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lynzishell · 5 months ago

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My 𝐓𝐨𝐩 24 30 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 from 2024🎉 (because rules were made to be broken)

TYSM for tagging me @herecirmsims, @elderwisp, and @changingplumbob 💖 As per usual, I went overboard... oops!

Before I forget -- I am going to tag @honeyjars-sims, @raiiny-bay, @havenroyals, @likelyamused, and @dandylion240 (ofc, feel free to ignore me if you've already done it, or if you just don't wanna)

JANUARY

We started the year in Sulani where Phoenix and Dawn got engaged! Let us all take a moment to remember the glory that was Phoenix with a tan 😍

I call this - My Love Affair with Brindleton Bay (Part 1)

I love them. This isn't even the greatest screenshot, but it will forever be one of my favorites. One day I will put together a collage of forehead kisses for these two.

FEBRUARY

My Love Affair with Brindleton Bay (Part 2)

Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi were always happy to steal focus when I needed to blur things happening in the background... 😏

Atlas forever being the best uncle in the world... and fascinated with his niece having his eyes

MARCH

Me peeking through the foliage while Phoenix introduces his wife and child to his mom... the only way he knows how 🥺🤍

APRIL

😂 Ok so March and April are pretty sparse... I took a break in the Spring because I was going through a breakup and a move. I spent that time focusing on things that made me happy - like writing The Past arc for the boys and laughing at Dawn's ridiculous in-game expressions 😂

MAY

I'm so glad I took that break because I was able to come back and give Phoenix and Dawn the wedding they deserved! I also LOVE these last two shots... After the party ended, those three were goofing off and having so much fun... and then giving Phoenix the MOST thoughtful gift... it still makes me tear up! 🥹

JUNE

And so it begins... This nightmare sequence was so much fun to put together! And this shot is by far my favorite... it was totally by accident, but oh so perfect

The Past my beloved... I love this shot sm... the morning light, the fall colors, Ash and Lex being Ash and Lex while Atlas tags along behind them (he'd only known Ash for 24 hours and was already crushing... poor boy didn't stand a chance)

Oh yeah! Remember Chestnut Ridge?! The way I jumped around in this part istg... You're all incredible for putting up with me this summer 😂 Okay but I love this one because of how all the animals are turned to look at Danny... again, a total accident, but perfectly foreshadows what I have in mind for his future!

Back the The Past - What's perfect about this one is how the only thing in focus is where they are touching.

I’m acutely aware that his leg is resting against me now, and he’s rolling the fabric of my sleeve between his thumb and middle finger. Normally, I would have already scooted away from the sofa. Pivoted my body so the conversation could continue, but so that I could not be touched. But I don’t feel any need to do that. Not with him. His affection is so subtle and absent-minded; I can tell he’s just feeling comfortable with me. Something about that makes me feel comfortable with him too.

JULY

AHHHHHH!!! I still lose my mind over this moment!!! Like... the way physical touch plays such a big role throughout this arc, and getting to see Atlas evolve from someone who always kept his distance from people to being the affectionate teddy bear he is today... and the way Ash is so sweet and mindful and considerate through it all...

And then I look down, down to where I feel his hand come to rest on my leg, the heat of it warming my thigh. “Is that okay?” He asks, “Do you want me to move my hand?” I look up into his eyes and shake my head slightly, “No. No, it’s okay.”

THEIR FIRST KISS!!!!! The tippy toes pls!!! 😭 I'm not gonna lie.... I forgot the entire purpose of this post and am now lost to reminiscing... I already miss this arc so much!!!

Taking my time, I brush my lips lightly against his before kissing him softly. Holding myself back, not because I’m unsure, but because I’ve never been more certain of anything. I want to savor this moment, commit it to memory so I can revisit it tomorrow, and every day after.

A brief look into The Present as these two make plans for the future that I will inevitably ruin for them because I felt compelled to go into CAS and play around with genetics and rewrite the entire ending to this arc. Sorry not sorry boys!

aaaand back to The Past for our first peek at Ash's POV as he realizes he may be falling for Atlas

Y’know, my biggest fear is drowning, especially in the ocean, and yet, my favorite place is the beach near my parents’ house, sitting right at the water’s edge. Being with Atlas, it reminds me of this place. The bright blue of his eyes, the sandy color of his hair, and the dusting of freckles across his nose. And the way being near him makes me feel just a little nervous, like at any moment I could get swept away and lose myself completely.

AUGUST

Oh yeah! Chestnut Ridge and Joey's cliche dad-logic moment! Seriously guys... thank you for putting up with my nonsense... But OMG! Did you know you can set the horses to buck riders off every time they try to get on? 10/10 recommend if you need a laugh! I had so much fun with this scene... Phoenix, on the other hand, did not 🫣

This one. You have no idea. I struggled SO MUCH with trying to figure this scene out... and only those in our discord writing group will know how I lost my mind when these poses were released and gave me the inspiration I needed... I'm pretty sure I shot this scene a month before I even started this arc because I couldn't get it out of my head... I should also add that these two died in process of making it, and I fucked up this lot while trying to place all the lights and decos via TOOL and had to start all over in another save (which worked out because the Romance Festival spawned in the new one making it all so much better and more lively)... I went through a lot for this shot, and I will hold it near and dear to my heart forever as a result.

SEPTEMBER

Just them. Holding hands. In The Present. 🥹 I just like this one a lot... it's actually the desktop background on my PC lol

A hazy dream in neon pink

Don't worry... they're JUST FRIENDS (who are clearly in love with each other and on mdma and suddenly can't keep their hands off each other)

As he backs himself against the wall, pulling me into him, I finally understand. “Is this okay?” he asks. I lean in so fast that I practically breathe the answer into his mouth, “Yeah,” and before I know it, we’re making out again. But this time is far more intense, our kisses deeper, our breathing ragged, our hands grabbing fistfuls of hair and clothing and clawing at skin as though our desire for each other has grown into some kind of wild animal. Finally free from its cage, there’s no going back now.

💛🩵💛🩵 What am I doing again? I think I've lost the plot...

OCTOBER

Oh yeah... fave screenshots of 2024! We're so back! San Myshuno my beloved

The Proposal 😭 Spoiler alert... they were never "just friends" ajsdkakljs Also, I had to exit and go back in game three times to keep those bright red/orange skies for this scene... worth it!

NOVEMBER

A glimpse of The Future... and bb is confused af

DECEMBER

Things are different now in ways they don't quite understand, but they have each other 🥹🩵💛

For the rest of our lives, we're in this together.

#what a fkin journey this year was!!#also if any of you actually took the time to read through all my nonsense i love you and you deserve a cookie #❤️🍪❤️🍪#and i will indeed be putting together a collage of forehead kisses #i knew there were a lot but omg #actually going through all my screenies and seeing them #i love that's it's just become their thing yknow #they're so sweet #i love themb sm #tag game

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ecstarry · 5 months ago

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author interview!

thank you @orchideous-nox , @emlovessid , @pretentiouswreckingball , @star4daisy , @angel-daydreams for the tag <3

total works: twenty-four! (mostly one shots oops) total wc: 76,784

your top 5 stories by kudos/likes?

mine

parallelos

home

tripping over air

invisible string

do you respond to comments? it might take me a little bit but yes!! i try to reply to all of them

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

one of these three:

'the one with the breakup'

'essential'

'maybe someday'

(they were all about a diff breakups lol i dont think i'll reread to remember which one is angstier oops)

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

absolutely any other fic outside of those three i swear, it's absolute fluff

do you write crossovers? not yet but it's not something i'm closed off to

have you ever received hate on a fic? i don't think so? some weird comments maybe

do you write smut? oh yes, it's very yummy

have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge

have you ever had a fic translated? nop

have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes! very recently, with @star4daisy and it was for @v7lgar birthday it was so so fun. very yummy fic if i say so myself: apartment 26

what's your all time favourite ship? reg and james

what's a wip that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

god i really wish to finish past lives but i fear it will hurt too much

what are your writing strengths?

i think i have a lot of ideas, especially scenes like just snippets of their time together. i think i'm good with small moments

what are your writing weaknesses? can't stick with a story to save my life lol

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i don't think i've added yet but i would talk to someone who actually speaks the language. i think if you're using google translate better to not use it at all (at least with latino james pls free my man)

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

i must write more wisestar !! and i'm working on my itafushi fic so that's fun

what's your favourite fic you've written?

i'm doing top three because no one is even reading to this point and if you are then damn i appreciate you, i will write you something, go text me u read up to here and claim ur prize lol i truly think not even my besties are actually reading up to here, like goddamn i forgot how long this was or am i just tired? idk anyway here's the list:

dearly departed

dare to stay

same boat

open tag! + @moon-seas @v7lgar @lavenderhaze @ultravioletbrit

@sixlane @velanavis @del-stars @futurequibblerjournalist

@staringathesun1 @pressedink

#this took me so long to do i apologize!!!#but its here #lovely to do in january #i wanna look back at this when the year ends #elena's stats #fanfic #fanfic authors #ao3 #ao3 writer #marauders #jegulus #regulus black #james potter

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toointoo · 1 month ago

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FIC S**T UP!!! an interactive fic on fic addition event.

HOLD ON. WHAT KIND OF ADDITION?

Well, you tell us! It can be a single member, or an entire unit, the only requirement is that it is for a fic creation submitted to the event. Relax, you don't need to be actively participating on the tag to be a part of the event! Anyone can join us on making these additions happen!

EVENT SCHEDULE:

APRIL 28TH - MAY 1ST: CREATOR FORM TO SUBMIT OCS UP!!!

MAY 3RD - MAY 15TH: TIME FOR CLAIMING OCs TO DO ADDITIONS FOR!!! REMEMBER, YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE!!!

MAY 16TH: ADDITIONS SHOWCASE!!!

MAY 17TH - MAY 18TH: BIAS VOTING + CHOSING THE WINNER!!!

Goes without saying, but you're blocked by my main @dogscomplex, consider your application automatically denied.

ALL RULES DOWN BELLOW!!!

OOPS, MY BLOG IS NOT ACTIVE ON TUMBLR YET, BUT I REALLY WANT TO PARTICIPATE!

I'm open to it! But you'll have to provide extra useful useful information at the introduction paragraph section of the group. If the answers give the necessary material for an inspired addition, I'll let them in. If it doesn't, I'll notify you of the on May 1st when the creator submission form ends.

BUT... MY OC IS AN ACTUAL ADDITION. NOW WHAT?

You can put them on the event as soloists up for a custom duo or group! Just be detailed on what that would look like!

GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT!

The criteria for the addition showcase part of the event is at least one post that could serve as a wikipedia style bio, or a classic fic introduction post! But if you want to make a sideblog, an album, write a little fanfic AU, I won't stop you at all! It's all about the immersion, showing us all that you came up with until May 15th, and having your own fun!

*A HEADS UP: unit additions are limited to a max of 5 OCs, just so we won't get too carried away.

CHOOSE YOUR BIAS!

After May 15th we'll have a two days (48 hours) voting of your favorite addition to pic a FIC S**T UP!!! winner. There will be both a public post available for the general public, and a private one for the creators involved! If the public choice and the creator choice end up being two different people, they'll both get winner status.

AND THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL...!

Or spoiler alert, an appreciation post put together by me, Gio! 😁🩵💛

#fictional idol community #kpop oc #idol au #kpop au #fictional kpop idol #fake kpop group #kpop addition #fictional idol addition

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ariaste · 2 months ago

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What are your tips for wrapping a book up? I can do short stories just fine, but if I try writing long pieces, I end up fizzling out around the final climax and abandoning the project. I think it's just a lot of pressure and build up and after writing everything else, getting the big, important scene and aftermath out seems incredibly difficult.

I think you've already answered your own question -- "It's just a lot of pressure." Yep, that would be my first possible diagnosis! :) So the answer then would obviously be that you need to find ways to relieve the pressure you're putting on yourself. You know yourself better than I do, beloved Anon, so you will know the best way to do this. After all, you knew yourself well enough to make a guess about what was happening internally, so I have full confidence that you can figure out a patch for it as well. It just might take some experimenting, and that is okay! That is a process of learning things about yourself.

Here are some experiments you could play with. Note that some of them directly address your problem and some of them address the situation adjacent to your problem, because we all know that brains love to tell us that something is wrong six inches to the left of what the actual problem is LOL. Remember that all experiments, even failed ones, are good experiments, because they give you DATA. So don't be disheartened if something doesn't work. It means you've ruled something out, and that's USEFUL.

Experiments:

you could try writing out of order rather than from beginning to end -- get to a place where you're excited and hype about what the climax is, jump ahead and write that, and then go back and fill in everything up to that point.

You could try switching to a different writing format (like, if you usually type out your stories, try writing the climax by hand -- I do this when I am having trouble connecting to a story emotionally, because I feel like it... sort of brings me physically closer to the story? So I can cozy up with it and feel more intimate with it.)

You could try writing in a different location, at a different time of day, etc

Make sure your environment is comfortable. Physical distractions like an itchy tag on your shirt, cold toes, or the upstairs neighbors vacuuming all contribute to suboptimal brain performance. Oh, and make sure you're getting good sleep.

Eat something heavy in protein and carbs about half an hour before you make an attempt at the climax so your brain has lots of energy. This is why writers are notorious for drinking tea/coffee -- caffeine is a drug! It is a stimulant! It makes your brain GO that little bit faster! But you need to eat properly in order to THINK properly, otherwise you're running on fumes and risking burnout.

HOWEVER, all that said... I have a second possible diagnosis. Your use of the phrase "fizzling out" inclines me to a small suspicion. Have you released too much tension in the story before the final climax? I often experience a "fizzling out" sensation when I make that mistake, and dialing up the tension fixes my momentum for the story.

Really, sometimes the emotions that you are feeling about a story aren't.... EMOTIONS per se, they're signals from your gut instincts that there is something going wrong that you need to go back and tweak. But our brains are stupid, and so our subconscious going "Oop, tension's off" reaches the conscious mind and is interpreted as "This is boring :(" or "I'm a terrible writer" or "[sudden disinterest in the book]" or any other kind of fizzling-out. That's not real!! Or, it is real, but it's something else besides what the top of your brain is thinking that it is! It's like when your car starts making a weird noise--it's got nothing to do with YOU, it's just a signal that something has worn out or come loose in the engine. Go back like 25-40 pages or so and reread what you've got with laser sharp eyes for where the tension starts to flag. If you find that, I would wager real money that fixing it will solve your problem with facing the climax.

Oh, and also: The opposite of anxiety is curiosity. Be curious about the problem, and be kind to yourself in the process of finding it. You haven't done anything wrong, you are not a bad writer. It is a GOOD THING to be noticing this pattern! Because now you can go digging and figure out what it MEANS. Where is that annoying beeping coming from? Which smoke detector has a low battery? Is it tension? Is it character? Is it because you've subconsciously spotted a plot hole like, "Wait a second, why wouldn't the villain just attack the city with their winged elephants?" And similar problems.

Hope that helps :D

#writing #writing advice #writing community #writeblr

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dawnbreakersgaze · 10 months ago

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Dawnbreaker Discourse 🌄

Over the last couple days I've been tagged in a number of posts regarding the theory that Greyson's story No Morning holds proof that Zayne's Snowy Serenity card is actually Dawnbreaker Zayne who managed to make it to the present timeline.

Below the cut, I'll discuss why I don't believe this is the case, along with references to the in game content that supports my theory. That said, please note that I fully support the folks who want to believe this theory, because at the end of the day my man deserves to have everyone in his corner.

Let's dig in shall we?

For starters, I'm not going to rehash the entire breakdown of where all this commentary started, but will try to sum it up quickly instead.

『The CN players have linked the appearance of the white flowers and the black crystal ice in the WU story No Morning to Dawnbreaker.』

All of these theories are interesting and have a lot of fun ideas, but all of them are missing what I think is the key element here.

I believe the constant reference to the black crystal ice as Dawnbreaker's Evol is being misconstrued for what the game is setting up to be a major plot device/point in later parts of the story.

In No Morning we see Greyson observe the black crystals here-

Earlier in this same story it's specified that this plant comes from a very specific place on Mt Eternal, a place where we've seen another massively impactful scene involving something identical in another anecdote- Never ending Winter:

We also see them referenced again in the World Undernead stories Longly Flame, and Snowy Stairs-

I believe there are other references to the black crystals I am surely missing, but these are the ones I remembered right off the top of my head.

I ALSO realize that in Greyson's POV it very specifically calls them "black ICE crystals" while every other reference says "Black crystals" but I fully believe that's either a translation error, or just a solid case for unreliable narrator. As much as I adore Grey, he can be a bit of a dork, so I can accept the mishap there. That being said, I really do believe with all my heart it is simply a translation difference rather than a deliberate misdirection.

And while Dawnbreaker's ice is indeed a black ice, I do not believe that it will ever be used in a significant storytelling capacity (as in I dont think it will be used to subtly hint at his presence) due to the very heavy-handed usage of these black crystals PG has been feeding us since the very beginning. Never Ending Winter was one of the OG anecdotes, so these black crystals have been set up from launch as a very important reference to either a type of protocore sickness, a metaflux disease, or some other deepspace linked disorder we've yet to understand.

That said, I'll admit I've definitely been calling Zayne's Snowy Serenity card the DawnFaker card because I'll agree- it has some H E A V Y DB undertones and they didn't do him any favors by putting him in a Dawnbreaker cosplay but with a beige sweater. I'm gonna continue to call it the DawnFaker card, but know that it's said in jest and with affection, and that I don't actually believe that card was Dawnbreaker (as much as I wish it was!)

I hope my little bit of imput was helpful or even slightly insightful! Please feel free to discuss or link me any refuting information. I'm always down to say "oops I was wrong~" when it comes to the lore of this game. Because let's be real, it's a mess lol.

#lore and theories #kay's thoughts #lnds #love and deepspace #lads #l&ds #love & deepspace #zayne #zayne love and deepspace #lnds zayne #lnds greyson #lnds dawnbreaker #dawnbreaker 🌄#my icy neurospicy

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lumineary-arts · 11 months ago

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Saw you ask about ppls AUs uh

Most of mine, admittingly, don't have designs yet. At least not drawn ones. Oops!!

But I can like?? Still ramble ig?

I also have a swap AU! I haven't posted a lot ab it, but it's called Solver Shift.

In it I put Sam in Cyns place. So the DDs have pink accents (wasn't comfortable using Doll and making them red, despite barely drawing DD armbands anyways - personally at least)

Some places I'm still unsure about, like idk whether Khan and Nori should be direct swaps with Ron & Tessa or should be put in Tessas parents position. If I go the latter idk who to put in Tessas place lol.

Ron and Tessa weren't actually ever romantically involved. They were just best friends, and were like "well we live together, we both kinda wanna know what having kids is like. So let's raise one together"; insert Nuke (N) being built. Tess survived a few years into his life, they built Cyn and then yada yada you know the story - dead mom

If it wasn't obvious by Ns name, the rail gun gets replaced by explosives. Thank Cyn for that, it was her idea. (They both take canonverse Uzi her engineering skills, but Cyn takes the more unhinged aspect of the personality.) - Nuke was like "we gotta do something about the DDs but idk what!" And Cyn, sparkly eyed and all, was like "Let's blow them up!"

I need to figure out some episode stand ins seeing as Cyn is younger but still sticks to N like glue. Beau takes Dolls place, they'd be Similar in age to Cyn (aka I gotta give them a body design F)

Oh also, as for befriending the DDs -- whilst Ep1 would run similar to canon; after that Thad/T would bond faster with the siblings than Uzi/Z bc they keep their canonverse personalities mostly!! So that's a reverse. Also T wouldnt want to kill the Prom unlike V, he just genuinely wants to make friends 😭

Don't ask me why Beau is at the prom, being younger and all. Might just make it an all years general prom rather than just the graduating class.

Next AU yay

Blood & Bats is a Vampire/Human AU! DDS and Solver Drones are vampires, you get the gyst!

N & Cyn are bio siblings, got separated bc of a divorce. Eventually both were separately taken away for shitty parenting, one of which caused Cyn to get vampirism one way or another. She also has DID/OSDD1 in this AU, the Solver conciousness isn't an evil entity here, just s Persecutor under the definition of "Misguided Protector who hurts as a form of protection" -- they're basically just a terrified vampire kid who thinks they're a danger and thinks isolation is the only way to keep their lived ones safe.

At some point the Elliots adopt N, later Cyn too. They also have previously adopted V and J. As time goes on, the alphabet trio one by one get turned by Cyn/Solver but they catch her after that so Tessa never is turned.

Uzi is basically a half vampire. Her mom was one, her dad wasn't. I don't remember the details atm, but I assume I've posted them somewhere in the tag on my account, but iirc Khan killed Nori in a moment of shock and survival instinct when finding out. Uzi doesn't know this. She finds out later after being turned herself (on accident!) - either through N or Cyn. Might do N to draw a parallel to the miscommunication between ep 2 and 3. Bc yeah Uzi would assume it's on purpose and he broke a promise.

Once they fix things, she finds out about her dad killing her mom and she runs away from home, terrified he might kill her too -- she crashes at the siblings place OR Thads place. I'm not sure yet. Both have pros and cons.

Khan cant easily access the manor, needs to be at an event for it. But the parents would want Uzi OUT asap. On Thads end; Teacher (Thad and Lizzy are either step or half siblings idk yet) and Ron (uncle, moved in after his sister died to help with the kids!) Would not let Khan take Uzi home sending as they see her terrified. They don't know what happened. But Khan has easier access bc he's friends with Teacher and obviously Lizzy is there which Uzi isn't thrilled about.

That's as far as I can remember the storyline -- there would still be parallels to some episodes! Ep 4 would still happen! Just some would survive! Rebecca would be found by one of the alphabet trio and turned to save her life. She's wheelchair bound after that. Sam survives but everyone thinks he got too high and doesn't believe him when he talks rambling about Uzis vampire form (Becca keeps it secret bc like if she says something it by extension endangers the other vampires in the school which now includes herself)

Intertwined/Inteetwinjng Codes (Me when I keep going back and forth between both titles) is a next gen AU thing. It started off as a joke,,, oh well

Kids.

These little shits are twins, they started this whole rabbithole. They would boot up sometime after Ep 4.

Later on their parents would want to program another kid & adopt one. Invert Annika and Zagi, except unexpected thing happened and they now have two babies to upload. Insert Raven.

Annika is currently undergoing redesign, ignore how basic she looks compared to her siblings lol.

As for the last 2 kids -- they didn't WANT any more, but when being sent to another colony they run into this toddler with a baby, who are being attacked by other DDs so they step in. Whilst they argue with N, Uzi gets the kids to safety. They were gonna keep the kids at their place for that night but Olicia did NOT want to sleep in the same place as a DD & a ton of half DDs -- so Thad gets called at 3am 😭 hes the cool uncle to their kids so yk

Next day it turns out adoption wing is full, so the siblings get passed around Thad, Uzis dad and Nuzi a ton (their own colony got killed so they cant go back there) until Ray gets attached to Nuzi, and you shouldn't separate a baby from its bonded adults. Seeing as he already lost the code related parents, they didn't want to risk further hurting his programming. So the siblings were basically accidentally adopted by Nuzi, despite Olivia not being happy about it at first. But she didn't want to separate from Ray.

That's mostly that. Theres not too much lore tbh. Just a silly half joke AU.

Also I have 6 siblings IRL so I tend to like give my ship kids many siblings 😭 so ignore that fact lol, just projecting

Then theres like 3 more Cyn centric AUs.

2 are pretty small.

DD!Cyn AU that has no name yet is just the AS uploaded a copy of Cyn/the Base Drones conciousness into a DD body and kept her with the trio. That'll lead to major Identity crisis once Cyn realizes technically she's a clone and her memories aren't *hers*. Aside from that: Cyn and J constantly have beef bc of J abusing N, Cyn tries to get her to stop but just faces verbal abuse herself in return :(

Shes also pretty distrusting of Uzi at first bc like!! Nobody except Cyn ever spent time with N!! That's a Drone getting close to her big brother which possibly could hurt him in the long run if she turns out to be like the other teammates!! (She eventually warms up to her)

Then there is Trapped/Hivemind AU. Literally just Cyn trapped in the hivemind, unable to reach her body for control. She can HEAR the other Solver Drones and the DDs, as they're all part of the hivemind. But she can't communicate with them. No matter how hard she tries.

Especially when she hears N she will call out to him but not get a response

So shes probably on the brink of losing it

Then there is "Dormant" Absolute Solver

Originally it was gonna be "The AS lost interest in Cyn as a host" and ig it still kind of is correct-? I need to go back and forth between certain aspects lol

But long story short, Cyn now got a separate body from the AS, doesn't know it killed Tessa & comes to C9 with J & "Tessa". The AS just brought her as a tool to manipulate N with, but she doesn't know that. Cyn joins the group from ep 6 onwards. Yay more PTSD for the child I guess :)

I havent written out ep 6 yet but I think she'd be with N & "Tessa" for that part.

Ep 7 she ends up on the side of the rocks with Uzi, and walks at a distance after being told to basically F off bc Uzi doesn't trust her now but Cyn is scared to be alone. Uzi notices Cyn isn't okay tho.

(Varian tangled reference yay)

Might I add that seeing Uzis wings and tail in ep 6 would have majorly triggered Cyns PTSD but shes unaware of why she feels so scared. So seeing Uzis tail the whole time definitely adds onto the stress =)

During the fight Uzi would reach out to Cyn through the hivemind, both girls calling out to N through Cyns body. The AS doesn't like that and forcefully shuts Cyn down. It has admin rights over her after all.

By the time Cyn wakes up, the AS is grabbing her to blackmail N after just having eaten Doll. Talking about how he wouldnt want to hurt his baby sister (hes aiming his laser cannon at the AS for context). Then it gets bored, drops Cyn and the regular program ensures. Except Cyn took Tessas gun and shoots herself free from the tentacles and runs to the pit after seeing Nuzi be pulled in. Whilst shes there trying to figure out how to get them back up (seeing as she cant use her Solver on them, or at least not Uzi. The show us so unclear if it works on DDs or not) the scene goes on.

I'm not sure yet who Cyn will stick with, probably N bc I've more ideas. BUT also I'm waiting for episode 8 to decide that for sure. Same with the ending. I got multiple bad ending ideas and also a good ending :) ep 8 will determine which one will be canon :)

Oh yeah Cyn lol -- both new and old ref bc of the oil canister I didn't draw in the new one yet. She still has it as you can see by the oil tubes!

Also the Good!Ending DAS!N would run a Daycare post canon. IC!N also runs one. I just like having N work with kids.

Most of these (I think all except DD & Trappsd Cyn) are tagged on my account probably with some more info

Idk if the tags will show up tho bc they don't always for me when searching for them :(

My pinned post has the tags listed I think

I think that was all of them hm (istg if I forgot one 💀)

OKAY THIS ONE'S SUPER IN DEPTH I'M HEAVILY INTRIGUED. MULTIPLE AU'S DUDE!! I LOVE IT, KEEP EM COMING. Loving the ideas behind the swap AU. Putting Sam in Cyn's place is unique, I hadn't heard anyone do that before!! Also the thing about using pink is fair, I did use red but I didn't keep that in mind! A vampire AU's extremely fitting for Murder Drones, being a substitute for the Solver/Disassembly model. Since ep. 4 is my favorite, I love the fact it'd still play out here. Also I must say I REALLY like the next gen AU designs??? I actually kinda wish we saw more next gen stuff, or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Either way I very specifically love Rexim and Raven's designs, I think the color choices are really speaking to me. ALSO ALL THE CYN FANS ARE GONNA BE EATING UP THE CYN-CENTRIC AU'S. But it seems like the poor girl could never catch a break. WONDERFUL WORK ALL AROUND!!

#lumi answers!#murder drones swap au

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ukininayu · 11 months ago

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I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFIREND! —INO TAKUMA

SYNOPSIS. poor Ino, having to deal with the most blind and oblivious crush... Maybe think abiut getting your eyes n heart checked...

CONTENT. NB!reader. (sorry if it sounds closer to f!) Childhood friends to lovers. Cheesy. Got the photographer! Ino idea from @colonelarr0w ! I asked the anon question on may 4.. Wowzers

WC. 2222! That's so kewl! Ah! Finally reached 2k words and I'm stopping cause this has been in my drafts for too long and I can't seem to add any more words. A/N. Oh boy. I wanted to use his first name (takuma/) but I'm too tired to edit. So I just added tags and posted it.

Ino Takuma was and is your bestest friend.

And you were the person Ino Takuma was hopelessly in love with.

meeting him when you were six and was picked on by a group of boys calling you names. Poor you couldn't do anything but to sniff and feel the tears pooling in your eyes.

2003.

you remember when he rushed to help you, his two small hands occupied with a handful of pebbles, and with those pebbles he threw them as hard as a six year old could, aimed right at the back of the mean group of kids who were tormenting you.

you remember the shocked looked plastered on their faces before screeching and running away from the playground and back to their non-existant parents, too frightened to look back.

you remember your now-best friend walking up to you, acting as cool as he can while he helps you stand up, adding in an " 'r you okay?".

He remembers when you held his hand and asked for him to help you stand up. when you did, you rubbed the tears pricking on your eyes off with your forearm, and with your free arm, you used it to hug him. thanking him while suppressing your hiccups.

He remembers cheekily smiling as his pretty crushmate thanks him like he was their knight in shining armour.

He remembers offering ice cream while pointing at a nearby ice cream stand in order to cheer you up, as his mind believed, "ice cream would solve all problems!" even exclaiming it to you.

He remembers the way your eyes lit up when he did what he did and you nodded in agreement to all of them.

He remembers holding hands with you as you guys walk to the stand to buy twin pops, opening the popsicle and letting you pick what side you want first.

He remembers the two of you counting from one to three before pulling the side of your popsicles towards yourselves. unfortunately for you, your popsicle broke and you had the smaller side.

He remembers offering to switch popsicle sticks instead, sticking the hand holding the bigger popsicle out for you to get.

he remembers when you nodded happily, taking the offered popsicle and giving the smaller one to him, which he accepts as happily.

He remembers the two of you, holding hands once more, walking back to the playground and resting on the playground stairs, starting up a random conversation, exchanging names, then quickly changing topics every two minutes or so.

(he remembers starting a war with you the next day, the enemies being the said bullies.)

He smiles, in his own world— no, in the shared world you and him made, talking about the past with you was always the best.

You sigh and sit up, leaning on his bed's headboard, your eyes darting around his soft bed you both were laying on in search for the remote, but your eyes seem to scan around his room. oops. "enough talking, we should continue watchi— hey!" you shout a little too loudly and ino looks at you with a raised brow.

"what is it?" he calls your name when you don't answer. After another call of your name and you still don't, he decides to look at where you were looking at. and behold, it was his first camera. it was weirdly placed in the front and center of all his other cameras, placed so that it would be the center of attention.) that was placed on his wall shelf.

2007.

It was finally his birthday! he could barely get himself to sleep the night before, too excited for the upcoming event. but in honesty, he was excited on what you would do with him to celebrate! maybe have a food fight? go to the arcade? he doesn't care, as long as you were celebrating with him!

He rushes down the stairs and loudly pushes the door open to run to your meet up spot with him. the playground stairs, the one off-placed stairs that was hidden below the big green slide.

And there you were, sitting on the stairs, holding something behind your back, when you saw him, you waved at him, shouting for him to come quick.

"Happy Birthday, Takuma!" you excitedly clap, but his attention isn't really on you. "Whatcha hidin'?" he asks, not bothering to hide his excited expression. "oh! nothing!" you respond with the same look on your face, only more cruel. "C'mon! Is that a gift? maybe a gift for… you know, somebody's birthday?"

you nod your head up and down before grabbing the gift from your back and placing it on your lap. "I was planning to give this to you a little later, but you can open it now, if you want!" you give the signal for him to get the nicely wrapped gift.

In a flash, Ino sits next to you and grabs the gift, placing it on his lap. "I wrapped it for you! so you better not tear it apart." you warn when his hands start to open the gift. he only scoffs and continues opening the ribbon first. "Of course, madam. i'd never!" he jokes, though true.

After he opens the gift, he exhales out a "woah..". "do you like it, takuma?" you nervously ask as he now holds the small camera you saved up for him.

When he finishes admiring the camera, he wraps one arm around you. "I love it! I promise I'll always take pictures of you using this!"

"You still have this camera?!" all of the sudden you were jumping to reach the old camera. "Surprising how you still remember." Ino thinks aloud before walking over and getting the camera for you.

When he hands it to you, you take it in your hands. "Does it still work?" you ask, your finger hovering over the button that turns on the digital camera, and he only nods.

For an old camera, it barely took any time to load. You stop when it does, clueless. and he realizes that. "need a little help?" you hum, "..How do I see the gallery?"

after he tells you and you figure it out, you run back to his bed to sit and he follows before sitting beside you.

Starting from the first ever photo the camera took, you couldn't help but smile in nostalgia. and your smile infecting him.

The pictures dated from when it was his tenth birthday till the first year of senior high school. one by one you and him skim over the hundred photos.

Majority of the saved pictures were you, it seemed like Ino had a liking in taking stolen pictures of you, too. Whether you were going down the green slide or studying for senior exams.

You notice there were barely any pictures of him saved in the gallery. The few images that you found of him was when he was with you. You either taking the picture yourself and pulling him in the cameras view, or the secretly taken photos you had managed to take of him when he didn't catch you.

He really did take his old promise to heart.

While he and you enjoyed the feeling of thinking about the memories you had made together, the sudden ringing of your phone alarm disrupted you both.

"Ah, shit.. Completely forgot about that." You murmur. You reach for your phone and turn the alarm off as you stand up and take you bag, slinging it over your shoulder.

"Oh? Where 'r you going?" He asks out of curiosity, "sorry, that's a secret!.. Well, sorry Ino. I got to go, I swear we'll finish our movie marathon tomorr ow!" He only nods, and you rush out of his apartment, shouting a "bye!" Out the way.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. . . . 　　˚　　 *　

Ino was no idiot. He knew you were going back to your oh-so lucky partner. The alarm was probably a reminder for an upcoming date.

Talking about your partner..

when your relationship with your significant other went public back in your second year of senior high, you dropped the largest bombshell on everybody you knew or knew you.

on him.

If it wasn't crystal clear, Ino was sooo in love with you… it started from a "crushmate" years ago and is still going on as "one and only". heck, everybody knew! it was that crystal clear!

but you, sweet you, was sooo blind! sooo oblivious it even hurt for everyone to watch!

he blames it on himself somebody else confessed to you and took your heart away from his. maybe he didn't show what he felt for you enough. As much as he loved to talk the truth, he was petrified of telling you what he feels, petrified you'd reject him— possibly leave him, even. he knows you would never do that, but the thought that you might makes it that he doesn't want to take his chance.

This doesn't mean he didn't actually show his love to you, he did! he showed his love to you like a photographer would. If there was something people knew, photographers wouldn't waste their effort and time on taking pictures for somebody just for nothing! even if said person was a close friend or family member. but he, he gave his effort and time into taking pictures of you! he even has three cameras devoted to you!

He knows he should've stopped loving you after you were now taken, he knows he should drop the "best friend" title, as as people say, "your lover is your best friend.", that the fact you had a best friend and a partner sounded weird.. he knows he should have tried to kill his feelings off, but he couldn't. he just can't. after all, he was hopelessly in love with you, and when you're hopelessly in love with someone, said someone was the only one you would care about.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. . . . 　　˚　　　　*　　

What Ino expected the next morning when he had just walked out of his bathroom after a morning shower was the continuation of your's and his movie marathon, like you had swore. He definitely did not expect for you to call him, and when he heard your cracked voice silently asking— almost sounding like a plead— if he could come over, he was already going as fast as he could put on clothes while asking you to wait. his mind could only hope to believe thee sound of your voice was due to his or your's phone speaker.

After ten minutes, you hear a knock on your door. so you open your phone and message Ino to "come in, the door is open." the mental exhaustion infecting your body too much so that you don't have the energy to get up from sitting on your living room couch.

You hear him call your name. And there he was, concern clear on his face, his hand holding a plastic bag filled with your favorite snacks. "M' sorry for being late… jus' wanted to buy you a little somethi—oh." before you know it, he was sitting beside you.

When he asked what was wrong, you tried, really tried to tell him the story of it, but with the side effect of your cries, your throat would close, and when it didn't, it stung when you talked. Your best friend noticed and instead told you to tell him after you calmed down, but you 'calming down' didn't seem close. Even when you tried to stop the flowing tears, it was like a broken faucet that wouldn't close.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. . . . 　　˚　　　　*

twirling around your full-body mirror, you smile in confidence as you managed to dress and doll yourself up in just an hour, it was one of your biggest accomplishments, really. now all you had to do was to go to their apartment to meet up and go to the date they made for the both of you!

You walk out of your apartment and lock the door. the thought of you and your lover finally on a date after months made you happily walk like red riding hood to the elevator with the happiest aura people could feel and see. it was probably infectious, too.

Walking in the secluded park where your partner had texted you to go to, you were met with surprise when you saw them sitting on a patterned picnic blanket. with somebody else.

You call their name out with a wavering voice.

your "lover" looks behind when they hear their name, and to their own surprise their eyes meet yours. when they quickly stand up, the person besides them look to where they were looking at.

The stranger's face expression changes when your partner shouts out a pet name to call you and now said stranger was the one to shout, pulling and turning your partner to face them before spouting out curses.

you hear your partner exclaim they had texted the wrong number and "It must've had sent it to the both of you!" before everything blurs out.

you were thankful they were fighting instead of looking at you because you ran. you ran as fast as you possibly could, your mind panicking, only thinking of getting back to your apartment as soon as possible. too ashamed to let anyone see you in whatever state you were in.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. . . . 　　˚　　　　*

This was the note I put in.. I was stressinh

Not proof read

#jjk x reader #ino takuma x reader #ino x reader #ino takuma #i love him #ukininam

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lostdrarryfics · 29 days ago

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lostdrarryfics monthly roundup - a month behind schedule, oops :)

Below you will find the requests we could not locate in the months of March and April. Please let us know if you recognize any!

You can also browse our lengthy lost fic masterlist, where we have compiled every request we have been unable to find over the past few years. We're always hoping someone will recognize a fic so we can let the asker know what It was!

1. Draco was an unspeakable of a sort, I don't know if they have special branches or something like that, I could be mixing it, I think he was working on a really specific project, like time travel, time turner or black magic. Draco was being treated badly outside his work, people were saying nasty things about him after the war, so in his job he was free because even his co-workers didn't know who he was, they were given nicknames after the stars; he has the name of a polar star, and one of his co-workers was making fun of this, saying names of the polar star of different times, and I just have that exact scene in my head and his boss making him do a specific mission, like with the aurors or things like that, but I can't grab more about the plot, possible Hermione was an unspeakable too, but I searched with that tag too, so I'm not sure.

2. I might have even mixed up things from two different fics, I'm not sure. The setting is in eighth year, and Harry goes back to Hogwarts, I think he goes back even though he doesn't feel like it, or he goes back without R, idk. The fic might have started with, ' theo had seen draco's boggart', or something about D's boggart. H might have walked in on D having a panic attack, & he 'turned right around and left'

3. I remember reading this story yeeeears ago (like 15 years or more) on FF.net. Harry and Draco were both prisoners (Azkaban I think). They basically bond during their imprisonment and I remember Draco was abused quite a bit by others. I remember the escape scene near the end, they jump out a window and land in the ocean below, and struggle to swim (I think Draco almost drowns/can’t swim).

4. looking for this fic that I read early this year, and I actually don't remember much, so if you don't find it it's okay. I remember that it was post war and I think after eight year too, and Draco and Harry meet again. I remember that almost at the end of the fic Draco start therapy and he is going to a muggle group therapy and he makes friends there and the story that he says to them is that he comes from a cult. And there's a scene in the last chapter were Draco and Harry are in a coffee shop and Draco writes to Harry I love you in a napkin and that's the first time he said it but Harry knows but Draco is bad with feelings. And I think Draco has something to do with poisons but I don't remember that well.

5. fic I read on A03. I think it may have been posted after 2018. It was a wedding fic and I want to say it was either at an estate or a destination wedding and I'm almost positive it was between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. If I recall correctly Draco is helping get everything planned. The one scene I remember best is that he corners Harry in his room, they start getting intimate (there's a full length mirror in the room that plays a role but I can't remember how intimately of a role it plays) and Ron interrupts them. I know that it isn't: We were something (don't you think so) by Slyth_princess, I would do it again (if I could hold you for a minute) by stephinahole, Nights With You by The_Sinking_Ship, Blood and Fire by lqtraintracks. The story I read was I believe Draco walked into Harry's room while he's getting ready for the wedding, then they start hooking up. mid way Ron comes in looking for them and is basically like yeah not the time and throws clothes at them. I want to also say Draco was helping to plan the wedding but I could be wrong. It really had elements of all the four fics: Slytherin/Gryffindor wedding, them struggling to get it together with their pining, and getting gently nudged together.

6. The fic was a WIP when I read it and it was on the author’s personal website. I would say this was around 2007 or 2008. I don’t remember the title or author. Harry and Draco are at Hogwarts as teachers (I think) and there’s some big plot with the chamber of secrets. The scene I remember most is the first romantic / sex scene and Draco says something about Harry calling his bluff. I know the author posted updates on InsaneJournal.

7. I read this fic on AO3 last year but I don’t think it was a new fic. It is post war getting together fic where Drarry end up being queer-platonic partners. I can’t remember if I’m commingling two fics but Draco was asexual and Harry didn’t really know what that meant.

8. fic where H and D were in an established relationship, but H's friends and family aren't happy with D at all. H gets hurt, and spends a long time in mungos unconscious. At first, it's really awkward between D and the Weasleys when visiting. After a while though, D and Ron start playing chess together while visiting H. When H wakes up he's surprised by how much friendlier the two are. I'm pretty sure it was a short fic, and probably on ao3?

9. Drarry fic I read many years ago, probably on fanfiction.net. The title was latin. Harry and Ginny are having sex, Harry's not into it and watches a spider in the ceiling before starting to fantasize about gray eyes which makes him moan out Draco's name. Ginny storms out and the next morning the school knows and people moan out Draco's name as a joke. Later on, Harry walks into the astronomy tower and Draco is there, they talk and then have sex. Draco explains what the title of the fic is, which is like "love conquers all" or something?

10. Harry is struggling with self-harm and one time after he does it he walks back to his dorm and hear’s Draco playing All The I Need by Boyzone on the guitar and singing and Harry is in total awe. I know this one is a bit obscure but none of my friends believe that it exists and I’ve somehow lost it. I’m just hoping it hasn’t been deleted atp

11. Draco and Harry always talking to each other in parseltongue and acting like they were fighting but they were saying sweet things and being worried about each other, so Hermione decided to learn in secret and by her we found out what they were saying. I think it was short and definitely on AO3

12. fic happening in sixth year. I remember Harry getting drugged through chocolate by an admirer but instead finds Draco getting tossed out for trying to get into the Slug Party when the potion takes effect. Harry beelines, they have an encounter (some snogging, Draco shoving „what the fuck, potter“, yet he’s down bad for parseltongue). After asked from Voldemort on his task, V deducts he’s not telling everything (Draco sweat moment here). He asks Draco of confirmation that Harry is in fact a parselmouth. V proceeds to rummage through his memories, lands on the broomstick cupboard scene eventually and deducts Harry’s obviously under the influence and however that he wouldn’t react as strongly without a base attraction so instructs Draco to use it and get close to Harry. Unfinished work ends there pretty much as I remember. I remember a comment along the lines of „unwilling but seductive Draco“ and the author replying liking that wording if that helps at all.

13. The first one is that Ron, Harry and Draco were looking over a map at some point in which Draco and Ron laughed together because of their discovery of something. Second Ron and Harry were both Aurors and Draco was helping them with something. Near the end the story they were at a haunted tomb of an entity who immediately felt attracted to Draco because of his similarity to the entity's lover that caused it to die. Draco was being protected by Harry for some odd reason. At the ending chapter's of the story some of their team of Aurors died because of a powerful blast from the entity, which caused Harry to shield himself and Draco with a forcefield. Last but not least I remember part of the story where they're all riding camels in a desert area of some some which causes Harry to mock him. Also I believe that the title of the story included the words "Draco" and "Tomb". Also it was set after the war but it wasn't canon compliant after.

#monthly roundup

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runningfrom2am · 9 months ago

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michigan cherry // part seven

summary: walking into a saloon in a nowhere town, billy meets a singer who he just can't get off his mind after she slips through his fingers; onto another town, another show- following nothing but the stars in her path. until he sees her again. another nowhere town and equally dusty saloon, but this time, the band of kids who made up her family is nowhere to be found. he's running away from something, and she is storming full speed toward something else, and tangling into each other's lives may just get both of them exactly where they want to be.

pairing: william h. bonney x fem!reader

wc: 2.9k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: singer!reader (she’s giving very much lucy gray), probably a little bit ooc billy but hey i tried- anyway he’s a sweetheart, use of guns and violence, murder and violence but i try to keep it non-descript, oh also she’s an orphan sorry (once again, lucy gray vibes), strangers to friends to lovers trope eee. also not thoroughly proofread oops

a/n: heyyy y'all little update, i just started school again for the fall and it is already a LOT. i'm surprised i got this out but i'm really glad i did!! i miss them :(

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // pinterest board // playlist

Walking on eggshells around Billy has been a minor yet effective form of torture. You stopped singing for him, and he stopped asking. He still attended your shows, but you can't help but believe it's out of obligation.

It's endlessly confusing. When you first met he had most definitely been hitting on you, unless you were misreading that. You're rethinking every decision you've ever made because he won't talk to you anymore. Well, he does, of course, but it's small talk, mostly. It feels like you constructed a brick wall between you even though it was his fault for reading your stupid notebook in the first place. Every time you thought about it, you spiraled back to anger again.

It doesn't help that you're staring at his back as you lead your horses into a new town, wordlessly having cycled back East this week considering your savings were starting to get close to what you needed. Soon, or maybe even on the way to Michigan, you'd be able to make enough to get your family back.

You force yourself to look away from the way his body sways on the horse, your jaw tightening as you take in your surroundings in a new city. Without discussing it, the two of you cycle a fair distance around the schoolhouse on the edge of town, the old fence falling and tipping over in several places from years of children climbing all over it.

There are children playing outside currently, and you smile despite your foul mood. You missed your family. Those kids, Josie and Harvey and Sarah, and you remember talking about sending them to school once you and Max could finally afford a more permanent place for the five of you to stay. But that day never came.

Billy is lost in his own thoughts, mostly swallowed by the tension in the air that had enveloped you both for over a week now. He just doesn't know what to say, what to do, he wants to apologize but he doesn't want to risk what comes next. As long as you're here, as long as you're still with him, he's willing to suffer the silence.

Silence that's broken when he hears you gasp and shuffle, and as soon as you stumble down from your horse, he's got his gun out ready to stop anyone who's startled you. But you don't seem scared.

You're clambering off the ground from where you fell in your haste to dismount, and sprinting toward the fence of the schoolhouse with your guitar case discarded like it was nothing on the ground behind you.

"Harvey! Harvey!" You call out the boys name as you run to the boy you swore was for all intents and purposes, your little brother, and when he turns his head, you're even more sure it's him.

He hops the fence to meet you and you're crashing into each other, falling on your knees as you catch him.

He smells different, cleaner, and he's dressed in clothes you had never seen, but it's him- and you bury your face in his hair as he clings to you. The last time you held him like this was the night Max was killed.

You don't realize you're crying until you lift your head again, gently grabbing the boy's chin to raise it and get a good look at him. "Oh, honey, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you guys, I never stopped looking, I'm coming to get all of you." You say, brushing your thumb over his round cheeks.

He doesn't answer, and you don't think he can. You just smile, pulling him close again and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I missed you, I missed you so much." You mutter into his skin, rubbing his back and holding him close to you. You'd never let him go.

Looking around at the rest of the kids watching the scene from the other side of the fence, you don't see Josie anywhere.

You hesitate for a moment before asking. "Where's Josie?"

Harvey shakes his head against you. "I don't know." He answers quietly, and your heart breaks more.

You were thrilled to see him, to see he was okay, but realization comes crashing over you and chills your bones in an instant.

They'd been separated. Adopted out, and there's no way of knowing where she is or if she's safe.

"And Sarah?" You ask, attempting to steady your voice.

Another small head shake against you. "They were both still there."

"Okay, okay..." You say, gently stroking his hair. "I'll get 'em, and if they're not there I'll find 'em, okay? And we'll all be together again, I promise. I been savin' up, I'm gonna get all of you back. I swear. It'll be okay."

You hear Billy's footsteps behind you, having just dismounted his horse and grabbed yours in his hurry to catch up. "Hey, doll, maybe we should be goin'." He says, a slight warning in his tone.

You look up past Harvey, seeing what must be a teacher coming out of the schoolhouse likely to scold you for grabbing one of the children. But she didn't know, she didn't understand- he was your brother, essentially your child, your responsibility in every form except for flesh and blood.

Harvey looks as well, before turning back to you and hugging you tighter. "I love you." He mumbles into your shirt, no doubt tearfully.

You kiss the top of his head.

"I'll be back for you. I promise." You whisper before letting him go again.

You couldn't stray far after that. You found somewhere that would let you play locally, and you used the first few shows to ask locals about Harvey as much as you could. You needed to know where he was living and who had taken him from Sarah and Josie, and you had gotten much of the same answers. The little boy, new in Crystal City, had been adopted by a kind older couple on a homestead outside of town. The Booker's were well-loved by everyone, it seemed, pillars of the community who had been around their entire lives. She used to be a teacher, and he once worked at the general store. Still does, sometimes, but they had never had children of their own despite their desire to.

Apparently, it had taken them ages to save up to make the long trip to Michigan- the woman had a cousin who lived just down the street from the orphanage you had been raised. The smallness of the world was both a blessing to you and a curse. A little boy would be a tremendous help around their home now that they were getting older, and they could love him as their own and keep him warm at night.

You knew, in theory, that you should be happy with these reviews. That they were good people, and Harvey was safe with them. But he wasn't with you. He wasn't with Max, or Sarah, or even Josie, and it hurt more than you cared to admit that he wasn't with his real family. The Booker's would never know him the way you did, couldn't sing him to sleep or teach him to write music and play the guitar the way you can.

Your fingers stray on the chord you're running, making a dissonant sound chime in the almost empty bar you were warming up in. You cringe, shaking your head and sighing as you relax your grip on the instrument. There was no use worrying about Harvey and the others now, if you couldn't play worth your salt, you'd never save up enough to get the girls back. You couldn't get him back if you weren't playing your best. Thank god the barkeep was the only one around to hear your mistake. It was minor, but you felt like it could cost you your life. Your show had to be perfect.

Shaking out your hands and cracking your knuckles, you're about to get back to practicing when the front gates of the saloon are shoved open, made louder by the force of the wind. It was a tempest afternoon, and you were starting to worry that despite the revelry your name had developed over the last few months, traveling and performing for anyone who would watch, that tonight you wouldn't make much in tips if it developed into a full-blown storm and no one could even make it to the show.

"We gotta go. Come on." Billy's saying quickly, practically running up to you from the front doors.

"What? What's going on?" You can hear the distress in his voice, making your eyes go wide as you stand up from the stool you had borrowed from the bar to drag up into the cleared area they had made into a stage.

He yanks your guitar from your hands and shoves it into the case, trying his best to be gentle in his haste. "Twister's comin', we gotta get somewhere safer. Find a cellar or somethin'."

"Doesn't the bar have one? I-"

"No, it doesn't, I checked. Come on. Let's get you out of here." Before you can say a thing, not that you'd know what to say, he's grabbing you by the hand and pulling you back out the doors with your guitar case gripped tight in his other hand.

You're holding tight onto your journal as the wind whips your hair into your face and the back behind you in the same second, giving you the chance to look out off the porch of the saloon and out to the west of town beyond the few buildings on the street.

It's like the air is sucked out of your lungs when you see the sky, a twisted yellow and green tint to it that falls over everything and tints the world in an unfamiliar way.

"Come on!" Billy shouts, not giving you time to bask in the sick quiet of it all as he tugs on your hand again, trying to pull you in the direction of the residences up the hill. It was about a mile away, if memory served, but closer than that was where Harvey was staying if you took a left off the main road and down a side path leading straight to the Booker's home.

You follow him, letting him lead you over to the horses you had tied up outside, which were clearly anxious from the storm.

You watch the sky again as Billy makes quick work of untying them both and throwing the flimsy rope on your guitar case over his shoulder, letting the more restless of the two animals take off running. He would find you another horse later, he thinks, as he grabs onto your hips and lifts you quickly into the saddle of the one he kept a grip on.

You snap out of your daze, adjusting quickly and holding on as he climbs up behind you and reaches around you for the reins. He doesn't waste a second, snapping the leather cord and kicking the horse's side to get you moving away from the main strip and up towards the residential area.

"We have to go for Harvey!" You shout over the wind, lifting one arm to cover your mouth and nose from the wind that's keeping you from getting enough air. "Left, up here!" You point at the almost indistinguishable trail, and Billy doesn't ask any questions as he follows your direction.

It takes longer than Billy would have liked for you to reach the house beyond a small forest and nestled in a field, a small cozy cabin drenched in the rain that started to pour. A sign you weren't outrunning this tornado as well as he may have hoped. You hurriedly hop down from the horse and keep your arm over your face as you run for the door, pounding on it hopelessly.

"Harvey! You in there?" You shout, moving quickly on to looking in windows that stutter and shake from the force of the wind when there's no immediate answer, not that you'd be able to hear if there was. "Harvey!"

Then Billy is grabbing your arm again, pulling you off the porch. "This way! They must be in the cellar!"

It made sense, it was smart of him to look for that first, but you couldn't think straight at the moment. You knew tornadoes were common in this area, often deadly in Missouri, but you'd never encountered one before like the one creeping up on the town that you could see in the distance through the field.

The cellar on the Booker's property was entered through a barn near the house, the front door of which was already open from Billy busting it open a moment ago before coming back for you. It's dark, mostly, the light seeping in from the door behind you as Billy pushes you in ahead of himself.

You're so overwhelmed, so scared as you stick as close to Billy as you can, that you don't notice there's someone standing in the open barn until you hear the click of a gun loading over the creaking of the unsteady barn in the wind. The last time you heard that sound, your best friend was shot dead moments later, and the fear that pulsed through your veins felt like a tangible substance- like the liquid felt thicker, heavier; weighting you onto the spot where you stood and holding you there.

"Hey, woah, we didn't mean to startle you, we just-" Billy says, taking a step in front of you and holding you back with one arm, his other hand raised defensively.

"Don't move," The man spits, and you peek over Billy's shoulder, gripping onto the back of his sweater. That must be Elliot Booker. "I know who you are." He continues, and your heart drops.

"O-okay, well, it's, it's nice to meet you, I-" You assume he was talking to you, talking about how you're Harvey's "real" family.

"We got a kid down there, I'm not lettin' you get a step closer. You best be gettin' out of here." As he speaks, he doesn't even spare you a glance. His eyes are locked on Billy.

You're confused, but neither of the men in front of you seem to be. Billy's expression hardens, you can see it in the slight tense of his jaw as he keeps the back of his hand on your waist behind himself, making sure you're still there.

"We need some place to shelter, that storm is comin' in quick. She's a friend of your kid's. If you won't take me, let her in with you." Billy says, nodding back over his shoulder toward you.

You glance back at the door as the wind roars behind you, swinging the door wide open again. Despite everything that was going on or not going on between you and Billy, you weren't going without him. You cared that much, and apparently, he still did too.

"Mister Booker, please, I know this isn't the best way for us to meet, but-" You try to cut in but he isn't having it, loading the rifle and aiming it at you again as you take a step out from behind Billy to the side.

By the time he's done cocking the gun in your direction Billy's own pistol is out as well. You didn't even hear him move, but it was loaded before you could turn your head to look at it.

"If you know who I am, you'll know that shooting her is far from a smart move." He says through gritted teeth, and you can tell he means it based only on that heavy feeling returning and pinning you in place as he corrects himself to stand in front of you again. "You'll be dead before the first hair on her head hits the ground, you hear me?"

Mr. Booker's grip on the rifle remains firm, and he doesn't back down. You don't even know what's going on, you can't even begin to process or try and understand what Billy meant by that besides the obvious.

"If you know who I am..."

You look up at the back of Billy's head and the hat you'd worn a handful of times over the last several months when the sun was a little too bright or too hot on your skin, and where the frayed old rope tied to your guitar case still held it over his shoulder, the rope rubbing red into the skin of his neck. His broad shoulders that you'd dreamt of running your hands over but had only done so when he was helping you up onto the horse he had got for you with a good deal, exchanged for an afternoons work on a ranch somewhere in Texas, and out of nowhere, you don't think you know him.

But you do. You know he lost his family and his best friend like you did, and you know where he went to sleep on nights he couldn't stomach being under the same roof as his mother's awful husband. You know how his eyes crinkle when he laughs, and that he doesn't shave often and he doesn't need to. You know his favourite songs, and you know he can kind of play the guitar and with practice and your help he's getting better. You know he likes to sing too, though he doesn't admit it. You thought you knew he was a good man.

"You're lucky I haven't shot you yet to turn in your body tomorrow." The man responds after what feels like an eternity, and you're hardly sure you can hear anything anymore. "Go."

Billy keeps his eyes and his gun trained on Harvey's new caretaker as he pushes you slowly back toward the door, out into the storm again.

no taglist this time around!! my fics usually get over a hundred requests to be added to the taglist so instead i made a library! follow me over on @runningfrom2am-library and turn on notifs to get updates when i post new parts!!

#michigan cherry !#billy the kid x reader #billy the kid x you #billy the kid fanfiction #billy the kid imagines #billy bonney #billy the kid #billy the kid 2022 #tom blyth x reader #tom blyth #william bonney x reader #william bonney #william bonney x you #william h bonney x you #william h bonney x reader

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airi-p4 · 1 year ago

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hey Airi, can you recommend me some alya salt fics (bonus if it's lukanette)

Hi! I haven't been reading many fics lately (I want to catch up so baaad ;v;) and my memory is not the best but sure! I'll do what I can! (Tbh, I don't think I've read any Alya salt fics that's not Lukanette so the bonus is definitely included LOL)

These are the ones I have bookmarked or subscribed on AO3 (some of them are minor salt and some are dark so make sure to check the tags, please!!):

Oops by @quickspinner [Rated M] (I recommend all Quick's fics in general btw -SO GOOD)

Two Letters by cartoonaddict564

We're a kiss at 2am by @nerdypanda3126 [Rated E] (Panda's writing is just SO GOOD- I 100% recommend all her stories)

Juleka vs the forces of evil by @goldenlaurelleaveswrites (SO FREAKING GOOD!! I get so excited every time I see an update. I LOVE IT)

Luckier without , Choice chances and LadyBugOut by @miraculouscontent (I ADORE everything MC writes. Both FLUFF and SALT are exquisite. 100% recommend all of MC's stories and rants)

I'd kill for you by @notasiren21 [Rated M]

For the Lady's Favour , Liquid Courage and Living Arrangements by @mintaka14 [Rated T , M and M] (I LOVE Min's stories!!)

Marinette's Hanahaki by @haphira

Of Science Teachers and Coffee Addicts by N3verlandsShadow and Toko_Shadow (Nixys11)

When a Snake Strikes by lunamugetsu [Rated E] (Yandere Luka - VERY DARK)

Multibug and Vipercat AU by broadwaynerd_3

Hello Stranger by Freedom_shamrock

What goes around comes around saga by @cornholio4

Minor Alya salt:

Practice makes perfect by @ladycat1

Chords and Courtship by @goldenlaurelleaveswrites

And these are three Alya salt fics written by me:

Surfacing secrets

Fact check

The choice (just a pinch of salt)

I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember right now ^^; I recommend using AO3's tags to find more of them, either "Alya salt" or "Alya Césaire Bashing" (plus "endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng" or "lukanette endgame" for the bonus)

I hope this helped!

#airi answers #fic recs #alya salt

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thatwinglessthing · 2 months ago

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OC Tag Game

I'm taking the universal tag from @layalu and running away with it to talk about my special little guy. Releasing him into the wild.

Art, of course, by Laya! <3 And his slightly cursed in-game look, cause I don't have any other way of showing him off. Okay I have a Sim of him but I'm not sharing that.

GENERAL

Name: Ragnarr

Alisases: Stag Boy, Sparks (do not call him that, reserved for very few people), The Watcher (of Caed Nua), Hound of Eothas, Herald of Berath

Gender: Cis man (he/him)

Age: Mentally mid 20s, physically 66 at the start of PoE

Place of Birth: a small village in the White That Wends

Spoken Languages: Ordhjóma, Aedyran, Engwithan, minimal Huana and Rauatan

Sexual Orientation: Demiro ace

Occupation: Lord of Caed Nua (not anymore due to unforeseen events), Captain of The Defiant (sporadically), adventurer, reluctant saviour of the world, potentially eternally in the service of Rymrgand in the White Void? Oops?

FAVOURITE

Colour: dark greens, blues, and oranges

Entertainment: People watching, specifically to gossip

Passtime: Reading, meditating, chilling in a forest as a Completely Normal Stag

Food: Salads and roasted meats

Drink: some kinda fruity water, mostly tangy ones

Books: Reads most of anything, but is fond of mysteries

HAVE THEY

Passed University: No

Had sex: No <3

Gotten Tattoos: He kind of can't, what with the. Firelike skin.

Gotten Piercings: Yes! Three on each ear.

Gotten scarred: Complicated! His skin doesn't really scar, that's what the cracks in it are. They're wounds that can close up, but depending on how severe they are, they take longer. Pre-Deadfire he gets his left ear chomped off by a stelgaer in a spiritshift mishap. And a lightning scar on his chest from Eothas' biaŵac.

Had a broken heart: Getting ostracised from your village will do that to you, yeah.

Been in love: Yes, once.

ARE THEY

A cuddler: Not really. He doesn't like physical intimacy all that much, it takes Someone Special to earn that. Yngvi is an exception cause he's his special little guy.

Scared easily: That depends! He used to not be scared of anything, but after dying, he's much more cautious, which sometimes comes off as scared.

Jealous easily: He doesn't let himself be jealous, but there are moments where he yearns for things others have that he can't, he would never admit to being jealous though.

Trustworthy: He only trusts as much as the other person trusts him.

FAMILY

Siblings: He has (had?) a sister.

Parents: Doesn't remember them much, he's not seen them since he was a young teen.

Children: He's infertile, but it doesn't bother him, he'd not want any anyway.

Pets: Yes. He keeps taking in strays, and he has GOT to stop. And also Yngvi, of course. But he's not much of a pet, he's his bonded companion.

#i know there's a bunch more aliases but i forgor them. these are The Big Ones though #i hadn't thought of some of these things before so it was nice to flesh that part of him out a lil bit more #also i could've sworn that rymrgand calls the eternal service to him the white void Something but i can't find reference to a name for it #scary to post this cause i never make original posts ever but! i wanted to talk about him <3 #oc: ragnarr #oc things #tag game

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dropthedemiurge · 2 months ago

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writing tag game

tagged by @fairlylokai - thanks a looot!~ It was fun.

1. How many works do you have on AO3? -> 50 (yeay! celebration!)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? -> 229,657, this is more than I thought I'd ever write in English tbh

3. What fandoms do you write for? -> K-pop, KBL, Thai BLs

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? -> Boredom is a crime (???), It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to, [Calculating Tae Myungha's happiness...], Not Me, Not You, But This Is Where We Are Needed (still feel bad about this one oops), Caught in the downpour

Despite me writing a lot of low-rated fics and rare pairings, I can understand all of these – except for such huge love for my first ever BL fandom fic, it's short and WaiKorn?? You guys are fun :D No wonder I stayed writing more after such warm welcome.

5. Do you respond to comments? -> Yes! I'm always reading and waiting for comments, but sometimes I do not respond immediately because I want to have time to be able to reply in more depth... and then object permanence issues kick in, but I promise I will reply to every single comment one day or another^^ (except for comments on my K-pop fics because I do not want to awaken my dark past and dead ao3 fandom)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? -> My last one, about Myungha from LFLS past life. There was just no way to end it on a happy note – which is funny because it's called "I'll Write You a Happy Ending". However, I also wrote a pretty heartwarming fic in the same setting (Moonlight Chicken, you can guess what mutual setting was used) so idk, I guess it's the characters that dictate where their story go.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? -> Based on the readers' response, I tend to write heartwarming and happy fics even when I desperately try to write angst all the time :D I'm an eternal optimist, I can't even decide which one's happiest. I guess, I'll have to go with my LiTA SkyRain trilogy, the second one "Clear skies after the gentle drizzle" because the atmosphere is just so domestic and sappy and cute and loving-caring till the very end.

8. Do you get hate on fics? -> Surprisingly, I don't. Despite all my rare pairings and exploring of unusual ideas and trying to hurt characters, I don't. But sometimes I get comments that expect way more out of my future chapters that I intend to write, and that's what can freak me out and put into a writer block (because I can and will try to rethink the rest of the fic to manage the expectations).

9. Do you write smut? -> I don't. Even when I really try to, it's barely smutty. It can only appear in some way if characters are canonically very prone to being horny. Instead, I love exploring kinks in platonic ways. So most of my fics are aspec-friendly (sometimes asexual-friendly and sometimes aromantic-friendly too, not always both).

10. Do you write crossovers? -> Every BL fandom deserves a crossover with Not Me universe. That's my motto 😆

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? -> Not as far as I remember, no. Perks of writing a lot of rare-pairings no one is really interested in, I guess xD

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? -> Not yet. Compared to other countries who cannot stand writing fics in their own language cuz it's too cringy, Russians have a huge fic writing community. However, since I can fluently write in both languages, I translate my own fics from and to English when I want to :D Secret story: my iKON fic in Russian became a Last Twilight fic in English because the concept was just perfect to be rewritten for those characters.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? -> Considering that I love brainstorming fics with my discord QL writers gang friends (shout out to them<3), a lot of their ideas or situations end up in my fics, or once we tried to write a game script because I could feel that was too big of a project on my own. I am a bit of a perfectionist in this sense, though, so I tend to push for my vision to be pursued and that's why I don't really co-write. But brainstorming together or taking input from others is a lot of fun!

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? -> I already mentioned it above, it's my Not Me/The Eclipse body-switch character-switch fic Not Me, Not You, But This Is Where We Are Needed . It's also the fic that in my mind was 2-3 chapters crack humor story, but the readers in the comments were so hyped up for it and the concept - that I realized I better turn it into something cool, long-chaptered and give fix-it character arcs and psychological exploration to all characters... That sounded impossible for the writer of my mild level. So I doubt I'll be able to give this story justice but I'd really love to one day.

15. What are your writing strengths? -> Uniqueness. I like exploring unusual concepts, or forms, or characters and scenes people rarely write about. I think I'm also quite good at writing fun dialogues.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? -> I don't know how to cause emotions from readers or write about emotions and descriptions. I am reading crafting literature about this but I still have a long way to go to figure it out :D

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? -> Very fun concept! AFTG fandom and books are the prime example. But it has to be done right. If it's unnatural translation, or something that is only done just because and stands out when characters says it, it's really obvious. I write and use words from other languages sometimes when it's suitable. But also providing translation or context for those who don't know the language is also important.

18. First fandom you wrote for? -> Shaman King and Naruto, probably. Haha. At that time and age, crossover fics or cracked-up humor ensemble fics were really popular. I would never reread those but I think very fondly about my first steps.

19. Favourite fic you’ve written? -> That's a very hard question... I think for some magical reason, all my Only Friends fics have great quality and I enjoy rereading them a lot myself, and I haven't been able to replicate the same writing style in other fics xD I'm also very fond of all my SkyRain fics because so many writers share my vision and we've got many amazing fics. I love BlackYok fics because writing them always gives me reason to indulge in some weird kinky shit.

Still, I think my favourite fic will be NPC Supremacy Zone (with LFLS OT3 poly and me trying to pay homage to original story through Sangwon lens) once I finish it - simply because how dear the characters are to me, how much fun I have writing them, and how much effort and planning I put into this story; hopefully I will manage to write it the way I'll be proud of. Right next to it is Magnetic Hearts, Bad Buddy OT4 long-fic for the same reason (except the planning part, that one fic is pure improvisation lol)

tagging @wereflamingo and @doyou000me and @xagan :] Come and brag and ponder about your stories!

#my works #writing #ao3 #thai bl #kbl #fanfic #dropthefanfic #dropthetag #tag game

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aluria-sevhex · 10 months ago

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I BEAT THE GAME

a solid 3rd of my ISAT notes on my phone are just from 'today' (writing this past midnight lol)

my ISAT masterpost

every post in this series is also tagged as #Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)

please note that there's a bunch of notes in this post because i was still in Act 3 at the beginning of this post lol

-i'm not playing it rn but i have decided to break my 'no looking stuff up' rule so i know where to go to make Sif rember what they say when carving stuff

[WRITING TUMBLR POST ALURIA NOTE: i later looked up maps of the House to help me keep track of stuff lol]

-ok now i know. i like figuring things out myself but i could not fucking remember lol.

-i have a really long car ride so. MORE ISAT

-title theme shout-out

-Sif tripped on a rock. "you're clumsy and not at all threatening and overpowered compared to them!" :(

-they almost forgot to catch Isa :(

-dang, Siffrin didn't say nya this time D:

-hehe they hit it back. one could say it's a... COUNTER-attack B)

-SIFFRIN GHOST ON THE WAY TO THE DORM

-WAIT FUCK DID I FORGET THE SHARPENING STONE

-fuck it i was planning to loop back after finding out what to say anyway

-ah don't i also need to find more i fo on the King somewhere? eh i can do that on the next loop... so much to keep track of...

-LMAO. THE PHRASE SIF SAYS. "please don't look bad please don't look bad please don't look bad" BIG FUCKING MOOD TBH

-Sif on his way to talk to their tools and project while carving or sharpening:

-aight time to die lmao

-Loop my belooped

-hm... it's Loop's job to remember Siffrin's mistakes...

-"you don't have to remember to yell' always gets me :(

-I FOUND THE ARTICLES

-ok so currently i'm thinking that the King and Siffrin are probably from the same place. which may or may not be where Loop is from and/or the disappearing island and/or connected to the color thing.

this game has a lot of weird shit going on.

-Bonnie doesn't know what a star is

-OH FUCK NO. AM I GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO THE OBSERVATORY. I'M LEAVING THAT FOR A LATER LOOP.

-another ghost :0

-ISAT: 📚

ISAT if Siffrin could pick locks: 📕

-WHAT. "you used to find them disgusting, but someone you knew loved them, so you tried them."

"someone you knew?"

"who?"

O_O

-aw, Isa hugged Mira on this bathroom trip

-"you wish for rest" yeah...

-"please be sharp, please be sharp, please be sharp"

-the Keyknife is now the Knifekey. WAIT. THIS MEANS IN THE FUTURE I CAN DO OTHER SHIT ON FLOOR 3. HELL FUCKING YES.

-wait. OH C'MON. boooooooo

-i picked malanga fritters and almost skipped past something that seems important. they remind Siffrin of his parents? :0 their head hurt...

-"BECAUSE YOU FORCED THEM TO!" :(

-"where r u from" "no u"

-JUST FUCKING CONFESS ISA FJHDHEJKSMXMDKSKS

-*sighs* guess i should talk to her. actually... what if i called Loop?

-huh. can't call them here.

-"i just hope that one day you might learn" WAIT THAT'S DIFFERENT- wait nvm i got things mixed up in my head :(

-"in this moment, you were loved"

-"that was a nice rehearsal" OH FUCK.

-i just skipped from loop 37 to 40

-time to kill myself with a banana! oop- *plantain*

-"you broke your head open on a rock" it did not use to describe it like that.

-wait. Sif. if you're annoyed there isn't a more dignified way in the village to loop. just kill yourself. you have a knife. just fucking kill yourself to loop forward.

-...fuck what the hell is this game doing to my thought process

-ok what should i look for in this room...

-"BUT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO READ IT" in large font... :(

-:( Sif is trying to remember something and it's tied to the stars

-aight new thing to ask the king time to get myself killed via tear yippee

-seems like the King wants Siffrin to remember their home... "something we've all forgotten" this is definitely about the disappearing island and the colors

-i need to go to the library and find the books on it.

-hey isn't Rock also called Protection Craft? kinda interesting that the King has it

-damn i died to the King because of timing bullshit ToT

-"one more time."

-huh... it evades active remembrance

-it had a belief centered on the Universe...

-need to figure out why the King is obsessed with Vaugarde

-freezing something perfect in time... do i need to find one of those Time Craft books again?

-gonna loop forward to the King

-"even the King feels easy to fight, now"

"i still can't say it" the name of their home. he wants to be able to say the name of his and Siffrin's home. ouagh this game is going to leave me emotionally devastated ToT

-fuck i missed the option to ask Odile if she was going to continue her fake research on a loop where i didn't spend time with her

-"can we group hug after i talk to the Head Housemaiden?" oh?

-DAMMIT ODILE INTERRUPTED ISA THIS TIME

-time to talk to her. again. again and again and again and again

-"you can start breaking down now" lol

-"the curtain falls" DAMN

-"HERE AGAIN?" woah Loop why so aggressive?

-"i'm too lazy to open up new dialogue choices" lol

-hm... show Loop the souvenirs...

-wait huh. in another loop this lady in Dormont said she has no siblings but now she has a sister. odd...

-:O THE LONG THINGY-THING

-huh. Loop reacted kinda weirdly to the kid's doodle

-hey what if i gave Isa the flower at the end?

-FUCK I FORGOT THE FUCKING ROCK I GOT TOO COMFY. this is embarrassing

-hey hold up the theme that plays when everybody's discussing the country in the library is the same song that plays when Loop is recapping things

-hold up. the King was in Corbeaux. Corbeaux is where the House doing the color research is.

-took the photo. PERFECTLY FROZEN IN TIME

-oh fuck

-calling Loop

-hm. the star-shaped gate that's locked. is the passcode the name of Siffrin and the King's home?

-we're gonna use a bomb i guess

-i asked the King where he's from and uh... now a slowed-down version of the song is playing...

-what the fuck

-Sif and the King are going to die, aren't they?

-"BUT IT'S ALL GONE!"

-i'm going to loop forward and try to talk to the King. again.

-*sighs* the peel is so dorky

-FUCK I FORGOT TO EQUIP THE MEMORY OF KNIFEKEY

-wait. asking him nicely. FUCKING WORKED???

-"The Universe leads... we can only follow"

-FUCK. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. GO FUCK YOURSELF.

-so the King knows about the loops, even though he can't remember them.

-"Wish Craft" :0

-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO.

-BONNIE NO

-NO NO NO NO UNHAND THEM

-BONNIE NO BONBON NO

-okay. i looped back. Bonnie is okay again. i just need to kill the King.

-hold the fuck up. it says i'm in Act 4. bad things mark the end of acts. Act 1 ended with me getting in the loops. Act 2 ended with killing the King failing. Act 3 ended with...?

-please don't let Bonnie be dead somehow

-THEY'RE OKAY THEY'RE OKAY

-...the little moments of time rewinding seem to correlate with Sif wishing to go back

-:O I CAN READ THE BOOKS NOW

-THE GATE. OH FUCK YEAH

-fucking hell when did i get (Just attack) because DAMN. Sif is so fucking done with everything.

-WISH CRAFT

-i just fumkign one-shot the Nostalgie on floor 1. "just attack" indeed

-"you need a break" :(

-Sif is like constantly teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown

-let's see how well they do against a boss

-DAMN

-ok so what the fuck was Euphrasie doing before shit hit the fan? and why does she blame herself for Siffrin's situation?

-i just realized something funny. if Vaugarde is fantasy France. and Siffrin and the King are from an island north of Vaugarde. DOES THAT MAKE SIFFRIN FANTASY BRITI- *gets shot*

-gate time.

-what was the question? what was the answer?

-"couldn't i just create another me? someone who'd understand?" ok so somebody's a clone got it.

-Loop? i should talk to Loop

-ok i guess i'll have to be like "hey Loop are you a clone?" in person (plot twist Sif's a clone :P)

-"i saw a weird shade" WAIT HOLD UP YEAH THAT'S SUS THAT SIFFRIN FUCKING SAW RED. OK THAT WAS DIAGETIC. FIRST COLOR IN THE WHOLE GAME.

-gonna kill the King again, talk to Loop, then loop again forward to Floor 2 to read the color theory book

-WAIT SIFFRIN HASN'T CRIED ONCE THIS WHOLE GAME BITCH REPRESSION IS NOT HEALTHY!

-"especially if she knows" Sif. did you forget Odile's name. OH FUCK

-"HOW BLINDINGLY WONDERFUL, FOR A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER TO BE THE ONLY HOPE YOU HAVE LEFT RIGHT NOW!" this would be so funny if not for the context

-"you wish for eternity" WAIT HOLD UP

-SIFFRIN IS USING WISH CRAFT. AND WHEN THEY PRAY TO THE CHANGE GOD STATUES THEY SEND THEIR WISHES. ARE THE BUFFS AND THE KEYKNIFE THE RESULT OF WISH CRAFT?

-hey Siffrin uses a more shy and sad portrait for the 'thank you' afterwards now :(

-FUCK I FORGOT TO SHARPEN THE KNIFE

-y'know what it's fine i have the bomb

-hey Sif i think what happened last time might've uh. traumatized you? ;-;

-welp. i used the bomb. it was anticlimactic.

-"i wonder how this country looks from the outside" *proceeds to imply that the time loop only affects Vaugarde* hold the fucking phone

-ok tho srsly Siffrin is in what looks like *extreme* duress

-oh damn Sif has different portraits for the 'you should disappear' bit. less smug and determined, more... *haunted*

-dang, can't give Isa the flower at the end

-*sigh* gonna talk to her again

-"the actor has become the director"

-there's a lot more theatre comparisons than there used to :(

-woah Siffrin you are weirdly enthusiastic to see Loop

-time to loop forward to read the books woooo

-Sif i am very concerned about this dialogue portrait. your enthusiasm is *desperate*

-hey something funny: people wish on stars

-this game has a LOT of motifs i love: wishes, stars, time, memories, etc.

-hm... what is Siffrin's 'ritual' when doing the wish-y thing?

-:0 a wish is trapping Siffrin?

-what if they're actually being trapped by their own desires or smth? like some sort of- WAIT. WHAT IF LOOP IS TRAPPING THEM SOMEHOW???

-i am in conspiracy mode i think

-moving forward to get to the library

-Siffrin is now level 85...

-maybe a wish is how the island disappeared?

-FAVOR TREE IS WISH CRAFT WOOOOOOOO

-i think the way Sif wished was from something they learned as a kid

-3, 6, 7, 13, all are numbers with significance

-HEY LOOP LOOK WHAT I LEARNED

-welp time to die ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-ok what is in that one house in the main part of Dormont

-hm. Euphrasie was apparently asking everybody what they wished for. she probably realized something tied to Wish Craft was wrong...

-maybe the list in Euphrasie's office cataloguing the names was categorizing based on wishes?

-looping forward

-"you're a living comedy sketch"

-my guess is that the wishing to save Vaugarde enabled Siffrin to loop so they could defeat the King, but something went horribly wrong, thus causing the loops to keep going

-ugh i need to talk in person. tear time!

-a sped-up version of the happy song after you beat the King is playing and Siffrin has the desperate enthusiasm portrait...

-Siffrin, you already tried saving Vaugarde.

-"maybe you don't loop because you die... but because you feel like there would be no reason to go on, maybe?" makes sense to me. Siffrin doesn't have anything to look forward to after defeating the King.

-"something that, to you, feels on the same level of hopelessness as death? on the same level as the world ending?" me when the time loop wants me to get therapy:

-hey Sif you just looped. right in front of Loop.

-looping forward to the King.

-Odile's realizing she's missing something. too bad she'll forget it. maybe i should try making the others really suspicious of me on a future loop

-"please don't interrupt" :(

-this game has me constantly on some variety of edge and i love it

-maybe this time Isa will get to confess?

-the static is starting and i haven't even talked to Euphrasie

-damn i did a minor loop back :(

-talking to her won't work. it can't work.

-STOP SAYING THE SAME DAMN THING STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT

-I WAS RIGHT AS TO HOW EXACTLY SIF GOT STUCK

-the wish is broken. MAYBE IF I DO SOMETHING ELSE MAYBE IF HE'S DEFEATED SOME OTHER WAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

-OH FUCK. so Sif's current theory is that somehow he has to deal the final blow

-"You just need to defeat the King on your own" BUT YOU NEED THE OTHERS TO DEFEAT HIM?

-also damn the way Siffrin's thoughts spiral into a mess is a mood.

-i am now in Act 5.

-:( the Dormont music is slow now

-Sif's portrait in the menus has changed again, there is nothing in the body text of his profile, and their title is now "The Lost One" :(

-wait. the Change God statue is glitchy now and i can't get buffs there anymore

-Sif is like perpetually pissed off

-aaaand now Mira's upset

-Sif is going to fuck things up with the others as well, won't they?

-i think Odile's gonna figure out that Sif is in a time loop

-i feel like i'm in a horror game right now. well. i've felt like that for a while. but i am fucking terrified of Siffrin right now. Siffrin you need help please they only want to help you you can't bottle up everything or it only ends up worse

-the battle theme is slowed...

-sometime i should write a crossover fanfic where Rose Lalonde picks apart Siffrin, i think it would go very interestingly

-unrelated but i just realized Isa has a hair banana hehehe... i need to cling to levity while in this hell

-uh. dude. why is your dialogue looping

-SIFFRIN! I. I KNOW YOU'RE STRUGGLING BUT ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS HELP YOU AND YOU KEEP HURTING THEM PLEASE THEY ONLY WANT TO HELP YOU I KNOW VULNERABILITY IS HARD BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE THEY'VE BEEN *TRYING* AND THEY'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT KINDA TO YOU AND IT HURTS TO SEE THIS SIFFRIN BECAUSE YOU KEEP GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND IT'S TERRIFYING!

-fuck man this game is getting me to care so much about this guy. Mental Illness Simulator 2023

-the irony of Sif calling Isa a coward who projects confidence but not backing it up... Siffrin is projecting.

-and yet despite all that... Isa still ended the conversation rather kindly ToT

-Loop seems really unsure and yeah. past me would not believe this but i am siding with the starheaded bitch.

-...Loop fucking LIED

-Sif is going alone

-oh dear the music

-most of the memories are gone. and the skills...

-level 99

-wait the room layout is fucked

-a Sif ghost but with a black hat instead

-"you're hungry" :(

-so. i think Sif just hallucinated his party members.

-"your stomach hurts. you feel cold." :(

-the world is glitching and breaking haha and i am scared i'm scared i'm scared Siffrin *please*

-how is the photo event occurring if i'm on my own?

-*oh no*

-ok brb i need to take a break

-ok back from my break and refreshed! now i can go back to Siffrin's Descent Into Hell

-entered Mira's room. her hallucination did the "head is covered in darkness creepily" thing...

-Odile...

-i'm in the Keyknife room except now the background is the post-King fight background...

-the feeling of the grim march towards a specific goal reminds me of the Undertale genocide route haha...ha...ha... ...

-stomachache, headache, and the smell of sugar...

-no more running, only a slow, slow, walk to the end

-"you've trapped this country in time even more surely than i have" oh fuck

-not often that a game makes me terrified enough for me to feel my heartbeat...

-red.

-his sprite is on the game over?

-where the FUCK am i?

-spooky shadow Siffrin

-OOO DO I GET TO FIGHT A MANIFESTATION OF SIFFRIN'S MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

-hm what does mal du pays mean- oh :( it translated to homesickness :(

-you can't fight your own shadow

-"it's not like you haven't let me die before, right?" *OH FUCK*

-you broke your promise didn't you?

-red

-dude i think the depression is collecting its due. loops and loops of bottling your shit up has been unhealthy and now you are paying for it :(

-"if something has been forgotten by everyone, has that thing ever existed?" FUCK

-red

-more red

-BRIGHT RED

-if i had a nickel for every rpg i liked where a monochrome manifestation of the main character's mental illness taunted him in a scripted fight, i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. bonus: the dialogue box calls Mal du Pays 'something'! oh and both games open with a content warning i guess

y'know maybe the fact i found out about this game from a blogger that i followed for Omori stuff should've been some sort of indicator.

-"the sadness within you is right" FUCK

-OH GOOD SIF DIDN'T DIE THE FAMILY CAME TvT

-"a weird shiny person helped us!" LOOP :D

-AND THE MUSIC IS UPBEAT OH THIS FEELS SO GOOD TvT

-IT HAS THE TITLE SCREEN MOTIF TOO

-i'l have to look up the song later and compare to other themes but i think it might be a medley/remix? i've definitely identified the post-King fight theme and the title theme, probably more i can't clearly identify

-everybody's battle portraits are so bright and happy

-"i still cannot remember its name" :(

-damn. he froze. womp womp

-ok but what about Loop? what's going on with them?

-glitchy background...

-i'm on Act 5. aren't there like 6 acts? idk maybe this can end and Sif can move forward. then again... the last few times. that did not work out.

-haha Sif pls don't die on us rlly tho pls don't

-so slow...

-RED...

-Mal du Pays is following us

-FUCK

-*exhales* ok the darkness is gone

-is it weird that i kinda like this moment more than the moments of closeness with the others in Act 3? maybe cuz it feels more real, somehow... or because for once, Siffrin is the one being vulnerable...

-i think the problem was sticking to the script and treating the others like actors or well... NPCs

-FUCK FUCK FUCK NO NO NO DON'T YOU DARE GO INTO GLITCHY MODE.

-FUCK

-now that they're here they know something is wrong.

-please game please grant Siffrin one small mercy and let the others loop back with him this time

-RED

-uhhhhhhhh

-Sif did you just become your weird sadness self

-woah this is a beautiful scene

-WOAH. now THIS is a battle! and it is *beautiful*. the red and the stars...

-oh fuck. my options are hurt them or self-harm.

-wait are they HEALING ME? :(

-the battle menu simply refers to Siffrin as 'user'

-JGJRJENNDNRJE LMAO ODILE JUST PULLED A CLASSIC MOM MOVE LIKE "don't you dare storm up to your room earlier in time, young man!"

-forced group therapy

-oh, Siffrin's portrait

-i HATE that my options are hurt my friends or hurt myself. and i refuse to let Siffrin hurt their friends. it's... heartbreaking...

-chat i don't think the wish the player chooses was Siffrin's *actual* wish

-:0 hatless Siffrin

-AWWWW THEY'RE HUGGING

-aw... smiling Sif... hugging Bonnie :]

-:0 EVERYBODY IS SO HAPPY IN THE MENU!

-"It's you!!!!" also hey Sif's title is "The Traveler" again!

-"you will stay together for a little while longer" :]

-i love how the lack of hat makes the fact that Siffrin is really short apparent lol

-these new conversations are precious :]

-Odile thinks the fact that Sif loved everybody so much they got himself stuck in a time loop to be cute XD

-NO WAY. IS THIS FINALLY HAPPENING. IS HE FINALLY GONNA SAY IT?

-HELL FUCKING YES!!!!!!!!

-ok i just talked to all the housemaidens and Dormont residents. time to talk to Loop

-...

-maybe Loop was just. a manifestation of the wish...

-:0 THE SILVER COIN? ARE WE GONNA FINSLLY USE THE SILVER COIN?

-TvT

-I BEAT THE GAME :D

-:o Siffrin is no longer on the title screen

#Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)#<- HEY THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M GONNA USE THAT TAG :D #ALSO I CAN UNBLOCK THE ISAT SPOILERS TAG YIPPEE #homegrown post #in stars and time #in stars and time spoilers #edit:#soooo after looking stuff up this is apparently a point of potential discourse so:#NO I DO NOT THINK SIFFRIN IS BRITISH TO SINCERELY THINK SO REQUIRES A LACK OF READING COMPREHENSION #i said that as a haha funny

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wishing-on-a-staranise · 11 months ago

Text

pt. 1: Manic pixie dream girl

(s.h. x desi!fem!reader)

warning/tags: use of (y/n), she/her pronouns used, based in 2010s, mention of cheating, bad parents, arguments, alcohol, mention of homophobia, toilet jokes (literally. i apologize), everybody is atleast a lil bicurious (except robin ofc)

a/n: and it starts!! i know i rreally kept yall waiting on this one and i probs will continue to do so (oops) im just out here trying to teach yall about delayed gratification lol soz

this fic went in crack fic territory for a bit of this chapter (yes the toilet museum is an actual place) i swear i don't know why my fics end up having potty humour sometimes I'm sorry

word count: 6.3k

series masterlist

masterlist

…

[Challa]

The last time Steve Harrington went on a vacation was with his parents when he was thirteen.

When he turned fourteen, his dad told him to focus more on school and sports and stopped bringing him around.

And sure, maybe it was also because during that past vacation, Stanley Harrington was found with screwing around with his secretary by his wife. Steve didn't remember much of it; he was hiding in the other room when the shouting began. Thankfully the walls muffled most of it.

it was after that vacation, things changed, Steve finally started to see through the cracks in the image his family always put up– the picture-perfect family. The well manufactured family photos hanging throughout his empty house tried their best to hide everything ugly. He started to see how in the photographs, his dad refused to stand closer to his mom, how his mom didn’t smile.

The expression on his father’s face that closely resembles a scowl, as if he was forced to take a picture with a business partner and not his own wife and son. The expensive dress his mom wore along with her makeup done perfectly. The grey bags under both their eyes.

Finally, himself– hair shorter than it is now because his dad always told him a real man never lets it grow past his ears, all slicked down and brushed aside, his expensive suit that made him better dressed than any other thirteen year old in town and his teeth stretched in what his mom called his ‘million dollar smile’.

It was after that vacation, that his mom stopped trusting his dad, and Steve didn't blame her– he stopped trusting him too. from that point on, Steve's mom would always go with his dad for his business trips. He tried not to think about if his dad ever saw that girl again.

Things changed. His mom, who had always loved gardening, hired a guy to take care of the flowers instead. the flowers were never as bright as they were when she used to take care of them. And sure, she had always liked wine, but now, Steve couldn't recall when he didn't see her with a bottle next to her or with the twig of wine glass twisting between her fingers.

Things changed. They are tired now, both of them.

So yeah, he didn't have the fondest memories of vacations.

But when his two best friends, Robin Buckley, and Eddie Munson suggested a trip before the latter leaves for a band tour he had managed to land, Robin gets into her new college and he himself gets ready for his dad's work– Steve just couldn't say no.

Currently they were in a random shop of the airport. Steve's legs are stiff from the long flight, same with his neck. if it was socially acceptable to lie like a puddle between the aisles of a store in an airport, he would do it.

“Robs, how long is this going to take?” Steve asks.

she ignores them as she cards through travel brochures and books, her back to the two boys. Steve adjusts his hold on the heavy basket, the thing filled to the brim with random snacks and some alcohol because the in-flight meal really was not it, plastic of the handle digging into his palm.

“Just pick one and let's check out already.”

“No.”

Steve once again readjusts his hold on the basket, hoping that the robin's crankiness is because of the long flight and not because she is still mad at him, “why?”

“Because someone has to plan where we are going to go. And neither of you two are too keen on it–”

"Don't drag me into this Buckley-" Robin shoots eddie a stern glare before he could even finish his sentence. He clears his throat before excusing himself from the aisle. The wheels of the suitcase he carried squeak behind him as they roll over the clean tiles of the airport.

Steve sighs– yep, she was still mad at him, “Robs..”, he trails off, hoping she spares him a glance. when she doesn't and instead continues to flip through the glossy pages of the thin book, he speaks up, “Hey, Robin.”

He hears her sigh. “Here", She tosses the books in the basket he had been holding and makes a beeline towards the cashier without sparing him a single look, "let’s just go.”

…

[Ek akela is sheher mein]

The sky is in this inbetween of day and evening with grey clouds above them while they load their luggage into the cab.

Eddie sits upfront, his frizzy hair now in a bun. Steve sits in the back with Robin, hoping to strike up conversation with her but the pair of headphones over her ears don't let him do so. Steve sighs, he can tell that she isn't listening to music, but they make it pretty clear she doesn't want to have a conversation.

The windows are cranked open, they have dried up water streaks– it might have rained not too long ago. The asphalt is glistening, reflecting the yellow streetlamps and the red taillights. The cab driver drives like Eddie– a bit too fast for Steve’s liking. Tires splash murky rainwater into little mesmerizing sprays when bikers drive through the puddles, surely wetting some of the passersby with the dirty water. Steve doesn't think of the dirty laundry those people would have to do though, or the showers those people have to take. Instead, he focuses on the sound the water creates, ringing against the metal of the underside of the car, a satisfying sound.

The cab driver takes so many turns, Steve lost count after the third one. A song plays on the radio, an old song, he can tell by the static and that accompanies the singer, the crackle at the beginning of the song. He doesn't know what the man sings in the song, it is quiet with its percussion, delicate with the strings. Steve catches Eddie absentmindedly tapping his fingers on his knee.

Steve looks over the console, it reads 106.4 FM. They're stuck in traffic when the song fades off. two voices come on, who Steve assumes are the hosts. They talk amongst themselves, joke, laugh, yet they speak with a perfect cadence that makes him think they've done it for ages. By the time the traffic gets moving, another song starts playing, this one more chipper than the last one.

The driver weaves through the crowd, making sure to use his horn more than is necessary. when he turns into a lane, Its a tight fit, the car and the road, yet somehow, he manages to maneuver the vehicle around the lamp post and random wrongly parked bikes.

The entire time they are checking into the hotel, Robin stands separately, flipping through the magazines near the sofa of the waiting area. Steve and Eddie fill in details and she only speaks up when asked for an id card. The staff helps them take their luggage to their rooms. Robin wordlessly goes into her room.

It is when Steve is taking off his shoes, Eddie jests, "what a scene ain't it Harrington?" Looking up, Steve finds the older boy holding the curtains wide open, the window faces a brick wall, despite being promised a good view. Steve doesn't say anything, he breathes out what can only be described as a half-hearted chuckle.

“What do I say to her?" Steve asks, running his hands over his face.

“Don’t ask me,” Eddie shakes his head before hanging his jacket inside the closet, “it's you two who have the whole platonic soulmate shit going on, I'm just a third wheel over here”, he mumbles rather dryly, heading towards the bathroom, the door closing behind him.

...

Robin's room was right in front of theirs-- room 105. Steve knocks on the wood. The door swings open after a few seconds, and there is Robin in comfier clothes, makeup taken off and a deep furrow between her brows, “hey.”

“You plan on being mad at me for all of this vacation?”

“...No, but you make it really easy”, she rolls her eyes opening the door a bit more so he could come in.

“Yeah… I’m sorry”, he apologises with a small grin as he slips in.

“I know dingus”, she chuckles a little, closing the door.

he looks around the room, “Dude, this room is so much better”, this was definitely more spacious than the one he and Eddie were in, “Or maybe that’s ‘cause mine has Eddie in it.”

She holds up the bottle of vodka they had picked up at the store earlier, “don't mind if I do”, Steve makes grabby hands at the bottle, grinning when she passes it to him. He twists open the cap and pours it into the glasses she holds up that already had some water in them.

the corners of her lips curl up as well, “mine has somewhat of a balcony too”, she tells him, handing him his glass.

“dude, what?”, his eyes widen. and when he walks over, pulling the curtains aside he is met with the glimmering city skyline, “our window faces a brick wall”

she laughs before sliding the glass door open. stepping forward, the balcony is small– the railing a mere two steps past the threshold of the sliding glass door. Robin leans, her elbows resting on the cool metal railing and Steve wipes away some of the rain droplets with his palm before following suit.

Despite it being around 9 pm, looking at the skyline it seems the city of Delhi never sleeps. there's a faint buzz of upbeat music playing somewhere close– there must be a club nearby. or a wedding.

“We should go clubbing tomorrow”, Robin suggests, raising her glass up in the air towards him.

he hums while raising his own. glasses clink, “sure thing, partner” he says before he downs the entire thing, face scrunching at the burning taste on his tongue.

Robin sips some of her own, her gaze moving down to the road below. There is a litter of puppies chasing each other around the empty street, the warm yellow light of the lamp post filtering over them. an older dog sits by the street light, watching over them. it's quieter than what the rest of the town seems like, hushed, calmer than the rush they had met on their way here.

Steve frowns at his already empty glass and goes back in the room to retrieve the bottle, pouring himself some more on the way back to the balcony, “shouldn't we offer some to Eddie?--”

“we need to talk”, she interrupts him.

they both pause as he gulps a bit of his drink before saying, "well, we are aren't we?"

"no, like talk-talk"

“ok”, he nods once before his brows meet in confusion, “about..?”

"you said it yourself, I can't be mad at you the entire time we're here."

“Robs, it's okay–”

“I think it's pretty obvious I don't like you going for that job.”

“mhm, yeah, you've communicated that well enough.”

"exactly! and you still can't get it through your thick skull"

"what exactly?"

“you don't want that job steve! I know you. you don't like that kind of job and I don't want you to do this thing just because your dad is pushing you to do it”, her grip on her glass tightens, “it's-- it's stupid. thats a stupid thing to do.”

“it's not stupid Robin–”

“i want you to do a job that makes you happy, finance doesn't make you happy”

“believe it or not robs, working at scoops also didn't make me all that happy, working with my best friend did. and you'll be moving out to chicago”

"if I get in", steve takes offence to how quickly she shuts down that possibility.

"you will. I know you don't believe it Robs, but you'll get that college you wanted and then you'll move out. and Eddie is doing all these gigs, trust me", he turns to her, silently begging for her to look him in his eyes, "me going for this job is the best option, Robin." When her eyes stay trained on the street below, he sighs before looking back up at the sky-- no stars in sight. "and you're right, it's not a job I want. but I do need it. and if my asshole dad is still willing to help my sorry ass then I should seize it right?"

he glances back at her, he doesn't get a response from her, yet Steve looks at her with furrowed brows, begging for her to agree.

two of the puppies wrestle amongst themselves, it's all high pitched barks and rolling around, dirtying their fur in the process.

its quiet for a while, he sips his remaining drink. for a while its just that ambiance, the muffled city noise, dogs barking, the hum of air conditioners.

"dude, you're going to become a finance bro", Steve finally hears her say, "then I'll be best friends with a finance bro, ew", she scrunches her face the way he knows it's mostly playful, a laugh falling from her lips by the end of the sentence.

I want you to do a job that makes you happy.

I want you happy.

he laughs too, breathy. he readjusts his grip on his glass, leaning against the rails next to her. “I'm gonna save up, robs”, he promises looking her right in the eyes-- its hard to see the blue in them in this dark, “and if everything works out we can just get an apartment in Chicago then we can be roommates?”

she looks back at him, brows shooting up, “...you promise?”

“pinky.”

she gulps before taking another sip from the glass in her hand, “I don't wanna lose more people steve”, she says, her thumb wiping the condensation on the glass in her hand, and he can tell she's trying her darndest to not let her voice crack.

her parents hadn't taken kindly to her coming out. she hadn't even meant to come out. Vickie's ex boyfriend had outed both of them to their parents– it had been a mess.

whenever she'd tried to call her parents, as soon as they'd realise that it was her, the line would cut off. Once they recognised that she'd always call from either Steve's or Nancy's, they stopped picking up altogether.

it's been months.

“you won't ever lose me Robs”, he immediately says because there is no doubt in it, meaning it more than anything else.

She leans her head on his shoulder, letting in a deep breath, and somehow Steve just knows it means ‘I love you, dingus’

He wraps an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder ‘love you too birdie’.

Silence takes over, but it isn't all that much quiet, the puppies bark, their feet splashing against the little puddle they are playing around now. The two who had been fighting are licking each other. The faint music is still present, cars still honking away in the heart of the city– people honk a lot here. It's all faint but there.

“So", he takes in a deep breath, "you plan where we're going yet?”

Robin takes her head off his shoulder before clearing her throat, “yeah, a bit–", she takes a sip of the forgotten drink in her hold, "there's just so much– there's too much honestly. maybe we get a guide but like those are expensive aren't they? I don't know, maybe they aren't–"

"Robs slow down"

"Okay, okay uh... I have a couple places down", she walks back into the room, picks up the book she had gotten earlier and hands it to him. Flipping through the glossy pages, Steve sees a few monuments and tourist attractions are marked by a pen, Steve is sure he can't pronounce most of these names.

“Oh, did you know they have a toilet museum here?” Robin speaks up after some time.

“wh–”

“before you say it, yes I'm being serious, they have a toilet museum, and were going there”

“seriously? they have historical buildings, monuments, tombs and shit and you wanna see a toilet museum?”

"we'll go to those places too but I also wanna see a toilet museum"

"why?"

"so I can find a place for you and Eddie to live."

“thanks", he deadpans.

They discuss and talk through their plans for the next day. its after midnight when Steve says his goodnight, the bottle of remaining vodka in his hand. for Eddie of course.

“Night Steve, kiss Eddie goodnight for me!”

“shut up.”

….

Despite having zero concrete plans, Steve, Robin and Eddie were definitely behind on their schedule. Sleeping in too late made them miss their free complementary breakfast that the hotel offered.

Steve was so hungry that he would eat Eddie if it was morally and ethically an okay thing to do.

They instead had to order the hotel food which took way too goddamn long to come. Thankfully, when they were done, the hotel manager offered them a guide and a cab to show them around.

The guide was fluent in english, talking about the history of the places he took them. Qutb minar, Jama Masjid, Swaminarayan Akshardham, Humayun's tomb, india gate, lotus temple, All historical places and important monuments. And as beautiful as they were, all the information sort of muddled together for Steve. although incredibly knowledgeable, the guide was going a bit too fast for him.

when the tour for the day was nearing an end, Robin bought up the toilet museum. If the man wasn't getting paid such a good amount, he wouldn’t have bothered to even hide his judgement like he did.

...

“That one looks like a confession booth”, Eddie points to the wooden seat that looked to be from the olden times, and much to his credit, the description was in fact apt.

“That one just looks like a bird-bath!” Robin points to the one in question and once again the description was accurate.

“This one is just a glorified flower pot.”

“Is it really glorified though?”

“Do you think… they'll let us sit on it? I wanna sit on the confession booth one”

“.. I dont know robin, why dont you ask them.”

“Please, do not touch them”, the guide interrupts them immediately.

“Dude, that one looks like a therapist's chair!” robin skips towards the toilet seat in question, having the time of her life. The other two follow behind. Steve looked around at the multitude of posters hung on the walls– who knew toilets would have such rich history. Along with informative posters, the walls were also covered in comic strips related to poop– toilet humor at its finest, truly.

Steve takes a big gulp from the water bottle Robin had made to hold. just when he is doing so, he feels someone bump into his shoulder, some of the water spilling onto his shirt from the action.

"oh shit, I'm so sorry!" you apologise with wide eyes.

a "sorry" falls from Steve's lips as well even though he didn't do anything.

Your wide eyes morph into a shy smile, “oh shit", you mumble, giggles erupting from your throat before you even know it, "You know ‘cause– uh.. Shit", you try to explain, gesturing around you.

“Oh, yeah, yeah I get it”

“Sorry, by the way”

“Its okay. I wasn't looking”, you smile a little shyly when he shakes his head, “I was just looking at… all this”, he pointing his thumb in the general direction of the wall. You hum through a small laugh "I mean who would even think of a toilet based museum?"

“maybe it's a dig at how the British took everything else so…."

"holy shit, that's an interesting way to look at it"

"yeah, pretty sure it's not true but that's how I choose to look at it"

“I– I’m sorry, I didn't quite catch your name–”

“Hey, Steve!” he stops midway when he hears his name from across the hall, voice belonging to Robin.

“Sorry, I have to go, I've been here for hours,” you start walking past him, glancing at your watch, “Fun meeting you, Steve.”

"Who was that girl?" is the first thing Robin asks when Steve finally walks over to them.

He shrugs, "the hell am I supposed to know?"

"So you talked to her for like half an hour and you don't know?"

"It wasn't that long, Munson."

"it felt that long, especially considering the second hand embarrassment I felt from way over there."

He rolls his eyes, unscrewing his abandoned water bottle and taking a swig from it while walking ahead.

“Hey dingus, quit being sulky.”

“I'm not being sulky”

“Yeah, you are. I mean, what were you expecting Harrington? a meet-cute?”

“no, dude. I was just trying to talk to someone normal”

“I know the urges are there harrington”, Robin starts, making Steve scrunch up his nose at her choice of words, “its been months since the break up– I get it. There's a time and place for everything. This was not it.”

“Oh my god”, Steve mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Give poor Harrington a break Robin”, Eddie’s hand claps the boy's shoulder, speaking with a kind cadence– one too kind for Edward Munson, “maybe he hasn't moved on, didn't he say that she was the one?”

“The one? Doesn't our hopeless romantic say that about every girl? Even me, at one point– if I remember correctly?”

“God, you're never gonna let me live that down are you?”

“No.”

“Okay, stop”, Steve holds up his hands, “I wasn't doing anything. she just bumped into me and… small talk happened, that's it. end of story. and I'm not being sulky or anything. and yes I am very much over the break up, it happened months ago. So can you both stop bringing it up all the time?”

Robin and Eddie share a look, “..sure.”

…

Eddie and Robin had already collected back the room keys, and already left for their respective rooms. Crowning Steve with the responsibility of handling the finances with the tour guide. It is when Steve is paying the guide, the glass door opens. And when Steve glances over, he is met with your face. He can't help the smile that creeps onto his face.

You haven't noticed him yet, instead walking straight towards the counter. "Room 111”, he hears you say while he tries to hand the money to the guide as quickly as possible.

The guide nods, thanking him with a smile. The key clink when the manager puts it on the counter, Steve is there and the words come out of his mouth before he even knows it. “Toilet museum girl?”

Your head snaps towards him, features morphing into what can only be described as disgust. There is a flash of recognition before you say, “uh… what the fuck did you just call me?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just– we just keep running into each other, don't we?”

A smirk comes onto your face, you swipe up the keys from the counter before you start moving towards the elevators, “That we do. Are you stalking me?”

“uh, not intentionally, no", he clarifies, following behind you.

You give him a look, "uh huh."

"I know it looks bad but I swear it's happenstance"

The elevator button lights up beneath your finger when you press it, "Sure", you say in a tone that says you do not believe him at all.

"i swear I'm–"

"I already said ‘sure’", you deadpan, the doors ding open and the both of you step in. He sees the corners of your mouth curl up when you move to press the button for the floor you both were on, Steve couldn't help but smile too.

"yeah but the way you said it... said otherwise"

"what? what way?" your brows pull together, voice with the same sarcastic lilt.

"you're doing it again, toilet girl."

"Here's a deal steve, don't call me anything toilet museum related and I'll stop using that tone."

"deal. but... what should I call you then?", he asks, shoving his hands in his jean pockets– trying to take a confident pose, "I could call you by your name... but you won't tell me"

"have you heard of stranger danger Steve?", You cross your arms, turning towards him, "what if I was a serial killer who only murders in small suffocating elevators?"

The elevator dings again, the door opening on their own accord, "then it's a good thing we're here already!", he says, gesturing for you to step out, "and we aren't really strangers--"

"we are."

"Well, we can change that, can't we?", you stop at your room number. you don't answer, but Steve is sure he heard you hum under the rattle of your keys.

When the lock clicks open, he speaks up, “Hey, uh... what're you doing tonight?”

You turn around, “... uh, Sleep probably”, there’s that tone again.

“No, princess”, he mimics your sarcastic tone but the nickname comes out before he even knows, “before that.”

Your eyes narrow, maybe at the tone, maybe at the nickname, “Nothing, I'll probably rot in bed or something”

“You're alone?”

“Does it matter?” you counter immediately.

“Well we’re going to a club nearby, you can tag along? and if you're with someone you can bring them along too?"

"Why must I? You could be an international axe murderer"

“You think such a handsome, pretty face could ever murder?”

“And what if I say I don't do alcohol?”

“Then you can be our designated driver?”

“Yeah, no”, you sigh, the door knob twisting in your hand.

“Okay, well if you change your mind– it's the club right down the road.”

“Have fun with your friends”, is all you say before disappearing behind the door. And Steve is left behind, staring at the wood, the number 111 mocking him.

God, what the fuck was he thinking?

…

The next morning, they thankfully wake up on time despite being definitely and awfully hungover. So here Steve was, with his messy bed hair and sleep mussed eyes, standing in line for the toaster, with a plate in his hand.

Steve blinks slowly as the queue moves, the air smells like coffee, warm toast, and waffles. He can smell spices too, probably from the dishes which he had never had before or heard the name of. And as much as Steve loves trying out new dishes, a hangover is not a good time to experiment with his taste buds so he thinks he’ll have to chew on toast and wash it down with mediocre coffee this morning.

The line moves forward again, he feels something brush against his back but he chalks it up as an accident and ignores it. He turns when he feels a finger poking into his shoulder and it's you. “Hi”, you smile up at him, you're wearing jeans and a pink embroidered top. Your hair is untied, tucked behind your ears and a little damp.

His free hand immediately flies up to his hair, fingers running through the messy strands to make it look a little more presentable, “uh, hi”, palm smoothes over his wrinkly t-shirt.

“Is.. is that your friend?” you say pointing to Eddie who was standing over at the waffle machine, pouring some honey on his stack.

“Yeah, yeah that's Eddie”

“Oh, makes sense”, you say, met with confusion written on Steve's face, “He kept trying to strike up a conversation. Also his waffles are a little burnt– I wouldn't share if I were you.” Steve laughs at that, fingers still trying to tame his wild mess of hair, “So, I see you had fun at that club last night”

“That obvious?”

“Very.”

"Where are you planning on going today?", you ask.

"not sure, Robin is deciding right now probably"

“Robin..?”

“Oh, she’s over there”, he points to his best-friend who was sitting at an empty table, coffee already in hand, flipping through pages of a book.

"you three really didn't plan any of this huh?"

"no, not really."

…

"so you're telling me you're travelling by car and barely trying any street food. jail. jail time to all of you", you were sitting with Steve and his friends now.

"how the hell were we supposed to know? the guide didn't tell us"

"what was the poor guy supposed to do? you can't see so much in just a couple days"

"but there's just so much", you hear Robin speak up for the first time.

"yeah! and you have to accept that you can't see everything, no matter what you do, you're always going to miss something. so shorten this list of yours. and the things you do see, take your time with them. or you'll forget them."

“Ok bud, then where should we go?”

"well if you want to you can go to the red fort, then chandni chowk and then Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah? Its thursday so it’ll be absolutely packed"

"Okay. Will we find you there?"

"I hope not." you say non-chalantly while sipping your chai.

"maybe– maybe we can all go together?" Steve suggests with raised eyebrows. you make an unconvinced noise at the offer. "Still on the fence about the axe murderer thing?"

"Always."

…

Steve wasnt sure how, but he had managed to convince you to come along with them. He sat infront of you in the auto rikshaw, your hair had dried by the time you reached your first destination.

The tour around red fort ended rather quickly than he had anticipated, before you pulled them all to chandni chowk.

your hair was now tied up, some of the baby strands sticking to the back of your neck. you looked like you felt right at home, skipping from one shop to another. stopping for some delectable street food every now and then.

you were all enjoying a sweet syrupy jalebi when you called for Robin's name, “Do you like wearing earrings?” you ask.

the girl looks at you, a little hesitant when she answers, “Uh.. someti–”

“Here! This one would look great on you”, you say holding up a pair of glimmering silver and blue earrings. "do you like it?"

"I- um, I do", you grin at that.

steve wasn't where the time flew, but they were already headed to your next destination on your list with bags of little things he, Eddie and Robin bought.

...

[kun Faya kun]

It felt weird to be barefoot, you had given all the shoes to a man by a store. Where the four of you stood now, the street looked breathtaking. Small shops, some selling flowers and incense, some selling religious blankets that you had called chaddars, others selling attar, and so on and so forth. The bright greens, reds, blues and oranges of the chaddars illuminated by the warm lights of the shops looked akin to a canopy of swirling colours.

Currently, you were helping Robin put on a scarf you had gotten earlier from a shop in Chandni chowk over her head, just the way that you had. When you were done, you instructed the two boys to cover their heads as well. When you were met with confused looks from the two of them, you clicked your tongue before covering their head with their handkerchief and tying it behind their head.

The man at the store then handed you a few plates with flowers, incense and a few threads, “what are those for?” he asks, pointing at the threads.

“You make a wish with them”, his brows scrunch up together, “come on, I'll explain”, you say, grabbing him by his wrist.

…

“You see these walls? people come from all over, they tie a thread”, you say pointing to a man who was tying the red string into the lattice of the wall. the entire wall had such threads tied to them-- all little prayers and wishes made by someone out there. so many people want something. “and they make a mannat. you tie a thread and make a wish. it's like you're asking for a favour.”

“so I ask for whatever I want?”

“whatever you want", you echoed with a smile before pointing to where a lot of men were by the wall, “you boys do it over there, me and Robin are going there– it's reserved for women".

When Steve is looping the thread through the hole, he does so mindlessly, and only when he is about to tighten the knot does he stop to wonder… what exactly is he wishing for? what the hell does he want?

He looks over at Eddie, who already has his temple leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. Steve wonders what he asked for. he thinks he has a hunch.

Without even thinking, his eyes start searching for robin. he sees you help her tie it before the girl leans her head against the wall too. Steve knows full well what she wants.

And then he sees you, you hesitate while looping the thread. you hesitate when tie the first knot. you hesitate for the second. even from this far away, he could see the hesitation in your eyes before you close them.

He blinks and his gaze snaps back to his own thread, the knot still not tightened. His fingers move on their own when he ties the first one.

what does he want?

He twists the red thread, looping the long end through the loop.

what does he want?

And when he ties the last knot, it echoes in his brain, “what do I want?”

…

The group of men sing at the top of their lungs– their voices carrying experience, a roughness that only years of singing can bring. Eddie explains to Steve that the instrument the man was playing was called a harmonium and a dholak.

“how do you know that?”

“I know a lot, Harrington”, he chuckles when he says it.

Steve glances to where you and Robin are sitting among the other women. and despite being surrounded by such a huge crowd, he can tell Robin is calm which he is glad of. He sees you; you're looking at Robin with an expression he can't quite read, and when she glances your way, you quickly flash her a smile before reverting your eyes back to the singing men.

Its awkward, he can tell that much from afar. He thinks Robin is a little nervous around you, maybe finds you attractive with how little she makes eye contact with you, and how everytime you had said anything to her, it was answered in merely a couple words. He can't make sense of your behaviour though, or the way you look at her a little forlorn. he thinks maybe you're hurt by how unwilling Robin might seem to talk to you despite your constant attempts.

[Aaj jaane ki zid na karo]

You all had come back to the hotel an hour or two ago. As soon as you all had arrived, you had left for your room, something about a call you had to make. And now after taking a bit of a rest, they were getting ready to spend whats left of the night at the club they went to last night.

Steve had his fingers crossed, planning on inviting you with them, hoping to god that you agree because he had fun. a lot more than he would like to admit to you or even his friends.

They're all in Steve's and Eddie's room. Robin all ready, sitting on the edge of his bed. Eddie is tying his shoes, his hair already up, his favourite rings on his digits.

Steve himself was trying to get his hair right, despite how much he had styled his thick strands at the start of the day, they were a little flattened now after the day. after he put some pomade on and his hair was just the way he wanted it, he sprayed on his cologne. just when he was contemplating whether to take his ray-bans with him or not, there was a knock on the door.

Eddie who had been putting on his jacket, was the closest to the door. when he clicked open the door, he was met with your face.

"Hi", you say with a smile before noticing that they're all getting ready to go somewhere. "what're you guys getting dolled up for?"

"We were just going to the club nearby--"

"d'you wanna come with?" Steve offers immediately, walking closer.

"um.. I– I can't..", you mumble apologetically, fingers fidgeting, “I just came here because I wanted to say that I had a lot of fun. And uh, all that.”

"So did we”, Eddie says.

"I just wanted to meet you guys before… leaving"

Steve’s face falls a little, “What do you mean?”

“I'm heading out around 2 am. I have a flight at 4. I'm going south after this."

“Oh.”

Its silent. Nobody says anything, what could they say anyway, you were still technically a stranger– they didnt even know your name yet. You hid your hands behind yourself, perhaps picking at your cuticles. Your eyes flitting between all three of them, “I didn't just want to leave so…”, you lift your arms, Eddie who was the closest, hugged you first. Then you moved to Robin, not giving her a second to say anything, you wrap your arms around her shoulders. After maybe a second, she wraps her arms around you too, patting your back a little awkwardly. When you pull away, her face is a little red. You offer her a smile and she finally returns a rather timid one herself.

Your eyes meet Steve’s, you walk over, he moves closer as well. And when you are face to face, you smile up at him. There's a light in your eyes, subdued but there. And from up this close, he thinks you can see it all, all of him. All his doubts, his insecurities, anxieties. Yet you're smiling up at him.

You rock him a little when you hug him, taking him off his balance. He envelops you in his hold, squeezing tighter than he thought he would. "I really had fun”, his eyes close on their own accord when he feels your warm breath on his neck, when he feels your smile on his skin.

“My name is y/n by the way."

Steve pulls away just a little, eyes trained on yours, "can’t you come with us before leaving? It won't take too long."

"Steve...", you start, voice all soft and apologetic.

"No, its okay", he shakes his head before smiling.

You return a smile back before looping your arms around his neck once again, "I'm glad we met Steve."

"me too."

You pull back, looking him in the eyes, you whisper, "goodbye."

"anyway… Um–”, you clear your throat, Steve's hold loosening on you and you remove your arms from around him as well, stepping away. You stiffly walk towards the door, stopping at the threshold, the knob in your grasp, “you guys have fun! don't get robbed or scammed or whatever. Bye." you gave them one last sheepish smile before closing the door.

...

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