#not myth au for once guys look at me go

[xtwstedtalesx]

Ceraunophilia (noun) — Loving thunder and lightning, finding them intensely beautiful.

#happy birthday sebek! #look at me getting in early with the birthday posts 💪 #I’m so salty I didn’t start this blog earlier so I could’ve done a post for lilia and malleus #figuring out my art style atm and I think I like it simple #line art is very prominent? yum #simple person simple style #but anyway if you’re looking u wanna know something? #sebek’s birthday and st patrick’s day are on the same day this year #isn’t that wild #they’re both green and stuff #it’s a theory #a GAME theory #anyway happy birthday to my boi #now it’s time for obligatory tags #twst #twst fanart #disney twst #twst sebek #twst diasomnia #diasomnia #sebek zigvolt #twisted wonderland #not myth au for once guys look at me go

[redhead-batgal]

Hi

Can I request a reader x Damien soulmate AU?

With these prompts please

“If anything happened to you, it would utterly ruin me.”     

“You have no idea who I am, do you?”

Type: Drabble

Pairing: Fem! Student! and Soulmate! Reader x Damian Wayne/Robin

AU: Soulmate! Reader

Prompts: ✢14: “You have no idea who I am, do you?” ☙21: “If anything happened to you, it would utterly ruin me.”

Content: Cursing, some technical angst because why not, aged up Damian 16/17 yrs old.

Word Count: 981

P.S: This was sooo much fun to write, sorry if you wanted something else. I just- I just really wanted to write it this way

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

In this world there is love, and life and joy. Almost every person has a chance at these things through their soulmate. Someone chose by fate itself to help you have a good life. While not all soulmates are romantic some are, and that soulmate will be with you (hopefully) for the rest of your life.

There are of course cynics who believe soulmates are a myth, those people usually lose their chance. Chance at happiness because they turn away one of the people chosen to help them have it. And some... some choose to defy fate and choose to find others to love, others to create joy with.

And fate... fate does not like to be ignored, so it caused... some backlash in response. Which is unfortunately how you came to be.

You parents were soulmates, but they didn't want anything to do with each other. Of course, fate had its way, and you were born. Born in a home where love and hate ran so closely, they intermingled.

It was one of the reasons why when you realized who your soulmate was you didn't say a word. You in fact began avoiding them all together. But your heart- your soul longed for them. And so you were stuck in conflict. Conflict with your soul and reason.

Which was why you were sitting in the library, in the very back corner. Watching, despite the voice of reason screaming in your head, Damian fucking Wayne, talk with his friends.

Looking up from your book you sighed, he- he was annoying and rude and and and loved animals and was an accomplished artist. So much that he began teaching children with special needs how to draw.

While you may have heard it was a punishment from his father, your soul still ached for him. Letting out a groan you slammed your head against the table. Why was fate such a cruel bitch? Why could fate just once give you a fucking break?

Footsteps caused you to freeze and you looked up to see a red haired boy standing in front of your table. He smiled and waved and you gave him a weak smile.

"Hi, I'm Colin and me and my friends were wondering if you wanted to join us."

He pointed to a table- the table behind him and you winced. Looking up you saw the small smile on his face and your conscious screamed.

"Uh, are you sure? You guys don't even know me."

Colin raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh, you've been in our classes since we started school here. And- Dam-" Colin paused before shrugged, "we can get to know each other better. I mean we've been in the same grade for years."

Before you could reply, a dark-haired boy, who you recognized as Jon Kent, bounded over towards you and Colin. He threw an arm over Jon's shoulders and smiled.

"Hi, Y/N. Are you going to join us? You're going to join us, right?"

His glasses slipped to the edge of his nose, and you winced. You were? Oh no you were.

"Uh, Okay." You remarked, "I mean I guess."

"Awesome!" Jon said.

He then leaned down and scooped your things into his arms. Turning towards his table he bumped Colin.

"Get the rest of her stuff."

Colin looked to you and you quickly grabbed onto your bag and stood up. Before you could even blink, Colin leaned forwards and grabbed your book.

Then he turned and followed after Jon. Cursing internally you followed him. They both sank down onto their seats and left one for you directly across from Damian. You watched as he flipped the page and Colin and Jon set your stuff on the table.

Damn it.

Reluctantly you sat down and winced. Damian looked up and you noticed a cut on his face and his eyes looked strange. Was it a black eye?

Your heart stopped and the words slipped from you before you could stop yourself.

"What happened?"

"It's not important, why do you care?" Damian remarked looking back at his notebook.

Why do you care? why do you care

Because

Because you wanted to shout If anything happened to you, it would utterly ruin me.

Instead, you shrugged. "You just looked a little banged up. Sorry for being curious."

He paused for a moment before looking up at you eyes narrowed.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

You nodded and answered the right answer instead of the one your soul begged you to say, "You're Damian Wayne."

But, you thought, you have no idea who I am, do you?

Damian blinked a few times his body tensing. And he shook his head.

"That's not what I meant."

You froze, swallowing you forced a smile onto your face. Reaching out you grabbed your book and pulled it towards you. Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it.

He tilted his head and watched as you brought your book closer. Smiling weakly, you pulled it towards your face.

"You- You have no idea do you. Who I am?" He muttered

Soul crying and reason cheering you blinked. You were always terrible at lying. Maybe- maybe he meant something else? No, no you couldn't even convince yourself.

Shrugging you pressed your face into your book. Why did you agree, why did you do this to yourself?

because now he's close and near and hearing his voice made your heartbeat faster and and-

no- no. No nonononononono. stop that right now. No. No. nuh-uh no way you weren't- you weren't going to let your soul and- that raging bitch or dick or whatever it was fate control you.

Taking in a breath you went to read you book when it was pulled away from you and you met Damian's eyes.

"I'm your soul mate."

"Fucking shit."

Tag List:

@andromedaj2003 @thomasbeloved @instabull @zvtanna @daemonnix96 @krswrites @thefallingstarlight @masset-fotia

#drabble #batboys #batfam #damian wayne #reader #jon kent #colin wilkes #y/n #robin #reader x robin #damian wayne x y/n #y/n x damian wayne #reader x damian wayne #damian wayne x reader #requests #prompts #AUs #soulmate!reader #fem!reader #student!reader #reader x batboy #reader x batfam #batboys x y/n

[camilieroart]

Hiii

Sooo, since we have Donnie's and Mikey's stories and Raph's special interest in games, what about Leo? Any interest of his he thinks nobody likes to hear about?

Alsooooo if possible- and only if possible- and like- if it is not toooooo much to ask: I am invested in Mikey's and Donnie's stories now. Especially the series they are working on.

Okii love your work so much omg byeeee♡⁠(⁠>⁠ ⁠ਊ⁠ ⁠<⁠)⁠♡

COLORCODED TMNT AU MASTERPOST

Raph's info dumping under the cut

The coolest thing about that too is that they use the legends to reflect the country's it's from current state, like chinese mythology that is at war with japanese yokais, like not really a war but more like they don't like each other and whenever a chinese myth gets confused with a yokai they get super offended and that's so cool.

There's also this insistance that legends are just people doing their things you know like they're not evil or overpowered or hungry for power they're just people having a life and problems just some happen to look like a giant blob but that's just a guy.

Also mutants are a normal thing in this world like they live amongst the humans and it's normal, no one is freaked out or anything and the legends like that because whenever the less freaky one get visible people just think they're mutants and like it's normal you know ?

Also also, they worked on the society the legends have between each other and on their own turf oh yeah because also like each legend has their turf like yokais in japan and stuff that's super neat. It's not super touched upon just some background worldbuilding but it's so fun.

So yeah, the most developed inner society is Bang's and there's like a hierarchy he's trying to break down and Mikey and Don made up these super cool demons like the Curse Demons which are born from curses mortals put onto each other and once the job is done they go back to hell and also hell is not hell anymore, it's the After and that's so cool too how they de-evilize hell

(i think that was Mikey's idea, he wanted to focus on christianity because it's the first religion he found that hated some random people for just being themselves like queer people and he was like 'not in my house' and then created this huge worldbuilding out of spite)

no i'm not using raph to infodump because he's like me what are you talking about me ? i wouldn't

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt colorcoded #colorcoded au #colorcoded #tmnt raph #tmnt raphael #tmnt leo #tmnt leonardo #tmnt mikey #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt donnie #tmnt donatello #camilieroart

[viilpstick]

You must be asleep bc different from me you have a normal sleep schedule 😍 read this when you can anyway-- I'm having the fantasy au brainrot once again UGH. Love leobelle sm

•••

“If you keep sneaking in like this the guards will surely find you.” Isabelle said, not minding to stop her reading as the pirate captain made his way inside her room at the palace. He soon and without a care in the world sat down in front of her on another chair, taking off his hat and passing his hand through his hair.

“As if. And stop irritating me. Do you know how annoying it is to climb all the way up here?” He asked, Isabelle lifted her gaze, stared at him for a moment and chuckled, slowly turning the page of her book. “What?”

“Nothing. You look positively medieval in those rags.”

“As if you don't like that.”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes, but had an amused smile on her face. “I am engaged. I don't look at other men.”

“Yet you let me sneak into your room frequently very easily. Aren't you such a great fiancée?” Isabelle loudly closed her book and got up, a bit annoyed at what he said.

The worst part was that Leona was correct. She claimed she wanted to be the most faithful wife for her kingdom’s wellbeing but she couldn't help but let her emotions guide her everytime she saw the runaway prince’s face.

“It's your fault for running away and becoming a pirate. You could’ve been my fiancé in that guy's place."

“I thought you hated our engagement?” Isabelle glared at him and he smirked. Leona got up, walking towards the princess. “All I'm trying to say is you don't look as happy as you try to appear.”

“Wha- oh, please! And I assume you are? Being an outlaw and all?"

“Better than with my family, yes.”

Isabelle's eye twitched and she sighed, resting her back against the wall.

“What is it, Leona? Why did you decide to visit this time? You want supplies or something?” She asked, looking up to stare at the pirate. He walked in front of her, a hand resting beside her head, pinning her against the wall. She made sure to not let it show how it affected her.

“Not exactly.” The lion beastmen looked down, grabbing Isabelle's left hand and staring at her diamond ring. “I came to say this doesn't suit you.”

“It doesn't?” She laughed. “What suits me then?”

“My shirt, for once.” Isabelle took her hand out of his grasp and pushed him to the side, wanting to get out of his reach in annoyance as her face went red. Leona gently but firmly grabbed her wrist, making her look back at him with a frown. “Come with me.”

“What? Me? With you? Where?” She couldn't believe what she just heard. Was he really telling her to go with him and become an outlaw? To travel to unknown seas and lands and meet all sorts of different cultures? To find new customs and people? To see all types of legends and myths?

…She hated how appealing it sounded for her.

“Anywhere. We’re pirates, who cares.”

“No, no- you're a pirate. I'm- I'm a princess with a duty to fulfill.” Isabelle took her wrist out of his touch once more, her skin missing its warmth, but she refused to give in. “I am to stay here, marry and help my country prosper.”

“And be stuck with a boring prince all your life? Nowhere to go, just stay stuck here?” Leona refuted, walking closer to her, making Isabelle walk a few steps behind, anxious. “Would you really enjoy that?”

“H-hey, who knows! And he isn't that bad.” She tried to defend her fiancé, but both of them knew she didn't mean any of it. “He’s… ok.”

“You don't even love him.”

“Well, how do you know that?”

Leona stayed quiet for a moment, their eyes locked and Isabelle held her breath. Not once did any of them blink. He finally decided to have courage and speak: “because you love me.”

Isabelle widened her eyes, her cheeks growing red and she couldn't move. How did he- no, no. That was just a joke Adeline used to say, nothing more, nothing less. There was no way she was in love with a brute, brainless pirate. He was wrong, like he was with everything else.

But... other than a brute he was also soft. And held her like she was the most precious jewel. And looked at her like she was the only woman on earth. And kept coming back to visit her despite knowing he could get caught.

Goodness gracious.

“Just… come.” He grabbed her left hand again, using his free hand to take off her engagement ring and let it fall to the ground. He looked down at her expectantly. “Let's live an adventure.”

Isabelle looked around her, biting her cheeks as she was filled with doubts. She didn't want to let her father and her kingdom… but wasn't it an adventure all she longed for? Her entire life, wasn't knowing the entire earth what she wanted the most? And staying with Leona, wasn't that what her heart wished for everyday?

“Oh for goodness sake, Leona.” She scratched her head. Biting her lip. “Fine, ok! Let's go, before-”

And soon enough, his mouth was on hers, finally getting the confirmation his feelings were reciprocated. Isabelle wanted to push him away, they needed to escape quickly before someone came to check on her! …But just a few more minutes, maybe. Just one more minute, and she would let go. One more minute and she would take her hand off of his hair, one more and she would order him to take his hands off her waist and neck.

One more.

JESUS

ALRIGHT WOMAN LET ME BREATH

OMG THE END??? CHILLS. LITERALLY CHILLS.

THEY ARE SO IN LOVE. THAT IT ACTUALLY HURTS-

AAAAAAAAAA

#inbox 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ✧ #𐙚 moots ♡ #♡ ! mah #⋆ ࣪ 𖥔 . leona kingscholar #⋆ ࣪ 𖥔 . leobelle #⋆ ࣪ 𖥔 . isabelle

[telemna-hyelle]

Since it is WIP Wednesday I think I'll post a little bit of one of my current projects.

So some of you may have heard of The Saga of Hilda, aka my lorulian history focusing on the lorulian counterparts to the Chain?

This is about them! It's showing why Ravio was in Legend's house in Hoarder of Legend, and what was going on behind the scenes.

Explanation for the AU here X X

“Did… anyone hear a door close?”

It was Realm who said it. Not surprisingly, as in his world he had to always be on guard, listening for the sound of Miharu tech spying on him.

They all froze.

Sol scowled, orange eyes narrowing sharply. “Of course we have to be here on the one day that some idiot decides to break into the hero’s house.”

Magic cleared his throat, lifting one finger. “Technically,” he said, drawing out the word, “aren’t we breaking into the Hero’s House?”

“Of course not!” Myth said, perhaps a bit more breezily than he had the right to. “I have partial rights over this house.”

Ages turned to glance at Myth, carefully arching an eyebrow. “You tricked him into signing something, didn’t you.”

Myth’s gaze shifted to one side. “…Why are we standing around here when Mr. Hero’s house is being invaded?”

“Windows, everybody,” Sea said, picking up the Sovereign Blade from where he had leaned it against the wall. Swords was already moving in that direction, anticipating Sea’s order, and a moment later he let out a gasp.

“…Link?”

Myth changed directions from the original window he was headed towards, running over to where Swords stood. “Are you sure? You’ve never met—” He looked out the window, and a gusty sigh of relief whooshed out. “That’s not Link, that’s some other guy.”

“So it is a burglar?” Flame asked with a faint quaver in his voice.

Ages leaned forward to look, smiling and setting a firm hand on Flame’s shoulder as he did. “Even if it is, we have surprise, skill, and numbers. We can handle it.”

He then looked out the window, blinked, and frowned. “…doesn’t he look like you, Swords?”

“That’s what I was trying to say!” Swords’ voice was somewhat strangled with surprise. “He’s my Link. From the war!”

“Wait, really?” Sol leaned forward, once again taking advantage of the fact that he was the tallest. “…you’re kidding me, it is him.”

“What’s he doing here?” Myth yelped, his Sheerow leaping in surprise. “This is nowhere near his timeline!”

“Do you think this could be from the war?” Sea asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“…Maybe.” Swords said slowly. “But he looks… a little different than I remember. Almost… older?”

“Hey,” Lorule said quietly, “The little guy next to him looks a lot like One.”

Everyone’s gaze swung down to stare at their smallest member.

Their stomachs dropped when they saw the near-painful lack of a smirk on his face.

“That’s him.” One said quietly, glancing away to one side. “That’s the Hero of Four.”

Myth’s gaze bounced from Swords, to the Hero of Warriors, to the Hero of Four, and back to One.

Then he threw his hands into the air. “Just what in the love of silver rupees is going on here?”

Sea leaned on the Sovereign Blade, eyes sharp. “Maybe… if we’re going on an adventure across time and space… who’s to say our counterparts aren’t, either?”

There were a few brief moments of silence as the Ravios soaked this in. Some of them were awestruck, their eyes glittering with excitement at the thought of getting the chance to met their counterparts. A couple (Sea and Magic) were looking at One in concern. Ages and Swords, on the other hand, were giving Sol very careful looks.

Sol grinned, though the expression was sharp and not very pleasant at all. “So would you say the hero of Twilight is here?”

#the saga of hilda #linked universe #linked universe au #lu ravio #tellie writes stuff #my fanfics #wip wednesday

[antimonyandthyme]

the way I would pay you to write 5 million words of the sebchal vampire au dear GOD

Anon alas I fall short of the might that Georgia K has but IF I ever wrote 5 million words for the sebchal vampire au this is prolly what it’d look like…

Charles has walked the earth through civilizations. He’s older than he can remember. He thinks he saw the pyramids erected. He thinks he’s seen the fall of emperors. Events are blurring in his mind, as are faces. He may have loved once. He doesn’t let himself do so anymore. He understands the pain of forgetting a lover’s countenance, and would not wish that upon his deepest enemies.

Yeah, he still needs blood to survive. He’s adept at breaking into hospitals. A mentor might have called him too soft-hearted before. Dying in the sun is a myth, as are sparkles. The latest vampire fantasy stories always make him chuckle. Humans and their little tales.

To kill time, Charles picks up a hobby every century. After mastering every Chopin etude and Beethoven sonata, Charles decides he needs something new. In Monza he watches some funny looking cars zoom around a funny looking track. Huh.

He meets Sebastian. Oh, he’s fascinating. The man claims to have no interest in Charles, but spends hours giving him tips and helping him adjust. Charles likes listening to him speak. He lets Sebastian win all the challenges Ferrari make them do. Sebastian tries to pretend he doesn’t care. It’s endearing.

He gets careless, wanting so much to impress Sebastian. He gets loose with his tongue. It’s been millennia since he found delight in another’s presence, too aware of the mortality of their tiny, human existences. Seb walks into his motor home one day while Charles has his teeth in a hare’s neck.

Oh, here’s another feeling he hasn’t succumbed to in years. Fear. If Seb were to walk out of his life this instant Charles might just drive a stake through his undying heart. (It would not kill him, it would only hurt.)

Except Seb doesn’t scream. Doesn’t hurl abuse. He sits down and asks Charles for an explanation. Charles tries to encompass thousands of years of wandering into the span of a two hour long conversation. At the end, Seb cradles Charles’ cheek in his hand, says, “You must have been so lonely.”

Charles catches his hand and holds it there. “Not anymore.”

Seb designates himself as Charles’ blood bank. He goes to pet stores and convinces teenagers that he’s raising a family of rabbits. He becomes friendly with a guy named Randy. Here’s another new feeling — jealousy. Seb laughs until he falls over while Charles pouts.

It takes months before Charles can bring himself to feed from Seb. Each time Seb offers, his heart rate spikes and his sweat smells of terror and Charles would rather starve than subject Seb to that. But each time, Seb offers.

Charles takes when he wins his first championship. He takes Seb’s blood, given to him willingly. Takes Seb’s body, makes him moan and whine and beg.

Seb retires and becomes a farmer. A farmer! Charles didn’t think he could love him any more than he already does. He visits in between every race. Seb is his rock, the bookmark that details the centuries.

Years pass and time takes its toll on Seb. The lines around his eyes deepen. Charles remains the same as he always has. It doesn’t matter. Charles loves him all the same. He waits until Seb asks the dreaded question.

Seb does, after his fortieth birthday. Kind and unaccusatory, but still curious. “Why haven’t you changed me?”

Charles hangs his head. Every day he struggles with this desire, this thirst that is greater even than his need for blood. A companion. He’s a monster for even considering the option.

He says, “Because I would die before I subject the one I love to such an existence.”

Seb says, “But I would not be lonely. I would have you.”

Charles shakes his head. After all, Seb is only human. He does not yet understand.

(Anon I’m going to stop here before I drown you in sadness)

#athy texts #fanfic #rpf #sebchal #vampire au

[bambisgirl]

not just lovers — 06. soulmate coffee

previous | m.list | next

note: every chapter has small parts of social media for the sake of the story!

“two caramel macchiatos on their way right now! thank you.” you smiled at the little boy and removed the sweat off your hands on your apron before writing down his order. “one second, please!” you excused yourself and sprinted to the back of the café. 

“hee, there are like one thousand people here and even more waiting outside amongst all the paparazzis, i can’t handle this.” you sobbed, stressed, as heeseung raised his head in a second, seeing your teary eyes.

he was really focused as he was reading a book called ‘the art of making coffee’ and clumsily trying to make his own by mixing different flavors and spices.

“i got this!” he dramatically closed the book and came in front of you. “let’s get it!” he shook your shoulders. 

“wait, you can’t get out there. none of your bodyguards are here and everyone’s gonna go crazy if—“

but he ignored you as he stepped outside in front of all the customers. you immediately followed him and cringed so hard at the loud screams that were caused by your extremely famous friend. he was wearing a simple set of kitchen clothing on top of his blue hoodie and genuinely looked like a very skilled barista.

“good morning everyone and thank you for being so supportive even though we just opened today. me and this lady right here...” he quickly grabbed you by your hand and guided you in front of him. “...are the owners of this place. thank you for trusting us enough to visit our café and have a taste of our coffee! we’re going to try our best. please give a round of applause to barney, jay and sunghoon preparing the coffee you’re drinking right now until we actually hire some other people to work here; for miss dee that helped us redecorate this whole place — and for y/n, my best friend.” he smiled. “...and soulmate.” he continued softly only for you to hear.

“let me take a pic so you can remember the moment of your grand opening!” a guy with a giant camera approached the two of you. heeseung nodded happily, carefully placing his hand on your waist as he pulled you closer to his body. “say cheese!”

heeseung’s perfect smile covered half of his face and you quickly made an awkward peace sign. 

“you continue to take the orders while i’m gonna call some of my friends to come and help us. we can do it!” he assured you, his glare fully on yours. “by the way, sir, where did you get this giant camera from?” 

heeseung wasn’t kidding that day when he told you that all of his other friends were famous. by friends, he meant stray kids’ jeongin, just b’s lim jimin, treasure’s jaehyuk and your jaw instantly dropped when you saw all of the txt members hurrying inside your café using the back door that no one knew about. 

you came to the conclusion that your coffee shop was about to get highly well-known in a short amount of time. 

previous (we’re all in this together) | m.list | next (the end [not really])

PAIRING. idol!heeseung x fem!reader

SYNOPSIS. an old japanese myth once said that you’ll hear bells ringing when you and your soulmate meet for the first time. that’s what heeseung believed his whole life, not wanting to settle down for anyone else but his one true love. what should he do after he meets you in the most terrible timing possible and the universe keeps making you see each other every weekend? you just proved him soulmates aren’t just lovers, after all.

GENRE. soulmate au, strangers to (kind of) lovers au, idol au, short series, fluff, humor, slice of life, romance, hints of social media au

#kflixnet #ficscafe #enhypen #heeseung #enhypen au #enhypen smau #enhypen social media au #enhypen socmed au #heeseung smau #heeseung social media au #enhypen x reader #enhypen x you #enhypen fluff #enhypen imagines #heeseung x reader #heeseung x you #heeseung fluff #heeseung scenarios

[half-deadmagicperson]

And He Answered

Chapter 6

Words: 1384 (this chapter)

For @phicphight

Prompt by @erebecula (Mermaid AU, where instead of being ectobiologists, Jack and Maddie Fenton study wildlife from under the sea— specifically mermaids. Amity Park is next to multiples large lakes and rivers, the Ghost Zone is underwater, all the ghosts are mers, and Danny is struggling to find a way to explain his sudden aversion to any things water.)

This one is more to bridge over to more plot.

First | Prev | Next | AO3

   Danny held his new sword in glee. With a cheerful grin, he started thrashing it around to defeat an invisible foe. The blade felt less like a separate object than it did an extension of himself. It was perfect.

    The swirl of a whirlpool formed behind him as a figure floated through. A purple cloak flowed through the water, and a hand reached out to touch the young boy.

    "We meet again, Daniel," a smooth voice came from behind. Danny whipped around to find its source. Despite the boy's attempts to look threatening, the man couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression he wore.

   "You? You're the guy from my dream."

   "That I am, Daniel, you may call me Clockwork."

   "Princess Dorothea said you were a myth."

   "Sometimes myths have truth behind them. I do recall at one point you thought that mers were a myth, yet here we are."

   There were a few moments of silence while Danny was lost in thought. The young boy looked at the ground.

   "Why?" Danny's voice came out small. He looked up to meet Clockwork's red eyes. 

   "Why what?"

   "Why am I like this? Why did you make me like this?"

   "Well isn't it obvious? You'll understand soon. Hindsight is a powerful thing, Daniel. Everything is as it should be."

   Danny was left alone in the dome with his thoughts and a kickass sword. 

  A gasp and shatter of plates soon interrupted his thinking as he saw the form of a mer retreat through one of the whirlpools. 'What was that about?' Danny thought, forgetting about the fact he just pulled a King Arthur and removed a sword of destiny out of a rock. He should probably go home.

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

   The trip home was a lot less turbulent than the way there. Danny said good night to Cujo on his way to shore. He pushed his body onto the sand in a more secluded area of the beach. Jazz had hidden a bag of clothes for him in a bush.

   After drying off and getting changed, Danny trudged home, still carrying the sword. There's gotta be a way he could hide this thing. He couldn't exactly walk into his house with a magic sword gifted to him from the people his parents hated so much. 

   The sword must be more connected to him than he thought because it shrank into a bracelet. Danny held the metal up to inspect it. It was covered in mer runes which roughly translated to "Truth" or something. Danny wasn't too sure.

    He walked into his house and greeted his family. His parents apparently hadn't noticed his absence because they were too busy working on a new project. 

   "Check this out, Danno!" His dad said and held up a box, "It's a mer translator!"

   "That's great Dad," Danny replied, trying to sound excited.

   "That's great Dad, fear me!" An electronic voice repeated. Danny's fear levels momentarily spiked. Jack examined the box, perplexed. 

   "Guess there must be some bugs! Don't know why it'd think yer a mer!" His dad concluded before running the box over to the table.

   His mom walked up from the lab. She smiled once she spotted Danny. Ginger hair flowed out of her hood as she pulled it down to greet her son.

   "Oh Danny! Good you're home! How was your time with friends?" 

   "It was good. We got some Nasty Burger," Danny replied.

  "Did you feel that earthquake earlier? Apparently, it's been happening all over the world."

    That can't be good. This whole Bermuda thing must be bigger than he thought. Danny recalled to himself the large crowd from earlier. They were from all over the place, meaning the entire planet was being affected including the water. 

   Danny glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist. What did he get himself into?

   "I'm gonna go up to my room," he announced before storming up the stairs.

    Upon entering the room, he closed the door and started fiddling with his new accessory. How is he supposed to save the world? He's starting highschool in two days. He doesn't even know if he has proper powers or anything. Why couldn't it be someone who's powerful and confident? Why couldn't it be Important Lady or that buff dude? Why did it have to be Danny?

    Jazz knocked on his door. Danny got up and let her in. One look of concern from her was all it took for him to start sobbing. His sister pulled him into an embrace and whispered encouragements into his ear. 

    Once he was more composed, Danny explained his situation. He told her about the prophecy and the sword. He told her how he wants to help, but he doesn't think he's strong enough. The blue man (Clockwork?) had told him that all is as it should be, but Danny didn't feel that way.

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

    Danny felt better when he woke up the following morning. Most of his day was spent preparing for school tomorrow. Yesterday's events had forced their way out of his mind, until his daily swim.

    Today, Danny wanted to see if his parents' wetsuit material worked in terms of surviving the transformation. He was getting sick and tired of losing a bunch of shorts and tops. He ran into the water with his black and white outfit that Jazz helped him peice together. They had designed it to work with his fins, but also could cover him up when he got back to land. It looked more or less like a dress on him with the open back and the skirt-like bottom, but if it works it works.

    Once he reached the deeper water, his transformation came to a head. Good news! The new outfit worked. He rolled the bottom part up to make it more shirt length before going to find Cujo.

   He was surprised to see that Cujo wasn't the only one to greet him in Lake Amity. Princess Dorothea was stroking Cujo's head when she noticed Danny.

   "Greetings, Young One!"

   "Hello, Your Majesty," Danny replied with a small bow.

   "I came to inquire about your health. The tremors are said to be returning later this very day. The arch's will be closed soon, and I wanted to make sure you made it to safety.

   "Oh, uh, thanks for coming to check up on me! But, with as much as I'd like to go, I can't. I still have responsibilities here at home. I'm starting highschool tomorrow."

   "High School? Isn't that a land concept?"

   "Er, yeah. It is."

   "Then why must you do it?"

   "Because I'm not just a mer. I'm a land person too." Dora gasped.

   "How is that possible?"

   "I'm trying to figure that out myself. I think it was Clockwork, the blue guy with the purple cloak. He told me yesterday that everything was as it should be, but I don't see how this is how things are supposed to be."

   Dora recovered from her brief shock in order to tell Danny about the meeting going on in the dome. He agreed to go with her.

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

   The Important Lady with four arms approached the stage again.

   "Citizens of the Seven Seas and beyond!" Her voice was just as loud as the first time, "we are here today to announce our savior has been found!"

    The crowd roared and cheered. A sense of dread filled Danny as a young girl swam up to the podium.

   "This young lady here saw who pulled the sword out of the stone," Important Lady continued, Danny should really learn her name. The audience murmured as the girl went up to speak.

   "Last night I was bringing some plates to take over to me mum's in the Atlantic when I saw the stone was out of the rock," she started and pointed at Danny, "AND I SAW HIM WITH IT!"

    All eyes turned towards the poor, young boy. Danny swallowed hard. This is gonna be interesting.

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

   "Arise, Dark King, Arise!" A sinister voice spoke towards the recently opened gate. He squinted when he noticed a dark spot start to grow.

  "Oh, sugar cookie!" Was all he said before a stampede of undead pirates ran him over. A cackle came from the gate as a final figure slithered out of the prison. Pariah Dark was here.

#danny phantom #phic phight 2023 #phic phight #dp fic #and he answered

[lunarsands]

ALSMP Fanfic: Mirror Tenfold, Beyond the Wall - Ch 3

Characters: Scott Major, MythicalSausage, Shubble, PearlescentMoon; featuring the return of vampire!Scott but in an alternate way, and actual!angel!Sausage but cursed; with special guests Sparrow and Rusty the Copper Golem

Tags: Canon divergent, AU, crossover between two Afterlife universes, and New Life SMP thrown in for good measure

WARNINGS: Blood, Violence, Injury, consensual blood drinking, PTSD, mentions of death

Summary: The Mysterious Force that keeps picking people up and depositing them into alternate universes comes for Myth and Smajor this time, and plunks them down near a new set of counterparts -- well, new to Smajor. Myth has met this other version of himself once before, in a place called Sanctuary. At least now there's someone with ten times the number of powers to keep Smajor in check, right?

The vampire returns but he’s not going to want a taste of this type of angel blood.

Follows after the events of Thou, O Kings, Fair Be You All - Part Eight of the Soul Liminality Series | Part Four of the Reality Entanglement Series

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ Chapter One ] [ Chapter Two ]

---

Chapter Three

Sausage howled as he wrenched away. Myth went stock-still, continuing to hold the sword out but eyes wide as it registered to him what had just happened. He hadn’t even seen Sausage appear. The superhero clutched his arm as ichor began to seep between his fingers. “Yow!! What is that sword made of?!”

Still stunned, Myth stammered, “It – It’s because of your angel powers.”

Shubble ran over, Smajor’s face still held in one hand, but she removed the other long enough to shove Myth. “What did you do that for?! We never said anything about killing Scott!”

The cursed angel stumbled, but regained his balance and scowled back at her. She glowered in return; he put his arms down, signaling he wasn’t about to challenge her new appearance and revealed ability.

Smajor took the opportunity to flex his own night-granted strength and yanked at Shubble’s hand until he could get a glimpse of Sausage before she covered his eyes again; her hand landed above his mouth this time, so it was easier for him to say, “Him, too?! What in the Nether is going on here?! What, is this world connected to that limbo dimension, or something?! Why does everyone have extra powers? And why is everyone always luckier than us?!”

Scott dusted himself off as he joined the group. “I wouldn’t call this lucky. Or, maybe…” He turned to Sausage and lifted the superhero’s hand away from his injury, then placed his own hand over it. There were a few seconds where their breath was visible in the air, then Scott let go and stepped back. The wound had been effectively cauterized by his frost ability. “…Maybe I should feel lucky that Sausage here usually pulls his punches and isn’t really out to stake me through the heart.”

He then turned to Myth. “You would have, though. I could sense it.” He glanced to where the cursed angel’s sword was now lowered in uncertainty. Then he gave a sigh that seemed exaggerated, and he shrugged. “But it looks like the good guys won this time. I guess there’s only one thing left to do to continue protecting the world. Right, Sausage?”

He met the eyes of the rival he had just helped heal. Sausage gave a nod, then Scott snapped his gaze back to Myth.

The cursed angel felt his body be rendered immobile again, with tunnel vision causing him to be drawn into that unwavering gaze. Scott then began to duck down, going invisible but holding his stare in place this time. He wasn't fleeing. Myth attempted to shift his eyes in order to see how Sausage and Shubble were reacting, but… they hadn't moved. And not in the immobilized way that he was. They were waiting for something…

The attack came from the opposite side of where he had last seen Scott – a punch that numbed his wrist and made him lose his grip on his sword. Scott was visible afterward as he caught it when it dropped. He winced at the sting from the hilt. "Sausage!" he called out, then tossed the sword–

Genuinely tossed it, not thrown as if he had intended to strike the superhero with it–

Sausage fielded the catch with a wince of his own, then his eyes began to glitter from blue to white to an even paler blue, and back to white, continuing to do so as he brought up his other hand to pinch the edge of the blade with all five fingers.

The red sheen went dull, then flakes of brown and ashen black rained down off of it. It fully crumbled starting at the point on downward until the pommel disintegrated in Sausage's hand. His eyes then returned to normal. He gave a full-bodied shiver, then wiped his hand off on his hip. "And that takes care of that! Sheesh! You were going too far! Not every 'Scott' in the multiverse is like yours! Mygod."

Scott released Myth from his stare and calmly walked backward to stand next to Sausage – yet keeping watch on Myth just in case, holding out the possibility of being immobilized a third time.

Meanwhile, Smajor tugged at Shubble's hand again. "So, what was that about? Can't you at least tell me what's going on if you won't let me see for myself?"

Scott was the one to reply, "That was me having heard and seen enough to know you two are the greater danger around here. Tell me, fledgling, what were your actual plans if I managed to take down this unstoppable force of vengeance standing before us? We just unarmed him, but I can tell by his eyes that he's weighing his options."

Myth flared his wings, only to fold them all in tightly, then he sat down on the ground, placing his hands flat at the end of his thighs to show he had no intention of doing what Scott was implying. "You know your angel lore. Superhero over there didn't seem to consider that when he butted in the first time I met him."

Scott smiled sardonically. "It has been an interest of mine to study the machinations of the celestial realms, particularly angels. Your type is rare, but infamous. You're holding back, too. But maybe that's just a Sausage-esque trait."

Myth squeezed his knees. "I'm going to pretend I have no idea what you're talking about. Look, we had no say in coming here. All I wanted was to find him and drag him back home. You were the one foolish enough to turn him."

Scott shrugged. "I admit I was curious to see what might happen. Would this world make him exactly like me? Or would there be a different effect? It doesn't work on anyone like us or on the villagers. At first it seemed like it could be fun to see if Sausage wouldn't be able to tell us apart. But your version was obviously weaker."

"Hey!" Smajor protested. "You could have told me what these two were like!"

Scott uttered a brief chuckle. "Sorry. I thought it in my best interest to keep that information to myself."

Myth shifted to stand up, but when Scott's gaze instantly fell right back onto him – demeanor changing from calm to stern – the cursed angel resumed sitting. "Could I bother you lot to douse him in holy water, tie him up, and blindfold him to keep him from escaping? I know a way to get home – or at least a way to leave this dimension and put us where we won't be a threat to you anymore."

Sausage spoke up, "Oh, yeah, that Ancient City portal that you mentioned!"

"Yes," Myth said flatly, "Astute of you to remember."

Now it was Smajor’s turn to chuckle. "Oh, yes, let's do that again! I'll just follow our original path of destruction and find the way out! And you'll have to deal with finding me all over again, because we got separated when we entered last time, too!"

Myth scoffed. "Except I know exactly where the exit is, and can fly high enough to get there faster. I'll destroy all of the portals before you can reach them."

Smajor replied slyly, "But you would be dooming anyone from other worlds who stumbled in to be stuck there with us. That would be incredibly cruel of you, if what you really only want is to lock away you and me. But hey! That would give me plenty of enrichment, now that I have powers again!"

Myth scowled and mentally sank into himself for a moment, his gaze sliding to the side as he tried to think of a retort.

"So…" Shubble posited, "Does that mean we should go around destroying those Ancient City portals, so no one here accidentally enters one?"

"Maybe,” Sausage suggested, “We could just put up signs. Because destroying them all, um, is going to take a while, heh."

"Oh, definitely," Shubble agreed. "And I know where one city is, but there is a lot of Deep Dark out there. And what if someone with sculkborn powers decides to live in one of them? What if they don't want the, uh, ambience of the portal ruined? It would be pretty rude to do that– Ow! Hey!"

She abruptly yanked her hand away from Smajor’s face, because he had just driven his bottom fangs into the underside of her palm. He quickly contorted himself to get a proper bite on her other arm, causing her to loosen her hold. He slipped free, spitting – or coughing – out puffs of dark smoke as he started to run. Myth jumped to his feet and spread his wings to leap after him.

There was a crackle from overhead. Sausage raised one hand, but it wasn't lightning that hit the ground at Smajor’s feet – it was a concentrated funnel of holy fire, glowing nearly as bright as the lightning would have, but with slivers of white flame coming off of it.

Smajor cried out in sheer terror. He fell to his knees and hunched over, covering his head with his hands. They could hear him whimpering as Sausage dismissed the holy fire. While Myth went to retrieve Smajor, Sausage turned to Shubble. “Are you alright??”

Shubble rubbed her hand. “Yeah. All he got was a mouthful of shadowstuff. I mean, it hurt, but he wasn’t going to be able to do lasting damage.”

Sausage smiled at her, then gazed pensively toward where Myth was hauling Smajor back to the group. The defeated vampire kept his head lowered and seemed to walk along with an air of resignation.

A sound like the reversed shattering of glass caught everyone’s attention. Across the open space from where they stood, a rectangular portal with a frame made of crying obsidian appeared, its interior obscured by teal and turquoise swirls – or possibly flames. To either side of the portal were two multi-headed sunflowers, with each individual flower being a different color in the range of yellow, orange, or red.

"Huh," Sausage declared, "It looks like… you've got some help in getting home, without involving limbo dimensions."

"Seems so," Myth replied tersely. “Judging by that color, we’re heading back into our own sculk-infested depths. Fine by me.” He pulled Smajor along as he strode unwavering toward the portal.

Smajor uttered a disappointed whine. “Not by me. I don’t want to see you half-covered in a sculk infection again. You’re horrifying enough to look at already. Also, you might as well let me walk on my own. I know when I’ve lost. Again. I’ll be a good little prisoner and go ahead of you.”

“How about the same time?” Myth insisted, keeping Smajor right next to him as he stopped in front of the portal. He narrowed his eyes at the sunflowers, a bitter frown forming on his face. He spared a glance at the trio who still stood where he had left them. “Thank you for the help. I’d say you owe me a cursed sword, but I hope we never meet again.”

“Good bye!” Shubble called. “Good luck with your dark and brooding world-protecting!”

“Goodbye!” Sausage echoed, just as cheerful. “Sorry about the sword, but hopefully you’ll find a better way to be a guardian!” He waved, smiling broadly – then, as the two turned to face the inside of the portal, he zipped over in a blink and pushed them in.

As the teleport magic wrapped around their forms, he hauled around to the side and gave a mighty punch to a section of the frame, breaking the portal. He continued to pummel it; the ground trembled from the reverberation of the force being unleashed, until the frame was reduced to rubble.

The sunflowers had taken a few hits from flying debris but still stood. Sausage gave them a weary smile and a nod of thanks, then dusted off his hands as he walked back over to his friends.

Scott let out a relieved sigh, while Shubble grumbled, “You could have left something for me to shulk smash.” Then she sighed, too. “Well, that was intense! Hey, so—” She turned to Scott. “You called him unstoppable, but he seemed chill after you guys got rid of his sword. You made it sound like he still had a weapon.”

“If he had wanted to,” Scott explained, “He could have made quick work of all three of us by using that stuff on his wings. He can change the chemical properties of it – from harmless, if not icky, to corrosive. Even your invulnerability and Sausage’s durability wouldn’t prevent damage, but especially when applied to a weapon.”

“Oh yeah,” Sausage remarked, “He did melt through that guy’s magic bracer in the other world where I met him!”

Scott raised an eyebrow in interest. “I haven’t heard about this. I’d invite you in to tell me more, but, well. Vampire things have been going on. Maybe your place would be better.”

“Maybe neutral ground,” Shubble countered, her tone distrustful. “You sided with us this time, but how do we know you’re not just trying to lull us into a false sense of security, or something?!”

Sausage lightly squeezed her arm – the one that hadn’t been bitten. “Take it easy, Shub. I think we all got a lesson from this in villainy gone too far. But maybe we should chat right here – we can sit on the porch. It’s a long story, so you can hop inside if the sun starts to come up.” He tilted his head at Scott to acknowledge his weakness. “I don’t think there’s a comfortable spot in Heaven’s Reach for you to sleep away the day. No coffins laying around.”

“Fair point.” Scott’s confident demeanor slipped into awkwardness. “Look, Sausage… I know I got carried away at the beginning by taking your wings, and I’ve been an unashamed menace plenty of times, but I’ve never actually killed anyone, like those two. The villagers were fine after they recovered from a few bites, right? And, well…” He trailed off, not quite ready to say what else was on his mind.

Sausage put his hands on his hips. “Heh. I was wondering why you didn’t use your stare on Myth for long. Probably would have brought up some memories, huh?”

“Yeah…” Scott admitted. “He was also a lot more intimidating than you, though, even when you were in full angel-mode.” He softly cleared his throat. “Anyway, I think to reach a truce, I should say… Well, every hero needs a villain, so I thought I would give you one, just to go along with the fun you seemed to be having by fashioning yourself into a superhero.” He gave a genuine smile, his fangs withdrawn into regular, flat teeth. “I might consider switching to favor a different power so I can join your team for a while. We have a lot of Deep Dark to investigate, after all. One of my other powers might work better for that.”

Sausage grinned at him, then put out a hand to grasp Scott’s in comradery. Shubble shrank back to her usual size and added a smaller, shadowy hand over theirs.

~*~

Myth instinctively spread his wings out behind him as he felt a strange jolt go through the magic-infused air. Something had happened to change the teleportation. His next impulse was to grab Smajor with a tighter hold, but in the next instant he felt the other be torn away from his grasp. Myth swore and tried to peer through the swirling teal flames to try to spot him.

He had to squeeze his eyes shut a moment later as the flames changed to bright yellow. He could feel them growing hotter, as if they had changed into regular fire. As they licked at his feathers, he heard the sound of ichor sizzling. He relaxed his face while keeping his eyes closed. This is it. This is the fires of hell claiming me at last.

He was at peace with that. He held his arms out at his sides in surrender, allowing the fire to consume him. Whatever Smajor’s fate was did not concern him any longer. It was time to answer for his obsession with revenge.

When the sound of sizzling stopped it was replaced with the sound of a completed teleport. Myth peeked one eye open, then gawked. He was looking out through purple swirls at a taiga forest. He hastily stepped forward so he wouldn’t be snatched away again – to truly be dumped in the Deep Dark, but when he looked over his shoulder, he saw a regular Nether portal. He then stared, dumbfounded, for another reason. He had only one pair of wings now, and they were orange. A quick pat around the back of his head to check for his smaller upper wings to be sure ended up revealing that he now had longer hair.

Much longer hair. He pulled several strands forward and saw an orange ombre cascade to it, to where it was fiery-red at the tips. He looked around his body and found a smattering of small yellow-orange feathers here and there – some on his chest poking past the torn trim of his surcoat, a few laying against his elbows. He touched his face; the horizontal scars were still there, but their ridges felt less obtrusive. So, he hadn’t been completely remade, just… reborn.

Reborn through fire.

For a moment he pondered this turn of events and what it might mean for what he now was, if he was no longer a cursed angel – which should have been the end of the line.

Well, if a new world could grant Smajor abilities again regardless of the method, a new one could change him, too.

That meant he had best start finding out where he was, and who had built all of the things he could see nestled among the trees. He glanced up and carefully turned around to take in the complexity of the copper sphere that housed the Nether portal. When he looked at the rest of his surroundings afterward, the main feature in common seemed to be windmills. He caught the sound of clanking coming from one of the buildings. There was active machinery somewhere.

This was definitely someone’s home, and was still in use.

Myth spread his wings and gave a test flap. It felt a little strange to have only one pair, but the wingspan at least felt familiar. He launched off the copper sphere and flew in a small circuit to take in the lay of the land.

Motion by the door of what was likely the main house caught his eye. He cautiously glided down to perhaps find out more about this interesting new place.

At first Myth went on guard when he saw white hair, but the person’s tanned skin and even movements spoke against this being Smajor. They wore some type of short brown jacket with a furred collar over what might have been a jumpsuit, and had practical boots. They looked startled as he landed a meter away.

Which was a reasonable reaction.

“H–Hi there?” the person stammered. They squinted at him. “S–Sausage? Is that you? Uh – oh! Um, sorry for wandering into your house, you’ve been gone a while and I needed a couple of supplies for a project I’m trying to finish right away. I was short a few things and figured I could pay you back – you know, replace what I borrowed before you got back, or just give it to you when you returned.”

Myth decided to feign ignorance, and tried to make his voice sound less gruff. “Who is ‘Sausage’? I just got here. I kind of rose from the ashes of my previous life and I’m still getting my bearings.”

The person blinked at him. “Interesting. That might explain where he went… I didn’t know hybrids had a chance of losing memories between lives. …That’s something to add to my notes. Um, sooo, I’m Sparrow, and Sausage was a ghast mage who built up all the steam-powered machinery around here. I’m dabbling in building machines, too, and I knew he had plenty of resources stocked up, so I came to borrow some.”

Myth now attempted a curious tone as well as a little humor. “Is it borrowing if you’re using it for parts of something? I can’t imagine you would give back those specific pieces.”

Sparrow shot him an amused smile. “How very literal of you. By the way, do you mind if I ask what you are? Aside from very orange, which is a nice color.”

“I think… a phoenix. It really did feel like I was being reborn inside some flames. Can I ask what your powers are?”

“Oh, I don’t currently have any! I’m just a human who happened upon this place when my airplane cra—when I landed here due to running low on fuel. My plane is fine, I can take off again any time, really, I’m just very interested in exploring the land of the hybrids.” Sparrow then grinned. “I’m hoping to find a way to become like you hybrids somehow. I have some ideas.”

Myth grimaced internally, unable to avoid being reminded of Smajor. “Be careful what you wish for. You wouldn’t want powers that make things, well, unpleasant.”

“I’m taking the scientific approach, and also studying all the hybrids I meet, so I think I’ll have an idea about the potential dangers ahead. Maybe you and I could even talk more another time – if you happen to remember more stuff.”

“We could,” Myth replied, feeling a little guarded again. “I might, um… I might hang around here for a while, have a look at those machines you mentioned so that I can learn more, too. And if that Sausage guy shows up, I could talk with him, and… find out why we apparently look alike.”

Sparrow gave a sympathetic look. “Yeah, I hope you figure that out. If you do see him, tell him Sparrow said hi! Maybe I’ll look a bit different next time I see him, as well.”

“Take care,” Myth replied, somewhat hoping he sounded sincere. “And… try to be careful.” He watched Sparrow walk down to a small open-sided building with a pillar in the center that was topped by what looked like a purple enderpearl. Sparrow put their hand on the pillar, then disappeared in a flurry of particles.

“Huh. Some kind of local teleport device,” Myth reasoned out loud. He would take a closer look at it later. For now, he ventured into the house. A tidy kitchen that was absent of life greeted him, along with the sound of clanking from upstairs.

A slightly quieter, equally rhythmic clanking came around the corner, and a small copper construct with a bobbing antenna on top of its head looked up at him. A slightly-resonating robotic voice declared, "What’s wrong with you?!"

Myth took a step back. "Excuse me? You can… talk?"

"That’s an odd thing to say."

"Oh, you probably think I'm that Sausage guy, too."

"Are you sure about this?"

Myth stared down at the copper construct. "But you said something was ‘wrong’ with me, so I thought that meant you mistook me for him. Do you… have some kind of sensors, or instincts, for dangers like iron golems? I suppose that could make you a copper golem."

"That's an odd thing to say."

"Oh. You're broken. I guess that was bound to happen with your owner missing."

"What did you say?"

Myth sighed. "I don't know anything about machines, so I can't even offer to try to fix you. Look, if you can actually understand me, I'm going to lay low here until the guy who belongs here shows up so I can have a chat with him, and avoid mistaken identities. If you're in enough working order, maybe you can help me figure out what all the stuff around here is. I just… want to see if I can manage to live a normal life. Because, somehow, I've been given a third chance to try again."

The little copper golem's antenna bobbed up and down, then it said, "Are you sure about this?"

There was enough of a change in its tone for Myth to realize it hadn't been speaking like a broken record the entire time. "...Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay."

~*~

Over the next two weeks Myth managed to settle into his new surroundings. He found some new, if still somewhat ragged clothes that could withstand the little bursts of healing flames that he occasionally emitted. He studied the equipment in the buildings, slowly learning how everything worked by tinkering around and following notes left by the previous occupant. This also led him to find out the copper golem was named Rusty.

All of it helped take his mind off the fact that other visitors continued to assume he was the Sausage they knew – which he went along with by taking personality cues from the other versions of himself that he had met in the other worlds – and the fact that he had yet to have a run-in with that Sausage… or the other person who should have arrived here through the mystery portal.

He hadn’t gone down to the Deep Dark to look for an Ancient City portal yet; he was too weary to wonder if Smajor had escaped that way and was possibly now terrorizing a different world. Perhaps that meant Myth had completely failed his duty, but thinking about it only led to him zoning out, even while holding a wrench about to adjust something on one of the machines.

Rusty broke him out of it by wandering up and inquiring quietly, “What’s wrong with you?”

Myth blinked and looked down at him sadly. “Just thinking about my previous lives. I made some… choices that could have been handled differently. I can’t go back and change them now.”

“Okay.”

“Except I don’t know if I would have done things differently. I didn’t see the point in acting any different. That was the fate I was handed, what was I supposed to do about it?”

“That’s an odd thing to say.”

“Yes, well, it was all very complicated and I think probably beyond what you can process.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sure you don’t have any concepts of destiny rattling around in that metallic head of yours. I would tell you about it, but I should stop thinking about it, anyway.”

“Yes.”

Myth uttered a humorless chuckle. “You’re right. Let’s get back to fixing the input on this thing and get that windmill working faster.”

.

A little later on in the day he went out for a fly around as a habitual patrol to check everything before he took the evening off from tinkering. He spotted something unusual beside the barn and glided down to look closer. There was now a line of mycelium beside the barn wall, peppered with red and brown mushrooms, one of which had already grown taller than the rest. He was puzzling over how it had gotten there when he heard a noise from around the corner – where the mycelium seemed to be leading to.

It sounded like someone trying to stifle a laugh. Myth bolted around the corner, his feathers bristling and small flickers of flame jumping off his body. It was a chillingly familiar laugh, but maybe it wasn’t the person that the dread in his heart was assuming it to be. It could just be this world’s—

The hair was white and eyes red, although a darker shade than he had last seen. A red mushroom cap was atop their head, and they wore the trappings of someone who could be a practitioner of nature magic, right down to the flower-bedecked mossy shawl and the satchel at their hip where a multitude of mushrooms could be seen threatening to spill out.

But Myth recognized what lurked within those eyes, and the smug twist to the smile revealed they knew exactly who he was. His voice dropped to its former gruffness. “So, you did make it through, too.”

“Sure did,” Smajor replied in a sprightly tone. “But please, relax. I’m immune to fire, anyway. And I’m peaceful now! Because whenever I attack anything, Gaia or whoever takes my mana away as punishment, which could kill me if I lose enough of it, and I really like these powers! I’ve become one with nature again! Or at least with mushrooms.”

Myth narrowed his eyes. “If you try to throw spores at me, I can still incinerate those. Do you want to relive the time when I was a blazeborn?”

Smajor flicked his hand up and down in a shooing motion. “No, no. Honestly, I would have stayed far away from you, knowing your disposition. I only came here to talk, because we have a mutual problem.”

Myth folded his arms over his chest. “And that would be?”

“People keep mistaking me for this world’s Scott, saying they haven’t seen him in a while, and they’re happy to see ‘I’m’ okay. Well, aside from the mushroom presents I’ve left them, but that’s all in good fun! Aren’t my babies cute?” He leaned over to pat one of the small red mushrooms on the tip of its cap, causing it to abruptly grow taller. He grinned at the effect, then continued, “I’ve played along, because it’s been nice to not have anyone breathing down my neck. But I started to wonder: where did he go? And, if you also ended up here, where did your double go? Maybe we need to solve this little mystery – before anyone finds out we’re imposters.”

Myth stared at him, his brow slowly furrowing into a scowl. “No.” He turned and started to walk away.

“Hey – wait!” Smajor refrained from grabbing his arm, but hurried after him. “You’ve seen what happens when we’re at odds with our doubles – you had to have noticed that overpowered hero pushed us into the portal. Maybe we can avoid things like that this time?”

Myth kept walking. “I want nothing to do with you anymore. You’re not luring me away from the first scrap of peace I’ve had since meeting you.”

“I swear that’s not what I’m trying to do! What about this: everyone has been saying their Scott was a – a teleporter, or something, but still accepted me right away, as if it was normal that I don’t have the same hair or eye color as the last time they saw him. Has that happened to you? Did anyone mention Sausage was something else when they first saw you?”

Myth stopped short, the question hitting home as it made him recall how Sparrow had said they knew a ghast mage version. “Yes. Doesn’t change my mind. Go. Away.” He resumed walking.

“Hey, I’m trying to look out for you, too! Give me a chance! If you don’t want to trust me one hundred percent, fine, but I can’t exactly tell anyone about this, and—”

“—And you can’t fight off the hostile mobs because you’ll lose your mana or whatever. So, you need me to do the fighting.”

Smajor was now the one to abruptly halt. “U-Uh, I mean, yes I need a hand with possible danger, but the plan is to do some careful investigating first and try to track them down without rushing into—”

“’Track them down,’ huh?” Myth glanced back at him with an accusing glare.

“You know what I mean!”

“Yes. I know exactly what you mean. Get lost.”

“Come on! I like this new life, too! Give me a chance,” Smajor pleaded again.

“Maybe go find them by yourself, and do something that could be considered worth redeeming you for once. If you and both of them come back alive, maybe I’ll think about giving that chance. If they are the only ones to come back, at least I can finally rest easy. You never know what the temperament of either of them will be. Maybe they don’t like mushrooms.” Myth smirked.

Smajor scowled back at him, yet within his eyes was a… hurt look. “Fine, then. I’ll do it alone. I’ll prove it to you that… that I really am tired of all the death. I let the thought of having powers again go to my head in the last world. I’ve learned my lesson this time. I swear.”

“Swear on what? Your hundred-and-five lives? Your brief second life as a vampire? This new one? ON MINE?” Myth glowered at him, then crossed his arms again. “I’ll believe it when I see it. If you had gotten ten powers at once in the last one, you would have decimated me the instant you had a chance. We can pretend to be a part of this world all we want, but we’re both still the same on the inside. Now, I’ll only say it one more time: GO. AWAY.” He spun on his heel with finality to walk off.

Smajor clenched his fists, then yelled after him, “It–It’s your fault, you know! M-Maybe I wouldn’t have been so hungry to get powers again if you hadn’t completely taken mine away!”

Myth flared his wings wide, small bursts of flame shooting off of them. Despite his proclaimed immunity, Smajor cowered and backed up. Myth glared at him over his shoulder.

Smajor found his nerve again. “Y-You don’t know what it’s like! Waking up one day and feeling nothing. No unique energy in your veins or any connections to the natural world dancing through your brain!”

“But I do know,” Myth growled, pivoting to face him and stomping toward him, looming tall, making Smajor retreat a few more steps. “That’s how I felt, after months of you draining my blood, locked away from the open sky and light of day. You get what you give. Don’t you dare try to convince me to sympathize with you now!”

Smajor averted his eyes for a moment, then rustled up a scowl. “Well, you don’t know what it’s like to start out life as a tiny, delicate bug, and then suddenly become stronger than you’ve ever felt before, and able to do more than you could have dreamed of in your tiny little life! It was intoxicating!”

“So, you’re saying the power went to your head the first time, too? And you decided to lord that power over me? I had no quarrel with you as a mothling!”

“You… were a light I couldn’t ignore,” Smajor grumbled. “And then you were a beacon of brightness disrupting the glorious darkness, and I was driven to blot that out.”

“You made a choice,” Myth snapped. “And now so am I.”

“Do you at least have any clues that you’ve found? I’ve got a possible lead, but anything would—”

“NO.” Myth emitted spits of flame again. “Get off my land, or else I swear—”

 A new, cheerful voice piped up, “Having a little argument, are you, boys?”

Myth twisted around with a shocked expression as he recognized the voice. He hadn’t heard it in such a very, very long time. Only Smajor heard his weak whisper of, “P-Pearl?”

They both then looked down incredulously at the chipper figure resembling a copper golem who approached them. “Hey, Scott! Hey, Sausage! Sparrow said something about you losing your memory of being a ghast. How are you feeling now? Anything come back to you yet? I might have something that could jog your memory.”

“I – um – no,” Myth stammered. His fury had been defused by her arrival. “We were, uh, just disagreeing on a matter of memories, actually. Scott was about to leave anyway, so… Um… W-We can talk if you want, Pearl.”

“Oh, perfect!” she exclaimed. “See you around, mushroom man! And don’t go putting any more mycelium close to my wheat field! I need that for mud bricks.”

Smajor sketched a bow. “Oh, I’ve placed down all that I needed to get my boost when I visit! If it happens to spread, it isn’t my doing! Must be Gaia’s will! Bye for now!”

Myth couldn’t help himself from throwing one last annoyed look in Smajor’s wake, but it softened to reluctance as he looked down at Pearl. “So, uh, what do you have to show me?”

“Is there a flat wall around here without any vines on it? I’ve got a photo to show you.”

“Photo…?” Myth peered around at the nearby buildings, then simply moved closer to the barn and reached up to pull some of the greenery off to make room. “Is… that enough space?”

“You silly sausage. You didn’t need to ruin your lovely decorations.”

Myth glanced at the cluster of vines and blossoms in his hands, then said absently, “They’ll… grow back.”

“All right. Now, let me see if I can get this to display properly.” Pearl hopped upward a few times, trying to stick a picture frame onto the wall. “Gosh. I keep forgetting how difficult it can be to do things when everyone else has built things so tall. Give me a hand?”

Myth hesitated, then lifted her and held her up to where she could reach a higher spot on the wall. The frame stuck in place as she intended, then she took something else from pocketspace and whacked it onto the frame, where it spread to fill four times the space of the frame itself. Myth stepped back and carefully put Pearl down.

“There! See! It’s us, from when you were a ghast mage! Look at your bland umbrella! You always had to go running from the rain, because ghasts aren’t waterproof. I don’t do well in water, either, so we both stayed away from it. I think I heard phoenixes can stand water better, so if you haven’t been in the rain since changing, it wouldn’t have brought up that memory.”

Myth gazed at the version of him from this world. The ghast mage wasn’t quite smiling, but there was something about the photo that conveyed the sense he was happy to have Pearl beside him. “I’m… sorry, Pearl. It’s… It’s not reminding me of anything. I… don’t remember when this was.”

Pearl patted his leg. “It’s okay, buddy. We’ll sort out what happened to you in time. It’s just nice to have you back.”

“Y-Yeah…” Myth’s voice broke. “Th-Thanks, Pearl. I’m – um – I’m going to get back to a thing I was working on. Need to, uh, have a mining session, too. Sparrow borrowed some stuff from me and hasn’t paid me back yet, so I’m just going to get more myself.”

“Do you want me to come along? I’ve got great radar for finding ores!”

“Maybe next time. I need to think about some things Sm-mushroom,” he quickly amended, then forced out an awkward laugh. “Sorry, that’s all he makes me think of now. Things Scott said, so I won’t be very conversational.”

“Okay. Well, holler if you need me! And grab me some copper while you’re mining. I can always use more!” She scurried off, leaving the photo behind.

“I’ll see what I can find. Bye, Pearl,” he called after her, then whispered, “Someday I’ll see you again, Pearl. I’m sorry if I let you down…”

~End~

---

[Post-A/N: Will Smajor find the supposedly-missing original Scott and Sausage of the New Life world? Will Myth change his mind and help him? And what will they do if the truth is revealed, exposing them for who they really are? … I don’t know yet, I only thought of these questions as I wrote the ending :D I’ll leave this open-ended for now, since ideas keep coming up when I’m working on other WIPs!]

---

[Post-Post A/N: An anon on tumblr asked what Myth’s Pearl would think of his descent into becoming cursed, and I had to ponder the answer since the full “goddess and her favored angel” dynamic was more like a cameo in Witherrise and hadn’t been a big part of the story until the Soul Liminality 2 version came along. So, here’s a tiny glimpse into his current feelings about that!]

#alsmp #alsmp fanfic #mythicalsausage #scott smajor #shubble #pearlescentmoon #new life sparrow #dangthatsalongname #owengejuicetv #soul liminality #x10variant #and I guess also #nlsmp fanfic #lunar yarns

[oreozfox]

WIP Weekend (Look, it’s the weekend SOMEWHERE) Challenge

@hilarychuff I love this idea sm! I saw this on @beholdthemem 's page and figured I might as well give it a whirl!

All righty, so here are the RULES:

in a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

post a snippet from one of them. snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. we’re posting progress here. if you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

after you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. you must then write 3 sentences in that file. if the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

that’s it! you can invite others to join in, or just post. if you tag me in your post, i will send you an ask request!

My WIPs are either from different fandoms or my own original stories. I'll specify what each is from!

What Lies Ahead (Obey Me dating sim)

The Makeout Scene (a currently untitled book in the original series I'm writing, the @hyweluniverse )

Lonely Jim and the Myth-Protectors (another book in the same series)

Anita and the Werewolf Manuscript (yet another book from the series)

The Sight Prologue (Warriors AU/Rewrite)

Snippet from Anita and the Werewolf Manuscript:

“You don’t think I’ll mess up?”

“Of course not,” Anita said with a smile. “You’re the most trustworthy boy I know. Make sure they all know that.” She then turned her gaze to Nico. “Nico, make sure you and Toni don’t give your teachers too much grief.”

Nico scoffed weakly, but couldn’t suppress his teary sniff that knocked loose the pools in his eyes. Anita felt her heart break and stood at once, pulling him tight against her.

“Oh, Nico, my Nico,” she whispered into his hair, short but otherwise like their father’s, “I love you so much.”

Nico just sobbed, burying his face into her collarbone as he trembled in her arms. Anita shushed him softly, the same way she had since he was a baby, and stroked his head.

-

If you read this and have WIPs, consider yourself tagged. Share your work! (No pressure tho, I just want you guys to have an excuse to talk about what you’re working on. We’re interested!)

-

Thank you for the opportunity! I hope you enjoy this!

#writing #oreo writes #oreo crunches

[gamerbearmira]

BatB AU: what cryptids/myths are the Madrigals now? For Isabela, I'd like to suggest la Madremonte. It's basically the Colombian mother nature myth(I think). And moths have wicked hearing so maybe moth girl for Dolores? It maybe something bat-related, since they're sharp-eared too. Minotaur for Luisa? She's probably one of the more docile ones... How wild is everyone? And how friendly?

Ok the ones you have so far are good! So. Yeah.

Someone before mention Antonio would be a chimera of sorts so there’s his :))) Camilo, maybe a kitsune of some kind, seeing that those creatures can shapeshift pretty freely. Pepa is some sort of cloud being, with her emotions basically affected her body and the surrounding area. She’s literally made of clouds. Fèlix is sort of like a sun/light being??? Can’t look at the dude for too long,especially when he’s super happy,he’s way too bright. I don’t know sun and clouds are so cool though.

Julieta is some kind of. Frankenstein like being??? Stark contrast to her gift, but I love irony. Undead/Stiched together healer haha. Agustín, idk why but that mfs gives me swamp monster vibes. Why you ask?? He’s always tripping over stuff, and if he was covered in vines/seaweed, swamp material etc etc, he’d be trippin over that too.

Bruno is. Idk. A yeti mix. Shiiiii with those mfs living in the mountains and Bruno being a little distant (but not as much as before,only a tad bit;he feels like heshould’ve saw this family, but the family assures him it’s not his fault…except for Alma, she plays victim card a little too much in this AU…) idk 😭😭😭I’m clueless on Alma 💀💀

As for the more wild ones, def Camilo, Antonio and possibly even Agustín. Antonio and Camilo for obvious reasons, Agustín cause he can’t not move, and he somehow always ends up in the most random places. No one knows how, he just does. Kinda freaks them out but they can’t do much about it.

And like the og movie, they’re all very openly friendly to Mirabel, even Isabela. She left when she was 5, and they were cursed at that time as well. They didn’t have any kind of way to grow distant with her. Had no reason to hate her; in fact they missed her, greatly. She was always such an optimistic little girl, and the family wished that she stayed, so that even if they’re cursed, they could find some kind of hope and happiness in Mirabel, because she saw the best in everyone.

And Mirabel, while spooked first, eventually (very quickly, actually) is just as welcoming to them. One might think they would blame Mirabel for the curse but they actually blame Alma. Mirabel was 5, and Alma was the one who kicked her out, so it’s Alma’s fault. Casita is even very expressive when Mirabel is around, and if Casita likes her, the family has no reason not to like her. Alma is the only one who has a problem with Mirabel right out the gate, but it gets better over time.

They treat her like family, more than anyone outside Casita (not including Agustin’s parents). And she likes that, she knows that they didn’t mean for her to be thrown out like that. She knows they didn’t intend for her to stay out of Casita; in fact most of them had been informed that Mirabel had simply been taken out of the house for a little while, and Alma was going to put her in her own room once it was mad, til she officially announced Mirabel wasn’t gonna come back. Hence why the family is a little rocky around Alma, but they don’t objectively hate her. They’re more disappointed and upset if anything.

Can you guys tell I’m way too invested in this AU.

What hast thou wrought upon me?

#encanto #my asks are open #my asks #encanto au #au #encanto mirabel #beauty and the beast au

[fandoms-of-a-random-existence]

Do you have any OCs? feel free to talk about them if you do

What was the first piece of media you engaged with on the internet? Are you still interested in it?

What's something you made or did that you're proud of?

What's something that made you smile this month?

Hiiii!! It's been a while, how's it going?

Anyways! My OCs! ...admittedly I have not been thinking about them for a while now as my brain has been very preoccupied spinning the characters from the Kings in the Corner server around and only Raevyn is actually my character but. Wah. <-is currently drawing thematic art for that one. I'm so normal really-

I'm not going to get too into as it's almost midnight while I'm typing this and I do need to be packing hudjkhdskhfcs but! A silly whimsical little guy who is 6'4 and wears platforms and has horns and a tail and slit pupils and black sclera and wings technically and pointy ears and sharp teeth and wears really fancy clothes all the time and has glowing star-freckles from the time their little gayboy (who is the worst guy ever /aff) gave them literal stardust to drink and who is also deeply traumatized from the decade spent as a lab experiment. I would like to once again reiterate for any kitc-goers reading this post: I'm sorry I really don't mean to be evil it's entirely accidental- but besides that! That one is so gender to me <3 Bearer of the Baked Goods my beloved <3 They spend so much time sleeping in trees,,, (gay person dreams. their little gayboy is a dreamwalker) and singing and they've fallen into a lake twice offscreen and walked around tracking water. It was part of the original group who who went up to the King of Diamonds and called him bitchless to his face <3 I love thinking about their biology (I am admittedly the embodiment of all the mad scientist that made their childhood terrible-) and they do magic sometimes and made potions that turn people into cats and-

Well! That's enough rambling for now!

The first media I engaged with on the internet,,,, a very good question given that it's been a decade since then... I think it was Percy Jackson? Either that or OHSHC. Both of which still have a fond place in my heart but I don't really actively seek out content anymore alas

I'm actually really proud of some of the art I've managed to do on my phone! Insane to me that people actually can use their fingers to draw that well (Yes. Luxray, if you're reading this, I'm talking about you /pos) and I tried it out and it didn't go terrible!!! actually here have this thing I did for the Greek Myth AU Raevyn (kitc my beloved. the au server has so many aus and no sign of stopping and it's glorious. we are all deranged /pos) and. I keep looking at it. what do you mean I did this on my phone with my own hands. Girl (gn) what-

Something that's made me smile this month,,,, honestly a lot of things! A very large amount of them from the kitc server <3!! but also! A friend of mine drove us to I-Hop and pancakes tasty <3

anyways can you tell I have brainrot? because I have brainrot. Have a nice day!!

[ashtxrie]

HAI ASHHHH!!!

first of all can u pick a random greek myth.... any of them u want..... smiles devilishly as i push a strand of hair behind my ear... 😈

second i have an english presentation tmr. wish me luck!!

third im once again in my hater era bc tell me why this kid from freshman year is telling ppl that i am a pick me girl. first of all i am a girl kisser i do Not engage in pick me activites. second... WHO EVEN IS THIS GUY?? everyone knows him as the guy who smells like piss and cologne but other than that i dont even remember how he looks like... like if ur gonna come for me at least be relevant. EYE ROLL

also its lowk getting severe bc i went outside today and i first thing i thought was "what if ash litereally just walked past me and i didn't know" ur on my mind 24/7 fr

xoxo vanya kisses your forehead

HI VANYA i’m actually so excited w what ur gonna cook up because HOW DID YOU KNOW i went through the most severe of greek mythology phases for a solid 5 years of my life…

i’m gonna go with eros and psyche!! their story is lowkey so interesting.. (though the best version is still the one from percy jackson's greek heroes)

good luck with your english presentation omg i bet you’ll do great !!! spring break is ending for me tomorrow and i am Not ready to put myself back into academic settings…. please like i just want to watch my silly little enhypen tiktoks <//3

and who is this dude…. the audacity??? why is he starting things…. why does he think he’s the shit 😐 that’s kind of embarrassing for him !!

to your last statement,, you’re so real for that because every day i go what if i did something embarrassing and vanya saw me oh my god 😭 we need that high school au classmates! ash + vanya interaction

#— ash’s mailbox! #from : vanya

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Bloody Valentines

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Young Justice 98, Titans, GL Corps, Legion of Super Heroes, Flashfam, New Gods

Summary: 90s vampire slasher AU

Chapters: 4/?

Characters: Dick Grayson, Joseph Wilson, Jason Todd, Charley Parker, Zatanna, Eddie Bloomberg, Daniel Cassidy, Chester Williams DC, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Lilith Clay, Raven Roth, Kole Weathers, Bette Kane, Donna Troy, Roy Harper, Jenni Ognats, Bart Allen, Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Ayla Ranzz, Zoe Saugin, Rol Purtha, Darla Aquista, Lori Zechlin, Hal Jordan, Helen Jordan II, Orion DC, Lightray DC

Relationships: DickJoey, Daniel Cassidy/Zatanna, Jenni Ognats/Virgil Hawkins, Raven/Lilith Clay

Additional Tags: POV First Person, Unreliable Narrator(s), Vampires, No Capes AU, 90s Slasher AU, Homoeroticism, Horror, Slasher

Chapter Four: The Figure in the Dark (Guy's POV)

Kyle was a sweet guy, but he could be an airhead sometimes. We had to stop twice because Kyle forgot his first aid kit, road trip lunch, and palette. So, we went to a store outside town where he spent half an hour flirting with the counter girl. I had to practically drag him away. It bugged me sometimes, but I wouldn't want to vacation with anyone else. He'd been through a lot in the past year, and I wanted to give him a nice weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city. That, and I thought he'd want to see the lighthouse there. He liked stuff like that. We got to our cabin at sundown, and Kyle insisted on investigating a light he saw in the distance when we passed the beach. I grabbed a flashlight, and he grabbed a pack of franks on the way out the door. "Why are you taking our weenies to approach the ominous light on the beach?" I whispered.

"Don't call them weenies, Guy," Kyle mumbled as he shook his head in disgust. "And... I think I see a mini skirt in the distance-."

"Is that all you think about?" I interrupted. "You ever heard of Fatal Attraction, Kid?"

Kyle chuckled and ran ahead of me. I followed close behind and flashed a light on a few people standing around a bonfire on the beach. "Sorry, can't hear you over the babes, the beers, and the bonfire. Oh my! Does anybody like hotdogs?" Kyle questioned.

A guy came around with roasting sticks, and I admitted defeat. I roasted weenies and cracked open a beer. I glanced up at the stars from a beach chair. Kyle plopped down next to me, his skin touching mine. Cold. He'd been cold since I met him. "You okay?" I asked. Kyle shivered and nodded.

I grabbed a blanket off the back of the chair and draped it over him, and he insisted on sharing the blanket with me. "It's okay. This is a gay beach," Kyle whispered.

"A what? Kyle, that's not a thing," I replied, "Besides, we aren't a couple."

"Yeah, but if it's a gay beach, it doesn't matter if it looks gay. I'm cold, and you're warm, and I wanna share this blanket with you," Kyle explained.

"Kyle, you do things that seem gay all the time. I thought you were gay for the longest," I confessed.

"Name one gay thing I've done," Kyle commanded. He wasn't going to let it go. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut.

"You once described one of your male friends as divine art in motion while admitting that you'd date him if you were a woman," I answered. Kyle opened his mouth to protest, but he knew I was right. "Most of your friendships seem homoerotic, but I don't mind. You care about people, and you shouldn't change that for anybody. And it's the nineties. Being in touch with your emotions is cool now."

"I forgot you never lie about anything," Kyle replied as he took my beer. He took a sip and glanced upward. "You know the constellations. Right? You used to teach them to the kids."

"Tonight, we have Delphinus. Delphinus is the dolphin Poseidon sent to fetch Amphitrite in the myth," I described. Kyle poked his lip out and nodded.

"And you just know that? Like, you can look and tell?" Kyle asked. I nodded. "That's so cool."

"Thanks," I replied, "It's never gotten me laid." Kyle's eyes widened, and he looked at me for a response. "I'm serious."

He laughed and bit his lip. "That implies you've tried it on someone before," Kyle chuckled.

"I have," I replied.

"Listen, if it makes you feel better, I'll fool around with you for sharing your astronomy knowledge," Kyle teased. I spit out my beer. "Top of the clothes action only... Unless you take me somewhere nice first."

"I did take you somewhere nice. There's a lighthouse out this way and everything," I replied. Kyle laid his head on my shoulder.

We sat on the beach for an hour before returning to our cabin in the dark. I let Kyle use the shower first while I made something to eat. Real food. Not hotdogs. Kyle came out in time to eat with me and offered to wash the dishes for me after. I nodded and took my shower before heading off to bed.

Then, the strangest thing happened. It started to rain. No. Not rain. It stormed. Thunder, lightning, hail. The whole shebang. Kyle knocked on my room door, and I let him in. "I'm not scared," Kyle whispered. Then thunder boomed so loud it shook the cabin, and he damn near jumped into my arms.

"Scared of a little thunderstorm?" I teased.

"No! I'm not scared... I wanted to check on you," Kyle lied, "And since you're obviously terrified, I insist on sleeping in here tonight to protect you from this completely harmless storm."

Kyle jumped into my bed, and I smiled, shaking my head as I joined him. Lightning flashed, and he hid under the covers. "Sitting on a mattress is one of the safest things to do during a thunderstorm," I whispered before turning on my side.

Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and I swore I saw something standing outside in the rain. I flipped over lightning fast and knocked foreheads with Kyle. "Jesus!" Kyle cried out as he clutched his forehead.

"Did you-. Did you see that?" I asked.

"You conking me with your big ass head? No! No, I didn't see that," Kyle snapped as he rubbed circles in the center of his forehead.

"Sorry... But did you see the guy outside? Or maybe it was a chick... I dunno," I whispered as I made eye contact with him. I was scared to look at anything else.

Kyle sat up, and lightning flashed again. He ducked down and grabbed my hand. "Well? Did you see them?" I asked.

"I don't remember," Kyle whispered. We didn't say anything after that. I think we were both scared shitless. Kyle fell asleep after that, but I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to cut and run. Kyle tossed and turned, whimpering and moaning as if something hurt.

"Kyle... Kyle, wake up," I whispered.

He opened his eyes, and when he saw me, he shoved his face into the pillow and started sobbing. "I know I'm no Mr. Universe, but-. Jeez, Kid..." I sat up and rubbed his back. I knew he had a lot of traumatic stuff happen to him over the years, but I had no idea he was so messed up.

Kyle cried until he fell asleep, and it was forgotten. I would've fixed everything broken in him if I could've. Kyle was a good person. He might've been a flirt and an airhead, but he was compassionate, forgiving, and one of my best buds. He slept like a baby after that, and the rain eventually stopped.

#fic #bloody valentines fic #Guy Gardner #Kyle Rayner #gl corps #POV First Person #Unreliable Narrator(s) #Vampires #No Capes AU #90s Slasher AU #Homoeroticism #Horror #Slasher

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

i've been trying to work on getting more specific about criteria i set my boundaries around and adjacent--namely around actionable behaviors as opposed to just things that tend to be accompanied by them, like 'if you engage with me to argue whether a dynamic i consider to be abusive is actually abuse i will block you' instead of just 'if you don't think [X specific dynamic] is abuse DNI.' but man sometimes there are things that are context-specific enough that if you don't specify that particular instance people are unlikely to know what you're talking about.

('if you call pericles a nazi i will block you for holocaust denial, [short summary or link to explanation]' is a personal example that comes to mind. i can name the specific shitty trope--'The Nazis Were Gay is a homophobic myth and it is holocaust denial, cut it out'--but if someone hasn't already made that connection with pericles, they are..... probably not going to unless you lay it out yourself. and it will probably involve a Lot of Context when your DNI is really just not the place to stop for a thousand-word essay about the tropes and framing and character dynamics in a piece of media, even if it's something you're happy to infodump about elsewhere.)

('if [criteria relating to the All Germans are Nazis trope or nazis otherwise getting thrown in for bad guy shock value] i will block you' i think gets closer to the broader issue--because hoooly shit there is so much nastiness that inevitably comes with, once again usually holocaust denial--but i don't even know where i'd start with framing that. 'if you do/don't engage critically with [X]' is a nothingburger and it's worse than useless. but like, chances are VERY good that if your policy is not 'look real fucking hard at the presence of nazis in a piece of media, what it means relative to the other elements of the story, whether invoking them is appropriate or even relevant, and the author's intent in doing so' you are going to have takes i do not want to engage with and think are really shitty to spread.)

and there's also not much nuanced shorthand language around for things like 'if you have [opinion] and didn't realize why it might be shitty before seeing it pointed out, i'll be understanding of that, but if you're going to double down when it's laid out in front of you i will block you.' or, for that matter, 'if you make unsolicited comments about my abuse history while discussing fiction i will bite your fucking head off and post about it publicly on my blog, with url attached. if you don't want that then stay off my goddamn posts and mind your business.'

there's also a really important distinction, i think, between the contexts in which you're laying these boundaries. you can't expect every rando who reblogs a post of yours that got big to click through and read through every single boundary you have to make sure you won't block them, but if they're going to follow you it is much more relevant to them to know if they'll just get blocked (or decide they want to block you). and some person following you to occasionally reblog aesthetics or fanart from a distance is a different level of engagement than someone who might take part in meta discussions on your posts, or draw fanart of your AU, or get in contact with you outside of the platform where you met to make friends. it's reasonable to have different expectations for strangers on the street, people you run into at the coffee shop now and then, and people you invite over to your house.

like.... in general i feel like DNI is just not the right name for it, because that presents a binary that might not always fit. if someone has an opinion i'm bothered by and don't want to engage with directly, but will go 'oh, huh i didn't think of it like that' when seeing an explanation from the outside, that's not a 'never breathe in my direction again' offense to me. if anything i think most people are basically decent and would like to be decent, and it makes me happy to be able to provide someone with the perspective to make an informed choice for how to do that.

as it is you're just kind of boxed into the corner of FUCK OFF GTFO GO AWAY, which is even more unhelpful when it comes to communicating criteria where you Really Fucking Mean It, like 'if you think it's acceptable to tell someone to kill themself then fuck off, fuck all the way off, stay the hell away from me.' that 'gtfo or don't' binary takes away the capacity for that emphasis, and honestly also contributes to the extreme black-and-white toxicity of fandom and internet spaces in general this past decade or so. if 'didn't pick up on a subtle depiction of abuse at first and was kind of insensitive about it' and 'literal suicide baiting' are exactly the same degree of Bad, then either the suicide baiting seems trivial, or people are going to feel Attacked and like they must be a terrible person for any slightly imperfect good-faith thought or opinion they might have, or have just not thought through.

in the latter case, even if they end up going with the Other Opinion(tm) because feeling attacked put them off, fandom these days is a nightmare of systemic abuse which weaponizes that binary. seeing it replicated even from people who are trying to push back against it--even if it's because those people have been pushed into a corner and aggressive Get the Fuck Away from Me is, understandably, all they have left--just reinforces that there is no other model for this, that the abusive framework for how to navigate the world is all there is. i hate the idea of contributing to that, and i wish i weren't having to feel out the alternative by myself while already being so goddamn burned out on the whole thing.

and like.... i think 'boundaries' as a term is definitely getting warmer, but by itself doesn't quite communicate its nature as a Thing for the specific purposes of navigating socmed spaces. just. hm.

#whosebaby talks #i have a lot of thoughts about DNIs and i feel people on both sides of 'should they be a thing' discourse flatten out critical nuance here #don't get me started on 'lololol the [people you want to stay away from you] aren't gonna care about your DNI' #like yeah there are plenty of assholes out there who are shitheads about basic etiquette when you can't physically enforce boundaries #if you have a shitty roommate who tries to talk to you through the door while there's a sock on the doorknob #or constantly steals your food out of the fridge #it's not stupid or pointless to say 'don't knock on my door while i'm having sex' or 'don't eat all my food'; and expect that basic decency #because you can't literally padlock half the fucking fridge shut? or set up electric wire in a 5ft radius around your door when you fuck? #mayhaps we should not set the bar for basic interpersonal interaction and participation in society #at the level of what determined bad actors can logistically get away with? #just a thought! just a thought. anyway #the salt files #antis cw #abuse cw #suicide baiting cw #nazi mention cw #holocaust mention cw #i wish every day that the fuckin fandom had not made it necessary for me to mention the fucking holocaust in the context of scoo/by doo #but that's where we are i guess! #anyway #blog policy #long post #is there a name for that tag

[starlightswitch]

If You Say Something Impressive

(for Writer's Month day 28 prompt mythological AU. AU where my WIP Not As An Us is a myth-- I changed Hailey and Jordyn's names because they didn't seem to fit in a myth...)

Angela was happy to have class start. Partly because she liked the class– Conti was easily her favorite teacher, and she’d always liked reading stuff and talking about it. Partly because Delaney and Kate were talking about homecoming and she wasn’t sure if she was going. She didn’t have anyone to go with. Which would have been fine if Delaney and Kate didn’t have people to go with either, but Kate was going with a guy she’d met in chorus, and Delaney had an actual boyfriend who had gone to the same middle school and she’d been dating since last year. Angela did not think it would be very fun to go to a dance with two couples.

“All right,” said Conti. “We all read last night, I hope. So we should be done with the packet. Let’s start with the myth, shall we? Someone tell them the story of the myth.”

Amanda told it. “Haze is forbidden to be with Seth by her mom. They keep meeting in secret while he looks for ways to win her mom’s approval. This other girl, Carissa, starts seeing him too, hoping she can get him to fall in love with her instead. Haze’s sister Jor says she’ll only marry if Haze can marry Seth, so their mom agrees to let her marry him. So she rushes to find him, except Carissa was faking sick and Seth was taking care of her to be nice, but Haze sees it and thinks they’re together, so she curses Seth. Oh right– I forgot to say she has this thing where she can wish something on someone else and the same thing will happen to her. Just once. She was saving it. So she wishes for him to be alone forever, and–”

“Which was stupid!” announced Brayden, leaning back in his chair.

“What?” said Amanda, turning to look at him like he was stupid.

 “Why would she wish for him to be alone forever? That means she has to be alone forever.”

“Because she didn’t want anyone but him,” Kate jumped in. “And she thought she couldn’t have him, so it didn’t matter to her, she just wanted to keep him from being with Carissa too.”

“He didn’t even want Carissa,” someone else said.

“But she didn’t know that,” said Amanda, using it to grab the floor back and finish the story. “So she wishes for him to be alone forever, and that dooms the two of them to be apart forever. Did she ever find out he didn’t like Carissa, is what I want to know.” She said it to Conti, like Conti might know. “Because if she didn’t, then she thought everything turned out great.”

“Not great,” someone argued.

“Well, not great, but the best it could possibly be. Because if she didn’t know he didn’t like Carissa, then she felt like she got her revenge.”

Conti shrugged. “Doesn’t say, does it? What do we think the story is telling us?” Conti didn’t want people saying “the moral of the story”. She said stories weren’t always cut and dry teaching people something, sometimes they were just telling people something to think about.

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” said Amanda, with a breezy shrug. “Like Romeo and Juliet. If Romeo had chilled out and given it a minute, Juliet would have woken up, and if Haze had chilled out and given Seth a chance to talk, he’d have told her what was really going on.”

“What else?” said Conti. She always did. Angela could never tell whether the first answer was the one Conti had been expecting.

“Like… if you hurt someone else you only hurt yourself?” Delaney offered.

“That’s not the lesson. That’s literally what was going to happen to her,” said one of the boys. “They said at the beginning of the story.”

“It didn’t have to be hurt. She’s the one that chose for it to be hurt. And like Kate said, she thought she was tricking her way out of it. She was like, oh, if I wish for him to get hurt, and I was going to get hurt either way, then there’s no consequences for me. But really, it was her wishing for him to get hurt that made her get hurt.”

“Mm,” said Conti, kind of raising her eyebrows and nodding. That reaction was easy to read– Conti hadn’t thought of that and was impressed. Angel was still trying to say something that would get that reaction.

“Trust. She just didn’t trust him. If she had she wouldn’t have just assumed he was cheating.”

“Don’t trust. Seth should have realized Carissa was trying to steal him.”

“Just be careful what you wish for. Like, specific. She should have wished for Seth to not be with Carissa. Because then it would come back to her as she couldn’t be with Carissa, which she obviously didn’t want anyway, and then she and Seth could be together.”

When the ideas stopped coming, Conti said, “What we’re leaving out here is her mom. We’re focusing on how the story ended, and it could have ended that way no matter why Haze and Seth were apart. Why do we think they included the detail of Haze’s mother forbidding them to be together?”

“Because then it’s the mom’s fault,” said Amanda. “Like Romeo and Juliet. Instead of being like, wow, that was dumb of them to do that, everybody goes, wow, it was so mean of their parents to keep them apart.”

“But they wouldn’t have done what they did if their parents hadn’t kept them apart,” said Angela.

“She just said Haze could have done what she did if her mom didn’t.”

“So maybe it’s a lesson for parents,” said Angela. “And they’re just doing the lesson different. Romeo and Juliet is, you might hurt your kids by trying to stop them, and this one is, your kids might get hurt anyway even if you try to stop them. But either way…” She realized she was saying ‘lesson’ and found a different way to say it. “…it’s telling parents that you can’t stop your kids from making mistakes, so you should try to help them. Instead of trying to overprotect them.”

There it was. Conti was impressed.

“Y’all shutting Amanda up,” Kate said when class was over. “I get so sick of her acting like nobody else knows anything. I said something about homecoming on the bus and she tried to like, give me advice about it, because she got to go as a middle schooler because her neighbor invited her. Did you decide if you’re going to homecoming yet?” she asked Angela.

“If my mom will let me.” Angela didn’t know where that came from.

“Did she forbid you from dating?” said Delaney, in a dramatic jokey tone.

“Actually, yeah.” She couldn’t believe she was saying this.

“Whoa. No wonder you had all that to say about parents overprotecting their kids.”

“Yeah,” Angela said with a shaky smile.

Well, she had a good reason if she didn’t go to homecoming. And it wasn’t like anybody was going to ask her out and expose the lie.

-

2020 day 28: Prince of Her Fairy Tale (fantasy)

2021 day 28: Spark of a Dream (fire)

2022 day 28: Sometimes You Meet Your Heroes (going into a book)

#writersmonth2023 #my writing #self au