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wonjnz · 8 months

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drunk on (the thought of loving) you

₊˚⊹ summary: five years of loving hanbin can be told within taking five shots.

₊˚⊹ genre: angst (idk if this is even sad at all.. VV SLICE OF LIFE), best friend!hanbin, collegel!au | wc: 2.2k

₊˚⊹ warning(s): swearing, mentions of drinking | inspo: that’s what you get - paramore

₊˚⊹ a/n: idk this was kinda scrapped last month .. i’ll just post this bc i wanna keep this acc alive!!!

i. the first shot

you vividly remember watching hanbin crying in the driver’s seat.

you were the first person he called right after he got dumped by his now ex-girlfriend; and all you could do was watch and offer him a few tissues from the passenger’s side, occasionally offering a “she wasn’t all that, anyway.” whenever hanbin would rant about how much he wasted his love on her just to get ghosted.

“i don’t know anymore, y/n. am i that dumb to not notice she isn’t into me?” he asks despite his throat dry from crying, looking at you.

and that’s when you had that damn cheesy realization the moment you looked at hanbin again — the realization where you’ve stupidly fallen for your long-time best friend and that stupid, high school love you’ve been trying to avoid for all these years slowly dawns on you now despite both of you in college.

you shrug your feelings off for the meantime, “of course not. plus, you deserve someone way better.” you assure him.

the moment you arrive home, you’ve had the whole night to confirm that you were, in fact, helplessly in love with sung hanbin.

you don’t even know how it started — maybe it was during the one time he tiredly slept on your shoulder while on the way home from a field trip, or the way he’d always invite and mention you everywhere and anytime he could to the point even his friends thought you were together, and you don’t even dare try to remember how he said “i’ll love you whenever nobody is there to do it.” that one night during your nightly calls.

and as if that wasn’t already a big wave enough, zhang hao’s reaction to it felt like a tsunami.

“say you’re kidding right now.” zhang hao says in disbelief at your confession the next day, putting his drink down to focus solely on you. “you, liking your — our best friend since middle school, right after his ass got dumped?”

you frown and shrug as a reply, “i don’t know, everything just clicked that time. i think that’s like three years worth of having to interpret his mixed signals towards me.”

zhang hao sighs at your confused state, taking a sip from his coffee before speaking up, “so you’ve liked him for at least three years now?”

slowly nodding, you put your head in your hands. “god, i’m such a fucking dumbass, hao.” you say exasperatedly as you dread the day you’d grow tired and finally confess to hanbin,

“you think you’ll try talking to him about it soon?”

“i don’t think i’ll ever have the guts to tell him, hao.” you say defeatedly, looking down at your phone to see that hanbin sent another really long rant about his ex. “not when he’s still fresh out of a relationship, that’s for sure.”

“i’m just scared that once i confess, i’ll ruin everything. i’ll ruin us.”

you felt helpless, hopeless even, just the mere thought of seeing hanbin’s pitiful reaction at your confession is enough to make you pass out in the bustling cafe you were in. what more when he’ll start distancing himself days after? you were terrified.

zhang hao waves your fear off nonchalantly, “you’ll never know. what if you’re in some kind of drama and this could be your chance?” he tries to lighten the mood, smiling victoriously when you raise your eyebrows at him.

“don’t feed into my delusions hao,” you roll your eyes at him. “i'll just tell him once i'm over from this whole dumb ‘liking your best friend’ thing.”

“by the looks of it, i don't think that's happening anytime soon.”

you scoff and playfully hit zhang hao’s shoulder, receiving a small scowl from him, “but you gotta admit, we make a good pair,”

“he just doesn't love me that way.”

ii. the second shot

sometimes you wish you weren’t too adamant on hanbin drinking his heartbreak out, especially now that you’re left with a drunk-out-of-his-mind hanbin in your apartment. (you mentally curse zhang hao for leaving earlier than expected.)

the night started off with the three of you making a toast to hanbin moving on, which then evolved into a mini ranting session about going into college life, then a sudden karaoke break, zhang hao leaving after, and now this.

you’re both slouched on the dining table, arms serving as your only pillow because for some reason you can’t walk over to your sofa, and with no knowledge of time as you ramble on about the most random topics you could think of.

hanbin hums amusingly, “y’know, even if you say nobody is there to love you, i’m always here as your best friend.” his words slurred and groggy. and even with the amount of alcohol in your system numbing your senses, you still felt that little sting in your heart, you only laugh as a reply.

“so you'll only ever see me as a friend?”

you hear him hum lowly, “of course, what else would i think of you as?”

right, of course.

“not even more than a friend?” you, or the alcohol in your system, ask again. hanbin slowly hums again, the sound softening until you're met with nothing but the sound of the bustling city outside your apartment.

a few minutes passed by and you finally gain the strength to at least sit up, the sight of hanbin sleeping coming in full view — his slight pout, light breathing with a few snores here and there, and ruffled hair was honestly a sight you wished you could look at forever. but you swear the longer you stared at him, that god-awful feeling of regret starts to feel even stronger than before.

but that night, you fell in love with sung hanbin for a second time.

iii. the third shot

“you know, we started talking again.” hanbin shares through the phone, going silent as he expects some reaction. no way.

you shift in your seat, “seriously? didn’t you say you officially moved on like what, two years ago?” hanbin smiles sheepishly to himself before saying, “she messaged me last night, so i replied. we talked the whole time i barely slept.”

“we’ll hang out a bit after this actually! you wanna join us?” he offers innocently, your heart receiving a jab this time when you noticed how excited his voice seemed just at the mere thought of seeing her, you knew hanbin well enough to know he was madly in love yet again.

you stay silent for a few minutes before speaking up, “you guys have fun, i don’t wanna be the third-wheel between you two.” hanbin mumbles a small ‘awe,’ before eventually ending the call to get ready.

next thing you know, you’re on facetime with zhang hao bawling your eyes out about what just happened. “see i told you, he’s still hung up on her.” he says while walking around his apartment.

genuinely speaking you don’t know what’s worse, the harsh truth zhang hao was telling or the way you could barely hear his voice due to the amount of muffling and moving he’s doing.

“did you see the way he’s talking about her? he’s literally the most obvious man alive.”

“you’re really not helping me here hao.”

“right, sorry.” zhang hao immediately shuts up, humming a bit before speaking up again. “i know it’s not easy, but at least try to move on from him, y’know?” he says, his voice filled with sympathy at your state.

before you could speak up zhang hao continues on, “it’s not possible, i know, or — i don’t know, just tell him so you can get that burden off, i’m sure he’ll understand anyway.”

you groan at the thought of confessing, “are those really my only choices?”

“unless you wanna live with getting hurt over and over again, yeah.” zhang hao shrugs.

you sigh at his advice, he was right after all, but every time you remember your friendship is at stake; you back out at the last minute. “i’ve been handling this for two years, hao, don’t you think i can handle two more?” zhang hao chuckles almost pitifully.

“of course not, you’ve been handling this whole hanbin thing for, correction, five years too long. you've genuinely gone batshit crazy.”

“honestly hao fuck you because was the last part really that necessary?”

iv. the fourth shot

god, you’re tired of hanbin’s constant compliments about her; how she’s the best person in the world, how she’s the prettiest girl he’s seen, how she’s so special and dear to him. almost every conversation you’ve had would always go back to something related about her, even if it meant the most absurd topics only you three would know. the topic could be about how zhang hao got lost in the middle of a forest and hanbin would still tie it back to her.

hell, he even mentions her even while drinking.

but you’ve handled it for five years now, so what’s the difference?

the three of you were celebrating your graduation in zhang hao’s apartment, the bouquet from your parents laying on the sofa while your togas were thrown across the room while zhang hao’s coffee table was filled with a bunch of soju and shot glasses you bought from a nearby convenience store.

“thank god we’re finally graduates, i can finally escape from all those girls taking candid pictures of me.” zhanghao sighs in relief the moment he starts downing his first drink of the night, pouring more.

“you sure? i already saw new fansites of you online, they’ll never leave you alone at this rate.” hanbin retorts, you chuckle at zhang hao's horror as he's frantically checking his twitter to see pictures of him at his graduation.

the night, cliché enough, felt like a dream. the three of you basking in the temporary freedom of adulthood before you start looking for work.

as it went on, you missed the days where you could look at hanbin without noticing the stars in his eyes, the days where you could still speak full coherent sentences whenever his attention is fully on you, and zhang hao noticed.

“it's just hard to say no to someone you really loved,” you hear hanbin say, zhang hao had brought up his ex (to your absolute horror and zhang hao's drunkenness) and you've been quiet the whole conversation.

“especially with her, it felt like i had no more to give but the moment we talked — there was still something left.”

you chuckle, not at him, but the way his words hit how you feel with hanbin right in the center. and yet you just can't refuse to give hanbin the little love you have left even when he's freely giving his own to someone else.

you take another shot to drown your feelings out more, “so you just can't say no, right?” you ask, seeing if he feels the same way.

hanbin smiles at you before nodding, placing his shot glass down to lean back on his chair. “yeah. you really can't.” he answers, confirming that you were both experiencing the same form of love. but painfully enough, just not towards each other.

god, was the truth so anticlimactic for you.

the way hanbin talks about her with the same lovestruck eyes whenever you talk about him to zhang hao, how you notice the little things in hanbin the way he also notices the little things in her — you knew it from the start.

but to see it slapped to your face despite knowing how it'll end, just felt like reality slowly kicking in the more drinks you take.

and now, under zhang hao's dim apartment lights, you realized that the truth that sung hanbin will never see you as more than his most cherished best friend since middle school, really does hurt.

you swear you were just drinking your first shot, but when you woke up to find yourself on zhang hao's bed; a loud snore coming from the living room and—

v. the fifth shot

“you awake?”

shit.

quickly turning to hanbin's figure by the bedroom door despite the pounding headache, you slowly nod. “just woke up actually.”

as you slowly look at hanbin by the bedroom door, you immediately remember the day you realized your feelings for him — his face puffy from crying yet still so pretty under that orange sunset glow, his hands that’d usually tap on the steering wheel when he was starting to calm down again, and the way his shirt was so wrinkled in one specific area from all the bunching.

it felt almost too poetic to have that sort of realization under the sunset in his car, almost as if you’re bidding goodbye to the days you used to look at him as just your best friend.

so you, or the remaining alcohol in your system figured, rather, that you make use of the sunrise to finally welcome the harsh truth of confessing to him.

and you did.

“i love you.”

you’re met with nothing but silence, looking down to save yourself from bawling your eyes out in front of him.

“i’ve loved you for five years, hanbin. five fucking grueling years.” you manage to croak out, not noticing the way hanbin slowly makes his way towards you, nor the way his eyes significantly soften when he sees zhang hao’s sheets slowly staining from your tears.

a few minutes pass without much happening, the room only filled with the sounds of your sniffling.

“i’m sorry, y/n.” hanbin whispers, eventually embracing you to at least bring some comfort. but to his dismay, his actions just made you cry even harder; not because you just got rejected, but because of how soft his voice and embrace was it felt like he was pitying you.

in his defense, who wouldn’t? you loved him for so long, despite knowing he’s still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and regardless will still see you as his most precious best friend. all he could do at the moment was continuously say ‘i’m sorry’ whenever you cling onto his shirt tighter as support.

as you continue to cry in his embrace, you realized that under the sunset, you were there to comfort hanbin. but as you’re both waiting for the sunrise, you figured he’ll never be the one there for you like he promised.

#zb1 drabbles #zb1 scenarios #zb1 x reader #zerobaseone x reader #zb1 imagines #sung hanbin #sung hanbin x reader #hanbin #hanbin x reader

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asexual-abomination · 10 months

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This is the first part of a rewrite of the series that brought attention to my blog in the first place! When I wrote this series originally, it was at midnight when I couldn’t sleep because I had COVID, so I always wanted to come back and rewrite it with a clearer mind.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, cause I’ve been real stressed about university, but waking up to new notes on this blog is always a highlight of my day! I have so many WIPs for hxh, Overwatch, ff7, the batfamily, and now the spider-verse movies, but I’ve been struggling to complete them to an extent that I feel is worth posting.

Please leave a comment if you want me to rewrite the rest of the series!

Platonic!Yandere!Phantom Troupe X Autistic Reader (Soulmate AU)

Content warnings: Yandere, vague mentions of violence. Read at your own discretion.

“To my dearest soulmate.-“

No, too affectionate.

“To my soulmate, I am incredibly excited to welcome you here-“

The sentence is jarring, start with an introduction.

“To my soulmate, my name is YN, and I am so excited to finally have the chance to communicate with you!”

Good enough. You were so happy to be writing a letter like this, being able to rewrite and start over as often as needed, without the pressure of saying it right in the first try.

Having finished one sentence, you sighed as you looked down at the number of things you had crossed out before it seemed right. Then, you turned to your notebook, where you had spent years collating everything you wanted to put into this letter, trying to find some inspiration for what to do next.

“I have been awaiting this day, carved into our bodies, for my entire life.”

Was that too formal? Too strong?

Ugh. This was hard.

You despised knowing nothing about your soulmate, the enigma of their identity making them feel otherworldly and strange. Without knowing even the slightest bit about who they were, you had no frame of reference for what they would consider too much or too fast, leaving you to blindly feel your way towards a half-coherent letter.

Jo was sat across from you, in their favourite shabby armchair, pretending to watch the football you had put on for background noise, and not-so-secretly keeping an eye on you. From your dejected sigh as you curled up on the sofa, your childhood friend could tell what was bothering you from a single glance.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, they’re your soulmate, they’ll love you no matter what.”

“But they shouldn’t!” You sighed, “I want to impress them, make them feel welcomed and happy!”

“And that’s what I’m gettin’ at! Their personality must be suited enough to yours that they’ll find your way of doin’ things loveable!”

You grumbled with no coherent response, looking again at your paper.

They’d find your way of doing things loveable.

You could work with that.

“I hope that I, and my friends, can make you feel happy and welcomed in my home. The time we will spend, with our bodies swapped, will be precious, and there will never be another time like it in our lives. You are precious to me.”

Your lips tugged downward in a frown at the last line, the irritating thoughts about potentially annoying your soulmate flooding you again. You had just let the pen run wild, trying to encapsulate even the smallest fraction of your feelings about the situation, which always ended up feeling like too much as your emotions overwhelmed you.

Just as you considered scrapping the whole thing and starting again from scratch, Jo caught your eye with a stern glare, as they always did when you doubted yourself.

“I have longed to know who you are for years; your mystery has entranced me. I want to see the destiny the universe has seen fit to bestow upon us both."

As you relaxed into the motions of the pen, the waterfall of words falling from your fingers, you stunned yourself with short poetic verses.

"Even though romance holds no place in what has been destined for us, I want to make you so happy that you may bear your heart to me as I may for you. Please take care of my body while you have it. I hope that one day I might trust with this on more than just blind faith.

All my love, from the bottom of my heart, your soulmate."

It felt weak. You felt weak.

Was it really right to say you loved someone you hadn't met? Even as soulmates, it felt like a betrayal.

"Hey Jo, do you mind reading through this for me? If I keep looking at it, I'll either throw it away or throw up."

"Ahh, YN, you know I'm not so good with words and that stuff, yeah? That's your job, ain't it?"

"Oh, hush, I've read your poetry, you big romantic!"

"What?"

You quickly hurried past them, dropping the drafted letter onto their lap before heading to the kitchen. Your hands were shaking; you needed to get some water before you passed out.

Your breaths were coming short as you downed a second glass of water, one arm shakily holding the lip of the sink for support as the anxiety began to weigh on your mind. You had less than a week; on this Sunday evening, you'd lie in bed and wake up in the body of your soulmate. It was Tuesday evening, the soft autumn air swirling dead leaves outside your window.

A phone began ringing in the living room, so you set down your glass on the draining board and began heading back through, only to realise the call wasn't for you when you heard Jo's voice.

"Yeah, I hear ya. No need to yell, old man... Oh, shut yer trap; you know I'm only half joking... You know I said wasn't working tonight... Yeah, yeah... You piece of shit! Fine, I'll be there, but you better be payin' me double time for this shit."

Jo rounded the corner, grumbling under their breath. They paused at your side, leaning in slightly to speak, the smell of beer on their breath and thankfully not overwhelming.

"Listen, yer letter was grand, okay? You've got a talent for these sortsa things. I've gotta head out, alright? Probably won't be back until morning. I'll bring you back something nice alright, repayment for skipping what should have been a nice night together."

"It's alright, really. Just take care of yourself, okay?" You reassured them.

They walked out into the biting chill, heading down a dark alley like it was their own front door.

--//--

Chrollo looked himself in the eyes, the cold water he splashed on his face dripping from his hair.

He had felt strange the past few days, like something was clinging to the back of his mind, tugging his attention away from his work. As if a song was stuck in his head, but he couldn't remember the melody.

The Mediterranean heat must have been getting to his head; that was the only explanation. He composed himself, wiping his brow before he went to slick his hair back, turning his focus to the heist he and the Troupe would be carrying out that Sunday.

--//--

The week had been long and stressful for everyone involved. You tried not to be too much of a perfectionist, but you wanted to make the best impression possible.

The morning of the day you would switch was upon you, and you came downstairs to find Jo asleep on your couch, as they often were. You smiled at their sleeping face, very peaceful compared to their usual furrowed brow.

Their face was made up of sharp lines, almost geometric perfection, except for the mess of freckles covering their cheeks and forehead, adding just a hint of softness.

As you prepared breakfast for the two of you, Jo woke up with a sleepy groan, trudging over to the kitchen counter.

"Today's the day, huh? The last day of me being your best friend?"

"Jo! Don't say it like that! I'll always love you, you know that!" You defended yourself.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm just joking. You deserve to be happy with your soulmate."

You frowned at that again, remembering the situation with Jo's own soulmate. You had both been so excited to look her up after the switch, only to discover that she had died in a sudden car crash within an hour.

After that, they became much more clingy with your time. When they were around, at least. They had also begun taking on many more "jobs" that took them far away.

You sympathised with their situation, but you could tell they harboured jealousy for your soulmate.

You sat down on the couch, breakfast in hand, as Jo came to sit at your side. You flicked through channels on TV, trying to alleviate the awkward tension that fell over the room.

"Listen, I'm not jealous."

"It's okay to admit it; I can understand your perspective! But you can't keep me from my soulmate!"

"No, it's not that! It's more that I'm... paranoid."

"Paranoid, about... what, exactly?"

"About your soulmate! I can't explain it, but I've got this bad feeling!"

"A bad feeling? What kind of bad feeling?"

You learned a long time ago that Jo's intuition was often correct, but were they really concerned or just trying to pull you and your soulmate apart?

"I just said, I can't explain it! I just don't want anything bad to happen to you!"

You sighed as you felt that both of you were becoming too worked up.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you. I think... we're all quite stressed right now. Let's have a proper talk when we're not all so high-strung."

"Yeah, yeah."

Today was gonna be fun.

--//--

Chrollo smiled at the carnage surrounding him, watching as his friends unleashed their power on these pathetic guards. They heard the approaching rumble of reinforcements, which, by their calculations, should contain the man they were after.

His incredible enhancer ability would be handy for Chrollo, so they had spent days sieging the fortress he defended. As Nobunaga took to whittling down the primary reinforcements, Chrollo found himself distracted once again. That strange feeling in the back of his head, the itch he couldn't scratch, saying that something was wrong.

He shook his head to free himself of these thoughts, as the intimidating man faced him, seemingly unaware of exactly who he was fighting.

--//--

Despite your small fight with Jo, the day had gone well. You had prepared several cakes, which you poured plenty of love into. You also wrote your letter into one coherent piece and placed it in an envelope, which you taped to inside of your bedroom door.

A group of your friends arrived, all bearing various snacks and drinks to add to the table. As the conversation began to flow, you anxiously reminded them of the careful limits you had gone over for what they were allowed to say to your soulmate. They all laughed and smiled, promising to go along.

Almost on autopilot, you turned to Jo for reassurance, and they were in a good enough mood to laugh softly and promise to keep the others in line.

You knew Jo wouldn't go back on their word, no matter their personal feelings about the situation.

With everything laid out enticingly on a coffee table, you retired to your bedroom for the night, your gut swirling with anxiety and excitement.

You laid back on your bed, crossing your hands across your stomach. You had until exactly 21:29 to wait for the switch.

Looking over at the clock you had bought for this express purpose, you saw 21:27.

It'll probably feel like forever, you thought, plenty of time to get comfortable.

21:28

That's fine; you took a few deep breaths, settling down into your pillows. You closed your eyes softly.

Breathing deeply. With your eyes closed.

In, and out, in, and out.

Curiosity got the better of you.

Your eyes snapped open, turning back to the clock, getting to see just the slightest glimpse of 21:29 before everything changed.

--//--

Chrollo sighed from the driver's seat, just a straight highway unfolding seemingly infinitely in front and behind him. Confident in his ability to avoid traffic by instinct, he allowed his eyes to drift to the clock on the screen, 00:28 blinking back at him.

That time bothered him.

It wasn't unusual for him to stay up past midnight, more common than not, in fact, but that itch he couldn't scratch, that sweet song that slipped his mind's grasp, was back in full force, making him grit his teeth in irritation.

He returned his eyes to the road before him, though he only caught a glimpse of the asphalt-laden horizon before everything changed.

--//--

In a moment, you felt everything shift. You could feel it down to the change in the structure of your skeleton. Every muscle was different, every sensation infinitely sharpened by the new body you inhabited.

You felt that you were sitting, not lying down. You saw that you were looking out at a road.

And then, finally, you realised you were driving the car.

It was common knowledge that the swap allowed people to speak in the native tongue of their soulmate, but you wondered if you would be the first to discover that the same thing applied to driving skills.

You focused on the road and on keeping your breathing steady, aware that a panic attack here would result in much more than a headache and a sore throat in the long run.

Once finally began to calm down, you briefly peeled your eyes off the road to look your soulmate in the eyes in the rearview mirror. His grey eyes were striking, and his raven black hair was slicked back to his head, revealing a strange tattoo in the centre of his forehead. He was quite attractive, all things considered.

You felt a brush of air across your chest and again glanced down to notice you were completely shirtless, other than a feathery collared jacket that did nothing to hide your soulmate's toned body. Definitely a bold outfit choice, but you couldn't deny that it suited him well.

After a few more moments assuring yourself of the safety of the road, you tried to look at the other passengers of the car. You had seen them when you looked at yourself in the mirror, but you couldn't bear to think about them at that moment.

In the passenger seat was a pink-haired woman, her face stoic as she stared ahead. Behind you was a grumpy-looking man with black hair leaning into the window. In the centre of the backseat was a blond man with a cute face, tapping away at a modified phone of some kind. Furthest from you, behind the passenger seat, was a gruff-looking man with slicked-back blond hair.

None of them seemed to have noticed a change in their driver's behaviour, so you had a few more moments to collect yourself before you spoke up. Although you were still grappling with the fact that your soulmate had entirely forgotten about your switch, you didn't want to waste your time.

"I don't know... quite what's happening here, but I'm this person's soulmate."

You could taste something sweet with just the slightest hint of bitterness on your own breath.

The car had been silent before you spoke, but the silence grew heavier. Now every eye was on you, and you almost wished you hadn't said anything, that you had let the switch play out in complete silence before returning to your own body.

"What?" The taller blond man finally replied.

"I'm... their soulmate? Did they not tell anyone?"

"Boss had a soulmate?" He turned to the other blond man, ignoring you completely.

"Not as far as I know!"

"Look at me."

That last bit was said by the pink-haired woman next to you. With no small amount of fear in your heart, you ripped your eyes away from the road to look her in the eyes. Her cold, calculating eyes pierced you through and through. After what felt like aeons that she spent observing you, she let out the slightest gasp.

"You're not lying."

As soon as you had the reassurance that they believed you, you looked back at the road, relieved to see no danger.

"Are you serious? Are you messing with us, boss?" The black-haired man spoke, his tone rising to aggression.

"Calm down, all of you! This is the boss's soulmate, obviously!"

"But why wouldn't he tell us at all? This is crazy!"

"I don't know! Maybe he wanted to test us?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's going on here?"

The pink-haired woman turned back to from where she had been scolding the other passengers, sighing before she spoke.

"Look, sorry about all this ruckus. It's just that we're pretty close to our boss, and he never even told us he had a soulmate!"

"Seriously? Weird..." You trailed off, unsure of how to fill in the dead air.

"My name's Machi; what's yours?"

"I'm YN. Who is this?" You asked, gesturing slightly at your own body.

"Oh right, our boss's name is Chrollo. In the backseat, there is Nobunaga, Shalnark, and Phinks." She pointed each one out to you.

Behind you, Shalnark and Nobunaga were whispering to each other as they looked intently at Shalnark's phone.

"And where are you from, YN?" Shalnark spoke up again, a bright smile on his face as he watched you through the rearview.

"I'm from CN; where are we right now?"

The conversation continued like that for some time, with simple back-and-forth questions. Jo had advised you not to share too much sensitive information, and you couldn't help but get the inkling of a feeling that they were right.

The way that Shalnark would ask you questions before he immediately turned back to his phone alighted some anxiety in your gut, so you tried to turn the conversation back on them.

"So, you say that my soulmate here is your boss? What do you do?"

You didn't miss the beat of silence, but you tried to give them the benefit of the doubt that they had been put on the spot.

"We're traders, mostly," Shalnark started, "We travel around, buying and selling antiques and treasures and stuff!"

"Wow, that sounds like fun!"

"It can get tiring sometimes, but it's really fulfilling!"

There was a breath of relief from the car before Nobunaga spoke up, excitedly telling you a story of a time they had visited your home country for their business. Finally, it felt as if the atmosphere was relaxing, with everyone joining in to add details to the story.

You smiled softly, relieved that you no longer felt like an insect under a magnifying glass. It was pitch-black outside the car, and there were very few other cars on the road, so you felt safe enough to relax your grip on the steering wheel just a touch as well.

As you leaned back in the driver's seat, listening to Phinks avidly tell you about the food they had enjoyed in the capital of your home country, you felt the night's excitement finally hit you.

And how unlucky that you had just relaxed when you suddenly found yourself back in your own living room.

--//--

Chrollo snapped awake in his place, feeling that he had gone from his spot sitting to lying down in the blink of an eye. Immediately, he threw himself into a standing position, assuming the car had been surprise attacked.

At the same moment, he reached for his knife while attempting to summon Bandit's Secret. His anxiety only heightened when he realised that he had neither.

Finally trying to observe the situation and pinpoint his potential attacker, he slowly began to piece together what was going on.

He was in a neat bedroom and had been lying in bed. On the bedside clock, he read 21:29 in red blinking letters.

Oh shit.

Oh fuck.

His soulmate.

Ten years ago, he had made sure that his soulmate date was entirely obscured by his spider tattoo, going as far as to go to a different tattoo artist than the rest and killing them afterwards. He had to protect his soulmate, lest they be used against him. But in his attempt to defend them, he had completely forgotten to prepare anything.

Shit.

He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings now that he wasn't in danger. A mirror poised on one wall allowed him to observe his soulmate. He ran a hand over his cheek as he watched the skin move in abject fascination. All these sensations were raised in intensity; even in this body without Nen, he felt everything to a pinpoint. He suddenly became aware that he could taste a tiny bit of mint; they had even taken the time to brush their teeth to ensure his comfort.

There was an envelope taped to the inside of the door, obviously meant for him. Picking it off the door with an uncharacteristic level of gentleness, he sat back down on the bed to read.

The letter nearly sprung tears to his eye; how blessed was he to have someone so passionate! He could feel the depth of emotion poured into the letter, the way you spilt your heart out on the page.

He sat on the bed, eyes scanning over every line, reading and rereading the poetry before him.

"Do you think they're okay? I heard some movement inside, but it's been silent since. Do you think they fell and hurt their head?"

"Ugh, I'll knock and go check."

It hadn't occurred to him that there would be other people here - just another example of the care and thought you had put in.

He opened the door to a freckled face, who wore an expression of surprise as their hand was still in the air, having been about to knock. Immediately, he turned on the charm, knowing he could at least cover up for his lack of planning on this end.

"Oh, sorry about that; I didn't realise I was expected!" He added his best chuckle, followed by, "My soulmate is quite the poet; I've been entranced!"

He waved the letter to show it off before stepping past the newcomer. But he stopped briefly while he was right next to them. He could feel it.

The cold, calculating look in their eye, the robust build, the scars along their hands. They were from Meteor City.

With a polite nod, he continued into the living room, though he could feel that person's eyes on him the whole way. He was greeted with three cakes and a wide selection of snacks and drinks. He cursed that you wouldn't be getting such a cosy reception on your end.

The conversation flowed easily as soon as he introduced himself; everyone was excited to tell him things or ask him questions. He easily lied his way through questions about his profession; it was like second nature to the charismatic thief. Everyone in attendance was charmed by him except that damn person from Meteor City. Just as he began considering if he might have to kill them, they leaned forwards, interrupting another one of your friends.

"You smoke?"

Chrollo had smoked once or twice in his youth but had never had a taste for it. He shook his head no, hoping they would drop it there.

"Too bad, 'cause I do, and I want a private chat with you. Step outside."

With their authoritative voice, he knew he was not avoiding the following conversation.

The biting chill on his cheeks felt much sharper than usual, his own body having learned to withstand much harsher conditions. However, he was scarcely given a moment to enjoy the sensation before Jo interrupted.

"You're from Meteor City."

"I'm aware."

"Hmph. Are you a thief?"

"Of course, aren't you?"

"My work isn't the prettiest, but I'm not that low. I owe that to YN."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They lifted me up and out of that place of their own goodwill. When I escaped that place, we met by chance, and they offered their hand to give me a new life. They're the reason I stay on the straight and narrow. I'll do anything to protect them; you should know that."

"I will, too; surely you should know that. I'm their soulmate."

"And you're also a thief. Probably a prolific one, from how easily you lied about your career. I want to protect them for their sake; you just want to protect them for your own sake. You won't be taking them anywhere; I'll steal them away where you'll never find them again if you try."

"That's quite the threat; are you sure you can follow through?"

"I'll have to, for them."

Chrollo chuckled at this silly notion. As if they could really do anything to take his soulmate away now that he knew they were here.

He watched Jo's silhouette retreat back into the warm light of your home, a smirk spread across his face at their sheer bravery, before everything changed.

--//--

Snapping back to your own body, now standing, was jarring, to say the least. Jo looked over their shoulder at your gasp as you nearly lost your balance, rushing over to catch you before you hurt yourself.

"Oh, hey there!" You laughed, looking up at them.

"Hey." They sounded standoffish, but their smile was undeniable.

"What are we doing outside?"

"Oh, I just wanted a smoke, and he followed me to chat."

You couldn't smell any smoke in the air, and you felt like something was being hidden from you, but you were just so tired and happy to be back that you chose to push that down for now.

"I'm gonna go to bed. Can you tell the others to go home? I need to just lie down ASAP."

"You got it. I'm gonna have to head out again soon as well, so I'll see you again whenever I get back."

--//--

"So." Machi started, addressing the newly-returned Chrollo, "What was that all about?"

Everyone was hushed, awaiting the boss's answer.

"You already know that was my soulmate. I had... forgotten to tell anyone."

More silence flooded the car as the other members of the spider internally debated whether or not they wanted to risk their necks by making a joke.

"Well, you'll be glad to know we're on the right path to get to them!" Shalnark cut in with his usual cheer, hoping to distract from the current situation.

"Really?"

"It'll be a few days even if we pick up the pace, but Feitan is currently in that country and can start keeping an eye on them ASAP. I'm concerned about their safety, especially considering their medical records."

"There's no need for too much worry," Chrollo said calmly

"What do you mean?!" Nobunaga was incredulous; how could the boss take his soulmate's safety so easily?

"Someone is protecting them already, someone we'll have to take care of, but a valuable protector, for now, all the same."

--//--

Thanks for reading!

#autism #platonic yandere #hxh x reader #hxh #yandere #yandere hxh #yandere chrollo #yandere phantom troupe #platonic x reader #platonic soulmates #platonic #soulmate au #yandere soulmate #autistic reader

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ereardon · 7 months

Text

Golden Hour || Ch. 2 [Bob Floyd x Bradley Bradshaw x OC]

A Bob Floyd & Bradley Bradshaw AU [Hart of Dixie inspired]

Synopsis: Willow, Georgia. Barely even a town, just a speck on a map that you tried to wipe off, mistaking it for a crumb. You’re the outsider: a fancy New York doctor, fresh out of a failed engagement, with zero primary care experience. You’re also the new town doctor, taking over for a recent retiree who was beloved. His son, Bob Floyd, is the other physician at the practice, and takes an immediate dislike to you. But you were looking for a fresh start, and Willow doesn’t seem all that bad if you can get past the fact that there's only one restaurant in town. It helps that you've caught the eye of Bradley Bradshaw, the town attorney, despite the fact that you vowed to take a break from dating. How long until you start to make friends in a town where social circles have been set in stone since elementary school? And what will it take to make Bob Floyd see you’re not as bad as he wants to believe you are?

Pairing: Bob Floyd x OC; Bradley Bradshaw x OC

Tropes: Love triangle, enemies to lovers

Warnings: Cursing, mention of vomit, alcohol

Chapter summary: Olive settles into her new home; the town comes down with the flu; Olive has a run in with Bradley at the grocery store; Bob is suspiciously absent during the flu pandemic and Olive arrives at his doorstep to confront him

WC: 3K

Masterlist here; first chapter here; next chapter here

You showed up at quarter to seven, double checking the address Phoenix had written down on the scrap of receipt paper.

This couldn’t be right.

The house was palatial. It was practically a plantation, if you could still call houses plantations. A sweeping iron gate out front, with a long driveway that ran straight back to an enormous white house with blue shutters and a round driveway out front.

You got out of the car, starting up the stairs. Just when you lifted your hand in a knock, the door swung open.

Phoenix stood with her hair dripping wet, a towel bunched up in her hands as she squeezed it dry. She had changed out of the overalls from earlier and now wore a pair of running shorts and a cropped t-shirt. “Olive!” she said. “You made it!”

You nodded. “Is now an OK time?”

“It’s perfect.” Phoenix slid out of the way. “Come on in.”

You stepped inside. The house was even more beautiful on the inside than the exterior, if that was possible. The foyer had a black and white tile flooring that led to a curved white staircase that hugged the left side of the room and rounded out gently on the second floor. An antique wood table sat beneath the curved staircase with the largest arrangement of flowers you had ever seen in one person’s home before.

Phoenix tracked your eyes. “It’s a lot, I know.”

“It’s fucking beautiful,” you said and her jaw dropped a little. You blushed. “Sorry, force of habit. It’s beautiful.”

She shook her head. “Doesn’t bother me, but trust me when I say some of the folks around here are a lot less welcoming than I am.”

You let out a sigh. “Tell me about it. Dr. Floyd has me on his shit list.” There you went again, cursing up a storm.

Phoenix frowned. “Bob? Really? He’s so nice.”

You cackled. “Nice? He’s been cold to me since the moment we met.”

She led you down a large main hallway which opened up at the back of the house to a large living room and kitchen. “Cold? That’s new,” she said. “What happened?”

You gave her the rundown of everything that had happened the second time you went to the clinic, including bumping into Bradley.

Natasha’s eyes lit up. “So you met Bradshaw, huh?”

You nodded.

She gave a knowing look. “He’s single,” she added.

“I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

Phoenix opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. “And why not?”

You debated not telling her. You had made it approximately eight hours in Willow before divulging your past. But it was bound to come out anyway. And there was something about Phoenix that made you want to tell her things. Probably why she was a good bartender. You held out your left hand, the faint indentations of a ring still visible on the bare digit.

She nodded knowingly. “When did it happen?”

“Last week,” you said. “I came home from the hospital and he was already there, which was rare. Just sitting on the couch, head in his hands, and the minute I walked through the door he looked up and said it was over. I stormed out and threw the ring in the East River.”

Her mouth fell open. “You did not.”

You nodded. “Three carats, too. But I lost my shit and it was the first thing I could think to do.”

“Did he ask for it back?”

You shook your head. “No. But Peter has enough money, I don’t think it’ll make too big of a dent.” You winced and then added, “He was my attending.”

“Attending?”

“My boss,” you clarified. “He was the senior attending for fetal surgery. I was the fellow. Let’s just say that our relationship never went over well with the surgery group.”

Phoenix let out a whistle. “Hot damn, drama. I love it.”

You liked her immediately. There was something charming about the way she immediately poured you a drink even though she was off the clock, and the way her brown eyes locked on yours, like you were the only person in the room. Which you were, but that wasn’t the point. You knew that even in a room full of people, Phoenix had the ability to make it feel like she only had eyes for you.

And you needed a friend. More, now than ever.

You sighed. “Anyway, that’s why I left New York. And that is why I am definitely not ready to start dating.”

Phoenix smirked. “Honey, this is Willow. You’re going to get caught up with someone faster than sweat piling up on your upper lip in August. I mean, look at you.” Her eyes trailed over your slim skirt, tight cowl neck shell top, coiffed brown locks. “No wonder Bob was so angry with you showing up. You’re about to steal all his male patients.”

“Tell me about him,” you said, leaning both elbows on the counter. “I need to know about my competition.”

“Bob?” she asked. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve known him for years, since we were kids. All three of us: me, Bob, Bradley. He’s always been a little shy. He was the smart one. We all knew he’d follow in his daddy’s footsteps. He went to Emory for medical school, Bradshaw went to New York for law school, and I stayed here. But I always knew they’d come back.” She smiled ruefully. “Men always do.”

“Wait, Bradley went to New York?”

She nodded. “Columbia Law.”

You frowned. “How old is he?”

“Thirty one.”

You two were probably there at the same time. Him in the law school, you at the medical school.

“Bob is a good guy,” she added. “He’s a bit of a grouch. But it’s only because Dr. Robert retired and he’s been busier than ever.”

“He doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“We don’t get a lot of newcomers,” Phoenix said. “And the ones we do, most people tend not to like.”

“So I’m at an automatic disadvantage.”

“Yup.”

You sighed. “Great.”

Phoenix laughed, setting down her glass of wine. “Let me show you the guest house.”

The guest house was out back. Way out back. You couldn’t even see the main house anymore when Phoenix rounded a corner and stopped in front of a slightly dilapidated green two-story house. The front porch of the house sagged slightly and the door was a little off kilter.

Phoenix scooted up the steps and unlocked the door, holding it open. You quickly followed her inside. “It’s a little dusty, sorry about that,” she said. “And a little run down. But I think it should work.”

Inside there was a small entryway that led to a living room on one side and a bedroom on the other. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, and the furniture had sheets flung over it. Phoenix opened the blinds, letting light filter into the room, and put her hands on your hips.

“Ain’t much,” she said. “But it’s something.”

“I’ll take it.” What other options did you have? Besides, you liked Phoenix. She was the first and only person to be nice to you in Willow.

***

Your second day went just about as well as your first.

You showed up at the office at nine, to find it bustling with patients. A frazzled Molly sat at the front desk, hair askew.

“Where have you been?” she demanded as you walked through the door. “People been lining up this morning.” She handed you a stack of charts. “The flu.”

You grimaced. “The flu? In September?”

“When it rains it pours.”

You groaned. “Alright, give me two minutes to get a cup of coffee.”

“No time,” Molly said, steering you toward the dusty office at the front of the building. “Mr. Schwartz has been waiting for forty minutes and he’s just about the most impatient man I’ve ever met.” She turned around, faking a smile. “Mr. Schwartz? The doctor will see you now.”

A grisly looking man stood up, face pale and sweaty. You smiled delicately. “Hi, I’m Dr. James—”

He waved a hand in your face. “Don’t care, sweetheart. Gonna be sick so get out of the way.”

You winced as he barged into the exam room and unloaded his stomach in the trash. Molly scampered away as you closed the door and pulled on a pair of gloves.

The rest of the day was no better. Patient after patient sick with a mysterious flu that was going around. There was nothing you could do for them besides check their vitals, remind them to hydrate, explain proper hygiene to minimize getting other family members sick, and send them home to rest. But yet they came in droves.

By three o’clock, you had seen countless patients, and Bob’s door had never been opened. You frowned. “Where is he?” you asked Molly.

She looked up from a cup of tea. “The doctor is not in.”

You rolled your eyes. “I know that, it’s why I’m up to my elbows in puke. Where is he? When is he coming in?”

“He’s not. It’s his day off.”

“Day off?” you scoffed as the door opened and three more people shuffled into the waiting room. “Fuck,” you muttered under your breath.

“Dr. James!” Molly scolded. “This is a family town.”

“You’re right,” you said, squaring your shoulders and turning around, gesturing to the taller man slumped against the wall. “Sir? I can take you back now.”

Finally, it was dark out and you made your way back to the guest house to shower. But halfway through the shower the water ran cold and you realized you were out of shampoo.

“Fuck!” you shouted, this time not caring if anyone could hear.

At the market, you stood with sopping wet hair, staring at two bottles of Suave shampoo. So much for your Oribe hair products that were probably in the trash already back in New York. Peter never cared much for their scent.

You sighed, grabbing the green bottle.

“Didn’t think I’d have to fight someone for my favorite shampoo tonight.”

You whipped around. Bradley Bradshaw stood two feet away wearing a pair of chinos and a polo, looking way too fresh for the end of a hot Georgia day. He grinned, taking in your short denim shorts and cropped tank, wet hair and bare face.

“Long day, doc?” he asked.

You rolled your eyes. “You have no idea. I’ve got a hot tip for you. Wash your hands when you get home. Whole town has the flu.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I heard. Sounds like a bad day.”

“Understatement.”

“Then you need ice cream,” Bradley said, moving over to the freezer section. “Are you a chocolate girl?”

“Is there any other kind of girl?” you asked and he chuckled.

“Here, this should solve anything.” He waved a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked in the air.

You sighed in relief. “Thank God there’s ice cream here. I thought maybe it would be a churn your own butter kind of place.”

Bradley laughed, holding out his hand. “Here. Let me buy that for you.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I insist. A girl shouldn’t have to buy her own ice cream at the end of a long day.”

You handed him the shampoo bottle and bottle of wine that was under one arm and he grinned, carrying them alongside the ice cream to the counter. He paid, chatting with the cashier briefly, before accepting the bag and ushering you out of the store. The hot summer air hit your skin and you felt immediately filthy again. “God, is it always this humid? Feels like I’m walking through a room filled with Jell-O.”

“Pretty much,” Bradley said. Under the glow of the street lamp, you saw no sweat on his brow. Was he even human? “Just wait until November though. Winter is perfect.”

You groaned. “Will I make it to November? Will I make it to next week even?”

“I hope so.” There was something leading in his words. “Heard you’re staying out at the Wilkes plantation.”

Wilkes. That must be Phoenix’s family name. You nodded. “Yeah. Phoenix offered me a place. It’ll do.”

“She’s a nice girl.”

“Pretty much the only friend I have,” you admitted.

Bradley flashed his bright white smile. “Looking for another?”

You squinted. “What are you getting at, Bradshaw?”

“Go on a date with me, doc,” he said.

You grabbed the plastic bag from his hand. “Or else?”

He put his hands up. “Or else nothing. I’m not threatening you, Olive. I don’t badger witnesses. Just wanted to take the pretty new doctor out for dinner sometime.”

“That sounds nice,” you said. “But I’m a mess right now. I just got out of a big relationship and it’s complicated.” You looked up. “I know that sounds like a cop out, but it’s the truth.”

“Fair enough.” Bradley fiddled with his keys. “Well, goodnight then, Olive.”

You turned, headed back to your car. “Goodnight, Bradley.”

You unlocked the car, before his voice carried across the town square. “Hey, Olive?”

Turning, you spotted Bradley with both hands in his pockets. “Yeah?”

“Messes are kind of my specialty,” he said and you laughed. “Being a lawyer and all. Just thought you should know that.”

You shook your head. “You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

He grinned. “It’s called small town charm, Olive.”

You slipped into the front seat of the car and turned it on, audibly sighing as the air conditioning wafted over your sweaty skin. Up ahead, Bradley turned the corner, disappearing down a darkened street. You leaned back against the headrest and closed your eyes.

***

Where the fuck was Bob?

It had been three days of the flu and he hadn’t bothered to show up to work. Molly was no help either.

“Call him again,” you demanded.

She gave you a sour look. “If he didn’t pick up earlier, why would he pick up now?”

You huffed, strutting away in your Jimmy Choos.

Add buying new, Willow-friendly shoes to your to-do list. Right behind kill Dr. Bob Floyd.

Finally, one the last patient emptied out of the waiting room, you grabbed your purse and keys, over Molly’s cries of protest. Your rental car barreled down Bob’s suburban street, just off the main square, skidding to a loud stop in front of his house.

It was cute. That was the first thing you noticed. The second was that his car, an old Audi sedan, was in the driveway, which meant that he was home.

You sighed, stepping out and ringing the doorbell, foot tapping in your heels. No answer. You rang it again, impatiently, straining over the edge of the door to look through the small window at the top. Ringing it one more time, you started to knock when you heard the lock unclick, the door swinging open slowly.

Bob Floyd stood in the doorway wearing a hoodie and a pair of pajama pants, his face pale, glasses sitting perfectly on his tiny button nose, hair combed back neatly. “Dr. James,” he said gruffly.

You squinted. “Where have you been? I’ve been up to my ears in vomit and ear exams and dramamine and not a fucking peep about where you were or when you were coming back. Just a constant stream of sick people.”

“You’re a doctor, Olive,” he said and his voice was more than gruff, it was scratchy. “You should be used to sick people by now.”

“Are you?” Oh fuck. “Are you sick?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What gave you that idea?”

“Hoarse voice, pale pallor, heavy clothes in the summer heat.”

“It’s like you went to medical school or something.”

You folded your arms over your chest. “Well come on, let me examine you.”

As you started to step inside, the cool air beckoning you, Bob held out a hand, only inches from your chest. You looked down and he removed it. “No thank you.”

“But you’re sick,” you countered.

“I know that,” he replied. “Do you know how I know that? I went to medical school, just like you did. I am more than qualified to take care of myself, Dr. James.”

You frowned. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I am one patient who really does not need your help,” he said. “Now if you don’t mind, I was enjoying a rather nice nap.”

You took a step back, practically frozen. In New York, such bluntness would have been standard. Expected. But in Willow, Bob’s shun felt like a dig that would never stop hurting. “Are you sure?” you asked.

His blue eyes softened a miniscule amount. If you hadn’t been watching him so closely you wouldn’t have noticed. His bottom lip dropped an inch, as if he was about to say something. But then he decided against it, mouth turned back into a fine, tight line. “Yes.”

You nodded. “OK. Just call Molly when you think you’re ready to come back and I’ll handle the patients in the meantime.”

“That is why my father hired you,” Bob said.

“Yeah. It is.” You lingered. “I, um, I guess I’ll see you around.”

You climbed down the front stairs of Bob’s ivory house, stuffing yourself back into the driver’s seat.

Why was it that you could feel the heat of his gaze burning the back of your head as you drove away? And why did it, for just a second, feel like he was about to cave when you asked if he was sure?

You were going to crack him. Buy new shoes, order hair products online, and make Bob Floyd stop hating you.

Your to-do list just kept on growing.

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five-rivers · 2 years

Text

When You Wake

For Dannymay 2022 Day 2: No One Knows AU

Phantom didn’t know where he came from. He’d gathered, in small scraps of knowledge from others, that this was normal. You forgot things, when you died, when you became a ghost, when you gave up what you were in exchange for what you could do.

It followed that Phantom must have died.

That was what the others said, what they implied when they didn’t say anything, what the word ghost meant in the first place.

Phantom was a ghost.

A brand new ghost. So freshly dead and shiny new that Johnny sometimes joked about smelling grave soil on him, on the days Phantom could stand him.

Phantom couldn’t always stand him. They’d fought a few times, the most recent being over a girl with red hair who wasn’t Kitty and no they couldn’t have her.

This was normal, too. He was a feral little thing with a haunt too big for him. Territorial and untrusting. A child in every way that ghosts counted, reeling from the great change and fighting for control.

What wasn’t normal was a ghost who couldn’t reliably hold onto corporeal form and consciousness for more than an hour to keep that too-big haunt, to fight and win against ghosts who had been in death’s uncertain embrace hundreds of times longer than he had.

Phantom was okay with being weird.

He was okay with walking out of a flash of light and into a fight in a familiar-not alley, or classroom, or park with little, because that meant he was spending his time properly, not wasting energy he could be using to keep his place and people safe and protected.

It made him feel good. Made him feel more, if only for a moment, before tiredness faded in and he flared out into… into whatever he was between moments of awareness. Some kind of shade, maybe?

It probably didn’t matter. According to everyone who would talk to him, he’d stabilize before too long. He’d be able to do more than just fight.

He sighed, and smiled dreamily up at the stars. It wasn’t that he disliked fighting, it was important, but he knew that if he had the time, he could do so much more! He could help people with other things! He could fix problems before they got bad!

He could have more moments like this, too.

Moments when the ghosts were gone and the chaos stopped and the people safe and everything was good and right.

The stars twinkled at him as gravity began to pull on him more urgently, his feet making silent, but firm, contact with the ground.

“Until next time,” he said.

There was a flash of light.

Danny leaned his head against the wall of the nearest building, not caring that it was probably unsanitary. He moaned. It hurt, and he was shaking, exhausted.

Breathe, he reminded himself. He didn’t know where he was, and panicking would only make that worse.

This had happened before. This had happened before and he was fine. He should be getting used to this by now.

It was still hard not to cry.

Luckily, though, given this was the umpteenth time he’d sleepwalked out of the house or blacked out, he’d been prepared when he went to sleep. He wore slippers to bed, now, and kept his phone on a lanyard around his wrist.

He fumbled the clamshell open, his fingers clumsy from lack of sleep and the general disorientation that followed episodes like this. His eyes barely registered the blurred numbers proclaiming the time to be 2:57 AM. He didn’t need to look at the screen, anyway. The home phone was on speed-dial. His parents didn’t sleep with earplugs anymore.

The phone rang three times.

“Danny? Did it happen again?” asked Maddie, immediately upon picking up.

“That no good ghost!” shouted Jack in the background, barely audible. “When I get my hands on it–!”

Danny didn’t believe in ghosts. Yeah, more people talked about them now, but as far as he was concerned, it was all an elaborate joke on the kid with ghost hunter parents. A mean one, considering it all started up right after his accident with the portal. He’d never seen a ghost, besides, and Jazz backed him up, saying that he probably had some kind of sleep disorder.

“Yeah,” said Danny. “I, um, I don’t see any street signs, but I think I’m in the warehouse district.” He swallowed. “It’s really dark here.”

“It’s okay, honey,” said Maddie, soothingly. “We’ll just track your phone, and we’ll be down there in a jiffy.”

“Okay,” said Danny.

“Stay on the line, alright?”

“Okay,” said Danny. “I’m sorry…”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” said Maddie, crisply. He heard a door slam shut on her side. “It’s those darn ghosts. You don’t deserve to be bullied by these malevolent pseudo consciousnesses!”

Danny felt his headache increase. “Mom, I have a sleep disorder. I’m not being haunted.”

“The sleep study didn’t find anything,” said Maddie, defensively. The familiar roar of the GAV started in the background, followed by a squeal.

Danny sighed. “Can we not do this right now? I’m… tired.”

“Do you have a headache?” asked Maddie. “You should really try those ectopurifying tablets again…”

“They made me sick last time,” said Danny, “and they aren’t approved for human consumption.”

“They’re perfectly safe,” said Maddie. “None of the compounds we used are toxic to humans. We tested them ourselves.”

“Please don’t feed me anything that isn’t FDA approved,” said Danny, echoing Jazz’s ultimatum from earlier that year. “Do you have tylenol with you?”

“Of course, honey, we always have tylenol.”

“Thanks,” said Danny. He inhaled shakily. “Why does this keep happening to me?”

“We’ll find out,” said Maddie, reassuringly.

“I hope so.” Danny looked up. He could see more stars here than he could elsewhere in the city. It was a single nice spot in what would probably shape up to be a really awful day.

The bright lights of the GAV swung around the corner, and Danny squinted at them even as the vehicle came to a shrieking halt. The back door popped open, and Danny climbed in.

“Hey, Danny!” greeted Jack, with rather forced joviality.

“Oh,” he said, “it’s warm in here.”

“Mhm,” said Maddie, looking back over the front passenger seat to look him over, and handed him the tylenol bottle. “You aren’t hurt?”

“No,” said Danny.

“Remember, if you’re hurt, you need to call nine-one-one first.”

“I remember,” said Danny, leaning back and digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Do you think I could skip school today?” He’d missed too much school already, but… it was worth a shot.

Maddie reached back to pat his knee. “How about you see how you feel when you wake up?”

Danny shrugged, already half asleep. “‘Kay…”

(And they slept.)

#Danny phantom #dannymay #dannymay 2022 #dannymay day 2: no one knows au #no one knows au

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theredengineapologist · 2 months

Text

Introducing the world of TTTE: Sudrian Boys [TTTE: Sudrian Boys AU Worldbuilding, Pt. 1]

Now that I've worked out exactly what I want from my AU, I believe it is finally time to share the lore with all of you (one month after I initially promised it OOPS).

The lore of this world is a bit HEFTY to explain, so I'm breaking it into multiple parts. This part mainly goes over the history and background for my Humanized!TTTE AU, TTTE: Sudrian Boys. In later parts, I plan to cover things like Sudrian vs Non-Sudrian Engine culture, how the engines differ from humans, and more info about how the shapeshifting works in my AU, so stay tuned!

Also! Information regarding specific characters will be included in separate character sheets I will be posting at a later date. I'm also currently working on some fanfics that I hope will expand my AU further. But feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

This is going to be a VERY long post so read on under the cut!

Before we begin, some key things to keep in mind:

I am still actively catching up with the canon source material at this point in time! Thus, aspects of my AU are subject to change as I read/watch more of the source material and incorporate it into my AU.

This AU is primarily based on TV series canon (both model and CGI), as that is what I am primarily familiar with. Some aspects are also taken from the Railway Series to help estimate an approximate timeline of events.

At this current point in time, BWBA is NOT canon in my AU. This is mainly because I have not watched it yet and have no plans to watch it later (with the exception of the Michael White episodes that everyone says are good). The episode "A Shed for Edward" from Season 21 is also NOT canon in my AU. This is to say that in my AU, Edward and Henry still live in Tidmouth. It's my AU. I do what I want.

On that note, Thomas and the Magic Railroad is partially canon in my AU. I haven't gone back to re-watch the movie yet (I do plan to at a later date), so I'm going purely off of memory and what I hear other people say about it. Because of this, I've decided to basically just take parts that I like and leave behind parts that I don't. In regards to the canonicity of the film itself, I consider it as a dream Thomas had (that may or may not have actually happend. It'll all make sense later).

With the exception of Philip the Diesel Boxcab, ALL of the engines are adults in my AU. Yes, that includes Thomas and Percy.

With that out of the way, let's start at The Beginning:

A long time ago, when humans were designing the first steam engines, a young faerie fell in love with them. Her true name is beyond mortal comprehension, but engines of today refer to her as Lady (or alternatively, the Lady of Legend).

Though fae are usually associated with nature, this faerie in particular was fascinated by machines and the ingenuity of mankind. And so she used her magic gold dust to breathe life into the machines that she loved so much.

And thus she became Lady, Goddess of Steam Engines.

For many years, engines and humans lived together in harmony. The engines found purpose in being useful, and humans were able to travel longer distances and distribute supplies amongst each other. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

But then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked dieselization happened.

Lady watched in horror as humanity turned their backs on the steam engines that worked so hard for them. In increasingly larger numbers, engines were getting scrapped for as petty reasons as "not being useful enough". In an effort to protect her beloved machines, Lady imbued them with more powerful magic.

As much as Lady wanted to, the Fae Court wouldn't allow creations of man to be taken in mass to the fae realm. So if she couldn't offer her engines salvation, Lady would at least give them a means of escape.

By around 1960, as steam was getting phased out, Lady blessed her beloved machines with the ability to shapeshift. If an engine ever had a desire to leave the rails, all they had to do was imagine themselves doing so and they could walk the Earth in a human-like form. This would allow them live lives completely independent from mankind. Being "really useful" was no longer a requirement to have a right to live, now they could simply exist and pursue goals of their own choosing just as any human could.

For steam engines all around the world, shapeshifting became a secret and closely guarded practice that they would only discuss amongst each other. Humans were not to be made aware of this under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, even after Lady bestowed the gift of shapeshifting upon her engines, hundreds of them were still killed under the cutter's torch. Steam engines are proud entities after all, and many of them preferred to die upon their rails than to live in hiding as something foreign. And since shapeshifting was such a closely guarded practice, not every engine who may have wanted a way out was able to be taught.

Even so, there were still reports circulating of engines vanishing from scrapyards without a trace, almost as if by magic. These were the engines that managed to escape and are now living secretly amongst humans to this day.

Fast Forward many, many decades later. We return to the Island of Sodor:

It is now the late 2010s to mid 2020s. The entire Island of Sodor basically runs as a giant heritage railway.

The NWR is currently run by Sir Topham Hat III, who is at the strapping young age of 83. (I saw this tweet from someone who asked Christopher Awdry if STH III is still running the railway and he said yes so we're going with that.) STH III loves his engines very much, which is why he has no plans on retiring any time soon. Still, he has STH IV shadow him closely in order to prepare him to take over the railway some day.

Because of the success of both The Railway Series books and the Thomas and Friends TV show, tourists flock from all over the world to get a look at the famous engines. Plus, being one of the few places to still have steam engines in operation (and so many of them in fact), you can count on many of the tourists being train enthusiasts too.

Basically, the engines of Sodor are all treated like celebrities. They are FAMOUS and are generally adored by the public. Whenever they go anywhere, you can count on someone knowing their names.

And because of just how many tourists come to Sodor every year, the economy is thriving and the engines are all very, very busy. Everything is pretty idyllic.

But sometimes, prosperity can get pretty boring.

And now, our story begins:

As with many Sudrian Shenanigans, everything starts with Thomas the Tank Engine.

One night, after Thomas delivers passengers to a carnival, he makes a wish to leave life on the rails, even if only for just one night.

As much as Thomas loves working on his branch line, delivering goods and passengers from place to place, and meeting tourists, doing the same routine for literal DECADES can get a little dull.

While waiting for his driver and fireman to return from a short break, Thomas let his mind wander. He imagined himself as a human person taking part in the festivities with the passengers he just delivered. In doing so, Thomas accidentally activated the dormant shapeshifting magic Lady had blessed him with many years ago.

When Thomas opened his eyes, he was literally much closer to his rails than he had ever been. The station platform was much higher up. And Annie and Clarabel were much bigger than he remembered. Thomas had accidentally turned himself into a small human man, just like he had seen in his imagination.

He freaked out a little at first. When they returned, his driver and fireman didn't recognize him. It was only after Thomas started going off about things that only he would know, details about events that happened decades ago, before they were born and had only heard about in stories, that they realized that this small human figure really was Thomas the Tank Engine.

They called Sir Topham Hatt III at once, explaining the situation. And while baffling and unbelievable, the truth was right before their eyes. They were at a loss for what to do, especially since Thomas didn't know how to turn back yet. They concluded to allow Thomas to enjoy the festival for now, let Edward take the passengers home that night, and have Thomas stay with STH's family until he could figure out how to return to normal.

While scary at first, Thomas did enjoy the festival that night. And he went home with STH in Annie and Clarabel. He got to see the island from a new perspective, and he very much enjoyed that.

STH III made Thomas's driver and fireman promise to keep this a secret for now until they could figure out what happened. But that ultimately didn't matter because Thomas went to say "hello" to Edward that night. By the next sunrise, every engine on the island heard exactly what happened to Thomas. Some told their crew, but most weren't believed. Even some of the engines didn't believe each other. But at the very least, every engine on the island knew something strange was afoot.

The news eventually reached Donald and Douglas, who swiftly made their way to Tidmouth Sheds. Coincidentally, STH was bringing Human!Thomas to Tidmouth to inform the rest of the Steam Team about what had happened.

It is at this moment that Donald and Douglas reveal that they knew about shifting for decades. It was how they managed to get to the island under the guise that there would only be one of them. They would take turns, one traveling as an engine while the other hid in their cab. The reason they both appeared on the island as engines is because they hoped the controller would be kind enough to keep them both (and he was!). If it hadn't worked out, they would have run away together as humans. Since things worked out in their favor, they didn't see a point in shapeshifting again. But now that their secret was out, they needed to keep it safe.

Donald and Douglas taught the Steam Team how to shapeshift, and the engines continued to teach each other until basically every engine on the island knew how to switch between the two forms comfortably. In exchange, however, only a limited number of humans could know about engine shifting. These include STH III, STH IV, and the engines' drivers and firemen. Basically, only those who really needed to know.

Nowadays, STH gives the engines a little extra time off during the day to explore their new forms. The Steam Team also has an apartment where they can live together as humans if they choose. Within a few months, most of the engines have gotten in the habit of shifting back and forth, exploring their world and learning new things about themselves.

Now in a new perspective, the adventures continue. 😉

#ttte #ttte au #ttte human au #ttte humanized #ttte fanfic #ttte fandom #ttte thomas #thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #TTTE: Sudrian Boys #randys trainfics

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bloodstained-white-jacket · 3 months

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hello im here to talk about lupin eating dirt (this was originally a scrapped concept i gave for one of dukeswonderousmenagerie's aus, ty loopspoop for giving idea fuel teehee)

tw for body horror and the concept of bugs living inside someone's body

ok SO this anomaly is literally just. brainworms KJHJGH it kinda functions how the curse influencing does but just. worse bc its slowly taking over their brain (and everything else) JKHGJFH it works in stages (using lupin as the example for it)

first stage he just seems kinda sick, he sleeps longer, spaces out n forgets what hes doing more often and generally has less energy

second stage hes exhausted really and spends most of his time in bed (since his body is trying to fight the entity off as if it was an infection or smthn so that really saps his energy) he gets really spacey, like so unfocused that half the time he doesnt even respond when being talked to. despite this he will occasionally get up and be found just. standing in corners staring at nothing or be found wide awake at night just laying there in the dark with his eyes wide open

then theres a small space between the second and third stage where hes p much in a coma for 1-3 days while the entity fully takes over

and then in stage three hes completely gone and the spooky behavior ramps up teehee his eyes are glazed over and lifeless, he cant talk aside from quiet humming noises, he'll scratch at his skin until he bleeds n often scratches at walls n other surfaces until his nails break, and he seems to just. develop pica out of nowhere he'll literally go outside at like 4 am and start digging into the ground with his bare hands and eat handfuls of dirt, then later puke up an odd mix of blood, live worms, anything else he mightve eaten and the aforementioned dirt.

the live worms are the interesting part, bc if he did happen to eat any, theyd be dead from either chewing or yknow. stomach acid. no the worms he pukes up are literally the ones that took over his brain, like. theyre breeding inside him and infesting his other organs and turning him into a (barely) living nest. the ones infesting his stomach just happen to get puked up with the random stuff he eats

in less than a week after entering the third stage the worms are infesting literally every single organ in his body, theyre nesting inside his lungs, intestines and even his heart. theyre even managing to get into his veins

when jigen finally puts him out of his misery, the worms seemingly panic and leave his corpse in mass. the sight of what seems like thousands of worms crawling out of lupin's mouth, nose and even escaping via the bullet wound almost makes jigen sick

luckily all of the worms leave before lupin revives so he isnt infected again, but they still move to a different hideout since jigen is pretty sure the worms had gotten into the walls-

#dont say i didnt warn you with the tw bc it gets nasty #liii:(b)wj #idk if this is written well bc i. ran out of all of my meds and can barely think rn KJHJGHFG #but i tried :)#tw body horror #tw bugs #tw emetophobia

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catiuapavel · 9 months

Note

which tactics ogre characters would have cats as pets, and which ones would have dogs?

Unfortunately I've already pondered this question for several characters so I will place them in different categories: in the dichotomy of cats vs dogs and outside of it for a myriad of reasons ranging from (simply prefers other animals or "would kick puppies and cuts a cat's whiskers" type). I only wanted to list the ones I had strong opinions about but then I realized there were so many that I might as well list the entire cast.

Cats:

Catiua: It's in the name 😩 Catiua loves cats because she thinks they're misunderstood creatures, she needs one specifically that's just a nasty little to anyone but her so she can make excuses for their behaviour. Maybe Catiua is a little bit of a cat herself... Beside why would she need a dog when she has Vyce.

Prancet: He is the local stray cats of Golyat feeder but don't be mistaken: he loves dogs nonetheless.

Lanselot Tartaros: Controversial take that I am completely right about but Lanselot is a cat person. I don't see him interested in taking care of a pet but he'd believe that all cats are low-maintenance animals, and would have a cat (but only if they're actually low-maintenance). Giving them a chin scritch every now and then is as much love as he'd manage to show.

Donnalto: Proud owner of the countless cats his children have insisted on adopting across the years.

Olivya: She feeds stray kittens scraps daily, she also traps and rehomes feral cat like it's a hobby.

Hobyrim: As much as I believe that he has had many dogs growing up, and that he truly does like dogs, in his heart... He knows he's a cat person.

Sherri: She's a cat person, no other animal will do. But she also won't let the cat climb on her lap because she doesn't like that the hair sticks to her clothes. She likes (not loves) cats, at a distance.

Xaebos: Persian cat person

Warren: This is a cat-man. He has a cat back in Xenobia, I'm sure of it.

Gildas: Cat person in dog person disguise

Dogs:

Vyce: The game doesn't place all these canine words for fun, he is a dog person. He could use a pet he can do plenty with like going on a long jog with, and playing enthusiastically with. Plus I think he needs to argue with Catiua about how dogs are much better than cats while Denam spaces out for his own well-being. That being said, I do believe Vyce doesn't hate cats, he only pretends otherwise to argue with Catiua. He likes them just fine.

Jeunan: Extremely dog person. In a modern AU, you'd see this man in your local park at 7:30am, 11:45am, 2:45m, 5:30pm and 8:45pm diligently walking his dog (dreamy sigh)

Oz: Everything about Oz screams "cat" me (he's my little meow meow for a start) but Oz absolutely is the type of person who'd own the most impeccable purebred hunting dogs. Not that he would take care of them (he has servants for this, of course). He would mostly enjoy the prestige of having them. Maybe this doesn't make him someone who loves dog but rather sees them as a display of wealth... Let's say he's a nuanced dog person.

Balxephon: Unsufferable owner of only the most award-winning purebred competition dog. He scoffs at lowly strays. That's one more thing for him and Oz to bond over.

Volaq: To Volaq, dogs are the model of loyalty. And Volaq values loyalty above all else (whatever definition of this he may have). So he's a proud dog person.

Ravness: I have no argument to back up my belief she's a dog person. It's just a vibe.

Lanselot Hamilton: is a dog person, I will accept no criticism. (Plus he is Tartaros' narrative foil after all...)

Balbatos: The worst kind of dog owner.

Cerya: BIG dog kind of person. Small dogs will not do, she will not aknowledge their existence. No, Cerya needs the greatest of hounds, the most imposing beast.

Cistina: Small dog kind of person and will not let her big sister know.

Mirdyn: Dog person in cat person disguise

Hektor: Proud dog person.

Neither a dog nor a cat person... but a third option entirely:

Denam: Denam is ambivalent on the matter. He'd probably have both at the same time. (all things remain balanced within the Golyat trio)

Ganpp: Canonly a bird person. In fact Ganpp is one of the only two Tactics Ogre character who canonly loves any animal at all.

Ocionne: She is the second character who canonly loves any animal at all. Not a cat person, not a dog person, not even a bird person... A reptile person this time (dragons count as such for the purpose of this post).

Dorgalua: The game implies he may very well be a bird person.

Canopus: Bird person (ah). He will never admit to it because people (Gildas) will run the joke into the ground.

Dievold & Oelias: I am sure they are both animal lovers. I think Oelias deserves to have a pet like a macaw who will stay with her for a very long time... 😶

Barbas & Martym: These two HATE animals.

Ronwey: He doesn't hate animals. He simply does not like them.

Brantyn: After debating Brantyn being a cat person, then debating Brantyn being a dog person, I have concluded that he isn't interested in animals.

Ozma: I am ambivalent about Ozma, she is either a cat person or a dog person, not both at once, not anything else. I can see Ozma loving her beautiful angora cat and spoiling her like no one else. Unlike Balxephon and Oz, the cat would even be allowed on the bed. On the other hand, Ozma could be the most dedicated dog-owner of all time and I would believe it. She's a riddle.

Leonar: This is a Horse Girl.

Andoras: In my heart, Andoras is a cat person... I don't have any justifications for this, it's just based on a vibe. Realistically, I think he'd be outside of the dichotomy. Maybe he's a fish or a reptile kind of person.

Iuria: She loves all animals but clearly... Iuria loves fish the most.

Azelstan: Dolphins and whales connoisseur.

Cressida: Insects. Most specifically: moths.

Xapan: Cannot be trusted with animals.

Nybeth: I will -personally- take any pet away from him, just like I will take his children away from him.

Deneb: You might be inclined to think that Deneb is a cat person because... Well, witch aesthetics. But the truth is... Deneb is a reptile kind of person. Which is why you have to sell her so many. How she shows her love and if it's beneficial to the reptile is another matter entirely.

Arycelle: She needs someone loyal who won't lie to her and use her... So any animal will do, I suppose.

Bayin, Folcurt, Mannaflora, Vernotta, Lindl, Rudlum, and any other minor villain and character I may be forgetting atm: Insufficient data to be categorized (although my partner is protesting, stating that Folcurt is a dog person and I'm inclined to go along with this).

(Apologies to any character I may have forgotten.)

#tactics ogre #ty for the ask!

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baiyunli · 9 months

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tell us more about farmwife au 🤲

anon i am ready to sweep everything off the table and onto the floor in order to discuss this important topic. i am incredibly normal and reasonable about this au (lie).

farmwife au has been my constant obsession for months now, like not a day goes by where i don't think about it. this is the permutation of little house on the prairie slash mail order bride where nico is a farmer in the midwest in the 1800s and he's looking for someone to live and work with him and offer company when he gets lonely! so he places an advertisement (historical basis) in the local periodical. he gets a few letters here and there that he largely ignores, mostly fathers trying to marry off their daughters, but there's one that catches his eye - this scrap of paper folded over twice, the name jack hughes signed unevenly but carefully on it, and nico reads the message over and over again, traces over every letter of jack's name like a promise. it's not the longest or most articulate of the letters he receives, but it's the most earnest, and that's what matters to nico!

so they start writing each other letters. nico drives to the hughes homestead to pick jack up in his best church clothes and realizes quickly that jack isn't exactly the perfect wife nico had written about! he's AWFUL at cooking and gets distracted while cleaning constantly, wanders off to go pick berries when he's supposed to be airing out the laundry, but then he looks up at nico and smiles with a basket of freshly picked berries in his hand, this little smattering of freckles across his nose, and nico's SO taken with him that it's easy to forgive jack and just finish the laundry together instead :)

there is literally Zero conflict in this fic it's just them falling in love and getting married and fucking nasty about it. also they have like five children that's it

#i started thinking about this in like. early may? but only opened a doc last week #we're at 12k but i can feel myself hitting a wall soon so i have to push through and Endure #ANYWAY thank you for indulging me in this au anon it haunts my dreams #hrpf for ts #yun replies #farmwife au

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doomalade · 1 year

Text

Behind the Scenes / Meta Commentary on RWBY: Amity Mega Thread.

I kinda want to take this time to and make a post detailing the kinda behind the scenes and processes that I went through while making this fanfic.

It’s nearing a full year that I’ve been working on this (the anniversary is June 1st I do believe). So I kinda. Just want to have a place to share and ramble on about what goes on inside my head while writing.

I started this fic when I was fresh out of high school and I have been struggling through college. The first 10 months was spent purely note taking. I was bing watching FRWBY and started to compare it to canon. Mostly V1-4 that is. Some parts of canon I really loved, such as the food fight or the Tyrian fight, or the lore. Man the lore is still something I think has me hooked to RWBY to this day. Of course this was a time when V8 was the last bit of RWBY content, so I was very not happy with the state of the show. So, I decided to write my own rewrite!

It was full of cliques and most of it took things either directly from FRWBY, canon, or other rewrites. This would become apparent to me down the line but for the first 3 months, it was nothing but making an outline for everything I needed.

It was a 10 Volume plan, structured into episodes that I would use as chapters. I think it was about 20 “episodes” per volume and it followed canon very closely. I only managed to write up an outline for one chapter, the very first one, and it was basically Salem and Ozpin’s talk from V1E1 mixed into the color trailers. It kinda worked out well because the last line of “a more simple soul” lined up with Ruby’s appearance in the Yellow Trailer. I also used the fractured moon as a transition, to really allow everything to feel connected. I had all of the color trailers happening in a single night, which looking back still feels like a cool idea.

Some parts of the original draft/notes have managed to remain a thing to this day. AroAce Ruby, Qrow being Ruby’s dad, Cardin being saved by Velvet, and Pietro and Maria having Ciel as their daughter are a few that come to mind.

Some more notable parts were scrapped when I later reworked the story into an AU. The Bees happening in V6, Summer turning out to be alive in the end, and Ironwood heroically sacrificing himself to slow down Salem. Some of those even if I wanted to keep now, would have no place in the story I’ve crafted today.

A story, with plots that I have planned out. The original draft didn’t have that until V9 and V10. The rest of it was basically canon retold. V1 ends fighting Torchwick, V2 ends with the Breach, V3 ends with the Fall of Beacon, etc. Anything else “original” was a long list of head canons that took up over 100 pages on Google Docs. My notes were all over the place and some conflicted with others.

I believe it was October that I decided to move from a rewrite to an AU. That was also the time that all of the stuff about RT came out and made me look back at some of the things I was going to include in my fic and made me realize: “Well I’m just repeating things that I find problematic in the show in my fic so am I really improving or changing anything?” That along with the lack of original ideas and direction made me sit down and get to work reforming my fic.

Before I get into that I want to mention that I did V9 both in a good and bad way. The good is that I really focused on each member of RWBY in the Ever After. Ruby with her role as a leader, Weiss with losing Atlas, Blake with feeling like she betrayed the Faunus, and Yang not feeling like she was able to protect those who she cared about. They all would talk and work together to help each other get back to Remnant and work through their problems. The bad is that half of the Volume was Ever After, and the other half was in Remnant following several factions across all of Remnant trying to gain support for the final battle at Beacon. So it was all over the place and no one got time to truly shine. Also I think this was the time that V9 was beginning to be teased so I was also trying to quickly add in details to an already messy Volume.

Step 1 was to organize my notes, which I did over the course of October to December(2022). November I spent diving into the wiki and this is where my 300+ characters came from. Worst part is? That the wiki has 400+ characters, I had to combine names and cut down a bit to make sure that everyone fit into four person teams. It’s closer to 200-250+ characters subtracting the major ones like Ruby or Coco or Whitley, etc. The rest were character names on Qrow’s scroll in V4, the huntsman boards in V7, and obscure mentions in books and side content. These names are mostly made up of those who worker on RWBY the same way game devs will include their names to plaques or memorials in games. To this day, I only have 12 of these characters figured out. Most characters are in Mistral with the least being in Vacuo. Can you guess which one I did first?

But yeah, that should be it for the start of this AU fic/project/thing. I will try my best to continue adding to this in the future.

#rwby #rwby fanfic #rwby fanfiction #rwby au #rwby: amity #seriously long post #long thread

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shivunin · 4 months

Note

🤡⛔💞💔

Hey, thank you very much for asking! 💗This wound up a touch long haha

(Writer Asks)

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

I have several and they're all really long. The one I still want to try to revamp/use the concept of is one about a Thedas where Halamshiral was never lost to the Chantry. It had some really, really lovely parts but it required so much worldbuilding that it eventually stopped being fun to write.

(Also a 1930s AU set between 2 and Inquisition where Lavellan is a reporter and Cullen is trying to figure out how to leave the Templars, a "how Elowen handles breaking up with Solas" AU, and a mermaid!Cullen AU I still mean to get back to someday)

💞 Who's your comfort character?

Cullen! I write him whenever I'm feeling down. I think I might have all of the romance dialogue memorized at this point lol

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

I answered this here, but I've got plenty haha. From "The Punchline" (here on Tumblr, here on AO3):

Afterward, Fenris could not say if she lifted her head or if he bent his to her. Afterward, he could only remember the ache in his chest, the wine on her breath, the awful laughter still trailing from her lips. When they kissed, it tasted of salt and tannins and fresh blood. It felt fitting, in its way. If this was to cut him to the bone, it should taste like a wounded thing. The kiss was nothing like the first had been. There was nothing of heady joy to this, no thick anticipation, no persistent hope. There was only the ache of regret—that he had found himself here at all, alone with her in the heaviness of night when he would never be able to give her what she needed.

The kiss lasted only a moment; Maria pulled away almost as soon as they touched. Her eyes searched his. IIf he’d wanted to, he was close enough to count every dark spot scattered over her irises, every freckle on her nose. Too close. Too close by far. “There,” she said quietly. “You see? That proves it. I only destroy everything I love, after all. You must be safe, then. Can still get away if you’re quick.”

Fenris and Hawke and those awful months after the Act 2 romance scene get me every time tbh.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Oh god, this whole thing lol. They're so awkward with each other and both trying so hard to be casual. Here's my favorite bit:

They both stopped, Cullen chuckling uncomfortably and Elowen releasing a panicked wheeze that might, to someone panicking, have sounded like a laugh. Sylaise’enaste, she had to get out of here before she did something dire. Like drag him across the desk to find out if his mouth tasted as good as it looked. Do not say that out loud, she willed herself. “I will see you later,” she said. “Thank you,” Cullen said with relief. His eyes widened and he shook his head. “No! I mean—not thank you. Yes, I’ll—I will see you there.” “Yes, see you later,” she said, belatedly remembering that she’d already said that. Cullen opened his mouth and closed it again. Why did his mouth have to look so kissable? Why hadn’t she kissed him last night, when there’d been no one else around and they’d been covered in his mantle? It had been—it had been romantic, even, so close to each other like that. “Right,” she said, sharply enough that his head jerked back, “Later.” “...yes,” he said, but Elowen was already jogging for the door before she could think about why he sounded so faint. The door shut behind her with a squeal and a bang. Elowen leaned back against it, arms spread slightly, and peered up at the puffy white clouds in the sky. “I am doomed,” she told them, with all the gravitas of one who’d been condemned to death.

#ask game response #ask game #long post #maria hawke #elowen lavellan #i rearranged the order so the funny one would be last #someday!! someday i will finish that halamshiral au #or frog it and use the pieces for something along that vein #i put about 80k words into that bad boy before i dropped it #and it galls me to just leave it like that

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aprito · 1 year

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At what age do you think Sasori would ha e been too far gone? I'm working on a fanic idea that deviates from canon around the time the Land of This gets destroyed by the art duo. I'm guessing that must have happened when he was in his mid-twenties(?) Would it be too late then to pull off something like that realistically?

First of all thank you for being interested in what I have to say I am very touched <3 Sorry this is going to be rambly again also I'm replying very late because I didn't see it my bad

In short: Can't really see a substantial change of character the same way I can't see it for Orochimaru. Despite what Shit Tierrot wants us to believe, patching Tsunade back together does not undo all the horrific shit he did before and afterwards.

Long:

Ok so I guess to establish a timeline here I'm assuming Deidara would be older in your AU? Because he was forced into the Akatsuki when he was around 13 and Sasori had already been 29 by that time. Deidara and Sasori have not been canonically active before we actually get introduced to them in the KKR arc, even if it's canonically implied Sasori took over an entire country at some point in his life, the country in question probably being some small ass city state like the anime concludes, while Deidara had apparently been in contact with two other jinchuuriki. You can be pretty flexible for those 6 years in your fic because some of it even takes place before Naruto canonically kicks off.

I guess I don't really talk about Sasori's crimes because I take them for granted when I say he's canonically not really redeemable, but if we take the age Deidara joined (13) and the age Sasori (15-16ish) joined, who was his partner in crime for give or take 12-14 years? Orochimaru, who I consider to be equally not really redeemable. Why? Because they essentially are both guilty of the same crimes (against humanity). Orochimaru is an easy villain to hate RIGHTFULLY BTW because we actually see what he does, whereas it's only implied for Sasori.

Let's be real here: Both of them spent most of their time on this earth trafficking, torturing, experimenting on and murdering people regardless of affiliation. For every successful human puppet transformation, you probably had plenty of failed ones, and that is just one aspect of the probably hundreds of thousands of deaths this dude has caused directly and indirectly through the people he additionally tortured and brainwashed into doing his bidding.

12-14 years is a pretty consistent time window of two mass murders, human traffickers and mutilation enjoyers being consistently exposed to each other. If we thought what Sasori did as a whee 15 year old burning down villages to look for scraps and killing his Kage was bad, then him having pretty much unfiltered access to the stuff mentioned for absolutely no reason but self satisfaction is bound to make me think he would not be the type to start valuing humanity on a whim, unless he had no self consciousness. The OVA implies he didn't like Orochimaru from the jump, but I never thought it was because of Orochimaru's actions, probably just because he knew Orochimaru was the traitor type. He clearly had not stopped doing what he did even after Orochimaru left, up until he ultimately GAINS self consciousness through the fight against Chiyo and Sakura and immeditately unalives himself. So, by the time he meets Deidara, he would already been way too far gone tbh.

We didn't see a transformation when he was around Deidara, and we obviously didn't see a transformation when he was around Orochimaru. His entire stint in the Akatsuki surely did not improve his character in the slightest, so for me personally, I would find it very hard to redeem him with everything above kept in mind, especially since I and many others believe Orochimaru should also not be redeemed for the same reasons.

to conclude your question on how a redemption could still work:

#ask noni #meta #i am sasori's biggest hater on this website. they fear me #this was probably not helpful at all #the biggest loser in all of this naturally is deidara poor kid constantly exposed to real psychological terrorism #the wall for sasori would not have been enough

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fortpeat · 1 year

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I have been obsessed with your Fantasy AU video edit 😭 so I wonder if there are any other AU's you have thought of ?! .

Because I have one. Prapaisky in a world that's brutal and ugly. A world that hasn't been kind to them. A world that doesn't accept a love like theirs. A world not willing to step away from tradition or accept change. A world that is cruel to anything or anyone that is different or unique.

How do you think Prapaisky live in a world like this ?!

Hey Nonnie ❤️☺️✨

Aww thank you so much 🥹🥹 I am glad you have been obsessed with it. Welcome to the club 🤭 oh I have thought of lot of AU's not gonna lie and if only I had the content to make edits out of it I would be making them left and right 🤭

Oh BOYYY this AU sounds so painful 😭😭 I am kind of here for it 🫣 look I am a sucker for fluff and romance but once in a while I crave a good angst with maybe a happy ending 🤭

Now what I think of this AU huh. Alright let's see 🧐🤔

"I told you to be more careful" Sky says gritting his teeth trying to be gentle but it is hard when your hands are shaking and covered in blood

"I was careful" Prapai exclaimed while also making sure he didn't yell out in pain.

"NO. No you were not. Because if you were then I wouldn't be stitching you up for the third time this week Pai." Sky stated as a matter of fact failing to be calm, breathing deeply willing his racing heart to slow down.

Prapai caught Sky's wrist holding it gently feeling the tremors, rubbing his thumb over Sky's pulse point. "Hey, I am okay. It was a small cut." He said softly

"Everything starts small Pai." Sky says, it was barely a whisper in the quiet of the large abandoned warehouse they have found for the night. Finally he looks up, with tears in his eyes and says "I can't... I can't lose you. I CAN'T."

"You won't Sky, you won't lose me." Prapai promises, a promise they both know he has no power to make, not in this world. A world that has taken everything from them.

"That's the thing you can't promise me that. This world has taken everything from us. If it were to take you too I don't think I will survive that. I will not survive that." Sky knows it to be the truth. He doesn't know if he would have still been alive if it wasn't for Prapai who has been there for him through everything both bad and the worst.

"I am here and I am not going anywhere. I am just tired of living by scraps. I thought maybe one night we could have something decent. Baby, I am sorry for scaring you." Prapai says leaning forward and touches his forehead to Sky's.

Sky's heart breaks a little more that night, wiping away his tears and resolutely looking at Prapai holding his face and says "I am ready to live by those scraps as long as you are there by my side. I.. I am willing to suffer for the rest of my life if you are there with me. There is nothing in this world that is worth it if you keep getting hurt. It's just us now. We are all that we have for each other."

Ohh boy I didn't think this would happen oops. 🤭 As always I am not a writer this is just me writing down what came into my mind when Nonnie talked about that AU. And English is not my first language so please be kind 🫣🤭

#love in the air #prapaisky #prapai x sky #lita #asks are always appreciated #prapaisky au

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aquathewriter · 8 months

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okay so...

I've been poking at the brother/norted Sora au thing, and it was originally going to take place just after Sora, Donald, and Goofy go to Toy Box, and young Xehanort yoinks him again there, and then it would be Vani, Donald, and Goofy traveling through the worlds/through kh3 but I hit a bump. So I'm scrapping that idea and having it start when Sora is originally snatched (it's not much, like a chapter and some change).

BUT I like how I wrote some of the first chapter and I'm going to share that here, under the cut! Enjoy!

As he stood outside the grand white castle, Vanitas felt anxiety run through him. He understood what Yen Sid wanted them to do, Sora to unlock the Power of Waking and for him to uncover his lost memories, but that also meant they were separated. After Sora’s kidnapping and Xehanort’s attempted possession, Vanitas almost didn’t want to let Sora out of his sight. And as strong as both Donald and Goofy are, neither could take on one of the only man’s minions if they tried that stunt again.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he leaned against the end of the railing and sighed. He tried fighting Yen Sid about separating them, but the batty wizard’s argument was that they needed to know where he came from and why he looked just like Sora. None of that ever mattered to him. He did wonder where he came from for a short time when he was really young, but then he just didn’t care. He had Sora, their parents, their friends, and their islands. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift to the short memory that Naminé uncovered more than half a year ago.

He’d seen it play in forward and reverse, but he knew it well by heart. A blond kid hovered far above him as a large and ornate weapon slipped from his fingers. He watched his hands, covered in a strange red and black material, desperately reach for the weapon. Then he felt lightheaded and slowly started to close his eyes. Just before darkness overtook him, he saw the weapon start to glow brightly and then explode into brilliant light. Only Sora knew of this memory. They kept it secret between them and would figure out what it meant together sometime later down the line.

“I know you…” Vanitas gasped as his eyes snapped open. Looking behind him, he saw Cinderella, wearing a simple dress with a brown skirt and light blue top, standing not too far from him up on the grand staircase. She slowly stepped closer to him, studying his face. “So…no…you’re his brother.” Vanitas chuckled, pushing his mysterious memory from his mind, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I am Sora’s brother, Vanitas. We met at Hollow Bastian about a year or so ago.” he watched her gasp as she remembered the events.

“Yes! Yes, I do remember!” she smiled brightly as she hurried down the stairs to stand in front of him. He smiled a little when he saw that he was now about the same height as her, if not a little taller. “You certainly have grown.”

“Well, a year and some change can do that to a teenager.” she brought her hand up to her lips and chuckled. The two then ended up doing some small talk, updating each other on what’s happened since Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, tried to plunge everything into darkness.

“Do you know how the others are doing?” she asked.

“Others?” Vanitas asked as he tilted his head. Cinderella nodded.

“The other princesses.” Vanitas let out a quiet “oh” and nodded with a small shrug.

“Yes and no. I’ve seen Belle, Jasmine, and obviously Kairi, but I haven’t seen the others. Do you remember the Beast?” he watched the blonde think for a second before nodding. “Turns out he was cursed, but, last I heard, at least, he’s human again, and he and Belle are either married or planning their wedding.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely!” she said as she clasped her hands in front of her.

“Jasmine is in a similar boat. She and her partner, Aladdin, are planning their wedding, I think.” Vanitas was about to continue, but then he heard his Gummiphone start to ring.

“What’s that?” Cinderella asked as he pulled the device out of his pocket.

“Something a couple of my friends made for Sora and me.” he then looked at the screen and saw Sora’s name. “I’m going to take this, but it was great seeing you again.” he smiled, waved, and jogged toward the front gate for more privacy.

Once on the other side of the wall, he held the phone up and accepted the call. “Hey, Sor-”

“Vanitas!” the raven-haired teen jumped and almost dropped his phone. Righting himself out, he looked into the phone and saw both Donald and Goofy staring at him with wide and scared eyes. “Donald? Goofy? What’s wrong? Where’s Sora?” he felt fear building within him. He could even see flecks of darkness starting to drift off his bare arms. They started to talk over each other, not making any sense. He thought he heard them mention toys, but he didn’t know for sure. He saw Donald quickly get annoyed, push Goofy away, and catch the phone before it fell to the ground.

“The young Xehanort took Sora again!” Vanitas felt his heart stop as he stared at the duck.

This was exactly what he feared. He didn’t know Xehanort well, but from what he did, the old man seemed cocky enough to try again and would never stop until he got what he wanted. His body started to shake, and the dark flecks turned into streams of black smoke. His shock then quickly shifted to anger and then fury. He gripped his phone tightly as he summoned his keyblade in his left hand. He then let out a furious scream and chucked his weapon into the nearby trees. He listened as it clattered against a few trees before landing on the ground and scaring the wildlife around it. He then heard Donald and Goofy calling for him. He brought his phone back up, and they gasped when they saw the fury on his face and the thick clouds of darkness coming off of him.

“I told that crazy wizard that he would try again! I knew I shouldn’t’ve listened to him!” he shouted as he started to march down the path that led away from the castle.

“Vanitas, what are you doing?” Goofy asked, worry in his voice.

“I’m about to give Yen Sid a piece of my mind. And if either of you want to stop me, you’ll have to get there before me,” he said was a slight growl in his voice. They started to say his name, but he ended the call. He shoved his phone back into his pocket, summoned a dark corridor, and disappeared within.

~*~

It only took Vanitas a few minutes to reach the Mysterious Tower. He stepped out of the darkness and onto the grass in front of the strange-looking tower. His darkness still came off his body in thick clouds as he looked back toward the sky. Just like he thought, he had beaten the two. Since the gummi ship ran on smiles and laughter and with the situation, they would be playing with fire if they were trying to book it back. Gripping his fists tightly at his side, he marched up the stairs and through the door.

As Vanitas climbed the spiral staircase, he grumbled about how Yen Sid put a spell on his tower to make it so no one could enter via a corridor. He could leave in one, but he had Axel to thank for that. As he reached the top and neared the door that led to the old man’s study, he could hear talking on the other side.

When he was in front of the large wooden door, he reeled back and kicked the door open with his foot. It crashed against the wall and whatever hung or rested against it. The action surprised the occupants of the room, and they all just stared at Vanitas in shock. The raven-haired teen didn’t pay any attention to who else was in the room; he just wanted to yell at Yen Sid. “You…!” he hissed through his teeth as he started to make his way to the old wizard. Yen Sid remained still as he watched Vanitas close in on him. “You bast-!” Vanitas was cut short when he felt arms hook under his arms and hold him back. “Let go of me!” he screamed as he kicked and fought against his captor.

“I will if you calm down and explain what’s going on!” Vanitas whipped his head back to see that it was Riku who was holding him back. The raven-haired teen just growled and kicked out his legs again. “What’s going on, Vanitas?” Riku asked again as his hold tightened.

“It’s his fault! It’s all his fault!” Vanitas screamed as he now felt tears flowing down his cheeks.

“What happened, Vanitas?” he now heard the King’s voice but ignored him. He continued to fight against Riku until he felt a sudden warm breeze blow across his face. Against his will, he felt his body become sluggish, and his eyes grew heavy. His legs gave out and fell somewhat as Riku still held him. Weakly, looked up and gave Yen Sid one last glare.

“It’s…your faul…” he couldn’t finish as the world then went dark.

~*~

When Vanitas opened his eyes, he groaned and tried to move his hands but quickly found that they were tied behind his back. Freaking out, he looked around and found that he was sitting at the table in the three good fairies' room, who were not present at the moment. He tried breaking whatever had his hands bound, but nothing worked. It was too strong. He then slumped back and glared at the door. There was no need for him to try and remember what happened. He knew everything. He remembered Donald and Goofy telling him that Sora was taken again, him traveling back to the tower, and him trying to confront Yen Sid, only to be held back by Riku. Someone then cast a sleep spell on him, but he didn’t know who. “Whoever cast that sleeping spell is getting a knuckle sandwich!” he shouted at the closed door in front of him. He waited for a few moments until he heard the door at the other end of the hall open and then followed by quiet footsteps. His glare continued as the door opened, and Riku stepped in. “Who am I punching for that spell?” he said in a low voice as the silver-haired master shut the door behind him and stepped closer.

“I’m not telling.” Vanitas groaned and rolled his eyes. “Why are you acting like this, Vanitas? What are you blaming Yen Sid for?” Vanitas realized that they didn’t know. Donald nor Goofy had contacted them, and they must not have arrived yet.

Must be trying to get here still to stop me…

“Sora was taken again!” he watched the color drain from the older teen’s tan face. “Donald and Goofy told me, and it’s his fault ‘cause he wanted us to go on separate quests!” his voice was getting louder. “It’s his fault that I wasn’t there to stop that yellow-eyed bastard from taking him again!” Tears started to blur his vision. All the anger and fury he felt then just vanished as he slumped limply against the back of his wooden chair. “He’s gone…he’s gone again…” he started to whisper as tears rolled down his cheeks. As he looked down at his legs, he heard the door open again and then Riku’s footsteps fading away. He heard faint voices and then the door opening again. When he heard the running footfalls, he looked up through his bangs to see the door fly open and Donald and Goofy run in. They cried out his name and hurried toward him. Goofy knelt down next to him with a hand on his shoulder while Donald was trying to get the bindings off his wrists.

“What did you do to make them tie you up?” Goofy asked.

“I…I kicked the door open and just…just started sorta screaming at him,” he said softly. He then felt a slap upside his head. “Ow! Hey!” he exclaimed as he tried to look back at the court wizard.

“You’re lucky you got away with a sleep spell!” Donald squawked as the bindings gave way, and Vanitas was free. The raven-haired teen first rubbed the spot Donald hit before wiping the tears from his cheeks with the heels of his palms. The duck then stepped around to the other side of Vanitas and gently placed a hand on his leg. Vanitas looked down at him and saw a sympathetic look on his face. “You also have to remember that we lost him too.” Vanitas felt more tears well up. Using the heels of his palms, Vanitas quickly rubbed the new tears away.

“How…” he cleared his throat before continuing, “How did it happen?”

“We were in a new world called ‘Toy Box,’ and young Xehanort sent a giant heartless after us.” Donald started before looking at Goofy.

“As we were fightin’ it, I heard Sora shout somethin’. I looked over and watched the young Xehanort knock Sora out and take him through a dark corridor.”

“We finished off the heartless and then called you when we got back to the ship.” Vanitas sighed and let his face fall into his hands while his elbows rested on his knees.

“I knew I shouldn’t’ve listened to Yen Sid.” his voice was muffled due to his hands.

“What happened to Sora?” Vanitas stiffened when he heard Yen Sid’s voice. The duo retold the events.

“What should we do, Master? We’re down another guardian.” he then heard the King’s voice. The old wizard hummed quietly as Vanitas looked up from his hands. He glared at Yen Sid but stayed put. One round of sleep magic was more than he ever wanted. The wizard then looked at Vanitas.

“Vanitas, you will have to fill your brother’s spot until we can get him back.” The glare of the raven-haired teen’s face vanished as he just stared at him in disbelief.

“A-are you sure, sir?” the King stammered. Yen Sid nodded.

“It’s all we can do until he is found.” he didn’t know if he should be elated or terrified. On one hand, he was being recognized as someone other than Sora’s brother with the nearly black heart. On the other hand, it came at the cost of Sora vanishing again, and now he actually had a responsibility to fight in a war. He was going to join them anyway, whether they liked it or not, but now…it felt different. It felt forced.

“Do you want Mickey and I to stop looking for Aqua and focus on Sora?” Riku asked.

“No, you must continue your search for her.” he then looked at Vanitas, Donald, and Goofy. “They will look for him.” Vanitas swallowed the lump forming in his throat and nodded. Again, he was going to do that anyway, but now he had Yen Sid’s blessing. This only made it so the old wizard couldn’t send anyone out to stop and bring him back. “I also want you to try to unlock your past memories, Vanitas. We don’t know for sure, but they might hold some key to all of this.”

I doubt it…

“It’s goin’ to be kinda strange goin’ on an adventure with just you, Vanitas,” Goofy commented. Vanitas then gritted his teeth and shook his head.

“Hold on!” he said loudly as he stood up. “Do I not get a say in this?”

“Vanitas, we all know you were going to go look for him anyway,” Riku said with a small smirk.

“Yes, I was, but what I mean is about becoming a guardian.” he looked Yen Sid in the eye. “I know I’m the last person you want in your guardians, but you are more willing to let me go to war before I take a Mark of Mastery exam? You also know I don’t want any of my past memories. Let sleeping dogs lie, right?” he scoffed and shook his head. “I am going to look for him, but I’m not making any promises about my memories. If I get them back, then whoop-dee-doo. If not, then that’s that.” The two stared each other down for what felt like hours. Eventually, Yen Sid hummed and nodded. Without another word, Vanitas marched around the table and out of the small round room. He marched through the hall, and once he reached the study, he called forth a dark corridor and stepped through.

He immediately found himself on the gummi ship. With a sigh, he fell into one of the co-pilot seats and waited for Donald and Goofy. It didn’t take them long to follow after him. He heard the save point console make a noise. Turning around, he watched them materialize on the circle of light.

“You were rude to Yen Sid,” Donald said as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Vanitas.

“Since when is that a shocker?” the teen replied as he glanced at Goofy and then back.

“You know, he’s right,” Goofy said before chuckling. Donald sighed as Goofy made his way to his seat.

“Do you want to drive?” the duck offered.

“If I knew how, yes, but I’m also not in the mood for it.” The duck nodded as he took the pilot’s seat. As the ship rumbled to life, Vanitas brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He rested his cheek on his knees and watched as the stars started to fly by them.

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts vanitas #kingdom hearts sora #fanfic stuff #kingdom hearts fanfic #sora and vanitas are brothers #kh brothers au

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