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scifrey · 1 year

Text

Cling Fast: Chapter Four

By Losyark

The Sandman (Netflix with some sprinkling of comics canon, and Gaiman Cinematic Universe canon) Dreamling (Hob Gadling x Dream of the Endless | Morpheus) Unfinished (tentatively 9 chapters) PG-13 (for now) Unbeta’d

Hob spends the next month finalizing deal memos outlining compensation and percentages, which Lucienne helps him parse, and then quibbling with the legal department of the BBC on the actual phrasing of the longform contract to ensure he’s not accidentally signing away his soul. Morpheus does him a solid and sets up a dream with an entertainment lawyer, and the poor woman has the most boring night of her life, explaining each of the clauses to Hob.

She has good taste, at least. Her fancy New York corner office overlooking Central Park is filled with abstract paintings that swirl and roll on each of the walls, and riotous bunches of vividly orange goldren rod bloom against the watermelon-blue of the Manhattan skyline.

Hob gets the go-ahead from the university, and gives a head’s up to the students who don’t want to potentially appear on TV to attend online, and then teaches his final day of classes before the summer break with a camera crew following him. This is for something called "b-roll", which they’ll intercut during the sit-down “talking head” interview that Hob has yet to give, and will appear in the first episode when they introduce him.

Morpheus has very firm ideas of what Hob should be wearing in this footage, and pulls together a look from the fantasies of students who clearly fetishize their profs. Hob rather likes the nebbish cream-colored cardigan with the dark-brown elbow patches, but he spends the whole lecture trying not to squirm as skinny jeans in the same shade of brown try to cut him in half at the waist. The waistcoat, in a deep hunter green, comes with a matching tie, which Hob thinks is excessive. He’s never worn a tie to his job here a day in his life, not even when he was first interviewing for the position. But Morpheus had said that he is the master of his domain and ought to look it.

“Prince of under-caffeinated students and precariously balanced stacks of unfinished marking, am I?” Hob had laughed. “Where’s my crown, then?”

Morpheus whisks a circlet of ivy into existence, leaving a small pile of sand on Hob’s bedroom rug, and drops it crookedly on Hob’s head.

"Ha ha. Thanks for ruining my hair,” Hob complains with a chuckle.

“Your hair is fine,” Morpheus assures him. “Enjoy your final class.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Hob says, slinging the ivy over his arm and snatching up his briefcase on his way out. He hangs the circlet jauntily on the edge of his laptop, out of the way of the camera for the students at home. He likes the idea of his friend’s gift being immortalized in a TV show.

Summer term starts. Hobs' already offloaded the one intro course he'd originally been meant to teach onto a poor newly-tenured baby prof (powerpoints, syllabus, pre-written quizzes and all, Hob’s not a monster). He walks Dennis through payroll and grocery ordering one last time, but he isn't worried—Dennis literally knows where Hob lives, if he gets in the weeds.

And with that, Hob has nothing to do but focus on his eight-week stint as a television presenter.

Matthew joins Hob on his walk to Broadcasting House on his first official day on the job. They share a pain au chocolat, and Matthew works through a bit of what he remembers of his human life. It’s not that he’s entirely forgotten, he knows his full name and that he’d been married, that he’d died in a coma brought on by an accident, that he was in law enforcement like his father. But the details are muddled, and he suspects that in the manner of dreams, he’s misremembering a lot of things.

Hob’s offered, more than once, to search for his obituary. Matthew isn’t interested.

“Got my closure, I’m good,” the bird reassures Hob from his shoulder. “And I dunno if it’s ‘cause I got this little raven brain now, but yeah, I don’t much care? Living for the present, and all that.”

“Must be nice,” Hob says, offering up a buttery corner of pastry. Matthew nips it from his fingers.

They’re walking along the smaller roads, in front of sleepy brick terrace houses with potted trees and empty sidewalks, away from the heavy pedestrian traffic and tourist areas. Neither of them are too concerned that they’ll get strange looks. Just a regular man with a giant talking raven on his shoulder, nothing to see here folks.

“Hey, nothing’s saying you gotta spend all your time in the grief, you know. Like, I know it’s all churned up right now,” Matthew allows, “what with all the papers and stuff. But you’re doing this to remember the good times. To…. I dunno, finally say goodbye.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” Hob wonders. He hasn’t been sleeping well, plagued with nightmares about the miserable nothing-years between the night Hob had died with Robyn, and the night in the White Horse when the sight of his Stranger had brought him back to life.

Morpheus has not banished the Nightmares when the visit. Instead he sits with Hob each time his sleeping mind conjurs up the front door of the tavern, the proprietor barring Hob’s way, the desperation he felt to just get in, to just see his Stranger, to just finally put an end to this awful century–until the terror subsided and Hob remembered where he was, what year it was, and why he was reliving this. Then he shifted himself into lucid dreaming, politely thanked the Nightmare for doing it’s job, and let Morpheus complain about his siblings or political headaches until he’d felt ready to go explore some more peaceful part of the Dreaming with its king.

“Man, I dunno,” Matthew says, pulling affectionately at a piece of fly-away hair beside Hob’s ear. Where Morephus offered his hand when Hob felt unsettled, Matthew’s version seemed to be preening him. “But I know everything went to shit for you so fast, there can’t have been time to, you know, process it.”

“I had ten years to grieve Eleanor and wee John. And I sat in that forsaken house alone, wretched and longing for Robyn for another thirty before they–they…”

Matthew pulls out a few hairs sharply. “Getting drunk as fuck on a century’s worth of hoarded wine and passing out every night for three decades is not a coping mechanism.”

“Ow,” Hob mutters, rubbing his scalp.

“You gonna finish the last of the coi-sant?”

“Have it, you feathered menace.”

Hob is given an ID badge, a gaudily branded tote bag with an equally gaudily branded metal water bottle, and escorted back to the same cramped room filled with wobbly cubicles and the overcrowded inspiration board.

The room bursts into applause as he enters, startling him so bad that muscle memory has him reaching for a sword he doesn’t carry any more.

“God’s bones,” he gasps, as Harriet scurries through the dozen or so folks lingering around the entrance, looking to shake his hand or pat his back. “You really know how to make a guy regret all his life choices.”

The assembled crowd laughs, and Hob goodnaturedly lets himself be hustled inside. Closest to the inspiration board, someone’s crammed in an uneven, dinged up metal desk that looks like something stolen from the set of Doctor Who.

"This is you," Harriet says brightly. "Sorry for the squeeze."

"Cozy," Hob counters with a friendly pat on her arm. "Trust me, I've had worse."

Like fox holes, third class steerage, and my own grave that one time I didn't duck an arrow fast enough.

Hob sets the hunter-green satchel on the chair. Morpheus had pushed on him to match his last-day-of-class outfit, and Hob doesn't want to know which high-end fashion designer's dreams Morpheus snatched it out of. Hob’s got another squashed pain au chocolat in there, his wallet and phone, some pens, a fresh notebook that he picked from the ‘too-pretty-to-write-in’ hoard which he’s accumulated over years worth of end-of-term gifts, and Eleanor’s diary, carefully wrapped in archival quality tissue and bubble-wrap for transport.

Glenn gives him enough time to make himself up a fresh mug of tea at the snack station in the back corner, before he’s being dragged cheerfully around the room to be introduced.

First are there’s wardrobe researchers and costuming assistants. They're keen to take his measurements, and one of them, with blonde hair and amber-brown eyes also looks like they want to eat him alive.

Then there are food experts pouring over Francatelli’s chicken-scratch handwriting and planning the five or six main dishes to feature on the program. Hob begs for as little posset and as much hypocras as possible, and it’s met with an evil grin from the woman in charge of authenticity.

Next come researchers pouring over contemporary descriptions of the house and furniture. He’s told the restorationists working on a few pieces at an off-site workshop including, to his awe and delight, Hob’s favorite reading chair from his study.

And lastly, of course, there are the ever-present researchers and writers that this sort of endeavor requires. They are all salivating over transcripts of the documents Hob handed over to the V&A.

Hob is delighted to see that he’s one of the few old white men on the crew. He looks forward to the perspectives other people are going to bring to the table, especially since he might accidentally get himself entrenched in his old patterns of behavior once he’s reenacting them.

The last person they introduce him to is their most recent hire, wielding the most interesting piece of equipment of the lot.

“What’s that?” Hob asks breathlessly, as he and Glenn approach a wide table with some sort of futuristic overhead projector-looking thing on it.

“This is Shami,” Glenn says. “They’re a specialist in digitizing especially fragile historic documents and texts. They were brought on board to handle the digitizing of the Gadlen Fell Crate Papers."

(Jesu maria, are they really calling it that? It makes him sound like he tripped into the duck pond).

"Nice to meet you," Hob says, and isn't offended when they don't answer. They're concentrating very hard right now. "And what's that you're working with?"

"A 3D scanner," Glenn answers.

“What will humans think of next,” Hob laughs, with all the childlike delight that bubbles up under his skin.

Shami doesn’t stop to shake his hand, as they’re wearing archivists’ gloves and are in the middle of a page. They're smoothly and slowly pulling what looks to Hob’s undrained eye like a grow-lamp on a stand mounted on a wheeled track. They hover it above a curled and age-browned page weighted down in the corners with soft little sandbags.

“Sorry, hi,” Shami says when they've finished. “And yo, thanks for showing up with enough stuff that they had to give me a job, yeah?”

“Oh, my pleasure,” Hob says. “How does it work?”

“The wand is a scanner–I’ll go over the same document a few times, with different styles of lights and grades of lenses. Then the computer compiles the images into a single, interactive document… there, see?” They point at the huge monitor on the table next to the scanner set up. “Look, you see in this layer here, if I–” they snap off a glove and poke at the keyboard.

Suddenly the words written in ink on the page (part of the Shakespeare Cardenio folio) vanish, and what Hob only sees as faded marks on the actual paper are enhanced in the image. Hob realizes it’s marginalia, originally written in pencil. He can’t read the handwriting itself, and doesn’t recognize it, but the fact that he can see it at all, clear as day on the screen, is incredible.

"Then what do you do with it?"

“It’ll all be online, every scrap of paper in the Crate, not just the motherfucking Shakespeare holy grail.”

Oh, Hob likes them.

“And when the scanning’s done, I get to make sure the resulting files are all accessible too."

"Accessible?"

"You know, alt texts and screenreader prompts, clean transcripts without a minefield of hard returns, things like that. The V&A marketing team’s cooked up this whole plan for an interactive website to bring the Crate Papers to life. You know like… so you go to Gadlen House, right? And you see a recipe behind glass. But then scan it with your phone and it brings up an ingredients list and a cooking demonstration video so you can make it at home, and a link with a social media feed where you can upload pictures of your own attempt to a community.”

They pick up one of the gravy-stained sheafs of paper, and turn it so Hob can read the heading: Receipt for Marchepane Byrds ayn Snow.

Hob has a sudden sense-memory of a tooth-suckingly sweet dish that Robyn had begged for each of the twelve nights of Christmastide, the year he was eight. Snow was a bowl of whipped egg whites, butter, cream, rosewater, and enough sugar to choke a cat, served with a little sprig of rosemary decorated with the springy fluff as if it were a pine tree in a winter forest. Francatelli had made a trio of little red-breasted robins out of marzipan to sit beside the tree, much to Rob’s delight.

"And you're doing this for everything?" Hob asks, breathless again, but for a different reason. He's stunned. He's moved. "You're bringing everything to life this way?"

Hob wonders how much he'd have to pay Shami to add Eleanor's diary and Robyn's sketchbook into their work. He wants to keep the originals, but he's not adverse to letting the scans out into the world.

He's lived a long time, he's not ashamed of his centuries-old sexploits being splashed across the internet. Not if it means that people might sing Eleanor's little compositions, or fall in love with Robyn through his drawing master's eyes.

"Everything," Shami confirms.

Amazing. He can't wait to see what humanity comes up with next.

He has so much to live for.

Hob’s visit to the Dreaming is brief that night, too exhausted from the day to want to do much more than to sink into the deep oblivion of true non-REM sleep.

While it's summer in London, it must be springtime in The Dreaming, because everywhere Hob looks there seem to be flowers, and fungi, and vegetation galore. He doesn't know the names of most of them, aside from the ones that he knows will kill you if you try to eat them, but it sure smells nice.

Morpheus lets Hob’s dream-self nap on a luxurious chaise longue in the corner of his office, under a blanket woven of the light that shines between logs in a bonfire, the first taste of whiskey pulled from flask shared between friends, and the deep green fronds of ferns that grow in old forests. Hob was surprised to learn that Morpheus has an office, but it seems that even the King of Dreams and Nightmares, Shaper of Forms, Prince of Stories, and God of Sleep has to deal with the frustrating mundanities of correspondence.

“We should get you a computer,” Hob mutters dozily. “Make the fair folk send emails. I’ll set up your Outlook for you.”

But he’s vanished into the dark, deeper warmth of dreamless slumber before he can parse Morpheus’s rumbling reply.

The next day sees Hob, Glenn, Harriet, and the scripting team locked in a meeting room with a plate of sandwiches, a carafe of tea, a box of markers, a whiteboard, a pack of cue cards and instructions that they would not be let out until they’ve broken the series outline.

"Obviously we're keeping mum on the Shakespeare thing," the showrunner, a robust no-nonsense black woman named Ponle says, before Hob's barely settled in his seat. "We're still waiting on authentication, and if we get to feature it on the show, we're saving it for the final scene of the penultimate episode."

Hob learns that penultimate means second-to-last, which he knew but he'd forgotten he knew. Sometimes he loses words in the dusty, unused corners of his memory, and it takes reminding to realize that they're still there, he just hasn't needed them in a decade or so. Makes him wonder if one day in 2123 someone will shout "yeet!" or "yolo!" at him, and it'll take him a moment to remember what that means.

There are two other writers locked in with them: an adorably earnest young nonbinary kid fresh out of drama school named Jae, and a middle-aged dyke who's the punkest woman Hob's seen since since punk was new, named Nastunye (both of them as straight as an overcooked noodle, as far as Hob can tell).

"Jae, Doc Bob hasn't done this before, so why don't you explain how we structure these shows while I get the whiteboard set up?"

Doc Bob? Hob mouths at Harriet, perplexed. She just shrugs and whispers: "Too many PhDs in one room." She points at herself, then Glenn. "Doc Hari, Doc Gee"

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, Jae scootches their seat close to Hob's and lays down the clipboard they've been clutching this whole time. "So, uh, you've seen the Historics before?"

"Some, yeah," Hob says. "I've got a friend who's seen them all, though. He has great things to say."

Jae nods firmly, not to be sidetracked with praise. "So normally they frame the narrative of the show with the calendar. They create twelve episodes, one for each month of the year, plus a holiday special explaining the feasts and revelry, if the era celebrates one. Each episode gets four 'events' —a Meal, an Outdoor, a Domestic, and an Economics. So, for example, an episode set in, say, April, would be gathering things like peas and carrots and fennel, and making a sallet. Outdoor stuff could be some lambing and calving, the Domestic is always—"

"Spring clean!" Glenn and Harriet groan together on cue.

"And Economic is inevitably the first of the milk and cheese production. Do you see?"

"Got it," Hob says, not sure what this has to do with why they're here trying to figure out the pace of episodes. Seems like the seasons dictate the narrative, not the writers.

"Elizabethan Manor was originally meant to follow the same pattern," Jae says. "But then…" they gesture politely at Hob.

"Me?"

"You," Nastunye says with a smirk. "You really threw a wrench in things."

"I tend to do that a lot, yeah," Hob reposts back, unrepentant. That makes Nastunye grin widely at him, and yeah, okay, he can get into the rhythm of this. These are good people, and they were all in here together to figure it out, not one-up and dick measure.

"So!" Ponle says, smacking the whiteboard to pull everyone's attention to it.

She's divided it up into ten columns, and along the top it reads (to Hob's spiking anxiety):

The Rise and Fall of the House of Gadlen

"That's just ten episodes," Hob says. "Am I missing something?"

"Production cut two episodes to be able to pay for you," Nastunye explains, unrepentantly blunt.

"Oh," Hob says. "Um, sorry?"

"Nah, don't be. It'll be nice to do something new."

Hob looks around the room, and everyone seems to agree with her, so he doesn't let the concern faze him.

"Plus, you know, all the assets you've already brought to the table," Glenn says. "Quite literally."

"So I'm thinking…" Ponle starts, and turns her back on the room to write. "Instead of going by seasons, we go by themes. Something like…" She adds to to the top of the first column:

Rise to the Top Printer -> Shipyard -> Court

"Makes sense," Nastunye offers. "For episode one, we follow the Gadlens for what bits of history we have primary sources for, finish on the building of Gadlen house?"

"So, mode?" Jae asks, pen at the ready over their clipboard. It's not until Harriet and Glenn start brainstorming ideas that he realizes it's not mode, it's M.O.D.E.

"Meal could be pasties," Harriet offers. "Make four different versions with different ingredients and pasty coffins to demonstrate the economic status of the different ancestors, and the advancement in cuisine. Focus on the fast food of the ears, what you packed in your lunch box, as it were."

"And we can roll Outdoors and Economics in together, if we look at each of the jobs —printer's assistant, shipwright, master of an estate," Glenn tosses out. "Domestics, we can do, uh, maybe serving staff?"

"Or maybe the architecture of the eras?"

Jae and Nastunye both throw out ideas, the gists lost in their overlapping voices, and Ponle cuts in with a snort and a "No, we did that last series."

"Beds," Hob says softly. Everyone turns to look at him, and he tugs on his ear, disquieted by their intense focus and the sudden silence. "Uh. Three different beds." He sketches out the idea with hand gestures, describing the size of each with the width of his arms. "Or, sorry, no, is that not good?"

"Go on," Harriet urges him.

"I just mean… imagine it," Hob sits forward, getting into his descriptions. "A rough, narrow rope-strung cot by the fire in Caxton's, so his apprentice was right there to stoke it in the middle of the night, to make sure the bottles of ink didn't freeze in winter. Then, a bunk in a loud and rough boarding house by the water, little more than a moldy straw tic on a rough-hewen board, soaked through with other men's sweat but as comfortable as the freshest bed of moss when you're too exhausted with labor to care. And then the double wide four poster, with the cabinet doors to keep out the vermin, and the light, and the eyes of servants when the Master and Mistress were at their pleasure. Eiderdown stuffing, warming pans between the sheets, and the faint whiff of piss when someone lifts the lid of the Night Water jar to have a squat." Hob looks down at his hands, which had pulled the blankets over his own shoulders in each of those beds he's described. And more, besides. "Uhhhh, or maybe four beds, if you want to count the one made specifically for the queen when she came to stay."

"Damn," Glenn says after a long moment, sitting back. "You can sure paint a picture with your words, Doc Bob."

Hob clears his throat. "Thanks, Doc Gee."

Ponle adds to the bottom of the column:

Toil and Rest.

Jae, who is writing furiously, begs for a moment to finish their notes before they move onto the next episode. Everyone helps themselves to more tea, and Nastunye passes around a tin of her wife's Makivnyk poppyseed roll cake.

Harriet reminds Nastunye that she was promised a recipe to take home for her son to try, and then Glenn is saying something about his own wife and teenagers, and naturally enough, their curiosity and conversation turns to Hob.

"Do you have anyone waiting for you at home, Doc Bob?" Ponle asks, forthright instead of dancing more politely around the question.

Hob laughs. "I live above the bar that I own. I have hundreds of people in place every night."

Harriet finds his answer delightful. "But no one special?"

"Only in my dreams," Hob huffs.

"Okay, done," Jae says. The move onto episode two.

Everything is coming together swimmingly, until at in the column above episode nine, Ponle writes:

The Witch Knight

“Do we have to call him that?” Hob groans, tugging at his ear.

When they're finally allowed to pack it in, several long hours after sunset, the episode list reads like this:

1: Toil and Rest

2: Decadence and Decoration

3: Court and Courting

4: Music and Dance

5: Fun and Game Hunts

6: Marriage and Maternity

7: Childhood and Schooling

8: Tragedy and Tears

9: Witchcraft and Wreckage

10: Hope and Dreams

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musicalchaos07 · 8 months

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Okay, but Jancy wedding though. Have you shared your thoughts on it?

Hello again Faith,

No I have not and I feel the need to say that my actual thoughts are VERY DIFFERENT than what's going to happen in my fic The Alcott. That being said:

They get married young because boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't cut it anymore

The wedding takes place early November 1990

Joyce isn't exactly happy about them getting married so young at first but she comes around

Nancy is perfectly happy with a courthouse wedding but Jonathan is like no I don't want that

So they have a very small civil ceremony in central park

It's a very casual wedding but it's just what they want.

(idk if you could get mail-in ordained in the 90s but I know in a modern AU Argyle would marry them with his certificate from the universal life church)

Karen Wheeler is not happy about the civil ceremony, she's even less happy that it's small, and then Nancy picks a dress similar to this and she's downright pissed. (I cannot see Nancy wearing a white dress that's my truth)

Will is best man obviously and Nancy doesn't really have a maid of honor (because Barb) but it's Robin

The color scheme is very much like fall foliage (reds, soft yellows, orange) But the bridesmaids aren't super matchy

Mike, Argyle, El and Holly round out the wedding party

But like the only other people there are their parents, Vickie (she's Robin's date) Steve somehow (I cannot give up on the monster hunting trio it's my weakness)

Jonathan doesn't wear a tux, but he does wear a button down with a tie that matches Nancy's dress

Obviously, he takes all the photos himself (so there's a lot more photos of Nancy than him)

It rains on their wedding day I know that in my heart

Their reception is spent at their favorite restaurant in NYC

They go home to their apartment that night and have their first dance to Lovesong by The Cure in their kitchen (their second dance is modern love)

Their Honeymoon is just a quick weekend at Niagara Falls but they have a "real" Honeymoon a couple years later in London

I think about their wedding a lot tbh

#asks #mutual asks #jancy #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #send me more asks i beg

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bitbybitwrites · 6 months

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🎶

xoxo MJ/kiwiana-writes

🎶 [Notes] Do you have any other WIP related things, like moodboards, character portraits, playlists or similar?

Yes! ( kind of long, so more info under the break)

IN GENERAL

I tend to write in Scrivener - which has this great notes section on the right hand side of where the body fo my text is kept. Lots of times when I go on "research rabbit holes" sometimes before I start writing or in the middle of writing (which is what happens more often 😂), I'll search out photos, music etc that make me think of the story or chapter. As I go I'll dump all these photos, links to inspirational items, etc there for easy access.

Scrivener also has a great sections specifically for places and character and template pages to fill out for locations/characters that I've used in the past. It makes it all easy to jot down/collect all that info in one place. I can copy and past pictures in there really easy - so its kind of like a mood board/inspiration board. And I don't have to go to a whole other document to look for the pictures etc if I need it - its all right there in easy reach

SPECIFIC WIP

For my Klaine fic - If I Can Make Your Heart My Home:

A fic which involves a cello player and a baker, I've got a playlist on youtube comprised of mood music for chapters and actual music included in the fic:

Also because this fic involves A LOT of food, I started a recipe wrap up for readers that I try to update every 3 chapters or so which includes quotes where I mention items, and then the recipies for them:

I LOVE moodboards on fics. I'm paired up with a lovely and talented fanartist (@datshitrandom ) for the fic who did this gorgeous moodboard for a chapter where the characters met up in Central Park in the Fall.

She also made the beautiful cover art for the fic which inspired the story in addition to a CD cover for my cello player and is creating a cookbook inspired by the fic - which I'm excited to see when its finished! 💖💖

For my Klaine fic, Sanctuary :

(which is a fantasy!AU involving a medieval prince and an elf) I have this lovely artwork by @datshitrandom that serves as the inspiration for the characters. The art came first, along with the prompt by @justgleekout. The story is currently on hold till I finished the monster of the previous fic I mentioned above 😂.

And I have 2 RWRB fics brewing at the moment.

Notes, research, chapters outlined . . but very little written so far for them (not enough to post at the moment) . . but both are inspired by fan artwork.

Shaken, Not Stirred - inspired by this sketch by @noodles-and-tea

Curently Unnamed RWRB historical fic - inspired by these portraits by @stormtrooperjeff17004

Thanks @kiwiana-writes 💖💖

If you want to play: Random WIP Game

#random wip ask game #ask game #bitbybitwrites #datshitrandom #fic: if i can make your heart my home #fic: sanctuary #klaine fanfiction #klaine fanfic #klaine fic #rwrb fic #firstprince

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duckapus · 2 years

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More on uncle shredder AU? I love it!

So there's three characters I'm changing drastically and making major characters even though they're usually not.

Seymour Gutz/Mutagen Man A pizza delivery guy around the same age as the Turtles who found out about them after getting curious about who the heck would put a sewer grate as their address. He made fast friends with them mainly thanks to Mikey, and eventually got dragged into the crazy ninja superhero stuff due to bad luck.

Somehow he's actually resistant to Mutagen and turns back into a human after a few hours, which is the reason he gets the nickname Mutagen Man in this universe. Thanks to that, he can usually hold his own in a fight despite lacking ninja training and whatever Casey's got going on...at least as long as he has access to Mutagen and doesn't get a dud transformation(turning into Pigeon Pete when you're up against Stockman's robots is not a fun time). Initially he carries around test tubes of it, but he switches to water soluble capsules after the Central Park Zoo Incident.

Venus de Milo O'Neil A honeybee that got mutated into a teenage bee/turtle/human hybrid after landing on one of the Turtles and then on a puddle of Mutagen. She's initially pretty nervous and awkward, partly because as a bee she's not really used to the level of independence that her new mental state allows for. She ends up getting taken in by April's family while she figures herself out, with her hive getting transferred to a bee box in their rooftop garden so she can still take care of it.

Most of her appearance is defined by her bee dna, since that's what she started as, but she does have a shell, as well as patches of green scales on her limbs(which she still has six of). Her shell actually has two slits up near her shoulders that her wings can pop out of and retract into, and she's still able to fly despite their small size. She has the ability to communicate with and control bugs in a very similar way to the Rat King with rats, but she doesn't like doing the latter, mainly because she still sees herself as a Worker and not a Queen. She has some interest in ninja training, but doesn't go all-in on it until the obligatory Farmhouse Arc.

Antonio Turtelli A rival crime lord to Shredder with an extremely good public image, and also the guy funding the Purple Dragons. In a world of superscience, aliens, ninjas and monsters, he stays on even footing with the competition through charisma, careful planning, and pragmatism. Eventually he gets mutated into a mammoth of all things, and immediately installs himself as a spokesperson for mutants to make it harder for the Turtles to deal with him.

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #mutagen man #seymour gutz #venus de milo #don turtelli #bees #april o'neil #casey jones #purple dragon #uncle shredder au #turtelli was from the 80's cartoon #don't know what venus's weapon will be but i'm giving her a green mask #since most of her body is yellow #the retractable wings are so the shell can still act as defense #turtelli's mutant form is essentially just mammoth mogul from the archie sonic comics but without the immortality #seymour's transformation powers are so i can include as many mutants as possible without having to make them all full characters #and his backstory's a reference to that pizza guy who got shortchanged in the very first movie #might give rocksteady History with turtelli #i have devised a way for the farmhouse arc to happen and be just as much of a gutpunch as usual #while keeping the friendlier interpretation of the foot clan that the au is built on intact #but it deserves its own post and i haven't explained everything i need to beforehand

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somedayonbroadway · 2 years

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So i’m really curious on what the Newsie’s backstory or their life in general would be on the Monster AU. I’m sure that wasn’t your intention when you posted that but I loved it a lot and I really want to know more about it-

Beware of…

Monsters

Song: Monsters by Ruelle

Jack Kelly, The Lone Wolf

Song: Run Boy Run by Woodkid

Jack had never been one for friends. Growing up he was moved from place to place, foster homes and running away, trying to make a way for himself. When he’s seventeen, he manages to run away, taking shelter in the woods in Central Park. He encounters a wolf as he’s trying to sleep. The thing bites him and runs off before he can react and pain rushes through him as he slowly transforms into the monster he will forever be.

It takes Jack many years alone to get used to his transformations, eventually able to do it at Will unless under the control of a full moon. He hunts in the woods at night and has a relatively normal life during the day, though he ages much slower than normal humans. Jack goes to college and has a job at a local coffee shop for a few years, but one night when he’s hunting in the woods, he’s lured into a trap by a very dangerous monster hunter and scientist, William Snyder. Snyder keeps him in a cage and manages to find a drug that keeps Jack in his wolf form for long periods of time. Snyder uses him as a pet, a guard dog to hunt other monsters. Jack has no choice but to do it, a shock collar around his neck and no way to get out.

Eventually, Jack does escape, running as fast as he can so he can stop the hunter from hurting anyone else.

Katherine Plumber, the Ghost in 1313 Pulitzer Lane

Song: Monster by Dodie

Katherine grew up in a wealthy home in 1899, with a rich father who never wanted her to go out and explore the world on her own or focus on her own career. She still, however, always wanted to be a reporter, she always wanted to help people, so in her teens and early twenties, she began going to rally’s and writing stories on the underdogs and fighting for equality. One night, however, after a riveting article published against a politician who is also an alleged crime boss. After Katherine exposes him, a man breaks into her house at night, assaulting and murdering her in front of her parents who never manage to recover.

Katherine haunts her parents house for the rest of time. When Jack is still in captivity with Snyder, Snyder takes him to try and catch Katherine. Jack manages to warn her and Katherine is able to free herself from the house, promising Jack she would set him free one day too.

Crutchie Morris, the High Witch of Manhattan

Song: Control by Halsey

Charlie comes from a broken home, his dad always in and out and his mother an addict who his father enabled constantly. When Charlie is ten years old, he gets in a very bad car accident and his mother is trapped under a car. It’s the first time he uses his powers in his panic, unaware of what was truly happening. He saves his mother’s life but is unable to save his own leg. Kids at school start calling him Crutchie and Charlie takes on the nickname to try to gain confidence, even though he eventually manages to use a cane rather than a crutch. He practices magic in the woods as he grows up, eventually finding other witches in New York and teaching all of them how to use their magic with ancient spell books and wands that he managed to find while doing his research about old witches who lived in Manhattan before him.

When a fallen Angel gets trapped on earth and is being hunted by the feared monster hunter of New York, he manages to save him before escaping himself and allowing the demon to live with his black wings another day.

David Jacobs, the Mad Doctor

Song: Monster Mash by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and Tye Crypt-Kickers

David is a scholar. He grows up in a very normal family, middle class in the suburbs with two loving parents and a twin sister and a little brother who he loves more than life. One day, his little brother dies. He got sick and his little body couldn’t quite make it. So David takes up his life in science and dedicates his life to bringing his little brother back to him, doing horrible things like stealing the organs of recently deceased to try and reanimate his brother, eventually stealing a dying man’s beating heart to bring little Les back to life.

The two are joined at the hip. David’s twin sister cuts ties with him after all he’s done, but once David has his brother back, he doesn’t care.

Les Jacobs, the Mad Doctor’s Monster

Song: Cold Cold Cold by Cage the Elephant

Les is David’s little monster— brother. He is very young when he dies, only ten and he is taken by a sickness no one could quite treat fast enough. Eventually, he is brought back to life by his big brother, but he’s never quite the same, unable to speak as he used to or use decision making or common sense. All he knows is that he has his brother and he wants to keep them both safe.

He runs into a monster hunter one day, meeting a tamed wolf who looks sad and defeated. He feeds him before the wolf is taken away after biting its master. Les can’t comprehend that the wolf saved him from a second death.

Racetrack Higgins, the Fallen Angel

Song: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish

Race is an all holy angel before he begins to question the ways of his kind. He falls fast and unexpectedly, turning his wings black and his heart a bit bitter, but the boy ultimately loves creating chaos. He thrives in hell, however he does make a few enemies who trick him into making a trip to earth with no way back. Race gets trapped in a realm with humans who are frightened of him and Race becomes a target for those who see him as he is; unholy.

A monster hunter becomes particularly interested in him and his dark wings, managing to trap him for a short time, taking a chip off of his wings. But he is saved by a lone wolf who gets Race on his back and rushes him to safety, helping mend his wounds.

Spot Conlon, the Rebellious Vampire

Song: Raise Hell by Dorothy

Spot is a normal boy growing up in the Victorian era. He has sisters and a mother whom he takes care of and lives beyond belief, but he still manages to be a bad boy outside of his home life. He likes to sneak out at night and meet strangers in the woods for a good time. He gets bit when he’s nineteen.

He adapts to the times, moving around the world so he won’t ever be recognized. He never makes friends, not wanting to lose anyone else like he lost his sisters, but when he meets a fall angel with fangs just like his, he can’t help but stick around a bit, even if that fallen angel’s best friend, a wolf with an attitude, drives him absolutely crazy.

Albert DaSilva, the First Risen Zombie

Song: Spooky, Scary Skeletons by Andrew Gold

Albert grows up in a very dull neighborhood, where nothing exciting ever happens, however he does think back and curse himself for wishing something exciting would happen. You see, Albert’s town was the test sight for a new energy drink, chemicals unknown to the public, and Albert never could resist a beverage that would keep him awake for days on end. He soon regretted that decision when he was pronounced dead three days later. He woke up in the morgue with a strange craving that he could never fulfill and his brain didn’t quite work right. The chemicals led to a strange reaction, people dying and waking up, biting others who had similar but faster spreading reactions.

The entire city is quarantined and treated for their zombie-like symptoms, eventually waking up and believing everything to be normal. But there’s still that craving for human flesh that Albert can’t quite shake.

Medda Larkin, the Boogey(wo)man

Song: Darkside by Neoni

Medda is a legend, a nightmare, who has been around for centuries. She protects the monsters that make her nightmares real, taking a liking to a group of misfits who are the target of one monster hunter that is a little too persistent for his own good.

William Snyder, the Monster Hunter

Song: Weight of the World by Shayfer James

Will is six years old when he witnesses his mother get murdered by a monster out of control. He dedicates his life to hunting down those responsible, trying to protect the public from these creatures, these demons that threaten their human way of life. He’ll make sure they suffer for things they may or may not have done if it’s the last thing he does.

Monster Playlist

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jackalopes-pen · 1 year

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MasterPost [ The Second ]

Series:

Dumb Brain Child

My personal theories as to the whys and how's of the Sanders Sides Universe. These are unorganized and chaotic as hell so.. take with a grain of salt

[1] [2] [3] [3 1/2] [4] [5] [5 1/2] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Roommates

In a Human Alternate Universe, Remus and Janus live in an apartment together. [ Fluff | Dukeceit/Demus | Logicaility | Prinxiety ]

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

South Park Superheroes

An episodic series following the gradual machinations of a group of vigilantes from an outsider's perspective.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [7.5] [8]

Please note: I have no schedule.. for anything

______________________________________________________________

Stand Alone Pieces:

Snake Eye [ Sanders Sides | Original WIP ]

The Great Pirate Adventures [ Sanders Sides | Pirate! Orange ]

The Real Monster [ Sanders Sides | Based on TikTok ]

Sides of a Side [ Sanders Sides | Prompt Roman Central ]

Blind Date [ Sanders Sides | Intrulogical Prompt ]

Bookstore on 2nd Street [ Sanders Sides | Logicality Original Idea]

I'll be Careful [ Sanders Sides | Logicality | AU ] Cookies [ Sanders Sides | Patton Central Fluff ]

Swap With Me [ Encanto Au | Prompt/Suggestion ]

You Were There [South Park | Post Covid au } Phone Calls [ South Park | Goth Kids Au | Aged up ]

2:05 am fanfic [Tumblr-lore | Brain Rot ] The Playground [ Halloween Special | Original Horror Short ]

|| Do note: If something you are trying to find is not here, let me know!! ||

#masterpost #main post #blog navigation #link tree #helpful post #there is a disclaimer #read the disclaimer #please #if you can't find something #lmk #there is a random link #that is for me #click if you want #but it's mostly for me #tw swearing

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looney-mooney-studio · 2 years

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Assuming you’re still into the miraculous au, how did our favorite dog and rabbity thing get their miraculouses in the first place?

Okay, so. Here’s what I’m thinking:

The Miraculous box basically takes the place of the Devil’s Toybox in this AU. The previous Miraculous Holders are mostly the same, but the society that protects it is more Egypt-centric than China-centric. The Miraculous Box, like the Devil’s Toybox, was eventually brought from Egypt to America sometime in the late 18th century.

Though the ancestors of the Boxists are spread throughout the world, most members of the secret society forgot about the artifacts entirely in a memory-related incident sometime around the loss of the Peacock and Moth Miraculous. Unlike in Miraculous Canon, these two artifacts were split, and most of their owners didn’t realize the artifact’s potential - the Peacock Miraculous was looted by pirates, and eventually sold to a merchant in New York, who passed it down as a family heirloom (which is how Momma Bosco eventually ended up with it). The Moth miraculous was lost to pawn shops, yard sales and swap meets, and eventually ended up in Hue Bliss’s possession when he was just a down-on-his-luck queer kid looking for a new start in NYC. He discovered the power of the Miraculous, and used it to build his cult. He was a bit of a shadow villain, puppeting prominent figures, and has only started causing more visible mayhem recently.

The only person who remembers everything about the Miraculous is the current guardian, a man who is smart enough to never reveal anything about himself, and goes by “The Commissioner.” He’s been trying to find the missing Miraculous for ages, and now he has to deal with these Akumas??? He’s getting too old for this shit.

Meanwhile, Sam’s just about to start his first year at the New York College of Art and Random Studies (NYCARS for short) and Max is tagging along even though he can’t afford the tuition and didn’t even really try applying for any colleges. Granny Ruth gave them an apartment to stay in, one that was passed down to her by her late father, Sameth.

While Sam went to his first day of class, Max started wandering the city in search of jobs and trying to get a feel for the neighborhood. He’d already gotten a few gigs doing some modeling work for the art classes at the college Sam was going to, but he figured they couldn’t be too prepared, even if they didn’t have to worry about New York’s famously relentless rent costs. He still didn’t want Sam having to deal with student loans if he couldn’t help it.

While he was wandering, he started hearing screams coming from down the street. He rushed towards the danger instead of away, and saw a monster attacking everyone.

The Commissioner was just about to use one of the Miraculous to fight the akumatized victum when he saw a white rabbity college-aged boy wearing nothing but a crop top and some booty shorts launch himself at the monster and sink his teeth into it. He was immediately impressed.

Sam called Max as soon as class was done, and Max put the phone on speaker and immediately let his best friend know what the fuck was up. Sam ended up strategizing with Max mid-fight, and they met in Central Park, Max riding the darn thing right into a trap the two buddies made together. The Commissioner saw the whole darn thing, and knew immediately that they would make the perfect crime-fighting duo.

But Hue Bliss got to Max while the Commissioner was busy trying to get the Ladybug Miraculous to Sam, and offered him a modeling job promoting his books. Max already knew a little bit about Celebrity Queer Icon Hue Bliss, latched onto the opportunity to have a stable job with someone he already kinda idolized. The Commissioner left them both their respective miraculous, with strict orders (via note) not to tell ANYONE about it. The Kwami emphasized this point, telling them about how they had lost their friends.

Sam wanted to tell Max immediately, but, well… rules are rules for a reason, right? Meanwhile, Max was ecstatic at the idea of a secret identity. In one day, he 1)fought a giant monster, 2)got a stable job modeling for Queer Icon Hue Bliss’s projects, and 3)got SUPER POWERS. BEST. DAY. EVER!!!!!!

#sam and max #miraculous au #freelance husbands #miraculous #long post #fanfiction?#a wild anon appeared #ask #looney mooney rants

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fanghunting · 2 years

Note

if you don’t mind a request: gimme some random zapp headcanons! sfw or nsfw doesn't matter; just whatever pops into your head, or any headcanons that you keep in the back of your mind that you haven't posted yet!

I never mind requests 💕

Zapp usually sleeps semi-sprawled put but sometimes subconsciously cocoons in the blanket and presses himself into the wall. He has no idea why he does it but it's pretty comfortable. Once he gets free of the blanket...

He has, on many occasions, stayed up several extra hours just texting with his s/o. He loses track of time when talking to them and they have to eventually tell him to sleep or just stop replying for the night.

His favorite fast food is tiny burgers from Krystie's (krystals). His favorite "slow" food is duck from this great place near what used to be Chinatown.

He likes his apartment cold enough that there's a tingle but no colder.

He takes hot showers that end cold to cool off.

(Monster AU) Personally he thought for sure that training with Raju would trigger his blood to fully awaken. It did not happen, but at least his horns finally grew in!

He is bi with with a preference for women, but he has been attracted to men in the past. He gets flustered when talking to a man he's attracted to.

If he's genuinely into someone, he will let them know with liberal use of emojis while texting. He usually just uses some but if he's into that person there will be several in every message.

He secretly loves slow quiet dates. Walking through Central Park is a great way to make him relax and be himself.

When he's thinking hard, he silently stares off into the middle distance. Sometimes he has accidentally stared at people.

He's terrible with money management but if his s/o wants something he will make sure he saves some to get it for them. Then back to terrible habits.

A part of him is impressed that Zed, a fish, has mastered the Shinatobe style, which deals with air. He would never voice that though.

He is protective of his friends! If anyone threatens them or they're in danger he will protect them. He doesn't make friends easily so he really wants to preserve the ones he has.

Sometimes his s/o will randomly get a very serious text from him. "Please don't leave me"

His very first romantic partner straight up abandoned him when he voiced concerns about the relationship. It's fucked with him ever since, he hates that it has but sometimes he just... can't help but need to ask his s/o if they still love him. And to never abandon him.

This poor man has been alone for so long, please never up and leave without warning.

Spicy HCs below the cut!

He's a switch in bed. He prefers to lay back while his partner's on top of him, but if they want something else he'll adapt. He's a very soft dom, always asking how they feel and making sure he's doing well.

His aftercare is amazing. This man will give his partner a sponge bath if they're too tired to go to the bath. He will make sure to grab them some water or something to hydrate before cuddling and passing out together.

He practically needs music playing! Hard instrumentals usually, but there are some songs mixed into his playlist. His mind wanders to places he does not like if he doesn't have a sound in the background.

Amazing with his mouth???? Holy shit, he is so good at oral. Greatly prefers to give, gets very turned on whether he's eating out or giving a blowjob.

L o v e s quickies.

Get him tipsy and he'll do absolutely anything his partner wants. He does still have some hard lines but as long as those aren't crossed, he's game.

Bodily fluids other than spit or cum are one of his extremely hard lines. Blood he can handle if it's just a little but if it's a lot he immediately stops. He hates hurting his partner too much- or being made to bleed a lot because he worries he'll hurt his s/o accidentally activating Kagutsuchi.

#kkss #kekkai sensen #zapp renfro #sinful fanghunters

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everyothermouse · 3 years

Text

HEEHOO MONSTERS CENTRAL PARK AU

I changed it up the family dynamic a little bit! Prince and genny are siblings who live together with prince's bio daughter hash and genny's adopted daughter gabby :D also prince and queeny aren't related in this au lol

Figuring the other characters is still a work in progress, but here's what I got so far!

Elwood - pherrin (castles)

Brendan - the STILL unnamed villain from Deforestation (plant lady, hunters)

Griffin - Dario (hunters)

Hazel - Noelani (juniors)

Shauna - Ari (juniors)

Marvin - Mellisa (hunters)

coles friend? - Akira (hunters)

Oh yeah also here's the thing this drawing is a redraw of :)

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memes-saved-me · 2 years

Text

I Think We're Alone Now...(Spideypool AU)

AO3

A little something commissioned by @withoneheadlight for Harringrove For Ukraine, thank you for donating!! 🖤 (And making me finally write this)

It really was becoming ridiculous how much Billy thought about him. What he said the last time they met, how he moved so effortlessly like he didn't weigh a thing, how gentle his hands were when touching him just after punching someone in the face, but most importantly his voice. It was all he had that was well and truly him. The real name, the face of Spiderman a mystery and it was beginning to drive Billy insane.

He imagined that he lived in some high-end apartment that overlooked Central Park, living it up and jumping into action the moment he was needed. A much more luxurious life compared to his own. Sure he had enough money to survive quite nicely but after deciding to only kill people who deserved it the bills started to pile up and what was once a nice place to live became a shoebox apartment that looked out to an alleyway. Billy didn't go out into the public much, his suit being his everyday outfit unless he was meeting his one and only friend Robin who knew exactly who he was and what he did.

She didn't even notice the burn scars now, too busy rolling her eyes at whatever weird comment he made that she didn't understand to care. Spiderman, however, was probably handsome. That's what Billy liked to think late at night, or midday... Still, he knew he didn't look anything like him, no secret hiding behind his mask other than his identity. Something Billy tried to figure out many times before feeling guilty and stopping before he got too close. The need to know didn't outweigh the code he lived by, even if it was pretty much the only one he followed.

That was until he found himself on the rooftop overlooking Central Park with a very injured Spiderman and no way of getting him down other than jumping and breaking his own legs to cushion the fall. An option he would go through with but first, he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to bleed out.

"I'm fine," he waved Billy off as he limped over to slump down against an air vent. "Had worse."

"Rude," Billy replied which got him a huff, followed by a wince.

"Just give me a moment."

Billy did want to give him a moment but also he needed to see his wounds to calm his own nerves, his injuries healed already but he would need to spend Sunday stitching up his suit.

He sighed and crouched down before him to get a better look at the slashes across his chest. "You gonna flash me or what?"

"What do you know about first aid?"

"I was human once, Bug Boy."

There was a moment of silence, no way of reading the other's expression. "Fine. Unlatch my neck."

"Is that a spider thing or...?"

"I swear if you don't..."

Billy lifted his hands jokingly before leaning forward to unlatch the top of his zip to let it run down his back so he could pull his arms out and let it sit around his waist, his blood-covered torso in full view. It took Billy a moment to remember he was supposed to be checking his wounds not staring at his chest hair and abs, tight toned and right there.

"Hey," he snapped and clicked his finger in his face. "You not regenerate some brain cells?"

"You're just jealous," he replied and carefully wiped away the blood with his kind of clean handkerchief.

"You say that a lot."

"What?"

"That you used to be human."

"Well, yeah but that's a long story," Billy shrugged trying to concentrate on the job at hand instead of letting his hand shake. "Nothing exciting."

"Will you tell me it some time?" he asked.

Billy looked up and even though he couldn't see it he knew he was being genuine. "Sure."

"I'd say you're a human but with a little extra something," Spiderman laughed softly and for the first time in a long time Billy didn't feel like some sort of monster among men. "You used to do some messed up stuff but you still help people and that makes you a human in my books."

"Thanks," he chuckled lightly. "Apart from the fact I can't die."

Which was another thing that got to him. Billy knew that Spiderman wasn't immortal or at the least eternal like he hoped the person he would fall for would be. None of the actual immortals he knew being an interest, leading to him shutting himself off to avoid the pain. Like some sort of ancient vampire who lost their soulmate in the 17th century and vowed to never love again, a thought he found funny at times but then again there he was obsessed with someone he didn't even know the real name of.

That was until he felt a hand on his cheek and looked to see his hand. Which was slowly tracing his jaw, smooth brushes of his thumb over his mask as he looked up at him. "I always hope you're gonna turn up to big fights like this," he spoke so softly Billy felt his throat dry up and his heart stumble over itself to correct its beat.

But just before he could say anything smart or funny in return he almost choked because he was watching Spiderman pull up his mask to reveal the bottom half of his face which revealed a smile. One that was beyond his most creative dreams. Teeth showing ever so slightly but the warmth that spread through his stomach as he stared at it was something he had not expected at all. Realistically he had wanted to fuck Spiderman but now he wanted to cuddle him...after sex of course but still, he could feel himself falling headfirst right there and then.

They were so soft, so kissable but just as he fooled himself into thinking that was what he wanted he remembered his own face. The pink, scarred mess he hid so well and before he could really think it through he was pulling away.

"Shit," he breathed as Billy stood up to get a grip and find a way to charm his way out of this. "Sorry I completely read the room wrong. I just...I probably hit my head a few too many times or something. Shit yeah. Sorry."

"No," Billy replied looking the other way out at the flashing lights of the police who turned up just as they were leaving after finishing their job for them. "You're right...it's just me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not what you think I am," he turned back and kneeled before him once again. "Under this mask is a mess."

"I don't care," he smiled tenderly and all of a sudden he wasn't scared to pull his mask up so that it was sitting on his nose, his smile only growing until he leaned forward with a slight wince to cup his cheek with his free hand. The other on his own side in some sort of instinctual action to diminish his pain.

Billy went for it, leaning in, meeting him in the middle to kiss him. His own hands moved to caress his neck as he took in the taste of sweat and blood, something that turned him on too much for it to be normal but nothing about this was normal or appropriate in the slightest so he forgot about all of that. Forgot about the fact he was an immortal ex-assassin kissing a man who had spiderlike abilities and fell into his touch like it was the first time he had ever felt loved.

Soon enough they had moved closer, not a word or even a full breath exchanged as their bodies became flush against one another. Both of them pulling off their masks without letting go until Billy moved to slide his hand down his back and grab his ass to tease him, causing him to wince from his own jolted reaction to the sudden touch.

Billy pulled away, guilt rushing through him which was rare but when he looked up from the sliced chest of the boy who made him forget just how messed up his life was, he saw the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Deep brown, big and looking right into his own as they finally took in each other's faces.

"Wow," Billy breathed as he realised he was well and truly fucked.

#this will probably get a part 2 #or another oneshot #Harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #edit #writing #fic

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 3 years

Note

Hi! It's an au twilight question.

What if Edward and Bella did the nasty in early New moon. Then the party happens and the Cullens leave. Bella discovers she's pregnant with Renesmee. What do you think what would happen?

A very interesting question, anon. One that will go very interesting places, I'm sure.

That said, as usual, because I'm a completionist, we have to go through the "why no canon?" routine. Bear with me, I simply must.

Why Didn't Edward and Bella Do the Nasty Pre-Breaking Dawn?

For all that Edward is, for all his... questionable morals and sexual fixations, he does have a moral code he strictly holds himself to.

Edward is adamantly against having sex with Bella in terror of the very real possibility that he will murder her in the act. He's very clear about this, he didn't think he could do it, at all, and only his sheer desperation that Bella never be turned, his desire to marry Bella, as well as Alice's thumbs up convinced him to do it.

If Bella was a reasonable person then she would have agreed as well. Sex with Edward, while she's human, is a bad idea. However, Bella never really seems to clue in on what vampires even are so I think the Man of Steel on Woman of Kleenex aspect is lost on her.

Had Alice not given the green light, I imagine Edward would have gone back to the drawing board and ended up either here or here. Bella turning is the worst possible outcome and Edward will risk almost anything, even Bella's death, to see it avoided.

But that doesn't mean it's an action he takes lightly.

He suggests pimping Bella out to Jake before he suggests sleeping with her himself. For Edward, this is a last resort.

More, Edward is a man of his time.

Edward was from an upper class family and, more to the point, still holds himself to the standards of the society he knew when human (much to Bella's amusement).

Edward wistfully talks about courting Bella, how he would have courted her had he been a true man in the time period he was familiar with, and why marriage to him is so very important.

That Edward doesn't seek out the approval of Charlie, Bella's father, is a hilarious aside to me. Edward's all about chivalry until all those old society standards get in his way.

What do you mean a gentleman doesn't sneak into a lady's apartments in the middle of the night to watch her slumber unawares?!

Regardless, marriage is extremely important to Edward, especially in the context of sex.

Edward will absolutely not have sex with a woman who is not first his wife. He also will not marry a girl that society defines as underage, he will wait until Bella's legal and probably until she finishes her primary schooling.

This means Edward was never likely to have sex with her before graduation and certainly not before her eighteenth birthday.

Which, at the earliest, puts her past the New Moon birthday bash.

Edward and Bella Do the Do Anyway

But let's pretend they do it anyway.

I'd say the most likely scenario is after the birthday disaster. This is it, Edward knows he is leaving Bella forever, if he is truly noble then he will never see her again.

Certainly, he will never interact with her nor hold her in his arms. To Edward, this is essentially his last true night on Earth.

So rather than pull a partial D.E.N.N.I.S. system, Edward pulls the full D.E.N.N.I.S. system, he initiates the "I" he was previously missing, "Inspire Hope". Or, in this case, get laid for the first and only time in his life.

He sneaks in through her window. They make beautiful, passionate, tepid love so Edward does not crush her in the act, and as she sleeps blissfully in the aftermath he sneaks back out the window to never be seen again.

(It takes Bella a week to admit that Edward just hit and run. The Cullens aren't coming back.)

However, because Edward didn't actually point blank tell her what was happening, rather than hit her New Moon stage of depression, Bella's instead in denial.

The Cullens are coming back. What, Carlisle has a new job? No, that can't be right, they're coming back. Alice would never leave her without a word. Edward would never leave her without a word.

Jessica pats Bella on the back consolingly and is secretly glad that it's not her. She might have been dumped by Edward Cullen, but at least he didn't humiliate her the way he did Bella Swan.

Leaving without a single word, yikes.

Two weeks go by then Bella gets the flu.

In a single day, she's unable to keep down anything. Huh, that's weird. Very quickly, Bella has her tampon epiphany. Bella is not a virgin, she had sex with Edward, she's late, and she appears to have a baby bump.

Bella is carrying Edward's child.

There is no question of aborting the child. This is Edward's child, the only piece she has left of him, even without Renesmee's gift it's ride or die. Bella is delivering this child even if it kills her.

However, she has some immediate issues.

First, she's visibly pregnant, it's been only two weeks. That's not supposed to happen. More, Charlie is bound to notice sooner rather than later, Bella would like to avoid that, the stigma of teen pregnancy, as well as the inhuman complications that are sure to come along.

Second, there's inhuman complications. Bella can't just go to an OBGYN, not even a town over. She's carrying something half human, a doctor will poke around and find that out, and then Bella's blowing the secret.

Bella knows vaguely of the Volturi at this point, but not the severity of the law, it's more that she promised Edward she would never tell a soul.

Plus, a human doctor wouldn't be able to help anyway.

That leaves vampires.

Bella tries to call/email the Cullens. However, thanks to Edward, all their numbers are disconnected and all their emails no longer exist. Her "Alice, help, I'm pregannant" messages are sent to a void.

(Alice, meanwhile, thinks she's finally successful in blocking visions of Bella. At least Edward will be off her back. Without the cliff diving and Jake, Alice does not assume Bella has died/committed suicide.)

A brief internet survey also yields Bella no results, but it does get her a lot of vampire porn. Thanks internet.

Bella... starts to get worried.

She's getting more and more pregnant in a matter of days, Charlie is starting to notice that she can't keep anything down, and the Cullens aren't taking her phone calls.

Then, Bella has it, she remembers that weird baroque painting Carlisle had of him and those Italian vampire dudes: the Volturi. Conveniently named after the city they live in, Volterra, Italy.

Bella debates her options.

Edward told her that these are the guys who make sure that humans who know the secret disappear. Well, Bella is a human who knows the secret, that's bad. Also bad is that they eat people, Bella is a person.

On the other hand, Edward implied these guys are civilized and friends of Carlisle. That's... good? Bella isn't sure she's on good terms with the Cullens, given the whole abrupt leaving thing, but maybe they don't have to know that.

Bella debates with herself, tries to look up the Denali, and only finds the National Park. She has no idea where these guys even live, or what they even look like besides "blonde hot vampire", and she's short on time. Plus, they are close with the Cullens, so the Cullens probably did tell them "Ew, Bella, No Gross, Do Not Want".

Because the Cullens all hate her now.

Bella has some money saved up, and this is probably a one way trip, and if she doesn't go then... well, it's not looking good. Bella musters up her courage, tells Charlie some outrageous fib to explain why she's disappearing off the face of the planet, and books a flight to Rome, then Pisa, then a bus ride to Volterra.

Bella subsists completely on blue gateorade, this doesn't go well, and she vomits blue in the parking lot.

Regardless, she makes it, huzzah she is in Volterra. It's sunny out and there are no vampires. Bella wanders around the city and looks for the most vampire building she can find.

Luckily, she happens to be right, and it's the very central castle. Well done, Bella.

Bella walks in and spots a vampire. She also spots a receptionist, Bella is very confused. Never the less, Bella says the magic words, "I'm a... friend of Carlisle Cullen?"

Even though Bella doesn't have Aro's name (or any of the other Volturi for that matter), Carlisle's name does the trick. Anyone who works for Aro knows that name.

Color Aro intrigued, he will meet this pregnant woman! (Caius, meanwhile, votes that they eat her immediately out of spite.)

Well, Aro touches her hand and lo and behold she's scarily gifted. And she knows Carlisle, what a great day to be Aro.

Aro explains that everything's totally fine with her knowing the secret, it just means they have to turn her eventually, after she gives birth of course.

Bella stares at him numbly and wonders why Edward made this such a big deal if it was that easy.

Aro insists Bella start from the beginning, as in the very beginning of her life. This is weird, but Bella complies.

An hour later they get to the interesting part: Bella meets Carlisle (and Edward Cullen, Aro guesses). Aro gets to hear the whole, sordid, ridiculous tale of Bella and Edward's romance including the part where he fucked her and ran off into the night.

Aro is stunned.

He first apologizes for the Cullens behavior, they should absolutely not have abandoned her, and not turning her was completely irresponsible (what the hell was Carlisle thinking?)

He then gives the bad news, he... has never heard of anything like this.

You see, normal vampires don't have sex with humans. It isn't done.

Also, there's this thing called Immortal Children (Edward tell you about that, no? Well, he probably thought it wasn't relevant). That thing your carrying might not be a child capable of growth but an insatiable monster.

Or it could be the alien from Aliens.

There's no way to tell, really.

BUT NO NEED TO WORRY, BELLA, THEY WILL FIGURE THIS OUT.

Aro promises Bella his protection and a period of observation for the child. Bella's not sure she likes that observation part, but this seems like a pretty sweet deal otherwise.

As for what to do, well, Aro has to call in the foremost vampire medical expert. Sorry, Bella, but there's only one man for the job.

Aro sends out Demetri to find Carlisle.

Demetri shows up on Carlisle's doorstep, "Carlisle, old friend, Aro has need of you. Your son knocked up a human girl."

Carlisle blinks, blinks again, then does a thousand yard stare. My God.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Edward is already on Victoria's tail. Carlisle tries to call him, to no avail, Edward isn't taking his phone calls.

Alice and Jasper are already on their trip to hunt down Alice's past. Plus, given the Volturi, they'd be unlikely to come anyway. Carlisle sends them a message.

Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett travel to Volterra to clean up Edward's mess.

And sure enough, there's Bella, very pregnant with a child that is very much not human. Carlisle dies inside, Rosalie's on a warpath that Edward would abandon his pregnant girlfriend to the point where the only place she could turn was human drinking vampires.

Rosalie takes it upon herself to leave Edward the world's angriest voice messages until he returns her phone calls.

Aro's delighted to see Carlisle again. Even if he does have a wife now. Also, Aro claims finders keepers for Bella, Carlisle's not happy about this and less happy that Aro points out that if Edward cared so much he wouldn't be absent right now, would he?

They figure out the blood drinking thing, Carlisle desperately raids a hospital to prevent Bella from being fed the leftovers of the Volturi victims. This likely doesn't work out for him.

At the last possible moment, Edward finally picks up his phone. He learns that all he's tried to accomplish failed spectacularly. Bella is pregnant with his demon child, is literally drinking blood, and is in Vampire HQ with the leader insisting she will be turned immediately after the C-section.

Edward races to Volterra and strides into the room demanding Bella be aborted and remain human.

Aro stares.

Carlisle awkwardly explains that Bella's too far along, it's too late now even if they wanted to, more she adamantly doesn't want to abort and never did.

As for Bella being human... Bella pipes in that she's cool on becoming the vampire part. Aro's a great guy. She then races to embrace Edward, he's come back, after all this time. And he's going to be a father, isn't that wonderful?

Edward loses his mind.

And because this is Edward, I have no idea what he'll do, only it'll be utter madness. This is my best guess.

To be a little more serious, he probably tries to abort the child anyway, he mercy kills Bella and the child, or Renesmee manages to get through to him.

Given canon, it's likely the latter. Bella is convinced that her and Edward's relationship is perfect.

Aro has no idea what to think of any of this.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #bella swan #edward cullen #edward/bella #anti edward/bella #carlisle cullen #the volturi #aro #caius #demetri #rosalie hale #alice cullen #the cullens #the denali #meta #headcanon #opinion

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anneimaginesundertale · 3 years

Text

Futuristic City AU

This was originally going to be an expansion of my version of Outertale, but honestly, there are other people who have created way better versions of Outerfell and Outerswap and so on and I didn’t want to feel like I was copying anybody. Instead, I came up with another dream simulator AU. I guess you could call this a variation of Outertale, where monsters went to Earth instead of going to look for their own planet. Can you spot the little mix up that happened? (It was on purpose, really, but was a goof in-universe.)

Centuries ago, monsters were trapped on a moon high above the planet. A human child rescued them and the monsters made their way down to the planet and learned to live with humans. Many of them settled in Ebott City. Now the year is 2421 and Ebott City has changed a lot! It’s now split into two distinct sides—the Old City and the New City—with a big Central Park in between. The Old City is more of a steampunk style, with lots of bronze, gears, and steam-powered inventions. The New City is more of a neon kind of place, with bright lights, colorful outfits, and lots and lots of shiny chrome. Our skeleton lads have their places on both sides and are doing some pretty interesting things!

In the Old City, you can find:

Red and Boss — Red is a mechanic, even in the future. He runs his own garage and works on all manner of flying cars and spaceships and futuristic vehicles, but his real passion is building his own racing pods, both for the races in the city and the ones that take place out in space. Boss is a diplomat by day. By night, in disguise, he is a famous racer. He depends on Red to build and maintain his pods and to keep his secret.

Black and Rus — Black is the captain of the city guard. He works hard to keep both sides safe, although he can’t help his preference for the Old City. His brother, Rus, works at odd jobs, but his true passion is art. He sneaks out at night to create big murals around the city on both sides. Black knows who the mystery artist is and refuses to make it a case because “it beautifies the city” (and he doesn’t want to arrest his own brother for vandalism…)

Bones and Lucky — They own a pawn shop/antique shop. Most of the stuff there is junk, but sometimes, if you ask nicely, they can find you parts you might be looking for, or a real antique.

Smiley and Grim — They run a club in the old city. If you know the password, you can get in to see the real show—duels and battles, for honor or glory or just the pure adrenaline rush.

In the New City, you’ll meet:

Sans and Papyrus — They run the Moon Shuttle, which takes tourists to the old monster Ruins on the moon. Sans drives and sells souvenirs, and Pap leads the tour!

Blue and Stretch — Blue is a guard at the Monster History Museum. He takes his job very seriously. Stretch is a journalist who digs into stories he should maybe leave alone.

Sansy and Sweets — They both have futuristic prosthetic parts! Sansy has a metal implant on his skull that covers the hole there and also gives him a false eyelight, since his doesn’t work. Sweets had his entire jaw replaced. His new teeth are perfectly straight and made of shining silver. They are really happy with their new looks. Sansy has gone back into comedy and actually runs a little comedy club. Sweets runs his own bakery where you can have special treats that have lots of interesting effects.

G and Aster - They are robots! Really cool, futuristic, skeleton robots. Well, they’re kind of robots. Except they also have emotions. They aren’t entirely sure who built them, but whoever it was left a bit of themself in the boys. (They have vague memories of an accident and a lot of yelling, but no clue what actually happened.) G runs a robot repair shop (because who better to fix a broken robot than a robot?) Aster works at the local library, where he *is* the database. He knows where all the books and other things are filed and has an encyclopedic memory.

Break and Tango — They run a zero gravity dance studio. It’s Dancing with the Stars, literally! Break runs the equipment and all the technical behind-the-scenes stuff and Tango teaches lessons and performs.

And finally, there’s one pair of brothers living in Central Park. They’re…a bit out of their depth.

Comet and Captain — They are…really out of their depth. These two are wind spirits who somehow ended up in this world. They have no idea how it happened. They were on a normal flight and things went pitch black and then…they were in a city! They’ve found a place to roost in the city park, but they’re definitely having trouble fitting in. It’s hard when you’ve got big feathery wings on your back! Both of them have black feathers that shimmer with their respective colors (blue for Comet and orange for Captain). They’re really not sure what’s going on…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel free to ask questions about this new AU! You can probably tell that I spent more time thinking about some of these than others, and your questions always help me flesh things out a bit more!

#future city au #this one took me a while #but I think I’m happy with everybody’s roles #let me know your thoughts!

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magnus-the-maqnificent · 4 years

Note

I can't get this thought out of head and i need to share it: COB au where magnus finds out Jace is afraid of ducks therefore is most definitely a herondale and that just wrecking like all of Valentine's plans

BRUH I LOVE HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS 🤣🤣🤣 @beclynn-herondale you HAVE to see this

Also, I couldn’t help but write a mini fic🙈🙈🙈

“Chin up, Wayland,” Magnus said as he walked past Jace on the path in Central Park. “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

Jace raised his chin briefly to glare at Magnus. “For you, perhaps.”

“Ignore him,” Isabelle said, checking her nails as they stopped walking for a brief moment. “He’s just sulky because he can’t flirt with Clary, now that they’re siblings.”

Jace’s face fell again, quite literally. He ducked his head, staring at the dry leaves and twigs scattered on the path, feeling utterly miserable at his life.

Why, oh why did the one girl he genuinely had feelings for just had to be his sister? Why was the universe so cruel to him?

“How nice of you to wait for me,” came a dry sarcastic voice from nearby. Jace turned his head slightly to see Alec walking on his crutches, slowly making his way towards them.

Right. That’s why they were out in the first place. Magnus had dropped by in the institute an hour or so ago to check up on Alec, after which he had decided that Alec needed sunlight and a good walk, and dragged the three of them outside. Jace was only here for his parabatai, not for the warlock. Isabelle, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind making small talk with the warlock.

"Oh, by the way," Jace said, looking at Magnus. "It's Morgenstern now, not Wayland."

Magnus frowned, eyes flicking over Jace as if he were some unsavory specimen. Isabelle wrinkled her nose.

"It's so weird, though. I mean, till now you had one surname, and now you have another."

"Don't remind me," Jace muttered.

Alec, who finally caught up with them now, said, "Can we go back to the institute now?"

"Don't be so hasty," Magnus said with a saccharine smile. "You need to get used to those crutches of yours."

Magnus swiveled and resumed his walk, followed by Isabelle. Alec sighed and had just moved his crutch when Jace grabbed his arm and said with an eyebrow raised,

"I thought you didn't like that warlock?"

Alec bit his lip, looking absolutely stunned by that question for a moment.

"He saved my life," he mumbled petulantly.

Jace curled his lip. "If you say so."

He took a step forward, and frowned when something crunched under his foot. Jace squinted down at the pavement, and saw white crumbs scattered all over the path.

“Is that bread?” Jace muttered, and no sooner had he said the words that something assaulted him from the side. He caught a glimpse of dark feathers, heard a cacophony of very distinct quacks, and when his brain caught up with the fact that he was surrounded by ghastly ducks, he froze and screamed.

“Jace, wha-“ Alec was interrupted by Jace screaming even louder, when the ducks, disturbed by his screams began to thrash their wings. Afraid they were going to peck him to death with their beaks, Jace stumbled backwards, right into Alec.

They fell to the ground, and when Alec let out a cry he realised that he had just fallen on top of Alec’s injured legs, and thankfully had the sense to roll off before scrambling at his belt for a seraph blade.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” Magnus thundered, rushing back to them with Isabelle by his side. Luckily, they had already glamoured themselves, so no mundanes noticed when a flurry of blue sparks drove the ducks away.

Jace shakily stood up, his unnamed seraph blade still in his hand, and immediately received a thwack on the head from Isabelle. Magnus on the other hand had dropped down to Alec’s side, checking on his injuries.

“What the hell, Jace?” Isabelle chided.

“In my defence-“ Jace pointed to the devils which were still retreating. “I was being attacked by those monsters!”

Isabelle made a pained noise in his throat. Magnus raised an eyebrow up at him. Alec just seemed defeated, staring into the distance with a sour look on his face.

“Are you afraid of ducks?” Magnus asked.

“I’m not afraid of them!” Jace protested. “I just don’t trust them. Bloodthirsty little beasts, they are. You can never trust a duck.”

Magnus frowned, standing up and pulling Alec to his feet. “Funny. I knew a Shadowhunter who’d say the exact same thing. In fact-“ Magnus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I know of an entire family, generations of them who’d say the same thing. Are you sure you’re not a Herondale?”

Jace frowned at that. “You think I don’t know what my last name is?”

“To be fair, you didn’t really know until two days ago,” Isabelle pointed out.

Jace hesitated.

“Now that I think about it,” Magnus went on. “I did think you were a Herondale until I found out you were a Wayland. But you’re not a Wayland are you? And I’ve known both the Morgensterns and the Herondales for a few centuries now, and- yes, you’ve got to be a Herondale.”

Jace narrowed his eyes at Magnus. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Magnus said, his eyes glinting as if he’d just solved an ancient puzzle. “In fact, I know several people who can confirm that you’re a Herondale. Besides, Herondales are notorious for their irrational fear of ducks.”

Jace blinked several times. The universe didn’t seem so cruel anymore.

“So I’m not a Wayland or a Morgenstern, but a Herondale?”

“Yep.”

“So… I’m not Clary’s brother?”

“Nope.”

The four of them stood in silence for several moments, until the truth finally seemed to register in Jace’s brain. Magnus had never understood the Herondale’s strange fear of ducks, but he was pretty sure that the fear was somehow a family trait.

“I’m not Clary’s brother,” Jace whispered, before yelling it out louder. “I’m not Clary’s brother!”

He let out an unearthly screech and ran down the path, presumably to find Clary. Isabelle cursed under her breath and ran after him, the two shadowhunters leaving clouds of dust in their wake. Alec looked like he was about to follow, but Magnus noticed and grabbed his arm.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he scolded. “I’m going to drop you off at the institute, and you’re going to take some well-needed rest, okay?”

Alec opened his mouth to protest, but shut up at the sight of Magnus’s withering gaze.

“Fine,” Alec sighed, and let him accompany him to the Institute. Magnus grinned.

#asks #blues and then purple pink asks #my fics #crack #alec lightwood #magnus bane #Jace Herondale #Isabelle Lightwood

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pilot-boi · 3 years

Text

The Sun’s Sorrow

When the Fates cut a string, that person’s life is meant to end right away. But there are special cases. And Pyrrha’s string is shorter than most, measured out to one length since the day of her birth. She knew this and she was more prepared than most for when her time would come, and for the time she had she would burn as bright as the sun.

Although not everyone would cope with her absence quite as well, one life’s flame is often enough to ignite another’s.

(Or: The PJO AU that literally nobody wanted or asked for)

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

AO3 LINK

Battles raged up and down the streets of Manhattan.

As he ran, Jaune passed Yang and the remaining members of the Ares cabin taking on a squadron of Lastragonians. His blonde haired friend had long since abandoned the shield her adoptive sister had begged her to use and was clocking demons in the face with her celestial bronze knuckles. One giant took a hit to the jaw, to match the cut across Yang’s cheek, but that was all Jaune could see before he sprinted past.

He ducked on instinct at the yelled command of Qrow Branwen, and a volley of Hunters arrows streaked across the street brushing close enough to ruffle Jaune’s hair. The front line of a horde of hellhounds fell, and he had barely enough time to hear Qrow call for another volley before they too were passed by.

The sounds of more battles echoed through the sleeping streets, in a mockery of the sound of the normally bustling city. Nora called a strike of lightning down on some giant blue… giant down one alley. Sun and Neptune fought back to back down another against a whole troupe of enemy demigods.

A flurry of petals shot past him and materialized into Ren and Ruby, the girl already swinging her scythe to launch Ren up into the air to fight some kind of flying pig. Another street down Weiss barked orders while simultaneously taking down a monster with every expertly placed blow as she and the rest of the Athena cabin took on a phalanx of dracanae.

Jaune had no time for any of them, because just up ahead the person he was chasing was already out of sight.

They’d received word that Cinder- Kronos was advancing on Central Park. Flanked by a million bajillion monsters of course, but what did that matter? The King of the Titans was here, and they were in no way prepared.

Well most of them weren’t.

Red hair and a sash to match sprinted away from their little war council before any of them could stop her.

A chance to stop Kronos before the battle even began? A chance to fulfill the prophecy before the burden of the world fell to Ruby. To fulfill the destiny that the Fates had brought her back for. How could she not? This was what she was made to do.

Jaune had seen it written across her face as clear as day, and his dad was the god of daylight so he knew what he was talking about. He should have known what she was going to do, he should’ve stopped her-

He’d never be able to catch up in time. Even if Pyrrha wasn’t one of the fastest people at camp, Jaune was definitely one of the clumsiest.

Why couldn’t he have inherited his dad’s speed? Nope just blonde hair, a sunny disposition, and crushing abandonment issues. No special powers for Jauney, whoop-de-fucking-doo.

He turned a corner, and arrived on a scene of destruction straight out of an action movie. Or a nightmare. Or a nightmare that he had after watching too many action movies

It was a warzone. It looked like the rest of the Camp demigods had heard the news and also converged onto the park. On the right flank, Sun was leading an assault with the rest of their siblings. On the left, Blake raised her sword into the air and together she and the other satyrs and nature spirits charged in to face Adam and his faction.

Ruby was fighting scythe against sword with a flame bright Titan out on the surface of the lake. His friend was barely half the height of the Titan, and she was only holding her own against the laughing man by shadow stepping behind him every other second.

Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, neither was Kronos, because they were already getting thrashed as it was.

There was too much blood everywhere to pick out her hair or sash. Bronze gleamed on the chests of campers and enemies alike, blurring into one big shiny mess. He ran through the throng of fighting, squeezing past giants legs, helping where he could with his shield blocking a strike or two. But mostly he was screaming for Pyrrha over the sounds of the battle.

And then he found her. Crumpled at the base of a maple tree just outside of the line of battle, almost looking asleep like the rest of the mortals. Jaune was almost relieved until he slid to his knees by her side and she didn’t open her eyes immediately.

“Pyrrha! Thank the gods,” he yelled, pulling her up and holding her tight against him. She barely resisted, just chuckled softly. “I was so worried, don’t do that!” he reprimanded, pulling away and examining her closely

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” she promised, smiling weakly up at him. With eyes as bright as Greek fire, and an unmistakable blood trail dribbling from her mouth.

He examined her again, looking for anything that could be causing this. Because people didn’t just start bleeding for no reason. And then his eyes fell on the arrow sticking out of her ankle, just above her heel.

Her Achilles’ tendon.

Jaune’s blood ran cold, but he shook it off. It was fine, just a little scratch he could handle this much. “You’re hurt! Hold on-” he patted himself down for ambrosia, nectar, for anything that he could use to fix this. “Just give me a minute-”

“Hey-” Pyrrha tried to get his attention, but he ignored her.

“I can fix this, just hold on Pyrrha.”

“It’s okay-”

“No it’s not okay, you’re hurt, and I can’t do anything and-”

“Jaune.” His frantic rambling was cut short by one of Pyrrha’s hands closing around his own. “Look at me.”

He didn’t want to look at her, afraid that he’d start crying if he met her eyes. Dammit, his friends were dying behind them, and Jaune was crying over Pyrrha holding his hand. What the heck was wrong with him?

“Please?” And now he did meet her eyes, because she sounded fragile in a way that he couldn’t take right now on top of everything. And she was still holding his hands in hers, but Pyrrha’s hands were shaking. So he looked at her.

And what he found broke his heart and scared him even more than the warzone he’d just wade through to find her. Because Pyrrha was crying. Crying and smiling up at him like he was the most important thing in the world.

Which was wrong, because he wasn’t the prophecy child, Ruby was. Or Pyrrha was. Or they both were, or neither of them were. Anybody but stupid, bumbling, useless him.

“It’s okay,” she repeated, still smiling at him, and although her voice was soft, Jaune didn’t have to strain at all to hear it over the sounds of clashing bronze and fire behind him. It was like they were contained in their own little bubble, hidden away and unnoticed by the rest of the world.

“But it’s not okay.” And now his voice was shaking, and he swallowed back tears. “Pyrrha you’re-”

“Dying?” she replied, sounding vaguely amused by the whole situation, even as she coughed more blood out to land on her chestplate. “Yes I suppose I am.”

“No, no stop that,” he insisted, scooching closer to her and glaring through the tears that definitely weren’t blurring his vision. “You’re not dying, you’re just hurt, and if just hold on a little longer-”

“I… don’t think I can,” Pyrrha repulsed simply, grimacing a little bit. “I can feel it…” She trailed off, eyes defocusing for a moment, and Jaune’s blood froze at how long it took her to come back to the present. “This was how it was meant to be.”

“No,” he swallowed thickly. “You’re wrong, you’ve gotta be, Pyrrha please you’ve gotta be wrong.” Just this once, she had to be wrong. Pyrrha was never wrong, but please just this once.

“You’re more important to me than the world, you know that?” Another one of those sad smiles, and she leaned back heavily on the trunk of the tree. “More than the whole world, or the gods, or anything.”

Jaune couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For one because he’d seen enough movies to know that this was final words type talk, and Pyrrha was strictly forbidden from having any final words whatsoever. But mostly, because how could he be more important to Pyrrha than the world? He wasn’t anything special, which she knew better than anyone.

His heart felt like it was rolling around in a rock tumbler, being worn away by knives and other rocks and fire. He shook his head numbly, unable to articulate any further protestations.

“You made me believe, for just a moment, that the prophecy didn’t matter, that I could actually have a life.” She squeezed his hand, and her Greek fire eyes crinkled into a smile. “Jaune you gave me back my life.” And her voice cracked on the last word, and now they were both crying

He was dumbfounded. Whatever words he might have said died in the back of his throat. But luckily he was saved from having to think of more when Pyrrha reached one hand up and pulled him down into a kiss.

Jaune froze. His brain was going a million miles an hour, too fast for any coherent thoughts. His eyes were wide open in shock, and they stared at her for a moment before sliding closed.

It was a clumsy kiss, too fast and awkward to be anything else. Pyrrha tasted like blood, and tears, and they were both still crying, but they fit together like two pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Made for each other.

He felt like he was burning up, and for a moment he wondered if this was how Pyrrha lived her life all the time. A flame burning brighter than any other, destined to live life more than anyone else. But to be snuffed out far too soon.

And then realized that it was because Pyrrha was burning alive with fever. Something flickered to life within him, and he could feel it. The arrow was poisoned. And the fire in Pyrrha’s veins had reached her heart.

Jaune’s eyes opened slowly, too dazed from what had just happened, and he gazed at her in wonder for a moment. Her eyes were still closed, and her grip was lax against his neck, but she leaned her forehead against his.

“I’m sorry.”

And then Pyrrha’s hands fell away. And the flame flickered out.

Instinctively Jaune reached out and grasped at that flame. Something tugged in his stomach and he fed every scrap of energy he could find into keeping the flame alight. Into reliting, into anything.

Tears were streaming down his face, and his hands were glowing but he couldn’t see them, and maybe he was yelling something but he couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in his ears. The flame stayed out, and the darkness inside of Pyrrha filled her like a void.

She wasn’t warm anymore.

He leant down and pressed his ear to her chest, desperate for any kind of sign, and crumpled against her when she didn’t move and he found none. Even through the ringing, Jaune could tell that he was screaming now. Pyrrha’s head fell limply against his shoulder, her bangs covering her eyes. Eyes like Greek fire that would never shine again.

With the battle still raging behind him, Jaune laid Pyrrha gently against the tree. Now she looked like she could be sleeping, even though her chest didn’t move with breathing.

He was more angry than he’d ever been. Angry at the Titans for killing her. Angry at the gods for being terrible parents and dragging them into this stupid war. Angry at the Fates for convincing Pyrrha that she was only good as a weapon to point at the enemy. Angry at himself for letting her down in the worst way possible.

Jaune didn’t remember much after that. Just his veins burning like the sun, rage flooding his body like a fire, and a sorrow and mind-consuming determination that this wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

He waded into the battle, tears streaming down a face that was glowing bright enough to rival the Titan still battling Ruby on the lake. Jaune fought like a maniac, paying no heed to any injury he might take from strikes that he wasn’t meeting.

Every ally he brushed past was suddenly bursting with energy like they could fight an army. Fully replenished in a way none of them could be after fighting nonstop for days, weeks, and months straight.

Dammit, nobody else was going to die.

And then the world went dark.

Who knew how long later, Jaune woke up beside the lake and found Ren and Nora kneeling over him. Nora was rambling worriedly and excitedly before his eyes were even open. Ren helped him up and nodded in response to Jaune's thanks as he passed him a bottle of nectar.

Ruby appeared out of the side of a tree, shadow-stepping from somewhere else in the park. “Jaune! Thank the gods you’re awake,” she exclaimed, a grin splitting her exhausted face. “You’re not hurt are you?”

Jaune hesitated, and was shocked to find that he wasn’t. He’d waded into battle without bothering to use his shield, and somehow miraculously he was uninjured? Well uninjured past a weakness in his arms and a shaking in his legs. But that was it, so what in Hades was going on.

“It was Apollo,” Ren spoke up, after a moment’s silence. When everyone looked confused, he explained. “I saw you come out of the woods, glowing like the sun.” He nodded at Jaune’s hair. “You’re still glowing, in fact.”

“I am?” Jaune glanced up, as if suddenly he’d for some reason be able to see the top of his own head. His eyes narrowed. “But what’s that got to do with my dad?”

“Your dad blessed you,” Nora clarified, rolling her eyes fondly at Ren. “Glowing hair, healing stuff, no injuries? What else could it be?”

“Healing?”

“Everyone you came in contact with during the battle was healed,” Ruby confirmed, nodding. “At least until some enemy demigod saw what was going on and clonked you on the back of the head.”

Nora shuddered slightly, and at Jaune’s questioning look said. “You dropped like a sack of potatoes. We all thought you’d died.” Ren nodded in agreement.

“Anyway,” Ruby continued, “I just got the report from Weiss, and we’ve got no serious injuries.” She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, a look of confusion darkening her silvery eyes. “But why now?”

Nora hesitated, shooting a glance towards the treeline, and some kind of understanding flickered across her face. “What happened in the woods, Jaune?”

His heart dropped out of his chest.

The world was moving in slow motion suddenly, and for a moment he was worried that Kronos was nearby. Jaune had heard about what effect the Lord of Time had on the environment, and if this wasn’t the same he’d eat his sword. Up was down and left was right and he felt like he was inside an airplane with how sick he felt.

“Jaune?!” Nora exclaimed. Jaune blinked his eyes open -when had they been closed?- and saw them all staring down at him in alarm. Darkness was blinking into his vision, but he found himself leaning against Ren, who suddenly had to hold him up as he’d pitched sideways towards the ground as all the strength left his body. “What’s wrong, what happened?!”

Jaune didn’t want to say what happened. Didn’t want to think about hair as red as the fire he could still feel pulsing through his veins like the rays of sun on a summer day. He didn’t want to think about Greek fire eyes that burned into his soul, and would never see anything ever again.

Averting his eyes, he swallowed thickly at the tears that blocked the words caught in his throat. Staring across the lake, he looked away and stared instead at the ground, finding that he couldn’t look at the trees whose fall leaves were the exact shade of Pyrrha’s hair.

He’d felt her die, he realized now. That flame had flickered out, and at the same time, in that moment of trying to fight against the Fates themselves, Jaune had unlocked something within him.

Jaune had reached out and grabbed at Pyrrha’s very life in an attempt to keep it here on the mortal plane, and his father had blessed him for that. Finally using the latent godly power that had been passed on to him by his father, Jaune had used Apollo’s own healing to stave off death with his bare hands. And he’d damn near succeeded.

He could still feel the heartbeats of everyone in the glade.

But one critical one was missing, and would remain missing.

“We need a shroud,” he said finally, tears barely letting the words out. His voice sounded hollow, like all the life had been stripped away leaving behind an empty shell. “A shroud for the rebirth of Achilles.”

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #arkos #ruby rose #nora valkyrie #lie ren #the suns sorrow #mine #my writing #percy jackson rwby

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