going to have an easy time digging himself out of. But hey, what are brothers for? Clockwork was going to owe him for this one though.

Pruning the Branches (30,289 words) Subscriptions: 3 Hits: 215 Kudos: 14 Comment Threads: 12 Bookmarks: 2

Flynn is finally headed back to his home in the Ghost Zone! But something happened in the short time he was away, something that put his family at risk. Struggling to once more find his footing now that everything seems to be falling apart around him, Flynn needs to get answers-even if that means running from his Mother and overprotective siblings and dodging a murderous ghost that's a little bit too murderous. Nothing is going to be the same after this.

Other:

WIP:

Hyde Inside (7,847 words) Subscriptions: 11 Hits: 257 Kudos: 27 Comment Threads: 5 Bookmarks: 7

The only place for a murderer is a hangman's noose… but there is another place for a madman if Gabriel can make the argument. He could save his friend's life. Even if he'd never be forgiven for it. It might have even worked if it wasn't for the mysterious sharp-toothed woman outside Hyde's room, and the answers the good doctor seems reluctant to share.

Finished:

Treasures and Tricks (1,518 words) Hits: 314 Kudos: 55 Comment Threads: 4 Bookmarks: 8

Hastur was an all powerful inhuman King. He did not spend his days thinking about Arthur Lester.

Not a Home but a Haunt (2,319 words) Hits: 77 Kudos: 13 Comment Threads: 3 Bookmarks: 2

Arthur Lester is adjusting just fine to his new 'situation' thank you. Being blind doesn't make him helpless, it's just a new fact of his life. He can still be a detective, if Parker would just let him prove it. Ignoring of course, the strange new voice that seems to come from no where, and Parker swearing that it's just the two of them alone in the apartment…

Grand Line Carnival (24,140 words) Subscriptions: 51 Hits: 3,909 Kudos: 268 Comment Threads: 45 Bookmarks: 81

Law doesn't want to go to a carnival ever again, but his crew doesn't know that and they insist that he has been spending far too much time in the hospital. So he's stuck, but at least he's with friends, now if only he could get that weird stranger off his mind. Or better yet, Stop running into him everywhere. Literally.

Beneath Different Stars (51,940 words) Subscriptions: 175 Hits: 7,784 Kudos: 520 Comment Threads: 125 Bookmarks: 116

A role-reversal that has Dynn Jaren, a stormtrooper with an attitude problem running away with a stolen asset. And Corin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter that’s supposed to be hunting him down for the good of his clan. Except, what happens when the “asset” isn’t what he thought it was? And the “stormtrooper” he was chasing packs a bit of a punch?

[brynnterpretations]

Like Air That Stops From Breathing

“Chicken or the egg — that's what Ms. Keane calls it."

🔗 Read on AO3

⌗ fate ⌗ alcohol abuse/alcoholism ⌗ character study ⌗ religious guilt ⌗ present tense ⌗ title from "sisyphus" by have a nice life

Imagine this: you do something you can never, ever come back from. Riley’s face is illuminated by red, white, and blue under Chicago police lights, like some twisted version of patriotism—America, land of the free, home of the drunks. There is a girl in front of him, and even as his body drunkenly tries to fight against reality, Riley knows she’s dead.

A lot of the time, Riley isn’t sure what it is or where it started. In prison, he thinks about it obsessively, doesn’t realize his breath stutters when he does: was it when I first stole that bottle of Hankey Bannister’s? Was it when I started drinking alone in my bedroom? Was it when I started using it to black-out? Was it when I punched that guy in the face and woke up without remembering it? 

The thoughts prove to be useless, because they always come back to him being born, that sort of self-hatred that does nothing but make him question fate and agency and everything else that lurked in-between bible verses and the damp corners of Crockett Island. In one of his mandatory A.A. meetings in prison, a quacky psychiatrist with big eyes and frizzy hair had earnestly tells him and the other fuck-ups about addictive personalities: sometimes, there’s just this inherent need, urge…

Afterward, Riley sulks in his room, covering himself in blankets as if it will meld him into the bed and turn him into a sheet of fabric. He isn't sure if it's supposed to be something that absolves him, or if it is just supposed to inform him that well, Riley, you were just born fucked up, and there was nothing you could’ve done, no track you could’ve chosen, that would’ve prevented you from killing a seventeen-year-old girl. 

Chicken or the egg — that's what Ms. Keane calls it. When he’s out of prison and on Crockett Island, she looks the same, always having that sort of face that kids have when they smell bad cheese, only hers was darker, meaner, more freckled. 

Riley feels frighteningly sober, always. There’s something worse to him about having the choice to drink, yet not drinking, anyway—how, at any time, he could drink, but doesn’t.

Around the time that he starts to believe that he hates God — hates Him, hates His path, hates the puppetry and the wine and the salt pillars and everything — he’s corralled into A.A. with Father Paul, a charmingly awkward man who seems older than his face conveys. Riley, former altar boy, has had everything shoved into his face to try to explain away the shit he leaves behind: genetics, Buddhism, effective altruism, little gods with pointy hats and raised hands, stoicism, clean living, environmental factors, human nature, contractualism, spirits hidden away in crystals, original sin, praying to God, finding God, loving God, seeing God.

Riley taps his foot. Waits. The rec room still smells of mildew and Bev Keane’s perfume, cold and cloying. Suddenly, he feels twelve-years-old again with Marlboro's wedged in his pockets, trying to find a way past Monsignor Pruitt without the man being able to smell the smoke on him. 

Things get bad, then they get worse, and then they get more than worse. In the life of Riley Flynn, a being that exists only to burn out the light of others, there is no better. There wasn’t when his father’s hand was cut on the glass of the bottle Riley threw at him, or when he had punched his friend so hard he could feel his nose shatter under his hand, or when his mother, daughter of all alcoholics, collapsed to the ground upon his sentencing. Or when he killed that girl. Lacrosse. Boyfriend. UChicago scholarship. 

When Riley wakes into a new addiction, feeling a hunger for something other than a burn on his tongue, Riley realizes there was an answer all along. The warmth fades into something else. 

[nicsnort]

Gravita Anima (part 44)

Nightcrawler/Fem!OC/Quicksilver Long-form romance and drama fic. All chapters have been posted on Ao3.

Intro (with link to Ao3 story) First Previous

Elle hated this. Now that she was “part of the Brotherhood” and she had work to do for them, Elle had been spending less and less time in her apartment. She barely had time to sleep it seemed. She wondered if she still had not proven herself enough or that because of Lucy she was under suspicion yet again. However, her almost nightly time with Pietro had allowed for the pillow talk that she had been hoping for.

The Brotherhood was indeed planning something big. A raid on the plant that was creating the Sentinels. Destroying it. Somewhere in the Virginian mountains by the sound of it. Of course, Elle had to act the concerned lover, worried for Pietro’s safety. She was worried about him, about most of them. This was dangerous. Oh, how she dreamt of organizing a protest at the moment.

Yet the worst of it was she was unable to see Kurt. It had been over a week since they last spoke. She needed to tell him this information. But it was always at the wrong time. Either she came back exhausted or Pietro was over. Elle had felt his emotional signature every so often on the very edge of the powers. She knew he was watching out for her. And today, while she was training with Frost she felt it again.

Elle was at their designated meeting place. A small cafe near the park. Elle sat outside, she could tell that Kurt was a few buildings over on the roof. She was sure that she had seen his form hiding behind an air conditioning unit.

Frost arrived looking rather magnificent in an all-white day outfit. Elle felt rather underdressed in her blue and yellow summer dress. “Your task for today is to catch hold of a stranger quickly without them noticing. If you wind up under fire you will have but mere seconds to bring someone under your sway. We then will test how many people you can control at once.”

Looking around at the strangers on the street, Elle's eyes found a handsome-looking man. He looked a bit like a very young Errol Flynn...and a bit like Kurt. Wait...It took every ounce of willpower to make sure her face didn’t change at the realization. Impossible. Kurt looked normal? No, it couldn’t be him. Just someone with a similar non-blue face, no tail, normal hands, and a similar emotional signature. That was all. It couldn’t be Kurt.

The man disappeared into the coffee shop and Elle shook her head. Right, her assignment. The woman behind Elle was talking nastily into her cellphone to what sounded like a nanny. Time for her to calm down. “Start,” she said softly.

Reaching out, Elle connected to the woman’s emotions, trying to overwhelm them and take control. She knew that the process usually took half a minute. Elle was able to cut that in half but it took all of her focus.

“Too slow,” Frost told her. “And you were completely unaware of your surroundings.” Elle looked down to see that her coffee had arrived without her noticing. “Try again.”

“Oh, danke .” The German caught her attention. Fuck. Glancing over Elle saw the man who looked like Kurt sitting alone. It really was him, wasn’t it? Elle tried not to give her notice away but Frost raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really, just thought I recognized someone." Elle looked away and saw a businessman looking very stressed. "Start."

10 seconds. "Done."

"Try again."

And so they did. Elle influenced person after person until she was able to do it in 5 seconds while being able to talk with Frost. Stealth control. Next was how many she could control at once. 5 was the answer discovered over the next 20 minutes. When she tried a 6th she felt her bond with her Trask spy nearly break.

It was about 45 minutes of training altogether and Elle felt exhausted afterward. "Shall I tell Pietro to pick you up," Frost inquired with a smirk.

"No, I need to go out shopping. He's been taking up a lot of my time. I need some for myself, haha."

"The boy can be needy," Frost said with a laugh. "I will see you later. And remember to keep practicing."

Frost gave a nod and left. Elle waited a minute looking at her phone. Then got up and went over to the table with Kurt. "Hey, mind if I join you?"

“E-er, yes, please, go ahead, fraulein .” Kurt replied nervously, glancing around.

"Sorry," Elle told him with a grin. "I just saw you watching me."

She leaned across the table and took one of his hands, feeling the two large fingers. "I've been feeling you watching me all week...never thought I would have such a cute stalker."

She gave his hand a little squeeze. "You've been nursing that coffee all this time too. I know a very nice private place that has sweeter beverages."

He gave a shaky laugh, feeling a bit sweaty suddenly. “H-have you? Noticed? I mean, I wasn’t...stalking. I was...just...watching.” His accented voice trembled softly. He cleared his throat and smiled. “I-I would enjoy that. S-shall we?” He stood, trying to ignore how his heart fluttered.

Standing she pulled at his hand, leading him out of the cafe and to the street, going the opposite way of Frost. Elle led Kurt to a bubble tea and study bar a good 15 minutes away. She knew he would be amazed by the bobas. When he tried to speak she moved the conversation to small talk. Nothing important out in the open.

At the desk she ordered tea for them both - brown sugar milk tea for Kurt and Passion fruit herbal tea for her. She also paid for a private study room and a tray of cookies.

“I used to go to this place during college,” she told Kurt as they entered the private study room with their drinks and treats. As soon as the door was shut she pulled him into a hug. “I am sorry I haven’t been able to talk.”

“It looks fun,” he commented, glancing around not only for decor but to ensure they were alone. When they were in, he nearly dropped the tray on the table and hugged her tightly back. He gave a soft laugh. “Oh good, you recognized me,” he half-joked, “Elle, are you alright?”

“Of course, I recognized you silly, your emotional palette is unique,” she told him, relaxing in his arms. “Though I have to say the look was really throwing me off...I almost thought I was going crazy after all this time with the Brotherhood.”

Why did Kurt think there was something intimate in the word she just used -- his ‘emotional palette’? Was it because it was apparently his own unique signature and she...felt him? He tried not to get drawn into this too far, which the mention of the Brotherhood brought him out of it promptly. 

He gave her a sympathetic look at her reference to the feeling ill. Yes, he knew that being near people who were so drastically negative for a long period of time, even without being empathetic, was draining. To be the one whose power was emotions itself, well, he could imagine how beat she felt. 

Elle sighed and released him from the hug. “I am alright...for the most part. Spending so much time with them and their negative emotions sometimes makes me feel ill but I learned something. I’ve needed to tell you this for a while. Sometime this upcoming week the Brotherhood is going to attack the factory where the Sentinels are being made. They got Pyro out of prison and are going to blow it up. I don’t know the exact location though, somewhere in Virginia, outside the city. They’ve been looking for the location where they are storing the Sentinels too but haven’t been able to find it.”

After vomiting up the information she sat down in the comfy study chair, her legs suddenly weak. It had been stressful but she didn’t realize how much until now. How many people would the Brotherhood end up killing if their attack succeeded? How many humans?

A look of alarm crossed his face at the news that the Brotherhood was planning something big. “What?!” His hands went to either side of his face, unaware of his image inducer still being on. “That is huge! If there is a place building these machines...it must be rural, hidden.” He looked thoughtful. “I will inform the Professor...later.” One look at her reassured him that he needed to stay...not that he was going to leave anytime soon.

“Here...uh...I have heard chocolate helps with being drained. And milk. Or maybe milk helped with sleep.” He teleported and, within about thirty seconds, returned back with a large cup of hot chocolate. He sat next to her and placed the warm cup in her hands, his tail, which was still hidden, brushing over her shoulders and her hair.

She was about to tell Kurt that it was fine and she didn’t need anything but he had already disappeared. A few moments later he reappeared with hot chocolate and she smiled. “Thank you,” Elle told him softly, holding the cup in his hands. There was a brush against her hair and shoulders and Elle relaxed some more. She didn’t need to see it recognize the movement of his tail.

 “That is all very frightening,” he told her gently, “but you have done amazing to find this out. I am certain that we can locate the place and protect anyone from harm before the deed occurs. You are saving lives, Elle.” He smiled gently at her. 

“I know, thank you...I was worried I wouldn’t be able to tell you at all. I’ve barely had time to myself when I wasn’t working for the past week. I think Lucy has them scared I will back out…” 

“If only we would be so fortunate,” he murmured in reference to her backing out. A time limit was one thing when she had a friend in there, a way for potential communication if something went awry. But a time limit alone offered little comfort. He would be sure to let the X-men know soon, but first, he wanted to make sure Elle was fine, recovered, and well.

Elle took a long sip of her hot chocolate. As she did so her eyes roamed over Kurt’s form. “You look strange like this. How is it possible?”

At her remark, he smiled a little bit. “Oh, it is the image inducer. Here,” he turned it off, took off the innocent-looking watch, and placed it in her hand. “Beast has one as well. He made one for when we need to blend into the crowd without raising suspicion. It is fun to pretend for a while, and it was interesting to see what I might look like if I wasn’t...well, me, but I only use it when I need to blend in.” 

“That is amazing,” Elle awed at the technology in her hand. “It looks so natural! I couldn’t even tell!”

Looking at him she smiled brightly at his natural blue form. “I think I like you without it much more though. I am glad you don’t hide yourself all the time.” A deep blush entered her face. “I mean, you shouldn’t have to hide. No mutant should. But I understand the need to blend in at times. You stand out...but in a good way.”

Kurt blushed, purple on his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head, his tail flickered, and brushed Elle’s hair. “Heh, well, thank you, Elle. You are so...so very kind,” he took the watch back but did not put it on, opting instead to place it in his pocket. “I am glad, too, to hear that it was my...emotional palette? That gave me away. Tell me, what does...that look like? Or feel like?” 

Elle glanced at his tail as it brushed her hair once again. It seemed to have a mind of its own. She did not mind though, in fact, she wondered how much his tail would wander. Seeing it flex around made her think once again about all the wonderful things it might be capable of. Of all the things it could do to her…

Taking a sip of her hot chocolate she cleared her mind of those thoughts. Far too dangerous. Honestly, she had been feeling so put down by the Brotherhood that if Kurt had asked her to leave she probably would have. If he told her he wanted her, she would leave immediately…

His question made her refocus for real this time. She smiled and thought for a moment. “Hmmm, it is hard to put into words...I suppose the best way I could put it is that while there are other emotions on top. The base way your emotions are perceived by me is like...coming in from the freezing cold and drinking, well, drinking a hot cup of cocoa, with sweet marshmallows on top. Comforting, relaxing…” 

Elle tapped her chin. “But then it is also like coming in from a hot day and drinking a nice cold glass of water. Refreshing, energizing...haha, like I said it is hard to describe...it feels like...exactly what I need I suppose...does that make sense? It was nice to feel you watching out for me even if I couldn’t talk to you.”

Kurt felt his heart flutter. He found himself smiling like a fool but didn’t care. “So it...feels like home?” Immediately his face turned a bright purple and he felt like he had overspoken. “I-I mean, comfortable. Place. A nice feeling. To uh...uh…” He wondered if he should teleport away, he was so shy suddenly. 

Home. Yes. He was right. She could not say that though. Elle gave a bit of a nod and smiled at his blush. “Yes, a comfortable place...once this is done I would like to spend all day with you if that is alright.” To come home.

“I can give you a proper tour of the city or we can watch movies or...well, anything...if that’s alright with you.”

His heart rate calmed and his lips softened into a smile instead of an unsure grin. “A whole day...anything you want.” He agreed. “Just as long as we’re together.” He inhaled shakily and ran his hand through his hair. “Well, what can we do today so I can help you recharge?” He figured a trip to a theme park was the worse thing, given the number of people. 

A large smile came across her face. “Well, we can finish our drinks and then...I think some more movies are in order. I spent a lot of energy with Frost today.”

They finished their drinks and eventually Kurt put the inducer back on. Elle checked them out of the study room and they walked to her apartment, stopping only so Elle could buy the few groceries she needed. She had not lied to Frost. Eventually, they settled down on her couch with a big bowl of popcorn between them and the Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn on the TV.

Partway through the movie, Elle felt Kurt’s tail wrap around her wrist and arm. She glanced down at it but didn’t say anything. The spade fit perfectly in her open hand so she held it gently like it was his hand.

As the movie showed more romantic scenes, his tail unconsciously curled around her. He enjoyed the feeling of something solid, someone warm to wrap it around. He tossed some popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth as he repeated the lines by heart. He looked over at Elle and felt at peace, at ease. How easily he forgot about the Brotherhood’s plans when he was with her like this. As he turned back to the movie, he leaned towards her, his shoulder to hers. 

Elle felt Kurt lean against her and in turn, she leaned into him. He was so warm. She could fall asleep like this. As the movie continued her fingers absentmindedly stroked the tail in her hand. 

The movie showed a scene of Maid Marianne flirting with the Sheriff of Nottingham to distract him from Robin Hood’s schemes. Elle smiled and glanced at Kurt. Only to find him looking at her once more. From their position leaning against each other, their faces were close. She could feel his breath on her.

Elle’s breath went shallow, her deep green eyes darkening with desire. If she leaned forward she could kiss him. She could ruin all her work with the Brotherhood but she would be so happy...Biting her lower lip Elle’s free hand reached out and cupped Kurt’s cheek. A thick swallow and she gave a regretful smile. “You are dangerous Kurt,” she told him. “If I do what I want to right now I could never go back...all this work...the Brotherhood is planning something big and I need to find out what it is.”

Her hand went to his cheek, startling him from his thoughts. He mirrored her smile and nodded, reluctant. “I would never put you in danger, Elle.” He swore as he reached up, his hand on hers, and gently moved it to kiss the back of it. “Perhaps I should contact the Professor about the plans...and give us both a moment to...breathe.” 

This kiss on the back of her hand almost broke her. But it was his words that kept her from launching herself forward and kissing him. Just like her own words it brought reality to the situation. “Yes,” she told him softly. “That’s probably the best thing.”

It took them both a moment but they slowly moved away from each other. The last thing to come undone was his tail around her wrist. Before it did she squeezed the spade just a bit. As it unraveled from around her, Elle’s arm felt like it was missing something. When they were both no longer touching, Elle got up and went into the bathroom.

She washed her face trying to take away the heat of her attraction and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. It gave Kurt the time he needed to cool down as well...hopefully. At least she heard him talking on the phone in the kitchen when she left the bathroom. 

A shiver of want and warmth traveled up Kurt’s spine starting at his tail when she squeezed the spade. He had to internally ask for strength from the heavens above. It was best to do this, to take a break unless they ruined everything. Lives were at risk and it would be selfish, he told himself. 

Kurt went to call the mansion. As he relayed the information to the Professor, he looked over at the door, then at the windows. “You are right,” the Professor said, “to think the building would be placed somewhere hidden and rural. I’ll send Scott to travel and get a bird’s view on the cloaked jet. And Ms. Hughes? Is she doing well?” 

Nightcrawler tried his best not to read too much into that. “Yes, we had some tea and chocolate. I think she’s feeling better after the movie.” Better, then worse in other ways. “I would, uh, feel better if we could handle this soon though, Professor. If you want, I can go and assist after today.” If it meant leaving Elle alone just for a bit while he helped speed up the end of the mission, he was more than willing. 

“I will keep you posted, Kurt,” Xavier reassured, “please relay to her our heartiest thanks.”

“Will do, Professor.” Kurt hung up and walked over to the living room, offering a small smile to Elle. “The Professor says he is grateful for your work. As am I.” His hands were reaching out, pausing, then reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “Very grateful.”

Elle returned his smile. She saw his hands longing to reach out. There was no doubt that he wanted her but she knew, just as he did, that it was better if she stayed with the Brotherhood. Better if they did not act on their desires.

“I am glad I could help... Magneto has to be stopped, plenty of the Brotherhood’s lower-ranking members are just misled.” Her mind went to Pietro and Wanda, Magneto’s children but treated more like soldiers. “But it is innocents who are the target of their hate that I fear the most for.”

Kurt’s heart ached briefly at the thought of others being harmed for no reason other than their existence, be it mutants or humans. “Hatred is poison,” he agreed, “and it is unfortunate that it can be spread so easily. But as can poison, hope can also be spread far and wide. People like you and the X-men, we try to balance it out. You are very strong for staying for the sake of hope.” 

Elle sighed, the good mood was ruined. “Let’s finish the movie...unless you have to go?”

He looked at the movie and where it was paused, wishing they could have slipped into the roles like… as they would have before. He had to remind himself that there were more people involved than just them. There were more lives than theirs, lives than just their pleasure. Kurt sighed and smiled. “The movie, let’s finish the movie. It is a sin to waste a good Flynn film.” And maybe he wanted to selfishly sit close to Elle on the couch a bit longer.

“Perfect,” she told him with a smile, unknowingly having the same thought. They sat together once more on the couch. Slightly further apart than before but still every so often their shoulders or arms brushed. The movie only had a half-hour left and it went by far too quickly. But life had to proceed. Elle did need some alone time to clean and take care of things around the apartment and it was risky in general to have Kurt stay too long. Pietro could drop in at any moment to “surprise” her.

The rest of the movie went by quickly, mostly because Kurt’s mind wasn’t on it. No, it was on the woman next to him. He thought about her safety, her happiness, her sacrifice...he just wanted her to be safe and happy. He would go to the ends of the world to make that happen. He didn’t dare tell her, not yet, or he knew it would make her mission all the harder. By the time the credits rolled, he was surprised.

When it came time for Kurt to leave Elle gave him a worried look. “Please be careful. These Sentinels really are dangerous. I don’t want to find out you got hurt.”

He offered her a gentle smile and reached out with his tail, letting it pat her hand gently. “I will be safe so long as you are safe. We will keep everyone as protected as we can while...taking care of the sentinels. I’m sure Beast will have some ideas on how to fight against them once we see what they’re made of. Don’t let the Brotherhood put you in harm's way, Elle.” He prompted.

“I won’t, I promise...and tell Hank to make sure Lucy doesn’t do anything stupid.” Elle chuckled just a bit. “I’ll see you soon…”

Once he disappeared Elle took out her phone. There were a few messages from Pietro. She answered them quickly. Telling she was fine, Frost just exhausted her, that he didn’t need to come over but she appreciated it, and that she would see him in a couple of days...she also told him to stay out of trouble - as she always did. Elle was concerned for Pietro and Wanda. She felt like she really could call Wanda a friend and if Pietro did not hate humans as he did perhaps she could fall in love with him.

Even though they were higher ranking than the peons that she had met this week, Elle felt that Pietro and Wanda were being used by their father. No reasonable father would send his children into battle. He treated them like soldiers...and soldiers were disposable. If there was one other thing that Elle wanted to accomplish while with the Brotherhood it would be convincing Wanda and Pietro to leave. Though just getting the ball moving would work as well. Pietro cared deeply for Wanda, and Wanda was less extreme in her beliefs, if Elle could make Wanda realize that they weren’t fit for the Brotherhood then perhaps she could save them both.

____

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[galactic-pirates]

NoTP?

Is there a character or ship you were so sure you would never write/draw but now you've changed your mind?

Go onto your AO3. Which ship have you written for the most? The least? Does this correspond to who you consider your "favourite?"

Thank you! ❤️

3) NoTP?

Generally speaking I try not to think about what I don’t like, I prefer to focus on what I do - love not hate you know.

The most recent that I absolutely can not stand is Shaw/Seven. Just writing it down and contemplating it makes me feel sick. An original from years ago that I can’t stand is Trip/T’Pol (both from Star Trek). I am tempted to say Wyatt and Lucy from Timeless but honestly I only came to utterly loathe that in the later parts of season 2. Oh and can’t forget Hook and Emma from Once.

There are probably others but as I said I try and not think about it. Also this is just my opinion. There’s an expression “don’t want to yuck someone else’s yum”. I am old school fandom really about ‘staying in my lane’. I might not like ships but I have nothing against shippers.

14) Is there a character or ship you were so sure you would never write/draw but now you've changed your mind?

Answered here :)

21) Go onto your AO3. Which ship have you written for the most? The least? Does this correspond to who you consider your "favourite?"

I have 41 fics tagged for Rumbelle (Once). The next one is Helen/John/James (Sanctuary) with 8. The lowest is Flynn/Lucy (Timeless). This is entirely because I did the bulk of my fanfic writing when I was in my ‘Rumbelle era’. Not anything to do with favourite.

I actually wrote a post about this on tumblr (probably more than one to be honest) about how it hurt my soul a little bit that it didn’t feel like I had shown Helen/John/James the same amount of love. It was never about the level of obsession just where I was in my life.

I don’t know if I can really say that any ship is a favourite above the others. Obsessions wax and wane, fondness remains. At different times of my life, different ships have hit me hard. Some pairings have endured for longer in terms of fandom participation but there are so many factors at play for that. Rumbelle definitely isn’t my current favourite, I can say that at least.

Bonus question because you had a repeat :)

4) Is there a popular pairing you don't necessarily dislike but aren't too invested in?

Many probably. I mean unless I out and out hate it, or I’m obsessed, there’s a lot of middle ground that encompasses everything else. I am trying to think of an example. Oh! The Leverage OT3. That’s a good example. They are obviously family and very important to one another, and Hardison and Parker are very sweet together on the show. I can see why people like all three of them together romantically. I’m not against it but I’m not invested either. I am comfortable with just how they are, because the bond between them is so strong.

[violadiaries]

Hi,

I've been seeing things like this a lot, so why not introduce myself here :)

I go by Viola or Josi or Jo, whatever suits your fancy (you could also try to call me by the name of one of my comfort characters...I think...I guess)

I was born in Summer 1997...do the math about my age yourself will you ;)

I like video games and animes and Mangas and stuff...you know?

I also cosplay occasionally, some results are further down here or for newer ones @whirlwindsdiary

I write fanfiction for my favourite idiots...xD on AO3 under the same name :)

I take my time answering stuff, like I really take my time, but I swear unless it has been half a year I will answer messages

English is not my native language (I'm German, hate me or not for it...) but I do have a certificate stating I'm on native speaker level :D

More down there :)

Selection of Fandoms I like (obvs. not all but a few xD):

Tales of (Berseria, Vesperia, Arise, Abyss, Symphonia to some extent...and like...I have a love hate relationship with Zestiria, like...I don't like the game but I like characters, music and concepts from the game and I adore ToZX)

Tensura

Final Fantasy (esp. 4, 6 and 12, the others too but those three are my yays :D)

SpyXFamily

Fire Emblem (Awakening, Fates, Three Houses are the only ones I've played so far, with others on my to-be- played list)

I've been killing Slimes for 300 years

Pixel Horror RPGs (Ib, Mad Father, Yume Nikki, Angels of Death, Forest of Drizzling Rain are the ones comming to mind right now, probably forgot some I've seen and like)

Danganronpa, a little bit

Nier

My Isekai Life

FNaF to some extent

The Hobbit and LotR

...ect. (I can't think of more rn sorry xD)

Next, my comfort Characters:

Leon Cromwell (Tensura)

Zaveid (ToB/ToZ)

Kain Highwind (Final Fantasy IV)

Don't asks for my reasoning I can't explain but these three idiots just resonate with me ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Ships (a selection) (dni instead of hate alrighty? Great :D):

Eizen x Zaveid (EiZavie)

Van Aifread x Zaveid (VanZavie)

Aifread x Zaveid x Eizen (VanZavEizen)

Rokurou Rangetsu x Velvet Crowe (RokuVel)

Puppy Love Edna x Laphicet

Crack Ship Innominat (the moments he's not a brat) x Silva

Alisha Diphda x Rose (RoseAli)

Flynn Scifo x Yuri Lowell (Fluri)

Estellise "Estelle" Sidos Heurassein x Rita Mordio (Ristelle)

Theodore "Golbez" Harvey x Kain Highwind (GolKai)

Cecil Harvey x Rosa Joanna Farrell Harvey

Luca x Porom

Basch x Balthier

Guy Crimson x Leon Cromwell

Sylvain Jose Gautier x Felix Hugo Fraldarius

My faves (again...a selection xD):

Zaveid (ToB/ToZ)

Eizen (ToB/ToZ...I know he's a dragon in ToZ...I like dragons)

Van Aifread (ToB)

Rokurou Rangetsu (ToB)

Ichirou "Shigure" Rangetsu (ToB)

Edna (ToB/ToZ)

Alisha Diphda (ToZ)

Flynn Scifo (ToV)

Yuri Lowell (ToV)

Patty Fleur (ToV)

Leon Cromwell (Tensura)

Guy Crimson (Tensura)

Rigur (Tensura)

Vesta (Tensura)

Kain Highwind (FFIV)

Theodore "Golbez" Harvey (FFIV)

Edward Chris Von Muir (FFIV)

Sabin Rene Figaro (FFVI)

Edgar Roni Figaro (FFVI)

Shadow (FFVI)

Other things I like:

Fluff

Enemies -> Friends -> Lovers (the Enemies -> Friends step is very, very important for this!)

Friends -> Lovers

AUs

Dragons! <3

the colours green and purple

Reading

Music

Feel free to drop a message if you wanna know more about me :)

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

Fave shows tag game

Rules: List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

Thanks @the-evil-stick for the tag. Your answers were amazing. I adored them.

Anyway, let's go.

Loki

The Witcher

Shadow and Bone

Midnight Mass

Our Flag Means Death

My answers below the cut.

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

No question, it's Jaskier. My absolute baby. The main character. There is no one else.

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

Can I pick Kang since he manipulated Loki even when he was in the TVA and not in the sacred timeline? And everyone else he controlled.

3. What's your favourite episode of 4?

Episode 5. It's very Riley-centric and he's my fave from this show. He deals with a lot this episode.

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

Lmao, I could go out on a limb and say S2, but since we don't even have a trailer yet, I'm gonna stick with S1.

5. What's your favourite relationship in 3?

Wesper. A close second is Kanej. But Wesper are my absolute fave.

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

Not really into Yenralt on their own. As a poly with Jaskier, yes. Mainly, that ship needs more Jaskier in it.

Everything needs more Jaskier in it.

7. How long have you watched 1?

I've watched through twice completely and watched various parts over and over on occasion.

8. How did you become interested in 3?

The show came out on Netflix. We watched the first episode. Partner didn't like it. I went away and starred reading the books, then went back and watched the show. Then I realised I was missing something, which was Six of Crows and I started reading those books, too.

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

Hamish Linklater is amazing. The way he plays John/Paul is so good.

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

Oooh, hard one. At the moment, with a bi bard becoming an actuality that will be shown-on-screen canon, I'm gonna go with The Witcher.

Of course, we have lots of queer rep in OFMD but I'm very obsessed with Jaskier, if you can't tell.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

There are more episodes in Shadow and Bone, so that one.

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Warren Flynn. I live.

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

Buttons sets fire to the ship in a last ditch attempt to distract the big bads and let everyone escape, before he dives into the welcome arms of the sea.

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

Saints and God. Alina having to go to Crockett Island to get an amplifier, which is the Angel.

Or Saints vs God. Each side trying to wow more followers by having better miracles.

Could be something in it.

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

Okay, total crack. Casey and Miss Minutes.

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

That's difficult because I love, love, love the Six of Crows characters, but I have to say Our Flag Means Death has a great cast overall.

Tagging @waterhorseyblues-ao3 @insert-witty-user-name-here @cha-melodius @mirilyawrites @mimisempai @rins-love-wins @chaos-monkeyy @johnsimms @bigpeepee @abitofboth if you or anyone else wants to do this.

[yzafre]

we're flying above the valley below | ch 11

AO3

First | Previous

They didn’t leave Rapunzel’s world immediately.  First, they had to determine who was going where, and explain the concept of the gummi ship to Rapunzel and Flynn.  Then Sora gave them a message to pass on to Kairi when they got to Radiant Garden, before Donald reminded Sora he could just use his phone and tell her himself.  Once Sora figured out the messaging system, Kairi reminded him he was supposed to ask Donald about the transformation magic, and then they had to deal with that.

After Donald handed off some enchanted charms, Sora headed over to give one to an impatient Ventus and tuck the others beside the new keychain that had landed in his pocket.  Then, with one final wave, towards Donald, Goofy, Namine, Rapunzel, and Flynn, they finally headed off towards Yen Sid’s.

The trip was uneventful, both of them speeding along until the tower came into sight.  Ven didn’t waste any time on landing, heading inside and up the stairs at a pace just shy of running.  Heart aching, Sora did his best to keep up.  Ven must be really worried about Aqua. 

He… knew what that felt like.

Unfortunately, Yen Sid refused to help them reach the Realm of Darkness.

“Why not?!” Ventus protested.

“It is far, far too dangerous.”

“That’s why I should be there – she's my Flight, and she needs help.  I can feel it.”

“And she will receive it – both Mickey and Riku are searching for her.”

“That’s not enough!”

“No?” Yen Sid asked, an edge of danger in his tone, “Two Keyblade Masters is not enough?  A title which, I may remind you, you have not earned yourself.”

“Then test me!” Ven snarled

“Whoa – wait!  Won’t that take too long?” Sora said, “I mean, our test took nearly a week; Riku’ll probably be back by then.”

This, finally, seemed to cut some of the wind from Ven’s sails, confusion dampening his frustration.

“What are you talking about?  Aqua and Terra’s test took, like, an hour.”

“Wha – An hour?!“ Sora whipped back to Yen Sid, “What’s that about?  Why was mine and Riku’s so hard?”

The sorcerer sighed, “There were powers I was hoping to awake in you, through your trip to the Sleeping Realms – ones that were instead found in Kairi.  And as for your request, Ventus: if you had let me finish, you would also know that it is entirely beside the point.  Even if you were a Master, I could not help you.” 

“What do you mean?”

“The Realm of Darkness is not so easily breached.  To date, it can be achieved in two ways: one, to travel through a rift formed when a heart, be it of people or a world, falls into Darkness.  Two, to create a bridge with a Keyblade that contains ties to the other side.  Without the Key Mickey holds, a doorway cannot be opened.  And I assume you are not willing to cast a heart into Darkness, just to reach this other realm?”

Ven looked away mutinously.

Yen Sid nodded, “And so, even if your request was not helplessly reckless, I could not help you.”

Sora shifted awkwardly as Ven stared at the floor in silence.  Behind them, the door cracked open. 

A greeting brushed against Sora’s heart, soft and bright as the morning sun, and he spun, smile growing on his face.

“Kairi!”

“Sora!”

He reached for her, wings bursting from his back, one reaching forward to brush against hers as their hearts met, hello-I missed you.  After a moment her eyes focused on something over her shoulder, and he felt her interest perk.

“Hello,” she said, stepping away from him, “It’s... Ventus, right?”

“Yeah!  And you’re Kairi; it’s good to meet you in person.”

“Mm. You, too.  I’m glad you made it back safely.  How was your mission?”

“It was,” Ventus trailed off, eyes dropping to the floor for a moment before he answered, “It reminded me of home, in a lot of ways.”

“Rapunzel’s world was great!” Sora added, “I didn’t get to spend as much time with Donald and Goofy as I would have liked, but – oh, yeah!  Kairi, here!”

He paused, digging through his pocket until he found the last charm Donald had given him, “I got these from Donald, so we uh.  Don’t end up in a situation like with Buzz and Woody again.”

“Situation?” Ventus wondered.

“You know, when you get to a world and everything’s really different, and you’re not supposed to stand out, so the magic has to fix it?”

“Uh... sure?”

“You all have done well,” Yen Sid said, ending their chatter, “And I imagine we will need you again very soon.  For now, however, feel free to take advantage of the guest rooms for the night and get some well-deserved rest.”

The sea met the shore, perfectly still, a flat plane of water stretching endless-endless-endless.  The sky above reflected in its mirror-like surface.  If he got close enough, it almost felt like he could step through, like he could fall, like he could –

A hand caught around his wrist, preventing him from stepping out into the sky.

“Don’t.”

His heart somersaulted its way into his throat, then fell back down, landing in the pool of unease in his stomach.  That was close.  The hand on him was steadying, tamping down the fizzling nerves from his near miss, and he turned to thank his savior, only to cut off in surprise.

“Oh,” he breathed, “It’s – you.”

It was the girl, the one Roxas cared so much about, the one the runaway replica looked like – he could just barely see the edges of her face, familiar blue eyes staring out from beneath the hood.  She looked back to the water, letting go of his wrist.

“If you go out there… You’ll be lost.  And I don’t have the strength to pull you back.”

“Uhm, okay,” Sora said, following her as she moved away from the edge and sat down.  He dropped to the ground beside her, digging his toes into the sand.  The last few times he’d felt her power, it had been so fragile – and then there was all that business with the replica…

“Hey, are you alright?  After what happened in San Fransokyo, I mean.  You seemed scared.”

She curled further into herself, burying her chin in her knees.

“That ‘you’ we fought… it was a replica, the one Axel was trying to find for Naminé, right?” he prodded, “I guess the Organization did something to it.”

“When the Organization made me,” she started – quietly, so quietly, “I was made to steal power from you, and from Roxas.  Just by existing, I was hurting him.  If I fell into their hands, now, it would just happen all over again.”

“I guess, but… didn’t Naminé make the new body?  Riku said she was trying to help you.”

She didn’t answer immediately.  Sora dug trenches in the sand.

Finally, she spoke up, “I saw something, when we touched.  It felt like a memory, except… I didn’t remember it, not at all.  It… no.  I won’t be a tool for them.  I won’t.  It’s not worth the risk.”

For a long moment they sat together, listening to the wind in the trees – though the waves were conspicuously missing.

“Hey,” Sora said finally, “I don’t think I caught your name, last time.”

“My name… I see.”

She stood, walking out to the edge of the water, staring out at it as she twisted her hands together, over and over.  Finally, she sighed, turning to him with a sad smile.

“My name is – “

“Sora?”

With a jerk, Sora woke, blinking blearily through the sunlight doing its best to blind him.  A soft hand shook his shoulder once more, a shadow moving between him and the window.

“Sora.  C’mon, wake up.”

“I’m awake, Kairi,” he mumbled.

“You sure?  You don’t sound awake.”

Grumbling, he rolled over, grabbing his pillow as he went and half-heartedly smacking it into Kairi’s shoulder.  She just laughed, pulling away and tugging at his blanket.

“Come on, breakfast is ready.  It’s time to get up.”

Yen Sid sent the three of them off soon after they ate with coordinates to a world that had steadily growing Darkness readings.  Apparently, it had been that way for a while, but had flown under the radar until it suddenly spiked while they were rescuing Rapunzel.

It was a good thing he’d gotten the charms from Donald, because the moment they arrived he felt the magic wash over him.  Though, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.

“You really gotta stop being so jumpy,” Kairi teased.

“I can’t help it,” Sora whined, “I keep seeing you guys out of the corner of my eyes, and it creeps me out!”

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m creepy?”

“Yeah – I mean, not you, but – “

And then there were the locals – though, after the initial confusion over the little girl they had with them, Mike and Sully weren’t so bad.  That was made even more obvious when the real monsters showed up.

When the last of them were defeated, Sora squinted at the place where they disappeared into dark smoke.

“Those... weren’t heartless,” Sora said.

“No,” Kairi said, coming up beside him, “Not Nobodies, either.”

“Then, what could they be?  Any ideas, Ven?  ….Ven?”

Ven startled, gaze snapping over to them, and Sora had to hold back a flinch.  There was a dark pit behind the other boy’s eyes as his gaze bored into them, like the rumbling of a storm growing.

“Unversed,” Ven said heavily, “They’re unversed.  They’re… they shouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“The unversed aren’t just monsters, they’re fragments of Vanitas.  For them to be here, that would mean he would have to be... but I beat him.  That part of me should have been reabsorbed.”

“I dunno about all that,” Sora said, drawing his words out, “But the Organization is using time travel to bring back a lot of people we defeated before.  Maybe they did the same with this guy?”

“Maybe,” Ven allowed, but he didn’t look happy with it.

Sora exchanged a worried glance with Kairi, all unsure-concern-what-to-do?

Kairi shrugged, and they both watched as Ventus stared darkly into the factory.

The first order of business was getting the little girl, Boo, back home.  A fight like this was no place for someone so young.  As they made their way through the factory the unversed dogged at their heels, constantly getting in their way.  Further, they’d also caused chaos throughout the warehouse, sending machines on the fritz, blocking pathways, and generally forcing them to make endless detours.

None were more heart-stopping than when a scream echoed through the warehouse.

“It came from this way!” Sully called, leading the charge forward.

“What?  No one’s supposed to be here – the factory’s closed!” Mike protested between pants, struggling to keep up with the Keyblade wielders.

“So why are you here?” Kairi asked.

“That’s - none of your business!”

They were lucky the storeroom had been mostly empty, as what was stored inside was absolutely wrecked by the time the unversed were defeated. 

“There’s no one here,” Kairi observed, looking around at the remains of broken, empty palettes, “Do you think whoever screamed was taken?”

“But, that door was the only way in.  Could they have teleported them, somehow?”

“No,” Ventus cut in, “Unless something’s changed, that’s not something the unversed can do.”

Sora frowned, “Then... where did they go?”

“I think I have the answer,” Sully called.

They gathered around as he held up a punctured metal cannister, teeth marks all around the open hole.  Mike scoffed.

“Ugh, scream canisters.  I thought we dealt with all of those.”

“We must have missed some.”

“Scream cannisters?”

As they moved on again, the two explained the history of the company – how they’d once used something called “scream power” for energy but had since changed to using laughter instead after a series of misadventures with Boo.

That mystery taken care of, they returned to trying to find Boo’s ride home – though, it seemed to be taking an unusually long time, even with all the obstructions.

“Wait, how’d we take a wrong turn?” Mike muttered, and Sora sighed, slumping over.  So they had been going in circles – it certainly felt like it.

“Who cares?  All that matters is that it’s the last turn that you losers are ever gonna take.”

Who?

When they turned, another monster – of the local kind, not their usual kind – was standing behind them.  Mike and Sully seemed to know the slime-ball jeering at them, some kind of history surrounding their past adventures with Boo.

“How did you even get back here?” Mike protested, “The door we sent you through is sawdust.”

“Yeah, and I almost got turned into somebody’s wallet,” Randall snapped, “But that’s not the only door out there.”

Sully frowned, “There are protections in place to keep things from coming through – and they’ve only been improved since you were banished.”

“Perhaps.  But none of that means anything to my benefactor.  And in exchange – all he wants is for me to get him more energy.  And lucky for him, that’s what I’m good at.  Top of the leaderboard, baby.”

“You?  Collecting laughs?  Now that’s funny.”

“Laughs?  Don’t be stupid.  I’m after negative emotions.  And my new friends have kindly invaded the factory to get ‘em for me.”

“Negative emotions?” Ventus repeated, and Sora froze at the tension running through his voice, “Vanitas.  He is here.  Where is he?”

Randall clicked his tongue, “Not familiar with the name, but if you mean my new friend – why on earth would I tell you?  Not that it would matter if I did.  After all…”

He flickered out of vision, and they all grouped oup, observing the room tightly.  A moment later, his voice came over the speaker, “You’re not getting out of here alive.  We’re in control of this factory now, and I suggest some improvements.  Still, I’d love to see you try.  Your despair will be an excellent start to my collection.”

Next

[mightyjemma]

1, 9, 37!

What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

i thought this would be an easy question to answer, but then i looked at my ao3 page and was like, hmmm... not so easy after all. i'd probably say 'heaven help the ones who have to stay and place the blame', it's chris halliwell centric charmed (1998) fic and my most popular work. (though to this day i don't know how that happened exactly?)

the fic itself is nothing special, it is slightly canon divergent to the overall plot of s6 of the show, but with more character interactions i loved to write and being in chris' headspace. it took me forever to write and i'm still very proud of it.

9. How do you find new fic to read?

usually if i get pulled into a new fandom, i go to ao3 and browse. if it's bigger fandoms (or older ones), i also love to look for fic rec lists. i never had a livejournal acount, but you often find really good stuff on them that were only posted on lj and are difficult to search for otherwise, so i'm super glad they exist.

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

i hate to describe any of my fics as underrated, because i'm so incredibly glad anybody reads them at all, but one i'm most proud of, despite only having written exactly one (1) fic for this fandom is the trick of the light; a shot in the dark (lucy x flynn, timeless 2018).

it's a very short fic dealing with the aftermath of the s2 finale (which is the series finale to me, i don't acknowledge the movie lmao) and i'm just super proud of the prose and the vibe i captured here. i honestly think it's one of my best works.

also: follow me into the endless night / meet me in the woods tonight (mission impossibe universe, ethan hunt centric). i think i added a lot of myself into that one and it was super fun to explore.

[angelofrainfrogs]

We Can Save Them, Superstar: Ch. 4

Fandoms: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Gregory’s on a mission to save everyone he can in the Pizzaplex—even those that have already left this mortal plane. With the sudden return of Vanessa, it seems some lingering questions may finally be answered. But of course, nothing is easy when it comes to William Afton and his convoluted plots. To accomplish his mission, Gregory will need to work with his new friends and family… and some old, startlingly familiar faces, too.

Chapter Summary: After a successful day of keeping things under wraps, the night guards are hopeful going into their next shift. Of course, nothing’s ever easy when it comes to matters of the supernatural, and their smooth-sailing is about to hit a snag.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45578011/chapters/119620198

That day, there was a noticeable anxiousness throughout the Pizzaplex. At one point the techs nearly had to give Roxy a time-out in her room due to her increased attitude and snapping and any adult that showed the slightest hint of unfavorable behavior towards their child, but luckily the wolf managed to calm down before it came to that.

Eventually the day did end, and Freddy left the other animatronics with the promise to fill them in as soon as he got an update. Freddy was getting ready to head out when he was surprised by a knock at the door to his room. He shot a glance at Gregory, alarmed until a familiar voice called for them.

“Hey, it’s Thomas! You guys still in there?” There was a pause, then the man clarified: “Um, it’s just me, don’t worry!”

Freddy was quick to open the door, looking down at the guard with a slightly confused expression. “Hello, Thomas; is everything alright?”

“Yeah, things are fine!” the guard reassured with a nod. Besides some fresh dark circles under his eyes and his clothes being more wrinkled than the previous night, he looked otherwise normal. “I just wanted to fill you in on our plan for tonight. But first—” He looked around Freddy’s side, smiling brightly as he searched for the boy inevitably hanging around somewhere. “—is Gregory here?”

Gregory was barely waking up when he heard the knock at the door, sitting up on the couch wide-eyed. Upon learning it was Thomas he quickly let out a breath of relief, jumping off of the couch and running over to poke his head out from behind Freddy's leg. “Hi, Thomas!”

“Hey, there you are!” Thomas greeted warmly, crouching and holding out his arms. “Mind if I get one of those awesome hugs?”

He hoped the cold would wake him up even more, since coffee was starting to lose its effectiveness after constantly drinking caffeine for the past 12+ hours. Plus, Thomas knew Gregory enjoyed his warmth and hoped it would help the boy be a little less stressed about the whole situation, at least for a bit.

Gregory immediately ran forward into Thomas' arms, hugging him tightly. Closing his eyes, the boy rested his head on his friend's shoulder and murmured in his ear: “I found two more of the thingies we’re looking for at Monty's golf course… They were Flynn and Ian's.”

“What?! Really?!” the guard asked, lifting Gregory up and settling him into a comfortable embrace. Freddy stepped aside, closing the door once Thomas fully entered the room.

“Yes—a pair of connected Sundrop and Moondrop plushies,” Freddy explained somberly. “They were buried behind one of the fake plants.”

“Geez, of all the—” Thomas cut himself off quickly, glancing down at Gregory. He heaved a sigh and then offered the boy another smile. “Great job finding that, kiddo—we’ll get the other things in no time with you helping Freddy search!”

“Thanks! I was looking for my golf ball, but I found those instead,” the boy explained with a shrug, trying not to dwell on the morbidity of the situation. They’d found more objects, which meant they were one step closer to freeing all the kids.

Thomas nodded in understanding, shifting the boy to hold him with one arm so he could gesture with the other as he talked.

“Well, Leon and I were talking and we think it’s be best to do our thing in a security office—it’s easier to research on the computers than our phones,” Thomas explained, looking at Freddy as he patted the pocket where his phone rested. “So we were wondering if you might be able to, uh… distract some animatronics while we move?”

Freddy nodded, instantly agreeing with the plan. “Of course; I will take Gregory as well. I think we will be far enough away from you-know-who to not cause major distress.” He focused on his son, giving him a questioning smile. “Is that alright, superstar? We can spend some more time with Sun and Moon, then do whatever you would like afterwards!”

Though Freddy really didn’t want Gregory to know where they were keeping Vanessa, he also didn’t think it was fair to keep him completely in the dark. Besides, it’s not like they were going to walk with Gregory while they transported his killer—he and Freddy would stay in the play area while the guards slipped by on the upper level.

Gregory hummed in thought, before nodding his agreement. He didn't want to see Vanessa either, but he figured if they happened to cross paths he could always just close his eyes. Besides, not only would Sun and Moon be a good distraction for him, but he'd be a good distraction for them.

“I don't wanna be around her, so be very, very fast!” Gregory made sure to tell Thomas.

“Yes, sir!” the guard replied with a serious expression, saluting with his free hand. Then his face broke into another smile and he held the boy a little tighter. “Okay, I’ll hand you over to your dad when we’re at the daycare; let’s go!”

“You are not too cold?” Freddy asked, following the pair out of the room. He kept an eye out for other animatronics as they moved, but for now the coast was clear.

“Nah, I’m fine!” Thomas shook his head. “Honestly, Gregory’s helping me wake up some more! I took a little nap but it didn’t take long for Leon to shove me awake, so…” He rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically before giving the pair a mischievous grin. “But he fell asleep before me, soooo… we’re even now.”

Gregory giggled quietly, looking over at the bear. “Freddy always wakes me up if I sleep too long, but it's good 'cause I don't wanna miss the night with him!” Reaching up to idly play with Thomas’ hair, he added: “Freddy doesn't really sleep, but he shuts off. It's kinda weird, but he looks really calm.”

“Huh… makes sense,” Thomas said with a nod, tilting his head so Gregory could mess with his hair. It was already frazzled from him trying to stay awake for so long that he figured a little kid grabbing at it wouldn’t make much of a difference. “I’ve only seen Bonnie in sleep mode, now that I think of it..."

“We rarely go into true sleep mode unless our batteries are severely low or we are undergoing repairs,” Freddy added. “Thankfully the charging pods do a wonderful job of keeping us constantly powered up.”

“Yeah! Did you know that I got to repair Freddy a bunch all on my own?” Gregory told Thomas, puffing up his chest with a proud grin. “And I also fixed Bonnie's voice box!”

This declaration made Thomas stop in his tracks. He stared at Gregory wide-eyed, mouth hanging open for a few seconds before asking: “You… you did mechanical repairs on animatronics? Like opening them up and messing with the wires and stuff?!”

“We were desperate at the time,” Freddy replied with a grimace. He appreciated all Gregory had done, but the memories of being fitted with his friends’ stolen parts—not to mention him attacking Gregory when temporarily out of his mind—weren’t something he wanted to dwell on. “It was during the night everything went wrong—for me, at least. By the time we found Bonnie we knew that Gregory could not get hurt, so he helped with some minor repairs before Roxy was able to do the bulk of the work.”

“Mm-hmm. Now I can help if anything else happens to the robots,” Gregory remarked, wrapping his arms around Thomas once again. As Freddy pointed out, there was no way for him to get hurt so he didn’t see anything weird about a ten-year-old boy working to fix a couple of animatronics.

“Wow, kiddo…,” Thomas mumbled as Gregory clung to him once again. He met Freddy’s eyes over Gregory’s shoulder and shared a look of understanding. Gregory clearly didn’t see a problem with some of the things he’d had to do… but right now, there was no reason to do anything other than praise him for his efforts. They’d all paid off in the end, after all.

As they approached the daycare, Gregory perked up and began wiggling in the guard’s arms. “Maybe I can get Sun and Moon to color with me or play tag again!”

“Those are both great options!” Freddy said, continuing to lead the way. He paused when they got to the slide, and from past experience Thomas immediately understood why. He gave Gregory one more squeeze before setting him on the ground.

“Have fun, Gregory! Leon and I will see you later!” the guard said with a smile, gesturing for the boy to head over to the slide.

“See ya!” Gregory replied, rushing to give Freddy a quick hug around the legs. Throwing himself headfirst down the slide, Gregory tumbled down with a few bumps and squeaks before plopping into the ball pit. “Sun, I'm here!”

“Helloooo!” Sun called cheerfully, quickly moving to the edge of the ball pit. He waited until Gregory pulled himself out before picking the boy up and holding him close, spinning around in a circle. “How are you, Gregory?! Did you have a good day?”

“I will join you at the security office in no more than an hour,” Freddy said to the guard, tracking Gregory's progress through the ball pit from above. 

“Got it; we'll move fast so there's less of a chance Gregory will see her,” Thomas replied. He and Freddy shared a nod, then he patted Freddy's arm reassuringly before they parted ways. The bear headed off to the main play area while Thomas made his way to the theater once he was sure the pair were thoroughly distracted, keeping to the shadows so they didn't catch sight of him.

As Gregory was pulled out of the ball pit, he squeezed onto Sun's arms. With a blink, half the daycare lights went out, which caused Moon to immediately crawl out from his hiding spot towards the duo.

“I dunno; I slept the whole day!” he answered truthfully, lightly shrugging his shoulders. He kicked his legs back and forth, smiling softly. “Can we color again?”

“Yes, of course!” Sun replied, setting Gregory back down and pulling the table out so it was half in shadow as Moon moved to get the coloring books. As Sun was gathering some art supplies he saw Freddy enter through the wooden doors, and he waved cheerily. “Hi, Freddy! Are you joining us tonight?!”

“For a little while, yes,” Freddy replied with a smile. “Ah, are we coloring? How fun!”

***

Meanwhile, Thomas made it to the little room in the back of the theater, quickly slipping through the door with a heavy sigh. Now that he didn't have Gregory's cold hugs to wake him up, he was already starting to feel the day's exhaustion creeping up on him again. He shook his head briefly before looking at Leon, completely ignoring Vanessa where she was still tied up in the chair.

“We're good to move her,” Thomas said, giving Leon a thumbs-up. “Freddy and Gregory are distracting Sun and Moon right now, so we can just go fast and hope they don't notice us... Freddy said he'll meet us in the office in like an hour.”

Leon looked just as tired as his coworker, standing up with a groan like he was an old man far past his twenties.

“Ugh, sounds good. You can grab the bags, I'll grab her,” he instructed, hefting Vanessa out of the chair and over his shoulder. Everything was already prepared for the move, even the former guard herself.

By this point, Vanessa knew better than to protest. Thomas and Leon had made sure she got food and water through the day, and her wound was already healing up, but they didn’t offer her anything more than basic cordiality and glares. She couldn’t blame anyone for their over-precaution—and really, things could be a lot worse. She could’ve been immediately put at the mercy of angry animatronics, or turned into the police. The latter was arguably worse in her mind, because then it’d make freeing those lost souls a million times harder.

Thomas trailed behind Leon, gripping the bags tightly as he spared a glance down into the daycare. Sun, Moon, and Gregory seemed thoroughly distracted and he hoped they stayed that way. They moved slowly and quietly, shuffling along the carpeted floor.

Sun perked up as he thought he heard something, gazing around the room. Freddy instantly tensed, ready to do some quick-thinking if the guards were spotted... but quickly relaxed when, upon seeing nothing, Sun gave a little hum and refocused on the coloring book, smiling down at Gregory as he described the animals.

Thomas and Leon had just made it around the corner before Sun looked up, not even realizing their near-miss. Instead they headed through the first set of garage doors, gaining confidence with every step that they were going to make it without incident, just like last night. A tiny, relieved smile began to spread across Thomas's face as they reached the fountain, which was the halfway point of the room.

...That is, until the second garage door opened to reveal Roxy and Monty standing there, eerily backlit by the bright lobby and clearly looking for something—or someone.

Leon felt his breath get caught in his throat at the sight of the two animatronics, carefully stepping back as he looked over at Thomas worriedly. His grip around Vanessa’s waist tightened, the feeling putting her on high alert as well. With her hands and feet still bound, she was a sitting duck for whatever made the guards pause like that.

Monty was the first to catch sight of the trio. He was taken aback for a moment, processing the sight before him—though upon realizing who was draped over Leon’s arm his tail began to sweep against the floor slow and menacing.

“There you are…,” Monty growled, flexing his claws and baring a mouthful of sharp teeth.

“Oh shit...,” Thomas breathed, taking a step back along with Leon. He cautiously raised up his hands, palms out. “H-Hey, guys, um... d-don't do anything drastic—I know F-Freddy talked to you a-about this situation—”

“Yeah, he did,” Roxy replied, grinning as her tail whipped aggressively back and forth. “He said we could each have a punch... and we're sure as hell gonna make it a good one.” Her smile widened impossibly, and Thomas started to hyperventilate.

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit!” he chanted, stepping next to Leon both for his coworker's protection and his own. He knew they didn't stand a chance against Monty and Roxy, but they couldn't afford to give Vanessa to them just yet...

Then Roxy suddenly fake-lunged forward, intending to taunt Vanessa, and that was the last straw. At the top of his lungs, Thomas screamed: “FREDDYYYYYY!”

Leon let out a scream as well, deciding to make a run for it. He wasn't as fast as he usually was thanks to the added weight, but he moved like his life depended on it.

Monty didn't fake the gesture like Roxy. Instead, he darted towards Thomas and Leon with his arms out in front of him, laughing maniacally. “C’mon! Just one lil' punch!”

Gregory looked towards the garage doors when he heard the commotion. He turned to Freddy wide-eyed, unsure what was going on outside of the daycare. The bear instantly jumped up at the panicked yells, his head snapping towards the source of the sound.

“Keep Gregory safe!” he commanded, glancing back at Sun and Moon as he began running towards the daycare exit. “And please stay here!”

Roxy was quick to follow Monty, cackling as she ran. The pair were solely focused on Vanessa, which in effect also meant they were going after Leon, paying Thomas absolutely no mind. As Thomas frantically tried to think of how the hell to stop two raging animatronics, he heard a third set of heavy footsteps and turned just as Freddy made it through the door.

“Monty! Roxy! STOP!” Freddy called, assessing the situation in a matter of seconds. Leon and Vanessa were still a fair distance away and Freddy quickly ushered them to his side. He didn't want to use force unless absolutely necessary, but he had a feeling he'd need to in a second, since it did not look like Roxy and Monty were going to stop on their own.

“Freddy!” Gregory shouted, although the animatronic was already gone in an attempt to save Leon and—unfortunately—Vanessa. He jumped up and chased after his dad, though paused at the wooden doors. He was technically staying put, but desperately trying to see what was happening on the top level from where he stood.

The attendants leapt into action, rushing after the boy under their care. Moon crawled after Gregory despite the bright lights, grunting as he kept his gaze lowered.

“Gregoryyy, don't do that,” he warned as he caught up first, quickly moving the child aside to keep him from seeing anything he wasn't supposed to. As Moon began gently reprimanding Gregory for not listening to the rules his dad set, his glowing eyes shifted to the top level of the Daycare. There were the guards, running as usual, though Leon seemed to have an extra passenger tonight.

“Ohh, she's right there!” Moon cackled, attention successfully diverted. His need to retreat to a darker space quickly grew until he practically flung himself out of the play area into a dark corner.

“Moon! Your eyes!” Sun yelled, taking it upon himself to snatch Gregory up and watching with mild horror as his counterpart seemingly lost his mind again. The night-themed robot completely ignored this, calculating the best path to reach his target before darting forward.

As Leon ran towards Freddy, the sight of Moon on all fours coming right for him caused him to make a sharp turn towards a party room on the well-lit side.

“Fuck, fuck!” he shouted, tempted to throw Vanessa aside to avoid the now three bloodthirsty animatronics. He seriously didn’t get paid enough for this...

Freddy let out a growl of frustration as he heard Moon moving, specifically not listening to his instructions. He then quickly reassessed the situation at hand: Moon needed to stay in the dark corners, which Leon clearly understood due to his detour. This had thankfully put the human farther away from Roxy, although due to the angle Monty was suddenly much closer to grabbing onto Leon and Vanessa. It was clear what Freddy needed to do.

Without another second's hesitation, Freddy ran forward and tackled Monty to the ground, struggling with the gator as he instantly tried to fight him off. In the chaos, Roxy was unable to slow down and promptly tripped over Monty's flailing tail, landing heavily beside the other two.

Seeing this, Thomas quickly ran over to where Moon was crouched, hoping to cut off the animatronic's path to another dark corner. He stared at the daycare attendant, absolutely scared out of his mind as he moved to block his view, saying in a high-pitched voice: “M-Moon, please, n-not now...”

Thanks to Freddy’s quick thinking Leon had successfully avoided the robots’ clutches. He didn’t stop though, not even to acknowledge the mortified squawk that suddenly echoed from the Daycare entrance.

Chica had been looking for Roxy when she heard the shouting, following the noise with growing worry. Spotting her fellow Glamrocks lying in a pile on the floor, Chica quickly rushed over with wide eyes.

“What's going on?!” she asked, fluttering around the group as she tried her best to help.

“Friends doing the exact opposite of what I asked them to do,” Freddy replied sharply upon hearing Chica’s voice. He really hoped she would be able to keep her composure when she noticed Vanessa—the last thing he needed was for her to lose her mind, too. Freddy quickly stood, sighing as he noticed a few minor dents to both himself and Monty from the impact. He then reached down to pull Monty to his feet, soon doing the same to Roxy. Before they had a chance to dart away, he grabbed their hands tightly and pulled them towards his face, speaking through clenched teeth: “Do not move, alright?!”

Roxy snarled at him aggressively but remained still, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk trying to run again. She’d get her revenge on Vanessa soon enough. Monty was going to protest, although Freddy's glare immediately put the gator in his place. He huffed with annoyance, tilting his head away like one of the petulant children he was designed to entertain.

Leon had successfully made it to the party room and tossed Vanessa onto the hard floor, ignoring her groan of pain as he frantically moved to lock the doors. Accessing a number pad, he plugged in an override code to lock the door to everyone on the outside. Only after he heard the metallic deadbolts slot into place did he sink heavily into a chair and rake a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ…”

In the main room, Moon was currently staring down Thomas. With Vanessa out of his sightline, he was no longer hell-bent on going after the former guard. Still, despite the ever-present grin his annoyance at Thomas’ interference was palpable. Reaching forward, he lifted the human under the armpits and stood to full height.

“Don’t block my way next time, friend, ehehehe…,” he remarked, setting Thomas aside before stepping through the darkness towards Freddy and the rest.

Thomas was at a loss for words, trembling violently as he was moved like nothing more than a doll. At least Moon wasn’t going for Leon anymore…

“Did I not tell you all to leave her alone until we finished getting all the information we could?!” Freddy began, his gaze shifting between Monty and Roxy. He actually stomped his foot in annoyance, making them flinch at the sound. “What was your plan when you caught her?! You could have seriously injured Leon!” He then swiftly turned on his heel, pointing to the night-themed robot. “And do not think I did not see you either, Moon! I asked you to stay with Gregory! You and Sun—”

Freddy suddenly paused, looking around the room with wide eyes. He took stock of the animatronics: Monty, Roxy, Chica, Moon...

“...Where is Sun?” he asked quietly.

Sun was, in fact, currently pressing his face against the window to the party room, having snuck behind Leon in the chaos. He'd made sure Gregory was technically still in the daycare before slipping away of course, and Freddy had calmed the others down by that point so the boy wasn't in any danger (not that he really was in the first place). This gave Sun the rare opportunity to sneak, and he'd used all the techniques he'd learned from his brother to trail Leon to the party room, just barely missing the door before it closed.

“Heyyyy, open up!” he called in a sing-song voice, tapping on the glass. “I just wanna talk with her!”

Leon let out a horrified yell, grabbing a paper plate to vainly attempt and cover the window with. Panic clouded his mind again, curbing his normally-measured thoughts.  

“No! Go away, Sun!” the security guard insisted, looking back at Vanessa who laid tied up on the floor. She’d shifted onto her side and was staring at Sun’s grinning face, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

Gregory had diligently stayed in daycare for a bit, but his curiosity soon won out. Everyone was gathered upstairs—so why couldn't he be out now, too? He made his way up behind Freddy, raising his hands to pat the back of his legs.

“Sun left, dad!” Gregory remarked, trying to get the bear’s attention with a few more gently taps.

“He what?!” Freddy exclaimed, lifting the boy automatically. He clutched Gregory tightly upon hearing Leon's scream—Sun was on the loose, and Freddy had no clue what the animatronic would do right now.

“Shiiiit!” Thomas hissed, finally coming to his senses enough to dash for the party room. He found Sun trying to get in and froze in terror yet again.

“What's the problem?!” Sun was asking, smacking the glass a bit more aggressively. “I just want to play with my old pal—I haven't seen Vanessa in sooooooo long!”

“H-Hey, Sun, come on... relax...,” Thomas murmured softly, reaching out a tentative hand to tug on Sun's pant leg. The tall animatronic instantly turned his head to stare down at him, his grin still prominent but somehow much creepier than usual.

“Aww, I thought you were still playing with Moon!” Sun exclaimed, then cupped his hands over his mouth to call out loudly for his brother: “MOON! Come help me!”

Just as Moon finally seemed calm again, Sun’s alert immediately spurred him into action. He twisted his flexible body until he was on all fours before rapidly crawling towards his counterpart. He didn’t stay on the floor this time, crawling up the wall until he perched just above the door frame.

“Ehehehe, it seems we have someone that doesn't quite belong here!” Moon cackled, reaching down to aggressively try and pry open the door using the indented handle.

“No no no no—” Leon murmured, backing away from the window. As he moved towards a corner of the room out of view he snagged Vanessa under the shoulders, dragging her and ignoring her exclamations of discomfort.

“Take him, please!” Freddy said, quickly shoving Gregory into Chica's arms—the only animatronic in the room he currently trusted. After handing the boy over he rushed to the room, where he found Thomas now curled up into a ball against the glass guardrail and shaking like a leaf as he watched the daycare attendants with wide eyes.

“What are you two doing?!” Freddy exclaimed, quickly tugging Sun away from the window as he was the only animatronic he could reach.

“Oh, Freddy! We're trying to get in—” Sun began, his voice sounding a little lower and closer to Moon's than usual.

“It was a rhetorical question!” Freddy cut him off with a huff, setting Sun against the guardrail a few feet away from the terrified Thomas. “Stay here—I mean it!”

Freddy then turned back to the security office and called to Moon, pointing aggressively towards the ground as he spoke. “Moon! Get OFF the wall!”

Moon let out a tut of annoyance. Instead of simply crawling back to the floor he leaped over Freddy’s head to land on the netting above Thomas with another one of those dark laughs.

“OH FUCK NO!” Thomas shrieked when Moon landed above his head. He instantly jumped up, his self-preservation finally winning out and making him run full-speed away from the party room, past all the animatronics and Gregory, and out of the daycare completely. He didn't stop until he'd reached the closest security office, quickly slamming the door shut and activating all the animatronic-proof locks, not paying any mind to the power meter that started to tick down. Then he finally collapsed into a chair with a sigh, muttering to himself: “Holy shit this job is gonna kill me...”

Freddy let out a sigh. Yet another thing to deal with—and another phrase for Gregory to overhear and potentially repeat. Wearily, he looked up at Moon, his tone exhausted. “Please get down and join the others... I have to speak with everyone. Now.”

As Freddy corralled the daycare attendants, Chica was trying to get some more information from her bandmates.

“You two attacked Vanessa?” she asked Monty and Roxy, sighing at their shifty expressions. At this point, she wasn't sure if calling Bonnie up would help or hinder the situation. Gregory tried his best to look over at what was going on with Freddy, although Chica kept his head down with her hand.

“No, we didn't attack her!” Roxy clarified, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She let out another growl as she saw that she'd chipped a nail during the impact with the floor, then looked at Chica. “We didn't get close enough to—Freddy stopped us...”

Monty shook his head, huffing quietly. “It wasn’t fair… We just wanted to bite her a little!”

“We were so close, too…,” Moon commiserated as he rejoined the group, being literally tugged along by the hand by Freddy.

The bear planted Moon in a dark area next to the lighter one Sun stood in, then gestured for Chica to step next to him, not wanting her to get caught up in a lecture she didn't deserve. Before saying anything else though, Freddy addressed the boy in her arms, asking: “Are you alright, Gregory? Did you... see any of that?”

Gregory quickly shook his head to ease Freddy’s worry. “Nope! Just heard loooots of screaming and cussing.”

“He seems perfectly fine to me, Freddy,” Chica remarked, resting him comfortably on her hip. Satisfied that Gregory was okay, Freddy turned his attention to the other animatronics and heaved a big sigh.

“Believe me, everyone—I completely understand where your anger is coming from. But we cannot risk jeopardizing those children anymore, and this is our only chance to free them!” He looked at Roxy and Monty, narrowing his eyes slightly. “And just what were you two doing all the way over here? It is not like you to visit the daycare on a whim...”

“We... wanted to see if Gregory was here!” Roxy replied, flashing a grin, though she could tell Freddy wasn't buying it. Still, it didn't hurt to try. “We checked your room and you guys were gone, so we figured you'd either be downstairs or in the daycare! Right, Monty?” She jabbed an elbow into the gator's side, then winced and quickly patted him apologetically when she noticed a dent—she wasn't sure if it was from her or from being tackled by Freddy earlier. “Ooh, sorry...”

“Roxy’s right!” Monty insisted with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “…Sorry, Fredbear.”

“We just need to be patient, guys,” Chica reassured, offering the others a bright smile. 

“Yeah, we know… sorry,” Roxy mumbled, looking at the floor. Freddy smiled gently, unable to stay mad at them for too long.

“Your apologies are appreciated, although I think you will have to do a lot more to make it up to Thomas and Leon…” He frowned, now focusing on the daycare attendants. “I am very surprised at you both—especially Sun! I cannot believe you left Gregory alone!”

“No, no, he wasn’t alone!” Sun exclaimed, quickly shaking his head. “You all were here, and Roxy and Monty had calmed down! I made sure Gregory was safe before leaving!”

Freddy just glared at him before shifting his gaze to Moon. “You two will be lucky if Thomas and Leon ever come within a hundred feet of the daycare again after this. I do not even know where Thomas ran off to after your spectacle crawling up the walls, Moon…”

“I’m faster that way,” he responded with that unblinking gaze. “Sun and I are programmed to respond to threats, especially me, and Vanessa is very much a threat—I couldn't help it. Still…” The attendants shared a look. “We’re sorry for distressing the good guards again.”

“But dad, doesn’t this mean everyone’s security features are working correctly now? So… things are still okay, right?” Gregory pointed out with a tilt of his head, deciding it was senseless to dwell on this subject any further. Though the guards might be emotionally traumatized again, everyone including Vanessa had escaped physical harm. He patted Chica’s shoulders, as if urging her and everyone else to move on as well. “I wanna look for more hidden stuff!”

“Alright, well… I suppose starting over is the best thing to do right now,” Freddy agreed with a nod. He made a mental note to keep Vanessa out of the daycare at all costs from this point forward. While he was glad his robotic companions were working at full capacity, he hadn’t realized just how serious the daycare attendants’ security threat protocol was until tonight.

“Before we can search, I need to find out where the next object is located,” Freddy continued, looking at the group. “Chica, perhaps just you and I should go with Gregory tonight—the rest of you should take a break. I do not want you to get worked up again.” He saw Roxy gearing up to protest so he quickly added: “I promise if I hear of an item that may be easier for you or Monty to find I will reach out, okay?”

“That sounds like a fair deal,” Chica replied with an easy smile, shifting Gregory into a better hold against her hip. 

“Aw, man…,” Monty pouted, though he decided it in his best interest not to protest their band leader’s words. Grabbing Roxy’s arm, he dragged the wolf back to Rockstar Row. 

“You know where to find us if you need us,” Sun mentioned, ruffling Gregory’s hair before making his way back towards the play area. With half of the room still left dark, Moon trailed along at his own pace while sending the remaining trio a little wave.

“Thank you, everyone!” Freddy called as the group parted ways. It wasn’t until everyone but Chica and Gregory had cleared the area that Freddy actually took a look at himself and assessed the damage he’d gotten from tackling Monty, his frown deepening with every dent. “Oh dear; the technicians will not be happy tomorrow morning…”

***

Masterlist of chapters on Tumblr here!

Please check out The Superstar Series on ao3 for all fics in this series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2726401