#the op of this au is free to do whatever

[fluffypotatey]

Hello there! I hope your month is kind to you. Have you watched the Netflix Monkey King yet? If so, what are your feelings about the plot and the characters? Thoughts on the changes?

I've read a role swap fic idea LMK AU where instead of Tropitaka finding SWK in the mountain, LBD was the one who did it instead. Of course, she wasn't a crazy reformist extremist yet in when thwy met. Cue LBD seeing thia trapped monkey and thinking "i can fix him" while SWK goes "i can make her worse". It kinda ended up with both of them bwcoming worse for the turn because of each other enabling the worst and Macaque, who took SWK's plac with the pilgrims instead, sealed both of them together. Cut to the present where the duo came back and became big bad against Macaque, who's taken to protecting Megapolis as its shadow. The fic idea is under my #role swap au tags becuase the other details took too long to summarize the whole thing. Point is, in an AU where SWK is working with LBD instead of Macaque, but willingly, or maybe not, what would it take for SWK to turn on LBD, whether it involves Macaque or not? How do you think SWK would deal with MK, who is under Macaque's mentorship instead, while running the Lady's orders?

hey! i’m doing well 🥰 but sorry no, i still haven’t watched Netflix’s Minkey King yet 😭 it’s on my list don’t worry!!! when i do watch it, you’ll know (because i’ll probably be spamming my blog with nothing but that lol)

as for that au 👀 it definitely looks interesting but I will say, I personally think LBD was in her villain arc already when she finds SWK but the sentiment would probably be the same lol

it does make me wonder why Macky would be chosen as Tripitaka’s companion instead of SWK in this round. did he run into the monk just before he was supposed to meet SWK? was SWK already freed by LBD and Guanyin chose Macky as the next viable option?

anyway, for your questions

1) I think this SWK probably would be willing to betray LBD very easily. remember that when Tripitaka freed SWK that first time, the monkey had sworn to be his companion but immediately when against that promise once freed because the idea of serving not just a mortal but a pacifist monk felt insulting to him. so if SWK was freed by someone else who promised him revenge on those who hurt him but then he later found out was using him to wipe out the universe? he would easily dip

man’s has his own agenda and it doesn’t involve wiping out the universe and destroying his island with his monkeys

and if it concerned Macky? he probably wouldn’t show it, but I think he’d be very against LBD harming Macky and would even side with MK for it (but who’s to say that he isn’t against using MK either 👀)

2) yeah Sun Wukong and MK’s relationship would be so different in this au (but that even begs the question on whether MK’s origins are the same or he was created for the same reason 👀)

and if Macky’s mentoring the guy, then it’s a whole mess of using MK to get to Macky. also i feel like his revenge would be slightly different because I doubt Macky would have been able to kill Wukong in the past (maybe seal him away again?), so instead his anger is more out of Macky loyalties switching and allowing him to be sealed away again. he could even believe that Macky was simply doing what he was told because he was bound to the monk for the journey, and now sees MK as fulfilling that same role. maybe idk

tbh i don’t think evil!SWK and MK would have the same kind of dynamic progression that MK and Macky have in lmk. if anything, MK would be terrified of swk and his power but also be worried about the emotional toll the monkey king places on Macky.

but yeah idk those are my thought on what I can glean on this type of au

[faeriekit]

Lunch Break

a two-prompt phic phight fill for @fuyuthefoxwriter; demon!au and fangs

Notes: 1. This IS a continuation of my prev. demon!au (Visitation) 2. based on the laws of Phic Phight you CANNOT read the previous iterations, as it is nsfw and therefore cannot be linked 3. but for the already present fans…it’s a continuation from that. Also, it’s gray ghost. 

*

Valerie likes her boyfriend. 

He’s cute, with a button nose and blue eyes. He’s sweet. He’s kind, and he’s gentle, and if she leaves him alone he takes the toaster oven apart just to see how it works. It’s kind of like living with a small dog who takes apart pillows if you don’t give them enough attention. 

Valerie loves her boyfriend. 

…But the goddamn teeth. 

She pushes his face away, cutting off their kiss with no warning. Danny squawks. 

“Danny,” Valerie implores, again, because they are in public and not in the comfort of their own apartment, “If you cannot keep human teeth while we are making out, we are not going to make out anymore.”

Her stupid, human-shaped boyfriend pouts. Valerie should be pouting. Valerie has to avoid shredding her tongue like she’s kissing a cheese grater. 

Danny, who is the cause of all this, should not be pouting as if he’s been denied the opportunity to stick his tongue in her mouth for no reason, instead of his habit of turning his extremely normal and flat human teeth into something extremely hazardous to tongues and lips everywhere. 

Danny makes the world’s saddest eyes she’s ever seen. It’s very rude of him. Valerie deserves better. “But Val! I brought you lunch!” 

For one, it’s six in the evening. A more apt word might be ‘dinner’. Secondly…

“I work at a burger restaurant,” Valerie points out, arms crossing over the Nasty Burger logo on her shirt for extra emphasis. “I already have dinner. I also have to be back on shift in half an hour, so if you’re not going to put your teeth away, I’m going to finally finish Don Quixote or nap trying.” 

“Yeah, but you hate eating work food for lunch,” Danny points out, because he does do some very sweet things by 1) recognizing her likes and dislikes and 2) applying them liberally throughout their relationship. He holds up a weirdly large tupperware in his hands. It’s clear. It’s green. 

It’s Fenton salad. 

“...So my Mom packed you leftovers after I picked up stuff at the Ops Center, since she knows you like the dill vinaigrette she makes after the ectology conference every year, and she added the shredded carrot and the crumbly cheese you like since no one else in the house eats it, plus some of those little orange slices and the croutons…”

Valerie’s lips purse. Fenton salad. Her favorite. 

…She takes the container from Danny’s outstretched hands, determined to ignore his smug look. Valerie prefers to be right, but higher in priority comes accepting free food from her boyfriend’s mother.

“You’re welcome,” Danny offers, smugly sweet.

“If I kiss you, will you get me with your teeth again?” Valerie asks. She’s deeply suspicious of both his motives and the timing. 

“...Maybe?” 

Valerie looks at him. “Change your answer.”

“...No?” 

“Close enough.” Valerie draws him in, and Danny lets himself be drawn in; the kiss is sweet, and short, and tastes kind of like mandarin oranges. 

He definitely had some of her salad before sharing. Whatever. It’s a good thing she likes him. 

The kiss is lovely, and not very long; separating is a little harder, though, when Valerie realizes that Phantom’s tail is still wrapped around her waist. 

“...Danny.”

“Mmhm?” 

“I have a shift to get to.”

“Yeah,” Danny agrees, entirely ignorant to his least controlled limb holding her back. 

“So,” Valerie continues, and then scratches at the fur in his tail until he flinches with recognition. “Unwrap me, please.”

“Do I…have to?”

Valerie’s look flattens. Danny makes entirely unacceptable goo-goo eyes at her. 

“I have a shift in ten, and your mom’s salad to devour. Move it or lose it.” 

Danny’s tail unwraps. Danny sighs, leaning in for one last peck—

Valerie feels the tips of fangs bite explicitly into her lips. 

Her growl is hardly intimidated by Phantom’s rush of guilty laughter, her demon-shaped boyfriend slipping out of her fingers. Great. Now she can taste blood— the thing she was trying to avoid. 

Seeing him in all of his claws and fangs and teeth and horns in daylight was always a little strange; he was never quite opaque in sunlight. He was always a touch translucent, only just shifted outside of reality. 

And the stupid cow ears.

No, they're not endearing. Shut up.

It certainly didn’t help that if someone saw him turn into a demon, his whole ‘hiding his identity as a half-demon’ thing would be over! He needs to pick better spots for his random acts of infernal dramatics!

“I’m sorrrryyyy,” Phantom shouted from a healthy fifty feet away, floating in the air. It made him hard to reach, but an excellent target. “I looooovvee yoooouuu!” 

No. Valerie will resist reaching into her armor for a weapon to shoot her boyfriend out of the sky with. It is rude. It is unkind. More importantly, Valerie’s not interested in having a public identity reveal behind the Nasty Burger any more than Danny is. 

It’s fine. There’s other options. 

“Put a shirt on!” Valerie hollers back, hands over her mouth. 

Phantom’s mouth drops in the distance, little fangs glinting in the evening sunlight. His clawed hands go over his chest, looking for some perceived gap in his coverage. “I’ve got fur! I don’t need one!” 

“Exhibitionist!” Valerie heckles back. “Nudist!” 

Phantom squawks in offense. “Come on! I’m covered!” 

“Get some pants!” Valerie shouts back, finally attracting the attention of one of her employees. At the sound of the Nasty Burger’s nasty back door creaking open, Phantom bolts off. 

Good. That’s what he gets. 

Temerity peeks through the back door. Her name tag is upside down, again. “Boss…?”

Valerie brushes herself off, grabs a plastic fork from where it was sitting on her ebook reader, and reclines back onto the plastic lawn chair that counts as their ‘break room’. “It was nothing, Temmie. A demon got into the dumpster again.” 

“Oh.” Temerity’s countenance warms. She’d always had an interest in the local occult scene. “Did it leave anything behind?”

“Nah,” Valerie replies, popping open her tupperware. Just her lunch, apparently. “You need any help…?”

“Nope! We’ll be fine until you get back in.” 

That for sure means something’s wrong. Whatever; Valerie is totally satisfied to finish off the last fifteen minutes of her shift with some literature, a bucket’s worth of satisfaction, and her boyfriend’s dismayed texts pinging in bursts onto her phone. 

[sapphicnsh]

Your cycle consumes itself. What have you become?

(ˡᵒʳᵉ ᵈᵘᵐᵖ ᵇᵉˡᵒʷ ᶜᵘᵗ)

SO THIS IS MY INV VS SAINT AU!! It started as a shitpost and uh. Spiralled. Out of control. And now it’s genuine lol.

Enot and Saint are basically mortal enemies, and Saint needs to get Enot OUT OF THE CYCLES in order to continue his work, because this damn horny bastard won’t stop hunting him down…for some reason. Isn’t ascension the greatest gift you can bestow upon the creatures suffering in this barren wasteland? At least Saint thinks that. Inv, on the other hand, does not.

Enot stumbles upon Pebbles while passing through the silent construct, trying to find food one day. He takes a liking to this half-dead pink toaster, bringing him scraps of fabric as blankets and lanterns, and the best part…talking to him. Inv, somehow, can talk to iterators. And despite Pebbles’ very limited ability to reply, he does appreciate the company, and slowly the cycles become less agonizing. Pebbles has a friend. However, when Saint finds him, his immediate reaction is to attempt to ascend him—and he is tackled by a very angry slugcat, hissing and spitting at him in defence of its friend.

When Saint attempts to ascend him, he misses, just barely clipping Enot’s tail and glitching him half-out of reality. He then realizes, to his horror, that his karma seems to be draining. Whatever the hell this thing is, it’s dangerous, and Saint retreats to restore his karma (and heal some of the nasty wounds Enot gave him).

Inv turns back to see Pebbles, staring at him in pure fear, before he simply whispers out a “Thank…you…”. And that’s when Inv makes it his mission to save Pebbles (and everyone else) from Saint.

This leads to Inv running around the map, hot on Saint’s heels, trying to get any and all the iterators to figure out a way to get off their damn strings and LIVE again! Most of them are collapsed or semi-collapsed, so it’ll be an uphill battle, but when a glitchy, teleporting slugcat with the ability to speak tells you to do something…you’d be kinda inclined to do it.

Anyways the reason Enot can’t be ascended is because he is happy to give in to every single one of the great taboos. Wrath, Lust, Friendship, Gluttony, and Self Preservation. He revels in them. And if he can help the others experience them, and become happy with living again, they’ll be immune too! Also he is ridiculously OP to the point of him basically just having DevTools active because I think it’s Funny. He can glitch-teleport and drains the karma of beings around him. He also talks super casually and I think it’s funny.

A little bit of their dynamic hehe:

“Hey, pal!”

“I would like you to stop calling me that, please. You may call me the Saint.”

“Ahah. Not happening.”

“You are incredibly disrespectful.”

“Hey man, I’m not the one calling myself a saint but then running around killing shit and acting like it’s a good thing.”

“You use such vulgar words. I ascend beings, freeing them from the torment of these endless cycles. It is my purpose.”

“Even the ones who don’t want to go? Bro, you don’t even ask. The last robot you almost merked was screaming “no wait” at you, and you still think you’re in the right here? You’re not some kind of righteous saint, that’s called being a fuckin’ serial killer.”

“You do not understand what you are talking about!”

“Whoa, buddy! Are you gettin’ mad? Ain’t that…a lil taboo? PFFT look at your face!”

“I am not tolerating this any longer. Goodbye.”

That’s all I can think of rn! Send asks if you like!

[newnlovesjennie]

one piece au where literally nothing went wrong everyone is alive and happy hc's

nami

belle mere is still alive obvi

the attack on her island was less of an attack and more of like a alliance? like the fishman pirates pulled up and were like hey we need a hideout can we pls use ur island. and they were like yeah offer us protection and in turn u can use our island! no violence no blood nothing!!

in this au fisher tiger is still alive and the fishman pirates are still what he envisioned before his death, so he’s the captain, not arlong

speaking of arlong he’s like hella toned down. he got the jinbei affect in the sense that koala changed him and showed him humans aren’t all bad. yeah sure he’s more radical and unhinged than the other pirates but he’s just like the weird conservative uncle you tolerate at thanksgiving not a real threat

hachi and nami bonding!!!

nami never develops an obsession with money, she gets to put her full effort into map making and exploring that talent

she makes maps for the fishman pirates completely out of her own free will

she joins the movement for fishman human equality woohoo!!!

yeah in this au that movement actually gets taken seriously instead of played off and the fishmen actually make progress in equality 

koala visits sometimes! koala and nami bonding time!!!

law

doflamingo is toned down like 1000% in this au he’s not a family killer in this one he’s just odd

like seriously idk how the logistics would work but maybe somehow after the whole “doffys family becomes human” thing the humans don’t persecute him? so in turn he just kinda is pretentious and misses being rich instead of holding a particular grudge against humanity?

either way he’s also just the weird conservative uncle you see at thanksgiving 

corazon is number one dad ever did he offer law henny for his 8th birthday yes does he know how to do laundry or cook not at all but he is trying his best!

LAW BABY FIVE AND BUFFALO AS COUSINS. PLEASE!!!! dellinger too maybe idk if he’s a kid or not tho

the executives like trebol diamante whatever the fuck also aren’t as evil either they just tryna do their own thing yk just black market deal in peace but no unnecessary killing 

donquixote family stays pirates instead of going and trying to take a whole kingdom (took a shit ton of convincing for doffy to accept that)

the whole pirate warlord thing gives doffy enough prestige he don’t need to be a king necessarily 

law eats the op op fruit, doffy tries to get him to make him immortal, corazon slaps him, doffy changes his mind

(i am taking so many liberties in this au omg)

zoro

kuina didn’t fucking fall down a flight of stairs!! yippee!!!

their whole competition abt who will be the greatest swordsman is still on

they venture outside the dojo and become pirates

both bounty hunters maybe

kuina is so so gay

hear me out…. kuina x tashigi? LET ME COOK

yeah zoros just there

they find their way to mihawks island without the whole kuma blasting zoro to a random island thing

they beg mihawk to train them but he’s like wtf get out of my house but they show potential and he’s like ok fine ill train y’all 

persona is also there bc i said so FUCK MORIA ALL MY HOMIES HATE MORIA she left him and somehow ended up with mihawk he also let her stay for some reason (he needs to stop adopting kids)

hear me out…. perona x kuina? or at the very least they become besties

once again zoro is just there

robin

olvia and saul are still alive

all of her island is still alive, don’t ask why the world government is ok with that they just are shhhh shhhhh 

robin grows up an archeologist but decides she needs to find the poneglyphs and discover the truth of the world

so she becomes a pirate and joins baroque works, led by crocodile

he respects her (WHAT) doesn’t try to kill her (WHAT) and they actually have a fun friendship a friendly lil boss secretary relationship its adorable

she helps crocodile get with doffy because god knows he couldn’t do it himself

ok if this is how this au is going robins gotta be besties with bon clay come on. mr three hello?? 

[apote-lesma]

Thinking about the Hades OP AU I came up with. Zoro, prince of Hell, endlessly fighting souls through the underworld to become the best. Its endless, though, and he feels empty and doesn’t know WHY he wants be to the best. Doesn’t know anything besides that goal. Until a man of bright light and laughter appears in front of Zoro, as the swordsman is bleeding out and about to be returned in the river of Styx.

He asks who this weird guy is, because he definitely doesnt seem dead. Quite the opposite, really. He’s Luffy, the guy tells him, bouncing around excitedly. How did he get there, in the Underworld? Luffy laughs boisterously. He didn’t know! He was on an adventure, and sometimes he gets lost. Luffy was excited though, because there were many legends in the Underworld. Like Zoro, because the prince of the undead was famous! And, Luffy told Zoro, who was intrigued by the weird man, his brothers were down here too.

Zoro tells the Sun God that he wants to escape, but his father, Mihawk, the best, the King of the dead himself, stands in his way. Luffy laughs. Then he spoke; echoing the words that had been buried in Zoro’s soul. He just needed to become the best himself and then he could do whatever he wanted. Eyes gleaming, Luffy said that he was trying to the same. Become the strongest god, so he could be the freest.

Zoro was beginning to fade, to die yet again. As he died, Luffy called to him, telling him that he’s not alone! To come find him after he’s free, and until then, Luffy’s friends, the other gods, will support him with their gifts. Nika disappears then, and Zoro returns to his home.

He tells Perona, his sister and Fury sister (ironically one of those opposing him to escaping) of who had stumbled into over a bottle of nectar. She was flabbergasted, both at Zoro being so open and the fact that someone had casually entered the Underworld like that. But in her brothers eyes, she saw a fire and passion that had gone for so long, because of this Sun God

AGHH!!! Now that I’ve put thought into this crossover it works. I see Mihawk as Hades, Nami as Zeus, Robin as Athena, Jinbei as Poseidon, Brook as Orpheus, Ace as Achilles, Law as Thanatos. It’s open to interpretation, of course, so if you have ideas feel free to share! But come on. Zoro saying he’s the King of Hell and Luffy being the god of Joy and liberation. This makes me feel insane in the head

[yanfeisty]

Hi!! Ive been reading thru your blog and its just-- every thing ive read is just (chefs kiss) AMAZING--

If it isnt too much of a bother, i kinda saw your creator!mihoyo ask where god!reader had to break it to the characters that mihoyo was the one to make them

So what if.

Reader is part of Mihoyo staff.

GOSH-- I can already imagine-- since like, they're part of the actual staff that makes the game, i can imagine them having a much more "intricate" and deepee connection with teyvat than any of the archons OR EVEN CELESTIA

How can venti control the wind when youre the one who coded it in? How can zhongli spawn in geo when youre the one that gave him that ability? How can ei/raiden keep that eternal storm when yOURE THE ONE WHO CODED THE STORM TO BE THERE-- FKJSKFKWFH the possibilities

Also technically not hacking since reader is part of staff AHAHAH

Hope you have a nice rest of your day!! :))

Genshin imagine | Developer!Reader

━━━ ՙ  𓄼 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : Genshin x Creator!Reader

━━━ ՙ  𓄼 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 : Reader is part of the Mihoyo staff.

━━━ ՙ  𓄼 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : Religious theme.

━━━ ՙ  𓄼 𝐀/𝐍 : Thank you sm, but you're the amazing one here. Enjoy this, and have a great day too!

Masterlist

. Archons are cute, but you can control all elements and do whatever you want, create a whole storm, the biggest mountain, or a meteor shower, well, you can't just do them by snapping your fingers, but thankfully you have your computer with you, which is seen as a holy object that nobody else can touch because it's too powerful, and precious for The Creator. Many would try to steal it, and your Acolytes are here to stop them, but even if they did, it's not sure they would understand how it works or even how to turn it on.

. Albedo is absolutely thrilling, explain to him on how did you build this or that, about every source codes, even if he doesn't know what that is, just tell him everything, it's like you gave him an entire new perspective about this world, and he wants to know more. He is very useful to you since he likes experimenting, he might find few glitches and flaws in the system, which is helpful to you for patching them later.

. You're basically Zhongli number 2, because you know everything about Teyvat's history, which cause you to be the best of friends with him, finally he has someone who "remembers" the old time and someone who he can relate to, though he is a bit disappointed he can't share a story with you and teach things you didn't know.

. You probably know the rest of the story of Genshin too, so The Traveler will try to ask if they ever going to reunite with their twin, and finally understand what's happening in this world. They look so sweet and a bit desperated when they ask you, it might change the story if you do though, so it's at your own risk.

. Also, you're working on future playable characters, and those actually help you to make their gameplay and what they want to incorporate, or some, like Alhaitham and Scaramouche don't want to be "use" by other people, and why would they? Abandon their own free will, and in Scaramouche's case to people who he thinks aren't even worthy of him, especially if it's for roaming around like crazy through Teyvat just for useless objects, no thanks, sure they might let you test them because it can be pleasant to have you by their side, but that's all.

. Imagine telling them you're not the only one who created them and Teyvat, and there's probably more than hundred of "Creators", everyone working in different sections, such as gameplay, environment, lore, etc... that's where you make their brains stop working, should they worship them too? Are they angry because they didn't? And does that means there's multiple persons who are the Gods of something like the Archons?

+ small bonus imposter au

. You're too op for this, you have absolute power over the land and its people. If someone attacks you, you can put the environment at your advantage and create an army of monsters against them, or just remove their power, even if it's an Archon, completely stripping them of their God title, and the latter can't doubt that you're the Creator anymore, because no one can be that powerful beside you.

. And if you feel vengeful, you may make sure that something bad happens to them in the future of the game, aren't they use to get hurt or lose someone they love because of you anyway? They'll know it's from you, but they won't do or say nothing about it, may be because of fear or they think they deserve it.

[nickfowlerrr]

keeping secrets -

chapter one

series masterlist / chapter two

pairing: bucky barnes x curvy!reader (dark!soulmate au)

warnings: 18+ only. self deprecating thoughts from both bucky and reader. i don’t think anything else needs a warning, but if you find i’m missing something that should be included here, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

words: 5.8k

notes: idk. pls let me know what you guys think about this chapter - whether you’re liking it so far or not. as always, feedback and comments are more than welcome. thank you for reading.

Steve Rogers was as much a gentleman as everyone always said. You were surprised that he was taking so much time to make sure you got acquainted and comfortable with your new surroundings, but you thought maybe he was probably just sympathetic to moving into unfamiliar territory in such a short amount of time. Though you definitely had a lot more warning than he did, the change of living quarters was still a lot to take in. You had only been at the compound for a few hours now, but it really was a little overwhelming. You were glad to have him showing you around and attempting to explain the in and outs of the place while going over what everyday routines you could expect.

He had taken you around the outside of the compound to show you the track and field area, along with the trails that led out further into the privately owned land, and to the middle grounds of the compound which was basically just a giant park, before finally leading you back into the living quarters that only the avengers had access to.

“Tryna keep the new girl all to yourself?” the voice of Natasha Romanoff sang from the kitchen as you and Steve walked into the common room once again. Your eyes shot up to where she was standing at the counter preparing herself breakfast. You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out while you vaguely heard Steve saying something back to her. What he said, you had no clue. All you were aware of was how crazy you probably looked, but who could blame you? The woman was intimidating enough without her green eyes gleaming at you while she smirked over at the two of you. Taking mercy on you, she walked over to introduce herself.

“I’m Nat. It’s really nice to meet you,” she said as she extended her hand out to you. You looked down with wide eyes before taking her hand in yours and shaking a little too enthusiastically.

“So good to meet you,” you said while nodding like an idiot before the sound of your name caught you off guard again.

“No freakin’ way,” Kate called as you let go of Natasha’s hand to turn and look at her. Before you could prepare yourself, she had you in a tight hug, squeezing as she laughed. “I cannot believe you’re actually here! Oh my god! Wait,” she said as she pulled back from you suddenly, “does Yelena know you’re here?”

“Oh, I- uh, I haven’t seen her,” you started before Kate was calling into the air.

“FRIDAY, tell Yelena to get to the kitchen ASAP!”

“I’ll let her know you wish to see her, Ms. Bishop,” the AI sang back as you stared perplexed, eyes darting across the ceiling.

“You get used to it,” Steve said quietly in your ear before he straightened to his full height. “I’ll leave you to say your hellos, and I’ll see all of you at training in an hour,” he said before he smiled at you and nodded, sauntering away to do whatever it is Steve Rogers does in his free time.

“So, you three know each other?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, they’re uh, they’re kinda the reason I’m here at all,” you responded.

“She’s the one who helped us run ops when we were stranded in Berlin,” Kate explained.

“No shit,” Natasha said, surprise clear in her voice, causing you to swallow hard. She didn’t say anything, it was just that same sense of shock you always received from people. Why did you always feel like such an imposter? Maybe because everyone always thought you were, too. They hear stories about your work, but when they see you in person it’s like it’s impossible to imagine anyone bigger than a size 10 could ever have your skillset.

You never thought you belonged here, on this team with these heroes. You certainly didn’t feel like one. But Kate and Yelena somehow convinced you that the avengers could use you, that they could really use your help. You honestly couldn’t believe you listened to them, but here you were. They had to have been a little right..right? If Stark invited you in, he must have seen it, too.

You nodded in response to her, faking a smile, “Yeah,” you breathed.

“You saved their lives,” Natasha told you. “I watched Yelena’s playback from the recordings her goggles took. You’ve got good instincts,” she stressed. “And you’re a hell of a shot,” she smiled, causing you to grow a soft, genuine smile in return.

“Well look who it is,” Yelena said, her accent thick as ever as she strolled in from the hallway. “Did you come to try and kill me again, or are you finally bucking up and joining us?”

“Okay, first of all,” you began, “I wasn’t trying to kill you. Even if you hadn’t moved, the bullet would’ve barely nicked you, you would’ve been fine,” you argued. “And secondly…, I, uhm, I guess I’m finally bucking up,” you shrugged.

She looked at you a moment with sharp eyes before smirking and nodding. “Good.”

Entering the training area was anxiety inducing to say the least. Though you felt a lot better when you found out not all of the avengers would be there today. It was definitely a smaller group training session you soon realized. Kate, Yelena, and yourself were there early to warm up before Peter Parker showed up with Steve and Natasha.

You made introductions with Peter as you were all warming up and felt yourself relaxing into the environment. Everyone you’d met so far, which granted weren’t many of them, had been so nice, you were genuinely shocked.

“Where is everyone else?” Yelena asked, sounding irked at what she obviously thought was a delay in schedule..

“Briefings.” Nat responded.

“Briefings?” Peter repeated, confused.

“Yes, briefings. For their missions, which none of you will be assigned to,” she said, cutting straight to the point as Peter’s mouth gaped in offense and Kate groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Come on,” Kate bemoaned. “It was a one time thing. We swore we wouldn’t do it again,” she complained.

“Yeah, I know what you said. Doesn’t mean you’ve proven you’re ready for another assignment.”

“Natasha,” Yelena appealed.

“It’s not just that, you guys,” Steve cut in. “Not everyone goes on every mission unless it’s necessary, you all know that. It’s not that big of a deal, Nat and I aren’t going on any assignments either,” he reasoned. “Now, focus up. Kate, you're with Nat. Yelena, Peter,” he instructed before speaking your name and turning his eyes on you, “you’re with me,” he simpered, the corner of his lip twitching up ever so slightly.

You left the training room sweaty and sore, but feeling great. The session had gone well. You didn’t realize how beneficial sparring with everyone could be. Each time you switched partners, you were exposed to a new weakness you found you needed to work on, but you also were able to play to your strengths and show your well developed skill set, following your instincts to help you take each of them down a couple of times. You could feel how much power Steve was holding back as you sparred, but didn’t take it personally, you still got a good workout from him as you went back and forth. When you switched partners, you and Yelena were really getting at each other, each hit to one of you was met with a hit just as equal to the other. Steve had to call you guys off before your competitiveness got the better of the both of you, but you ended your sparring with her in a fit of laughter. Peter was so much stronger than he looked and Kate was a lot more evasive than you remembered her fighting style to be, expertly blocking rather than full on attacking, but it was a good change of pace. Your fighting styles were all different, but they helped prepare you for what you may come across from other’s when you’re in the field. It was your first day and you were already learning so much. Kate said the team could use you, you didn’t realize how much you could use them, too. You had a bit of a pep in your step as you felt more and more like you had made the right choice in reaching out to Stark when you did.

As you walked toward the kitchen to grab more water before you headed back to your room to shower, you could hear the bubbly laughter of Brittany loud and clear. You made accidental eye contact as you passed by, right after you decided to just keep walking and come back around later when the kitchen would hopefully be empty. She called your name as she saw you and you begrudgingly stopped and forced a smile, willing yourself to walk over.

“Hey,” you replied.

“So how’s your day been so far?” she asked while you took notice of the bulky figure belonging to none other than the Winter Soldier who was standing in front of the open fridge. You almost scolded yourself mentally again, but you really couldn’t remember what his name was and it’s not like you said it aloud, so, no harm no foul. You looked back to her to answer.

“It’s been good,” you nodded, a small but real smile playing on your lips now, “Just finished sparring, so I was gonna grab some water and head to my room to shower.”

As you moved past the counter, entering further into the kitchen to finally fill up your bottle, the man who’s name you couldn’t fully remember, Barnes, turned around, your voice having caught his attention.

You couldn’t describe it very well, but the moment your eyes met, it was like your breath was frozen in your chest. In an instant, you just felt something had changed. More accurately, like some dormant part of you had suddenly been ignited. You couldn’t pull your eyes away as he gazed right back at you, an unnamed intensity taking over his crystal blue eyes. You felt like you were staring forever, but it couldn’t have been more than a second or so. He was looking at you in a way you didn’t know how to accurately describe. Like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing..what he was feeling. And truthfully, he couldn’t.

That feeling of familiarity he got from you earlier was back with full force, though now he was more than sure he’d never met you. He’d have recognized you from your eyes alone - would have definitely remembered even just seeing your face before. Yet still, he felt something he couldn’t explain telling him he knew exactly who you were. He felt like he was in a trance for a moment as he looked down at you before he finally willed himself to look away.

You felt exposed in a way as he was looking at you, his gaze penetrating. You finally took a breath again when he suddenly looked away, but you for some reason, couldn’t do the same, your eyes following him as he moved. Time was no longer standing still and you were again aware of your surroundings and Brit still perched on the counter, her long legs swinging off the edge, but you couldn’t care about any of that. All you could focus on was him.

Though he was no longer staring at you, he still felt your gaze on him, still too familiar and suddenly all too intense. It couldn’t be, he reassured himself. There was no fucking way he had a soulmate all this time. He figured he missed his shot at that long ago, if it was even possible he had one to begin with. He had finally convinced himself that he could find happiness in someone else. Not everyone has a soulmate and not everyone meets their soulmate, he sure as hell never thought he’d meet his.

But fuck, he could already feel your flurry of emotions and he just knew. But maybe you didn’t. Maybe he could just pretend like nothing happened. He had his future right in front of him. His very delicate future that he worked so hard to build up and convince himself he might be worthy of. He didn’t deserve a true soulmate, anyway. Second rate happiness was the best he could offer himself. Brit wasn’t perfect, but she was there for him. She’d been there since the day he first moved into the compound. She knew more about him than anyone else here, aside from Steve and Sam. What was he gonna do, just throw her to the side and fall madly in love with you. Who even were you? He still didn’t know your name or the first thing about you. And he didn’t want to, he decided. You could be perfect, but he didn’t want perfect. Or more aptly, he didn’t deserve perfect. Deep down he knew he’d only wreck whatever good came his way. He couldn’t do that to you, especially if you were his soulmate.

At that thought, he suddenly felt bad for you. You deserved better. Steve seemed to have taken a liking to you already. If ever there was a solution, it was that. Steve was a better man than him in a hundred different ways. Steve’s the one who deserved a soulmate, not him. He’d rather you just stay away. As far away as possible. He knew soulmate connections were near impossible to deny, but he’d fight it as long as he had to.

He didn’t say a word as he continued walking away, even as Brit spoke.

“Have you two even met yet?” she asked before offering each of you the other’s name.

Bucky was gone without so much as a hello, though you saw him look back at you for a split second as he left down the hall, your eyes still trained on him and as he looked back at you, his still as intense as before.

Brit sucked her teeth before she looked at you with an awkward smile.

“Sorry about that. He’s uh..a little gruff when you first get to know him,” she tried to explain.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard,” you kind of scoffed. His reputation certainly preceded him, but did he really just walk away like that? Without a single word. No way that was one sided, was it? He must have felt what you felt, it was way too intense to have just been you. But to brush it off like he did made you question if maybe you really were just being insane.

If you were really crazy, you could convince yourself you knew what that was. You'd read about it enough times. All the signs were there, all the emotions, too. But you weren't crazy. And it obviously wasn't. It couldn't have been. There was no fucking way Bucky Barnes was your soulmate.

Right?

“He’s not always like that,” she reassured you. “He can actually be really sweet.”

“It’s really fine, don’t worry about it,” you said, forcing another smile on your face and the thoughts now hounding you from your mind. “I’ll see you around,” you told her as you screwed the lid back on your bottle.

She smiled as she hopped off the counter and seemed to follow the same path Bucky had previously taken as he was leaving.

Were they..seeing each other? Is that why he acted like nothing happened? Or did nothing actually happen? You weren’t sure what was going on with that man, but either way, you weren’t a fan. Maybe you should just forget about it and let it go. That was the smart thing to do.

So why couldn’t you stop thinking about him the rest of the day?

FRIDAY’s voice chimed in your room as you were putting away the last of your clothes, alerting you that the team dinner was ready. You had completely forgotten, but as soon as the AI said it, you recalled Steve telling you to be prepared for it. There were team dinners normally once a week on Friday nights, but as a sort of welcoming dinner, Stark planned for one tonight, too.

You blew out a nervous breath and walked out into the hallway. You ran into Yelena coming from further down the hall and your nerves started to settle as you had someone familiar next to you. If you thought you were nervous about meeting everyone before, the nerves you had over seeing Bucky again were a hell of a lot worse.

Walking into the dining area, you were met with the faces of the heroes you’d only ever seen on the news and in articles and youtube videos. Not everyone was there, a few of them were away dealing with things you had no clue about, but you met Sam and Bruce as Tony introduced you to everyone who walked in. Wanda came in, accompanied by Vision and had a bright smile the moment she saw you. You talked with her for a while as other’s made their way to the table, Bucky included. The moment you felt him walk in, Wanda noticed an immediate change and surprised you by looking right at Bucky. She quickly looked back at you, but didn’t say anything, though her eyes told a different story. You were sure you looked terrified as you stared at her, face blank and waiting for her to say something. After a moment, she patted your hand and said, “we’ll talk more later. And if you ever need anything, I’m always here,” she smiled lightly as she moved to finally take a seat by Vision.

You nodded and smiled back before turning to the table, looking for a seat of your own. You sat next to Yelena at the very end of the table. Tony was at the head and there was an empty spot directly across the table from him and an open seat across from you, too. Kate was across from Peter, who sat to the left of Yelena, and Sam was next to Kate, across Yelena. For a second you thought you had lucked out and would have elbow room and no one sat awkwardly across from you. That, however, was not the case.

Steve came from behind you, his hand on the back of your chair as he greeted you before taking the open seat at the end of the table. Following behind him, and audibly cursing under his breath when he realized there were no other seats, was Bucky. You scoffed at his dramatics that no one else seemed to have taken notice of. You watched him as he sat and refused to look at you, instead turning to Sam and acting like you weren’t there.

The real question on your mind now was if he was really this much of an asshole to people he’s just met or if he was making an effort to ignore your presence because he did in fact feel what you felt earlier and wanted nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with you. Honestly, you felt it had to be the latter. And that hurt just a little bit before you shook it off. He wasn’t all that himself. And who cares? What does it matter? Why get your feelings hurt because some guy doesn’t like you. You really tried to convince yourself with that one, but you knew it was deeper than that. If he really was your soulmate, and even he didn’t want you, the one person guaranteed to, how terrible must you be.

Interrupting everyone’s conversations and your train of self deprecating thought, Stark brought the attention to himself, making a show of clinking his glass and talking about the importance of a team, and more so, family. He was rambling a little while you were tempted to start dwelling on your previous thoughts, but a few stolen glances from the stoic man across from you were a little more distracting. It seemed like he was checking on you, or making sure you were still there. You tried to refocus on what it was Tony was talking about and mostly succeeded before he gave a little speech introducing and welcoming you to the team while everyone - well, save for one, clapped and welcomed you in good hearted cheers. You laughed lightly and smiled timidly, looking down to divert the attention from you before saying your thanks. Everyone’s eyes were on you, but you felt his gaze the most, intent and piercing as you spoke, trying hard to ignore it.

As the food was served, everyone talked and laughed and was having a good time. Though he was again still mostly trying to act like you weren’t sitting directly across from him, you admired Bucky smiling the one or two times he actually did. He might have been an asshole, but you couldn’t deny he was handsome. As you sat so close to him, you started thinking that maybe you were just being crazy. It must have been the stress of the day, your emotions were highly charged and you clearly made a lot more out of what very little your initial meeting with him was. He probably really was just that cold with new people, you shouldn’t have taken it so personally. There were no more crazy soulmate thoughts, you threw them out the window.

Until somewhere along the way, relationship statuses started being discussed.

“I’m not interested in anyone. I like my alone time, my personal space,” Yelena had answered bluntly when Kate asked her why she hadn’t made plans with the girl who asked her out at a bar they had gone to the week previous.

“You sound like Bucky,” Sam laughed as he nudged the clearly annoyed man next to him.

“Well that’s not true,” Peter argued, “He’s seeing Brit.”

That was met with a playful scoff from Natasha, a disbelieving chuckle from Steve, and a hardy laugh from Sam as Bucky sat stone faced, sending daggers to Sam as he continued his laughing.

“Well, I mean, you are, right?” Kate asked as if it was obvious as she took a bite of her food. “God knows she’s around here often enough,” she added with a side eye.

Feeling the glare Bucky shot her, she defended herself.

“What?” she said incredulously. “She is.”

“They’re not dating,” Sam clarified. “He wishes,” he added with another laugh.

You couldn’t help but look up from your plate, chewing on another bite of your own food as you, for whatever reason, wanted to see the look on his face in response to that bit from Sam.

There was no visible change, though, only his look of clear annoyance etched on his face. He was practically scowling.

Changing the target of the conversation, Tony decided to chime in.

“Rogers there is still very much single, too,” he smirked. “Any new ladies caught your eye lately, Cap?” he asked, feigning innocence as he tilted his head. He clearly enjoyed rustling Steve’s feathers as he watched him look up at him with a glare, his cheeks turning just the slightest bit pink.

It was only then that you noticed a change in Bucky’s expression, just slightly, but still noticeable. His eyes were somewhat sharper and he seemed to tense ever so slightly before he relaxed himself, looking over to Steve with a curious eye.

The moment Stark said it, of course Bucky knew what he was alluding to. Steve had been talking about you all day, every chance he got. It was clear to everyone except you apparently that he was interested, but he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. It was good to see he was taking his own advice, at least. When Bucky had first broached the subject of potentially seeing someone, Brit, Steve told him it was best to just take things slow. Friends first, and then see where things go from there. Obviously, that seemed to be his natural approach and not just advice he gave.

He hated that it happened, but Bucky’s first response was being put on immediate edge. He quickly corrected his demeanor and his wayward thoughts. He wasn’t jealous or worried. He was glad. The realization that Steve really did like you hit him and he told himself that was good. Steve was good. And any sort of relationship that might sprout between you two would help with your soulmate connection. If you were with Steve, he’d still be around you all of the time. He’d know what you’re up to and could be sure that you were happy and protected. That’s all the connection really needed, right? That should be enough. And it’d be good for you, too. Hopefully Steve could keep you distracted. He knew he was ready to fight this pull, but that didn’t mean you would, too. Maybe if you were with Steve, if you didn’t make the same connection he did, if you didn’t know anything about soulmates, and he made sure to keep his distance from you, maybe you would just pretend it wasn’t there.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed you already were.

Why hadn’t you said anything to him after you first met. Sure he left, but if you felt what he did and didn’t know what it was, wouldn’t you have wanted to know? Wouldn’t you have asked? He started to worry then. What if you did know. And you were doing exactly what he was. That should have been a relief, but really it only seemed to hurt him. Because that could have been it, it made sense. You knew exactly who he was and who he had been forced to be. Who would want a soulmate like that, like him. No one..

Instead of wallowing in his sudden self pity, he forced himself past that thought. It wasn’t the only possibility. Maybe you knew what your connection was and didn’t want it because you were already involved with someone else. That would certainly screw up the Steve solution and make things a lot harder. It was like his brain was working overtime to make sense of everything and find a fix. But he needed more information. Did you even like Steve, would you consider him at all, and more importantly, were you even single? He looked at you and spoke before he could stop himself.

“What about you?” he gruffed.

The moment his eyes turned on you, you were picking up your glass of water, taking a drink. The moment he asked you that question, you found yourself sputtering on the liquid as you coughed. You kept your eyes down, setting your water back on the table and grabbing your napkin to wipe at your mouth. His eyes were still on you and so were everyone else’s now. Yelena patted your back and asked if you were good.

“Wrong pipe,” you coughed again. “Sorry.”

You finally looked up and around at all the faces staring at you. Whether they were waiting to see if you were okay or if they were simply waiting for your answer, you weren’t sure.

“Uhm, well, I spend half of my time doing stealth work alone and the other half undercover, pretending to be someone I’m not, so..I don’t really have much in the way of a steady dating life,” you laughed lightly, feeling yourself grow more and more embarrassed.

“So you're single?” he asked plainly, yet still somehow sounding annoyed. You in turn found yourself annoyed that you had to clarify what you thought was an obvious answer. You looked at him sharply, eyes narrowed.

“Shocker, I know,” you said sardonically.

“I get it,” Nat agreed with a nod and sip of her wine. You were glad to have the attention switch to her, you didn’t love having your personal business laid out for everyone to judge. You were shocked Bucky of all people had asked you such a personal question in the first place.

He recognized Nat’s voice as she spoke, the sound taking your eyes off of him, though he stopped listening the second you had responded to him. He knew you were being sarcastic when you said it, but ‘shocker’ was right. Shocking and relieving. For a second he recognized how lucky it was you weren’t seeing anyone, for Steve’s sake, obviously. His mind went straight back to trying to sort everything out. Trying to figure you out.

Maybe you didn’t think the charge from when you met was mutual - that he felt it too. It was possible you really didn’t know, or just hadn’t recognized yet the connection you shared. Maybe the concept of soulmates had never even crossed your mind. It didn’t sound likely, he knew that, but he could hope. If he didn’t bring attention to it, if he refused to mention it, then maybe you wouldn’t either. And if neither of you ever mentioned it, then it never happened.

As everyone was cleaning up around the dining room and kitchen, you still seemed to be distracted. So distracted, in fact, you didn’t realize anyone was in the kitchen as you went to put your dishes away. When you saw Bucky at the sink, you thought maybe you should just go back to the dining room and wait for him to be done, but you couldn’t get your feet to move in that direction. Instead, you found yourself walking toward him. The way his back went straight as you got closer let you know that he knew you were there. But he didn’t say anything. And neither did you. What would you have said anyway? How crazy would you seem if you asked him if he had felt anything earlier, especially if he hadn’t. You couldn’t do it.

So that was it, then. You just weren’t going to say anything, act like it never happened.? Seemed to be your plan. You weren’t going to embarrass yourself like that to a man you’ve literally just met. If he didn’t say anything, he obviously didn’t feel what you felt. You should just shake it off. Forget the whole thing.

That’s what you told yourself. But there you continued to stand, not really wanting to leave without talking to him, yet still having no idea what to say. Causing yourself stress and anxiety for no good reason. You were slightly relieved when Bucky broke the silence without turning around, though his sharpness was cutting.

He could feel you working yourself up and though he really didn’t want to engage with you, he felt like he had no choice. He had to do something to get you to calm down and stop affecting him so much.

“You just gonna stand there or do you need something?” You continued to look at him for a second before you got your mind to work and mouth to move.

“Yeah, I need to wash these,” you started. “Sorry, I was under the impression the kitchen was for everyone to use, didn’t realize I needed your okay to be in here,” you sassed.

“You don’t. But you’ve been hovering behind me for five minutes without saying anything and you’re starting to get on my nerves,” he griped.

“Starting?” you repeated with a humorless laugh, “Could’ve fooled me. And I didn’t realize it took five minutes for someone to wash a single plate. Seems more like you’re having a personal problem,” you added, just as annoyed now.

“Seems like you are my personal problem,” he bit as he turned around, staring at you down his nose.

You were taken aback by his attitude, but really you didn’t know what you were expecting at all. Just as you were about to snark back, Yelena came in from behind you, eyes darting between the two of you.

“What are we talking about?” she asked, eyes harsh on Bucky.

“Nothing,” he answered harshly before turning away and leaving without another word.

“Really great talking to you, too,” you called after him, rolling your eyes in pure irritation. What the hell was his problem? And what was your problem? You had the urge to follow after him, some weird desperation to talk more that you refused to listen to. There was nothing to talk about, clearly.

“What was that?” Yelena asked. You turned to look at her, exasperated and with no answer to provide.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled with a shrug. She eyed you closely before taking your dishes from you and walking to the sink.

“You should get some sleep,” she said, changing the subject. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a little more intense.”

“Thanks,” you told her, receiving a nod from her in response. You were about to leave the kitchen before you turned back around. You wrapped your arms around her waist and hugged her from behind, earning a chuckle from her as she leaned her head back to gently make contact with yours.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early,” she teased as you let her go and once again made your way out of the kitchen.

“Looking forward to it,” you replied with a mock salute to her and with that you were off to your room, trying to rid the thought of Bucky Barnes from your mind, though truthfully you didn’t really want to. The pull you were feeling to him was more intense now than it had been before you spoke to him. You really didn’t get why he was being such a dick, though. Your mind searched for a rational explanation but you were coming up blank.

Your ire was easier for Bucky to deal with. And he felt it for a little while after he had left the kitchen, longer than he expected to, but anything was better than the anxiety you had been feeling earlier. It made him ten times more uneasy and he had a hard enough time falling asleep as it was. Even now as he laid in his bed, he couldn’t get you off of his mind. He knew he should have ignored you, shouldn’t have said anything. Because now all he could think about was talking to you again. Whether it was because you were arguing or not, he just wanted your attention on him, he wanted to be around you. But he couldn’t let that happen. He knew it was only gonna get harder from here, pretending he didn’t feel anything toward you, that he didn’t feel so called or pulled to you, but as long as you didn’t know, maybe he could get by without falling to fate. It was gonna hurt like hell, if any of the stories he’d heard were true, but he believed you’d be better for it. Better off without being tied to him for the rest of your life.

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode: --This was a great episode to notice during the OP that in the clip right after Muichiro throws the sword and Tanjiro goes rushing forward in a strike presumably with that sword, you can see Yoriichi in the back lined up next to Tanjiro--almost like the pose Tanjiro strikes with Pillars in the OP! (Hmm, how are they going to do that for the Pillar Training Arc?)

--Kanamori, in some not very well-placed exposition, says that Tanjiro asked him to be understanding of Muichiro, and that is why as Muichiro's new swordsmith, he looked into who used to smith his swords. First of all, when? We only saw Tanjiro interact with Kanamori the day or two before this all goes down, but Kanamori already has Muichiro's new sword ready and stashed away in the same shop where Haganezuka is busy putting his life on the line for polishing a sword even before Gyokko shows up. The first we see of Tanjiro even hearing of Kanamori being responsible for Muichiro's sword is when Muichiro woke him up maybe an hour or so ago. This means Tanjiro had to have known this and had an opportunity to talk to Kanamori long before he even witnessed Muichiro in the Swordsmith Village. Perhaps Tanjiro brought it up as general advice to Kanamori who expressed feeling pressure for being assigned to a Pillar, and Tanjiro just wanted to be encouraging to him based on what little impression he had of Muichiro at the Pillar Meeting and whatever he heard from Shinobu (and Shinobu did tell Tanjiro Muichiro's name, at the very least). But also, perhaps Kanamori started this endeavor to understand Muichiro after completing his first sword for him, because Tanjiro only said this to him yesterday? In which case, was this truly a matter of Tanjiro seeing that Muichiro is in need of that kindness, or was it Tanjiro throwing his hands up and saying, "I don't know what to make of him, you try!"

--And that, friends, is how you can dig too deep into canon to find fanfic ideas.

--Kotetsu-kun truly is a brave kid whose response to seeing his friends in pain was to attack instead of run away. I love how close-knit everyone in the village is, they all know (and recognize!) each other by name. --Muichiro is the kind of person who would walk around a modern art museum saying, "I could do that." Kotetsu would be the one saying, "but you didn't." Gyokko, of course, is the worst of modern artists. There must be a modern day AU which Gyokko leans a bean in Chicago and Muichiro starts a "paint the bean pink" event.

--Gyokko deserves some credit here for his cleverness! Although what Muzan would have preferred is Gyokko finding Ubuyashiki or the blue spider lilies, Gyokko has honed in the Corp's weapons and focused his efforts on eliminating those. Maybe he was merely lucky to have found a clue about the village, but he developed a technique, I assume specifically, to deprive swordsmen of their Breath.

--Being taunted for having "a dull life" and an existence with no meaning sure adds weight to that "I was born to be happy" statement. --Kimetsu Academy answered some of my wishes by having Uzui-sensei and Gyokko hang out and talk art, but what I really want is to see Shinobu see those fishes.

--I love the BGM and sound effects for Love Breath. Mitsuri is just so special, you guys. I love hearing her in this Taisho Secret showing off her sword skills to Tanjiro & Nezuko, and a sound that lives in my head rent free is the the sound she made in the previous episode's Kimetsu Academy short as she falls to her knees. --One of my favorite background characters in this whole series is the guy who tried to protect Tecchin by charging at the fish monster with a naginata. ----First, naginata. I have bias. ----Second, such upstanding character! That is not a man who runs away even when the swordsmen have been slain. ----Also, while Tecchin and the other guy who got his head bumped are shameless in fishing for Mitsuri's care and attention, this is the guy who had the view up her skirt and who made no mention of it whatsoever. ----That might be because he was so rightfully distracted by the sight of her sword instead, and he gave us some smoother exposition with which to appreciate it. --Another random thing, but I love the nighttime lighting in this season! The BGM in general feels more experimental and sometimes takes me out of it (opposed to how the Yuukaku spin plunged me deeper into it), but when it slaps, it slaps, like on the new variation as Tanjiro attains a lightsaber Red Blade. Also also, there are a lot of characters in this one with peculiar and kind of old-timey ways of speaking (Kanamori, Tecchin, Hantengu's clones, etc.) that are still distinct from other characters (like Rengoku). I don't know how much of it comes across in translation, but my ears enjoy the extra characterization.

--I love--and the first time I watched this, my friends loved it too--how Nezuko and Tanjiro take turns carrying each other when they lose consciousness. It keeps the pacing fast and desperation high, while also illustrating their bond really well. What also gets me is how Tanjiro frets and tells her to let go of the sword because her fingers will get cut. It doesn't feel like a big concern because we know she's already lost a forearm and being impaled through through the torso and neck tonight, but any reasonable brother doesn't want to see his sister's fingers cut off, much less sliced with a sword at all.

--I love how Sekido is the only demon around here whose perspective is worth anything

--Quickly jumping to the end of the episode to note how we see the base of Aizetsu's neck and the top of his head still intact, so that implies that Genya munched on the bottom half of his head. In general I'm not much into ship content, but I know there is a fandom for Aizetsu and Genya out there, and I do find the idea of it being one-sided infatuation on Aizetsu's part an amusing premise. With that in the back of my mind, I could also imagine Aizetsu mistakenly thinking Genya was going to make out with him and how quickly and shockingly he'd have his hopes dashed. --Okay, so, HINOKAMI KAGURA WITH A RED BLADE AND THE MARK, TIME TO DIAL UP THE ANIMATION

--And they do

--And it's so sad Haganezuka doesn't get to see it --Like, after how much the fight with Rui blew up and the internet collectively lost their minds, we tend to just expect this from Ufotable, so the beauty they accomplish doesn't always stick out because they have to work harder and harder to stand out from what they've already given us, but this attack on Karaku, Urogi, and Sekido is a thing of wonder and it is highly worth appreciating.

--The lighting! The fluid motion and changing camera angles! But also the ability to show changes in expression, and to differentiate Tanjiro in the marked state from his usual state.

--But, again, the timeline has me in knots. Tanjiro says he was "always" thinking about that last strike on Gyutaro and how it felt different, but when would he have had time to do that, since he's spend so much of his wakeful life, like, fighting for his life against a mechanical doll? He's of course had downtime, but given the Taisho Secret in the hand-out at the early Mugen Ressha showings, I suspect comatose Tanjiro spend a lot of time analyzing and replaying that moment and doing image training. --On the first watch, when Tanjiro is thinking about how his will is tied with that of everyone around him, and even if he can't do it, someone else will take over for him, it's easy to get wrapped up in "THAT'S RENGOKU" or "this is foreshadowing all the hands in that truly final battle with Muzan!" but, I can't wait to think back to this scene when he's talking to Giyuu in the next season. Giyuu is the first person he thinks of, but also, Giyuu's hand is absent from among the ones on Tanjiro's back.

[magicaldreamfox1]

Do you have any vegaspete fanfic recs for someone getting into the ship?

hi! i'm so glad u asked!! i famously love having opinions and have great taste so absolutely i would love to recommend some fics!

so i don't know exactly what u're looking for and since u mentioned getting into the ship i tried to give u a wide variety of recs to choose from!

let's get started!

Plain & Pleasure (Series) by @onstoryladders

fantastic tattoo parlor au. just trust me on this it's really good

Black Velvet (Series) by @kerrikins

black velvet is a canon divergence from the ep 7 torture scene until the end of the series and it is one of the most famous works of the fandom i think. like it is to me. u can read the first two chapters of black velvet the work as a standalone but why would u am i right. don't be intimidated by the length it's amazing!

i fill you up, drink from my cup by @petes-vegas

mmmmmmm pwp? pwp. post-canon vegaspete attend an event both pissed at each other and they start trying to make each other jealous. this might have u thinking uhmmm this is getting worrying they're really doing the most is this gonna go into cheating territory? and fear not the answer is no.

in your eyes, in your arms (series) by @pressignore

great post-canon series about vegaspetemacau bonding in the hospital. very cute very fluffy 10/10 would recommend.

Blood & Lust (Series) by @kerrikins

taking a dark turn after the last one this is a series abt. horny torture. honestly all u need to know. #justvegaspetethings and so on and so forth. might be ur cup of tea might not be. only one way to find out

Visiting Home by @raelle-writing

another fluffier turn. u gotta keep up here i move fast. so this is post-canon vegaspetemacau visiting pete's grandma. everyone is experiencing feelings. look me in the eyes. do u see the tears. it's fantastic. i especially love the buildup we get thru the whole fic and it pays off so beautifully in the end and it's just. an amazing fic i loved it very much

If You Had Something To Lose by @raelle-writing

now pay attention! this is an ONGOING fic. but it makes the list bc man. MAN. so it's an au. the theerapanyakuls are in the mafia, peteporschechay are not. one evening pete finds beaten up vegas in a back alley and saves his life. love at first sight? no u misheard. horny at first sight. shenanigans ensue. raelle plays with my feelings. now disclaimer i haven't read the most recent like. 4 chapters bc i'm depressed scared of sad cliffhangers i just can't deal with it 😭😭😭. but really this fic is fantastic it had me hooked from the very beginning and it just keeps going on amazingly and i have no doubts it will continue being great until the end.

discothéque rouge by @lu-sn

now i read this one recently and yeah YEAH. classic vp shenanigans it's such a good time. post-canon mafia shenanigans starring vp.

the weight of it's like hands around my neck by @wegathpete

now listen! i'm not a member of the peteporsche ride or die besties agenda but i know a lot of people like it and this fic is just so good. i hope op knows the babygirl paragraph lives in my head rent free. it's a post-canon introspection of vegaspete which also includes porn. aren't we lucky ❤️

Silly Secrets by @raelle-writing

have u ever wondered what vegas would do if he walked in on pete's preferred exercising.... routine. well u don't have to wonder any longer! it's exactly what it says on the tin! post-canon vegas discovers pete's silly secret! whatever will he do abt it!! only one way to find out 😌😌😌

Your Secrets And Lies by @kerrikins

another banger by kerri. post-canon vegaspete in the hospital. pete thinks vegas is holding back and decides to do smthg abt it. very simple very fun!

we've now arrived at the shameless self promo part of this post!

so i happen to write as well and i happened to have written some vegaspete fics!

best stranger by me

so this is more like. vegaspete adjacent but it still counts in my humble opinion. gotta promote myself! it's set post-canon in the hospital. arm visits to check up on pete. my armpete besties agenda ❤️

after the dust has settled we must pick up the pieces by me

my most recent series i've started! it's also set post-canon and contains oneshots of moments in their lives. they can all be read as standalones but in my mind they take place in the same universe (it's not an au this is just how my mind works. they're connected but they're not connected. u know?) it's not a finished series i will be uploading new fics so feel free to subscribe to it if u would like!

i hope this helped! if u liked one fic/series specifically and want more of that kind or would like more recommendations in general feel free to ask!

[bluereo]

Part 2 my AU: Megatronus - The Fallen AU

Funny version how talking to Optimus's siblings went:

Op: I need you help, I can't defeat Unicron alone.

Eleven of them present in the realm of primes: ha ha nope

Op: okay then I'm gonna free Megatronus and he is my favorite from now.

Primes: :0

When Optimus gives Megatronus freedom he gives him also a deal. Something like "You help me and I will not put you back inside your prison. After we are done with Unicron you can go and do whatever you want as long as you don't cause any trouble" and Megatronus is like "...hello my new favorite sibling". They have a deal. Megatronus can't fight or kill anyone (autobots and decepticons have a peace for now) and Optimus will not put him back to his prison .

Everyone is completly shocked with sudden arrival of the Fallen, and this causes many many awkward situations.

Starting with Megatronus and Megatron. Like. I believe they have some similarities. They both want power, they are great warriors and have a little wild temperament. They would compete with eachother all the time. Megatron becouse he wants to prove he is better (especially before Optimus (yas I love Megop) ) and the Fallen just becouse he likes to tease younger. Bonus points for being overprotective older brother.

Or kids going everywhere after demigod listening to many wild and brutal stories from his time with the rest of his sibling. Bonus if he spills some tea about Optimus not always being so stoick and his past in the wilderness.

Or Rachet just being angry about the fact that Optimus never told anyone that he could literally talk or summon past primes. Or that he is literally the 13th.

Or Starscreem silently trying to make the Fallen join his side and help with ending Megatron.

I have so many ff ideas but I'm shit at writing them so here you go with some dialogs.

If someone wants to write something with this au you are free to do it. Just tag me

• Megatronus & human kids

Fallen: -and this is how we deafeted Unicron the last time!

Jack and Raffael, deeply terrified: . . .

Miko with stars in her eyes: Please tell me more.

I see Fallen as the older brother who already seen his mistakes and wants to change himself a little bit. Just to make sens to some of those below.

• Megatronus & Optimus (already with more then less memories from his past life)

Fallen: ...Show me your scars

Op: Why?

Fallen: I want to know how many times you needed me brother and I wasn't there...

Fallen: You have changed since I last seen you. You... have grown up.

Op: Grown up?... I suppose I had. Killing bots and almost killing myself few times must have changed me after all.

Fallen: So... you knew Megatron before war?

Op: I knew him. At least I thought I did. Once. A long time ago...

Fallen: What was he like?

Op: He was going to change the world for so much better...

_______

Sorry for missing for such long time. Pls interact repost and you can send me your ideas about it

Part 1:

[multi-lefaiye]

HERE WE GO. SOME PAINFULLY SELF INDULGENT WRITING IN EDEN'S BG3 AU. in which gale sees eden's chest and experiences palpitations.

cw: suggestive, referenced mature content but nothing explicit, also a pre-op trans guy's chest being described by someone who finds his breasts very attractive if that might make any transmascs out there dysphoric.

not tagging the taglist bc i'm Embarrassed 💖 will however tentatively tag @paradoxspir1t @void-botanist @skitzo-kero @anexor and @seventhgod with no pressure from any of y'all to engage, and if you'd like me not to tag you in stuff like this in the future just lmk!

"I- Eden, what in the *hells* is on your chest?" Astarion squawks nearby, startling Gale out of his musings. All of his earlier concerns about decency and modesty go out the window as a flash of panic flares in his mind. Is something wrong with Eden? Is he hurt?

He turns around, eyes wide, just as the rest of the party does the same. All at once, all eyes are on the half-naked tiefling, who seems uncharacteristically mortified to be receiving this much attention. Gale pays no mind to Eden's clear embarrassment, instead tracing his eyes over the purple-skinned man's body to make sure he wasn't injured, or sick, or dying, or-

Gale's racing thoughts come screeching to a halt as he realizes two things in quick succession. The first: Eden's torso is, mercifully, free of any fresh injuries or lingering, festering wounds. He has a curious mark on his side that Gale can't quite identify at a glance, but it doesn't seem to be actively killing him, so Gale leaves it be for now.

The second: Eden has breasts.

If Gale were thinking logically in this moment, he would scoff at his own surprise. Of course Eden has breasts. Most humanoids do, even though not all of them are obvious. Sure, until now, he'd known Eden to be relatively flat-chested, but that doesn't mean anything when he's only ever seen his new friend in full armor. It's ridiculous to have such a strong reaction to seeing one of his companions partially nude, and Gale internally chastises himself. He should be above this.

But, he finds that he can't quite help himself. His eyes are drawn to the supple swell of Eden's chest, each breast round and heavy, with dusky purple nipples hardened from the chill of the river water. They look terribly soft, and in that moment all Gale wants is to take them into his hands and hold them. They must be warm, he imagines. Warm and soft and overflowing in his hands, a pleasant weight. His mouth waters at the thought, and he swallows.

Eden moves his arms to cover his breasts, squishing them against his body in the way Gale wants to himself. It's then, of course, that Gale remembers Eden's clear humiliation, and whatever spell those tantalizing tits had placed upon him abruptly vanishes. What kind of friend is he, ogling Eden instead of helping to diffuse the situation? Gale bites back the wave of self loathing that threatens to crash over him, and instead he averts his gaze as he opens his mouth to speak.

Eden beats him to it, because of course that beautiful, witty, shockingly and infuriatingly busty tiefling does. It seems he's recovered from the shock.

"They're tits, Astarion," he says drily. "Breasts. Boobs. Whatever you wish to call them. I assume you must at least be familiar with the term, yes?"

All at once, the electric tension in the air dissipates as various members of the party crack up and Astarion sputters in embarrassment. Gale lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, doing his utmost best to put his sudden rush of desire out of his mind. It's for the best, he's sure--his heart is beating a war drum in his chest, and he doesn't want to imagine what havoc might be unleashed if the orb were to destabilize now.

Of all things to almost make Gale lose control, it's a single glimpse of his gorgeous new companion's nude torso. Ridiculous.

[idoodlestuffsometimes]

Brother's Keeper AU:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How did Caleb live so long? How can he still be here after 400 years?

A: Belos wanted him to stick around and so he made it happen. As for specifics: *shrugs* your guess is as good as mine! This is something I've preferred to leave up to the readers. I will simply confirm that he isn't hiding any goop powers or OP palisman-given magical abilities. He is, for all intents and purposes, a regular human who is somehow really, really old.

Q: If Caleb is still alive, where did Hunter come from?

A: The full story here hasn't been told yet, but you may notice Caleb is missing quite a few bones...

Q: Caleb's ears are pointed! Did Belos cut them??

A: Correct

Q: Does Caleb know about the Collector/the basilisks/Belos' plans?

A: Probably! He's been Belos' sounding board for 400 years. Access to things that could "further corrupt him" or provide him a tool for escape, however, are off limits, so there are many things, like the Collector, that he's heard about but never seen for himself.

Q: Where's Flapjack/Amity/Darius/etc?

A: This is basically a canon divergence. If you haven't seen a particular character, it's safe to assume for now that they're up to whatever they were doing in canon.

Q: I don't get it. Why is Caleb insane?

A: I suggest you reread the first few story posts, my friend! You have fallen for Belos' lies.

Q: Do you have a posting schedule? When will the next part come out?

A: There is no posting schedule. I draw (mostly but not always) traditionally in my free time, for the fun of telling a cool story, and some posts are longer than others. That means the timing of the next post depends on how long it is, how much time I have, and whether or not I'm at home with access to my scanner. Sometimes this means I post quickly. Sometimes it means you'll see me next month. Sorry about that.

Just know that if I know there's going to be an extended wait, especially one where I'm not actively working on the next drawing, I will make an announcement about it. If you haven't seen an update in a while but I also haven't said anything, it's almost definitely because I'm actively chipping away at a part of the story that's taking me longer.

Q: Why do some of the story posts have a letter after the number? Are these less important than the regular story posts? Can I skip them?

A: No, I Do Not Recommend skipping them! They are just as important as the others. They have a letter on the end because they were added later and I use letters as a way to avoid renumbering everything. If you see story posts labeled something like "3, 3A, 4", they are meant to be read the same as you would if they were "3, 4, 5".

Q: Can I make art/fic/cosplay of this au?

A: Knock yourself out! If you post it somewhere, please include credit, but otherwise I don't mind, and actually love seeing what you do with it! If it's NSFW though, please keep it in appropriate spaces with proper warnings.

Q: Wait there's fic/fanart?? Can I see?

A: If you look through the tag on my blog "BK fridge gallery" you can browse any content shared with me that I've reblogged. :) People are free not to share it with me too though, and there are some I don't reblog, especially if its gorey or suggestive, so you might be able to find a bit more elsewhere under the Brother's Keeper AU name if you look for it.

You may also notice I have a featured tag called "BK Soundtrack." That's for songs that people have suggested to go with the AU. You are welcome to browse or suggest songs of your own ;)

Q: :( I sent an ask but you didn't answer. Did you get it?

A: Probably, yes. Sometimes it takes me a few days to get to it. However, if it was theorizing about future plot points, I may actually be holding onto it with plans to answer at a more appropriate time. I like to keep many of my plans for the story close to the chest, so don't be surprised if your theory ask disappears only to show up many months later when the story has progressed to a point where I can give you a more in depth answer.

[aristotels]

i wish i could find my critically-thinking-about-kink-hypocrisy post regarding their BLESSED leatherfags and petplay and ours DIRTY dubcon-cnc-incest-powerdynamics-whatever kinks lmfao like if you think leather kink has nothing to do with social context and power abuse and propaganda, esp nazi aesthetics* so much of it has to do with in its conception, youre sooo wrong lol if youre gonna talk abt critical thinking of kink then you better start going up to the dawn of mankind and how society has shaped kink and sex to be inherently rooted in abuse in modern society. yes up to the fucking coffeshop aus

*op is not saying leather kink is nazi in its wish and want, op is talking about context of power dynamics leather has to do with, op has talked more about this in their longer post which they cannot find rn, op doesnt believe you just enjoy leather completely contextually free because there is NOTHING in our society that doesnt have a context rooted in power dynamics, up to collecting teacups

[gamerbearmira]

Hey, I have been a fan of your blog and content for a long while now. You probably remember me from the nage post a while back

I have this idea for an au and thought you might find it interesting. Basically, it's like those aus where mirabel is the new head of the house/ candle keeper or whatever people call it. The miracle or Casita (your choice) doesn't give mirabel a gift in hopes that the family would understand that she is the next head of the house, but of course, that didn't happen. After years of seeing mirabel being forgotten and pushed aside, Casita/ the miracle decides to show the family and the town mirabel's role in a big way. I am not sure of the specifics of how it happens, but mirabel is fused with the candle, and not only can she use all of the families gifts (tho only one at a time and for a limited time) but she can turn Into a fricking dragon.

This is an example of what I mean.

Idk if you would like this, but I thought i should share it with you in case you did like it. If you do like it, you are free to use it however you like :]

SO COOL❗❓

Dragons are so radical. I have a friend who loves dragon, its understandable. BUT YEAHHH CANDLE HOLDER AND CAN TURN INTO A DRAGON...SO COOL...also glad she's not op asf because. We gotta have limits 🥸

Casita at least made it known. Like that's one way to do it 😭 can definitely imagine she was recognized, so clearly it worked. Probably takes Mirabel a while to get used to it 👽 (;`･∀･、°)

And yes. I do remember <333 love my long time fans‼️‼️

[teecupangel]

Just saw the Yu Gi Oh post where you gave Desmond a deck based around Ezio being one of his main cards and it reminded me that when i finished reading Esama's Loose Ends, i wrote down an idea i got. XD

Basically, Desmond gets sent to the Yu Gi Oh verse as a card and in a fun twist, we can send Shaun, Rebecca and Bill after him some months later. In this AU, Abstergo never got Desmonds body, there was just some blood stains near the Eye(enough for Sample 17). This leads Bill to desperatly search for his son and in the beginning Shaun and Rebecca help him, but as the months go by and nothing comes up, they start losing hope.

Not Bill though. He is adamant that his son is still alive, the Apple told him so. Eventually the Brotherhood send Shaun and Rebecca after him to get the Apple back and to stop this madness. Bill though, has found out that his son is in an alternate reality and there is a PoE that can get him there. Just as he activatesthe device, Shaun and co. catch up to him and gets transported too.

All of them wake up to a world where children fight multi million dollar tournaments with real monsters summoned from cards... WTF??? Bill is still adamantly searching for Desmond and when asking around, he hears people talk about "hoping to see Desmond in action" at the next tournament. When they get there though, it is not just Desmond he sees, but a bunch of Assassins... as the monsters controlled by people. All their eyes are a soulless white and then everyone goes wild as Desmond gets summonee to the field... Bill found his son. Now he needs to free him.

.

So yeah, the idea is that Desmond and his ancestors are being controlled by whatever evil corporation rules in the Yu Gi Oh verse(sorry, my knowledge about this series is very limited XD) and it's up to Bill, Shaun and Rebecca to save Desmond and stop the evil guys, with the help of these random children that insist they can help.

"Do you guys even know how to play Dual Monsters?"

"... Fiiiiine, you can help"

Heres's the wall of text i wrote down in a flurry of words about Desmond as the card. XD

Yu gi oh x AC crossover idea: After the Eye Desmond ends up in the Yu Gi Oh verse as a card. He has multiple stages to his card and his theme is that at first he can't attack and monsters are forced to defend him until a certain number has been met and he transforms into a form that can attack. His first form is a chained up ball of golden feathers called Desmond The Chained One. His 2nd form is called Desmond The Free One and has him sever his chains and fly free, but the chains remain on him(he is in simple clothes reminiscent of his hoodie and jeans). His 3rd form is called Desmond The Awakened One and has him hold an Apple of Eden and his clothes become the robes of the Assassins. His last form is Desmond The Sacrificed One and along with the Apple, he has the Eye in front if him. In this form his chains are finally gone and the player can choose to either sacrifice him to protect every card on the battle field from a spell or effect that would destroy a monster or they can sacrifice everything and let Desmond remain. In his 2nd form he gains the ability to summon other Assassin cards(Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad The Eagle, Ezio Auditore The Hunter, Ratonhnhaké:ton The Furious, Edward Kenway The Pirate, Haytham Kenway The Leader etc) to aid him. His 3rd also gains the ability to sacrifice a card to take control of an enemy until the end of the turn.

Here’s the link to the Altaïr possesses Desmond ala Yami Yugi idea and my idea for Desmond’s OP deck for those curious

I only fully watched the series with Yugi in it so I’ll suggest that, instead of an evil corporation, we just have Desmond be part of the new cards that are part of some kind of ‘promotional tournament’. This way we can put this in any of the series/season you want and it’ll become more or less a ‘filler arc’ XD

Okay, my suggestion is for the criteria to change forms is that ‘discarding’ or ‘losing’ a number of cards to ‘evolve’ Desmond.

For Desmond to become Desmond The Free One, 3 cards must be discarded or lose regardless of who lost it (the player or the opponent). BUT Desmond must already be in the field for those cards to count. Any cards lost before Desmond is in the field is not part of the count. This includes magic and trap cards.

To get Desmond the Awakened One, the player must discard or lose 3 cards (this includes the cards that the player has already sacrificed for Desmond’s 2nd form).

And for Desmond to become the Desmond The Sacrificed One, it’s more specific: the cards Altaïr, Ezio, and Ratonhnhaké:ton must be discarded or defeated in the field. Of course, if they have already been sacrificed, that still counts. But here’s the thing though…

Desmond the Sacrificed One doesn’t summon any Assassin cards. He forces the players to summon them as long as they are in the player’s hand and there is a free spot in the field. Any time he summons an Assassin, he can no longer attack or use his control skill and he prioritizes summoning Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton.

AND he has a special ‘passive skill’ with the Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton cards. He will always take the first hit of those cards per turn. This means that, the opponent could easily whittle down Desmond’s health by attacking Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton only once.

This is mitigated by:

Desmond cannot be directly attacked or removed from the field as long as there is an Assassin card in the field

He heals 10% of his total HP for every Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton cards in the field per start of the player's turn.

The Aegis shield can be equipped to Desmond and it will take 50% of any damages that is aimed at Desmond until its shield is depleted.

Edward’s passive skill “Protecting the Future” where Edward can take the damage that would prove to be a killing blow for the cards Ratonhnhaké:ton, Haytham Kenway and Jennifer Scott also applies to Desmond.

The magic card “You are an Auditore” which heals 30% of the health of any Auditore cards in the field and that includes any ‘Kenway’ on the field also affects Desmond.

Equipping Altaïr or Ezio with the Armor of Altaïr (there’s also two copies of them in the deck) halves all damages they take and Desmond only receives 1/3 of the damage when his passive activates.

Keeping Desmond the Sacrificed One also heralds a permanent field effect. All monsters other than Desmond take damage every start of the turn. The field is called ‘Remnants of the Sun’s Wrath”.

[a-wins-a-win]

i am supremely indecisive and need direction, so I’m putting this one to a tumblr poll ;

summaries and such under the readmore - feel free to send asks for more info <3

just to be clear, no matter the poll results i will be working on-and-off on smaller fics + my essays* and such anyway - the option is just there if people would be more interested in having shorter/less involved works more often, rather than just a scattering of one-shots for however long it takes me to wrangle a Project to somewhere i'm happy with to share it. * the essays are happening and will be happening, independently of whatever ends up happening with my fic writing, as well. it will again just boil down to focus and available research/writing time.

anyway! onto the Project summaries ;

forgive and forget (it’s all coming back to me now)

Jason was pretty certain he'd just end up working for his father in the end, but Ivy had managed to convince him that it was worth at least trying to find his work experience somewhere else. He had basically expected the crappy intern jobs - coffee runs, sorting files, and generally trailing after competent employees like some kind of lost puppy. What he hadn't expected, however, was for Peter goddamn Simmonds to have landed a co-op position at the same company.

post-canon canon divergence

eventual mcsimmonds

ivy is a major character too, i promise she gets her own b-plots

background lucadia

messy confusing feelings + cheating subplots

something stupid (like i love you)

A few days. Somehow, letting Lucas crash on Matt's couch for a few days turned into buying Lucas new clothes, turned into cleaning him up and helping with the job search. Which then turned into Matt making Lucas dinner and letting Lucas make him dinner in return, until dinner was a combined effort and light-hearted arguments about organizational systems. And it wasn't until their closets blurred together and Lucas started helping to pick out new drinking glasses that either of them realised they'd be happy if a few days lasted forever.

post-canon lucatt

roommates to friends to lovers type beat

in many ways they've grown and changed, in many ways they haven't

of course there's a lot of tension in the in-between stage where they're trying to figure out how to incorporate into each other's lives again, but eventually they end up falling into a cute domestic routine

there's something there in lucas and matt forgiving each other for the roles they played in/the ways they contributed to the general disaster that was their senior year (but Jason's suicide in particular)

as close to heaven as i’ll get

There wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that Jason McConnell would do well at Notre Dame - 5 generations of top-level vampire hunters had come before him (and his father was quite insistent that AFTER him would come 5 more). The only thing that stood in his way was an entrance exam requiring a record of field experience.

Peter Simmonds understood the importance of following the rules imposed by the coven, really he did. But even so - something about the bright spots the stained glass windows of the church reflected onto the wet ground drew him in.

mcsimmonds vampire AU

Twilight/Supernatural-esque rural vibes + Southern Gothic inspiration

i get to fuck around with vampire folklore and religious imagery! and who doesn't love that?

a big chunk of inspiration for it was the concept of Peter seeing so much like. peace and community and what have you in this idea of the church involvement that he so desperately wants to be a part of, played against Jason's so desperately wanting to get out of it. if you see the vision.

just because [i’m] pretty

Over the years Ivy Robinson had been called a lot of things. Cutie, Angel, Pretty Baby, Slut, Whore, Bitch. Mostly she tried not to hold onto them too tight, not to think too deeply about how they felt in her mouth as she studied herself in the mirror. But occasionally something would stick. She just hadn't expected that something to be 'boyish'.

gay trans man ivy <3

a lot of times he is trying to explore/come to terms with himself through his art

although his romantic + sexual attraction to boys is obviously a cornerstone of his identity there'd also be largely platonic [& antagonistic & familial] relationship focuses

touch tank

A dramatic part of Peter wanted to let himself be bitter and jaded about his parents divorce, like every other seventeen-year-old main character. But the more sensible part of him knew that was unfair, and unrealistic - especially when it had led him to some of the prettiest, most interesting boys he had ever met.

good catholics <3 [my matt/peter/jason triad]

merfolk au! wherein jason is merfolk at the other two are not

set in a cliche small costal town , lots of cute vibes + also costal weather, because i love the rain

silly little subplots involving the other characters occur around the main story as well