#but if we get this as some bizarre AU I am okay with it!

[strangersteddierthings]

Steve, Gareth and Chrissy are cousins AU (sad edition) [prologue] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Final Part]

"So," Robin says after they clink their molotov cocktails together, "do we also get to talk about the whole cousin situation now?"

Steve looks across the field, where Eddie and Dustin are defending themselves from invisible enemies. Gareth and Lucas are swinging the finished spears at each other while Erica shakes her head at them, working on a third. It looks like Nancy is showing Max the proper way to hold a shotgun, which isn't nearly as bizarre as it probably should be.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Are you doing okay?" Robin asks.

Steve doesn't mean to making a scoffing noise. It just leaves his body involuntarily. "No. But I'm not the only one not doing okay. Now that we know Vecna doesn't have to do the whole weeklong build up to murder town, that he could get any of us, as any time and he's just being a sadistic bastard-"

"Steve. He'll take the bait. If nothing else, we have to believe that."

Steve looks from Max to Gareth, then back to Robin. "Yeah. Right."

Robin is quiet for a moment, before her eyes flick away and back to him again. "Do you want to talk to Gareth? He was... God, Steve, it was awful, hearing him scream for you. While Vecna was... Anyway, I know you two are like avoiding each other for whatever reason, but I think you can let go of whatever it was."

"I just wanted to keep them safe, Robbie," Steve swallows down the sob that wants to break free. "I never wanted them involved in this. I was so scared that I'd somehow infect them with the Upside Down that I just kept them away and it took Chrissy anyway. It-it-"

"It hasn't taken Gareth, though," Robin says softly, cutting Steve's spiral off. "It hasn't taken him. But he needs you. I think you need him, too. You should talk. Before we drop him at the Creel house. Because."

She doesn't finish, but that's fine. Steve knows what she's saying. They could die today. Any one of them. Chrissy died without Steve making it right. He'd started to work on hanging out with Chrissy again, but it was all surface level. He didn't even apologize. With Gareth he could justify, however shitty that was to do, that he was staying away because Gareth asked him to.

Chrissy hadn't asked for Steve to step out of her life. He'd done that himself in '83.

He can't do right by Chrissy anymore, but he can try with Gareth.

He stands and Robin gives his knee two solid pats before he walks away.

"Dustin, you piss off Steve somehow?" Eddie asks.

Gareth, in the middle of facing off with Lucas, pauses to look around, which gains him a light tap to his side by Lucas' spear. Sure enough, Steve is stalking their direction with a grim determination on his face.

"What, why am I the one getting the blame?" Dustin says, offended.

"It is usually you," Lucas adds, which earns him a squawk of indignation from Dustin, who shoots back, "he could be coming to lecture you for making Erica do all the spear making!"

Steve doesn't approach either boy, though.

"Hey, can we talk?" Steve asks once he comes to a stop in front of him.

"Got some end of the world regrets, Harrington?" Gareth says, trying to keep his voice lighter than he feels. He wants to tease Steve, not bully him.

He must succeed because Steve gives a chuckle and says, "I don't think we have time for all the end of the world regrets, so, uhh, just the one for now."

"We're cool, dude," Gareth says, eyes flicking from Steve to Eddie. The kids know, Gareth told them himself, but Eddie doesn't. "I started it."

"Yeah, but I graduated and still pretended you didn't exist. Which isn't what you asked for."

Gareth shrugs, because he doesn't know everything but he knows enough. Learned this isn't anyone else's (besides Eddie and his) first rodeo or whatever. That there have been other times, dating back to the year Will Byers was lost for a week. "Dude. Seriously. We're cool. You've been dealing with... whatever the fuck this is. So, just, like promise to be around more once we all survive this."

Steve looks pained but before he can reply, Eddie cuts in, "I'm sorry. How do you know each other?"

Gareth looks to Steve, who just shrugs as if to say your friend, you responsibility and honestly? Fuck Steve Harrington. Keeps traumatizing secrets and pushes Gareth away and also throws him to the wolves. Except, this is the secret Gareth has been keeping from Eddie. He sighs and turns to Eddie. "Well, uh, Steve's my cousin. We used to be super close before I started high school. Actually, Steve here is the reason I joined Hellfire!"

Eddie seems to go through all 7 stages of grief before settling into a confused. "I'm sorry. Steve talked you into joining Hellfire?"

"That is not what I did!" Steve defends himself.

"God no. He just went into great detail about how loud and obnoxious and attention-grabbing the current president was, as if that would make me want to not meet you for some reason."

"It was a warning!" Steve yelps at the same time Eddie sing-songs, "You think I'm attention-grabbing, Harrington?"

Dustin, Lucas, and Erica are all laughing at Steve has he tries to sputter through what he meant by attention-grabbing ("It's hard to not pay attention when he's shouting from the top of a lunch table!"), and Gareth just watches on, amused.

After they fight an... evil wizard? Vecna or whatever his name is. Once this is over, Gareth is going to sit Steve down and make him tell him everything, but that can wait.

He wants to watch Steve flounder trying to defend himself from the accusations of watching Eddie just a bit too much back in high school.

Later, as they all pack up and load up in the RV, Nancy stops Steve from entering the RV, ushering everyone past until Gareth and Steve are the only ones left outside.

"Are we acknowledging that you're cousins, now?" she asks.

"You knew!?" Steve sounds surprised. Gareth's surprised, too.

Nancy just rolls her eyes. "Steve, I've been to your house." When that just makes Steve look confused, she rolls her eyes and says, "there are family pictures covering almost every inch of your living room."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Robin pipes in, appearing in the doorway with an angry expression.

"It wasn't really my thing to talk about, was it?"

"Yeah, but did you even check in with Steve? If you knew, and knew what happened to Chrissy- you didn't even ask if he wanted to go to the funeral!"

"Robin!" Steve hisses.

Nancy doesn't look upset by whatever accusation Robin seems to be trying to make. "If Steve wanted to go, he could have said something. We aren't his keepers. But, also," her gaze goes from Robin to Steve, "I didn't want to pry or seem pushy. I figured you'd tell us when you were ready."

Robin frowns but doesn't say anything else, disappearing back into the RV. Gareth gestures for Steve and Nancy to go first, and then he's closing and locking the door behind him before heading to sit by Eddie along the back bench seat. A bunch of shit has been piled there, so Gareth shoves it off the seat and to the floor. The pile of things ends up being a hazard and he almost brains himself while turning to sit down; something under his foot slides and Eddie saves him, yanking him to fall onto Eddie. After some fussing and laughter from those around, Gareth gets seated and looks down to see what almost killed him.

It's a phone book.

Eddie leans in close once they're back on the road to town to whisper, "so, you just let me go on all those rants about King Steve and never once thought to tell me you were related?"

Gareth just gives him his best impression of a King Steve smirk and says, "I would have hate to have deterred you from talking about your favorite school subject."

It's worth seeing the scandalized look on Eddie's face, even as the man socks him in the leg for the comment. "I hate you, man."

Gareth rubs his leg and says, "you don't mean that."

There's a long silence from Eddie after that before he says, "you're right. I don't mean that. And. Uh. In case I don't- in case it goes south down there but ends up fine up here, I just-"

"No," Gareth growls. "Fuck you, Eddie. We're going to be fine. All you gotta do is shred on your guitar and get the hell out. You're going to be fine."

"You didn't see the bats."

"Eddie."

"Fine. It's gonna be fine," Eddie agrees and falls silent.

Gareth frowns at that. Eddie must really be worried, to not argue back like he usually does. Gareth's worried, too, but what can he do?

He thinks about his mom. When did he last tell her he loves her? If they don't succeed tonight, will he get a chance to say it again? Will anyone get a chance to say it again?

Gareth looks down at the phone book at his feet.

"Wait, does anyone have change for a payphone?" Gareth asks from somewhere behind him. Steve turns in his seat to look into the back of the RV.

"Uh, yeah," Robin digs into her pockets, but then narrows her eyes at Gareth and asks, "wait. Who are you calling?"

"I have to let my mom know I'm alive. Just... hear my voice," Gareth says. "She needs to know I'm okay. It's already been too long since last we talked and... after Chrissy she was..."

Robin's face drops into the guiltiest look Steve's ever seen on her face and she produces her wallet, dropping the whole thing into Gareth's open hand. "Yeah, no. Sorry. There's still plenty of time for a phone call before the end of the world. You better return my wallet, Cunningham."

"I'm not going to rob you, Buckley," Gareth says before ducking out the RV with Max, Lucas, and Erica.

Steve tries not to let the guilt well up in him as they drive away. Gareth had wanted to come with Team Kill Vecna but Steve had quickly argued against that. He wasn't going to let Gareth anywhere near the Upside Down.

So it was decided. Max, Lucas, Erica, and Gareth at the Creel house, Dustin and Eddie on distraction, and Nancy, Robin, and Steve were going to face down Vecna.

There was still hours to go before they'd try, with a time set for 9:20ish, since that's the time Vecna's been enacting his curse according to Eddie's broken watch. Plenty of time to fortify Eddie's house in the Upside Down, plus the almost 40 minute walk to the Creel house from Forest Hills.

This was going to work. It had to.

Max and Lucas opt for hiding around the back of the house, waiting for time to pass until it's closer to dark, and Erica said she was going to snoop around the abandoned playground, so Gareth decided to head to the payphone a couple of blocks down the street.

He makes it halfway there before Erica scares the shit out of him by saying, "why do you need a phone book?"

Gareth yelps and spins, stupidly trying to hid the book behind his back even though he knows she already saw it. "I- uh, no. No reason."

Erica eyes him and he's suddenly very aware of whatever Eddie saw in her that night at Hellfire, that let her join the club. She's pretty scary for a middle schooler. "Do I look stupid? Who are you calling." It's not a question. It's a demand.

"I'm going to try and get a hold of Eddie's uncle," Gareth answers, trying to sound like an authority figure. "Tell him he'll find Eddie at his home at eight tonight. I know you all are so used to not telling people but this is- we need a real adult and Wayne's an army vet. He'll know how to help. He'll want to help."

She purses her lips, stays quiet for a moment before she nods. "I'm usually surrounded by stupid people, but you're kind of not one. I've got more change if you need it."

Gareth calls the plant and asks to speak to Wayne Munson. It's a bit of back and forth before the secretary agrees, but only if Wayne agrees to speak to a Gareth Cunningham. The plant must be getting calls from angry locals.

"Are ya really Gareth, or are ya just wantin' ta yell at me for helpin' raise the devil incarnate?" Wayne sounds tired and Gareth feels bad for him.

"Eddie would love for you to call him that to his face when you see him again."

"Thank God, son," Wayne sounds relieved. He must recognize Gareth's voice. "Ya okay? No one's harrassin' ya, are they?"

"No. Listen Wayne, I'm going to say something crazy but please just listen and do your best to be casual. I know where Eddie is. Or, where he will be at eight tonight. He's.... not physically hurt but he's going to need you. He might hate me for telling you this but I had to."

There is a pause where all he hears through the phone is a long inhale followed by a slow exhale. "Mmm hmm. I appreciate yer concern and glad ta hear no one's botherin' ya just for knowin' Eddie."

Gareth is only confused for a moment before he realizes Wayne is trying to make this conversation sound routine from his end. "Just. He's going home. But please don't show up until after eight. If you... if you beat him home he might run. Try to keep you out of this, y'know?" Gareth is just lying now, but he's a teenage boy in a garage band that plays in a dingy bar at the edge of town. That is to say, he knows how to lie off the cuff.

"I read ya loud and clear. I'll let ya know as soon as Eddie's been found safe so ya can quit worryin'. I gotta get back to it, but thanks for reachin' out."

Gareth hangs up and looks to Erica. "Well. Let's hope I haven't ruined everything."

"Let's hope that you know Wayne as well as you think you do."

[vemaro]

how the tables have turned

Summary: “Are we seriously delaying our day so she can pleasure herself? Have you all lost your damn—”

He’s suddenly being yanked back by his shirt. On instinct, he pulls out a dagger, ready to attack, but Jaheira, the perpetrator, takes out her own and holds it at the ready. “Don’t tempt me with a good time, Little Star,” she says cheekily.

Pairing: Astarion x Tav (female Tav)

Word count: ~1800

Notes: Here I am on my day off wanting to write fluff and I end up writing about the whole Haarlep ordeal. That situation is bizarre and uncomfy, but full of so much angst. As per usual, this is written with the context of my AU, so Astarion and Tav aren’t actually together (yet) and this takes place within the context of the game plot. The vampy boy just got back from the ditching the posse in a hissy fit and discovers some disturbing changes.

…

“Rendezvous back here at the Elfsong when we’re all through, got it?” The party converges on the door of their suite, Tav at the lead, but just as it opens, she freezes. A tingle runs down her spine and a flush comes over her cheeks. No no no. Not now. Not again. “Oh no,” she mumbles before shoving her way past her friends and running straight to her bedroom. The door shuts with a resounding thud and a loud silence follows.

Karlach grimaces. “Fucking Haarlep,” she says, spitting the fiend’s name.

Astarion, who was at the back of the group, looks between Tav’s door and the tiefling. “What … was that about?”

No one gives him an immediate answer, but something about their silence feels off. He’s the only one who appears lost. In other words, they know something and they don’t want to tell him. Most likely as payback from when he left their group. Even he has to admit it’s somewhat warranted, but he’s here now, damnit. Then again, it’s been less than 24 hours since he came back.

Gale, unofficial second in command, awkwardly steps into the center of things. “Tav requires a, er, moment of privacy.” He clears his throat. “We should allow her that by going out and doing as she asked of us. Supplies won’t collect themselves.”

Astarion stares at the door. “But is she alright?”

The wizard falls silent once more, pointedly looking down at his boots and clearly done talking. Okay … Astarion can’t tell if he’s more annoyed by the situation or concerned for the person locked in the room. Fine. If they’re not going to provide him any information, he might as well get it from the source.

His expression must’ve given away his intention because Wyll grabs his shoulder before he can move. “Don’t, Astarion. Leave her be.”

“Don’t touch me.” He shrugs off the warlock's hand and continues on his way. Just as he touches the door knob, a noise escapes the room. A moan. A moan? And he knows that moan. He’s made people do it before. This—this can’t be right. He must be delusional. But then there it is again, a sound of ecstasy passing through Tav’s lips. “What in the fucking Nine Hells is going on in there?” he demands out loud.

Gale's face is bright red and he’s white knuckling his quarterstaff. “I told you she needed a moment,” he mutters, eyes pleading. “Now please kindly step away from the door.”

Astarion does move away from the door and gets right in his face. “Are we seriously delaying our day so she can pleasure herself? Have you all lost your damn—”

He’s suddenly being yanked back by his shirt. On instinct, he pulls out a dagger, ready to attack, but Jaheira, the perpetrator, takes out her own and holds it at the ready. “Don’t tempt me with a good time, Little Star,” she says cheekily.

As frustrated as he is, Astarion is in no mood to fight. Although he has apologized for his dramatic departure, he’s not so naive to believe everyone has entirely forgiven him. He stashes his knife and holds up his hands. “I yield.”

She snaps at the others. “You all have a job to do, don’t you? Shoo.” They all file out slowly, a couple of them tossing a final glance in Tav's direction. Once it’s just the Harper and the vampire, the former gestures signals for him to follow. “Come.”

He grits his teeth, but obeys. Jaheira leads him downstairs into the tavern. It’s still mid morning, so there’s not much business yet, only a handful of people sprinkled across the space. The pair bypass the bar entirely and find an empty table in a secluded corner. She sits down first then nods towards the empty seat. “Sit.”

Astarion doesn’t fancy being told what to do yet again. “Tell me now; are you actually going to explain or should I just walk away?”

In lieu of properly answering, Jaheira lets out a world weary sigh and instead asks, “You are aware that we now possess the Orphic Hanmer, yes?”

He rolls his eyes. Perhaps he should leave. “Yes, I’m aware. How is that relevant to this conversation?”

“You recall where it was being held?”

His patience is wearing thin. “The House of Hope; that devil, Raphael’s, domain. I was told you lot took care of him.”

“Indeed. Raphael was defeated by our hand when we tried to escape with the hammer,” Jaheira says plainly. “However, prior to that battle, there was an incubus, Haarlep. He agreed to help us, but it came with a steep price.”

He reaches for his dagger again. “Is he up there right now?”

She shakes her head. “No, fortunately not.”

“Then what are we even talking about?”

Jaheira has never been one to mince her words, something Astarion respected her for. So it isn’t a good sign if she hesitates before speaking. The elder woman clasps her hands together and rests them on top of the table. Still, she pauses first. “Haarlep gave us a code to a safe and the hammer in exchange for having his way with Tav.”

Astarion feels his stomach drop into the sewers. “What?” He bangs his fists on the table. “Why the hells didn’t you kill him?”

“Honestly, we weren’t around to stop it from happening,” she confesses. “Tav split off from the group at some point and by the time we found her, a deal was struck and the deed was done.”

He points towards the stairs. “That still doesn’t explain whatever that is.”

Again, she hesitates, which is very unsettling. “He is a shapeshifter, much like that bloodthirsty Orin girl. Whenever he uses Tav’s form to seduce someone, she can feel everything with her own body.” The High Harper scowls. “It seems he’s been using it quite frequently.”

Astarion comes to a horrific realization. He covers his face in shame for her and finally drops into the open seat. “So right now, he’s fucking somebody else as her?”

“Yes.”

He doesn’t say anything for a long time. This is too much. This is too familiar. Cazador is dead. Cazador is gone. Astarion stabbed him himself. This isn’t even about him, it’s about her. That stupid, selfless woman. He always warned Tav that her acts of heroism and martyrdom would eventually bite her in the ass one day, but he never thought it would be something like this. This is so much worse. What was she thinking? Jaheira allows him some time to gather his thoughts. When he does, he lets his hands fall away. “And … how often does this happen?”

“If I had to guess, every few days.” She sighs yet again. “You know how she can be though. It could be more. It hasn’t happened during a fight.” There’s an implied yet that hangs heavily in the air.

By now, a few guests have started to trickle in. Their private conversation won’t be so private for much longer. “How is she? Really.”

Jaheira stands. “Well, with an incubus violating her body, a mind flayer invading her mind, and a vampire spawn who wished her dead, how do you think, Little Star?” She doesn’t give him the opportunity to answer. She just walks away and out the front door, leaving him to stew in his thoughts and emotions. Which can be perfectly summed up as what the fucking hells.

It doesn't take too long for the druid to descend the stairs. At the bottom, she scans the room and her eyes connect with a familiar red pair of eyes. For a split second, she breaks into the sunny smile she’s known for, but one look at his expression sours hers. Tav heads for the door.

“Tav!” Astarion scrambles up from the chair and chases her outside. “Wait!”

She does not wait. “They told you.” It’s not even a question.

He catches up and puts himself directly in front of her. “I was going to find out eventually.”

Tav starts stabbing him with her finger in the chest. “Hey, you don’t get to judge me. You weren't there and it was the only way that no one would get hurt and—”

He lets her do it. “Out of everyone here, I have the least right to judge you.”

She laughs, but the sound lacks any humor. “Out of everyone here, you’d have the most right to judge me.”

Astarion frowns at the accusation. “Why would I judge you at all?”

“Because I had a choice, and you didn’t.”

Technically, technically, she’s not wrong, but that doesn’t make this any less fucked up. “I’m not judging you, Tav.” Gods below, is this what it was like for her when she was trying to get him to open up? “Your body is being used in such a dirty, nefarious way against your will, the toll on your mind and body is unfathomable. I’m the only person here who truly understands that.”

“I’m fine.”

Her nonchalance on the subject is pissing him off, but a small voice (that sounds awfully close to hers) reminds him this isn’t about him. “No, you’re not.”

Tav crosses her arms. “You went through this for two hundred years. I’m not going to compare my tendays of discomfort to your literal centuries of torture.”

“By the Gods, Tav, it’s not a bloody pissing contest for trauma!” He wants to grab the druid and shake some sense into her. If the issue at hand was literally anything else, he would. “Whether it’s been happening for a day, a week, a month, or a thousand years, it’s a shit predicament for anyone.”

He notices her fists clenching and unclenching. She’s digging her nails into her palms. “I appreciate the concern, but it’s fine. I’m fine.”

That’s a lie, plain and simple, but he won’t push the subject any further. From his own experience being on the other side of things, specifically during their discussions, it made him dig his heels in the dirt and shut down. Ironic how the tables have turned. “Alright,” he concedes. “But if you ever need to talk, I’m willing to lend an ear.”

Tav closes her eyes, takes a very deep breath, and lets it out very slowly and loudly. When she looks back at him, she seems slightly less frazzled. “Thanks, but I’m—”

“Fine?” he says with a smirk.

She snorts. “I am.”

“Of course you are.”

With an unimpressed eye roll, she pushes him away in jest. “I am, for the millionth time. Now drop it and let’s go. We’re already running behind.”

“Coming, dear.”

As they walk side by side, Astarion can’t help but wonder when he became the emotionally mature one in their friendship. The one attempting to crack open the shell of the other person. Ugh, he fucking hates it. Being the petty and bitter one is much easier. And yet he wants to try to be supportive and open. For her.

The things you do for love, right?

…

Thanks for reading!

[findafight]

hi i'm the anon that sent the ask about someone telling joyce and oh my god it being hopper that says it is so good. i can totally see him doing that. i also love that you added steve finding out from murray bc that's always been my preferred hc for how steve would find out. murray saying something about it that's weird and out of pocket is him to a tee imo. poor steve i feel so bad for him in this au, at least hopper is on his side completely. ty for acknowledging how fucked up it is that nancy and jonathan but esp nancy never actually told steve. i wonder what she would've done/told him if steve hadn't bit the bullet and broken up w her.

Thank youuuu (love getting ask mwah) (also idk what to call the au) Listen I loooove Steve and Hopper accidentally adopting each other. In my brain Dustin talked up Steve's hair skills to El at the snowball and she gets all starry-eyed like he knows! Hair? :0 Dustin you have to convince Steve to come over to my house and help me with my hair and I will convince hop to let him come! I also need hair advice!! Hop barely has hair!! Which is how Steve gets a little sister pre S3 (like he always wanted) (he also gets max a bit later too godbless) (sibling collector lmao) Steve 100% calls Hop dad once without realizing and Hopper gets choked up and Steve's like you okay there?? And Hop has to go yeah yeah I'm finE so he doesn't embarrass Steve. That's the shit. (Also makes more Steve and El angst post S3 with hop gone and them being separated ;-;)

Hopper gets to be a jackass to on his kid's behalf and I think that's actually beautiful.

Oh, yeah. The more I've thought about it the more I feel like Steve has no clue Nancy cheated on him. We saw how he acted in S1 when he thought so and while S2 Steve wouldn't be so extreme, he'd definitely be crushed. And with S4...idk I don't think Steve knew about the cheating then. It just seems like he wouldn't. Want to go back after being cheated on? Or that he'd have some serious hang ups with Nancy. Even if he still loved her if he knew she slept with Jonathan, would he want to act on it? Also did he know they were still together? Does she mention Jonathan at all to anyone but Fred?

Also Murray. You bizarre jackass. Of COURSE it was him. He'd feel guilty about it because he totally thought Steve knew and he was just trying to be a dickhead but not like. Cruel. so it's awwwkwaaaard and not the fun kind he can manipulate just the sad kind that has Hopper glaring at him.

Yeah... I understand that the writers do not feel like Nancy cheated but I have eyes and media comprehension and know how relationships work and Nancy herself said she had Steve back home to Murray so. What else am I supposed to think. I get why Nancy and Jon don't interact with Steve after the Upside Down but like. Not even to apologize to him? Did Nancy's relationship with Steve mean so little to her? I do think she, at one point, did love Steve, or convinced herself of it and did care for him, but for her to drop him like a hot potato the second Jonathan gets the nerve to make a move (she said she waited a month for him before going back to a probably grovelling Steve [based on how desperate he was at the Byers' to apologize to Jon] and it's like Woah! Okay writers! What do you want us to believe about this relationship?!) So just. Why didn't she actually tell Steve what happened? Idk. Jon I kinda get he and Steve were love rivals and Jonathan is already awkward it probably would have been weird and also it wasn't his place to say! It should have been Nancy!

Honestly if Steve hadn't broken things off....idk. I don't think she necessarily would have continued with both of them, but I think Nancy tends to look for easy ways out of relationship hurdles. So. Maybe it would have festered for a few months, before Steve finally couldn't stand the tension and cut things off there. I don't actually think, based on what we've seen in the show, the scene between Nancy and Steve could have gone any different. Like. It should have. Nancy definitely could have acknowledged her role in the crumbling relationship, but I think Steve letting her go is a significant character beat for him. He chooses he's not going to hold onto someone who doesn't want to be with him. For me that's him trying to move past his issues from his parents and to continue to be better.

Yeah this au is not nice to poor Steve. He does have support! Robin and Eddie are both there and know everything, Hopper and El also know most stuff and are very worried about why he's so keen to leave the house all the time (he doesn't live there but he doesn't...not live there...) Buddy's got issues that will be heightened by all these things happening with Joyce!

[clevereverest]

Body Swap AU • 2,076 words

[ Race and Albert switch bodies! I wrote these two parts back in December and haven’t gotten around to adding any more to it, so I thought I’d share it here on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy it! ]

Mornings were always slow for Race, but this morning felt particularly off.

Just something about it didn’t feel quite right. Being barely conscious for all of ten seconds, Race couldn’t place his finger on what exactly was different. If he could just crack his eyes open…

Shit, the effort of it all. Despite his struggles, Race managed to look around, honestly rather bleary-eyed, but he couldn’t deny the fact that this was not his bedroom.

The fuck? Whose room was this? Race leaned up more to see his surroundings better, only to disturb the other person in the bed beside him. He froze immediately — he thought he was alone in here, but again, he was half-awake not even a whole minute ago.

Race debated lifting back the sheet or waiting until the other person did it themself, but didn’t have to decide as the latter became true.

To Race’s complete and utter surprise, the other person turned out to be… Finch? Not Spot, not Race’s boyfriend, no — but instead it was Finch, Albert’s boyfriend.

Why the fuck are we in bed together?

“Finch?” Race managed to say around his confusion. The man in question only hummed. “Why am I at your house?”

Getting no response, Race shook his friend’s shoulder a bit frantically. Finch swatted at him, his eyes blinking open. Somehow he only appeared slightly annoyed at being woken up, not remotely concerned about Race being in bed with him.

What the hell?

“Finch.” Race repeated, earning the wanted eye contact. “Why am I in your bedroom?”

“You live here,” Finch replied casually, moving to grab one of Race’s hands, who pulled it away hastily. Unsurprisingly, Finch looked taken aback at the reaction, but Race was still freaking out too much to apologize.

“No, I don’t live here. I live next door,” Race corrected. “So why did I wake up here? Why are we in your bed together? Actually, why did Albert let this — no, why did you let this happen?”

Now it was Finch’s turn to look utterly lost. He leaned up all the way to match Race, almost making a move to touch him again but decided against it.

“You’re saying nonsense, sweetheart. Are you sick?”

Sweetheart? Finch called Albert sweetheart, not Race. Was this some weird cheating situation? But then why wouldn’t Race be aware of it? Seems like something you’d want to know about. Unless they got drunk and did it on a whim, except that Race didn’t feel hungover. And even drunk, he doesn’t think that all four of them (well, Spot doesn’t drink) would agree to literally cheating on each other.

“Al, are you okay?”

Woah, no, something was very wrong today.

“Did you just call me Al?” Race questioned, finally turning back to Finch beside him.

“...Yeah?” Finch’s voice lilted up at the end as if he wasn’t sure he said the right thing.

“Okay, fuck, yeah that’s cool,” Race mumbled to himself, standing and walking briskly to where he knew a bathroom mirror was. He left Finch scrambling to follow, his tone concerned in every call from behind.

In the bathroom, Race flicked on the light and looked at his reflection.

Albert was staring right back at him.

What the actual fuck?

Race dropped his head into his hands, taking deep breaths. After a few moments, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Finch asked quietly, like he was afraid of hearing the answer.

“I’m going to sound insane.” Race couldn’t quite say it yet, but maybe he could put it off.

“Just tell me. Please?” Carefully, Finch wrapped an arm over his shoulders. Race had the distant thought about how bizarre it was to be shorter than his friend; he was usually one inch taller, not three inches shorter. “I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

Of course he was right. That didn’t mean Race really wanted to say what the issue was. Hell, how do you say something like this? ‘I’m actually Race even though I still look like Albert and I don’t know what the fuck happened or how to fix it’? Yeah, real convincing.

Screw it.

“I’m not Albert,” Race admitted into his hands before lifting his head to see Finch in the mirror. “I’m Race, actually. I don’t know…” He gestured at himself helplessly.

“Right, and I’m Spot.” Finch chuckled, as if it was a joke.

“No, Finch —” Race stepped out of his friend’s hold to look him dead in the eye. “I swear I’m not kidding. Please tell me that you can tell the difference. Right?”

“That doesn’t make —”

“I know, I know it doesn’t make sense, just,” Race took another breath. “Tell me you believe me.”

Finch noted the clear desperation, but still shook his head. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

Race all but slumped in place. “How can I prove it? How can I…” he paused, an idea hitting him. “Let’s go to my place and we can see Spot and Albert, okay? If I’m right, our boyfriends should be over there probably having the same weird ass morning like we are.”

“But you’re my… and you’re…” Finch struggled to comprehend the situation, and Race couldn’t blame him.

“I’m not, though,” Race said kindly. “For some insane reason, I am Race currently stuck in Albert’s body. Why? I don’t know. At the very least, can you humor me so we can head next door? I want to check on them.”

Several tense seconds later, Finch nodded, and the pair went about getting dressed to go to Race and Spot’s house. Race mentally prepared for the image of himself (his body) already over there and attempted to craft some kind of explanation. Unfortunately, nothing was really making sense, so Race needed Finch to start functioning properly again — he might know what to do, but he was in no state to think about it right now. To be fair, Race could probably figure this out on his own, but the help would be appreciated.

——————————————————

Albert woke up first, stretching in bed before reaching over for his phone. Tapping it awake, he was blinded temporarily, blinking away the black dots in his eyes. There was a groan from beside him, and Albert apologized as he lazily entered his passcode.

It wasn’t working. He definitely didn’t change it recently, but whatever. Wasn’t there some fact that waking up and immediately looking at your phone was bad for you or something? Maybe he could learn from that today. Just before Albert put it back on the bedside table, the lock screen photo caught him by surprise.

That wasn’t Albert’s lock screen. Again, he did not change it recently, and he wouldn’t have a picture of Race and Spot on it, either. Experimentally, he twisted the phone around — wrong phone case — in fact, it was Race’s phone case, which meant this was his phone.

Why was Race’s phone here?

Albert didn’t get a chance to ponder it. An arm draped itself over his torso, locking him in place, and four sleep-heavy words reached his ears: “Go back to sleep…”

That wasn’t Finch.

Albert knew Finch never spoke right away in the mornings, so the fact that this other person said anything at all was jarring. He couldn’t decipher who it was yet — they were practically buried under a blanket — so Albert took the chance to survey the dark room.

Not long after, he realized he actually recognized this bedroom, just from a different view, usually. It was Spot and Race’s room.

If Albert was in their room, and there’s only one person in bed with him, where’s the other half of the couple? Why did he take one of their positions? Surely not willingly. No, he loves Finch and Race and Spot love each other — and yet.

…What happened last night?

“Racer.”

Albert could only blink over at the voice, who now that they’d spoken again was definitely Spot. He cleared his throat before asking earnestly, “Do you even know who you’re with right now?”

“My love,” Spot replied with a softness of tone never before heard by Albert’s ears. It was eerily off putting, especially since it was directed at him, and not Race.

“No,” Albert told him, hoping that Spot would recognize his voice and maybe just kick him out of bed or something. It would be better than whatever was happening right now.

“Yes.” Spot said with the slightest hint of possessiveness, trying to shift closer to Albert.

It was at that moment Albert knew he needed to get out of there five minutes ago. Why did he entertain it for so long? This whole situation was super weird and being the awake one, Albert should’ve just left already. He scrambled to his feet, feeling very unsteady, and used the mattress to keep himself upright.

He let his eyes fall shut briefly, feeling vaguely nauseous from standing so quickly. Maybe it was a hangover, too? But no, they didn’t drink last night, and truthfully, Albert did not recall coming over to this house last night, either.

“Race, are you —” Spot tried to say, reaching a hand out to Albert.

He took a couple steps away from the bed. “Do you even know who you’re talking to? Who you are looking at?”

As intended, Albert’s words got Spot’s attention. His friend rubbed at his eyes and sat up against the pillows, appearing far too relaxed for Albert’s liking.

Spot spoke deliberately. “I’m talking to Race, and I’m looking at Race. Should I be saying something else?”

Albert shook his head, huffing a humorless laugh. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, I’m being serious.” Spot’s brows furrowed, and he moved closer to Albert but didn’t try to touch him again. “Are you joking? Because you sound like you were expecting a different answer, love.”

“Don’t call me that.” Albert shut him down because what the hell. “I’m Albert, and I don’t know what kind of… cheating thing is going on but I don’t want any part of it, okay? Whatever is going on between you and Race can stay between you guys — don’t get me wrapped up in it.”

Then Spot gave Albert the most confused look he’d ever seen. It took a while for his voice to work again, and even then all he said was, “What?”

“I’m Albert,” he repeated, motioning at himself. “Can’t you see that?”

Spot slowly shook his head and Albert groaned. It shouldn’t be this hard to tell the difference between your blonde boyfriend and your redhead friend, but here they were. Albert was two seconds away from turning on a light when Spot stood up.

“Come with me,” he said, heading for the bedroom door. Albert followed wordlessly; if it helped Spot then so be it, despite how convoluted this was starting to become. Ridiculous… if he was more awake, he’d be making fun of his friend’s apparent blindness because how difficult can it be to tell the difference between —

“Holy shit.”

Spot turned on the bathroom light and they faced the mirror.

Race was reflected back where Albert currently stood.

“So you get why I literally can’t see otherwise?” Spot prompted eventually. “I genuinely don’t know if this was a planned joke with Albert today or if you’re being serious, even though it doesn’t make any sense.”

“I am being so real right now, man…” Albert muttered, lifting a hand to see Race in the mirror copying him.

“Okay, that sounds like something you would say to sound more like Al,” Spot explained, leaning against the door frame. “Do you see where I’m coming from at least?”

Albert nodded, somewhat sympathetic. “I guess.” Spot threw a hand up in exasperation. “Can we go see them? Race and Finch, I mean. Race should be able to…”

“Corroborate the little story you’re twisting? Yeah, I’m sure he could.”

“No, it’s —” Albert brushed past Spot, going to find a pair of shoes. Any pair would work, so if he could just find some that’d be great. “He woke up with my boyfriend so I swear if he did anything to Fi —”

Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the front door downstairs, cutting off whatever threats Albert was about to spout off. With the knocking came a shout:

“Albert, open the goddamn door!”

“Thank fuck, he knows.” Albert sighed in relief, heading down the steps quickly to greet Race and hopefully Finch, too.

[ My AO3 Dashboard ]

[damienthepious]

Can you reccomend your fave smutty rad bouquet fics? Either your own or other peoples. Looking for new reading material.

OKAY forgive me please for taking literally weeks to actually get to this. the entirety of my March was spent slowly and then very quickly moving to a new house, and it has been CHAOS over here.

MORE IMPORTANTLY! Happy Lizard Kissin' Tuesday, let me recommend some SMUT.

(tho honestly you'd do just as well checking my bookmarks on ao3 because... for some bizarre reason the smutty stuff is the ONLY thing i ever think to bookmark? I don't get it.)

HERE we go. These aren't really in an order but i'm starting with my three all-time faves and then moving to some sturdy solid mainstays:

Sir Arum and the Green Knight [ao3] (27k words) - I mean it's a green knight au AND a monster-human swap au AND it's full of fucking feelings and ALSO it's joyously smutty and ALSO- look!!! i keep this fic open in a tab on my phone at all times. I truly love the way this one is written. it was the first fic i EVER bookmarked. i would call it plot with porn rather than the alternative but the sexy chapter is VERY sexy.

Here's Eglantine, Here's Ivy [ao3] (5k) - PWP Of All Time for me. ALL TIME. Pure and beautiful kink, Arum playing dom and slowly and perfectly ruining his humans with magic vines. i am ruined also by this fic. good lord.

The Honey of Our Lit Up Veins [ao3] (5k) - also magic sex vines! don't perceive my vibes from this. I love Damien in this one honestly, he's so very sweet and his inner emotional path throughout the fic is so deeply enjoyable and relatable.

.💖.

A Shift in Leverage [ao3] (9k) - Rilla in armor. Rilla in armor getting fucked by an extremely enthusiastic Arum. Rilla in armor getting to fuck an extremely enthusiastic Arum. It's all incredibly enormously sexy and lovely and warm and i fucking adore it.

in my world (constantly, constantly) [ao3] (6k) - Very soft and sweet and gentle, i love to see damien get taken care of in ALL capacities 🥺🥰

easy like [ao3] (4k) - I associate this one with like... slow lazy summer warmth. honey gold. it's a soft happy place for me. and also it's fucking sexy.

Snapdragon [ao3] (8k) - includes the tag "T4T4L (trans 4 trans 4 lizard)" so like. yesssssss. Rilla breaking the other two is extremely my jam. Hell yeah.

should've worshipped her sooner [ao3] (4.5k) - I mean you start with a hozier inspired title and then the fic is about damien getting pegged, so. All good all around. fucking LOVE it.

selfish prayers [ao3] (4k) - ... another magic tentacle one. there was a THING going on for a while, it's honestly not my fault. This one is shockingly funny? Arum in particular is so fucking charming, but it's also VERY sexy.

I smelled no salt, I touched no sand [ao3] (3k) - okay this one is probably the most nonstandard pull on here because it's sir damien/saint damien and maybe that's not what you'd expect but . it's written by the same person who wrote the green knight au and it's honestly VERY compelling! i love it very much ngl.

Also this isn't a fic BUT honorable mention to:

lilf rights! [ao3] (art!) - Genuinely and truly the best and most joyous smutty bouquet art in the world. One of the pieces overtly inspired a chapter of hb3! go. enjoy. ENJOY.

...

and okay sure my own smut is here

[phantomtwitch]

So You Have Wished It

I should be editing my current fic since I ended up with some time I didn’t expect to have today, but I am oh so stuck on a part of the current chapter so I wrote a thing instead. 

Fair warning, though, it’s angsty as hell. Some Danny/Sam. It’s part of a whole AU thing I’m writing that I don’t have a name for yet but I’ll figure it out eventually.

Anyway, uh, enjoy? 

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44790605

CW: suicide mention

The first sign that something was wrong was so small that it was easy for Sam to dismiss it.

She kicked a rock down the street, staring at the bizarre email on her phone and barely listening as Tucker and Danny argued about one of the new levels in Doomed! The new expansion came out yesterday, but so far it looked like it hadn’t been tested enough, and there were odd little glitches that kept piling up. “At least we finally got new content,” argued Danny. “It’s been ages.”

“But it’s awful,” groaned Tucker. “I had so much more respect for the developers before they put out this garbage. I’m not going to keep playing if my character can be randomly deleted because I picked up the wrong item!”

“That’s just a rumor, Tuck, I doubt anyone actually lost their character,” said Danny. “And even if they did you know they’d fix it.”

“That’s not the point! It should’ve gone through way more beta testing and–Sam, come on, back me up here, will you?” implored Tucker, and Sam gave a half-hearted shrug, shaking her head. She saw the two of them exchange a worried look. 

“Are you feeling okay?” asked Danny.

“I’m fine. Just confused,” she said as she handed over her phone to Danny.

“‘Need to knows for your trip to Connecticut next week’?” read Danny as he stared at her. “You’re going to Connecticut? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“Because I’m not going to Connecticut,” she insisted as she took the phone back and continued to stare at the email, feeling a weird sense of betrayal even though her phone did nothing wrong. “Why on earth would I go to Connecticut?!”

“Doesn’t your Dad work out there sometimes?” asked Tucker.

“Yeah, but that’s got nothing to do with me. I hate it there, it’s just full of a bunch of rich snobs,” she said as she finally put the phone away. “The only thing I can think of is that my Mom booked a flight for something and didn’t tell me. She’s been trying to get me to go to charity galas again for ages.”

“I’m sure you can get out of it,” said Danny reassuringly, and then his breath fogged in front of him and he groaned,  slumping over. “Ugh, come on. Does there have to be a ghost right now? The movie starts in like ten minutes.”

“It’s okay, Danny. Even if we’re late, we’ll just miss the previews,” said Sam when suddenly a massive, glowing dinosaur with a cheering, six-year-old kid riding on its back ran past them. The three of them paused, blinking at it for a minute in disbelief as it thundered down the street.

“A dinosaur ghost? Seriously?!” said Danny as he threw his arms up, and with a sigh he ducked into the nearby alley to transform into Phantom. “Thermos?”

“Got it,” said Sam, handing it over to him as he flew after the ghost, and she and Tucker followed on foot while she silently wished she had her speeder. They ran down the street quickly, not really managing to keep pace with Danny and the dinosaur ghost as it led them past a half-dozen stores, the library, and eventually past the cemetery. For a brief moment, her eyes lingered on a spot beneath an old elm tree, an odd mix of guilt and pain flitting through her, but the feeling was gone seconds later as Danny finally caught up and pulled the kid off the dinosaur despite the boy flailing wildly, kicking and screaming.

“This isn’t fair! She’s a nice Brachiosaurus! She’s my best friend!” insisted the kid as he punched Danny in the chest over and over again. “Let me go!”

“Sorry, kid, but I’ve seen too many Jurassic Park movies to think this is going to end well,” he said as he put him down and shot an ecto blast at the dinosaur. It let out a massive roar, sending a wave of power that knocked over a couple of signs and sent Danny sprawling backward, and Danny’s eyes flashed a brilliant green as he charged up another blast and sent it hurtling at the Brachiosaurus. It tumbled over with a loud crash, smashing cars and street lights as it fell. Danny winced, clearly not thrilled about the collateral damage, but he moved forward quickly to suck the dinosaur ghost up into the thermos.

“Hey, uh, where are your parents?” Tucker asked the kid as he finally caught up, holding his side and panting heavily. She listened to Tucker and the kid go back and forth for a minute as the boy continued to argue about Phantom stealing his dinosaur, but little by little she found herself unable to focus, her thoughts drifting as she stared off in the direction of the cemetery. 

“Earth to Sam? Hello?” said Danny, waving a hand in front of her face, and she blinked, having missed when he transformed back and walked over to her. 

“Sorry. I kind of spaced out for a minute,” she said.

“And you say I’m a space case,” he teased. Sam rolled her eyes, not even commenting on the awful joke as Danny tilted his head to the side, frowning at her. “Are you feeling okay? Maybe we should skip the movie.”

“No, no, I want to go,” she insisted. “I’ll be fine. I think I’m just a little tired.”

They managed to make it to the movie and get through it without interruption, sharing popcorn and drinks while Tucker made fun of the special effects, and halfway through she felt Danny’s hand surreptitiously reach over and grab hers, squeezing it gently. His touch was always so cold since his accident, but she found it strangely comforting, and he gave her a small smile, his cheeks flushing red before he looked back at the screen.

She felt her face burning as she turned away, trying to focus her attention back on the movie. She knew he had feelings for her, that she had feelings for him, but she found herself too scared to voice it, to tell him the truth even as he took this small, brave step. 

“Lovebirds,” said Tucker with an eyeroll, and she felt Danny’s hand immediately move out of hers as he objected, babbling about how he didn’t mean to grab her hand, it was an accident and he wasn’t thinking, and she smiled sadly as she listened to him rambling nervously on and on. It felt so normal, and she forgot about the weird email until the next day.

It was a Friday night and she was sitting in the stands, stuck at a football game despite promising herself she would never go within a mile of the high school on a game night. Danny had gotten roped into being the mascot for the game–Paulina offered to invite him to one of her parties if he covered for Mikey since he was out sick–and so Sam and Tucker came along to support him. They cheered him on from the stands, Sam snapping a few pictures despite knowing how horribly embarrassed the whole thing made him, and halfway through the last quarter, when the Casper High Ravens were down seven points, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw a text message from her Dad.

>>I scheduled an appointment for you with Dr. Daughtery for Monday after you come back. Good luck next Sunday. I know it’s a hard day for you. I’m here if you need to talk.

She stared at the text, frowning as Tucker yelled something about a call next to her, his attention focused on the game. Who the hell was Dr. Daughtery? What was Sunday? Going back to her email, she saw that her flight was supposed to be next Sunday night, too. Maybe that’s what he meant? But that didn’t seem quite right as she read the text again. Sam shivered, beginning to type out a response when she suddenly heard the crowd break out into terrified screams, her phone getting knocked out of her hands and into the stands as someone shoved her from behind as they tried to flee.

She managed to grab her phone before it fell between the bleachers, barely avoiding getting stomped as the crowd pushed and shoved their way out. Tucker helped her back to her feet and as she looked out at the field, she saw a strange monster in what looked like a Casper High Ravens uniform charging at the football players, making them scatter. 

“What the hell is that?” she whispered.

“Dash. He was hit with some weird green light and transformed into that thing,” said Tucker as Danny hurried over in costume once the crowd had mostly cleared out. 

“Can you cover for me?” he asked, taking off the raven head and handing it over to Tucker.

“Oh, come on, I am not putting that on!”

“I’m not asking you to wear it, I’m just asking you to hold onto it for a minute. I’m pretty sure I’ll be dead if I wreck the costume. Well, deader,” he said, and Tucker sighed as he took the raven head from Danny while he pulled off the rest of the costume. Internally Sam winced. She hated it when Danny joked about his accident and becoming half-ghost even though she knew it was a coping mechanism for him. It shouldn’t bother her–she liked dark and creepy and supported and accepted Danny–but it still made her uneasy every time, as if the joke always took things a little too far to a reality that so easily could have been.

“Fine,” said Tucker as Danny took a quick look around the stands, making sure the coast was clear before transforming into Phantom.

“Thanks.” Sam handed him a thermos, his fingers lingering on hers for a minute, and she felt herself blush.

“Be careful,” she said, her voice an octave too high, and she could feel the way Tucker stared at her and smirked. 

“I’ll be okay. Promise.” She watched as he flew off and struggled with the strange, monstrous version of Dash for a minute before he finally turned his hands intangible and ripped out the ghost possessing him. Dash slumped to the ground as Danny wrestled with the massive ghost, throwing it off him as he rolled onto his back, and then he fired another ectoblast at it. The creature collapsed to the ground and he sucked it into the thermos before moving to help Dash get back on his feet. She watched as they talked for a minute, Danny putting his head in his hands in frustration before flying back over to them.

“Any idea what happened?”

“It’s Desiree,” he said. “I haven’t seen her around, but Dash said he made a wish about becoming the best player ever to win the game or something and then he ended up possessed by that thing. She’s probably behind the dinosaur from last night, too.”

“We need to find her before she does something way worse,” said Sam, something twisting uneasily in her gut. “You caught her at the fountain in the park where people make wishes and stuff last time, right? Maybe she’ll be there again.”

“It’s worth a shot,” said Danny. “You two up for a stakeout tonight?”

“Nobody’s going to be making wishes there tonight,” said Sam. “Let’s meet there tomorrow morning instead. Hopefully Desiree doesn’t cause any more problems tonight.”

They walked most of the way home together in silence, Tucker leaving them to head to his own house once they were about halfway to Danny’s. “Feeling any better?” asked Danny once they were alone, his hands tucked in his pockets as he looked up at the sky. The stars weren’t really visible from the street, the light pollution too intense, but he never stopped trying to look. 

“What do you mean?”

“You just seem a little off, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Did you ever figure out what was up with your trip next week?”

“No, I completely forgot,” she admitted. “I got a weird text from my Dad, too.”

“Oh?”

“He scheduled an appointment for me with some doctor that I’ve never heard of,” she said as she pulled it out, and this time she took a minute to search for the name online. There were a few hits, but one in particular stuck out for a psychiatrist in Connecticut. “She’s a therapist, I guess.”

“You’re in therapy?”

“It’s news to me, too,” she said. “He said he did it because he knows next Sunday’s supposed to be a hard day for me or something. It makes no sense.” Danny froze, his face pale as he stood eerily still beneath the lights. “What?”

“That’s the anniversary,” he said softly, rubbing one of his arms, and she stared back at him, not sure what he meant. “Y’know. Of my accident.”

Sam’s eyes widened. She’d completely forgotten that it was next weekend. Danny rarely talked about it, not wanting to make them worry or feel worse about what happened. He knew Sam felt guilty about pushing him to go inside it, even if things still turned out okay. 

But why would her Dad think she needed therapy for Danny’s accident now and not a year ago? She never talked to her Dad about what happened, and Sam knew Danny forgave her for pressuring him that day. Was there something else that happened? Something she was forgetting? Or maybe her Dad was paying more attention than she thought last year, and just jumped to conclusions. Or maybe her mom went through her journals. She never specifically wrote about Danny being a half-ghost, but she had talked about his accident there, and she wouldn’t put it past her to snoop.

“What if Desiree already granted more wishes than we realize?” asked Danny softly, breaking her out of her spiraling thoughts. “Like maybe someone made a wish that messed with us somehow, and that’s why you suddenly have to go to Connecticut and that’s why you’re in therapy or something.”

“You think it’s related to your accident somehow?” she said.

“Maybe, maybe not. It might be a coincidence,” he said as he stared at his feet.

 “What would they have even wished for?” wondered Sam. It could be some weird revenge scheme by Paulina or one of the other A-listers, but therapy and a trip to Connecticut hardly seemed like the kind of punishment they would want to inflict on her. And if it wasn't one of them, then who? She and Tucker both knew better than to make a wish, or at least she hoped Tucker did after the last time. Danny’s parents might have made one, but even so, the question about what they wished for and why it was messing with her remained.

“I don’t know,” Danny admitted, but she had the nagging sense that there was something he wasn’t telling her, that he did have a guess even as she personally couldn’t think of anything that would make sense. “But I don’t like it, the thought that our lives might’ve changed somehow, that this . . . I don’t know.”

“I don’t think she’s that powerful, Danny. There’s no way she could change so much without us noticing,” said Sam as they slowly started to walk again. “And the stuff with the therapist and my Dad doesn’t have to be because of a wish. I really might’ve forgotten something. It’s not like I listen to my parents when they talk to me.”

“Maybe,” he said, clearly unconvinced. “I don’t know, Sam. I don’t feel any different, but I’m–I’m kind of scared.” He wrapped his arms around himself, digging his fingers into his arms. “But the person who made the wish would remember, right? Have you made any wishes lately?”

“Nope. You?” she asked, and he shook his head. “We can ask Tucker and Jazz, too.”

“Jazz is still living with Vlad right now. I doubt Desiree went to Wisconsin to mess with her,” said Danny, which was a fair point. Sam was still getting used to Jazz not being around anymore. She went out there for her final year of school, hoping that the ritzy private school near Vlad’s would help give her the edge she needed to get into Harvard or Yale’s psychology program. “But we can ask Tucker. Maybe my parents, too, if I can think of a way to do it that isn’t weird. But if we’re really not sure, then I could just wish for Desiree to undo whatever wishes she’s granted. That would probably fix things.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Sam. 

“Sounds like a plan,” said Danny, and then he laughed. “We actually made a plan for once. Jazz would be so proud of us.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll throw a parade when she finds out,” said Sam with a grin, and she only realized then that they were already at his house. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it a little bit, and she saw him blush as her own face burned. “I’ll, um, see you tomorrow?” 

“I–sure,” he said , holding her hands in his, and for one second she thought he might kiss her when he suddenly pulled away, clearly embarrassed as she watched him hurry into his house. He paused briefly at the top of the steps to wave goodbye before going inside, and she gave a small wave back before heading home. She pulled out her phone, trying to think of something to say to her Dad, some way to ask him without making it obvious that she hadn’t listened to him when he told her about going to Connecticut and her therapy appointment, but Danny’s words nagged at her. What if something had been changed? What if they were different and didn’t even realize it? What wish could they have possibly made? Maybe in another world she did blame herself more for Danny’s accident and regretted it so much her Dad had her flying out to some specialist in Connecticut to deal with the guilt. 

She still hadn’t figured out a way to text her father and ask, so Sam sent a text to Tucker instead, asking him if he noticed anything weird lately or if he remembered making a wish, but he confirmed he didn’t. She tried to talk to her Mom but she wasn’t home, a note on the fridge about going to some event out of state for the evening. 

Trudging upstairs to her room, she pulled out her journals, staying up late as she skimmed through them and searched for clues. She hoped that if someone did make a wish that messed with her or Danny somehow then she would find the answers there, that it would prove something to her, but nothing seemed amiss, the details on the page lining up perfectly with her memories. She tried digging through her drawers, going through her pictures, and scrolling through social media, but there was just nothing there, nothing that seemed off. She didn’t understand it. 

She finally resolved to call or text her Dad, but it was already past three a.m., and no doubt her Dad would be furious if she called him so late. “Ugh, I shouldn’t have stayed up so late,” she groaned as she went to bed, knowing she needed to get up early tomorrow. She spent most of the night tossing and turning, her sleep full of nightmares about strange wishes and altered realities. 

Her phone chimed on her night stand, and she reached over groggily, nearly knocking it onto the floor as she picked it up. There was a text from Tucker and Danny. They were already at the park doing the stakeout, waiting for her, and she realized she’d slept past noon. She quickly climbed out of bed, throwing on some clean clothes, and then she sent a text to let them know she was on her way.

She was almost at the fountain when her phone buzzed again, but it wasn’t from Tucker or Danny. Instead it was from Jazz, the words on the screen sending a chill down her spine.

>>Are we still on for next Sunday at noon?

“What the hell is Sunday?” she whispered, the whole situation spiraling too much now that Jazz was apparently involved in it, too. She needed to know. There was something she was forgetting, something all of them were forgetting, and she could feel her heart beating a little faster. Sam didn’t really like Jazz enough to make plans to hang out without a good reason. Danny’s older sister was nosy and overbearing and exhausting to deal with, too preppy and cheerful to be in a room with for more than a few minutes. Whatever they planned, whatever they intended to do, it had to be important, and Sam’s hands shook as she sent a text back.

>>What?

Her hands were shaking as she continued to slowly walk towards the fountain, waiting for Jazz to respond, and when Jazz finally did Sam almost screamed in frustration.

>>It’s okay if you don’t want to go. I know it’s hard for you. It’s hard for me, too. 

At this point she was firmly done with this nonsense. Even if Jazz thought she was crazy, even if she didn’t understand it, Sam was desperate to finally get some answers that weren’t vague acknowledgements and half-statements. The phone rang twice before Jazz picked it up.  “Sam, seriously, it’s okay if you don’t–”

“Jazz, that’s not it. I don’t remember what we’re supposed to do Sunday,” interrupted Sam, walking faster now as something uneasy clawed at her, something important and vital that she shouldn’t have forgotten, couldn’t have forgotten.

“What?” Jazz sputtered.

“We think Desiree granted a wish, it’s messed with everything. I know something’s wrong but I don’t–please, Jazz. I know it sounds crazy, but please. What were we supposed to do on Sunday?” said Sam quickly, almost running now, and she felt her phone buzz as a text came from Tucker, the confirmation that Desiree was there, their plan having worked. “Please.”

“It’s the anniversary of Danny’s death,” said Jazz quietly, her voice cracking on the words. “He died last year. You really don’t remember him?”

There was a bitter taste to the air, as if some piece of the world tipped unnaturally on its axle. She heard Jazz on the other end, talking to her still, but Sam wouldn’t answer, because deep down she could feel the inevitability of what was coming, snapping its jaws around her even as she wanted to scream and fight against it, even as she wanted to deny it, because she knew what their plan was, what Danny was going to do. Sam ran as fast as she could, her boots thumping loudly against the pavement as her heart hammered away in her chest. She had to go faster. She couldn’t let undo it, couldn’t let him die again. She could make it. She would stop him. She would–

“I wish to undo every wish you’ve granted!” shouted Danny, grinning at her triumphantly as spotted her, and Sam froze, her hands going up to her mouth in horror as tears began to pour down her cheeks.

“So you have wished it, so shall it be!” intoned Desiree, and she saw the horror on his face at her expression, his hand reaching out to her for a moment before he suddenly disappeared and the world came crashing down around her as her reality was restored, as her dreams were shattered, her wish undone. 

“I wish we never lost you, Danny.” The words from her wish a week ago echoed in her mind as her memories came rushing back, of the moment when Danny stepped into the portal and was brutally torn apart in the activation, his scream echoing until everything fell suddenly, dreadfully silent. Of the year that followed, of the moment she almost killed herself in her grief and her guilt, of Jazz moving away not because of school but because she could not bear to look at her parents who built the portal that killed her brother.

And she fell to her knees sobbing, hugging herself as she lost her friend yet again because of her mistakes.

[bettsfic]

so i finished rebels and i have some Thoughts and Feelings i need to process so they are going here on my blog. (spoilers ahead)

for three seasons i hated ezra bridger. i thought he was such a boring protagonist and poorly written and i was so bummed to find out he was the main character

but THEN

sometime during season 3 my hatred came full circle. i started hating him so much i began to devise interpretations of his character i would not despise.

at first my initial attempt was that he made a great side character and an awful protagonist

i love that everyone loves him and it's completely illogical but the writing seems to be aware of that and how funny it is? kanan, hondo, and maul are all ready to throw down for him immediately

but what really worked was

into the nothingness, apropos nothing, i said aloud, "puppyboy ezra?"

i informed my roommate that i could bear ezra as long as i interpreted him solely as a puppyboy

*sensible chuckle* how ooc, i thought

my roommate was like, uh strange you should say that.......

i thought, haha i bet there's a dog in an episode or something

i proceeded to outline a very long puppyboy ezra fic (which i definitely plan to write; whether or not i post it remains to be seen)

((i ship ezra with a certain character that is so obvious to me but there are only 5 fics on ao3 and i'm devastated. i guess there will just be 5 drabbles and one 60k psychologically fraught modern au in the tag))

and i am simply knocked DEAD to discover that the series ends with GIANT SPACE WOLVES

listen

i love wolves

love them

specifically i love giant

space

wolves

in fact i have purchased every piece of artwork i can find on the internet depicting giant space wolves and they are all hanging on my wall as we speak

and so i felt deeply eerily called out when ezra's conclusion involves being spiritually connected to a wolfpack

i'm mostly shocked that rebels seems to be that bizarre mix of amazing but falls steeply short of its own promise, a la sherlock and early supernatural. the stuff that pings my "gotta fix this gotta fix it gotta add porn" lizard brain and i end up writing 100k

actually if i get out of this fandom under 100k i'll be shocked

hellcheer have one scene together in a show i don't even like and i wrote 100k about it in a few months

i have nearly 4 years of graduate education in creative writing and i Cannot Determine if rebels is good or if i'm just so personally fucked up by giant space wolves that i can no longer see it clearly

also

i wrote 7k of organic chemistry today and i'm hoping to get ahead by a couple chapters so it'll still be a while before i post (wednesday maybe?)

and then i'll focus on office au bdsm rexsoka

and then maybe (?) my post-apocalypse au

and then the puppyboy ezra fic no one will read but that's okay because i am writing it for me

i have more thoughts on rebels and clone wars and i'd love to write some metas but right now i need to face the treacherous mountain climb of fic-writing ahead of me and make peace with it

[marvelmaniac715]

I’m currently on Season Two Episode Six of The Good Place, and I decided to create a The Good Place Chucky au with Chucky in Eleanor Shellstrop’s place. This will probably still make sense if you haven’t watched the show, but I’d recommend it because not only is it hilarious, but it will give this more context. You can find it on Netflix :). When does Chucky die in this au, you ask? His very first death, back in 1988. Enjoy :).

————————————————————-

Pain. An endless, dark void as deep as the ocean. A sudden gasp, and then… Charles Lee Ray was sitting in a waiting room, staring at a sign that said ‘Welcome! Everything is fine’. That was… certainly odd, but what was more confusing was how he’d ended up in this waiting room. Did a well-meaning passer-by find his unconscious body and bring him to some weird hospital? If so, boy, was that a mistake on that passer-by’s part. If anyone knew who or what Chucky was, he never would have been saved.

As he contemplated the possibilities that could have brought him to this bizarre location, a door opened, revealing a… human man with silver hair wearing a suit and glasses? Out of everything that could have greeted Chucky on the other side of that door, an average looking guy was not high up on his list of possibilities. The man smiled at him and said:

“Charles? Come on in.”

How the hell did this guy know his name?

————————————————————-

“You, Charles Lee Ray, are dead.”

Chucky shrugged, just kind of going with it (whatever this was) at this point.

“Okay, cool. How did I go?”

The man’s smile faded slightly as he awkwardly averted his gaze and replied:

“You see, in the event of embarrassing or painful deaths we like to erase the memories to make the crossing over process slightly easier.”

Chucky frowned, picking up on the ‘we’ pronoun.

“Who is ‘we’? Where am I exactly?”

This question seemed to bring the man Chucky was speaking to back into focus, as he smiled again and responded.

“In the afterlife, there’s a Good Place and a Bad Place. You’re in the Good Place. My name is Michael, I’m a Good Place architect.”

Chucky (still frowning because this was all so weird) nodded, beginning to understand where he was. But the question still remained - why? He wasn’t unaware of his actions, he knew he was a dick if not anything else. He didn’t deserve to be in this ‘Good Place’, but he had to figure out if this was a case of mistaken identity so he could (hopefully) pretend to be who this guy Michael thought he was and avoid going to hell (or - the Bad Place to be more precise).

With the goal of gathering more information in mind, Chucky crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow and asked again:

“So, how did I die?”

Michael didn’t seem like he wanted to discuss it, but Chucky shot him a more toned down version of his fiercest glare, and that seemed to convince the man (angel? It wasn’t quite clear) to spill the beans.

“You were walking through an alley near a toy store, and you… got gunned down. I’m sure you can understand why we decided to erase that particular memory.”

That seemed like a very him way to die. It was probably a heist gone wrong. Man, he hoped Eddie got away okay, the poor guy was so loyal, he probably stayed by Chucky’s side till the end. Hopefully he was able to get away and tell Tiffany what happened. 

Chucky now felt at ease with the knowledge that he probably did deserve to be in this place, because that death was certainly fitting. What he did to end up here was certainly a mystery, so he wanted to find that out.

“Hey Mikey- can I call you Mikey? Too bad, I’m gonna call you Mikey- why do I deserve to be here, huh? What did I do that was so great?”

Michael flashed Chucky a blinding smile as he explained:

“You’re actually my hero, Charles.”

“Call me Chucky.”

“…Okay, Chucky. You’re my hero because your humanitarian efforts around the globe were simply unparalleled. I mean, your anti-violence campaign in the impoverished neighbourhoods of New York? Brought tears to my eyes. You earned over a million points through that campaign alone.”

Okay, so there was clearly a case of mistaken identity here. Right death, wrong life. Whoever this other poor bastard was, if they’d swapped places with Chucky, they were gonna be on a fun trip to the Bad Place when they kicked the bucket. Chucky almost felt bad about it, but… he really didn’t care.

————————————————————-

After receiving the full brief from Michael about afterlife life, Chucky was taken for a tour around an idyllic neighbourhood that contained way too many frozen yogurt stores for his liking. He had to sit through a boring opening event that mentioned something about soulmates and points (that explained Michael’s reference to ‘points’ earlier when he justified why Chucky deserved to be there). 

After the tour and the opening speech, Chucky was led to his house. Any sympathy he might have had for Humanitarian Charles immediately faded when he saw where he was expected to live. It was tiny, there were no stairs and the lights were blindingly bright. To make matters worse; there were hundreds of paintings of those new Good Guy dolls covering the walls, and for some reason that made Chucky feel quite uneasy…

As he processed everything going on, Michael explained to him that he was about to meet his soulmate.

“For many people, a soulmate is a person with whom they share a romantic connection. But for you, the system has paired you with a platonic soulmate, a best friend, if you will.”

So he couldn’t actually find love even in paradise, great. As the crushing realisation that he would never be loved by anyone romantically in a truly impactful way washed over him, Chucky fixed his gaze on the front door and felt his heart stop when a man nervously shuffled into view as Michael said:

“Meet your soulmate: Daniel Pierce.”

Sarah’s husband. Oh god, his cover would be blown immediately. But of course; Chucky never truly had control over his tongue, and the first words out of his mouth when he locked eyes with his soulmate were:

“What the fork? Wait, why can’t I say fork?”

[doevademe]

Spy x Family au where Percy is a spy from Westalis and Nico is an assassin in training from Ostania

"Damn it!" Nico kept repeating under his breath. Garden was definitely not going to like this. It was one of their cardinal rules.

Protect the peace, weed out what threatens it, leave no evidence.

He had messed up the last step, and now everyone would know Judge Thorn had been murdered instead of quietly passing away during a night of excesses.

He really didn't deserve his 'Ghost King' codename.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some people in suits rushing towards the whore house where the body was. Nico cursed again. There was no way he could clean up now.

If it was the Secret Police, Garden may finally be more than just a "debunked" rumor among Ostania's elite.

He had also spent too much time. Jason and Reyna might be wondering why he was taking so long in the bathroom.

"My first solo mission, too..."

Sighing in defeat, Nico slipped through the night. Even if Garden's cover was blown open, its assassins needed to remain as inconspicuous as always. In that case, even more so.

He couldn't afford to make his coworkers suspect a thing.

"What took you so long?" Reyna asked with a raised eyebrow. "We were thinking you ditched us."

"Um... someone was... getting it on in the bathroom," he said, thinking of the first excuse that came to mind. "IT would have been awkward to come out of the stall..."

"You could have joined," Leo, Jason's best friend and the guy who had dragged them all here, slurred, drunk already. "'snot like you have a girlfriend or anything..."

Jason and Reyna looked uncomfortable. Right, him being attracted to men was sort of an open secret at work. If the authorities found out, he would have to apply for a permit and pay a tax he (supposedly) couldn't afford to 'give back' to Ostanian families who could produce offspring.

Not good if he wanted to keep his cover. Especially without a romantic partner.

"Gross," Nico said. "I thought we were partying because you got engaged."

"Sure did!" Leo cheered. "Hey, another round!"

Nico sighed. He hated cheap booze, but the backstory Garden had come up with required him to come from a humble household before landing a low-ranking job at an important Public Relations Agency. With such a background, it would be bizarre for him not to enjoy beer.

Nico Werner was a regular guy living day to day. Nico di Angelo, the child of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs who enjoyed fancy cocktails and whose father had been way too chummy with Westalis for the Party's liking, had died alongside his family after a terrorist attack.

"I'll go dance for a while," he said, tired of taking sips of the cheap booze. His friends nodded, while Leo laughed at nothing.

He looked over his shoulder, worried to see the guys in suits or the Secret Police already looking for him.

He bumped into someone.

"Hey," A nice voice said. Nico looked back to find himself staring at aqua colored... no, sea green eyes. "Are you okay?"

The guy smiled charmingly. Nico felt his face grow hotter.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "Just... didn't look where I was going."

"It's okay... want to dance?"

Nico's eyes bulged. He looked around and then at the guy's pocket. Sure enough, the card that identified this man as attracted to the same gender was clearly visible, as ordered by the Party.

"Wha... I'm not... I mean I am, but I can't afford..."

"It's just a dance, I'm not asking to marry you," the guy winked. "I'm Percy, by the way, Percy Jackson."

"...Nico Werner."

----

Seastrand observed as WISE agents removed the body of Judge Stefan Thorn from the empty room. The man had been a piece of work, and had ties to Nationalist extremists that now would find it very difficult to get away with just fines and slaps on the wrist for their crimes against Westalis immigrants.

"I don't know how you two can remain like nothing's wrong," Grover, their informant said, face a little green from all the blood. "I mean, he got stabbed in the throat!"

"The heart, too," Owl commented, her long blond hair tied back as she cleaned up the scene. "Whoever did this knew exactly how to make the death quick... but still painful."

Seastrand nodded, smiling a bit.

"If people saw this, it would create strife between the East and the West," he said. "So, what's the story?"

Owl shrugged.

"The wounds were almost imperceptible if not for the blood," She said. "We'll return him home and send a mortician to say he overdosed on some substance."

"To think that not even WISE may have known if we hadn't been following him," he said. "Too bad it had to be tonight, I was planning on building my cover's finishing touches."

"Then go do so, Seastrand," Owl said, smiling a bit. "You are key for Operation Mistletoe."

Seastrand nodded and ran to the bar.

Operation Mistletoe. Like the parasitic plant, his mission was to infiltrate the Party and weaken it from the inside, infiltrating as a diversity hire after being recommended by the Party's favored PR agency.

He needed an in with the firm, though.

Enter Nico Werner. His files had caught Seastrand's eye from the initial investigation. He was easy on the eyes, and reports showed him to be an unremarkable everyman who happened to be attracted to males, but without the financial stability to afford an Ostanian permit.

The guy would soon be forced to find a girlfriend, or be interrogated extensively by the government and fined for keeping his orientation a secret.

Percy Jackson would be the helping hand Nico could hold on to, maybe even helping him with his permit, and in exchange, he would introduce Percy to the PR agency, where he would wow with his political savvy (that he didn't have, but WISE would coach him to fake it) and be one step closer to weakening the Party before the next elections.

He saw his target immediately. The young man was very pale, with intelligent yet wary eyes. Seastrand observed as he took some sips of his beer like he was being forced to (not a drinker?) and talked to his friends.

He needed to make this introduction natural. He needed Nico Werner to want to be his friend.

(Seastrand wouldn't mind being more, but it would be cruel to leave him once he was done with his mission)

Maybe he put on too much of a flirty attitude, however. Maybe the guy was not as innocent and inexperienced as his files indicated.

It was the only logical reasoning for why Seastrand had been woken up by the sound of a shower, naked on Nico's bed.

He tried to retrace his steps, trying to find when things went wrong. Maybe when he offered Nico a fancy drink, or maybe when, during their talk, Nico had told him about never getting a card unless he had someone he wanted to date. All the while looking at him with those dark brown eyes.

It hadn't been for the mission's sake. Seastrand knew that. He had found Nico Werner attractive from the beginning, but to lose control like that... what kind of spy was he?

"I meant what I said last night," Nico said, making him look up. "I don't have money for an extra tax, and I like you Percy, but not enough to actually date you."

"Why not?" He asked curiously, even though he should be taking the chance to try and salvage the relationship as platonic.

"I... don't want the government meddling in my life," he admitted quietly. "Unless I really, really like the guy... I want to remain hidden."

"You can't do that forever, though," Seastrand said, trying to get his head back on the mission.

"Why not?"

"How old are you? 22? 23?" Nico Werner was 23 years old. He had come from a rural town a few hours away from the capital before his high marks at school landed him a job at the Party's preferred PR agency. "By the time you're 24 the government will start getting suspicious about your lack of dating life. Maybe even interrogate you."

He didn't need to say anymore. With all the rumors of spies from Westalis, the interrogation of anyone suspicious would definitely fall to the Secret Police rather than the regular authorities. They were experts who could extract any secret from anybody.

Nico looked far more troubled at that than Seastrand expected him to. Maybe his financial situation was far more dire than he had initially thought.

"What do you suggest, then?"

"Maybe we're not ready to date," Seastrand said, understanding. "But I have a few funds stored up. Let me help you get your permit, and who knows, maybe in the process, you'll like me enough to date me."

He winked. Percy Jackson had shown himself to be a charmer interested in Nico Werner. He had to keep his persona consistent.

"You really are willing to do all that just for a guy you just met?" Nico asked, surprised.

Crap, that was too much for too little, wasn't it?

"I'm also looking for a place to live," he said quickly. "I can crash on your couch until I find something more permanent, the dating prospect is just a nice bonus."

Well, there went his bachelor pad that could double as a base. Percy really was an idiot.

Nico seemed to think it over before nodding.

"I have a guest room, you can use it," he said, smiling. "Who knows? It might be nice, not needing to hide anymore."

Seastrand smiled back, hiding his bitterness.

"Yeah, not having to lie is refreshing."

[narukoibito]

i & m!?

OMG TUMBLR WHYYYYY. So I was 90% done writing my response and then it refreshed. Uggggh okay, starting over.

But thank you for the ask and your patience! ❤️

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Okay, I am an angst glutton (with a happy ending, but I can handle pure angst too), and my guilt pleasure is amnesia. You get to experience losing someone without actually losing them, missing someone who is right in front of you, intense yearning, and falling in love all over again.

Though recently, I discovered a new trope I didn't KNOW I was super into, which is temporary character death. Like, wait, you get the pure, pure angst of a major character dying...BUT THEN THEY COME BACK?! AHHHH sign me up! (Miraculous Ladybug is so the place for this trope— @wackus-bonkus-maximus I AM TOTALLY LOOKING AT YOU — but I digress.)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

ADHKGKSL too many. I found an excel I created in May '21 and I had 27 WIPs. That's right, 27. Then I hit a major wall in writing that I am still in the slow process of crawling out of. I actually have a few more ideas percolating, but I really, truly have no idea if I will be able to get to them. But here are some of my top desired really really would love to write one day:

when the smoke clears (amnesia!Ginny fic)

my crazy Harry traveling to alt dimension ideas (both Someone Else's Life and The Other-Boy-Who-Lived)

St. Mungos, since feeling is first who pays attention and Muggle FWB - three different stories; healer!Ginny au, missed moments as Ginny's feelings for Harry develop over the years, and yet another FWB story idea but they're Muggles and it's still angsty/yearning but very different feel in my head

Muggle!Harry/witch!Ginny idea and he's a part time librarian haha

But I also have some bizarre other ideas that just DID things to my brain when it came to me, but this one I reallllly want to write and it'd totally be super niche and maybe have 1 reader (@theroomofreq who I've braindumped this on before):

It would be a Miraculous Ladybug/Harry Potter crossover, where Adrien Agreste is a pureblood transfer student from Beauxbatons. It's the year after the Goblet of Fire, and everyone is on pins and needles, and of course, his father won't explain why exactly he decided to uproot them to Hogwarts (has nothing to do with Voldemort's supposed resurgence, right?). His father expects him like all those in his family to be sorted into Slytherin. Of course, he's in for a surprise when Adrien is sorted into Hufflepuff.

It would be the slowest burn (over snippets from year 5+) in the world because the end ship is Adrien/Ginny (what?! yeah, but wait, listen...). Why I am loving this ship is that Adrien's perfection triggers Ginny's PTSD because huh, who else was the last perfect seeming boy she met? And, I mean, we all know Adrien's type is a BAMF, and who fits the bill more than Ginny? And ugh, Gryffindor/Hufflepuff dynamic is something I'm itching to explore!

It's the slow, painful, unlikely friendship they build over time as they all figure out how to fight the war from within the castle walls during Deathly Hallows (eventually), Adrien longing for Marinette, his "missing" Muggleborn friend from Beauxbatons, Ginny missing and worrying about Harry. And uh, yeah, I don't even know if I should spoil the rest but it's just a lot of fragments in my head that I'd have to do because of course I'm a hardcore Hinny shipper and love Marinette/Adrien, and well, yeah, clearly I haven't thought about this story at all.

Haha, if you want me to ramble more, feel free to send me more Fanfic Asks or anything else!

[indigobackfire]

💜 for Rosalyn with maybe Duncan

(I hope you don't mind me adding a random barnago fankid that only exists in an AU 🙈)

Rosa opens the door to the artifact room with a sigh. "What is it now-"

And though Rosalyn was expecting trouble, rarely Oberon called anything an emergency, those usually came from Teddy, the scene is a tad weirder than she had expected, on the corner of the room sat a boy with a pumpkin over his head with two unevenly sized holes for eyes and only his loose Ravenclaw tie and white skin for characterization, yet she didn't have to ask to know who it was.

In the centre, her cousin paced in the constricted space, coming to a stop when he sees her. "Oh, great, you came- Why you have a toad on yer head?"

"I was taking him out on a walk when I received your owl."

Oberon pokes the toad who seems to be sleeping, gripping her hair for stability. "You take your toad on walks?"

"Is that Rosalyn!?" The boy exclaims, the German accent clear even with his voice muffled by the pumpkin. "I can't believe you called her!"

"Well, well, I'm glad I'm welcomed!"

"I said I called help! You're often the one with these types of ideas, I thought you might have an idea on how to solve it."

"Seriously, Obby? It's such a silly spell, I bet you can undo it yourself!"

"The problem is, this isn't Melofors! If that was the case, I could just smash his head against the wall and it'd all be fine-"

"Excuse me-"

"-but this dumbass is wearing an actual pumpkin!" He finishes knocking on it. "Which he made near indestructible."

"How?"

"I adapted a shielding spell, I can teach you later if you get me the fuck out of this!"

Rosa knows it'll be for nothing, but for her amusement takes the fruit and shakes it just for the fun of it. "Indeed, it's stuck."

He waves her hands away. "What a keen eye!"

"How did you get it in there in the first place?"

"I shrunk my head and waited for the spell to wear out while inside the pumpkin, otherwise it would slip out."

"May I ask why you did it?"

"I wanted to see if I'd be able to make a helmet combining a breakable pumpkin and a shielding spell. And it worked."

"Can you ever use your head for something reasonable? You could change the world, but nooo."

"Will you bully me or will you help?"

"Can't you just shrink him again?"

"I dinnae ken what spell he used to make this thing indestructible, but it's also working as a barrier on him. Just look."

Oberon takes a stance perfectly before performing a Flipendo that deflects from Duncan's chest and hits the wall above their heads with a smoke stain. He also tries an Incendio that ends in mere sparks.

"See? Nothing."

"Awesome right!? I'd keep this on forever, the problem is I can't eat, I can't perform spells for some reason, and oh, I am close to suffocating."

"Perhaps, we should just allow natural selection to do its job, don't you think?"

Oberon takes her arm. "Rosa, please. Flitwick must cry at night because of him and this week was going so well..."

"I'll give you all the candy I get from Hallowen!"

"You hate candy."

"And I could give it to anyone else!"

She rolls her eyes.

"Please, Murk, think of something, it's starting to get slimy and gross in here."

She taps the toad on her head with a laugh. "That's it! Slimy and gross!"

"Ha, I don't like the sound of that..."

"Me neither."

"What's more slimy and gross than your animagus form, huh? The octopus must be small enough to fall through."

"First, I am offended, second, that's a great idea." He rubs his hands together. "Okay, Onion, hold it for me."

Oberon does so with a eye roll and within a heartbeat they watch him fall to the ground with a blobbery sound, the brown octopus almost camouflaged against the wooden floor. The scene is bizarre as they watch him turn back into a boy, head covered with remnants of slimy pumpkin guts.

"Ha! It worked!"

She holds her hips and looks at her cousin. "See? Us Gryffindors aren't as stupid as you claim."

"I never said Gryffindors were stupid, if I did mum would have some things to say."

Duncan wraps his arms around her, kissing her cheek loudly and making pieces of pumpkin fall on her. "You're the smartest, Murk."

"Get off me!"

"C'mere! Let me thank you!"

She hold out her hands. "Keep your promise and that'll be enough. Ugh, you get me some good candy."

The two Ravenclaws watch as she walks out, taking her toad in her hands checking if any pieces of guts had fallen on it.

"Thanks for not telling her it was me who called," Duncan says.

"You played the part quite well. But maybe you should just be sincere, lassies like when you consider them important."

"They do, but not when you have yourself stuck inside a pumpkin!" He taps Oberon's cheek. "Oreo, you might have the face but I have the technique."

[nettlestingsoup]

Oh that gift does seem right up you alley then, that's fun! Feel free to share your pictures if you ever get to it! I do have to be honest and tell you that everytime we had to dissect something for biology, I had to sit it out because I would get nauseous fhdfh so I think it's cool that you're into taxidermy even though it baffles me a bit too hahaha but that's okay, everyone has their own interests!

OMG THE PLANT THE PLANT THE PLANT IT LOOKS SO WONDERFUL AND PRETTY THAT'S SO COOL LIKE YOU MADE THAT WITH YOUR HANDS AND THE DIFFERENT COLOURS ON THE LEAVES

I wish we had crafts nights here too! Well we do have some knitting and crorchet groups but the ladies there are all way above my age. I'm going to teach one of my friends how to crochet so maybe we can organise some craft sessions hehe

Oh hiking sounds funnn where are you going?

I'm glad to hear you're handling it well! Knowing what heals you and allowing yourself that, is great and not always easy!

Your weekend does sound lovely! I love board games and I'm lucky to have a job where I can basically play them every day hahaha even if some of them are VERY easy. I also play Rummikub with my grandma every Thursday and sometimes with my mom during the weekend.

It's completely fine to not feel up to chat! I'd rather you talk to me when you actually want to/feel up to it! And your health/mental state should come first obviously.

I am doing well! I'm taking next week off so I can relax a bit more and finally get on top of my paper work cause god hshs. There are also a lot of birds in our garden and I'm thriving hahah I love observing them. I even saw a Heron in one of the trees behind our garden! I didn't know they hung out in trees too!!

I also need to make time to bring my broken laptop to a repair shop so they can transfer my old data to my new one, I keep putting it off but I actually need the stuff on there. Also please pray for me and my skz witch au that I forgot to save as a Google doc and instead have saved as a Word doc on my broken computer hfhfh

I hope I'm not overwhelming you with the amount of words I'm typing out hdhd

Have a wonderful day!! <3

yeah it really was the perfect gift! and noooo the biology nausea... honestly a fair response to dissections, i think; i never understand people who are mean about it. not everyone wants to see the inside of a dead thing and that's fine!

HELL YEAH THE PLANT I'M SO PROUD OF IT I'M GONNA MAKE ANOTHER ONE FOR SOME FRIENDS!!!

honestly crafting with friends is so healing and nice??? it's just good for the soul to make things with your hands with the people you love.

and??? rummikub??? is mine and my mum's game too??? we like to play it with the extended family when we can but it's also really nice just to play with the two of us. that's honestly such a bizarre coincidence though, i've never actually met anyone outside my family who knows what rummikub is.

birds!!! herons are actually gorgeous, they're so graceful! and so still!! it's magic. i didn't know they hung out in trees either???

and oh god good luck with the laptop and the au. i am praying for you and also very curious about your witch au... if you'd like to talk about it...

have a nice day!!! <3

[tattooedrequiem]

About Me/Kin List for Mobile Users

Name: Stiles

Age: 23

Pronouns: He/Him

More Information about me including my kin list will be below the cut.

Hey, so I guess this is a bit about me. I put some basic info up top but here I’ll get a bit more in-depth. I try to be an open book. I have multiple disorders which I’ll list, keep these in mind if you decide to chat with me. I have ADHD, Agoraphobia, Anxiety (Social and Generalized), Borderline Personality Disorder, Delusion Disorder, DID, Insomnia, OCD, PTSD, and Nightmare Disorder. Due to this I struggle with paranoia sometimes and am not only kin but some are also IRLs and I have Alters due to the delusion disorder and DID. Anyways that enough of that information.

Other than that I enjoy playing games, writing, roleplaying stuff, and just meeting people. I’m into a lot of different sources so I’m sure we can find something to talk about, don’t hesitate to chat.

Please tag sinking ships.

Here is a small list of my IRLS, please do not call them Delusional Attachments or try to reality check me, it will be an instant block and is really distressing. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IRLS ARE ALSO KINS FOR ME. They are kins that my mental illness latched onto and amplified in a way where I have episodes. Also, I don’t mind meeting people are kin them or anything like that. Also, I consider them to be both irls and kins. (Putting it twice because some don't listen.)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls)

Felix Fraldarius (Fire Emblem Three Houses)

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (Bleach)

Jakurai Jinguji (Hypnosis Mic)

Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)

Lavi / Bookman Jr. (D. Gray-Man)

Linhardt von Hevring (Fire Emblem Three Houses)

Prompto Argentum (Final Fantasy 15)

Rohan Kishibe (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Shikamaru Nara (Naruto)

Sinbad (Magi)

Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)

Here is my kin list, doubles are okay unless bold with a star. This will be sorted by source! Please keep in mind that I kin spiritually using the multiple timeline explanation. I have also known about kin for over 6 years so I have a large list.

Just because I kin a character does not mean that I chose to kin them nor condone their actions in source or my canon. 

A3!:

Izumi Tachibana

Itaru Chigasaki

Yuki Rurikawa

Sakyo Furuichi

Azuma Yukishiro

Animal Crossing:

Fang (Sibera)

Redd (Tsunekichi)

Wilbur (Rodri)

Bee and Puppy Cat:

Space Outlaw (Puppycat)

Black Butler (Manga):

C.C.

Boku no Hero Academia:

Alastaire Kuromiya (Non-Canon)

Dabi

Dabi (Soul Eater AU)

Hitoshi Shinso

Izuku Midoriya (Soulmate AU)

Izuku Midoriya (Villain AU)

Juzo Honenuki

Katsuki Bakugo (Heroes Rising Divergent)

Rumi Usagiyama

Tamaki Amajiki

Yuga Aoyama

Breath of the Wild:

Sidon

Bungou Stray Dogs:

Atsushi Nakajima

H.P. Lovecraft

Nikolai Gogol

Castle Swimmer:

Siren

Castlevania (Games):

Alucard

Code Geass:

Lelouch vi Britannia

Cookie Run:

Herb Cookie

Millennial Tree Cookie

Mint Choco Cookie

Pastry Cookie

Whipped Cream Cookie

Cowboy Bebop:

Spike Spiegel

D. Gray-Man:

Allen Walker

Danganronpa:

Izuru Kamukura

Sonosuke Izayoi

Takumi Hijirihara

Chiaki Nanami (Beta Design)

Darling in the Franxx:

Hiro

D.C:

Dick Grayson

Raven

Diabolik Lovers:

Laito Sakamaki

Shu Sakamaki

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba:

Kyojuro Rengoku

Nezuko Kamado

Obanai Iguro

Sabito

Dramatical Murder:

Aoba Seragaki

Koujaku

Durarara:

Delic Heiwajima

Shizuo Heiwajima

Tsukishima Heiwajima

Eddsworld:

Tord

Fairy Tail:

Freed Justine

Grey Fullbuster

Jellal Fernandes

Levy McGarden

Loke

Lucy Heartfilia

Fever King:

Noam Alvaro

Final Fantasy 7:

Genesis Rhapsodos

Final Fantasy 14:

Warrior of Light 

Fire Emblem Three Houses:

Emile ‘Jeritza’ Bartels

Ferdinand von Aegir

Seteth

‘Yuri’ Leclair/Leclerc

Fire Force:

Arthur Boyle

Joker

Konro Sagamiya

Genshin Impact:

Baizhu

Childe / Tartaglia

Fischl

Klee

Scaramouche

Venti

Xingqiu

Grisha Verse (Books):

Alina Starkov

Haikyuu:

Asahi Azumane

Kei Tsukishima (Hanahaki AU)

Keiji Akaashi

Kenma Kozume

Kentaro Kyotani

Kotaro Bokuto

Homestuck:

Dave Strider

Disciple

Jade Blood Eridan

Meulin

Nepeta Leijon

Sollux Captor

Vriska Serket

Howl’s Moving Castle (Books):

Sophie Hatter

How to Train Your Dragon:

Hiccup

Hunter x Hunter:

Meruem

Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?:

Bell Cranel

Inuyasha:

Sesshomaru

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure:

Caesar Zeppeli

Giorno Giovanna

Irene

Straizo (Canon Divergent)

Jujutsu Kaisen:

Saturo Gojo

Sukuna

Toge Inumaki

K Project:

Saruhiko Fushimi

Kingdom Hearts:

Brain

Riku

Roxas

Lore Olympus:

Persephone

Marvel:

Kurt Wagner (AoA)

Kurt Wagner (616)

Stephen Strange

Tony Stark (616)

Tony Stark (MCU Divergent)

Mob Psycho 100:

Teruki Hanazawa

Monster Prom:

Oz Yellow

Muted:

Camille Severin

Mystic Messenger:

Zen

Saeyoung ‘Luciel’ Choi

Nanbaka:

Jyugo

Naruto:

Deidara

Iruka Umino

Rock Lee

Neppu Kairiku Bushiroad:

Suou Yagyu

Overwatch:

Lucio

Cole Cassidy (AU)

Owari No Seraph:

Mikaela Hyakuya

Persona 5:

Akira / Ren

Princess Jellyfish:

Kuranosuke Koibuchi

Promare:

Lio Fotia

Pokemon:

Piers

Sun

Touya

Purple Hyacinth:

Lauren Sinclair

The Quarry:

Dylan

RWBY:

Lie Ren

Ozpin

Re:Birth:

Noah

Seven Deadly Sins:

Elaine

Escanor

Skate the Infinity:

Kaoru / Cherry Blossom

Langa

Soul Eater:

Asura

Maka

Stein

Spines:

Wren

Starfighter:

Cain

Tales Games:

Alphen (Tales of Arise)

Velvet (Tales of Berseria)

Vicious (Tales of Crestoria)

The Adventure Zone:

Kravitz (Balance)

Barry Bluejeans (Balance)

Ned Chicane (Amnesty)

The Evil Within:

Ruvik

The Two Princes:

Rupert

Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun:

Mitsuba Sousuke

Tokyo Ghoul (Manga):

Kaneki Ken

Tokyo Revengers:

Takemichi Hanagaki

Mikey (Majiro Sano)

Keisuke Baji

Umbrella Academy:

Ben Hargreeves

Five Hargreeves

Vocaloid:

Gumi

Kamui Gakupo

Voltron:

Keith Kogane

Red Lion

Your Turn To Die:

Kai

Yugioh:

Atem / Yami Yugi

Yuri on Ice:

Otabek Altin

50% Off (Free!):

Thugisa

Now, time for the list of my alters and their kins, I promise this is the end after this.

Baku:

Age: Early 20’s

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Protector/Trauma Holder/Gatekeeper

Kins:

Katsuki Bakugo (BNHA)

Tsukasa Shishio (Dr. Stone)

Kouen Ren (Magi)

Tsukasa Yugi (TBHK)

Thief King Bakura / Yami Bakura

Lauriam / Shun:

Age: Early/Mid 20s

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Caretaker/Protector

Kins:

Shunsui Kyoraku (Bleach)

Lauriam / Marluxia (KH)

Espio (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Mason:

Age: Early 20s

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Protector

Kins:

Kenpachi (Bleach)

Dipper Gleeful, Reverse Fight Falls (Gravity Falls AU)

Garfield the Deals Warlock (TAZ)

Orion:

Age: Early 20s

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Protector

Kins:

Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)

Dipper Gleeful, Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls AU)

John (TAZ)

Ren:

Age: ???

Pronouns: He/They

Role: Non-Human Alter

Era:

Age: Slides 19-40s

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Fictive of Eraqus

Sparrow:

Age: Unknown (At least 21)

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Trauma Holder

Kins:

Hawks (BNHA)

Ghost:

Age: Unknown

Pronouns: He/Him

Role: Alter

Thanks for reading all of this, feel free to reference it whenever or view a better version on desktop.

[ravs6709]

Set My Heart Alight- Marellinh (Part 1)

Part 1 (here). Part 2.

Read on ao3 here! (recommended, it's like 14k words)

Part 2 of Open Up My Heart (And Let My Feelings Fly Free)

I am back at it with my omniscient reader's viewpoint!KOTLC au! The first part to the au is called Reading The Heart (23k words), which isn't necessary to read, but it is recommended. In case you need a recap/don't want to read RTH, the recap is that Keefe reads a comic about Tam surviving an apocalypse by clearing video game-like scenarios. That comic comes to life.

This two-shot takes place around the same time as RTH, but now we're looking from Linh's POV! Hope you enjoy!

Warnings for this chapter include *but not limited to*: Violence, background character death, drowning/fear of water, pretty graphic depictions of child and animal death, trauma in response to prev point, brief suicidal thoughts in response to trauma

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Tam, come look at this shell I found!" Without waiting for his reaction, Linh dragged ver brother by the arm across the beach towards the shell that ve found.

Tam pulled out his camera. "You just wanted me to take a picture, didn't you?" 

Ve beamed, and he took the picture.

"I'm taking the shell with me too," ve said. "I just like watching you take pictures."

"You want one with you holding it?"

Ve nodded happily, and posed. Tam took the picture, a smile on his face.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Linh Song was ver name, but there was something odd about seeing the last name there. Ve had no knowledge of a family. All ve knew was that ve had woken up one day with ver brother Tam at the age of twenty two. What happened beforehand?

Despite having nothing going on for them, making their life was quite simple. Records of their existences already existed, with education levels (information ve couldn't recall learning, but knew anyway), and other important details. They were all pieces to some giant puzzle, but ve had no idea what the full picture was supposed to look like.

Tam became a professional photographer, famous for being able to work with bizarre requests for odd lighting. Linh got verself a job at the aquarium; ve loved taking care of the animals and it was fun to give tours to wide-eyed, curious children.

"Everyone, you're allowed to put your hands in the water here and pet the animals inside, if you want," ve said. "Be respe—"

There was a bright flash of light that blinded ver, scaring the animals.

"Excuse me," ve said calmly, "if anyone has their camera flash on, please make sure it is o—"

Linh froze. In front of ver, a white fluffy creature was floating. Ve loved animals, but this thing came out of nowhere, and stared at ver with deep black eyes and a mischievous smile.

"Children, please stay calm, and stay quiet for now, okay?" ve ordered, taking deep breaths so ve wouldn't freak out. Ve looked at the two teachers and they got the message, quickly herding everyone into a line.

["Listen up!"] The creature said, and one of the children screamed. ["Children know how to listen, right?"]

Linh moved and picked up the child, ignoring manners in favour of calming down the screaming child.

"What"— are you— "do you want?" Linh asked, forcing verself to be brave in front of all these terrified children.

["I was getting to that, but I'll let it slide. So— of course I get stuck with dealing with the children, they're too stupid to understand anything. But fine, I'll make things simple. Every single one of you owes money."]

"How much?" Linh asked. "How long until this money is due?"

"You should ask that thing why we owe money in the first place," one of the teachers muttered.

["Living costs a price in this world, and so far, you've all been doing this for free. So now, you have to make up for it. Your debt increases as each second passes by. It's not ordinary human money, the Star Stream runs with coins. Don't worry though, you've got your whole life to pay out the debt. 

"You gain coins by clearing scenarios and oh! Here we are with our first scenario."]

A blue panel popped up in front of Linh, and looking around showed that it happened to everyone. This was going from weird to unreal really quickly. Ve put down the child ve was carrying and began reading the text on the panel, ignoring the massive headache that came out of nowhere, and the pull ve felt towards the animals.

◇◇◇◇◇

[Main scenario #1- Proof of Worth]

Category: Main

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: Kill one or more living creatures.

Time Limit: 30 minutes.

Reward: 300 coins.

Penalty For Failure: Death

◇◇◇◇◇

The dokkaebi smiled. ["Now I hope that you all provide a fun story to tell."]

That headache ve felt grew stronger, but ve needed to be strong. "Everyone, let's try and leave. I know the closest exit to here!"

The two teachers nodded. "Everyone in line, now."

As Linh tried to leave the room though, yellow sparks emerged, blocking ver from moving.

["You can't leave until the scenario is cleared."] The creature said.

"What do we do?" A teacher asked.

"We are not touching the children," the other teacher said.

Linh nodded. "I would never ask for that."

Ve reread the instructions, hoping that somehow, somehow , ve had misread them. But no, it was just as it said. Kill a living creature. The failure was death.

"Ooh, a clownfish!" One of the children said, reaching into the water and trying to grab one of the clownfish that were swimming. The child was so young, they probably couldn't even fully read what the scenario was about. And now they were thrust into a situation such as this.

The two teachers locked eyes, and Linh's stomach lurched. Ve knew exactly what they were thinking.

"I'm sorry, but we can't," ve said.

The headache that ve had grew longer, and it almost felt like ve could also feel the pull of the water.

"We have to," the first teacher said. "For the sake of the kids, we have to. We have no other choice."

"Alright, everyone!" The second teacher said, "reach into the water and take out one fish."

"Please," Linh whispered, even though ve knew that this was the right thing to do. The children should take priority over the animals. Then why… why did seeing the fish swim away in fear tug at ver heart so much?

Small bursts of feelings—feelings? Voices?—erupted in ver mind, everything was flooding ver, the pull of the water, the feelings of each and every individual animal.

" Please stop ," ve said, and there were tears. Ve instinctively reached out, but had to restrain verself. 

They are literal children! ve told verself. The children have to live . If the children die because I decided to be stupid , I could never forgive myself.

But ve could feel the weight of countless gazes of ver, the eyes of each and every single animal on ver.

We want to live , ve could hear, a tragic melody, louder than the roar of the water, pulling at ver entire being. We don't want to die.

"Stop!" ve screamed, closing ver eyes. "Please," ve begged, but even ve couldn't tell what ve was begging for. For the headache to stop? To let the animals live? To the creature who orchestrated the entire event to stop this? This creature who was willing to kill children for… for what? For some kind of debt that nobody was even aware of?

Ve couldn't do anything more than murmur please and plant ver hands on ver ears to block the sound of everything, but the world only grew louder and louder until—

Glass shattered, and Linh opened ver eyes to see water flooding everywhere, animals being swept away from the grabbing hands of the children. Water kept flooding, more and more as the water level began to rise.

There was screaming again, the teachers, the children, maybe the animals too. Maybe even verself— definitely verself, ver throat began to burn as the water just kept rising.

There was no true way to prove it, but ve knew that all of this was because of ver. All ver fault. It was all ver fault as the water kept rising, and not a single drop was allowed to escape the room because of the yellow barrier that prevented them from leaving. It was all ver fault that the roar of the water grew louder, overpowering the screams of everyone. It was all ver fault that the screams turned into silence, until the sound of the water was so loud that ve couldn't even hear it anymore.

Stop! ve pleaded, to whatever being was willing to listen. I beg you, please stop this!

Ve closed ver eyes, hoping that this was some nightmare. Ve'd wake up in ver room, make some tea, and maybe Tam would be awake too. He'd comfort ver, just like he'd done over the two years that ve could remember.

⸢"It's okay Linh," Tam would say, "it's just a nightmare."

For a brief moment, ve wondered if at this age, ve should be able to deal with nightmares. But with Tam's fingers linked with vers, ve decided that it didn't matter. As long as Tam was willing to do this, there was no reason to worry.⸥ 

Ve opened ver eyes to the sight of utter destruction. Shards of glass were scattered everywhere from the water—and so were the bodies. As if the water had managed to tear them apart . As if it were some kind of weapon that ve had unleashed . Laughter burst out of ver unexpectedly, an ugly, horrific sound to ver ears. The laughter didn't cease, ve hunched over, falling to the floor as tears streamed down ver face, until the laughs turned to sobs, until ve lost ver voice entirely.

Why? Ve thought. Why why why why why? Why did I stay unharmed? Why am I still here?

[You have killed a living thing. 100 coins have been earned as a reward.]

[You have killed a living thing. 100 coins have been earned as a reward.]

[You have killed a living thing. 100 coins have been earned as a reward.]

As if to reinforce the sins that ve had just committed, ve received dozens upon dozens of that message, each one for a body that ve killed. But then there were more and more and more and surely there weren't that many people in the room, and even with the animals included, ve couldn't have killed that many, why were there so many messages and ve knew for sure that it was exceeding the number of living beings in the room now and why were the messages still coming?

Ver headache subsided slightly as the water began to calm down, and dazed, ve realized the answer to ver question.

This wasn't the only room in the aquarium. There were more, there was more water to use and hurt and kill —

["Wow, this has got to be one of the most exciting results of the first scenario that I've seen in a long time. Ve seems to be earning quite a number of coins, isn't ve off to a great start?"] the dokkaebi said. ["What do you think about Linh Song, dear constellations?"]

[The constellation, One Who Lost Her Heart is interested in your power.]

[You have been sponsored 100 coins.]

Various other messages popped up, saying similar things. Only two messages stood out from the rest.

[The constellation, One Who Seeks The End looks at you with sympathy.]

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths wishes to help you.]

One of them felt bad for ver, while the other seemed to want to help ver.

["Well,"] the dokkaebi continued, ["I'll explain this quickly, since it's only you here…"]

Linh made out words relating to some kind of sponsor selection that would allow for "incarnations" to live. All ve could think of though were the words "it's only you here".

Only me… only me in the entire aquarium? I'm the only one left living here..?

[1. One Who Lost Her Heart

Lady Of The Darkest Depths

…]

The sponsor selection began, and there were a decent number of constellations there, four. But ve only recognized two of the names; the one who was interested in ver power and the one who wanted to help ver.

Ve chose the Lady Of The Darkest Depths .

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths nods her head in approval.]

"What do I do next?" Linh asked ver sponsor.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says for you to take a look at your attribute window and stats.]

An attribute window? With that thought, another blue panel appeared in front of ver.

◇◇◇◇◇

[Personal Information]

Name: Linh Hai Song.

Pronouns: Ve/ver.

Age: 24.

Constellation Support: Lady Of The Darkest Depths.

Attribute(s): One Of Many Floods (Rare).

Skill(s): Hydrokinesis (Level 1), Diverse Communication (Level 1).

Stigma(s): Great Wave (Level 1).

Overall Stats: Stamina (Level 3), Strength (Level 2), Agility (Level 4), Magic Power (Level 3).]

◇◇◇◇◇

Oh. Whatever this was seemed to know a lot about ver; name, pronouns, age. It vaguely reminded ver of a video game—was that what all this was? A video game?

Was ve just some character used to… used to…

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths tells you that this tragedy was due to circumstances, it was not your fault.]

But it was. Ve knew that it was.

"Who are you?" ve asked instead.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths cannot tell you her true name, not until you are able to meet her.]

"Oh," ve murmured, upset. The only being who truly seemed to understand the tragedy of the situation could only communicate like this, distantly. "Well…" ve tried to think of what to say next, but usually observing ver surroundings helped with that. But right now… ve could only keep ver gaze on the attribute window, which blocked the view of the aquarium. "There's… there's um… stats? How do I upgrade them? Do I use the coins I received?"

If ve could just focus on anything but the world around ver…

Ve received a reply in confirmation, and ve began to upgrade some of ver stats. Ve had more than enough to raise ver stats to level five, and still had well over twenty-thousand coins. Based on the fact that upgrading a stat costed only three hundred coins, ve probably had more coins than a lot of people.

All because I killed so many people. Most people wouldn't have killed as many as I have.

Was it possible for Linh to repent for the killing of so many?

Ve received another message, this time detailing the second scenario.

…there's more. There are more scenarios. 

This new one didn't read as difficult as the previous one, but still, there were more and ve had no idea how long this hell was going to last.

As ve stumbled out of the aquarium, ve pulled out ver phone—surprisingly unharmed. Tam, ve needed to text Tam.

Ve froze. Was he okay? Was he able to clear the scenario… did he too have to kill? Whatever he'd do though, it could never be as bad as what ve had just done. What would he even think of ver? Would he see ver as a monster?

Ve smiled sardonically, ve wouldn't blame him for thinking so.

Finally gathering the courage to open up ver phone, ve saw a text from Tam. Twenty minutes ago, shortly before the first scenario would have started.

Linh. It read. There was nothing else.

Please text me if you're okay, ve typed back and pressed send. However, there was apparently no signal, so it couldn't be sent.

What now? Ve had no idea if he was okay. Ve had no idea where to even begin looking for him. Wait. He was probably taking the subway on his way home. If the second scenario for him was the same as vers, then he'd have to head underground. Ve wouldn't know which stop he got off at, but ve knew that he'd be somewhere underground. Maybe he was already looking for ver.

With one last glance at the place that ve had loved dearly, ve left the aquarium and made ver way to the nearest subway station.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Wandering alone in the subway tunnels was simultaneously relieving and stressful. There was nothing around to remind ver of what had just happened, but it wasn't like ve needed a reminder to think of it.

(Really, all it took was five minutes to send Linh into a mental breakdown.)

Ve had a purpose, but was also left to ver own thoughts. Each step was another step towards living, a chance that so many people weren't able to have. The weight of each step was huge, and ve could hear the echoes in the tunnels.

(They were echoes of the people who should have been here.)

The echoes were so loud that they seemed to attract some kind of animal. Its feelings weren't as pronounced as the ones in the aquarium, but ve could feel something.

What are you doing? ve thought as the animal charged at ver. This small feeling pulled at ver gut, a low, silent hum. Ve tugged back, hoping it would listen. Please back down.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that you will have to kill it.]

It was attacking ver, it was clearly aggressive, yet it felt wrong to hurt it. After a close dodge, ve upgraded ver agility by two, so ve could figure out what to do next.

[The skill, Diverse Communication (Level 1) has been activated.]

Ve tried to tame it, to look into its mind and do something, but it wouldn't work. Whether it was due to the low level or something else, ve didn't know.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says you need to use your hydrokinesis.]

"No, I can't," ve said immediately. Ve refused to use it.

But without being able to tame the creature, ve had no other weapon, and ve had to kill it, otherwise, ve would die.

But , a very dark part of ver mind whispered, was that so bad? The people you killed will never be brought back to life, so what better way to repent than to let their killer die?

And for a long moment, ve considered it. But when the animal lunged at ver, ve moved out of the way, and as if ve had done it a hundred thousand times, ve pulled out water from the air and made a whip.

It was only when the animal laid deathly still that Linh realized just what ve had done. Another life. Another life had been taken because of ver.

The whip dropped out of ver hands and evaporated back into the air.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Ve wasn't sure if it was luck or a coincidence, but after a while wandering through the tunnels, Linh somehow managed to run into Tam.

"Tam," ve breathed, and practically threw verself at him, wrapping ver arms around him tightly.

Ve expected him to return the embrace, so it was surprising when he didn't hug ver back, and instead stiffened. Ve pulled away almost immediately, only then noticing that there was blood on his clothes.

"Sorry," ve murmured, pulling away, ignoring how awful the blood felt on ver fingers, "are you okay?"

Tam stared at ver with wide eyes, as if it were the first time that he'd seen ver in years. He blinked and that startled look was gone, as if it were an accidental display of vulnerability. "I'm fine," he said, voice low. "And… and you?"

"I'm… I'm okay," ve lied, not able to bring verself to tell him what had happened.

Linh was his sister, and ve knew how to tell that he, too, was lying. That he was acting stronger than he felt. Linh did the same. They were twins, after all.

Tam told ver some details about the scenario, and together, they made their way to their next destination. Ve thought that now that they were together, things would be okay. They would talk and they could ease their pain. Instead, there was silence, no assurances or comfort. Walking with him, it felt like there was some kind of wall between them, a wall made of apathy and pain, growing larger and larger with each step they took.

What happened, Tam? ve wanted to ask. What happened that's made you like this? Talk to me, please.

"How many coins do you have?" Linh asked, looking for a way to start a conversation.

"Thirteen thousand," he said after a few moments.

Thirteen thousand. Not nearly as much as ve had, but still more than ve had expected. How many people died in his subway car? (How many people died because of him , was the better question, but ve couldn't think that he had killed so many people).

Still… ve moved a little closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. His whole body jerked to look at ver, and his eyes widened again as he read the message.

[You have given 5,000 coins to the character Tam Song. ] Was what the panel read for ver.

Tam let out a breath, and ve could feel the weight in that one breath. As ve retracted ver hand—even though ve wanted nothing more than to leave it there—Tam grabbed it quickly.

[You have received 3,000 coins from the character Tam Song. ]

Just like that, he immediately let go of ver hand.

"If you have coins to spare, use them on yourself," he said, turning away from ver.

You still kept two thousand, Linh wanted to tease, but he began walking up ahead, his black coat fluttering behind him, blending him into the shadows. The wall between them only grew larger.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths asks if your brother is usually like this.]

"No," ve whispered, quietly so Tam couldn't hear the echoes of it. "I don't know what's happening."

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths wants to demand how he could treat his own sister like this!]

A laugh spilled from ver lips, and ve was surprised that it almost sounded genuine. "You don't have to do that. He'll come back to me when he's ready."

Ve could only hope that this was the case.

•~•~•~•~•~•

⸢"Oh, Linh, you're home," Tam greeted, finding ver in their kitchen. "How was your first day of work?"

"It was stressful ," ve replied. "The children are adorable but they're loud. I almost forgot my animal facts, but it was fun. How about yours?"

"You wouldn't believe how picky some of my clients are," Tam groaned, going into the fridge and taking out a bottle of water, drinking half of it in one go, "I did exactly what he wanted and then had the audacity to complain. I don't want to deal with him ever again."

"Did he pay well at least?"

Tam snorted. "No."⸥ 

The two travelled toward the area with the second scenario, and Linh was able to observe the changes in Tam properly. He was quiet—even more than usual.

He talked to ver, but mostly when it related to the scenario. Otherwise, ve was the one who had to initiate the conversations. Ve knew that Tam was reserved, but this?

What was going on?

Whenever a creature came and tried to attack them, he controlled the shadows to kill them off. Looking at him, ve could tell just how strong he was. It wasn't just the control in his own abilities, but physical strength too. He could kill a monster in half the time it would take ver.

"Stay here," Tam said when they encountered a mini-dungeon. "You can stand guard."

Tam entered the dungeon and Linh waited.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths asks if you're just going to let him take all the treasure for himself.]

"That's not what he's doing," Linh said. "He wants me to stay because he wants me to stay safe. I don't appreciate your tone."

Ver sponsor didn't say anything else, thankfully. When Tam returned, he smelled of blood—more than usual, at least—and he had a few items in his hands. There was a sword at his waist, some kind of candle-looking object, and a bracelet.

"Take this, I don't need it," Tam said, handing ver the bracelet.

Ve took it and slid it on. "Thank you."

But by the time ve had taken it, Tam already turned to move on ahead to their next destination.

Ve took a look at the stats of the bracelet. It mentioned something about a slight calming effect.

Linh looked up smugly, ver sponsor silent.

•~•~•~•~•~•

The second scenario was… brutal. Not as awful as the first, not for ver, at least, but still awful. It was about hunting food—which ve had done before—but also about surviving other people.

Tam seemed to have no qualms dealing with the group that they faced off against. He simply pulled out his sword.

"What are you doing?" Linh asked him. "These are people ."

"They're awful people, Linh. They take power by harming the unfortunate."

"You can't know that!"

"I passed by here when I was looking for you," he explained, but something about his measured tone made it seem like he wasn't quite telling the truth. But why lie? "It would be better if I didn't say what they did."

Linh stared at him. He was probably right about the things that they had done but… kill them?

“One of my skills is called Shadow Reading ,” Tam said finally, “it allows me to see a person’s stats, but also tells me the weight of their sins.”

“Oh,” ve said. If he used the Shadow Reading skill on ver, what would he find? Would the weight of ver sins outweigh everyone else’s?

“I’ll deal with them if you don’t want to.”

Then he rushed into battle, his body a black blur as he used his sword to cut people down. He moved just like the shadows he was able to control—dark and deadly. He swung his sword with the ease of a swordsman who had trained for decades. So unlike the brother that ve knew.

⸢"Hey Linh," Tam said, and ve could immediately latch on to the very slight tremor in his voice.

They were cooking dinner together in the kitchen, so ve couldn't see him, but ve could hear the hesitation when he normally chopped the vegetables with ease.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I've gotten my first professional photoshoot," he said. "I'd like you to be there with me."

"Is that allowed?" ve asked.

"I've already gotten permission."

"Then of course I'll come!" Ve turned to him, and once ve saw that he paused chopping the vegetables, ve elbowed him. "I'd love to be able to witness what people mean when they say you're the 'Master with Shadows'."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, they're being ridiculous." But upon closer inspection, his cheeks flushed a very faint pink and his lips twitched. All the tension left his body.⸥ 

The fight was over before ve could realize it.

“Linh,” Tam called out, “let’s go.”

Numerous messages popped up telling ver that ve was done with the second scenario, but ve ignored them in favour of watching his back. His entire body was straight and unyielding, his head held high as his coat fluttered with every step he took. Every step he took was quiet and even. 

Still, despite how collected he moved, there was something stiff about him. There was some kind of tension, something so ancient that weathered him down.

What's weighing you down?

What happened to the brother who could smile brightly, to the brother whose laughter was like music, who took a camera wherever he went and took pictures? Because as much as he didn't seem like it, he always saw the beauty in life.

"Where's your camera?" Ve blurted.

He turned abruptly and ve could see the splatters of blood on his face, and his cold, haunted eyes. Ve flinched. 

(The moment Linh realized ve flinched, ver heart broke. What reason did ve have to flinch?

Something shifted in those dark eyes of his, and ve wondered if he'd noticed.)

"I still have it," he replied, his voice flat and unchanging. "But there's nothing worth taking pictures of anymore."

Which, in a way, was true. Being under the tunnels only amplified how apocalyptic the world seemed. Everything was only lit by the few light bulbs that were still working, and Tam seemed to have some kind of skill that allowed him to see.

What could be seen could be called nothing short of horrifying. Random animals created by the scenario kept charging and attacking, and the walls were stained with blood. Sometimes, it wasn't even animal blood—it would be human.

"What are you going to do with it then?" The question left ver mouth before ve could even finish the thought. 

His hand moved to his pocket. "I'll keep it until I can keep it somewhere safe."

Ve let out a sigh of relief. Ve didn't know what kind of answer ve had been expecting, but this was the right one.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Those people…" Linh whispered. "How could they do such a thing?"

Upon finally arriving at the area of the third scenario, ve was horrified. There were spots known as "green zones" or "rooms" that people needed to stay in so they could survive the wave of monsters that came out at night.

The first problem was that there weren't enough rooms for everyone. The second was that there was a group of people that hoarded the largest room, and only allowed people in after charging a large number of coins for each night.

"You'll have to get used to sights like these," Tam said, his voice filled with apathy, "in the apocalypse, people will resort to everything. We can't be naive."

What happened to you? Ve wanted to ask. Tell me!

(But if ve had to be honest, ve was almost glad for this, as selfish as it was. The more time ve spent stressing over this, the less time ve had to think about the… incident at the aquarium. It already haunted ver enough in nightmares, or whenever ve was idle, but this almost seemed like a pleasant distraction. Ve wished that ve felt worse about it.)

"Shouldn't we do something? What about the previous scenario?" The one where you ruthlessly killed the group was left unsaid.

"They're too strong for me to kill," Tam replied. The nonchalance of his tone made ver shudder.

"That doesn't mean we can't do anything, we have…" all these coins, ve didn't say, because there were people around.

"Even if we help them now, they won't be saved," he said without hesitation. "There's no point in using them to help others. Save them for yourself. You should go find yourself a room, night will start in three hours."

Find yourself… "And what about you?"

"I can survive without one."

"But—"

"Linh." He stared at ver, his gaze piercing. "...stay safe. I'll be back soon."

He turned on his heel and went off to do his own thing. His tone was dismissive, but Linh found verself smiling.

Stay safe.

"Okay," ve murmured, "I will."

Ve walked around, looking for any free rooms, but the longer ve watched, the more ve knew that ve had to do something. Ve left the station and began wandering around the immediate surroundings.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths is wondering what you are doing.]

"I have to do something ," ve said. Then, quieter, so nobody else but ver sponsor could hear ver, "other than that group, I might have the most coins in the area. Even if I can't offer them all my coins, I can provide food. I'll hunt and I'll earn coins for it."

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says reluctantly that your brother may have had a point.]

"I get why he's cautious, and maybe he's right. Maybe they won't survive this night, or maybe they won't survive the next. But I refuse to do nothing about it."

As ve encountered an animal, ve hunted it down with the only weapon ve had—ver hydrokinesis. It wasn't easy, it took all ver mental strength to be able to create the water whip, but a whip was small and thin and wouldn't drown anyone. One animal went down, then the next, then another came until ve cleared out the area.

As ve began carrying the carcasses back—which became much easier when one could upgrade their strength—ve came across a group.

"Here, I'll help you," a person with shoulder-length blonde hair said, and ve gave them one of the loads. "Are you bringing them to the station?"

Linh nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Did you beat all these by yourself?" Another person asked, with dark hair and brown skin. "That's pretty cool! These things are so annoying because of how often we come across them. They're disgusting and my nails feel like crap." Still, though, they also helped pick up a carcass.

The group seemed friendly enough, though there were blood stains splattered across their clothes. However, ve didn't fear them, not when the same applied to verself. At this point, the blood was something ve was learning to get used to.

"Oh, I should probably introduce myself," Linh said, "I'm Linh. My pronouns are ve/ver."

The others then introduced themselves: Marella, the one who introduced himself to ver, Biana, the dark-haired woman, Fitz and Dex who stayed quiet, and Keefe, who was also quiet, but his gaze was on ver as he if found ver to be familiar…

They arrived at the station, and Linh gave out the meat to the struggling people.

"Thank you," someone said, "how can I repay you?"

"You don't have to," Linh told them. This is the only way I'm able to help you.

Linh made ver way to leave but was interrupted by Keefe. "Hey, your brother's Tam, right?" 

Linh turned around and tilted ver head. He knew Tam? "How do you know him?"

"Tell him that his companion is here. He'll know."

His companion… Somehow, ve doubted that. The word "companion" was vague, but it also felt strangely… personal? It wasn't like Tam had a boyfriend or any ex-partners, so it didn't mean romantically. His only friends were from his work, but if Keefe was a friend from work, he could have just said so. 

Did he meet Tam when the apocalypse first started? Did he… did he see what caused Tam to change? As soon as the thought appeared, ve stamped it out, ve couldn't get so hopeful about this. If that was when they met, if they were companions , why didn't ve find them together? Why was Tam on his own?

"I'm not sure who he'd know that I wouldn't, but I'll go find him. Don't go anywhere," ve settled on, then made ver way to go find him.

It took a little while to find him.

"What are you doing here?" Tam asked, not even turning to look at ver. "You should be in your room."

"Someone came looking for you and said that he's your companion," Linh told him, omitting the fact that ve had never gone to a room in the first place.

"Companion?" He asked.

Ve nodded. "A man named Keefe said that and that he wanted to see you."

"He's at the station?"

"Yeah, him and the rest of his group."

Wordlessly, Tam turned around from what he was doing and began making his way back to the station.

"Wait, Tam, do you really know him?" Linh asked, surprised by his reaction.

"I've met him once, earlier. Before I found you."

"Did something happen? How come the two of you didn't travel together?"

"I didn't want to," he said simply. "He's also not my companion. But I do need to talk to him."

"Then why leave?"

"No particular reason." There was silence for a few moments. "And Linh?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell your sponsor to not interrogate me?"

Linh blinked, and then he was walking further up ahead.

"Lady Of The Darkest Depths?" ve called out.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that incarnation Tam Song shouldn't hide anything from you!]

"It's okay," ve said. "I'm going to give him time. You don't have to do anything."

Then ve walked faster to catch up to ver brother, ignoring the indignant messages from ver sponsor.

•~•~•~•~•~•

When they arrived back at the station, Linh tried to observe as much as possible. Keefe, who had been relatively quiet, suddenly seemed full of life.

"Did you miss me?" He asked.

Tam rolled his eyes. "Not really."

It was dismissive, but it was more of a reaction than he'd shown to most things. Then Keefe suddenly grabbed Tam by the arm and dragged him off to somewhere quiet. Linh thought Tam would tell him off or look annoyed, but he didn't really do much about it.

"How do they know each other?" Linh asked the group.

"To be honest, I don't really know? All I know is that we had to cross a bridge of even numbers. Dex and I crossed together, and Keefe was alone. If Tam made it past, that meant he'd crossed with Keefe, but only Tam actually made it past that scenario. He told us that Keefe was alive, and then after a day or so, he left," Fitz explained.

"The more I hear about this the more I agree with Biana's theory of that guy throwing him off the bridge," Marella muttered, but it was loud enough for ver to hear.

"I don't think Tam would do that," Linh said. "He's not the type of person to do that."

Though… what kind of person was he? He was willing to kill people without hesitation.

"I don't know him," Dex said, "and I don't know what Tam has told you, but he took the same subway as us. He was in the car behind us, and there was an explosion. He was the only one who survived in his entire car."

"He wouldn't…" ve murmured, eyes wide, "I know him, he wouldn't…"

Tam, involved with an explosion? There was no way. He could never do that, he couldn't. How would the explosion even happen? As far as ve knew, his skills had more to do with shadows or allowing himself to be better at fighting. So how could he even cause an explosion to happen? 

Maybe someone else had an explosive, and Tam wanted to disarm them, but the explosive was accidentally set off. It would have been an accident, and Tam probably blamed himself for being unable to save them. Something so traumatic would explain the change in his behaviour. Maybe him being unable to save them made him feel like people couldn't be saved.

"Hey, it's alright," Marella said, putting a hand on ver shoulder, probably mistaking ver silence for something else.

If anything, ve was relieved, wondering why ve doubted ver brother in the first place.

"Linh."

Ve turned and saw that Tam and Keefe had come back.

"I'm going to the building right next to the station," he said, "there's a hidden dungeon there that will take me a day to explore. You should stay with Keefe's group until I'm back."

"Okay. Be careful," ve said.

He nodded. "You too."

Yes, there was no way that Tam was like that. He still cared for ver, even if it wasn't obvious. 

•~•~•~•~•~•

"So what the hell's going on here?" Marella asked, "all these green… things hurt my eyes."

"They're green zones, but everyone just calls them rooms," Linh explained. "You need to be inside them when night starts, otherwise the wave of monsters will come out."

"What's the catch?" Marella asked. "We all know these f*cking dokkaebi wouldn't make it this easy."

Linh nodded, finding her skepticism a little soothing. "There aren't enough rooms for everyone. There's a large one upstairs but there's a strong group hoarding it."

Marella cursed again. "I'm going to go up there and I'm going to set fire to them."

"They're too strong," Keefe interrupted.

"Says you?" Biana scoffed. "The one who nearly got into a fistfight with my dad when he was being an *ss? Since when did you believe in being too weak to rebel?"

Keefe shrugged. "Fighting your dad wouldn't get me killed."

"It's not like you're alone," Marella said. "Even if my fire doesn't kill, Everblaze would cause panic."

"That might work," Linh said, and everyone turned to ver. "But the issue is that the leader attacks from long-range, and just stepping into his area will notify him that you're there."

"What about something like this?" Biana asked, disappearing for a few seconds, only to reappear. "That's Vanishing , and I think Invisible Dome might help with the detection issue."

"My stigma is Absolute Shutdown ," Dex added. "I can disable a skill or stigma as long as I've got some kind of technology on me. I've got my phone, so it should work. I can disable the leader's special skill, Biana, you could use Vanishing and probably take down the leader while they're confused."

"Slit their throat," Keefe told Biana. Then he mimed the motion by getting behind Fitz, quickly grabbing him in a way that would easily allow access to the throat. "If you cut the carotid artery, they'll die in about a minute."

"That's a… specific detail to know…" Biana said. "You also pulled off the example really well."

“Yeah, my neck hurts,” Fitz added.

"I read a lot of comics and stuff, I was curious about the accuracy," Keefe said with a shrug. "Super easy to look up online. And sorry Fitzy, guess these stats made me underestimate my strength.”

Linh didn't know anything about Keefe, so ve wasn't going to say anything about that. "If you're going to do this, you'll have to act quick. Night will start in around half an hour."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Marella asked.

"I won't be of any use to you in battle." I can't bring myself to kill any more people right now, even if they're evil. "I wish you luck, I'm going to go check on the people. I can tell them the news that there will be more rooms for them to stay in."

"Well, thank you anyway," Marella said.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Keefe's group dealt with the hoarders, which meant that the innocents finally had a chance to use the rooms free of cost. They all lived through the night, and the next morning, they broke the rooms to forcefully change the scenario.

Linh would have never thought to do something like that, but it was Keefe's idea, and he said that it would help everyone since the number of rooms would decrease drastically as each night passed, meaning that there would constantly be a fight for rooms.

Soon, the fourth scenario appeared. The scenario required for a leader of a station to be elected—the people seemed to be fine with Linh or Marella, but it was ultimately Keefe who became leader—and each station had their own flag. The scenario was ultimately one large game of capture the flag (though, slightly modified).

"I'm willing to stay behind and defend the base," Linh said.

"I'll stay with ver too," Marella offered. "We'll need a lot of firepower—do not make the joke!" she said as Keefe opened his mouth.

"Okay, that works," Keefe nodded.

As they prepared to leave, there was a loud noise that came from nearby. 

"Everyone be careful!" Keefe warned.

As they prepared themselves, a new group of people made their entrance to their station. They all wore cloaks and they seemed really strong. Linh had hoped that maybe the new group would be friendly, but it seemed like they were just here to take over the station.

"What?" Linh heard Keefe murmuring, turning to see Keefe staring at the enemy group wide-eyed.

"You know them?" Fitz asked.

"No," Keefe replied. "We'll have to fight right now though."

The enemy group attacked, so they defended, and the group was really strong. Tam returned from his quest to the dungeon and helped them fight back, and it became an easy victory as Tam cut off the last one's head.

The head rolled across the floor, only for it to move a little on its own. Linh covered ver mouth with disgust as the head began to talk.

"Tam Song, I'm sorry to have attacked your station, but I needed your attention. I know the future, and I want us to become companions. You'll need me for the 46th scenario."

Tam looked surprised for a moment, then looked at the head with interest. How… how was he not horrified by such a thing?

"You're telling the truth. But this isn't your true body. Come back with your true body and then we'll talk," Tam said coldly.

"Before you kill this body, I want to warn you to watch out for them," they pointed at Keefe. "They might get you killed."

"We'll see." With that, Tam stepped on the head, and it faded into blue sparks.

"Are you going to recruit them?" Keefe asked.

"Does it bother you if I do?" Tam asked, an odd, amused look on his face. "Their sponsor is Moonlark That Soars Through The Sky."

"What?" Keefe asked with wide eyes again.

"You couldn't even foresee that, despite being a Prophet?" Tam asked. "Maybe they're right, maybe joining with them will be more favourable to me. After all, I don't even know who your sponsor is."

Keefe stayed silent, looking forward with a distant, confused expression.

"I'll see you again at the Throne, Prophet," Tam said, then turned on his heel and left.

What was that? What were they talking about? True body? Recruiting? A Moonlark? Prophet? Throne? A talking head?

"I think we'll get going now too," Keefe said, and his group left in the opposite direction.

"Well, damn, that was really brutal," Marella said. "Your brother… is really intense. He just like… stomped on a head that was talking. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, I think," Linh replied, not saying anything about Tam. Ve had to admit, it was a little terrifying. "I mean, as okay as one can be in an apocalypse like this."

"It's f*cking awful, isn't it."

It wasn't a question, they both knew the answer.

"I've joked with my friends about committing arson before, but I never thought I'd ever actually set fire to people and harm them," Marella said. She looked up. "I don't even know if they're alive or not. Or my family. I wonder if my mom's doing alright, but maybe not, I don't think she would've been able to handle something like this in her condition."

"I hope your family is okay," Linh told her, because that was all ve could offer at the moment. 

Ve could only think of ver own friends, some that had been working at the aquarium at the same time as ver—oh, god, ve had killed them too, hadn't ve?

"What about yours?" Marella asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen them in a long time," Linh replied. I don't know if I've ever seen them, or if all my memories of them are lost like the rest of my childhood memories.

"Oh," Marella said.

There was silence for a while, even as they went together to hunt more food for the station, and did patrols to make sure that the area was safe. Yet unlike with Tam, the silence wasn't as stifling. 

Maybe it was because the two of them were merely strangers, they had no expectations of each other. They knew nothing about each other, no memories to judge each other based off of. Two strangers who didn't have to worry about showing their best side, because the apocalypse was already bringing out the worst in them both.

They were both murderers, they both knew it, but there didn't need to be any tension over it. Linh felt like that if ve wanted to talk, Marella would listen, because in the end, they were both human, and wanted company and comfort in this ruined world. 

•~•~•~•~•~•

There weren't really any dangers, so Linh found verself talking with Marella some more.

"So how'd you meet the others?" Linh asked.

"I was on my own at a different station. I was helping out a group when they ganged up on me and tried to kill me. I managed to escape but the toxic air left me unable to move. That's when Keefe found me and saved my life."

"Oh, that's good," ve said, "what happened to the group after? I can't really see you letting something like that slide."

He nodded. "I killed them. They were hoarding food and doing things similar to what that group was doing here. I can't let people hurt others knowing that I have the power to stop them. It's probably why I'm the Enforcer of Justice. What's your attribute?"

One Of Many Floods. Something so horrible, pathetic. "Ah, nothing as grand as yours," ve laughed.

Enforcer of Justice, that sounds like something you could only get if the people you harm are those who deserve it. You're more innocent and heroic than you think. How would you cast your judgement if you knew what I had done?

As Linh got to know Marella better, ve learned that while he was someone quick to resort to violence, it didn't mean he was a ruthless murderer. He only did so because he cared for those that suffered, and wanted to enforce justice. He was quite nice, actually.

"You're strong," Linh complimented. "Do you have experience fighting?"

"I took some classes, but nothing major. If anything, I find it cool with what you do with your water whip."

Ve smiled. "It's not easy. It requires a lot of control." Because without control, ve could draw too much water and make a mess out of everything.

"You know who makes fighting look easy? Your brother. Remember when he was fighting that Apostle group that attacked our station? Did you two ever take sword fighting lessons or something?"

Ve shook ver head. "No. It surprised me, looking at him. Maybe he bought a skill or something, he probably has the coins to do it."

"Maybe. Still have to wonder what's up with him though, he just goes along doing whatever he wants and hardly ever speaks."

It was true. It wasn't like Tam needed ver permission to do anything, but he was tight-lipped about whatever he was going to do. He just offered a short explanation and then left before anyone had the chance to complain. Though…

"I find that Keefe can be a little similar. He comes off as someone light-hearted, he's certainly more energetic than Tam, but he seems to be similar."

Marella shrugged. "You're not wrong. But apparently, Fitz and Biana knew him from before the scenarios, so I trust him. And well, I trust you, so I'll trust Tam too."

"Thank you. Now if only my sponsor could do the same."

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that the actions of your brother have been concerning!]

"A protective sponsor, huh?" Marella mused. "Mine likes me, I think, but he's less protective."

[The constellation, Creator Of The Eternal Flame says that his incarnation should grow with his own strength and treating her like a baby will do nothing!]

•~•~•~•~•~•

When Linh opened ver eyes after going to sleep for the night, ve was surprised to see that instead of being in the subway station, ve was back at the aquarium. The aquarium that wasn't destroyed.

Was that… was everything just a dream?

Ve wiped the tiredness from ver eyes, trying to remember where exactly ve was. It took a few moments to realize that ve had been slumped against a desk, and the time showed that it ver shift started in a few minutes There weren't any attribute windows when ve tried checking.

Ve continued on with ver job, and then made ver way to greet the people that ve was going to give a tour to.

Upon looking at one of the teachers' faces, ve nearly screamed.

This can't be.

The face ve was looking at was the face of a teacher that ve had drowned. Looking around at the kids, ve could recognize the child who ve picked up because of their screaming. But… how?

"Welcome everyone!" ve said cheerfully, plastering on a wide smile. "I'm Linh Song, and I will be your guide for today!"

Ve went through the tour pretending that these weren't the people who ve had killed. Was this reality? Or was this the dream?

It certainly didn't feel like a dream right now, ve found that ve was usually good at recognizing dreams. Ve sometimes played around with them, but this wasn't a dream that ve could influence.

The day went on normally, until there was a familiar flash of light that ve knew to associate with the dokkaebi. When loading ver attribute window, ve could now see ver info again. Ve was still a hydrokinetic, ve still had the power to talk to animals.

As if to emphasize that fact, ve could feel the pull of the water. Nothing had changed, but this time, Linh knew what ve needed to do.

As the dokkaebi began its monologue, ve tried focusing. If ve could resist the pull—

["Hey! You! Linh Song!"] the dokkaebi said, ["Are you ignoring me?" ]

Ve startled, and whatever brief moment of serenity ve felt was broken. "We owe the Star Stream a debt, right? That's why you're here."

If ve had to be honest, ve was still confused over this whole debt thing. There were no panels that showed a "debt owed" or anything like that. Ve had no idea how much ve owed? Plus, there was the fact that that coins were constantly being used to upgrade stats. How was one supposed to save up coins?

["Good. You've been listening. Anyways…"]

Ve breathed in. Then breathed out. In again. Out again. Over and over, ve did this, and it felt like it was going to work out better this time.

I will not let anyone die.

"Mx. Song," one of the teachers said, tapping ver shoulder. "You should take this."

Ve looked at their hand and saw that they were tightly gripping one of the clownfish.

Right. The requirements for the first scenario were to kill a living creature. Ve couldn't just stand around, otherwise ve would die. Slowly, ve took the fish from their hand, focusing on not letting it slip from ver grasp. The contact made all the sensations worse. There was water in ver hand, the fish's feelings seemed to be amplified.

I will not I will not I will not—

"Mx. Linh, the fish."

I am stronger I am stronger I am stronger—

Ve squashed the fish in ver hand. The children and the teachers all did the same, and each death felt like a kick to the ribs.

Stay in control stay in control stay in control—

Glass cracked.

No no no nonono—

Protectthemprotectthemprotectthem—

"No, please," Linh begged.

Everything shattered.

"No!" ve screamed, trying to calm down the roar of the water, but there was just too much.

"No!" ve shut ver eyes.

Ve sat up with a jolt, ver heart pounding in ver chest. As ver eyes focused, ve realized that ve wasn't in the aquarium, but in the subway station.

"Hey," someone whispered, and Marella kneeled in front of ver. "You okay? You were screaming."

Her voice—usually shrill—was soft and soothed ver heartache a little bit.

"Sorry," ve murmured, "it was a nightmare."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Linh shook ver head. Ve didn't want to talk about that memory. If ve told her, then she would judge ver.

"Would a hug work?"

"I think it would help," ve said, and Marella hugged ver.

She was warm, and god , Linh really missed this, missed being able to hold someone. Usually ve got the chance to hug Tam, but after their reunion where he had stiffened, ve barely even had the chance to do as much as hold his hand. Without thinking, ve squeezed a little harder, hoping that this moment could last forever.

Eventually ve had to pull away.

"Did that help?" Marella asked, voice still so soft, her fingers moving down to brush against ver own.

The touch was feather-light, yet ve could feel it with ver entire being. "Yeah," ve whispered. "Thank you."

Ver heart was pounding in ver chest, this time for an entirely different reason.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Keefe and his group eventually came back with enough flags, and one of the first things Keefe did was ask to talk with Marella.

When she was done talking with him, Linh found that she looked tense.

"Marella, what's wrong?" Linh asked.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths is warning you to be careful of incarnation Marella Redek!]

Ve ignored ver sponsor and put a hand on Marella's shoulder in what ve hoped to be a comforting gesture. Instead, she stiffened.

It's just like with Tam…

"Sorry," Marella said, "I need to talk to you. Come with me."

To her surprise, Marella took ver hand and led the way. That little bit of contact eased ver anxiety.

"Okay, what is it?" ve asked.

Marella leaned really close. Ve resisted the urge to take a step back.

"I can't let the constellations hear," she whispered. "At the end of the fourth scenario, I need to threaten you."

"What?" ve asked, loudly. Then ve realized ver volume. "Wait- why? And why tell me?"

"Because I don't want you to feel betrayed," she said, somehow managing to be even quieter.

"Why do you need to threaten me?" ve asked.

Marella closed her eyes for a long moment. "I can't say. Linh, do you trust me?"

"Yes," ve said in a heartbeat, "I trust you."

•~•~•~•~•~•

As the fourth scenario progressed, ve became more curious about what was going to happen at the end of that scenario.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that incarnations Marella Redek and Keefe Sencen are hiding something from you!]

"You insist that everyone I am friends with is hiding something from me," Linh said, "I think I'm capable of judging a person."

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that they speak of filtered information related to you behind your back, as does incarnation Tam Song. ]

Ve had no idea what "filtered information" was, but that didn't matter to ver.

"Lady Of The Darkest Depths."

.

.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths just wants you to be safe.]

Linh stared at the message, confused. Ve knew that ver sponsor was a little unusual. There were various different incarnations who committed acts of evil, but they only had the power to because there were constellations who supported them. In the station that ve was at, ve had learned that so many incarnations were weak because their sponsors had no intention of actually helping them.

"Why are you so protective over me?" Linh asked, looking up. It almost felt like ve could feel her gaze.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths says that you remind her of herself.]

"Did you… did you ever harm so many people?"

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths nods solemnly.]

"Oh," ve murmured. So that was it, she saw Linh and saw a struggling person, unlike so many constellations who saw their incarnation as a tool for them to use. "I do appreciate your concern, but I trust Marella."

There was no response, and ve figured that she got the message.

•~•~•~•~•~•

The end of the fourth scenario was a confrontation between the Kings to fight for the Throne. Both Tam and Keefe were Kings, along with some other incarnations that Linh didn't recognize. The Kings dealt with each other, and then only Tam and Keefe were left.

Marella squeezed ver hand. "Any moment now," he muttered.

Linh nodded.

"Marella! Now!" Keefe yelled.

"Hey! Tam!" Marella called out, grabbing Linh with one hand, and putting the other to ver neck. The hand at ver neck grew flames. "Give up the fight and I'll spare Linh!"

For the first time since the apocalypse had started, Linh saw Tam hesitate in a fight. He always fought so effortlessly, but this time, he froze. Ve could see the look of betrayal on his face.

"You…" Tam growled, and Keefe grabbed his flag in his moment of hesitation.

[Incarnation, Tam Song has been disqualified.]

Linh thought that it would be over, but instead of stopping, Tam took his sword and swung it at Keefe. "Keefe Sencen, I swear, I'll kill you. Why did I let you live?"

"Hey! If you hurt me, Linh'll be hurt. Do you want that?" 

Linh wanted to assure Tam that ve was okay, but Marella whispered it was better to stay quiet.

"If you wanted Tam to surrender, couldn't you have just had me ask him?" Linh whispered. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but he would listen to me."

"Keefe brought that point up," Marella replied. "But he needed a guaranteed way, and there would be too many questions."

"Still…"

"I know. It's a sh*tty move, isn't it? I told him that."

"Keefe should have trusted him to listen. After all, I trusted you."

"Set ver free," Tam ordered, his face twisted into a fierce scowl, and it was probably the worst expression that ve had ever seen on him. 

He slowly backed away, his arms raised up, showing that he truly was surrendering. Marella let Linh free. Linh went to go talk to Tam, but before ve could tell him that ve was fine, Keefe broke the Throne and the dokkaebi teleported them with a flash of light.

When ve opened ver eyes, ve froze.

This is just a dream this is just a dream this is just a dream—

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths is angry at the dokkaebi!]

This… this was real. Linh was really standing inside the aquarium. It wasn't like ver dream—which was just a memory. This felt more realistic, and now ve was facing the aftermath of ver destruction now that all the water was gone.

Shards of glass were everywhere , and he couldn't tell if ve was disgusted or relieved to know that ve couldn't see any signs of former life. Whatever blood there could have been must have been washed away. But where to?

"I'm sorry," ve whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Slowly, ve looked around, belatedly realizing that there could be people around. If any of ver friends had heard ver, they'd have questions and ve wouldn't be able to give them any. So just in case they were nearby, ve wiped ver tears and stood up straight.

Linh wanted to leave, but if ve wanted to find anyone, it was better to stay put.

•~•~•~•~•~•

It turned out that ver friends were nowhere nearby, and it was Tam who had found ver first. Tam was the only one to know ver from before the scenarios, the only one to know that ve worked at the aquarium. 

"Linh…" he said, and ve flinched, mentally preparing verself to hear questions about what had happened to the aquarium.

"Let's go," he said.

Ve stared at him, confused. Was he not going to say anything? 

He took ver hand and then they were moving.

"How'd you find me?" Linh asked, confused by everything.

"I was sent to my workplace. I think we were sent to places that were significant to us," he explained. "I thought I'd come find you here. We're going to meet up with the others, I've already run into Sophie and Keefe."

"Okay," ve said, grateful that he wasn't saying anything.

He still walked up ahead of ver, and didn't look at ver at all while he spoke, but he was holding ver hand this time, he was saying nothing about the circumstances, and that was what mattered to ver the most.

•~•~•~•~•~•

They all met back up for the next scenario—to fight a being known as the Disaster Of Floods. Keefe stressed that the Disaster was incredibly strong, and that they needed to prepare.

"I'm going to find myself a new weapon," Tam told Linh.

Linh nodded. "Be safe."

While Tam was gone, Keefe took charge and had them train their skills. Linh didn't like that the Disaster Of Floods would be fighting nearby a lake, but that was something that ve was going to have to deal with.

"Hey, you look sick," Marella said, putting a hand on ver forehead.

Linh instinctively closed ver eyes and leaned into his touch, then opened ver eyes in a panic when ve realized what ve had just done.

And oh. Marella's face was really close to vers. And even though he probably smelled (ve was growing numb when it came to smell) and there was dirt on his face, Linh felt the urge to kiss him.

"You don't uh- have a fever, that's good," he said, retracting his hand and moving his face back. "Is everything all right?"

"The water's a bit much," ve found verself admitting. "But it's okay."

"We can relax, the fight's tomorrow," Marella said. "We've worked hard."

"Okay," ve conceded. Resting was also important.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Everyone!" Keefe called out urgently, "We need to leave now . The Disaster is going to awaken."

"Where's Tam?" Linh asked. "We're going to need him."

Keefe didn't reply, and muttered something under his breath.

"Keefe?"

"Bangs Boy'll meet us there," he said, annoyance in his tone.

They all followed Keefe, and when they arrived, the Disaster descended. Tam was already there—no, he was staring down the Disaster. The Disaster of Floods who was… who was—

"It can't be," Linh gasped, and ver knees buckled. Ve would have fallen if it weren't for Marella's steady hands holding ver up.

It couldn't be. It couldn't be possible . But the Disaster Of Floods stood with tan skin and long black hair, framing dark brown eyes and a gentle smile that Linh was all too familiar with. How could ve not, when the Disaster Of Floods was verself? The only thing that made the Disaster different were that ve was slightly older, and there were silver tips added to the ends of the Disaster's hair.

Still… how was this possible? How could ve be a Disaster?

"Oh, brother," the Disaster greeted, and ve even sounded just like Linh, if not a little more ancient. "It's been such a long time. I'm finally able to meet you again!"

"It's my third regression, and I have a favour to ask of you," Tam said calmly.

There was no fear, no concern in his tone. How? How was he not afraid to look at the Disaster Of Floods who was his own sister and speak to ver as if he weren't surprised?

The Disaster frowned. "Your third- not second? What happened last time?"

"The Prophet had betrayed me. Please Linh, is there any more information you can give me?"

"What the f*ck are they talking about?" Marella whispered.

"I don't know," Linh said, "I don't know what's happening I swear I didn't know about this—"

"I believe you, don't worry."

Linh took a breath of relief and looked back at the Disaster who smiled sweetly, but Linh recognized that as the smile ve wore when ve was angry.

"You can let go of me, I'll be fine," Linh murmured. Marella squeezed ver hand once, then let go.

"Is that what you want from me?" The Disaster asked, "Is that all I am to you? Well, I can't say I'm surprised, considering what you did."

"I don't… I don't understand…" Linh said, and ve approached the Disaster. Ve needed to understand what this other Linh Song was referring to. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't even tell ver anything this time?" The Disaster asked, directing a dark look towards Tam. "You're going to leave ver in the dark?"

"Leave me in the dark about what ?" ve asked, then turned to ver brother. "Tam, I don't believe anything that the Disaster says, don't worry. I trust you."

If it came down to trusting ver brother and trusting a Disaster , ve knew which side to believe in.

The Disaster's smile faded, ver face twisting into an expression akin to a snarl. Ve looked so pained.

"Do you know what happened?" ve screamed. "You see Dex, he was a companion of mine! He was one of my best friends! Do you know what Tam said about him when he died? He said that the future scenarios would be difficult without him. That's it! He didn't grieve or anything! And I still trusted him, even when we were the only two left! He sent me out of the worldline so I could gather information so I can give it to his previous regressions. And I did that, so I could see him again. But look where we are now.

"Tell me, brother. You asked me to fulfill a task that had taken a thousand years, and you still ask for more? I'm tired of what you've done to me and my companions! I won't let you use me anymore!" Ve lifted ver arms in the air, water swirling.

What happened next was a blur. Water launched at them. Keefe jumped in front of them and took the hit. Marella yelled. Keefe with a hole in his abdomen, bleeding out as Tam kneeled over him. Keefe dying.

Tam stood up and unsheathed his sword, brutally fighting the Disaster. Linh could only watch the two as they moved in black and blue blurs.

"Are you mad?" The Disaster asked, frantic. "Are you actually upset at that guy's death? Who even are they? I've never seen them in my life!"

Tam glared at ver. "His name is Keefe Sencen, and he is my companion."

Ver face contorted with rage. "Companion? You call him a companion? Who is he that you call him a companion when the very people who loved you for years were worth nothing to you?"

The Disaster shot another ball of water to Tam, and even though Linh was still so confused, ve knew that ve couldn't let anyone else die. Keefe's body was right there, and ve didn't even have the time to grieve. All ve could do was stop that ball of water from hurting anyone else. Any fear of controlling the water was temporarily dispelled as ve launched it right back at the Disaster.

"I still don't know what you're talking about," Linh began. Ve sorted through the words that the Disaster had said. Ve seemed to be angry at Tam, there had to have been something that would happen that could bring Linh Song to the point that ve would turn against ver own brother. "But I think that in the future, my brother hurt you. And maybe he'll hurt me in the future too. But I love and trust him, and I trust that whatever he's kept hidden from me was hidden for a reason that wasn't malicious. So I will not let you hurt him and the ones I love."

Ve found ver words ringing true. There were many questions that ve had about Tam, but in the end, ve trusted him. Almost instinctively, ve drew water from the lake nearby, mirroring the Disaster.

The Disaster looked at ver with distaste. "Do you think that you can kill me? I'm stronger than you. And you're still afraid. You're afraid that you'll lose control again, just like how you lost control in the aquarium and drowned hundreds of people during the first scenario."

The words were like knives and they pinned ver in place. The water that ve held shook. Linh closed ver eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "I did do that."

All eyes turned to ver, shock on ver friends' faces. This wasn't… this wasn't how ve wanted to tell them. Ve didn't want to tell them anything if ve had a choice in it.

"I did lose control, and I killed so many people," Linh continued, "and you're right, I am still afraid. I'm terrified that I'll hurt them." That kind of fear would likely never go away. "But I also know that I would never be able to live with the guilt if I never even tried in the first place."

[The attribute of character Linh Song is blossoming.]

[The attribute of Linh Song has blossomed to One Who Controls The Floods (Hero). ]

Linh launched the ball of water towards the Disaster, but it was deflected easily. The Disaster attacked back, again and again, waves of water coming in to flood and drown. But again and again, Linh stopped the water, because ve would not allow anything to happen to those ve loved. 

For as long as Linh lived, ve would protect everyone to ver best ability.

With the Disaster's attacks being reduced, the others were given a chance to move on the offensive. Slowly, slowly, the Disaster was weakened, and was knocked down.

Tam stood above the Disaster Of Floods and looked down at ver with a complicated expression.

"You don't have to do anything for me anymore. You can rest," he said, then  brought his sword down. Ve closed ver eyes and looked away, because no matter how much this other version of ver wanted to hurt people, it was still Linh, it was still hard to look at. 

Tam turned to Linh. "I'll tell you more about what ve said later."

Ve nodded. "All I want is for you to trust me as I do you."

Ve felt relieved. Ve would finally get some answers. But first, before that, they had to deal with Keefe's body. Tam lifted him delicately, and his wounds started disappearing.

"What…" Tam murmured.

Keefe opened his eyes. "So, companion, huh?" 

Linh gasped, ver other friends looked at him with shock. They had all… they had all just witnessed him die.

"So that was his plan," Marella muttered from beside ver. 

"What?" Linh asked. "A plan?"

"I don't know," Marella replied.

"Linh, let's go," Tam said, for once, offering his hand.

Linh took it with a smile.

[The constellation, Lady Of The Darkest Depths is proud of you.]

Linh looked up wordlessly, hoping that ver sponsor knew how ve felt. Thank you.

Once Tam found a good place to sit, ve finally decided to ask him for answers.

"What was the Disaster talking about, and how did you know ver?"

"I am a Regressor," Tam said.

⸢"It's my third regression."

"You're going to leave ver in the dark?"⸥ 

"What's a regression?" ve asked.

"They're…" Tam took a breath, "they're lifetimes. Every time I die, I regress back to the beginning of the apocalypse."

⸢"It's my third regression."⸥ 

"So this… this is your third lifetime?" ve asked, trying to make sense of everything. "What about before the apocalypse?"

"I've only lived that time once. I only relive the apocalypse."

"Why?" Linh asked.

"I don't know," Tam admitted. "All I know is that my sponsor gave me this stigma, and I can't remember why I have it."

"You can't remember?"

"I don't know who my sponsor is, their name is marked as '???' but because of them, I'm now a Regressor."

Linh tried taking all of this in. There was so much going on. "If you've lived a lifetime already, that means you've done these scenarios before."

He nodded. "In my previous regression, I made it to the 46th scenario. I was betrayed by a companion."

"That means that this entire time, you knew."

Did that mean you've known about how I flooded an aquarium this entire time? Will I flood the aquarium in every lifetime?

"Yeah, I knew," Tam said nonchalantly, as if it didn't mean much to him.

He knew . He knew what pain ve had gone through, knew what trauma he received, knew that ve grieved silently and he didn't say anything?

"You could have prevented it," ve said, trying not to be frantic. The flooding could have been prevented, and he did nothing .

"I've already tried." His tone was too monotone for something like this.

"How many times, once? Maybe twice? That's not enough. Even if not for my sake, did the lives of hundreds of people not mean anything to you?" Then ve remembered a previous conversation with Marella. "Tam, what happened to the people in your subway car during the first scenario?"

He looked away, and that was all the answer that ve needed. "You don't understand—"

"Then make me understand!" Linh cut him off, grabbing the collar of his jacket. "Tam, you've got to f*cking talk to me!"

His eyes widened, and surely he knew that ve was being serious if ve was resorting to swearing. Was this how the Disaster Of Floods felt when speaking to Tam? Was there that righteous sort of anger and frustration that was only amplified by the apathy received?

"Just because I've been through so many scenarios doesn't make them easy," Tam said. "I've killed hundreds, thousands of people so I can live. Because I have to live, I'm the Regressor, I'm the only one with the power to save the world, and if I keep having to hold myself back to save every little person, then I'll fail.

"Do you think it's easy, having to think of all the lives I've taken? Those people would have died regardless, but at least now they're dying for a purpose. Linh, I've been living in the apocalypse for decades, I can't escape. I can't escape having to kill and watch people die. Watch people I love die. I've already watched you die twice in my arms, Linh, do you think that's easy to watch?"

Linh forced verself to stay seated and not say anything as Tam finally spoke up. The rage ve felt didn't fade, if anything, it grew stronger. Some of it directed at Tam, but most of it, at the world—at the sponsor who'd made him a Regressor.

"That's why you never hugged me when we found each other, why you've kept your distance."

"It's easier to pretend that I don't care than to lose the ones I love. But it’s not easy.”

Linh stared at him; his dark, haunted eyes, the clench of his jaw, his shoulders that held the weight of the world.

"You could have told me," ve said, finally.

"I know," he whispered, "I know you'll support me no matter what."

"Then what about the Disaster Of Floods?"

This time, he pursed his lips. He really felt bad about this one.

"I don't know everything, it happens in my 41st regression."

"Your 41st? But… this is your third…"

"The future affects the past—"

"You've gone through the scenarios forty one times?" 

Forty one times of living and dying and saving and killing. Of hurting and being hurt. Of being brought back to the point where there’s still life, only to watch the world be destroyed all over again. Of being companions with people, making precious memories of them, only to meet them in the next life and remember that they have no memory of who you are. Forty one lifetimes of that?

"I don't know," he said, "that seems to be the case."

"Does that mean this lifetime is a failure?"

"No, not as long as I can allow it." There was determination in his eyes. "This regression is different. Things have changed." 

"Okay," Linh said. "About the Disaster… did you refuse to show ver any love?"

What Tam did in this regression unsettled ver, but ve knew he still cared because he still showed it. But to another Linh, traumatized by ver grief, only to have a completely apathetic brother, someone who didn't care about those ve loved… 

Ve liked to think that no matter what, ve could never turn evil, but ve could see why the Disaster had done what ve had done.

"I'm sorry, Tam," ve whispered, then leaned forward to give him a hug.

He stiffened—unsurprising, knowing what ve knew now, but still painful—but he quickly reciprocated the action. He held ver tightly as if he could no longer bear the thought of losing ver again.

"You have me," ve murmured, "you have me with you."

"What if I lose you again?" he asked, somehow managing to squeeze even tighter.

"I can't promise that nothing will happen to me," ve said, and it was so painful to say this. 

In the apocalypse, ve knew that the threat of death always loomed over ver, but knowing that Tam had witnessed it—twice—was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking that ve couldn't even assure him. Couldn’t promise him that he wouldn’t see ver die forty one times, maybe even more.

(Did the Linh of the past regression make that promise to him? Did ve have to pick ver words carefully, afraid to make a promise that would eventually be broken?)

"I'm sorry I can't promise that. But I promise to do as much as I can to be careful."

Ve wanted to live, if not for verself, then for the people ve loved. Live for Tam, who would further break with ver absence. Live for the others too, who have helped ver through the scenarios.

"Thank you, Linh," Tam said, pulling away. He stared at ver, stared at ver as if he was taking in ver appearance all over again. Up close, ve could see the shaking in his eyes that slowly hardened.

"Things won't be the same between us, will they?" Linh asked.

He shook his head. "I don't think they ever can."

"Okay, I understand," ve said, more for him than verself. He needed the assurance, and ve knew it because ve would have needed it had ve was in his position.

(Linh wondered how Tam had managed to survive two lifetimes of this hell. Ve knew that just one—one lifetime, one moment—was enough to shatter ver entirely.)

Ve looked up to the stars and cursed the one who forced ver brother to so much suffering.

If Tam never makes it past the Star Stream's apocalypse, if he dies and regresses again and again, will he live through the scenarios forever?

The thought came out of nowhere, and Linh found verself so terrified at the thought that ve didn't dare to ask, afraid of the answer that ve would inevitably receive.

•~•~•~•~•~•

KOTLC Taglist: @keefeinnit , @my-swan-song , @impostertamsong, @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? Just let me know!

[ofmagiick]

pinned post and docs tba, but for now here's the html of the rules on my theme until i can get other admin stuff done:

laws

I.

SELECTIVITY / FOLLOWING - this is a selective blog for my sake, but honestly, if i can see us writing, i will follow back. i am mutuals only, though, and will have anxiety about sending you things if we aren’t, even if you’re cool. i'm iffy on doubles, just because i myself am very self-conscious. it’s a personal thing, chances are i thing your writing is fucking dope.

II.

CROSSOVERS / OC MUSES - two words: fuck. yeah. star wars lends itself to crossovers hella well, we can figure this shit out in a hot second. plus, the galaxy is so vast and diverse, i want to explore more of this universe, as much as i can. as for ocs, y’all brave as fuck, and i love them. just have a rules/about page, and then we’re golden

III.

RP ETIQUETTE - you know, don’t god mod, don’t randomly kill my muse (not saying you can’t, hell, please do, just im me first), don’t reblog threads you’re not a part of, don’t relog my hc posts. and have fun.

IV.

FORMATTING / ICONS - match me, don’t, dance the macarena before posting, i don’t give a fuck. i format how i want, when i want. my icons use citrus, by apocalypseresources

V.

WRITING - kind of a slow writer, and easily distracted. poke me over ims after about two weeks, if i haven’t replied before then. not super here for rape/torture, but i have an odd like for eldritch and body horror...

VI.

GRAPHICS - all graphics on my blog are made by me/for me. give credit where credit is due. be nice. making shit is a lot harder than just throwing an image into photoshop and clicking buttons. people work hard on shit, and i will come for your knees if you don’t credit people, creators, artists, etc… i have baseball bats.

VII.

SHIPPING - fuck yeah fuck yeah fuck yeah !! you come to me with a ship, and by the time i’ve finished processing the words, i’m already hella emotionally invested. crackships are my shit, so please don’t be scared. honestly, i’ll ship pretty much anything. probably even some sketchy shit by other’s standards. if that’s a problem, hasta la vista, and sorry i don’t cut it for you.

VIII.

NSFW - i and my muse are 18+, my nsfw tag is literally ‘a girl’s got needs,’ let’s fuckin’ do this. i’ll write it, but not with minors. other, general nsfw topics might come up, due to the nature of AUs and canon events. i do try and tag as cw // or cw ment //, so please feel free to tell me things you need tagged.

IX.

PLOTTING - do it. done. if i don’t write down whatever idea i have quick enough, it will get yeeted from my head like a brick out the window fuckin adhd, so (with express permission from you) i’ll message at bizarre hours, probably. on the flip side, this is your express permission: i, lily, mun of ofmagiick, give you, [name], mun of [blog], permission to send me ims/ask with plot proposals. it’s signed and sealed as soon as you read this. no take-backsies. you gotta, now. :3c

X.

MEMES - headcanon/ask my muse questions/etc, open to all. interaction-oriented, mutuals only. no reblog karma, but if you aren’t sending me something, reblog from the source, please

XI.

ACTIVITY - it can be spotty. i’m a full-time student, adhd mess. hit me up in ims with reminders or ping me on disco/in a server, its all cool.

XII.

MAINS / EXCLUSIVES - i'm okay with mains, you'll be my go-to version of a character, and the one i'm thinking of if mine mentions yours to someone else, but that's gonna be discussed beforehand. exclusives will have to be heavily, HEAVILY discussed, and likely will be way down the line if ever.

XIII.

CALLOUTS - bitch, no. get that shit away from me. won’t post ‘em, won’t reblog ‘em. call me out if you want, i’ll screenshot it, print it out, and put it up on my wall to laugh at, and remember people are still wasting brainpower to be mad at me. if you have an issue with me, hit me up in ims/off anon, and we can talk like adults.

???

ABOUT THE MUN - what up it’s ya nerd lily with newest brainrot, this time sci-fi. pronouns are she/her or “hey you ditz”, i am legal to drink in the us and far beyond legal adult there, and i id as a goddamned fucking mess mutuals feel free to hmu for discord if you want it

[booasaur]

Instagram stories - 2020-02-12 - theofficialpandora made me do it