#but this is the basic gist of how monsters work

[tales-from-the-aether-ttrpg]

Tales from the Aether: Monster Design

Part 1 - pre play testing

So I've got a bit of energy and inspiration from a previous post so I'll give a quick run down of how monsters work in this system.

Monsters in this system have a total of 10 Levels and are broken into 5 Ranks within each Level: Minion, Grunt, Boss, Spawn, and Swarm. Level 1 creatures are balanced around a party of level 1-3 adventurers. Level 2 creatures are balanced around level 3-6 adventurers, so on and so forth. However, I will go in depth on different kinds of encounter design based on the party's composition and give GM's the tools to tweak a monster's Level or Rank as needed.

All Monsters of each Rank, regardless of Level, share similar surface level characteristics, allowing them to be scaled to player levels easily. A Level 10 Minion servers the same purpose in an encounter as a Level 1 Minion. How to create your own monsters is clearly laid out with templates and damage ranges, stat ranges, and health ranges compared to various party levels.

Additionally, a significant focus is put on every monster's gimmick and motivations. Every monster has a unique ability or special circumstances where they thrive such as favoring dark environments to gain additional Defense and Ambush capabilities. Every creature also has a number of points distributed between the following motivations: protection, hunger, greed, survival, and blood lust. This will help guide the GM in determining how the monsters act in and out of combat and is easily adjustable for every monster.

Lastly, every monster has damage vulnerabilities and weak spots the players can exploit during combat. This encourages the players to seek out information about their potential enemies as well as giving monsters more diversity in how they are defeated.

Below the cut I'll go into a bit more detail on what all this means ;P

This is a peak at some design elements of my TTRGP Tales from the Aether. This is not dnd. If you think some of these ideas are interesting, check out my Masterpost linked here and follow for more updates :D

Creature Ranks

Minions are death fodder and go down in one hit. Their purpose is to distract the players, chip their health down, and waste their resources. Minions are incredibly simple with one attack a turn and have two actions at most. In small numbers Minions are a nuance but they can become a problem in groups or when paired with a Grunt or Boss.

Grunts can go toe to toe with individual party members and have a healthy choice of actions and abilities but aren’t too complicated. They have a max of 5 abilities and can occasionally use magic. They often come in equal numbers to the party and are often minor antagonists, potential allies, or mini bosses in fights leading up to the main Boss.

Bosses can tank whole parties by themselves as solo encounters or work with lower Ranked monsters in a Commander capacity. Alternatively, a Boss itself might not be very strong but plays a support roll that increases the difficulty of every Grunt or Minion they command. In some cases, defeating the Boss may cause all other enemies to scatter, potentially ending the encounter. Bosses have a plethora of abilities to choose from with significant health and occasionally magic. These are usually the final confrontation in dungeon crawls, the main antagonists for story arcs, or particularly rare and deadly random encounters.

Spawns are nests, portals, or other things that bring new waves of enemies into the battlefield. They must be destroyed to stop the onslaught of enemies but will often be highly protected and can even be alive to defend itself. Any encounter with a Spawn usually has the main objective of the encounter being to destroy it. Like Bosses, destroying a Spawn may cause all other enemies to abandon the fight - or fight even harder if the Spawn was a type of nest.

Swarms are a collection of tiny or smaller creatures that are essentially harmless on their own, but can be deadly in groups. A Swarm acts as a single creature and disperses if enough of the swarm is killed. Because it is a mass of small creatures working together, striking the swarm with weapons or targeted abilities can be incredibly difficult. Fighting multiple swarms may lead to defeated swarms joining together instead of dispersing to create new swarms or even combining to create Mega Swarms aka Boss level swarms. Regular swarms are generally on par with Grunts or Minions.

Motivations:

Protection: The creature is holding its ground and trying to scare you off. It makes a big display of aggression to try and convince you to leave. It will die to protect whatever it is defending but will let you leave if you don’t get too close or are not a threat. 

Hunger: The creature needs to kill you to eat and depending on how desperate it is, it may be willing to die in the attempt. The creature will try to remain hidden to ambush its prey in hopes of ending the fight as quickly as possible. No show or warning here, this creature means business and isn’t about to let a meal escape.

Greed: The creature wants something from you be it wealth, magic items, or your life to satisfy a contract. This creature could potentially be bought off but if you aren’t willing to give them what they want or are incapable, they have no problem with killing you. If it becomes more trouble than it is worth, the creature will try to escape the moment they realize they are going to lose.

Survival: The creature is driven by pure desperation to survive. If you are able to convince it you are no threat to its survival, it may stop attacking and it will try to escape if it thinks it will die. 

Blood Lust: The creature wants to kill you and there is nothing you can do about it. This could be out of enjoyment of the hunt or a mindless need to destroy. There is no parlaying with these creatures. They may flee if they realize they can’t win but they will return and finish what they started, perhaps with friends.

Weak Spots

All creatures have Weak Points, areas of their body that could cripple the creature or fatally wound it. These spots are usually very well protected and may not be obvious to the naked eye. All Weak Points are unique and require a specific damage type to exploit. Let's explore the three Weak Points all Humanoids share.

Throat. Slashing damage. The Strike’s damage is doubled. The target takes 4d4 points of Bleed damage (1 heart) for 5 rounds and cannot speak.

Head. Bludgeoning damage. The Strike’s damage is doubled. The target is Stunned for 1 Minute. At the start of its turn, the creature can attempt a Willpower Reflex check against the DC 15 to remove the Stunned Condition. On a success, it remains Disoriented for the rest of the minute.

Chest. Piercing damage. The Strike’s damage is doubled. The target takes 2d4 points of Bleed damage (0.5 heart) for 1 minute.

In order to successfully attack a creature’s Weak Spots, you must make a Called Shot. A Called Shot is when you declare a specific part of the target you want to hit before you roll to Strike. All Called Shots take a -5 Penalty to the Attack Roll but certain creature’s Weak Spots may be protected and can increase this Penalty, as seen in the Weak Spot’s description.

You may take a Called Shot to target a specific part of a creature that is not a Weak Spot in an attempt to disable it in some way. This could mean attempting to damage a creature’s wings to reduce its fly speed or chop a creature’s arm off so it can’t wield a weapon, etc. Declare your intention before making your roll and the GM will determine the Damage Threshold you must reach in order for the effect to take place. 

The Damage Threshold is how much punishment a creature must take to a specific part of its body in order for that part of its body to become disabled. Only half of the damage dealt during a Called Shot in this manner counts towards the Target’s total Health. 

Monster Health

Monsters count health differently than Player Characters. Instead of a number, monsters have Hearts. One heart equals 10 points of damage. All damage a monster takes is rounded to multiples of 5 and when a creature takes damage, there is no math that needs to be done. The GM simply fills in a heart on the monster's character sheet. I explain explicitly how to round damage when I talk about this in the monster section.

During the first play test we did, this was such an incredible weight off my shoulders it was incredible lololol No maths required i just fill in bubble XD (ok minor maths to round the number but rounding to multiples of 5 is way easier than subtraction in my opinion)

If you read this far thank you <3 I'm always open to feedback and things will definitely be tweaked as we continue play testing. If you are interested in exploring the system then stick around, send me a message or comment as I'm probably gonna start asking for volunteers to help beta test the Character Creator and Combat soon ;)

[voidofthevoidmv]

TAKING SHIFTS- A classic Stanley Pines adopts the shapeshifter AU-> Little info dump

Basic gist of it is that post portal accident, Stanley is trying his damndest to get his brother back by fixing the portal- Which logically requires that Stanley get all the journals so that he actually has a full blueprint to look at.

However, in his search for any of the journals, he discovers some kind of top secret tree bunker- Classic Ford antics. He investigates the bunker, only to find some kind of kid monster, who is under the impression that Stan is his own brother and tries to kill him. The only thing that convinces the creature that Stan is NOT Ford, is the fact that Stan has a mullet and his brother does not. Would you be surprised to discover that the mullet would play a deeper role in things than at first glance? Not me, but I think it’s very funny anyways.

The monster kid is revealed to be some kind of alien shapeshifter thing, and upon realizing that Stanley is some kind of Ford doppleganger, the shapeshifter suddenly becomes the most clingy kid ever, following Stan around throughout the bunker like a lost duckling. Stanley tries to be chill about it, but the memories of being attacked are still pretty fresh in his brain.

After a bit the two will leave the bunker, yadda yadda yadda dialogue, and Stanley will be concerned to find that this kid hasn’t had the best upbringing in the world so far- If the limited English and big eyed staring at the sky was anything to go by. While Stan has half a mind to leave this monster kid to the wild, he apparently has these weird issues with abandonment. Something about seeing himself in the little monster kid. So he takes him back to the shack, helping the shapeshifter pick a name that isn’t a weird number. They eventually land on Simon, which is a play on Simon Says, because of course any name idea Stanley has it just HAS to be a pun.

And of course, taking in this shapeshifter will trigger changes to the timeline that will affect how things will go from here on out. A lot of wholesome, father kid bonding and found family stuff.

Other unmentioned information and idea snippets:

-The journals are found much sooner than in canon, which means Ford is brought back sooner than in canon. Journal 2 is found first, due to the fact that Stanley has Simon (Shifty) enrolled in elementary school, which just so happens to be were one of the journals are hidden. Simon finds it and recognizes it- And Stan is so proud. Meanwhile, later on journal 3 is found by Soos in a situation similar to canon, but like- Soosified.

-Stanley is constantly wracked with guilt as time goes on, because he will hear about of make a realization about the poor treatment of Simon by Ford and his assistant in the past- All while Stanley is still actively working to bring him back. Simon doesn’t know that it’s FORD that Stan is trying to bring back, which will only result in some betrayal later on when Ford inevitably returns.

-Simon, Tate, and Soos act almost as siblings, due to circumstances that bring them together at different points in time. Tate is Simon’s best friend, a friendship which had blossomed when Emma-May showed up to the Pines cabin door, demanding that she see her ex husband and that she has some WORDS to say to the homewrecking scientist who ruined everything. Stanley had never been more confused about anything- But while Stanley is trying his best to save the situation, Tate and Simon hit it off quickly despite the broken language barrier. Meanwhile, Soos come in later when both Simon and Stan are a bit older. Stan and Soos’s relationship is similar to how it played out in canon, but Simon gets really jealous. May or may not try to kill Soos because of it- But it’s ok cuz once Soos’s natural charm infects Simon, the big brother little brother dynamic is born.

-Simon practically idolizes Stan, and makes it a point to have his human form reflect that. He has a mullet, and it reminds him that Stan is Stan- Even after Stan cuts the mullet off so he could be a bit more business appropriate. Simon also has little freckles cuz he saw the little baby Boyish Dan and just immediately was like- Oh I want those too-

-The shapeshifter will also have his own little book of “forms” he could take. He has photos and information of various creatures, things, and people- I want you to envision how this book looks and is treated like a Pokémon card collection binder. The shapeshifter may get into photography. By the time the little twins Dipper and Mable show up, it’s not the journals that they find- But Simon’s shifting scrapbook. Which is how they find themselves getting involved in the spooky stuff in the first place.

-Because of Simon and Fords earlier arrival, the younger Pines twins adventures in Gravity Falls are a tad bit tweaked. Simon is a very powerful shapeshifter who is plenty protective of his little niblings- The Mcguckets are somewhat healthy with the whole divorced situation, and Bill is not an issue alongside Gideon… Everything else is free game though. Pretty silly.

- The way that Fiddleford is introduced to the duo is that at some point, Stan gets his memories of Simon wiped causing severe emotional distress- And it’s lowkey kinda heartbreaking. (The blind eye sees Simon shifting in front of Stan and assumes the worst.) Once Stan gets his memories back, it’s the beginning of a warpath. (And also the end of Fiddlefords crazy cultist arc- Which is good for Tate who really likes hanging around his bestie.)

-Hijinks WILL ensue, especially after Ford comes back. Probably some other tidbits I’m missing, but that’s a problem for another day- If this interest you folks anyways- Lemmy know if this is interesting or anything and feel free to ask questions. I haven’t thought so much as to how Bill gets defeated earlier and everything- But if anyone has any cool ideas I’d be open to it. Unsure if I’ll ever get to writing this one 😂

[kalinara]

I always feel like this is an underrated moment between both of these characters.

Scott's awkward as fuck, and generally tends to avoid a lot of physical contact himself. He was isolated in the past, and now he's in a time period where everyone basically treats him like the baby version of a monster. "Don't touch me!" is a common refrain.

But he sees someone who seems to need physical comfort and impulsively, and awkwardly goes for it.

And I'm not a Laura Kinney expert, so please feel free to correct me, folks who know better. But the gist I've gotten of Laura's story at this time is that she's (also) relatively isolated from most of her age group. And aside from maybe the guy she was in a romantic relationship with for a while, I don't get the sense that she's been offered much by way of physical comfort from someone her own age before. And it probably helps that he immediately backs off when she says "No."

(The faces of the peanut gallery make me laugh so hard.)

And then, of course, there's that equally sweet moment later, when she ends up returning the favor:

I'm actually pretty glad these two never ended up dating during his time in the future. I think they're maybe a little too alike, with a bit too much by way of similar trauma and backstory to really make it work.

But they do make such wonderful friends, and I love how much they seem to understand each other.

They don't really have the same camaraderie that Scott and Kamala got once Scott aged back up again, which is a bit of a shame. But they did have a few good moments when they were both on the X-Men together in Krakoa.

It's just a lovely little friendship and I love it very much.

(Panels from All New X-Men #20 and Guardians of the Galaxy #12)

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

I’m a little nervous talking about this, but I’ve had these thoughts for a while and want to get them down somewhere, so here we are!

There’s a common discussion within TMA of the Idea of human vs monster, and where the line between that is drawn, and this discussion especially applies to the avatar’s and their feeding habits, their desires to hurt others — their hunger. But, I think, that mentality can often lead to the real question being ignored, and that’s the question or choice.

It’s a common theme within TMA, and is prominent within the Becoming of avatars, and what they do after.

A good way of understanding Jon’s feeding in s4 isn’t through the lens of how human is he, rather it’s through the lens of how similar he and Melanie are. He and Melanie act as foils to each other during s4, their actions and choices emphasising their opposing paths.

The gist of it is both wanted to hurt people. It felt good. Both admit to this fact.

And the reason they chose it, is because they’re hurting. Melanie admits to this outright. She’s been angry so long, with little else for her, lashing out and desperate to survive, and suddenly, she has this thing etched into her bones, telling her that this anger is righteous, that hurting herself and hurting others is good. Both are aware that this isn’t good, of course, but it’s so hard to let go of that little, reassuring voice, because doing so means confronting yourself, and your struggles.

I speak as someone with C-PTSD, but this is a very realistic depiction of how it feels, at least to me personally. When you’ve been so powerless for a long period of time, and suddenly, something or someone tells that it’s okay to lash out, to hurt, it’s easy to fall into the destructive cycle, because hurting other people, taking away their power, it gives you a sense of control back, a sense of power.

It isn’t right, of course it isn’t, but it just feels so good.

This is again shown by Melanie and Jon’s separate paths.

Melanie ends up choosing to recover after the bullet is removed, when she could have just as easily found a new, self-destructive path to go down, and it’s not just because the bullet was removed. Taking away her agency here takes away from her arc. She chooses to accept help and she really does work on bettering herself. She doesn’t want to hurt people anymore. Jon doesn’t do that. He feels he can’t. He’s had his power taken from him more times than he can count, been at the mercy of people and monsters, and finally, finally he has power again. He’s put in the position of the tormentor and it feels good. He finds satisfaction in it. And, as with Melanie, there’s a little voice in the back of his head telling him this is right, no matter how guilty he feels afterwards.

He makes excuses to himself, tries to rationalise his own actions as a way of coping, finding a reason to do it again because it’s all he has. It’s a comfort. Is there a supernatural element present? Absolutely! The relationship between Entity and Avatar is one that can just as much parasitic as it is symbiotic, but I think more of Jon’s character is lost by dismissing his darker choices. If anything, the darker choices emphasise his compassionate choices, and vice versa.

Jon can be a victim and still hurt other people; that’s an important thing to acknowledge. Avatars are not just their fears, there is far more to their hunger than that, and they are who they are because of their choices and wants.

Basically, Jon and Melanie are wonderfully written characters and I really love the themes of choice in TMA, can you tell?

[httpwintersoldier]

『 do it for me, doll. || bucky barnes x reader 』

pairing: pornstar!Bucky x f!reader words: medium summary: when life gets hard after the Avenger's disbandment Bucky has to find a new occupation, and you find it too.

『 part 2 』 『 part 3 』

With the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D basically gone, the income of the remaining members was up to them entirely, and sadly, given Bucky's reputation and very recognizable appearance, many employers were reluctant or even scared to hire the man.

He had found some jobs, however he'd quickly get fired after complaints or after customers stopped showing up out of fear.

It was a tough life for Bucky, learning to live in this completely new world, while also being painted as a monster despite all of the heroic acts he had done over the years... It made living life almomst impossiblle.

However, he didn't understand. Peter had taught him how to use social media years prior, since he was tired of having people ask for his "@" and then laugh in his face when he didn't know what it was, and according to the people on said social medias, he was "a total DILF", "a 10/10" and "adorable". Bucky did have to ask for clarification on some terms, but after a while he got the gist of it, and appreciated the compliments. But why was it that he was so loved online yet so hated in real life?

The struggle in job searching ceased when someone bravely suggested that he should do porn. At first he was shocked, thinking it was rude for "BuckyInMe_69" to even suggest such a disrespectful thing, but then he began considering it.

Money and compliments in exchange for undressing? What was the worst that could happen? Harassment and constant disrespect? Bucky already got plenty of that on a daily basis without getting his cock out.

After considering it for several days, and trying to find any other job that would take him, the soldier said fuck it, and began researching about his new job. Where to go, where to start, what to do...

Bucky soon found out that he was an absolute natural. It was awkward at first, as he himself was quite an awkward person at times, but his naturally flirtatious personality and eagerness to be adored worked in his favour.

The only downside was the conversation he had with his co-worker-turned-friend Sam when the news reached his side.

"Bucky why are people sending me pictures of penises saying it's yours? Tell me this isn't your dick on my screen."

The soldier just laughed and told him it was payback for all of the Red Wing taunting.

He loved the money, but most of all he loved the compliments and appreciation. It was a nice contrast from all of the insults and judgement he got, and he felt like he could open up more and be himself on camera.

On the other end, you stared at a "Sign-Up!" screen on your computer, wondering if you were desperate for sexual gratification to the point of joining porn live streams. And the answer, as you soon found out, was yes. Yes you were.

After making the account your teeth played with your bottom lip as you searched through the plethora of options, when a certain someone caught your atention.

Was that... a metal arm? Were they cosplaying as Bucky Barnes? That would've been messed up... But as you brought the screen closer and squinted your eyes to look at the man on the thumbnail you realized it was actually THE Bucky Barnes. On a porn site. Livestreaming.

You clicked on his livestream (just out of curiousity, of course) and were instantly met with a view you could've only dreamed of.

Bucky was on a chair leaning back, his torso fully on display, tanned and shining, and his thighs just barely showing, covered with a pair of tight shorts that left little to the imagination.

He smiled and greeted everyone with the cutest voice, and for a second you forgot he was once a prominent assassin.

As luck would have it, he had just started streaming and there were very few people there, so, without thinking, you went ahead and booked a private session, before someone else "stole" him away and robbed you of the view.

Fuck. Shit. Fuck, dammit. It was only when Bucky raised his eyebrows and spoke that you realized what you had done.

"Wow, a session so soon, I didn't expect it! To the lovely fan that bought the session, I'll meet you in my private room, to the rest of you, I'll see you soon!"

With a click from his side, the screen turned into the thumbnail picture, with a white text on top that said "Private Session Time! I'll be back soon".

You stared at it for a while before realizing that he was waiting for you and you should probably join the session.

You took a deep breath (or several deep breaths) before joining your 20-minute session. You pressed the big golden button and the screen that once was locked, turned into an image of Bucky. The camera angle was lower, so now you could fully see his body from the head to the knees, and the shorts he wore were long gone, now replaced by a pair of tight grey boxers that perfectly showed the outline of his hard-on.

"Hey doll, how are ya?" He greeted, when he noticed the company had finally joined.

"Good, how are you?" You typed nervously.

You watched as his eyes moved to read the chat. Your thumb was in your mouth and you nervously bit your fingernail, anticipating the response.

"I'm doin' good princess. We got a shy one in our hands, do we? Are you gonna let me see you?" He questioned, his hand finding his crotch area.

You looked around, wondering if you should do it, and you just figured fuck it.

You placed the pc in front of you, a little farther away, so the camara would catch everything below your neck. You then knelt in front of the pc and turned it on.

You were shaking as you did so, but the way Bucky spoke, in such a gentle, soft yet sensual manner instantly put you at ease.

"You look gorgeous, doll."

Bucky stared at your hardened nipples, that were protruding in the very short nightgown you wore.

"Thank you."

The Soldier smirked, he could sense your nervousness from the quietness in your voice.

"Lean back for me doll, and spread your legs, I wanna see how wet you are."

You obeyed him, slowly stripping from your panties, and leaned against the headboard. You spread your legs, giving him full sight of your pussy.

When you looked at the screen he had rid himself of his underwear too, holding his hard shaft with his mechanical arm. The view was so hot and erotic you swore you could cum just at the view.

"You're so fuckin' pretty doll, can you touch yourself for me?"

Your hand sneaked down your body until your fingers found your clit and began slwoly rubbing circles.

"That's a good girl, I wanna hear how pretty you sound."

His pretty blue eyes were half shut, filled with lust as he began pumping his cock.

"You look... really good." You said, shyly.

That got a smile out of him and he brushed his hair back with his free hand.

"Yeah baby? You like to see me jerk off to you?"

"Yes... Yes, I love it." You admitted, your hand speeding up subconsciously.

"Why don't you finger yourself for me doll?"

You slowly inserted two fingers in, stealing a loud moan out of you.

Bucky's hand sped up at the sight and at the sound.

"Shit if you sound this good now, I can only imagine how you'd sound if I was inside you, fucking you until that pretty head of yours could only think of my cock."

Your head hit the backboard the second you heard those words, and your hand sped up.

"I wanna hear you too, please Bucky." You begged, and his cock twitched at the way you called his name

Grunts and whimpers instantly left his mouth, and his chest began heaving.

"You're doing so good... so good doll."

You added some speed to your hand and added another one, that circled your clit.

Bucky couldn't cum, since he still had a livestream to get back to after your session, but the sounds your fingers made fucking your own pussy made it hard for him not to say fuck it and cum for you.

"That's it princess, you sound so good right now, I wish I could fuck you until you couldn't move your legs anymore."

"Oh my- fuck! Bucky I'm gonna cum."

He smirked, as he could now slightly see your face, bottom lip trapped between your teeth and eyebrows furrowed with pleasure.

"That's it princess, cum for me. I wanna see you cum."

His words were like a command, and so you came in front of him, with a cry for his name, your legs shaking from the thrill of the experience.

The timer on Bucky's side signaling the session was over had rang about five minutes prior to your climax, but he was obsessed with you, and wanted to make you cum more than he wanted to go back to the live.

He hung out for a second, still stroking his cock, allowing you to catch your breath, before speaking up again.

"Alright doll, our time's up and I gotta get back, but I hope to see you here again." Bucky said, a playful smile on his lips, and an enchanting look in his eyes.

You covered yourself, suddenly feeling very exposed, causing the man to laugh inwardly.

"You might. You might..."

"I'm hoping I do princess."

Those were the last words you heard before he disconnected and went back to the live. You sat there, cathcing your breath still, and thinking about the past twety-something minutes.

How was it that the best sexual encounter you'd ever had was with a man that wasn't even in the room with you!?

A/N: if this pops off and people are interested I can make a part two!

[returntosunder]

Oh boy- I've finnaly convinced myself to send my AU for the ramblings. Idk if I'd call it an au like the others, which is why I've been hesitant to send it but oh well, I adore it to bits and love any opportunity to talk about it so here I go.

It's called Monarchverse. And it's an alternate multiverse rather then just an AU. The story is a fic I'm working on, and it centers around this multiverses Ink.

Since I'm actively publishing the story, I won't give away ALL the secrets. But the main gist is that Ink, doesn't have the chance to destroy his soul. He manages to leave the dying sketches of his world before he's even grown into a toddler. Eventually, when hes seven in monster years, he's found by Nightmare. Nightmares intrigued by this strange little child that somehow psychically called out to him across worlds for "help". He doesn't know *how* but he's intrigued as to what this kid can do.

There's other reasons he takes the ink too, but for summaries sake. Basically he takes Ink to the others and Horror, Killer, Dust, and Cross now gotta deal with a very traumatized baby that Nightmare brought back.

Killer:....you want a beer?

Cross: you can't give that to him!? He's like- Four!!

Killer: WELL IDK WHAT DO WE DO WITH HIM!?!?

Horror: *silently picks up Ink while the others bicker and puts him to bed*

It's basically an exploration of Nightmare and his gang raising Ink. How that'd affect his personality along with having a soul. (Perfectly normal soul over here dw) exploring how the multiverse had functioned from its creation without Ink and the consequences. And then a bunch of other fun additional things. Like new characters, personal headcanons, and of course. Drama. So much. Everyomes gonna go through it, and when i say everyone i mean EVERYONE. I..am obsessed with this au you have no idea how badly I'm holding myself back from.dumping the entire story on my tumblr every day XD. I gotta write it all out first~

Or maybe it's just an excuse for me to write Ink driving these guys crazy? Both. Yeah it's both. Nightmare has glitter banned in the castle for a REASON. And for once that reason isn't Killer.

...Kay he's half the reason.

Edgy gloomy villian adopts rainbow hyper kid who wants to paint on his perfectly clean and dark walls. There's not enough color and goddammit Ink is gonna give this castle some.

Anyways. Here's some doodles of Ink as a bb and a wip of ink older when the main sorta big story and plot starts.

Inks magic is mainly pink bc...I said so. I love pink :3 also ignore the signature. Those are an old name.

Sorry if this sounds kinda self advertising-ey. I just rlly love chances to talk about and share this au.

ITS NOT SELF ADVERTISING AT ALL! ITS SO CUTE OMG (And even if it is, I dont mind it ^^)

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I LOVE WHEN VILLAINS OR BAD GUY GROUPS ADOPTED A KID, IM SUCH A SUCKER FOR THAT IN STORIES AND FICS OML

Also, I LOVE THAT VIDEO! Killer would totally offer beer lol, and thank god Horror took Ink away and put him to bed, very cute ^^

Nightmare banning glitter made me laugh omg

Omg i love Ink with the pink eyes! it looks so cool! (Lol thats so valid. Pink is such a pretty color ^^), and your doodles are so good! I really love the one with Nightmare and Ink looking threatening

I would love to read this! It's so cute, and i would love to see the chaos that would happen in the castle. And im very curious about how Ink being raised by Nightmare would affect the multiverse

[scarlett-ink]

Hi :)

i couldn't help but notice your dca dredge au and as someone who is very much a fan of the game (and is working on their own dredge dca fic) i'm incredibly curious and would love to hear more about your au. please and thank you ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)♡

Hi! Aaaaah another dredge fan! I'm always happy to rant about an au, especially Dredge holy shit I am in so deep with this game (no pun intended). Thank you for asking! (Giant dredge rant incoming lmao)

But basically what I have for this au so far is just a lot of ideas, some one shots I've written for myself, and the only art I have (added it below) is just a rough rushed sketch for a little animatic I made a while back for an art trend that was going around a while ago.

Spoilers for Dredge and it's DLCs below the cut for anyone reading and wants to play blind, you have been warned! (Seriously play this game blind its fucking amazing!)

The main gist I have is that yn is essentially in the shoes of the fisherman we play as in Dredge, showing up for a fishing job all while having mysterious gaps in their memory and a lack of understanding as to why these people they're meeting for the first time seem to recognize and know them! They meet the collector and follow the games plot (including the big reveal of the collector being the player, so in this case being yn) Rather than yn having lost a partner like the player though I've shifted things to be the person they lost, and their Collector half is trying to get back regardless of cost, is actually Eclipse himself who happens to be an eldritch entity that would be a very bad idea to release on the world, so the ending of the game in this au is essentially the choice of 'bring back your eldritch companion or accept that you aren't gonna see them again and do what you can to fix the shit going on with the world! So yn has to deal with the two versions of her in her head, the one that wants Eclipse back and the one that understands the catastrophic consequences of what doing that entails for the rest of the world.

Sun and Moon in this au are mers who have their own territory and love poking around yn's boat (and trying to keep them from getting themselves killed by the plethora of monsters and dangers roaming the sea with them!) Sun's territories are the Stellar Basin and Gale Cliffs in the south and Moon's are the Twisted Strand and the Devil's Spine in the north. I have a few different ideas floating around for the two of them, the main of which is that both are literally just smaller manifestations of Eclipse and together can form him so normally they make a point not to be too close together or not to touch when they are (or maybe just under certain conditions when Eclipse is close to being freed that's when they stay apart most to try to keep that from happening) I have some images in my mind of designs for Sun and Moon but nothing really fleshed out and actually drawn though each has certain characteristics tying to their respective territories, like Moon's red eyes resembling the eyes of the fire fish and the Unseeing Mother have in the Devil's Spine while also having slit pupils at times like the crocodiles do in the Twisted Strand. Meanwhile Sun has fluorescent spots on him like the fish and creature in the center of the Stellar Basin but can also change colors to blend into the more dull colors of the Gale Cliffs (or at least dull colors in comparison to how vibrant the Stellar Basin is lmao). I also imagine Sun and Moon have certain comfort spots they like to nestle into depending on the territory they're in when they're not busy trying to get all of yn's attention, Sun specifically usually enjoys resting behind the waterfall in the Gale Cliffs where you catch the oarfish while Moon enjoys lying hidden in the roots of the mangrove trees in the Twisted Strand near where you catch the goliath tigerfish.

While Sun and Moon are more playfully antagonistic towards yn Eclipse is a lot more intimidating for obvious reasons! He can't directly communicate a lot with yn the way Sun and Moon can since he has to be summoned to their world while Sun and Moon just get to exist in it but I imagine he is still very adamant in interacting when he can, usually through dreams that yn can't even always discern between being real things or just something random their brain made up in their sleep! Eclipse just wants out and could care less about what that means for the rest of the world so he is very keen on yn giving in to the Collector and gathering the things needed to bring him to yn's world. While all three of the boys care for yn, Eclipse has a bit more extreme of an obsession and desire to keep them around and struggles to grasp why yn won't just bring him back since he's promised to keep them safe when the world goes to shit. I also imagine him having direct ties to certain fish aberrations end up since I do have some scenes either rough draft written out or just in my head which could be its own whole long post in itself but the main idea is that some fish aberrations just happened to occur the way they did while others Eclipse specifically altered the way they look for a reason (with this being most relevant for the legendary fish aberrations which, like I mentioned, can be an entire long post on its own lmao). In terms of how Eclipse and yn met and what got him so interested in them in the first place has a couple options floating around my mind still, the main one being while Eclipse was spying on the world yn inhabits he notices that they actually seem intrigued and curious over the fish aberrations rather than repulsed like humans typically are and he gets so curious over the odd reaction he starts keeping more of an eye on them to the point he develops an obsession and starts trying to reach out in the ways he can, and then one way or another after they've actually started talking we get to the events of the game where the book is dragged up only for yn to lose their memories and now be faced with the choice of throw the book back or bring Eclipse to their world.

I also have ideas about how the dlc plays into things, with none of the boys really being happy about the Iron Rig showing up and ruining things for them (on top of endangering their yn!) and for the Pale Reach I have a lot more ideas that drift farther from the actual lore of the dlc, though that dlc's main story is still involved and is the same. But basically the Pale Reach story in this dlc on top of the actual dlc's story follows yn trying to see if there's a way for either Eclipse or if not then a smaller more restrained version of him to visit without ending the whole world as they know it since they are trying to meet him again just not at the cost of reality itself breaking!

But yeah that's a lot of the overview stuff I have for this au, Dredge has been a very strong brain rot for me (clearly by the length of this post lmao) but I love talking about it, so feel free to ask more about it if you have anymore specific questions about it or just want to know more in general! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Thanks for asking about the au I love ranting about this, and I'd love to check out your dredge dca fic! (Sorry this took over a week to get through time has really gotten away from me recently lol)

[zedleaked]

[APPARENTLY PEOPLE HERE WANTED TO KNOW THE HUMAN AXIS LORE SO IM JUST GOING TO COPY MY TWITTER POST HERE…] BASIC GIST IS THAT THIS IS JUST A GENERAL HUMAN AU. MONSTERS AND HUMANS SWAPPED. WOWIE!

ANYWAYS READ MORE FOR AXIS

AXIS ORIGIN IS STILL A BIT FUZZY. HERE HE'S LIKE CHUJIN'S ADOPTED SON [GENDER NEUTRAL],, CATGIRLTRICKSTER ON TWITTER SUGGESTED CHUJIN JUST FINDING YOUNG AXIS IN A PIPE OR SOMETHING AND I THINK THATS REALLY FUNNY... THOUGH HIS ORIGINS WOULD BE VAGUE. IF ASKED HE'D SAY HE DOESN'T REMEMBER.

ALSO NOTE BEFORE I FORGET. AXIS WAS JUST BORN WITH ONE LEG. THERE IS NO LORE REASON TO WHY ITS MISSING, IT IS JUST THE WAY HE IS. CHUJIN MAKES HIM A ROBOTIC LEG SO HE CAN HAVE AN EASIER TIME.

SURE I COULD GIVE A FUCKED REASON AS TO WHY HE DOESNT HAVE IT BUT I DONT FEEL LIKE IT.

AXIS WOULD BE AN APPRENTICE UNDER CHUJIN SIMILAR TO MARTLET [I NEEDA DRAW MARTLET EVENTUALLY] PLUS IN GAME THERE'S FLAVOR TEXT ABOUT HIM FLIPPING THROUGH THE ROYAL GUARD HANDBOOK IN HIS MIND. HONESTLY. MARTLET AND AXIS BEING FRIENDS THROUGH SHARING THE SAME INTEREST IS SILLY...

HE'D WANT TO TRAIN HIMSELF TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD OR AT LEAST A PROTECTOR TO PAYBACK CHUJIN FOR TAKING HIM IN. HE'S GOING TO PROTECT HIS FATHER AND HUMANKIND. IT'S HIS BIGGEST GOAL IN LIFE.

STEAMWORKS STILL EXISTS. ITS JUST CHUJIN HADNT BUILT THE AXIS MODELS IN THIS AU BECAUSE. YOU KNOW.

MAYBE HE SAW POTENTIAL IN HUMAN AXIS, SEEING HOW DETERMINED HE IS TO GROW STRONGER AND PROTECT PEOPLE. CHUJIN WOULD WANT HIM TO HONE HIS SKILLS TO BECOME SOMETHING... BIG.

IN A WAY. AXIS WAS A PEEK INTO WHAT HUMANS COULD BECOME AND WHAT THAT COULD DO FOR HUMAN SOCIETY UNDERGROUND.

MEANWHILE AXIS IS ENAMORED BY STEAMWORKS AND JUST CHUJIN'S WORK IN GENERAL. HE REALLY ADMIRES ROBOTS, HE THINKS ABOUT WHAT ITS LIKE IF HE HAD ROBOTIC MODIFICATIONS.

AND LESS LORE RELEVANT BUT HE ALSO HAS CONNECTIONS TO KANAKO TOO! THEY ARE THE SIBLINGS EVER. THOUGH IVE BEEN WONDERING HOW CEROBA NOT KNOWING AXIS IN STEAMWORKS WOULD WORK. IT'D BE KINDA WEIRD FOR CHUJIN TO KEEP A WHOLE ASS CHILD SECRET FROM HER.

THEYVE PROBABLY SEEN EACH OTHER AND NEVER HAD MUCH SIGNIFICANT

INTERACTIONS FOR THEM TO FULLY REMEMBER EACH OTHER. AXIS SPENDS A MAJORITY OF HIS TIME AT STEAMWORKS OR DOING ROYAL GUARD SHIT, AND WHEN HES NOT DOING THAT HES PROBABLY PLAYING WITH KANAKO [WHEN CEROBA ISNT AROUND]

AND WELL. WE HAD TO GET TO THIS PART EVENTUALLY. ONE DAY A MONSTER MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE UNDERGROUND AND STARTED KILLING PEOPLE. DALV [WHO I ALSO NEED TO DRAW] GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE FRAY WHILE PLAYING WITH KANAKO [AND AXIS TOO]. UPON SEEING HIS FRIENDS GET HURT. SOMETHING CLICKS.

AXIS HAD TRAINED UP TO THIS POINT. THIS WAS HIS MOMENT. HE HAD TO SAVE THE PEOPLE FROM THE THREAT IN FRONT OF THEM. INSTINCTS KICK IN AND HE GOES IN TO FIGHT THE MONSTER WHILE DALV TAKES KANAKO TO SAFETY.

THIS MONSTER WAS TOUGH. HE WAS ALMOST KILLED. BUT HE HAD TO PERSEVERE.

SOMETHING JUST ACTIVATED IN HIS SOUL.

HE FELT A SURGE OF POWER. THE ONLY THING HE KNEW IN THAT MOMENT WAS TO.

GET. RID. OF. THE. THREAT.

IN FRONT OF HIM WAS JUST. A HEADLESS BODY THAT SLOWLY FADED INTO DUST.

THAT... HE DIDNT MEAN TO GO THAT FAR.

SIMILAR TO CLOVER IN GENOCIDE, AXIS HAD RAPIDLY LEVELED UP AND SHOT A POWERFUL ATTACK AT THE MONSTER IN RESPONSE TO ALMOST DYING. HE NEEDED TO KEEP GOING NO MATTER WHAT.

STILL. THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS LAID HEAVY ON HIM.

HE HAD KILLED A LIVING, BREATHING THING.

SOON AFTER CHUJIN WALKED IN ON THE SCENE COMPLETELY HORRIFIED. AXIS, ASHAMED OF WHAT HE HAD DONE RAN TOWARD STEAMWORKS TO ISOLATE HIMSELF, SIMILAR TO DALV.

SURE, HE HAD SAVED PEOPLE FROM THAT MONSTER BUT DID HE HAVE TO BE SO GRUESOME?

CHUJIN RAN AFTER HIM, TRYING TO GET HIM BACK

CHUJIN FINDS HIM AT STEAMWORKS, WALLOWING IN JUST. EVERY EMOTION.

HE TRIES TO COMFORT HIM THOUGH AXIS IS STILL INSISTENT ON NOT GOING OUT.

THE TWO REACHED THE COMPROMISE THAT: AXIS WOULD GUARD AND PROTECT STEAMWORKS AND THAT CHUJIN WOULD CHECK UP ON HIM EVERY NOW AND THEN.

SO THATS WHAT HE DID. HE STAYED AT STEAMWORKS, WATCHING OVER THE PLACE AND ITS ROBOTS FOR….. AGES.

EVENTUALLY CHUJIN'S CHECK UPS GET MORE SPARSE UNTIL JUST. NOTHING.

AXIS NOTICES TOO THAT LESS AND LESS SCIENTISTS ARE PRESENT AT STEAMWORKS. UNTIL THERE IS NO ONE THERE.

WHEN ASKED IF HE WAS GOING TO LEAVE

TOO HE SAID

"NO. MY FATHER AND I HAD REACHED THE AGREEMENT THAT I WOULD STAY AND PATROL THIS AREA, AND THAT I WILL DO." THERE WAS NO CONVINCING HIM TO LEAVE. SO THE OTHERS RELUCTANTLY LEFT HIM BE.

DAY BY DAY HE WATCHES STEAMWORKS FLOOD AND DECAY. WHILE HE STAYS THERE TRYING TO KEEP UP THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN HIS FATHER AND HIMSELF.

NO ONE HAD TOLD HIM.

ONE DAY THOUGH HE FINDS THAT STEAMWORKS SUDDENLY ACTIVATES RIGHT BEFORE SEEING A MONSTER ONCE AGAIN.

OH HE REMEMBERS THE PAST WELL. IN THIS AU IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO GET HIS MEMORY ERASED.

WHILE THE EVENTS PLAY OUT MOSTLY THE SAME COMPARED TO NORMAL UTY.

AXIS SEEMS MORE HESITANT THAN USUAL. AND PROBABLY MONOLOGUING A LITTLE SIMILAR TO WHAT DALV DOES

BEING A HUMAN. HE POSES LESS OF A THREAT ON HIS OWN. HOWEVER. MY GUY SETS UP HOME ALONE TYPE TRAPS N SHIT TO TRY AND CATCH CLOVER INSTEAD [PART OF HIS ROYAL GUARD TRAINING!!.

ONLY RESORTING TO USING "ROBOTIC MODIFICATIONS" HE HAD FOUND WHEN CLOVER REALLY [ticks] HIM OFF.

AND YES. HE STILL GETS A ROBOT SPOUSE IF A PACIFIST PLAYTHROUGH HAPPENS. HUMAN AXIS IS OBJECTUM. ITS REAL.

SO YEAH THAT IS ALL THE THINGS I THINK.

HOLY SHIT THIS THREAD IS LONG. FEW PEOPLE WILL READ THIS I THINK BUT I STILL WANTED TO GET STUPID AU THOUGHTS OUT. UH. YEAH HOPE THAT IS GOOD OR SMTH.. FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS 🥺

[hueningsloverr]

౨ৎ 1,862 days !

pairing: yeonjun x reader summary: being able to love yeonjun, and the road that lead you to him word count: 1.3k extra: happy five years to our oldest member!! 4th gen it boy yeonjun!! apart of my anniversary series!

yeonjun was like a breath of fresh air, a saving grace. moving to korea at eighteen was rough, but running into the boy on the streets suddenly made it all worth it. you had bumped into him early in the spring - you were still bundled up in a jacket wandering aimlessly around seoul. instead of finding your friend at the coffee shop she had promised to wait for you in, you quite literally ran into yeonjun.

'excuse me, can you help me?' you pleaded through broken korean, and he laughed slightly, understanding the gist of what you were asking him.

needless to say, he gave you directions, even walked you to the shop and sat down with you after you realised your friend had set out on her own to find you. he even went a step above the rest and walked you back to your apartment after learning just how new to the area you were.

the rest was (basically) history. all it took was one day for him to ask you out, and those dates quickly turned into weekends tucked away from the rest of the world hiding out in your apartment. your roommate was rarely home - she worked odd hours and had her own girlfriend to visit.

before you knew it, five months by yeonjun's side became five years.

"all i'm saying," you began, your boyfriend humming mindlessly on the couch as he half watched tv, half played on his phone. "is we should go out for our anniversary."

yeonjun nodded absentmindedly, your words not truly sinking in. "yeah, yeah." he mumbled, eyes glued to his phone. kai had got him hooked on some two player game, and now the duo were both constantly on their phones, fighting monsters or something.

"it's too bad taehyun asked me out too." you giggled, leaning over the couch to watch his reaction.

nothing.

"i mean, is it bad i said yes? we don't technically have plans, so it's not a big deal."

he didn't even acknowledge your presence.

"but i felt bad, because i had to turn down wooyoung, and dino, and changbin - yeonjun could you at least blink to let me know you're not some zombie?" you groaned, moving around the sofa to sit next to him.

now it was his turn to laugh and he wrapped his arm around you, his phone discarded next to him. "i was listening," he teased, eyes glistening with mischief as he smiled, clearly proud of himself. "i just wanted to see how ridiculous you'd get."

you chose to ignore his statement, moving past the ordeal. it was sort of childish. "so, dinner? tomorrow night?" you posed, moving to sit on your knees. it was almost as if you were ready to beg. anniversaries meant a lot to you - especially as this one marked five years since moving to korea.

it was hard, leaving your life behind. but, you had to. and things had worked out. really well.

"i've got practice. why don't we go out tonight? today marks five years of us meeting." he offered, frowning when he noticed just how disappointed you were.

"yeah, sure." you smiled, pushing yourself up off the couch. "i was hoping you'd be able to get off work tomorrow, but i get it. i promise i do."

he nodded, sighing. "have you talked to your parents recently?" the question caught you off guard - no matter how good or bad of a relationship you had with your parents, calling them rarely crossed your mind. when was the last time you spoke to either of them?

"no," you huffed, though more out of annoyance with yourself than with him. if you were to call them, they would chew you out for ghosting them. but life was busy, and the time difference did not help. "they weren't the biggest fans of me moving out here, you know."

his eyebrows furrowed as his head tilted slightly to the side, "they weren't? but - when i met them a bit back, they seemed so happy for you."

you tried to suppress the growing grin on your face at the idea. "my parents were so far from happy for me, jjunie. they just didn't want to upset either of us."

he nodded slowly, letting the information seep in. "well, that's too bad. i hoped to talk to them. but i guess i could see how they probably weren't the biggest fans of their eighteen year old deciding to just move out and into a foreign city."

"why would you want to talk to my parents?" you snorted, the idea so completely absurd it didn't even seem real. "didn't you say something along the lines of, 'i'm sorry you're related.' when you met them?"

he shrugged, clearly unable to form the proper sentence. you took his silence as a cue to leave and get ready for dinner. by the time you were done he'd probably have made a reservation somewhere, or called some sort of favour in. perks of being famous.

and of course, by the time you emerged from your bedroom, grabbing a hold of your wallet from your dresser, yeonjun himself was already waiting for you by the door, holding your shoes in his hands.

"took you long enough." he smiled, though you could see the faint spread of pink across his cheeks. he was never good at hiding the fact that he was blushing. over the years he had learn't you were simply too good at spotting it, and accepted the fact that you thought it was cute.

"so where are we going out tonight, mr. choi?" you grinned, slipping your shoes on and interlocking your arm with his as you made your way out the front door. sometimes having a first floor apartment was a blessing.

"it's a surprise." was all he said, and you understood that his words truly meant surprise. as in, he was not going to be telling you. but still, you quickly recognised the change of scenery. something about it was familiar.

you were close to your first apartment - the one you lived in when you met yeonjun. you could see the park you spent many afternoons together in. and up in the distance you could faintly see the coffee shop you went to when you first met yeonjun.

and it all made sense.

"coffee for dinner? don't you have practice tomorrow?" you questioned, nudging his shoulder with your own.

he nodded, taking a moment to look at you.

it felt like his breath had been knocked straight out of him.

you were everything to him.

"you know what?" he smiled, pausing.

"hm?" you hummed, stopping just a few feet in front of him. "what is it?"

"i've been in love with you for five years." you felt your heart stop in your chest. "i've spent these last five years doing what i love, while getting to be with the person i love. you don't know how crazily lucky i feel just waking up next to you."

he began to lower himself to the ground.

now it was your turn to have the breath knocked out of you. "jjunie?"

"it would be a lie to say these past five years have been easy, but hey, i love you. so they've all been worth it." he was pulling something out of his pocket.

a ring.

he didn't even need to ask the question for you to begin to tear up (i would.), your answer already so clear to him. "you don't need to even say yes, just let me know i'll be able to love you for et-"

"yes." you smiled, rushing quickly to pull him into a hug. "i've been in love with you since i met you, jjunie. and i plan on loving you for the rest of my life. the past 1,862 days have meant the world to me."

"not like anyones counting or anything." he teased, placing a soft kiss on your forehead.

yeah, moving to korea at eighteen was worth it.

a/n: i've never??? written??? a marriage??? proposal???? ive never???? witnessed???? true love????

©2024 - all rights reserved to hueningsloverr, please do not plagiarise or translate any of my work

[breyito]

Fear your sins, not your monsters: Part Three: Paths Converging

Continuation of Day 1 and 2 of @painlandweek

Part 1 Part 2 Chapters: 3/5 Fandom: Dead Boy Detectives (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Relationships: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne & Charles Rowland, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne & Crystal Palace Characters: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Charles Rowland (DCU) Additional Tags: Protective Edwin Paine | Edwin PayneUnhinged Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Violence, Torture, Hurt Charles Rowland (DCU), Sickfic, love language: acts of service, painlandweek, BAMF Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Angst with a Happy Ending

Here on AO3

A/N: Hello! I'm so, so sorry about the delay! My ADHD has been kicking my ass for the last couple of weeks and istg i feel like i can't do anything. Anyways. I had to split this chapter in half, cause it was getting ridiculously long again, and I wasnt going to finish the rest of it today. (I have this new app on my phone that is voice-to-text and it changed my life! All the dialogues i keep forgetting bc of lack of energy to write i can just *dictate* and it feels so good lol. It also lenghtened this quite a bit, tho.) No moodboard for this one either, not yet. I'll try to make one tomorrow (or in a few hours, as it is, once again, 5am). No beta and English is not my native language, so any mistakes please point them out. I hope you enjoy this one! I'm very curious about what you'll think of this one ;P Oh, WARNING:This contains violence, threats of rape towards Charles and other children's souls, etc.

Part Three: Paths Converging

They headed back to the office. On the way, Crystal with her phone in her ear, Edwin had explained the general gist of things to her. Mainly that the other ghost hadn’t known the location of the lair of the witch, but had visited a few times. To allow him to travel there via mirror, she had given him a token attuned to him and his energy. They could use the token, but not to travel with it more than once; and definitely not to escape the place. (Not to mention that Crystal would have never let Edwin go on his own alone, without even the possibility of helping him. She was glad, still, that the ghost boy had not even suggested that.)

“So how can we use it?” she asked, looking right at him, as she plopped down on the couch. They were inside the office now and nosy taxi drivers couldn’t watch her suspiciously anymore. Also, she was exhausted and couldn’t bother with more acting for a couple of hours.

Edwin had gone straight to the massive pile of books on top of every single flat surface, including boxes full of files. He had looked at the books covering the desk for a full thirty seconds and then sent a wave of the black smoke at them, and they actually began moving on their own towards the floor. Crystal was…ignoring that for now, for the sake of her sanity. (How many things was she already ignoring?)

“I think I can combine a couple of rituals to create a sort of…tether, between Charles and myself.” he replied to her, as he removed his outer layers. “This would, basically, allow us to communicate with him and follow his energy to the place where the witch has absconded him.”

“Don’t tethers usually need something more physical to work?” she questioned, curious. At least that’s what the book she had been reading before their last case went wildly off course had said. Maybe the black smoke allowed him to tweak the limits?

“I have something more physical of his.” Edwin said, touching Charles’ necklace still around his neck. ”And for me, well, some blood or the ghost equivalent should work.”  His eyes showed his mind went far, far away for a couple of moments. She said nothing, remembering the sudden rush of cold, dark, wet she had felt the last time she touched it. Edwin eventually shook off the melancholy and straightened his posture.

“I will need to compile the different arrays and rites I need to build this ritual. It will take me at least a few hours, so I suggest you rest up.” 

“Are you sure I can’t help you…?” she asked, despite knowing he probably wouldn’t let her. Building rituals from scratch was a whole new area and she had exactly zero experience with that.

“Crystal.” He sighed, already spreading an alarming amount of books on the now clean desk. “I don’t mean to be rude, but unless you have a working knowledge of any of the Celtic languages, Aramaic, Latin or Fuþorc Runes I’ll ask you to keep out of it.”

“Okay, okay.” she rolled her eyes. Kicking her shoes off, she got comfortable on the couch and covered herself with the blanket.  “But wake me up if you need to leave, alright?” she mumbled, half asleep already. “I don’t wanna panic if you’re not there when I wake up…”

Several hours later, Edwin shook her awake. Still woozy from sleep, she understood he needed a specific kind of knife he didn’t have but knew where to get. And that he had to travel by mirror to the place. She mumbled her understanding to him, and he left. 

It was only when she was about to drop back into a deep sleep that her brain actually zoned in to the important part. She sat up on the couch so suddenly she felt dizzy.

“ Esther Finch’s fucking house!?” she yelled at the flat mirror, frustrated beyond belief. “Are you shitting me , Edwin!?” she cursed at the empty office. She creamed into the pillow a bit more, then got up. At least this should give her time to shower.

—-- —-- —--

—-- —-- —--

Edwin really doesn’t want to go back to Port Townsend. The place was bleak, damp and filled with memories of suffering. Whether it is mental, emotional or physical; he’d experienced more pain in that little town in a single month than in the rest of the world in the last fifteen years. 

But Charles was missing. Taken by another witch with a penchant for sick, twisted games and children’s pain. The ritual he came up with was novel and needed every single element to work. The dagger was fundamental. Edwin could not risk wasting more time looking for another knife with the same qualities when he already knew the location of one.

So he travelled to Port Townsend via mirror. He landed in Crystal’s old room above Jenny’s shop, and walked up to the house in a disguise. It was better than trying to travel directly inside Finch’s house, which surely had enchantments against ghosts using her mirrors that way.

As soon as his feet landed inside a ten metre radius, he could feel the repellent wards telling him to go away. This magic felt different than Finch’s. Probably the Cat King, then. Or maybe Tragic Mick? He ignored the compulsion, and kept walking up the path into the porch. 

He took off his glasses before reaching the stairs, and became his true self again. A loud caw immediately greeted him. He paused and looked back,  and saw Monty in his true form on a tree branch. The pause allowed the crow to land in the handrail of the porch, exuding an air of disapproval. Edwin sighed. 

“I need to get something from inside this house.” he said, focusing on one of the crows’ eyes. “I’m not going to-” he paused before he promised something he couldn’t keep. Because he couldn’t promise not to hurt someone with what he took from inside. “I’m going to get something from inside this house.” He said instead. “And you are not going to stop me.”

Monty lifted into the air, agitated, cowing. His wings produced so much wind that Edwin took a step back, but then straightened up and pulled his notebook and held it open with one hand.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Monty.” he stated. “But I will if you try to stop me.” His other hand opened and a bright orange flame erupted, tinged with wisps of black. An alarmed cry made Edwin feel like garbage, but he held the flame on his palm. In control, but ready to attack.

The crow flew off then, shrill caws on his way. Edwin took a deep breath and extinguished the fire, wiping his hand on his coat. He pocketed his notebook and climbed the stairs. Fortunately, he went in as easily as he had done for Becky.

By the time Edwin had found the dagger, and snatched a book that looked like it had been involved in the creation of the ghastly machine that so much pain it had caused him; it was already too late. He felt a pulse of energy from outside, and cursed under his breath. He could try to undo the spells on the mirrors of the house, but that would take too long. So he sighed and marched outside. 

“Edwin, Edwin, Edwin. You don't write, you don't call…” the Cat King said with a fake moue. Edwin looked up and saw Monty flying in circles above their heads. Little snitch , he thought, resentful.

“Cat King.” he said, nodding in respect, trying to walk around him. “I'm just leaving.” But diplomacy never worked on him. 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The other man clicked his tongue, stepping in Edwin’s path. The ghost boy stopped where he was, not willing to get closer.

“What do you think you are doing, entering the house of the Wicked Witch of the West?” The shapeshifter asked, sauntering around him. He was wearing heeled boots, and it added a little height difference that irked Edwin.  

“I already have what I came here looking for. Now, if you please, I'm in a hurry.” Edwin tried to give another step, but the Cat King walked closer again, forcing him to step back. He was not putting himself in reach again. Monty cowed, flying faster, agitated.

“No. I don't think I please.” he tilted his head. “Knowledge like Esther's is dangerous. And I just can't let you leave with something dangerous.” The trickster’s tone was still playful, and it was grating on Edwin’s nerves.

“Knowledge is just knowledge.” the detective said, exasperated. “And I'm not asking you for permission.” he countered, snappish, head held high. “You're wasting my time .” The Cat King’s eyes shone.

“You should always have time for me, dear.” he said, smile cutting. “I can always just trap you here again, Edwin.” He offered, the smile still on.

“...And I can always start killing your subjects until you let me leave. But we are not doing that, are we, Thomas? ” he smirked back, biting. There was something cold in those green eyes that made the shifter want to shiver. The faint wisps of black coming up from the ground were certainly unnerving. Monty screeched in alarm and abruptly landed on a branch several metres down. 

“You know my name.” the Cat King realised, stepping back. 

“I do. I know a lot of things about you now.” the ghost added, taking a step forward. “You like to play games . But I already knew that, from last time.” Edwin took another step closer. “The difference is, Charles is not with me right now. And I don't have a lot of patience for games when he is in danger.” he snarled. 

“So that is why you're doing this? For him? You came all the way to America, to the house where you were tortured in, just for him ?” Thomas asked, indignant.

“I would do many more things for him.” Edwin stated, staring right into those yellow eyes, daring. The shifter scoffed, leaning closer, looking down at the ghost.

“Like threatening me?” The man asked, incredulous.

“I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you.” Edwin said, looking up, teeth bared. It looked more like a show of aggression from a cornered animal than a smile. “You're either on my side, or standing in my fucking way. And I'll get through anything standing in my way to get to him.” Their faces were only a few centimetres apart now, noses almost touching.

Thomas knew, in that moment, that Edwin was being completely honest. He seemed not to care a single bit what could happen to him as long as he could leave to go help his little friend. Nor what enemies he could leave behind. The Cat King felt a bit peeved about it, quite hot under the collar, and a lot jealous. That kind of loyalty to another person, to the point of detriment to yourself? He’d never felt it nor had he had it. It was alluring , damn it.   

“Deathly little thing, aren’t you?” he whispered to this mysterious boy, unwillingly feeling more attracted to him still. The tension between them finally broke when Edwin’s lips formed a teasing smile and his eyes softened a little.

“Only when I have to.” he whispered back, before breaking his gaze and pressing the faintest of kisses on Thomas’ jaw, surprising him. He then sidestepped him and walked out of the yard. 

By the time the Cat King turned around, Edwin was already jumping into a puddle, travelling to where he needed to be. Monty cowed twice and Thomas felt the hidden amusement.

“Oh, shut it, bird-boy. Like you didn’t defy your witch for him, even after he rejected you.” he snapped. 

—-- —-- —--

—-- —-- —--

Charles woke up all at once, gasping. He was sopping wet and chained to the ceiling. The metal of the chains was iron, and they were burning every part of his body that touched them. He was still only wearing his trousers, felt his extremities numb with cold and some of his curls had crusted over with ice.

When his eyes got used to the dim room, he could see it was the same basement he had been trapped in since the beginning. The only real difference was that he wasn’t alone this time. There was a woman on the corner, deep in the shadows. For what he could see, she was pretty fit. Charles might have looked twice if he had seen her on the street.  But with her wild blonde hair, tight red dress and tall boots; she looked like she was wearing a halloween costume that couldn’t decide if it was vampire or witch. A large white spider, with its eyes closed, peacefully placed inside her hair didn’t help matters. He had almost missed it.

“You’re finally awake!” she cheered, getting closer. “Now we can finally get started .” her grin was dangerous and the boy felt a shiver go down his spine.

Taking advantage of the fact that his feet barely touch the ground, she spun him around, making him lose balance. His knee buckled under him and his whole weight was left suspended from his shoulders until he managed to find his footing again. He was trembling even worse  after that, and tears of frustration began leaking from his eyes.

“Are you crying? How cute .” she cooed, grabbing his face and licking the trail the drop had left on his cheek. ”I’d give you a comfort kiss, but I don’t snog anyone that’s not my man.”

“You. Are. Crazy.” Charles said, leaning away from her. The spider opened its eyes and winked with half of them, waving two of its legs. The shivers got worse.

“Don’t be like that, poppet. Everything I’m doing is for love.”

“ Love ?” he repeated, sceptical. 

“Yes! I’m gonna get the love of my life back, and you’re gonna help me.”

“I don’t know anything about love potions or spells; we don’t mess with that shite.” Charles explained, weary. The witch snorted, the spider wiggled, like it was laughing too. (Was this her familiar? Did it share the same amount of sentience as Monty? Somehow, that thought was terrifying).

“Pffff, I don’t mean like that . My boo and I were tragically separated when he was killed by the police and then he got dragged to Hell! ” she huffed. “Like, what even? I just want him back .” 

Usually, Charles was willing to give everyone a chance to explain themselves. It’s not like the system was flawless. Good souls could be sent to Hell, like it had happened with Edwin. 

However, since he was still shivering from the literal torture this woman had put him through (torture she implied her ‘boo’ would enjoy); he would go out on a limb an bet the bloke completely deserved his tenure in Hell.

“And why was he killed by the police?” he asked anyway, already tired of dealing with this. The chat was a step up from the freezing water, but the talk itself so far was three steps down from the earlier solitude.

“Because his stupid best friend and he decided to rob a bank!” she exclaimed, clearly miffed. This time, when she grabbed him to spin him around, her nails left deep scratches, burning and bleeding. This bitch had iron in her nail polish, apparently. “They were caught doing that. I mean, you have to give it to the pigs. They really messed up on that one.”she laughed. “They were caught and got done in as fucking robbers. They didn't even search their flat! They just killed them and left them at the morgue.  They never found out that we were the ones dropping the mangled bodies everywhere.”

“You're sick.” Charles said, swallowing, as he found his rooting again. 

“Oh, baby, of course I am. Didn't I tell you already? I love making people break, playing with them.” She licked her lips, seductive. The ghost boy just felt nauseous. “What I love even more is watching my man do it for me. And that's why you're going to help me bring him back.”

“From Hell ?” He asked, incredulous. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn't help you. Edwin is the one with the knowledge of Hell and its paths, not me. You chose the wrong one of us to kidnap.”

“I don’t think I did. Word is, you are the one that I saved him from hell this time.” she smiled.  She put her extended arm on his shoulder and placed her weight on the claw-like nails sinking in the muscle there. He felt blood dripping down his back. The spider began walking down her shoulder and onto her arm. Leaning in until their faces almost touched, she looked him dead in the eyes, despite his efforts to keep the blasted thing in his line of sight. 

“I did, yeah.” He admitted. “But I had help. I had someone else, much more powerful than I or you ever could be. They opened a portal down to Hell and they kept it open until we got back. You can't do that.” He swallowed. “Can you?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking, now looking at the spider.

Cursing, she pushed him back and started roaming the room, hands wildly gesturing. The spider had quickly climbed up to her head again. Charles had lost his balance and was spinning again, but at least that beast was not near him. He took her cursing as a negative to his question. Charles wanted to believe this was good news (he dreaded the thought of that man anywhere but Hell), but you never knew how others were going to react when you didn’t give them the information they wanted. This woman? Completely bonkers. Hopefully she would just let him in here, until Edwin rescued him. Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of the basement.

“Hmm, maybe I can't open up a portal. But I can make a deal with a demon so that I can get into hell.” She was smiling again. “And you will help me find my way out.”

“A deal with a demon is a terrible idea. Besides, lady, even if I tell you all I know about hell, which I won’t do. The level Edwin was at? It was terrible, but it wasn't that deep. The level your boo must be in… it has to be one of the deepest and darkest ones, just based on what you describe me you two did, to people.”

“I can think of a few things I can offer the demon so that he helps me.” she countered, now pensive instead of agitated.

“Like what?”

“Like you, your soul. Essence, whatever. Or one of the others’.” Charles was almost afraid to ask.

“Others?”

“Oh, yeah. I've been collecting little souls as gifts for my boyfriend when he comes back. Since, you know, he won't be able to interact with the living now he is dead and will become a ghost.”

“... Little souls?” he asked again, disgusted. He tried leaning away, but she plunged her nails into his face to keep his eyes on her. 

“Yeah, the souls of little ones!” she smiled, and it was a terrible smile. A wild hunger seemed to seep from her feverish eyes. “He's not that much into kids. He prefers young people, teenagers, you know.” she winked at him, suggestive.

“So he's a paedophile, but not that much of a paedophile?” Charles mocked, deciding to ignore the implications. 

She let go of his face only to slap him hard, hard enough to leave deep gouges from the iron on the nails she wore.

“He hates that word!” she screamed, offended. “He just… really loves young people.” The sheer incredulity must have shown on his face, because she just continued. “Anyways, I was collecting these souls so he could play with them when he comes back, you know? I bet he will be in a foul mood, and I just thought 'well what better way to cheer him up than letting him blow off some steam on a couple souls he will find pleasing?’ ' I took great care in ensuring they were innocent, as well. The responses to all the pain and the bit of little pleasure here and there that we can teach them are always the best .” she sighed, dreamy. “And ghosts are so much more resilient! We can play with you and play with you and play with you until you break.” She said, eyes evaluating him up and down. “And then we can start all over again!” she laughed.

Charles puked all over the floor.

"You truly are," he said in disgusted awe " the most despicable person I've ever met. And a few months ago I was at the mercy of a witch that cannibalised little girls. "

“Oh, cannibalism.” she hummed. “That sounds fun, doesn’t it, Ari?” she cooed at her familiar, reaching for the thing. “You have to get me her number.” she said to him.

Charles spat at her. It barely touched her face before she shrieked and sent him crashing to the back of the room. The chains had fallen from the ceiling and onto his torso, burning him terribly.  

“And you need to learn some manners." She said as he screamed from the sudden agony. Then she turned her back on him and walked towards the door. "I guess I will just leave you to repeat the cycle until you have had enough."

Charles’ last coherent thought before he was dropped under the thick frozen layer of water of the lake instead of through the ice as always, was that Edwin and he would absolutely need to save those poor spirits.

—-- —-- —--

—-- —-- —--

“That took longer than you said it would.” Crystal said as soon as he stepped through the mirror into the office. “Did the house not let you in?” she asked, remembering how they had just phased through the walls last time.

“The house gave me no problem at all.” Edwin answered, placing the knife on the desk. “It was Monty, actually.” he explained, with a grimace. “I had an encounter with the Cat king,” Crystal’s eyebrow went up “but not much came out of it. He was very insistent about not letting any kind of knowledge leave that witch's house.” He took off his coat and his gloves and, uncharacteristically, threw them onto the couch. It was the only free surface, she supposed. “Which would normally be a good thing, but in these circumstances, I could not abide by it.”

“And did he give you any trouble?” she questioned, sceptical. 

“He tried to threaten me, so I just…threatened him back.” Edwin said, unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves, trying to play it off as unimpressive. Yeah, Crystal was not gonna let that one slide.

“ You threatened the Cat King?” she said, incredulous. “He left you trapped in Port Townsend for weeks!”

“Ah, but I didn't know anything about him back then.” He countered. “And I wasn't dabbling in anything more dangerous than usual. And perhaps the most important thing of all…” Edwin started, leafing through his notes.

“...It was you in danger, not Charles.” Crystal interrupted, finishing the idea.

“Exactly.” He said, pleased that she understood this about him by now.

As they began prepping the materials for this massive ritual, she managed to corroborate that it was far beyond anything they had shown her so far. The ritual seemed so complicated. Beyond the dagger that he had to pick up from the other side of the world, it required them to move every single piece of furniture against the walls, then grabbing the bathroom mirror for a later use. 

After that, they placed a bedsheet on the floor, drawing a big circle on it with black chalk, and drew a set of runes inside it, near the centre. Then Edwin grabbed Charles' backpack, and took out a bottle full of a viscous dark liquid. He then lit a dozen candles inside the marked circle, each one in its specific place. A wave of different smells assaulted Crystal’s nose. She supposed that ghosts weren’t bothered by it since they couldn't smell much. She tried very hard not to sneeze.

Edwin retrieved two different cups from a cupboard, one made from silver and one from crystal, and poured the liquid from the bottle inside the silver one. For the other, he took out Esther’s knife from his pocket and sliced his forearm with it. Blood tinted with ectoplasm began to pour inside the empty cup, and once it was three quarters full he removed the wound from it to avoid overspilling. He slid two fingers over the wound and the black smoke that was becoming familiar to Crystal ate up the blood and sealed the wound. Then, he reached for Charles' chain around his neck and took it off. Gently, he let it fall inside the cup that had his blood. He took a big piece of parchment paper, those old ones that you see only in movies, yellowed with age, thick, and coarse to the touch. 

With a grimace, he sank his fingers into the first cup. A low hum came from his throat, sounding almost like words but not really. He began writing symbols with the blood onto the parchment. With the other hand, he began tracing the same symbols again, on another blank sheet of parchment, on top of the first one. These symbols were mirrored, and written with his own blood from the second cup. Once he was done, a string of Latin came out of his lips, and the second set of symbols lifted up in the air, glowing golden light, and fused into the first set, on the first sheet of parchment. The other parchment disintegrated as soon as the last trace of blood left the paper. 

Edwin let out a breath Crystal hadn't noticed he was holding. Done, he took the parchment, and began ripping it in pieces, keeping each symbol inside its own square of paper, and placed the symbols inside the circle according to the instructions written down by his own hand. The bloody symbols then sank through the paper and sealed themselves to the linen fabric. Edwin waved his hand and all the blank pieces of paper flew from the array. Then he took the necklace from inside the second cup and put it into the first cup. 

He took the bathroom mirror, and placed it in the middle of the circle array spell, then took the necklace out of the cup and flicked it in the air where it remained still, frozen in place at about two metres high. The symbols on the bedsheet and the blood on the necklace pulsed with golden energy every couple of heartbeats.

“I need you,” he started to say, very clearly, “to not, for any reason, enter the circle.”

“All right” she said, heart beating like crazy. 

“Whatever I ask you to bring me, you will put it inside the circle without touching inside it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Edwin repeated, breathing deep. He knelt beside the foggy mirror on the floor and began writing on it with his finger. At the same time, he spoke up, to keep her in the loop. “Charles? Are you there?”

Charles

are you there?

[reading-stains]

hello!!do you have skk fic recs?

Introduction

Yes, I do. I’m sorry it took so long to give you a reply, but I wanted to give you a comprehensive list and was busy preparing for my last day in high school, and then I got a job 12 hours later, and then I traveled to New York for a couple Broadway workshops. But now that today’s been dealt with, I have my wonderful notes.

So here’s the gist of it. I have three focused reviews on some of my favorite Soukoku fanfics ever, but I felt like copy pasting it would kill you a little, so I’m going to use a simplified format that echoes what I once did for two other ships years ago.

Canon Space

Here I compiled four fanfics that take place in main canon spaces (so not BEAST). While I encourage you to read, I also ask you to make sure to check the tags of the actual work for any possible triggers. Furthermore, the styles these characters are written in, and the way they are portrayed, vary from writer to writer. Some are more “canon” based than others, but they all carry the essence of this ship. And if they don’t in your eyes, then you’re just reading a great novel with Japanese names. 

i'll bleed out for you by StarshipDancer

Synopsis: After getting impaled together, basically dying in each others arms in a joint mission with the Port Mafia and the ADA, and getting brought back by Yosano, this shattered Soukoku is asked to go into hiding. In this time, things seem to start healing. But the impending call asking them to return to their positions in their groups haunts them, and when it arrives, things fall apart all over again.  

Tags: Caretaking, PTSD, A Singularly Important Rat Is Present, Canon-Divergence, Post-Port Mafia Days, Love Confession, Pet Co-Parenting, Angst

Word Count: 71,848

Notes: Rattata is the best character. I remember reading this fanfic between the airport and my flight, and when chapter four ended, I had to board the plane, with my shaking hands and quiet sniffles. Please read this one.

If you kiss me (I might let it happen) by encsiimomo

Synopsis: Chuuya’s done watching this. Dazai’s literally dating a new girl every week. He dates based on who asks him first that Monday, he breaks up with them that Sunday, and it goes on again. And again. And again. It’s driving him insane. So he does the only thing he can think of to earn himself a break – He asks to date him for that week’s cycle. Dazai’s surprised. Chuuya’s exhausted. But once the sparks fly, they’re unable to be put out. 

Tags: Canon Divergent & Kind of Canon Compliant, Dark Era, Smut, Mutual Pining, Light Angst, Silly

Word Count: 52,127

Notes: I loved this fic because it encapsulates a pretty carefree tone that isn’t associated with Dark Era. It’s pretty smutty, but it’s really lovely to read them. It’s not a reflection of what these characters canonically represent. And while it definitely stays as a loose interpretation of these characters, it keeps the essence that makes this ship so sharp and wonderful. I loved Oda’s appearances too, they made me laugh.

A Doll's House by Abyss_In_WonderLand_likes_sexy_cannibals

Summary: After coming to contact with an ability-powered artifact, Dazai and Chuuya are forced to work together to overcome the ability’s trials, and face the bubbling sentiments they keep trying so hard to ignore. 

Tags: Teamwork, Ability Loss, Poisoning, Denial of Feelings, Confessions, Light Angst

Word Count: 45,288

Notes: While definitely not a character study, this fic goes and shows how wonderfully warm a Double Black fanfic can be. You’ll giggle in some moments, be entranced in others, and it’s just fun. This is for those that aren’t scouring for the angst. This was the first fic that sunk me into a skk fanfiction hunt all throughout the winter holidays.

On Deathless Feet by AbsoluteNegation

Synopsis: Chuuya always knows the monster can get out of control, but it doesn’t get any less surprising when Arahabaki powers through him. For a while though, it’d been comforting to know Dazai could always reign it in, make it go quiet. Because he did when they recently met, when they rose through the ranks, and at the brink of their end. But after years of disconnection, and the consistent waves of betrayal, is Chuuya capable of trusting him? And is Dazai capable of letting him?

Tags: Caretaking, Controlling Arahabaki, Port Mafia, Post-Port Mafia, Mistrust, Non-Linear Storytelling

Word Count: 71,848

Notes: This story is just breathtaking. The writing style is incredibly vast and detailed, which may seem scary when described, but it flows so easily when you read it. You cannot negate AbsoluteNegation’s incredible skill. The story takes place in an event where Chuuya loses control of Arahabaki in a  Post-Port Mafia Soukoku time. But because of its non-linear style, one gets to understand their past experiences with each other in a manner that contextualizes and weighs in the events of their reunion. 

Fanon Spaces

Before I begin, I’d like to note that there are so many AUs in this fandom, that I had to really search for the canon ones in my list. So understand that if you want more of these, I DEFINITELY have more of these. Also, again, while I encourage you to read, I also ask you to make sure to check the tags of the actual work for any possible triggers. 

I’ll crown your inner child with laurel by acuteguwu

Synopsis: Chuuya has worked in a Michelin Star restaurant. So he really has no place in losing this cooking competition. But a sudden newcomer, who seemingly has no previous experience in the field, seems to want to tell him his bechamel sauce isn’t ready. And really, who does he think he is?

Tags: Chef Competition AU, Character Study, Slow Burn, Chuuya Is A Blunt Perfectionist, Dazai Is A Culinary Genius

Words: 197,090

Notes: I read this in two days, and I finished by waking up at four in the morning to finish up before going to a drag queen brunch. So really, my experience was incredible. You get to really know these characters, who are very themselves, and it’s lovely. Please read, it’s so worth it.

music for our funeral by itotypes

Synopsis: Dazai has always been lost on what exactly he wants to be. Chuuya knows exactly what he wants. Working with such incredible differences proves to be a difficult challenge, ending in at least a little bit of violence multiple times, but they make it work. Because their music sounds beautiful. Because they’re better geniuses beside the other. And maybe because once it started, they can’t seem to process this journey can ever end.

Tags: No Smut, Angst, 70s, Musicians!AU, Drug Abuse, References to Child Neglect, Lowkey Pretty Violent, Emotional Cheating (w/ Main Ship)

Word Count: 67,723

Notes: Look, there’s a whole genre of Soukoku music AUs. And I could tell you to read the famous “still, still, still” by icedlightroast, or the even more famous “I Was Screaming Your Name Through The Radio” by ElectricSplatter. Which really, they’re both INCREDIBLE fics that I think you should read (IWSYNTTR literally inspired me to try and write music, which led me to do an album for a school project, so I’m not kidding when I say they’re life changing), but I also know that these are famous fanfics that you can find in almost any big skk reader thread. So disregarding the following recommendation, I try to give you fanfics I found through a long scrolling process. 

Everything or Nothing by Wellthathappened (Cataclysmic_Calamity)

Synopsis: Chuuya has never been able to experience much. So when he meets Dazai on the night of orientation, he lets himself explore. So as lips sink into his, and as he lets himself be free, Dazai lets him know how unimportant he is by walking away when kids walk in on them. Cut to a month later, they’re paired as roommates, Chuuya’s gotten what Dazai insists is a douchey boyfriend, and Dazai Osamu has to recognize it wasn’t true. It wasn’t a night’s fluke. He really, definitely isn’t straight.

Tags: College AU, Pinning, Chronic Illness, Creation & References Of Illegal Panini Rings,  Confessions, Miscommunication, Past Sexual Abuse, Bad Parenting, Cute Dates, Dazai’s Really Rich

Word Count: 264,937

Notes: I recognize I just put in my notes that there’s no major point in recommending these big fanfics, but I just read this because the person that introduced me into the fandom in the first place really loves this one. And it’s incredible. Worth every moment. I laughed a lot, and cried a lot. It’s those pieces of work that resound with you that keep you engaged. This one builds off of that.

Inseparable by milwritescausewhynot

Synopsis: Dazai and Chuuya have been joined to the hip since day one. But they’re not best friends. Or enemies. Or, worst of all, lovers. They are, however, great at pranking each other. Until one goes close to dangerous, and things begin getting complicated afterwards. 

Tags: High School AU, Pranks, Light Angst, Denial, Pining, Confessions, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Crazy Kouyou, Childhood Friends, No Smut

Word Count: 107,804

Notes: I hadn’t saved this one in my compilation, but I couldn’t not find it. This fic is so charming, and I most enjoy how the characters move through the story. You can feel the way they're in-tuned from the get go. Definitely recommend.

In Conclusion

Again, I’m sorry for such a late response. I’m literally falling asleep right now but I felt too guilty leaving this for tomorrow morning. If you have any questions, notes, or looking for something specific for your reading, we can talk about it. 

Anyways, thanks for asking! Hope you love them, and sorry for any mistakes

[howlsofbloodhounds]

okay, so i have this oc that i want to make friends with killer. obviously more like a potential acquaintanceship.

thing is I don’t know how killer would treat them.

they’re basically a doormat of a monster. strictly pacifist to a saddening fault. they’ll let anyone hurt them be it physically or emotionally. never even fighting back at all. they are too kind for their own good.

that’s basically the gist of their personality.

any ideas? it doesn’t have to be in depth! I just need s little guidance. I rather not portray killer too out of character.

Oh. Uh..Warning for possible abuse, toxic relationships, conditioning, manipulation, and torture.

Assuming Killer is in Stage 2 and he is still with Nightmare, I can only see this ending badly for your oc. He may be curious if they’re something new, but if he finds them boring hed probably move on and grow apathetic and indifferent towards them and would probably not be a threat to them or anything. Not unless Nightmare orders him to be, or your oc provokes or triggers him.

If something about them gains his attention and holds it, he’s going to basically test them—as if they’re a little lab experiment. He will probably want to manipulate and provoke them into doing something that goes against their pacifistic beliefs and attitudes.

I doubt he’d genuinely trust their pacifism ideals and will seek to make them less so—either by trying to get them to hurt someone else or hurt him. Even if it’s very cruel and abusive.

He doesn’t trust people at all, and provoking this oc into going against their own beliefs only further proves his beliefs.

If the oc refuses to fight back or defend themself, im sure he view them as unbelievably weak; and deserving of whatever happens to them. The only thing that may stop him from killing this oc either intentionally or by going too far would likely be any orders from Nightmare.

He wouldn’t feel guilty or remorseful or see anything wrong about any of this in Stage 2. Hed view it as not his fault that the oc was weak. Similar to his interactions with Swap id say—although Swap did fight back eventually.

If he’s still with Nightmare and ends up in Stage 1, he’d probably avoid the oc out of guilt and fear of retaliation, and may even attempt to scare the oc away anytime they come close or keep consistently avoiding them and warn them away from him.

If the oc managed to get Stage 1 to trust or like the oc enough to affect Stage 2, it may manifest more in a twisted form of protection and terrorital behavior. He’d rationalize his abusive and controlling tortuous behavior towards the oc as “making them strong” and “looking after them.”

He may seek to gain control in this friendship dynamic, because clearly the oc is “too weak” to do so—and his conditioning of relationship dynamics dictates that he has the right to do whatever he wants because he is the stronger one of the two.

Things will be a lot more smooth sailing in his good ending with Color, where he is working on himself and getting therapy and away from the abusive environment that encouraged his worse behaviors and traits.

Stage 2 may still see the oc as weak, he’d still be instinctively manipulative and use the oc for his own benefit when he sees fit and lie when he thinks he has to, but Color would be around to curb his most violent tendencies and his conditioning. When in doubt, little bro will ask himself, “WWCD?” Aka, “What Would Color Do?”

Of course there will still be an element of danger to your oc’s health, safety, and life. He is still conditioned and programmed, removed from most moral considerations, and desensitized to violence and abuse—still coming to terms that what happened to him wasn’t inevitable or normal as well. That anything happened to him at all.

He may not feel any guilt or remorse for any time he does or says something that accidentally hurts or upsets your oc, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to do anything. Instead he may try to set an example for being more confident and standing up for yourself by just being his usual self—no shame or embarrassment and uncaring of most people’s opinions.

He’d probably try to imitate and mirror some of what Color said and did for him, because to him, Color is what a “good person” is—the only one who can teach him how to be anything like that. The only one he trusts and respects enough to care about his opinions. And he doesn’t want to let Color down or lose him after all the effort Color put in for him and keeps putting in for him.

[wuzeio]

i keep brainworming over your recent zombie au piece [kicks feet in air] tell me more 🫶 (if you wanna)

OUGGH GHDJFG IM SO GLAD 🫶🫶🫶T___T i think the AU fits AFTG especially really well!! My fav zombie apocalypse media is the Telltale Walking dead games so ... lots of inspiration drawn from that (and ofc Last of us for that good ol "oh they have immunity against the virus" trope") (also train of busan/TWD show for outbreak origin inspo)

How the virus outbreak starts in this AU: honestly have not thought about the specific details but the gist of it is that a deadly mutagen accidentally gets developed in a biotech lab while conducting experiments on animals >someone gets bit > starts to show signs and turns into zombie > more people get bit > everybody has the virus now, turns into a global pandemic

some char background/

Andrew and Aaron would have already been living together before the outbreak, and Nicky only lives likes 10ish minutes away from them. When all hell breaks loose, Nicky's parents get killed by a zombie hoard and he immediately goes to Andrew and Aaron to join up for safety. Andrew realizes that remaining where they are is only going to get them killed, so they drive his car out of the state in hopes to find a safer place (smart!).

I don't think Drew's group encounter Kevin and Neil until a few years later, when the apocalyptic world has become the norm and its all about survival now (maybe around 3-4 years?). The monsters have joined forces with different groups and even joined a few settlements in the past, but they find that they work best alone, just the three of them. Fortunately they have enough connections to make supply trades if its ever needed; Nicky's the interlocutor and peacemaker.

Kevi ... he would've still grown up in the Nest and played Exy in this AU. When the outbreak occurs there, the Ravens are trapped with the infected and it's basically a brutal death for all of them. Kevin and Riko manage to escape (with Riko ruthlessly killing a few teammates-turned-zombies on his way out, no hesitation!) Kevin and Riko have a very close relationship during the first few years of the apocalypse, but its more of Riko putting a leash on his brother and demanding him to do certain tasks. Kevin is strong and has lots of stamina, so he's incredibly reliable in an abundance of duties. Riko is also not above betraying groups they "befriend", and does not hesitate to kill or sell someone out when he thinks its better for their survival. Near the 3rd year mark, tensions between the two brothers begin to rise as Kevin starts to express his discomfort towards Riko's actions. They start to fight more often, and Kevin starts to rebel a little more. In turn, Riko gets increasingly paranoid about their dwindling supply stock/the fact that Kevin might betray him, so he ends up making a trade with a group of nearby raiders: Kevin for 6 months of supplies. Kevin, obviously, is horrified when he realizes this betrayal and deception. On the second night with the raiders, he manages to fight 4 of them off and runs off into the night. He meets Drew's group 3 months later. (btw kevin running off means that riko is now after him, because those raiders were not happy about what happened)

Neil!! He's in his last year of HS (still plays Exy for their team) when Mary convinces him to run away with her from their abusive father. In this AU she also steals a shit load of money from him and they take a plane to Georgia. The zombie outbreak occurs whilst on their run, and they manage to survive together for the first year. They make their way to South Carolina, but Mary gets killed during a crossfire started by bandits and...Neil is left alone now.

(note: I changed somethings regarding Neil/Kevin's relationship. Scratch them having past family connections!) He desperately tries to join up with a few groups, but all of them result with him either being assaulted or robbed from. The one group he finally finds and begins to feel a kinship with, he ends up being betrayed. Guess who the group is!! It's Kevin and Riko! After a near death experience with that, he's jaded, wary, and untrusting towards anyone. He's learned that staying alone gives him the highest rate of survival— that it's not the zombies that are the most dangerous. Those are easy to kill. A few smashes to the head and they're dead. But people, they're capable of doing the most evil, heinous things. (cue : " “It’s not the world that’s cruel. It’s the people in it.") oh also. he finds out hes immune after getting bit in the hand. He freaks out, introspects for a few days, and comes to the conclusion that he's going to kill himself before he turns. But it never happens.

3 years later, he's a seasoned veteran when it comes to surviving on his own. However, from a stroke of bad luck, he ends up getting hit by crossbow arrow in the forest while scavenging. This is how Drew finds him.

uhhh there's a lot more ideas in my head but I'm gonna wrap it up here because this got wayyy too long hehe thank you if you read it all... honestly this ask was very helpful because it helped me work out this AU in detail a lot more >:D

[twistedstoryteller]

A Linked Universe Modern AU

I came up with an AU and I haven’t seen anyone else ran with this exact type of AU(yeah I seen modern aus of LU, just not the exact one I’m doing) I’m doing for the fandom yet so. For this I’ll do it myself, and call this AU

✨Magical Nine Courages✨

I know real original[/sar]. There’s the fact I made it kinda magical girl like too(mix of Precure and Sailor Moon plus some Tokyo Mew Mew, maybe super hero girls and power rangers/super sentai too?). So yeah. Now basic story or gist AHEM

The chain or the team of Links have technically long had their adventures and met each other, plus long ended the reincarnation cycle/curse thanks to their time traveling adventure they had together. However it has long faded into history all the way to modern day in the kingdom of Hyrule(aka everything we have now they have too, like phones, cars, and the most wonderful ✨internet✨[COUGH TUMBLR TOO COUGH] difference is that they technically still have ✨magic✨) and people are still trying to put together their history and better understand them(especially the most famous nine heroes depicted in them). Of course this peace couldn’t last forever, someone wants to bring back Ganon and wreck havoc once again. This of course is bad, very bad, as one certain high school gets attacked by some kind of overpowered monster(which first of all, monsters should be NO WHERE near the city or heck even in it. Second that monster shouldn’t be as OP as heck too). If only there are heroes that can stand up to such a threat, just like the legendary heroes of courage. Well, they are out there. They just need to be called on again ————————————————————————

Characters

Heroes

Villains

Others

Locations

Central Hyrule City

Central Castle High

Key Info

How do the powers work? What’s Hyrule Royal Family like in this exact AU?

Storyline

(Coming soon, please wait in the meantime 🙏)

Others

Headcanons for this AU

Incorrect Quotes for this AU

(The Links to the rest of these are coming soon, heck maybe I’ll add more later)

[ladysomething]

Hey Mads! Hope your hand is doing okay now.

I get why Max chose to go down the path he did (PLOT, that's why obviously lol) but how would it have gone if Max had sat Charles down right at the beginning and made his intentions clear like "listen, I am not here to mess with your championship or take advantage of you (basically the points Charles himself made in the latest chapter), I "bought" you because I want to protect you and I am not the monster you think I am, even if you don't want to believe me".

(Not the confession of his feelings of course, because imagine 😂)

I am aware that this would be somewhat of a healthy communication and Max is too emotionally challenged to pull that off. But besides that, is there another reason he didn't choose to do it this way?

honestly .... it wouldn't have worked.

Charles would never have believed Max. the only evidence he has about who Max is was a) Max bullying him as a kid b) Max being "omegaphobic" and c) Max abusing Kelly.

If Max had said "I promise I'm just trying to protect you", Charles would absolutely have thought he was being manipulated. I really can't imagine him acting any differently than he did - but perhaps he would have dealt the first blow, rather than Max being the one to do it with the rules.

as to why he didn't .. we're going to see a little bit of it in the next chapter, but I suppose for now the gist of it is just that Max picked the option he thought was the most likely to work. He had to choose between telling Charles the truth, and lying to him to scare him into being cooperative. He picked the one he thought was more likely to get him the results he wanted - Charles safe.

[septicwriters]

It's still Pride Month, so here is my last contribution:

Good Omens s3 Musical

This egg has been hatching for a while, so here we go!

A tale of woe of star cross lovers. I shall give a brief description of the happenings for each song. The basic gist of the story is Crowley and Aziraphale mourning eachother, missing the other by looking at the past and the missed future. A story of madness, guilt, betrayal, and an apology long overdue.

1) Get back up again, Aziraphale moving through the motions of being Supreme Archangels, fixing problem after problem while trying to stop Armageddom part 2. He tries to keep a steady smile through it all, even with that small voice in the back if his head that says he won't fix anything, and it all comes to a head when he gets a letter from hell, that Lord of Hell, Crowley would like a meeting with him.

2) Gossip, after Aziraphale begs to hear why Crowley would rather take the reigns down here instead of heaven, Crowley snaps. He knows that the angel is attracted to them, so he dances around Aziraphale, spouting this song at him with acid on his tongue. He drags the angel around in a dance Aziraphale is not familiar with. Crowley does get his point across, that Aziraphle is viewing heaven, Hell, earth, and them through a visage and that he doesn't see the real picture. By the end, Azirphale is kicked out of Hell, on his knees with silent tears, feeling he doesn't even know the demon anymore.

3) The Phoenix, After their conversation, eachothers "trust advisors" (i.e. Metatron and Husker) try to get them tk forget the other, and outright fails. This song is a duet for the two, sort of, but it is sung to show their true colors. They plan to use Crowley and Aziraphale as puppets, figureheads, to get their war. This is them singing as they shape Crowley and Azirpahale as their chosen leaders.

4) Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Azirphale sneaks out of heaven and hunkers down at the bookshop. He is ever so tired and decided to try to Sleep, wanting to be close to the demon he used to know. But, his first attempt at sleep leads him to nightmares kf Crowley birating him, calling him a monster, and saying that Aziraphale should have fell instead. He wakes up and cries, deciding to put aside his feelings, the Metatron was right, he is a demon.

5) Freak on a Leash, this is sort kf Crowleys descent into Madness, it begins on him deciding to take the thrown of heaven and telling himself to forget Aziraphale while also pining for him. His eternal struggle leaving him waning and weak.

6) 21 Guns, this song is for Crowley and Aziraphale, struggling together. Trying to stop the oncoming war but utterly distracted by their shattered heart. They think back on their kiss, how close they came, before they fell away. This time, Azirpahle sends out and invitation to Crowley to meet at the Bookshop.

7) Krytpnite, Crowley sings this song after Azirpahle tries tk get through to him and he laughs like an insane person. He sings as a way to scare the angel away. This songs tells the angel that Crowleh is loosing himself and he knows it, but he can't stop, and the only thing that will stop his spiraling descent, is Azirphale, one way, or another. Once again, they do not part as friends.

8) Given up, Crowley returns to Hell fuming and this is him lashing out. He tosses his thrown, crushes his crown and yells at Hastur. He frightens all of hell as his pain is let out. Hastur smiles, seeing his work coming to an oncoming fruition.

9) Innocently Annoying, Hastur puts another step into his plan by sending demons down as Crowley. Azirphale sees these demons as hallucination and tries tk avoid these guilt tripping demons. By the end, he goes back up to Heaven we're he receives word that Hell has declared war.

10) Miss Murder, Crowley, shattered and broken down numbly rallies his forces. He doesn't even know what ks happening, but Hastur is thrilled, his armies are ready and the war is upon them. Both sides meet at a certain point at Hell and at the beat drop of the song, Crowley charges his armies.

11) Decode, Aziraphale watches with wide, unbelving eyes as Crowley sends Hell to fight. He wades his way through, trying to get to the demon and demand answers.

12) Fighting Myself, Crowley sings this song, once Azirphale amd him lock eyes. He let's the angel see him discoportate angels without a care, telling Aziraphale to stay back because he can't stop.

13) Apology song, Azirpahle gets too close and Crowley begins to fight him, not wanting tk hurt the other, he tries tk apologize, this is when he starts tk sing. He tosses his flaming sword aside and avoids Crowleys own sword. He pushes and pushes until he can reach Crowley, taking off tje crown and his glasses, he kisses him. Crowleu collaspes in his arms.

14)There should be another song here to show them stopping the war, but j have no idea.

15) All the Right Moves, Crowley sings this song, better and back tk normal, telling Aziraphle his plan for their future together at the cabin in the Southdowns, happy ending

If anyone would like tk add to this, or replace songs, please, add on, I'd love tk hear from others!