#cause if i don't do it that way there would be many an abandoned au posted upon me tumblr

[energeticpoltergeist]

good time to mention im not just a one fandom guy- yep im into FE as well, and my brayne has decided to make that it's current focus (it has a habit of jumping fandom to fandom at random) anyways this was created cause my two friends have no idea what the fuck i am talking about half the time when it comes to Fire Emblem

[wasyago]

I'm so curious, but it's okay if you do not have an answer for me; did something happen to Etho in your recks au for him to need all of those robotic prosthetics, like an accident of sorts? Or did he, I guess, experiment on himself or something like that?

Wonderful design, by the way! I can't stop looking at it, I love it so much.

haha yeah something did happen :)c

so, as you may or may not know, the world of recks suffered from a catastrophe caused by the moon going off its orbit and almost crushing into earth; which caused the creation of many gravitational anomalies all over the planet; which caused most of the big cities to evolve downwards and move under the sea level; which created this odd phenomenon of many skyscrapers in the middle of the city being abandoned and staying vacant, even if the buildings are technically fully operational.

and so teen etho, our smart little boy, thought "Hey, i don't wanna live so low underground where the sun doesn't reach when there's perfectly good houses on the surface!" so he just kinda... left his home and moved to one of the abandoned buildings. which, i mean, good for him and all that. BUT.

see, the thing about run down buildings is that they don't have a good water supply. and the thing about water in recks au is that it has a ton of bad chemicals, moon debris, leftovers of destroyed infrastructure, etc, in it when unfiltered or filtered poorly.

and etho, although smart, wasn't smart enough to give proper attention to the metallic taste of the water in the building he moved in to. like, sure it tastes a little weird but otherwise it's fine, it's something you would expect from an abandoned skyscraper right?

well, little did he know that the water he drank for god knows how many years of his life, was actually slowly dissolving his insides and poisoning him! and yknow, sharp pain in your guts every so often is one thing, but actively coughing up blood is another. and thank god he met cleo by then, because they forced him to actually do a check up to see what was wrong.

everything was wrong how you might've already guessed, to the point where the damage wasn't reversible anymore and there was no way to heal naturally. sooo etho had to get the prosthetic and say goodbye to his organs. the other option was to say goodbye to his life tho so he got pretty lucky there i think. thankfully cleo is a prosthetics doctor neurologist person, and she was able to get everything sorted fairly quickly for him and get that man on the operating table as soon as possible.

so at the end, all of etho's vitals had to be changed, including his throat and lower jaw because it also god badly damaged by being in contact with the water. (turns out etho had the raspy voice not because he was cool but actually because he was dying 😬) and! let me tell you, removing someone's entire set of vitals and changing them for the artificial ones in one surgery without killing the person in the process is actually very hard!! who would've thought huh...

well uhmm, yeah so this is what happened to etho o3o

(the eye prosthetic is another story tho, this post is already pretty long so maybe next time)

[idakyrie]

(This is part of an AU and a LOT OF TEXT asdfg) WHAT IF.... That weird deformed shape of Fake Peppino (AKA Bruno) is actually that way because of a brain problem (known as TBI)? That would explain that peculiar way of behaving (Silly? Goofy? Childish? Doesn't think straight? Doesn't know what he's doing? Almost 0 common sense, that almost permanent expression on his face, that strange way of moving... He is doing his best to stay on his feet and not melt completely (even if it shows a bit), he can barely speak coherently, among many things (WE MUST PROTECT HIM).

I'd like to think that the brain is the only organ he has, because the rest is just... Mmh, slime? amalgam? xD, it could be a HUMAN brain that Pizzahead (his creator) got (I like to think he is actually someone insane in a bad way and too different when it comes to his lab, just pretending to smile, hints of psychopath), that brain belonged to another chef, here I clarify about getting 2 adns: Peppino and Bruno (this last I mean the one from the abandoned pizzeria and yes, he is dead, where the hell Pizzahead was going to get that brain from? Actually dead for trusting a humanoid pizza)

So Fake Peppino has 2 adns? Yeah, that makes sense... Although Peppino and him don't look quite the same (Although Pizzahead's goal was that, to be the perfect impersonator), except for the clothes BUT here comes my favorite part, his stable form. 

Actually, his brain problem can be treated, he would still have 2 forms: stable and unstable, this unstable form is the one we all know, it would be present whenever he feels threatened, in danger or any other negative emotion (although he can take any form whenever he wants and be a mix of both forms).

Some history: Bruno is the first "clone" to be created, it went well, everything was perfect and one more minion... UNTIL... Pizzahead has a complicated, abusive, stupid, manipulative and ignorant attitude, basically he never treated him well, it started with scolding and even abuse (And yup! it was Pizzahead himself who caused him great injury) Why? He is a demanding and perfectionist guy, the clone had to come out EQUAL to Peppino (the irony is that he hates him and only does it to fuck up his life, to be able to replace him with some of the SO MANY clones out there) at the time he thought it was a GOOD IDEA to mix both adns and come out the same as the original, I repeat that this guy is an idiot?

Something funny is that after that he made other prototypes of clones (Classified as second generation idk) but these... None came out well, they are aberrations and can be found in a frozen chamber, he doesn't want to relive that moment and kept trying until he finally succeeded, the famous Peppino clones that can be found everywhere in the lab, inferior versions, weaker and more animal behavior than the first "clone".

Here comes another problem, Pizzahead paid more attention and was nicer to those clones, making Bruno jealous and annoyed, he never received a good treatment from him (Still he was loyal) and he had to fix and clean up all the atrocities the clones did, that means ALL the time, he could not defend himself and lived in silence, developing a great hatred towards them, precisely his behavior changes drastically to the most aggressive, just hearing a "croak" makes him angry (MODO BERSEK GOES BRR)

Many years enduring physical and emotional pain until he ends up in what? In an abandoned pizza restaurant? Just him being abandoned being very bad in all aspects? Completely alone for years, the only contact he had with others were those clones that invaded his "new home" (explaining why there are so many peppino corpses in that pizzeria).

(that girl in the image is an oc of mine hshs)

Bruno still has that silly and innocent personality, sensitive but at the same time disturbing if something bothers him. Paternal sense, playful and a big fan of Peppino, sometimes he annoys him by imitating him HAHA. Does he keep that frog behavior? YES! It's not as obvious as the clones because he knows how to control it. 

At the beginning he doesn't like to be touched, after all the problems he went through he doesn't even know if there are good people in this world, so gaining Bruno's trust is a bit complicated but if you talk nice to him (as you would do with your pet XD) the interaction will be effective. 

Does he have traumas? Besides he doesn't want to see Pizzahead and the clones again, or there will be a massacre, it's the first time someone is nice to him, he's afraid of abandonment and losing the little progress he has made... AND NEVER EVER SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING RELATED TO ANY LABORATORY AGAIN, his life was hell there, anything related either scares or angers him.

If you have any questions, you can ask and also, sorry if there are errors in my English, it is not my native language, I hope you can understand ;w;

[theminecraftbee]

smallishona au mechanics

or, i finally figured out the in-universe mechanics of this persona au! plus some generalized persona mechanics that people may not otherwise know if they don't play persona.

basic premise: the basic premise of this is not based off of any specific persona game, but synthesized from the basic premise of persona 3/4/5. in those games, a group of teenagers discover they have the power of persona, a sort of almost jojo-stand like ability to summon a representation of themselves to fight against shadows, monsters formed from the collective unconsciousness of humanity. they then must travel to another world (broadly, the collective unconscious, although this world has somewhat different mechanics and names in each game), fight shadows, find out why that world is encroaching on our own world, and save humanity from the problems caused by this other world. this normally ends in them fighting god. it is a jrpg and a smt spinoff, after all.

in this SPECIFIC plot, it goes as follows: the 'vanished' is a term referring to people who mysteriously go missing in the middle of their normal routine. this always happens when they are alone, but it can happen at times that are supernatural. these vanishings are being caused when these people, for some reason or another, slip into a realm called 'altered space' and are killed by the shadows there. in order to get to the root of these vanishings, joel and the party must travel through altered space, fight shadows, rescue the trapped people, and determine what's really causing all of this.

joel must do this while also dealing with high school, because, as the protagonist, his powers get stronger the stronger his bonds with other people. these powers--the power to have more than one persona and fuse personas, amongst other things--are the root of many of joel's woes, as the Bit of this au is that joel is the world's most reluctant persona protagonist.

(the more detailed explanations under the cut this gets LONG.)

altered space and the vanished: the manifestation of the collective unconscious that our heroes must travel through in this story. joel (and many others) perceive it as a place you get to by following evil, non-blue butterflies, but interestingly, other people perceive how to reach it differently. the space manifests as a massive, seemingly endless sea of poppies, some of which are wilting and dying. this field is broken up by seemingly collapsed buildings, and while shadows and vanished can be found in the field, more powerful shadows (and more notable people) can only be found inside the buildings.

it is incredibly difficult not to fall asleep inside altered space, and only people with personas are safe from that effect. still, even with a persona, being inside altered space causes a person to grow exhausted much faster than they would in the normal world. the other side of this, however, is that it is nearly impossible to summon a persona in the real world; in altered space, it only takes focusing on your heart and the scar from the first time you summoned it. in the real world you'd probably at LEAST have to stab yourself again.

there is a time limit to save anyone who has become trapped in altered space; if they spend too long there, they will fall permanently asleep and lose themselves forever. this time limit changes depending on who the specific Vanished is, but can be kept track of using the weather (sorry i am stealing persona 4 for this). when the weather gets unusually frigid for the time of year, it is too late to save any vanished in altered space. anyone there must be saved before that.

certain vanished--those with particularly strong feelings of abandonment and loneliness--can warp the buildings they find their way into around themselves. as such, the buildings inside altered space that the vanished are found in can vary wildly, and often reflect the hearts of those inside of them.

indeed, as you may have noted: the vanished, as a rule, are people who feel so alone, they manage to literally lose their grip on reality. a running theme in this au is playing DIRECTLY into the ongoing moral of persona of "you can't do it alone" by saying "in fact, people who are too alone will vanish, since they don't see themselves as 'existing' to other people". as the plot goes on and altered space and the shadows grow more powerful, the amount of loneliness needed to trigger this gets lower and lower, but that's the general theme here. surprise, idiots, the solution was to not be individualists in the first place!

hm. i wonder if this is relevant to our main cast in any way. wink wink.

(persona is not subtle. one of my first impressions of this series was a guy awakening his ultimate persona, satan, and using it to shoot god with a gun. i cannot express enough how unsubtle i can be with the theming here.)

personas and the powers of those who wield them: while personas are the manifestation of someone's heart, they are also a LITTLE bit their own beings. this only comes up occasionally in the persona series, but it will come up sometimes here too, so keep this in mind. another thing that is relevant about personas is that, while in some games this is a subtle element and in some games this is in your face, personas are also the shadow of the wielder. the only difference between a persona and a shadow is that a persona-user has, at least to some level, managed to master their own shadow. however, established in... all three persona games actually but ESPECIALLY in persona 3... is the fact that losing control of yourself can cause you to lose control of your persona to tragic consequences. keep this in mind for later.

personas, since they're also sort of shadows and definitely also manifestations of the collective unconsciousness, take the form of legendary/mythological figures. notably, all of joel's team's personas take the form of "legendary lovers" for their first forms. i say 'first forms', because it is possible for a persona to further evolve, normally at a moment of emotional catharsis for the wielder, when they truly master themselves. this is known as an 'ultimate persona', and its normally stronger than the base form.

in my own au, a persona can initially be awakened only in altered space, and only by someone who is determined not to give in and be forgotten. that person must stab themselves as part of their conviction, although this only happens once; from then on, they can summon their persona through their sense of self, manifesting from the scar from that stab wound, as long as they are in altered space.

a persona's powers work at their maximum level inside of altered space. however, in my au where i can be as self-indulgent as i want, a persona-user CAN technically summon their persona in the real world, it would just take either a moment of supreme will and/or probably stabbing themselves again. additionally, a persona-user's stats start to manifest in the real world as well, ESPECIALLY their HP and SP, since those stats are not inherently tied to the persona itself (thanks, wild cards, for proving this for me). persona-users, as a result, tend to be far more durable than a normal human and have far more energy... although this is a bit of boiling a frog, and it takes a while for them to notice this isn't just a 'fighting shadows' thing. additionally, their abilities also tend to stick with them in small ways in the real world. however, no matter what world they are in, a persona's abilities only work at full power on other persona-users and shadows. maybe this is because a shadow is best at affecting another shadow, and powers inherently born of the unreal/the collective unconscious do not affect the real easily...?

joel is a wild card. unlike a normal persona user, he can switch personas, unlocking new ones both in battle in altered space and by fusing them in the velvet room. these personas also get stronger via his bonds with others. this will all get its own section below.

finally, all persona-users in this world have experienced intense loneliness or isolation of their own at some point; the main difference between them and a vanished is whether or not they managed to grasp themselves despite this isolation. in joel's case, this was because a dam overspilled, collapsed, and destroyed his hometown after the person who was meant to be monitoring it vanished without anyone noticing. each of the other members of the party also have their own relationship with isolation that is explored in the plot and their social links. just awakening to a persona, after all, isn't enough to solve that, and it's important to try to master it in yourself. or else, well... i did say that an out-of-control persona ends tragically.

the velvet room and joel as wild card: as i just said, joel is a wild card/fool. unlike the rest of his team, he will only unlock his ultimate persona at the end of the game, after he has finished traveling through all the tarot and self-actualizing. however, he has a VERY IMPORTANT role: he can switch personas at will, adapting to the situation in order to best use his personas for both combat and bonding with other people. he is the protagonist. he hates this. that is the Bit.

in order to swap between more personas than the number he has room for (normally between eight and sixteen, depending on what level the protagonist is), as well as to fuse personas together to make stronger ones, joel has the assistance of a place called the velvet room. the velvet room is common to every persona game, although it changes form depending on the guest. broadly, it is a mysterious, entirely blue room that exists in a pocket within the collective unconsciousness, between dreams and reality, and can MOSTLY only be accessed by wild cards. (i know that's not how it works exactly in personas 1 and 2, bear with me, we are working off of 3/4/5 logic.) to joel specifically, it takes the form of a yacht traveling across an endless sea of souls.

in every persona game, it is mastered by igor, although igor does not directly describe himself as the master of anything. this mysterious long-nosed man, a servant of another god called philemon that we Will Not Get Into Here He's Mostly Not Relevant, has the power to fuse personas together. he's kind of a creepy-looking and sounding old man, but it's worth noting that igor himself has the protagonist's best interests at heart. igor and his assistant are also the people who tend to know the most about the mechanics of being a persona protagonist, and assist the protagonist in this regard.

assistant? yes! igor has an assistant; in this au it is jimmy. they are always almost white-blonde and have yellow eyes, and wear an entirely blue uniform. they refer to igor as their 'master', all consider each other siblings, are different for each protagonist, and all seem to consider igor someone kind who they appreciate. the assistant has a few roles. the first is to keep track of the compendium, allowing the protagonist to summon any persona they've had in the past for a certain amount of money. the second is to assist the protagonist in their journey and emotional growth. the third is to have a LOT of goofy jokes about not really understanding the human world and i love all of them dearly. these assistants are also definitely not human, but they are often social links themselves, suggesting they might at least have a soul.

in this au, jimmy is joel's hanged man social link. jimmy both tries to help joel understand stuff like "you have to bond with people" and how personas work to some extent, but also is largely discovering himself and the human world through joel. i have Plans for this, it's cute.

only joel can see or access the velvet room, which manifests as a glowing blue door in the entrance to altered space and also in a back alleyway in the real world. to others, he appears to space out or fall asleep standing up when he accesses the velvet room, and attempting to point out that glowing blue door, or even the very real key joel possesses for that door, is futile. rip him.

social links: i've mentioned these a few times; these are the means by which bonds make joel stronger. social links are relationships with people in the real world, represented by tarot cards. joel has a social link for every tarot except for the world, which is reserved for him at the end of his journey. these social links are their own storylines, some tied to the main story, and some separate things that mostly build on themselves that joel has to help with. they 'level up' as joel spends time with these people and grows closer with them.

as one of these special bonds gets stronger, joel gets new abilities. the most baseline of these abilities is the ability to get stronger personas through fusion; growing his bonds directly makes joel stronger in battle as a result. additionally, though, i have decided i like that persona 4/5 also offers mechanical benefits beyond that. as joel levels up his social links with his party members, for example, those party members grow as people and get stronger persona abilities. as joel levels up his social links with non-party members, he may gain things like discounts on gear, new abilities of his own, or general ways to smooth his way in altered space. a maximized social link unlocks the ultimate persona of that tarot, which is incredibly useful.

the bonds you make in the real world help chain you to reality, and in turn, help make you stronger outside of it. hold on to them, wild card. you'll need them.

joel is aware of what tarot each social link is, and diegetically hears the gameplay voice telling him they've leveled up. additionally, he inherently has the knowledge that when he has a persona that matches a person's arcana, he is inherently somewhat more likeable to them and will be able to bond easier. i am sure this will never get to his head at all.

the team/school rescue committee: it existed before joel came around, in a thing i'm stealing from persona 3! grian was the first to summon a persona, and joe hills, a teacher at the school who knows more about this than most people do, managed to find him and start training him. scar joined as well later, but they've been on their own and barely treading water re: saving people from shadows. joel joining enables them to finally start going on the offensive.

as a team, they're... trying. they aren't very cohesive early on, but they're working on it. its awfully lucky that they have a LITTLE guidance and aren't figuring all of this out on their own, although even joe doesn't have a clue why a bunch of the stuff they face works the specific way it does.

their eventual goal is to figure out what the root cause of people starting to fall into altered space is, and stop it.

additional mechanics i didn't have another heading to put under: there's a persona mechanic called "social stats"; they are somewhat different every game, but they represent social skills joel levels up by doing... esoteric things at the best of times, lol. he will have five stats here, which i mostly won't bring up except when it's funny. those stats are charm/courage/academics/kindness/proficiency. in persona games these stats are largely relevant as ways to unlock certain social links and dialogue options, but they're important to max out, so... have fun visiting zedaph's terrifying stir fry stand and taking bizarre odd jobs, joel!

i. do not want to get into skill cards. they exist alright, and beef is the guy who can duplicate/create them. that is all i wish to get into at the moment.

tfc owns an antique shop, because i like persona 3's antique shop mechanics. here, he can make unique weapons/skill cards/items that can be used in battle by using rare materials from altered space. he seems to have vague knowledge of some persona mechanics, although weirdly, they don't exactly line up with how joel's own persona mechanics work. wonder how that happened...?

stuff from altered space can come out to real space. cleo is willing to fence this stuff, although joel has Questions about how she sells some of it for him. well, whatever. it's a good source of money, a thing he is unfortunately always running out of these days, on account of needing to buy everyone weapons and armor. actually, this feels like a scam on cleo's part, given she's ALSO his main source for that. goddammit.

and that's... basically all the base "game mechanics" of this au! i think that's everything that's relevant for now i hope everyone enjoys it!

[ccircusclwn]

are.you.an.angel..

I've been looking for AleNoah as dads my entire life man!!! You're like.. sent from above!!

..

wait how did they get MK then..

did Noah and Emma have MK then divorce, and then Noah gained custody..or is she just adopted..

I don't know if you mind me doing this but like,

I like to imagine :3.. that Aleheather broke up and Nemma actually got married but divorced so then MK is just like..there. Then boom Noah and Alejandro meet again and they're like "btw did you know in World Tour I loved you" "fr!? Me.me too!" "do you wanna get married" "yea!!!!"

yea. (I may have gotten Raj into the mix..bleh.)

Wow this is incredibly long sorry about that drink water and have a lovely day!!!!!

-⏰

OKAY I ACCIDENTALLY MAY IR MAY HAVE NOT MADE A CHART THAT EXPLAINS THE AU THANKS TO THIS ASK (IN MY EYES) !!

i personally dont like the idea of the women in the respective relationships abandoning the men to let them be gay w each other, esp since so many people that write similar things end up making emma just straight up abandon the family cause of stress. its way too convinient yknow, jst my opinion, and it makes emma look bad (which shes way too awesome) i think she would be very close w the mudaliar-burromuerto family but as a close friend/honorary aunt sorta way.

but your idea of the au is cool! i like it.

this is kinda of like a long answer to your question being like. how did they have mk.....

okay so.

how did they end up together? i inspired myself from a fic that is literally just noah being alejandro's only visitor in the hospital post-WT. they become friendly and, since the burromuerto family sees alejandro as an embarrassment for being too vulnerable and letting himself lose the million dollars in front of many people, leaving him being kicked out, they eventually end up moving together! its kind of a slowburn college romance if im being honest. and once theyre juniors/seniors in college, they end up getting together.

so. hooow do they adopt mk? since its from birth? wouldnt they be super young? EXACTLY

theyre young parents due to alejandro being pressured from his side of the family to at least get a child if he's going to keep being a failure. this hurts ale deeply and he genuinely starts to panic, thinking he should raise a kid as soon as possible. he manages to convince noah that its true baby fever and that they'll be wonderful parents, even though normally "ideal" parents marry and then have children.

they search for a while and eventually come across someone who was thinking of adoption whilst pregnant, and the three of them worked very hard to make it possible. so in 2007, MK is born, and adopted into the mudaliar-burromuerto family. (i do not know SHIT about adoption so i wont make much detail about it)

of course, not being married and having a child was also critizised, so they quickly married around a year or two later. (it took a while to cut the burromuerto family out of his life, but back then ale was very young and very easily manipulated by his family)

so, around 6 years later, they adopt another kid, which was already a year old, but who really didnt have a name. he was dropped off at an orphanage when he was around 6 months old, but he didnt seem to be registrated anywhere. ale n noah, curious, took on the role to foster care this kid and came up w a name for him, which alejandro chose, nicolás. they adopted him soon after

so yeah full story!!! may be susceptible to change!! wahoo!!

[sleighhethereal]

abandoned oc's for camp camp. they're supposed to be new campers with my teen!AU- but lost motivation i guess?

the full body references is them supposed to be teenagers, but they look 11 with advanced bodies lol

➢ the story i made up for them was that they were all adopted as babies from different families by a once-loving couple— that had a falling out, leading to them being left at an orphanage.

➢ they hated it there. they stuck with each other and just bullied the adults that weren't fond of them.

➢ these three are kind little troublemakers, something like the original trio in camp camp (Max, Nikki, and Neil).

➢ however, they don't just go causing it whenever they want, unless they have a reason.

➢ when they were very young, many adults tried to adopt them. but numerous times are all failures since most adults wanted only one of them, and that resulted in the eager parent's pants going missing and their car painted in different colors.

➢ wonder what did that, hm.

➢ though, they're very giving, affectionate, and fun to be around when you set aside the chaos they start from time to time.

➢ if you wanna learn each of their personalities, or just appreciate art, then press more ⤵

➢ Jolene is the most responsible of the three.

➢ she sleeps at reasonable times, makes schedules, knows her manners, and shows respect to most adults (at least those who respect her too).

➢ she cares deeply for her siblings, and sets them straight if they're doing stupid shit.

➢ she has a good reputation being the goody-two-shoes and she uses that to her advantage sometimes.

➢ thinking her voice would resemble Alessia Cara (Jane from The Willoughbys or her normal voice really, she's so soothing to listen to🙏🏼)

➢ Jazlyn is the perky one, always energetic and giddy. she's the first to introduce herself out of the three.

➢ she's quick to make friends and quick to lose them too, since she can be too much for most people.

➢ she treats everyone equally, unless they're an asshole.

➢ very oblivious and runs into stuff without thinking much of the consequences. she's very apologetic, however, and willing to make up for her mistakes and learn.

➢ thinking her voice would resemble Erika Henningsen or Taylor Louderman (referencing Charlie from Hazbin Hotel and the song Little Miss Perfect)

➢ Jesse is the most protective, and severely loyal to those he trusts.

➢ he's sort of a mix of the two sisters— he's responsible like Jolene, but forgetful. he's chaotic like Jazlyn, but knows when shit gets real.

➢ he's the one starting fights, always taking the first punch. he's known for his anger outbursts.

➢ he's emotionally intelligent, spending his time mostly around women and rarely around men- stating that they're way more complex (which is a joke... or is it?)

➢ thinking his voice would resemble Wayne Brady (reference is King Dice from the Cuphead Show, probably not as dramatic though but the more i listen to it, the less i disagree)

[psychedelic-ink]

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞-𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐊

Pairing: FEDRA!Javier Peña x firefly!reader

Genre: slice of life, smut, romance, angst, enemies to reluctant friends to lovers, TLOU AU, minors dni

Summary: Javier, a former member of the Federal Disaster Response Agency in Kansas City, is haunted by the guilt and violence he indirectly caused by not taking action when he should have. After fleeing Kansas City in the aftermath of Kathleen's violent overthrow of FEDRA, you and Javier seek refuge in an abandoned train in the middle of a forest.

As you and Javier turn the train into a living space and learn to navigate the dangers of a post-apocalyptic world, you gradually overcome your differences and form an unlikely bond. But when your pasts catch up with you, you must confront the demons that haunt you and make a choice that could mean the difference between life and death. Will you choose to protect each other and find a way to build a new life together, or will the ghosts of your pasts tear you apart?

word count: 4.3k

chapter summary: heavy words are exchanged, and swallowing your pride, you try to make it up to Javier. Scouting for supplies doesn't go as planned.

warnings: canon typical violence, no y/n, mentions of suicide/attempted suicide, heated arguing, mention of side character deaths, angst, mentions of blood

Whistle-Stop - A small station where a train stops only on request, typically for rural or low-traffic areas.

You wonder what this train might’ve looked like when it was up and running. 

The grunts Javier makes while securing the fence fade into the background. You stare at the rusting vehicle. How many people did it used to hold? Where did it go to? When the sun shined through the moving train just right did the people that occupied it felt mesmerized by its beauty? Did they feel like they were in a movie? Were there couples who sat and listened to music together? An old lady sitting with groceries between her legs? 

Is the train happy that it’s only you and Javier who occupies it now?

You will never know the answers to these questions. 

“What are you doing?” Javier hisses between clenched teeth. Your eyes slowly drop down to him. He’s glaring at the rusty chain links. You hear him angrily muttering something in Spanish. “If you don't start holding that properly, I’m going cut myself and get fucking tetanus in the damn apocalypse.”

You hold the chain links higher and he shakes his head, his tongue tight between his lips. “But I guess you’d like that.” 

“Not as much as you think,” you answer. “I would feel obligated to look after you. It wouldn’t be that fun.” 

“Why?” he snorts. “Because I saved you? Just end my misery if I ever get sick. I don’t think you’d make much of a nurse. No offense.” 

“Offense fully taken. I totally could.” 

“Nurses are compassionate,” he emphasizes, rolling his tongue. “They look after you and tell you everything is going to be alright.” 

“So you want me to lie to you?” 

“I want you to make my last moments bearable.” 

Javier stands up, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Just, give me that," he grumbles, taking the chain links from your grip. He walks over to where the posts have already been secured in the ground and starts to attach the links to the posts.

“You’re not actually sick, you know that right?” you ask, following him. Sweat clings to your skin. 

“Hm?” he turns to you briefly before turning his gaze back to the fence. “No, I guess not.”  

He begins by using U-shaped fence staples to secure the links to the posts. He hammers them in with a mallet until they're tight and secure. Once he's finished securing the links to the posts, he stretches the chain links across the length of the fence, making sure they're taut.

And all you do is watch. 

Before the outbreak, you might’ve been mesmerized by his face, his neck. Even now it’s hard not to be entranced, but you feel disoriented with your thoughts. You don’t feel like you’re a part of the world, but you also don’t feel like a part of yourself, your mind churning on its own without a soul in it. It’s like a constant fog in your head. Clouding your judgment. 

Javier uses pliers to twist the links together at the end of each row, connecting them to the next row of links. He repeats this process until the entire fence is complete. Finally, he adds a top rail to the fence, securing it to the posts with brackets.

“That should do it.” he says, turning to you and clapping his hands together. You can tell that he’s proud. “It should at least keep us safe from wandering animals.” 

You look around. The wind blows warm. Surprisingly enough, you don’t feel trapped. You feel free. Safe. Secure. These are emotions you aren’t used to, for years you haven’t felt safe with anyone, not even the fireflies. 

“What about infected?” you ask, meeting his gaze. 

Javier, chewing on his bottom lip, comes closer. The space between you and him is paper-thin, almost non-existent. Your skin prickles as you feel his need to touch. If you just leaned in, move a bit closer, you know that he’ll wrap his arms around you in an instant. The air is heavy with his longing need to comfort you. 

You’re still not sure if this habit of his has something to do with you specifically or if he’s just generally like that with women. 

“We’ll be safe,” he says firmly. He’s trying to convince himself more than you. “Besides, I think the one you ran into was a one-time thing. Just…” he sighs and drags his thumb down the bridge of his nose. “Just don’t go on any late night strolls and you’ll be fine.” 

“I wasn’t strolling,” you say, for some reason defensive. 

Javier’s brows crease, his frown deepening. “Then what the hell were you doing out there?” 

“I don’t know. I guess I couldn’t sleep in the uncomfortable fucking seats.” you shake your head with frustration. He takes a step back, pulls out a cigarette, and stuffs it between his lips. His movements are rigid, yet he’s buzzing. 

You meet his glare and he lights his cigarette. Takes a deep inhale. You watch as his chest expands. 

“I don’t answer to you.” you remind him. “This isn’t some FEDRA mission where you have foot soldiers working under you. I can do what I want.” 

“You almost died.” 

“Yeah? So? What’s it to you?” you lift your chin, relishing in the defiance of his words.

His jaw is set tight, molars grinding together. He takes another inhale of his cigarette. He answers as smoke pours down like a waterfall from between his chapped lips. “You’re a goddamn pain. A thorn in my side ever since—” 

“You met me?” you bark a laugh. “You’re doing the same thing I said I would do if you ever got sick.”

His brows pinch with confusion. “What?” 

“You feel obligated to take care of me,” you explain. “Because I dragged your ass away before Kathleen could hang you. Before she could put a bullet through your head.  Just like she did with your friends.” 

He takes a sudden step forward and you flinch back, your stomach drops. 

Your eyes are round with shock. As if you were burned, your hands move to cover your mouth but upon noticing the instinct, you lower them. You said what you said. Your heart sinks into the dark pits, and your gaze falls to the ground. You don’t want to look at him. He’s right, you are a pain. 

You feel the heat of his anger on your skin like ashes raising with the wind and kissing your cheeks. He’s glowering at you. A bit too long for comfort. You only hear the gravel crunching as he takes a slow step back. A noise vibrates in his throat. 

“We’re going to go and find some mattresses. Rip the seats out, try to modify them.” he suddenly says. You refuse to look at him. “If that’s alright with the righteous rebel?” 

You’re far too stunned to come up with a witty response. 

“Okay.” 

“Okay,” he mimics you, and flicks the end of his cigarette to the ground. He steps on it. You’re positive he’s imagining it’s you when he does it. “Maybe you’ll stop being so fucking unpleasant all the time if you get some sleep.” 

You look back to the train and you wonder. 

Is it happy that it’s you and him occupying its metal walls?

He doesn’t talk to you. 

It’s kind of funny that he’s giving you the silent treatment. Like either of you is close enough for that to have an impact. He walks ahead, you a couple of steps behind. The cabins you came across so far were rummaged to death, only rubble and one can of Chef Boyardee’s ravioli left behind. He wrinkled his nose when you showed it to him. You shrugged and put it in your pack. 

The cabins were basically falling apart, one had a tree going through the roof, and the other had some parts of its wall stolen for—what you assume at least—use. 

Javier suddenly stops and points ahead. Following his finger, you notice another cabin. Nodding, you follow him. 

Is he actually not going to speak to me? 

Oh, the guilt. It comes crawling back. It rakes your skin from your feet to your head, leaving uncomfortable lingering blossoms of pain. He blames you for it. That much you can say with certainty. And to a degree, even if you didn’t know what Kathleen was capable of, it was your fault. 

The soles of your feet ache, burn, every time you take a step. It would be great if you could find some new insoles. Your pretty sure the inside of your boots is filled with blood. 

A soft hiss of pain rattles in your throat. Javier slows— he doesn’t look back, doesn’t say a word, but he does slow down. But you might’ve be imagining it, you have no idea. Maybe you sped up without knowing and it looked like he slowed down. Why would he care anyway? He hates you. You hate him. The silence shouldn’t be bothering you. 

However, you are a decent person, at least in these conditions, and you are grown-up enough to acknowledge that you’ve gone too far with your words. This man isn’t a punching bag. You had no right to vomit your anger at him. 

“Javier,” you speak up and he actually does slow down, leaving only a step or two in between. Still, he doesn’t turn around to look at you. The cabin looms closer now. “I’m…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re right, I’m just being unpleasant.” 

His steps come to a full halt. Your breath hitches as he turns to you. You think he’s going to come closer, cup your cheeks and whisper that everything is going to be alright—But he doesn’t. He remains rooted just a bit ahead. Observing you, his brown eyes a shade darker. He tilts his head, and a chill settles at the bottom of your spine. 

“I don’t hate you,” you blurt out, his look feeling like an uncomfortable second skin stretching over your body. “But I still can’t fully trust you either. I—” you swallow and close your eyes. “I don’t know what to think of all of this, Javier. One moment I was trying to save the world, and now I’m…playing house with a FEDRA officer. I’m…it’s hard. But it’s not fair of me to put that on you. Especially since—” 

You shake your head, the rest of the words dying on your tongue. You don’t want to think about what happened in Kansas City. You don’t want to even verbalize it. You bury it down. Force yourself to forget what you had unknowingly contributed to. Javier seems to understand that because instead of acknowledging your sudden loss of words, he says something else. 

“We’re not playing house, we’re surviving.” he says bluntly. “The fireflies lied to you. FEDRA lied to me. We were both promised something impossible from the start but believed it anyway. I…I don’t…” he lets out a deep sigh. “I don’t know how to talk to you. There’s this—this fucking ball of fire sitting on my chest, and whenever I think too hard about…everything, I get so fucking angry with you. I shouldn’t.” 

He takes a step forward, you fight the urge to back away like you did earlier today. You raise your brows when he opens his palm, and without much thought, you place your hand on top. Javier gently curls his fingers, sliding them up so he’s holding your wrist. The pad of his thumb lies directly on top of your pulse. He can feel your rapid heartbeat. 

“I don’t want to be mad at you,” he states calmly. “But you need to stop treating me like the enemy. Like every dialogue between us is an ongoing war. It’s not. We’re not on the battlefield anymore. It’s over.” he turns and starts walking again. You’re left behind, staring at him with wide eyes. 

“I trust you, you know.” he calls out. “I might be angry, but I do trust you.” 

Javier has always been good at noticing details. 

Before FEDRA, before the outbreak, he didn’t have much of a life other than his job. He would’ve thought dealing with cartels and working at the DEA would prepare him for all of this. For the violence, for the inhumanity. 

But it didn’t. 

He takes the first step inside the weathered cabin. Details. It’s all in the details. He doesn’t need to look to see. You walk in without a thought, you don’t see it. You don’t see the small armless doll on the floor, the broken shards of glass on the coffee table, the splatters of blood on the window. 

But you do notice the stench. You see the bodies. There are two of them, a woman and a man decaying, their hands still locked together. Javier sees the gun and his skin prickles. 

It smells god awful. His gaze moves towards you. You don’t seem bothered— No— That’s not the right observation. You look like you’re used to it. There’s a difference. However, you’re definitely bothered. He can tell by the way your nostrils flare, by the way your eyes move a beat faster around the room. 

You move closer to him unconsciously. He wants you to feel safe so he gets close enough so that his shoulder is touching yours. You visibly relax. 

“Let’s go upstairs,” he murmurs. “Maybe there’s something there.”  

When they stand at the bottom of the set of stairs, a loud banging echoes. By pure habit Javier slides in front of you, his arms slightly outstretched with the intent to keep you away from whatever lurked in the house. He pulls out his gun, and he notices you doing the same. 

It’s a slow climb. The sound gets louder and louder, screeching and clicking bouncing off the rotting walls. Your breathing is fast and uneven, his probably isn’t that much better. In hindsight maybe leaving the cabin as soon as they noticed there was an infected inside would’ve been a better choice, but where they resided isn’t that far off. It wouldn’t be a stretch for more infected to come this way if they don’t get rid of it. 

They reach the door and Javier’s stomach churns. On top of the molding door is written “ALICE’S ROOM” with stickers covering the rest of the wood. His eyes snap to you, your gaze glued to the writing. 

Bile coats his tongue, his stomach lurching uncomfortably. By looking at you, he’s reminded of the younger FEDRA soldiers. The ones that had nothing to do with anything. They were fresh out of school, orphans, mostly. 

As soon as Javier opens his mouth, the door shakes with a bang, and both of you jerk away. His heart beats in his throat. He meets your gaze, he lifts three fingers. 

“On three,” he mouths without making a sound. You nod. 

For the first time, he’s pleased that you used to be a firefly. He doesn’t want to imagine being in this situation with someone without any experience. This whole thing would be much harder then. 

It all happens in a flash. Javier kicks the door open, you aim and shoot it right between its eyes. The small body drops, the sound of it making his skin crawl. 

“Shit,” you murmur, exhaling a shaky breath. “It’s just a fucking kid.” 

It is. A girl, probably seven or eight. She’s wearing a polka-dot dress and a pink neon slap bracelet around her tiny wrist. Her face is indescribable, the fungus had corrupted her from the inside out, bursting from her skull. 

“I guess they couldn’t…” Javier swallows, his fingers twitch and he goes to feel the outline of his cigarette pack. “They couldn’t. And locked her in here, then took their own lives.” 

“That’s a shitty thing to do.” 

He scowls as he turns to face you, you’re quick to shake your head and raise your hands. 

“That came out wrong. I meant leaving your kid to suffer like this and escape. We…” you close your eyes, hold them like that for a while before opening them again. “We all thought about it, one way or another, to take a way out. That’s not something I judge. But why make her suffer alone?” 

“I imagine it was more complicated than that.” he licks his lips, and follows his jawline with the pad of his thumb. “But…I do agree with what you’re saying. 

We all thought about it, one way or another, to take a way out.

He doesn’t like the images his brain flashes at him. You, with a gun in your hand, aimed at your head with tears flowing down your face. He’s felt the same, tried the same, so it’s hypocritical of him to get angry at you for going through something similar. But he can’t help it. His blood boils, the skin underneath his nails itching. 

“I want to bury them.” he says suddenly. “They were a family. They deserve to be together.” 

He’s not sure if you’re giving him a look of pity or compassion. Your brows are turned upward, lips stretched into an affectionate smile. He expects you to say no. That’s all you’ve done after all. Get angry with him, chew him out. He deserved it. But still, it hurt. He didn’t expect all that to happen, he wasn’t aware he was just a clog in a fucked up machine. Javier grinds his teeth, goosebumps flare over his skin. Unknowingly he had closed his eyes. He was weak. He was—

“Sure.” 

His eyes shoot open but he doesn’t look at you. His gaze glued to the child infected that lays in a puddle of blood, threads curling out of the poor girl’s bloody lips. 

Javier closes his eyes, lets out a deep breath, and answers. 

“Thank you.”

The sun was hell. Javier never actually liked the heat. He was used to it, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed being under it for hours non-end. The fabric of his shirt felt like second skin. 

Images of him peeling it off flashed in his mind. It was a bit gross to think, but he imagined himself feeling relieved after it. Like a snake shedding skin. The cool air would caress his overworked muscles, his body would feel a thousand times lighter. 

Then he would hop into the shower, wash away the residue of the sweat and grime.

Javier's gaze drifted towards his father, Chucho Peña, who was regarded as a pillar of the community. Always willing to lend a helping hand, he was a trusted confidant to many in town. Javier, too, had received his fair share of unsolicited wisdom from his father, who never shied away from imparting his knowledge to his son. It didn’t matter if Javier asked for it or not. His dad was always eager to push his son in the right direction. 

His father came out of the ranchhouse holding two sandwiches and two beers. Javier watched as his father took a seat on the stairs, creaking under the old man’s weight. 

At first glance, the younger Peña could see the similarities between him and his pop. The eyes, the lips, the stubbornness on world views. They never seemed to see eye to eye. A fact of life he grew up knowing, something that made him acutely aware of other sons and their relationships with their dads. 

Their noses were different though, a stark reminder of Chucho’s once other half, his better half, as he liked to put it. 

The thought tugged at his heartstrings. He wondered what his mother would think of him now. Would she be proud? Or would she share a similar disdain for Javier’s choices in life like his father did? Would she be worried? Would she clutch the phone whenever something came up on the news about the cartel? 

Javier's dad grunted, clicked his tongue, then tapped the pre-packaged sandwich against Javier's calf without looking.

“You sure you don’t want one?” 

“I’m good dad, thanks,” he answered. “Those taste like shit by the way. I’m pretty sure they put plastic instead of actual cheese.” 

“Well sorry we can’t accommodate to your taste buds son,” he pushed his sunglasses up and gestured next to him. “Sit.” 

Javier did what he was told and picked up a bottle. The cold condescension chilled his fingertips, made him almost drop the bottle. He cracked it open with his lighter, then opened his father’s beer as well, placing it next to him. 

He took large gulps as Chucho peeled off the plastic of his sandwich. 

“Seriously pop, don’t eat that.” 

Side-eyeing his son, Chucho sunk his teeth into the bread. He winked at Javier when he swallowed. 

Javier let out a low chuckle and shook his head. 

“It’s your funeral.” 

Javier brushes his hand over the beads of sweat forming on his upper lip. His sunglasses, perched on the bridge of his nose, start to pinch uncomfortably and the skin on his nose begins to itch. He takes them off and hangs them over the collar of his shirt.

“What was your family like?” you ask.

Javier stills mid-shovel and looks down to the ground. They had buried the parents first, now it was Alice’s turn. The sight…isn’t pretty, to say the least—not like burying bodies is ever is pretty. He looks over to you, his stomach flipping as you look at him with expectant eyes. He’s not sure what it is that you’re expecting, but he resumes his shoveling, covering the girl’s face first. 

“I lost my mother when I was young,” he answers, matter-of-factly. “I lost my dad on outbreak day. We were just done fixing up the fences. He asked me to come over so I could relax a little,” with a smile, he shakes his head. He hadn’t realized his voice started to tremble. “But of course his understanding of rest was work. Bless him. He ate one of those crappy gas station sandwiches.” 

“Then…you were there when he turned?” 

“Yeah.” 

He doesn’t need to say more. What else can he say? It was obvious what he did. Javier had blacked out and when he came to, the gun was already in his hand, smoke twisting out from the nuzzle, his body acting by instinct. 

Now that he thinks about it, if it wasn’t for his trigger-happy finger, he might’ve rather gotten bitten instead. 

But his dad had probably preferred to go out the way that he did. Still disagreeing with him, even after death. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Javi.” 

Javi. It’s the first time you called him that. His stomach twists and his muscles tense. You always went the more official route in referring to him, which makes him believe he looks like absolute shit right now. So much so that he was garnering your pity. 

The way you sound reminds him of clouds, a softness that would disappear as soon as he decided to jump into it. He sighs and instinctively touches his sunglasses without the intent to put them back on. 

“Your father’s?”

He jerks at the question, his skin prickling at how intently you’re observing him. 

“How about we keep our histories to ourselves,” he mutters without any real emotion behind his words, his chest heaving as he piles dirt over the tiny body under him. 

He feels you coming closer. The dirt moves under your boots as you take the shovel from him. His fingers twitch at the sudden emptiness, his lips parting with surprise when you look to him. It’s been a while since a woman gazed at him like that. Like he’s more than what he is. You’re seeing him for the first time. The hurt, the helplessness. Or you’re only now choosing to see it, your anger and hatred towards him finally fading. 

Javier’s not sure if he likes that. Some masochistic part of him wants you to treat him the same way that you had for the last couple of days. It’s what he deserves. You’re supposed to be his divine punishment, not a blessing. 

“Sit down,” you say. “I’ll do the rest.” 

He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t snap and say that he can do it himself, or that this was his idea and he should be the one to bury them. He drops down from where he’s standing, crossing his legs and pulling a cigarette to his lips. You’re slower than him. And he notices you struggling with the shovel, your knuckles white as you put more pressure on your fingers so your soft palms don’t chafe against the worn-out wood. 

The sun beats down on them both and he wonders when the autumn chill will start. He desperately craves the caress of cooler weather. 

As he watches you, he takes mental notes of what the two of you would need for the coming winter. Before carrying out the bodies, Javier couldn’t help but check the master bedroom, the bed there was somewhat intact. It should do you good for now. The seats of the train didn’t bother him that much. 

Javier shakes his head, taking a deep inhale, he fills his lungs with nicotine. He’d gotten quite good at lying to himself. His back cracked with protest, but his mind conjured up other reasons why his bones might be aching. 

You’re almost done. He remembers the guilt he had in not being able to bury anyone as he ran away with you. Not that Kathleen left him much time to think it over. Some part of him still wishes he had some fight in him back then. Maybe he could’ve at least found Steve, bury him someplace nearby the city, but it would be impossible to carry someone his size, maybe even heavier. 

You throw the last patch of earth and turn to him, you’re out of breath, your chest moving up and down as you lean against the shovel. 

He glances at the graves, his lids feeling heavy over his eyes. He wonders if they were at peace now. 

Javier muses to himself, he thinks about the daughter running up to her parents in the afterlife, hugging them, crying. 

It’s stupid, but he likes to believe it to be true.

[diazsdimples]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @dangerpronebuddie thanks friend!!

How many works do you have on ao3?

13! Will be 18 when I finish all my current wips (should be 19 but one has been abandoned 🥲)

What's your total ao3 word count?

230,841 words

What fandoms do you write for?

Exclusively 9-1-1, mostly because I deleted all my old British Actor RPF fics 😐

Top 5 fics by kudos:

1. Buck's Baby (By Accident) (Buddie)

2. For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) (Buddie)

3. Sweet child of mine (Bucktommy)

4. In a drought I'll give you water (Buddie)

5. Fucking Finally (Finally Fucking) (Buddie)

Do you respond to comments?

Eventually 😬I try my best!!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of my published fics have a shred of angst. However, Frostpunk AU is full of it so it'll be that

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them?? But probably Sweet child of mine or For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) for hopeful endings

Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? I did have one person get mad at me for events that transpire in Buck's Baby (By Accident) but idc really

Do you write smut?

No. Never. Smut is terrible.

(This is a blatant lie, 7/13 of my fics are smut and I have 3 wips that have smut)

Craziest crossover?

I don't write crossovers.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I have, I'm gonna throw hands

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of!

Have you co-written a fic before?

Currently co-writing 2 with @hippolotamus and @theotherbuckley!

All time favorite ship?

Buddie. Always Buddie. Will always be Buddie. Followed closely by Bucktommy

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I really hate to say this but probably my Single Dads AU. She's so beefy and the size of it has scared the hell out of me. As much as I love it, I don't think it gets as much traction as other wips and the beans just haven't been there.

What are your writing strengths?

I honestly don't know, I think I can write smut pretty well? And I'm not bad at cute stuff. The honest truth is I am extremely insecure about my writing abilities and think I'm average at best.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with dialogue as I often feel like I'm being too OOC. Also descriptions. I spend the most time sitting there thinking of how tf to describe something.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I can google translate pet names and that's where I draw the line. I don't want people to say that I'm saying stuff wrong.

First fandom you wrote in?

Marvel and Sherlock, at the same time.

Favorite fic you've written?

Play me like a fiddle is my labour of love and the fact that it flopped the way it did made me so sad. My next favourite would be You've got me whipped (Brat!Buck BDSM fic) cause it was so out of my comfort zone but I feel like I did it well, or In a drought I'll give you water because I have never been funnier in a fic than in this one.

Tagging (if you wanna): @theotherbuckley @hippolotamus @daffi-990 @watchyourbuck @bidisasterevankinard

@neverevan @aroeddiediaz @spotsandsocks @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @nmcggg

@jesuisici33 @wikiangela @loveyouanyway @cal-daisies-and-briars @exhuastedpigeon

@kitteneddiediaz @thekristen999 @actuallyitsellie @loserdiaz @elvensorceress

@underwaterninja13 @rainbow-nerdss @smilingbuckley @spagheddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings

@thewolvesof1998

[yan-snowcave]

🥀The Horribly Perfect Creation 🥀

[Perfect Love, Yandere!Dragon AU]

[Tw; Body Horror (for the picture at the very end) & Abuse]

Her Perfect Love...

Everything that she wanted...

Everything shaped by her own two hands, creating the perfect creation that obeyed her every command. So obsessed with her, so desperate for her and yet, here he lays. In an unknown location, confused and scared with two new hims literally attached to him. Or would they count as one now? Three turned into one, the Perfect Love she craved;

Manipulative Charming!

Violent Protective!

Obsessed Passionate!

Everything she wanted, she shaped him to what she desired until he lost himself. That was at least until he became this...Monster and got left behind by the one who claimed to be his forever. Was it the many blinkless eyes that bothered her? Or the extra arms perhaps? Maybe the extra mouth they had gotten had bothered her...

If she only told him the problem...He could've fixed it, ripped the eyes out, let her cut his arms off (she cut my finger it hurt so much.) Or maybe the wings attached to them bothered her? He gladly let her tear them to shreds (I just wanted to fly with her but she grounded me, why does it hurt so much? I still feel the knife tear them apart, please make it stop.) Maybe it truly was the endless eyes, watching her every move? She did strangely bump into them (always watching, we need to keep an eye on her, if she leaves she will kill us, I don't wanna die...)

He still remembers the day when she stopped coming back to check on him, keeping him locked away in that abandoned garage they had found a long time ago. The only place that could house his new size, hide his appearance from others, their 'little nest to be' as they called it...Or at least that was what it was supposed to be.

Instead he was thrown away like a broken toy. Something that no longer could hold her interest, something to be forgotten and left to rot while she found someone new. A new toy to shape and break to her will, while they had to watch from afar.

Their promise of being together forever, to be the one and only for each other...

Broken.

Shattered like a plate, into so many pieces but nobody daring to pick them up. Why risk getting cut? Nobody would care for such Trash like him, right? Not even his parents loved him, so why should the one who promised to stay by his side forever? Oh how Pathetic of them to think they were worthy of love.

Oh, how they screamed in rage, pain and denial. All of this agony, echoing throughout the area, their own little song written for the one they loved, someone who indirectly caused them to turn into this monster.

And then, she dared to abandoned them, like everyone else had.

Deep down he had to confess that he knew she would stop loving him, it was clear when the first few symptoms showed up. How she brushed them all off;

A Migraine here, dry skin there, the occasional aggressive snarl that changed immediately to puppy-like happiness and the sudden growth spurt that strained his poor muscles, causing him to collapse as his legs gave out.

All of them easily explainable to her; Stress, the weather getting dryer, just hungover or high from a party they went to and of course his "tall genes" doing their work again.

The only ones concerned for his well-being from what he can recall were Valli, Desmond and Seth. The latter looked at him like he wanted to say something but couldn't...Maybe it was because of the way he started to distance himself from everyone like she had commanded to.

And the worst part? He did it gladly so, after all this was his one to be. His lover, his soulmate!

Now he regrets obeying her command.

He needed help but who.could he even call? She would just ignore him or worse make fun of him, belittle him...No he wouldn't take it.

Valli? Seth? Desmond? What were they suppose to do? What COULD they even do?! He himself didnt know what was going on, he was so alone, how pathetic to think that he would ever get a chance at love.

In her eyes he must've been just another failure.

A failure, disappointment and something that nobody could love. Not even his own parents, so why did he think others would?

...How Pathetic.

"Mr.Change, the doctor is ready to see you."

That voice...It sounded so...

"Oh, how rude of me! I'm Nurse ____ and I will be the one to take care of you from now on! Welcome to the Draconic Rehabilitation Clinic."

Perfect...Yes, they would be his Soulmate, he would make sure of it and this time;

They wouldn't be able to run from him!

[This is what Perfect!Dragon Milo looks like, he has a more healthy one he unlocks after spending time with the nurse (your OC/Sona/Self Insert/Ect ;3)]

[mlem2460]

EAHF:

switched at birth au & y it ADDS to the story instead of taking away fr it

1) i get y people dont like the 'apple & raven being switched at birth' reveal undermining their whole stances on the storybook & their destinies cause that WOULD BE redundant & a terrible execution HOWEVER

2) think of the ✨possibilities✨

3) of the absolute ABUNDANCE OF ARCS available to all after the reveal

raven's frustration at everyone FINALLY believing she can be good, but only because they are ONCE AGAIN reducing her to her BIOLOGY rather than her actual character n struggling the keep her stance for choice over destiny & running the risk of rejecting the acceptance that she's been chasing being within her reach for all the wrong reasons, (extra spice for having to face resentment from some rebels for her new storybook happy ever after & no longer being encouraged to have outbursts but expected to have the emotional intelligence of a white after being partially raised by the most deranged queen in history)

apple being left by so many royals (not all tho, be fr) for being 'evil' & not knowing if she should be upset cause yes: they're supposed to friends, but no: they are following their destinies as they should, but yes: if she's supposed to be evil now resentment is good-but in an evil way? cue a jekle&hyde level of seconded guessing & doubt because she was raised to be good & she has strived to be kind everyday of her life but now she has to be evil to follow her destiny & oh this feels horrible, should she apologize to raven for the pressure she placed on her?, but no she's evil now and she shouldn't apologize for anything ever, but she feels horrible, but if she's evil is she supposed to feel horrible?, or should it feel good to do bad?, what does she do??

royals having to decide if they're more committed to being good friends or following their destinies

rebels having to decide if they want their leader to sign for a happy ending most of them dont get, resent her for that same ending, or pressure her into staying a rebel the same way the were pressured to follow their destinies

dexter panicking cause yeah! raven is amazing & everyone should see it, but oh gosh pls dont let daring be her prince that would be too much, but he wasnt supposed to be prince charming either?!?

briar struggling to support her friend (cause obv she not abandoning apple) but not knowing how to help apple in her struggle to try to stick to being a royal as the new evil queen when she herself is a rebel

maddie being 10 toes down for her bestie since day one & accidentally wreaking havoc on royals who cant actually be mad cause that's the mad hatters daughter & trying to make her conform would encourage rebel ideals of going against ones destiny but HOW IS THE TEA ROOM UPSIDE DOWN & THE GOWNS OH FOR THE LOVE O-

royals, sidekicks, henchmen, villagers, etc all across the kingdom now having concerns about children whos traits dont line up with their parents or whatever else

i personally hope grimm has an aneurism

it's easy to say the evil queen switched them for sh*ts n giggles & thats fun for its own reasons BUT what about the infinite possibilities of other culprits??? snow white sees her daughter has dark magic? switched. whoever ravins dad is tryna get back at the evil queen? switched. random bumbling henchman/sidekick doing a lil whoopsie? switched. concerned citizen tries to keep innocent child fr the evil queen & the delirious post-labour evil queen tries to take back her child? switched. jealous ex-lover or bitter sidelined sibling/relative? switched. magic? switched. hotel? trivago switched.

A N D every characters stance, feelings, etc are changed depending on how & y the switch even happened in the first place

In Conclusion:

don't let this au flop because of poor execution

[clonemando]

alrigth so plz ignore this if you don't like the prompt-

but imagine the 501st in a Order 66 fix-it AU where the empire never happened and eyeryone lived dealing with Jedi younglings looking at them like they hung the stars. (listen, those kids already idolized Anakin to some extend so there is solid reason to believe that they ALSO idolized these super cool clone guys who are super strong and go on super cool adventures to defend the galaxy)

This was a really fun prompt and I could probably write about this forever but here's a little something that was spawned from your prompt. In this AU Palps is murdered off screen and the Jedi added the Clones to the order under a new branch.

Rex sighed as he carefully made his way through the temple searching for Fives. He knew that letting his ARCs loose for even a minute was asking for trouble but Cody had invited him out and now they were citizens, they had rights and their own bank accounts through the Jedi order, which meant they could buy things. He couldn't say no to drinks and shopping and complaining about their new safe jobs in the Jedi Security Force. Well safer anyway. Nothing would ever be 100% safe when it came to the Jedi.

The point was, now he was sober and needed Fives' to finish his own forms from their last mission so he could do his own work but his ARC was nowhere to be found in the new Clone wing of the temple. He had asked around and been told that a group of younglings had kidnapped Fives and dragged him away to their clan dorms which had led him all over the temple now.

"Trooper Fives is it really true you fought off the Sith lord all by yourself?" A little voice asked excitedly as Rex walked in and Fives grinned.

"I heard he stole the Sith Lord's lightsaber and stabbed him with it so hard the Sith EXPLODED!" Another youngling added and Rex snorted causing them all to look up at him.

"Are you lying to the Jedi cadets Fives?" He asked crossing his arms as all the kids gasped and immediately abandoned their current perches crawling over Fives to come surround Rex.

"You're Captain Rex aren't you? You're the the coolest trooper in all the GAR! We had a whole test about you!" One said making Rex's cheeks burn.

"He's not a Captain anymore dummy! He got promoted to a Commander after Knight Skywalker left the order to marry Senator Amidala after the war ended." Another cut in and Rex raised his hands.

"I'm not either anymore cadets, the war is over. We all retired those positions." He pointed out to hopefully stop the argument from starting.

"Yeah, he's Knight Rex now. When the Order accepted the clones into the ranks, we were given positions just like the ones you use. Do you still want to hear about how we defeated the evil Sith Lord?" Fives added giving Rex a bright grin that made Rex roll his eyes.

"Fives didn't kill the Sith, though he was there. Fox killed the Sith with help from Masters Windu, Kenobi, Koon and many others. However Fox is grumpy and hates being bothered so he made up the story that Fives killed Palpatine to keep from being in the spotlight." Rex told them and a few pouted nearly as hard as Fives was now pouting at him.

"But then why would you tell us that? Wouldn't that be giving away his secret?" One of the younglings asked and Rex nodded.

"You all have grown up together haven't you? Fox is my big brother. I have a job as his little brother to annoy him as much as possible... so I suggest you all go ask him to tell you the true story of that night and tell him that Rex sent you." He said with a wink that made them all giggle and run off to go try to find Fox.

"I'm only not mad at you for stealing my fan club because Fox is going to be livid at you now." Fives said picking himself up and Rex chuckled.

"You have green clan still sending us drawings of you with all of them from when you saved them from that rogue cleaning droid, you don't need another fan club. Now come on Knight Fives... our new positions means you have paperwork that needs to be done." He pointed out and Fives whined but let Rex drag him back toward the Clone quarters.

[theswordwizard]

screenshotting for use instead of forcing them to see hella tags but as someone who has a constant background of narration around special interests going on in their head which eventually will start to run out of "canon compliant" possibilities and start experimenting with crossovers: this is why I struggled for a bit to do a coherent plotty crossover between daredevil and nbc's hannibal. this is another rambling "for me and literally two other people with my interests and way too interested in meta-compliancy" post:

basically: daredevil and nbc's hannibal have conflicting main themes in ways where they don't as easily synthesize into a new coherent theme. nbc hannibal basically amounts to: what does it take for a person to become a 'monster,' or otherwise transform into a version of themselves that would be a terrifying stranger to them previously. and it sort of frames it as... not necessarily a power fantasy, but it frames trauma as something powerfully transformative. you become a version of yourself that can survive/thrive/take control in the hell you've ended up in. you will surprise yourself what you are capable of doing when it's your only option. but at the same time, its a sort of "succumbing" to your situation.

daredevil is almost antithetical to this. matt's whole thing can kinda be summed up as "even after everything, it's still you." you can go through any amount of trauma and still be able to recognize yourself after. you can stick to your principles even when pushed to the limit and come out alive, and being able to do so is important. he IS his principles, and even though he constantly falls short of himself, his struggle is a definitive trait of his. whenever he starts to abandon his principles is always tied to him losing his sense of self.

he cannot win (in the long run) if he abandons who he is, even if it's only an internal struggle. it's especially prevalent in the comics where basically whenever he abandons his principles he has a bit of a flip-out and tries to abandon "matt murdock" entirely, and then struggles to maintain whatever new identity he takes and has a whole identity crisis/mental breakdown. his strength is his stubbornness and refusal to remain fallen from his standard of self.

so obviously, one of these themes need to bend so far it breaks when put together. put matt in range of the BAU/Hannibal's house and its the big book vs thin book meme. in part because matt's biggest struggles in his narratives are against structural violence and systems (not to mention... the smells...). "there's this one evil guy causing 90% of the problems" is again basically antithetical to matt's narratives, or are at the most just his weakest plots.

ALSO, a lot of the murders in hannibal get treated as combinations of three categories (by Hannibal, who I would say has the most Thematic Influence over the show): 1) they basically deserved it and they were better off being dead in whatever form than alive (mason, mischa's killer), 2) what the killer gained from their death was more important than their life (sorta the case of melissa, her death being the photo negative so will could understand the ripper), 3) their death was important to the killed person, they were only able to ascend or transcend something in their death (many of the ripper victims and general murder victims.)

Basically "agreeing" with Hannibal, or adopting his viewpoint, (or basically being 'seduced' by the story) requires viewing deaths in those three ways. It requires a sort of dissociation with the reality of a person dying in any practical matter. any death becomes metaphor and symbolic, and the symbol is more important than the ending of life, it transcends it. this also doesn't rock with matt's themes.

even if you go serial killer AU matt's relationship with violence, and the temptation of committing murder, is based around practicality. it's that killing would technically be the most efficient way of stopping someone from hurting other people ever again. it's how he could cut through the red tape and financial security that protects fisk or fisk's stand-in, the way they've manipulated systems of supposed justice to hurt people (and specifically innocents), and just end it for good. obv in cases where that does happen (by his hand or others) it again leans into the fact that there is no single bogeyman that can be killed to stop evil or whatever. if fisk dies, there is a replacement to that power vacuum, if matt steps into that role to try and control it, he fails miserably.

hannibal approaches the seduction of murder with: and it's actually awesome? while daredevil approaches it with: it won't actually help you, and it won't fix anything. you will only destroy yourself. both of the (shows at least) fixations on catholicism also have parallel approaches with hannibal encouraging you to become your own god and daredevil reminding you that you aren't. will is basically betrayed by his friends and community while matt is consistently supported by his.

ultimately, nbc hannibal is very metaphorical and artsy and pretentious (i say lovingly) while daredevil is like. How Would Superpowers Effect The Local Law Economy.

[ladylooch]

Uhhh. Seeing all this jealous asks and angst ones.

What about jealous miles or you ?

-👢

A/N: Hello, hello! Thank you for your patience while I got lost in the Meiers :) I am going to use this to start talking more about Kailey and Miles. I hope you don't mind! So here they are... the next AU, Shot In the Dark 😘

Miles Wood is the life of the party tonight.

One of his college teammates married his college sweetheart and the BC boys have shown up the way they always do- loud, slamming shots, and dancing their thick asses off.

The last few days have been filled with meeting new people and hearing all about Miles in college. If I thought he was wild now, apparently I haven’t seen anything yet. There was the time he passed out drunk on the front lawn. The time he was the reigning beer pong champ on campus for both of his years. And of course, the way he could look at a girl and get her panties to drop. Miles had steered that conversation away quickly, joking that those days are far behind him. Cause he’s got me. 

But from my view of the dance floor, some habits are harder to drop than he may realize.

“Ahh Woody is on his shit tonight.” A drunk, Colin White tells me as he tosses an arm around my shoulder. “He always gets wild with the girls to this song.” The song is “Just a Lil Bit” by 50 cent. Miles is in the center of the dance floor, shirt blown wide open, tie around his head as he shakes his ass in the middle of a bunch of blondes. “Don’t worry. He’s obsessed with you.” Colin drawls after another sip of whiskey. 

“And yet we haven’t talked since dinner.” I snort. My tone sounds bitter, even to me. Jealous too as we both seemingly forget we had one another in the abandoned coat check room during cocktail hour. 

“Go get your man then!” Colin jokes, nudging me forward.

“I’m not chasing someone I came here with. Tell him I headed back to the hotel?”

“Uh…” Colin’s dopey, buzzed grin falls off his face. “Wait…”

I don’t. Instead I start making my break towards the exit. 

“Baby!” I hear behind me as I push open the doors to the main entrance. The key to Miles’ Range Rover is tucked in my purse. I’m long sober. We had agreed I would stay sober tonight so he could enjoy. But that was before he paraded blondes in front of me, twirling them around and inserting his infectious giggle after every sentence from of their mouthes. 

“Kailey!” My heels keep stabbing the concrete. I don't turn or slow down for him. Unfortunately, we got here late and parked in the way back. 

“Kails, stop.” Miles calls again from behind me. His tone causes my steps to slow. He��s turned gentle and soft. I look over my shoulder at him. He hustles closer, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Where ya going?”

“Back to the hotel. You don’t seem to need me here anymore.” Miles gives a light, laughing scoff. 

“What?”

“Don’t do that.” I wave my hand at him. 

“Babe, I asked you to come on the dance floor with me.”

“There was no room.” I snap. “Too many blondes who’s panties were falling.” 

“Oh.” Miles catches on, chuckling. “Baby, are you jealous?” He is laughing incredulously like he can’t believe it. This has never happened between us. Not with the women wearing his jerseys at games or their pleas to hook up on social media. Never. It usually doesn’t bother me. He’s a smoke show, but he’s mine. And that is usually enough. 

Not tonight, in his hometown, where I’m the outsider in his world. 

“Baby. You…” he fades off with another laugh. “Have nothing to worry about.” I stay where I am, but cross my arms over my chest at the cool breeze slapping my bare skin. “What you are to me means you never have to worry about anyone, ever.” He pulls his suit jacket off while walking towards me. The silky lining makes me shiver when he drapes it along my bare shoulders. He closes the lapels together into his fist, then tugs me forward with the fabric. I brace my hands on his abdomen as we crash together. “Kiss me, jealous girl.”

But his lips lock to mine before I can contemplate his request. I wrap my arms around his big shoulders, letting him guide my hips back and back and back until I am laying down on the hood of someone’s car. Miles falls over me, shoving his tongue into my mouth. When we need air, he pulls away, looking at me breathless, brown hair splayed along the dark car, green eyes wild with desire for him. 

“All mine.” He murmurs, stroking a finger down the valley between my breasts. I reach for the bulge in his pants. “All yours.” He reminds me. “This too.” He places his hand over his heart. “Always yours. I’m sorry.” He finishes as he puts his hands on either side of my head. I tug at one side of his open dress shirt, pulling him back down to my lips. “The rest of the night you’re the center of my attention. Wanna see your ass moving on the dance floor.”

“There? Or in our hotel room.” Miles kisses down my jaw to my collar bone. He continues down to the edge of my dress on my left breast. He bites the skin there.

“Maybe the car? As you’re riding me…” He trails off, moving lower. He uses one finger to plunge the fabric down to expose my hard nipple. He sucks it into his mouth as I clutch his curls with my fingers. 

“Car sounds good.” I choke out. He laughs against my skin. He pulls me into his arms, carrying me down to his Range Rover, teasing me with his stiffness with each long stride towards the black car.

[lucky-bishop]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @lavender-lotion love u!!!

How many works do you have on ao3?

80 as of this week! 79 Teen Wolf and 1 WWDITS 😂

What's your total ao3 word count?

662,501. Which is insane to me. But I've already posted 78k so far this year!

What fandoms do you write for?

First and foremost is Teen Wolf. But I have a few works in WWDITS, Stranger Things, and Scream. Most of them are WIPs, and only one is posted to AO3.

Top five fics by kudos:

Hearts in the Byline, Steter, E, 62,395 words

Kinky Antics with the Pack (Kinktober 2022), Multi-Pairing, E, 53,103 words

The Empty-Nester Alpha, Steter, E, 16,306 words

Try, Try Again, Steterek, E, 35,241 words

Mask of Many Faces, Steter, M, 22,806 words

Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Sometimes I'm slow or it takes me a while, but I largely respond to all comments. Sometimes if I don't know what to say to a comment, I won't say anything, but that's pretty rare.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Um. That is tough. I do love angst. I'm going to cheat and give two because they are angsty in very different ways. Major character death vs whump.

For This I'll Burn, No Pairing, E, 4,409 words

Sharing is Caring, Steterek, E, 15,322 words

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Also tough! I have a few that are very happy. But I think I have to go with:

The "No-Bite" Rule, Steter, M, 3,869

Steter HEA.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not often, thankfully. But yes, I have.

Do you write smut?

Sure do!

Craziest crossover:

I haven't written anything that's a crossover, I don't think. I do have a BTVS/Teen Wolf crossover in my long list of WIPs, though. Have the closest thing I have to a crossover - Sleeping Beauty AU.

That Gleam in Your Eyes, Deter, E, 7,393 words

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! The "No-Bite" Rule was translated into Ukranian. Being asked by the translator if this was okay was a beautiful moment that made me incredibly happy. 💖

Правило "Жодних укусів"

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not! But I would. Maybe @thotpuppy and I will write that baseball AU someday.

All time favourite ship?

It's so hard to pick, but it has to be Steter. I always come back to them.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I think it's pretty unlikely I'll ever finish my Stargent fic where Chris uses Stiles as a surrogate daughter after Allison's death. But never say never!

What are your writing strengths?

I'd say tone is my biggest writing strength. I try to have my works be very thematic and emotionally connected, and I think that comes across well for the most part.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Transitions! And action! I guess "movement" if I had to provide a single answer. This can cause my writing to feel very choppy and it's something I do acknowledge and try to work on.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I'll do pet names, single word translations, things like that. I try not to write outside of what I know, though. Maybe someday I'll incorporate my rusty German into fic, who knows?

First fandom you wrote in?

MCU. Those works have been orphaned/abandoned. Good riddance lol. It's just been Teen Wolf since then. My (current) first fic on AO3:

Clean Plates, Sterek, T+, 3,118 words

Favorite fic you've written?

Oooooooooooh again. This is really hard. But I think it has to be:

Down to the Marrow, Steter, E, 23,206 words

Managing an unreliable narrator was not easy. But I'm so happy with the end result. And there's beautiful art by @tarantula-teeth. I love this fic with my whole heart.

No-pressure tags (and I'm sorry if you've already been tagged and I missed it!): @tarantula-teeth, @dear-massacre, @meggie-stardust, @punchedbymarkesmith, @aurevell, @midmorning-bomb, @vmures

[pigeonwit]

I AM ASKING YOU ABOUT NEWSIES AND POKÉMON ANYTHING ANYTHING U HAVE -@jack-kellys

rizz you are a kind person thank you so much for giving me a chance to go crazy insane over my fanmade pokemon teams

now. full disclosure. i am a loser and a pedant and this ask took me hours because i kept going way too in depth and overly-rationalizing why certain pokemon would be unfeasible to have and etc etc and then i remembered that i am the god of this word document and i can do what i like if it means i have fun doing it. so i am giving myself one pedantic thing which is that i'm not giving people full teams since 1) i don't think a bunch of working class kids would have the means money or accommodation to support six full pets (i know the pokemon universe has free healthcare and everyone always has all the food and medicine they need for their pokemon but this is The Capitalism Show, that's not happening here), and 2) a big thing about newsies is the connections the characters have, so giving them all six pets felt like kind of a cop out to me. so we're going by anime rules in which people only have a team of six if they're professional trainers. but as for stuff like 'how can race, a child with 100 roommates, own a horse that is perpetually on fire', we're not gonna focus on that. we're having fun here.

jack

again, since jack as a character keeps people at a distance through his cowboy persona and santa fe dream, i don't think he'd have that large a team. honestly, i'm not sure he would've wanted a pokemon at all. BUT. rockruff's are such a perfect jack-mon it drives me insane. rockruff’s are given to young trainers as their friendly disposition makes them seem like ‘easy’ beginner pokemon, but as they grow older, they become more aggressive and many are abandoned before ever reaching evolution. i always saw this as a reference to buying puppies, not training them properly and then abandoning/surrendering them once they became too difficult, but maybe i was getting too PETA with it. either way, i think jack could relate to that in any au or era – the kids in newsies are ignorable until they cause problems, and then they’re troublemakers who get thrown in the refuge. again, i’m probably going way too PETA on this, but i don’t think it’s a stretch to see the possible connection. i think jack found her in an alley one day when he was young – he was on the run from snyder and couldn’t afford any lodging anywhere – and though she was snappy and defensive at first, jack understood all too well why she was. he was patient, quietly talking about anything at all, tossed her some of the food he’d scrounged for himself because she was just so skinny – and she hasn’t left his side, since. i like to believe she’d evolve into a dusk form lycanroc, as a rockruff can only become a dusk form lycanroc if they have the 'own tempo' ability, which makes them immune to confusion and intimidation, two things jack overcomes as a character.

and for a second pokemon. listen. i don’t think jack would want more than one pokemon – like i said, i don’t think he wanted any pokemon at all since he was headed to santa fe and wouldn’t’ve wanted to spend money he didn’t have on pets – but jack having a smeargle would be so funny. especially a shiny smeargle, for the red aesthetic. he doesn’t know it’s shiny he just thinks it’s really dirty. he fed it once and now it keeps following him around and he really wants it to go away until he finds it copying some of his drawings on the rooftop. and then he just... melts. i think that'd be adorable.

davey

MOTHERFUCKING JOLMTIK. joltik is a flawless davey pokemon. small, easily overlooked, can’t make their own energy and must recharge (like ‘TISM???? PERHAPS????), BUT after storing so much power, they can release it into something incredible!! they also evolve into galvantula, going from the smallest pokemon ever at only 4 inches to a GIANT TARANTULA LARGER THAN A HUMAN MAN – it represents davey’s arc and i won’t elaborate. they attack through speed and special attack, stunning their opponents rather than going on a full-fledged physical assault, which absolutely speaks to how davey behaves within the show. he may not be as physically tough as the newsies, but he is calculating, and more importantly, he’s good at it. also it’s a ‘tarantulas?’ reference, what do you WANT from me.

i like to think davey and his family couldn’t afford a pokemon for every kid, so they have their family pokemon (a mabosstif trained by mayer) and unfortunately no others. but davey found this palm-sized little bug under his pillow during winter, trying to generate energy from the heat, and so decided that maybe, MAYBE, the little fella could snooze under his cap for a bit, just to warm up.

(the joltik stayed. their name is edison. davey hasn’t taken his hat off in front of people in months because all edison's electric charges make his hair puff out in a static ball. don’t tell his mother.)

katherine

katherine is technically wealthy and therefore more likely to have a full pokemon team, but since she doesn’t rely on her father and is living independently on a female journalist’s salary in the 1890s, i don’t think she’d have a large team. three at most.

espeon – her partner pokemon, raised from an eevee. her name is bronte, which i decided before uksies as a reference to the bronte sisters, so happy coincidences all around. i don’t view katherine as a competitive battler since she has nothing to gain from it, so i imagine bronte mostly behaves as a cat would, just with more magic attached – sitting on katherine’s lap as she writes, using psychic moves to float her teacup to her when she needs it, etc – but she can also wreck shop if she needs to.

dachsbun – this one is purely just a charlie sausage cameo. i saw a dachshund pokemon and said ‘charlie sausage’. still, i think it’s a cute idea, and i love the idea of a young katherine running around with a tiny, floppy fidough.

meowstic – female meowstics lean more towards attacking whereas males lean towards defence; again, while i don’t see katherine as being a battler, i absolutely see her wanting a team that can fight should she need them to. here are two pokedex entries for meowstic: “if they don’t get what they want, they will torment you with their psychic abilities.” “if it doesn’t hold back when it unleashes its psychic power, it can tear apart a tanker. its unfriendliness is part of its charm.” we know katherine can be ruthless for the sake of justice, but a big part of katherine as a character is needing to hide her vulnerabilities so people will take her seriously; i like to think katherine tries to channel this energy when she needs people to listen to her. i also love giving characters grumpy little cats, apparently.

(also, this was unintentional, but the pink/purple, yellow/orange and blue colouring of each pokemon does fit w her uksies costumes)

race

race doesn’t really have a ‘partner’, he has his two pokemon who he loves with all his heart. the first is a shinx named lucky thirteen; i’ve always envisioned race as an electric type trainer, he just fits the bill so well. my original thought was electrike, as they can stimulate their muscles with electricity to run faster, and race has always had a connotation of speed (he’s often a track kid or a dancer in modern eras, he has to run away from cops a lot, etc. it’s not a CANON connotation by any means, he’s only called race because of sheepshead, but it’s a connotation i’ve held) but it just didn’t fit to me – electrike, even in first-stage, has a lot of edge to it that doesn’t suit race’s playful exterior. according to shinx’s pokedex entry, when threatened, it will release a dazzling flash and then escape while it’s foe is blinded. i like to think that race uses this to escape people when he’s cheated on a wager or running from the cops; i also think shinxes have a friendlier disposition than electrikes, and then you get all the edginess and good stats as the pokemon gets older and evolves, and i imagine race would mature in a similar way when he finally has the freedom to take himself more seriously as he ages.

race’s second pokemon is a ponyta named corona who wasn’t technically his at first, but he’d always talk to her when he was hiding in the sheepshead stables whenever he was running from someone. she lights his cigars and makes great company, but she is very excitable and also very stubborn. one day race finds her just. following him home across the brooklyn bridge. the next day’s headline is about a crazed pokemon who bucked off her rider, injured a stablehand and broke out of the stables. she’s a very special girl who gets many poffin treats.

(again – how does race keep this very flammable horse at the lodging house? fuck you i’m having fun.)

spot

spot only has one pokemon, making her seem like an easy fight, but with her reputation, it only makes her more intimidating. her partner, a riolu, seems calm and uninterested, but if you’re talking shit you will be hit by two rounds of ‘close combat’ – one by riolu, and one by spot. i like to think spot’s riolu is very protective of her because, as riolu’s can sense emotions, she knows when spot is leaning heavily on her ‘queen of brooklyn’ performance and when she needs to be supported. riolu’s can also sense a person’s nature, so spot will usually bring her to meetings to gage whether or not she can trust someone. unfortunately, her riolu turns into an excitable little puppy whenever race is around.

and now some rapid-fire newsies for funzies

albert has a nickit named dodger. he’ll knock something valuable to the floor, pretending it was an accident, and dodger will steal it.

i gave splasher a quaxley because. duck, swimming, haha. but i also gave jojo a bounsweet because uksies jojo slays hard enough to have a tsareenee when he’s older. then I remembered that both these pokemon’s final evolutions (quackaval and tsareenee) are rivals who will fight each other for territory, and now i can’t stop imagining that splasher and jojo have to constantly separate their pokemon who just wont stop kicking each other.

morris – a growlithe. someone who he knows will be loyal to him, no matter what.

oscar – an absol. someone who can tell when danger’s coming. unlike morris and his growlithe, oscar and his absol seem to really hate each other, but they stay together nonetheless.

mike and ike - plusle and minun. since uksies i love the idea that mike and ike are not twins and didn’t even know each other when they arrived at the lodging house, let alone know the other had the same pokemon as them until they met. they both find it very strange.

finch is the only newsie to have a full team but that’s because he’s befriended literally every bird pokemon that stops on the fire escape. There’s simon the starly, percy the pidove, peter the pidgey, timmy the taillow, franky the fletchling and rooney the rookidee. finch isn’t good at naming. still, the birds like him.

tommy boy has a lillipup and it really offsets his quiet tough-guy persona but he does not care.

when i first mentioned a newsies pokemon au someone mentioned romeo having a luvdisc just for the funniness of it, but honestly i love the idea of romeo having something like brock's croagunk from the 'diamond and pearl: battle dimensions' series to physically knock him on his ass the moment he starts getting too romantic.

medda has a snubbull and she’s the ugliest angriest thing in the world but she loves medda and that’s enough.

[owladaptive]

If you’re still taking questions about the Addams AU:

1. What’s Goldie up to? (I would assume this Scrooge is a bit more on-board with the whole “abandoning him in deadly situations” thing than in canon…)

2. You’ve mentioned Doofus a few times, as the kid who terrifies Louie with his niceness and one of the people who fully accepts the McDuck weirdness, so… yeah, what’s his deal?

3. And to round out the kids, how about Boyd? Better relationship with Gyro from the beginning? (since I can’t imagine this Gyro would let a little thing like a city-levelling rampage get in the way of parental love)

Thanks for keeping up the asks! I've been taking a break to chill and think over some things, so I appreciate the patience in waiting.

1: I've got a whole separate, longform ask for Goldie incoming, hold onto your tushie.

2: Doofus is interesting in the Addams AU because he's still a bit of a crazy kid, I mean he either is oblivious to or completely disregards the McDucks' spooktacular lifestyle despite how unignorable it is. It's just that rather than be creepy and domineering and mad with power HIMSELF he's the complete opposite.

I feel that the foremost reason Doofus exists in canon is to be Louie's worst nightmare, and so I wanted to maintain that. In the addams AU he's everything the McDucks don't want to be. He's cheerful, optimistic, likes bright colous and sweets and pop music and he'll shove all of that in their faces in a most unusual display of unintended torment.

The interesting thing is UNLIKE the McDucks - and very MUCH like his canonical counterpart - Doofus is still toxic. He doesn't genuinely support his family and friends like the McDucks do. His sweet disposition and positivity is overbearing. And he'll push and push and push for someone to stop feeling sad, angry or upset in any way simply because HE wants to be the one to vanquish the negativity - not because he actually cares about what someone is going through.

He might not take it to the same magnitude he does in the show, with the kidnapping and such, but he's hardly a good friend if you just want to live your life, problems and all.

And yeah, Louie is his personal project. He'll make that duck happy one day, he's sure of it.

3: You're right!!! Gyro wouldn't dream of abandoning BOYD after one messy, destructive malfunction. In fact he'd call that a resounding success! Wanton destruction is..... kinda what he was going for.

(Akita of course tried to reprogram 2BO to be his puppet of domination, as he did in canon. He just didn't know that he was about to make a fearsome enemy of the man who had already programmed the boybot to love and obey Gyro's masterminded will for unrelated, even more nefarious purposes (there aren't any nefarious purposes, Gyro just wanted a deathbot buddy.) Anyway Gyro was like EUREKA I've always wanted a diabolical nemesis with which to wage a battle of evil science!!!! *thunder and lightning, maniacal laughter, the sound of whirring chainsaws* and Akita was like "I think I'm gonna just go actually--")

Anyway BOYD has been with Gyro for many, many years by now. And really the only reason Gyro hasn't unleashed him upon the world to cause unholy annihilation is because Scrooge said not to.

BOYD is helpful, polite and completely at peace with his sole calling to eviscerate (or capture for experimentation) ANYone who tries to enter the Money Bin without very special permission from the boss himself. He is great security - scares off anyone who even comes CLOSE to the Bin. His laser vision has sunk many a curious boat that sailed too close. The schoolchildren whisper in the yard of the superheated glare that stares at you across the bridge from the Bin's dark, iron-gated entrance if you're brave enough to walk across halfway.

BOYD also cooks Gyro's meals, he forgets to eat a lot. Have some char-grilled gull Gyro, you haven't eaten since yesterday's seaweed soup.