#aka everyone is slightly less traumatized AU

[taoofshigeru]

Surge: Rrragh, c'mon! There's gotta be something in this junkyard I can use as a weapon!

Cubot: Not on me, right? Please say not on me!

Surge, kicking a long, thin thing out of the pile: Wait, what's...this?

-It's a black electric guitar with like a dozen lime-green flame decals.-

Cubot: Oh, that? The boss built it in an afternoon, said it was the key to "defeating that hedgehog in the way that'll mean the most". ...I think he spent a week trying to learn it before giving up and tossing it in the pile.

Surge, casting Cubot aside: Huh, defeating that hedgehog? With this? ✨👀✨ I like it. It... It speaks to me.

[Days later...]

Jewel: Sonic, Tails, we need you in Central City now!!

Tails: Is it an emergency? What's happening?!

Jewel, ripping off her suit to reveal a Surge the Tenrec Concert Tour T-shirt: Only the COOLEST CONCERT OF ALL TIME!

[However long it takes to get to Central City later...]

-Hundreds of residents have gathered in the street. The crowd is chanting TEN-REC, TEN-REC! And Surge is headbanging very hard.-

Sonic: Sooo, should we just leave her be? Doesn't seem like she's hurting anyone

Kit: Um, sir, the thing about Surge is... *whispers in Tail's ear*

Tails, nodding: Mhm, mhm. Ohhh, so if we... Uh-huh...

Tails: Actually, I think we can do one better and get in on the fun ourselves.

Tails: *whispers in Sonic's ear*

Sonic: Uh-huh, uh-huh. Ooooohh! Yeah, let's do that.

......

-The crowd is chanting SURGE, SURGE, SURGE after yet another sick guitar solo.-

-But then the sound goes dead and the sound of a mic turning on cuts the silence.-

-Sonic steps out of a pillar of smoke and wearing cool shades, with Tails right behind him.-

Sonic: Surge the Tenrec, you've been bothering the poor citizens with this town with your lame music for one song too many. I challenge you to a battle...

*Sonic tossed the mic away and whips out a trumpet and Tails pulls out a pair of Maracas.*

...of the bands!

Surge, grabbing the mic out of the air: Oh hell yes! I'm gonna wipe the floor with you this time. Nobody but nobody is beating Surge the Tenrec twice in one week! -uf!

Kit, showing up behind Surge to hug her: Ma'am! I'm so glad you're okay. *Pulls out a rhythm guitar.* Also can I be your backup band?

Surge: Heh, good to see you too, drippy. Try to keep up!

[Several hours of epic shredding and cool toots later, the crowd is still chanting Surge's name.]

Sonic, visibly stumbling backwards: Oh no! How can this be?! There's no way your music could defeat...me...

-Hero of Mobius Sonic the Hedgehog falls to his knees, clenching his feet in an expression of bitter defeat.-

-Tails collapses on top of him, clearly exhausted.-

Surge: Hah! I knew I was better than you in the ways that counted! Pack your bags, drippy, we're going on tour!

Kit, tail wagging: Yes, Ma'am!

-As Kit and Surge surf away on a crowd of adoring fans, Sonic and Tails turn to each other on the ground and share a quick wink.-

Sonic, whispered: Awesome plan, little buddy.

Tails: 😁

#idw sonic #idw sonic spoilers #surge the tenrec #kit the fennec #Miles Tails Prower #sonic the hedgehog #cubot #jewel the beetle #What if Surge had just stolen a sick guitar instead of a deadly weapon AU #aka everyone is slightly less traumatized AU #Sonic and Tails in IDW would absolutely lose in a video game to make a younger kid happy #shortfic by way of a chat post #I just had this really silly idea and it definitely got longer than a chat post should be but w/e #Definitely a lot bit of an OoC crack fic #I'm aware that this is extremely silly yes

[newtafterdark]

Taste of Metal - Chapter 5:  Reality Check

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157634/chapters/64305886

Summary: What if the overwhelming VR experience Gordon went through, had a deeper purpose than just being a simple simulation & a freelance debug job for him?

But most importantly- what if Gordon Freeman listens to Metal & used to be in a band? aka. the "Metalhead Gordon AU"

PS: This is the E-Bass mentioned in this chapter.  !t’s a real beauty, honestly!

- - -

It took Gordon a while to return to the others. For one, he always kind of zoned out for a bit when having a bath… and additionally, the reality of what had happened to him in the past few hours (or days? He wasn’t entirely sure and that unnerved him to no end-) had slowly started to sink in as well.

Zoning in and out of what was his reality now screwed heavily with his perception of the passage of time… and if getting his leg stuck while trying to slip into his comfort PJs and almost falling on his face added a few extra minutes… then that was between him and his checkered bathroom mat.

He rubbed the fabric of his dark floral-print pants between his thumb and pointer finger. It was a comfort thing. Always had been. Just something to help him stay in the moment with the help of adding the sense of touch when everything else was a tad clouded.

His still very much wounded arm was pressed lightly against his chest, the smooth fabric of the worn Nine-Inch-Nails shirt adding another layer of comfort to his current self-care choices.

Gordon hoped the Science Team would not question his comfort outfit… too much. It was just what he needed right now, as silly as the combo of rose-patterned pants & band merch might be.

His long hair was a mess as well. Yes, he had managed to get it clean and untangled most of the messy strands… but man, it was apparent that he needed to fix his undercut sometime. Right now though, he’d just have to deal with the state of his messy (and now also very fluffy post-hand-dryer) mane. Being able to run his fingers through it again and fluffing it up a bit further in the process... was a very nice thing though.

Gordon didn’t really look at anyone when he exited the bathroom and made his way to the couch- only to settle down on the floor, his back leaning against the front of the couch. He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling.

“Do you- Do you feel a bit better now, G-Gordon?”, he heard Tommy ask from a few feet away. Gordon managed a soft smile and a nod in affirmation.

“I… yeah, I do. I am exhausted to all hell and back but… yeah. I think I’m actually here... if that makes sense. Don't feel as removed anymore. So… uh… thanks. Everyone.”

He lifted his head carefully, giving himself the time to catch a glimpse of each Science Team member in the room. G-Man must still be around as well, as the man’s ominous briefcase was still leaning against a nearby wall.

The silence that followed was not one of comfort, Gordon could tell. There was an aura of unease and worry in the air. Even from Benrey, who had been seemingly calm previously.

“Guys, I… I still have a lot of questions, not gonna lie. But… first I do want to thank whoever sweetvoice’d my stump. I… I don’t know how to react to my arm actually being gone and frankly….. I am actually freaking out slowly but surely… but still… thanks. Hurts less and all that.”

Gordon jumped a bit as a high pitched noise escaped Benrey, followed by a hiccup and the guard trying to sink further into the bean chair he was sitting in.

“Dude, you don’t have to swallow your Sweet Voice around here. I am way past freaking out about it, believe me.”, Gordon assured him, followed by a short laugh- “It’s actually nice. And helpful. I can fully admit that now, honestly.”

Benrey let out an orb of pink Sweet Voice at that.

“Glad it- that it helps, man. Wasn’t sure if it would... now that we’re all here in... uh, in person.”

Gordon lifted his injured arm carefully, looking the wound over.

“I still have no idea how it works… but yeah, it does help a lot. Again, thanks.”

“Welcome.”

…

Another moment of awkward silence was beginning to start when Bubby suddenly stood up-

“Can we stop with the sulking? Seriously?! We’re OUT! FINALLY! We should be going outside and having the time of our lives-”

“Uh-”, Gordon suddenly looked very alarmed-

“-steal a car! Go on a real goddamn road trip-”

“Bubby-”

“What?!”, the tall man almost hissed out, immediately regretting raising his voice as Gordon curled up a bit into himself at the noise- “M-My apologies. But you get my point, don’t you?!”

Gordon nodded at that, despite shaking a bit.

“I absolutely do! Hearing that you guys were legit locked up for god-knows how long… I would want nothing more than wanting to go outside and explore this world if I’d be in your shoes! It’s just... how aware are you guys of what has been going on on the surface for the past 10 years? Do you… do you guys even know what year it actually is?”

Tommy perked up at that-

“It’s 2020! Not all of us had a good grasp on time, but my dad and I do!”

“Me as well, Gordon!”, Dr Coomer added with a smile- “As much as we as a group had our jokes about Wikipedia, it was basically our only window to the world outside for a very long time. So thanks to it we do know about a lot of things… in theory.”

Gordon let out a short sigh of relief.

“O-Okay, that’s actually good to know- I mean, it sucks that that was all you guys had! But… at least we don’t have to start on nothing.”

“We’ll be perfectly fine dealing with the outside world, thank you very much!”, Bubby threw in, arms crossed.

Dr Coomer reached over and put a hand on Bubby's shoulder-

“Bubby, dear, I can still see us getting overwhelmed with it though. It might not be all new for me, but it is for you! And for Benrey as well. Do trust me that we all need to take this slow.”

Gordon slowly sat up, actually deciding to move up onto the couch, pulling one of his legs under him while stretching the other out.

“Guys… if you want, you all can stay here as long as you want.”, he said, earning himself a collection of surprised looks from everyone- “I know my place is small but… you saved my ass. I want to at least try to even that out by letting you stay for as long as you need.”

He ran his intact hand through his hair again, a few strands falling over his right eye.

“And I know G-Man said not to worry about what Black Mesa might do with you all on the loose now… but honestly, I will sleep better knowing you all are closeby and not in imminent danger. Call me selfish, but I’ve grown to like you guys. And I do care for your chaotic asses.”

Gordon went on, grateful for the patient silence the team graced him with at the moment-

“I need to be upfront about this and not bottle this shit up, so let me be absolutely clear: The shit that happened in the simulation? I do not hold that against any of you. Knowing the context of that whole thing… yeah, it was horrid, not gonna lie- but we all ran on fumes… b-but it was also kinda… cool?”, he added with a nervous chuckle.

“Like, how you all tweaked the code in small ways? It added up to such a chaotic mess that was hella stressful… but really fun to experience too? Like- Benrey!”

“Huh whu-?!”, the guard in question sat up in the beanbag, eyes wide.

“Your no-clipping for bits? Your entire goddamn boss fight?! It was terrifying and So. Fucking. COOL!”, Gordon explained, wildly motioning around with his intact hand and then looking at the others in the room one after the other- “Look, I didn’t really know what you guys’ deal was, along with this being a professional job, so I didn’t really get to talk about all the stuff I get excited about but MAN!!”

The entire gang turned at the sudden sound of a low chuckle coming from the doorframe to the kitchen. G-Man was leaning against it, a soft smile on his lips.

“I… am glad that it wasn’t as traumatizing for you as it could have been, Mister Freeman. I take it, you are quite comfortable with the themes you saw in the simulation, yes?”

He motioned at the walls of Gordon’s living room, causing the man in question to blush and curl up a bit into himself. The Science Team exchanged a few confused glances before taking the opportunity to actually take in Gordon’s apartment properly.

“Look guys, I-”, Gordon started in a slightly defensive tone, before suddenly getting stopped by Benrey’s hand on his chest. Gordon snapped his head up, staring at the guard- whose whole attention was focused entirely on taking in the apartment's aesthetic.

The furniture around them was a wild collection of thrifted items. Wear and tear showed on the dark wooden table and on the clunky shelves on the walls.

Several big moving boxes sat in the corners, stacked on top of each other. It looked as if they hadn’t been moved in months, as if Gordon had not bothered opening them after moving into the place whenever ago.

The couch, beanbag chair and the two additional armchairs had several patches messily stitched onto them. A dresser to the side had been painted with various spray paints… and had a ton of smaller tags written on it with dripping pens at some point.

All his was the base… but what left the team staring with wide eyes were the small decorations of the place. The walls were absolutely plastered with band posters. And not the kind they would have expected from Gordon-

Countless of them had hard-to-read fonts on them, flames, lightning… and the number of bones and skeletons were honestly a bit overwhelming. Especially Benrey, who was now letting out a constant stream of excited-sounding Sweet Voice.

The skeleton theme actually continued with the other decorations around the room as well. Several different skull-themed items sat on the shelves, really putting the room together. And not cheap-looking stuff either! Some of them had a metal finish, others were carved out of wood and a rather big amethyst skull divided Gordon’s decently-sized DVD and Video Game collection.

There was what could only be described as faux-taxidermy all over the place as well. Small bottles labelled with things like “void eyes” and “dragon blood” instantly drew Darnold’s attention.

Dr Coomer ended up walking up to the wall-mounted dragon head with a colour-changing skull in its mouth and just gave it an approving nod.

Bubby, however, was still scanning the band posters until- “GORDON?!”

“Y-Yeah? Wha-”

“YOU PLAY ELECTRIC BASS??? AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?”

Gordon grinned and got up, walking over to where Bubby was standing.

“Oh yeah! That’s my old Fender! Haven’t touched that babe in a good while… probably needs a bit of re-tuning, now that I think about it...”

Bubby shot him a look-

“I repeat: you play e-bass???”

Gordon let out a warm laugh.

“Yeah! Sometimes guitar too, electric and acoustic. Just haven’t really had a reason to in a while.”

A pained expression suddenly appeared on Gordon’s face. “Not like I will again anytime soon, you know?”, he added, lifting his stump.

Bubby waved him off.

“Oh please. Harold told you he has a plan to get that “fixed”. Trust him on that. He doesn’t break his promises. And his work is extremely high-quality and responsive. You will be able to play again with no issue.”

Before Gordon could reply to that, he suddenly felt a hand on his healthy arm, only to find Dr Coomer right beside him.

“Indeed, Gordon! You will have a proper prosthetic arm in no time! Well… I hate to admit that the entire process will probably take at least a full week.”

“Oh! T-That’s still extremely fast! I… I don’t even know how to thank you for that, Dr Coomer. Do you need any specific tools? I think my computer building tools should be around here somewhere-”, Gordon rambled on, only to be stopped by Coomer’s laugh.

“Oh Gordon, don’t worry! I’ll be able to find everything I need with ease! Most of it I already have! I plan on stripping your VR Suit for parts, you see!”, the older scientist explained to him- “You go sit down and let yourself relax and heal. Which is something that needs to happen before I can even think about fitting the prosthetic properly to your arm anyway! I am sure Benrey’s Heal Beam will be of much-needed assistance with that in the following days!”

A loud “HELL YEEEEAH” was heard from the other side of the room.

Gordon chuckled.

“Alright then- uh…. Do you guys want some snacks and get comfy? I think I still have-”

“Mister Freeman… I took it upon me... to get that covered. I hope you don’t mind too much.”

G-Man walked into the living room with a big baking dish and wearing Gordon’s flame-print oven mitts.

“G, my good man, you will never hear me complaining about such perfectly baked Mac’n’Cheese- oh shit, is that sliced ham in there too?”, Gordon stared at the perfectly brown cheese layer on top- “… yeah, you are allowed and encouraged to cook whatever and whenever you feel like it while you’re in my four walls, holy shit.”

“Ah… thank you for the high praise Mister Freeman, but-”

Gordon shot G-Man an unimpressed look, which startled the taller man a bit-

“Alright, Rule Numero Uno of Hotel Gordon: You will be complimented here and you will take it. That goes for everyone here. Yeah, sometimes we will get salty over things, as we have before… but guys, here comes a fun IRL fact about me: I am aggressively supportive.”

“G-Gordon, I am not sure that is needed-”, Tommy stammered out, only for him to slightly freeze as Gordon turned towards him with an intense stare-

“Oh? Wanna test me? Think I won’t say that I still deeply appreciate how you selflessly dragged my sorry ass along when I was too weak to walk on my own? That you had my back in ways that I will be in debt for until the end of my life? You sure??? Absolutely sure?”, Gordon said, grinning and pointing a finger at Tommy… who was now hiding his face behind his hands, letting out a soft “buuuuuuh” sound, followed by a flustered laugh.

Gordon looked at all of the Science Team with an affectionate glint in his eyes. It felt so good to actually be himself around this chaotic bundle of people he learned to care for so deeply.

#hlvrai #hlvrai gordon #gordon feetman #metalhead gordon au #metalhead gordon #benrey #tommy coolatta #hlvrai darnold #hlvrai gman #hlvrai coomer #hlvrai bubby #the premise of this AU finally shows itself #fanfics #fanfic

[cchilyoja]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

tagged by:   tagged by the always wonderful @foxcharmed tagging:    anyone that follows me, sees this on their dash & wants to do it :)

MY MUSE IS:   canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated.

IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO. Well, he is the main character of the show, but seeing as there’s only me & @legcndreportr that write character from the show, I’d say, the RP fandom for it is tiny, but I think a lot of people that watch dramas like the show & the characters.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. [ I mean, he’s played by Ji Chang Wook, I mean, obviously yes. Have you seen just how many fan JCW blogs there are on this site? Understandable. Honestly, and truly.  ]

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. [ I’d say he’s very skilled & flawed. There are many things that he can do, many things that he is good at, but the slew of both traumatic and just plain shitty things that had happened to him over the early years of his childhood, combined with HUGE abandonment issues that he has never really dealt with. All of that can make certain mundane things a lot harder than any 007 stuff that he sometimes does. ]

ARE THEY UNDERRATED?   YES / NO / IDK. [ I think, even though I love the character, obv been RPing him for years. I hate that people don’t STAN the other characters as much, especially the other main female characters that are just as interesting, complex and worth loving. But alas that is the world we live in. ]

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY?   YES / NO,he is the main story, if you know what I mean. But no, seriously, he is the main character. 

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER?   YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [ Yeah, but tbh, I find it that in the show, the two main characters are equally sorted in the first place, Jung-hoo is nothing without Young-shin. There would be no development, no revelation about his life, childhood and interesting complex storytelling and showing without her.  ]

ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD?   YES / NO. [ One would assume that I should put YES for this, buuuut, while HEALER is known to the criminal underbelly, police and those that would want or need to hire someone like him, the general public has no idea. Which is exactly what he wants, because attention isn’t really a useful thing in his line of work, or just the way he lives his life.  ]

HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION?   GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [ Good when it comes to how skilful he is, but bad as a person. His character arc really goes a looong way from where he is in episode 1. Like the first thing we see is him playing a tennis VR game, complaining that he can’t pick the character he is playing against to have less clothes (that being a computer-generated character but still), which isn’t really all that interesting and for sure not someone I’d be all into writing. And also his lack of care when it comes to what he does, like the guy he was protecting also in ep 1. Ends up dead, and he’s annoyed bc the police think he killed him, the fact that he’s dead, he couldn’t care less. ]

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?   —   I’ve been writing him for over two years, and it’s just no fun to just follow the canon. He has developed overtime on his own, and besides that, I just never really like any CANON fully. When it comes to the show, bc there are only 16 eps, and as with most dramas there is only one season. So I’ve taken the liberty to expand on the canon and to create Jung-hoo as I think he’d be, away from the scenes we can see him in.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.   —   For me personally, I really found it interesting that the mother that abandoned him, married someone else and had a whole new family, after his father died. Jung-hoo cares for her, meets with her, gives her money etc. He doesn’t hate or resent her, I think that shows a lot of compassion but also emotional intelligence. He has this me vs the world outlook, way of life, mentally, however you want to call it, but is in desperate need for someone to SEE him. Like acknowledge his existence, to stay, to love him. He is incredibly skilled & capable, everything you’ve seen 007 do, he does it better. Also I’ve made sure to include diverse verses so there is a way to explore pretty much anything under the sun that you could think of.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).   —  I think he can’t really move past the whole I hate everyone & I need someone. So he goes back and forth, it is difficult to create a meaningful connection. I’ve been lucky to do that but that’s also bc I’ve written with some people here for years. 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   —   I had taken a few years break from RP, which used to be like one of my main interests, writing in general. And then I was getting into just watching Kdramas, watched HEALER, and I was instantly like I HAVE TO WRITE HIM, and never looked back really. 

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   —   Auditory stimuli, be it music or just sounds. For example, when I write I tend to use programs or websites where you can put different sounds in the background like thunder, rain, wind, chatter etc. Watching yt clips, seeing people on my dash tbh, like people that I follow also inspire me bc they make me go I WANNA WRITE WITH ALL OF THEM.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE?   YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ I think I tend to have all of these feelings, sometimes I’m like, yeah, this is Jung-hoo, this is exactly what I wanted, sometimes I’m like who am I writing? But I just focus more on me enjoying writing him, than thinking if people think I write him as they think I should.]

DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS?   YES / NO / SORT OF? [I have a bunch of headcanons about like the smallest of things, like the fact that I don’t think he likes wearing socks is one of them, but,  I don’t write them or post them on here. I’m not sure why, I guess I prefer to sort of just sprinkle them in the threads??? ]

DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES?   YES / NO [ Kinda. I also write fanfiction & I had started this original one with sort of Jung-hoo in mind but not really him. I realized I really like writing starters, I think that’s probably like an unpopular opinion or way of thinking but I really enjoy starting the thread, and I kinda sometimes think starters are like drabbles, I’m not making sense. ]

DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY?   YES / NO

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL?   YES / NO / SORT OF? [ Depends on my mental state. Like sometimes 100% and then other times it’s like what am I even doing?? ]

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING?   YES / NO / A LITTLE BIT. [ I enjoy how I write, if that makes sense. I’d like to think that I can switch it up now and again, keep it fresh, I def know that I’ve evolved over the course of the years I’ve been RPing ]

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON?   YES / NO. / SORTA.

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   —   Sure. I’m fine with that. I just think that the INTERNET does not know how to compute that, or people on the internet. It’s either, you can do no wrong or you should die a horrible death. It’s like either STAN or HATE. And it’s also somehow part of the rp community here on Tumblr. Where there’s just either fake praise or just unnecessary hate. And then there is a bit in the middle where like you can talk and exchange ideas and thoughts. But it is not the main focus by any means. If anyone wants to tell me to change something, or to do something diff, sure, let me hear you out, you might inspire me to improve. But that rarely happens. 

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   — Of course, I think a lot of people are like this. Talking about my character gives me muse for the character. Like we could be talking how he’d eat a salad and I’d be like, okay now I have to write a novella about this other thing I’m inspired about. 

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  —  That’s weird to me just bc I feel like when I read someones headcanon, this is how they, and them uniquely see the character, so I can’t really disagree with that, I can have an opinion for sure. But that’s like someone being I like this band, and you say, no you don’t, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   —  Same with the previous one. Like I often find blogs where they are writing a character that I either love from a show, move, book whatever, or it’s a canon type character that I find really interesting, like the idea behind it, but then I read their writing and then I go, aaaah okay nooo, no NO. And it’s never personal, it’s like, we ain’t gonna mesh, which is fine. And if someone is like that with my writing, fully understandable, just don’t be a dick about it, and we’ll be cool.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?  —  Couldn’t really give less of a shit really. RP to me is this little bubble where I am this fictional person that can do and try everything. It is in no way connected to any other aspect of actual reality or my life. The only connection is if I have to take a hiatus or smth, but like even if I write OOC things, it’s about IC stuff. I have other social medial for real life, this is just my RP bubble. So if someone is wasting their time hating a fictional character, they have bigger fish to fry. 

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   —   Sure, English isn't my first language so mistakes happen. If I see someone make a mistake and the write with me, I just change it when I reply to them, but I don’t point it out bc you never know, someone people could be okay cool thanks, and someone else could really feel down on themselves, which would be bad, and I wouldn’t want that to happen.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?  —  I’d like to think so, especially that I’m easy to approach and talk to. I don’t take many things seriously, not just on here but like in life. So I’m always open to any idea anyone might have. I’ve been lucky with the people that I’ve been following & those that have followed me, a huge percentage is just really dope people, nice to read their writing, nice to talk to, great to write with. And I hope that it stays that way, so we can also have this as some kind of mental break from life :) 

#MUSING #ABOUT #outofhacks #this was long but fun to write out :)

[darklanwangji]

AU in which CQL!Lan Wangji DOES stand with Wei Wuxian

.A glimpse of Dark!Lan Wangji reveals himself when the Yiling Laozu loses the will to live after Jiang Yanlie dies and from the accumulated stress.  Wei Wuxian never gets the chance to head for that jagged cliff, Lan Wangji knocks him out.  He makes a run for it leaving the Cultivators to whomever is manipulating events. Because he is done.

.(This finally clues Lan Zichen in because he knows his brother and this behavior is abnormal in the extreme.  This also sparks suspicion in Nue Hueisang...which will become full blown revenge scheming when Nie Mingjue dies.)

.Lan Wangji goes first to Yiling and nearly loses his shit after finding a hidden, malnourished and badly soiled Wen Yuan.  The child has open sores and infections developed from laying in his own feces for several days. He cleans Wen Yuan up and, still with an unresponsive WWX, sets off again knowing staying in one place too long is not good.

.He stumbles across Xiao Xingchen who is already blind at this point.  XXC's heard of the Sunshot Campaign AND what came after. XXC figured out that WWX is his Shijie's child long after they met.  He rushed back but thought he was too late.

.The two struggle to keep WY and WWX in the world of the living.

.In one of LWJ's exhaustive searches for spirit grass to make into medication and salves he runs into Luo Qingyang aka Mianmian.  At the same time random Cultivators recognize LWJ and attacks, meaning to take him back to Gusu Lan and receive handsome rewards for finding him.

.Before MM could do anything to help, Dark!LWJ's already taken cared of it.  He does not hold back. He nearly destroys their Golden Core if not for MM reminding him that WWX would probably not like what he's doing.  He cripples them instead. Permanently.

.He asks if MM would like to join their haphazard Flight To Somewhere Safe?  With one more person joining the team they're able to stabilize A-Yuan, leaving only WWX still in a disassociated mess.

.When it's XXC's turn to go out, MM goes with him.  They separate outside of an unnamed city and she finds Song Zichen.  XXC is robbed by A-Qing and he pretty much adopts her on the spot. They all meet again to go back with precious people and materials they've gathered.  (A-Qing only comes along to be close to XXC, let's be real.)

.LWJ and SZC take turns next to go out and get supplies.  They run across a heavily injured Xue Yang. They bring him back because SZC is still righteous even if LWJ is slipping slowly away.  XY, bluntly called a perpetual Work in Progress by LWJ, is beside himself with glee at being in the same place as XXC.

.LWJ has no qualms about using XY like a coal canary to sense if he fucked something up beyond repair with demonic Cultivation when trying to reach WWX's traumatized mind.

.SZC hasn't forgotten what the little twerp has done and is adamant that XY's not allowed to wander freely, either.  (XY has deity binding rope cuffs around his wrists making him unable to lift anything heavier than his shoes as a result.)

.XY respects exactly no one and continues trying to murder people until Dark!LWJ has had enough.  No one is sure what happened but XY is now scared shitless of LWJ.  It doesn't stop XY's murderous tendencies (LWJ isn't always around) but no one actually gets murdered despite XY's increasingly fantastic attempts.

.Lan Wangji realizes he inadvertently created a sect.  He shrugs when everyone came together to figure out how to go from there/label their Sect.  No one can agree. So he calls them all annoying and wishy washy, and now they are Whatever Sect because Suibian the sword is dearly missed by LWJ.

.And that's his story and he's sticking to it.

.LWJ may be the founder but XXC and SZC are the "face" of the Sect.  Bless them both, they are trying to be proper, responsible role models for the kids but...yeah.

.MM is Head Disciple with an iron-clad discipline.  She's also an unrepentant prankster with a particular gift towards the Chord Assassination technique.  She likes creating deadly, layered traps catered specifically towards XY to see how quick he is on his feet.  Or maybe she just likes making him jump on command.

.A-Yuan is very capable, ruthless and will end you with a single look from LWJ but is also fair.  His grasp of the Qin language is second only to LWJ, delicate and insidious. He can turn the unwary into his puppets with it. Sometimes will take pity on XY and give him vague hints on what the day or night or next turn around the corner has in store for him.  Mostly he's off taking care of WWX if LWJ isn't able to or taking care of LWJ whenever be can sneak in the chance.

.A-Qing has zero interest in Cultivation despite her talents.  She does it grudgingly because it makes XXC and SZC happy. She also teams up with MM to torment XY on occasion.

.XY couldn't give two shits about learning even more crap but likes showing off his more bizarre abilities.  He's also exhausted from being. On. Guard. All. The. Time. He really hasn't had the chance to cause much mischief.  Not that it's going to stop him from trying his damnedest.

.On one of XY's escape attempts he ends up literally falling atop Mo Xuanyu.  They nearly scare the life out of each other. Hot on XY's heels are A-Yuan, A-Qing and MM.  They drag Mo Xuanyu back to their Sect when they noticed that he's actually incredibly, intuitively, talented with demonic Cultivation.  LWJ is gonna wanna know about this kid.  (LWJ instantly has MXY help out with WWX.)

.Well, that and every time they run into MXY he seems to be ignored, being abused/bullied or bullying others.  The kids reason that they can give as good as he gives. So they should be his opponent/buddies instead.

.XY and MXY get along like a house on fire.  Of course.

.XY is v disgusted that MXY is similarly gifted as MM towards the Chord Assassination technique. MXY is surprised to realize he's useful and others, like the eerie Hanguang-Jun (Did he take a vow of silence?!?!) actually values his input.

.A-Yuan and A-Qing keeps trying to befriend XY in their own way.  XY has no idea what that's about and for once in his adult life is horrified.  (Also A-Yuan is LWJ's son. XY's not interested in becoming bait of any kind ever again, courtesy of a calmly furious LWJ during that one time kthnxbai.)  He'd rather be trussed up like a pig to be roasted then endure their attempts at...whatever they're trying to do.

.He spends a lot of time trying to get away and maybe, sort of, teaches everyone how to hunt down wily prey.  AKA humans. XXC also teaches them, including a startled XY, how to survive if one or more of their senses are no longer working.  Combined this makes the kids elusive and self sufficient when they're finally allowed to venture out. (And terrifyingly effective spies/assassins.)  Not that XY and MXY needed much help in that department but the self discipline and patience forcefully taught was...needed.

.The Sect offers reading and writing classes.  They start to host all kinds of teachers and scholars, workshops and exercises.  They invite wilderness survival guests who take whoever wants to live off the land and not worry about farming into the forests to basket makers and monks.  They elevate aged farmers and lonely elders in the area into teachers who impart their hard won, real life wisdom to newbie farmers or anyone interested.

.Not everyone likes this.  Lots of classism, racism and sexism comes into play.  The Sect does its best to stand by XXC's shining ideals and personal warmth but often fall short.  They are human after all.

.The area they sort-of settled in suffers massive natural disasters.  They end up becoming lifelines to many rural folks. This goes a long way to settle ruffled feathers.  They are still considered "outsiders" by the village bigots and those who are scared of change but they are less vocal.  Mostly those types died out though.

.(Most of the Jianghu and Cultivation world are still unaware that LWJ and WWX are with them.  Or even alive.) They organize the displaced folks when lawlessness breaks out due to a combination of famine, disease and general human misery.

.This further endears them to the people of this area.  The Sect is hidden in plain sight by then.

.Some years down the road MM falls in love, her beloved gets thoroughly interrogated by everyone.  She reveals exactly what she is, part of a "bad/evil" sect, to him but it doesn't matter.  He accepts all of her.

.They have a child.

.This infant is introduced to WWX, as part of a now established tradition.

.WWX slightly, briefly responds. LWJ comes to life.

.WWX fully awakens when MXY casually mentions the Ghost General still exists... tortured and trapped.

#modaozushi #the untamed #wangxian #cql verse

[dontcallmecarrie]

Blurred Lines

aka the incredibly niche and self-indulgent AU that spawns alternative timelines every time I so much as blink

Fandoms: Doctor Who [I haven’t been caught up since it got removed from Netflix; 10′s era and some fixits for 11′s run, too], Sherlock [playing fast and loose with canon here, and goes wildly AU after the end of Season 2]

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mental health issues at least partially stemming from an incredibly traumatic period, relationship problems, writer’s salt about Martha Jones being underappreciated

With how much the universe had been making and remaking itself, a chaotic and tangled mess, was it really that hard to believe that several wires had gotten crossed? 

In this particular case, the line between fiction and reality got...smudged, and Martha’s journey didn’t end when she left the TARDIS. 

However, this particular universe is even more convoluted than that— after all, this is also a universe where Moriarty and Mycroft exist alongside the Doctor and UNIT, but that’s a story for another day. [Mostly, anyway.]

This particular story, however, begins and ends with Martha Jones. 

Martha Jones, the medical student who had hoped for an adventure and got a war zone during her travels with the Doctor, whose steadfast loyalty had her walking the Earth. Martha Jones, who entered the TARDIS a doctor in training and left it a battle-hardened soldier who’d faced down Weeping Angels and madmen alike. Martha Jones, who, alongside her family, had experienced an incredibly traumatic event—the Year that Never Was—and now, all she could do was carry on with her life, burdened with the knowledge of a could-have-been that wasn’t.

Suffice it is to say, Martha’s not exactly in a good place. 

The aftermath of the Year was ugly, on a number of levels, and it affected her relationship with her family—but that’s not it. Her time with the Doctor’s changed her on a fundamental level, and everyone who ever knew her can see it. Martha has a very hard time wrapping up medical school, because of it, but in the end becomes a doctor.

She joins UNIT mostly as a way to get an excuse for some of said changes, because right now everyone’s just seeing a medical student with shadowed eyes and a habit of checking for exits and—well. Being able to say she’s a reservist neatly explains several questions Martha wouldn’t know how to answer otherwise. That she went on several intense and highly-classified missions just prior to re-entering as a civilian is just par for course, really.

[aka Afghanistan still happens, only things went to hell in a different way]

Martha goes back to life as a mostly-civilian doctor, with the conditional that she’d be on-call for if UNIT needed a discreet presence to look into things, and is just generally trying to carry on with her life despite the severe PTSD she’s got going on.

Incidentally, she’s also looking for a flatshare.

Meeting Mike Stamford was a happy accident; he’s a friend from medical school, and as they’re catching up her living situation gets mentioned, and...huh. Apparently Martha’s not the only one looking for a flatmate. 

Mike ever-so-helpfully volunteers to introduce them, and here’s where things diverge.

See, if it’d been John Watson, he'd take one look at Sherlock—at the man whose wit was sharper than his cheekbones, who’d gotten a read on him in the span of five minutes and was basically a force of nature—and he’d be enthralled.

However, in this universe, Martha Jones is filling his shoes, and she takes one look at Sherlock—at the tall, dark-haired man who burned so, very brightly, who effortlessly commanded the attention of everyone in the room—and all she can think is: ‘oh, no. Not again.’

Here, everything that drew John to Sherlock is everything that’s pushing Martha away; the parallels are so, so blatant it’s ridiculous. 

Every shred of common sense tells Martha to run. And yet.

Martha can’t help but be drawn in. He’s so, so brilliant, and he’s so similar and yet not to the Doctor, and...it’s been a while, since she left the TARDIS, since she last had an adventure like the one this man is promising. 

But Martha’s still on the fence, because of obvious reasons. Her biggest issue is that Sherlock doesn’t seem to be human, [because last time that happened she’d ended up seeing her world burn] and it’s not until she’s pinning a murderous cabbie and talking about the pills that she finally lowers her guard because it turns out that for all that he pretends otherwise, Sherlock isn’t that bad.

And once Martha’s guard is down, the two get along like a house on fire. 

No, really, it’s actually pretty unnerving, especially for the crew at NSY, or just anyone who’s ever known Sherlock. In the days and weeks and months that follow, it quickly becomes evident that one of the mysteries of the universe is, “just where on Earth did Sherlock find this woman?” because...well. 

At first, the confusion had been of the general “who the hell can stand living with this guy?!” variety, and more than a few people, up to and including Mycroft, are actually slightly concerned by the fact that Martha Jones can listen to even the fiercest of Sherlock’s diatribes and not even blink before shoving the grocery list at him as she heads off to work, and whose only reaction to Sherlock’s most gruesome experiments had been to yell at him for using the good saucepan for it. [Really, it’s almost like Martha’s dealt with someone like Sherlock before.]

It’s not until later on that things really start piling up, however, and here’s where things get...interesting. 

It’s not just the way Martha so easily falls into step at Sherlock’s right side, anymore; it’s the way Sherlock’s actually slightly less standoffish at crime scenes, and the first time he actually thanked someone for something Lestrade nearly spilled his coffee down his shirt while everyone else gaped, and that’s also right around the time the rumors start. 

Ah, yes. The rumors. 

Because apparently, a man and a woman moving in together automatically means they’re a couple to some people. Martha and Sherlock quickly develop a routine of saying, “we’re not together”, thanks in no small part to Mycroft’s smirking after bringing up how fast they were moving in their ‘relationship’.

Martha, who’s just been recovering from being the rebound from last time [hi, Rose], and Sherlock, who’s on the asexual spectrum [I’m leaning towards demi, for this particular AU, but really it depends] do not appreciate these rumors. Well, tough, because the more time goes on the more everyone around them ships it, because these two are very clearly good influences on each other: Sherlock has yet to pass out of malnutrition [a new record, by Mycroft's standards], and the shadows in Martha’s eyes recede as time goes on, and she makes friends among the NSY crew. [She makes an effort to befriend Molly Hooper, and helps her get over her crush.]

The more time goes on, the more annoying the rumors get. Martha’s irritated because she’s finally starting to look into dating again [and also because she’s self-aware enough to know that pursuing a relationship with Sherlock, especially at the moment, would be a Bad Idea because of the parallels she’s still occasionally seeing—plus he’s not interested anyway, so]. 

Meanwhile, on Sherlock’s end, he may or may not be starting to quietly panic as he’s starting to experience his first crush in god-knows-how-many years because he did not sign up for this crap, nope, where can he uninstall this weird feeling he gets when Martha smiles at him? 

Also because he thinks she’s not interested in him, and he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.

Other than that, though, things are going great: Sherlock and Martha make one hell of a team, and Mycroft’s teasing [...and basically everyone else’s, for that matter] just get more ammunition as time goes on as they’re photographed tiredly leaning into each other after particularly long cases, etc. 

Bits and pieces of Martha’s past come up every so often: some rather niche trivia here, a textbook takedown of an armed suspect there, the way her bag seems to hold everything from granola bars to the better part of a pharmacy. However, they’re few and far between, and typically only end up raising more questions than answers. Sherlock’s taken it as a challenge, but even he ends up stumped sometimes because really, where the hell did his flatmate learn to handle a knife like a Black Ops commando? He’d be very annoyed at not having figured Martha out sooner, except it looks like Mycroft’s stumped too.

But for the most part, canon ensues, as the continue with their daily lives. They go on cases, fight crime, and try to ignore the increasingly-annoying rumors.

The appearance of Jim Moriarty marks the beginning of the end.

Martha’s at the of her rope, trying to hold it together when she’s seeing this huge, epic showdown between genii. She’s trying not to lose it, doing her best to carry on when Sherlock’s acting differently, and people are dying, and...well.

Suffice it is to say, Martha’s not a happy camper, even before she gets kidnapped as the last hostage. Incidentally, she also accidentally got Moriarty’s interest because of the way she reacted to said hostage situation; the way she stoically deals with the vest is a marked contrast with the way she’d viciously fought a squad of armed personnel not an hour before, and that? Is just intriguing. 

...and canon marches on. 

They escape, and Sherlock’s not the only one who’s alarmed by the way Martha just. Breaks down laughing, after the fact, after having seen two genii facing off against each other and having faced certain death.

Time goes on, things proceed as per canon. Everyone’s starting to suspect Martha’s an unconfirmed living saint, and the rumors only get worse and there’s now a betting pool as to when they’ll get together—and then Irene shows up.

Which, awkward. Everyone expects Martha to be jealous but really she’s just protective about boundaries, and that she’s unruffled by Irene’s blatant flirting is just raising more and more questions, even after the Woman sauntered out of the picture.

Time passes, and canon ensues. They have more adventures, Martha’s journal [because she’s too private to have a blog, in this one] gets more and more pages filled in, and things are looking up. 

Cue Reichenbach.

Martha’s guard skyrockets after Moriarty’s reappearance, and trying not to panic even as the fiasco feels exactly like a deja vu of the showdown she’d seen between the Doctor and the Master. She’s scrambling for a peaceful resolution, scrambling not to lose it but it’s so, so hard because the parallels are right there and as if that’s not enough, there’s Weeping Angels running around. The entire time she’s at the end of her rope, things are looking bleak and in so many ways it’s just like last time and—and then, Sherlock dies.

Sherlock dies, and she had to watch him fall. 

And with his fall, she backslides like never before, every last scrap of progress she’s made with her PTSD erased in one fell swoop, and [just like last time,] Martha Jones walks away.

Ices over, packs up her things, and only sticks around long enough for the funeral before shipping out for a UNIT mission. Only keeps in touch with a few people, whenever she has the time—a phone call here, a quick visit when she’s on leave there.

Martha throws herself into her work, to forget. And with time and distance, she starts to pick up the pieces. [Again.] 

Her career is going places, and things start to settle down again. There’s been an effort to clear Sherlock’s name, but she doesn’t follow what’s going on because she’s not sure her heart would be able to take it. Besides—she’s got other things on her mind, what with the whole mess with the Sontarans and all. 

cue Doctor Who canon and fixits

Somewhere along the way, Martha meets Tom Milligan [again, outside of a time that would never happen], and they hit it off. Slowly, because Martha’s still quietly grieving for her best friend and they both travel a lot for work, but...they click. 

aka yep Tom’s kinda filling in Mary Morstan’s role

...and then the Earth gets stolen, and a lot of things end up going down very fast.

Using a highly-experimental device that had a good chance of killing her? Okay, came with the territory. Meeting the Doctor again? Sure, why not, this type of mess was right up his alley. Having Sherlock show up as they’re trying to figure out how to fix it, though? 

Let’s just say the reunion’s...interesting, and the only silver lining in all this is the face the Doctor made when he heard her ex-flatmate’s name. 

Cue fixit that doesn’t end up with Donna’s memories erased, manages to take care of the Daleks, and also manages to explain just why Sherlock Holmes is running around in 2013. Things get squared away, and there’s a happy ending for everyone as they all head off to their next adventure.

.

.

.

Here’s my main issue: there’s just so many ways this AU can go, so many potential spinoffs and ships possible that finding one ending is next to impossible. 

The Moriarty AU is a personal favorite, for instance, but even just the original has me torn between Martha/Sherlock, or Martha/Tom Milligan [aka yep he’s kinda filling in Mary Morstan’s role in this, or Sarah], or a mix of both via queerplatonic relationships—and then there’s the fixits, because there’s some things I had an issue with in the original [the way Irene got handled by the writers, for instance] and the list just goes on. 

Just—expect varying levels of crack and self-indulgence, because of Reasons. And the odd ship, too, because why not.

Also: for those curious about what happened to John—his deployment was unusually quiet. It didn’t help that troops got recalled after something went down with the new Prime Minister [hi, Mr. Saxon] which meant his convoy didn’t get ambushed and he didn’t get shot and sent home. Sure, he still has some PTSD, but not as bad as he might have otherwise, and that his hand doesn’t have a tremor means he quickly gets a job as a surgeon once his deployment’s up, and he settles back in as a civilian without having too hard a time of it. Along the way he meets and falls for Mary Morstan, and they have a happy ending living a quiet life because this is supposed to be a fixit AU and if I can minimize the angst and body count, I will. 

#Blurred Lines #fic ideas #fic idea #My writing #original outline #Doctor Who #Martha Jones #Naught rambles

[dontcallmecarrie]

Maybe it’s too early to ask, but I was wondering about what would happen if Maria managed to win against the Winter Soldier? Specifically, how would Howard react to the realization that he doesn’t know his wife (or son) at all?

So, this is entering kinda spoilery territory if you haven’t read the outline [it’s under both my LTTR and fic ideas tag, if you’re don’t mind said spoilers], but I will say that Howard’s survival was never in the cards, and neither is his finding out until the cold and bitter end. 

Also, this can be interpreted in various ways, thus the cut because I get rambly and you guys get multiple shatterpoints because there’s so many what-ifs to play with. Heads up for major spoilers, too, for the main AU, and at this rate I might end up playing with some of said shatterpoints too. 

Howard’s reaction to the reveal:

I kinda touched on it in his POV, but suffice it is to say that between his distancing himself from his family, alcoholism, and his lack of relationship with his son, Howard’s not exactly read in on the situation. Like, sure, he’s aware that his wife is from a small town somewhere in the Southwest, and she passed her tolerance for insanely hot food onto their son, but that’s about it. 

He was slightly curious about it a while back, but between his own demons and it sounding like some backwater place that’s probably nothing more than a corner store and a handful of buildings, well, he’s never really looked into it. Especially when he could be looking for Steve instead.

If you’re willing to deal with spoilers, then I will say that was more stunned by his wife showing her true colors than the discovery of the Winter Soldier. 

Because assassins, okay, comes with the territory, he’d known the risks that came with founding a Vague Yet Menacing Government Agency, plus makes sense that they’d go after one of the top weapons makers in the country. Sure, he was still not expecting to go out via an assassin who he recognized, but still.

On the other hand, he was not expecting his wife to throw a fireball singlehandedly. At all. And where the fuck did that machete even come from?! 

Howard knew his wife wasn’t like a normal civilian, not when she was all-but-running his company’s PR department with an efficiency that Peggy had commented on, not when she’d taken down that mugger the second time they’d met, but…he’d thought she was a civilian. He’d spent decades with her, had argued when it’d come up, thinking she was normal. 

So when Maria shoots him an apologetic look but continues fighting, continues doing her level best to give their attacker hell even if she’s pinned by the wreckage of the car, even if she’s already bleeding out as is, Howard’s in shock.

 The rug hasn’t been pulled out from under his feet, it turns out that rug didn’t even exist, and he doesn’t know what to do because suddenly he’s remembering how she’d reacted during dinners, reassessing every time she’d warmly hugged their son, and he’s coming up short. He sees the way she’s baring her teeth at the slowly oncoming assassin, and can’t help but make parallels to her smile, and the ease she’s commanding the shadows tells him more than words could ever say, and Howard just….can’t.

[If the Winter Soldier hadn’t killed him, he might just have died of a heart attack instead, is what I’m saying.]

Again, it was never in the cards for him to survive, when I started playing with this AU. 

However, if he had, they would’ve had a...talk, afterwards, which may or may not have devolved into a fight. 

If things had gone anther way and he’d reacted badly, and essentially rejected Maria:

 she would’ve packed up and taken her son, a change of clothes, and headed to Night Vale. Jarvis, of course, already had his own suitcase packed when he heard the raised voices. [The captured Winter Soldier also might or might not be tagging along, too.]

Of course, this one’s incredibly AU and we’d never see canon, since Howard’s paranoia would’ve skyrocketed after the double-reveal of both Maria’s more dangerous side and the Winter Soldier, which would’ve then led to HYDRA being discovered and eradicated. 

Especially since he’s diving into his work because there’s no one to go home to anymore, and he doesn’t know the first place to look because there’s no mention of Night Vale in any official registers and it’s like Maria and the rest just became ghosts. Part of him really regrets that fight, regrets how he’d treated his wife, the woman who saved his life, and another part of him hates her for taking his son from him [even if they’d never connected and how he’s wondering just what secrets Tony had] but he doesn’t know what to do anymore.

Steve would’ve been found and woken up to a Howard who was far older, hardened, and bitter than he last found him, and Stark Industries would’ve still been making weapons. 

Meanwhile, back in Night Vale, Maria and Tony and Jarvis are settling in just fine, and the Winter Soldier’s learning how to be human again in a place that by all rights should’ve been nothing less than re-traumatizing but is instead exactly what he needed. 

All in all, they’re kicking ass and taking names. 

Both literally and figuratively, because everyone in town knows Maria Carbonell and she doesn’t correct them on her last name [she’s pretty sure that last fight counts as a divorce, anyway, because Shit Went Down], Tony doesn’t either, and the Winter Soldier oscillates through various names as he’s figuring himself out, including Rami, Yakov, and Zosimos. 

They don’t really want to leave town, but when Thanos rocks up to try taking on Earth, the Carbonell household mobilizes. 

The Terror of the Time of Knives, plus a Tony who’s had even more exposure to Night Vale weirdness, plus a ready source of Librarians and a Woman From Italy, means the poor Mad Titan doesn’t stand a chance.

…then again, this might as well be another shatter point. uh-oh.

If Howard took it relatively well:

Yes, they still get in a fight. 

However, there’s also a lot of soul-searching going on, and Jarvis ends up making several liters of tea because the talk afterwards takes hours and the poor man is hearing his wife and son talk about all the assassinations attempts and kidnappings they’ve thwarted, and turns out he had nothing to worry about on that front. 

Tony and Howard’s relationship slowly goes from ‘hi, provider of y chromosome!’ to ‘you care about me? sounds fake but okay. at least mom’s happy now’ because Howard’s relearning everything he thought he knew about his son and it is a trip. 

Part of Howard’s horrified to realize the only reason Tony cares about him is because of Maria, and, on top of that, honestly thinks Howard doesn’t care for him. The rest of him is full of Regrets because how the fuck did he miss this?! 

Tony, for his part, is kinda indifferent. Sure, the guy who made a token appearance in his life is acting weird, but he’d get over it, right? 

Jarvis is in the back, debating about downing an aspirin or something for the headache he’s getting from the spectacle.

HYDRA gets found a lot earlier, especially since Maria’s degree in Communications is a bit of a misnomer and interrogating the captured Winter Soldier leads to a lot of shit going down very fast. 

Steve wakes up to a bored-looking but strangely familiar young man looking down at him and saying “hey your son’s awake” at—is that Howard? And…was he dead? Because there’s no way Bucky could be there swatting him on the arm, what was going on?

aka Steve’s introduction to the world is via the Stark-Carbonell household. 

also, Tony’s skewed idea of things means he honestly thinks Howard considers Steve his son, and Howard has yet to disprove him because the way he’s acting is only giving him more proof. Family showed their love in different ways, after all, and Howard’s constantly searching for Steve got interpreted accordingly.

Howard, meanwhile, is headdesking in the back because how the fuck did things get so convoluted? Where’d the signals get crossed?

Tony doesn’t resent Steve, because he doesn’t really care for Howard. 

Things happen, time passes, and miscommunication and headaches abound. 

Steve’s idea of the modern world gets pretty warped because he’s not leaving Bucky, and Bucky’s part of the household now too.

Thanos rocks up. It doesn’t end well. 

For Thanos, I mean.

As for if Maria had won:

Howard still died, seeing as you now have two shatterpoints where he didn’t. 

So, Maria wins, ever-so-narrowly, because she’s the Terror of the Time of Knives and she’s taken on assassins since she was a teenager. 

However, she’s also furious, and grieving, because she won but her husband was dead. And sure, they’d had their rough moments, had fought time and time again, but she’d caught the look of shock and betrayal on Howard’s face, and she’d been so, so close to him but hadn’t been able to protect him, what sort of wife was she? 

And what was she going to do now? Howard was dead, it was just her now, left to run the company and manage his affairs and everything. There’s so much that needs to be done, and she can’t just leave it all to Tony, he’s not even of age yet!

Tony, for his part, feels slightly guilty in how little his father’s death hurt. Because his mom was hurting, but…he never really knew the man, and his death doesn’t really impact him?

Like, when he’d gotten the phone call about the car accident, all he’d cared about was that his mother was alive and everything else had been secondary. 

So, Howard’s dead, and she’s managed to capture the assassin, but that’s not everything she needs to worry about now. Suddenly Maria’s scrambling to keep everything together, keep everything running smoothly, and she’s happy she trained the PR department well because right now there’s blood in the water.

After all, Howard Stark’s trophy wife is now the owner of the company, should be easy pickings, right? 

The discovery that no, actually, Maria Stark was as formidable as her husband in the board room was a nasty shock to many of their competitors [even if the company took an unexpected turn at times].

Not just there, either—because someone wanted her husband dead, and succeeded, so Maria Stark née Carbonell is on the warpath because she failed once at protecting her family, like hell she’s about to do it again.

aka HYDRA burns in short order, and Obadiah Stane vanishes mysteriously because this is supposed to be a happier AU

Tony’s working on his second doctorate and helping the man currently calling himself Yakov and laughing at everyone who’s shocked by how competent his mom is. 

Time passes, Tony takes up the reins under less pressure than he was under in canon. Maria finally takes her vacation, and Tony becomes the Merchant of Death. 

aka the world discovers he actually takes after his mother, and goes “oh shit”

In all universes, however, Thanos arrives and regrets trying for the Earth in short order. [Turns out that invading a place that’s been gearing up for a Blood-Space War does not end well.]

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