#drifting dimensions au

[foundnthestars]

so deep in the lore of my reverse drifting stars au that i'm researching how long hearing aid batteries last

[strawberryshortcake1495]

The Drifting Stars AU has me on a chokehold so here’s my Mabel design :3

Here’s Mabel! Or Prim, if you’re an alien in some faraway dimension. After a while of traveling the multiverse, Mabel creates blossoming romances with alien boys but Ford always forces her to leave the dimension in pursuit of Bill. To distract the boy while she leaves, she’ll ask him to get her a primrose flower. He does just that and when he comes back, she’s gone. Never to be seen again. These on and off situationships earned Mabel the title “Primrose”.

Mabel used to be ashamed of the title because she has like a million ex boyfriends who she never wanted to hurt but when things grew dire, she made it her legal name to hide her real identity (with Prim being a nickname). As a final touch, Mabel cut her hair, dyed it pink, and put on eye contacts to really complete the new look. She convinced Ford to change his identity too, growing his hair out to become a woman named Sixtus.

Prim is known as a rebellious war criminal who’s often committing crimes and throwing rallies with her no-nonsense sidekick. She’s a master manipulator wherever she goes, always charming people with her cuteness. It’s not until she finally goes back home to Dimension 46 that she goes back to being Mabel Pines.

But depending on your AU, that could take years. So with her huge treasure chest of trauma, feel free to add existentialism in it.

[sjyuns]

OUT OF MY LEAGUE ┆ A SIM JAEYUN ONESHOT

SYNOPSIS! summer’s here and so is jake’s chance to finally muster up enough courage to talk to you — the prettiest lifeguard he’s even laid his eyes on. only problem? jake’s too awkward and unlucky, but fortunately that’s exactly your type.

OR IN WHICH! jake tries a multitude of things for the first time in hopes of gaining your heart

GENRE! loser nerd!jake x lifeguard fem!reader, down bad! jake, simp behaviour, mutual pining, fluff, humour, first love, strangers to friends to lovers

WORDCOUNT! 12.0k

CAUTION! drowning, reader wears a revealing swimsuit, jake gets a boner, boobs, jake is like geeky to the point where you’d get tired of his thoughts, sexual jokes, one joke about being gay (happy pride month)

MIKAELA’S! thought of a baywatch au, but got carried away and wrote something totally different... going to be one of my last few fics before i go on hiatus cause of exams so i hope you enjoy!! i might write some drabbles/sequel based on this jake☺️ btw i've never been to miami so hahaha… sorry NOT PROOFREAD! | collection

REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED!

read more on this jake: HERE

Jake can’t swim. Maybe that’s really the least of his problems right now since he’s already chin deep into the trenches of the vast ocean gasping for a catch of precious air to fill his screaming lungs.

And he really should be panicking because drifting metres away from the coast of Miami's sandy beach is wrong — at least that’s what you had said to the two ten year olds you had just saved from the ocean last week. 

Not that Jake was listening or that he was following you around the beach: no he’d never, he was just being a good citizen. Yeah, that’s what he’s telling himself.

Because Jake Sim was anything but a sucker for pretty lifeguards in red swimsuits who looked like they could solve all his problems with a kiss. With hair that swayed like chimes as sea salt sprayed you, a goddess-like smile as you sauntered around the beach as if it was your home. Skin that glowed under the sweltering heat of summer, you looked as if you were from a different dimension altogether, and Jake wonders if you’re real, if he’s really here, watching you.

Okay, so maybe Jake was watching. Really intensely. But you would never know that because everytime you came so close as to look at his vicinity, he’d hide his face behind his textbook — right, his coveted quantum physics textbook he brings to the beach, his idea of a good beach read. 

“She’s so pretty, can you actually believe we’re on the same planet as her?” Jake pesters Jay endlessly, mouth practically foaming at the sight of you in the signature red latex swimsuit.

“What other planet would we even be on then?” His best friend scoffs, the first time he’s ever seen Jake so down bad for basically anything other than wave particle theories.

Jake ignores him, eyes still fixated on you — a bright smile plastered on your face as the sun’s rays hit you like a spotlight. “I want to explore the science of the atoms that make up her being,” he says, absentmindedly.

“Okay nerd, wrap it up,” Jay stops his friend, before he embarrasses himself from the volume of his voice. “No hot chick is ever going to dig a loser nerd, more so one that’s head over heels for atomic structure.”

Jay’s right, you’d never be interested. And Jake pouts at that very idea as he watches you talk to your colleague, another baywatcher named Sunghoon. And he can’t help but envy a little at Sunghoon’s figure — tall, athletic, and definitely doesn’t look like he secretly enjoys the elements of the periodic table song. (Jake thinks it’s catchy).

Jake doesn’t even need to take a look at himself to know that he’s nowhere near Sunghoon’s level of physicality. With a body that’s only been to the gym to work there as a receptionist, Jake knows nearly nothing about sports or swimming to be exact, only dragging himself out to the beach to accompany Jay and to watch you save lives.

“If you want her to even know you exist, you have to do something other than hide behind that ass textbook of yours.” Jay points out, and Jake gets deep in thought. Jay’s absolutely right, but between your lifeguard duties and his nervousness from just being around you, he can barely think of a way to create an opportunity to even talk to you.

“How about I create a damsel in distress scenario where I desperately need help and she swoops in like my saviour.” Jake suggests and Jay groans at his best friend’s weird delusions.

“Do you think you’re in some kind of teen beach movie, that’d never work,” he scolds, “just go up and talk to her like a normal person.” 

Normal. Jake thinks his definition of normal differs far from one of a passerby. Normal to him was burying his head in books, building a ten thousand piece lego figurine and bragging about his accomplishment to Jay the next day, you’d never like his normal, that was obvious to him.

“But I’m shy,” Jake states, as if drowning in a vast and wide sea is clearly the better option as compared to walking up to you and saying a simple ‘hi’. 

It probably would be, in his defence, if he actually knew how to swim. Jake has never set foot in waters this deep or treacherous but it wasn’t rocket science, how hard could pretending to drown even be?

“Fine, whatever,” Jay gives in to him easily, knowing Jake would end up doing whatever he wanted to do anyways, “but don’t come wailing to me when you embarrass yourself in front of her.”

Jake scoffs, Jay doesn’t know that he’s got it all planned out in his head — from the moment he shouts for your attention to the moment he acts as if he needs mouth to mouth cpr and your plush lips touch his. A goofy grin lighting up on his face as he imagines the last scenario in his head, your fingers pressed gently against his skin, eyes glazed with worry as you call out his name in hopes that he’d wake up. 

How romantic, too romantic even to the point where Jake turns pink and giggly with excitement, ignoring the look of horror his best friend casts on him to search for you across the beach.

“I can’t believe you’re actually doing this, you’re going to get traumatised — like a trauma for the sea when you actually drown and can’t —” Jake tunes him out, used to his friend’s nagging. 

“Don’t worry man I got it,” Jake says with utmost confidence, “she’s gonna fall in love with me at first save and then we’d kiss and marry each other before adopting a dog that’d be named Layla.”

“Layla is such a bad dog name,” Jay scoffs and Jake shrugs, head and heart both racing at the thought of you.

Jake remembers the first time he’d ever seen you around the beach, the day when Jay dragged him out of his summer home to ‘exercise’: a mere ruse to get his nose out of his textbooks and enjoy summer vacation for once.

That day, he waddled through the sandy beach, grumbling about how the granules of sand stuck to his feet uncomfortably and how they occupied the spaces between his toes. His favourite spider-man comic that looked like it’d been through war and back settled neatly in his grasp as he hung his head down to avoid the piercing rays of sunlight.

It’d only been minutes and he already wanted to leave, unused to the sticky feeling of sweat coating his skin like glaze. It’s loud here, too loud — party remixes blasting through the speakers of multiple beach goers along with the nonstop chattering and constant movement.

The only time Jake had ever been to a place this crowded was comic con when he was ten, and even that was air conditioned. Eyes still locked at the sandy pathway before him, Jake mumbles a string of vulgarities, fingers curling around the pages of his tattered book, lips dry from the heat.

And suddenly a shout from afar, a piercing ‘watch out!’ that gave Jake no time to react before a beach volleyball hammered into the side of his head, the force causing him to plummet into the floor with a disgruntled ‘ACK’, comic now thrown to the side as he held his head in agony.

Stupid fucking beach goers, he thinks, after having nearly consumed a mouthful of sand from his fall of grace. Do they know nothing about trajectory? Parabolas? How hard could it be to hit a ball properly?

His eyes are shut, mouth open to let out a moan of agony, head thumping wildly. This was such a bad idea, textbooks would never hurt his head this much.

“Bro, are you alright?” The familiar voice enters his ears, and Jake musters the energy to open his eyes, giving his friend a dead stare.

“Is the grass green?” Jake replies agitatedly, head still beating like a drum.

“Well there’s a lifeguard coming to check up on you, you know the pretty one that’s on duty today,” Jay states and Jake couldn’t really care less — the spot on his head still swelling. As if some pretty lifeguard could change anything.

Then he takes in a waft of your scent before he feels your presence, lavender sea salt and dreams as your fingers gently grasp his arm, turning him onto his back. Jake doesn’t know what’s happening, your touch leaving tingling sensations that made him miss the warmth of your fingertips, no matter how short the contact was.

“Sorry, I was reprimanding the kids who knocked you out, are you alright?” The same words or care that once came out of his friend’s mouth now coming out of yours, yet for some reason they made his heart flutter and ears burn.

Everything’s suddenly in slow motion and long gone was the snappy feeling of annoyance once he heard you, a melodious voice that could calm waves causing him to glance at its owner, only to see you — eyes, smile, skin all honey sweet. Jake almost lets out a soft gasp at your beauty, something about the tenderness in your eyes and the mirth in your smile that made flowers bloom in his chest.

He feels a different kind of lightheadedness, the one where he feels like he’s drunk on champagne of love. “Is this heaven?” he mumbles, a mindless question that allows a soft giggle out of your lips.

Jake’s in a daze, staring at you with a gaping mouth and clear, innocent eyes — his hair a mess on his head and his face sprinkled with the tan granules of sand. It feels serene, almost surreal how suddenly everything around him feels calm.

“I don’t think we’re dead just yet,” you answer, fingers moving to tuck flyaway strands of your hair behind your ear. The eyes of the boy in front of you are so bright and inviting you almost forget what you’re actually here to do. “Is your head alright? Any headaches, confusion or vision changes?”

“I think I’m hallucinating,” he replies, breathless. The pretty boy in front of you looks like he’d just fallen from heaven as he tries to sit himself up, head still spinning a little from the impact.

And he stares at you as if you’re some goddess, some mythical creature he’s never seen before. “I think I’m very much real,” you reply, pearly whites flashed out at him he almost faints. 

“Yeah, cool, right,” Jake finally snaps out of it after receiving a sharp nudge from Jay who’s trying not to scream at his friend’s interaction with you. “Absolutely, same. I’m so real,” his cheeks flushed rosy red as his eyes left your figure to dart everywhere else.

Jake thinks that even the mighty spiderman hasn’t experienced embarrassment this bad before, in fact probably no one has. “So are you feeling alright?” you ask, worried as you finally take the time to scan his head for any major injuries. 

Previous situation long forgotten by him, Jake can only seem to focus on how excruciatingly close you are to him right now, with your body leaned over his face, cleavage literally dangling in front of his eyes like bait. 

And if it was possible to get even redder than he was before, Jake feels heat rush onto his face. It was probably two inches or three away, or should he say they? He doesn’t know, because he’s never been in such a situation before — the two of them, so perfectly shaped by the tight red latex swimsuit you wore just right there.

Jake also doesn’t know if he’s salivating or not, and he’s way too scared to even move a muscle to check or tell you about the weird position he was in, or maybe even adjust himself so his hard on isn’t poking through the material of his beach shorts so Jake just decides to lean back a little and close his eyes: respectful, gentlemanly, meditative.

“There seems to be no major problem from a look at it but if you’re feeling any of the symptoms i’ve listed before, don’t be afraid to come find me or any of the baywatchers.” 

“Sure,” Jake responds, eyes still closed and body shaking, too scared to open his eyes again. 

“Jake, are you feeling good?” 

He peeks open his eyes, only to find you with concerned filled features and Jay who looked constipated trying to hold his laugh in. “I’m alright,” he says, playing it off as nothing.

“You’re unusually red,” you point out, brows furrowed. 

Jake lets out a sheepish laugh, “it’s a sunburn, you know, the second degree kind when your blood vessels dilate which causes redness.” 

Oh, he’s cooked — reaching the third stage of awkwardness: babbling extremely useless facts. It’s a tier system, as Jay liked to term it and he’s reached the gold tier of loserification.

“You’re cute,” you state, and he momentarily goes into a shock, soul leaving his body for a split second before returning. Did you just call him cute? Him? The guy who slept with spiderman plushies and talked to himself when he was bored?

“Thank you,” he replies before cursing at himself on the inside. Thank you? What were you, his teacher? “You too, I guess.” His hands rub the nape of his neck uneasily, tongue darting out to wet his shriveled lips.

“Thank you, Jakey.” 

He’s so gone.

“He’s so cute, you don’t even understand Hoon,” you groan, face in your hands, wailing in such despair that someone else would think you were mourning. “His eyes, his face, his mannerism, everything.”

Your lifeguard partner leans back into the grey couch of your rest lounge, face full of boredom and annoyance at your nth time talking about the boy you’d seen on the beach.

Sunghoon’s arms folded over his broad shirtless chest as he said flat toned, “you know I got it the first time. If you like him that much just go up and talk to him.”

You sigh, fingers running through the ends of your hair in deep thought, you wish it were that easy, “there’s no opportunity to.” 

“What does that even mean,” Sunghoon questions, “you’re literally a baywatcher, you can create opportunities to talk to that loser. Ask him to join the team or something.”

“He’s not a loser,” you fight back, as if you knew Jake personally. Sunghoon shoots you a look and you immediately add on, “maybe he is, but that’s what’s cute about him.”

“He either carries a physics book or a spider-man comic to the beach everyday to watch you,” he points out, “he has no life.”

Well, Jake does do that but that’s what you liked about him. The way he frantically hides his face behind his books whenever you look at his direction, forehead and eyes peeking out once in a while to see if you’re looking away. His facial features and the way he talked so animatedly to his friend about god knows what. You think you could watch Jake talk about paint drying and you’d still be interested.

“Look, if you like him that much and he obviously likes you, then find a way to talk to him — or like I don't know, pray that he drowns and he needs you to save him?” Sunghoon suggests, seemingly getting into the idea of setting you up with Jake. Summer around here was boring anyways, and he needed entertainment.

“Wow, how charming of you to wish that upon him,” you scoff, rolling your eyes at your friend’s suggestions. In the past few days you’d been watching Jake, you’d never seen him step foot into the waters, not even a dip of his pinky toe. In fact, he’d always place his stuff the furthest away from the sea, under the shade of a palm tree that decorated the area.

If Jake Sim ever needed saving it would probably be from something unusual like getting his foot stuck too deep into a sand hole he’d dug out of boredom.

“Alright, fine whatever you want. I guess you could stick to bae-watching instead like a coward.” Sunghoon sweeps his hair back, glancing at the clock hanging on the lounge entrance that gleamed a bright red 16:00, an indication of the start of your next shift. “Just saying you could always just ask him to join you for your duties, Heeseung does that with his girlfriend all the time.”

“Jake’s not my boyfriend,” you point out and Sunghoon scoffs, grumpy about the start of the next shift, “yeah, I bet you wish he was.”

With a grunt he stands up, beelining for the entrance as you follow suit, millions of thoughts running through your head. 

Despite how people may have perceived you to be — a popular, outgoing person who had boys lining up for a chance to be by your side, you’d always found awkward boys charming: a nerd who’d focus on no one but you, who’d talk on and on about the things that interested them, who’d treat you special in a way no one else would; intelligently.

And there was something about the pretty boy on the beach, his awkward mannerisms and geekish way of speech that so starkly contrasted his attractive features. Jake looked nothing like a nerd at all and maybe it’s exactly that unexpected charm that pulled you towards him.

“Hey, isn’t that Jake?” Sunghoon stops in his tracks, finger pointed at a figure in the water that was flailing around, splashes of water visible from the elevated platform you were on. “Can he actually swim?”

You have to squint your eyes to recognise the figure that’s not too far off the shore — a mop of messy brown hair and a white tee shirt that clung onto his body like second skin. Yup, probably Jake. No one else would have the idea of wearing a shirt to swim like he would.

Another indicator was the tossed away comic book at the shore, spider-man on the cover prominent alongside Jake’s nike slides. And you’d think that Jake out of all people would know better than to jump into the ocean recklessly, especially when he seemed like the kind of guy to watch water safety videos for entertainment and enrichment.

There’s immediate urgency in your steps, rushing down the creaky wooden steps and onto the soft sand, heat scorching the soles of your feet before you take a dip into the ocean, rescue tube against your back as you swim towards him.

Sunghoon follows suit, recognising your intent. Toes padding across the wooden groyne for a better entry point to Jake. 

Jake is struggling. And he wonders why Jay didn’t try to talk him out of this plan even more than he did. The water’s cold in contrast to the heat he’s gotten used to, engulfing him with nowhere to go. He kicks his legs in sheer attempt to keep himself up, arms mechanically swinging in circles like the demonstration video he’d watched on youtube just last night.

The salt water stings his eyes and he has no option but to close them — hoping that his best friend would notice that he’s now metres away from shore and finds a baywatcher (you) to save him.

It then all happens in a flash as he feels a board prop his body up, his back bent over the buoyant material as someone pulls him to safety, water no longer encapsulating his limb.

Is it you? He really hopes it is. Jake wishes that he had the capacity to open his ends right now and endure the stinging sensation to take a look at his saviour but he’s weak and his eyes are burning.

Sooner than later he finds his feet dragging through wet sand, sticking onto his leg with a sensation he wants to shake off. 

“Jake, can you hear me?” your voice resounds in his ears but before he has the chance to reply, another voice cuts him off.

“I think he’s passed out,” a deeper voice, a man. It makes his heart palpitate, “check if he’s breathing.”

Jake’s senses now heightened from his loss of sight, feels your presence getting closer, body hovering over his, and he can feel them brush over his chest — his mind is in a frenzy and he holds his breath, trying to keep still.

“Hoon, I don’t think he is,” he hears your voice filled with nervousness. Should he open his eyes now? Or should he continue acting?

Amidst his decision making process, you move in a rush, palms getting situated on the centre of Jake’s chest, periodically getting distracted by the outline of his lean body through his translucent white shirt.

Jake doesn’t need to decide because one push of your body weight causes him to wheeze, a lough cough leaving his mouth from the heavy chest compression.

Opening his eyes to be greeted by the sight of you and your counterpart both looking down at him with worry, Jake flashes his audience an awkward grin, unknowing of what to do next.

Half of his mind has drifted away, feeling betrayed by how his plan had failed him, how swimming was actually way harder than it looked. The other half was scrambling to redeem himself in front of you, not wanting to seem like a loser, because it was 2025 — almost everyone knew how to swim.

“Jake, you okay?” you say for the nth time since you’ve met him, seeming as though every time you manage to interact with your crush it’s always about him needing saving and you being the saviour.

He nods, a soft cough under his breath in hopes to clear the saltiness lining his throat before propping himself up with his elbows and passing a look between you and Sunghoon. “Thanks guys,” he mumbles, fully taking in how embarrassing this was, “fuck this is really embarrassing.”

You giggle, extending a hand to pull him up. “Why would you go in the water if you don't know how to swim?” You questioned, head tilted cutely as you looked at him with curiosity that filled his heart.

“I do know how to swim,” Jake lies, “I mean it’s really all about buoyancy and overcoming it due to the lower position of our centre of gravity. Plus, if your lungs are full of air and you’re on your back you’d float for a substantial amount of time—”

Sunghoon stares at you in horror, as if he was asking you if this was really the guy you liked. 

“Sorry guys, i got too carried away,” he catches himself before he could spiral into viscous forces, upthrust, let alone rotational equilibrium. And he catches how you’re looking at him — an adoring smile so perfect his heart skips a beat and his stomach flips. Jake swears he can hear angels from god’s heaven harping love melodies as you exchange his gaze.

“Don’t worry man, she’s into that kind of stuff,” Sunghoon says beside him, patting his back encouragingly, “it’s like she has a nerd kink.”

A loud slap echoes through the air as you send a betrayed look to your friend, cheeks heating up at his confessions about you. Jake, similarly wears the same look — as if a fairy had sprinkled rosy dust over the apples of his cheeks.

His teeth gnaw at his lips in discomposure as he watches Sunghoon flee the scene, a victorious smirk etched on his face. 

“Sorry bout him,” you speak up amidst the silence, moving over to sit yourself next to Jake, a slight breeze making you shiver, “he’s really…weird.”

You tuck the stringy strands of your wet hair behind your ears, toes playing with the granules of sand under them. 

Jake feels resentment in his heart for the very first time. Not for Sunghoon or anything else, but for the evening sun and the way it kisses your skin. He watches you in soft adoration before replying, “it’s not weird.”

You look at him, a soft hum leaving your lips in curiosity of the meaning behind his words. “I mean the nerd kink, not Sunghoon. Like—there’s nothing wrong with having a kink or being kinky. It’s just a preference, a kink— I should really stop saying the word kink right now.”

You laugh out loud, not a shy giggle but a real one. Your head thrown back in sheer entertainment from the boy beside you who looked like a moonlight’s kiss. And you think that you like him a lot. Because with Jake you felt as if you were at ease, it seemed so natural to talk to him about odd things: something you’d never really done before. But now you could only think of the things you have yet to hear him talk about, all the things that’d be nice to do with him.

Jake thinks that if the cosmos had a lullaby, it’d be your laugh resounding freely in accompaniment with the waves that hit the shore. He only now realises that it’s already evening and the beach is clearing out. And for some reason today, the beach feels like home: or maybe it’s just because he’s next to you.

He soon realises that you’re much more than just the pretty face that he’d noticed you for — for some reason, you bring out a different side of him: and he didn’t mean the loserish antics or babbling of nonsensical facts, you make him want to try new things, act wild, take risks. Around you he feels like living, something he’s never once felt like cooped up in the four walls of his study room.

“Yeah, you definitely should,” you grin at him cheekily, teasing him, “wouldn’t want people around to think you’re kinky.” 

He lets out a soft chuckle, eyes glazing over your face. He realises that you not only look pretty under the morning sun, but throughout the day; a different kind of pretty, the kind that reminded him of seasons. And Jake feels the sudden need to lean over and kiss you without knowing why. 

His fingers crawl towards yours, fingertips brushing over your soft skin cautiously, as if he was asking for consent to touch you, to feel you as if you were a sacred being and he was just him: in all of his geekish glory and ways.

Fingers wrapped around yours delicately, he wonders if you can feel how nervous he is through the sweat on his palms. Jake leans closer, breath slightly erratic in his own way — he’s never done this before, never felt this before: wanting to kiss a girl, and he thinks that he really should’ve searched up more about the topic of love or watched a tutorial on how to french kiss and maybe practice it on his arm before he actually gives you a kiss.

You welcome the warmth of Jake’s touch, fingers twirling over his in quiet acceptance and need. You wanted this, you wanted to kiss him, feel his lips on yours. The heat of his breath hitting your lips as he stared at you intently, eyes searching for some sort of answer to questions unknown to you.

Before you can lean into him, Jake pulls back, breathing heavy as he stares at you with complex feelings. Your shoulders sag a little in disappointment as you call out to him, voice soft and airy.

The way his name rolls off the tip of your tongue almost makes him lose his mind but Jake holds himself back, tongue darting out of his lips to satiate the lack of your lips against his for now. 

It’s an indescribable feeling, to hold himself back from pressing his lips on you, temptation and desire clouding his mind. But he thinks to himself that you deserve more than that, more than just a kiss and frantic panic from him. Jake knows himself well, that without a plan he falters and the last thing he’d ever want is to leave you hanging while he took his own time to figure out his thoughts.

It wasn’t that he needed to figure out his feelings, no — from the very beginning Jake knew he liked you, that much was true. The swelling, hopeful feeling in his chest every time he sees you, how he loses his mind and forgets almost everything about his being when he is with you. The catch in his breath when you look his way and the comfort of your simple touch. It was more so the aftermath of such a rushed feeling of want: Jake had never dated anyone, let alone liked a girl. You were his first, and he wanted it to be right, be good. Not perfect, just genuine.

“I’m sorry, I just–” he whispers under his breath, his puppy dog eyes softening your heart. He cuts himself off, and he didn’t need to say more because you understood. His affection was prominent and sometimes love, in its whole entirety, didn't have to be rushed through like the world portrayed it to be. You think that love, sometimes deserves to be slow, like the calm dwindling of a campfire that mocks the sun, a feeling that warms us, feeds us, and cares for us. And for now, the heat of Jake’s hands on yours is enough, and you’ll hold on to this pulsating heart of yours against other rhythms. Because the world will come and go in the tide of a day, but here, his hand, with your future in its palm seemed to be everlasting.

“It’s alright Jakey,” you hum, a wordless confession of acceptance as he falls into your orbit just as you do his, an unspoken connection as sure as gravity that said I will wait for you, unconditionally. 

A soft sigh escapes your lips as you turn to look up at the sky, a mix of orange and pink, as if the universe was dictating a story of your feelings. The once blaring sun now a calm hue and you think you could stay here forever, with Jake’s trembling fingers wrapped around yours and the rhythm of his slow breaths.

“The sky is really beautiful today,” you gasp, watching the sun dwindle down in real time.

Jake’s still staring at you and he can’t seem to peel his gaze to the scenery you’re complimenting because nothing could seemingly ever compare to your beauty. And he’s seen this scene before, in those romcom movies and he always thought it was cliche but now, he understands it. 

“So are you,” he whispers, and you catch it. You’ve heard this one before. Many times. But it was something about his voice, something different that told you it was the truth, like it wasn’t the same like the rest. “You look like a princess.” My princess, Jake thinks.

“And you look like a prince,” you tell him, your fingers tracing the veins along his hand. And you could sit here for hours doing that: tracing his veins like streets in a city made of Jake; all leading you back to his heart.

Jake holds back a smile, his heart beating inevitably. “I think a prince would know how to swim,” he jokes.

His eyes glimmer under the stars, and you wish Jake would just take your heart. “Well, I guess my prince doesn’t,” you say offhandedly, absentmindedly.

He catches on without a beat, the darkness of the skies seemingly giving him a burst of confidence. Or maybe it was just because it was you — his pretty girl who’d unexpectedly become his home.

“You’re my princess then,” he sighs contentedly, “we can be Eric and Ariel, you know, since you’re basically a mermaid and I’m a land being.”

Oh my god, you laugh (something you seem to do a lot whenever you’re with Jake), “I’m a lifeguard Jake,” you correct him, incredulously.

“But it’s synonymous to us,” he tries to explain, “unless you want me to be akin to Ursula, I could totally rock the villainous sea wizard character but then it’d be incest.”

Jake says it too innocently you almost tumble into him from laughter, corners of your lips burn from excessive smiling. The summer in your bones warmed the winters Jake’s skin has weathered as he catches you, steadying you as your body moves erratically from laughter.

“Jake, you’d be my uncle,” you breathe out, and he shrugs.

“That’s why I said that it’d be incest,” he exclaims, “but it’s common in some cultures — they’re called avunculate marriages, kinda cool if you ask me. Not the incest, I mean the fact.”

“Just shut up,” you tell him endearingly, head moving to rest on his shoulder.

Both of you don’t address the insinuation of a relationship but instead you and Jake just stay quiet, basking in the comfortable silence between you with occasional teases and questions. And Jake can’t think of any greater happiness than to be with you all the time, without interruption, endlessly.

You continuously tease Jake that he has a thing for people in red latex suits. The outfit of the superhero on his coveted comics he so often brings around having a close resemblance to the red of your baywatch swimsuit. Jake groans every time you bring it up, face buried between the nape of your neck as you continuously humor him. He takes it like a champ though, because it’s you, and he knows you’re secretly obsessed with the comics he brought to the beach too, oftentimes sneaking a read between your shifts that you now spent with him under his favourite palm tree.

It’s a comfortable cycle, coming to the beach with Jake, clocking in, taking a break with Jake, doing your second shift, and Jake sending you home. Your Jake-filled routine filled with laughter and stupidly knowledgeable facts that you’d never use in your life: like how if you break the word 'helicopter’ into prefix and suffix, it’s not ‘heli’ and ‘copter’, it’s ‘helico’ and ‘pter’. 

You were stumped for a long time, as he proudly showed you the definition of it in his very own Oxford Dictionary (who the hell owns a paperback Oxford Dictionary?). “See,” Jake said, chest pumped out as his finger underlined the word, “Pterodactyl too, because pter means wings.”

You don’t ask how he knows all this or how he also knows that starfishes apparently poop through their mouths. And you vividly remember how animatedly Jake talked about the sea creature and its habit to expel waste through their mouths. “Their stomach extends out of their mouths to engulf and digest their prey, marine invertebrates like clams and smaller crustaceans like corals, and then it goes back in then the waste comes back out.” 

Jake gives you a live demonstration without you needing to ask, waddling through the sands as he searches for a starfish, shoving it into your face in pure enthusiasm as he pointed out the different parts he was just talking about. 

Not to mention his extreme love for comics, a cute framed picture of a ten year old Jake at comic con beside his bed along with other minifigures and intricate lego sculptures. It was endearing to say the least, how Jake wanted to share everything with you and wanted to know everything about you.

And you want him in the bluntest way, you wanted his lips, his hands, his arms. You wanted him the way the ocean wants the shore, constantly reaching again and again. 

You share with Jake everything about you and he memorises it like it’s facts, like it was supposed to be his form of common sense. He knew your favourite book, your drink order, and the way you always tapped your fingers on your thigh when you were deep in thought. And he wanted to tell you that he prided himself in the fact that he memorised the freckles on your skin from the sun, how they were like miniature stars forming their little constellations. He wanted to hear you laugh, and know that he was the reason, and tell you that you had completely beguiled him, that you were his entire world.

It’s crazy how fast you can get to know a person, how fast someone can feel like a blanket of warmth even under the summer sun. Jake for once doesn’t have an explanation to this feeling, he just feels like this is what he’s for. It’s pure coincidence, or maybe fate, or even sheer blind luck but no matter what it was, you had his heart. 

Not only that, you also had the breath caught in his lungs, each bone in his spine, even bone in his body, every single finger that shakes whenever you are near, all the muscles that ache in his mouth to kiss you, his eyes that are always looking for you. You had much more than just his heart, you had everything that kept his heart alive.

Jake watches you as you do your superhero duties. Right now you’re watching a flock of kids, pulling them away from the oceans cautiously as you talk with them, facial expressions spirited and eyes shaped like crescents. The past few weeks of being around you did nothing but fuel his desire to be with you — well technically he was already with you but you get the gist.

And he decides that if he really wants to get this right he needs to ask people of experience, those that have dabbled in the field of dating anything, though more specifically hot women who were way out of their league, so he approaches his best friend who he hadn’t seen in a while; given, he was too caught up in your pretty smile and twinkling eyes.

“Simp,” Jay rolls his eyes at his best friend’s sheepish smile, “you leave me hanging for weeks and suddenly when your girlfriend has work you come to me for entertainment.”

“Not my girlfriend, yet,” Jake corrects, acknowledging the title of being a simp, “which is exactly the topic I came to talk to you about.”

“What, you want to know how to rizz up girls?” Jay cocks his head as Jake lays down next to him, head hitting the soft sand with a thud.

“No, I want to know how you managed to bag someone out of your league,” Jake says and Jay rolls his eyes, unable to believe the nerve his best friend had of insulting him right when he needed advice. “You know, how your palms don’t get sweaty around her, how you even managed to get her to like you— just saying you look nothing like the type of guy your girlfriend would ever go after.”

Jay takes a deep breath, forgetting about how much he missed his friend’s company the moment he opened his mouth. “Number one, she chased me so I am definitely her type,” he starts, “number two, that lifeguard of yours literally loves you, she looks at you with heart eyes I don’t get what you’re asking me. Just ask her if she would ever accept some geekish freak like you as her boyfriend.”

“You suck at giving advice,” Jake scoffs, his best friend giving him little to no substance to even work with. No manual on how to ask a hot girl out, where to go, what to do, if he should bring you to a fancy restaurant or the movies — actually scratch that, Jake probably didn’t have the caliber to keep his mouth shut about the different facts running through his mind in the movies and he’d probably clumsily find a way to embarrass himself with his lack of decorum at a fancy restaurant too.

“Well, I answered, didn't I?” Jay fights back, “why are you even asking me, shouldn’t you be asking her — you’re not bringing me out on a date, are you?”

Jake cringes at the thought. “Touche,” he grimaces, “I’d never take you on a date, you’d probably drain my wallet with the way you eat. No one would ever want to date you after seeing that.”

“And guess who out of the two of us actually has a girlfriend,” Jay grins, “plus, you should be nice to me, I’m literally helping you. Don’t you know the saying — the one that goes never bite the hand that fingers you or something like that.”

“You’re not fingering me, what the hell,” Jake groans, mind consumed with a disgusting image of Jay. How the hell did I even become friends with this man, Jake thinks. “Please, never finger me or say that ever again or I’m actually going to hex you or worse, I’ll tell your girlfriend you confessed to me over the summer and you’re actually a closeted gay.”

Jay flashes an expression of horror, as if he’d just seen a ghost. Jake crumples up in laughter at his friend’s expression, arms hugging his body as he rolls around. “I’ll do the same if you do, I’ll tell your girlfriend.”

Again, not his girlfriend yet, but Jake doesn’t take the effort to correct it, liking the ring of the title a little too much.

Jake spends his afternoon thinking while you’re hard at work. What would be the best way to ask you about all of your dating preferences without making you suspicious? And he settles on his grand idea of a survey, you know like a buzzfeed quiz he could make and slip a few integral questions in that would help him fill in the blanks in his head.

He scrambles onto his phone, fingers flying over the keyboards as he logs into his buzzfeed account (user pinktiger551, long story) before he inputs questions to his buzzfeed quiz, occasionally pausing to think of filler questions to throw you off. And when it’s completed in its full 7 question glory, he thinks it’s perfect — not too obvious of his true intentions yet lighthearted and easy.

When your shift is over, you’re greeted by an over enthusiastic Jake, phone in hand and he shoves the device into your hands. 

“Hi Jakey,” you greet him, overwhelmed by the particular amount of energy he had today, “what’s this?”

Oh shit, Jake didn’t think of that — he panicked for a short while, “uhm, it’s for my psychology course, yeah.” Jake settles on that, trying to convince himself more than you as you stare at him knowingly. Jake didn’t take psychology, hell a few days ago he was grumbling to you on how people who took psychology were wasting their time and physics was way better.

But you accept it for now, wanting to see what Jake had up his sleeve. 

“First date,” you read, scrolling through the poorly written options, one of them directly stating ‘something else (tell me)’. You hold back a laugh at the sight of Jake’s serious facial expression, “do I just click this if my first date option isn’t on this list?”

Jake nods fervently, eyes of curiosity gazing at you, “now you have to tell me what it is,” Jake says, prepared to take a mental note on what you say.

“Well, I’ve always liked the thought of a beach picnic, you know those romantic ones where it’s late at night and there’s fairy lights surrounding us and we eat a load of junk food and laugh at everything but nothing at all? Yeah, I think a beach picnic would be nice.”

Jake’s supposed to take mental notes, but his mind is too caught up in the pronouns you’d used. Us? We? Barely catching on to your mention of junk food and jokes. 

You said us, he grins, a lopsided one that showcases his set of pearly whites.

You scroll through the rest of the questions, unable to stop yourself from chuckling at the amount of times Jake had managed to sneak his name into the answers. It was adorable, too adorable. “Jakey, are you sure this is for uni? Seems a bit too informal for it,” you ask again once you reach the second question, a filler question asking for your priorities in a zombie apocalypse, one of the options being Jake, “I mean, not everyone who takes this quiz would know you personally let alone have kids with you…”

Two options below Jake’s name was the option of ‘our kids (perchance?)’ and you’d like to think that this option was dedicated to you and that this was not some random survey Jake gave around to random girls on the street.

“You’d pick our kids over me?” Jake gasps from your head, his mop of hair moving over to block your vision of the phone screen as he double checks the choice that brings him to his despair. “Our fake kids over me? I can’t believe it!”

“Well then you shouldn’t have put it in as an option, you know I’m a sucker for kids,” you argue and Jake has no retaliation, only having himself to blame for his lack of deep thinking.

The rest of the questions pass by in a blur, Jake’s intentions as clear as day as you reach the end, confetti flying pass your screen as the screen read: “You want to date Jake” in bold, an adorable picture of Jake in glasses underneath it along with a short paragraph:

Jake is the one for you! Even though he may be geekish or weird, Jake is your soulmate. This is a sign from the universe! Don't miss the chance to date Jake! Please, date Jake!

“So do I have to go on a date with you now?” you grin, waving your results into Jake’s face, the soft glow of the screen illuminating his features as he stared at it with glossy eyes.

Even though this was all planned by Jake, his cheeks are a pretty coral shade, his teeth gnawing at his lips in habit of nervousness as he shrugs, “I guess the universe is telling you to do so.”

“And I guess I just have to take this as a sign,” you answer. Jake under the evening glow of the sunset looked even more golden than he was before, and in this instant you realize that this man in front of you, who you think could be crowned the most attractive, funniest person in the world, actually wants you back in your whole entirety.

One of Jake’s favourite things about human physiology is the way one’s eyes changes when they look at someone they love, he watches the way your pupils dilate automatically like they do when it’s dark outside but this time it’s because of him — and he’s pretty sure he’s looking at you the very same way. The edge of his eyes soften a little and sometimes they even get watery which he can’t seem to control. Tears of joy, of course. And he has this habit of raising his eyebrows around you, as if he is trying to make his eyes bigger, trying to get a better vision and see all the details, blinking less in hopes of elongating this moment even if it was just for a millisecond more.

“Next tuesday?” Jake asks, and you nod your head in confirmation. “Is the universe telling you that that’s the day?”

“Yeah, and so is tarot.com,” he adds, “scorpio men are supposed to be filled with luck next tuesday, I think I’d probably need it then.”

“You’re such a nerd,” you laugh.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. But you love it don’t you,” he teases, “I still haven’t forgotten about your nerd kink, princess.”

You groan, never forgiving your coworker for it, “you’ll never let me live past that, huh?”

“I don’t know, will I?” Jake’s eyes crinkle around the corners, clear and radiant.

“I sure hope so,” you state, unable to keep your eyes off him, “or I’m going to start on my red suit theory again.”

This time it’s Jake who groans in embarrassment, whispering soft ‘no’s as his hand reaches out towards you, fingers caressing the back of your hand. “It’s just a mere coincidence, this is absolute torture.”

“Is it?” you grin, pulling Jake closer towards you, his presence welcoming as you inhale the soft scent of his being — a hint of vanilla and musk that you’ve come to recognise as home.

That night, Jake giggles on his way home, victorious from the results of his survey. You totally bought the psychology thing, Jake convinces himself that as he kicks his feet under his duvet, fingers flying across the screen as he texted you.

Jakey (my nerd🫶🏻) [ 11.45 PM ]  goodnight pretty princess☺️

Jakey (my nerd🫶🏻) [ 11.45 PM ] i miss you

Jakey (my nerd🫶🏻) [ 11.45 PM ] btw what is your idea of junk food🧐 just some details i need for psych class

You [ 11.46 PM ] Jakey go to bed

Jakey (my nerd🫶🏻) [ 11.46 PM ] I can’t I’m shaking from excitement haha

It’s Tuesday and Jake’s freaking out (as he has been the past few days) — having already triple checked tarot.com's daily love horoscope tab just to make sure that today or all days would be his lucky day. Jake, although a believer of science over anything, decides that today he’ll leave it up to fate.

He faces himself in the mirror, chest puffed to imitate confidence as he straightens his dress shirt for the nth time, going over the creases of its collar. The time on the digital clock hanging on his wall showed ‘18 00’ and he pats himself on the back for being right on time, having told you he’d pick you up at 6.20.

Jake picks up the single white rose flower he’d built with lego carefully in between his fingers, the delicate structure having taken him seven hours to figure out how to landscape; but Jake didn’t mind because it was for you, and he knew you’d cherish his effort and time.

Unlike Jake’s clean look, his bedroom is a mess: courtesy to his extreme panic when he woke up late from his nap, his usual alarm seemingly only unsounding on the most important days of his life. Tiny pieces of green and white lego splattered over the floor as Jake tiptoes through the mess to finally escape the confines of his bedroom.

As he walks to your house, Jake dials up his best friend, in hopes that everything is already in place. “Did you do it? Jay I swear if you dip on me again like you did five years ago during our science olympiad presentation I’m going to hex you into another dimension.”

“Calm down schoolgirl,” Jay’s voice ringing across the phone, occasionally cracking up, “I did it, and I told you I had a stomach ache that day, I wasn’t lying.”

Sure he wasn’t, Jake just enjoyed teasing his friend. “Did you get the junk food?”

“I said I got it man, everything you sent on the list: cheetos, doughnuts, bread, and whatever the hell lobster butter chips are — those were six fifty by the way, you better pay me back.”

Jake hums, he’s not going to be paying him back, the view of your house now directly in his view, “okay now scram, I’m picking her up right now — wait actually I’m kind of scared, like not kind of, I’m freaking out on the inside. Quick question, do you think I should’ve carried my lucky charm with me today? You know the one I take to all my science competitions?”

“You mean the piece of spider man's suit that you claim is real? No?” Jay almost reprimands, “you’re going on a date Jake, not to a comic convention.”

“Right, right,” he whispers under his breath, inching closer to your front door by the second, “thanks dude, you’re the man.”

Jay grunts over the phone, a half assed reply before he hangs up and leaves Jake standing alone before your front door, single lego rose in hand making him feel bare. Maybe he should’ve brought a gift, oh he definitely should have.

Before Jake dwindles into full panic mode, the door opens and all his thoughts fly out the window because you look like you fell from heaven, white fabric of your dress draped across your silk skin, smile that embarrasses  the sun into chewing its glory, stingy thick rays of you stealing the air from his lungs.

“Hey Jakey,” you greet him, and he feels all his worries wash away — like your voice was raw harmony that trickled throughout his body and soothed his soul.

Jake for a second is speechless, mouth a gaping mess as he just looks at you, pupils dilated and all. “Is that for me?” you ask, kitten heels clacking down the cement stairs of your home, extending your hand to take the lego flower from his grasp. “I’ve never seen a lego flower like this before, is this a limited edition of their series?”

“Kinda,” Jake manages to croak out, still entranced. He realises that he’s never really seen you outside your usual working clothes or a large, oversized shirt you usually wore home. Blush heat lips and honey ocean skin wrapped in soft melodies of lace satin, Jake with the whole dictionary memorised in his head, can’t seem to find a word to describe you; and maybe that was exactly how you looked, indescribable.

Jake doesn’t tell you that he spent seven hours rummaging through his lego collection like a mole digging through soil to find the correct pieces for this very flower, disassembling some of his favourite figurines to attain the fitting pieces. He doesn’t tell you that he built a white rose because it represented pure, true love and he felt it was fitting of you — his first love.

Falling in love, it’s a weird feeling. Jake can’t remember the moment he realised that he was actually in love with you and that this was much deeper than a shallow attractions based on your looks, he feels it burn so intense like an explosion of fireworks in his body; it’s the sleepless nights that left him feeling exhilarated at the thought of seeing you the next day.

“You look really pretty today,” Jake whispers as he pulls you in for a hug, breath tickling your cheek, painting them a sheen of pink. 

“Do I?” you lift your head from his shoulder, arms still wrapped around his neck, “you look handsome, like a prince.” 

“I suppose I’m pass the Ursula stage then?” He jokes and you giggle, “am I promoted to Price Eric now?”

“I’ll see,” you reply, pulling away with a lingering touch, fingers running down his arm to intertwine your hands with his as you lead him down the familiar path to the beach.

“So this is a test,” he furrows his eyebrows and you shrug.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

“C’mon baby, don’t do this to me,” Jake says absentmindedly, endearment dripping out of his lips like second nature. Your heart pumps, a song of fragile birds flooding your soul. Jake speaks in whispers of warm summer rain and silver rivers dancing through the abyss of the morning sky, and you smile, falling into this daydream. “At least tell me the prerequisites, is this a point based exam or like an aptitude type.”

“Charm me,” you tease, and Jake looks at you knowingly.

“You’re making fun of me again,” he groans, guiding you to the set up his best friend had prepared for him. And Jake thinks that his best friend has outdone himself yet again, and he starts to forgive him for all the times he’d ditched Jake during important science competitions because it looked like a dream — fairy lights draped around the area with a romantic ambience, food set up on the picnic mat that Jake guides you to. 

You take in a breath, shocked at the view. Jake seemingly always outdoing himself whenever it came to surprising you. “It’s beautiful Jake.”

Jake’s shoulders rise up in victory and confidence, his first date looking to be going extremely smoothly for him: or perhaps it was because it was with you and you brought comfort with you everywhere you went.

“Lobster butter chips? These are so expensive,” you almost squeal, letting go of Jake’s hand to pick up the bag of chips in excitement. 

Making a mental note to thank Jay when he sees him, Jake makes space for the both of you to settle down, summer breeze blowing as the waves hit the shore rhythmically.

And it’s in moments like this, you wonder to yourself why no one has ever been entranced by Jake as you are right now, how someone like him — so innately pure and beautiful in all definitions isn’t seen as he is in your eyes. Because his laugh is utterly contagious and his smile makes you giddy for no reason, the jokes he makes etched in your mind that you still burst out laughing days later: you’ve fallen for every second you get to spend with Jake, even if those seconds have left you wanting more. But in those small moments of wonder, you look at Jake and feel glad that no one else has seen him like you do, because if they looked deep enough to see all of those things within him, then you’d never have been able to.

You don’t even have to think about what to say, Jake already midway in a tangent about how excited he was for this day to arrive, something about extreme rituals and late night searches on some sketchy website called doctornerdlove that made him question his whole being.

“This man was a virgin at thirty nine, I thought I was reading about my future self,” he explains, pulling out his phone to show you the extremely sketchy website he had to get through two security warnings and five closed advertisements to reach, “and there was something about how someone tells him that sometimes a girl actually tried to flirt with him but he was too scared to even talk to them so he never got a girlfriend. And I was like oh my gosh, that could’ve been me— thank god you appeared before I turned 39.”

“Jakey, you’re twenty-two,” you look at him, adoringly, just like you’ve always been. “And you’re not even scared to talk to girls.”

“Age is just a concept, you know baby,” he starts, and the endearment still makes you shiver in delight, “and I am scared of girls, I was especially scared of you.”

Oh, you croon your neck in curiosity, you never knew that. Jake takes that as a signal to continue, hands flying through the air as he tries to mimic the exact situation, “okay, it wasn’t really fear, it was more of a wow-my-eyes-are-going-to-fly-out-of-my-sockets thing when I first saw you. You were checking up on me after the ball whammed into the side of my head, remember? And I asked you if you were real.”

“Jake, I literally thought you were so attractive then, I flirted with you,” you exclaimed.

“You did not,” he argues, “no way you did.”

“I called you Jakey and said that you were cute,” you point out.

“Yeah but my mom calls me that too,” he tries to retaliate, “not saying that the way you say it makes me think of my mom–”

“We were strangers.” And Jake realises. Oh, maybe it was possible. Maybe. Not that he’d recognise it in the heat of that moment where he was way too busy ogling at you and your things, but he’d never confess that to you. “W–well, I flirted with you,” Jake stammers.

“You said like five words to me and your face was as red as a tomato,” you shake your head, leaning into the banter you’ve come to enjoy with the boy you’ve come to love.

“Well it was nerd flirting, you know what I mean?” You let out a laugh that makes his stomach flutter and his heartbeat soften, and he wishes that that very sound could suffocate him in the morning dew and evening light.

“You’re the stupidest person ever when it comes to love,” you gasp as his hand finds the dip of your waist, pulling you closer into him, “even though you may be slick sometimes.”

“I sure hope so, because I didn’t do all that research on the dark web for nothing.” His fingers knead your skin absentmindedly over the fabric of your summer dress.

And suddenly, while he stares at you under the midnight sky, he just can’t take it anymore. He wants more, more than just looks and brushes of arms and legs and the stupid endless flirting. He wants to taste your lips and your neck and your cheeks and everything, to run his hands through your hair and feel the electricity of love rush through him as he has read in all of the books in his life. Jake wants to pull you in and never let you go.

“Kiss me,” you whisper and that was all it takes for him to kiss you like every fibre of his being was dying, and you were his medicine. 

You’ve never lost yourself in a kiss, you’ve in fact never experienced a kiss like this; pure psychedelic inebriation instead of just lips against lips. And it felt like transcendental metamorphosis as Jake licks the sides and corners of your mouth, like sealing a thousand fleshy envelopes filled with the essence of passion before delivering it back to you, over and over again.

Jake places his hands on either side of your face, and the room falls away, the space between the two of you explodes and his heart keeps missing beats, hands unable to bring you close enough to him. Jake tastes the skin of your lips and realizes that he’s been starving, his lips leaving your lips to place chaste kisses at your neck.

In that very moment you believe that his mouth is heaven, his kisses falling over you like stars.

It leaves both of you panting and wanting more as Jake traces tiny little circles on the lines of your palms, heat of the moment evident through the red tips of his ears. And Jake thinks that he’s found his new obsession and he can pen it down in his notebooks that his favourite hobby would now be kissing you, holding you close, feeling your lips touch his and your limbs wrapped around him.

“Can you also read palms or something?” You ask, breath heavy as you almost shiver from the delicate dancing of his fingertips.

“I actually can,” he admits, chest heaving in similarity to you, his signature lopsided grin on his face.

You raise your eyebrows with a gentle smile, he’s so weird, you think as you play along.

“What’s does my future look like?”

And you swear, Jake’s eyes light up like a thousand fireflies, he takes in a deep breath before he speaks without hesitation, with certainty.

“It looks like us.”

It’s three in the morning and you’re laying in Jake’s arms, the warmth of his arms draped over the curve of your hips and under your head as he can’t stop placing chaste pecks around your face and down into your collarbones. 

“Jakey, it’s three in the morning, please go to sleep,” you almost have to beg your boyfriend, your eyelids heavy as the still energetic boy who has your heart doesn’t stop at your command.

“Did you know that kissing was invented from Hindu Vedic Sanskrit texts from over 3,500 years ago and was described as inhaling another's soul?” Jake whispers, trying to keep his voice down, his lips continue to press kisses along your jaw, tongue occasionally darting out to place sloppy kisses.

“You’re like a dog,” you mutter, eyes prying open to be met with Jake’s mop of bessy bed hair and glowing skin.

“You dog at least?” he tries and his heart does a victorious pump of its fist when you hum in agreement, too tired to coax him.

“You know you’re so pretty,” he sighs, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck.

“Jakey,” you murmur, and his head leaves its place of comfort to look up at you in attention, “I’m going to inhale your soul if you don’t sleep right now, not the kiss kind.”

Jake gives you a guilty grin and it follows with moments of silence before it breaks again.

“One more thing, since we’re on the topic of dogs, would you ever adopt a dog and call her Layla?”

“Jake.” You say and he gives in at the mention of his government name, telling himself that he’ll ask you tomorrow instead when you aren’t so sleep deprived.

And unfortunately for you Jake doesn’t forget, constantly in your ear about getting a border collie with white and golden fur. “She can be our child, you know co-parenting. You could be a mom and I could be a dad, we’d be dog-married.”

“Dog married? Jakey, are you dog-trapping me?” You suggest and he shrugs, lips jutting out in habit — the type of expression he has when he wants something really bad now amplified on his face.

“Perchance, is it working?” Jake wonders aloud and you chuckle, throwing your legs over his under the shade of your designated palm tree. It seems like even during your day off, some things never change; you’re still with Jake, you’re still at the beach, and you’re still entertained by his antics.

Jake takes your legs, palms caressing over your summer skin and you sigh in relief. “Maybe, we’ll see.”

Your boyfriend takes it as a win, a goofy grin spread across his face. The checklist he made in his mind almost fully ticked, the only thing left unchecked being the part about getting married but he’ll get there, Jake’s extremely confident because he’s if he’s managed to bag the prettiest girl out of his league, even flying cars would be possible in his books.

“You’d be an amazing dog-mom for our dog-child, dog-daughter to be exact, and I’d be the best partner dog-dad. We’d be such good dog-parents, our dog-baby would look up to us.”

“Babe, it’s a pet, let’s not get carried away.” But Jake does get carried away, imagining the moments where he’d dress your joint dog-baby — Layla in accessories and clothes, pamper her with you, do everything together with the two of you. “And stop dreaming of dressing our dog-baby up in spider man accessories.”

You know him so well. 

“Have I ever told you I love you baby,” Jake tries, fingers skillfully massaging your leg.

“I love you too Jakey,” you reply, leaning forward to place a kiss on his lips. Jake leans into it instinctively and sighs in contentment. 

“So what do you think of a spider-dog, or should I call her dog-women– dog-girl? With a mini cape and all.”

“Jake,” you deadpan and he slouches in defeat, unable to fight the use of his government name. 

“Fine, no dog-hero,” he sighs and pouts.

Three months later, you appear at Jake’s doorstep with a dog in your arms, the shiny new collar embossed with the name ‘LAYLA’ in bold, the white and golden furred border collie wearing a red mini cape. 

That night, Jake kisses you just like every other night, whispering unbeknownst dog facts that you don’t question how he knows because that’s your boyfriend — Jake in his geekish walking encyclopedia thoughts and talkative mannerisms, the most beautifully loserish nerd you’ve ever laid your eyes on who can recite the periodic table by heart but can’t seem to follow a pancake recipe, who has now chosen to abandon the spiderman plushies on his bed whenever you’re around to hug you to sleep instead, who you love with your whole heart.

Jake, though, swears it’s statistically impossible for you to love him more than he does you. Just because he gives you more kisses and in his words, kisses are the measurement units for the metric system of love, whatever that means.

You proceed to tell him to shut up (endearingly, of course) and he does, only to come back to you at the end of the week with a comparative affection count in the form of a double bar graph. It's so dorkish you can't take it seriously, making up for your loss in percentage of kisses by peppering him with more on the spot.

© SJYUNS

[yuukirita]

Love with your babybee series so far. Will there be any transformers crossover with your aus? I love to see a babybee crossover with transformers lost light.

Imagine the lost light dimension hopping to tf one universe and meet the tf one crew. Many members of the lost light will have mix feeling about tf one universe with sentinel prime stealing tcogs from newborn cybertronians to orion pax becoming optimus after being murdered by his best friend to bee being an actual baby!?!?

Cue lost light ratchet, first aid, and velocity working on giving optimus, elita, and other miners a medical examination. Meanwhile babybee is looked after by rodimus prime and the rest of the lost light since some members of the lost light have experience taking care of sparklings.

Lost light megatron left Iacon and took drift and the rest of the lost light deadliest fighters with to beat up tf one megatron and his decepticons from making the same mistakes that lost light megatron did in his universe. Tf one megatron have no idea what hit him with his alternate self leading a team of the most insane transformers of universe. Warning some decepticons will be killed during the confrontation because of the dangerous weapons made by brainstorm and whirl being whirl.

Babybee with rodimus, rewind, swerve, and tailgate watching Bluey and eating energon cookies that swerve made while waiting for optimus and elita (lost light ratchet examine bee first to check any issue that will affect bee’s development as he grow older). Bee is drawn to talking puppies especially the character named bingo.

Bee eats his cookie and look to rodimus, “Hey rodimus, where’s meggy and rest of your crew go? They’ve been gone for 2 hours already.”

Rodimus knowing he can’t tell bee that his megatron took half the crew with him to beat up other self for being an idiot instead told bee, “Meggy and rest of the gang decide to go walk around Iacon to do some exercise since we haven’t been stopping for planets for a while.”

Bee seems to be satisfied with rodimus answer as he decides turn back to the screen.

I prob won't do any crossovers no- But they're fun to think about!

I like your headcanon! But I would change one lil thing

It's funnier if Bee just Knew.

[aceofstars16]

I know I’m gonna forget some cause I literally don’t know half of them lol

I’m also going to *attempt* to explain the AUs in case you don’t remember/don’t know what they are (if I mess one of them up it’s cause I don’t know that AU very well 😅)

Timestuck - Mabel gets stuck in the past with mullet Stan (variations can include Dipper also getting stuck in the past, or one or both getting stuck with Ford, basically any AU where the twins meet/get stuck with younger versions of one or both of their grunkles)

Drifting Stars: Mabel gets sucked into the portal at the end of “Not What He Seems” and goes dimension hopping with Ford (meanwhile Dipper and Stan are having a horrible time)

Reverse Falls: The twins and other characters swap personalities, where Mabel is more introverted and Dipper is more extroverted and same with the Stans…I think? (there is also an AU where I think maybe Gideon and Pacifia are good and Mabel and Dipper are bad but I genuinely can’t remember what it’s called, I’m sorry if this is what that AU is called but I don’t *think* it is?)

Relativity Falls: The twins roles are swapped, so Mabel and Dipper are older and Stan and Ford are the kids, visiting “Grantie” Mabel while Dipper is in the multiverse

Monster Falls: The characters are monsters instead of humans. I genuinely don’t know much about this AU but lots of people make the characters different monsters so there are probably a bunch of variations

Reverse Portal: Where Stan gets pulled into the portal instead of Ford. I know there are other AUs probably more popular than this one, but like I said I’m not the best as remembering AUs 😂

[hanjisick]

chemical infatuation

genre. yandere au. patient!jisung x researcher!reader

desc. jisung takes part in a high-paying yet sketchy study with seemingly no risks, but the injection causes him to quickly grow obsessed with the daytime staff member assigned to his study.

warnings. needles. vomit. murder.

wc. 3.5k

“is it a bad time to tell you that i’m a little claustrophobic?” your patient, han jisung, nervously shifted in his seat, fiddling with the hem of his sweater.

“we have to keep you in this containment during our research.“

the containment room, with its dim lighting and cushioned walls, seemed to close in on him. the dimensions felt constricting, heightening the anxiety surging through his veins.

every inch of the space was under surveillance, every move to be meticulously scrutinized by the watchful eyes of researchers.

what a sketchy situation. but it was better than he had expected from a craigslist ad that he had chanced upon.

the snap of your rubber gloves pulled him away from his thoughts, “it isn’t too late to back out, we have a few more candidates willing to take your place.”

500 million won. that was enough for him to do anything.

“i’m fine. i’m ready.”

“alright then, pull your arm out of your sweater for me.”

“i have a tank top underneath.” the boy shuffled out of the sweater and placed it onto his lap.

“and as the paperwork says, you have no allergies, anaphylaxis, or any history of mental illness?”

“nope.”

he flinched as the cool alcohol pad met his bicep.

“the medication we are testing for you should not hurt you much as far as we are concerned,” you began prepping the needle and syringe, “the only side effects that we predict could be a minor headache for a couple of days. it is not dangerous.”

jisung closed his eyes as you squeezed his arm slightly, pushing the needle through his skin.

you gently placed the gauze onto his arm, “finished. how do you feel immediately?”

“normal. a little shaken up from nerves, but no problems. what do i do now?”

“you’ll be watched for a month. the only restrictions are that you aren’t allowed to leave this room or use any devices.”

the idea of isolation and confinement weighed a bit heavily on him, but he was determined to see it through.

you motion towards the mattress in the corner, “we will change your bedding twice throughout the month. let us know if you are uncomfortable with the temperature of the room, need extra bedding, or anything else.”

jisung nodded.

“let us know if you need to use the bathroom and we will temporarily disable the cameras for your privacy. but we will take urine samples if we deem it necessary.”

“and what about food?”

“you’ll be fed three meals per day, with two snacks.”

“thank you. that’s all i need to know,” he paused for a moment, “other than your name. what’s your name?”

“y/n l/n,” you gather your paperwork, “your personal belongings will be returned once we go through to make sure there is nothing that could alter our research.”

the door had closed and locked, leaving jisung alone in the room with just his thoughts to keep him company until his stuff was given back to him.

Beginning Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, no known medical problems

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung feels nervous about receiving the injection. Administered at 16:38 with no noted side effects.

you watched the boy through the array of cameras placed strategically throughout the room as he lay on the mattress. his sweater was haphazardly discarded across the room, a seemingly small attempt to make himself more comfortable in the sterile, plain environment.

despite the initial nerves of a new medication, nothing had seemed to happen. at the fifteen-minute mark, you stepped away from the cameras for a moment— if there were to be a severe sudden reaction, it would have manifested by now, you reasoned.

throughout your shift, your attention continued to drift back to the screens displaying jisung’s every move. with each glance, you found him engaged in various activities—doodling, writing in a journal, or simply staring off into space, lost in thought.

nothing seemed to go wrong. perhaps this medication would be approved.

Overnight Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, no known medical problems

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung ate all of dinner and requested night snacks. He had slept well. No side effects were recorded.

you press the bright red button, lowering your mouth to the microphone.

“how is everything down there? any side effects?”

“y/n? is that you speaking?”

“yes,” you were surprised that the boy had remembered your name, “what are your symptoms?”

“you should come into the room to speak with me. i’m lonely here.”

“i have to record your symptoms. i can’t come down there unless i know that you’re stable.”

the microphone had only barely picked up his sigh. “i’m normal.”

“any headaches? dizziness? dry throat?”

“nope. nothing. everything’s fine. just lonely.”

you sigh. he seemed normal. he was lying in bed, staring up at one of the cameras.

so it was fine, right?

you push open the door, greeted by the grinning patient on his mattress.

“you smell nice. what products do you use?”

what an odd conversation starter. “nothing special. just a lavender-scented body wash.”

he nods. “the overnight staff were fine, but i think that i prefer you. i can’t put my finger on it quite yet.”

was jisung naturally this blunt with his words? or was he flirting with you?

“what do you plan to do during your stay here?”

he leans back against the cushioned wall, “i compose songs for artists. i figured that it would be easy to get a lot of work done in here.”

“i see. is that your songwriting journal then?” you eye the small black book and pen next to him.

he takes the pen into his hand, “yup. it’s one of the few things that i brought here.”

“you’ll have to show me some of your work sometime throughout the month.”

“you can look at my work now,” he grins, clicking the pen, “my name is HAN. look me up.”

the name stays in your mind as you exit the room and lock the door. you find your way back to your seat at the cameras to supervise the man, pulling your lunch out of your back.

one hand holds a sandwich as the other browses through safari, looking at the songs that your patient had composed.

you hadn’t heard any of them, but perhaps it would be a good idea to look into the lyrics. it would give you things to talk about with him for the following month.

the rest of the shift was boring. you watched as he wrote in his notebook, ate his food, hummed to himself— nothing interesting.

the most intriguing thing that you experienced was the occasional ‘help!’ button being pressed, only for the man to announce that he needed to take a piss.

your misery was ended once your coworker entered the room, placing his keys and bag down on the table.

a sigh of relief left you, “thank god. it’s so boring.”

“thanks for the warning.”

Overnight Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, no known medical problems

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung ate all of dinner and requested no night snack. Awoke at 01:00 and 03:00. Specified no reason for waking. Special request for morning staff: Deliver lavender-scented body wash.

your eyes stared down at the note with slightly widened eyes.

perhaps he had good intentions, perhaps your defenses were just too high. after all, he might just like the scent of lavender like you did.

“good morning. any headaches? dizziness? dry throat?”

“my arm is a little sore, and i’m a bit restless, but that is all.”

you record his answers— finally something to write down.

“i saw your request from last night. i’ll get a staff member to deliver your body wash. did you run out? i’m sure we gave you enough.”

“i still have some. i just wanted to try yours out.”

how strange.

“you’re coming down to see me today, right?”

“not today. i want to see if your symptoms worsen throughout the day. it’s best to be careful.”

you watch through the camera as he slumps back, visibly disappointed.

today, the boy had begun to act a little bit differently. every couple of minutes, he would stop his writing to look up at the camera.

you would hold eye contact with him for a few moments, even though he couldn’t see you before he would look back down again with a large grin that wasn’t on his face before.

soon, the bottle of body wash was delivered to his room.

“y/n! is that you?” he jumped out of bed as the lock clicked, only to be disappointed to see a man in a mask and gloves leave it right inside of the door.

he crept towards the bottle, snapping the lid off, holding it up to his nose, then inhaling deeply.

“it smells like you.”

you clenched your teeth, writing down the reactions.

walking over towards the center of the room, he peeled his t-shirt off his frame, then pulled down his sweatpants and boxers in one go.

you shrieked, slamming the buttons to disable the camera.

he was supposed to tell you when he needed privacy.

with shaky hands, you began to jot down his behaviors.

once ten minutes had passed, you turned the camera back on in hopes that he was decent again. this time, you had enabled the camera with caution, only to see that he was showering.

you disable it once again and decide that this would be a good time to have lunch.

the image of the naked man was etched into your mind as you tried to force the salad down your throat.

it was a good thirty minutes until you got the courage to turn the camera back on, sighing in relief as you saw him on his bed with sweatpants on once again.

jisung stared up at the ceiling with hooded eyes, chest rising and falling— you weren’t sure what was going through his mind.

you press the button. “everything alright in there?”

he perked up, “y/n, everything is just fine. i wish you were in here, though, instead of behind that stupid camera.”

you bite your lip uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond.

changing the subject would be best.

“lunch will be delivered soon.”

“good. i’m a bit hungry.”

you take your finger off of the button, sitting back in your seat, waiting for your shift to be over.

Overnight Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, no known medical problems

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung ate most of dinner and requested no night snack. Had difficulty falling and staying asleep. Awoke many times to journal. Refused conversation about his symptoms.

“y/n? you’re here, right? right?”

you had only just opened the door to the surveillance room, met with his muffled voice through the speakers.

“y/n? y/n? baby? my beautiful doll?”

the nickname caught you off guard, breath caught in your throat.

before answering, you grabbed the pen off the desk to jot down the behavior. this was not normal.

he stared directly into the camera. “i know you’re here. i journaled the minutes until he would leave and you would replace him.”

your legs shook as you took a seat.

why were you so nervous? it wasn’t like you were in danger. the door was locked. his body language did not seem hostile.

but his eyes told a different story. they were dark, crazed, restless.

“doll? can you hear me? can you hear me?”

your voice stuttered, “what are your symptoms?”

“i missed your voice, y/n.”

“any headaches? dizziness? dry throat?”

“none,” jisung answered quickly, “so you can come down and see me, right?”

you lied through your teeth. “not today. we are still a bit worried about yesterday’s symptoms.”

“fuck!” his forehead hit against the wall.

you took your finger away from the button.

he balled his hand into a fist before hurling it towards the same wall.

jisung crumbles to the floor. “i can’t take it anymore.”

“are you alright? are you in pain? do you need help?” you grasp your pen with an unsteady hand, “tell me what’s going on. talk to me.”

“i need to see you again, i waited all night just for you to tell me no.”

“it’s for the safety of you and myself.”

his voice was barely above a raspy whisper, “i promise i won’t hurt you, i’d never hurt you. i couldn’t hurt you.”

“jisung,” you started sternly, “i’m unable to see you. please abide by the rules of the study.”

“can’t i quit?”

“you signed a form stating that unless there is a medical emergency, you aren’t to leave this room. i’m quite not sure that you’re in your right state of mind right now.”

“i would be fine if you’d let me see you again.”

it was pointless to argue with the man, so you let go of the button, jotting down the conversation.

jisung did not eat, speak, or move from his spot that day.

Overnight Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, no known medical problems

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung ate no dinner and requested no night snack. Did not sleep through the night. Refused conversation.

“doll, you’re back.” his raspy voice announced your presence just as you opened the door as if he was in the room with you.

on the camera, he was spread out in the middle of the floor like a starfish. his blonde hair covered his face, but you could still see the eye bags forming under his sunken eyes.

“i have a bit of a headache. i’m dizzy. my throat is dry,” he answered your questions for you, “will i get to see you today, doll?”

you were a bit afraid to answer, hesitating as you pressed the button, “i’m sorry. no.”

“but i will be able to see you after the study, right? after the study you’ll marry me, right?”

your heart dropped into your stomach at the words.

“i have a partner, jisung.”

“i know,” he smiled lightly, “it’s me. but soon i’ll be your husband, right?”

this was too much. you felt sick. you needed to alert the rest of the team and let someone else take over this case. hell, you might even quit your job.

“imagine you as han y/n. it sounds beautiful, doesn’t it?”

his crazed voice rang through your ears as you stood up from your seat.

“nobody else has ever made me feel this way, do you know that? all i want is you. and i’ve only seen you twice. isn’t that absurd? love is just so beautiful.”

his words caused you to still. you felt like a deer in headlights.

“do you think the shot is what made me crazy? because ever since we met eyes after you gave it to me, i couldn’t stop thinking about you. about your touch, even through the gloves. all of my songs have been about you. i even drew you.”

waves of nausea came crashing down on you.

“i can’t wait until i’m finally out of here. i can finally have you all to myself. i’ll kill that night staff for taking you away from me.”

jisung scoffed at the thought of him, “and he’s the one who gets the pleasure of passing by you every day? do you like him? i’ll gouge his eyes out and wear his skin if you like him more than me, hm?”

you raced towards the trash can in the corner of the room, stomach churning as your breakfast came right out of your mouth.

the smell was putrid, acidic, disgusting. but not as disgusting as the words of the sick man behind the camera.

“did you watch me shower, my love? i don’t mind if you did. your lavender body wash felt so good on my body, i imagined it was you in there with me, washing my body yourself—“

you ran out of the room, slamming the door behind you.

“he’s crazy! he’s gone mad!” you point towards the surveillance room, tears streaming down your face as you try to explain the situation to the nearest person that you can find.

“calm down. go to the break room. i’ll alert the rest and we’ll handle it.”

“you’ll be okay,” a staff member reassures, handing you a much-needed drink from the vending machine, “he won’t be able to escape. we will detain him and try to get him any help that we can.”

“even aside from how creepy he was, i just feel terrible, you know? i gave him that shot.”

“it isn’t your fault. he knew what he was getting into. we tried our best to determine the effects. there was no way of knowing.”

although he was right, guilt and horror still ate you up as you rested your head in your hands.

“this is why our job is important, so that only one person gets hurt instead of an entire population of people.”

“what a shitty job.”

he laughed as he got up, “tell me about it. i’m gonna go see what i can do to help. let us know if you need anything.”

the door closes and you lay your head down on the table, closing your eyes.

all you could think about was the man and his words.

‘i can’t wait until i’m finally out of here. i can finally have you all to myself. i’ll kill that night staff for taking you away from me.’

would he be able to leave? would he be able to get over this love sickness? is it reversible? nobody knew anything about it. the only thing that could be done is watching him.

it only seemed to get worse over the days, and you didn’t want to know what he would be like at the end of the month.

Overnight Notes

Han Jisung (Male)

23 years old, psychosis

Acterenol, Administered 16:38, 5/17/25.

Intramuscular, Upper Arm

Notes: Jisung ate no dinner and requested no night snack. Did not sleep through the night. Refused conversation aside from asking for previous staff, Y/N L/N.

you no longer worked with jisung. instead, you had been assigned to a new case.

“it isn’t too late to back out, we have a few more candidates willing to take your place.”

“i’m not nervous. go ahead and inject me, doctor,” the patient joked, pulling her sleeve up.

“and as the paperwork says, your only allergy is mild reaction to shellfish, but no anaphylaxis or any history of mental illness?”

“all correct.”

you were wiping her bicep with alcohol when the door had opened, screams piercing your ears from outside of the soundproof room.

“y/n?”

blood dripped onto the floor from his heaving form, eyes bloodshot and locked right on your form. in his hand, he held a loaded handgun, the smell of gun powder seeping into the room.

the patient in front of you screeched, immediately making a run for it before her brains were splattered across the room.

your ears rung from the shot, standing stalk still as jisung approached you.

everything was moving too quickly. you couldn’t process a single thing. your head was spinning. you needed to survive.

“please, i’ll do anything, don’t hurt me.”

“i told you. i won’t hurt you, i’d never hurt you. i couldn’t hurt you.” a bloody hand ran through your hair, taking advantage of your frozen figure.

“i can’t believe i’m so close to you right now.” his nose buried into your neck and you could feel the cold metal of the gun pressing against your back.

“they’re all dead. and you’re back.”

he dropped the gun to the floor, fishing through his pocket.

before you could register what was happening, jisung had already lodged a needle into your arm.

“sleep tight, my doll, i’ll get us out of here.”

[tinfoil-jones]

Jerk Ford AU: The Worst Timeline

Out of all the scenarios and alternate timelines / other AU's this one could cross over into or adopt elements from (You can see a Reverse Portal Scenario Here and Here), the worst and most destructive alternate timeline for Jerk Ford would be Drifting Stars.

If you don't know, Drifting Stars is a popular AU where during the events of Not What He Seems, Mabel goes through the portal instead of Ford coming out. And now Mabel and Ford are together in the multiverse.

Stanley never stopped being involved with family because he was never kicked out, so Mabel and Dipper have actually known their Grunkle Stan their whole lives, they've even visited him a fair few times and stayed over, the summer that the events of the show takes place in is just the first time they stayed for an entire summer.

Imagine if, about five years before the show starts, little 7-8 year old Mabel falls into the bottomless pit and somehow gets ejected to the only other thing out in the multiverse with the same dimensional signature as her; Jerk Ford, her great uncle who has been missing for twenty five years.

Jerk Ford sees this crying little kid and he takes pause because, for one thing what is a kid doing in Mystery Flesh Pit National Park in the Body Horror Dimension, and another thing why does she have an eerie resemblance to his nephew, who was only ten years old the last time that he saw him?

Jerk Ford at first was considering leaving her to the lost and found at the tourist outpost of the national park, but then she called him "Grunkle Stan." (Because she is mistaking him for Stanley, and Grunkle why did you cut your hair?) And it's all over.

Jerk Ford, a multidimensional space hobo vagabond who has been trying to get home for the past twenty five years at this point and has had absolutely no contact with his family for obvious reasons, he just goes YOINK THIS IS MINE NOW.

And why is this the worst timeline for the Jerk Ford AU?

You know that scene in the Lion King when Rafiki is holding up Simba to the valley? Well, imagine Jerk Ford doing the same thing with Mabel. Except she's like this:

Because Jerk Ford already has poor impulse control when it comes to pettiness without his brother to reign him in, and now he has Mabel who is a very similar brand of unhinged as he is, they're just subjecting the entire multiverse to a path of glittery destruction the likes have which have never been seen before and will hopefully never be repeated.

Jerk Ford was already wilding all on his own now he has Mabel who has so many ideas. And she has this pathetic, lonely man wrapped around her little finger.

Also, Jerk Ford is a known runner. He does not fight if he doesn't see himself winning, and he'll usually go out of his way to not kill people. He just lacks the trigger-happy 'shoot now journal about it later'-gene that most Fords have. (He has very specific exceptions)*

But in a scenario where he has Mabel? Where he isn't facing consequences all by himself? He isn't letting anything in the multiverse so much as breathe rudely in her direction. So now, he isn't just some jerk or mostly harmless nuisance, he is stacking bodies (not in Mabel's line of sight, obviously).

The (Jerk) Ford Hate Club is besides themselves. Now, stopping or killing Jerk Ford isn't their only prerogative, they also need to 'rescue' this small, innocent child from The Worst Ford and his influence. Unaware that the terrible-flavoured beanboozled jellybeans that keep making their way into their catering were all her idea.

When Jerk Ford and Mabel return in 2012, Dipper is besides himself because, sweet Moses his sister is alive! She's really alive!

But she's been with with The Author who he hates, and being raised by him for the past five years has had obvious effects on her development.

She's still happy go lucky and nice, she's not a jerk at all like her Grunkle Ford.

But she's basically a supervillain who is on the FBI's Most Wanted List in every dimension she's been to that has one, and some organizations both official and criminal consider her a bigger threat than Jerk Ford (relative to body size).

Her sunny disposition did not change at all; she's blowing up whole buildings with a damn smile on her face

It's terrifying. This is the worst Jerk Ford timeline.

*While he was in the multiverse, instead of celebrating Jewish holidays the traditional way there was no point without his family, he would travel to different parallel Earth dimensions to kill Nazi’s. He would try to be a little more traditional, and halt the killing spree while he had Mabel with him, she was too young for murder.

[aiakosm]

Drifting Stars AU: Mabel gets sucked into the portal before Stanford could come out and the portal shuts down, leaving her in that dimension with Ford while Stan and Dipper have to find a way to turn that portal back on.

(New one that I just saw) Reverse Drifting Stars AU: Ford comes back but the portal doesn’t turn off and it’s Stan and Dipper that get sucked in instead (although from the comment I read, it was just Dipper that gets sucked in which is also heartbreaking).

Other Gravity Falls AU’s if you’re confused>

Reverse Falls AU: their personalities are reversed and instead of the happy silly Pines family that you know and love, they’re the manipulative arrogant Gleeful family that everyone hates. The Pines (read: The Gleefuls) are cold-hearted and (in most cases) has the Reversed-version of Bill wrapped around their finger. Reversed-Bill Cipher (named Will Cipher) is a whiny, sensitive, baby-like version of the dream demon.

Fight Falls AU: Everything is almost the same, except for the fact that Mabel and Dipper can fight well. They got into a lot of trouble at their school and was sent to Gravity Falls so that more trouble wouldn’t happen. Dipper and Mabel are great fighters and have a much more sensitive temper but Dipper is still a nerd and Mabel still has a fun imagination (Just more secretly) Bill Cipher (Named Kill Cipher) loves violence—which isn’t out of character—and is mostly there to not only torment the town but also encourage the twin’s violent nature.

Monster Falls AU: Everyone’s a creature! You can switch up what creatures these characters are but most of the fandom has agreed that Dipper is a deer centaur , Mabel is either a mermaid or a unicorn, Stanley is a gargoyle, Ford is a Greek-style Sphinx, Wendy is a werefox or a moth-person, Soos is a clay golem, Gideon is usually a vampire, Pacifica is either a gorgon or a unicorn, Robbie is a zombie, etc. Bill Cipher is a humanoid hunter with a triangle-shaped head.

Reunion Falls AU: this is Mabel and Dipper but they’re separated at birth. Dipper usually lives in the mystery shack and it’s Mabel that visits years later for the summer.

Relativity Falls AU: Everyone’s age and role is switched. Stanford and Stanley are now the young pine twins going to visit their great uncle Dipper and great aunt Mabel (or just Great Aunt Mabel if you decide to have Dipper lost in the portal) for the summer. (Personal favorite simply because I like the older Mabel and younger Stanley dynamic).

Nightmare Falls AU: In this one, Dipper and Mabel are raised by Bill Cipher in a dimension called the nightmare dimension, and are demons. Dipper is depicted as popular but mean, only cares about helping his twin and causing chaos. Mabel is depicted as shy, creative, and secretly more powerful than she lets on (although they are both supposed to be equally powerful but whatever). Bill Cipher, their adoptive parent, encourages their violent and chaotic tendencies. Not many people touch up on this AU. But many should.

Transcendence AU: This one is really popular. If you’ve been in the fandom for longer than a year, you might’ve heard of it. The story often changes but apparently in the original version, Bill dies due to the Transcendence. Before he passes, he leaves a small part of himself in Dipper who turns into a demon. Or half-demon. I think this is where the whole ‘Alcor the dreambender’ thing began (Even though Dipper’s Demon name would just be Ursa Major and he’d be a star demon).

Demonic Twins AU: This time, the twins switch with Bill Cipher. So now Bill Cipher is Bill Pines (maybe Will is there too) and Gideon summons two demons, Mabel and Dipper, who are evil but aren’t as chaotic as the original Bill.

Crystal Falls AU: literally just the Steven Universe mixed with Gravity Falls. They all have different gems and such. I can’t exactly explain it, considering the fact that I’ve never read this AU nor have I watched Steven Universe, but it’s as it sounds.

ANYWAYS THATS ALL FOR NOW, YOU CAN USE THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO TRY AND REMEMBER. LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANY AND ILL MAKE EDITS!

[stoicjewel]

What if Stanley somehow went to college WITH Ford?

An au that I pulled out of my ass at 10pm, while eating a soggy taco.

Ford couldn't believe it. A being beyond his comprehension, a muse of great importance and power, chose HIM to be his partner. His link to the physical plane. And now here he was, working together with his brother and best friend to make his greatest idea a reality.

Ford was currently leaning over his desk, recording important sequences he needed to pass to Fiddleford later. They were so close to getting this done, he could practically taste the sweet flavor of victory. Of acknowledgement. Or perhaps that was his tenth cup of coffee he had chugged in the last two hours.

Suddenly, Ford hears a sharp knock on the door, followed by the sound of a raspy cough.

Ford let out a sigh. "Come in."

Stanley walks into the room, wearing a gruff expression. He grabs a nearby chair, and sits down in it with his chin resting against the top rail of the chair.

Ford raises his brow, before letting out a slight huff of annoyance. "Stanley, would it kill you to sit in a chair correctly for once?"

"Yes it would. It would probably end the universe as we know it if I sat down with a stick up my ass like you." Stanley deadpanned in response, staring through Ford with an expression that reminded Ford of their mother.

Ford sighed, but decided not to dignify the comment with a response. He sets down his quill, turning around in his chair and crossing his arms with a furrowed brow. "Did you come into my office just to bother me? You know I'm busy Stanley."

"No. I wanted to talk to you about our project."

Ford's brows furrowed further. "What's there to talk about? It should be completed soon, don't tell me you're getting antsy already."

Stan rolled his eyes. "That's not what I wanted to say and you know it. Look, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing-"

"Don't tell me Fiddleford has been putting ideas in your head," Ford said with a sharp tone, practically glaring into Stanley's eyes with a burning intensity. "Stanley, we have been working on this project for MONTHS. Almost a year at this point! We're on the verge of a monumental discovery that could be the next step for humanity as we know it! Just think of it Stanley! A pathway to other words, other dimensions-"

"WILL YOU LET ME TALK?!" Stanley suddenly cuts through Ford's spiel, making him fall silent. Stanley cleared his throat, dragging a hand across his face with a sigh. "Look, I get it just as much as you do."

"I'd love to discover interdimensional space travel as much as the next guy. Id love to be one of the scientists who helped make the dozens of comic books and pieces of science fiction into reality. But we gotta think about this."

"What is there to think about?" Ford chides, starting to feel a sinking feeling in his chest. "We're scientists Stanley, this is what we do! We research, we create, we explore! We have the knowledge to make this a reality, so why shouldn't we take the chance?"

Stanley let out a sigh before standing from his chair, starting to pick at a loose thread on his lab coat. "Yeah, we are scientists. With enough research, determination, and possibly fatal trial and error, I'm sure we could make or discover whatever shit we want. But just because we CAN, that doesn't mean we SHOULD, Ford. Did you ever stop to think about that?"

Ford keeps his eyes on Stanley's face. His eyes drift from his brother's seemingly stoic appearance, before noticing the small furrow in his brow, the slight twitch in his lip. The almost invisible signs of worry.

Ford didn't need to be worried about. He didn't need to be protected or watched, like some sort of child. He didn't need Stanley to follow him around like a lost dog, fighting his battles for him. To think for him, tell him what's safe and what's not. Not anymore.

Ford let out a huff, turning back to his work. "I don't need your opinion on this Stanley. I can handle myself, thank you very much. Is there anything else you need, or can I return to my work?"

Stanley stayed in place, watching the back of Ford's head silently for a few moments. He eventually shook his head, his eyes falling to the floor. "No. Doesn't seem like you're willing to listen right now anyway." Stanley muttered under his breath, barely audible. With that, Stan left the study, leaving Ford alone with his thoughts. And perhaps a golden friend, if he was lucky.

[mint-fixates]

Going more in depth with my many, very long thoughts on the AU concept I discussed in a previous post, which I'm calling "Domesticated Bill AU" based on a suggestion from the replies (TL;DR it's just a "What if Bill wasn't evil" AU)

First major difference: No Euclydian massacre. Bill doesn't destroy his home dimension, he just gets sick of them trying to suppress his gift and leaves. Something something he still ends up getting trapped in the Nightmare Realm while looking for a more exciting and accepting world

He spends a lot of time partying and getting up to mischief while hanging out with the Henchmaniacs (who still look up to him as a leader, but have more of an equals/genuine friends relationship with him rather than a boss/minion relationship), but after a billion years or so that starts to get boring. When they realize the Nightmare Dimension is unraveling, Bill has the idea to get someone to make a portal for him, like in canon, BUT Weirdmageddon is never part of the plan. He just needs a way to safely get himself and his friends out of the Nightmare Realm before it unravels, no apocalypse required

Bill still has a series of failed partnerships because no one has the technology to build the portal or because they can't match his freak and get fed up with him and call the deal off. But there's no evil retribution on anyone who fails to make it. He's chaotic neutral at worst, so most of his impact on history is similar to canon!Bill helping the Salem witches free themselves- but because of Earth's societal standards and expectations, he still gets painted as evil for these sorts of acts.

Bill meets Stanford under the same circumstances- Ford finds out about him and summons him to help when he hits a roadblock in his research (though he finds him through different means since there's no shaman warning/prophecy). The only initial difference is that Bill is fully honest about the intention of the portal, because he has nothing to hide.

Bill is still a bit emotionally immature and jealous of Fiddleford but generally their relationship is much healthier. Ford still worships and puts Bill on a pedestal at first, but as they get closer over time he realizes that they're equals, kindred spirits. Bill delights in having someone and who finds his weirdness intriguing and endearing rather than being put off by it. They both love having someone they can relate to, someone on a similar level of intelligence, someone they never have to filter themselves around, and with all that in mind it's really inevitable that they fall for each other.

The portal is a success, and Ford makes a ton of money and earns his place in scientific history for his brilliant discovery, but credits Bill with half the workload since he can now prove Bill is, y'know, real and not a hallucination. People are still a bit weirded out by Bill and prefer the idea of a human success story, so as far as the press is concerned, it was 99% Stanford. Fiddleford is not credited at his own request, preferring to live a quiet life while knowing he helped make the world a bit better.

Fiddleford is still crushing hard on an oblivious Ford throughout the portal-building process like canon implies, but once the portal finished and Ford can introduce him to/explain his relationship with Bill, Fidds gracefully bows out and goes back to working on making personal computers and on focusing on his family. He and Ford are still good friends and regularly email and call each other which Bill hates but begrudgingly tolerates

Bill and his friends take a tour of the multiverse to decide where they want to settle, but Bill's thoughts keep drifting back to Stanford. Ford is also touring the multiverse for research purposes, which has disrupted their ability to communicate mentally, and Bill realizes how much he misses him. They both eventually go back to Dimension 46'\ and get married. Bill finds Earth a bit boring sometimes and occasionally goes on vacations to other dimensions with Ford and/or the Henchmaniacs, but "home" for him and Ford is always Gravity Falls.

Stanley calls Ford to congratulate him on his success and they reconnect, both apologizing for their fight. Ford finds out that Stanley is homeless and immediately hires him as his publicist since he's constantly being bombarded with interview requests and the like. Stanley ends up getting his own place in Gravity Falls to be closer to work and his brother.

Dipper and Mabel's parents are going through some Things™ and decide to send the twins off to live it up with their rich, successful Grunkle Ford for the summer. Gravity Falls is still weird but the twins now have a great uncle who actively encourages and assists them on all their weird supernatural and conspiratorial adventures. And, of course, their weird extradimensional triangle great-uncle-in-law is more than happy to help them cause some trouble and solve some mysteries too (Bill 10000% helped Mabel kidnap Sev'ral Timez and hide them from Ford, suggested using the Lilliputtians to cheat in her mini-golf game against Pacifica, etc.)

Stanley and his personal assistant Soos still make frequent appearances at Ford's house, and Wendy is also there (haven't quite figured out how she fits into this yet), so Dipper and Mabel are still close with all of them like in canon

Mabel still meets and becomes besties with Candy and Grenda, just under different circumstances.

Pacifica's parents initially contact Stanford to hire him to dispose of their ghost problem, but he passes it off to Dipper because he and Bill are going to visit Bill's parents in Euclydia. So NWMM/Pacifica's character development plays out mostly the same way as canon

Gideon still meets and becomes obsessed with Mabel, but without the journals as a source of power and motivation, he has no ambition to steal the Shack or means to almost kill Dipper. He's still kind of a stalker towards Mabel but a mostly harmless one- especially after Ford, Bill, and Stanley find out he's been bothering her and have a Friendly Chat with him.

The journals still exist, but they're not hidden, they're just chilling on Ford's bookshelf. He originally intended to publish them but forgot about it with all the hype around the portal. Ford gives them to Dipper to help out with the twins' adventures for when he's busy and can't go help them personally.

[yujateaandpi]

Sooo just to clarify this isn't like the drifting stars au where Mable gets sucked into the portal duringthat one episode. Ford was in gravity falls for a bit of the summer until something happen??

Btw love your art can't way to cry to it!

No, and to those who keep asking, I want to make it very clear that I had no idea what the drifting stars au was before I drew the first page. This is brain soup pairing to the Don't Dimension It comic in the Lost Legends book when Mabel gets sucked into a leftover Weirdmaggedon rift to the multiverse. Except in this AU, Ford goes with her. They lollygag for a week of silly adventures trying to get back home, expecting that this is something they can scrapbook about before the summer ends. But when they return home... well.

[nowimjustastranger]

Sooo if it’s cool with you, could I possible get more ‘so far from home’ content?? I just find it such a cool au + I really want to see they family get comforted and find out what happened in Stan’s au

Stan watched the niblings sleep, one tucked in each arm.

The four of them had migrated inside the busted up shack after their cry-fest ended, Ford firmly guiding Stan to a familiar chair. The niblings immediately climbed into Stan’s lap as soon as he sat down, clinging to him. Mabel had tucked her face into the crook of his neck while Dipper had rested his head against Stan’s chest, the twins obviously listening to his heart beat and his steady breaths.

With everything that’s happened lately, from Bill’s ‘Weirdmageddon’ to Stan being all but served to them on a silver platter by some weirdo in a helmet, he wasn’t surprised that they were so exhausted once things calmed down a bit. Stan stayed still and kept his breathing even to avoid startling them into wakefulness, entertaining himself by watching Soos and his brother putter around the living room.

The two were busy tidying up the immediate area around Stan and the niblings, starting with picking up the larger debris and damaged items to deposit it into a pile outside before sweeping up the rest. Ford was never out of sight for longer than a few moments, frequently glancing at Stan with haunted eyes. And Stan’s chest clenched at the sight because anything that made Ford look like that was bad. Really fucking bad.

Stan had a feeling that the expression of utter devastation and guilt tied into what that helmeted guy had said about the Stanley from this dimension sacrificing himself. Now, what exactly that entailed, he didn’t know; but whatever went down had everyone rattled. Stan hadn’t seen the body of his variant in the clearing, or even any blood for that matter. There had just been an alarmingly vacant Ford and the wailing niblings.

Stan hesitated to ask Ford about the whole ‘end of the world’ business for fear of seeing that blank look on his brother’s face again.

“...Boss?” Soos timidly asked and Stan grimaced as the title raked across raw nerves, though he was struck by instant regret when Soos’ expression crumpled as he shrunk in on himself; as if Stan had struck him. Stan swallowed thickly as Soos subconsciously took a step back, his eyes downcast as he hastily tried to fix his perceived blunder. “Sorry, I–”

“Call me Stan, kid.” Stan interrupted, jerking his head in a silent bid for Soos to come closer. The kid had been persistently invading Stan’s personal space –and his heart– since he was still a snot-nosed little brat. And, even though Stan didn’t know what kind of relationship the Stanley here had with Soos, he was done pretending he didn’t give a shit. That he didn’t need anyone.

Soos was just as much his as the niblings currently curled up in his arms.

“Oh! Really!?” Soos exclaimed, excited and apprehensive in equal measure as he tentatively closed the distance between them. Stan ached to reach out and ease the turmoil that he could see in the young man’s eyes as clear as day, but he couldn’t yet find it in himself to pry his hands away from the snoozing niblings.

However, Soos needed him too, and Stan wasn’t about to leave the young man unmoored. 

For the longest time, Stan used to believe he was a ball and chain, weighing those he loved down and trapping them. Though he had never actually looked at the end of the chain before because he was afraid that his worst fears would be confirmed. It was only later in life, years after he pushed his brother into the portal, that Stan had realized that he was something else entirely.

An anchor.

He made those around him feel secure by keeping the boat in place while at rest in the water, preventing it from drifting due to wind or current when no one was paying attention. He also served as a safety measure in case of engine failure or other unforeseen circumstances, preventing the boat from drifting onto rocks, shoals, or other hazards that could cause the boat to sink or get grounded.

Stan’s problem was that, as a kid and later a teen, he had selfishly refused to let Ford go where the current that was his massive intellect would take him. And in doing so, he began to inadvertently drown Ford, pulling his brother down beneath the choppy waves. No wonder his brother had found him so suffocating, Ford was never able to get a full breath of air before he was dragged under again.

Stan had no one to blame but himself when his brother inevitably cut the chain that was weighing him down, leaving Stan to sink into the inky depths.

“Course, kid. C’mere.” Stan coaxed, gingerly shifting to sit up straighter as Soos shuffled even closer with an expression that was equal parts uncertain and hopeful. Stan swallowed, hand shaking as he reluctantly unwound his arm from Mabel’s waist to reach for Soos, who snatched up the offered hand like Stan was his only lifeline in a raging sea.

Stan tightened his grip on Soos and tugged him closer and down until their foreheads were touching, something in Stan unwinding as he felt the younger man’s warmth. The last time Stan had seen Soos, he had saved Stan from the beast with 8-Balls for eyes, bravely taking an axe to one of the monster’s ankles so Stan could gain more ground.

Stan hadn’t looked back, couldn’t. The whole town was fighting and dying to buy him time to get to the Shack and he could not afford to look back at his son because then he would start running in the wrong direction. It didn’t stop him from hearing the vicious brawl happening behind him though, the wet sounds of splitting flesh and cracking bone and the beast’s roaring echoing long after they were out of sight.

There was no doubt in his mind that Soos had died there, holding that thing back for as long as he could.

“Stan?” Soos tentatively whispered, his brows drawn together as he squeezed Stan’s hand with both of his own. Stan blinked and distantly realized that he was crying. How embarrassing. Even Ford was hovering, having abandoned his current task to rush to Stan’s side. Ford looked terribly lost, wide eyes fixated on Stan as he wrung his hands together.

“I’m so damn proud of ya, Soos.” Stan blurted, sniffling pathetically. Despite his own misgivings about vulnerability and feelings, he needed Soos to know. Soos had spent the vast majority of his life waiting for someone to want to be there. And, while Stan hadn’t been able to give him that back in his dimension, the least he could do is make sure this Soos knows how appreciated and loved and wanted he is.

“You’re such a good person, Soos, so don’t let anyone else try ta convince ya otherwise. An’ don’t ever change for nobody.” Stan croaked, closing his eyes in a futile effort to hide from how raw the words were. Praises that he would think in the privacy of his own mind but never utter. He hoped that his Soos somehow knew how important he was.

Soos had come to Stan during a low point, when he had been ready to throw in the towel with that fucking portal and make use of his handgun. Stan had hired him on a whim, not really expecting much and promptly being thrown for a loop when Soos just… seamlessly slotted into his usual routine. The kid came later in the evening, happily following Stan around until closing, which is when he would fix what needed fixing.

Eventually, Stan found himself cooking the kid a hearty meal at the end of the day because he felt bad about just sending the twerp back home with an empty stomach. Soos worked so hard, so it was only fair that Stan even things out a bit since he refused to raise the kid’s pay. So they began eating dinner together, two lonely people finding company in each other.

And, when Stan inevitably trudged back into the basement, things didn’t seem quite as hopeless as they had before.

“I love ya. More than you'll ever know.” Stan confessed, eyes snapping open when Soos’ hands pulled away, heart in his throat as he jerked back to look up at Soos. All he saw was Soos’ wobbling lower lip and huge wet eyes before Soos was lunging for him, still mindful of the niblings even as he gathered Stan up into a desperate hug and began sobbing.

“Thank you! I love you! I love you too!” Soos bawled, getting snot and tears all over the shoulder of Stan’s already ruined suit. Although even if it had been in pristine condition, he would’ve only had a passing thought of protest before just letting it happen. Clearly the kid needed this and, if Stan was being honest, he did too.

“Ya don’t gotta thank me for lovin’ ya, kid. It’s really too damn easy.” Stan said thickly, titling his head to nuzzle Soos as he tightened his grip on the niblings. They had stirred from all the movement and noise, Mabel instinctively snuggling closer to Stan’s side while Dipper sluggishly rubbed his eyes with an adorable yawn.

Despite all odds, he had been given another chance, and he couldn’t be more grateful for it.

[phantomchick]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

Jason Todd/Batfamily/DC Comics

Ye Who Enters Here by Wisetypewriter

Trips to hellish dimension are, well, not routine per say, but they have lost their edges after the tenth Titans mission. Even the invasion that triggered the need for an incursion in the inflamed realms would ultimately another day for Nightwing and his team, if not for the trial. Confess your biggest regret truthfully. Heroes have plenty to regret, but to share it is another matter entirely. And it just so happened that Dick's little brother had joined them for the ride. Or, the Red Hood’s regrets are about death, but not in the way Nightwing hoped.

Field Notes by SalParadiseLost

short stories in a demon au.

One Rule by Wisetypewriter

A promise. An oath. And a threat. Batman does not kill. Nor do his allies. Even if he has to personally ensure that they don't. Or, a dead pimp found in Crime Alley leads to Batman and Ma Gunn meeting again for the first time in years.

If all the soul-and-body scars by GavotteAndGigue

The Bat family is left reeling after Jason succeeds in taking his own life. Bruce struggles through grief as he grapples with more questions than answers. Then, over a year later, Jason is found miraculously alive inside his tomb. But Jason’s mysterious resurrection isn't the simple blessing it appears to be. For Jason, nothing has changed since the day he died for a second time, and he's still hell bent on ending himself for good. Bruce desperately searches for answers as he contends with how to keep his violently suicidal assassin-trained son from taking his own life once more.

Let the Night be Dark for All of Me by GavotteAndGigue

Jason Todd and Talia al Ghul have a complicated relationship, to say the least. They've drifted apart and had little contact ever since Jason's reconciled with the Bats. However, one night after a disagreement with his family, Jason reaches out to Talia as a last resort to help him travel across the globe undetected. Why does Jason trust her even after their history of manipulation and lies? And does Talia still have enough affection in her heart to save Jason's life once more, or will she shepherd him to his doom?

Mine by Covenyt2950

But with all the bad luck he'd been having, he should've known he wasn't ready for the sheer terror that took over his body when the driver's window rolled down, showing the face of one of the most dangerous men in Gotham. Oh shit There it was, Richard Grayson-Wayne. Nightwing. Personal executioner, right-hand man, and dear son of Gotham’s most infamous crime boss: the Bat. Or Jason is a young prostitute who's just trying to take care of his little brother. Until one night he meets one of the Bats and has to struggle to survive and run away with Tim. Or so he thinks.

Flatline by dragonpyre

Jason's an idiot. A fucking idiot. He thought he could take some goons no problem, and now he's stuck on a warehouse floor with next to no heartbeat and his family crying over his "corpse". How the hell is he gonna fix this?

The Extremely True Story of the Titans Tower Attack by Wisetypewriter

Red Hood, evil, evil bastard, decides to murderize Robin. Yeah, right.

Lazy Sunday by foxglovefriar

Shipfic nsfw

Jason Todd does not have a boyfriend. He has a dom, because vulnerability is for chumps and Jason's playing it to win. It doesn't matter that Foley likes picking soft clothes for him, or eating breakfast together, or sharing chores— look, he's only here to get hypnotized straight out of his trauma-induced cycle of self-punishment, okay?? The blow jobs are just necessary to hit that end goal! That's all!

Two Robins in the Hand by MeiliSheep

While on patrol, Jason and Dick are both turned into their 13-year-old selves. To Everyone's surprise, Two Robins get along. Specially when both realize there is something the others aren't telling them. And if Batman doesn't have Robin's back, well, another Robin will just have to do. Specially if the Robins look so alike.

Thunder Screaming in the Sky by Ellegrine

Dick stares at the dirt with horror, the taste of stomach acid thick on his tongue. No, it’s not possible. He’s hearing things. He’s hallucinating. There’s no way in hell that Bruce buried Jason alive.

Kyle Rayner's Complete Guide to getting a Malewife by MeiliSheep

Kyle stumbles his way into getting himself a male wife.

Little bird by ittybittypenguins

During Dick's visit at Jason's apartment, some things are said. All while working together to get past an impossible boss in a level where Jason had been stuck on for weeks now. He didn't expect to have such a genuine good time with the older.

HOPE THE LOVE WE SHARED CAN RESURRECT THE LAST. by orpheusaki

"I would never be mad at you for this," Bruce tells him clearly, leaving no room for misunderstanding, blue eyes sharp and clear as they meet Jason's steadily, "I think you know this Jason, deep down. You know I would never blame you for any of this." Jason's heart is tight, "I'm —" Bruce places both hands on his shoulders, "Don't apologise. Just breathe with me." Jason takes a deep breath in, matching Bruce's unshakeable calmness. It's the first time in a long time that Jason feels like he can actually breathe. (Jason survives Ethiopia and returns home; this is the beginning.)

king of the lost boys by noharlembeat

This fic says Dickjay but nothing happens so you can ignore it and read it as platonic if you want. It's very very good and I love how it handled the ableism angst.

The clock stops and Jason closes his eyes. He wakes up at the manor. ~~~ or: Jason Todd lives, and how that changes things.

and when I wake up, let me be by forgotten_daydreamer

« Jason is used to his body and mind going numb, he’s used to his breath hitching, to his heartbeat slowing down so drastically that he sometimes finds himself sprawled on the freezing tiles, clutching the shirt drenched in cold sweat that’s plastered to his chest, just above his heart, mouth gaping as he regains feeling in his body. “Fine. Just一” he swallows, throat dry, “I’m only staying one night. I’m leaving at dawn.” » Jason reluctantly spends a night at the Manor, omitting some crucial information regarding the Lazarus Pit side effects.

Phone Alarms by quotidian_void

"Just imagine Jason recording Batman angrily yelling "Nightwing!" then setting it as the sound of Dick's phone alarm so in the next morning when it goes off he flips the fuck out"

Naruto

denizens of the sands of time by CherShare

Happy accidents were less rare than they used to be, even if they still had a trend of making things worse before they got better. Gaara would take what he could get.

The Milieu by funkmasterjo

Aka a series of oneshots written after gaiden but before boruto came out, a fun take on a good-at-his-job hokage Naruto.

POST SHIPPUDEN. Set after ch 1 of Naruto Gaiden: The seventh Hokage, though prior knowledge isn't really neccessary. Just some talks. Just life. A milieu.

Harry Potter/HP/Fuck JK Rowling

Letters by Morning Lilies

In the final months of the war, Harry entrusted Ron with a bundle of parchments marked 'just in case'. More than seventeen years later, Teddy accidentally unroots a bit of the past. But once he starts reading, he can't stop.

Cocktail Time by the real snape

Not many people know that Rita Skeeter and Gilderoy Lockhart were flatmates once. He invited her to parties, she Transfigured his clothes, they stole each other's hair products rampantly. And now Rita Skeeter has written the full, true, frank, and delicious account of the years they spent together. Don't miss Rita's Latest Blockbuster!

Geminio by Portus

Have you ever thought "It's kind of strange that such a competent and hyper-vigilant veteran auror went down so quickly offscreen in HP." This fic might help you understand. This story has everything: Mad-eye Moody waking up and murdering his way through death eater after death eater, a time loop, a tragic backstory, a perfect title, it's a self-contained oneshot that does SO MUCH in so little time, incredibly satisfying. The tale of Alastor Moody's last day on earth, from his point of view. Followers of the Dark Lord beware! or Some things never change, no matter a past which no longer sleeps. This is a lesson Alastor Moody must learn first-hand.

If we can't find where we belong, we'll have to make it on our own by Biromantic_Nerd

Neville's shoulders hunch further. It's not just his hands that are shaking now; his entire body trembles. It's not fair. And, when push comes to shove, Harry always has been a Gryffindor through and through. (AKA sometimes it's easier to be compartmentalize your own abuse than someone else's; life isn't fair to Harry but that doesn't mean he'll allow life to be unfair to his friends)

[sucker4mafia]

━━━ 'CHAPTER ONE' [ETERNAL NIGHT]

SYNOPSIS ➢ the three musketeers seem to live in every dimension, but in this one theyre pretty and vampires.

PAIRING ➢ poly!enhypen x male!reader, sim jaehyun x male!reader, park sunghoon x male!reader, yang jungwon x male!reader

AU ➢ strangers-to-lovers au! x enemies-to-lovers au! x vampire au!

CONTENT WARNING ➢ this chapter contains; someone missing, sensual innuendo's, big angst, bit of embarrassment, past trauma, mentions of satanism, mentions of gore, blood, cannibalism [let me know if i missed any!]

NEXT

a gentle stir, a whispered voice, and the fragile threads of sleep snapped. "yah, is y/n-ie gonna sleep all night too?" the soft words drifted through the darkness, piercing the haze of slumber that shrouded your coffin. your glowing hazel eyes fluttered open, adjusting slowly to the dimly lit corridors you shared with your two roommates, sunoo and woonggi. the air was heavy with the scent of old wood and the distant tang of blood. woonggi loomed over your coffin, his features etched with annoyance, his dark hair mussed from sleep. his eyes, piercing and intense, seemed to bore into yours. "hurry up, the moon's gonna be at its peak before you get dressed," he snapped, his foot connecting with the wooden lid of your resting place in a soft kick.

your gaze drifted to sunoo, who sat cross-legged on his own coffin, watching the exchange with an air of quiet amusement. his silken blonde hair cascaded down his neck like a river of night, and his eyes gleamed with subtle curiosity. you groaned, yawning as you sat up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from your eyes. the velvet-lined interior of your coffin creaked softly as you moved. "would you shut up already...?" your voice trailed off, heavy with the weight of waking. the darkness seemed to vibrate with woonggi's restless energy, while sunoo's calm presence anchored the space. outside, the night was young, and the moon's allure beckoned – a siren's call to the creatures of the night.

you swung your legs over the side of the coffin, standing up with a languid stretch. too tired to bend down, you shut the lid with a lazy kick of your foot, wary of succumbing to the cozy warmth within. sunoo's snicker cut through the quiet. "you're not even gonna fix the inside?" he scoffed, his voice dripping with amusement. "gosh, you never did shake off your caveman tendencies, huh?" he tutted, eyes fixed on his phone's camera as he smoothed his already-immaculate hair. the soft glow of the screen illuminated his chiseled features.

you rolled your eyes, exasperation etched on your face. "priorities, sunoo," you muttered, shaking your head. with a resigned sigh, you reopened the coffin and began to tidy the interior. slender fingers smoothed the soft silk sheets, and you fluffed the cushioned pillow that cradled your neck perfectly. as you worked, woonggi sauntered closer, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "someone's a little grumpy tonight," he teased, voice high yet husky. you softly closed the coffin, the wooden lid clicking shut with a hint of finality.

"i don't want to hear anything for the rest of the night," you warned, eyes narrowing at your roommates, who now stared at you with unabashed amusement. sunoo's lips curled into a sly smile. "oh, but the night's just beginning," he whispered, pocketing his phone. woonggi chuckled, the sound sending shivers down your spine.

woongi swept open the long, dark red drapes, unveiling a ceiling-tall window that framed the moon like a glowing crescent pendant. soft, silvery light spilled into the room, illuminating the space with an ethereal radiance. candles flickered to life along the walls, their warm, golden glow complementing the lunar illumination. "get dressed, we'll meet you in the quad," woonggi instructed, his voice firm but tinged with a hint of understanding. with a nod, he turned to leave, sunoo shadowing his steps. the two disappeared into the darkness beyond the room, leaving you alone amidst the soft, dancing flames.

the three of you had always been punctual and impeccably dressed, a habit honed from years of navigating eternal academy's intricate social hierarchy. but this meticulous presentation was no badge of honor – merely a survival tactic in a place where vulnerability was devoured.

your thoughts soured as the anniversary of your confinement loomed closer. nearly a decade had passed since your mother and aunt had abandoned you within these unforgiving walls. resentment simmered, a slow-burning fire that fueled your longing for freedom. yet, escape was a luxury denied. headmaster barnabus’s magical wards ensured that no student slipped beyond the academy's boundaries, their enchantments tightening like a noose around the grounds. only during the daylight hours did the spell's grip relax, but even then, the risks of departure were too dire to contemplate.

vampires, though powerful, weren't immune to sunlight's destructive touch. the memory of blistered skin and charred flesh made your stomach twist with dread. eternal academy might be a prison, but it was also a sanctuary – a twisted haven from the world's dangers. with a heavy sigh, you began to prepare for the night ahead, the weight of your past and present pressing upon you like the shadows that shrouded the room.

you moved with deliberate slowness, selecting a crisp white shirt and black trousers from your wardrobe. the familiar routine offered a semblance of control in a life dictated by the academy's rigid rules. as you dressed, your gaze drifted to the window, where the moon's gentle light seemed to mock your confinement. ten years. a decade of your life surrendered to this foreboding institution, with no end in sight. bitterness welled up, but you pushed it aside, focusing on the task at hand. a glance in the mirror revealed a face both familiar and foreign – hazel eyes, sharp cheekbones, and skin pale from years of nocturnal existence. with a critical eye, you smoothed your hair, the locks falling obediently into place. a flicker of vanity, perhaps, but in eternal academy's cutthroat social landscape, appearances mattered.

satisfied with your reflection, you headed toward the quad, the soft click of your heeled shoes echoing through the deserted corridors. as you emerged into the quad, woongi and sunoo awaited, their faces illuminated by the moon's gentle beam. woonggi's eyes narrowed, his gaze scrutinizing your attire.

"presentable, for once," he teased, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. sunoo chuckled, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "let's not keep the headmaster waiting." together, the three of you strode toward the academy's central building, the night's mysteries waiting to unfold.

the central building's grand entrance loomed before you, its heavy wooden doors adorned with intricate carvings of crescent moons and stars. the symbol of eternal academy, a constant reminder of the institution's mystical legacy. as you pushed open the doors, a warm glow spilled out, beckoning you into the opulent foyer. crystal chandeliers refracted the light, casting rainbow hues across the polished marble floor.

as the doors swung open, a surge of students flooded into the auditorium, scrambling for seats among the scattered chairs. the room buzzed with hushed conversations and nervous laughter. professor barnabus, flanked by staff members on the stage, raised his hands, appealing for silence. the chatter gradually subsided, replaced by an expectant stillness. "welcome, students," the headmaster began, his voice laced with a hint of nervousness. "i'm sure you've all been hearing various rumors surrounding... shigeta harua's disappearance."

your brows furrowed in confusion, eyes scanning the room as if searching for answers. shigeta harua? the name sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite place him. a younger student, barely nearing his first anniversary at eternal academy. memories resurfaced: a quiet, reserved boy with an unassuming smile. you'd seen him occasionally in the corridors, always keeping to himself. his disappearance had gone unnoticed by you, lost amidst the academy's chaotic rhythm. the headmaster's words cut through your thoughts. "i want to assure you that we're doing everything in our power to locate harua and ensure his safe return."

a murmur rippled through the crowd, fueled by concern and speculation. woonggi's gaze met yours, his expression serious. sunoo's eyes narrowed, his mind already racing with possibilities. "we understand that rumors can spread quickly," headmaster barnabus continued, "but i implore you: refrain from spreading unsubstantiated claims. we'll provide updates as more information becomes available." the headmaster's eyes swept the room, his gaze lingering on select students before moving on. "in the meantime, please report any information – no matter how insignificant it may seem – to your dormitory advisors or the staff."

the room remained tense, heavy with unspoken questions.

you leaned in close to woonggi, voice barely above a whisper. "did you know about this?" your eyes locked onto his, searching for any hint of prior knowledge.

woonggi's head shook subtly, his expression a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "i mean... i heard rumors he ran away during daylight," he whispered back, "but there's no way." his words trailed off, leaving the unspoken implication hanging in the air. escape during the day was unthinkable, a feat bordering on impossible. the magical wards surrounding eternal academy were designed to prevent exactly that.

your mind reeled with the implications. could it be true? had shigeta harua somehow breached the enchantments and survived the deadly sunlight? the very idea sent a hot air down your neck. sunoo, attentive to your conversation, leaned in, his voice a low murmur. "if he did escape, how did he manage it? and what's to say he's still... alive?" casting a shadow over the surrounding faces. students were whispering, their hushed conversations weaving a tapestry of speculation and fear. you scanned the room, noticing the varied reactions. some seemed genuinely concerned, while others appeared calculating, as if weighing the possibilities of escape.

professor barnabus’s voice cut through the murmurs, his eyes scanning the room with a mix of warning and reassurance. "let's focus on finding harua, rather than speculating about his disappearance. we'll keep you updated as the investigation unfolds." the headmaster's words did little to alleviate the tension.

"okay, gentlemen, onto better things," headmaster barnanus continued, his voice growing distant as your mind began to wander. "for those who haven't submitted their quarterly check-ins, you have until friday to turn them in..." the headmaster's words faded into a gentle hum, overshadowed by the nagging concern that refused to let go. a vampire gone missing? it was unthinkable. the founding mothers of eternal academy were notorious for their iron-clad grip on the vampire community.

your thoughts spiralled downward, lost in the implications. vampires disappearing didn't happen – not without severe consequences. the academy's founders had woven a complex web of surveillance and control, monitoring every whisper, every movement within the vampire world.

the mundane world remained blissfully unaware of the shadows lurking among them. eternal academy's secrets were sacrosanct, protected by ancient spells and ruthless determination. the very idea of a vampire vanishing gave you fear. woonggi's elbow nudged yours, a subtle reminder to focus. but your attention remained split, ears hearing the headmaster's words while your mind wrestled with the mystery. "...reminders will be sent to your dormitory advisors," headmaster barnabus droned on, "and please, do not hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns."

concerns? that was a gross understatement. shigeta harua's disappearance threatened the fragile balance between the vampire world and the human realm. eternal academy's carefully constructed facade was at risk of crumbling. sunoo's gaze met yours, his eyes narrowed in unspoken understanding. the three of you shared a bond forged from years of navigating the academy's treacherous politics. and now, a missing vampire had thrown everything into chaos.

"also, white day is coming up!" professor barnabus announced, a wistful smile spreading across his face. his eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in nostalgia. "i remember when it was around this time... many would bring each other candy, gifts, confessions..." a hint of melancholy crept into his voice, and he sighed, the sound barely audible. "although, i never did get one from anyone i liked..." the headmaster's gaze drifted off, his thoughts momentarily elsewhere.

sunoo and woonggi exchanged a knowing glance with you, their expressions skeptical. you shrugged, sharing their unspoken sentiment: what was the point of white day in a place like eternal academy? the holiday, meant to celebrate relationships and affection, felt hollow within the academy's cold walls. here, alliances were forged from necessity, not sentiment.

professor barnabus snapped back to the present, his smile forced. "anyways! i'm sure many of you are looking forward to it. a small reminder: please keep gifts discreet and within reason. we wouldn't want... misunderstandings."

the headmaster's eyes swept the room, his gaze lingering on select students. his warning was clear: no displays of affection, no overt gestures. eternal academy's strict rules governed even the smallest aspects of life. sunoo leaned back in his chair, his expression neutral. woonggi's eyes sparkled with mischief, but he said nothing. you simply shook your head, already dismissing the thought of white day.

the assembly concluded, and students began to file out of the auditorium. you stood, stretching your legs and exchanging a look with sunoo and woonggi.

"white day, huh?" woonggi said, his voice squeeking with excitement. "who'd have thought the headmaster was a romantic?" sunoo snorted. "please, he's just nostalgic for a time when he wasn't stuck running this prison." you chuckled, falling into step beside them. "either way, it's just another excuse for the academy to pretend we're normal." as you exited the auditorium, the cool evening air enveloped you, carrying the scent of damp stone and old books. eternal academy's gothic spires loomed above, casting long shadows across the grounds.

woongi flashed a flirtatious smile at a passing student, his eyes sparkling with mischief. the recipient of his attention blushed, stumbling over his own feet as he hurried away. woongi chuckled, rejoining you and sunoo with an air of nonchalance. "have any idea on what your white day plans are?" woonggi inquired, his tone innocent.

you raised an eyebrow, a sly grin spreading across your face. "you mean 'who' your white day plans are?" you retorted, voice laced with amusement. sunoo snickered, his shoulder brushing against yours as he leaned in. he covered his mouth, attempting to stifle his laughter. woonggi rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "oh please." but sunoo wouldn't let up. his laughter grew louder, more uninhibited. "what? come on, you should change your name to 'casanova' by now," he teased, arm linking with yours as you descended the stairs into the garden section behind your dorm building.

the evening air enveloped you, filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and the soft chirping of crickets. "you're just jealous of my charm." sunoo grinned, his eyes sparkling. "well, sorry but someone needs to keep you in check." you smiled, enjoying the easy banter between your friends. but amidst the laughter, a nagging thought persisted: shigeta harua's disappearance remained unsolved, a shadow looming over your carefree moments.

as you strolled through the garden, the sound of running water grew louder. a small fountain bubbled in the center, surrounded by intricately carved stone benches. woonggi plopped down on a bench, patting the space beside him. "join me, my fellow incubuses, and let's discuss our white day strategies." you attempted to hold back a sigh but raised an eyebrow instead. woonggi was always into the idea of being a sensual demon, however all of you were different demons of the night. "you mean your strategies for snagging gifts from multiple admirers?"

woonggi winked. "perhaps." you settled onto a weathered rock, facing your friends with a hint of amusement. "seems like you've got your plan," you said, a small smile playing on your lips. "now we can talk about literally anything else." woonggi's expression transformed, his eyes widening in mock offense. he clutched his heart, his voice dripping with drama. "i'm sorry, we haven't gone over your plan, actually." sunoo snickered, producing a lipstick from his pocket. he began to reapply, his gaze locked onto yours. "we gotta get you over heeseung already," he said, his tone matter-of-fact.

your annoyance flared, simmering just below the surface. "i hate that you guys keep saying that," you snapped, your words crisp and final. "i told you a million times, i'm over him. plus, it was just a summer fling, and we both knew that." the air seemed to vibrate with your emphasis, a clear warning to drop the subject. woonggi's expression softened, his teasing grin faltering. sunoo, however, remained nonchalant, capping his lipstick with a flourish.

"just making sure," sunoo said, tucking the lipstick away. "you know we're only looking out for you." the tension dissipated, replaced by a familiar sense of camaraderie. but you knew your friends wouldn't let the topic die easily. heeseung's name still lingered, a ghostly presence in your relationships. woonggi leaned forward, his voice conspiratorial. "so, who's on your white day radar?" you raised an eyebrow, wary of another heeseung-related jab. but woonggi's expression remained innocent, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"no one," you replied, your tone firm. "i'm not interested in playing games this year." sunoo chuckled, shaking his head. "you're no fun." woonggi grinned mischievously. "come on, it's white day. everyone gets a little something. even if it's just a friendly gesture."

you sighed, knowing your close friends wouldn't relent. "fine. if someone catches my eye, i'll consider it.” sunoo's eyes then sparkled. "that's the spirit!" as you conversed, the garden's tranquility enveloped you.

"anyways," woonggi said, a mischievous glint in his eye as he dipped his hand into the fountain's crystal-clear waters behind him. the soft glow of the garden's lanterns danced across his face, accentuating his sly smile. "we all know who's rejection record is gonna be high once again this year." with a swift motion, woonggi splashed sunoo, who let out a startled screech. water droplets clung to sunoo's eyelashes as he glared at woonggi, his fangs bared in a playful snarl. "i swear i'll stake you, you idiot!"

you couldn't contain yourself, covering your mouth to stifle your laughter. the sound of your muffled giggles blended with the gentle burble of the fountain. "it is true," you managed to choke out, your eyes watering from holding back. sunoo turned to you, his gaze momentarily piercing. his irises seemed to shimmer in the dim light, like polished onyx. "why don't you try accepting someone's confession this year? you never know, maybe it'll make your heart actually beat again." the words stung, but sunoo knew you didn't mean harm. your concern was genuine, hidden beneath your teasing exterior.

however, woonggi and you erupted into laughter, your hyena-like cackles echoing through the garden. the sound sent a flutter through the nearby bird sanctuary, and a soft chorus of nocturnal birds responded, their melodic trills weaving into your laughter. sunoo rolled his eyes, standing up with an air of mock indignation. his slender fingers brushed water droplets from his jacket, the movement fluid and elegant. "so funny," he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "i'll have you both know that i actually do plan on accepting someone's confession this year."

the declaration caught you off guard, and your laughter faltered. woonggi's eyes sparkled with intrigue, his brow arched in curiosity. "oh? and who's the lucky victim?" sunoo's smile was enigmatic, his lips curling upward like a whispered secret. "you'll just have to wait and see." with that, he turned and strode away, leaving you and woonggi exchanging curious glances. the sound of his footsteps faded into the night, swallowed by the shadows.

"looks like someone's got a secret," woonggi whispered, his eyes still shining with mirth. you shook your head, chuckling. "only sunoo would make accepting a confession sound like a revenge plot." as you watched sunoo disappear into the darkness, you yawned once again.

"come on, let's catch up," you sighed, your voice carrying across the tranquil garden. you motioned to sunoo, who was walking away with confident strides, his slender figure silhouetted against the warm glow of the high moon. you stood up from the weathered rock, brushing off the lingering warmth. a faint scent of blooming flowers clung to your clothes as you patted your pants clean. the gentle rustle of leaves accompanied your movements, a soothing melody that filled the evening air.

woonggi fell into step beside you, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "yah, you brat!" he called out to sunoo, his voice echoing through the garden. "wait up!" sunoo paused, turning back to face you both with an expectant smile. his eyes crinkled at the corners, and his light hair was mussed, as if he'd been running his hands through it. sunoo held open the massive wooden door to the dining hall, its intricate carvings depicting scenes of mythological creatures. the door creaked on its hinges, revealing a warm, golden light that spilled out into the evening.

"after you," woonggi said, gesturing for you to enter. his smile was gracious, but his eyes gleamed with mischief, hinting at secrets yet to be shared. as you stepped into the dining hall, the sounds of lively chatter and clinking silverware enveloped you. the air was thick with the aroma of raw meats and freshly poured blood.

sunoo led the way, navigating through the crowded tables with ease. you followed, your eyes scanning the room for familiar faces. the dining hall was a hub of social activity, where alliances were forged and gossip spread like wildfire. woonggi leaned in, his voice low. "they better not have the same thing as last week.” you smiled, your eyes locked onto sunoo's swaying back. “the day they actually serve us mundies, ill walk in the sun." you smirk.

woonggi chuckled, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "looks like you’ll burst into flames then.." the vampire-specific menu was a running joke among your friends. while the academy catered to various supernatural dietary needs, the options often left much to be desired. as you reached the food line, the chef, a stout dwarf with a bushy beard, greeted you with a warm smile. "tonight's specials: dragon's breath chicken and shadow steak."

sunoo raised an eyebrow. "shadow steak? sounds ominous." woonggi grinned. "that's just code for 'we ran out of regular meat'." you playfully rolled your eyes. "you're such a cynic." the line moved forward, and you selected your meal, exchanging banter with the chef as he loaded your plate. as you made your way to your empty table, you spotted shiloh sitting across the room, his eyes meeting yours for a fleeting moment.

you hesitated before sending a small, sympathetic smile towards him, who sat alone at a nearby table. but instead of acknowledging your gesture, he looked away, his forehead thudding onto the wooden surface. shiloh was always by himself, his isolation a self-imposed exile. he never mingled with his peers, preferring the solitude.

rumors swirled around shiloh's unique abilities – he could see and communicate with ghouls, creatures invisible to the rest of the world. but this gift came with a crippling curse: he couldn't turn it off. the constant barrage of ghostly whispers and visions had driven him to the academy, seeking refuge and understanding. you felt a pang of sorrow for shiloh, but experience had taught you to respect his boundaries. he didn't crave company, and your attempts at friendship had been met with resistance. just as you turned back to your friends, a sudden elbow jabbed you from behind, sending you stumbling forward. but before you could fall, the same hands caught you, steadying you.

"sorry, darling, didn't see you there," a low, southern drawl apologized, the voice dripping with honey. you turned to face yoon hyunwoo, one of the youngest scions of the influential yoon family. his long blonde hair was swept behind one ear, revealing piercing grey eyes that sparkled with amusement.

as you met his gaze, a small smirk played on your lips. "maybe actually use your eyes to look," you suggested, your tone laced with playful sarcasm. yoon hyunwoo's entourage gathered around him, their designer-clad bodies forming a semi-circle as they assessed you, sunoo, and woonggi. their gazes lingered, weighing your worth.

sunoo's eyes narrowed, his expression wary. woonggi, however, grinned, seemingly entertained by the sudden attention. "hyunwoo, always graceful," woonggi quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. yoon hyunwoo chuckled, his smile flashing. "and always apologized for, courtesy of my charming friends." the tension dissipated, replaced by an air of cautious camaraderie. but you sensed underlying currents, the intricate dance of alliances and rivalries that defined eternal academy's social hierarchy.

yoon hyunwoo's gaze lingered on you, his expression thoughtful. his piercing grey eyes seemed to bore into your soul, as if searching for secrets. "i didn't know you were friends with sunoo and woonggi," he said, his tone neutral. "we're more like acquaintances who tolerate each other," woonggi joked, his eyes sparkling with mischief, his grin flashing. his lean figure relaxed against the table, exuding a casual air.

sunoo shot woonggi a dry look, his light eyebrows arching. "that's accurate," he said, his deep voice laced with sarcasm. you chuckled, shaking your head, your hair swishing. "we're a package deal, unfortunately," you added, your smile wry. yoon hyunwoo's smile widened, his perfect fangs gleaming. "well, i suppose that's interesting. maybe i'll join you for lunch sometime," he suggested, his tone light, but his eyes gleaming with intrigue.

the invitation hung in the air, weighted with implications. yoon hyunwoo's social circle rarely intersected with yours. his family's influence and wealth were legendary, their name whispered in awe.

suddenly, hyunwoo's eyes looked above your head, his gaze locking onto something - or someone - behind you. his expression transformed, his eyes narrowing into a glare. before you could ask what was wrong, a cluster of boys joined your table, their faces set in identical scowls, all directed at hyunwoo.

you recognized them as heeseung's friends, their athletic builds and arrogant swagger unmistakable. heeseung's crew had a reputation for being ruthless, their loyalty to their leader unwavering. you turned around, already annoyed, and found heeseung standing behind you, his head held high, his chin tilted upward. his green eyes sparkled with triumph. "sorry, looks like there won't be much room," heeseung said, his voice dripping with condescension, as he gestured to his friends occupying the empty spots at the table.

woonggi whispered-whined, "what a cockblock," under his breath, while sunoo pouted and nodded in agreement. their disgruntled expressions mirrored your own. heeseung's family, the lees, had a long-standing rivalry with the yoon family, fueled by ancient grudges and competing interests. but that had nothing to do with you. why was heeseung inserting himself into your conversation?

"hm," hyunwoo said, his voice laced with fake calm, his eyes flashing with irritation. his fingers drummed against the table, a subtle sign of tension. you rolled your eyes at heeseung, his smug expression grating on your nerves. "and youre here because..?" you asked, your tone laced with annoyance. heeseung's smile widened, his eyes glinting with amusement. "just ensuring the right company, that's all." you turned back to hyunwoo, whose gaze remained fixed on heeseung, his expression inscrutable. "looks like the table isnt full to me," hyunwoo said, his voice neutral, but his eyes conveying a different message. the air was thick with tension, the rivalry between heeseung and hyunwoo insufferable.

"can you guys not?" sunoo called out, his voice laced with frustration, as he didn't even bother to look up from his task. he was too focused on meticulously fixing woonggi's eyebrow makeup, his slender fingers moving with precision.

"y/n isn't into guys who like to start fights, ya know?" sunoo added, his tone matter-of-fact, though his words carried a hint of playful teasing. the nonchalant comment had an unexpected effect. both hyunwoo and heeseung relaxed visibly, their postures easing as they took a step back. hyunwoo's gaze lingered on you, his expression softening. heeseung, too, seemed to unwind, his jaw unclenching. although the words were a lie, you loved a man who'd kill for you, but now wasn't the time for territorial disputes. you weren't either of theirs, and you wouldn't be swayed by their rivalry.

"how about i catch you later today, hm?" you said to hyunwoo casually, aiming to keep the peace. your tone was light, but your eyes conveyed a deeper message: let's not escalate this. hyunwoo's smile returned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "sounds like a plan," he said, his voice low and smooth.

heeseung nodded curtly, his expression still wary, but his anger seemed to have dissipated. woonggi, now sporting perfectly groomed eyebrows, flashed you a grateful smile. "thanks for defusing that, y/n," he whispered. sunoo patted woonggi's cheek. "all part of the service," he quipped while taking credit for your work. the moment passed, but the undercurrents remained. you sensed that this wasn't the last confrontation between hyunwoo and heeseung.

you turned back around, your movements crisp with irritation, and grasped your lunch tray. you sidestepped heeseung, deliberately avoiding eye contact, and settled into your seat beside woonggi. the scraping of your chair against the floor seemed amplified in the tense silence.

"oh devil, you just don't know how to mind your business, do you?" you asked rhetorically, your voice low and venomous, with a hint of a hiss. your anger simmered, fueled by heeseung's brazen claim on you in front of hyunwoo – a potential love interest – and, more infuriatingly, in front of a new potential boytoy.

heeseung's group member, diagonal from you, spoke up, his mouth full of raw meat. his obnoxious chomping seemed designed to grate on your nerves. "oh come on, he was just protecting you," he said, his tone dripping with condescension.

another group member, seated beside sunoo, chimed in, sipping his goat blood with an air of superiority. "no yeah, he definitely was. plus, why would you wanna hang with those pure-blooded-jerks anyways?" his tone implied that hyunwoo's faction was beneath yours. sunoo's expression twisted in disgust. "i'm sorry, who are you?" he asked, his voice laced with disdain, his eyes scanning the speaker as if searching for any other flaws.

"thank you," you said simply, your gratitude aimed at sunoo's defense. woonggi rolled his eyes, exasperation written across his face. "you men know nothing," he muttered, shaking his head. with a flick of his wrist, woonggi tossed a piece of meat at the peer in front of him, who winked in response. the casual exchange seemed a deliberate contrast to the tension between heeseung's group and yours.

heeseung let out a deep sigh, his eyes never leaving yours, before settling into the chair across from you. his movements were deliberate, a silent refusal to back down.

"you can all leave now, we didn't want company," you said, forcing a bright, artificial smile onto your face. your tone was sugary sweet, but laced with venom. heeseung's gaze narrowed, his eyes flashing with understanding. "didn't seem like that a minute ago," he spoke, his voice low and even, his words dripping with innuendo. he was unmistakably referencing hyunwoo's brief interaction with you. you dropped your fork, the clatter echoing through the tense silence, and leaned forward, your elbows on the table. your eyes locked onto heeseung's, your expression innocent, almost childlike.

"my apologies, i meant your company," you clarified, your tone dripping with saccharine sweetness. "did that get through your head this time?" you asked, your voice infused with mock patience, as if speaking to a stubborn child. woonggi and sunoo exchanged a look, their faces mirroring each other's amusement. they couldn't help but giggle at heeseung's reaction, their snickers like sparks to dry kindling. heeseung's face darkened, his jaw clenched, as his friends shifted uncomfortably beside him. their eyes darted between you and heeseung, sensing the escalating tension.

"oh, he’s kinda hot when he’s angry," woonggi whispered, his voice barely audible, but his eyes shining with mirth. sunoo's chuckle was more subdued, but his grin remained, a silent endorsement of your verbal jab. heeseung's gaze never wavered, his eyes burning with intensity. "you're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked, his voice low, his tone a mixture of fascination and irritation.

"quite the opposite," you said, your voice low and even, your eyes menacingly locked onto heeseung's. the sweetness from moments before had vanished, replaced by a glacial intensity. heeseung's expression remained impassive, but a flicker of surprise danced in his eyes. he hadn't expected your tone to darken so swiftly. woonggi's and sunoo's giggles ceased, their faces sobering as they sensed the escalating tension. the air seemed to thicken, heavy with unspoken threats.

"then why toy with me?" heeseung asked, his voice laced with curiosity, his eyes never leaving yours. his tone implied a deeper understanding, a hidden dynamic between you two.

"i'm not toying with you, heeseung," you replied, your voice dripping with venom. "i'm warning you. stay out of my business." heeseung's smile was slow, deliberate. "or what?" he challenged, his eyes glinting with amusement. the table seemed to shrink, the space between you and heeseung shrinking to nothing. the unspoken threat hung like a guillotine, poised to drop. woonggi shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting between you and heeseung. "y/n, maybe—"

"no," you cut in, your gaze never leaving heeseung's. "he wants to play games? fine." the silence was oppressive, heavy with anticipation.

the lights above the table began flickering continuously, like a stuttering heartbeat, as you rose from your seat. the air seemed to vibrate with electricity, heavy with anticipation. you clenched your fists at your sides, your knuckles whitening. dark blue electric volts crackled to life, sparking from your fingertips like miniature lightning bolts. the sparks danced across the table, casting eerie shadows on the faces around you. "lets play." you whisper.

your eyes transformed, shifting from their natural color to an unnerving, radiant deep blue. the glow intensified, illuminating the surrounding faces with an otherworldly light. woonggi's and sunoo's eyes widened in horror as they stared at you, their faces drained of color. "fuck!" woonggi exclaimed, his voice barely above a whisper.

heeseung's expression remained calm, but his eyes flashed with a mixture of fascination and wariness. his gaze locked onto yours, his pupils constricting as if shielding himself from the intensity of your glow. "y/n, stop!" sunoo urged, his voice trembling, as he reached out a cautious hand. but you didn't respond. your focus remained fixed on heeseung, your electrically charged fists trembling with restraint. the sparks escalated, arcing across the table like wild, blue tendrils. the air crackled with energy, the hairs on the back of your arms standing on end.

heeseung's friends recoiled, their faces pale, as they sensed the building storm. heeseung, however, remained seated, his eyes never leaving yours. suddenly, two pair of hands clamped onto your shoulders, their grip like vice clamps, forcing your eyes to revert to their natural color. the flickering lights ceased, plunging the table into a comfortable silence.

the hands pushed you back down into your seat, their pressure relentless. you felt a surge of frustration, but before you could react, a low, smooth voice intervened. "let's not start a scene, fellas. hm?" jay said, his tone even, but laced with a hint of warning. jay's face came into view, his features chiseled, his eyes a piercing brown. heeseung's best friend and right-hand man, jay exuded an aura of calm authority. heeseung's gaze never wavered from yours, his expression unreadable. but jay's presence seemed to have stayed his hand, for now.

woonggi and sunoo exchanged uneasy glances, their faces still pale from the sudden display of your powers. "y/n, you okay?" woonggi asked, his voice barely above a whisper. you nodded, still feeling the residual tension. jay's grip on your shoulders eased, but his hands remained, a subtle reminder of his intervention. jay's gaze flicked to heeseung, a silent communication passing between them. "let's take a walk, guys," jay suggested, his tone measured.

heeseung nodded, his eyes lingering on yours for a moment before he stood up, his movements fluid. "let’s," he said, his voice dripping with promise. as heeseung and jay walked away, their entourage following closely, the tension dissipated, leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake. sunoo spoke up, his eyes still widened in awe. "what a man," he sighed dreamily, clearly impressed by jay's effortless display of strength. meanwhile, you sat motionless, your head bowed, staring blankly at your lap. your mind reeled from the confrontation, emotions swirling like a maelstrom.

woonggi and sunoo exchanged concerned glances, noticing your vacant expression. "yah y/n-ah, don't worry about it," woonggi coaxed, his voice gentle. sunoo nodded in agreement, his dreamy expression replaced by concern. "yeah, don't let heeseung get to you. you know how he is." your reputation for struggling to separate your emotions from your abilities was well-known. whispers of your volatile powers and fragile control had circulated, making you a subject of both fascination and wariness. "y/n, you good?" woonggi asked, his voice laced with worry.

you slowly lifted your head, your eyes focusing on your friends. a faint smile crossed your lips, an attempt to reassure them. but woonggi's gaze lingered, sensing the turmoil beneath your surface. "let's get out of here, okay?" he suggested. sunoo nodded vigorously. "yeah, let's grab some fresh air. forget about heeseung and his drama." with a gentle nudge from woonggi, you stood up, letting your friends guide you away from the tense atmosphere. as you walked, the murmurs of the cafeteria patrons followed, their whispers like a constant hum.

"did you see that? y/n's lost control again..."

"heeseung's really asking for it, messing with y/n..."

your ears burned, but you kept moving, surrounded by your friends' comforting presence. as you walked out of the cafeteria with woonggi and sunoo, the cool air slapped you in the face, snapping you back to reality. the sounds of clinking dishes, murmured conversations, and muted laughter receded into the background, replaced by the pounding of your heart. your emotions still simmered, a cauldron of frustration, anger, and helplessness threatening to boil over. you felt like a ticking time bomb, waiting to unleash destruction.

"hey, y/n-ah, you okay?" woonggi asked again, his brow furrowed with concern, his voice laced with a gentle urgency. you nodded, forcing a smile onto your face, a fragile mask hiding the turmoil within. "yeah, i'm fine. just... needed to calm down." but your mind screamed otherwise. you were a danger to those around you, a liability waiting to happen. the memories haunted you: shattered lights, scorched walls, and the terrified faces of those you cared about. the weight of your responsibilities crushed you, making your lungs constrict.

sunoo couldn't contain his excitement, his eyes sparkling like diamonds in the afternoon sunlight. "oh devil, did you see jay's moves back there? so smooth," he mimicked jay's gestures, his hands swooping through the air with exaggerated flair. "the way he stepped in, calmed the situation." woonggi chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "sunoo's got a crush," he teased, his voice laced with humor.

you couldn't help but smile, your earlier tension forgotten in the face of sunoo's infectious enthusiasm. the warm sunlight and gentle breeze seemed to amplify his excitement. "i think sunoo's more interested in jay's biceps than his strength," you joked, nudging sunoo playfully. sunoo playfully shoved you, your laughter echoing through the campus quad. "shut up! it's not just about the physical stuff. jay's got, charisma." you watched the exchange, feeling a sense of normalcy wash over you. for a moment, the worries about your powers and heeseung's provocations faded into the background, replaced by the simple joy of friendship.

"you know, sunoo," woonggi said, "jay's not just about looks and strength. he's been by heeseung's side for years, and that says a lot about his loyalty and dedication." sunoo's eyes sparkled with curiosity, his interest piqued. "oh? what do you mean?" he asked, leaning in, his voice barely above a whisper.

"jay's more than just a pretty face or a skilled fighter," you chimed in to explain, your expression serious. "he's heeseung's right-hand man, his strategist. he's the one who keeps heeseung in check." sunoo nodded, intrigued, his mind racing with possibilities. "i knew it. there's depth to him." as you continued walking, sunoo's gushing about jay turned into a lively discussion about the intricacies of heeseung's group and their dynamics. the campus buildings seemed to fade into the background, replaced by the complex web of alliances and rivalries.

the three of you strolled through the corridors of eternal academy, a prestigious victorian-era institution with ornate stone walls, stained glass windows, and sweeping staircases. the soft murmur of conversations, the creaking of wooden floorboards, and the occasional chime of a clock echoed through the halls. you listened, smiling, as the conversation meandered through topics like favorite books, upcoming exams, and the latest gossip. just as sunoo was launching into a dramatic retelling of jay's heroics, a small, crystal-like bell rang out loudly through the hallways, its clear tone piercing the air. the sound signaled the start of the first class of the day.

"ah, time to face the grind," woonggi sighed, shouldering his backpack. sunoo groaned, his enthusiasm momentarily dampened. "ugh, i have professor everwood's law-abiding class. wish me luck." you checked your schedule, a neatly printed card tucked into your pocket. "i've got professor thackery’s vampirism history lecture. see you two later?" woonggi nodded. "yeah, meet at the usual spot."

sunoo waved, already hurrying off toward his classroom. "good luck, y/n! don't let professor thackery bore you to tears!" as you parted ways, the corridors filled with students rushing to their respective classes. the atmosphere shifted from leisurely to hectic, the air thickening with anticipation. you quickened your pace, joining the flow of students streaming toward their destinations.

you slipped into professor thackery’s history lecture, taking a seat near the back of the dimly lit classroom. the air was thick with the scent of old books and dusty chalk. professor thackery, a bespectacled man with wispy gray hair, stood at the front, surveying the room with a keen gaze. his eyes twinkled behind wire-rimmed spectacles.

"welcome, students, to today's discussion on the implications of the industrial revolution on mundane and vampiric society," he began, his voice low and soothing. as he launched into the lecture, you pulled out your notebook and began scribbling notes. professor thackery’s words painted vivid pictures of smoke-filled factories, bustling cities, and the struggles of the working class. your mind wandered briefly, drifting back to the confrontation with heeseung and jay's intervention. but professor thackery's engaging narrative drew you back in. you couldnt help but wonder if hyunwoo had seen your little outrageous scene.

as the lecture progressed, professor thackery posed thought-provoking questions, encouraging debate among the students. discussions erupted around you, with classmates sharing insights and perspectives. you participated hesitantly, your thoughts still lingering on the events of the day. but as the discussion deepened, your engagement grew. "what do you think, y/n?" professor thackery asked, his eyes locking onto yours.

you hesitated, collecting your thoughts before responding. "uh, yes. uh, i-i mean i think the industrial revolution highlighted the tension between progress and social responsibility." professor thackery nodded, a warm smile spreading across his face. "excellent point, y/n. the interplay between technological advancement and social conscience is indeed crucial." the lecture concluded, leaving you feeling invigorated and intellectually stimulated.

as you packed up your belongings, your gaze drifted across the room, taking in the familiar faces of your classmates. but one desk caught your attention - the empty seat on the right side of the room. first-year student, yechan, was noticeably absent. his desk, usually cluttered with colorful pens and scribbled notes, lay bare and untouched.

"professor," you asked, your voice low, "is yechan alright?”

professor thackery's expression turned somber. "ah, yes. yechanie... he’s been struggling to adapt. the headmaster has taken him under his wing for special guidance." you nodded, understanding the euphemism. "special guidance" often meant intensive counseling, or worse, reevaluation for expulsion. but expulsion wasn't truly possible. once you entered eternal academy, the only way to leave was if the headmaster deemed you ready to rejoin mundane society. the academy's motto echoed in your mind: "in perpetuum, donec mundus paratus" - forever, until the world is ready.

you felt a chill run down your spine. yechan’s absence was a stark reminder of the academy's true nature - a sanctuary, a prison, or both? "excuse me, professor," you said, gathering your thoughts. "i'll make sure to keep up with my work." professor thackery nodded, his eyes piercing. "see that you do, y/n. we wouldn't want anyone to... lose their way." the unspoken warning hung in the air, a reminder of the academy's unwritten rules.

you left the classroom, lost in thought. what had happened to yechan? was he truly struggling, or was there more to the story? the empty desk lingered in your mind, a haunting symbol of the academy's mysterious inner workings.

© all rights reserved to “sucker4mafia”. please do not plagiarize, steal, repost w/o credit for momentary gain.

[aceofstars16]

Well, I made a poll asking if I should post this now...and then I just go and post it without waiting to see what people voted haha xD

This was inspired by @athenoot (not letting me actually tag but I linked her blog!) and her super fun AU idea mashing up Drifting Stars and Relativity Falls!

I don't know if this works for @forduary but it does have portal Ford so *shrugs*

Summary: Mabel loves dimension hopping, but she is starting to miss having a home. And more than anything, she misses Dipper and Stan. However, she may end up seeing them sooner than expected…though they aren't exactly the same Dipper and Stan that she knows.

The street was packed, creatures of all sorts bustling to and fro. Even after months of being in other dimensions, Mabel was still overwhelmed by all of the different aliens. Her eyes couldn’t stop moving, even as Ford pulled her along, trying to make his way through the crowd.

They had arrived in this dimension a few days ago. Unfortunately, they had first been spat out in a rainforest with absolutely no civilization around. But after climbing a particularly tall tree, they had seen a town of sorts in the distance. Which is where they were now, hoping to find some food and maybe even shelter, that is, if Ford deemed this dimension safe enough to stay in for a little while.

 At first, the constant travel had been fun for Mabel. Getting to explore a new world every few days was exhilarating. But she was surprised to find that more recently, she missed a place she could call home. Though, more than anything, she missed Dipper and Stan. Of course, she loved Ford too. He had been looking out for her ever since she had been pulled into the portal, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him now. But still…she wished she could be with Ford and the rest of her family.

Something bumped Mabel particularly hard and she was shaken from her thoughts as she lost her footing. Her hand was yanked out of Ford’s and she fell to the ground.

Panic gripped her and she quickly stood up and tried catching sight of Ford, but the constant movement of aliens made standing still impossible. She thought she heard someone calling her name, but it was hard to hear over the crowd.

“Grunkle Ford!” Yelling at the top of her lungs, Mabel, tried pushing her way through the crowd, in what she thought was the direction Ford had been walking. But no matter how hard she tried, she was too small, and she couldn’t make any headway against the crowd.

Spotting an alleyway through the sea of legs, Mabel spun, jumped, rolled, and crawled until she made it to the backstreet. It wasn’t empty, but it was slightly less crowded. Spotting a box that was sealed shut, she made her way to it and managed to climb on top. But as she looked out over the sea of creatures, she couldn’t spot her grunkle. Ford was nowhere to be seen. Panic overwhelmed her as she realized that she was alone, lost in an unfamiliar dimension with absolutely no clue as to what to do next. It was her worst nightmare.

------

Ford was frantic. He couldn’t believe he’d lost Mabel. He should’ve been holding onto her tighter. No, he should’ve just carried her. What had he been thinking? In a crowd this big, that was the most logical option, and yet he hadn’t thought of it before entering the market and now she was gone.

“Mabel!” He called out again. He thought he had heard her call out a moment ago, but this time there was no response.

Darned this busy city. Reasonably, a city this remote in a rainforest shouldn’t be this crowded. Though perhaps it being the only city for miles was the reason for all of the foot traffic. Either way, he really should’ve scoped out the layout first before walking in. That’s what he normally would’ve done. But Mabel hadn’t had food in over a day. So, her hunger along with the possibility of letting her sleep in a semi normal structure for the first time in…weeks? Had caused him to act rashly. He had only wanted to make sure she had what she needed, and maybe help her mental state. Over the past few weeks, Ford had occasionally caught her looking downcast – though she quickly smiled when she noticed him looking – and this had seemed like a good opportunity to help her feel better.

“So much for that…” Ford muttered under his breath as he continued searching for Mabel. He had just spotted a possible vantage point he could use when something grabbed his jacket and pulled it back.

“Geez, slow down Grunkle D-”

As Ford looked down at the source of the voice, it cut off. His own legs stalled as he saw the boy who was holding his jacket. It couldn’t be…

For a second, Ford was transported to another lifetime. So long ago it felt like a dream. Hot summers on Glass Shard Beach, playing in the water, exploring the sand dunes, fixing up the Stan O War.

He was looking at his brother from thirty years ago.

------

Crap, wrong old guy. Stan thought to himself as he stared up at the man who’s coat he’d grabbed. Now that he had a closer look, he could tell that said coat wasn’t quite the same as Dipper’s, and of course, the man wasn’t his grunkle (okay, technically Dipper wasn’t actually his great uncle either, but it made it easier to call him that, okay?). However, there was something oddly familiar about this guy…

Some other creature bumped into him, threatening to pull him along in the crowd once again, like it had earlier. But then a hand grabbed his arm, and the old guy was dragging him through the crowd.

“Hey, what gives? I’m not-” Stan grabbed at the guy’s hand, trying to get him to let go, only to stop when he really looked at the hand. Wait, six fingers…it couldn’t be…could it?

Looking up, Stan tried to get a better look at the guy’s face. Something had seemed familiar about it when he’d first seen him, but now he was facing away as he pulled Stan along. But six fingers… Suddenly, the bright sunlight disappeared as he was pulled into a small alleyway. There were still a few beings milling about, but not has many as in the main square. Then the man spun around to look at him.

“What are you doing here?”

 Stan took a step back at the sharpness of the man’s voice. A tinge of fear grew in his chest. It wasn’t Dad, he knew that, but there was something so familiar about the words, the man’s stance, the look on his face - he couldn’t shake it. However, the ashamed expression when the old guy saw Stan shrink back wasn’t something Dad would’ve done.

“I-I don’t know. I was just here with my, well I call him my grunkle because-”

“Wait, wait, what? Your grunkle? Who?” Confusion crossed the guy’s face. “What’s his name?”

The man held up his hands and Stan found himself looking at them. He knew in this dimension, six fingers might not be an abnormal thing. But this guy was human, and he looked kind of like Dad…

“Are you my brother?” Stan blurted out before he could stop himself. It was hard to think about Ford looking old - that was just weird - but if he was old, well…Stan could see him looking kind of like this guy…

For a moment, the old man just stared at him, then signed and shook his head. “No, I’m not…well…kind of. I’m Stanford, but not your Stanford.”

“You mean there’s more than one of you? Are there more than one of me? Woah, we could build an army! Though I don’t know how much use an old guy would be but I’m sure you could do something. Oh, eww, am I old somewhere then? How-”

“Hold up. Just…one question at a time.” Old Ford had held out his hand again, as if wanting Stan to stop. He looked a little frustrated, but at the same time, there was the smallest bit of an amused smile on his face.

“There are…many different dimensions, and versions of you and me. I…haven’t met your older version,” a small shadow crossed his face, “but I’ve heard about him. However. That’s not important. What I need to know, is how you got here, and who are you looking for?”

Stan let out a huff. He thought Ford would be as excited as him about all of this but…then again, this was an old Ford and well…maybe he’d been in other dimensions a while and didn’t think it was cool anymore? Sometimes Dipper had seemed less thrilled about things than Stan thought were awesome. Or maybe it was just an old person thing? Gosh, Stan hoped he wasn’t a boring old guy in any dimension.

After a moment, he realized Ford was still looking at him questioningly and Stan realized that he’d have to tell this old version of his brother what had happened. He didn’t really want to, but he had a feeling Ford wouldn’t answer any of his questions unless Stan answered him first.

“Well…I kind of accidently got sucked into this big glowing circle thing that my Grantie Mabel really didn’t want me to shut off, then I met my Grunkle Dipper and we kind of…ran around jumping in all these portal things till we got here. And I swear I’d only been glancing at this cool gun shop, but somehow let go of his hand and then…I thought he was you.” Stan was a little surprised at how quickly the words came. Ever since he’d arrived in other dimensions, Dipper had told him to be careful about saying too much to the wrong people but…this was Ford. Sure, he was old but…it was still Ford. He could still tell him anything.

For a moment, Ford just stared at him, shock lining his face. Then he shook his head and took a breath. “Right…okay…We need to find your Dipper, and I need to…”

“What, you lose someone too?” Stan meant it as a joke, but his smile fell when he saw the concern on Ford’s face.

“Come on, it looks like the crowds are dying down some.” Ford held out his hand and without hesitation, Stan took it.

“I can help you find whoever you lost first.  I’m sure Dipper is fine.”

Ford looked down at him, a disbelieving frown on his face. “I…we’ll see who we find first…”

Putting on his best show of confidence – which was easy seeing as he was used to doing it for Ford – Stan nodded. “I bet we’ll find them both in the next ten minutes!”

------

How could I lose him?!? The thought kept running through Dipper’s head. After months with Stan, he had grown accustom to the boy’s affinity for trouble, which included checking things out that he probably shouldn’t have. So he should’ve been extra diligent in a place as crowded as this, but while keeping an eye out for danger, he must have let go of Stan’s hand and now the boy was lost to a sea of creatures. Guilt and fear clawed at Dipper’s chest. After decades of being alone, he had come to enjoy Stan’s company, plus, he was family.

Taking a deep breath, Dipper tried to still his anxiety, though it was easier said then done. It had already been far too long since Stan had disappeared, and Dipper still couldn’t think of a way to find him aside from waiting for the crowds to die down. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only option he could see. He really needed to find a better way to keep track of his, for a better word, nephew (he was never the best at remembering all of the names for distant relatives and Stan called him Great Uncle so it worked).

As he pushed his way to a slightly less busy part of the market, Dipper searched for a good vantage point he could wait at, while still keeping an eye out for Stan. That’s when he heard it.

Crying.

His feet stumbled to a stop and he quickly looked around, searching for its source. A bright splash of pink caught his eye – a bit out of place in the browns and tans of the city. Carefully making his way toward the figure, he tried pushing aside the feeling in his gut that something was familiar about the girl. Because, as he got closer, he could tell it was a girl, with short curly hair, and a bright pink sweater…

It’s not Mabel. He told himself, as he realized that’s who he was thinking of. Mabel was dimensions away and, well, she was as old as him now.

Crouching down, Dipper put on his best smile, despite his worry for Stan. “Hey, you okay there?”

The girl quickly looked up, her tear-filled eyes widening as she saw him.

Dipper found himself freezing as well. Because it was Mabel. Or, how she had looked as a kid. Sure, her hair was shorter and she looked more tired than she normally would’ve but…it was her.

He eyes flicked up to his hair then back down to his face. “D-Dipper?”

“I…yes, or no, it’s well…” Dipper frowned, he knew that the girl he was looking at wasn’t his sister. He’d been in enough dimensions to know that there were multiple versions of himself and his sister out there. And unless time travel was involved – which didn’t seem likely – this was simply another Mabel from another world. However…it still looked like her and…it still was a Mabel. He couldn’t push away the weight of responsibility to take care of her and make sure she got back where she needed to be.

“You’re from another dimension I guess…” Mabel’s quiet voice shook Dipper from his thoughts.

“Yeah…I…you know about those, huh?” Dipper remembered a day when he had been so excited about there being other dimensions, and other versions of himself. In a way it was still a nice thought, that maybe one version of himself hadn’t messed up…hadn’t ended up here. But it still didn’t change his situation, and after about a hundred different dimensions, survival was more important than excitement over new worlds.

“Yeah, Grunkle Ford told me about it once. He said he’d found a dimension where everyone was a baby once, he didn’t sound like he liked it but I think it would be fun…” Mabel gave Dipper a smile, though it wasn’t as bright as her normal smile. Or at least, like the one he remembered as a kid.

Then Mabel’s words registered and Dipper narrowed his eyes. “Wait, Ford? That…that’s Stan’s brother…” he muttered to himself.

Mabel perked up at that. “Stan? He’s here too?!?”

Dipper’s face fell as he remembered his predicament. “He…was…I…I lost track of him.”

“Oh…maybe I can help you find him! He can’t be too hard to find!”

A small smile grew on Dipper’s face at her optimism. Typical Mabel. “Well, he’s pretty small, about your size, but maybe with two-”

“WAIT STAN IS LITTLE?!?”

Dipper winced at the volume of her voice, but thankfully the creatures around didn’t pay much attention. “Yes, he’s about…” Dipper realized he didn’t actually know how old Stan was. “Maybe ten, or twelve? I’m not sure…”

“Oh my gosh, we have to find him! I gotta meet little Stan!” The brightness on Mabel’s face was a welcome change from the heaviness he had seen on it only a few moments ago. All traced of tears were gone.

A small laugh escaped Dipper and he nodded. “Well, alright then, let’s see if we can find him.” Holding out his hand, Dipper felt a small stab of sadness as Mabel immediately grabbed it. Just like when they were little…Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. This wasn’t his dimension’s Mabel…but it was nice to see her again, even if it was only for a little while.

[descalierr]

Drifting stars au (Kinda)

love love love die your daughter by Susannah Joffe and i can picture Mabel to the song in the portal episode (s2 e11) before being sucked to another dimension. With stan being so similar to her & their bond, but yeah basically that. I hate coloring