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fubukiswifenoimnotjoking · 3 years

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One Punch Man ship reviews bc I’m bored

WARNING: BIG ONE PUNCH MAN WEBCOMIC AND MANGA SPOILERS

GenoSai: do I even have to say it?? They compliment each other so well and are already besties. They make me so happy and I love their love. Genos literally came into Saitama’s life and brought so much new life and excitement when Saitama thought he’d never get any. Genos gives him love and appreciation all the time and never abandons him. Saitama isn’t connected to his feelings, but he cares about Genos and would do just about anything for him, to keep him safe. Genos constantly teases Saitama and Saitama grumbles and takes it with some banter, Genos is super emotional and Saitama does his best to comfort him, they fucking love shopping together and just hanging out period, they talk about the dumbest shit and somehow they still understand each other with the one brain cell they both share. It takes Genos forever to realize his feelings are deeper and Saitama has to be TOLD by their friends that he should fucking realize his feelings already. Just...I could keep going but I’ll stop! 2718873737839439/10 (let’s not talk about the age gap btw, 6 years isn’t bad and Genos is a legal adult.)

FubuSai: the stereotypical straight ship ppl gravitate to. Eh. I can see it, but at the same time I feel like they don’t completely compliment each other. Are they a hot couple? Duh. But I feel like their pride and communication issues would get in the way. 4/10

TatsuSai: hnghhhh. Someone mentioned this before, can’t remember who, but Saitama literally thinks she’s a child in canon. So that just....makes it gross. Same problems as FubuSai but worse. I’d rather see them as hesitant friends w a weird bond. 0/10

SonSai/SonicSai/idk the ship name: eh, toxic. Cant see them getting past communication issues and pride, again. Plus Sonic wants to kill his ass. Also, I just feel no romantic tension?? Even in fanfic it just falls flat for me. 3/10

MumenSai: a favorite!! Wish I saw it more, it’s very cute. Mumen is so kind and would absolutely be there to help him w self esteem and just help him be a better person period. And Saitama would have a cute little kind guy to tease and open up to. I could maybe see Mumen’s kindness getting on Saitama’s nerves when he’s in a bad mood bc Mumen almost never snaps and Saitama feels shittier, or maybe Mumen being mad at Saitama for being kinda lazy at home while Mumen is working his ass off and he’s like babe I just got home, please stop playing the fucking game and pay attention to me I have a concussion again. Prob too nitpicky on this one, heh, but 8.4/10

Genos x Sonic: wtf? As a crack ship, sure. That’s hilarious. But as a serious ship, 1.3/10 bc I could MAYBE see them bond over their love of my chemical romance or sum.

Anyone x Puri: -128382839287473828739219833468282/10. Fuck Puri.

TatsuKing: eh. Indifferent on this one too. I can see them getting along and Tatsu being the mean but supportive gf in public, but a sweet gf in private. King could be like her calm oasis of video games and sweet blonde shy bf. I sway more towards ace/aro King and queer non binary Tatsu, but this is still good. 6/10

FubuPsy/Fubuki x Psykos/idk: hell yeah!! This series NEEDS more wlw ships, both for me to project onto and to cry over. Prob my fav Fubuki ship, cuz they’ve known each other since they were young and had a tenuous friendship. I didn’t use to ship it until I saw that scene in the wc after the MA arc (u know the one) but here we are. They’re big personalities so any interaction is bound to be chaotic at first, but I really think they’d work. Pride put to the side, Psykos could be someone for Fubuki to finally rely on other than the Blizzard Bunch, someone to confide in, a badass partner to fight monsters with, talk about nothing for hours with, be a super fashionable #girlboss couple with, and someone who would really see her for who she is-especially w Psykos knowledge of her from the past. Hell, Psykos might even know her better than Tatsumaki. Fubuki could be an anchor to her like she currently is in the wc, providing a quiet comfort and making her open up little by little. Would prob be toxic at first bc of the MA arc and their desire for power, but is a very good ship I think. 9/10

Speedal/Sonic x Mumen: an old fav! Sonic would have a hard time not hating Mumen at first bc he’s the picture definition of a hero, sum he hates. But hanging out with him would show him Mumen is a GOOD guy genuinely and he’d be like ohhhh shit I’m in love w this man. Mumen would thoroughly appreciate someone to make him live a little, break some rules and stand up to ppl when they talk over him. He’d DEFINITELY be upset when finding out Sonic is an assassin, but would prob be conflicted bc he knows Sonic is a good person despite that. Would prob make Sonic give up on killing for them to be together. Sucks bc of the assassin thing and bc they haven’t met in canon! So we’re not sure how they’d interact with each other, sigh. 7.4/10

Okamaitachi x Bushidrill: a very underrated ship! To be clear, I headcanon Kama as a trans woman and so does most of the fandom. Anyway, very sweet and already built as a friendship bc of their partnership under Atomic Samurai. I can’t remember who writes fic and makes art of them on tumblr but AAAAA it’s so good! Very sweet. Basically depicted Bushi as a nervous himbo who’s honest about his feelings but scared to say them and Kama as a sweet lady who’s crazy about Bushi. Very sweet. Want more of them!! 6.1/10

OneZon/Zombieman x One Shotter: never even thought of the ship till I saw @megidolan art work! Very wholesome, and from what little we know of Shotter we know he’s a sort of nervous yet strong willed guy, and Zombieman would totally help him calm down bc he’s so chill. I could see them sharing cigarettes and talking shit on heroes while cuddling u know? 7/10 only because I don’t see enough of it but very good concept.

Mumarou/Mumen x Garou: a lot of ppl are gonna hate me for this but....I don’t like it. I’ve tried! I just—idk. I’ve read so many good fics about them that make me like it a bit, but the concept is just eh. I think their relationship is, in most reps, really cliche angsty stuff. I wish I could elaborate I just...gah! Basically, there’s better ships for the both of them imo. Sorry!! 4.3/10

Sonic x Flashy/SonFlash: yes!! Prob my fav Sonic ship. They have soooo much tension, it’s almost worse than Genos’ tension w Saitama. Flashy LITERALLY poisoned Sonic so that he wouldn’t be forced to kill him at the ninja graduation. He cares. They’ll never say it out loud, but they care. They have someone who understands what they went through in each other and someone they’re both so similar to, yet so different from. Sonic is more vocal about his expressions and let’s people know it while Flashy often keeps things to himself, they could really influence the other to be more this or that. I could see a lot of comfort with these two, and not much is needed for relationship development; they already have so much unspoken between them after meeting for the first time in years. Love it. Wish I saw it more! 10/11

KingSai: wonderful! Out of the few ppl Saitama is close to, def my second fav pick for a ship for him. There’s a post saying how Saitama doesn’t cut King off when he’s going on rants about games and stuff bc he’s talking TO Saitama, not at him like Genos tends to do on accident. They’re already great buddies! Saitama could find a shy gamer man who he can talk to about manga and stuff and also a passionate bf who could break out of his shell w Saitama and be himself with no lies. King can have someone to protect him, duh, someone who finally understands his weird sense of humor, and someone to shower him in the love and kindness he deserves when Saitama is in the mood to be all out like that w his affections. Plus he’s Saitama’s anchor and brings him back down when he’s super anxious and depressed and tells him what’s up that he needs to fix without sugarcoating it. Would def have a bunch of inside jokes and go on dates that are just staying inside playing video games all night. Domestic af. 10/10

Fubuki x Mizuki: my first wlw Fubuki ship! Hard to find but very good. Mizuki is this big ball of kindness, energy, and raw power that would make Fubuki go ‘Ohhhhhhh, big pretty lady make brain go brrr.’ I could see Mizuki grounding Fubuki when she’s in over her head, giving her random gifts bc she saw sum and thought of her, doing a marathon run and wildly waving at Fubuki in the crowd, and all around being a dependable woman confident in herself and in love with a mysterious esper. Prob a little shy when it comes to anything physical bc she loves Fubuki so much and is overwhelmed by the realness of being w her. Fubuki gives Mizuki advice on ‘acting like a proper hero’ or whatever and though Mizuki thinks she doesn’t need it, Fubuki still helps her a lot w her career and being taken more seriously by others. Would give Mizuki someone who loves her for who she is and would go wild on her in private when she can be open about her affection, would be someone Mizuki could exercise with and listen intently to Mizuki’s physical knowledge, and would absolutely bandage her when she’s all banged up. Hnghh love this ship. It’s only behind the FubuPsy ship juuuuust a little bc they haven’t met in canon so we can’t be sure about their interactions and stuff. 8.8/10, I love WOMEN

Batarou: how could I go this far without mentioning them?! They have SOOOO much tension in the centichoro fight, like come on. Both snarky assholes who are huge softies one the inside, Badd being the more logical one (still a himbo, tho) and Garou being the more chaotic one. Probably take forever to admit their feelings bc they’re so prideful and stupid <3 flirt through constant wrestling matches and it takes Genos saying ‘they should kiss already, they’re getting on his nerves’ for them to finally realize what’s up. (@rayadraws has a great au where Garou Genos and Badd are a chaotic friend squad and Genos is the only brain of the group, haha. Very good au y’all check it out!) Would constantly pick on each other affectionately and switch into concerned SO when the other is hurt like the big teddy bears they are. Raise Zenko together for sure. Garou would fumble being romantic and Badd would find it both hilarious and cute. 11/12

Zombie mask/Amai x Zombieman:

So. I don’t like Amai Mask and I used to hate him, BUT the webcomic and fic have really helped me calm down on him (he’s still a dick tho), so it’s easier to want to ship him and stuff. Bc of Amai’s anger issues and controlling behavior, I could see this relationship being super toxic and icky—but I think they have some form of understanding that pulls Amai back from being a complete dick, you know? Start off as fuck buddies and slowly form something else from spending companionable time together other than screwing. Zombieman pulls Amai back from his angry fits and soothes him over with his logic. Talk maaaaaad shit about heroes, but only when they’re alone because Zombieman knows Amai will talk loud af about the heroes they’re roasting and Zombie doesn’t wanna stop a fight from happening. Zombieman loves making Amai flustered and has a secret check list in his head of all the things that get Amai red faced. Loves to listen to Amai rant about things for hours and loves to watch his face go through almost cartoon like expressions as he talks. He won’t admit it, but Zombie loves to be spoiled by Amai’s shit tons of cash and often takes rides in Amai’s limos when he wants to smoke and think to himself. Amai has a hard time realizing how his feelings have changed, but gets hit hard with it when he wakes up to Zombie making them breakfast one morning while wearing Amai’s underwear. Amai also loves to spoil Zombie and takes him out to restaurants and buys him cool new weapons on the weekends. @batneko has pretty much gotten me into this ship and I strongly suggest looking at their works! 7.9/10

DemonKnight/Genos x Zero/Drive Knight: I’m pretty sure this used to be a crack ship before the past like 10 manga chapters—and now here we are! Not a fav bc 1. ZERO LEFT GENOS TO SELF DESTRUCT AFTER THEY COMBINED TO FORM THE FUCKING JET HE WAS JUST LIKE lol bye SO LIKE if he left him to die that’s super hard for me to forgive and ship grrr 2. Disregarding the manga’s canon and looking at the wc, while I love the little trip they went on where Zero demonstrated his abilities and helped Genos kill monsters, it’s super sus. He knew alllll of this info on Metal Knight and was super supportive and understanding when Genos said he needed time to think. Like,,,what are his intentions? We know so little about him—is he trying to trick Genos or was he being sincere? THAT STUFF ASIDE, they’re a really fun ship. They’re both huge fucking nerds and can keep up with their talk on robotics for hours, they’re both cyborgs so they understand each other’s pain, and they’re both super cool and angsty. I think they could really settle into a deep bond that can go platonic or romantic, just depends. Genos needs more ppl in his life so hell yeah! Plus, he can really let go with Zero bc they don’t have that teacher/student relationship and Zero, if he’s really a sincere and kind guy like in the wc, can be there for Genos and listen to him. Don’t have much to say on this ship other than @wellthisisembarrassing makes GORGEOUS art of them! 6.3/10

Webuiko/Suiko x Webigaza: YEAH I KNOW THEY HAVENT INTERACTED IN CANON AND WE DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM BUT HEAR ME OUT. Webigaza—cool af determined cyborg idol who’s surprisingly down to earth when talking with Child Emperor. Suiko—sassy and honest fighter who doesn’t take shit and is very passionate. Suiko would go to talk to Web then immediately freak out bc aaaa she’s way prettier than she thought, she can’t do this! Web would have to gently encourage Suiko to talk and at first is like ‘ah man, must be an adoring fan, ugh I’m so tired. At least she’s hot’ but when Suiko snaps out of her shyness Web is like oh! She’s super cool wtf. Always bump into each other during fights and help each other get fixed up, Suiko using her muscle power to lift Web’s pieces (and give Web a great view of Suiko’s muscles holy SHIT) and Web would patch Suiko up. Not to be stereotypical, but they’re def a masc/femme couple. I love the idea of this ship soooo much and I really hope they interact! 6.6/10 only bc they haven’t met 😭😭😭 look them up on here! There’s some great art of them by a few blogs

Dr. Kuseno x Bang: pretty sure @baldyborg came up with this one! Super cute. Just two old dudes finding a nice friendship in each other, maybe after Bang helps carry Genos to Kuseno’s after a day of fighting. Bang would find Kuseno to be a very cute little nerd man and would be sooo impressed by Kuseno’s mad scientist skills. Kuseno would be super impressed when seeing Bang in action too. They’d prob talk as soon as they meet each other and Genos would be in the background like you guys it’s been an hour, please fix me I’m on the verge of death 🧍🏻Bang would give Kuseno advice on training techniques to teach Genos and advice on making his bodies more martial arts ready or sum, meanwhile Kuseno would give his take on how to be kinder to Garou so that Bang would learn to repair the relationship with a gentleness he’s seemingly lacking (yes I’m talking about the chapter where he and Garou start fighting and Bang is just not doing enough to reach out to Garou, he’s being a callous old man! So yeah I’m still mad about that). Genos and Saitama would prob be out on a date and Saitama would be like oh theres Bang, wonder what he’s doing? Then Kuseno would walk up and kiss Bang and Genos and Sai would be shocked like SIRS 👬 Genos would tell Bang he doesn’t need another adoptive dad and Bang would be like....ok.... I see them retiring in a cottage together and Bang would become a huge softie. Yes I’m actively ignoring chapter 141 of the wc, shut up. 7.6/10

TankTop master x Mumen: they have a nice friendship going on in the manga right now! Just bros supporting bros. Tank is the picture definition of a muscly himbo and Mumen is his cute passionate bf. Also workout buddies af!! Don’t have much to say other than pretty good ship, just not a fav. 5.2/10

To sum it up—

GenoSai: 2718873737839439/10, Batarou: 11/12, SonFlash: 10/11, KingSai: 10/10, FubuPsy: 9/10, Fubuki x Mizuki: 8.8/10, MumenSai: 8.4/10, ZombieMask: 7.9/10, Dr. Kuseno x Bang: 7.6/10, Speedal: 7.4/10, OneZon: 7/10, Webuiko: 6.6/10, DemonKnight: 6.3/10, Okamaitachi x Bushidrill: 6.1/10, TatsuKing: 6/10, TankTop Master x Mumen: 5.2/10, Mumarou: 4.3/10, FubuSai: 4/10, SonSai: 3/10, Genos x Sonic: 1.3/10, TatsuSai: 0/10, anyone x Puri: -1283828319833468282/10

If there’s any ships I left out, it’s bc I don’t know them, don’t wanna talk about them, or just don’t have an opinion strong enough. Also, I know there are some poly ships like Genos x Saitama x Fubuki, but I’ve read only one fic about that (it was pretty good, here’s the link https://archiveofourown.org/works/5406992 ) so I don’t feel like talking about it. Hope no ones offended! All my opinion here :)

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alildritten · 2 years

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HOLY CRAP- ok, thanks everyone for all the sudden notes! Wow, funny because some of them are from an older post, but anyway. Here’s chapter 13 of the “Dark Side of the Moon” au! I hope those who are reading this are enjoying it as much as I am writing it-

Text like this: text is Moon thinking/trying to message Sun. Click “keep reading” to read!

Start / Prev / Next

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Chapter 13: Security

“Th-that is all I know…” Moon said quietly.

“Good! Good, good, good good. Time for work~”

This worried Moon. Was that awful screen going to come back? The one that showed awful things happening to Sun?

“Oh, Moony. Not yet. If you’re a good little bot, perhaps we won’t need to go to such ~drastic~ measures.” The intruder emphasized ‘drastic’ in a way that made Moon uncomfortable. Made it seem like it wasn’t as drastic as it really was.

“What do you mean by ‘work’ then?”

“Tehehe~ You’ll see.”

Uh oh. That surely wasn’t good, was it?

“What do you want, anyways?”

…

No response. Guess they left.

…

Well, now what? Moon had nothing to do. It was just as bad as that room with the screams, if not worse.

Sunshine…?

…

Error; Message not sent.

Oh, right. Moon had forgotten. They sigh, they couldn’t even move! At least it’s better than having to see… that. That was pure torture to watch.

“Moon…?” They freeze, looking around anxiously, expecting the screen.

Nothing. Phew.

“Moon, hey, so… I wanted to talk to you.” Wait. Was that Nova?

“Look, me and Sun talked it over earlier, and….” Nova sighs. “They convinced me that you’ve changed. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have scared you like th- HEY!” They suddenly yell, making Moon jump from the sudden change in volume.

“I thought you had changed! What’s with the claws?!” Shoot. Not again, not again, not again, not again….!

The screen reappears in front of Moon. It shows Nova looking upset as it crackles to life.

“NO! NOT AGAIN! Please, what do you want this time?!” Moon shouted to the rabbit, wherever they were. Nova’s face contorts into very visible confusion.

“W- What does that…? I didn’t even do anything….?”

“Gah!” The voice that sounded similar to Moon’s grunted, shaking their head. The screen’s visuals swirled to match. It made Moon dizzy.

The screen proceeded to show claws reach out to grab and slash at Nova, but they dodged fast enough.

“INTRUDER! PLEASE! WHAT DO YOU WANT THIS TIME?! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” The visual had paused, Nova looking even more confused, and slightly angry.

“HEY! THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR! We went over this already! My name is Nova, not ‘intruder.’” What…?

“GAH!” The other voice shouted back, banging their hand against the screen. They hiss a little, then shake their head as if to clear it. They lunge for Nova again, claws outstretched. Again, they dodge.

“You’re acting really weird! Not only are you not using my name, you’re also talking the way you were a few hours ago, and you’re trying to attack me!” What? ‘Talking the way you were a few hours ago,’ that doesn’t make sense! I mean, yeah, I was talking to them a while ago, and we did talk about using their proper name, but… I’m not the one doing this. This is someone else. Perhaps they also had the same situation….?

Sunshine was scared of me.

W-well, y- no. They were scared, yes, but not because of me. Something must’ve just happened before I talked to th-

I yelled and they started crying immediately.

Y-yes, but they were probably still scared from whatever happe-

They ran from me. They didn’t want to be near me.

No! Not true! They just…. mistook me for the danger!

Nova talked to Sunshine about me, to give me another chance.

NO! IT WASN’T ME THAT DID ALL THAT TO THEM! I-it was just a coincidence! It all is!

“I thought you had changed.”

N-no…!

“…. the claws.”

No! No…. no….. Moon starts to sob uncontrollably, starting to put the clues together.

Sunshine was scared of me.

N…. o….

Those claws on screen are my claws.

…

What have I done….

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#dark side of the moon au #fnaf #fnaf sb #fnaf security breach #au #security breach moondrop #moondrop #slight angst #hahaha…. ohhh I feel bad for Moon. haha #they’re gonna be so traumatized when the virus is gotten rid of #lol oof poor guy #and here we see a wild Moon animatronic starting to spiral into self hatred #yep #here we go

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the-gay-prometheus · 3 years

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AU Segment - “Try” (rewrite)

Frankenfandom is asleep (not really I know but seems p inactive right now lmao), time to post my rewrite of “Try”

Rewrite complete! Finally! I’m actually somewhat (somewhat) happy with how this turned out. I realized that my first version of this scene was so ridiculously out of character, especially on Henry’s part, so I really took the time to focus on making sure I got the characterizations right.

Important Warnings for this one!!!! There is a brief mention of a needle, brief mention of violence, and discussion about death/dying in a general sense.

There is some important background info for this one: This takes place long after ‘What’s in a Name’ and a few months before ‘We’ve Got Work To Do.’ By now, things have really mellowed out between the three of them. Victor and Henry are officially ‘married’ and now husbands (that’s a scene for a different time when I’m writing more happy things instead of angst again), Agape (the creature, for those of you who are new here) is their well-loved son. Not all is entirely well, though. Victor has recently been plagued by nightmares, though he won’t explain what they’re about. On what he swears is a completely unrelated note, he’s been dabbling in science again, and at his request, Agape has built a new section onto the cabin as a laboratory for Victor to work in. Victor spends most of his days in there, Agape usually accompanying him either to learn or to assist, as well as staying there alone well into the night, but recently Victor has been starting to neglect himself for the sake of whatever it is he has going on behind that door...

As always, likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind (including constructive criticism!) are much appreciated!

Rain steadily tapped on the roof, the only sound to be heard other than the scratching of a pen as Henry wrote by the light of the last lit candle in the bedroom. The gentle scratching stopped as he read over what he wrote, followed by one final scratch and the gentle snap of his journal as he shut it and set it on the bed stand closest to him. He stretched with a yawn, absentmindedly reaching over to the other side of the bed before suddenly snapping his gaze over. In his deep concentration of writing, he had failed to notice that Victor had still not yet come to bed. Slipping silently out of bed, grabbing the burning candle on the bed stand and walking out of the room as quietly as possible. He passed through the common area, embers still glowing softly in the fireplace, and walked down the short hallway on the other side. The door to Agape’s room was slightly ajar, and, curious, Henry gently pushed it open further and peaked inside. Sure enough, Agape was there, sleeping soundly in bed. With a sigh of relief, he pulled the door mostly shut and continued down the hall to where the door to Victor’s makeshift laboratory was located.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped in carefully, gently closing the door behind him. “Victor?” he called out softly, walking past the rows of shelves and tables, each covered in a mess of tools, beakers, and jars, weaving through them along the familiar path. Toward the back wall was a softly glowing light emanating from a nearly spent candle upon a messy table covered with beakers that glinted in the light. Sitting slumped over in front of it all was the silhouette of the exact person he was looking for. As he approached, the light from his own candle further illuminated the workbench, revealing various tools he didn’t recognize, a mess of papers, and a large beaker filled with a grimy-looking dark fluid sitting atop what had likely once been a lit burner. “Oh, Victor,” he whispered softly with pity in his voice. He set his candle down and reached out, gently placing a hand on his sleeping husband’s shoulder. Victor awoke with a start, nearly falling off the stool he was sitting on as he jumped at the touch of Henry’s hand. Henry couldn’t help but smile as Victor looked back at him, his brown hair a shaggy mess, his goggles crooked on his face. “I thought you were coming to bed,” he mused quietly as he lifted the goggles up off of Victor’s eyes. Victor squinted as his goggles were lifted, raising his black-gloved hands to rub the sleep from his eyes - only pausing to realize that maybe touching his eyes with gloves he had just been handling dangerous substances with wasn’t the best idea. He yawned as he slipped one glove off and rubbed both eyes before tugging the glove back on.

“I am,” he muttered, speech somewhat slurred as he turned back toward the table. “Justg.. Just gotta, finish- this…” He rolled a hand in the air, then dropped it back down to his lap. “..thing.” Henry chuckled softly - it was amusing, albeit concerning, to see Victor so loopy.

“I think this thing can wait until you get some proper rest, love,” Henry replied, smoothing Victor’s messy hair with his fingers.

“Mm.. nooot really,” Victor answered, sorting through the various tools and beakers strewn about the table as though he were looking for something, then finally settled on one beaker that looked to have once held some kind of dark liquid in it. The scientist picked it up, inspected it closely, took a few long, slow blinks, then tilted his head back to look up at Henry. “...I needm… more coffee,” he mumbled with a sleepy smile. Henry gave him an odd look.

“More? I just brought some back for you two days ago.”

“Well that- that was… that was two days ago and this is now.”

“Please tell me you haven’t finished an entire tin in two days, Victor.” Victor groaned and set the beaker down.

“More like finished half in two days and half in… maybe one night,” he muttered, slowly starting to wake up more. “It’s all a bit of a blur, really.”

“This is why you need sleep,” Henry pointed out, running his hand from Victor’s hair back down to his shoulder.

“No, no. No I don’t need sleep,” Victor replied, starting to sound much more like himself. “I need… I need um…” He glanced around, his eyes falling on the beaker full of dark grimy fluid on the unlit burner. “Gah- nonono- noooo…” he grumbled, nearly knocking over the beaker that once held coffee as he fumbled for the one on the burner. He grabbed it, took one whiff, then unceremoniously dropped his head onto the table. Henry jumped slightly, gently nudging him as he was somewhat concerned that the smell of the concoction had somehow knocked him unconscious.

“...Victor?”

“I’m fine,” Victor grumbled. “Fine I just. I have to start this over.” He set the beaker down on the floor next to the table and slowly stood, somewhat wobbly at first, before wandering off to grab another one.

“No, I think you need sleep,” Henry called to him, turning and leaning back slightly on the table as he watched Victor grab a new beaker along with various jars filled with substances he couldn’t recognize.

“I am- I am a god, Henry; gods don’t need sleep,” Victor called back to him with a hint of sarcasm in his tone as he plucked the ingredients he needed from the shelves. Henry chuckled and shook his head.

“Oh, silly me. How could I ever forget,” he mused, rolling his eyes. “Of course you’re a god, darling.” He turned out of curiosity to look at what was on the table, his eyes catching sight of something that Victor had been obscuring while he was sitting there. It was an odd thing, or the makings of an odd thing anyways, just barely started. There were gears and a crank connected to them, a tangled mess of wires - some attached to the thing and others lying nearby, various empty vials with tubes dangling from their cork caps, and sitting directly beside it all was a frighteningly large hollow needle. He leaned in closer to inspect the device. “Since when did you start tinkering?” he asked as he looked at how each gear was connected.

“Since I needed to for this project,” Victor answered as he sifted through more jars to find exactly what he was looking for. “Agape has been a big help. You’d never guess it but he’s got a knack for that sort of thing. Tinkering and such, that is. Well… he’s got an interest in all of it but he can be a little careless with the chemicals,” he continued, suddenly realizing he didn’t have enough hands to hold everything he needed and placing the beaker in his mouth to hold it.

“Can’t imagine where he gets that carelessness from,” Henry muttered sarcastically as he glanced back to see Victor on his tip-toes sifting through jars with one hand while holding far too many other jars in his other and a beaker between his teeth.

“I’s a real ‘ys’ery,” Victor answered sincerely with the beaker still in his mouth. Henry smirked and shook his head.

“Sure is.” He turned back toward the table, his eyes catching sight of an open journal, dark-stained pages covered in writing and sketches. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he picked it up and moved further into the candlelight to read as Victor returned and carefully set everything down on the table. “So is this what the two of you have been working on?” Henry asked as he flipped back a few pages to start reading closer to the beginning.

“Oh good god no,” Victor answered as he refilled the burner with oil and lit it using a match he ignited from his own nearly spent candle. “I’ve just been doing simple things with him. Common chemical reactions, a few lessons in physics, electricity, etcetera.” He began filling the new beaker with some of the ingredients from the jars he had grabbed. “This is more of a… personal project.” As he continued, he paused once he opened one jar, thought for a moment, then began rummaging around the table, searching for something. “Henry, you haven’t happened to see a journal lying around anywhere have y-” He cut himself off as he turned to see Henry standing there, journal in hand, a look of somewhere between shock and horror on his face. He felt his heart skip a beat as he froze.

“You’re…” Henry began, his voice low and quiet. Victor lurched forward suddenly, snatching the journal from his hands, though Henry still held his hands as though the journal still lay between them.

“What did I tell you about touching my things,” Victor snarled, holding the journal behind him. Henry didn’t acknowledge him, instead staring straight ahead almost unnervingly.

“You’re making another one…”

“And you just broke my most important rule,” Victor remarked, eyes narrowed. Henry swallowed hard and took in a deep, shaky breath.

“...You’re right. I apologize - I shouldn’t have taken it without asking but-”

“But nothing, Henry. Go back to bed and let me work,” Victor snapped, flipping the journal back open and scouring the pages to find the correct amount of the ingredient he was working with.

“Victor-” Henry reached out to him, placing his hand on Victor’s arm gently.

“Just-” Victor started, voice raised in anger as he knocked Henry’s hand away. He paused, seeing Henry was clearly emotionally upset, and sighed, returning his eyes to his work, as he muttered, “leave me be.”

“No, Victor. We need to discuss this,” Henry managed to mention softly.

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Victor growled, pulling his goggles back over his eyes as he placed the beaker over the burner and began stirring the contents with a glass rod.

“Then at least talk to me,” Henry suggested, sitting on the floor beside him. Victor ignored him, choosing instead to continue his work. There was silence between them except for the twisting of jar lids and the clinking of scooping tools against glass, only broken as Victor held out a small piece of cloth to Henry.

“Cover your mouth and nose with this until I say so,” he muttered, his voice muffled behind a cloth that he had tied around his own mouth and nose like a bandana. Henry didn’t question him and tied the cloth around his face, peeking up over the table as Victor carefully poured one substance into the heated beaker, which immediately began to furiously boil and bubble while emitting an eerie green light. Even through the cloth Henry could smell something atrocious, and he did his best to hold back a gag while Victor simply sat there observing as though this were something he was entirely accustomed to. After a few minutes the smell dissipated and the light dulled, at which point Victor held his hand back out - which Henry interpreted meant he could remove the cloth, so he did. “I have my reasons, you know,” Victor mumbled, taking the cloth and setting it on the table along with his own.

“I have no doubt about that.”

“Then why is there anything to discuss?” He turned toward Henry, looking down at him though his eyes were masked by his goggles.

“I feel I should have a say in this matter,” Henry replied. “None of this is just about you or me anymore. It’s about us together.”

“I don’t dictate what you do in your own daily life or what choices you make, why should you dictate mine?” Victor countered, turning back to continue to work on the solution he had started.

“There’s a difference between choosing whether to spend my time writing or climbing, and choosing to create an entire living being that we both will be responsible for,” Henry pointed out.

“I never said you would be responsible for it.” Henry sighed, realizing this conversation was getting them nowhere.

“Did he ask you for this?” he asked, changing his direction. “Has he decided that this is still what he wants even after all this time?” Victor didn’t answer, instead paying close attention as he measured out a powdered substance on a small scale. “Victor-”

“No, Henry. He has nothing to do with this,” Victor interrupted with an exasperated tone, scooping the measured substance up and pouring it into the solution, which instantly swirled into a dark red hue as he stirred it in. He tapped his stirring rod on the side of the beaker, then dropped it into a dirty yet empty flask nearby. Resting his elbows on the table, he leaned forward and raked his fingers through his hair, sucking in a breath through gritted teeth before exhaling harshly. “Not directly, that is.” Henry reached up, placing a hand on his back, which Victor responded to with a silent shudder.

“Then why now? Is it…” He paused, wondering if he should press further with his question. “Is this related to your nightmares?” There was no reply, other than that Victor raised one foot slightly off the ground, his leg bouncing - a typical nervous behavior of his.

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“It does concern me. I’m concerned about you, Victor. You’re withdrawing yourself again, and I’m… I’m frightened for you. I want to help you, but I can’t do that unless you let me.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“Then why am I still here?” Silence. Victor put his foot down, suddenly all too still. “If you really didn’t want my help, you would have chased me out by now. I know you, Victor, and you know that.” Henry leaned over, resting his head against Victor’s leg and reaching upward. Victor slowly removed one glove, his hand slipping down from the table and falling into Henry’s outstretched palm.

“I don’t have a choice, Henry,” Victor said quietly, his voice cracking slightly as though he were on the verge of tears. “I have to do this. For his sake- I-” He sucked in a shaky breath, tilting his head upward. “This is all my fault.”

“What is?” Victor squirmed his hand out of Henry’s and began sifting through the clutter on the table until he found a piece of paper covered in messy handwriting, some words smudged and bled as though water had been dropped on the page as it was being written, and handed it down to Henry.

As Henry read the writing on the page, Victor removed his goggles and set them off to the side, taking his ungloved hand up to rub the tears away from his eyes. About halfway through reading, Henry slowly stood, moving behind his husband and wrapping one arm around him while he continued to read. Victor practically collapsed into him, leaning back and nestling his face into Henry’s arm in need of some comfort. “Victor…” Henry whispered his name, tears dripping down his cheeks as he set the paper down and wrapped both arms around him, clinging to him tightly. “I’m so sorry.” All at once, everything made sense. The way Victor would wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of each night in panic - sometimes running out of bed and and returning moments later with a sudden need to be as close to him as possible, his sudden reinterest in science, the way he’d lock himself away in his laboratory for hours on end, his sudden need to spend as much time with Agape as he could and to teach him everything he knew, how he had suddenly insisted on tucking Agape into bed each night even if he himself wouldn’t come to bed until hours later… all of it made sense. Victor removed his other glove, turning in his embrace and holding Henry with as tight a grip as his exhausted body could muster. Henry held him tighter with one arm, lifting his other hand to gently run his fingers through Victor’s hair. “I know it seems so real, and I know the pain it’s causing you is very real, but it’s still just a bad dream, Victor. It’s not going to happen and- and it concerns me that you would go so far as to make such a rash decision like this based on a recurring nightmare,” he explained softly. Victor looked up at him, eyes red from tears and a lack of sleep.

“But it is real, and it is going to happen and I-” He paused, voice breaking. “I can’t let it happen Henry I… I can’t just pretend everything will be ok. Everything isn’t ok. Everything won’t be ok. Not until I fix this.”

“Victor, you can’t fix something that hasn’t even happened yet- or that likely never will happen, for that matter.” Victor pulled back, looking up at him pitifully.

“But it will, Henry. If I don’t do this, it will.” Henry hushed him quietly, holding him tighter.

“How can you be so sure?” he asked sincerely. Victor trembled, clutching tightly at the back of Henry’s shirt.

“Because someday he’s going to be alone.”

“Most children lose their parents someday. He’s just… going to have to learn how to cope, like any other does.”

“No child is alone for eternity, though.” Henry glanced upward, pausing the movement of his fingers through Victor’s hair.

“Eternity?” Victor buried his face into his chest.

“He will never die of old age, Henry.” He heaved a deep, ragged sigh, pulling back and shakily rising to his feet. Henry watched with worry as he began to pace. “All because I was too… too careless to think before I actually made him.” Henry almost wanted to say something, but he kept quiet, realizing that it would probably only make things worse. “I was so caught up in proving to the world that alchemy is a viable science and-” he paused, spinning on his heels and looking at Henry directly, “it is a viable science, I think I have proved that well enough by now.” Henry nodded along with a half shrug, signaling for him to go on, and Victor continued his pacing. “I just- I didn’t stop to consider what actually using it to create an entire new life would fully entail. I mean I- I knew that using the elixir of life on something already dead would never work on its own. It was just a matter of starting the heart. One beat is all it takes, Henry - just one beat and so long as something has the elixir coursing through it veins, it is alive.” He slowed, coming to a stop and standing with slumped shoulders. “What I hadn’t thought about was that the elixir also provides everlasting life, even to something once dead.” Despite his hanging head, he raised his gaze to Henry. “So long as there is blood in his veins, so long as his heart is able to beat, so long as his brain can still function… he will never die.” A crack of thunder sounded from outside, rattling the glasses in the laboratory and causing Victor to jump and cringe with a yelp. He began to shiver, wobbling where he stood as anxiety and exhaustion began to consume him. Henry ran to him and caught him as he collapsed, holding him tightly as he slowly brought him down so they were both sitting on the floor.

“Take it easy, Victor,” he uttered softly, resting his head against Victor’s. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere.” Victor clenched his eyes shut as he steadied his ragged breathing, and pressed himself closer to Henry. “I’d like to think that… maybe after all we’ve done with him, all we’ve done for him, it won’t come to that. Maybe he could be content just to be alone,” Henry murmured, trying to be optimistic.

“Not after what I’ve done. Not after what he’s been through. I-” Victor curled up slightly, hiding his face away. “His fear of abandonment, his need for companionship, both far outweigh any of the progress we’ve made. He may survive for a few years and cope with the grief after we are dead and gone, but it won’t last, Henry. He’ll go searching for friendship and only find hatred and violence.”

“Perhaps we could start trying to find him a friend before it’s too late,” Henry suggested, running his fingers along Victor’s back. “Then we could be sure that he won’t be alone without worrying about what may happen if he tries to find one on his own.” Victor shifted and looked up at him, eyes red and puffy with tears.

“And then what? What happens after that friend dies? Who does he turn to then?” Henry went quiet. Although he was ever the optimistic one, Victor was right - this would be a never ending cycle, and who could possibly know how long it would take for poor Agape to finally cave under the pressure of it all. “If I… if I can manage to create a second one like him, perhaps even perfect my original experiment and create one even…” He hesitated. “...Not better, necessarily, but… more like my original concept, I suppose - if I can do that, he will never have to be alone again, and maybe - just maybe - I could prevent him from making such a decision.” Henry sighed softly, moving his hand up and gently wiping away Victor’s tears.

“We can’t even be sure another one would turn out anything like him, though. And there’s no guarantee that they would get along. I know you’ve thought this through and it all seems very reasonable in your own mind but… Victor there’s more to it than what you’re saying. For example… it could turn out to be inherently violent, unlike him, and wind up hurting him, or us, or others as well. Their personalities could clash - there’s no telling that they would even stick together for their entire lives. If anything it’s more likely they would have their own separate hopes and desires, and need to go their own separate ways. And even if they did manage to keep each other eternal company, why would you want to bring another being into such a lonely existence?” Victor sniffled, glancing away from him.

“I… I can’t guarantee that any of that won’t happen but…” He wrapped his arms tightly around Henry. “If there’s even some semblance of a chance that I could ease the pain for him, enough to stop him from causing his own destruction, then I have to take it. I have to try. I’ve sworn responsibility for him, and thus have sworn responsibility for his future regardless of whether I am present for it or not. This is my mistake, all of this is my mistake, and I intend for this to be my greatest solution.” A sudden hiss and pop caused him to snap his attention to the table, where the substance in the beaker over the burner sat smoking, now looking entirely like that which had been in the beaker that was there when Henry had arrived. “No- NO!” Victor shoved Henry away and scrambled to his feet, leaning onto the table and staring at the ruined solution with wide eyes. Henry stood and walked over to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder as he suddenly broke into sobs.

“Victor-”

“Henry this has to work! It has to!” Victor managed to cry between sobs. “It has to…”

“I know, love. I know,” Henry reassured him quietly. “Come on… you can try again tomorrow but… for now, you need rest.” Victor trembled as he tried to calm himself, standing frozen as Henry blew out the flame from the burner as well as the nearly dead flame from the candle Victor had been burning for light. “I’m not going to stop you from making preparations,” he mentioned as he turned Victor away from the table and began helping him unbutton his lab coat. “But you need to promise that you’re going to take care of yourself, and that we-” He paused, lifting Victor’s chin and looking him in the eyes. “-and by we I mean all of us, including Agape-” Victor shakily and slowly nodded as he slipped his coat off and set it to the side. “-will have a very thorough conversation about the actual details of it before you go through with anything. Am I clear?” Victor nodded again, embracing him suddenly and tightly. Henry held him close, gingerly kissing his cheek. “Thank you. I’m here for you, Victor, and I know he’s willing to be there for you too. Just, please - don’t shut us out.”

“I love you,” Victor managed to whisper, shaking as Henry released him and took his hand.

“I love you too, Victor,” Henry breathed in reply, bringing his hand up and kissing his wrist gently. Taking the candle he had brought from their bedroom with his other hand, he began slowly leading the way toward the door, Victor stumbling along with him. Just as they reached the exit, Victor hesitated, glancing back over the laboratory one more time. Another rumble of thunder sent shivers down his spine and he gripped Henry’s hand tighter. “Everything will be ok,” Henry reassured him as he pushed open the heavy door and helped him to step into the hall, being careful to close the door behind them gently. “He’s going to be ok. We’re going to be ok.”

#frankenstein au #ask to tag #tw death mention #tw needle mention #tw violence mention

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houseisekai · 3 years

Text

House Miisekai Prologue: The Adventure Begins!

House Miisekai Masterlist Here

====

Our story begins in the land of Miisekaitopia! (No, I couldn't think of a better name.)

It is a world where everyone from both storylines and unholy amounts of AU's can live in peace without worrying about wars breaking out every 4 seconds.

At least it was.

The darkness came without warning, a great and terrible shadow threatening all of Miisekaitopia! An unspeakably huge dick came and stole everyone's faces! Then, to add insult to injury, put those faces onto monsters across the land!

But, we shall follow the perspective of Sara Valestein, Instructor of Class VII and the original House Isekai...

Sara casually strolled through the hills, enjoying the sunlight and wind blowing gently across her.

(Sara) "...Goddess I am so bored."

She had been kicked out of yet another bar recently for drinking too much.

Again.

Left with nothing to do, she decided to take a trip to nowhere in particular, going wherever fate took her.

Sara continued muttering to herself, mocking the established "rules" for drinking in a tavern until she noticed something flying in the air.

(Sara) "Is...that a face?"

She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, and saw the eyes slowly float over to a nearby butterfly.

(Sara) "Uh...?"

(Sara) "GAH!"

The horrific creature began floating faster towards Sara, which prompted her to run full speed ahead towards the closest town.

As she ran out of breath, she ran towards anyone would even take a minute to listen.

(Sara) "H-Hey, there's some freaky bug thing out there with a human face!"

BE-LOP!

Tiny lines of text ran down the guide's face.

It showed too many messages at once for her to properly read it, and the person remained completely still.

(Sara) "...Hello?"

(Everyone) "..."

(Sara) "...Right."

Sara moved to the next person she saw.

...

Sara saw a platypus with a name tag 'Perry' calmly sitting on the market stall.

(Sara) "Hello, anyone here?"

The platypus stared at her, not saying a word.

(Sara) "...What in the hell is with this town?"

Next try. That would probably work.

...

(Anakin) "What did we get ourselves into this time?"

(Obi-Wan) "I'm not sure but...I do not like this a single bit."

(Anakin) "At least you're in a taller body, my head barely reaches your stomach!"

(Obi-Wan) "It's not the first time."

(Sara) "Hey, excuse me ma'aaaaaaaaaa...What in the?"

(Anakin) "Listen lady, we got our own problems right now. We're not in the mood-"

(Obi-Wan) "What my young padawan means is that we unfortunately cannot spare any help if you need it ma'am."

(Sara) "...Evidently."

Sara nervously walked away from the two grown men in a child and woman's body.

(Sonia) "Did we get transported again?"

(Gundham) "By the works of dark magic, no doubt..."

(Sonia) "Oh, looks like there's someone over there. Hello ma'am, do you know where we are?"

(Sara) "Eh?...Huh. That's a good question. Where is this?"

(Sonia) "Oh well, I'm a bit more comfortable knowing that someone I like is with me here!"

(Gundham) "I...uh...er..."

(Sara) "That's cute. Ah, to be young again..."

Sara left the two to talk amongst themselves before finding the next...person?

It was an extremely fat rabbit that was grey and white.

(Sara) "What in the hell-"

BIG BIG CHUNGUS, BIG CHUNGUS, BIG-

(Sara) "Okay, screw that."

Sara finally saw the mayor and approached him, and when he turned she almost jumped.

It was a Piranha plant. She thought so anyway, it was covered in white polka dots and bright red.

(Plant) "Ah, welcome to the town miss?"

(Sara) "Uh, Sara. Sara Valestein. Listen, there's this weird face that attached itself to a butterfly outside your place! You're gonna do something right?"

(Plant) "Did...did you say a face float down? OH NO."

(Familiar Man's voice) "OH YES."

(Sara) ?

(Anakin) "Uh, master?"

(Obi-Wan) "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

The platypus, fat rabbit, and the discord notification looked up into the skies, getting increasingly alarmed.

(Gundham) "THIS DARKNESS...IT'S...IT'S OVERWHELMING!"

(Sonia) "His voice sounds grating like Souda's..."

(Plant) "COINS PRESERVE US! IT'S..."

[Imperial Will - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

(Dark Lord Chris) "KNEEL BEFORE YOUR GOD, AND OFFER YOUR FACES UNTO ME!"

(Sara) "...Faces? You mean like services or...?"

(Anakin) "Maybe that's metaphorical?"

(Obi-Wan) "I'm not sure I want to find out-"

(Chris) "NO, YOU REALLY DON'T. ALSO NO. I MEAN IT LITERALLY!"

Several faces began to fly off the townspeople.

First was the platypus's face, quickly followed by the discord notification and Anakin's.

(Obi-Wan) "ANAKIN!"

Then it was Sonia and the fat rabbit's faces that floated next to Chris.

(Gundham) "AAAAAAAGH!"

(Plant) "OH MY GOD, THIS IS HORRIBLE!"

(Sara) "Can someone tell me what the hell is happening?!-"

(Chris) "THESE NOW BELONG TO ME! NOW, GO TELL THE OTHERS WHAT YOU'VE SEEN HERE, FOR I WILL BE COMING FOR THEM NEXT!"

Chris flew off into the skies, the faces following closely behind.

(Sara) "What an asshole!"

(Plant) "ADVENTURER, PLEASE YOU HAVE TO HELP US!"

(Sara) "Right uh..."

Sara reached for her sword and pistol, which was nowhere to be found.

(Sara) "Well, that's just great..."

Obi-Wan struggled to walk over to here, still not accustomed to his body and looked at Sara.

(Obi-Wan) "Ma'am, I'm afraid I cannot go into battle myself to assist with this matter. And we don't appear to have our weapons either..."

(Sara) "So, what do you reckon I do? Ask nicely?"

...

(Sara) "Damn it."

OUTSIDE OF TOWN...

Chris was floating away from the town when Sara finally caught up to him.

(Sara) "HEY, JACKASS!"

(Chris) "...Oh, you mean me. I-I mean, OH, IS SOMEONE TRYING TO BE THE HERO NOW?"

(Sara) "Don't play smart with me you glasses wearing freak! Give back their faces!"

(Chris) "Or what? You're going to fight me?"

Sara cracked her knuckles.

(Chris) "...Oh shit. Uh, here have it."

The face slowly floated over to a slime, which reattached itself and began hopping towards Sara.

(Anakin's voice) "OH MAN, I THOUGHT THE KID BODY WAS BAD!"

(Chris) "Uh anyways, LATER!"

Chris quickly flew away from Sara, leaving her and Anakin's face on a slime.

(Sara) "Alright, LET'S GO!"

Sara drove her fist into the slime, which quickly bounced off.

(Sara) "...Oh right. It's a slime."

The slime retaliated by knocking Sara onto her back.

(Anakin's voice) "Sorry!"

(Sara) "Damn, my weapons aren't anywhere to be found either!

"I AM THOU...THOU ART I..."

(Sara) "Oh, what is it now-HURK?!"

Sara reached for her head as the voice boomed thunderously.

"THOU ART...Okay, no we're not rhyming. I'm your guardian spirit, Sara!"

(Sara) "Really now? And where were you during Erebonia?!"

"ANYWAYS, it seems you're in a bit of trouble! Do you need some help?"

(Sara) "It's either getting help or getting killed by a damn slime of all things, so...Yeah, sure."

"Good choice! Now, I bestow upon you the awesome power of the guardian!"

(Sara) "You're gonna explain later where I got this from, right?"

"That depends, do you want the plot to get moving? Our other posts are slowed down as it is, and this has gotten too meta in just the first few lines of this."

(Sara) "Ugh, fine."

Sara's outfit shined forth and became donned in armor, wielding a new sword.

(Sara) "Hey, you cheap bastard, where's my gun?!"

"This is a fantasy RPG, why would you get a gun? Just kill the damn slime already!"

(Anakin's voice) "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?!"

(Sara) "Hold on, I'll getcha outta there, HIYA!"

[COOL QUIRK: WEAK POINT]

Sara took one swing of her sword and smacked the slime into the floor, it quickly disappearing.

Anakin's face floated off the slime and back to the town.

"That was..."

(Sara) "Really anti-climatic."

"You should uh...probably go back to the town and check up on Anakin."

INSIDE OF TOWN...

Anakin's face slowly floated back onto the child's body, making him trip over.

(Anakin) "AGH!"

(Obi-Wan) "So, how was it?"

(Anakin) "I was just put into a slime's body, how do you think I feel?!"

(Obi-Wan) "Same as usual, got it."

Obi-Wan turned to Sara, who now looked like a proper knight.

(Obi-Wan) "You have our thanks for helping us, Miss?"

(Sara) "Name's Sara."

(Anakin) "Thanks for helping me out there. What are you gonna do? We'd join you but our bodies would just get in the way."

(Sara) "I'm going to uh...Hey, what is the plan?"

"What do you think? You're the only hero in a fantasy land."

(Obi-Wan) "Is she alright?"

(Anakin) "Yeah, she started doing this earlier, no idea what's up with it."

(Sara) "Might as well go after the others, see what happens I guess. Anyways, I'll be back once I restored this town, until then!"

Sara held onto her sheathe and ran out of the town, those still faceless watching her leave.

(Gundham) "Please hurry. Sonia is...unsettling me."

(Plant) "Miss Valestein, you're our only hope...!"

(Anakin) "Think she'll be okay? That talking thing is really concerning me."

(Obi-Wan) "Probably...?"

[Chase Me - Faky]

(Sara) "Right so...do I just go forward?"

"Where did you see him fly off to?"

(Sara) "Was a lot more focused on trying NOT to get murdered by the slimes."

"It was just a slime, you've killed enemy mechs and demonic beasts like it was nothing!"

(Sara) "That's when I had my weapons and ARCUS unit!"

"..Still. Should've had no problem. I probably didn't even have to interfere."

(Sara) "Good goddess, am I going to be stuck with you? Actually WHO even are you?"

"The narrator! In a sense anyway."

(Sara) "What-"

And so begins the tale of Sara Valestein and her quest to defeat the Dark Lord Chris!

What friends will she encounter on the way?

How much of the meta can we break more than we have?

How many more jokes will the writer run into the ground as this series goes on?

FIND OUT NEXT TIME, ON HOUSE MIISEKAI!

(Sara) "...What?!"

STARRING:

And yours truly as the antagonist for this story!

Here's to some more god-awful written meme stories like this one, everyone!

#House Isekai #House Isekai ARR #House Miisekai

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nobodycallsmerae · 3 years

Text

Double Date - BBRae AU

Double Date - 01

CHINGG!

The door chims open as a girl with short, dark hair enters the café.

Rachel was never the one to go to such a fancy café, but now all she wanted was a strong cup of coffee. She was more of a tea drinker, but after whatever had happened, she really needed some caffeine in her system. Rachel Roth, who lived in Jump City, had only come to Gotham City to meet her best friend since high school, Kory Anders. Rachel always had an all-business aura around her, and Kory was filled with rainbows and unicorns. Though total opposites, they always complicated each other. And now Kory was on her trail to find an appropriate guy for Rachel to date, as Kory said, Rachel's life is too boring and needs a pinch of 'the romance.'

'Caffeine, no milk.' She ordered at the counter at an irritated voice. The café was relatively big compared to the ones she usually hung out at work at Jump, even much vibrant. Very few people were present, including a very irritated teenaged worker, an elderly couple, a group of teenagers and a man who's face she didn't pay much attention to. 'Here ya' go. That'll be ***dollars.' The pink haired girl at the counter, 'Wally' written at her name-tag, most probably some other co-worker's apron, handed her the cup of coffee. 'Thanks, here you go..' She paid, got her cup and went on her way to an unoccupied seat.

Just then, a teenager screamed, which caused his friend to fall from the chair, causing the man's chair to halt abruptly, and the man's hand, which was holding a newspaper to jerk forward, pushing Rachel's cup from the sideways, and making her spill more that half of her coffee on the floor.

'Fuck.' She cursed, looking at the spilled coffee on the floor. 'Could this day get any worse!'

'Oh! I'm so so sorry! Please let me get you another one!'

And then she looked up. Her legs started feeling like Jell-O. Rachel wasn't really the poster girl for drooling over boys, nor was she really interested in one, but now looking at the person standing in front of her, she lost all her senses. The boy was probably of her age, in his mid-twenties, but he had a certain boyish look in his feature. He was taller than her and his muscled body was easily visible through his green shirt, beneath which he was wearing a grey tee. He had unnaturally sharp ears and beautiful green eyes that were currently filled with worry. She suddenly blushed realizing that she was checking out a complete stranger. 'Oh, o-ok.' She replied to the question that she long forgot.

'Great!' His eyes filled with relief and he gave her a handsome smile. 'Caffeine, with no milk? Please sit.' Rachel hesitantly took a seat and he headed toward the counter.

Wow, she looked so adorable when she blushed while checking me out. He thought. I can't believe God has given me such a chance to talk to such a beautiful girl. She looked kinda hot in her oversized hoodie. Maybe she's not... Gah! What are you thing about! All you have to do now is get her coffee, apologize, and maybe start a legit conversation?

What are you doing Rachel!?! Drinking coffee with a total stranger isn't you! Wait, what if he just offered me to just 'buy' the drink and then go about his own work? That would be a bummer since he's really cute. Rachel thought, looking over at him while he order her her drink and probably another one for himself. Well, he did tell me to 'sit' and I kind of feel like maybe I can have a proper conversation with him. But then, maybe if he turns out to be a psychopathic killer, you'll face the consequences later. She saw him approaching and regained herself.

'Here it is.' He said with that same adorable smile (Adorable?! Now you're just sounding like a fangirl Rachel!) and took the seat in front of her. 'You wouldn't mind if I joined you, do you?' She shook her head. 'I'm really sorry for spilling your coffee in the first place. I'm Gar Logan by the way.' He extended his had towards her. She took his hand and he gently shook it. 'Rachel. Rachel Roth.' She said with a gentle smile. 'Gar Log.. Garfield Logan.. aren't you a famous wildlife explorer, I remember seeing you in the newspaper some days back.' Not a psychopathic killer.

'Yeah, well that's me..' He said as pink tinted his cheeks, obviously having less to no people know about his humble working. 'Well I can't say I'm totally oblivious to your work too,' He continued, 'Rachel Roth' He said, feeling her name roll off his tongue. She smiled, 'Well, that's just my kind of like my hobby, but I'm glad you liked my books' She said with a shy smile as she took hold of the cup in front.

'Well, to be honest, I'm not the kind of guy to go for books with not even a single picture,' He said, which caused her to chuckle, 'But your latest trilogy, 'The End' was actually better than any movie!' He exclaimed, feeling oddly comfortable in her presence. 'Thank you,' She said softly. Her cheeks were tinted pink. 'Actually that story com-' Gar's phone started to ring, he muttered an apology, looked at his phone, muted it and faced her with a smile on his face. 'You were saying?' Rachel gave him a funny look, 'You should pick it up, it won't bother me..'

'It isn't really that important.'

'....'

'Okay, fine, I'll take it..' He said with an eye-roll and brought the phone to his ear, which made her break into a triumph smile.

'Hey Rob, wassup!' He said to his friend/brother (Rachel had no idea who he was, especially being named 'Rob'.) Maybe that's his nick name? 'Umm.. yeah... not really brah.... n-maybe?' Rachel had no idea who was on the other side of the phone, but the person sure was giving him a hard time, judging by his furrowed brows and uncomfortable smile. Then he released a defeated sigh. 'Okay Robin..' Robin it is. Not Rob ' Fine then... ok I promise.. K See ya.'

Rachel smiled at him at him as he looked rather defeated after the conversation. 'Sorry, It's just that, I actually live in Jump, I just came here to meet a friend of mine, and now he wants me to go on a 'double date' with some random blonde chick with his long time girlfriend' He said, defiantly irritated by his friend.

'What! You too!? Same thing happened to me today!' Rachel felt her guard going low, but right now, she felt as if she talked to Gar, everything will be better. It was just this 'thing' about him that made her so comfortable. 'Actually even I'm from Jump, and I came to meet my best friend and BOOM! she's setting me up with some random guy on' Dramatic pause 'A Double Date!'

#bbrae #garchel #teentitans #fanfiction #fanfic #au #double date #raven #gar logan #beast boy #rachel roth

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

Text

Father and Son

Papachimo Bobochimo steps into the hall, but the air around him seems different. Gone is his usual arrogant confidence. He pushes his glasses up by the bridge, and turns to greet the company. “Greetings, everyone. I trust the last….hunt went smoothly?”

"Not as smoothly as we might have liked. It turns out the beast was a man, who transformed each night into a corrupted monster that devoured corpses. It was... grisly,” Rolanda Deschain says as she shakes her head slowly. ”We were hardly able to injure him, but we were able to use the sedative to temporarily subdue him. He is currently held captive downstairs."

"Show me to him. I can't in good conscience let him be,” Papachimo directs.

Ifoux, the ‘crystal man,’ is laid out on a stretcher, deep asleep. Papachimo approaches him cautiously, gently takes Ifoux’s hand in his own, and watches the sleeping elezen with a razor sharp focus.

“We must take this man back to our labs. Only there, can he receive proper treatment. What did you say his name was?” Papachimo demands.

"The man's name is Ifoux. While he was himself he seemed like quite a kind man. Please make sure he is treated well,” Rolanda cooly responds.

Haila glances quickly at the slumbering man before interrupting even if just a little. "I don't know the details of his condition too well yet. But will your resources be enough to treat this person?"

“As the creator of the crystal beasts, I am best equipped to reverse the condition,” Papachimo declares. Rolanda sighs, the lalafell’s demanding demeanor putting her on edge.

"Papachimo...I'm sure that you've noticed that many of our companions are not here to receive you. If I'm honest, it's because many of them didn't want you to leave here today alive. I convinced them that it was best to let you live, but they refused to meet you face to face. Frankly, I am inclined to let them do what they will with you," Rolanda half threatens, her body shifting forward with thinly veiled annoyance.

Papachimo doesn’t bat a lash. “Hmph. I did notice the room looked emptier compared to last time. A shame they could not keep their reservations in check and be professional about this,” he retorts.

"Yes, this whole affair reeks of professionalism. I am disgusted at how detached you have become. I hope your son will still recognize you when you get him back,” Rolanda fires back.

Papachimo Bobochimo points his nose up at the comment, but maintains a steady, cold glare. “...Regardless, I would offer one last job for the company. I am to meet the Amal’jaa today, and would be pleased if Heartwood could escort, and guard me during the encounter. The company is martially skilled...despite an overall lack of wit.”

"I can't guarantee anything, naturally. But I think it is best that you take your...test subject...with you and leave," Rolanda answers, annoyance growing with every passing second.

Wyda had been following along with the conversation silently so far. While she agreed with Rol’s sentiment, to let him meet with the Amal’jaa alone would be condemning the man and his son to death. “Rol, let’s go along. One last bitter pill to swallow, and then we’ll be done with it.”

Rolanda relents, and nods at the Sea Wolf. "It has been a confusing time for me lately...I'll be happy when this is all behind us. If you want to go, I'll help."

“Then we are to meet at the fringes of Zahar'ak at sundown. In exchange for potent crystals and the crystal beast recipe, the Amal’jaa will return my son to me. As discussed last time, instead of providing the real recipe, I will hand over a fake.” Papachimo shoots a glance at his assistant, who rolls out two thick scrolls on the table. “This one is the fake, if anyone wants to review it beforehand. And this one is the real deal.”

Rolanda Deschain looks to Haila. "You know what you're doing, maybe you could take a look and see if it looks like a realistic fake?"

Haila Wetyios nods, coming close to look down at the scrolls. The range of her expressions went from amused, to confusion, to surprise. "Both can be taken as the real, but the basic ingredients and processing of the real one-" she said, tapping her finger on a few of the lines. "Clearly will do a number on you. The fake, will do something alright, but not enough to create a crystal beast."

Rolanda Deschain nods. "Sounds good enough to me. Are we ready to head there straight away, or is the meeting later on this evening?"

"We meet at sundown. That gives us a few bells to travel to the meeting grounds," Papachimo answers, his eyes growing dark. "I have a feeling that the Amal'jaa have something up their sleeve."

As the sun glimmers at the edge of sand and sky, the whole landscape is bathed in an orange glow. A large Amal’jaa donning a bone headdress watches the sun sink slowly beneath the horizon. His snarl grows as the sun lowers, and he turns as the party approaches. He raises a clawed hand, and Papachimo similarly raises his own, motioning for everyone to stop.

“Javekk Gah. I see you are looking as soft bellied as ever,” Papachimo spits out with a scowl

“Let’s not make this any longer than it needs to be,” the Amal’jaa spits back. “Keep your mangy dogs back. We will exchange where all may watch, but none can interfere.”

Papachimo nods at the party, and steps out onto the open sands with the bags in tow. Javekk does the same, his own lackeys kept a good distance back. A blonde lalafell youth trails behind in the Amal’jaa shadow. Papachimo hands off the bags, and Javekk does the same with his prisoner.

“Chachachimo, it’s me! Your father. Let’s leave this behind and go home,” Papachimo urges his son the moment he gets close. The boy looks up, eyes clouded and confused. Papachimo repeats himself over and over, but to no avail. His son’s confusion only grows, and finally, he mutters something that sets his father on edge.

“Javekk...don’t tell me the boy is...tempered?” Papachimo stammers. The Amal’jaa priest sighs, but a devilish grin remains in place.

“Papachimo, your son is as dumb as a doorknob. Couldn’t even keep his mouth shut for ten blazing seconds...but yes. There’s no problem with this, is there? A deal’s a deal, and we fulfilled our end of it,” Javekk jeers, as his tail whips back and forth in delight.

Rolanda Deschain tenses, her hand slowly moving towards her bow. "This is horse****!" she mutters, so only her companions can hear. "Haila, you got my back if I start this?"

"Absolutely,” Haila whispers back without thinking twice.

Papachimo looks back at the party, a raging fire burning behind his eyes. “Whoever brings me the head of Javekk gets double - no, triple - pay!”

"Damn it old man, did no one ever teach you about the element of surprise?" Rolanda unsheaths her bow and nocks an arrow quickly, pulling back the string with Javekk's forehead in her sights.

Wyda rolls her eyes and dashes into the clearing, fists raised. “Damned lalafell...don’t get the wrong idea about this. I fight for what’s right, not because you’re paying me!”

Haila quickly draws her gun, ready for blood. As Papachimo turns, Javekk lets loose a fireball at the lalafell, which hits him squarely in the back. With a yelp, Papachimo hits the sand and flails about.

"Well shite," Haila mumbles under her breath as she reaches for a switch on her gun, quickly firing several spread beams meant to slow any advances made at them before being able to reach Papachimo.

Papachimo lets out a long groan, his backside thoroughly roasted. The left lens of his spectacles is shattered, and his once immaculately styled haircut is now tousled like a birds nest. He sees a fight raging on above him, and flumps back in the sand. May as well play dead for the time being.

The Amal’jaa lancers and gladiators rush out onto the sands, but are barraged by a flurry of beams. They’re knocked back by the impact, and one lands face first into the ground. Backed by Haila’s surpressing fire, Wyda continues to charge in, making a beeline at Javekk. But her steps are impeded by the sand, and her strikes come out clumsy.

In the commotion, Rolanda lets loose her arrow. It flies straight and true - sinking directly into Javekk’s shoulder. He hisses in pain and grabs the shaft of the arrow. With a single breath, he rips it out, blood gushing from the now open wound. “These dogs still have a bit of bite in them, do they? Brothers and sisters of Ifrit, let us show them the true might of the eternal flame!”

The Amal’jaa lackeys push forward with a rallying cry, with some making a mad dash to the backline. Javekk raises his staff and lobs a series of fireballs at Haila and Rolanda, but the two manage to dodge the majority of the spell.

Haila doesn't waste any time to launch a counter attack as she aims directly at Javekk, hoping to disarm him as soon as possible. Her shot hits Javekk in his arm, and he crumples to the ground, sand billowing in clouds around him. Something flies away from him, and lands on the ground with a thump…. It’s his arm, still clutching the staff. Javekk howls in agony and immediately turns tail. “Blast! My kin, destroy this filth. I must retreat!”

"We can't let that son of an Amal'Jerk get away!" Rolanda looses an arrow at the retreating, one-armed Javekk. The arrow hits Javekk below the knee, and he turns to give the Au ra a nasty glare as he collapses onto the ground - still breathing, but otherwise incapacitated.

Distracted by the spray of blood and sand, Wyda can’t quite land a solid punch on her target. “Curses...I hate sand. It’s coarse, and rough, and gets everywhere,” Wyda murmurs. At the worst possible moment, Wyda feels the still recovering wound on her gut give way to fresh jolts of pain. She keels over from the sting, and leaves herself open to the Amal’jaa lancer’s attack. Steel rips through armor, and blood sprays out from the gash. With a gasp, she steps back, one hand clutched at her stomach, the other raised in a defensive position.

Rolanda notices and nocks another arrow. Aiming carefully, she unleashes a shot that lands directly between the eyes of the enemy. For a moment, the lancer shivers and brings a hand up, as if unable to believe what had just occurred. Then he falls back, dead as a doorknob. "Two scum down, one to go," Rolanda breathes out.

The last foe, a tempered gladiator, closes in on Haila. Much to the gladiator's dismay, she isn’t caught off guard a single time. The woman neatly dodges blow after blow, and then aims a clean punch to the gut to stagger and gain the upper hand. For a split second, she thinks of simply aiming for the head and ending it right there, but a small part of her hesitated, as if realizing how cold blooded she would become if she allowed herself to let go. Grunting, she instead opted to kick the gladiator away. The tempered gladiator, a hyur man, lands on the ground with a huff. Dizzy, exhausted, and injured, he stares up at Haila in disbelief, before sprinting for dear life.

Rolanda readies another arrow, but seeing the Amal'jaa flee, decides there has been enough bloodshed today. "Let's make sure everyone knows whose body parts are whose, and clean up this mess."

The battle was over. Haila visibly relaxes a little, but doesn’t put her gun away for the moment. Instead she walks over to where Papachimo is playing dead, briefly assessing the charring on his back before speaking. "I trust you have no business left with Javekk?" she said to him, knowing that the man was still conscious.

Papachimo cracks open an eye at Haila, then stands up suddenly. He looks around and lets out a breath of relief. “Javekk, that son of a...let me give that oversized lizard a piece of my mind.”

"Papachimo, you seem... surprisingly unhurt," Rolanda dryly notes. "Couldn't lend a hand a bit sooner, could you?"

“I am a man of words, not swords. And I’ll have you know my back is quite roasted, thank you! Now, where is Javekk…” Papachimo walks over to the Amal’jaa and looks down at him, a smug expression on the lalafell’s face. He hacks up a wad of saliva and spits on Javekk’s face. “Tell your god Ifrit to never mess with us Ul’dah folk again. Oh, though I suppose you won’t be able to tell him anything, not while you’re bleeding all over the sands.”

The lalafell cruelly kicks the downed Amal’jaa in the ribs...and a low, rolling laugh bubbles up from the Amal’jaa, eventually erupting into explosive cackles that shake his entire body. Papachimo jumps back. “W-what’s so funny? Explain yourself, lizard. I command you!”

“The last laugh...is mine and mine alone,” Javekk manages between breaths. He extends a claw directly at Papachimo’s son, and then goes limp. The beastman was no more.

Wyda gave a hesitant look at Rol and Haila. She had heard that a swift death was the kindest, and only, option for the tempered. But it felt wrong to simply execute Papachimo’s son.

"Well, Papachimo, you got your son back. I hope it was worth it," Rolanda stated.

Papachimo looks to the ground, the mood suddenly somber now that the Amal’jaa were well and truly dealt with. “So many, I’ve lost to primals. To Bahamut, and now to Ifrit.” He glances over at his son, who simply stood there out of earshot.

“Please, I bid you keep one last secret for me. Ul’dah would execute him on the spot if they learned he was tempered. Even if there’s no way to get to him…” Papachimo stares at his son with a tenderness not yet witnessed from the man prior. “I must try.”

"Far be it from me to tell another man what to do with his kin. I hope you're able to find some happiness in all of this," Rolanda says with a shrug.

Wyda opens her mouth for a second, then closes it. As much as she disliked Papachimo, the situation was sad. Hopeless, yet hopeful. She winces as blood trickles down from the open gash on her abdomen. “Papachimo, I...wish you luck. May Llymlaen’s wind be at your sail,” Wyda manages.

Haila lowers her weapon, approaching the lalafell until she is right before him. "You lost today, but you're not done." she says, quickly glancing at his son before looking back at him. "We all have a job to do, yourself included." she pauses once more, as if reluctant to be kinder to the lalafell. "Find a way to turn him back, you've a longer road than just treating the ones you've also corrupted."

Papachimo simply gazes into the burning sun, his golden eyes glistening with tears that betray his otherwise orderly composure. “...That will be all.” he finally says, and steps forward to grab his son’s hand. Together, the two lalafell walk away and began their long journey together.

#ffxiv #ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Crystal Beasts #Heartwood plots #Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #Rolanda Deschain #Haila Wetyios

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unfortunate-stranger-losers · 5 years

Text

Six Baudelaires AU, Part Two: Reference Guide

A quick guide for everything I intentionally referenced in The Six Siblings, Part Two: This Tale is All Sorrows and Woes.

{ao3} {tumblr} {part one reference guide}

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING - the plot twists from this section of the fanfiction will be discussed at length.

Without further ado…

Chapter One / Prologue - in which Lilac has to Older Sister

“Release Nick, you fiend!” Violet tackled Klaus to the ground, as both of her brothers burst into giggles. “Never! Nick’s my prisoner of war!” Klaus said, trying (and failing) to push her off.

Nick being the “captive” in the childrens’ game throughout the chapter is a bit of an obvious foreshadow to his captivity from Chapters 12-20... which meant it was really fun when none of you noticed until then and then tried to kill me. XD

A full reference of the books namedropped in the childrens’ game:

Violet and Nick’s kingdom, Terabithia, is from Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. Their original characters, either Susan/Lucy and Peter/Edmund, are a reference to The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.

Lilac and Klaus’s kingdom, Gwyntystorm, and their characters, Irene and Curdie, are from The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie, by George MacDonald.

Lilac says she thought Nick was Eragon, from The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, and Klaus says he was Aragorn, from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Nick’s suggestion for a new name, Glaedr, is also a character from The Inheritance Cycle. Nick finally decides to be Peter Pan, obviously from Peter Pan by JM Barrie.

“Naw, they definitely are.” Nick nodded. “When a new baby is born, one of the other children has to die. Everyone knows it.” [...] “Now, since it’s a girl maybe, they could take out one of them,” he gestured towards Violet and Lilac, “But you’re the most useless, Klaus, so-” [...] “But yeah. Babies suck and we should totally throw our sister off the roof.”

Direct reference to Addams Family Values (1993)

“Watch me.” Nick’s eyes lit up. “Wait, no, better plan. You guys remember Moses-”

Reference to the story of Moses, who was placed in a basket in a river as an infant.

Lilac quickly answered the phone, saying, “Baudelaire residence. This is Lilac Emily. To whom am I presently speaking?”

Lilac’s middle name is taken from her actress, Emily Browning.

“We’re sensible and proper!” Nick added.

A reference to S Theodora Markson’s catchphrase in All the Wrong Questions.

“What was that, Dad? No, no real ropes. Yeah, promise. We’ll go to bed on time, too. But you’ll all be back in the morning? Yeah, I know. Don’t open the windows.”

The Baudelaire parents don’t want to risk their children getting recruited.

“He said we have a new sister.” Lilac reported. “Solitude Theodora Baudelaire.”

A direct reference to S Theodora Markson.

“Can we make a blanket fort?” Klaus asked. “Like we used to?”

Much like the last prologue, this is a reference to the scene from the 2004 film.

Rest of the fic under the cut.

Chapter Two - in which the Baudelaires move into a nice Shack

As he stood, Nick turned to look at his brother, and after a second, he realized something. “Wait a minute.” he said. “Are you… taller than me?”

A reference to Louis Hynes’s growth spurt inbetween TMM and TAA in the Netflix series. (Though, fun fact, at this moment in time, Liam Aiken is currently taller than Louis Hynes, so I guess Nick eventually does end up taller.)

Violet groaned and stood, and Solitude said, “Winnie,” which meant, “We could have Babbitt judge; they’re good with numbers!”

A reference to the main character of Babbitt’s namesake, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.

After a moment, Nick said, “I’ll give you a tip.” “Yes?” Nick smiled slightly. “There’s a book, about the mother of a girl who reminds me a lot of you, in that everyone thinks she is adorable and perfect. The mother gets scared when the girl’s classmate drowns on a field trip and her daughter steals something shiny off of him, and she then finds out that she has a very suspicious genealogy.”

Nick giving tips in the form of book recommendations is a reference to Lemony’s habit of doing the same thing to Pip and Squeak in All the Wrong Questions. This is a double reference, as Liam Aiken, Nick’s actor, read the audiobooks for ATWQ.

The book he is referencing is The Bad Seed by William March.

“Gah-ahc.” said Solitude, which meant, “Let’s sleep outside.”

One of Soli’s lines in the 2004 film.

Chapter Three - in which the Baudelaires make new friends

Sunny narrowed her eyes. “Armoracia,” she muttered, which meant something like, “That doesn’t sound right. Apples and Horseradish taste very differently.”

Early foreshadowing for Sunny’s cooking interest.

“I can get the windows,” Lilac said, “Should be an ordinary-enough pin-tumbler lock.”

The phase “ordinary enough pin-tumbler lock” is repeated a lot, as a reference to the second All the Wrong Questions book, When Did You See Her Last?

“Yeah, there’s no locks.” Duncan said. “Bonnie said that they fell off a few years ago and never got replaced.”

A reference to a main character from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken.

Chapter Four - in which Duncan and Isadora break into a Library

“See? Researcher. Like Klaus.” Nick said. Klaus narrowed his eyes at his twin, trying to figure out what Nick was on about. “Is that… really important?” “Yes.” Nick said, and failed to elaborate. [...] “I think Klaus and Duncan should take the fungus.” Violet said, sharing a look with Nick. “The rest of us can keep an eye out for that book.” “Why should we take the fungus?” Violet held back a smile and shrugged, but Klaus quickly figured out what was going on. His face went red, and he glared at her, but Duncan said, “I’m fine with that,” so all he could do was shrug and keep shooting his siblings dark looks.

Violet and Nick are trying to set Duncan and Klaus up, much to Lilac’s horror.

“Like a little cat.” Duncan said. “One of those feral ones that are super tiny.”

A reference to the world’s smallest cat, the Rusty-spotted cat.

“That doesn’t sound right, but I really don’t give a shit.” Nick shrugged. “We’ll find it, won’t we, Soli?”

A reference to a line from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode 5x03, “The Great Recession”, which later became a meme - “That doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know enough about stars to dispute it.”

Chapter Five - in which the children run amok at Prufrock Prep

“You’re lucky.” Isadora said, sitting on the edge of the roof and kicking her legs as she looked down at the dying grass fields. “Our parents’ estate’s executor doesn’t give a fuck until orphans are ‘in’, whatever the hell that means.”

As revealed in The Slippery Slope book, Esme was left in charge of the Quagmires’ estate.

Lilac giggled. “Yeah. Mom used to have [a necklace] just like it, except instead of these gear patterns, it had her initials. I always thought it was pretty, but she never let me wear it, so I learned how to make my own. She was… so proud.”

2004 Film Violet does indeed have a necklace throughout the entire film; I just added a backstory.

“Nick Liam Baudelaire, what the hell is that?” Lilac shouted.

Nick’s middle name is in reference to his actor, Liam Aiken.

“Marbeau,” said Sunny, meaning, “Maybe they’ve finally opened a daycare or toddler school.”

A reference to Firmin Marbeau, who pioneered a forerunner of modern daycare.

Chapter Six - in which the Baudelaires have Gym Class

“Tik,” said Sunny, meaning, “No! Typing and stapling is so hard when we’re tired!”

“Tik” spelled backwards is “Kit”, which, no, is not a reference to Kit Snicket, but Kit Kittredge, who famously carries a typewriter.

“Say goodbye to Nick, Solitude.” Lilac said, grabbing the toddler’s hand and dragging her to her feet.

Another bit of foreshadowing for Nick’s capture.

“Olil.” Sunny groaned. “Leave me alone to die.”

“Olil” spelled backwards is “Lilo”, as Sunny is directly quoting a line from Lilo & Stitch (2002).

“Speaking of which,” Carmelita said, “As this is the second message I gave you, I really deserve a tip at this point.” “There’s a book about what happens when you let a bunch of schoolchildren run around unsupervised,” Klaus said, “And it features a pig’s head on a stick.”

Once again, the book recommendation instead of a tip is an All the Wrong Questions reference.

Klaus is recommending Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Chapter Seven - in which Nick gets them all in Even More Trouble

“I’m just telling you what I was told to tell you.” Carmelita giggled. “And since this is my eleventh message, you’re overdue eleven tips.” “We gave you our tips.” Nick said, glaring at her. “But here’s today’s; there’s a book that was made into a popular film that is about a hound dog and a fox. In the book, at the end, the hound kills the fox.”

Once again, ATWQ reference with the tips.

The book he’s recommending is The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P Mannix; and, yes, that IS how the book ends. The Hound dies, too. You’re welcome for ruining your childhood.

“Klaus?” he sounded very uncharacteristically terrified. “Klaus? Are you okay?” Klaus, startled, quickly stumbled out, “Y-yeah, I’m fine…” as Lilac and Violet also jumped up, grabbing the infants, and the Quagmires hurried to their feet. “Did your glasses break?” “No, I’m-” “Are you hurt?” Nick pulled away from his slightly, his eyes moving fast as he scanned his brother.

While Nick’s PTSD worsens much later, the first signs of it start showing here; he’s still traumatized from Klaus’s hypnotism, which was always kicked off with him getting tripped and his glasses breaking.

“I wouldn’t say that.” said Nick, glaring down at the floor. He hadn’t looked anybody in the eye since he’d attacked Carmelita.

Nick isn’t ashamed of attacking Carmelita; he’s ashamed that he “overreacted” to something so minor. He doesn’t like admitting he needs help, which becomes a problem after his capture.

“We know what homeschooling is.” Violet said. “We were-”

In this continuity, the Baudelaires were homeschooled before the fire.

“Halloween, age nine,” Isadora said, “Was when we wanted to go as a certain family of six children. The problem being that there’re only three of us.”

A reference to The Brady Bunch.

“We know you’re not asking.” Isadora said, smiling. “We’re volunteering.”

whelp.

Chapter Eight - in which Lilac Snaps

No major references in this chapter.

Chapter Nine - in which the Baudelaires are given Fashion Lessons

They fell silent again, and then quietly, Lilac started to sing. She sang a song that was normally played very loud and energetic, but she gave it a slower melody, quietly soothing Sunny as they walked up and up the large staircase. It was a song about how everybody’s looking for something, and as they walked, listening to Lilac’s soft voice, they all really hoped that whoever was looking for the Quagmires would find them quickly.

A reference to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” by Eurythmics, but more specifically, a reference to Emily Browning’s cover version.

“Ah, you’re very adventurous!” Jerome said. “Just like your mother. We were friends a ways back. We hiked up Mount Fraught with some friends- gosh, it must have been twenty years ago-” [...] “Hmm? Oh, no, just the Snickets and that Markson boy.” Lilac narrowed her eyes. “Who?”

“That Markson boy” is a reference to the theory that Bertrand Baudelaire was adopted by S Theodora Markson’s family. Lilac’s recognition is not of her father’s maiden name, but of “Snicket”, which she vaguely remembers from her childhood.

Chapter Ten - in which the In Auction is planned

Currently, the Baudelaires were spread out in the living room. Nick and Klaus were trying to read through a book on Emily Dickinson that they’d bought the other day, while Violet and Lilac were going through the newspaper, trying to find something interesting, or some news on the search for Count Olaf.

The Baudelaires miss the Quagmires so much they’ve accidentally picked up their habits; Emily Dickinson is a famous poet, and Violet and Lilac are reading the newspaper.

“She seems like the kind of person who’d try to set me up with some rich kid.” Nick said. “And I’m never getting married, not even when I’m older. I’m gonna live alone in the woods, and the only one who can come visit me is Soli.”

Nick is aromantic.

“Ihering!” Soli said, which meant something like, “I’ll live with you and we can raise reptiles in the woods!”

A reference to Hermann von Ihering, a zoologist.

The waiter nodded. “I didn’t realize this was a sad occasion.” [...] “Did you say-?” Lilac began.

The waiter is a VFD agent; once again, Lilac vaguely recognizes the code phrase.

Chapter Eleven - in which Klaus finds an Ersatz Elevator

“I’m not going to let us chase red herrings!” Lilac shouted back, hurt.

Dark foreshadowing to the red herring statue.

“Solitude is,” Nick said, moving past him to find a pencil and paper, “Sunny is the albatross that curses us.” “Doom!” Sunny cheered.

A reference to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

“It worked.” Violet smiled. “We never expected otherwise.” Klaus said.

A reference to the line from “The Bad Beginning: Part One” in the Netflix series.

Chapter Twelve - in which the Baudelaires fall

“Not so bad.” Solitude muttered. Then, she said, “Radec,” which meant, “Just think of it as a ride, instead of an actual fall.”

“Radec” spelled backwards is “Cedar”; a lowkey reference to Cedar Point.

“No, we’re going to make a lockpick.” Lilac said. “Flamethrower’s too volatile. Besides, I don’t trust you with it.”

“Too volatile” is a reference to the phrase being used in The Grim Grotto.

She spun on her heel, exiting out a door behind them. As she did, Nick said, “Should I go after her and tell her the kitchen was out the other door?”

Esme went to call Olaf and the henchpeople, instead of going to the kitchen.

“Yeet Babbitt.” Solitude suggested.

A reference to the vine/meme.

They had to walk through a parlor to get to the door, and as they did, Nick stopped a moment, glancing at the phone. It didn’t look broken. “Hey, guys?” he called, but they didn’t hear him, so he started to run to catch up.

Nick started to run to catch up; he never did, because that’s when one of Olaf’s henchpeople grabs him.

And then, with a swish, there was a thump, thump, thump, and the Baudelaires stopped falling.

Only three thumps- because Klaus and Lilac were carrying the toddlers, and Nick didn’t fall, only three kids hit the net.

“Nhojnod!” Sunny shouted. “You bastard!”

“Njohnod” is “Don John” spelled backwards, a reference to the character from Much Ado About Nothing, who is a bastard in both the legal and ethical use of the term.

Chapter Thirteen - in which Sunny crawls up an elevator shaft

“Sunday Theodora Baudelaire!” Lilac shouted. “You get back down here right now!”

Sunny’s middle name, “Theodora”, is once again a reference to S Theodora Markson; even after her death, she’s still confusing people about what the S stood for.

Sunny sighed and turned slightly towards them, calling out, “Salvo!” which probably meant something like, “I’m going to go get us some rope and see if I can find Nick! I’ll be back soon!”

“Salvo” is a Latin verb, meaning “to save.”

Sunny bit her lip and shook her head. “Appentier,” she said, meaning, “He’s not in the penthouse, at least from what I saw.”

“Appentier” is a french word from which “penthouse apartment” is derived.

“Kim?” Sunny asked, meaning, “Wait, we get leeway for being kidnapped?”

“Kim” is the name of the girl who is kidnapped in the film Taken (2008).

Solitude glanced at her in confusion. “Greywater?” “Yes, Soli,” Violet said, “A word which here means, ‘basically piss and shit.’”

A reference to a line from IT: Chapter One (2017).

Chapter Fourteen - in which Some Children are sold at auction

“You’d be surprised what’s legal and what’s not, actually.” Esme said. “For instance, in our society, cannibalism is legal, but religiously frowned upon-”

A reference to the only ASOUE canon that matters, the Real-Time Fandub. (part one, part two)

“Very interesting.” Olaf said. “And I suppose you think that your dear sister Lilac will take care of you then?”

Olaf is taunting Nick here, as he’s about to drop quite a lot of secrets to him, but mainly that Lilac is his half-sister.

Notably, Nick is the only Baudelaire not present in this header image.

Chapter Fifteen - in which Nobody’s having a good time

No major references in this chapter.

Chapter Sixteen - in which Lilac has a bad plan

For sapphires and fortunes we are held in here. Only you can end our fear.

Isadora’s poems are ever-so-slightly different in this AU, due to Nick’s presence.

The addition of and fortunes indicates that Nick is still with them.

Until dawn comes, we cannot speak speak. No voices come from this sad beak.

“voices” is more specific than “words can”; Nick has already started to go nonverbal due to his trauma, and Duncan and Isadora are unable to yell through the statue.

Chapter Seventeen - in which the Village makes a Big Mistake

But as she passed the Baudelaires, her hand slipped, and the man turned and met Lilac’s eyes. He stared for a moment, as if he realized with a shock he recognized her from somewhere. Then, he said, very quietly, “The world is quiet here.”

Jacques is realizing that Lilac has Lemony’s eyes; if he hadn’t realized before she was his niece, he does now. He tries to signal her with a VFD codephrase.

“Now,” Lilac said, “We will need full access to all your inventing materials.” “And I’ll need blueprints of the uptown jail.” Klaus said. “Dead fly.” said Solitude.

While this is an obvious reference to Soli wanting to feed Babbitt, it is also a reference to a similar request made by Wednesday Addams in the 1964 sitcom The Addams Family, episode 1x10, “Wednesday Leaves Home.”

The first thing you read contains our clues: An initial way to speak to you.

“Our clues”, once again, signals that Nick is still with the Quagmires.

Chapter Eighteen - in which Count Olaf was not murdered

No major references in this chapter.

Chapter Nineteen - in which the Twins get a Birthday Present

“You won’t keep Nick.” Lilac added. “He’ll get away from you, and the Quagmires, too! We’re never going to give up, and neither are they!” “Baudelaires don’t give up!” Solitude shouted. Olaf just smiled. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Nick’s trauma has already caused him to shut down completely, and Olaf knows this.

Inside these letters the eye will see Nearby are your loved ones and the VFD

Nick and the Quagmires are still together.

Chapter Twenty - in which Sunny drives a Firetruck

“Nick, hey.” Isadora slowly pulled away from Violet and Lilac and stepped closer to the fountain, her voice very soft. “Your siblings found us. We were right. They found us.”

The Quagmires aren’t as traumatized as Nick; they’ve learned how to avoid the wrath of their captors, and have complete faith that the Baudelaires will save them. Nick’s been tortured and told quite a lot of things that temporarily broke him.

Duncan and Isadora shared a glance, and to the Baudelaires’ surprise, Nick flinched and also shared the triplets’ look. “Well, that’s not a surprise.” Duncan said. “He was the brother of a man who-”

Duncan, Isadora and Nick all know about Jacques Snicket, his relationship to Lemony, and Lemony’s relationship to Lilac.

Nick was backing away from the fence, eyes wide, gripping onto Solitude so hard his knuckles were white. Isadora ran forwards, and Lilac realized then that he was shaking uncontrollably. “Nick, Nick, it’s okay!” Isadora said. She reached forwards, grabbing his face. “Look at me! Look at me! Duncan-” Duncan ran over, putting a hand on Nick’s shoulder, as Nick said, “They’re going to find us. They’re going to catch us. They’re going to find us-”

A lot of Nick’s trauma came from punishments after he attempted to escape, so he goes into a panic whenever they’re about to be caught.

At that moment, Solitude pushed Babbitt onto Nick’s shoulder and said, “Hold this!” She immediately started running, jumping over Lilac and crawling through the window and onto the seat beside Sunny. Then she slid to the floor and jumped on the gas pedal, causing them to take off again.

A reference to Pip and Squeak from All the Wrong Questions, who drove their taxi in a similar way.

Klaus stared back, and then his gaze hardened, and his siblings had never seen him look so furious. “I’m going to kill them.” Klaus vowed, and he meant it. “I’m going to kill them, Nick.” Nick’s eyes widened, and for several seconds, he looked like he physically could not process what his brother had just said.

A running joke up to this point was that Nick would suggest murder and Klaus would remind him that was illegal; after seeing his brother in such a state of shock and fear, this gag drops as Klaus decides Olaf and his troupe have to die.

Chapter Twenty-One - in which Nick is not feeling great

Meanwhile, Klaus was leaning against the wall, with Nick leaning onto his shoulder, curled up so he could be as close to his brother as possible. He had his eyes shut, but Lilac knew he wasn’t asleep; she didn’t think he’d slept at all.

A symptom of severe trauma is the loss of sleep, either because of nightmares, or fear of what could happen while in such a defenseless position. This will be explored in Part Three.

Nick bit his lip, and then nodded and said, “I-I’m sorry-”

Nick’s gotten over the initial shock of his rescue, and he’s starting to regret breaking down and starting to hate being so obviously traumatized.

“Wait, Li…” Nick paused. “Can I… can I talk to you?” “Of course.” Lilac said softly. Nick glanced from Klaus to Violet to the toddlers. “Alone?”

Nick has decided it’s Lilac’s right to know she has a different (possibly living?) biological dad than the rest of them, but he also knows it’s her decision who else she wants to know, hence why he wants to tell her alone.

Nick looked up at Klaus, and said, “I-I…” he shut his eyes. “I thought I heard… no, no, I must’ve… I thought I heard her, but… I had to… she wouldn’t… have found us this fast…”

Esme and Olaf were Nick’s main tormentors; they trigger his panic attacks more than the presence of the rest of the troupe.

“No! No, don’t leave!” Nick shouted, leaping forwards and grabbing Klaus’s arm.

Nick is absolutely terrified of isolation/abandonment, especially in enclosed spaces.

“Never!” Klaus pushed Nick farther, incredibly terrified by just how quiet his brother was.

Nick was punished a lot for “backtalking” his captors, so when he’s around Olaf and Esme, he almost never speaks.

Chapter Twenty-Two - in which the Baudelaires break into a Hospital

“Dimidium,” Sunny said, which meant, “Well, it’s only half a hospital.”

“Dimidium” is a Latin noun, meaning “half.”

“We could kick down the door.” Lilac suggested. Then, she gave Nick a small smile. “Remember, Nick? When you were locked in the closet and wanted Mom to kick down the door?”

A reference to a previous one-shot for the Six Baudelaires AU.

“Do you think that’ll have the information we need?” Violet asked. Nick flinched again, and then he said, “Um-”

Nick heard the word “Snicket”, and immediately assumes the worst- that it’ll out Lilac to the rest of their siblings.

Chapter Twenty-Three - in which Solitude steals some shit

Nick still didn’t respond, and Violet’s voice broke. “You have to remember. You couldn’t have been younger than… six or seven. Mother and Father were so mad, when they found us I thought they were going to explode… but you weren’t even upset, I cried but you just said you’d… you’d heard some kind of animal cry, and you thought it might need help, and I was the only one awake to help you… they got even madder, told you you should’ve stayed with them, but you didn’t see anything wrong, and… Nick, please tell me you remember that…”

An animal cry is a signal from VFD recruiters to prompt the children to say the codephrase that begins recruitment. The Baudelaire parents don’t want their children recruited, and were terrified to wake up and find their children gone on a night that they could have been kidnapped.

Violet carefully pulled the scraps from her pocket, spreading them out in front of her, while Klaus turned to Nick. “Did they tell you anything?” he asked. “While you were… with them? About VFD, or this whole ‘Snicket’ thing, or Olaf?” Nick didn’t look anyone in the eye. “There wasn’t… much time to chat. I only… Lilac, can we talk?”

Pretty much all of Nick’s pleas for Lilac to talk to her are brought on when Snicket is mentioned.

Nick pulled away, scratching at his arm, “That’s not…”

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: IMPLIED SELF HARM

Nick’s arm scratches are a tic he picked up during his captivity; he starts to scratch whenever his captors are mentioned, to keep himself alert. This will be discussed and resolved in Part Three.

Nick looked sharply up at her and said, “Mom stole from Esme. She wouldn’t give a shit.”

Nick knows about the theft of the sugar bowl, as well as the Opera Night. (which are separate incidents, fuck you Netflix.) He’s very pissed at his parents for keeping vital information from them.

Chapter Twenty-Four - in which Violet makes a decision

They went to the Js. Then, quietly, Nick said, “Can we go to the L cabinets?” “Why?” Lilac asked. Nick glanced towards his siblings, and then away. “Just a guess.” Lilac shrugged directed them to the Ls, and Nick flipped through one drawer, eyes narrowed. Then he shook his head. “Nothing here.”

He’s looking under both “Lemony” and “Lilac.”

Nick paused. “I mean… we don’t have to- to watch it right away.” [...] “Li, please,” he said, “Can we talk? Just outside, just the two of us, there’s something-”

Nick wants to be able to tell Lilac about the whole “Lemony Snicket” thing before they can risk having her find out from the file.

“I did.” Jacques nodded. “I managed to contact-”

He managed to contact Quigley.

“We’ll find them.” Lilac swore. “Are you okay?” “Yeah.” “Are you scared?” “I’m scared you won’t let me make a flamethrower and turn it on that bitch.”

A reference to this incorrect quote, which is, of itself, a reference to a line from the television show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, episode 3x10, “Yippie Kayak.”

Still no response. Lilac looked around in terror, her hand flying to her necklace. “Violet Malina Baudelaire! You get the fuck out here!”

Violet’s middle name is taken from her actress, Malina Weissman.

Chapter Twenty-Five - in which Lilac breaks down

“I’m not…” Lilac sniffled. “I’m not like you.” Nick froze. “What does that mean?” “You all are so close.” Lilac shut her eyes. “You and Solitude, you and Klaus, you and Violet, Violet and Klaus, Klaus and Sunny, Solitude and Sunny… all of you. You’re all each others’ best friends. None of you care about me like that. [...] I just… feel like… like there’s this wall between us. That we can’t see, but we can’t cross. And I can see you all… you all together. And I just… can’t be like that. Cause I have to be responsible? Cause I’m the oldest? Cause… cause I just can’t be loved?” “Li!” Nick put a hand on her cheek, turning her towards him. “Li, we do love you. You’re our big sister! You’re our sister! You are our family! Sure, we pick on you, but not because we hate you! We all love you, too!”

This is why Nick doesn’t take the opportunity to tell her about her heritage; he wants to wait for a moment where the information won’t give her more anxiety, or make her think she’s somehow less family.

Nick paused a moment, and then he leaned his head on her shoulder, shut his eyes, and said, “They fuck you up, your Mom and Dad. [...] They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had, then add some extra, just for you.” Lilac stiffened for a second, and then carefully put an arm around Nick. “Where… where’d you learn that?” “The Library.” Nick lied.

Nick is quoting “This Be the Verse” by Philip Larkin, which is later quoted by Olaf in “The End.” He learned the poem during his captivity.

“Nick.” Lilac wiped her eyes, and then put her hands on his. “It’s okay to… to talk about what happened to you.” Nick bit his lip. “That’s…” “I’ve been busy, yes, but I’ve also been scared. Scared that I’ll… I’ll hear something that makes everything worse.” Lilac’s eyes darted to the ground a moment, before going back up to Nick. “But I’ll listen. I want to hear you. I want you to tell me.”

TRIGGER WARNING: CSA MENTION

Lilac has been avoiding Nick in fear that he’ll explain what he suffered under Olaf. While she knows learning the details can help her better protect her brother, she is terrified that she won’t be able to handle it, and she’s completely terrified he might have been sexually assaulted, seeing as Olaf threatened to do that to Violet specifically to punish Lilac, and he had Nick under his control for a while.

Nick smiled at her. “You can do anything, sis.”

Nick knows she’s biologically his half-sister, but he wants to make completely sure she knows he will always consider her his sister and his family, and nothing can change that.

Chapter Twenty-Six - in which Klaus impersonates a Doctor

Nick flinched. “You want to be like him?”

Something to note: After his capture, Nick never refers to Olaf or Esme by their names; just him or her.

Nick took a deep breath. “These vents are a lot bigger than I thought, but, um… they’re still pretty cramped.” Solitude shrugged. Of course it didn’t seem cramped to her, she was only a little over two feet tall. “I was just… I’m not sure I like how small it is.”

Nick’s claustrophobia, gained from being trapped in a red herring, a statue, and possibly other small spaces inbetween, is starting up.

“Doctor Howser.” Lilac said in an austrailian accent, thinking very fast. “We’re going to perform surgery soon.”

A reference to Doogie Howser, MD, which starred a young Neil Patrick Harris, who played Olaf in the Netflix series.

“Since when could you do an Austrailian accent?” “You don’t know everything about me.” Lilac scanned the list.

Lilac’s actress, Emily Browning, is Australian.

Chapter Twenty-Seven - in which the Baudelaires jump out a window

Nick had placed Solitude onto the ground and now held Violet by the shoulders, shaking her slightly as he shouted. “What did they do to you, Vi? Vi, what did they do?”

Nick knows exactly what could have happened to Violet in captivity, so he’s completely and utterly panicked.

“I’m with Klaus.” Nick said shakily. “We go together or not at all.”

A reference to the track “Together or Not at All” from Doctor Who, by Murray Gold.

Chapter Twenty-Eight - in which the Baudelaires visit a Carnival

No major references in this chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Nine - in which Solitude finally morphs into a reptile

“Well, if they…” Nick shut his eyes. “We just… better get there before they drink too much, that’s all.”

Nick has had experience with the troupe while drunk, and would rather attempt to speak with them before it goes too far.

“Well, then,” Lulu said, stepping forwards and looking a bit confused, “What exactly are you, please?” “You can call me Babydoll.” Lilac said.

A very clear reference to the character that Emily Browning played in Sucker Punch (2011).

Surprisingly, the henchpeople looked a little startled at that, as did Lulu, but Esme laughed. “Sounds like my kind of girl!” she said. “I drowned an ex once. So did you, dear, right?” Olaf was taking another swig of wine, so they couldn’t exactly see his reaction.

Olaf “drowning an ex” is a reference to the Netflix show canon, where he left Georgina Orwell under a bridge to drown.

His reaction being hidden is because, for obvious reasons, he doesn’t quite want to talk about murdered parents.

“Well, I’m Elliot,” Klaus said, “And this is my other head, Janus.”

Janus was a Roman god with two faces.

“And that down there,” Lilac said, pointing her thumb at Solitude, “Is our little pet gorgon. We call ‘er Euryale, cause her actual name is just a buncha hisses.”

Euryale was one of Medusa’s sisters in Greek Mythology.

Chapter Thirty - in which the Baudelaires put on a show

But as they started to leave, they heard a low rumble, and Nick immediately grabbed onto Klaus’s arm and let out a nervous gasp that was, thankfully, missed in the noise.

Nick recognizes the sound of Olaf’s car.

Chapter Thirty-One - in which the Baudelaires play fortune teller

“Or maybe,” Nick said, very quietly, keeping his eyes shut tight, “They were told not to find us.”

Nick learned a lot about VFD during his captivity, including their recruitment. He’s worried that their surviving parent may be ready to give them up to the organization.

Nick grabbed a selection of paper, staring curiously, and then he quickly tried to shove it back, but Klaus’s eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of it, and he grabbed it from his brother.

Nick, once again, sees the name “Snicket” and assumes the worst.

Chapter Thirty-Two - in which the Baudelaires are asked to murder

“No, thank you.” Esme said, looking down a Sunny and frowning. “I’m afraid I don’t like cinnamon in chocolate anymore, the woman who introduced it to me recently perished in a fire. But it’s very kind of you to offer.”

The Baudelaires received their taste for cinnamon in hot chocolate from their mother.

“Sounds good.” Kevin said. “I’ve committed crimes before. Why, when I was no older than Elliot and Janus-”

A reference to the theory that Kevin from ASOUE is the same as Kevin Old from File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents, who committed vandalism and thievery.

Chapter Thirty-Three - in which someone is pushed to the lions

“I’m sure you are.” Olaf smirked, and he reached forwards and put a cold hand on Nick’s cheek. Nick tried very hard not to cry, but he wasn’t succeeding very well. “Now go jump into that pit. We want to see you devoured by lions.”

Olaf, who knows that the freaks are the Baudelaires, specifically picked Klaus and Nick to sacrifice to the lions specifically to torment Nick more; he knows what effect he has on him, and is relishing it. Once the boys are gone, they can grab the rest of the Baudelaires and escape.

“I wish we had a cartographer with us.” Violet sighed.

A reference to the next book, where Violet will have a relationship with Quigley, a cartographer.

Chapter Thirty-Four / Epilogue - in which they should have said something

“Come on.” Bertrand said, taking Violet’s hands and spinning her as she giggled. “It’s Duke Ellington. That’s your fav, Li.”

A reference to All the Wrong Questions.

“What song is this?” Violet asked. Beatrice smiled over at Soli, who was curled up on Nick’s lap, biting his sweater. “It’s got a very special name, isn’t that right, dear?” Solitude giggled.

“Solitude”, by Duke Ellington, likely Ellington’s song in All the Wrong Questions.

“Dashiell if it’s a boy,” Bertrand replied, “Sunny if it’s a girl.”

“Dashiell” after Dashiell Qwerty from All the Wrong Questions.

“We could adopt one of the outdoors animals.” Nick suggested. Beatrice and Bertrand turned to look at him. “The what?” Bertrand asked. “I keep hearing animals outside my window, every now and again.” Nick shrugged. “Howling or yipping or sometimes breaking a branch. Maybe if we brought them into the house, they wouldn’t get in so much trouble.”

Recruitment attempts that have not been working, because Beatrice and Bertrand refuse to let their children join VFD.

She turned to a selection of beach photos, slowly pulling out a small picture of baby Lilac, sitting on Briny Beach. It hadn’t been the first time she’d seen the ocean, but she’d still been so excited to splash in the water.

Since Lilac was born eleven months before Violet, it’s likely she was born on the island.

#asoue #asoue netflix #asoue movie #a series of unfortunate events #six baudelaires au #six baudelaires bonus #six baudelaires official fic #six baudelaires reference guide #mine

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Moon Monsters - Chapter 5

Genre: Fantasy Adventure, Romance (smut later), Comedy Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none at this time Pairing: Jungkook x reader, Jimin x oc, Taehyung x oc Notes: werewolf!bts au. Not idol!bts. Same goes for GOT7. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: Not crazy about the beginning but eh. Didn’t proof read most of it. And now I wanna watch The Emperor’s New Groove. XD

Tagging: @och-ako @jiminnies-baby @kfictionstories @justbangtanandjams @lizardsocial @breadcaaat

Summary: You’re the CEO’s new personal assistant. But there’s something strange about him and the company you work for.

SERIES MASTERLIST

“You got me a Hyundai Palisade?!!?”

“Yah. Yah. Pipe it down. You wanna wake the whole neighborhood?”

You paid Yoongi no mind as you stared at the group in awe. They all stood there with almost identical smiles. Well Taehyung’s was a bit boxier but that was just his signature way of smiling. Seeing all of them standing there, these people, they were your coworkers but in this moment they felt more like family. Brothers, sisters, cousins. For the first time in quite a long time, you felt like you had a real family who loved you and cared about you.

“Guys......I.......I don’t know what to say. This.....Everything. It’s too much. I can’t accept----”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll make you swallow that key fob.”

“Wow. We definitely need to get hyung home. He gets cranky when it’s past his bedtime.”

“Guys, I don’t have the money to make the car payments for this thing. Surly you were only able to put a down payment on it.”

You were about to ramble on but it was Namjoon who walked up to you and started gently waving his hands in front of himself before speaking softly in a warm and reassuring tone,

“Listen, listen. We knew this would be overwhelming and we probably could have done this in steps, but you see........the thing about us........that’s just not how we roll when it comes to taking care of others. We go big or go home. And after everything you’ve been through today, we weren’t about to go home. Not till we set the record straight. Not till we make things right.”

“But----”

“No buts. The car is paid for. In full. No payments. All you have to worry about is the insurance which if I understand right, you were already paying on your previous car. All of these expenses have been paid for and all we ask for in return is that you’re happy and healthy.”

“Guys----”

“To add onto that, the title is currently in my name but Monday we can work on getting the title transferred over into your name.”

You were about to try again when you watched Jungkook walk up beside you and traded you the keys for Swiper. You stared down at the orange kitten as he mewed up at you; staring with his large round eyes. It turned you soft. So soft that you could have melted. Sniffling and feeling tears lightly trickling down your face, you looked back up at everyone with Namjoon having since stepped back into his spot in the small crowd.

“We’re here for you, beautiful. I told you it’d get better soon.”

You stared up at Jungkook and sniffled with an apologetic smile. The feeling of his large warm hand rubbing your back was definitely soothing to you as you tried to find your words.

“Sorry. I just-----This was so selfless of you guys. Spending your hard earned money on me like this. Me. Why? Some of you don’t even know me very well.”

“Sometimes you don’t have to know the person to be able to help those less fortunate.”

It was quiet for a few minutes before Yoongi decided to break the ice in his own unique way.

“Well you’re welcome. It’s late. So let’s all turn in.”

“Come on, grandpa. Let’s get you home.”

While Jin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jaebum, and Yugyeom all escorted the grumpy male to their cars, the youngest two stayed behind with their mates. Jimin had Mama Bird’s hand in his while Taehyung had his arm slung over Widow’s shoulders. Jungkook stood there beside you with his one hand still on your back but content with rubbing his index finger of his other hand back and forth across the top of the kitten’s head; Swiper loving the display of affection.

“Guys......all of you.......Thank you so much. I can’t possibly repay you for everything you’ve done today. Gosh.....I’m just really overwhelmed. I’ll be able to formulate better sentences when this all settles in.”

“Well you did drink quite a few cocktails tonight. That’s probably not helping you.”

You laughed at Mama Bird and felt your face warming up. She had a point. The alcohol in your system probably wasn’t helping you. Smiling from the group to down at Swiper, you leaned down and kissed the top of his tiny head once Jungkook had removed his finger. And that was when you had released a rather long and very open mouthed yawn.

“Oh my. Looks like someone’s sleepy. With all that supposed alcohol, you’ll be sleeping like a baby tonight.”

Jungkook stared at you lovingly but of course you didn’t notice because you were too busy cooing over the orange kitten. However, that didn’t stop him from correcting his hyung.

“Nah. She’ll be sleeping like a princess tonight.”

“Well then let’s not keep the princess up. Shall we go, my love?”

Widow smiled just as lovingly up at her mate as she nodded and glanced over at Mama Bird and Jimin. They too nodded in silent agreement. Turning towards you and Jungkook, the small female said happily,

“Widow and I had a great time today with you, Miss Korea. We definitely need to do that again soon. Oh! That reminds me! Everything is in our cars.”

And as if they had done this like a dance routine, you watched both girls turn to their boyfriends and bat their eyelashes dramatically with almost identical pouts. It was Taehyung who spoke up first.

“For the love of all things Gucci. Put that pout away. All you have to do is ask. My heart can’t take it.”

As the group chuckled, you followed them to the girls’ cars where your purchases were. Making sure you weren’t going to run into anything or anyone, you quickly stole a glance down at the kitten in your arms. Swiper had since started to try and climb up your body as if wanting to perch himself on your shoulder but the protective side of you wanted him safely in your arms instead.

Upon arrival, Black Widow unlocked her car and opened one of the back seats. For some reason, your cheeks started to warm up. Was it because they’d see the shopping bag that clearly stated you had went and bought lingerie? Or was it perhaps the lack of shopping bags you had compared to the trunk full the other two girls had?

“Ooouuu. Kook you gotta see what’s in this bag I-----Ouch!”

You were blushing like crazy as you watched Black Widow come to your rescue by smacking her mate on the back while he was hunched over and inside the back seat; apparently looking through your bags. Oh how you wanted to sneak a glance at Jungkook but you resisted. Mostly because you weren’t sure you could handle what you might find. Was he blushing too? Or did he find it funny? Gah.

With Jimin having opened the other back door, he too was also helping carrying the bags. However, your embarrassment only intensified when you watched the two coming out from within the back seats and easily carrying what purchases you had made; not even needing the third boy’s assistance. If anyone was going to make a comment, you were grateful that they seemed to be keeping it to themselves. It was Jimin who broke the silence by saying happily and casually,

“Let’s head back to her royal majesty’s new bed chamber, shall we?”

While Jungkook never spoke up, it was painfully obvious that he was going to have to take you on an additional shopping trip. There was no way you had enough in these bags to sustain a proper wardrobe. He knew you’d go kicking and screaming, but that was definitely one of the things on tomorrow’s agenda. Thank goodness tomorrow was Sunday. At least they’d have all day, for he also wanted to go grocery shopping so that you’d have all your favorites in the apartment.

The apartment.....their apartment. Just thinking about it made him giddy with joy. His mate was finally where she belonged. Home with him. Where he could protect you and care for you. Love you. Even though you currently weren’t returning his feelings, he could tell you were feeling the tug. That powerful force of nature from the Moon Goddess herself. That little incident in Namjoon’s office hadn’t went by unnoticed. He knew you were already starting to feel the effects even though you weren’t even turned yet.

Which meant he could only hope that one day you’d fall in love with him just as much as he had fallen in love with you. Hopefully living under the same roof would make that even more probable. He felt like the odds were in his favor despite how uncomfortable you still seemed with living in the same quarters as him.

With all the bags carefully placed in the little foyer section of the apartment, it was time to say goodbyes and see you laters. You had handed Swiper over to Jungkook so you could give each girl a proper hug and a proper thanks for everything they had done. It almost brought tears to your eyes as you felt them returning your hugs with genuine love and care. You had never had female friends so this was a big moment for you.

“You be good to our girl, okay Kook?”

“Yes, m’am. Of course, m’am.”

You were a timid, blushing mess as you watched Jungkook reply to Mama Bird’s words with a cheesy salute while Swiper was held protectively in the male’s other arm. Good lord. You wanted nothing more than to run to your room and hide; never to come out again. Boy was it hot in here all of a sudden. Resisting the urge to fan your heated face, you said with a whine,

“Yah yah. It’s late. You guys should be heading home. It’s always more dangerous to drive in the dark, anyway. Shoo. Shoo shoo.”

With the small group of four giggling and cooing over how cute you were, you closed the door and locked it before turning around to lean your back against the structure. Now openly fanning your face, you watched Jungkook chuckle while holding Swiper with both arms now. He knew you were embarrassed and flustered so he decided to take pity on you and left things at that. Instead, he asked casually,

“Want me to show you to the bathroom so you can freshen up before bed?”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

And so after plucking the bag that had your nightwear in it, you followed the young male down the hall and watched him point to a door closer to the end. After giving a soft thanks, you shyly ducked into the bathroom to get ready for bed. After hearing his footsteps fading, you took a deep breath and exhaled to help calm yourself down. Gathering yourself up, you moved to stand in front of the huge lit up mirror.

Wow. Those cocktails really roughed you up.

To say you looked exhausted would be an understatement. The woman staring back at you definitely looked worn out. With another deep breath to help calm you, you reached for the faucet and turned the cold water on. Giving your face a good couple splashes, you cursed when you realized that.......you had absolutely nothing on you that could help with your nightly skin routine. Softly cursing for not thinking about purchasing that stuff while you were out today, you decided to move onto brushing your teeth........which you also couldn’t do.

Tears were starting to well in your eyes. You were stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. You weren’t even thinking of stuff like toiletries when you were out shopping today. All you could think about was having fun with the girls. Your new friends. You had been so wrapped up in having friends for the first time in your life that you weren’t thinking like an adult. An adult who had just lost everything.

Sniffling and trying not to bawl your eyes out, you slipped out of the clothes that Mama Bird had given you and changed into your conservative babydoll nightie. It was dark navy blue and went about mid thigh. You were too upset to even think about approaching Jungkook in it. Jungkook......god you were going to have to tell him......But how? How could you? God this was so embarrassing. You felt so pathetic. You didn’t even have a brush for your hair or hell----You didn’t even have shampoo or body wash for that matter. You had nothing.

You had nothing.

Jungkook had just set Swiper down in his cat bed when he immediately became alert. His mate was upset. Extremely upset. Why? He needed to find out and fast. Quickly rising to his feet, he was met with a tear stained face. Your face. It broke his heart. So much so, that he couldn’t even enjoy the nightie you were wearing. He watched as you sniffled and approached him; promptly stuffing your face into his chest. Your smaller hands gripping the back of his shirt.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong, beautiful?”

“I’m stupid. So stupid.”

“Yah. No you’re not. Come here. Let’s take a seat.”

With his help, the two of you took a seat on his fancy off white couch and you tried to collect yourself. Gah you were working his self restraint already. You weren’t wearing a bra under that nightie and it showed. Good gravy. Trying not to audibly gulp, he put his focus back on you and taking care of you. In a soft and soothing tone, he asked while stroking the back of your head in a petting fashion,

“Why do you think you’re stupid?”

“Because I didn’t buy anything important today. All I bought was a bunch of clothes and shoes.”

“That doesn’t make you stupid, beautiful.”

“Yes it does! I have no toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, shampoo, body wash. I don’t have anything for my daily skin routine. I have no makeup. Kook I have none of that stuff. Because it went up in flames like the rest of my stuff. I have nothing. It’s all gone.”

By this point, you were crying your eyes out and Jungkook had you wrapped up in his arms. Truth be told, he wasn’t thinking about those things either. Hell, he was sitting here thinking about how you needed more clothes than what you bought. But he definitely hadn’t been thinking about the hygienic stuff. Welp, it was definitely going to be another busy day tomorrow. Rubbing your back, he spoke softly,

“Well how about this.....tomorrow we’ll head back out. Just you and me. We’ll make a day out of it. We can have three nice meals out while we shop and get the things you need. And we can take your nice new car so we’ll have plenty of space for the shopping bags. We can even buy Swiper a couple cute cat toys. How does that sound?”

With a hiccup, you replied almost grumpily, “You’re too nice for your own good, Kookie. You know that?”

Flashing you that bright bunny smile that never failed to make your heart flutter and your cheeks turn pink, he chuckled and said in a tone that sounded an awful lot like he was teasing you,

“I knew you’d like the idea. So for tonight and in the morning, you can use my stuff. It’s not a big deal. I do believe I have an extra toothbrush unopened for when I’m an idiot and forget to charge my electric one.”

You flushed even more pink when you heard him mention that so casually. Gosh. Electric toothbrushes were expensive. The only thing you could gather was that he must make an awful lot more than you. Or maybe he’s obtained some kind of inheritance? Wherever he was getting the money, you had no idea. But there must be a lot of it.

Upon hearing a soft but high pitched sound, you both looked over to see that it was just the orange kitten stretching in his cat bed that was two times too big for him. Jimin had explained that the little guy would grow bigger before anyone could blink so it just made sense to buy the big bed now verses waiting. After a good stretch, the kitten went back to sleep; looking absolutely precious in your eyes. It was then that you felt a large warm hand rubbing your upper arm as Kook spoke up softly,

“I think Swiper has the right idea. Let’s get some rest for our big day tomorrow, yeah?”

“Okay. But what about all the bags at the door?”

“Eh. They can stay there. They aren’t going to go anywhere.”

“May I have a glass of water to take with me before I go to bed?”

“Beautiful, you can have anything you want, okay? You don’t even have to ask.”

You looked up to see him smiling down at you with that charming smile of his. He looked gorgeous while you looked like a train wreck. Sniffling, you nodded and he took that as the cue to help you up from the couch. His hand had slipped from your upper arm to where he could protectively wrap his arm around your waist to help keep you steady.

After pouring you a glass of water from his purifying pitcher, he handed it to you and even took it upon himself to escort you to your bedroom. Your new bedroom. Thankfully when you walked in, it no longer smelled like lingering paint fumes. Carefully setting the glass on the nightstand, you turned around to see Jungkook leaning against the door frame.

“I hope you’ll like it here, princess.”

Princess. That was new and different. You weren’t sure which made your heart flutter more. Beautiful or Princess. Smiling shyly from behind the canopy that surrounded your bed, you felt a blush coming on as you spoke in a small, shy voice,

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that, Kookie.”

Hearing those words made him smile with relief. So you were going to like it here? Perhaps that meant you’d stay. He couldn’t help but be hopeful of that. Oh how he wanted to gather you up and lay you in his own bed. Where he could protect you and keep you happy and healthy. But for now, he’d give you your space. He could be a patient man when he wanted to be.

“Well, then I guess this is good night. Sleep well, princess. If you need me, I’m just down the hall.”

“Thanks, Kookie. Good night.”

And with that, the two of you parted ways with him closing your door for you. Taking a couple slow sips of your water, you sighed gratefully at how cold it was. All that blushing had really warmed you up despite your thin nightie. Yeah. You probably should have worn something even more conservative but you could never sleep if you were on the warmer side during the nights.

When you went to lay down, a moan just about filled the room and then some. Wow. This mattress was freaking amazing! You had no idea who picked this particular one but if you ever found out, you were going to kiss their feet. Getting comfy, you tugged the covers up to your nose as you were one who liked to bury yourself in comfort. After everything you had been through within the last 24 hours, you definitely wanted to drown in comfort. The sheets smelled so good. Wow. They must have been washed before hand. You wonder if this was Jungkook’s fabric softener you were smelling. Had to be.

Speaking of.........

Feeling his mate’s heart rate slowing down and sensing you were on your way to dreamland, Jungkook was finally able to relax in his own bed. There was no way he was going to risk sleeping until he knew you were comfortable and resting properly. Since walking into his own room, he had changed out of his clothes for that day and was now lounging in a t-shirt and shorts. Normally he’d ditch the shirt but just in case you needed him, he wanted to be.....dunno.....decent?

“Okay, so what else will she need? Help me out here.”

‘Well......wait why are you asking a dog what a human female needs???’

“Good point.”

‘What’s on your list so far?’

Scrolling back to the top of his cell phone screen, he started listing off all the items he thought you’d need. The items you had listed earlier, more clothing, more shoes, groceries. He suddenly thought about things like medicine. Were you on any kind of medication? Oh! And were you a pads kind of girl or tampons? Just from his own heat cycle, he knew you’d be starting your period in a couple weeks. Wow. Women needed a lot of stuff.

‘Females are gorgeous, precious, but complex creatures, little one. You’ll learn that more and more as you spend time with her. Tis why we as the male need to care for our mates. They work hard and carry our offspring. The least we can do is care for them like the beautiful gems that they are.’

Jungkook could feel his chest swelling with masculine pride. Yes. He was going to take care of his mate. He was going to nurture her and care for her. Tomorrow would be a good day. He was going to treat you like the goddess you were. However, he could only hope that you’d allow him to treat you to nice things. It felt like a battle and a half just to convince you to take his credit card. Yeah.....you’ll probably put up a struggle tomorrow but he could handle it. Hopefully.

After adding a few more items per his inner wolf’s suggestions, the male finally decided it was time for him to sleep. It was hard though. His mind was just racing with everything that had happened today. Not to mention it was hard for him to sleep knowing you were just down the hall. Probably looking absolutely angelic all curled up in your new bed sleeping peacefully.

Or so he had thought.

After setting his phone on charge on his nightstand, he had just turned on his side and gotten comfortable when he felt.....something was off. Surly he would have noticed it sooner, right? No. Something wasn’t right. He could sense your discomfort. Fear. He smelled fear rolling up from under his door. It was you. You were scared. Maybe sleeping in a foreign home was making you nervous?

And then he heard your screams. Your blood curdling, hair raising screams and he was out of bed in a flash. Faster than the blink of an eye. Most of the time he was a clumsy bun, but in this moment, he was a graceful and swift canine ready to attack whatever was causing his mate pain. Barreling down the hallway, he wasted no time in opening the door to your room. The sight broke his heart.

There you were sat up in your bed patting yourself frantically. The sound of your hand practically slapping your skin sounding louder than it really was. You were crying and whimpering as you continued to pat yourself down for whatever reason. The only thing he could guess was that you must still be somewhat asleep and still in your nightmare. Carefully approaching you, Jungkook spoke softly,

“Hey....beautiful? You there? Hey. It’s me, Jungkookie. Are you awake?”

You must have been more awake than he originally thought because as soon as he started to speak, your head shot up and your eyes full of fear focused on his form slowly approaching you. It would seem that you were coming back to reality though as you suddenly started looking around the room. It was then that you slumped forward with your face in your hands; shoulders shaking from what.....he wasn’t sure of.

“Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can get you?”

You sat there hunched over with the nightmare still playing in your mind’s eyes. Dear god it had been awful. So much so, that there was no way you were going to risk falling back asleep. As you sat there remaining silent, Jungkook could feel the anxiety rolling off of you in thick waves. He felt helpless in this moment and it killed him. Surely there was something he could do?

“I’m sorry. I probably woke you. I’ll be fine. Sorry to bother you.”

“Hey hey hey. Let’s hold up a minute.”

While his voice was soft and almost like a whisper, he still felt the need to sit you down and get something straight. Sitting down on your bed in front of you, he turned and gently removed your shaking hands from your tear stained face. Gosh he was so tired of seeing you cry. But he also couldn’t blame you either. It just really broke his heart, though.

“You are not a bother. And you’re definitely not fine. You don’t have to talk about it, but you also don’t have to pretend like it was nothing either. What do you say we fix some warm drinks and watch a movie, hmm?”

“I......I was on fire, Kookie.......”

At first he didn’t quite know what you meant. But then it clicked with him. The way you were patting yourself all over earlier......you were patting yourself because you were trying to put out the fire. His heart clenched painfully in his chest and tears were threatening to well up in his eyes. You had a nightmare, alright.

You had a nightmare that you were burning alive.

“Okay. Ice cream it is.”

After helping you to your feet, it seemed like no time at all that the two of you were on the couch watching a Disney movie. After insisting that you pick, it was decided that you’d watch The Emperor’s New Groove as it was one of your favorites and it never failed to make you laugh. As soon as he heard that little tidbit, Jungkook was sold and immediately purchased it to rent.

Your giggles. Dear god your giggles were like music to his ears. Watching you take a spoon full of ice cream only to giggle around the spoon made his heart soar to the ceiling. You were adorable in every way. Precious. Absolutely precious. He had to fight the urges to kiss the top of your head or run his fingers through your hair. But thank the Moon Goddess you were subconsciously cuddling him. He at least got that much.

They were at the scene where Yzma was asking Kronk her famous line of “Why do we even have that lever?” when your giggles tried to turn into a yawn. There it was. The moment he had been waiting for. It would seem you paid it no mind as you went back to watching the movie, having since had your fill of ice cream. Your head was resting on his chest and he was pretty sure you had no idea what you were doing at this point. But he wasn’t about to stop you. No way.

Jungkook was pretty proud of himself. Since that first yawn, he had ever so carefully inched himself lower and lower till the two of you were practically laying down on the couch with you on top of him; using him as a literal body pillow. Not that he minded. Good lord he was in heaven right now. This definitely had to be what heaven felt like.

Needless to say, neither one of you saw the ending of the movie.

#werewolf!bts #wolf!bts #jungkook x reader #jimin x oc #taehyung x oc #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts fan fiction #bts scenarios #bts scenario #werewolf!jungkook #bts #s;moonmonsters

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bgn846 · 5 years

Text

FFXV Batio AU Chapter 2 is up!

Gladio is a vampire that can turn into a bat and Ignis is a human. What more do you want?? Thanks @mintfoxmimi for letting me use your AU!!

Full link to ao3 piece if you missed chapter 1. https://archiveofourown.org/works/20721377/chapters/49227167

It had been nearly a week since Ignis had seen Gladiolus come into the guild. To be exact he hadn’t seen him since he’d flown out of his window in the form of a small fluffy bat. Ignis hadn’t told anyone about his encounter and the information he’d discovered. Perhaps Gladiolus thought he would change his mind. Admittedly Ignis had altered his habits slightly after the incident. Choosing to only go out during daylight hours, and making sure he was safe within the guild headquarters at night were two notable differences.

Ignis had asked around the guild about Gladiolus and had heard nothing but good things. The vampire by all accounts was a good fighter and tracker. He’d saved many of the hunters from certain death in his time there. Perhaps Gladiolus was a good vampire after all.

Losing himself in his work once again Ignis hunkered down to detangle the mess of paper laid out before him. How the guild had remained functioning was a mystery. Nothing was filed where it should be. Private documents were kept out in the open for anyone to steal. Ignis knew he’d have a lot of hard work ahead of him in order to straighten out the mess.

The hours whittled away as Ignis lost himself in work. He didn’t even pause until his desk lamp began flickering. The oil must be running low, he would have to go find more. Glancing at the clock revealed it was close to three in morning. Astrals where had the time gone?

Standing up and cracking his back Ignis made his way to the storage closet. Scanning the contents indicated there was no oil to be had. Debating about whether to call it a night or to try and find another light source Ignis stood stalled in the hallway. A thought hit him suddenly; there was more lamp oil in the shed out back.

Trudging to the back door he went to unlock it when a voice behind him called out. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Gah! What the hell are you doing here?” Ignis shouted as he turned around quickly and tried to calm his nerves from the shock.

“Checking on you of course, what kind of vampire do you think I am?” Gladiolus offered.

“How long have you been here?” Ignis demanded.

“Not long, I flew in to make sure you were doing alright. I know you’ve been overworking yourself.”

“I have not been overworking myself Gladiolus.” Ignis huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Sure –,” Gladiolus droned, “That’s why you thought it was a good idea to go outside in the middle of the night for no good reason.”

“I had a reason! I needed lamp oil!”

“Yeah that’s not a good reason. It’s prime time for us vampires so why don’t you stay inside instead?”

“I still need lamp oil.” Ignis added dryly.

“I can get that for you easy. Hold on.” Gladiolus announced as he morphed into a tiny bat and proceeded to fly up the chimney flue.

Ignis’ protest died on his lips as a cloud of ash fell on the hearth. Thank the six the fire had gone out long ago. Maybe this was all a dream and he wasn’t going insane. However, after pinching his arm twice he was still standing in the main room waiting for his vampire friend to bring him lamp oil.

Unsure of how long it would take Gladiolus he began pacing the small space. How long had the vampire been there watching him? He did have a point that going outside at this hour was rather stupid. He had enough problems with seeing vampires at six in the evening. How many would he run into if he went out at three thirty in the morning?

Ignis didn’t have time to dwell on his almost terrible decision. His attention was captured once more when a scratching sound erupted from the fireplace. Staring intently for several minutes Ignis waited to see what would appear. Finally after lots of odd noises and squeaks a bat fell out. The logistics of how a bat could bring back lamp oil bottle had escaped Ignis tired mind. It shouldn’t have been possible but Gladiolus had managed it. The small bat was now clutching an oil refill container in its feet.

The only issue now was that the bat was covered in soot. “Why aren’t you turning back into a vampire?” Ignis questioned.

The bat merely shook its head and squeaked. Sighing heavily Ignis reached into the fireplace and gingerly took the oil container out. Placing it aside he turned his attention back to the bat. It felt funny calling him Gladiolus when he was in this form. “Now what?” his question was rewarded with another bevy of squeaks and ear twitches. “Is there a time limit or something on your shapeshifting?” He tried.

Again the bat shook its head and gave Ignis what could only be described as a smile. Groaning Ignis carefully picked up the small creature and removed him from the fireplace. “I still don’t know what you want me to do.”

This comment got a reaction. The bat outstretched a wing and shook it. A dusting of soot came off and the animal grinned at him. Blinking slowly Ignis decided he shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of thing in life. “You want me to dust you off?” He was rewarded with a vigorous head bob. Extending his arms out Ignis headed to the kitchen.

Within twenty minutes Ignis had thoroughly brushed all the soot off of the bat. It squeaked happily and crawled around on the counter poking at containers. “Are you planning on staying in that form much longer? It’s hard to have a conversation when you can’t talk.”

The bat started to hobble over to the edge and before Ignis could react, it threw itself off. Reaching out to try and catch the small ball of fluff before it hit the floor didn’t go as planned. The moment the bat was free of the counter it morphed back into a vampire. Ignis’ attempt to save the small bat now meant he was holding Gladiolus’ right hand instead.

The grin he was met with didn’t help either. “Thanks for helping me out. I didn’t want to get soot on my clothes.” He announced while squeezing Ignis’ hand.

“Gladiolus I do wish you’d warn me somehow before you do things like that!” Ignis huffed as he tried to wrench his hand free.

“Things like what? Fly up a chimney, jump off a counter, or fetch you lamp oil?”

Unable to answer the question Ignis simply shrugged and rolled his eyes. He was tired and needed to rest. Any ounce of energy he had left to work was now gone. He’d even stopped fighting to get Gladiolus to let go of him.

“And call me Gladio, the full name sounds to formal.” The vampire supplied. “I mean I braved the confines of the flue to get you oil. So I think that means we are friends now right?”

“This must be how you get your victims. You make them go crazy so they beg you to kill them.” Ignis sighed.

Gladio laughed at the statement and finally released him to pat Ignis on the back. “Nah, we’re friends, I’m not gonna getcha.”

“Why me?” Ignis lamented.

“You’re nice.”

Yawning widely and failing to cover it up caused Gladio to herd him to the stairs. “I’m fine, I still have work to do.” Ignis protested lamely as the vampire easily guided him up to his room.

“Nope time for bed. You need to rest, you’re a human.”

“Blech – I can stay awake for longer than you think.” There was no more time to fight back as Gladio had reached his room and was shoving him through the door.

“Go to bed!”

“Are you doing that thing that made me sleepy like last time?” Ignis questioned with concern as he turned to shut the door on Gladio.

“No, you’re tired enough that I don’t have to. Promise me you’ll go to bed and not try and work more in your room?” Gladio requested with a raised eyebrow.

“What? I wouldn’t do that.” Ignis lied. Though he was terribly tired and really did want to sleep. Something about bickering with Gladio was fun in a way.

“I’ll charm you to sleep in a heartbeat.” Gladio threatened, despite his kind expression. “Promise me you’ll go to bed.” he pleaded.

“Hmmff fine. No more scaring me half to death though, I’ll keel over one of these days and you’ll feel bad.” What was he doing? He was having small talks with a bloody vampire. Finally Gladio nodded in approval and waited for Ignis to close the door.

Ignis was curious to see what would happen if he attempted to work. He assumed that Gladio would figure it out and continue to bother him until he slept. Opting to get some proper rest Ignis got ready for bed and was asleep within minutes.

——————————–

The minute Gladio had stepped into the alleyway behind the guild a low voice filtered through the night air. “Checking on your friend again?”

“He’s human, I have to make sure he’s safe.” Gladio defended as he walked towards the other vampire.

“You’ve given us all strict orders to leave him be so why would you need to check on him?”

“He’s a good guy.”

The other vampire tilted his head slightly, shifting his braided hair, and stared at him. “In your two hundred and thirty years of existence you’ve never taken an interest in another human like this.” The vampire noted. “What exactly is it about this one you like so much?”

“Awww come on Nyx don’t pick on me! I know you’ve had humans as friends before.” The comment seemed to lighten the conversation.

“True. Do keep in mind if you keep sneaking away to see your human Noct will get suspicious.”

“He’s not my human!” Gladio exclaimed as the pair continued into the darkness.

“Could’ve fooled me!” Nyx laughed, “Don’t be surprised if he demands to meet him.”

Gladio stopped walked and stared at his friend. “Oh shit, he’s so totally going to do that. Dammit Ignis is gonna freak out all over again!”

“He survived a giant bat encounter from what you’d mentioned earlier. No reason why he won’t handle meeting the prince of darkness.”

“Please don’t ever call him that.” Gladio added dryly as they started walking again. “He’ll let it go to his head. Do you really want Noct wandering around the castle prattling on about how he’s the prince of darkness?”

“What harm would it do?”

“His ego is big enough already, don’t make it worse.”

Nyx laughed again which displayed his perfectly white fangs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you Gladio.”

Deciding to stay quiet Gladio trudged alongside his friend. He hated to admit it but Nyx was right. When Noct found out he was going to demand to be introduced to Gladio’s new human friend. Astrals, poor Ignis was in for a shock. Though, if they met that meant he could hang out more with Ignis. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

————————————

Ignis was starting to wonder if he was perhaps working too hard. Drautos didn’t even mention his terribly late start to the day. The man was all about pointing out other people’s flaws and he’d simply nodded a hello to Ignis.

No one was in the kitchen as he began making his coffee. Waiting for the water to boil allowed him time to grind the beans by hand. The process was labor intensive but so worth the end result. Ignis cursed the difficulty in crafting his favorite beverage. Though, it was most likely a blessing, otherwise he’d drink it all the time.

A small smudge of ash on the corner of the counter caught his eye when he went to grab a mug. The memory of a small sooty bat came back to him. The idea that Gladio could shapeshift into something so cute was odd. Vampires were ferocious creatures; they were supposed to be scary. It was getting harder and harder to believe that notion the more Ignis interacted with Gladio.

Entering his small office nearly caused him to drop his mug. His desk had been tidied and the new oil container was already installed in the lamp. Gladio had come down to his office and cleaned up for him while he slept. This vampire was not normal. Again he had to bury himself in work so he could focus on something other than Gladio.

Unfortunately, that tactic only worked if said vampire didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere.

“Don’t you ever take a break?” Gladio asked from the doorway of his office.

Looking over Ignis felt himself smiling. “Checking on me again? I’m not going outside, besides its still daylig–.” Ignis stopped mid-sentence and stared at Gladio like he’d grown another head. “How are you out when the sun hasn’t set yet?” he hissed quietly.

Gladio rolled his eyes and wandered further into his office. “Not all of us burn up in the sunlight Ignis.”

“Shhh! Someone might hear you talking.”

The vampire perked up at the comment and sat on the edge of Ignis’ desk. “So I guess that means I don’t have to worry about you keeping my secret. Sounds like you’re are on my side.”

Ignis scoffed at the remark and pouted. “What side would that be exactly?”

“The good side.” Gladio answered like it was obvious.

“My morals are not the ones in question Gladio.”

Shrugging the vampire leaned in closer. “Think you might want to go out and grab a bite to eat?”

Quickly pushing back his chair so he was out of arms reach Ignis gawked at Gladio. “You said you weren’t going to hurt me.”

“What? No I’m not –,” Gladio fumbled, “seriously, Ignis I meant grabbing real food at the tavern down the road. Not me biting you.” He added in a whisper.

Ignis still didn’t believe him, “You don’t eat real food.”

Sighing heavily Gladio rubbed his face with his hands. “Ignis are you a vampire?”

“No, of course not!”

“Exactly, so why would you know what I can and cannot eat.”

Pausing for a moment Ignis debated about the plausibility of Gladio’s statement. He was clearly a different vampire than most. “If you can eat than why do you need to uh – do the other thing?”

Raising an eyebrow Gladio hunched over so he could answer quietly. “I consume human blood when I need to. Otherwise I can eat regular food. I just don’t get anything out of it. I can’t really taste it, and it doesn’t give me any energy.”

“Why then?”

“It’s a social activity and some food feels good when I eat it.”

“When is the last time you drank blood?” Ignis asked with worry.

Sighing again Gladio replied. “A few days ago and before you ask, I didn’t kill anyone or turn them. There are some humans that exchange blood for protection.”

Figuring he still had a lot to learn about vampires Ignis slumped in his chair. Glancing up at Gladio’s face revealed sad amber eyes looking back. The expression made him feel terrible for questioning Gladio’s intentions. “Yes!” he blurted awkwardly after a moment of silence.

Squinting with a furrowed brow Gladio seemed to be waiting for clarification.

“I’ll go with you to the tavern. I didn’t mean to darken the mood.”

Relief poured over the vampires features. “Thank the six; I thought you might not want to be friends anymore.”

“I’m realizing I don’t know as much as I’d like about vampires.” Ignis admitted meekly.

“Well for starters I’ll show you how one eats real food for fun.” Gladio exclaimed as he stood up. “Come on lets go I think they have garula steak on the menu tonight.”

Dinner was oddly normal. It seemed Gladio knew people at the tavern which earned them a nicer table. They ended up talking about the food more than anything else. Turns out the vampire had been on a quest to discover a food that would produce a taste in his mouth. He’d not succeeded but was still trying.

The sun had gone down by the time they’d left the tavern. Normally this would cause Ignis to be on high alert. However, with Gladio walking next to him Ignis felt at ease and was able to enjoy the stroll.

“Do you think we will ever openly co-exist?” Ignis pondered out loud.

Gladio shrugged and looked ahead. “Maybe, but it would take a lot of work. Humans are the weaker race. It would be very hard to instill a feeling of safety if we all suddenly showed up and wanted to make peace.”

“I suppose,” Ignis sighed, “There are more like you though right? The nice ones?”

The vampire grinned widely at the comment and nodded. “Yeah there’s more like me. If you’re interested I can introduce you to some.”

Ignis stumbled slightly on the street. “Do you think that would be a wise idea? I don’t want to become a target.”

“I wouldn’t ever put you in harm’s way.”

“I still don’t understand why you are being so nice to me, we barely know each other.”

“I’ve got a good feeling about you Ignis. You’re smart and treat me with respect. Seems like good friend material to me.” He offered.

Humming response Ignis decided he could go along with this arrangement for a little while longer. Gladio did provide good company. He seemed to be fun to hang out with providing he didn’t fly him off somewhere as a giant bat. “What do you do when you’re not at the guild?” Ignis queried.

“I’m in the family business.” Gladio supplied, “It keeps me busy.”

“Sounds like you have your hands full.”

“I do but it’s all good.”

“Ahh, I see.” Ignis mused. The back door to the guild appeared when they turned a corner. Ignis wasn’t sure what Gladio would do once they’d made it back. The vampire spared him from having to figure it out when they got to the door.

“I’ve got to go take care of some things, and I’m sure you will be working late again. Mind if I swing by later tonight to make sure you’re doing okay?” Gladio asked hopefully.

“I don’t see what harm it would do.” Ignis answered with a small smile. “Until later tonight then.”

Gladio grinned and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be fun don’t worry.” He then looked to the door and back to Ignis.

“You won’t leave until I go inside will you?” Shaking his head no Gladio waited patiently. Ignis sighed and unlocked the door. Waving goodbye he went inside to his office and attempted to work.

#ffxv #fanfic #gladnis #eventually

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naffeclipse · 2 years

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I’m living for these mafia Sun and Moon asks 😂 I feel like in that au, if y/n somehow ended up at their place for the night, they’d try to keep them secret. But I love the thought of like… y/n spending the night, and in the morning, if Moon and/or Sun aren’t around, they go looking for them. Y/n shuffling around in borrowed pajamas and passing by Eclipse who’s reading the morning paper, and it’s just like this meme

youtube

PFFF THAT'S EXACTLY HOW IT WOULD GO

I love to imagine that Y/N just works the boys up enough to convince them to let them stay the night (cute Sun and Moon making up perfectly good excuses why their little vigilante can't wander around at night because *cough cough* Eclipse *cough*) but man, are they excited to spend more time with them! Y/N does enjoy the time too, but when morning comes and they get a second to slip away, they're searching high and low for dirt on Eclipse's gang.

Then shenanigans occur when Y/N is caught by Eclipse.

#sleuth jesters #i need a proper name for this au gah!

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sander-sides-stories · 5 years

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Chapter one

Chapter one is finally here! If anyone wants to review chapters for me before I post them, feel free to message me at this blog, @virgil-the-anxious-anxiety, @thomas-the-great, or @zeliahoutcast! I don’t have a name for this au yet. Meet the boys Logan and Virgil!

“Entry class P, subclass A, number 38. The fire appears to have given the soil nutrients for new plants to emerge. Small to medium sized animals have returned.” The android continues to report his discoveries to seemingly no one. Occasionally, when the android collects a sample, he beeps.

A small, feral boy spots the android. He sneaks up behind it, nearly silent, to watch the unfamiliar creature work. He wasn’t expecting the android to detect him.

With two beeps, the android stopped scanning various plant life and spun their torso around to face the boy who had set off his alarm, whirring as he did so. It’s eyes darting around until they rested on the creature behind him. Virgil had no idea what the android was doing. They beep as they scan him, eyes lighting up, and forcing a smile. "Hello, humanoid."

Virgil jumps back and hisses, mostly out of fear. He stills and remains tense, ready to fight or flee because this strange creature made unusual noises. These creatures that made strange sounds were usually trying to take him to places that had frightening barriers, food, and nests.

The android spun his legs around, taking a step back from the creature. "Need not be afraid. What is your number? I'm designation L064N. Or, ‘Logan’ for short."

The boy slowly relaxes and creeps forward. "... Num?" He tilts his head as he tries to mimic the unusual creature's words. He stops a few feet away, close enough to touch, but far enough away to run should the creature making familiar noises try to grab him. "Mmm... Loon?" He tilts his head more.

The android blinked, processing Virgil’s attempt to speak.. "No, not-" He played back the recording of what the creature had called him- "I'm Logan. Lo-gan. What are you?" he tried to ask again.

"Loo... Ain. " He sits down and looks entranced by the android. He lets out a happy sigh as he somewhat successfully mimics the creature's words.

Logan nodded once. "That was 64% accurate, so, as my mechanics like to say, close enough." He turned around again, making another loud whirr noise as he went back to scanning the area. Suddenly his arm beeped, and a transmission came through, telling him to return to the ship. "Yes, sir. On my way," he told the captain over the transmission before nodding at the creature. "One day you will be educated enough to say my name properly." He told the humanoid before turning around and walking back to the starcraft.

Virgil tilts his head as the strange creature walked away. He follows the android to the ship, keeping a good distance away in case the strange creature decided to turn around and grab him.

Logan entered the ship, nodding once at the human crew members in a practiced manner as he was taught to do before. He hadn’t noticed the creature following him as his mind too preoccupied with downloading information of the planet. He walked down halls, nodding at more crew members until he reached his own charging room, starting to type away at the super computers as he quietly muttered to himself.

Virgil somehow manages to sneak onto the ship and he wanders around, avoiding as many of the intimidating creatures as possible. He ends up finding himself in some empty, unused room. He explores it, and after finding the bed's unusual texture was nice, he falls asleep on it.

Logan had been typing away on the computer for less five minutes. An alarm went off on his arm, notifying him of a potentially hostile life form on board. He blinked in confusion, telling the captain that he would take care of it as he left his room, walking briskly down the hall. After turning left and opening the door to chamber 147, his eyes lit up to shine a light on the life form, blinking in confusion when he realized it was the same creature from earlier. "Humanoid? Why did you come here?"

He wakes and yawns. The boy rubs at his eyes and blinks sleepily at the android. "Mmm... Lo-ain..." He sighs happily and stretches before pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"It's Logan. Why are you- Well, I suppose it's useless to ask you that. I keep forgetting not all humans are educated properly." He walked into the room, reaching to grab the creature's arm. "You must leave immediately. You lack the required authorization to be in this area."

He hisses when Logan grabs him. The boy seems to fully awaken and try to free his arm from the now terrifyingly strange creature's grip.

He picked up the creature with both hands, carrying it by the waist as he walked out of the room, other educated humans glancing at the panicking child warily. "You are not authorized to be here," he said again, walking down the hall towards one of the exits. "You belong on your planet."

Virgil continues wiggling in an attempt to get down and away from the scary creature. He claws at the androids hands as he grunts, hisses, and screeches in fear. Eventually he resorts to biting down on the android's arm.

The scratches and bites didn't affect Logan in any way due to the inability to feel pain. He reached the back of the ship, letting go of the humanoid, before realizing that the creature was stuck on his arm, teeth sinking into the synthetic skin. "Please get off my arm." After realizing the boy didn’t understand him, he instead attempted to shake the human off his arm, his shoulder making violent whirring noises.

The boy refuses to let go and instead wraps his arms around the android. He starts crying. Virgil didn't want to leave. It would mean staying with scratchy and painful nests and struggling to stay warm during the cold seasons, and when the season’s grew colder, food was harder to find. He didn't want that. So he kept his teeth in Logan’s arm and tightened his own arms around the android's.

The android blinked, stilling his arm when he realized that the shaking wasn't working. He glanced around, scanning the empty storage room for something he could use to get the creature off of him, but there wasn't anything he could use. He looked back down at the creature, tilting his head slightly. "Why are you so intent on staying? I would think you would want to be at your own planet. Aren't you..." He paused, searching his databanks to find the correct word. "Aren't you content at your own planet?"

He sniffs and looks the android in the eye, freeing the arm of his teeth. He's still crying as he sadly calls out "Looain. " he headbutts the android's arms.

He stared at the creature for a moment, thinking of his options. The creature most likely wanted to stay because it didn't want to be at its planet, for whatever reason. He could kill the creature, but he wasn't authorized to, and that would result in repercussions. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be trouble to drop you off at the next planet." He raised his arm, talking into the radio. "The life form is proving to be mildly difficult. Permission to hold until next planet capable of sustaining life?" He got a yes in return, and he began to walk back to his room, not making an attempt to pull the human off of him.

Virgil walks with Logan, refusing to let go of his arm. "... Loo-dain?"

"It's Logan," he said again, entering his room. "Lo-gan. Lo-gan. It shouldn't be difficult." He began to type away at the computers again, this time searching for information of the type of humans that lived on the creature's planet. He needed some insight on how to take care of the thing before it was released.

He tries to make the "g" sound but the only thing that comes out is a high pitched "Huhhh"

"No. I don't know what that sound was, but it almost reached over eighty decibels. Please be careful." He found old records of the planet the creature was found on, but instead of reading them like he normally would, he simply stuck his finger in the USB port and downloaded the information, his eyes displaying the words and his mouth mumbling them at a high speed.

He continues trying because he'll get it, damnit! He watches to Logan's computer screen and reaches out to touch it. "Loo-hain, Lo! "

Logan was unresponsive for a moment as the information downloaded, before he jumped to life once again. "No. Logan. It's Lo-guh-an." He didn't understand the struggle of speaking, he was programmed with the ability to move his mouth properly when he was built. "Guh. Your tongue should press to the back of your mouth, the air that escapes pushing through to make the sound. Guh."

He watches and mimics the tongue movement. "Gahh."

Logan blinked at him. "Close enough." He walked away from the computers, once again trying to shake the creature off his arm as he walked to his desk. "Assuming you haven't lived with any colonies, considering your inability to form a sentence, you must have been abandoned at birth. I need to find you a proper home that specializes in untrained humans."

"Edias! Edias!" He bounces happen and repeats "Edias" as if it held some sort of meaning. He shakes Logan's hand. "Lo-gah-ain! Edias!,

Logan looked down at him, squinting in confusion. "Edias?" He searched the phrase in his mind, looking for any sort of record, but either there was no record of an 'Edias' or the creature didn't enunciate it properly. "Explain. What is Edias?"

The boy frowns. "Ho-me. Edias! Edias! E-Edi-o-lan?"

The android only squints, replaying the different variations of the phrase in his mind, putting them together until he could figure out how to spell the word by it's pronunciation. "Edias. E-D-I-A-S. Is this correct?" he asked automatically, before realizing the creature probably didn't know. "Searching records for E-D-I-A-S. Edias." He became unresponsive, a few records showing up as he downloaded them all.

He whines and shakes Logan. He draws a shape in the air and says "Eddiolan. " he points in it and says "Ho-me."

He blinked in confusion, the creature's voice interrupting the search and download process. "Searching instead for: Eddiolan. Edias- Error. Scrapped. Uncompleted Command- RESTARTING... RESTARTING..." The lights in his eyes went dim as he slumped forward, before turning on again. "Welcome. Please wait while updates are put in place..."

Virgil screeches in fear as he lets go of the android. He runs to a corner and curls up in it as he silently watches the creature makes terrifyingly loud noises that hurt..

Logan stood there for a few moments, unmoving before he jumped to life again, looking around until he saw the creature. He gave a weak smile, scratching his neck as if he were embarrassed. Embarrassment? That was new, he must have been updated. "Apologies, human. What did you say again? Eddiolan? E-D-D-I-O-L-A-N?" He straightened up, eyes lighting up once more. "Searching for: E-D-D-I-O-L-A-N. Seven Records Found. Downloading..."

Virgil hisses as Logan continued to make weird noises. He curls up more and wraps his arms around his head.

"Downloading... Downloading... His eyes dimmed once more, and he looked at the human again. "Was 'Eddiolan' your colony? Did they abandon you, or did you run away? They don't seem to keep any records of their people... At least, not ones that have been found by any starcraft." He paused, realizing maybe the creature didn't understand. It looked afraid of him again. "Was 'Eddiolan' once your home?"

"Eddiolan! Ho-me! Hap ho-me..." He perks up and slowly creeps towards the android.

Logan sighed. "If Eddiolan was your home on your own planet, then why did you even come here? If you had a home..." He shook his head. This creature wasn't to be reasoned with. "Did you, erm..." What was the word? "Did you like it in the Eddiolan colony?" He didn't know why he kept asking the creature questions; he supposed it was because he was programmed to ask the nearest human a question if he wasn't yet programmed with the knowledge of something. A bugged habit, he supposed.

"Hap! E-Eddiolan ho-me, ho-me hap!" Virgil bounces excitedly and sits beside the android.

"...'Hap?' I don't..." He searched the records for a 'hap,' but nothing relevant showed up. "I don't know what that means. I suppose I could try to find this Eddiolan, but with hardly any records on the place, it would be nearly impossible to find. It's a large planet." He paused in thought, glancing at the creature again. Maybe these Eddiolan people would know what to do with the thing. He looked at the damage the creature did to his arm, furrowing his brow at the damage. "Well, I know one thing. You can't stay here with us. You might chew up the wires."

"... go ho-me?" He tilts his head and grabs onto the android's arm. "Go Eddiliolan?"

Logan shrugged, shoulders making a whirr noise. "We aren't too far away from the planet. I suppose I can scan the area. If there is any record of an 'Eddiolan', then the scanners should pick up on the place." He walked out of the room, briskly walking down the hall towards the minishuttles. He supposed it would be fine if he dropped the creature off quickly, it would take thirty minutes at the most.

He bounces in excitement. He follows quickly and chirps occasionally. He makes happy little noises and skips. "Home!"

He talked into the radio of his arm as he prepared a shuttle. "Keep going on path, don't travel warp speed just yet. I found records of the creatures home and will return in an estimated 23 minutes." He entered the shuttle, waiting for the creature to follow as he typed in coordinates. "I hope you have some idea of where Eddiolan is. There wasn't exactly any human life around when you found me."

The boy runs in before freezing. He lets out a quiet whimper and slowly backing out of the shuttle.

Logan perked up when he heard the creature run out, torso spinning around 180 degrees to face it. "Is something the matter?" He scanned the shuttle he was currently in, eyes lighting up. He looked back down, eyes dimming once more. "It isn't dangerous. You are safe. I thought you wanted to go back home."

Virgil freezes up and looks pale. He stays frozen for a few seconds before whining. As he whines he turns around and runs away from the shuttle in terror.

Logan blinks, not comprehending the creatures behavior for a moment. He raised his arm to his face once more. "There's a complication. The creature does not want to enter the shuttle for unknown reasons. Delay time expected at 4.6 to 10.3 minutes." He got a word of confirmation in response, and Logan activated the levitation feature in his feet, hovering at a fast speed toward the human. "I thought you wanted to go home. To go home you must get in the shuttle. I don't want to have to cage you, the free cages we have aren't exactly built for your size."

He wiggles into a small gap in the wall and cries. "...loo-hain..."

Logan froze as he watched the creature hide. Did- Did the human just hide in that open power cell station? "Don't hide there, that area is extremely radioactive! You're human, you should know this..." After he remembered the lack of education, the android simply reached a hand into the space, grabbing at the human's arm and attempting to pull it out. He would have to order a mechanic to make sure no important wires were removed. "This is why you can't stay here. If you don't get yourself killed, you'll kill all of us."

He cries harder and wiggles further into it. "N-not me!" He grew more terrified by the second. His breaths quickened.

Logan let go in surprise, flying backward a small bit. "Was that a sentence? Or, at least, part of one? I didn't know you were capable." He hovered there in thought for a moment before grabbing the creature with both hands, attempting once again to pull the human out of there. "You can't be in there. You're soaking up radiation, if you don't have cancer by now, I would be shocked."

He cries harder and grabs onto the android's arms. He lets himself be pulled out, and as soon as he's free, he hugs the android tightly. "... not m-me..."

Logan held the boy up, scanning it. Scanning... 18% Non-melanoma skin cancer. Well, it was nothing a bit of antibiotics couldn't fix. Nothing too serious, thankfully. "Don't do that again. And why are you..." Searching... "Why are you hugging me? I'm not programmed to provide comfort." He hovered back towards the shuttle room, before realizing that was probably a bad idea. He stood there, floating in the hall as he looked back down at the human. "Why don't you like shuttles? What does 'not me' mean?"

"... Not me..." he shakes his head and hides his face. He's still crying and his breathing is weird. "... home..."

Logan squinted. "I don't know what that means." This human has obviously had some negative experience with a shuttle. He turned, instead heading towards the med bay. "As I said, if you want to go home, you need to take a shuttle. We can't just turn the entire starcraft around just to drop off one creature. We have a schedule." He entered the med bay, trying to pull the creature off of him. "Sit down. You have cancer."

He sees they're in the med bay and tries to run out. "Not me!" The smell was wrong and bad and brought bad things and he didn't like that, so he wanted out. He vaguely recalls the cold, sharp pain and the unnatural fuzz that was in medical rooms.

Logan tensed in surprise, his grip around the creature tightening as it tried to jump out of his hold. He held the human by the wrist, staring at it incredulously. "Med bays are negative as well? Hmm. You must have had a bad experience with a starcraft. Surely not one of ours, we're sworn to protect all planet life. Maybe a goon ship? Or a black market seller." He connected his brain to themed bay door, making it close and lock automatically before letting go of the human. "Not to worry. No harm will come to you here."

He curls up against the door and claws at it. "Not m-me! Momma!" Memories started resurfacing, causing the boy to panic and get more frantic.

Logan blinked. Momma? That was a new word. He added it to his folder of words and phrases that the human seemed to know. "What is a ' Momma'? Please, don't claw at the door, you might scratch up your nails." He turned away, searching through drawers to find some antibiotics for the creature to take.

He continues scratching, and when he realizes it doesn't work, he hugs himself tightly. Virgil yells for "Momma!" And "Poppa" followed by "Not me!" Some syllables were extended and warped slightly from not knowing it was pronounced a different way.

Eventually, he wears himself down to the point of almost falling asleep from exhaustion.

"Hmm." Logan watched the creature tire itself out, perhaps that was for the best. He grabbed an injector tool, placing an antibiotic pill inside and walking over to the creature. He paused for a moment, studying the human. "Searching records for: keywords: Momma & Poppa. Searching..." His eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh. You're calling for your respective parents. I didn't realize you had parents. You are human, I suppose, so that would make sense."

He sniffs and rubs his eyes in an attempt to get the tears away. "... m-momma..." he yawns and refuses to look at the android.

Logan reached out for the creature's arm again, bringing the tool to his skin. "This should help with the cancer. Do not worry, it should only sting for 0.6 seconds." He wondered how the creature would react to being caged. Poorly, most definitely, but he didn't know of any other way to safely bring the creature home. He couldn't drug it, or else it wouldn't be able to help him find his home. "You are proving to be very difficult," he sighed.

He flinches and whines, but doesn't resist to the tool. "... home..." He looks up at the android and makes grabby hands towards him with a sleepy yawn.

Logan stepped back a bit, raising an eyebrow. Analyzing behavior... Human status: drained. "Oh, you're tired. Well, I suppose you can sleep in here. Would you like an, uh..." Searching... "Would you like a bed?"

He continues making grabby hands towards Logan. "... up?"

"Up? Oh. Uhm, sure?" He picked up the creature, slightly confused. "What is the purpose of this?" He didn't understand why the creature always clung to him. He wasn't exactly a comfortable thing to cling to, made of rough synthetic skin and metal.

The boy clings to Logan because it was the closest thing to physical contact he had in awhile. He snuggles closer and ends up falling asleep.

Logan sighed. "I don't understand this, but if you insist." He let the human cling to him, supporting the young human with one hand as he walked over to the computers, typing on the keyboard with the other. He had to find a way to deal with this human. They certainly couldn't keep him.

Virgil stays asleep, occasionally twitching his leg because of his dream. A quiet purr escapes him as Logan holds his small, thin form.

"Hmm... Humans don't normally make that sound." The android scans Virgil to check on his recovery. He looked back to the computers. "Well, I suppose that's good news." He sighed, other arm locked in place as his free arm made a whirr sound.

Tag list:

@royallyroman @dr-emile-picani @guardian-of-cookies@bestbluebouquet@mightyvirgil54 @virgilsandersakaanxiety@blue-fluffy-dragon @avocados26 @nirascharacterdump @amazable01 @imfadingfromtheworld @fandomrandomqueen @thatnoulguyorsomething

#logan sanders #virgil sanders #thomas sander star trek au

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playertwosquiped · 5 years

Text

I’m just... gonna talk about the AU where Rachel got custody even though no one cares fghfssfh

Okay so I never did decide where exactly she moved when she left other than like, somewhere in New England. Away from Jersey, but not TERRIBLY far, you know?

(heathers verse excluded; in that one she’s in Ohio for whatever reason)

But in this Jeremy would get dragged along with her.

And if you think things are bad with his dad? This would be MUCH WORSE.

1) He’s been taken away from what little stable support structure he had. No Michael, no Michael’s moms. He has no one he can turn to. And he’s dragged away from his best and only friend. That alone would be BAD but but BUT

2) Rachel is not much more attentive than Daniel. She pays close attention to his theatre stuff and whether he’s still a straight A student, but beyond that... doesn’t. She, like Daniel is just like “oh he’s mature for his age I don’t need to worry about him” so she just leaves him to his own devices... but like, worse because there’s also a lot of pressure to basically Be Perfect despite that.

So there’s the set up; Jeremy’s in an even worse situation and with no real support structure. This wouldn’t go well.

His mother’s lack of proper support made his transition A LOT harder like at least Daniel always used the right name and pronouns.

And she wouldn’t let him quit theatre stuff for it either. So his transition was just... really awful. He has 0 self confidence about his appearance and his dysphoria is a million times worse than in canon.

She’s different from Daniel in HOW she’s neglectful though. Daniel is general AROUND but he just doesn’t pay attention. Rachel on the other hand is a workaholic and is basically never home.

She works as a nurse manager and is usually out of the house before Jeremy gets up and doesn’t get home until 8-9 at night, at which point she usually just goes straight to bed. They only really see each other on weekends and the extent of their interactions are her asking how whatever show he’s in is going (or what he’s auditioning for next if he’s not currently involved in a show) and him trying DESPERATELY to impress her with his grades. The rest of the time he’s left literally completely 100% alone.

... it’s a good thing that’s he not anywhere near Rich in this AU because he’d be even more vulnerable to the SQUIP in this.

Like, y i k e s

He does still keep in contact with Michael, mostly through texts and IMs and very rarely phone calls when Jeremy is feeling up to it, but it’s really not the same thing. In New Jersey he and Michael could take on the world as a pair, and it made things easier, even if things weren’t great. In Somewhere-In-New-England Jeremy is on his own, and being able to text Michael doesn’t change that.

Jeremy is... a little different for all this.

He’s almost entirely non-verbal (for a few reasons; he’s generally more stressed, was made to feel even more self-conscious about his stammer having moved to a new school, going for long periods of time having no one to talk to at all; he’s just... not doing great and complete isolation on top of that... y eah) so he really only talks like... at all to his mother in the scattered moments he sees her, and in the context of theatre.

... Hm. I’ve been avoiding this one for a while since it’s semi-relevant in his main verse too but It’s... more relevant here and I just... Do Not want to talk about it because dsfdffd gah-

Trigger Warning here, I guess. Suicidal Ideation

...

Mm. That says a lot on it’s own. By 16 he’s... really, really not doing okay. He’s completely alone and he feels like he’s drowning and has no hope for the futrue, and... yeeeeeeeeaah, he wants to die. He thinks about it a lot. He almost attempts it in the middle of his Sophomore year, but he got scared and backed out.

(and he hates himself even more for it because he couldn’t go through with it)

So he’s barely hanging on by a thread and his mother is none the wiser because as long as his grades stay up and he continues acting she just assumes nothing is wrong. And his desperate attempts to make her pay attention to him means basically all of his very limited energy (and then some) is going into maintaining those.

He’s just... tired. Tired and lonely and just... done. Not that he lets anyone see that. He’s quiet, but he’s basically always acting.

Acting like he’s happy and everything’s fine. Because in his mind, with his mom being the way she is, being unhappy is just acting out for attention. And he doesn’t want anyone to worry.

#[ 🎭 The Problem has Always Been Me | Headcanons 🎮 ]#[ 🎭 The One Who's Left Out | AltCustody Verse 🎮 ]

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victorluvsalice · 5 years

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AU Thursday: Londerland Bloodlines -- Tower Assault

Hey, I said this AU was on my mind -- and with the release of the newest (pre-alpha, admittedly) gameplay trailer for Bloodlines 2, that's unlikely to change anytime soon. So -- let's have some fic! :D Today's offering was inspired by a previous “updating the verse” post I made, where I talked about a change I thought of regarding Alice's final assault on LaCroix's tower -- rather than going in the front door and fighting her way through all those guards, she manages to get herself some climbing equipment and scales the damn building while Obfuscated. As you might imagine, this is the last thing LaCroix is expecting when he tells his elite guards (and Chunk, here called Officer Norris because that’s his voice actor’s name) to watch out for her. . .

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"Officer Norris? Has there been any sign of our – miscreant?"

"Uh, no, Mr. LaCroix!" Norris chirped over the intercom. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of her! Promise I'll let you know the moment she comes by."

"Very good, Officer Norris. Thank you."

"Uh, Mr. LaCroix?" Norris got out before he could release the button. "Not to, you know, pry into stuff that ain't my business, but – why is it you want me to keep her out all of a sudden? You weren't really clear on that before. And us in the security business – well, it's important we get our facts straight, ya know?"

"She betrayed me, Officer Norris," LaCroix replied, letting the words roll off his tongue with silver smoothness. Not that he needed to waste such talents on Norris, but – practice. "She betrayed quite a lot of people, actually. She's been selling secrets to other parties, making deals with unsavory sorts. . .and I have reason to believe she's recently caused the death of a potential business partner of mine."

"Oh wow! That is – never would have thought it of her! She's always seemed like a bit of a tough cookie, but the kind with a creamy center, you know? All molten chocolate and–"

"Focus, Officer Norris," LaCroix said, rolling his eyes. Mortals and their obsession with food. His eyes flicked over to the sarcophagus. Then again – I know what it's like to anticipate a meal.

"Yeah, sorry, Mr. LaCroix. Er – so, if Alice is this dangerous, shouldn't we, you know, call proper 9-1-1 and all that? I got some buddies in the call center–"

"I assure you that all the appropriate measures have already been taken," LaCroix cut in before Norris could go on another ramble about his "cop friends." "There is no way Miss Liddell is leaving this city without facing justice for her crimes. If she does come here, you have my full authorization to use lethal force."

"Right you are, Mr. LaCroix." Norris sighed. "Hope it doesn't come to that, though. Man, and here's me, thinking she's a pretty sweet girl once you get to know her. . ."

"The cruelest wolf can mimic the friendliest dog, Officer Norris. Remember that."

"Sure will, Mr. LaCroix. And you can call me Chunk, you know!"

LaCroix winced. "Given our relationship, Officer Norris, I don't think that's appropriate."

"Oh, yeah, yeah. . .well, anyway. I'll give you a call moment I see her."

"Thank you, Officer Norris." LaCroix released the intercom button, leaning back with a sigh. "To think I employ someone like that," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Now that Bach's little group has been – disbanded, I should give him his walking papers." He smirked, one fang peeping through his lips. "Though I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it? Not with what's in our future."

Melech nodded shortly, then glanced at him, eyes questioning. "Oh, she'll come," LaCroix said, steepling his fingers in front of him. "She will most definitely come. That rabblerouser Jack will have told her by now I'm responsible for all her woes. And has she not made it very clear, during our last few meetings, that she wished our – alliance, shall we say, to be at an end? The girl is a Brujah trapped in a Malkavian skin. She must be itching for a chance to take out her temper on me, and damn the consequences."

Melech tilted his head, lips slightly pursed. "Yes, I called the Blood Hunt, but would you trust the average Brujah or Gangrel on the street to take her out?" LaCroix responded, looking up into that stony face. "After the miracles she's committed? May I remind you that she has destroyed both the local chapter of the Society of Leopold – including one of my personal enemies – and the heart of the Los Angeles Sabbat? Tasks that were beyond your capabilities? And there was that news report the other evening, of the massive wolf found crushed to death in the Griffith Observatory. Somehow, I doubt that was the work of Nines Rodriguez – though it still worries me that we can't confirm his Final Death." He sighed, then waved a hand. "Well, I suppose if he does turn up alive – so to speak – it will make the Anarchs happy. And so far they seem willing to believe that Alice has thrown her lot in with Ming Xiao and her nest of snakes. So long as they remain enraged enough to drive those ridiculous excuses for foreign vampires out of my city, I shall be content. And then. . ." He looked again at the sarcophagus, anticipation clinging to its every chip and crack. "Then we will make plans accordingly."

He pushed back his chair and stood up, walking with lazy grace to his favorite spot in front of the window. Los Angeles stretched out before him, twinkling in the dark. He reached out, longing to scoop it up and capture it in his fist. "A shame, really – she could have had it all," he mumbled, flexing his fingers. "I was just beginning to realize her worth as an agent. To survive everything she did, to accomplish so many difficult tasks as a mere fledgling. . .I will give Fish this – he picked someone worthy of being an eighth-generation vampire. If she'd only been a bit more deferential, a bit less – well, her. . .we could have done amazing things together."

Melech rumbled an agreement. LaCroix sighed. "But, of course, she refused to cooperate. To let her full potential grow under my guidance. To accept the wisdom of her elders and betters. No, she had to go it on her own – to forge down the path of the fool and the malcontent." He chuckled briefly. "At least I have the pleasure of knowing that the Anarchs don't trust her either. From what I've heard, she had an early falling-out with Nines, and the rest of them find her as irritating as I do." His brow furrowed briefly. "Perhaps we really did drive her to the Kue-jin. . .no, she's too smart for that. She'd know they'd never actually accept her." He laughed again, a little louder. "What a silly girl, to reject any and all that could help her! She must feel quite alone on those streets." He leaned toward the window, drinking in his city with his eyes, running his tongue over his fangs. "An apt punishment for the hubris of the newborn."

"God, you love the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

LaCroix recoiled backwards, the scream of a little girl ripping itself from his throat. On the other side of the glass, Alice rolled her eyes, adjusting the harness she wore. "As if getting up this bloody tower wasn't grueling enough," she continued, bracing her legs on either side of the window frame. "What exactly are you compensating for? You're not that short, and I have it on decent authority that your interest in your manly bits should have waned with the Embrace." She shrugged, bending her knees and adjusting her grip on her rope. "I'll leave the question for the primogen to debate. Right now – for putting up with all your posturing and other various pieces of bullshit, I believe you owe me your life. In the most direct sense possible."

With that, she pushed off, sailing into the air – then came rushing back, thickly-booted feet held out in front of her. LaCroix scrambled to safety under his desk as the window shattered, sending shards of glass flying. Melech raised his massive sword to shield himself as Alice rolled to a stop. "Ah – gah – GET HER!" LaCroix managed to shriek, waving one arm wildly in her direction.

His sheriff, fortunately, was quick to comply. He flung aside his sword and coat, spreading his arms wide as he called up on his dark Disciplines. Moments later, his human form morphed and twisted, stretching itself into the terrible gigantic bat LaCroix had only seen twice before. Alice gaped, eyes wide, one hand on her harness's release. "What–"

Melech shrieked at her and flung himself into the air. His talons locked around her arms, dragging her back out the window and snapping the harness like it wasn't even there. "Yes – NO!" LaCroix cried after him, suddenly conscious of the incredible violation of the Masquerade. Too visible, much too visible – but she couldn't be allowed to survive this night – "The roof!" he screamed. "Take her to the roof!"

Melech squealed and wheeled around, dragging his dumbfounded passenger up to the highest point of Venture Tower. LaCroix huddled under his desk, arms around his knees, trying to control his trembling body. It's all right, he told himself firmly. It's all right. Melech will take care of her on the roof, and we'll let the morning sun dispose of the corpse. And – and we'll come up with an appropriate story for the masses later. An – an advertising gimmick gone wrong. A Batman cosplayer gone mad. Some sort of – of mass hallucination from swamp gas carried on the wind. We'll make it right. We'll find the key. And I will never have to worry about any of this ever again.

. . .God, I hope he wins that fight.

#londerland bloodlines #fanfic #'Melech' is the Sheriff for those not in the know #the guy doesn't have a name in canon but #well he's LaCroix's personal guard #surely his EMPLOYER would know his name #not to mention it felt weird just constantly calling him 'The Sheriff'#as our best guess at his clan is Nagloper #a Tzimisce variant from Africa #I looked up likely African names for him #melech is short for abdimelech #which according to the site I used means 'servant to kings'#seemed appropriate #basically this is just me having fun with Sebastian being such a pompous ass #and then giving up all attempts at dignity the minute Alice startles him XD #what can I say I am amused :p #also Alice couldn't get away with skipping the ENTIRE Sheriff boss fight #gotta pay your dues like the rest of us girl #at least she managed to avoid all the bullshit before it #queued

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soleminisanction · 6 years

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BatCat/Batfam Phantom Thieves AU

- It starts with Bruce, of course, his parents gunned down in front of him as a child. But in this world it's no random mugging, it's a professional hit by conspirators within Wayne Enterprises. Before the couple is even cold in the ground, those conspirators have forced the young heir out of not only his company, but his inheritance and ancestral home.

- Bruce and Alfred are by no means destitute, but they are forced to live within their means in a humble townhouse until Bruce's trust fund matures. He vows to remember everyone who stole his family and their legacy, and see them pay for their crimes.

- As a teen, he meets Selina, a lovely but lonely classmate who feeds the stray cats along Bruce's morning jog route. After a few chance meetings, he starts seeking her out at school, then at a party, after which he learns that she's been avoiding going home for a few days for fear of her abusive father. Bruce insists she come home with him instead of sleeping on the streets.

- He and Alfred set her up in a guest bedroom, and late that night Bruce sneaks in to join her with food and flashlights. They spend hours softly talking of their dreams: his determination to steal back his birthright, and her desire to live in comfort and safety. They read together from Alfred's collection, revelling especially in the adventures of Arsene Lupin and Robin Hood.

- The next morning, Selina's father comes looking for her. Alfred responds by pulling out his shotgun, running the bastard off, and calling the police.

- Selina is to be moved to a foster home, somewhere her father won't find her even if he makes bail. The night before she leaves, she breaks into Bruce's room to kiss him and leave him with a calling card, promising that they'll meet again one day.

- When Bruce's trust fund matures, he dumps a fair chunk of it into his years of world travel, learning from magicians, fighters, security experts, and famous thieves in turn. He returns to Gotham after five years with plan, costume and code-name already in hand.

- Soon, the elite of Gotham find themselves terrorized by a dashing phantom who signs his calling cards with the symbol of a bat and promises to expose their evil deeds. And he does so, sneaking in to homes and towers under the cover of darkness to steal secrets and valuables, with a particular interest in those treasures that once belonged to the Waynes, though of course he varies things up so that his identity is less suspect.

- For the first year or so of his career, The Batman pursues only his own vengeance. But that comes to an end with the death of the Flying Graysons.

- Seeing himself in the young boy who lost his parents to another's greed, Bruce steps in to adopt Dick, using the money from his various heists to move things along. They bond over a shared love of adventure stories and so, when Dick discovers his secret (there is much less room to hide things in a penthouse suite) he chooses to model his partner-in-crime persona after Robin Hood.

- And that "steal from the rich, give to the poor" mantra does affect how Batman operates from then on. Sure, they rob Boss Zucco blind and deliver evidence of his illegal schemes to the police, but they also begin targeting other gangsters too, as well as corrupt businessmen who take advantage of their employees and the heads of organized crime.

- Jim Gordon in this world is a good man, sworn to capture the Phantom Thieves who so recklessly disregard the law, and is thus deeply conflicted by accepting their help to take out other criminals. But he will do so begrudgingly, even if he can never truly admit where some of the information comes from.

- Shortly after Zucco's arrest, a new thief -- one less dramatic and not looking to spread any messages to the elite -- slinks into town. The only attention she seems interested in getting is the Bat's, as she makes a point of snatching several prizes out from under his nose and leaving only a calling card of her own behind, signed with a cat and sealed with a kiss.

- Of course it's Selina, now calling herself Catwoman and living in the luxary she always dreamed. She approaches Bruce first at a high-class party, unabashedly flirting while Dick makes faces behind their backs. Then they meet on a rooftop and, after a bit of cat-and-mouse persuasion where he negotiates the return of some Wayne treaures, they decide to team up.

- Soon, Selina moves in to the suite. It's almost domestic.

- ("I never wanted this," she thinks one night as she watches Bruce tuck a sleeping Dick into bed. "Never wanted children or a family. Never wanted to risk doing to them what the bastard did to me. But this, this place. This moment, this family. This, I could get used to.")

- Babs is a sympathetic Phantom Thief supporter who, rather than taking up a Batgirl role, acts as more of Spoiler -- interfering with her dad's investigations and getting in the way just enough that the thieves can go free. Dick takes notice and strikes up a friendship with her that gradually turns to flirtation, maybe even love.

- It's Selina who finds Jason stealing to survive on the streets. Feeling a kinship with him, she brings him home and declares that she's taking on an apprentice too. Literally no one is fooled.

- Tim is as keen an amateur detective in this world as he ever was, but even though the police are offering a huge reward for Batman's identity, he tells no one. Instead, he approaches Jason at school, asks to meet Batman, gets blown off and follows him home anyway, earnestly approaching Bruce and Selina with his request to be trained as a thief.

- See, he's recently learned that his world-hopping archaeologist parents are complicit in a a lot of illegal artifact training, since it brings them a lot of personal prestige. So he wants to restore some honor to his family name by returning those objects to their proper owners.

- Bruce is impressed by the kid's skill and Selina sees a child being neglected. So, surprise, now Jay (code-named Stray) has a training buddy (code-named Wren), and the Phantoms are robbing museums now too, which only helps to hide their various motivations and crimes. The Drakes eventually wind up in a white-collar prison, freeing Tim up to be adopted for real, but not before…

- Bruce stumbles upon Cassandra while scoping out David Cain as a possible criminal contact. Thus, she becomes the Bat's next "treasure," snatched from under his nose in a harried caper that only gets more drastic because Selina threatens to scratch out Cain's eyes. Cass becomes the heir apparent to Catwoman's name (code-named “Kitten” for the time being) and shares a room with Tim when they move him in too.

- (Side note, please imagine how adorable little thief sibs Cass and Tim would be going on heists together without mom and dad along. Double-teaming young marks with shameless flirting at parties and befriending the lonely children of rich assholes by turning up at their windows night after night like a pair of masked Peter Pans. Gah, I love it.)

- Steph serves a role similar to Barbara, only she Spoils the plots of the organized crime and large street gangs to catch the meddlesome thieves who like to screw them over -- they're particular targets of Jay and Dick. She and Babs meet at some point and get on like a house on fire, acting as support for the Family Thieves on the civilian end. Duke, Harper, etc. do something similar on a more case-by-case basis.

- I’m honestly not sure how Damian would fit in, though I can say for sure that Ra’s wouldn’t be calling Bruce “Detective” in this world. “Phantom” maybe. Perhaps his skill catches Talia’s eye when he tries to steal some powerful magical artifact from the League early on, before he re-unites with Selina. Or maybe Damian is Selina and Bruce’s (first) kid, a super young child compared to his adopted siblings. Still toying with ideas.

- Either way, they’re an elegant family of phantom thieves who travel the world whenever they need to take the heat off but always, eventually, return to the Gotham City beloved by the Waynes, prepared to expose the corruption in the shadows and set right what the law put wrong.

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write-havoc · 6 years

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The Glasswing Butterfly Part 2

Summary: Chuck has never thought of herself as anything special. Just an average beta living her life next door to a womanizing alpha named Negan. But her life, and Negan’s too, are turned upside down when Chuck suddenly presents as omega.

This is a non-zombie AU featuring A/B/O dynamics.

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Ongoing

Contains: swearing, smut

Intended for readers 18+ of age only

Masterlist in my bio

The next week is unpleasant for both Chuck and Negan as things escalate between them. The few times that they meet at the elevator, the one inside always makes sure to close the door before the other can enter. And after some of Chuck’s clothes go missing from the laundry room, she purposefully stops Negan’s clothes in the washer and piles them on the floor sopping wet.

And of course, Negan makes sure to bring a different woman home every single night, even making sure to call the ones he knows are screamers. And every night when Negan would start to go at it with whatever woman he had for the night, Chuck would start to play another one of her unsexy playlists.

Sure, it ends up in lost sleep and frustration for the both of them, but neither one wants to relent as long as the other one is inconvenienced. This is war, after all.

Chuck yawns as she sits at her desk waiting for her new couch to arrive. Her old couch was pretty much just a wooden frame and some loose cushions, so she got rid of it herself fairly easily earlier in the day. But her new couch is a proper one, and will require some delivery guys to get it in her apartment. And they should be arriving any minute now.

Unfortunately for Chuck, Negan happens to run across the men from the furniture store before their job could be done.

Negan had seen Chuck head out to the dumpster with what looked like the remains of a very cheap couch. So when he sees two beta men in coveralls carrying a new couch through the hallway, he puts two and two together and figures out where it’s headed.

“Hey, guys,” Negan calls out to the men with a wave of his hand. “Chuck told me to tell you guys to just leave the couch out here. She had a fuckin’ family emergency and had to run out.”

The delivery men halt their motion and set the couch down. “Who’s Chuck?” one of them asks as he straightens back up.

Shit. ‘Chuck’ is a nickname. I don’t actually know her real fuckin’ name , Negan thinks.

“My neighbor,” he points to Chuck’s door, hoping that will be enough to convince the guys. “We all call her Chuck. She told me she was expecting a fuckin’ delivery.”

One of the guys picks up the delivery slip to look it over. “That’s the right apartment number. Charlotte Langdon, apartment 54.”

“Charlotte, yeah. That’s Chuck.” Negan plays it cool but can’t hold back a little smirk at how easy it was to deceive the beta men. “She said you can just leave it right here.” He points to the wall beside her door.

“You’re gonna help her get this inside?” one of the guys asks a little hesitantly. He has a job to do, but questioning an alpha can have unpleasant consequences.

“Of course,” Negan lies. “Me and her are thick as fuckin’ thieves. We’re like family. Don’t worry about it.”

The delivery men shrug at each other and move the couch to the wall, then turn to leave. Negan watches them go and when he’s sure they’re gone, he walks up to Chuck’s door and knocks.

Chuck is expecting the delivery, so she doesn’t even look through the peephole before answering. When she sees that it’s Negan standing there instead, she rolls her eyes.

“What do you want?” she hisses.

Negan just smiles back. “Your couch is out here.”

Chuck peeks her head out the door and sees the piece of furniture she ordered, but the men that are supposed to get it in her apartment are nowhere to be seen.

“Where are the movers?” she asks.

“Oh,” Negan looks off toward the elevator, “I told them you had to leave on a family emergency and that you wanted the couch left in the goddamn hallway while you were out,” he responds smugly.

“What?!” she snaps back. “Why would you do that?!”

Negan just turns away with a shrug and walks down the hall toward the elevator. “Have fun with your new couch, princess!” he calls out.

“Gah!” Chuck growls. “You’re such a jerk!”

Negan gets to the elevator and gives Chuck a final wave before the doors close as Chuck glares at him. He knows what he did is a little bit of a dick move, but he figures that the girl will call someone in to help her and they’ll get the couch in her apartment pretty quickly.

But Negan is unaware that Chuck doesn’t have anyone to ask for help. Her mother is busy at work and the only other person she could possibly ask, her uncle Aaron, is working out of the country at the moment.

Chuck takes a deep breath and tries to steel her already frayed nerves.

I can do this , she thinks. I can do this by myself. I do everything by myself. This is no different.

After an hour of struggling, she still doesn’t have the couch in her apartment. What’s worse is that it seems to be stuck in the doorway. But Chuck is trying her hardest not to let the frustration and anger get to her, though she can feel it just under the surface.

She steps back and surveys her options logically. Maybe she could twist it. Or turn it. Maybe she needs to pull it out and try again at a different angle.

“Did ya have some trouble?” the most unwelcome voice rings out from down the hall.

Chuck flips around to see Negan exiting the elevator and sauntering toward her. But she doesn’t engage him. If she just ignores him, maybe she can get this done without freaking out.

Negan is making that very difficult though. “You need help, princess?” He chuckles. “I’m not offering , I’m just asking if you do.”

Chuck still ignores him and tries to pull at couch to get it unstuck. Despite her best efforts at remaining stoic, tears of frustration start to fall down her cheeks. Not wanting Negan to see her upset, she makes sure to turn her head away from him.

Negan doesn’t see her tears, but he actually does start to feel a twinge of guilt as he watches the girl struggling all by herself. He honestly didn’t expect her to have this much trouble, but that twinge of guilt isn’t enough to stop him, though. He stands back and leans on the wall by his door, looking completely casual with his arms crossed in front of him. “You’re doing a great job,” he jibes after watching her for a few minutes.

Chuck can’t take it anymore and lets out an inadvertent sob. She still tries to work through it, though, not wanting Negan to get to her this much. But as she’s trying to pull on the piece of furniture still wedged in her doorway, she loses her grip. This causes her to tumble backwards and land on her butt with a thud.

Negan initially steps forward to her, but stops. When he realizes that the girl is now crying heavily with her forehead propped on her knees as she squeezes them into her body, that twinge of guilt builds. And Negan doesn’t like that one bit. So instead of doing the right thing and helping her when she very clearly needs it, he turns away from her and goes back into his apartment, trying to escape the thing that is making him feel bad.

Negan can’t seem to force himself further into his apartment, though. He leans his back on the closed door and listens as the girl next door cries her heart out in the hallway. The harder she cries, the worse Negan feels about the situation. But he still doesn’t really take responsibility for it.

This is as much her fuckin’ fault as it is mine , he rationalizes. She’s the one that started this shit.

But no matter how much he tries to convince himself, he can’t push that guilt down. When he finally decides to actually do the right thing and help her, he puts one hand on his doorknob and looks through the peephole. He sees that the girl has actually gotten the couch unstuck and is finally pulling it into her apartment all on her own.

He lets out a sigh and drops his hand from the door, his guilt not dissipating even a little bit.

That night, Negan sleeps alone.

There’s a little coffee shop a block away from Chuck’s apartment that serves as a meeting place for Chuck and her mother. Every week, Diane would travel the hour or so to eat brunch with her daughter and catch up. Since Chuck doesn’t have her own car, Diane is always the one to make a trip. But she doesn’t mind.

Chuck is her only child and Diane loves her very much. But she worries about her. Chuck had difficulties growing up, what with her father passing and then with the discovery of her physical deformity. It caused Chuck, who was already naturally sensitive and shy, to become even more so. Chuck had closed herself off to everyone because of it. It had even gotten so bad that Diane had taken Chuck to see a counselor. That had helped Chuck. Or rather, it seemed to have helped Chuck. Diane had always had a sneaking suspicion that the sessions had only made Chuck better at hiding her pain.

When Chuck had decided to move away from home, Diane wasn’t exactly happy about it. She knew that her daughter was growing up and needed to make her own life, but she still felt like it would be better for Chuck if she stayed at home with her. Ever since then, Diane has tried her hardest to protect Chuck and make sure she is happy. But sometimes, she feels like she is failing.

“You okay, sweetie?” Diane asks when Chuck goes quiet.

Chuck puts a smile on her face. “Yeah. Just tired.” That’s not the whole truth. All day, she’s felt... not right. Restless, jumpy, fatigued. She can’t exactly describe it, but she didn’t feel... normal.

“Negan, still?” Diane asks with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah. He’s still being a dick about everything.”

“Maybe you should find a new place to live.”

Chuck lets out a heavy breath. “I can’t, Mom. Despite Negan, it’s a perfect apartment. It’s a good price. It’s in a good part of the city and it’s close enough to the office that I can take a short Uber when I need to go there.” She runs her finger over the rim of her cup. “And there’s nothing else available around here anyway.”

“Well, I don’t like what you’ve been telling me about your neighbor.” Diane takes a drink of her coffee and sets it back on the table. “I could talk to him-“

“No, Mom,” Chuck interrupts. “He already says I’m a little girl. Sending my mom after him would just prove his point.”

“You can come home, Chuck. Just get away for a few days. You don’t look very good.”

“Gee, thanks, Mom,” Chuck responds sarcastically.

“I just mean you look tired, sweetie. You need some rest.”

“I’m okay, Mom. Don’t worry so much.” Chuck raises her cup to take a sip, but it falls from her hands and shatters on the floor as a sharp pain travels through her abdomen. It’s quick and fades fast, which leaves Chuck confused as to what it was.

“What just happened?” Diane asks, concerned for her daughter.

“I-I just got a pain in my stomach, but it went away.”

Diane instantly thinks of everything that could be possibly wrong with Chuck. “What kind of pain?” She reaches over the table and puts her hand on Chuck’s forehead. “You’re hot.”

“I am?”

Diane has a very bad feeling about this. “I think I’m gonna take you to the hospital. You really don’t look good.”

“Don’t fuss, Mom.”

Diane stands from her seat and motions for Chuck to stand, too. Chuck obliges, though she lets out a huff before doing so, and follows her mother to the door. But before they exit, another sharp pain erupts in her lower abdomen. And this one is so bad it makes Chuck double over and collapse to the ground.

“Chuck!” Diane gets down on the floor beside her daughter, who is yowling in pain. “Someone call an ambulance!”

People start to crowd around them with hands over their mouths to stifle their gasps. Diane looks up from her daughter to tell everyone to back off, but snaps her head back down when she feels Chuck starting to violently shake underneath her hands.

“Oh, god. She’s having a seizure.” Diane quickly goes into nurse mode and moves to cradle Chuck’s head, making sure she doesn’t hit it off the ground. Even though it’s hard, she keeps it together to try to get her daughter through this.

Chuck opens her bleary eyes and looks around the unfamiliar room. It’s unbearably white, so obviously a hospital room. And her whole body hurts.

Did I get hit by a truck? she wonders. But there aren’t any casts on her limbs. Or bandages or even bruises.

Chuck looks off to the side and sees her mother sitting in a chair beside her. She is studying something on her iPad intently, not even noticing that her daughter had woken up.

“Mom,” Chuck croaks.

Diane instantly whips her head up to look at Chuck and scoots her chair forward to lean over her. “Hey, sweetie,” she coos as she starts to gently run her hand over Chuck’s head. “How are you feeling?”

Chuck clears her throat. “Like I got hit by a truck,” she answers. “What happened? The last thing I remember is sitting with you in the coffee shop.”

Diane takes a deep breath, not knowing how to explain to her daughter that her life is going to be completely different from now on. “You’re gonna be just fine, okay?” is what she settles on.

Chuck doesn’t like Diane’s tone as she says that. “Okay...? Am I, though?”

“Yeah. You’re gonna be okay.”

“How long have I been here?”

Diane hesitates to answer. “Four days.”

Chuck is shocked. “Four days?! Was I in a coma?!”

“Not a coma. You were just sedated.” Diane takes a deep breath to calm herself. She has to tell Chuck.

Luckily for her, the doctor comes in at that moment, taking the pressure off of her. The doctor is a middle aged beta with short gray hair and a kind face.

“I see you’re awake,” the woman says to Chuck. “I’m Dr. Bailey.” She reaches out her hand to shake Chuck’s then turns to Diane. “How long has she been awake?”

“A few minutes,” Diane answers. “I didn’t tell her...”

“Tell me what?” Chuck looks from her mother to the doctor.

Dr. Bailey starts to explain. “You have something called Holden-Sawyer Syndrome. It’s very rare, but it’s been fairly well documented and you have a classic case.”

Chuck gasps. “Oh, god.” She has never heard of this thing, but she’s sure it’s probably serious. “Am I gonna die?” she asks as tears well up in her eyes.

Diane grabs Chuck’s hand and squeezes it. “Honey...”

The doctor gives Chuck a soft, reassuring smile. “You’re not going to die, Charlotte.” She moves to stand closer to her patient. “Holden-Sawyer Syndrome affects omegas. It causes delayed presentation and that presentation is usually very hard on-“

Chuck cuts the doctor off. “I’m not an omega.” She looks back to her mom. “You and dad are betas.”

Diane nods. “It can happen, an omega from beta parents.”

Chuck looks back to Dr. Bailey, still confused. “I’m a beta.”

“No, Charlotte.” The doctor sits down on the edge of Chuck’s bed, facing her. “You’re an omega. Your young appearance is pretty typical of an omega. And you’re underdeveloped sex organs were a textbook feature of HSS. Sufferers almost exclusively are assumed to be betas with congenital defects of the reproductive organs.”

Chuck shakes her head. “No...”

The doctor continues. “You’ve probably been having some symptoms in the last few weeks or months. Emotional instability and pain or soreness in the lower abdomen mainly. But also, maybe some weight gain as your body changes into the more classic omega hourglass. You’ve sort of... gone through puberty again as your reproductive organs rapidly develop and your hormones start to flow.”

Chuck is completely in shock. Even though everything the doctor is saying is what has happened to her, she still can’t believe it. “I can’t be an omega,” she mutters almost to yourself.

“Sweetie, you’re an omega,” Diane says simply. “You smell like an omega. You’re an omega.” She knows it’s probably shocking to Chuck, but her daughter has to accept it, the sooner the better.

Chuck blinks several times, trying to wrap her head around it.

Dr. Bailey jumps back in. “HSS comes with some... challenging features that we need to discuss. I’m sure in your high school health class, you learned about heats and how they can be painful and disruptive for some omegas. In HSS sufferers, heats are extremely painful and can be dangerous if they aren’t sated by an alpha. That’s why you’re here and that’s why we had you sedated for the duration of your presentation heat. While you were out, we gave you medicine to control your core body temperature to make sure you didn’t overheat. It wasn’t an ideal solution to your heat, of course. But given the fact that you were unaware that you needed an alpha, it was the only way to deal with it.”

“What about suppressants?” Chuck asks. She remembers learning about them in those heath classes she took. “Why didn’t you just give me some?”

Dr. Bailey clears her throat. “No one is exactly sure why, but HSS sufferers tend to have severe allergic reactions to suppressants. Even the holistic ones.”

“So...” Chuck tries to put it all together. “When I get my heats, I’m gonna have to spend them in the hospital?”

“Chuck...” Diane starts, but Dr. Bailey jumps in.

“Ideally, an alpha would help you through it.”

Chuck stares at the doctor for a moment, processing what she just said. “Alpha? You mean...” she looks from Dr. Bailey to her mother, then back again, “knott...ing...?” she asks quietly.

“Yes,” the doctor answers simply.

Chuck takes that in. “I can... have sex?” She had always accepted that sex was never going to happen for her. But now, the possibility is being dangled before her.

“Yes. There’s no reason you can’t now. You have perfectly normal omega reproductive organs,” Dr. Bailey explains. “You can have sex and even get pregnant. You’ll also get a monthly menstrual period, probably starting next month sometime.” She gives Chuck a soft smile. “Your mother told me that you don’t have a boyfriend and I wanted to stress that, unlike some omegas that use beta males to get them through their heats, that’s really not an option for you. An alpha is really your best bet for sating your heat. Being hospitalized is, of course, an option. It’s not something that you need to avoid at all costs, but if you choose to spend your heat here, you will be here for the entire duration. And you will be groggy for a few days afterward. Knotting will most likely shave about a day or maybe two off of your heat and you can get back to work and your life much sooner.”

Chuck shakes her head. “How am I gonna get an alpha? I-“ She clears her throat. “No alpha is gonna want me.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Diane doesn’t know what to say to her somewhat naive daughter. She knows that alphas will certainly want Chuck no matter what. There are far more alphas than omegas in the world, so many alphas never truly mate with an omega. But Diane doesn’t want just any random alpha to scoop her daughter up because she can take their knot. She wants her daughter to find love and have a happy life with a mate that will be good to her.

Dr. Bailey cuts in. “Your first heat can come anywhere between three months and a year after presentation. But I know that finding an actual mate can take longer than that. There are other... more temporary options, though.” She produces a business card from her pocket. “This company is very reputable. You can meet with prospective alphas and choose who you want. They are very accommodating to an omega’s wishes, as well.”

Chuck studies the card. Alpha For You is spelled out in a fancy font with various numbers underneath it. It suddenly hits her what this company is. “Alpha for hire?” She looks over to her mother. “Alpha prostitutes ?”

“I know, sweetie.” Diane takes the card from Chuck. “But you don’t have a lot of options.”

“It’s something to be considered,” Dr. Bailey comments then stands from the bed. “Your mother has all my info. I would be very happy to take you on as a patient permanently.”

“I can’t keep my old doctor?”

Dr. Bailey shakes her head. “It’s illegal for general practitioners without an omega certificate to treat omega patients. That’s why they called me in here. But I’m not the only option, if you’d like to search around.”

“No,” Diane cuts in. “We’ll be happy to have you as Chuck’s doctor.”

“Okay,” the doctor smiles. “I’ll have a nurse come in with the discharge papers.” She pats Chuck on the leg. “Get some rest at home and call us in a few days to set up a follow up.” She shakes both Chuck’s and Diane’s hands and leaves.

“This can’t be happening,” Chuck mutters.

“Look, sweetie.” Diane grabs her daughter’s hand. “You’re healthy. That’s all that really matters.”

“I don’t know how to be an omega, Mom.”

“You don’t have to ‘ be ’ an omega. Just be yourself,” Diane responds. “I know this is a lot, but you’ll get through it.”

“I have to call work,” Chuck realizes suddenly. “I missed four days.”

“I already called them and said you were in the hospital. You’re going to be behind on your work, but your boss was very accommodating. He said you’re one of the best coders they have and he just wants you healthy.”

“Did you tell him all about this?”

“No. He doesn’t have to know. I’ve been looking all this omega stuff up for four days. You legally don’t have to tell anyone your presentation anymore. And legally, no one can ask you. So your boss, your landlord, the bank... no one needs to know.”

Chuck looks up to the ceiling and rubs at her eyes. “This is insane.”

The nurse comes in with the papers to sign and Chuck and Diane leave the hospital. Instead of going back to Chuck’s, though, Diane drives them to her house. But Chuck isn’t complaining. She really doesn’t feel like taking care of herself at the moment, so any help from her mother is greatly appreciated.

After the couch incident, Negan doesn’t give his neighbor much thought. For two days, anyway. He starts to realize that the girl next door is being unusually quiet. Not that she was every really loud before their whole war started, but he would always hear music or the tv going when he’d walk by her door. He’d even hear her singing through the wall of his bedroom every once in a while.

When another day passes with not a peep from the girl, he starts to actually worry. She had undoubtedly been very upset the last time he’d seen her. Would she actually hurt herself?

Negan can’t get the thought out of his head, so he heads across the hall and knocks on the door. No response.

“Shit,” he says under his breath and knocks again.

Yeah, the girl annoyed him a little, but he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

“Goddamn it,” he mutters again and heads down to the landlord’s apartment to see if they can check on the girl.

Sheila answers the door after Negan knocks on it. She and her husband Bill had owned this building for thirty years. When Negan had applied to live here ten years ago, she was wary. They had never had an alpha tenant before then. But they had let Negan take the apartment and he proved to be a fine tenant. He paid rent on time and no one seemed to complain about him. That includes Chuck. Sheila was never made aware of the childish war between Negan and the girl next door. And Negan’s nighttime activities went unnoticed by the previous tenant of apartment 54, who happened to be very hard of hearing.

“What can I do for you, Negan,” the woman greets.

Negan isn’t exactly sure how to go about this. “The girl next door to me... I wondered if you could fuckin’ check on her.”

Sheila chuckles, already knowing that Chuck isn’t home. “I didn’t think you were the caring type.”

Negan grimaces at the woman. “Will you just-“

Sheila doesn’t let Negan finish. “Her mother told me she would be gone for the week. She’s sick.”

“Okay,” Negan spits out then turns to leave. So the girl isn’t laying in her bathtub with her wrists slit. That’s what he went to figure out, so... mission accomplished.

After convalescing in her mother’s house for a few days, it’s time for Chuck to go home. Physically, she feels back to normal, but mentally, she is still reeling. Her mood swings had gone away, which Chuck is thankful for, but she’s still a little anxious about what all of this means for her future.

When Chuck and her mother get to her building, Chuck sees Negan standing in the open elevator. Negan sees the girl next door, too, and for a moment, he thinks about shutting the doors on her, still thinking about their petty war. But he doesn’t go through with it, instead he holds the doors open for the girl and the woman she’s with, who Negan assumes is her mother.

Diane thinks at first that she should lead Chuck to the stairs instead of sharing an elevator with Chuck’s alpha neighbor. But they’re already headed there and the man is holding the doors for them. But once the three of them are trapped inside the enclosed space, though, Diane realizes that her first instincts were right.

Negan’s body responds before his brain can process what’s happening. His whole body stiffens and his pupils dilate at his proximity to this girl. His skin breaks out into goosebumps as his hair stands on end. When he instinctively sniffs at the air, he finally realizes what’s happening.

Omega is the only thing going through his brain.

At the same time, Negan is having an effect in Chuck, too. She had always thought that he smelled good, figuring it was some sort of expensive cologne that he wore. But she realizes now that it wasn’t. It was all him and now the smell is almost intoxicating to her. But she knows that it’s just because he’s the first alpha she’s smelling in her new omega state, so she hangs her head and moves as far away from Negan as she can.

Diane sees all of this happening and doesn’t like it at all. When Negan makes a move to step closer to Chuck, Diane places herself between him and her daughter, holding her hand up to stop him from advancing. Negan instantly snaps his gaze to the older woman’s, the animalistic part of him wanting to push her away so he can get what he wants. But the fearsome look in her eyes actually sobers him some.

Despite the fact that the beta female would have little chance of successfully fighting off an alpha, Diane knows that she would absolutely fight tooth and nail to protect her daughter from anything. Negan seems to realize all this, and steps back away from the women to face the elevator doors.

It seems like it takes forever for the elevator to get to the fifth floor, but once the doors open, Negan all but runs out and into his apartment. In stark contrast, Diane and Chuck exit the elevator slowly, making their way down the same hallway to Chuck’s apartment at a somber pace.

Chuck plops herself down on her couch and lets out a sigh as soon as they get inside.

“I’m gonna make you something to eat, okay?” Diane calls out from the kitchen.

“Okay.” Chuck leans her head back on the coach and closes her eyes for several minutes, going over everything that has happened in the last few days and all the information she has had to absorb.

“I want you to move back home,” Diane states plainly as she finishes the peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her daughter.

Chuck turns around to look back at her mother. “What?”

Diane places the sandwich on the island and looks Chuck in the eye. “I think you should move back home. You’ll be safer there. We know all our neighbors. They’re good people.”

“I don’t want to move, Mom.”

“Just listen to me, Chuck. I don’t trust Negan with you. He’s an unmated alpha and you’re an unmated omega.”

Chuck laughs. “Negan hates me, Mom. He’s not gonna want to ‘ mate ’ me, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“He’s an alpha , Chuck. He doesn’t always think with his upstairs brain.”

Chuck lets out a huff. “That’s a little bigoted, don’t you think.”

“If it gets you out of harm’s way then I don’t care.” Diane points to the sandwich to prompt Chuck into eating it.

Chuck takes the hint and moves to sit down at the counter to eat. “You can’t lock me up, Mom. I just want to live my life normally.”

“I’m just worried about you.” Diane runs her hand over Chuck’s shoulder length hair.

“Trust me,” Chuck takes a bite. “Negan doesn’t want anything to do with me, no matter which brain he’s thinking with.”

Diane nods, though she thinks that Chuck is being naive about Negan’s intentions. She saw it in his eyes in that elevator.

Diane knows that she can’t force her daughter to move back in with her, but she can do whatever she needs to to protect her. When Diane exits Chuck’s apartment, she marches right over to Negan’s door and knocks on it without Chuck knowing.

Negan answers his door and sees Chuck’s mother glaring up at him. His gaze instinctively flicks to Chuck’s door, but Diane stops that pretty quickly by roughly taking his chin in her hand and pulling his face down to look at her.

“No,” she says forcefully, but quietly. “I want you to stay away from my daughter.”

Negan thinks that’s a pretty reasonable request coming from the pretty middle aged beta. Especially considering that one whiff of the omega next door had him acting like a newly presented alpha that didn’t know how to control himself. It took him a good twenty minutes before his higher reasoning came back and he started to actually question how the girl next door had been a beta one day and an omega the next. Well, twenty minutes and rubbing one out.

“Listen to me, Negan,” Diane continues when Negan makes no effort to say anything. “I’m a nurse. I work in a hospital. And off the top of my head I can think of four different drugs I have easy access to that would kill a man and leave no trace for the police to find. So keep that in mind if you ever even think about touching my daughter. Got it?”

Negan has to give it up to the beta. She has humungous lady balls coming over here and confronting him like this. But he’s pretty sure her threat won’t stop him. He can already feel himself being pulled to the omega next door.

But he gives her a nod anyway. “Got it.”

“Good.” Diane turns away from Negan and heads for the elevator, still wondering if she had done enough to keep her daughter out of harm’s way.

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