askew-d · 11 months ago
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WANGXIAN FICS MASTERLIST
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• tonight i can write the saddest lines, by sarahyyy — post-canon amnesiac lan wangji getting to know wei wuxian again. amazing! i love this author, sincerely.
• deconstruct, by flowercity (faorie) — a soulmate au in which what you write in your skin appears in the other person’s. i’ll admit that soulmate aus aren’t my cup of tea, however i quite liked this one!
• resonant frequencies, by chinxe — the infamous fake relationship story. with wangxian, this works so well! just amazing.
• between the lines, by fading_fast — modern setting au with wangxian meeting through a game. love these strange meetings and this one’s damn enjoyable.
• something real, by latios — wangxian wrong number au involving bunny pictures. i need more wrong number aus for them!! gimme!!
• all your life you’ll dream of this, by attila — cinderella au but with wei wuxian as prince charming. a fantastic story, i was so engaged in this it’s a wonder.
• ⭐️🎖️ one good thing, by yuu_chi — wei wuxian’s a ghost haunting his childhood house until lan wangji appears. seriously, everything about this plot charmed me. i’m enchanted.
• of rabbits and men, by shoutowo — wei wuxian turning into a rabbit and making his way into lan wangji’s heart for the second time. anything more wangxian than this?
• ⭐️ rumor has it, by ulan — post-canon cql in which wei wuxian comes back to “haunt” his rumored cultivation partner. the softness in this killed me.
• ⭐️🎖️ a little happiness, by suspicious_popsicle — lan wangji gets cursed and is transformed into his child version. so lovely to see!! i’m surprised i can read this for free.
• critical path analysis, by chinxe — brooklyn 99 au with wangxian in that episode where they make a bet and wei wuxian takes wangji on a terrible date that’s not terrible at all!
• ⭐️ some of you, by tangerine chair — social media au where lan wangji’s an actor and posts a suspicious tweet about his love life. incredible story, really.
• ⭐️ this should definitely happen, by yeolinski — wei wuxian waking up high in anesthesia and hitting on the hot guy who’s there with him. this is so goddamn funny, i swear i can’t.
• linger in the sun, by etymologyplayground — wangxian are cursed to not hear or see one another. i loved this a lot, it’s terrific.
• another way, by anonymous — wei wuxian sneaks outside to buy emperor smile’s again, and once again encounters lan wangji. i’m frustrated this doesn’t have as many kudos as it deserves, tbh.
• life, drama and action, by akai_hana — one more social media au with wangxian as a famous couple. awesome story.
• inebriation and affections, by chewing — wei wuxian gets drunk and shows his clingy attitude. it’s great to see him like that for the first time, thank you author 🙏🏼
• ⭐️ the inquiries of the heart, by ziane — very much alike “another way”, but this one has a sequel. it’s a whole show alright. a hella nice canon-divergence.
• 我在, by tangerinechair — wei wuxian comforting lan wangji in the xuanwu cave. something i deeply needed to read.
• facilitated diffusion, by chinxe — lan wangji can’t stop ordering stuff just to see the cute delivery worker. at this point i’m bookmarking every work by this author, ngl.
• ⭐️ you, asleep and dreaming, by etymologyplayground — post-canon cql that’ll haunt your mind but that you need to check out if you haven’t already.
• a wild heart to tame mine, by theroyalsavage — superheroes au in a soft perspective and amazing plot, liked every bit.
• ⭐️ a song you’ve never heard, by arahir — wei wuxian’s fatally injured and lan wangji… well, you can imagine. it’s heartbreaking and heartwarming all in between.
• ⭐️ to wing your soul with jasmines, by enemyofrome — while reaching gusu, wei wuxian starts sending flowers to lan wangji. cql post-canon. i could die basking on this adorable story.
• dear hanguang-jun, by cavaleira — people start sending letters asking for relationship advice from lan wangji and he gives it to them. whoa, the entertainment!
• ⭐️🎖️ two guys r in love thats literally it, victortor — wei wuxian traveling back to his old self and meeting lan wangji again. it’s a shame we didn’t hear more from this author in this fandom for a long time. where are you?? come back to give us more of this gay lil beasts. i absolutely love this and the title makes it more interesting. iconic.
• concessions to love, by besanii — arranged marriage wangxian. it’s well-noted and well-written. it rocks!
• “congratulations, get rich”, by attila — it’s chinese new year and wei wuxian wants to do things differently. incredibly done.
• atlas, by etymologyplayground — if you want a crossover between hob and mdzs, here it is. and it’s amazing!
• soft-hearted, by sarahyyy — canon-divergence where wei wuxian ends up in the lan sect. it’s so soft, just as the name tells us!
• seldom all they seem, by fahye — here we go with one more arranged marriage au. this one’s rated e, surely a ride! worth every bit.
• and in the spring i shed my skin, by wvlfqveen — shapeshifter lan wangji in a modern with magic au where they’re professors. do i need to say more? all too good, all too good
• love & longing, rabbit edition, by jaws_3 — lan wangji gets turned into a rabbit and looks for wei wuxian for help. do you sense a pattern? yes, maybe i love the idea of lan wangji as a bunny. in fact, i recommend every story by this author and many others but i’ll just be adding by absolute favorites. and this one’s fabulous.
• 在此恭迎夷陵老祖; to yiling laozu, the great and venerable, by yiqie — we had people writing letters to hanguang-jun asking for advice and now it’s people writing letters to the yiling patriarch! also gorgeous.
• 1 unread message, by bittersweetirony — office au where wei wuxian keeps receiving emails from an admirer. short and very sweet!
• ⭐️ the stars in the hazy heaven tremble above you, by cicer — wherein wei wuxian’s ciderella and wangji’s prince charming. i could read this over and over and never get tired. in fact, i did.
• ⭐️🎖️ only the deepest love, by occultings (microcomets) — pride and prejudice fusion. everything’s a bliss, magically and wonderfully so. i fell in love with this masterpiece. in fact, read everything by this author!! highly recommend. especially three days gone, if you go searching rabbits and a life in your shape!
• beneath six layers of silk, by darkredloveknot (enheduane) — lan wangji’s cursed to speak every thought of his out loud. come on, who never wanted to check what this guy’s thinking? perfect!
• ⭐️ let me come home, by cafecliche — seven nights with wangxian being sappy. i could dream about this piece of art. really.
• ⭐️🎖️ i hope that you will come and meet me, by feyburner — another post-canon cql where wangxian slowly get together. i find this particularly devastating and so beautiful.
• the ocean between us, by catbrainedschemes — this is for those who watched the legend of the blue sea, yes, the k-drama! because this is a fusion of it, where wei wuxian is a mermaid.
• call me, beep me, by myung — a whole social media au in another level! they are all actors and i love this idea so much. myung-laoshi big brained, tis glorious story right here made a lot happier.
• and his wanting grows teeth, by yukla — cultivator lan wangji finding wei wuxian in a village, an au in canon setting as the tag says. it's devasting how good this is, really.
• 🎖️ how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat), by bwyn, yuisaki — wei wuxian finds a catfish trying to be the famous lan wangji. turns out, of course, that it's not a catfish. can we talk about this story more? the sheer hurt/comfort of it, and how it's the perfect rom-com slash drama depiction? i want this as a real show! new york, i love you, by yuisaki also gorgeous!
• listen to the voice inside your head, by pupeez4eva— wei wuxian wakes up to his future-self voice inside his head. it's telling him suspicious things. the amount of giggles i let it slip. in fact, i recommend every work by this author because they always makes me laugh!
• 🎖️ the breaking of your soul (upon my lips), by sunsandships — canon-divergence where wei wuxian discovers that lan wangji's the one who kissed him without his consent. that changes everything. just... magnificent fix-up story, as i said so in my bookmark.
• love on 35mm, by fakeplasticlily — film student lan wangji and wei wuxian as the brother of lan wangji's best friend. my heart was aching during this.
• neatly arranged, by thunderwear — wei wuxian and lan wangji are betrothed, against their own wills. do we have enough wangxian arranged marriage content? no, we do not.
• ⭐️🎖️paint smears on sunny days, by snowshadowao3 — lan wangji's son, lan yuan, has a favorite teacher, and that's wei-laoshi, art professional and also an expert at getting into lan wangji's heart. i will dive DEEP into teacher wei wuxian concept. this one's so wholesome, i could Die.
• 🎖️the absolutely true story of the yiling patriarch: a manifesto in many parts, by aubreyli — the juniors decide to make up wei wuxian's reputation by creating a book of his stories with hanguang-jun. it goes well. one time or another. haha, i love the juniors, they are so creative when making wangxian get together.
• ⭐️🎖️ pigtail pulling, by protos_metazu_isson — lan wangji decides to face wei wuxian's pigtail pulling face to face. that goes better than the expected and worse that what he further imagined. it's surely one of stories i keep on rereading from time to time, especially because it's not big and it's so CUTE!! help.
• ⭐️🎖️ your hand in mine, by cerbykerby — wangxian cursed to hold each other's hand. i could scream while i'm are. come on, this is one of the best stories here, it's short and so sweet, so fitting for them too. perfect, perfect.
• ⭐️ as you like it, by cosmicmilktea — wei wuxian starts to discover what's lan wangji likes. it's what he should know as his husband, after all. IT'S WHAT WE NEED AND DESERVE.
• after the final rose, by azulewaxwing — the bachelor au, because who doesn't want a lan wangji for themselves? turns out, the cameraman attracts his attention more than any contestant could. absolute fire.
• your heartbeat, across the grass, by fakeplasticlily — former classmates with now wei wuxian babysitting and lan wangji as a famous football player. aaah, just imagining lan wangji playing football, as a brazilian, it gives me chills.
• grow, by cafecliche — age degression wei wuxian troubling cloud recesses and the juniors. i love this idea! love a tiny wei wuxian. he deserves good things.
• obedient and bellicose, by thunderwear — an ella the enchanted au where, as per say, lan wangji has to follow every rule. oh, what an incredible fusion. it fits so well, even.
• ⭐️ at least in this lifetime, by etymologyplayground — aaaah i'm sighing over this again. this story's pure sweetness. diabetes. fluff. outstanding. basically, it's just wangxian getting married.
• ⭐️🎖️ i'm the one for your fire, by occultings (microcomets) — a cherry magic au, where wei wuxian can reads mind and discovers lan wangji from the office is actually into him. and maybe he's also into lan wangji. but like, in a no homo kinda way. of course! (denial's a river on africa, dear.)
• ⭐️ look not with the eyes, by spodumene — a case fic post-canon cql where everyone who knows lan wangji starts to devote themselves to him and it doesn't work on wei wuxian. why would that be? i wonder.
• ⭐️🎖️ sweet chaos, by eachandeverydimension — it took me a long time to finish this because everything was so good i wanted to feel it forever. wangxian arranged marriage where they're fourteen and lan wangji goes spend the time with him at yunmeng.
• ⭐️🎖️ your words upon my lips, by uchiuchi — during a nighthun, wangxian get cursed, what one says comes on the other's lips. this killed me, it's so freaking funny and overall over the top.
• ⭐️🎖️ linger by the door (i've always been yours), by piecrust — epistolary wangxian! post-canon cql! introspection! slow burn! everything i could ever want in just one fic. and the letters are unbearably beautiful.
• my heart skips a beat (so my gut can feel the punch), by piecrust — wangxian taking the long way back home. i always wonder how these pretty stories come into an author's mind.
• we sit in the sunset glow, by moonsteps — tangled au where wei wuxian's flynn rider and wangji's rapunzel. thank you, dear author, indeed wangxian came straight out of a fairy tale movie and we deserve more fics like this!
•⭐️not in so many words, by jaws_3 — getting hananaki through a curse after he flirts with the wrong florist, wei wuxian starts dealing with the consequences of his actions. a masterpiece. and so, so lovely, gimme more. this author also has many darling works.
• ⭐️tickling sleeping dragons, by fallingfeathers — a hogwarts au with wei wuxian as a troublemaker gryffindor and lan wangji as a rigorous ravenclaw! perfect, isn't it? the development's awesome as well.
• blooming into the color of love, series by leffy — actors wei wuxian and lan wangji, who are judged to be rivals, have to work together for a tv show. and they have sex scenes at that. so enjoyable!
• love potion no. 9, by ria_green — one more hogwarts au where amortentia's involved, so you can imagine what happens. short and soft.
• the rivers start to sing, by fruitys — another tangled au but this time with wei wuxian as rapunzel and lan wangji as flynn rider. it's a marvel that we have two tangled aus in here! phenomenal. mountains, we met by this author (every work of theirs, actually) are also worth every bit!
•⭐️blue-ribbon bunny, by cicer — shapeshifter lan wangji is forced into a shift after getting tired at work and wei wuxian finds him. bunji won my heart, i want to pet him! wei wuxian, you lucky fool.
•⭐️no more looking, i've found home, by annadream — more epistolary wangxian! more post-canon cql! getting together! once again, with terrific letters. i'm astonished with these author's mind.
•⭐️🎖️teen project to change the world, by animeloverhomura — mdzs characters watching mdzs donghua!!! please, this is my utmost FAVORITE! ever! i'm also translating this into portuguese, for those who wanna check in the start note (i'm slowly updating it, im sorry). but aaah, how sensational this work is!!
• an impromptu visit to the city, by bosbie — lan wangji time travels into a modern time and wei wuxian finds him there! oh, this is precious, they are the best.
• heartkeeper, by postingpebbles — bunny lan wangji again, but this ain't modern times, and it's also fascinating. the arts in these made me so warm inside, too.
• ⭐️🎖️the one-body problem, by metisket — during a ritual, lan jingyi's possessed and wei wuxian's on his body with him. waahhh, i couldn't help but chuckle during every part of this, it's well-written and freaking nice to see them bonding. jingyi and wei wuxian being buddies owns my life.
• ⭐️🎖️no certainty of doors between us, by betts — this is the story that HAUNTS me. i read this every once in a while because it's goddamn FANTASTIC. just roommates wangxian with wangji complaining about wei wuxian but being head over heels in love with the man. chaotic, amusing and flawless!!!
• ⭐️🎖️covered in bees, by scarlettstorm— apiary au with wei wuxian freaking out over bees at his doorstep, but then lan wangji comes to aid. and of course, chemistry sparks. and there are bees everywhere. and my heart's melted.
•🎖️lavender blue, by ana_cp — wei wuxian's a florist for a wedding and lan wangji's a cook, they meet and don't stop meeting afterwards. everything about this work is excellent!
•⭐️ wrong turn, right place, by diamondbruise — more time-travel au! this time, it's wei wuxian who goes to cloud recesses coming from his modern time. one of my favorite quotes from all the fics i've read it's in here. such an exquisite work.
• hello, it. have you tried turning it off and on again?, by overmountainandmeadow — here we have modern setting, office wangxian, it superior lan wangji, juniors as interns and other great plots. stunning work!
• diamonds are wei wuxian's worst enemy, by thefaceofno — lan wangji says he wants to marry, and wei wuxian thinks it's with another person. of course it isn't. so he helps plan his own wedding. coming from our best fool, that's expected, really. splendid!
• secretary lan, series by silverclaw — exactly what it says, lan wangji as his husband's secretary and everybody thinks wei wuxian's cheating on their spouse with... well, his spouse. it's absurdly good.
• our hands clasped so tight, by chapter_61 — wangxian get stuck in a library and conversations ensue. i like the idea of fics with a lot of dialogue, and this one didn't fail to surprise and light me up! lovely!
• ⭐️connected: unknown number, by phoenixking25 — wrong number aus always have my heart, and wow, how good this one is. truly excellent, with the perfect lenght. the ones i read are always so short, but this is longer! a win for the wrong number lovers.
• cut through the clouds, break the ceiling, by tardigradeschool — modern setting with our adorable boys including a drunk confession. i'm not lying when i say this is so delightful, i want to print it out and keep it.
• who could stay? you could stay, by martyrsdaughter — neighbours au, where wei wuxian's a bit intruding. maybe too much. but lan wangji likes him anywhere. what is there not to like? haha, a whole awesome read.
• ⭐️ be gay, do crime, by merelydovely — lan wangji thinks wei wuxian, the guy who invaded his home one afternoon and petted his bunnies, is a bad guy. he's not. hilarious and brilliant!
• ⭐️don't threaten me with a good time, by livinginaworldofnoise — ridiculously funny! basically, a great british bake off au with wei wuxian being a lil demon. i want this to be printed and delivered during my funeral, thank you very much.
• ⭐️as the clouds part and clear, we finally meet again, by 12262325 — lan wangji, as a kid, encounters wei wuxian, who's older than him. they keep on encountering each other, and lan wangji keeps on falling in love with his senior. aah, i'm in love with this work! i can't stop rereading!
• as if you were a mythical thing, by daltoneering — a vague steampunk au as the author suggest, and it absolutely rocks! i wish this had even more hits, as it deserves.
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you can check my wangxian bookmarks on ao3 for more recs! i’d just like to note again that this is, of course, based on my own opinion. regardless if these stories are famous or not, i wanted to make this list for my enjoyment and for those who want more wangxian content, either they’re old here or if they’re just entering the fandom :)
as always, i’m accepting other recs if you have those. check my pinned tweet for more of my stuff and thank yoou!
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detectivereads · 4 months ago
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Batman and Scooby Doo! Mysteries #1 by Sholly Fisch
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5/5
This post is for fan entertainment, I am not being paid.
Hi everyone,
I want to try something different, granted I normally like to wait to see if they come out with omnibus of a comic series, because I run into the problem where I am missing an issue (this series I am missing #2). So, I will cover the ones I do have and hopefully I can get my hands on issues #2.
Now I will go over the majority of the story, but I won’t unmask who the culprit is, I am against spoiling any mysteries.
Now I grew up watching Scooby Doo and Batman, and when I watch that one series where they teamed up to take on Joker and Penguin, I thought that was the coolest episode of Scooby Doo (till I watched the one episode where Scooby Doo meets the Addams Family).
Now we have comics that are just as cool as the old episode. 
This first issues centers around the famous Haly’s Circus and it starts out with a flash back to Richard “Dick” Grayson time at the circus leading up to parent unfortunate murders. The Mystery Inc. gang are in attendance enjoying the show and food that the circus has to offer.
They witness the new acrobat in action Zoltan (not Zoltar, I kid you not I had to re-read that panel of the comic) where he was scared by this issue villain Deadman! When Zoltan missed his dismount, he falls but is saved by none other than Nightwing.
After Deadman causes a panic, the audience runs wild to get away from the villain.
Already the Mystery Inc. gang is ready to get to work.
Velma already has found a clue on one of the sandbags, a chalk handprint (How can a ghost leave a handprint.)
The gang meets the ringmaster Haly, the fortune teller Vashnu, the strong man Sando & and another person of the circus Esmeralda.
Vashnu tells the gang about Deadman, once he was named Boston Brand and he was one of the best acrobats in the world. However much like the Flying Grayson’s, Boston died by a criminal. Then the whole ghost thing of haunting the circus.
Zoltan demands to know why Deadman is going after him, that if it weren’t for Nightwing he could have been hurt. Also, Zoltan asks where his partner is Adolfo. Which right on cue he comes out and explains he was knocked out.
Daphne asks the normal questions, has anyone either criminals or developers approach Ringmaster to buy him out. Cue the Dingaling Brothers, they run a rival circus that wants the Haly’s circus.
Nightwing accuses the brothers that this could be their plans, which of course they deny this.
Ringmaster wants to proceed with the show, but Esmeralda is against it. She doesn’t want Zoltan her fiancé is in danger. At this moment Adolfo pipes up he can perform Zoltan act, but Nightwing agrees with Esmerald, which is why Nightwing offers to do the act with Adolfo, which Adolfo is against saying he needs training for that.
However, Ringmaster loves the idea of having a famous superhero in one of his acts.
The Mystery Inc. gang also joins in as well. Daphne said for an old case she has taken some trapeze lessons so she can also help Nightwing.
This is where I’ll leave the issue, but I will say this that Velma is standing in for the Ringmaster introducing the acts. Fred is an escape artist (He makes traps, so this should be perfect for him), and poor Shaggy and Scooby are with the clowns.
However, when the culprit is unmasking and everything is out in the open, I thought the ending was very sweet. We also have a double unmasking in this issue
My thoughts on this issue, I loved it. It was a Nightwing focus issues with no mention of Batman for almost the whole issue. I know in other comics Nightwing has worked hard to be his own hero. This issue was perfect in my opinion, having Nightwing coming home to the circus and helping his old home out.
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porcelana-r0ta · 1 year ago
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The Curse of Sight, Part 3
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 4]
Summary: When Wes Weston meets Tim Drake-Wayne, the dots start connecting. And those dots form a Bat.
Ao3 Link (available only to Ao3 members)
When Wes gets home that night, he cuts off the part of Tim’s note with his name. His contact information has already been added to his phone, so he tears that part of the note up and then trashes it. The part containing his signature, Wes dumps into an envelope and scribbles out a note on a different sheet of paper: 
You owe me one. 
                —Wes
Wes seals the envelope, stamps it, and writes Tucker’s address in the center, and uses one of his mom’s fancy returning address stickers so he doesn’t have to write anymore. Then he rushes out the townhouse and drops it off at the USPS outgoing mailbox, and rushes back inside before the powers that be decide Wes should be mugged again.
Tucker may be one of the Gaslighting Trio, but he was still nice enough to help Wes in their computers class. 
xxXxx
Wes: Hi, it’s Wes! You gave me your number yesterday so I could give you coffee next time I went on a coffee run?
The reply comes unexpectedly fast for someone who runs a Fortune 500 company and is a whole entire vigilante, but maybe the coffee addiction is just that strong.
Tim: Wes! Yes, please. Have you left yet?
Wes: No, I haven’t even made the mobile order yet. Wanted to give you time to respond. Why?
Tim: Just a sec
Wes stares at his phone from his place in his mom’s office, where he sits in a brown suede chair that sits in front of her desk. His mom is typing away on her computer, a look of concentration on her face. 
“Huh,” he says to himself, then exits the chat to return to putting in orders. He’d like to just click on a past order and reuse it, but Felix and Kourtnie are always changing their orders. He’s convinced it’s because they hate him, but maybe it’s that he’s letting his experience with Jade color his vision. 
“What is it, sweetie?” his mom asks without pausing in his work. 
“Well, Tim asked me to text him next time I went to get coffee. And like, I did. And he answered, but then told me to wait a sec.”
“Can’t ignore orders from the big boss,” his mom says, and Wes nods. 
“Yeah, but I think Kourtnie will die if she waits too long for her caffeine fix.”
“She’ll have to get over it, or stop by Batbucks before she comes in.”
“I don’t think she wakes up early enough for that….”
His mom snorts, “You’re right on that front. How did you even meet Mr. Drake?”
He shrugs and looks back to his phone, “I dunno. He pressed the elevator button for me a few days ago, and now suddenly all of this—” he gestures to everything, “—is a thing.”
“Teenagers,” his mom mutters under her breath. 
“What’s that supposed to mean?” 
“Nothing. Just that you suck at describing things.” 
“You’re mean. I’m disowning you as my mother.”
“Have fun on the streets of Gotham.”
“I’ll sell your credit card numbers online to buy a bus ticket back to Amity.”
“Greyhounds don’t go to Amity. Try again.”
“I’ll hitchhike and get serial killed by a semi-truck driver to get back to Amity. Then I’ll come back as a ghost and haunt you and Gotham.” 
“Not Amity Park?”
“No, they have other problems.” Like the Guys In White. Gotham has issues, but at least they aren’t government-mandated war crimes type of issues. 
His mom goes to say something, but a knock at her office door stops her. She finally looks up from her computer and makes eye contact with the interrupter, and says, “Oh, come in, Mr. Drake.”
Wes has to physically stop himself from whipping around, “Oh, hey, Tim! What’s up?” 
This is it. He’s finally figured out what I figured out and now he’s come for my kneecaps.
Okay, that was dramatic, even for him. He was making the Bats sound like a little family of mob members. Really, they were just superheroes. They couldn’t do anything harmful to Wes. At least not physically.
….Would they erase his memories? Is mind-fucking considered physical harm? 
Wes breaks into a nervous sweat. 
“I just want to help Wes out with his coffee run,” Tim explains with that charming Wayne smile that wins the hearts of anyone who feels. “I hope you don’t mind me going out with your son, Penny?” 
“Not at all,” his mom answers. “Have fun, boys. Oh, and Mr. Drake?”
“Yes?”
“Tell your brother to stop flipping off the cameras every time he spots paparazzi.” 
Tim winces, “I’ll send the message, but we can’t really run a business and control Jason at the same time.”
Jason Todd. As in Red Hood, the second Robin. The one who was pronounced dead overseas, but was miraculously found safe and somewhat sound several years later. Fantastic.
Wonder how much of that death was real? Wes has had enough ecto-exposure thanks to his stalking hijinks in Amity Park to know when he’s around others who have been touched by Death. He’s about 60% sure he could clock that in Jason Todd if he ever happened to get near him. 
Hopefully while in his civilian persona. Wes is uninterested in meeting any more vigilantes, thank you very much. 
They say their goodbyes to his mom and he gets up to follow after Tim, his knees a little wobbly. How long can he pretend to be nervous about hanging out with the guy who signs not just his paycheck, but his mom’s? 
They walk through the PR Department and make it to the elevator, painstakingly going through the motions of small talk. Wes is aware of every word he utters, carefully asking himself what could be taken the wrong way, and what is innocuous enough to say. 
“So what did you want from Batbucks?” he asks as the elevator lowers. 
“Oh, the same as what you got last time,” Tim answers, and Wes abides by that request with a single press of a button. Their conversation moves to favorite TV shows as they leave WE and head to the crosswalk to make it to the Batbucks across the street, and once there, Wes pushes the check-in button to signal to the baristas that he’s there for pickup whenever the order is finished, and they take a seat against a wall and far from the windows. 
“A Trekkie, huh?” Tim asks when Wes tells him his top five TV shows. “And a crime fan, too.”
Wes shrugs, fiddling with his fingers, “I like to figure out the ending before the characters do, and honestly, I just like George Takei.”
Tim tilts his head, “That’s fair. I like crime shows, too.”
Haha yeah, I bet you do.
“What’s your favorite?” Wes obligingly asks. 
“Oh, Criminal Minds, easily. Spencer’s a great character.” 
Wes wonders how a person with two full-time jobs like Tim has time for hobbies that include 40-minute episodes. 
“You just like seeing characters in pain, don’t you?” 
“I do not!” Tim protests, affronted. “I just think he’s a good character! With good development!” 
“That’s what I’d say, too,” Wes teases. 
Tim shakes his head, “You’re impossible. He’s just a good character! He’s so smart and awkward. What’s not to love?” 
Wes gives a half-shrug, “I mean, I guess that’s fair. He is a good character. But I’m more of a Garcia person.”
“They really make the show,” Tim agrees. “Their dynamic is iconic.”
“Speaking of iconic….” Wes takes a deep breath disguised as a sigh. Okay, so if he were going to be interrogated, it would have happened by now. So it’s probably not happening unless he’s going to see a Bat on the fire escape tonight. But if he can just reveal a tiny bit of his hand—just a little smidge—maybe he can avoid suspect altogether. 
“Yeah?” 
“I have to ask,” Wes says nervously. “It’s definitely not my business, but yesterday, when I dropped off the coffees…. I kind of saw the picture of that villain? And I was wondering… who told Mr. Wayne that the villain had a sticker of a My Immortal quote? Who had to explain to him what My Immortal is?” 
Because surely Tim knows, if not from having read the infamous fic then from doing research about the villain. 
Tim smirks and says, “That’s the best part, Wes. Bruce already knew.” 
He choked on air, “You’re kidding me!”
“I’m not. I’m really, really not. You didn’t hear this from me, but,” Tim pauses, giving a playful, sneaking look around for any listeners, and he whispers, “my brother Dick referenced it so much that Bruce read it himself.” 
“Bruce Wayne. Read My Immortal.” The fucking Batman read My Immortal? Willingly? 
“Oh yeah, he did.” 
“Did… did he recognize the quote? Did he remember?” 
“No, but he did when Dick said, ‘Damn, I hope Batman puts his middle finger up at that prep villain.’” 
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Wes knows he’s getting a modified version of what really happened, but he can fill in the gaps. Nightwing quoted My Immortal to Batman. And Batman recognized it because he once read the fic in an effort to relate to his teenage son. 
Well, vigilantes are human, too. Why shouldn’t Batman know who Vampire and Bloody Mary are? 
The next few minutes pass in friendly conversation before their order name is called, and both get up to collect. Wes tries to get two out of the three carton holders, but Tim intercepts. 
“Tim,” he says, half-chastising. 
“I just like helping! And this is getting me out of a board meeting.” 
Wes’s face screws up in distaste. “Well, that’s fair, then.” 
They make their way back to the 73rd floor of Wayne Enterprises and they are hounded in the way that has become so expected for Wes. A new addition to the coffee delivery is Rebecca’s eyes lighting up upon seeing that Tim is helping Wes. 
“Did you like last night’s meme, Mr. Drake?” Rebecca asks, collecting her venti iced mocha latte.
Tim nods, “I did. Nice work on the Photoshop. And the filming equipment should be down today.” 
Wes watches as Rebecca does her best not to squeal in excitement, “Thank you, sir!” 
He nods and turns to Wes, “I’ll see you later, yeah?” His black bangs do nothing to hide the way his eyes crinkle at the corners.
Wes nods wordlessly, his throat suddenly tight and full. Tim’s smile widens and he leaves for the elevator. 
When the doors close on his figure, Rebecca jams her index and middle fingers into Wes’s ribs, “Oh my god, were you two on a coffee date?” 
“Ow, Rebecca, what? No! He just wanted to escape the board.” Wes rubs his ribs comfortingly, his muscles stinging. “That hurt, what the hell?”
“Sorry!” She’s not sorry at all. “Do you think we can get him to do a TikTok for us?” 
He spares a glance at the elevator, which has long since taken Tim up to whatever floor he haunts. “Maybe? It’d make sense, considering the whole CEO thing. Why wouldn’t he be in a TikTok at some point?”
“No reason,” she says, but there’s a fire in her eyes and a mischievous cut to her grin that she fails to hide behind her coffee. Wes’s gut curdles in dread. 
“You terrify me.”
“Thanks! Now come to my office. You need to practice your lines for the TikTok.”
“I feel like my mom has to sign some kind of release form if I’m going to be on the WE TikTok,” he warns, but dutifully follows after her. “Also, you have a cubicle. Not an office.” 
“Hush, or I’ll take away your stool. And your mom already signed one, so ha.” 
“Hushing.” He mimes the action of locking his lips and throwing away the key. 
“Ugh, you’re adorable.” 
They get to the cubicle and each takes a seat, Rebecca immediately sorting through several stacks of papers before making a triumphant noise and handing him a sheet. Wes takes it and stares at it uncomprehendingly for a few seconds. 
“Rebecca, this is just stage directions and the lines to that Cunk on Earth audio.” 
She nods, “And if we get the TikTok approved fast enough, maybe we’ll even post it when the trend is still semi-popular.” 
“And what will I be actually saying?” 
“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on being able to lip sync.” 
“Oh boy."
xxXxx
Wes had thought he would have at least a few days to get used to the idea of having his face plastered all over the internet. Unfortunately, it would seem he underestimated Rebecca’s work ethic when it came to something she wanted because she only made him do three retakes, and then she made quick work of editing. Wayne Enterprises' first-ever TikTok would be ready to go live in the morning with his mother’s and Tim’s approval. 
The TikTok in question is Wes standing in the Wayne Enterprises lobby, smiling wide and happy at the camera when he first begins talking: “It’s hard to believe I’m walking through the ruins of the first ever city.” He pauses, drops the smile, and says, “Because I’m not: that’s in Iraq, which is miles away, and fucking dangerous.” Then, he holds up two cartons of coffee into the camera frame, all filled with (secretly) empty paper venti cups, and is swarmed by various WE employees who volunteered (or were coerced by Rebecca) to be in the TikTok. 
Rebecca doesn’t let him see exactly how she subtitled the video, but he can guess. And sure enough, when the TikTok profile and video simultaneously go live the next day and Wes sees it, he is proven mostly right. 
“It’s hard to believe I’m the new face of Wayne Enterprises’ official TikTok. Because I’m not: I’m just an intern, and I get the f*cking coffee.” 
Rebecca had even captioned it as if he were the one writing and posting: It’s at least a paid internship. The words are then followed by a string of hashtags. Well, that just goes to show that you can’t trust corporations’ social media, even if they do try to come across as real and friendly and like a person who could be your friend. Parasocial relationships are dangerous, who knew?
“The likes and comments are coming in fast,” Rebecca says, staring down at the WE phone that Tim had sent down with the filming equipment to use for the WE TikTok. She’s also done more than she needed to with it, downloading other social media and logging into them on her personal profiles. Wes didn’t comment on it, even if he did think it was not the smartest move, but she said it was so she could get away with “studying” current trends easier. 
“It is Wayne Enterprises,” he remarks. “It’d be like if, I dunno, if Superman finally downloaded TikTok. But, like, this is more corporate greed than ‘protecting humanity’ type of thing.”
“That’s true,” she nodded. “But I mean, the Waynes are pretty generous. I make more here than I would anywhere else.”
“Yeah, fair. And paid internships aren’t exactly common, either.” 
Wes wouldn’t admit it, but while he’d given up on proving the Fenton-Phantom conspiracy and other identities, he did still have a bit of a stalking problem. So when Google sent him a news alert about the Waynes making a press statement about the break-in, he immediately hit it to read the article while Rebecca read new comments on TikTok aloud for him to hear. 
The Waynes Speak About Break-in At WE
The article discusses how grateful they were to Batman and his flock for stopping the break-in, even if they hadn’t caught the new villain. Really, it’s just a puff piece about the Princes of Gotham’s perception of the Knights of Gotham. And considering Wes’s insider knowledge, the article comes across as a little condescending and self-praising, and he’s close to exiting the website when a throwaway comment near the end of the article catches his eye, and he reads on. 
VV: And are you at liberty to say what the villain was looking for? Is it something we should have our eyes on?
BW: [laughs] Well, it’s something that has been spoken about before, I believe? I think Tim could tell you more about it than me. He’s definitely got the brains. You know, when he was—
TDW: Haha, thanks, B! I can’t give too much away because the lead scientist on the project, Dr. Michelle Amir, will get upset, but I can say that we’re expecting a breakthrough in renewable energy. 
VV: Are you sure that’s all you can tell us? 
TDW: I’m afraid so. Dr. Amir is very protective of her research.
VV: And it would seem with good reason! It’s a good thing Gotham’s own….
…And the interview returns to preaching the Batfamily’s praises.
Wes has to roll his eyes at the Brucie Wayne persona trying to take every conceivable opportunity to gush about his children. 
Still, he recognizes that the article was published just a few hours after the TikTok started to go viral. Any reports about the WE break-in will be buried under tabloids dissecting the new TikTok profile and what this means for future WE advertisements. Clever, and exactly what he expects from the Bats. 
As he exits the website, a text notification pops up at the top of his screen. It’s from Tucker Foley and all it says is, “YOU!” in all caps. 
He sighs as a rush of other texts hit his phone from his classmates at Casper High, some even including the link to the TikTok. 
And so it begins. 
xxXxx
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residentrookie · 1 year ago
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heyyy so here’s an @jegulus-microfic prompt from september 13th that i never got around to posting :D
9/13 prompt: water; wc: 950 (the one where jegulus has an elevator meet cute :))
It’s 7 in the morning and Regulus Black is royally fucking pissed off.
He has a right to be, in all fairness. Anyone has the right to be pissed off when their alarm never goes off and instead they wake up to the sound of water leaking through their ceiling, dripping out a staccato rhythm on the wooden floors. He’d had enough time to kick a metal mixing bowl under the stream of water and send a strongly worded email to his landlord before he had to rush away for work, already half an hour late.
The elevator creaks now as it descends to the ground floor, just one more thing that needs fixing in this ancient fucking building. He should have known not to rent out such an old apartment, but the wooden floors and incredible view from the massive windows in his living room had ultimately swayed him. This is what he gets for choosing aesthetic over someplace practical.
“Have you heard about the leak on the 14th floor?”
The voice behind him makes Regulus jump, sending his phone clattering loudly to the floor. Before this exact second, he’d been clueless to another person being on this elevator with him.
“Holy sh—” he smothers his curse and turns his head in time to catch the stranger bending down to retrieve the phone that had landed near his feet.
“Sorry about that,” the stranger laughs, dimples fully on display as he straightens. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you knew I was here.”
Regulus blinks and recognition quickly floods his brain.
Oh god. It’s him. Elevator Guy. The hot tenant that lives somewhere above Regulus, seeing that he always stays on after Regulus reaches his floor. Every time Regulus found himself in an elevator with this man he was immensely grateful for the plethora of reflective surfaces so he could look and look as much as he pleased without ever being caught. God, the dark eyes, the broad shoulders, the way he so often leans up against the railing with his hip, headphones dangling from his ears…
Regulus comes to his senses, realizing he’s staring like an idiot. He reaches to take the phone that’s still extended to him.
“It’s… fine.”
They’re talking. They’re actually talking and it’s the one fucking morning that Regulus doesn’t have his shit together. Right now is the only time they’ve been in this tiny metal chamber together that Regulus hasn’t planned out a script in his head just in case they happen to bump arms or go for a button at the same moment. Something witty or dry, just short enough to make the stranger want more.
“So… the pipe?” Elevator Guy asks, his face looking more concerned the longer Regulus continues to stare blankly. “Apparently they sent out a memo to let us know a water pipe burst.”
“Yeah I got that memo in the form of water pouring from my ceiling,” Regulus replies darkly, realizing too late he probably sounds entirely off putting. The stranger doesn’t seem to mind, instead shaking his head.
“Shit, that’s unlucky.”
As are so many things this morning, it seems.
Regulus sighs, facing forward to stop himself from ogling the poor man. “That’s what I get for living on the 13th floor.”
“Oh?” the stranger asks and Regulus is quick to fill in the blanks.
“Yeah, they’re uh, supposedly haunted. And the ghosts in this building seem to take their jobs very seriously.”
The stranger laughs, drawing Regulus’ eyes back to him in time to see his whole fight light up with his smile. “Oh my god, they really do. My bathroom door literally never stays shut. Like I’ll intentionally close it at night and by the next morning it’s wide open. I swear it’s like some kind of paranormal anomaly, but my parents just think there’s a draft I don’t know about. Maybe I’m the crazy one.”
“You’re definitely not,” Regulus interjects with a frown. “This building is like 150 years old. Sometimes I lay awake at night and wonder how many people have died in my bedroom.”
Fucking hell, Regulus sounds like a freak. He’s blowing this, he is totally blowing this.
“Mm. Probably dozens,” the stranger replies with an easy smile. Regulus notices suddenly how close they’re standing and tries to stay still, savoring the proximity. “But I bet there’s hundreds of them floating around this whole place, causing mayhem where they can. Or I don’t know, maybe they’re benevolent ghosts,” his eyes slide over the Regulus. “Maybe I should be thanking them.”
Regulus is incredulous and more than a little flustered. “T-thanking the ghosts? Why?”
“Because I’ve been trying to get you alone in an elevator for months and that pipe bursting is the first thing to make it happen for me.”
He’s not, he knows he’s not, but Regulus might as well be in a fucking freefall down the elevator shaft. That’s what it feels like anyway, like his stomach has bottomed out and all his organs are rising up to his throat, the swooping sensation nearly overwhelming.
Before Regulus can begin to fetch the fleeting thoughts from his absent brain, the elevator dings, a signal that it’s reached the ground floor. The stranger steps out easily, like he hasn’t ripped the rug right out from Regulus’ feet. He turns, a sly smile on his face.
“I’m James,” he says. Then he holds out his hand. Regulus, in a haze, nearly takes it, but before he can, something small and white is dropped into his palm. He looks down with a startled blink.
“My number,” James provides. “In case you didn’t believe me before, I’ve had that in my pocket for almost two months now.”
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scary-grace · 1 year ago
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Love Like Ghosts (Chapter 4) - a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic
You knew the empty house in a quiet neighborhood was too good to be true, but you were so desperate to get out of your tiny apartment that you didn't care, and now you find yourself sharing space with something inhuman and immensely powerful. As you struggle to coexist with a ghost whose intentions you're unsure of, you find yourself drawn unwillingly into the upside world of spirits and conjurers, and becoming part of a neighborhood whose existence depends on your house staying exactly as it is, forever. But ghosts can change, just like people can. And as your feelings and your ghost's become more complex and intertwined, everything else begins to crumble. (cross-posted to Ao3)
Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Chapter 4
You don’t see Tomura the next morning, but when you come home from work, Phantom is loose in the yard, and Hizashi is hanging out just beyond the fence, studying an empty jar. “I came to get this, since we’re out,” he remarks. He has sharp teeth, just like Himiko. “So, what happened last night?”
You play dumb for all you’re worth. “Something happened last night?”
“Of course it did. The vibes coming off this house are impressively horny,” Hizashi says, and you cringe so hard you’re surprised you don’t explode. “I’ve been there. Consequence of spending too much time embodied – you start feeling things a normal human body feels, and going incorporeal doesn’t make it go away. That was a nasty shock for me, too.”
You really don’t want to ask Hizashi any questions at all, but you’ve got one – and it’s a subject change, so you seize it. “Is it true that ghosts’ power levels are stagnant? Are you just stuck with what you started with?”
“That’s not what I thought you were going to ask.” Hizashi tosses the jar from one hand to the other. “I’m guessing you’re asking because of our sexually frustrated friend in there?”
“I’ll pay you to never say that again,” you say, and Hizashi laughs. “Yes. He said –”
“That he didn’t want to come here. I’d buy that, easy.” Hizashi glances over his shoulder at the house, then beckons you away down the block. You’re not sure how far you have to go to be out of Tomura’s earshot, but you stop when Hizashi does. “Here’s the thing. He and I are the oldest ghosts in this neighborhood, but we’re not the same kind of old. I chose to be here.”
“Why?” you ask. Hizashi stares at you. “Did you come here to hurt people?”
“I came here because I wanted to be people,” Hizashi says. You stare. “Ask him what it’s like in the world between and you’ll understand. But to answer your question, we don’t spend our whole existences at the same power level. There are two kinds of ghostly power. There’s what you get right at the start. Then there’s your potential. Conjurers – the worst ones, anyway – they want potential. That’s why they grab the youngest ghosts.”
His expression darkens, and your legs almost give out beneath you. Is this how Tomura makes other people feel? You’re surprised that anyone’s ever set foot in your house. Hizashi doesn’t notice what he’s doing to you, or if he notices, he doesn’t care. “Eri had low surface power but massive potential. Her conjurer bound her in the worst situation possible, figuring she’d have to tap into that potential to take control of her environment and make it her own. She found another way out, but your ghost didn’t.”
He glances back at your house. “Based on how strong your ghost is now, his potential was massive. He probably hasn’t even found his limit yet. What’s weird is that he hasn’t used it.”
“Did you use yours?”
Hizashi grins his sharp-toothed grin. “Why do you think it took them so long to burn my opera house down?”
You’ve wondered, every so often, what it would have been like to be haunted by Hizashi instead of Tomura. Now you’re pretty sure you’d have had a breakdown. Aizawa must have nerves of steel. “Anyway,” Hizashi says, “he’s not smart enough to tell a lie that big. He’s telling the truth.”
He tosses the jar at you and you barely catch it in time. “And whatever you did last night, don’t do it again. I can handle his mood, but it’s messing with the little ones.”
You cringe. The last thing you want is for Eri and Himiko to pick up on whatever Tomura’s doing – even if they do know all about sex from observing humans already. But you also don’t know how to fix this problem you apparently caused. “What am I supposed to do about it?”
“Ask Keigo,” Hizashi says, already walking away. “He’ll know.”
Keigo? You’ve talked to Keigo some, since he’s the only person in the neighborhood who’s actually in your age range, but it’s occurring to you now that you’ve never actually met Keigo’s ghost. You pull out your phone, considering texting him, but there’s no point when his house is across the street and his car’s in the driveway. You walk back to your house, retrieve Phantom’s spare leash from your car, and take her with you when you head across the street to knock on Keigo’s door.
Keigo answers it pretty fast. There’s a handprint-shaped hole burned in his shirt, still smoking faintly, and it draws your attention like a magnet. “Uh, what is that?”
“Ask Dabi,” Keigo says.
“Ask her damn ghost. It’s all his fault.”
“No, it isn’t. You can control your behavior, you just don’t want to.” Keigo rolls his eyes. “I saw you talking to Hizashi. I’m guessing he sent you?”
“Yeah. Can we talk?”
“Yeah. Just let me get my shoes. And a new shirt.” Keigo ducks back into the house, and you wait on the steps, wondering if you’ll get a glimpse of the former ghost who lives here. Keigo’s voice issues from within the house, but he’s not talking to you. “Don’t go out there if you’re just going to get into a pissing contest with the guy across the street. He could crush you with both hands tied behind his back.”
“He can’t cross that fence, and I didn’t give up my powers like an idiot. That means I can do whatever I want with his human –”
“He’d blow that house apart and come get you, and you know it.” Keigo reappears. “Sorry about him. He’s in a mood. Let’s go.”
“Hey, who said you could leave? I didn’t say you could leave! Get back here –”
“I’ll be back when I feel like it! Bye-bye!” Keigo waves and then slams the door. He hurries down the steps and you follow him. He doesn’t stop until you’re at the top of the street. “Sorry about that. I’m guessing you’ve got questions.”
You have a lot of questions. “Aizawa said Tomura was the only ghost left in the neighborhood.”
“He is,” Keigo says. “You know how ghosts have to want to be embodied more than they’ve ever wanted anything for it to work? Dabi tried to change his mind halfway.”
“Oh,” you say. “So that makes him half ghost?”
“It makes him a scar wraith. Half of him is permanently materialized, half of him isn’t, and most of the time he’s a total bitch about it.” Keigo crouches down to tie his shoes. “He lost half of his ghostly powers and picked up most of the downsides of being embodied. He’s going to be like that until he makes up his mind.”
“Oh,” you say again. “That’s, um – is that why your house is always on fire?”
“You got it.” Keigo straightens up again. “I know we got out of there in a hurry, but you’re not actually in danger from him. I just wanted to teach him a lesson. Like you do to yours when you leave.”
Is that what you’re trying to do? You don’t know if you’re trying to punish Tomura or just trying to figure out a game plan before you go back in. In this case it’s definitely the latter. “Hizashi says my ghost is, um –”
“Horny,” Keigo says. Your face heats up. He starts walking, and you follow him. “Yeah, they get like that sometimes. And they don’t like it. Usually they dematerialize to get away from feelings they don’t like, but it doesn’t work, and that pisses them off, too.”
Phantom stops to sniff a tree, and you let her for a second before tugging her along. “Why?”
“Maybe you don’t know, because you’re a girl –”
“Girls get horny too,” you say. This is maybe the dumbest conversation you’ve ever had, excepting the one you had with Tomura about why Phantom can’t have dead birds even though she really wants them. “Are you saying it’s because they have to do something about it? They don’t. They can just wait for it to go away.”
“Yeah, but waiting for it to go away is uncomfortable,” Keigo says. You’re not going to argue that one. Being horny when you don’t want to be is deeply unpleasant. “And ghosts suck at tolerating discomfort. Yours is pretty inexperienced with everything from what I’ve heard, so he probably doesn’t know what to do, and unless you want to leave a copy of The Joy of Sex lying around –”
“I don’t.” You shudder. “I don’t want him getting ideas.”
“Then you’re going to have to explain,” Keigo says patiently. You give him a pained look, and he sighs. “Tell him to materialize fully and get it out of his system. That’ll solve the initial problem.”
The thought of heading back to your house and telling Tomura he needs to masturbate makes you want to die. But you’re even unhappier about Keigo’s second sentence. “What do you mean, the initial problem?”
“Hizashi and Magne gave me the ghost sex talk when we moved here. Kind of late, but it helped, sort of.” Keigo rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Once ghosts figure out how it works, they go one of two ways. Either they decide it’s gross and they’re not interested – that’s what Magne did – or they decide they’re really into it, which is what Hizashi did. And they can’t generate that feeling on their own the way people do, so they go after the people who made them feel that way the first time.”
That sinks in fast, but you’ve got no idea what to think or say or do about it. What comes out is the last thing you wanted to tell anyone. “I just held his hand. That was it! I was just trying to prove that there’s a difference between physical contact that hurts and stuff that doesn’t hurt because he won’t quit scratching his neck until it bleeds – and I’m pretty sure he hated it –”
“If he hated it, then you’re fine,” Keigo says. “Honestly, most of the adult former ghosts I’ve met aren’t into it even after they embody themselves permanently. Hizashi’s only like that because he spent enough time embodied to get used to it before he made it official. If it was a common thing Aizawa would have written a guidebook on it by now.”
Aizawa does have a lot of guidebooks. It took you a while to realize that most of the literature he sent you home with was stuff he’d written himself. “Although,” Keigo muses, “I guess Aizawa never hooked up with an actual ghost. He and Hizashi didn’t bang until after Hizashi was embodied.”
“So, um –” You can’t believe you’re about to ask this. “Did you, uh –”
“Did me and Dabi hook up before he fucked up his embodiment? Yeah,” Keigo says. You thought he’d be embarrassed, or proud. Instead he looks sad. “He didn’t use to be like this, or go by Dabi. His real name is Touya, and he was a lot, sure, but he wasn’t like this. I wouldn’t have gotten into it with him if he’d been like this the whole time.”
“I get it,” you say. You’ve had bad relationships before. “Do you think he’d go back if he embodied himself all the way?”
“Probably? I don’t think he’ll do that, though.” Keigo sighs. “They almost never decide consciously that they’re going to embody themselves. It happens because of how they feel. The little ones, they embodied themselves because they wanted to be with their families. They wanted to be seen and loved more than they wanted to be powerful. Magne jumped because Spinner didn’t have anybody but her, and as far as I can tell, she’s sort of surprised she did it. Hizashi did it on purpose, but Hizashi’s different – and from what he’s said, he’d probably have done it unconsciously at some point. He loves Aizawa that much.”
Now you get why Keigo looks so sad. “I bet Touya just got nervous,” you say. “I mean, it’s kind of a big decision, right? The biggest one they’ll ever make. And it’s not like he left. Even after you left his old haunt he stayed with you. That’s got to mean something.”
“Maybe.” Keigo smiles halfway. “A guy can hope, right?”
“Of course,” you say. Personally, you’re hoping for something different from Tomura.
You spend way too long pacing up and down the street after you say goodbye to Keigo, trying to work up your nerve. But eventually the weird tension from the house becomes perceptible to you even from outside it, and you remember what Hizashi said about the kids. You order yourself to suck it up, unlatch the front gate, and make your way inside. You can tell Tomura’s watching you, marking you closely, while you give Phantom a treat and some water. Once you’ve gotten her settled, you make your way upstairs to your room and shut the door. You can’t look at him while you have this conversation. You squeeze your eyes shut and speak up. “I know how to fix your problem.”
“What problem?” Tomura’s voice sounds tight and uncomfortable. “I don’t have a problem. You have a problem. You hung out with that guy across the street –”
“Because I needed help with you,” you say. It’s quiet for a second. “I figured out a solution to your problem. So you won’t feel the way you’re feeling anymore. I know it’s uncomfortable.”
“No, you don’t. Humans don’t feel like this.”
You manage to laugh at that one. “Humans feel like this all the time, Tomura. Half the dumb decisions people make in movies are because they feel like this.”
It’s quiet again. “How do I fix it?”
You bury your face in your head. “You have to materialize all the way. Then you have to touch yourself.”
“What do you mean, touch myself? You said I wasn’t supposed to scratch.”
“Not there.” You’re pretty sure your face is melting off from sheer embarrassment. “You know where that feeling is? The one you don’t like? You have to touch yourself there to make it go away.”
“Why?”
“It –” You chicken out. “You’ll figure it out once you try it. Go in the bathroom and shut the door.”
“Why do I have to go in there?”
“Privacy,” you say. There’s no way to tell him that you don’t want to have to clean ghost cum off the hardwood floors.
You hear footsteps down the hall, followed by the bathroom door opening and closing. “This is stupid,” Tomura says. You couldn’t agree more. “I’m doing it. It still feels – weird –”
That catch in his voice is something you really could have gone without hearing. “You don’t have to narrate,” you say. “You deserve privacy. I’m giving you privacy. I can leave the house –”
“No, don’t.” Tomura sounds pretty sure about that. “This was your idea. Don’t you want to – ugh.”
You don’t want to know what that was about. At all. You think about getting your headphones, except if you don’t respond when he talks to you, he’ll come looking to see why, and you really don’t want him to come talk to you in whatever state he’s in at the moment. Maybe it’s over already. Maybe he’s one of the vast majority of ghosts who think it’s gross and this will never happen to you again. You’re sure that’s it. It’s over already. It –
A low sigh echoes through the house, and you freeze in place. There’s a few uneven breaths, and then another sigh, followed by a sharper sound, somewhere between a gasp and a whimper. “What is this?” Tomura asks, his voice strained in an entirely different way than before. When you don’t respond, he says your name, followed by another one of those sharper sounds. “I don’t understand. Why – ah –”
You clamp your hands down over your ears, but it’s like your ears are attuned specifically to him. You can hear everything. Every ragged breath, every whimper, every needy, desperate moan, and suddenly you’re sure that you got the other kind of ghost, the kind that finds sex and lust fascinating instead of gross. You’ve made a mistake. Not just in telling him to solve the problem like this, but in sticking around to listen. Because listening to this, knowing that you touched his hand and turned him on so badly that it’s been permeating the neighborhood all day, is doing something to you, too.
Your face is flushed, but it’s not just from embarrassment. When you touch your wrist to feel for your pulse, it’s fast. And worse than all of that, you’re wet. Knowing it’ll make things worse doesn’t stop you from sliding one hand down the front of your jeans, recoiling when you realize just how wet you are. This is a disaster. You can’t let him know.
There’s only one solution you can think of. No time to get to the bed, or to do anything more than sink to the floor, unzipping your jeans just far enough to give your hand room to move. You shove the heel of your other hand against your mouth, because you’re not loud but you’ve never done anything like this before and you’re not sure what will happen. You squeeze your eyes shut as you brush your fingers between your legs, the sound you make muffled by your hand and drowned out by the almost-agonized moan that issues from the bathroom down the hall. “I can’t,” Tomura pants. “I can’t – stop – how does it stop –”
“You’ll know.” You think your voice is steady enough. How is he still going? The first time you masturbated, you were so wound up that you were done almost faster than you could think. And he’s a guy. “Just keep going.”
“Keep talking.” Tomura’s voice is just as raspy and ragged as his breathing is. It shouldn’t be hot. You shouldn’t find this hot. “Is this –”
He breaks off in a whine. “How it’s supposed to feel?” you ask. You increase the pressure of your fingers against your clit in spite of the fact that he’s clearly expecting you to talk and you don’t want him to know what you’re doing. “Like you’re going to fall apart, but it feels so good you don’t care?”
“Yeah. Ah –”
“Like that,” you say. You find yourself spreading your legs wider, giving more space for your hand to move. “Exactly like that, Tomura. Don’t stop.”
You’re telling him how to touch himself, but it’s all wrong. It sounds the same as what you’d be telling him to do if he was here, if the fingers slipping inside you were his. What is wrong with you? Thoughts flash through your mind, thoughts you shouldn’t have, and your breathing turns shallow and harsh. “Say something,” Tomura whines, begs. You picture what he must look like right now, face red and hair stuck to his neck and forehead with sweat, completely at the mercy of a body and a need, and crook your fingers, shuddering. “Come on. I need you. Don’t leave me. Please –”
“I’m here.” The strain in your voice would let anyone else know exactly what you’re doing, but Tomura doesn’t know – and even if he did, the sounds you hear tell you that he’s lost in his own touch, chasing his own high. You might as well not be here. All you are is a friendly voice, a guide in uncharted territory. “You’re doing great. You’re almost done, aren’t you? You know what you like by now. Do that, and keep doing it. Don’t stop until –”
The sound he makes is inarticulate and absolutely filthy. Your muscles clench around your fingers, and you rub desperately at your clit with your free hand. Without a hand over your mouth to muffle yourself, you’re reduced to biting your lip until it bleeds as you listen to Tomura shuddering through the first orgasm of his existence. And that’s what tips you over the edge, really – the thought that it’s his first, the thought that it’s because of you. Blood spills into your mouth as your hips jerk against your hands, your vocal cords straining with the effort of holding back the sounds you want to make. You can’t remember the last time you came this hard. All you want to do is sprawl out on the floor and go to sleep.
But you can’t. You need to hide the evidence. You can’t let Tomura know what you just did. You zip and button your jeans, cringing at the slickness of your fingers, and leave your room, hurrying to the downstairs bathroom to splash water on your face. You get a glimpse of what you look like in the mirror and stare in horror. Your face is flushed and your eyes are dilated and there’s a drop of blood at the corner of your mouth that you smear away with the back of your hand. You look like a mess. The only thing that will save you is that Tomura doesn’t know what to look for.
His voice drifts through the house, still unsteady. “There’s a mess in here.”
“I’ll clean it later,” you say. “Since it’s my fault.”
The floor creaks once or twice, then stops, and you know Tomura’s dematerialized. It’s not a surprise. You can’t imagine how much energy he burned through, and sure enough, when you look out the kitchen window, you see a line of dead blackberry bushes along the back fence. Sex stuff takes more life-force than anything else. All the more reason for this to never happen again.
Tomura’s presence slips into the room, surrounding you like he does sometimes. Usually you shoo him away, or threaten to leave until he slinks off, sulking. Today you can’t. You coped okay with your first orgasm, but you were alone. You know you’d have felt weird if you hadn’t been, and if the person who talked you through it had ignored you afterward. You let him settle in, staring fixedly at the dead bushes along the fence. Only one or two are still alive.
Tomura’s voice rasps against your ear. “Do I have to do that every time?”
“There’s not going to be another time,” you say. “It’s my fault for touching you like that last night, and you told me not to do it again. So we’re good.”
“It felt good.” Tomura sounds sure about that. Your stomach twists. “It only felt bad because I didn’t know what to do. Now I know.”
“I’m still not touching you like that again. You said no. I can’t ask you to respect my  boundaries when I don’t respect yours.”
“What if I take it back?” Tomura asks. The twist in your stomach is painful this time. “What if I want you to touch me?”
“Then it starts being about what I want,” you say. “And I don’t want to.”
It’s a lie. You’re lying. Another human would know you were, would know by the heat of your body and the flush in your cheeks and the heavy, painful sound of your heartbeat. “You don’t want to,” Tomura repeats. His presence slips away again, going to some place far enough that you can barely feel it. “I didn’t say I wanted it. Like I’d ever want you to touch me.”
His voice is the last thing to vanish. You want to stick your head under the faucet and drown. “Fine.”
There’s something wrong with your house, but you knew that when you bought it, and after the hand-touching incident and everything that followed, the atmosphere in your house feels worse than it ever has before. You don’t know where Tomura’s going, but there are times when his presence vanishes almost completely, and when it does, you can barely stand the emptiness he leaves behind. You never lived alone until you lived here, and you thought you loved it. Now you realize that you were never living here alone at all. Until now.
The jar of bugs start piling up on the front porch, and rather than letting them die, you let them go. You don’t tell the others to stop bringing them. Some part of you is hoping Tomura will come back, that you can go back to the way things were before, but you don’t need one of Aizawa’s guidebooks to tell you that it’s not happening. You rejected him. And if there’s anything you’ve taught Tomura about how humans work, it’s that no means no.
You start spending extra time at work. Sometimes you bring Phantom with you, with Mr. Yagi’s permission, and it makes you popular with your coworkers like you never were before. You still hate it, but it makes it easier to be at work. And it means you don’t have to go home until you’re ready.
At least, most days you don’t. But you woke up with a splitting headache today, and a sore throat, and because you weren’t coughing, you decided that you didn’t have an excuse to skip work. You leave Phantom at home and drag yourself into the office, and you get through four hours of your workday before Mr. Yagi spots you and sends you home. Your pleas not to go home fall on deaf ears, and you drive home slowly, struggling to keep your eyes fixed on the road in front of you.
When you get home, Phantom greets you anxiously. She knows you’re not feeling well, and when you sit down in the front hall to pet her, you realize that you’re going to have a hard time getting up. It doesn’t matter. You can take a break. You let your eyes fall shut.
When you wake up, it’s to grey, rainy, late-afternoon light falling over your face, the sound of Phantom whining in your ear, and a voice you haven’t heard in three weeks. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Tomura,” you mumble. You were hoping sleep would make you feel better, but it feels like your headache’s actually gotten worse. “I’m fine. Just wanted to sit down.”
“Don’t be stupid. And don’t lie.” Even the sound of Tomura’s footsteps across the floor hurts your head, not to mention Phantom’s whining. “You fell asleep on the floor. You’re making this weird face. You don’t look right. What’s wrong with you?”
He almost sounds worried. “My boss sent me home. He thinks I’m sick.”
“Are you sick?” Tomura asks. You think about lying, decide not to, and nod. The pain that splits your skull makes you want to throw up. “Can you fix it?”
You have cold medicine somewhere, and pain relievers, but you’d have to get up to get them, and you’re so dizzy. Maybe you should call somebody for help, but who would you call? Nobody in your neighborhood is going to set foot in your house, and you don’t have any friends from work. And all your old friends have started to slip away, courtesy of your new world, your new friends, your new life. Who do you have to call? Nobody. The thought makes you sad, and feeling sad makes you even more tired than before.
“Wake up,” Tomura snaps at you. Phantom whines and licks your face. “Stop it. Wake up!”
Phantom’s worried. Tomura’s mad at you. Somewhere in your clouded mind, it occurs to you that you need help. That maybe it doesn’t matter who you call as long as you call somebody. You pull your phone out of your backpack and get as far as unlocking it. Then your head starts to ache worse than before, a dull pounding that fills every crevice and corner of your skull. Everything feels hot and humid and awful. You shut your eyes again. Anything to make it stop.
You’re cold when you wake up again. Well, some of you is cold. There’s a small warm patch on your stomach, but the rest of you is cold. Not regular cold. Tomura’s cold. He’s materialized, completely or close enough, and he’s holding onto you awkwardly with one arm while Phantom rests her head on your stomach. You can hear Tomura’s voice. He sounds pissed. “If I knew what was wrong with her I’d say it,” he snaps at whoever he’s talking to. “She keeps falling asleep. She’s not supposed to be home yet. She’s too warm.”
“So she’s sick.” That’s Keigo’s voice. Is Keigo here? Why did Tomura let Keigo in the house? “And she’s sleeping a lot?”
“I said that already. Stop repeating what I already said.”
“What are her symptoms?” That’s Aizawa’s voice. It starts to dawn on you slowly what’s happening here, and you almost laugh. “Symptoms. You named some of them already. Fatigue. Fever. Is she coughing?”
“No.”
“Does her breathing sound different than it usually does?” Jin’s mom is talking. Now you know for sure. “Does she have a rash?”
“Her breathing sounds normal,” Tomura says. He’s on the phone. He somehow unlocked your phone, went into your text messages, and conference-called the entire ghost friends group chat. You’d laugh if you weren’t worried it would make your head explode. “What’s a rash?”
“It would be on her skin. Does her skin look like it usually looks?”
An ice-cold hand brushes over your cheek. “It’s too hot. Her face is red. The rest of it looks okay.”
“Check for bites. We brought over tons of bugs. If enough of them bit her –”
“Hitoshi, hang up the phone,” Aizawa orders. “You’re supposed to be at school.”
“You’re supposed to be driving,” Shinsou fires back. “You’re picking up Eri from school early because she’s sick.”
Eri’s sick. You claw your way out of semi-consciousness and grasp the phone. “Does she have what I have?”
“Oh, good. You’re alive,” Keigo says. “Your ghost was pretty panicked.”
“I wasn’t panicked. Shut up.” Tomura’s grip on you tightens. “Someone else is sick?”
“She fell asleep in class. She has a headache and a fever,” Aizawa says. He sounds unhappy. “When would she possibly have been exposed?”
“We brought over some bugs last night,” Shinsou says. “Maybe it was then.”
“It could have gone the other way, too,” Jin’s mom says. “Kids get sick a lot easier than adults.”
“Good point. Maybe Eri got it first and brought it –”
“But Shinsou isn’t sick. If Shinsou lives with her and isn’t sick, how come –”
“I don’t care,” Tomura says loudly. “I don’t care about your sick kid. I want to know how to fix my human.”
Tomura’s making a great first impression. You’ll be doing damage control with Aizawa later, once you feel less like a puddle of body aches and sweat. “If she’s got what Eri’s got, it’s probably the flu,” Jin’s mom says. “She should have cold medicine on hand. Most people do. Pain relievers for the headache and body aches, cough drops if she has a sore throat. And she’ll need to eat. Do you know how humans eat?”
“I’m not stupid. I know how food works.”
“Don’t cook,” Aizawa, Shinsou, and Keigo all say at once. Keigo keeps talking. “You’re not embodied. You don’t have tastebuds. Whatever you end up cooking is going to be –”
There’s a scuffle on Keigo’s end of the line. “It’s going to be fuck awful,” Dabi announces, and Shinsou snickers. “Go ahead and poison your human. See if I care.”
“The next time you even look at my human I’m going to disintegrate your ugly face.”
“My ugly face? Have you seen what you look like? I’m surprised your human hasn’t gone blind.”
Tomura snarls. “At least I never set my human on fire –”
“You’re both pretty,” you mumble, and Keigo cracks up laughing. “I’m not that sick. I can heat up a can of soup in the microwave.”
“You’re so stupid. You fell asleep on the floor,” Tomura snaps at you. “You can’t do anything. I’m going to have to drag you everywhere.”
“No one made you touch me,” you protest. “If you weren’t here –”
“Well, I am here. So shut up and let me –”
“If you two are going to have a domestic, hang up the phone first,” Hizashi says loudly. You didn’t realize he was there. You jump, and your head collides with Tomura’s chin. He swears and so do you. “One of us will stop by later to make sure neither of you are dead. Goodbye.”
There’s a click as he hangs up the phone. Shinsou hangs up a second later. Jin’s mother hangs up after promising to bring over some food, and Keigo stays on the phone a little longer. “I’ll drop by in an hour or two, like Hizashi says. Can you promise not to kill me if I set foot in the house?”
“The only person I’m going to kill is your idiot ghost.”
“Cool,” Keigo says. You can hear Dabi arguing in the background that it’s not cool at all. “Bye.”
He hangs up the phone, too. Now it’s just you and Tomura and Phantom, piled up on the couch in the living room. You don’t remember getting to the living room. Tomura must have dragged you, like he said. You thought he was so mad at you that he was never going to show himself again. Apparently not.
“What’s a domestic?” Tomura asks after a while.
“A fight,” you say. “Just another word for fight.”
“Then why didn’t he just say a fight?”
You really don’t want to get into this right now. “A domestic is a kind of fight. The kind couples have. He was making fun of us by pretending we’re a couple.”
“I don’t like him,” Tomura says after a moment. “I can kill him for you.”
“Don’t do that,” you say.
“He scares you.” Tomura scratches at his neck with the hand that’s not gripping your shoulder. “If I can’t not scare you, I might as well be the only thing that does.”
Maybe you’re just sick and stupid, but you don’t hate the sound of that. “That’s kind of sweet.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Tomura says. He slides out from behind you and drops you onto the couch with a thud. You see a patchy flush on his face before he turns away. “I’m getting your medicine. Stay there.”
You’re not really in a position to go anywhere. You scratch behind Phantom’s ears with a shaky hand and close your eyes again.
When you wake up, you find that Tomura’s turned your medicine cabinet inside out and brought you absolutely everything. Sorting through it is the first laugh you’ve had in a while, and once you’ve got a double dose of painkillers on board, you’re willing to risk it. “Why did you bring this?” you ask, waving a box of band-aids at him. “You’ve seen me use these. You know they’re not for this.”
“How am I supposed to know that? You use stuff that’s not for the stuff you’re using it for all the time.” Tomura snatches the band-aids away and picks up another box. “What are these?”
“You definitely didn’t need to bring those,” you say. “They’re condoms.”
“What?”
It figures. He didn’t know male from female until Hizashi told him, but he clearly has certain associations with condoms, and he doesn’t like them. Probably because of all the movies you didn’t know he was watching with you. “Relax. Does that box look open to you?”
“No,” Tomura says, inspecting it from all angles. “If it’s not open, why do you have it?”
“In case I need it,” you say. “I don’t need it right now.”
In fact, you’re having a hard time imagining that you’ll ever need condoms again. You can’t exactly bring anybody home to hook up with, not with Tomura constantly lurking around, and you like sleeping in your own bed too much to spend the night at anybody else’s house. Beyond that, if you ever wanted to get serious with anybody, you’d have to explain about your house, about Tomura. There’s no way to explain that. No way to explain him in a way that won’t end any relationship instantly. Maybe it’s just that you’re sick, but you find that you don’t mind the thought.
You choose a box of cold medicine and swallow a dose of it, then pop a cough drop into your mouth to soothe your throat. Tomura watches you the entire time, only partially materialized. “Does that taste good?”
“No. It numbs my throat so it hurts less.”
“What do you do when things hurt?”
You were going to try to fall asleep again as soon as you’re done with your cough drop, but Tomura’s in a mood to talk. And as much as you hate to admit it, you miss talking to Tomura. “There are different kinds of hurt, for people. If it hurts physically, like this does, I can take medicine. I can put ice on a bruise or use a heating pad for cramps. There are ointments that have numbing agents in them, same as the cough drops. There are lots of things to do when something physically hurts.”
“If something hurts my body, I can dematerialize,” Tomura says. You wish it was that easy for you. If you could evaporate right now, you’d do it in a heartbeat. “What about other kinds of hurting?”
“Um –” You break off, trying to wrap your head around it. “Emotions hurt sometimes. The bad ones, usually. Being sad or angry or lonely or scared – all of those can feel like they hurt. They can hurt a lot.”
“How do you make them go away?”
“You can’t,” you say. Tomura’s expression darkens. “There’s not medicine that fixes feelings, at least not all the way. You just have to live with them until they stop. Or until you get used to them.”
“That’s stupid,” Tomura says.
“You’re telling me.” You close your eyes. “I guess talking about them helps sometimes. Not for everybody, not all the time, but it can make you feel less alone.”
“I didn’t hate being alone before,” Tomura says. You open your eyes and find him scowling, his face flushed. “Now I do.”
You want to remind him that he’s the one who pulled away, that he’s the one who left, but there’s no point. You roll over instead, facing the back of the couch, and the words slip out of your mouth before you can stop them. “I missed you.”
You couldn’t have picked a dumber thing to say. Tomura’s got the emotional maturity of a frat guy – he gets mad easily and takes “no” poorly and makes you explain your boundaries five billion times before he even thinks about respecting them. Telling a guy like him that you missed him is a one-way ticket to being mocked for being needy and clingy and pathetic. You can already feel your eyes burning in anticipation of being humiliated.
But Tomura’s not a human man. He’s a ghost. The rush of air filling a previously occupied space tells you he’s dematerialized, but the cold settles around you, and his voice rasps in your ear. “I missed you too. Idiot.”
“You’re the one who left,” you answer. “You’re an idiot, too.”
You’re expecting him to slip away again. Instead the cold spot envelops you more securely than before. “Shut up.”
You fall asleep like that, and when you wake up, it’s to the sound of the fire alarm going off. Tomura’s watched you cook plenty of times and probably should know better, but apparently when you mentioned sticking a can of soup in the microwave, he took it literally. You should be pissed. You probably will be, once the cold medicine wears off. But at the moment, when you’re dizzy and sleepy and feverish, all you can think to do is be pleased that he tried at all.
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sudsyv2 · 2 years ago
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I have so many silly prompts and only one small brain that can’t remember all of them so I’m writing them down ><! (if you like any feel free to use them !)
I’ll probably be adding to this list daily 😽
MISC:
1. Ghost and soap who have reincarnated so many times but somehow still meet each other in their new lives.
2. Soap and ghost on a swing, just swinging and chatting
3. Duke ghost and butler soap or reverse! Either way one’s trying not get them in trouble and the other doesn’t give a fuck if something happens, they’d literally go to war with the entire country if anyone opposes to their relationship
4. Siren soap!!!!
5. Ghost and his inability to say no to Soap
6. Gamer ghost (sorry this is just so funny) and rich boy soap who’s got an embarrassing crush on him
7. Tattoo artist soap and biker ghost
8. Big werewolf ghost and his somehow more feral human boyfriend soap!
9. Soulmates, red strings the whole deal
10. Ghost getting called big guy by soap (and liking it)
11. STREAMER GHOAP AU THINK ABOUT IT, IT WOULD BE SO FUNNY
12. Finding out each others love language
13. Ghost is a rock collector he collects shiny rocks and when he finds one he really likes he shows soap
14. Painter soap
15. Soap doodling on ghosts arm
16. Soap learning to cook, just cause he’s bored
17. WRITE MORE OF THE PROMISE RING SHIT I GOTTA WRITE MORE OF IT
18. Ok so hear me out, a tiny creature (can be a baby monster thing or idk) imprints on both soap and ghost
19. Soap is good with kids
20. Photographer ghost but he doesn’t talk about it. Though one Christmas, soap got him an expensive camera and he was extremely happy about it
21. soap carry’s small bandaids with stickers on it all the time. You got a small cut? He’s got a hello kitty, Batman, any kind of bandaid you want he’s probably got
22. Tyrant ghost looking for a wife and then in comes knight soap looking to defeat tyrant ghost
23. Ghost has incredibly dumb theories and soap is the only one who listens to them
24. DINOSAURS!! THEY BOTH REALLY LIKE DINOSUARS AND THEY HAVE ARGUEMENTS ON THEIR FAVORITE DINOSAURS
25. Detective Ghost and an Arsonist on the run from the police Soap
26. Literal ghost! soap, like that bitch is haunting the base grounds, and lieutenant who goes by the name ghost
(Will add more)
FLUFF:
1. Soap looking at ghost with such a loving shine in his eyes, those damn puppy eyes staring at ghost like he had just given soap the world
2. Soap buying ghost flowers
3. Soap kissing all of ghosts scars
4. Them just laying together, cuddling, soap is rambling about something and ghost is listening intently sometimes even adding a “I see” in between to let soap know he’s listening
5. Soap would be the one to propose but wouldn’t be able to hide the fact he was going to propose, his excitement written all over his face
6. I know it’s probably not possible but imagine ghost being ticklish
7. Ghost, whenever they’re cuddling, likes to put his entire body weight on soap. And soap doesn’t even mind, playing with ghosts hair and rubbing his back.
8. Soap having to get on his tippy toes to kiss ghost and ghost leaning farther and farther back to see just how determined soap is to kiss him (very. Soap is very determined.)
9. Taking a shower together, nothing sexual happens it’s just them washing each other after a long day
10. SLOW DANCING, AND BOTH TAKE TURNS TAKING THE LEAD
11. Ghost kissing soaps hand
12. Ghost learning how to knit and knits soap a blanket that says “soap and ghost”
13. Bass guitarist ghost in a band who really wants to woo this super cute guy (soap ofc) that always shows up to their concerts, and gets his bandmates to help him write a song for said super cute guy (soap)
14. Soap can sing and sometimes ghost will just ask if soap can sing for him. When they’re both sleepy! And soap does, it’s usually always some type of silly lullaby. Works wonders for ghost though
15. Price telling ghost that his lover boy(soap) is here
16. Ghost gets a small scratch on his cheek and soap kisses it better, ghost not expecting the kiss is left frozen in place for a couple seconds while soap is just walking off cackling
17. The way they wake each other up. Ghost gently nudges soap awake but if he could stare at soaps sleeping face forever he would. Soap on the other hand, says ghosts name and kisses his face. Like a lot. But ghost is always up after the first kiss, he just likes to act asleep to get more kisses
18. Their first kiss. Not like their usual quick ones that leave them both wanting more, this one is soft and tender. Eerily gentle.
19. Soap seeing Ghosts genuine smile, it left him breathless as ghosts deep laugh ran through his entire body and made him shiver
20. Soaps and ghosts adopted cat son Phantom!!! Phantoms patterns on his face look like ghost so of course soap had to adopt him. Anyways cat dads ghoap
21. Aftercare (I’m the biggest slut for aftercare that shit is amazing)
(Will add more)
NSFW (there will be NO things like noncon or r/pe here unless it entails them finding a way to heal after it)
I don’t usually write smut so I’m sorry if these are bad 😭
1. Werewolf ghost goes into rut, human soap offers to help him through it
2. Power bottom soap who is extremely good at getting guys like ghost to be on their knees for him
3. Soap wearing lipstick and leaving big O lipstick stains on ghosts dick
4. Ghost in bed is extremely touchy, he needs to have soaps skin under his hands gloved or not.
5. Ghost pressing his hand on soaps stomach to feel the bump of his own cock in the other
6. Soap is under ghosts desk sucking him off
7. Soap cockwarming ghost while the other writes a report
8. Roleplay idk what they’re roleplaying just roleplay
9. Soap likes to moan loud to see how long it takes for ghost to push his head against a bed/wall just to shut him up
10. Soap loves it rough
11. Ghost lifting soap up to fuck him and soap is absolutely in shock and turned on
12. ghost is a big biter, soaps had to cover up way to many bites from him
13. Lmao monster fucker soap
14. Ghoap exploring their kinks!
15. My friend said virgin ghost and I was like ok sure, then he hit me with “experienced soap telling inexperienced ghost how he wants to be fucked” and I was like damn ok
16. Ghost is extremely weak to the way soap says his name, especially in bed. Hearing that breathless “Simon” mixed with soaps strained yeses and moans gets ghost hard (really fuckin hard lol)
(Will add more)
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versegm · 1 year ago
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“I’m so, so sorry, I literally do not understand what is wrong the door should be working I’m-”
You smile kindly at the barrage of excuses the engineer is telling you. She is obviously incredibly stressed out, what’s with the new Director coming soon and all that. You can hardly blame her. After spending so long in the odd space between singularities and history, being thrust right back into the rest of the world is jarring for everyone.
“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” You respond calmly. “Tell you what: you go finish your rounds, and I’ll give a look at the doors. Clearly you’re not going to solve this right now. Maybe in a couple hours it’ll be more obvious to you.”
She doesn’t seem convinced, but agrees to do something more productive than angsting around. And so she leaves, with a small thank, leaving you alone in this room.
You’re no engineer yourself, of course. The inner workings of machinery and electronics alike elude you. Still, you stride towards the side of the door, where its control panel lays open, exposing its wires to the world.
“My friend,” you whisper to the air, “you know you must let go of me eventually.”
The engineer has long left. You are alone in this room.
Alone with me.
I flicker the lights briefly, in acknowledgement. You are different from the other humans who have roamed my walls; you know I have a voice, even if I cannot speak. You know I am alive, in a way most creatures of stone and mortar are not.
How could I not be? You filled me with blood. You filled me with ghosts. How could I not grow a spirit to haunt myself with?
You lay your palm against my door. You are so, so incredibly warm, and just as incredibly soft. You are the opposite of me, little being of flesh; I am made to have an outside that is cold and solid, my engines and softest organs carefully hidden away in the deepest parts of my body.
 “You have been my companion for these long years. I thank you, Chaldea. Thank you… for everything. But I have to go now, you understand? The world has been saved. The singularities have been corrected. I have to go back to my normal life.”
What life? What life could possibly lay outside of this land of ice and snow? You have only ever witnessed what occurred within your guts. You know what life within you is like, for staff, for servants, but what is outside?
You don’t want them to go. You don’t want to let them go! What kind of life awaits them out there? You know about the files they upload to your server. You have seen how they’ve all been carefully edited, removing as much of your involvement as possible. What life?
Don’t you understand? I can’t protect you out of here. Here, even if the whole world were to end again, you will live. Why must you leave? I don’t want to! I won’t let you!
Carefully, you lay your forehead against my door. It’s important, a head, for a human being- important in ways no engine or generator can ever replicate for a machine. Important in ways I can never understand.
But you trust me. I have no tongue and no word, but you trust me to understand.
“Chaldea. Please.”
Yes, I know. You… you don’t belong here.
I will always welcome you within me. I will love you until I am torn apart. But you…
You are a person from the outside. And so you must return.
Softly, I let the door fall open again.
You smile. Do you realize how odd of a gesture it is? Pulling your muscles back, showing your innards. Of course you don’t. This is natural to you, like breathing, like laughing, like speaking.
I wish I could breathe with you. I wish I could speak with you. I wish. I wish. These walls are too far apart. I cannot hold you in any meaningful way.
“Thank you, my friend.” You head to the side, to the control panel. “We have to say goodbye, but… it doesn’t have to be a sad thing, does it?”
I do not understand. What do you mean?
“Here, let me show you something interesting. A last gift, from a friend to another.”
Impossibly gently, you reach inside the opened control panel. I am used to people manipulating my guts; pull a wire here, cut another there, reconnect things.
But you don’t do any of that. Instead, you start stroking my innards, with as much care as if they’d been made of flesh.
I cannot repress a shiver. Your smile only grows wider, as the ground trembles beneath you.
(You, and only you, has ever heard my voice; you, and only you, as ever noticed that I am alive. You, and only you, would know that this tremble is not a result of the harsh winter, but of what you’re doing to me.)
“Does this feel good?” You slide your fingers between my wires. If I had a body of my own- is this what holding hands would feel like? My flesh encased in yours, our warmth against one another? “Chaldea, my friend, my companion, my protector.”
You lean forward then, and press your lips against the cold stone of my wall. It shivers under your touch. Oh you, you, you, human they call my Master, you who gave me a soul.
You pinch one of my wire, not even hard enough to nick at the insulation- but I can’t help it. The door suddenly slams closed, then back open a few seconds later. You jolt in surprise at the noise, then chuckles quietly.
“Ah, my friend. I love you. I will miss you.”
Me too, me too, me too.
You touch me, like no one has ever touched me before, like no one has ever cared to touch me before. Still now, you kiss me, even if I can do nothing to reciprocate, even if my body of concrete and wood must be repulsive to your lips. And when, at last, my lights flicker wildly, my door falls open and shut with reckless abandon, I hear you whisper to the wind that you love me.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
*****
And      cruel fate it is,      now, here, not even my walls can      you safe.
The oprichniki roam through    body, taint my       with each of their steps. They      apart my walls, break open my engines,         me in ways a human can never be destroyed.
But still I must       on.
You are still alive. You are still running.
My body is in shambles. My      is soon to follow. But I must stay awake. I slam the doors shut behind    , scatter furniture and          on the floor, flash lights and alarms to their sensitive flesh eyes. With each attempt at           they break me further and further- but with each         at resistance I earn you another second.
Run.    . Run. R  , my friend,   n, my love-
YES!
You are gone. I can feel it. I would           your heartbeat among thousands. If I can    longer feel you, then you      have left. If I can no        feel you, then you must      lived.
LIVE! My friend. My     . You who      me a life. LIVE! My       . My love. You who      me something I       not bear to lose.
LIVE! My       . My friend. I love    . I      you.   love you.
LIVE! My friend. My       .   love you. I      you. I love    .
    . For   . For all the corpses within my body.
My       . My     . You     gave    a heart.
I         .   love    .        you.
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casanovawrites · 1 year ago
Text
random sentence prompts  ━ from various tv shows, part 4
surviving is a choice. make yours.
you can’t be afraid to kill. you understand?
i’m not afraid to kill. i’m just… afraid.
i was trying to save lives. i had to try. somebody had to.
if they slaughtered everyone once, what the hell makes this any different?
this sounds like a suicide mission.
we did terrible things in its name.
my honest advice would be that if you’re that miserable, you should break up with them and be with me instead.
you are remarkably resistant. it must be exhausting. 
how is it possible that this is the most scared i’ve been all day?
you don’t have to like what i did. i don’t. but just accept it.
we’ve all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. but we can still come back, we’re not too far gone.
this is why i like you. you just want to hold my hand.
when are you two going to make out already?
have you ever had to work for anything? 
bad things happened because i was scared. they didn’t need to. i didn’t need to be afraid.
i don’t have to be tough. i can run. i’m good at that.
my mom used to say, “everything works out the way it’s supposed to.”
have you been in love with me this whole time?
you start breathing, i’ll start you a shower, and we’ll go from there.
maybe we could catch our breath here for a while.
life isn’t a race. you taught me that. 
the whole world’s haunted now. there’s no getting out of that - not until we’re dead.
we’re supposed to be working together. 
this year would have been painful without you.
you were so self-obsessed, you never noticed your best friend needed you.
i don’t feel challenged. 
if this is where you want to be, then stay.
i need to know if you mean what i think you mean. do you still love me?
i’m with you. ’til the world explodes. 
if we’re going to do this, you need to be all in.
it’s funny how you don’t even notice the time go by. horrible shit just stacks up day after day.
you are not safe, no matter how many people are around.
we’re strong enough that we can still help people.
this is the nightmare, but nightmares end.
we ain’t dead. whatever happened, happened. let’s start over.
there’s nothing left in the world that isn’t hidden.
we’re friends. we have each other’s backs, that’s it. that’s how it works.
growing up is getting used to the world.
we do what we need to do, and then we get to live.
we don’t have to be friends. it just doesn’t have to be quiet.
people always die. you know that.
you don’t know yourself. that’s the big ah-ha for me here. i get you more than you get you.
i know that i love you, and i need you, and maybe you could love me too. and that’s okay.
all you do is hurt me.
oh, please, like you haven’t been waiting for me to screw up.
you’re no sheep. you’re a wolf. 
i actually thought you wanted to be my friend.
asshole, i don’t go to the gym every day. 
so, you’re leaving to fight ghosts? that’s the plan?
i don’t think any one place can be someone’s everything.
all i have is pain.
there are very few people in this world that make me feel the way you do.
can we just forget this ever happened, please?
you’re doing great. i promise.
it’s you and me against the world, okay?
friendship doesn’t matter. love doesn’t matter.
i’m superhuman, right? made of steel.
people will say almost anything to save their own life.
what if i hadn’t come home in time?
they think we’re guilty, so we are.
i’m grieving the loss of what we could have made this place.
tonight, even though we are in hell, i feel like i have another chance with you.
you and me are the way out.
i won’t let anything pull us apart again. you hear me?
i should've just skipped class, partied, had sex, have fun.
you smell like shit.
we need to get the fuck out of here now.
you are not defined by what happened to you. you are what you do.
fuck it. i’m dying tonight one way or another.
maybe you’re right. maybe shit is doomed. 
the reality is, i’m dying. i am dying. you have to face that. 
what happened to “me and you against the world, you’re all i need”?
stop crying where everyone can see you. it’s embarrassing.
all my days are bad.
tonight’s been the first time i’ve felt like myself in months. it’s been so long. i forgot what that felt like. 
you make me feel like… me.
you drive me crazy sometimes but we're in this together. you're not alone.
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five-rivers · 2 years ago
Text
Cryptid Crawl! Chapter 5
AO3
@currentlylurking, @going-dead, @aggressivelyclueless, @carelisswriting, and @schrodingersfic
.
“Hey, Kwan, you’re in Home Ec., right?”
It was kind of funny to see that kind of haunted, hunted look on a big, bulky jock, but this was Amity Park.  Hannah got to see that expression whenever Fenton had to go to the bathroom.  
“Listen, I’m not going to blame you for this.  I just want to know… why?”
“I don’t know,” said Kwan.  “I think there might have been something about it on the forums, but I thought it was just a joke.”
Hannah had seen the same thread.  She hadn’t thought it was connected.  
“Isn’t that the one the ghosts were in?”
“Ghosts?  Come on, haha,” said Kwan.  “Those guys were just roleplaying, like whatever Nost and Kyle are doing.”
Hannah briefly closed her eyes.  “No, Kwan, they aren’t roleplaying.  Kyle doesn’t even believe in aliens.”
“No one believes in aliens.  That’s just you.”
“Lots of people believe in aliens.  I didn’t make up the whole UFO enthusiast community.  More importantly, you don’t think this is, like, a Spectra thing, do you?”
“Man, I hope not.  Mrs. Tetslaff said this was mandatory and worth twenty percent of our whole grade!”
“It isn’t worth twenty percent of your grade, Mr. Kwan,” said Mr. Lancer, materializing ghostlike out of nowhere.  He was wearing a bright pink apron with the words Eat, Pray, Love embroidered on it in big, loopy, cursive.  “It is, however, mandatory.”
“How much of my grade is it worth, then?” asked Kwan.  
Mr. Lancer sighed.  “Zero.  But, as I said, it is still mandatory.”
“But why?” asked Hannah.  
Mr. Lancer stared at her for a long minute.  “If I tell you,” he said, finally, “I know it’ll be all over the school within an hour.”
“No, it won’t.  I can keep a secret.”
“You can’t, but that’s besides the point.  If it comes from you, I’ll have plausible deniability if the GIW come around.”
“That’s mean.”  She turned to Kwan.  “Did you hear what he just said to me?  Like I’m not trustworthy?”
“You aren’t trustworthy.  One time I left the room for a minute and when I came back you and your friends had made Mikey cry and you had coated the floor with whipped cream.”
“That wasn’t me.”
“You were holding the whipped cream can.”
“I was framed,” said Hannah.  
Mr. Lancer closed his eyes and sighed.  “The cake idea was the only one that got any widespread traction on the Amity forums.  There were, apparently, already some talks about doing something with it on some of the community and business boards.  But we only got into it when Mayor Masters offered to fund the whole thing.”
Hannah gasped.  “You’re on the forums.”
“Despite my age, I do know how to work a computer.”
“But,” said Kwan, “what if it is a ghost thing?  What if the cake is evil?  What if the cake is a lie?”
“It probably is a ghost thing,” allowed Mr. Lancer, “but since Phantom of all people is endorsing it, I think it will be fine.  Also, you’re going to be making the cakes, so if the cakes wind up evil…”  He trailed off.  “I need to go make some more arrangements before we leave. You two should report to your first period classes.”
.
“I can’t believe you and Vlad got the whole school roped into this,” said Sam, kicking a bit of loose gravel off the path.  “What even was the point of this?”
Danny shrugged.  “It was the best idea we had?” he offered.  
“Just because people liked it doesn’t mean it’s going to be functional,” complained Sam.  
“I think people liking it might actually make it more functional,” said Tucker.  “Just saying.”
“I guess,” said Sam.  “But what are you going to do if everyone does come to this cake thing, including the paranormal investigator people?  What then?”
“Come on,” said Danny, “what kind of self-respecting paranormal investigators are going to go to a Community Cake Day when there are ghouls and goblins about?”
“You think these people are self-respecting?”
.
“A ‘Community Cake Day,’ huh?” said Ned.  “You didn’t mention that in your research.”
“That’s because it didn’t come up in my research,” said Az, scowling at the paper taped to the telephone pole.  “It didn’t exist.”
“It’s sponsored by MasterSoft.”
“MasterSoft doesn’t sponsor anything.  That has to be a lie.”  
“Well, Vlad Masters is the mayor, right?  Maybe the guy just really likes cake.  Speaking of which, we could swing by after filming.  Load up on some free cake.”
“Absolutely not!” shouted the producer.  “Do you know how many self-respecting paranormal investigators are seen at tacky small town cake-offs?  None!  Sip!  Silch!  Nada!  Get into positions!  And Jimmy… please, try to emote just a little.  Susan!  Where’s my coffee?”
“‘What self-respecting paranormal investigator,’” repeated Ned mockingly.  “If we were self-respecting, we wouldn’t be doing this.”
“We were doing it before,” pointed out Az.  
“We were in college before.  No one in college has any respect for anything, right, Jimmy?”
“Hn.”
Az patted Jimmy on the shoulder.  “Look at it this way.  Most of that cake is made by high schoolers.  They have even less respect for everything.  And there’s hardly anyone on the streets.  That makes it more spooky.  A real ghost town vibe.”
“Right,” said Ned.  “Real spooky.”
.
“Welcome back, cryptid crawlers, to the latest entry in our cryptid crawl across the continental US!  Today finds us in lovely Amity Park, Illinois, as promised.”  Crawly turned slightly to frame the ‘Welcome to Amity Park!  A Nice Place to Live!’ sign with their hands, before squaring themself to the camera again.  “With me today is my cameraman Bill.  Say hi, Bill!”  
Bill briefly turned the handheld camera towards his own face, then rotated it to point at Crawly again.  
“We all owe Bill a huge thank you, because without him, you’d be getting this on my GoPro.  Anyway.  Amity Park.  Well, my first impression is that it is a little beaten up.  Lots of… weirdly shaped potholes.  They’re in the sidewalks, too.  Usually you don’t get a great view of those in videos.”  Crawly skirted one hole.  “This does look sort of humanoid-shaped, doesn’t it?  Weird.  But, anyway, beyond being beaten up, Amity Park looks fairly average for a town, which is par for the course.  Fresno is a completely normal town, too, after all.  Weird things are normal, so you find weird things in normal places.  Most cryptids don’t live in the Himalayas, and with cities causing habitat destruction to the point where even well-known animals like bears and deer are becoming urbanized–” They’d have to fact check that sentence before they posted the edited video.  They weren’t sure it was actually true.  “--cryptids, too, are moving into cities.”  They nodded sharply at this conclusion.  
“Although���  It is a little quiet, isn’t it?  Bill, what do you think?”
“Eh, you might be right,” said Bill.  “But sometimes small cities get their rush hours at different times.”
“I suppose,” said Crawly, already turning away.  “Right, so, for this next bit, we’re just going to walk around for a while.  We can interview anyone we come across.  Then, we’ll go investigate the phantom’s,” they snickered, “haunts.”  A colorful flier on a nearby telephone pole caught Crawly’s eye and they paused.  “Oh, hey, there’s a community event happening!  That must be where all the people are.  They’re making cakes.  Want to go when we’re done filming?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Bill.  
“Then it’s a plan!”
.
One good thing about impulsively telling everyone he shared his forum account with the ‘real’ Phantom was that Danny didn’t get beaten up or dragged out into unused hallways after class all that much anymore.  
Of course, it still happened now and again.  Like today.  Although today it wasn’t actually between classes, but in that weird gap between roll call and when they got their assignments with the caterers and bakers.  He’d somehow lost track of Sam and Tucker in the rush, but he wasn’t particularly worried.  
“Fenton,” said Dash, more nasally than usual.  
“Baxter.”  Danny made a face.  “Are you, like, sick or something?”
“No,” said Dash, who was distinctly red-eyed.  
“Have you been…”  Danny decided against accusing Dash of crying.  “Smoking?”
“I’d never jeopardize our chances at state playoffs!” 
“Oh!” exclaimed Paulina.  “Just give him the stuff so you can stop posturing.  Here!”  She shoved a bag at him.
“Uh,” said Danny, hugging the bag to his chest.  “What is this?”
“Your costume.”
“Uh.  What?”
“For messing with the out of town dude.  Dudette?”
“I think someone said they were nonbinary in the forums,” said Danny, bewildered.  He had his own incredibly tacky Phantom costume, and he wasn’t just talking about the one he wore on a daily basis.  
“Whatever.  We’re just making sure you actually show up and do what you said you’d do, so Phantom isn’t left with the mess you caused.”
Danny wasn’t sure why Dash was blaming him for this particular mess, but he’d long ago given up on trying to understand Dash.  However… “Why wouldn’t I have done what I said I was going to do?” He directed the question more at Paulina.  
Dash snorted.  “You can’t even run a forum account by yourself.  If we didn’t make you do it, you’d half-a–”
“Mr. Baxter.”
The three of them turned towards the voice. Mr. Lancer stood at the end of the hallway, eyes glittering.  
“I’m glad I found you three before anything… unfortunate… occurred.  Mr. Baxter, Miss Sanchez, your cohort is working with the team from Creep-tastic Catering in the Culinary Arts kitchen.”
“Come on, Dash,” said Paulina, walking down the hallway.  “We don’t want to leave our friends waiting.”
“Your friends are looking for you, Mr. Fenton,” said Mr. Lancer. 
“Okay,” said Danny, “thanks.  Um.”
Mr. Lancer sighed heavily.  “The three of you have been excluded from all the group lists.  It wasn’t my idea.”
“And we never had this conversation,” said Danny, solemnly.  
“That’s not what I– Oh, what does it matter?  Avoid the actual hunters while you’re wearing all of that, will you?”
“That’s the plan.”
Mr. Lancer’s next sigh was even heavier.  
.
“... and that’s about the gist of it,” said the woman from Poltergeist Pastries.  “Any questions?”
About a dozen hands went up, including Star’s.  The woman looked… intimidated.  
“You there,” she said, pointing somewhere in Star’s general vicinity.  
Star would take it.  “Do you know why we’re doing this?” she asked.  
“It’s a community outreach–”
“No, I mean, why are we really doing this?” clarified Star.  “How is this going to help with the problem?”
“The only problem I see around here is a lack of delicious cakes!”
“Uh,” said Star.  
“No, really,” said the woman, wringing her hands together.  “I think it will help.  And don’t worry,” she continued, pitching her voice even louder, “after you finish your individual and group cakes and have them assessed by our esteemed judges, you’ll be able to participate in the world-record breaking massive cake bake, where we will work together to make a single twenty-five by twenty-five meter square sheet cake.”  She beamed at them.  “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Yeah!” said Ms. Tetslaff, their teacher chaperone.  “We’re going to bake this cake and get those tourists out of here!  Who’s with me?”  She pumped a fist in the air.  
Star was beginning to wonder if she had fallen into some bizarre mirror universe.
.
Danny stepped intangibly through a wall.  He still had things to do, and he was running low on time.  For all he knew, Crawly was already in town.  
“Hey!” he shouted, getting the attention of everyone there.  “Is everyone here?”  He scanned the crowd.  “Where’s Dani?”
“I am only the master of all things electronic and beeping,” said Technus, shrugging, “not unruly, sneaky, teenagers that call my hair ‘whack.’”
Danny groaned and rubbed his hands down the sides of his face.  He didn’t know if he’d have time to find her.  “Skulker?”
“I don’t hunt clones.  Only the originals!”
“There is something seriously wrong with you.  LL, I’ve done what I can to make sure everything is the way you wanted it.”
“We’ll see, ghost boy.  Cookie?”
“No, I– Oh, fine.  It’s not like it’s cursed or anything, is it?”
“It depends on whether or not you’re allergic to peanuts.”
Danny took the cookie but didn’t eat it.  “Is it cursed if I’m not allergic to peanuts?”
“... No.”
Well, that was unconvincing.  Danny put the cookie down on a nearby plate.  “Anyway, you guys follow your end of the deal, I’ll follow mine.  Are we still good?”
“THE BOX GHOST WISHES TO KNOW IF THERE WILL BE ANY BOX CAKES!”
“I don’t know, probably,” said Danny.  “Everyone else?  Are we good?”
There was a faint murmur of agreement.  
“Great.  Be aware that if you cause any trouble, I will make you regret it.”
“We’ll make a proper ghost out of you yet, dipstick!”
“Why do all of your compliments sound like you want to kill me?”
“Probably because they do!”
“Thank you, Sidney.  I’ve got to go before the cryptid people fall into a trans-dimensional pothole Vlad didn’t bother to pave or something stupid.”
.
“Hey, Val.”
Valerie jumped backwards and clutched at her chest.  “Don’t do that to people who are trying to sneak away from somewhere.”
Dani snickered.  “Don’t worry, I have it on pretty good authority that there is life after death.”
“Don’t joke about that.”
“Okay,” said Dani, rising the rest of the way out of the ground.  “So.  You still up for some mayhem?”
Valerie raised an eyebrow.  “What kind of mayhem were you thinking about?”
.
“Okay,” said Tucker, using his stylus to poke at a map of Amity on his PDA.  “According to this… we’ve got… The TV people over here… the internet people over here… and the ghost hunters here…”
“And my parents?”
“Unclear,” said Tucker.  “However…”  He raised his stylus.  “Do you hear that?”
“Yeah,” said Danny.  “It’s the GAV.  Loud as usual.”
“I think it’s probably somewhere north of Descarte and… east…  Maybe east of fifteenth?”
“I think it’s closer than that.  Fourteenth,” said Sam.  
“Yeah, that could be right.”
“Great,” said Danny.  “So, as planned, then?”
Tucker and Sam nodded.  “As planned.”
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thereareeyesinsidethetrees · 9 months ago
Text
@transford-pines woe, au be upon ye (under cut)
warnings for talk of death and (lethal) injury
context for anyone who doesn’t already have it: this is a gravity falls/fnaf au where none of the books nor anything past sister location happen. also, the nightmares have nothing to do with the illusion disks
i’m more tired than my usual as of writing this, so some bits may be a tad incoherent. my apologies for that. anyway, au explanation time:
this au focuses on the stan twins. stan and michael become the same character, ford and cc become the same character. shermie owns the sister location (and some other things) but is unaware of the fact that the robots are uh. sentient. shermie is the older brother here
that should place filbrick in the role of the william afton, but he’s not. because him murdering random kids for no reason feels like it undermines him being an abusive prick to his own kids in a way. he doesn’t need to be a killer to be terrible, y’know? so the murderer is someone else
seeing as ford is cc in this au, i’m sure you know where this is going. stan doesn’t do the deed himself, but he does watch as it happens (there is a reason/s for this. that i won’t get into right now. we’ll make an addendum later if we remember)
here, the theory about fnaf 4 being an actual nightmare cc is having as they die is true. i’ve always taken it as a ‘facing your trauma/coming to terms with your death’ type deal, and i feel like that fits here. stan promises to put ford back together before the latter dies
this is where we start getting into artistic liberties
stan thinks ‘okay. there’s this college that’s relatively easy to get into and it has courses i can take to learn more about supernatural shit. and that’s the kind of stuff ford was wanting to research anyway, so even if i don’t figure something out, i’ll just do that’. this is how stan meets fiddleford. he will come up again later
stan still needs to get a job, so he goes to shermie for help and ends up working as a technician in the sister location. this way, he gets paid to poke around at stuff that could potentially help him make progress in his studies. it goes pretty great, except for the part where the robots rip his intestines out
are you ready for weird ass ghost shit cause we’re getting into weird ass ghost shit now
stan has the realization that ford has actually been haunting him since he died. he just couldn’t do anything before. but, now that stan is more than well on his way to exiting this mortal plane, ford is finally able to talk to him (which really just consists of stan barely existing and ford going ‘well, you tried. my turn’)
in other words, stan is forgiven (kind of) and ford uses his ghostly abilities (really just possession-ish) to keep stan alive so he can try and…do something about that whole situation. ford rushes stan out of there (‘big sharp metal thing is going to use you as a meat suit if you don’t get out of here’ is pretty good incentive turns out) and he manages to make it to a phone so he can call fiddleford for help
does fiddleford have any experience in engineering entire functioning organs for people? not at all. is he gonna try and figure it out anyway? you bet he is
stan ends up healing okay. ford sticks around (he’s afraid if he lets go of stan, he’ll just immediately keel over). stan introduces fiddleford to his dead brother. fiddleford gains an interest in also studying human anatomy (he needs to be prepared in case stan almost dies again). ford and fiddleford dance at one point. stan confronts shermie about the incident. shermie offers him a position as a night guard in a different location (still plenty of robots there, but no giant death claws. which was the actual problem, as far as he knew. no, he did not know about the extent of the wound). stan takes it because now he wants to know how the hell the animatronics in the sister location got possessed
stan begins investigating any deaths that could be causing the hauntings, which leads him into trying to figure out who (and/or what) is causing the deaths. ford and fiddleford kind of help, though ford is working with the same information as stan (and also keeps scaring the other ghosts away) and fiddleford just offers ideas and advice whenever stan gets back to the dorm. this is essentially where the au starts getting into ‘ooh what’s gonna happen next’ territory.
some things up on the radar: shermie somehow doesn’t believe the twins about the hauntings (despite knowing about the murders), stan witnesses another bite and has a very bad time, and ford and fiddleford talk about hydraulics for a while
do you see what i meant. when i said there were a lot of changes. and to proceed with caution
anyway, that’s all for now. woe, au is no longer upon ye
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thoselethalarts · 6 months ago
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𝓚𝓪𝔃𝓾𝓸 𝓖𝓾𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓻𝓸 - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂
(R) Gym Uniform: “I’m So Stupid…!”
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(NRC: Sports Field)
Vargas: Alright, boys! I think that’s good enough for today. Vargas: I can tell you’re improving more than just your times. Hit the showers, and keep up the good work next week!
Phobos: Finally… Thought today would never end. (Yawn…)
Jack: You hardly did anything and you’re yawning.
Phobos: I did enough. I don’t need to be running around for a whole hour to improve my time. Phobos: I’m takin’ off and takin’ a nap. Later.
(Phobos grabs his bag and departs from the group)
Jack: Abrasive as always… He really doesn’t change. Jack: Hm…? Isn’t that Kazuo out there at the edge of the field?
Deuce: Huh? Oh, you’re right, that does look like him. Deuce: That’s weird, he didn’t show up to club, but he’s still out here practicing? Wonder if something happened.
Jack: Beats me. Maybe he was feeling sick or something and only just now made it out.
Deuce: I know I’d feel embarrassed if I could only show up to the tail end of club… I don’t really blame him. Deuce: Maybe we should go check up on him, just to make sure he’s feeling okay.
Jack: It’s not a bad idea to make sure our upperclassmen are doing alright. Lemmie grab my bag and then we can head over.
(Jack and Deuce pause to pick up their gym bags and then walk across the field to meet with Kazuo at the furthest edge)
Kazuo: 27… 28… 29… 30! Kazuo: Whew…! Alright, time for a break~
Deuce: Hey Kaz!
Kazuo: Hm? Oh hey, Jack and Deuce! What’re you troublemakers up to?
Deuce: We just saw you out here from across the field, wondering what you were up to was all. Deuce: Are you feeling okay? You look like you’re out of breath.
Kazuo: Oh, haha! Yeah, I’m alright. I’m just out of breath ‘cuz I’m between reps. Kazuo: Today’s my upper body day! So I was using this tree’s low-hanging branch to do some pull-ups. It’s surprisingly really sturdy. Kazuo: You guys wanna join me? I was gonna do another set of pull-ups and then some push-ups after.
Jack: Hm… I’ve still got some energy left in me. Why not?
Deuce: I’ll join, too! I wouldn’t mind seeing just how far I can push myself to my limits.
Kazuo: Sweet! There’s another couple trees over here with some low-hanging branches you guys can use too! Let’s go!
(Some time passes, and the trio pause their training to take another break. The afternoon sun slowly starts to pass into sunset upon the field.)
Jack: So… you said you like to come out here to train? What goal are you training for?
Kazuo: Oh, nothing specific. I just want to stay in good shape for my job is all.
Deuce: Oh! I didn’t know you had a job, Kaz! What do you do?
Kazuo: Eheh, well… it’ll probably sound kind of made up considering our environment, but… I’m a Ghostbuster!
Deuce: A Ghostbuster…? You mean, like the movie?
Kazuo: Yeah! Exactly like the movie! I know it probably sounds fake, but it’s true! Kazuo: People call me out to the scene when they’re experiencing paranormal activity, and then I hunt down and exorcise the ghost or ghosts causing it.
Deuce: That’s really cool, actually! Why would that be weird?
Kazuo: Eh, well, I mean I haven’t been doing a lot of my job here because all the ghosts at the school are friendly… most of them even employed here.
Jack: That’s true. You’d get in serious trouble if you tried exorcising one of the staff ghosts on campus. Jack: There’s plenty of ghosts that are hostile and dangerous elsewhere, but here on campus pretty much all of them are friendly.
Kazuo: Yeah, exactly. Truth be told, I’m not used to being around so many friendly spirits. Kazuo: Most of the time when I get called out to investigate a haunting, the spirit’s either hostile or just clinging too hard to reality. Kazuo: Either way, they can’t stay in the realm of the living. It’s my job to catch them and send them back to where they belong. Kazuo: I call myself a “Ghostbuster” on paper ‘cuz it sounds more friendly, but really I’m more like a Grim Reaper in practice. Any spirit trapped in reality is a target for me, even if it’s freshly departed.
Deuce: So, what do you need to do all this training for? I wouldn’t think a job like that would be very physically taxing.
Kazuo: Haha! You might not think so, but honestly it’s a lot more draining than it sounds. Kazuo: Depending on the spirit, they can be either really easy to placate or extremely dangerous. I won’t know which it is until I’m on the scene, either. Kazuo: In practice, fighting a spirit isn’t any different than fighting a normal, living human. The only difference is that humans can’t use magic to fight back and evade your attacks. Kazuo: You know my friends Marcus and Matt, right? They’re kind of in the same business as me, they just hunt things other than ghosts. Kazuo: Since we’re all in the same boat together, I’ve been trying to get them to do training with me. But…
(Kaz recaps a flashback to a point in the past)
Marcus: Haah… Hahh… Alright, time out. Time out, time out. I need… I need a break.
Kazuo: What, already?! C’mon, bro, we just got started!
Marcus: I dunno how you keep doing this every day, Kaz. You have way too much energy.
Kazuo: Hey, I don’t do this every day, just every other day! On the days I don’t have track and field, I’m out here training! Kazuo: And how do I have too much energy?! This is easy mode!
Marcus: “Easy mode”, yeah speak for yourself on that one. I’m not a sports guy like you are, this is more than enough for me. I need to catch my breath…
Kazuo: Aren’t we in the same business? How do you even manage to do your job when you can barely do this much?
Marcus: Honestly, I usually I have adrenaline to keep me going. Marcus: Also, I’m not usually doing sit-ups, push-ups, and burpees when I’m running around like my life depends on it…!
Kazuo: You’d probably have to rely less on adrenaline if you trained like I did. C’mon, it’ll get easier when you do it more often! Kazuo: How you doin’ with it, Matt?
Matt: Ah, you don’t gotta worry ‘bout me none, I’m jus’ peachy~
Marcus: You don’t have any right to talk, you don’t have “normal” stamina to begin with.
Kazuo: Well, how ya feeling now? We still got another set of squats and burpees to do!
Marcus: I think I’m gonna throw up.
Matt: He’s exagguratin’.
Marcus: I’m gonna throw up on you specifically. Ugh…
(The flashback ends)
Deuce: Haha! I’m not surprised to hear that Marcus isn’t the most athletic of people. He certainly doesn’t look it.
Kazuo: And yet his job isn’t any different than mine! Can you believe that?! Kazuo: That guy’s gonna have a heart attack before he turns 30 if he keeps pushing himself like he does. Kazuo: I’ve been trying to get him to train with me so we can all stay fit together, but usually he says no and it’s just me on my own out here. I’m glad you guys could join me today, it’s nice to have some company every once in a while.
Jack: Hey… don’t mind me for asking, but you said that days that you don’t have Track and Field you’re usually out here doing supplementary training, right? Jack: Why’d you miss our club meeting today, then?
Kazuo: …Wait, what?
Deuce: Come to think of it, I feel like you’ve been missing a lot of club meetings lately. Whenever Vargas does roll call, I feel like I rarely hear you answer your name.
Kazuo: W-Wait, did I get my meeting days mixed up…?! I thought it was every Monday and Wednesday we had club!
Jack: Nope. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Kazuo: Damniiiiiiitttt…!! This whole time I thought I was just showing up early or club meetings got called off! Kazuo: God, I’m so stupid…! I’ve been doing all this training on my own for nothing!
Deuce: H-Hey, don’t take it too hard! It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve forgotten about something important and either showed up late or completely skipped on accident, either.
Kazuo: Yeah, but I hate that I’ve been tanking my attendance without even realizing…! That’s not gonna look good on my overall club standing…
Jack: Try not to beat yourself up too much about it. You’ve still been working hard, even if you haven’t got the marks to show it. Jack: Tell Vargas you’ve been doing solo training in your free time, and I’m sure he’ll forgive your absence. I’ll back you up on that, too.
Kazuo: Really…? You think so?
Deuce: Sure he will! I’ll be a witness for you, too, just to be sure.
Kazuo: Man… I’m still mad at myself for getting my dates mixed up like that, but I appreciate the help, guys.
Jack: Sure thing. Now you know, at least, so you can straighten up from here on out. Jack: We’re in the same dorm, so I can remind you before club starts to get ready if you need it.
Kazuo: Yeah, that’d be great. It’ll take me a minute to readjust my schedule for sure, I don’t wanna go on autopilot and forget again, after all. Kazuo: Speaking of time, it is getting pretty late now, huh? How ‘bout we stop by the Mystery Shop on the way back to the dorms and grab some snacks? Kazuo: It’ll be my treat, as thanks for helpin’ me figure this shitty situation out!
/ End
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eddiediazes · 2 years ago
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temptation tuesday
okay i’m trying my hand at this this week for the first time! since i didn’t get in on the fun last week bc i was klmasdf Suffering. so i got tagged by @diazass for temptation tuesday, so here are some wips i have that i’m considering getting back into and/or possibly writing for the big bang?? in part i may be using this to decide what i’m writing for the big bang if any of y’all like any of these.
1. 118 ghost hunters au - i’ve shared from this verse a couple of times but it’s actually a wacky little thing i’ve dreamed up where the 118 (minus eddie bc he just moved to la) are LA’s only official team of ghost hunters, and they’re state/city funded just like other emergency workers but for ghosts. so ghosts are kind of a known entity but not everyone believes in them - but the supernatural is real, eddie’s house is actually haunted, and buck has a messed up trauma backstory relating to his own personal supernatural experience :) also. ghosts so i get to indulge my own interest in Spooky
2. action star buck / fight coordinator eddie - i have also posted excerpts from this like a thousand years ago now but. basically buck is an actor and the star of a popular action franchise (something like a blend between mission impossible and john wick) and he keeps insisting on doing his own stunts, and bobby and chim, who work with him, are genuinely concerned about him and think he isn’t coming at it from a healthy place. enter eddie, a mostly retired stunt coordinator who now runs a gym with lena bosko, who gets Pulled Back In For One Last Job by chim, because bobby thinks he could help out with buck. cue resentment and distance slowly building into friendship and then they fall in love :) also you know. movie sets and fight scenes and dangerous stunts and buck having Issues with thinking he’s expendable.
3. buck is a mind reader - i still don’t have much of this, but i like what i wrote - so it’s that fic based on the concept that buck actually can read minds like we all joked about but. i ended up going with him always having been able to instead of getting it from the lightning - with the one hitch that he cannot read eddie’s mind, kind of like how edward can’t read bella’s mind in twilight???? i’m a cornball i know i get it
4. hunter eddie au - this is also more vague and could maybe be combined with the above idea depending on how i handled it all but basically one night i spent like kasmdlf an hour or something spiraling in kaitlin @iinryer‘s dms over the concept of eddie being raised as a hunter (yes like supernatural style) and like. feeling very trapped by the system of violence and like the only thing he’s good for is hunting but then he meets buck who is some kind of supernatural creature and eddie doesn’t realize at first and he’s doing a lot of hard work on his own to rise above the way he was raised and the kind of things his dad said about “monsters” and then eventually he finds out about buck and - well. you know. you get it
5. eddie goes back to el paso - this fic has no real plot but it is like. my baby my cinnamon apple. originally i started it after 5b after hero complex and i was like. what if eddie stayed in el paso for a while to fix things with his family and then he invited buck to join him. and then instead it eventually became actually what if frank encouraged eddie to go back to el paso to really fully confront things instead of just taking a quick visit and he suggested eddie also take like. a safe person for himself and eddie was like well obviously that would be buck so then they go to el paso together and eddie walks buck through like. all his childhood memories and all the places he grew up and like. idk that’s the whole fic. but i think about her a lot sdkalfm
SORRY I’VE NEVER SHUT UP ONE DAY IN MY LIFE this is so many words about my silly little ideas. i’ll tag @spaceprincessem @comaboybuck @buckactuallys @iinryer @gayeddieagenda @fallingthorns @colonoscopys and anybody else who sees this and wants to do it please feel free to say i tagged you!
thank you to anyone who reads klmasdf any of this. please do tell me if they sound interesting. thanks bye <3
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whoredmode · 7 months ago
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2, 4, 7, 12 for Anteros? ⚜️
Saints Row 1 Questions
2. What were they doing before getting caught in the middle of a shootout and recruited by Julius?
answered here. was just leaving work, chatting up a friend he hadn’t seen in awhile, then all That happened.
4. Be honest. Do they kick ass at canonisation, or do they get their ass kicked?
answered here. he gets his ass beat cuz of a kick in the back he didn’t see coming.
7. Which antagonist would you recruit into the Saints, regardless of who it is or what they've done? Why?
this is an interesting question. me personally? i may have to go w either ben or tanya. ben bc we know he does work well w the saints and i’d loooove to see dex and ben strategize together. i’ve said it before but i’ll say it again. it’s a miracle julius got ahold of dex instead of ben bc that duo would’ve been insane, not to mention i hc that dex actually looked up to ben king more than julius. but that’s a discussion for another time…
tanya bc we know she’s so fucking smart and tactical. she knows the ins and outs of stilwater, of the gangs, of this whole fucking game. genuinely such a fascinating, strategic antagonist. i can only imagine what she’d be like had she joined the saints and they continue to expand. anteros would not wanna work w her tho bc they used to essentially be coworkers. he knows her well, even if she pretends she doesn’t know him.
for anteros tho? luz, and this is somewhat canon for me. in my canon, the carnales don’t just dissipate. i won’t get too into the specifics here, but they’re still in stilwater, just playing a significantly reduced and quieter role, being run by luz and orejuela (they’re married). orejuela is primarily in colombia tho while luz stays in stilwater and manages it there. through anteros (this happens around sr2 time), the saints and carnales actually work together when it comes to running drugs. luz and anteros actually do have a history together, going back to the pre-sr1 days (connected through torque, which is a whole other thing that i’m happy to talk about if you wanna know more), tho they only actually get to know each other during sr1 and better in sr2. they actually consider each other friends after a certain point (primarily post-sriv, but this is getting off topic). they like each other, even trust each other after a certain point, and anteros genuinely likes working w her.
12. Are there any mistakes your Playa made that they're never going to forget?
so many. i think the one from sr1 specifically that he holds onto the most, whether he realizes or not, is what happened w lin. it was his first brush w death, and in some ways he feels as if he failed her. especially as time goes on and he becomes haunted by feelings of anxiety, doubt. why should he get to live and she shouldn’t? and worst of all, when he starts thinking he’s seeing ghosts during sr2, he never sees her. he never gets to tell her he’s sorry. anteros is a character who is just so unbelievably riddled w guilt and grief, and it’s something he has to carry for the rest of his life.
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writerownstory · 2 years ago
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Ghost Whisperer x JATP AU
my first time posting on Juke Jeudi and it’s a lil snippet of the Ghost Whisperer AU I’ve been working on 😌 I started out with a completely different idea…. but then half way through a new idea popped into my head and alas, I started over. I wasn’t gonna post this part because it’s lowkey a spoiler, but also Juke becoming Juke isn’t a spoiler so. here we are. as per usual I haven’t totally reread it because if I did, it would never get posted!
~
Julie shakes her head at the thought. Best not to get carried away. She heads to the backroom, determined to sort through their latest shipment and get the new items out into the shop. She’s so involved in her task that she doesn’t think twice when Flynn appears in the backroom. “Jules, there’s a customer up front you need to take care of.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Julie picks up the neatly folded stack of t-shirts under her arm and makes her way to the counter. The semi-familiar mop of brown hair and sleeveless shirt should’ve clued her in, but instead her mind is miles away until she drops the t-shirts on a box and steps up to the counter, only to come face to face with the hazel eyes that have haunted her dreams. Her own eyes widen. “Luke!”
“Hey Julie.” His smile is effortless, lighting up the rest of his face. “You work here?”
“Actually, I own the place. You know, when I’m not shredding on the piano.”
Luke’s smile brightens, if that’s even possible. “This shop is literally the coolest. I always used to come in here all the time growing up.” He places the vinyls he’d been holding under his arm on the counter.
“Yeah, actually my—“ Everything in Julie freezes as her eyes land on the vinyl on top of Luke’s pile. Her eyes trace the familiar magenta font above four women staring down the camera, as if daring the viewer to give their music a try. Her mom’s face, young and worry free, without the worn lines of cancer aging her features, glaring up at her. She wonders, not for the first time, if Rose knew about her Gift back then and how she balanced it with the rest of her normal life.
As if on cue, a voice breaks through her reverie, “Come on man, be careful with that! It’s one of my prized possessions!”
Julie eyes track to the opposite side of the store where Flynn is setting up a display with an old record player they’d thrifted to help display different vinyl records each week. A young boy probably around 18 or 19, with shaggy blonde hair was hovering over Flynn’s shoulder, watching her fiddle with it. “You better not be selling this to just anybody,” the boy tells the back of Flynn’s head. Her instinct is to address the boy, but she momentarily forgets no one else can see him despite Flynn’s lack of a reaction.
“Julie?”
She looks back up at Luke who’s watching her closely, concern etched in his features.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she breathes out. “I, uh...” She hesitates, but the look on his face warms something inside her chest and she feels like it’s okay. “This is my mom’s debut album with her band.” Her finger traces her mom’s face on the cover and realization hits Luke immediately.
“Your mom is Rose Sanchez? Of Rose and the Petal Pushers?”
“She usually goes by Rose Molina but yeah.” His recognition makes her smile. “That’s her.”
His gaze softens into something akin to awe and it threatens to turn Julie’s insides to mush. “Just when I thought you couldn’t be any more amazing.”
Julie scoffs, but the smile framed by the color on her face is unmistakable. She’s so flustered, she doesn’t even have time to react as Flynn appears beside her, leaning against the counter.
“You must be Luke.”
Without missing a beat he responds, “You must be Flynn.”
Flynn looks back at Julie. “I think I like him.”
Luke’s whole face lights up in delight and Julie knows how much he wants to get along with her friends and family. Reggie and Alex had taken to her all too well, and Luke wanted the same for him and Flynn.
“But if you hurt her, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” She levels him with a hard glare before moving away from the counter and disappearing among the racks.
Luke traps his bottom lip between his teeth in an attempt to tamper his grin but it only works until Flynn is out of sight. It sets off butterflies in Julie’s stomach. “I think that was a Flynn approval.”
“Not quite,” she teases. “But she does like you.”
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canmom · 2 years ago
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Animation Night 150: INU-OH
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Hello everyone! Tonight we celebrate ✨Animation Night 150✨. I never imagined I would still be running without pause for that long. In a few weeks it will be our third anniversary. They still haven’t banned me!
Tonight our subject will be Masaaki Yuasa, one of the most brilliantly inventive directors in the whole medium. Yuasa was the very first director I wrote about on here on Animation Night 12, and once again on Animation Night 28, which between them gave a pretty good survey of his works - works such as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Devilman Crybaby, Kaiba, and Night Is Short Walk On Girl to name a few favourites. However, since then he’s gone and released another movie! Inu-Oh spent a long time touring the festivals, and then a while longer going around cinemas. I wrote this at the time I saw it...
If you haven’t seen this movie yet, seriously you gotta - Masaaki Yuasa totally outdid himself, the choreography and flow if it is just incredible and the whole concept (a biwa hōshi and the cursed mutant son of a noh performer invent glam rock to tell the story of fallen Heike soldiers) is both so out there I struggle to imagine how they came up with it, and yet a perfect evolution of the themes Yuasa explored in his films so far.
So… I was completely spellbound the whole time, it’s one of those films that really rekindles the firey love for animation after days of drawing tiedowns lol. The ideas for movement, the creative shot choices, the solidity and weight of the animation, the visual motifs, the music behind the animation… gaahh you guys it’s such a good movie that ties together so well. So glad to finally get the chance to see it. And you can trust that the very minute it becomes available on blu-ray, or at least the very week, I’ll be screening it on Animation Night.
Well, that day has come! I’ve got the movie and I’m gonna show it to ya.
So what’s this all about?
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Perhaps you remember when we watched Naoko Yamada’s brilliant adaptation of the Heike Monogatari. This is the story of how the Taira or Heike clan, who once effectively ruled Japan back in the artistic and peaceful Heian period (literally ‘peace period’!) of 794-1185, got too ambitious and were annihilated by their rival Minamoto clan in what would later be called the Genpei War, bringing an end to the period of peace, and putting the samurai and their shogunate in ascendance.
You don’t need to know much more than that to follow Inu-Oh, which is set in the years after the fall of the Heike. The story was transmitted forward through history by the biwa hōshi, blind biwa-playing itinerant monks who would go about singing stories.
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However, Inu-Oh isn’t really about strict adherence to actual history, as you’ll see! The premise is essentially that a radical young biwa player Tomoaru, blinded as a child by an ill-fated attempt to fish up the sword Kusanagi, encounters the mutant son of a noh troupe, who is haunted by the ghosts of the Heike soldiers who perished in the war. The effect of this haunting is to give him a strange body with long, distended limbs; he takes on the name ‘Inu-oh’ meaning ‘King of Dogs’. Inu-oh’s father rejected him, leaving him an outcast, but in Tomoaru he finds another outcast who doesn’t give a shit how he looks.
Our two boys quickly become best bros and driven by the ghosts’ call to tell their stories, invent biwa-based glam rock, creating a sensation as they sing untold stories with elaborate, pyrotechnic-laden preformances of songs such as ‘Burial Mound of Arms’... but in so doing, fall afoul of the new shogunate, as Inu-Oh’s father cannot stand to gain a rival in his rejected son.
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Inu-oh is full of some of the most inventive and charming animation of music performances I’ve ever seen. I struggle to imagine how they came up with the ideas that drive this film. It feels like it’s constantly in spellbinding motion. The rougher lines and more detailed designs are a departure from the Flash style that Yuasa’s later films mostly used, much more like the ones in Heike Monogatari, but the young international animators at Science Saru pull it off incredibly.
There’s been much discussion of how to interpret Inu-Oh. Is it about Yuasa himself and his weird career? Is it about the struggles of art in general? There’s a nice review of it over on fufuro; for now I will just say that it reminded me why I love animation. (Also it’s gay as hell. Y’know. Just putting that out there.)
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Along side this, I’m going to be bringing back a Yuasa work that I feel like we gave an unfair shake back in the day - MInd Game, animated at Madhouse in 2004 at the very beginning of Yuasa’s rise. Known for its incredibly varied and experimental animation, Mind Game follows a man who fails to intervene against an attempted rape and dies, but after a brief meeting with God, drags himself back to life and begins a surreal journey as he flees from the yakuza. Much of the film takes place inside a whale, where they meet an old yakuza who has lived there for decades, following how the characters and their relationships evolve (which is to say they go fucking nuts) - before an absolutely batshit final sequence as they attempt to make their mistake.
Mind Game notally marks the beginning of the collaboration between Yuasa and the brilliant Shinya Ohira, who provided some of his warping, expressionist rough pencils. It’s got a lot of naked people being flung around, wild smears, bright colours. The simplified designs allow the animation to be all the more creative. It’s hard to find anything to compare it with, really! Mind Game doesn’t feel like a Madhouse work. It only somewhat resembles Yuasa’s later works. If anything it feels like something you’d find on Catsuka at 2am. 
So I think it’s about time I revisited it!
I’ve learned a great deal more about animation and its history since I wrote about Yuasa before, and later I’d like to write a more substantial account of his works. But right now, it’s about time we started! Animation Night 150(!) will be going live now at twitch.tv/canmom, with movies due to start in about 15 minutes - I’d love to see you there to see what is probably my favourite movie of 2022! (even though it strictly came out in 2021). see you soon~
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weaseltotheface · 1 year ago
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Weasel’s Weekly* Bumbleby Fic Rec! -May 12th 2023-
Welcome back again friends and enemies we are here today to celebrate another fic that probably doesn’t need to be recommended but i truly MUST
In honor of Tears of the Kingdom coming out today I can’t NOT rec one of my favorite aus of all time, one that made me literally go AHHHHHH out loud when i saw it
hear her in the wind  by @thecousinsdangereux
WIP or Completed AU or Canonverse Rating: M Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: "The wilds of Remnant hold history. (Ancient memories in fallen stone, foregone whispers filtered through the leaves of great oaks, the ghost of a touch carried by the breath of the wind.) Yang wakes one hundred years after catastrophe and must collect the pieces of her own past as she moves through places she can’t quite remember, searching for the people she loved a lifetime ago. Some things are stronger than the gaps cleaved by loss, and she will fight for a princess she recalls only in fragments, long before she fully understands why."
That’s right! Zelda au! How could i not do this one for today, if i’m the only one making a post about this fic today then like shame all around u guys fr.
The team dynamics in this are truly stellar and the memory flashes ala Breath of the Wild get u right where it counts. There’s a haunted energy around the whole thing that’s like...bittersweet, much like Breath of the Wild, obviously. Seeing them all interact in the memories Yang is trying to piece together makes me happy.
Personally i find Emerald to be a particularly wonderful highlight, she’s a little shit and i love her a lot.
The way the worlds are tied together is truly a masterpiece if i do say so myself. Nothing about the liberties taken with either property seem forced or out of place, it feels cohesive and melding two different worlds like that can be very challenging! It works remarkably well
Yang/Blake/Adam as Link/Zelda/Ganon is a paralell ive made posts about myself in the past because it really just feels RIGHT. It FITS as a theme across bumbleby aus and it fits as HELL when actually put into practice in a Zelda au.
I don’t wanna spoil anything so i’ll leave it at this, a nice disjointed, stream of consciousness lmao, i was gonna re-read this week but time got away from me, but its one i keep coming back to because i love the world building so much and I especially enjoy the character interactions. And Yang as Link is just truly inspired
I would say....that I recommend that you are at least familiar with Breath of the Wild before reading this one. I wouldn’t say you NEED to be, I believe it can stand on its own, but knowing the Zelda half is beneficial just to avoid confusion
*while supplies last
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