#ting au

[blorbocedes]

BROCEDES! ROOMMATE AU + UNEXPECTED VIRGIN!

‘Take a shot if your body count is more than 5!’

Most of the crowd drinks, even those with obviously shifty eyes and guilty demeanours. Lewis drinks.

He was coursemates with Adrian the previous semester and had to hear his bitching and moaning about the bitches he gets – the lack thereof, spots him drinking too. Nico’s standing at the end of the couch, expensive loafers careful to step around the sticky spilled beer.

He nurses his red solo cup, untouched. Lewis frowns.

‘Take a shot if your body count is double digits!’

Fewer people drink this time. The crowd goes ‘ooh’ at the ones who do. Technically, Lewis’ is 7 – 8 if you count the blowjob and her getting her period at the last second, opting out. But college athletes have a reputation to maintain, so Lewis finishes off his cup.

This time, Nico is watching him. Smiles when their eyes meet and does a mock salute, lips still not grazing his drink.

What the fuck? What could it be? It bothers Lewis that Nico’s not being honest. He's seen Nico half-lidded hanging off some guy’s arm at a party or cuddled into some girl to know better. Although, since Nico has access to all the population instead of 50%, it would make sense if his count is twice as high.

A pretty girl in a low cut top and blonde highlights taps Lewis on the arm to dance with her, and all thoughts of his roommate and how many people he fucks are forgotten.

A few hours later, the party has died down. Cold pizza and the music is less in-your-face, more indie. A small group gather on the floor playing the laziest truth or dare with a half empty bottle of Bacardi. The guy beside Nico is in an obnoxious leather jacket and tight pants, and his hand rests on Nico’s thigh.

It falls on Lewis.

“So… Lew-iss,” Natalie? maybe asks, voice slurring a little. “Do you remember when you first met Nico?”

Nico raises an interested eyebrow. Of course he remembers. However, Lewis is aware they asked the question because people think him and Nico are secretly hooking up because they live together, and since Nico’s seen with everyone. His teammate Felipe and his girlfriend are within earshot.

“Nah, man. I don't remember shit like that. I remember when I like, lost my virginity.” Lewis offers as bait.

Nico frowns, it's cute on him. Brows wrinkled up.

Naomi(!) bites. “Tell us about how you lost your virginity.”

“That's two questions.” Lewis leans back, flashing his most charming gap-toothed smile. Everyone's too drunk to keep track of whose turn it is.

Nico disappears off with Mr. Skinny Jeans.

It's a little while later when Lewis has smoked a spliff to clear his head, rejecting the blonde highlights girl’s offer back to her dorms which is on the other side of campus, when Nico returns, hair mussed and shirt buttoned more than it was when he left.

“Home?” He asks. Lewis follows.

Nico’s a pretty chill roommate. He grew up with a silver spoon and an only child, so he has no concept of sharing. Instead, when he orders Thai, he makes sure to order for two so that Lewis doesn't try to eat any of his dumplings. Lewis gets to have the flat to himself a lot since Nico disappears for the night, returns at early hours of the night with glitter on his cheek or bite marks on his neck and a cheeky smile before collapsing on the couch. Lewis can't complain, it makes bringing girls over easier. And when Nico is studying, he keeps to himself. Lewis will know, because there will be an extra coffee for him. In turn, Lewis gets rids of the bugs in the flat – the first time Nico seeing a cockroach asking if they should call pest control or sue their landlord for unhygienic living conditions.

“Why didn't you drink? At the body count question?” Lewis asks, breaking the amiable silence of their walk home, and the lack of filter signalling he was drunker than he thought.

Nico hums thoughtfully. “Cause that would be a lie?”

Lewis tries to make sense of that, doing math in his head. “No…? It wasn't about the exact number, just if it's more than.”

“Yeah,” Nico smiles, unlocking the door and stepping side. “That would be a lie.”

Lewis rolls his eyes. Nico and his riddles and his games. “It would only be a lie if you're a virgin. Which you're not.” He snorts at the thought.

Nico’s eyes flash dangerously. “Yeah?” Nico turns around, effectively trapping Lewis between the door. “You think about who gets in my pants a lot, Hamilton?”

Lewis feels a flush rise in his neck. Thank god for melanin, if he were Nico he'd have two giant red spots on his cheek right now.

“I don't care who you sleep with. Or don't sleep with.” Lewis tries to go for gruff, chill, but it doesn't quite land. He gets out of Nico’s cornering, going to the couch. “It's just weird you’d lie considering Jenson–”

“Oh if Jenson said it, it must be true.” Nico’s sarcasm is shrill and annoyed, betraying how drunk he is.

It does make Lewis pause. Jenson has a habit of embellishing stories of his conquests. The fated twins threesome never happened, he had separately hooked up with twins. Lewis remembers Jenson bragging in the locker room how he rocked Britney’s world and Lewis had worn his his shin guards with a little more force than necessary.

“Rock my world?” Nico rolls his eyes, leaning against the wall. “Hardly. We made out for forty minutes until he came in his pants.”

TMI because now Lewis is inundated of images of Nico, mouth swollen and bodies entangled while fully clothed.

“So you're actually a virgin? What about all those people?” Lewis is still trying to wrap his head around it. Nico is the most sexual person he knows. He eats yoghurt off the spoon distractingly, and has no shame walking around the apartment naked. Very sexual liberation chic, and Lewis had to draw up boxers boundaries.

Nico wrinkles his nose. “So you get with the easiest lay on campus and you're the only person he won't fuck. Do you want to admit something's weird and wrong with you, or do you just go about inferring you had sex? It's not like I'm going to correct them.” He must see something on Lewis’ face because he interjects, defensively offensive, “Don't ask why it's better to have a reputation. I know your tells. You drank twice.”

Lewis chooses his words carefully, gentle like he's not trying to spook a wild cat. “I'm not judging. I'm just surprised. Nobody figured it out?”

Nico softens at the tone. He sinks on the couch beside Lewis. “Honestly, you're the first person to notice.”

Lewis finds that sad. “Hey, we don't need to talk about this if it's a sensitive topic. I'm sorry I –”

“Jeez, Lewis. I don't have trauma, I'm just frigid. A pricktease. Nothing bad ever happens to a Rosberg.” Nico works on the complicated laces of his boots. He hates being pitied.

Lewis leans over. “It's really not all that cracked up to be. The first time, at least. Cause you're bad at it and you don't know how to pace yourself. Lots of people wait until they're ready. My first time, it was this girl I was seeing after GCSEs. We couldn't find a place so we got in my dad’s old Subaru. Lasted like 30 seconds. Wiped the whole place down but I was convinced he would know somehow. Come Sunday, I went and told him. He hadn’t the slightest clue. So that was an awkward drive to church.”

Nico gawks him, crumpling into himself laughing. Lewis regrets being a vulnerable and oversharer of a drunk. Nico’s gelled hair has come undone from hours of partying and falls over his eyes. Lewis is never going to open up to anyone ever again.

“On God's day, Lewis?! And you think I should save myself until marriage? Find myself a nice, righteous wife?”

“Someone you trust. Someone you're into.” The room spins a little. Nico Rosberg is a virgin.

“Someone who’d remember when we first met?” Nico challenges. "That's not very nice, is it? I can't believe you forgot--"

“You were checking out an encyclopaedia on space at the library. I wanted the Senna autobiography. We were 12.”

Nico’s eyes go wide. Lewis holds his gaze.

#I love roommate aus :3 what if the object of ur desire was 1 room away and yet the distance is greater than oceans #I hope you catch all the little references. and please!!!! if you enjoy it let me know I'll lore dump #brocedes #f1 rpf #my fics #I love friendship tinged with desire. this could've gone into sex right after virgin reveal but I wanted them to be friends talking first #roommates au

[hxllo-hui]

Read The Wedding Planner on ao3 by @famousinthatanonymousway a while ago^^ baker Phoenix my beloved

#for some reason I was really scared to post this on tumblr #but oh whatever have trucy with a mr hat spatula #I KNOW ITS A NARUMISTU AU BUT LIKE :((( FATHER AND DAUGHTER TINGS :((( #also yes they have matching accessories again because I like to do that #wedplanau #ace attorney #gyakuten saiban #phoenix wright #trucy wright #miles edgeworth #apollo justice #emi art #aa #aa fanart #character art #narumistu #wrightworth #fanart #au fanart #ace attorney fanart

[archi-pelago]

The story goes, the treasures found their way into Paldea after the greedy king of the region purchased them from a merchant from the East.

AU shit with Volo trying to find Trainer through time and space

#my art #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #pla #pokemon scarlet #pokemon violet #volo #frenzied champion au #thats right. its the same au just a thousand years later or whatever #treasures of ruin #wo-chien #chien-pao #ting-lu #chi-yu

[blazingstaro]

Here's my little side AU!

It's not a serious story like Dreams of the Stars, and just something of my own for funsies! I don't intend to make a series of this, more-so just little drawings or mini comics every now and then. DotS is my main AU and comic series still!

This is my SkyCotL Mago AU, and it's a mix of different types of AUs in one. Genderbend? You got it. Roleswap? Absolutely! There's also a personality swap between characters, and what-if scenarios all jammed into one Kirby AU set in a noir/spacepunk + 30s-60s swing era

It's a lot of what-ifs put into fruition while having SkyCotL on the side! It's wholesome, adorable, and really sweet! No serious angst in this (for now), but some heartfelt troubles and such. Absolutely a comfort AU LOL

So here's the whole gang together! Not everyone's roles are swapped, I'll say— it's a mixed bag of this that and whatever because whoever said you had to stick to one particular thing in a swap-type AU HEHEHE

Quick look lore/info on each individual below:

Allow me to tell you a bit about each individual here, starting with our lead, Skye:

The Magolor of this Magoverse flavored AU, this is Magoloria— a rising star from Floralia. She sings, she dances, she's quite the hit for tons of musical shows across the galaxy! Fashionable, fun, and cute as a button, Skye is a pure-hearted and humble gal. She's a young adult for her species!

Both a genderbend and a personality swap! Her personality is swapped with Joronia's (pre-Sectonia). She's as sweet as can be, and enjoys making herself feel pretty with a vast wardrobe of outfits and costumes. Her taste in fashion is impeccable.

The events of Return to Dreamland occur quite a bit differently for Skye, but I'll save that for another post! But the main premise is that following a decisive battle, hopelessly possessed by the Master Crown's evil, Skye and the shattered Master Crown are spirited away to the decaying Kingdom of Sky (hence her nickname), a land time forgot. The power-drained mage must travel across the realms to reclaim her lost powers, which fell into the hands of the sleeping Elder spirits.

Here's Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee! Their roles remain unchanged, but their personalities have swapped! Bandee is confident and outgoing, whereas Kirby's a bit less confident, but aspires to be great— despite the fact that he's the most powerful of the group and constantly Popstar's savior. He and Bandee are besties, like brothers!

King Malcom "Meta" Knytte, the presiding king of Dream Land! He's both role-swapped with Dedede, and his personality is swapped with Taranza. He's got the personality of a sopping wet kitten, but is low-key one of the most devastating warriors Dream Land has to offer. His Galaxia's design is more of the anime's than the games because good god I am not drawing the same Galaxia for two different AUs

King Malcolm is a great whistler and plays the piano, but has crippling stage fright. He owns a venue within his kingdom, which has been host to Skye's shows in recent years. He secretly mans backstage in disguise, so commoners won't recognize him (but it's somewhat obvious who he is). Rumor has it, he has an eye for one of the performers, and is secretly in love...

Sir Dedede of Dream Land! He serves the Kingdom of Dream Land. As it's quite obvious, he's role-swapped and personality swapped with Meta Knight, though there's still a sliver of King Dedede's original ego/pride in this guy. He's aloof, something of a loner, and doesn't talk much, but he has a tendency to take aspiring warriors under his wing. His latest apprentice is Bandana Waddle Dee, who serves under King Malcolm too!

And finally, the lovely couple— King Taranza and Queen Joronia! This is half a role-swap and a whole personality swap. Taranza's personality is swapped with Magolor, and Joronia has a partial of Dedede's personality, but stands alone on her own as well. Taranza also takes on Magolor's role as Manager of a theme park.

Though married for centuries, Taranza and Joronia are still in their honeymoon phase, madly in love and have profound crushes on each other!

The two have made their kingdom into an entertainment capital this side of the galaxy, bringing all walks of life onto Popstar to see a wide variety of shows! From circus acts, to live musical performances, and thrilling carnival rides and games, you name it, they got it!

This spicy pair act as parental figures for Skye, and took her under their wing when she was a lone, young girl selling papers to make do

AND THAT IS ALL FOR NOW! Just a basic look at everyone! I'll do more thorough info-posts later on 'em throughout the week 💜

#behold my comfort au #it's mega soft and sweet with a tinge of feels #magolor #magolor au #Sky magolor #magoverse #skyswap #magolor kirby #kirby au #kirby series #nintendo kirby #hoshi no kirby #hoshi no kaabii #kirby #thatskygame #sky children of the light #sky cotl #king dedede #meta knight #bandana waddle dee #kirby taranza #taranza #taranza kirby #kirby bandana dee #kirby meta knight #joronia #kirby joronia #kirby magolor #oh boy lore time #long post

[rookfeatherrambles]

Apparently the commission from @dcartcorner about my unnamed cozy fantasy Jmart AU is at like 400 notes of people just screaming about how much they want it so! Introducing: (It still doesn't have a name yet), the cozy (ish) fantasy au!

Jon is an archmage in training at the Magnus Institute of Arcana, (I gotta think of a better name) where he is apprenticed under Elias Bouchard, the actual Archmage of London. That's an important figure who keeps the balance of magic (and more)

Being close to the Archmage, Jon is learning some pretty incredible magic. But when he accidentally discovers Elias harnessing power from ancient, Eldritch and forbidden gods, Jon realizes that the magic he's been taught to use is furthering some kind of ritual to bring those terrifying creatures into their world and he's been helping all along without realizing it.

With knowledge that could throw London into chaos, Jon seals the knowledge away somewhere safe and then curses himself to become a cat, permanently, and flees the Institute for the city streets as a stray.

It was supposed to be permanently, anyway.

Meanwhile, Martin's moved away from his very overbearing and at the same time distant family. Heir to the powerful magic of the Lukas/Blackwood bloodline, Martin throws away all his prestige for the quiet of a cafe somewhere in the city and a modest life as a Hearthmage. It's a rundown place he's bought to make his own, but he's up to the task of fixing it up.

After a few months of living there, established and settled, he starts noticing that some of his fruits and vegetables are being eaten by a mysterious animal. After many stakeouts, he finally catches the culprit in the act. It's a scrawny black cat with green eyes and a crooked tail, and it has a fondness for tomatoes! Try as he might though, Martin cannot catch the cat. And then, one day, Martin opens the door to start the day and there it is. Sitting outside the door as if its an impatient customer. And there is a tomato in its mouth! Martin's tomato.

He is too stunned to speak, and just watches the cat saunter into the cafe, cool as you please and hop up on a chair to eat it's breakfast.

This is how the war of the veggie patch ends. With a tomato, some warm cream, and some cautious chin scritches.

#the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #jmart #fantasy AU #elias bouchard #cozy magic au #cozy #'the cat is plot relevant' the cat is Jon #there you guys go #have a little fluff with a tinge of dark. yummy

[karmadedd]

Woo! This took forever haha

Credits for the aus:

(Was not the hero au belongs to @chiconisroc

Empress camila au, grimwalker Manny au, and empress luzura au all belong to @talisman975

Pitmdau and belpapa au belong to @wolame-o-ccx )

#belos is my favorite character #toh belos #karma draws tings #animatic #animation #the owl house #belos #philip wittebane #emperor belos #digital art #digital animation #toh #toh emperor belos #toh au #toh aus

[whipped-cheese]

Friend requested I draw something with their sona and one of the skrunklies from my (A Bad Teaser au/lust au) aaaaanndddd so i drew this!! :]

[click for quality]

#slightly suggestive #like just a tinge- #he's flirting guys 😩💞💞 hes doing it /silly #“wassup bbg *bites lip* #imagine he's whispering to you about your taxess~~ #aughhh😩 /j- #A Bad Teaser au #lust au #sunlust <3 #Sunlust #friend sona #request #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf security breach #animatronic #sundrop #daycare attendant sun #security breach daycare attendant #my au #not a y/n character- could still put yourself there though- #fnaf sb #fnaf sun #daycare attendant fnaf #security breach dca #fnaf dca #dca sun #dca fandom #dca au

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

i only just found your au and i need everyone to have a happy ending so badly im gonna cry ;-; sally is gonna be so freakin upset when she wakes up for real and sees she decimated barnaby.

oh, Barnaby already has his arm stitched back on when she wakes up! and really, even if he didn't, that'd be the Least of her worries. she wakes up into a Real nightmare - partially of her (unintentional) making

#happy endings... well... yes and no. depends on what act you look at #act one? no! actually things get So Much Worse in an entirely festive new way! #act two? eh! sorta! its more bittersweet than anything #act three and four blend into each other so much that three doesn't have an 'ending' #but the final act - act four... well. who's to say! im still workshopping what i want to happen #but i do know it's still gonna have at Least a bittersweet tinge to it #wh lights out au #rambles from the bog #there are consequences and not everyone Makes It. i dont like stories where everything wraps up perfectly fine #even if it hurts! i like it when things hurt in a good way. those stories where the ending is overall positive #but Enough Happened that its just... its an ache. looking at where someone used to be. you know? #my favorite shows and books and fics have ended with me smiling while sobbing bc it yes it Hurts but it was So Fucking Good #and while i wouldnt be able to handle rewatching/rereading due to Emotional Damage... #i think of them fondly and often and theyre Important to me #perfectly happy endings just rub me wrong. it always feels like there's something Missing despite it all being idyllic #i cant let my own stories - original or aus or whatever - have that kind of end #so if thats what people are hoping for! you've come to the wrong person and the wrong au! #i like to be kind but that rarely extends to my creative works! #i like it messy and painful and bittersweet and i like to be Ruthless with my creations with no compromise #sometimes characters need to fight. or leave. or die. or make serious mistakes. etc. #but anyway! anyway.... #i will say that there isn't a happy ending for Everyone. and for others it's... complicated. again - bittersweet

[herosplatling-replica]

my brainrot hit critical mass the other day and now im considering writing a werewolf au fic for rhythm doctor. anyway have these designs, i'll update lucky's when i get him colored :3

#rhythm doctor #werewolf au #werewolf #nicole ting #cole brew #lucky jonronero #the intern #intern rhythm doctor

[wenumsmol]

Imagine college au mha where Izuku Midoriya is a male cheerleader. I feel like he would really make a good one because its very plus ultra. I can see him at the bottom of an inverted pyramid using his quirk to hold everyone up and he uses black whip to catch anyone if they fall. We're a new teammate and he's got eyes for us. It's definitely a Bring It On vibe.

If anyone wants to use this idea as a base for a one-shot or series, its fine by me! Just tag me so I can read it and reblog it!

#mha #bnha #my hero acedamia #izuku midoriya #deku #cheerleader izuku #college au #college au mha #male cheerleader #bring it on #izuku midoriya x reader #cheerleader #fanfic suggestions #fanfic ideas #smol tings #smol thoughts #mha x reader #mha fanfiction #mha fandom #x reader fanfiction #fanfiction #aged up characters #aged up au #smol thots𖤐༻

[loboazul16]

I'v been dying for the last hour with this JLKFDJSFLKJDSKL

also im gonna be out for a few days so drop some fun prompts or smth on my askbox so i can draw it when im back >:]c

#my art #the stanley parable #there is no game #there is no game: wrong dimension #tsp narrator #tsp stanley #ting game #ting user #crossover #im tagging this au.... #there is no parable #tsp bucket #tsp fanart

[goated33]

Gods old and new [cotl au]

#tried to emulate the cotl style more !!!! #mostly inspired by @teddie-bear420’s charlie wearing the canon red crown it made my brain ting #ikik the crowns don’t seem to work like that (the lamb is just a little creature with or without the red crown) #BUT ITD BE SO COOL. #so yeah 1 hour bishop lute. as a treat #technically she’s a bishop for eternity (stuck repeating her final moments in purgatory f) #snucifer (snake lucifer) inspired by that one post #he’s stealing from sir pentious #he really does have the ball python owo though #uh. anyway #[my art] #cotl au #hazbin hotel #adam #emily #sera #??? :) (I don’t know who that is either. I thought it’d be funny and didn’t realize the implications) #(worst divorce ever [she locks you in the shadow realm]) #lute #charlie #lucifer #charlie morningstar #lucifer morningstar #blood #???? IS IT. IS IT BLOOD

[rgbfall]

Actually while I'm posting about rottmnt, I'm gonna post my ideas for that RiseX2012 tmnt au. This is mostly just what I think the character dynamics would be/just what they think for each other. This is post-ROTTMNT movie btw. And also I'm only on like ep12 of 2012 TMNT so yea:

• Rise!Leo laughs so hard when he first meets the 2012 gang bc they're short and also Splinter is so different. Like Leo thinks it's sooo funny man

• Rise!Raph would love Spike man they would bond over that. But 2012 Raph would lowkey not like rise!Raph bc he's actually nice :/ they probably end up beating each other up at some point bc rottmnt!Raph is super protective and 12!Raph kinda bullies everyone all the time

• 2012 Mikey would think rise!Mikey is sooo cool. that's it.

• 2012 Donnie would be, like, super in awe of the stuff rise!Donnie, but also think he's kinda weird/maybe evil? Mainly bc rottmnt!Donnie laughs maniacally a lot. Also rottmnt!Donnie would take one look at the 2012 tech n then want to fix it soo bad. And also be like "you're actually using a wooden staff??? Mine's made of titanium/magic"

• Rise!Leo and 2012 Mikey both think the other is funny

• Honestly rise!Donnie is like. Lowkey not okay 2012 Raph. He's just super aggressive and doesn't care about ppl which is not great for neurodivergent family haha. Donnie will get uncomfy with something and everyone will be like cool and move on except 2012 Raph who will just be so unnecessarily aggressive about it. They're not huge fans of each other

• Rise!Mikey is trying to be nice to 2012 Raph but again he kinda sucks, and 2012 Raph vs neurodivergent family is not a good mix. Expect some stuff with 2012 Raph and the Drs lmao. Also rise!Mikey will do something, like, vaguely fem e.g. heart glasses or painting nails or smth and then 12!Raph will laugh at him for it. Poor rise!gang

• Rise!Donnie is. not great with 2012 Mikey. Like he understands that 2012 Mikey means well, but they're just neurodivergent people who's needs clash yknow. Like Mikey is not very aware of boundaries and likely to touch Donnie's stuff which. is a big no no.

#that p much all i have rn #i also have a bit of angsty stuff that i will not share yet heheh #as well as some vague plot like ting its mostly just meetings #|| #fall speaks #rottmnt #rottmnt au #tmnt #tmnt au #2012 tmnt #crossover au

[karmadedd]

Came back for my monthly shitpost. Probably will dissappear off the face of the earth again.

Art dump time

#toh belos #karma draws tings #art dump #original character #oc art #toh emperor belos #belos the owl house #the owl house #doodles #digital art #handplates #handplates gaster #undertale #undertale au #gaster #wd gaster

[daisychainsandbowties]

Can't stop thinking about Tomb Raider AU, Ava's first kill which is more of an accident really. The man on top of her, squeezing tight at her throat. A rock to the temple, maybe the broken end of one of her arrows parting the soft stretch of flesh right under his jaw. A spray of blood - arterial? - on her. Her first reaction even though he was doing his best to kill her, to try and stem the flow. A red rain on her fingers, staining her soul with the unspeakable sin of a life cut short.

Ava scrubbing her hands with whatever she can find after. The fast waters of a stream running downhill, swirling pink. Maybe it's the blood. Maybe just the sunset.

Beatrice, meanwhile, methodical and ruthless, compartmentalizing each death but still keeping score. Secret, unholy tally engraved into the back of her occipital bone, and she can almost feel each ghostly notch whenever she cups the nape of her neck, working to loosen muscles turned to stone by another night spent on the ground.

Growing more frantic as the days go by, trying to remember how many rations they put in each pack, telling herself that at least there's plenty of water. Ava has to be alive.

And then stumbling onto the place where Ava had been ambushed. Her stomach dropping when she spots the body, prone. Relief after she turns it over, her eyes alighting on the arrow that juts out of the man's throat. Gray and blue fletching that she'd recognize anywhere. She'd been the one who introduced Ava to a bow, who'd taught her how to make her own.

The arrow, a bloodied, broken compass to guide the both of them home.

Ava, who rescues rats from the bowels of the ship and lets them off on shore. who touches even Lilith so gently when she sidles past her in the kitchen, even when she notices Lilith grinning as she sips from-

“MY FAVORITE MUG?”

gentle Ava who washes up on the beach alone in the middle of the storm, who waits for morning to go up into the trees.

Ava, pinned underneath a man snarling at her in Portuguese but no breath in her lungs to say “wait, i can understand you."

and just- lashing out, lashing up. a star reaching its way back into heaven, or Icarus crawling out of the ocean dragging his broken limbs and his broken wings behind him.

blood on her face, in her mouth, gumming her lashes together - and what did Bea say about it? how arterial blood is bright brilliant red and venous blood is darker, breathless, deoxygenated. she thinks of it in brushstrokes, limping away through the trees, scrubbing at her eyes with her forearm until the skin is streaky and red.

is this how Icarus felt? tilting his chin to kiss Apollo as the wax ran molten down his arms, as his wings unfurled and then unfurled.

she used to sit on the deck with Beatrice when her intrepid archaeologist needed air and light. how she would sink slowly into Ava’s side. a different kind of capsizing.

nothing to be afraid of.

Ava staring up at the sky and telling her, “if we were sailing in the 1600s i’d be a rigging monkey.”

“mmm?” soft, sleepy, turning her face to look at Ava with that sly strand of hair slipping down to touch her cheek.

“yeah, flitting through the ropes and the sails and the mast, dangling up there in calm weather or in windy weather.” she closed her eyes, "i'd be so unbelievably sexy."

a soft huff. not a denial.

“rigging monkeys were fragile things.” Bea unpicking Ava’s fingers where she held them in a loose fist.

maybe they’d had a beer, or two, and in that moment Bea looked as fascinated by the shape of Ava’s knuckles as she did looking at her books, or the horizon. “they…um… often fell into the water, or down onto the deck. from such a height…”

she trailed off, looking troubled.

Ava swallowed the urge to dip down and kiss her forehead, to smooth those lines of worry with her mouth. “yeah but in this scenario you’d be our navigator, so you’d never turn us toward a hurricane or a lightning storm. we’d just breeze right along and i’d get to sunbathe on the mainmast.”

Beatrice paused, her thumb poised to run over the slope of Ava’s fingers. (she’s just tactile, that’s all. there’s nothing else to it)

“sometimes you have to sail into a storm.” Bea shook her head, folded her hands back into her lap, “otherwise the storm will catch up to you.”

Ava ran from the beach as soon as she could walk, run, snatching Bea’s backpack from a pile of washed-up cargo. she’d heard gunshots in the night, huddled under the broken hull of a rowboat with crabs shifting in the shadows.

she thought about smashing one of them with a rock, to eat, but she couldn’t do it.

and she tried to outpace the storm, but it found her.

a body lurching out of the trees, quiver of arrows on his back, beating her down with the slope of the bow. straddling her and how she beat helplessly at him like she used to strain against the stubbornness of her body as it healed, as sensation returned and the nuns it as an excuse to pinch, to scratch her with their nails.

screaming, wordless, savage. trying to reach his eyes and then the tightening of his hands around her neck. Bea telling her the count you start in your head when someone strangles you.

“pfft, i can hold my breath for ages.”

“your brain can’t.”

reaching up - and she’s always reaching up. guilty dreams of Beatrice slowly dipping down to capture her mouth.

Ava reaches, feels something snap off in her hand. later, she’ll turn it over and over in her hands. an arrow, poorly made, with wet wood, but the head sharpened like someone went at it with a stone night after night. it makes her think of prayer, of what she might pray for here if she didn’t have the hazy hope of bea, bea, bea.

she tried to plug his face with her hands, fingers grazing up against broken teeth as he coughed gouts of blood down onto her. hands around her throat loosening and that first flood of breath threaded with the leak of his life.

the weight of him crushing the air from her lungs. so she hooked her legs around his like Beatrice showed her, using her hips to flip him onto his back.

and then he drowned.

on his own blood and she should have known, should have thought of it, but she just ripped up his shirt with bare bloody fingernails and pressed it into the wound. his eyes - dirty blue like the water under piers - roaming wild over her face.

and then he died.

she pushed off his body, falling back into the leaf litter. sticky length of arrowhead still clenched in one fist.

back in the orphanage, she used to spend hours just thinking. clinging like fire to every fact she learned, every paragraph Diego struggled to read to her.

daylight dreams of Michelangelo lying flat underneath his ceiling, paint dripping into his eyes, squinting at the shadows. the absolute quiet sometimes, at night maybe, holding up a candle to see the colors without the bruising brightness of god’s eye.

he’s looking now, she thinks, dipping her hands into the cold tonguing motion of a stream. leaves flicking past in the current, blood ribboning into threads of muted gold.

#tomb raider au #avatrice #warrior nun #DREN!!!!! holy shit this made me insane #god the drumbeat of death on beatrice's occipital bone #the visceral tinge of it all!!!! #bea finding out that's ava's really REALLY alive when she finds a corpse. finding life in death #aaaaaahhhhh absolutely losing my mind #i cannot do justice to what you wrote but please accept my humble attempt #kendrene