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scoops-aboy86 · 3 months

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More of the love spell no go au, because of course I did. This one is a little more bittersweet, because it covers the start of Steve's reaction to both the Russian torture and creeping dread that the Upside Down stuff will keep coming back.

He and Eddie are still close! But Steve is about to make some reluctant choices about his eating and activity habits, because he views it as his duty to help keep everyone he cares about safe.

Part 1, part 1.5, part 2

The day Eddie walks up to Scoops Ahoy and it’s still shuttered, he immediately knows that something is wrong. He has Steve’s schedule memorized, and even if he’d called out Robin would still be here. Uneasy, he goes back out to the parking lot and tries casting a locator spell in his van, sweat dripping into his eyes because the AC is still on the fritz.

According to the spell, Steve is miles below the mall. That can’t be right. And usually when Eddie’s magic is a flop he keeps getting different wrong answers, like a math problem that you know you’re forgetting a step somewhere but can’t figure out what it is no matter how many times you do it over. This is consistent: below the mall. Or, below the mall and shifting gradually towards the left at a reasonable walking pace.

It’s so weird that Eddie speeds home and wakes Uncle Wayne, which is usually something he avoids doing but this feels important. Wayne helps him with the spell, but the result is still the same. All Wayne can do is shrug and tell Eddie to trust his intuition when it comes to magic, because making it work through the earth like that can be tricky but Eddie must have at least been casting strong to get such consistent results, and goes back to bed.

Eddie’s confidence in his magic has frankly been shattered ever since the love spell backfired, and he’s actually woefully out of practice for that exact reason. But he drives to approximately directly above where Steve is (a field maybe a mile or two from the mall) and starts casting whatever protection spells he can think of. One of them might only protect Steve from getting cavities, or it might prevent the loss of entire teeth and/or finger and toe nails. He’s not sure. But hey, the dude works in an ice cream shop, better safe than sorry right?

The downside of being so out of practice is that Eddie wears himself out. He keeps at it for most of Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but passes out around afternoon and wakes up in the back of the van after dark drenched in sweat from laying in the van all day even with the windows cracked open, probably lucky he didn’t get heat stroke. At first he can’t figure out where he is or what woke him, but he stumbles outside and sees a plume of smoke rising from where Starcourt Mall used to be, and…

Steve is just walking over to check on Nancy and Jonathan when Eddie’s van screeches up and Eddie himself jumps the barrier that’s supposed to keep civilians out. That’s the first word that comes to Steve’s mind—civilian—because for a few months there he’d managed to forget. But his head hurts, his face hurts, he’d nearly had a fingernail pried off until Robin had blurted out about the code, and the military guys still had yet to find his car keys that the Russians had confiscated. Steve is tired and hungry and still waiting to find out how bad the car crash (which he hadn’t mentioned to the paramedics, one too many things to remember at the time) fucked up his neck, and he forgets to self-moderate. He drops his shock blanket to grab Eddie in a clingy hug, eyes shut tight as he huffs “Don’t ask what happened, just don’t” into Eddie’s shoulder.

The scents of leather and weed have never been more comforting before.

“Hey Munson,” Robin says tiredly, wandering over. “We’re friends-in-law now.”

“What?” Eddie manages over Steve’s disheveled, unwashed hair.

“Steve and I threw up together and became platonic soul mates,” she explains.

“Trauma bonded,” Steve adds, still into Eddie’s jacket. Which kind of explains it a little better. Sort of.

“Not asking,” Eddie decides after a confused moment. “Platonic soulmates, got it. Uh…” He looks around helplessly, recognizing Nancy and Jonathan in the background but no one else in the crowd and he’s just. Standing here with a magnificent hangover and an arm full of Steve Harrington in a bloodied sailor suit. “Anyone need a ride home?”

Only Steve and Robin take him up on the ride, which is fine. He drops Robin off first, and as he’s pulling out of her driveway Steve says, “I don’t know if it’s okay to go to sleep with a concussion.”

Eddie eases the break back on and turns to stare at him. “You have a concussion?”

Steve blinks slowly back at him. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Well… didn’t the EMTs tell you what to do? Like, how to tell if you should go to a hospital or something?”

He shrugs. “I don’t remember. Um… my parents aren’t home though, so I don’t know… Could I stay with you?”

Immediately Eddie thinks of Steve’s big house in Loch Nora, which he’d skulked around a time or two to sell at parties and pine from a distance, compared to the single-wide Munson trailer in Forest Hills. “I don’t know if you’d be comfortable—”

“It’s too much empty space,” Steve says, and there’s a look in his eyes that Eddie hasn’t seen since the first few times he bought weed. Like he’ll sit up all night jumping at shadows. And Eddie gets not wanting to be alone after being in a mall fire (apparently?), but what had put that look there before Starcourt?

“… My place it is.”

Medically, Steve is actually fine to stay alone. He hadn’t been the last time around, after Billy had cracked that plate on his skull, and that’s why Hopper had sent him home with Dustin once the gate was closed; Mrs. Henderson had been a nurse before turning to telemarketing as a way to stay home more with her son. As sure as Steve had been at the time that the Russians had beaten him harder than that, he’s much better then than he had been in November.

Except he’s not. Because Hopper is dead, and even with the gate closed this shit had still managed to come back, and that makes Steve the man of the group but he’s too scared to sleep in his own house, which is full either of dark ceilings for monsters to crawl out of or light bulbs that could start flickering at any moment. So instead he’s here lying on his side, freshly showered and back to back with Eddie on a twin bed that feels like it’s seen better days. Staring at the bedroom door because the thought of sleeping with his back to it had made his throat feel tight. Maybe that was the whiplash, but he doubts it.

Steve knows in his bones that the Upside Down isn’t done with Hawkins yet. He needs to train, to get ready… There’s Robin and Erica to think about, freshly drawn into this, one basically all his fault and the other too young to be dealing with horrors like this no matter whose fault it was. There’s Dustin (electrocuted that Russian doctor to death) and Max (watched Billy die) and the rest of the gremlins (Eleven, fuck, she just lost her dad), freshly re-traumatized and just two months out from entering the meat grinder that was freshman year at Hawkins High. If nothing else, he has to be strong for them. Which means…

Steve sighs, hugging himself tightly under the thin sheet. This whole summer he’d been leaning into doing whatever he felt like, and it hadn’t exactly prepared him for an emergency situation. He’d gotten lucky knocking out that one guard, sheer body weight leaning an extra oomph to the hit he’d landed, and that had ended the fight pretty quickly. But it hadn’t gotten him into the room with vent access fast enough to avoid getting himself and Robin captured. Being on the verge of needing to order the next size up in his work uniform hadn't lent him any protection against that Russian truth serum. All his summer of indulgences had led to was eating multiple bags of trash corn while trying to comprehend Back to the Future, which… not his proudest moment, really, but he had been drugged.

Anyway. The point is, he needs to get back in shape. He is not going to turn into King Steve again, but maybe if he could just get some of it back. Start jogging and working out again, and not indulging his sweet tooth all the time. It’ll suck, but he’s gotta protect his friends—protect Eddie, who hopefully will never have to know about monsters and Russians and little girls with mind powers.

So Steve spends a sleepless night mourning the ice cream cones on his lunch breaks, and extra burgers or slices of pizza whenever ordering takeout, and the way Eddie watches him sometimes. And that last one… Maybe it won’t go away entirely, because they’re close now. Close enough that Steve can apparently just invite himself over and Eddie just lets him without protest, and Steve likes the trailer, likes that it’s small and cozy and actually looks lived in and loved.

Around dawn, he rolls over and tentatively snuggles up against Eddie’s back, tucking an arm around him when Eddie moves unconsciously towards him rather than away.

It’ll hurt to lose any of this. But he knows that Eddie will be some amount of disappointed in him for falling back into the jock mold, so… he just wants to hold on a little longer.

Tag list (comment to be added): @hotluncheddie

Part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11

#wg steddie #love spell no go au #eddie munson #wayne munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #steddie #platonic stobin #chubby steve harrington #feedee steve harrington

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possibilistfanfiction · 4 months

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for surgeons au.,, perhaps some hurt/comfort :,)

[hbd @gohandinhand. sorry but tbf... u asked for this lol (also so many of you asked for 'what if bea gets hurt' bc we all share one collective grey's anatomy-ass braincell // also on ao3]

‘dr. silva is still in the tumor resection?’

it’s only, like, your fifth week being a doctor, so there are so many things you don’t know all the time; you add dr. villaumbrosia asking this question to the list. still, she’s kind of the scariest person you’ve ever met in your life — unflappable and a little mean to everyone but her patients and their families, talented and whip-smart beyond belief, willing to take on the hardest cases — and so you answer anyway with a nod. you only know this because zaire promised he would come find you just after he’d finished with dr. silva — to celebrate at the bar down the street and hopefully more than that too — but you don’t add that; you don’t think dr. villaumbrosia would appreciate it all that much.

‘okay,’ she says, more shaken than you’ve ever seen her.

‘is something… did something go wrong, or?’

‘with ava’s surgery, no, i don’t think so.’

ava is new; you’re not embarrassed to admit that you and basically your whole intern class has been keeping track of who’s with whom amongst the attendings, so you know they’re all either dating or friends or some kind of family. still, dr. villaumbrosia never uses first names at work.

‘there’s a trauma being flown in,’ she continues. ‘there was an avalanche, and dr. choi was skiing in the backcountry today. i don’t — i don’t know more details.’ she worries her hands for a moment. ‘she hasn’t answered her sat phone.’

‘oh,’ is the best you’ve got, disarmed by the obvious fear that lingers around every inch of her.

‘dr. silva can’t know, if she does come in. not until after he’s finished the hardest part of the procedure and can pass it off.’

not that you were going to be the one to randomly decide to go to dr. silva’s OR and say any of this, but you nod. ‘of course.’

‘i need you to go check on tai; she’s in daycare.’

‘uh, i don’t — i’ve never —‘

dr. villaumbrosia waves you off. ‘she’s cute. looks like choi, acts like silva.’

when you don’t respond immediately, dr. villaumbrosia just glares. ‘yeah, of course,’ you hurry to say.

‘and then i need you to go to the ER for the trauma. dr. masters already knows you’re coming; you’re going to see what’s going on and tell me and no one else. got it?’

‘yes, dr. villaumbrosia. will do.’

‘great.’

to be honest, you have no idea where the daycare even is, and this certainly isn’t what you went to a bazillion years of school for, but whatever. maybe this will get you on dr. villaumbrosia’s good side.

‘and dr. al-najjar?’

you nod.

‘i know this seems ridiculous. but dr. choi is — she’s my favorite person. it’s important.’

you understand in your own way: you facetime your little brother every day, no matter how tired you are, no matter how late or early it is for you. ‘i’ll tell you everything as soon as i can.’

‘good.’

tai is, apparently, a fourteen month old, very cute toddler, who really does look like dr. choi. when you explain, very briefly, to one of the daycare teacher that dr. villaumbrosia sent you to see how she’s doing, make sure she’s okay, she nods and shows you over to an area of the room with soft mats and some wooden blocks. tai smiles at you, all baby teeth and big cheeks, and says mostly nonsense but a few words — blocks, doctor, mama — and then promptly knocks over her block tower with definite glee.

you snap a nice, cute picture of tai smiling in her little giraffe hoodie and send it off to dr. villaumbrosia. you’ve never been a baby guy, and you’re certain she isn’t either, because there’s no way you could ever possibly choose her specialty if you were, but she loves the photo anyway — the first and only time she’ll ever respond to a text from you like that, you’re absolutely certain — and it makes you smile, just for a moment. when you wave goodbye to tai she laughs, and you hope, very concretely, that she goes home with both of her parents tonight, or soon, at least, that her family stays as full and happy and warm as it had been this morning.

you feel genuinely nervous and way too invested: you’ve met dr. choi in passing a handful of times, and she’d assisted on one of dr. villaumbrosia’s surgeries once that you’d gotten to hold a retractor for, but according to emma — the best gossip and also dr. choi’s favorite intern, allegedly — says that dr. choi is kind and quiet and a wonderful teacher, patient and skilled and efficient. you’d been looking forward to being on her service soon, honestly, and, even in the past few weeks, you’re starting to understand that the people here, that you spend so much time with, are starting to feel like family.

dr. masters nods at you, her braids already tucked away beneath a cap, trauma gown on. you’re on peds, so you don’t know if you’re really here to help with anything — dr. villaumbrosia wasn’t called down for any consults, still set for the routine bowel repair she’d been scheduled for this afternoon, so you’re fairly certain there weren’t any children coming in — but she gestures toward the gown and gloves anyway.

‘just in case we need more hands on deck,’ she says as way of explanation. ‘there’s four people, and we don’t really know the extent of their injuries.’

you nod — what else is there to say — and things are very, very still until dr. masters gets a page and then everything is moving — loudly, organized, seamless — and you’re in awe, for a moment, of dr. masters’ ER. you love trauma surgery and she’s, like, kind of the biggest badass in the country, and it’s pretty fucking cool to watch her very quickly get everyone exactly where they need to be in the amount of time it takes for her to walk to the elevator that leads up to the helipad.

the wind whips from the blades when the doors open, rainy and miserable, and your heart is caught in your throat when the door opens. you see dr. masters’ hands shake, although you’d never, ever mention it, locked behind her back in tight fists, until dr. choi’s face — a bruise along her jaw, a scrape that runs underneath her eye, all the way into her hair, the tip of her nose and the tips of her ears a painful red, probably from frostbite — comes into view.

dr. choi, strapped into a stretcher, covered in a blanket and hooked up to an IV, immediately starts talking, before the stretcher is even fully out of the helicopter. ‘the three coming out,’ she starts, ‘i dug them out as much as i could. i did an emergency thoracostomy on david, you need to push a ton of antibiotics. anna needs to go to the OR immediately for her pelvis, make sure cam —‘

‘—beatrice,’ dr. masters says, rushing to her side and, if you were to bet, wanting to sink to her knees in relief. ‘oh my god.’

‘i’m fine,’ dr. choi says, annoyed at being made to stay on the stretcher. ‘i properly deployed my avalanche airbag. but mary, listen —‘

dr. masters holds dr. choi’s face in her hands and then kisses the top of dr. choi’s head. it’s tender, and you wonder how long they’ve known each other to afford that level of intimacy, that level of care. ‘i got them, bea. i promise. we gotta take care of you too or ava will kill me.’

dr. choi relaxes, just minutely, but you can tell — maybe because you would trust dr. masters with your life or anyone else’s, maybe at the mention of dr. silva, maybe some combination of both — and she nods.

dr. masters rolls her eyes and kisses the top of dr. choi’s head once more. ‘stupid hero. let me go make all your hard work worthwhile.’

dr. choi smiles, definitely reassured now. ‘you better.’

you’re not surprised, exactly, that chief superion is waiting to take over dr. choi’s care, but you are a little surprised when dr. superion squeezes her shoulder gently and smiles, a little sad.

‘ava is still in surgery, so let’s get the worst of it taken care of before she’s done, yes?’

dr. choi nods, growing more exhausted by the minute. which is fair, you think, as she tells dr. superion — and you, because you’re stuck in this room until you have a real report for dr. villaumbrosia beyond the text you’d sent that just said Dr. Choi is talking and moving, no head or neck injuries — about how the avalanche airbag had worked, even if it was frightening; about how her transceiver, according to SAR, had helped them get there faster than they would have otherwise.

‘ava always teased me about how expensive the gear was, but look who’s laughing now.’

‘well, to be fair,’ dr. superion says, looking at dr. choi’s x-rays, ‘i don’t think either of you are laughing.’

‘oh, yikes,’ dr. choi says, looking at the films too. she’s on a fair amount of pain medicine at this point, but she’s right: there’s a few nasty fractures along the bones in her left wrist. but, other than those and a few cracked ribs and some mild frostbite on her nose, ears, and the tips of her fingers, it seems like it’s just cuts and bruises: nothing she won’t heal from, and far better off than the others who came in with her.

‘i, uh — sorry,’ you say, feeling like you’re interrupting, but they both just shake their heads, waving off your apology. ‘dr. villaumbrosia sent me to see if you’re okay, and i’m supposed to go talk to her once i know. which, i guess i know now.’ not your best work, and in front of the chief, but oh well.

dr. choi smiles fondly. ‘thank you for telling me. i’ll never let lilith forget it.’

dr. superion doesn’t smile, but it seems like she wants to. ‘go ahead, dr. al-najjar. you can tell her that we’re admitting dr. choi to ortho; dr. alvarez will operate tomorrow, once the swelling has gone down.’

‘and tell lilith i love her too.’

‘i — uh—‘

dr. superion laughs. ‘go, dr. al-najjar.’

you’ve just finished your report to dr. villaumbrosia — in the middle of a surgery, but it’s clear her shoulders relax immediately, continuing to operate smoothly — when dr. silva flings open the door of the OR.

‘hello ava,’ dr. villaumbrosia says, not even looking up from the stitch she’s putting in. ‘she’s okay.’

dr. silva, breathing so hard her mask is getting sucked into her mouth and nose, doubles over, her hands on her knees. ‘i gotta do more cardio, oh my god,’ he mumbles, then takes a deep breath and stands. ‘you’re sure?’

‘yes,’ dr. villaumbrosia, ‘i had dr. al-najjar make sure personally. he also checked on tai; she’s doing great.’

‘very cute,’ you say and then debate just quitting residency here altogether, but dr. silva smiles at you.

‘thanks man,’ she says. ‘sorry you missed this surgery.’

‘the bowel was perforated,’ dr. villaumbrosia says. ‘it was quite disgusting, to be honest.’

‘well then,’ dr. silva says, ‘hey, you’re welcome! you got to see my adorable kid and my sexy wife. who, as lovely as your company always is, lil, i’m gonna go see now.’

‘she deployed that avalanche airbag, dug three other people out, and did a field chest tube by the time SAR got there.’

‘hot.’

‘insane, actually,’ dr. villaumbrosia says. ‘but give her my love.’

two days later you’re back on shift — after drinks and truly, genuinely great sex with zaire that still ended up happening despite everything, god bless — and you swing by ortho before you go up to peds. you’re not friends with dr. choi or dr. silva, but you do want to see how things are going anyway. your mom always says it’s better to be kinder than necessary, and you’re starting to believe it.

they’re an adorable family, you think, tai showing dr. choi her lion stuffy and babbling excitedly, sitting on the hospital bed between her legs, turning every now and then toward dr. silva in a chair by her bedside. dr. choi, her arm in a brace and a sling, looks pretty good overall: her eyes seem clear, the bruises along her jaw are already starting to turn green and yellow, a great sign of healing, and the redness on her nose and ears has lessened considerably.

also, she’s sitting up and talking animatedly, clearly happy with her daughter and her wife there. from her chart — you looked it up in the system before you came, whatever — you’re pretty sure she’s going to get to go home today, which you suspect is what the small duffle bag by dr. silva’s feet is for.

‘all i’m saying,’ you hear from dr. silva, ’is that your nose could’ve fallen off.’

‘ava,’ dr. choi says, exasperated and laughing.

dr. silva sits back and pouts, exaggerating with crossed arms.

‘i will be more careful,’ dr. choi concedes, but it doesn’t feel much like a concession the way she smiles at tai and then runs a gentle hand over her wispy hair. emma — who is an incredible gossip but you’re starting to think she also just has a giant crush — had told you and zaire that dr. choi is, like, an experienced outdoors person with certifications in all kinds of different safety courses and activities; you know she and dr. villaumbrosia have done stints with MSF together too.

‘good,’ dr. silva says. ‘because lord knows i cannot raise tai by myself.’

dr. choi frowns, then offers her good hand to dr. silva, who scoots closer and takes it with a kiss to her scraped knuckles.

‘plus, while i would deal, obviously, you’d probably be less hot if your nose fell off.’

‘“probably”?’

dr. silva shrugs. ‘i love you.’

‘i love you too.’

‘would you still love me if my nose fell off?’

‘ava.’

‘good morning, dr. al-najjar,’ dr. choi says when you knock lightly on the open door of her office. it’s impeccably neat, a few pictures of dr. silva and tai on her desk. she’s wearing the brace on her wrist still but no sling; her bruises and frostbite have faded. in her scrubs and white coat and clogs, a fresh buzzcut and a cup of coffee in her good hand, she looks exactly the surgeon you’ve looked forward to working with.

‘good morning, dr. choi. welcome back.’

she smiles and closes her office door, starts leading you down the hall. ‘thank you. and, apologizes in advance that you won’t have any surgeries with me for the next two weeks until i’m officially cleared.’ she rolls her eyes.

‘that’s okay,’ you say. ‘more sleep, honestly.’

‘true. and,’ she says, opening a door to the most incredible, brand new lab you’ve ever seen, ‘i can promise that the research we’ll get to work on will be worth it.’

‘i always thought i would go into trauma,’ you tell her, ‘but i think i just fell in love.’

she grins. ‘the heart wants what it wants.’

you pause a moment but then you can’t help yourself: you laugh.

‘in that case,’ she says, ‘let me show you around, and let’s get to work.’

#wn #wn fic #avatrice #avatrice fic #surgeons au #this is not nearly as angsty as it could've been! ur welcome!#butch bea 🥺🫡#am i making up interns as i go?? why not i love to spiral! lmfao #also the real hardest part of this was spelling lilith's fucking long ass last name jesus christ

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hylianane · 2 months

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I know it doesn’t have the same drama or canon-backing as the idea of Zoro being trained and even raised by Mihawk since young, but I’m still a little surprised that there’s practically no fan works playfully referencing the fact that Zoro was originally going to be a Buggy pirate. Walk with me here. Here’s how we could make this AU fall in line with Zoro’s final, canon characterization.

Yes, Zoro was hesitant to become a pirate with Luffy at first because being a criminal would limit his freedom of movement in his search for Mihawk. However, let’s look at the reason he ended up joining anyway: blackmail and the fact that Luffy was offering a real, tangible way to achieve his dream

Crazy thing is, Buggy is kind of the only other pirate in the East Blue who could offer him a similar thing. Though he would rather die than freely discuss his connection to Shanks, he is a pirate with connections (and a connection to Mihawk even this early in the story isn’t too much of a leap if we take in his interactions with Buggy and Shanks, as if they go way back). Buggy could very much use this fact to get what he wants. And what does the cowardly Buggy want? Protection, of course. Security in his place as the top dog pirate of the East Blue. A spot that the arrival of an upstart demon bounty hunter could threaten if he doesn’t play his cards right. And of course, his troupe could use a sword swallower.

Now, would Buggy be genuine in offering Zoro an easy way to reach Mihawk? Probably not. I mean, I’m sure he’d fail his way upwards into making it look that way so Zoro stays around, but what I’m getting at is that he wouldn’t have to be. Because Zoro, specially bounty hunter Zoro who only has himself to lose, can be just a liiittle bit naive. Because he has so much pride in his own word, he takes other, less deserving men at theirs. We see this when he expects Helmeppo, despite all his faults, to honor their deal. He’s genuinely shocked when the deal doesnt go through and he’s stuck tied up in ropes. We even see it a little with his blind faith in Luffy from day one. Yes, Luffy is a more than worthy Captain, but also for someone who had to be swindled into swearing himself to Luffy’s side, Zoro’s sense of honor and honesty led to him going to immense lengths to protect him before he really started to prove that, specially considering he’s someone who was already causing him way too much trouble within days of knowing him.

And mind you, it’s not like Buggy would give him no reason to stay loyal, either. His influence over the East Blue wasn’t anything to scoff at, and even though as a man he’s pretty corrupted, as a Captain he’s kind of brilliant. It’s a running gag how much the Buggy pirates are in love with him. He’s got wits and charisma and ways of gaining loyalty. He and Zoro wouldn’t be too bad a match.

And when Luffy does make his way to this Buggy Pirate Sword Swallower Zoro, and is taken in by his skill, determination and overall cool factor? Baby that’s the most exciting part about this. We’d get rivals to lovers Zolu but Zoro is dressed like a clown

#Yeah baby! Welcome to the realm of ideas that only appeal to ME. SPECIFICALLY.#NOT GONNA SPELL CHECK ANY OF THIS BABY IM WRITING IT IN ONE GO LETS DO IT #one piece #roronoa zoro #my post #monkey d. luffy #buggy the clown #eh fuck it I think this is friendly to OPLA onlys. Those guys love Buggy.#opla #clown zoro au #one piece au

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yume-fanfare · 1 year

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*hits you with a magic school shoujo beam*

#enstars #ensemble stars #hajime shino #tsukasa suou #tori himemiya #sora harukawa #narukami arashi #aoi yuuta #hinata aoi #i was going to draw yuuta with long hair but no. theyre going to go thru the character development here again too. good luck <3 #also im having sora thoughts lately so. magic time #this is not a jewel.pet au because i still have a little bit of self restraint. but in all other levels it is #but yea. another second years au i love putting them in situations thru the amplifying lens of fantasy #go cast some spells boys #art tag #doodles #comic #magic school au

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absurdumsid · 1 month

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OUGFH TY MANN TYSMM i love ur outer i am SOBBING

one more pseudoanswer this time for @dzasterdumpterfire !! just realized the colour for saejun might be a BIT too light pff

Farm! Sans/Saejun belongs to GuinongTale_AU Colour! Sans belongs to superyoumna Space Dust belongs to CopyVerse! Outer/Nebula (its mine now though MWAHAHAH- FOREVER !!)

#anyway whiteboard has forced my hand (<- did a sketch even though they usually just go into lineart)#fucking INSANE i love nebula btw silly lil radioactive guy im sure a hug from him wont KILL me #sorting tags time !!!!#farm sans #saejun park #saejun #<- IN YOUR FACE !!!!#colour sans #color sans #<- fuck which spelling did i use before #<- anyway IN YOUR FACE #sans au #sid answers #<- TECHNICALLY.#<- ... pseudoanswers #sid art

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emily-mooon · 1 month

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Imagine if Stacey and Neil actually met in high school except they didn’t go to the same school: they met through Kid Chameleon.

One night, Scott brings Stacey to one of their shows and it just so happens that Stephanie (or Steph) brought Neil with her.

Since they were both the youngest people there (Neil’s 17, Stacey’s 16 till December), they decided to talk to each other and they hit it off.

Stacey also develops a bit of a crush on Neil and would always ask Scott if Steph was going to bring her brother with her again, as she wanted to see him and didn’t know if there was another way.

Then one morning, she discovers that they take the same TTC bus and from then on they talk before and after school and become sorta friends. At this point, Neil also starts developing a crush on her.

Things stayed like that for about two months until Neil and his mom moved places (as I agree with the headcanon that the Nordegraf siblings have divorced parents) so they would no longer take the same bus in the morning or after school. They still have Kid Chameleon shows to meet up and talk at right? Ha ha wrong cause at New Years, the famous break up between Scott and Envy happens which in turn, also breaks up the band.

That whole break up was the nail in the coffin that strained Neil and Stacey’s kinda friendship. They didn’t have the others phone number cause they were both too shy to ask and also cause they both kept forgetting.

There also wasn’t a whole ton of opportunities to ask either of their siblings for their phone numbers so they just gave up and went on with their lives.

But then why didn’t they recognize the other in the like three times there were in the same room together? Easy answer: Stacey was distracted by everything around her to even notice Neil, who in turn, was slowly disappearing into the crowd and fully did by the time it was Lisa’s going away dinner.

So when they see each other again properly at the Chaos Theater, something clicks and they fall back into where they once were two years ago. To them it felt like a decade, but no it was just two years. They catch up on what they missed in the others lives on the walk home.

After that these dorks start dating cause the feelings were still there, just buried deep, left dormant, and forgotten. They came back but slightly different as people change.

#and that’s it!#this idea has been cooking for a little bit btw #i am an au fiend and this gets added to my long list #I have another idea where neil lives on the east coast with his mom but spent Christmas with his dad and Stephanie #he also says he’ll come visit Stacey during March break but since kid chameleon broke up after Scott and envy broke up #he didn’t get to (also cause he went on a trip with his mom instead)#the drama is there but I think I’m the only person who headcanons that Neil has family on the east coast sooooo #or hey how about he moves there with his mom since she wanted to be closer to her family #that’s another alternative #anyways try to pry this au headcanon from my cold dead hands #i love it sm #apologies if some things sound cliche deep down I’m a romantic at heart and I’m such a sucker for ppl meeting again after not seeing the #other for awhile #also sorry for any spelling mistakes it’s late at night and I should go to bed now so gn!#scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim comic #young neil #neil nordegraf #stacey pilgrim #nordegrim #emilys headcanons #emilys long list of aus #i guess this counts as canon divergent too #long post #cause it is kinda long ngl

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chibishortdeath · 6 months

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Yippie! So silly (kinda sad) idea I had I while ago that I need to draw about again aaaa— Anyway, there were a lot details that had me thinking about stuff in certain games. Harmony of Despair has the “Helmont/Shiimon/Simon Wraith” enemies that have this ominous description of “some say this is what happened to Simon Belmont in the end”, and it’s just never mentioned again. Like damn ok that’s uh some interesting information wow uh— Also that coupled with the hanging skeletons being a reference to Simon in CV4 and also being in the hanged man position, the family heirlooms in the ghostly Dracula’s castle in Harmony of Dissonance, and the quest for Anna in Order of Ecclesia about helping her cat protect her from dark spirits that’s ended with a really sudden line about her having nightmares about a man with a whip fighting something scary, my guy is haunting the narrative and doesn’t sound like he’s doing so great 💀.

So the Ghost Simon concept was born and uh here he is I guess lol. Part of it also came from the idea that we’ve already seen a ghost companion in the series in Wind (if you know you know), but what if there was one you had to help that was a little more uh what’s the word… tormented? Vengeful? Upset in general? Yeah. He’s kinda just a mix of a bunch of different ghost lore, not one in particular. Fun fact: Dulahans sometimes use their own spines as a whip :3. And in a lot of folklore Strigoi often prey on their own family members, especially the younger girls in the family. But yeah, he’s just kind of a nuisance, not really like ‘evil’ or anything. Breaks things sometimes, generally pesters people, only occasionally a minor threat. Maybe leaves bloody footprints sometimes, turns paintings crooked, writes omens on walls, ya know, average ghost activities. I like to think that the boss rush with him in HoD is what he’s been doing for a while. Maybe Juste unknowingly takes him home with some of the furniture, probably the grandfather clock lol. Idk it’s just a fun what if idea for fun tho mostly d(^^ ).

#castlevania #castlevania games #simon belmont #art post #my art #does this count as an AU?#I don’t really think it does???#it’s just some ‘what if he spooky’ funny idea idk #does this count as cringe or whatever (joke I know it’s cringe I’m just happy with it)#some of these details I would love to see more on tho like #Konami what do you mean Simon’s name can be a pun in Japanese on the word for death #what do you mean if you spell it a little differently it means Gates of Death Konami I need answers—#or don’t explain anything and give more random ominous vague information #i would appreciate it #a lot actually #please say more random spooky things about this guy #what little to no content does to a mf #Simon’s Quest is a great game (I am going insane)#should I even tag all the games I mentioned in this or is putting this on the main tags enough of a risk as it is—#anyway I wanna make more random speculation collages I’m just on and off burnt out constantly help #this is primarily for silly situations like idk Maxim asking if anyone else has seen that dead guy in the mirror they brought home lol #thinkin about the idea of a game set in the 50s about a horror movie being made about the legends of Simon #and he’s there (in spirit lol) being a complete nuisance on set #the lead actor is just trying to work and here’s some ghostly voice say ‘I would not have my hair that short ewwwww’#aaaaa I should also draw that idea damn #maybe Halloween being a thing will get me to do it (TwT )#TUMBLR JUST KICKED ME OUT OF THE APP I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA LOSE THIS WHOLE POST THAT WAS SCARY—

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raindropren · 4 months

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I can't help but Headcanon Grian as a Terrible Gift Wrapper

He sees Wrapping paper and Shivers thinking about the terror He feels while Wrapping gifts.

Everytime a Hermits Birthday comes around He has to get Gift Bags instead because He literally can't wrap without the paper getting torn and then getting everywhere

teehe

My Grian Design has sharp talons so I think they'd mess up the pretty Wrapping paper and he'd get all sad and >:(

He trys to use them as scissors each time he trys again and it never works because they just aren't.

If he ever has a Gift he just REALLY wants wrapped he gets Scar or Pearl to do it!!

I headcanon Scar to be really good at Wrapping Gifts, He knows all the proper ways to cut and fold the Paper and actually uses Scissors, He makes them all Fancy too, It's really easy to tell when Grian got Scar to Wrap the Gift. I think they'd hang out together while wrapping gifts during the Hoildays and Grian would watch Scar Wrap a gift, get motivated to try again and then fail miserably, Scar would cheer him on the entire time.

I think Grian asks Pearl to Wrap gifts out of Habit, Since I headcanon them as Siblings, Grian and Pearl used to always Wrap Gifts for their Family and Friends together(Before Grian went missing in Evo(Headcanon)) Since they were Kids, It was harder to get Gift Bags and their Parents already had Wrapping Paper so it was just easier to Ask Pearl to help. I headcanon Pearl to be at least Decent at Wrapping Gifts, All tho I also think She perfers Gift Boxes, She likes how easy they are to open and Opening Wrapped Gifts always made her think of how wasteful it could be, She was the one to very nicely open the wrapped gift and putting all of it in a Bag to use next time. She still does it with Gifts she gets. You can find her repurposing Boxes, and Using the ripped Pieces of Wrapping paper as Tissue Paper. Grian always tore up the Wrapping paper with his Talons so they're kinda opposites in that way lol. Grian tends to hang out with Pearl when they just have Gifts to put in Bags or Boxes either way.

#about the characters not the cc's!#I liikkeeee themmmm :D #goodtimeswithscar #grian #pearlescentmoon #headcanons #hermitcraft #I love them lots #This is all in my AU version of them so yee :D #this is technically projection because i suck at wrapping gifts #I've literally started crying before while wrapping a gift because it was just going SO badly #lol #This started because of Christmas gift wrapping but I started thinking about birthdays aswell and honestly it can be any hoilday!!! /gen #I love thinking about them yayyy #idk what else to actually tag lol #grian focused but I might've talked about pearl more oopsie teehe #if there's any spelling mistakes!! No there isn't :3

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appalachianapologies · 2 months

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Remittent Distress

Chapter One

Fic Summary: After years of being on the run and keeping his head down, Mac finally receives the opportunity to end this screwed up game of hide-and-seek for good. With the help of two unlikely friends, some unconventional skill sets, and plenty of all-nighters, Mac attempts to track down his father before James gets to him first. It's been six months since an ordinary mission turned to hell, leaving its permanent marks on Jack Dalton—both physically and emotionally. But when information about a wild kid he came across four months ago gets dropped into his lap, he has to push it all down in order to find not just the kid, but the truth behind him as well.

(The big ol' fic in Smoking Room Universe)

#au where everything is the same except i go to bed at a reasonable hour #in which vi actually writes #macgyver #macgyver 2016 #Remittent Distress #chapter one #Smoking Room Universe #i think it's important to note that tumblr things ''remittent'' isn't a word and it's making me very scared #because i keep thinking i've spelled a word wrong in a title on a fic that has just been published #that being said tumblr doesn't think ''tumblr'' is a word and that's itself so idk who to trust in this situation #anyway. big new fun ol fic #where you get to watch in real time as i struggle to write special ops dialogue #ok good night sweet dreams i love you all

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rhythmmortis · 5 months

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i want to headcanon that aqua showed kairi her wayfinder in bbs and thats why kairis good luck charm looks like one. So mad that this didnt happen in bbs cuz literally its perfect . Whatever...

in bbs aqua mentions that she made the wayfinders look like that because of the paopu fruit and kairi's good luck charm was meant to be an old sailor's superstition (but i also like headcanoning that it was also from the paopu fruit tree, like it changes to in com) which is a fun connection between them both but like. kairi remembering aqua through that small detail, her linking good luck to aqua who saved her in bbs is so fucking adorable i am absolutely going to take that headcanon in and let it sit in my brain. forever and ever

i also find it kinda funny that any time a good luck charm is given to a character their life IMMEDIATELY becomes fucking cursed fdkhdfkjh the literal day after the wayfinders get theirs is when shit falls apart, same with sora, and the good luck charm is constantly used to taunt sora in com. their asses are NOT blessed with good luck

#kh #your hc is so cute though. nomura is too afraid to make any female characters interact lest they have a moment of agency #but kairi not remembering her past but still implicitly remembering that aqua was good luck is so cute i love their dynamic #i still find the scene in bbs where aqua's like 'there i cast a spell on your necklace for safety :)' so funny like thats a hell of a retco #the same with aqua telling sora to keep riku safe if he wanders down a dark path like. girl come ON khfdkjh #does make me think a bbs aqua timeloop au would go so hard (i read one fic like that which was GOOD)#but why was it her necklace!! her necklace has literally never been relevant since!!! it shouldve been her own wayfinder #and kairi remembering the wayfinder!!!

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scoops-aboy86 · 3 months

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I imagine that if Eddie could do magic, he would (as a young teen and therefore a dumbass with a poor grasp of the possible repercussions) try to cast a love spell to make Steve fall in love with him. It's the start of his sophomore year; Steve is just an incoming freshman who no one's really noticed yet, but Eddie is instantly smitten with the impeccable hair, the soulful hazel eyes, and that cute dazed look on his face he gets whenever surprised.

Does he dare even try to talk to Steve? No. Eddie already has zero social standing as a weird nerd who lives in a trailer park and Cannot Sit Still to save his life—which on other people would make them funny class clown material, but for some reason on him makes teachers angry and classmates roll their eyes. Just talking to Steve, Eddie is sure, would be a disaster. And even if he could, chances are Steve is straight and at best Eddie would eventually get punched in the face for admitting his feelings for the other boy.

So. Witchcraft. Chant chant chant, a possession of Steve's dropped in a bubbling cauldron, a blown out candle, and boom.

Only Eddie muffed the spell. Instead of Steve falling in love with Eddie, everyone falls in love with Steve. The spell isn't even strong enough to cause obvious problems; all the girls want him, all the boys want to be him, but there aren't, like, mobs forming over the guy's affection (or lack thereof). Eddie resigns himself to (a) being shitty at magic and (b) never getting Steve.

From Steve's perspective, his whole life changed overnight. Suddenly he's on the map at Hawkins High in a big way. He makes varsity basketball as a freshman, and at the same time is allowed to join the swim team despite the conflicting schedules. Girls are falling over themselves to go out with him. And it's great!

For a while. In some ways.

It gets him his parents' approval right up until November of 1983, when he starts to realize that maybe he hasn't really learned how to build a real relationship with someone, because all he knows is dates falling into his lap and girls looking for the social status that comes with bagging King Steve. That prowess on the basketball court doesn't mean very much when monsters crawl out of the walls and all he has to hand is a baseball bat full of nails. That a girl died in his pool because of a party he threw and him and his friends doing stupid teen shit like shotgunning beers. That the friends he's had since he became King Steve are, actually, pretty much all assholes.

After that first brush with the Upside Down, Steve stops trying to be popular. He stops throwing house parties, drops swimming, stops funding the basketball team's beer and weed purchases, and really tries (with Nancy's help) to buckle down and study.

But the spell is still in effect, so even with all that, everyone still wants a piece of him. He still goes to parties, and whenever Nancy isn't free to tag along there are always girls trying to hang off him, no matter how many times he reminds them that he's already seeing someone. Eventually he gives up, and while he doesn't cheat (he might have dated around a lot, but never with overlap; he is not his dad) he stops putting in the effort to shoo them away.

(Eddie, meanwhile, watches all of this from the sidelines and kind of hates the person he thinks Steve is now. He's not entirely wrong, because the popularity did go to Steve's head for a long time, and there are plenty of ways in which Steve's really isn't a better person for it. But Eddie also isn't close enough to see who he's trying to become now, and he's also still a little bitter in nursing his own bruised heart.)

After breaking up with Nancy and falling in with the Party, Steve starts to get even more frustrated with his lingering popularity. The rest of his senior year is still all girls fawning over him and guys being jealous (sometimes with a nasty edge to it now, like Tommy and Billy). On top of the nightmares left over from encounters with demogorogons and demodogs, it really brings out Steve's bitchy side. He stops dating, stops going to parties, stops trying to achieve in his classes in favor of coasting (and hating that all his teachers let him do it, while picking on kids like Eddie who are actively trying and just not very good at it).

One day, Eddie finds King Steve at the picnic table in the woods, looking to buy weed. Steve doesn't bat an eye when super-senior Munson names his price (double what he usually charges, but it's not like Steve has ever bought directly from anyone before so it's not like he'd know), and says that if it helps him sleep he'll start buying regularly.

Suddenly, Steve is in a slightly better mood at school all the time. He still brushes pretty much everyone off and only hangs out with middle schoolers, but he's nicer about it.

And he starts going to parties again. But he doesn't dance, and he doesn't drink all that much. A lot of the time he doesn't even stick around very long. He'll turn up and people watch, bopping his head in time with the music if it's a song he likes, and park himself by whatever food the party has to offer. Chips, popcorn, the occasional pizza—nothing extensive, most of the kids who come to these parties are there for the booze and the makeout opportunities. Sometimes Steve buys from Eddie if he's there, offers to share joints with him that Eddie, still wary, turns down. When the food runs out, Steve leaves.

See, the weed definitely helps him sleep. It also gives him the munchies, and Steve has sort of gotten into the habit of just... eating. It's not like his parents are around to notice, and Dustin and the other kids don't care as long as he springs for extras so they can have some too. No one at school would dare say it to his face, and somehow it still doesn't manage to fully tank his slightly flagging reputation, but Steve is definitely starting to put on weight.

Then he graduates, and... nothing. King Steve drops off the map.

For everyone except Eddie, anyway, because Steve still buys. And Eddie has started to relax his no-smoking-with-Steve policy lately. Between the weed and the public eye no longer pinning him in a spotlight, Steve has become an incredibly chill dude. He doesn't even mind that he didn't get into any of the colleges he applied to (or any of the ones his parents insisted he applied to either, but that's a more clear-cut relief), something he confides in Eddie around the time they start hanging out outside of sales because his dad is demanding that he get a summer job. Pros include more money for weed (although Eddie has relaxed his prices as well), but cons include less free time. Steve says Eddie can visit him at work though, and he'll hook him up with freebies and discounts.

Visiting Steve at his Scoops Ahoy job is both a visual treat for Eddie and how he finds out that he's basically Steve's only friend his own age. Those shorts, man, and even with the extra weight Eddie still thinks Steve looks great. Everything that first attracted him to Steve (the eyes, the slightly comical dopiness, and the hair, regardless of the little sailor's hat) is still there, plus big hands, broad shoulders, an endearing grin, and just... Steve.

Maybe, Eddie realizes, if he'd never done that spell at all, he could have gotten to know Steve like this years ago. He never feels like Steve's last choice when they spend time together, and definitely doesn't mind that Steve seems to forget how much space he takes up these days and always sits a little too close, whether it's on the picnic table bench or on the couch at Eddie's trailer or in a Scoops booth. Steve is goofy and sweet and a little lame, but he brings his own snacks and lets Eddie talk straight through the Star War movies and the animated Lord of the Rings film, reeling off every bit of trivia and his own personal opinions he can. Every now and then, Steve even goes out of his way to ask questions about d&d and listens to the answers.

Forget smitten, Eddie Munson is in love.

(… Okay, I thought about it some more, here's part 1. Now tagged as #love spell no go au. And there's also a part 1.5, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11.)

#wg steddie #chubby steve harrington #this started out as a thought but it quickly got away from me #might continue thinking about this later #love spell no go au

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quinn-pop · 7 months

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finally was able to catch up w yohane in time for the finale. i could not stop thinking about this

textless + original

#yes this looks horrible it makes it way funnier #i did make it really fast too i only colored it because i figured it wouldn’t take long #is this a shitpost #my art or something #love live #genjitsu no yohane #yohane the parhelion #sunshine in the mirror #why does this show have so many names #lailaps #assuming that’s the spelling but im pretty sure it wasn’t in sunshine #oh well it’s an au #anyway im going to hope with all my heart we get a s2 because SAINT SNOW OH MY GOD THEYRE ALIVE #they remembered them they’re not getting the arise or sunny passion treatment #plspls it’s been so long and ive listened to all their songs so many times already #lonely snow planet has been sooo stuck in my head lately

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glindyupland · 7 days

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I just think it’s silly that so many people complain about Villain Amaya as “wasted potential” and that “we were robbed” like-

My pals, post canon fan fiction is right there. The desire to free her husband is right there. Either by touching an evil book while being too eager to remember the obsidian oil, or being possessed by contact (ie what she believes is true loves kiss) when trying to reason with him in the dungeon.

We don’t need a rewrite, we can have a continuation. Both can be true. Amaya is a complex character, she can handle it.

#Wish #Queen Amaya #I assume I'm going to get hate for this but like #I know it's not store bought and you have to still make it yourself but also #I'm kind of just tired of seeing a lot of people sh*tting on Wish because it's not the concept art #And I'm kind of over here like how about we love it recognize it has flaws and THEN try to make something new without bashing the OG?#I just love Amaya and she definitely deserves more #but her good character is so interesting and complex #she still knows how to have fun. She still can be sassy or bite.#Like she's still Magnifico's perfect partner you know? and Magnifico isn't perfect?#A truly pure person wouldn't click with Magnifico the way Amaya does...?#I would rather build on Amaya's character than say she can only be good and boring or a villain?#Amaya is so smart yall. I know you can't see it all just on the movie but like she's read every magic book in Magnifico's library #THOUSANDS OF BOOKS.#And knows basic protection spells #She's a devoted leader.#Like.#Idk #She both loves her husband and recognizes that she has to go against him.#She doesn't /turn/ on him. She addresses his flaws and tells him that it's not okay?#She still jokes with him even though she has to put him in time out. She's complex and strong and wise and kind.#And I just hate seeing so many people so quick to just say 'the concept art was better' when like... the idea might be more appealing to yo #But I hate the level of cynicism and pretentiousness I see of people saying their personal ideas of what Wish should be-#-Is better than the piece of media they claim to care about?#Like their personal vision of Wish based exclusively off the concept art is somehow intellectually superior?#And I'm not saying stop doing your rewrites or AU's or anything! Like there's definitely beautiful creativity happening!#I just hate seeing people so negative and like honestly mean. It hurts my heart to see everyone calling Wish garbage?#It's not great but I really really dont think it's as bad as everyone is saying. Like its no like Oppenheimer but it's a children's movie..#Like I personally love the Teens and Amaya #And everyone saying they stink makes me sad... Because they're just great characters?

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razzle-zazzle · 6 months

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Whumptober Day 30: it's okay just to say "i'm not okay"

Borrowed Clothing

3855 Words; Pearl & Seaglass

TW for brief nonsexual nudity

AO3 ver

The sound of waves against the shore was the first thing Dion heard.

It was weird—Dion had poked his head above the surface before, once or twice, but he’d never been close enough to any shores to hear waves against the sand. And even if he ever had been, he’d never been human before, either, so the sound was still different to anything he’d ever heard. It was like a kind of whoosh, but he was picking up the vibrations differently and it was weird. And awful.

Dion groaned, squeezing his eyes shut against the onslaught of the sun. How did humans deal with this? How did they deal with anything? The sand beneath him was hot and dry. Awful. The waves lapping at his side were uncomfortably cold. Absolutely awful. He could hear seabirds somewhere above him. At least that was a familiar sound, if weird to hear it with human ears.

Slowly, Dion forced himself up into… sitting, was that what humans called it? Yeah, that sounded right. Sand clung to his arms and back, weird against his now scaleless skin—didn’t humans have any defenses at all? Maybe they were venomous. Gisu had said something about how bad human bites could be, maybe that was it.

Dion blinked his eyes open, taking in his complete and utter lack of a proper tail. The pearls and shells he decorated himself with were now tangled around a pair of legs, how horrifying. Human legs, too, with their soft skin and patchy fur and awkward shapes, and—what was that. That thing between his legs, what in the name of the abyss was it—

Dion wrenched his gaze away from the thing between his legs, resolving to not worry about it. Instead, he stared down at the blunted nails on his toes—wait, if those were smooth and useless, did that mean—

Dion lifted one of his hands to inspect. It was just as he feared—the delicate webbing and shimmery scales were gone, and his perfectly-maintained claws were gone, replaced with blunted and useless human nails, all round and smooth like pearls.

Awful. Humans were awful. Dion couldn’t possibly understand why Raz was so obsessed with them.

He turned towards the rock face sheltering this section of the shore, where Gisu was already digging through an old chest in the shade of the cliff. He made to flash his stripes—

Humans, it turned out, didn’t have stripes. Or any way to glow at all. No tail, no claws, no scales, no stripes—how did humans survive at all? Did they just luck their way into infesting every available scrap of land?

Dion was about ready to try figuring out how the hell legs were meant to work—he’d seen crabs, so he had a rough idea—when Gisu stomped back over, adorned in cloth that wrapped around her legs and billowed around her waist, her chest and shoulders covered with the light material. She threw two pieces of cloth at Dion, grinning. Her beautiful sharp teeth were gone, replaced by blunt human ones—Dion didn’t even want to think about his own teeth, if that was what human teeth looked like. Maybe the venomous human theory wasn’t right—surely, there was no way such a small jaw and mouth could be useful in catching prey.

“You’re gonna want to remove those pearls.” Gisu said, and wow, even as weird as it sounded her human voice was still somehow pretty. “And put those on. Humans don’t like nudity.” It was electric, her voice, elegant and strange just like her.

Dion stared at the cloth pieces in his hand. Oh, so it was adornment. He understood that. And with the way humans had no scales, it made sense that they’d want extra adornment. One could never go wrong with some extra color, and humans clearly needed it.

“Um,” Dion started—and wow, that felt weird, the vibrations in his throat different from his clicks and whistles as a mer. “How…?”

“Oh, right.” Gisu grabbed the lighter-colored piece of cloth. “Your head goes here, and your arms go here…” She grabbed the other piece as Dion fought to get the cloth on over his head. It was weird not having a dorsal fin, but that meant he could get the adornment on much more easily.

“This one’s for your legs.” Gisu explained. Dion took it from her, pulling it on with some difficulty.

“It doesn’t fit.” Dion lamented. It was too tight around his legs, stiff and uncomfortable. It was too tight between them, too—how did humans deal with this?

Gisu made a sound not unlike a click. “Yeah, we’ll have to find a larger pair of pants…” She shrugged, reaching for Dion’s hair. “C’mon, let’s get that kelp out of there.”

Dion flinched back. “What?” But his adornments were important! It took so long to find pearls the perfect shade of blue, and going around without adornments was something no proper mer would ever do, unless their adornments might get caught when hunting. But even still, his pearls were fine!

“Humans don’t decorate themselves that way.” Gisu explained, “If we wanna find your brother without getting into trouble, we need to blend in with humans.” She opened the satchel on her hip. “Here, we can store ‘em in here. That way nobody can get at them.”

Dion looked at her dubiously. “Even the pearl you gave me?” It didn’t match the rest of his pearls, pink and oblong, but it was his favorite one—he didn’t want to part from it, didn’t want it to not be in the corner of his vision at all times.

Gisu nodded. “Sorry.” She carded a hand through his hair, starting to remove some of the kelp strands.

Dion huffed, moving to untie a pearl string. “Humans are awful.” He grumbled. “I can’t believe you let Pooter become one.”

Gisu looked at his legs, eyebrows raised.

Dion’s face flushed. “That’s different.” He mumbled. Before long, his hair was free of any shells, pearls, or kelp—much to Dion’s growing dismay. But he knew that no amount of shark-guppy eyes would be able to convince Gisu, here—she knew what she was doing. He’d just have to trust her, as much as some parts of this irked him.

“I only have the one pair of shoes,” Gisu was saying, and Dion noticed that her own feet were encased in what he guessed were shoes. “I think your brother took the other pair from the chest.” She frowned. “I’ll have to get a pair for you…”

At the reminder of his legs, Dion glared down at them. “I don’t like these.” He declared.

“What, the legs or the pants?” Gisu laughed. It was such a strange sound, electric and human and yet so undeniably her. Dion could almost forget how awful the whole situation was, hearing that noise.

Dion growled. “Both.” Almost wasn’t enough. Even with Gisu here, standing next to him, brown human eyes alight with amusement, Dion was still so irked by so many things. The dry sand was rough, the sun was hot, the pants didn’t fit, and all of his natural strength was gone in favor of a weak and gross human body. Without Gisu, he wouldn’t even be here—she was the only thing making this whole ordeal worthwhile.

Dion shifted, folding his legs under him. Sand got into the pants despite their tightness, grating against his legs. Awful! He pushed down, struggling against the lack of muscle memory, yet aided by some incomprehensible instinct that told him to have his feet flat on the ground, toes pointed forwards without telling him anything at all.

Dion stood, wincing at the heat of the sand on his bare feet. His legs wobbled, and he fell—

Gisu caught him. She pushed him back up into a standing position, holding onto his arm to brace him.

“Thanks.” Dion muttered, trying again. He managed to keep his legs under him, this time—which meant now he had to move.

Gisu moved to stand in front of him, taking his hands in hers. “Just follow my lead.” She said, taking a step back.

Dion swallowed. He could do this. Carefully, he moved one of his legs forwards, sliding his foot along the sand.

Gisu shook her head. “You’ve gotta lift it.” She explained, bending her leg to lift her own foot off the sand. “Haven’t you seen crabs before?”

“Of course I have!” Dion groused, copying her movements. Gisu took a step back, and he matched it. He wobbled, the sand still hot against his feet—

But he didn’t fall. Not with Gisu holding his hands in hers, not with her in front of him to lean on.

“Yeah,” She said, “Just like that.” She took another step back with her other leg. Dion matched it.

Hey, he was getting the hang of this!

A few more steps, then—

“I’m gonna let go now, okay?” Gisu pulled away, leaving Dion standing on his own. He silently mourned the loss of her hands in his, then schooled himself. He could do this. He could do this!

He took a step forwards, then another. He wobbled, once—but he didn’t fall, instead taking another step. And another.

Dion grinned. He could do this!

“Yeah!” Gisu clapped her hands together. “Wow, you got that quick.” She looked up at the sky, shading her eyes with a hand. “We should probably get moving, though. I don’t want to think about the kind of headstart your brother got.”

Dion nodded—stopped. “How am I supposed to walk anywhere with… this?” He gestured towards his bare feet, which were barely good enough for hot sand. No wonder humans covered themselves in shoes—their bodies were practically useless on their own.

Gisu smirked. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” she reassured, “I know just the place.” Gisu decided. She grabbed his hand, starting to run towards the rock face. “C’mon!”

As always, Dion found it impossible not to follow where she led.

+=+=+=+=+

The human marketplace was loud.

Humans were everywhere, absolutely crowding the space. It was nothing like the markets Dion was used to—at least mer knew how to give each other space to breathe. But between the human stalls and the human bodies and these accursed pants and the too-hot stones beneath his feet, it was all Dion could do not to fall apart panicking.

He was getting the hang of walking, though, managing not to stumble even with the awful awful pants. Gisu held his hand as she led him along, and he held her hand back as tightly as he could. He would always be able to follow where Gisu led—it was as easy as breathing.

But good gods, this was awful. Humans were awful.

Still, Dion forced his focus to narrow down to Gisu, to the way her hair bounced behind her as she walked, to the certainty in her steps as she navigated the chaos. Her human form was shorter than his for reasons Dion couldn’t fathom—she wasn’t really smaller than him in their true forms, so why was she smaller like this? Some quirk of the spell? But they’d both eaten the same amount…

Dion resolved himself not to worry about it. The humans in their stalls were all calling out in a cacophony of voices—another reason why human language made no sense. Why have something purely aural if it was just going to result in chaos like this? How anyone could decipher what was going on here was beyond Dion.

But if anyone could do it, it’d be Gisu for sure. She came to a stop at a stall full of various footwear, regarding the contents.

“That one.” Gisu pointed at a pair not unlike her own, but bigger. “How much is it?” While she and the human manning the stall talked, Dion’s gaze drifted over the stall next to it, which was covered in glittery bits of metal. A tiny metal chain caught his eye, and he drifted towards the stall to take a closer look.

Dion picked up the necklace. It had a piece of metal shaped like a shell threaded onto it, and little beads along the string. There wasn’t a hint of anything actually from the sea, yet it must have taken incredible control to make chain links so tiny—

“Are you going to buy that?” The human standing at the stall asked. Dion startled, then set the necklace back down.

“No.” He said. “It’s ugly.” There was value in the workmanship, but that couldn’t make up for the fact that it was a pretty sad adornment—there was no color! Just plain shimmery metal that’d probably rust underwater. And it was a poor imitation of a real shell.

The human huffed. Gisu appeared at Dion’s side, boots in hand, and grabbed his arm. “C’mon.” She said, dragging him away. The moment the stall was out of sight, she dragged him over to a wooden structure and shoved him onto it. She shoved the boots into his hands. “Put these on.” She ordered.

Dion complied, pulling the boots on. It took him a few tries to figure out how to lace them up, and they felt weird on his feet—

But it was much better than going around barefoot. Dion stood, testing them out. Gisu grabbed his hand, and he let her drag him along. As they continued, Dion voiced a question.

“So what’d you trade for these anyway?” The bartering hadn’t taken that long, he felt, and he wondered how Gisu managed it. If it was his mother, he’d have been standing at that stall all day until she managed to haggle the human down to trading the boots for something as simple as a string of nacre beads. A rather long string, of course, but still.

“Oh, humans don’t really barter.” Gisu began to explain, her voice taking on a familiar cadence—which was weird, how did the way she flashed her stripes translate into audible speech? That spell was really something. “They use a kind of metal disc as a sort of intermediary.”

Dion stared. “What.”

Gisu reached into her satchel. “These things.” She held out a small metal disk, passing it over to Dion. It was smooth, with decal etched into both sides.

“Oh.” Dion turned the small disc over in his hand, then handed it back to Gisu. “So do humans use these for adornment, then?” He couldn’t imagine where one would even look to start collecting these things.

“They don’t do anything with them, actually.” Gisu shrugged. “They just trade them for things.”

Dion frowned. “That makes no sense.” You didn’t trade useless things, that was a basic rule. Maybe gemstones, but those could be turned into art or adornments. Even pearls had to have some kind of use to whoever they were going to, or the trade just wouldn’t happen.

Gisu snorted. “Yeah, but it’s just the way things work up here. Humans will give these things out in exchange for goods or services.” She continued along, the crowds beginning to thin around them as they left the marketplace.

Dion made a face. Humans were just weird. Surely, if they were able to work with metals, then why not melt these things down and make something actually useful?

“Up here.” Gisu said, breaking Dion from his grumbling. She led him up a winding path towards a larger human dwelling, its boxy structure standing out among the others purely through its size. “I have a friend who lives here, she can totally help us out.”

Dion really didn’t like the idea of Gisu having human “friends.” But he trusted her to know what she was doing, and this wasn’t an argument he could ever hope to win, so he kept quiet, following her along up the stone path.

They made it to the human dwelling—where were the entrances? All Dion could see were shimmery panels of glass and a section of wall that was different from the rest. How did anyone get in or out? Or maybe they were approaching it from the wrong side—hopefully that wasn’t as much of a social faux pas as it was under the waves.

Gisu rapped her knuckles against the square patch of wall that was distinct. A few moments later, the piece of the wall swung inwards—oh! An entrance cover! Like a hermit crab folding into its shell and blocking out attackers with its claws. It was almost clever—Dion scoffed. Like humans could ever be truly clever. No species that came up with pants could ever be clever.

There was a human standing in the door, dark blue hair splaying out to the sides. She was utterly covered in adornments—they kind of resembled some of Gisu’s enchanted charms. A land witch? Did such a thing even exist?

“Oh.” The human blinked. “Hey, Gis.” She looked past Gisu to Dion, who froze under the scrutiny. How were human eyes threatening? They could barely see! “Who’s this?”

“Dion, Lizzie.” Gisu introduced. She rubbed at the back of her neck nervously. “Look, normally I don’t come looking for favors, but we kinda…” she searched around for a good lie, “We need clothes.” She said finally, already starting to dig around in her bag. “I think I’ve got a few of those spider crab legs you were after…” She pulled out a bundle of the legs in question, and held them out.

“Neat.” Lizzie smiled lazily, taking the offered legs. “And yeah, sure, come on in. Norma’s not home right now, so don’t worry about her.”

“Great!” Gisu chirped, dragging Dion in over the threshold. He yelped, hurrying to keep up with her before he lost his balance entirely. “Dion’s not the greatest around people, so the less the better!” They followed Lizzie through the dwelling until they reached a room that was almost as decorated as she was. Lizzie set the bundled crab legs on a shelf, then gestured to a boxy structure that Dion didn’t recognize. “Go right ahead.” She offered.

Gisu nodded, moving over to the wooden… box… thing. She grabbed a set of metal handles on the front, pulling on them to reveal that the thing had various clothes inside of it. “Hmmm…” Gisu considered, then grabbed a different pair of pants. “See if these fit.”

“Okay.” Dion struggled to exit his pants, shoving them down.

“Um.” Lizzie started, then left the room. Dion wasn’t really paying attention, though, too occupied with pulling on the new set.

They fit a lot better, but as he spun around to examine himself…

Dion grimaced. “Do I have to wear these?” He asked. Couldn’t humans be sensible about anything?

Gisu cringed. “Yeah, no humans are weird about this kind of thing.” She looked at his crotch. “Besides, do you want your human bits flopping all over the place?” She turned back to the clothes. “Maybe something looser?” She pulled out what looked like shorter pants. “Hey, wait, try putting these on under your pants, that should help with the chafing.”

Dion moved to remove his pants once again—

“Okay,” Lizzie came back in, “If you two are going to have sex please don’t do it in my bedroom—”

Dion whirled around, his face burning. (Why? Why were human bodies weird?) The thought of mating Gisu while in this disgusting human body was a thought he never wanted to have again, please.

“Dion doesn’t like pants.” Gisu said, in the tones of someone making a mundane discovery. She still tossed the shorter pants at him, and Dion grumbled but pulled them on anyway.

“Well.” Lizzie pursed her lips. “Here.” She walked over to the clothesbox, and pulled out something that was distinctly not pants. “Try this.”

Dion took the offered fabric, holding it out in front of himself as he tried to decipher it. It was like a tube that was wider at the bottom, with a small set of buttons near the waistline. He pulled it on, and stood.

Lizzie and Gisu watched as Dion spun slowly, examining himself. He gripped the material in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers—as week and clawless as they were, human hands were surprisingly sensitive—and just trying to get a feel for it.

“Well?” Gisu asked. Lizzie looked ready to go grab something else—

“I love it.” It reminded him of some of the adornments he would wear to special events back home, soft and light and loose around his body. He did a twirl, watching as the skirt billowed in a way that only the lightest of fabrics could underwater, the way it rippled like waves and sea anemone. “I love it.” Dion reaffirmed, surprised by the lightness of his own voice. “It’s perfect.”

Maybe humans weren’t quite so awful, after all.

“Good!” Gisu decided, clapping her hands together. She turned to Lizzie. “Thanks!”

Lizzie shook her head. “Don’t mention it.” She grimaced. “Really, don’t.”

“Okay.” Gisu chirped, grabbing Dion’s hand once again. “Now let’s go find your brother!” She decided.

“Oh, you’re looking for someone?” Lizzie asked. “I could probably help.”

“Yeah,” Gisu started to explain, “Dion’s little brother ran away, so we’re trying to find him before he gets into too much trouble.”

Lizzie nodded. “What’s he look like?”

Dion froze. What did Raz look like, as a human? “Small.” He guessed. “He has a helmet and goggles that he wears everywhere,” He added. Gisu nodded—Raz must have been wearing his dorky helmet when she brought him to the surface, then. “Really annoying, always getting right into trouble and poking at things he shouldn’t.” Dion groused. “And then me or Frazie get in trouble over it because apparently we’re not setting a ‘good example’!” He crossed his arms with a huff.

“Ugh, yeah, siblings are the worst.” Lizzie agreed. She started to lead them to the door. “Hey, the Junior Explorer Corps Meeting starts in a little bit, why don’t you come with?” She offered. “The more people you’ve got looking for your brother, the faster you’ll find him.”

“Ooo, good idea.” Gisu agreed. “I need to bother Morris about any new conjuration spells he’s learned, anyway.” She took a firmer hold of Dion’s hand, dragging him along through the dwelling.

“Um—” Dion started, but Gisu and Lizzie were still talking between themselves about different kinds of magic. He followed along in their wake, unable to get a word in edgewise as he was practically dragged along.

He didn’t sign up to meet even more humans! This was supposed to be simple!

But Gisu didn’t let go of his hand, and he wouldn’t let go of hers. He’d trust her on this—she was the expert, here, and he couldn’t not trust her. It was impossible not to follow where she led—

But that didn’t mean Dion wanted to get involved in human business!

Still, he followed along. What else was he going to do? He knew nothing about the surface—it was all up to Gisu to guide him through this.

Dion forced his anxiety down, and focused on her. It’d be awful, because almost everything about humans was awful—

But he’d have Gisu, and that was more than enough.

#whumptober2023 #no.30 #borrowed clothing #psychonauts #zaz writes #nudity tw #it's completely nonsexual (spell doesn't create clothes) but i'm going to tag it just to be safe ig #there is a moment where dion is icked out by human genitalia even if the bits in question are never explicitly described #pearl & seaglass au #dion aquato #gisu nerumen #lizzie natividad #whooo!!! dion and gisu are on the surface!!#surely raz has not gotten into too much trouble before they got here #surely #and hey! dion gets to wear a skirt!#lizzie looking at dion like ''gisu. gisu i love you as a friend but what is this. why have you brought this sad wet cat onto my doorstep''#this piece is softer than the others bc it's pretty much just dion looking at everything on the surface and going >:[#callign humans weird and gross for 3000+ words

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