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bonefall · 4 months

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Do you have a design for Bright Storm? I'm fond of the wise older figure thing you're doing with her

I do NOW

Made her, as well as a revamp of my old Thunder Storm design (I last drew him like a year ago!!) in preparation for some character summaries I plan to bang out after finishing a couple drafts, but Bright in particular gets requested so much (anon you're like the 4th person) that HERE, lady girl and her son be upon ye

I'm thinking about doing the BB!DOTC character summaries in "family" posts, so they're all grouped together the way I plan them to act in the story. Every family is telling a little mini-story of its own, in a way, from the Frost family and their inventing prowess, to the Heart family and how the kits react to Bumble's exile, to the Storm family and how they grapple with Clear Sky's influence.

I wanted to make sure Bright Storm was very large and powerful looking, but in a round, kind of "humble" way. She downplays her strength, her intelligence, and even her better judgement.

So she has these big cheeks, fluffy primordial pouch, poofy tail, keeps her head low-ish. Tends to deny compliments.

I was commiserating with my partner the other day about how intelligent characters aren't allowed to be thick-bodied. So between my fat, beloved Bumble the translator and Bright Storm the wise woman battle strategist I'm feeding us both

I needed to "finalize" their stripe pattern, because I actually plan for TIGERSTAR to have the same one. I'm probably going to update my Tawnypelt and Bramblestar designs to have it too; if they don't look better with Goldenflower's.

I just like the irony and bitterness of it. That these ancient stripes, once so associated with compassion and righteous fury, turn into a "legacy" so divorced from what Thunder Storm and Bright Storm stood for.

Becoming a symbol for the idea of modern ThunderClan and the culture of the new times, not the principles it was founded on.

Also I HAD to do the design thing where Thunder Storm's stripes look like top surgery scars lmao, my beloved transmasc boy

Anyway, I've decided that Thunder Storm was a REALLY dark orange. It bugs me a little, especially in-canon, that he looks nothing like either parent. So in BB he's not too far off color-wise from his mama.

I also removed the old "mane" and replaced it with combination white chest + his father's shoulder burls. The mane is going to become a Forest Cat trait, which is why it's going to get so prominent in ThunderClan.

Instead, Mountain Cats have a REALLY high concentration of ear tufts in their genes. They're also huge and generally hairy.

Funny enough though they're also "oily." They come from the Lake Cat population which was pretty water-resistant because of constantly dealing with the lake, and they haven't lived in the Mountains long enough for natural selection to get rid of it.

It's going to become SUPER advantageous for those who move to the River Kingdom, but become less prominent in the other populations.

But for now, Mountain Cats are kinda... well, naturally 'stinky.' That's not a BAD thing to cats who are animals who LIKE strong smells, but it is a notable trait that I'd like The Wind Runner in particular to comment on.

Thunder Storm: "Well? What did she say?"

Bumble: "Ummmmmm......"

Thunder Storm: "be honest"

Bumble: "she says she smelled you coming when you were upwind. rudely."

99% of the time when I'm changing character eye colors, it's to make them NOT blue because there's too many blue-eyed characters in WC imo. BUT.

I think it was another tiny waste to have the narrative constantly stressing Clear Sky's blue, blue eyes, almost like they're hypnotizing, and then they never really comment on what Thunder's eye color signals to other people.

So I've got an idea; instead of amber, Thunder Storm has ELECTRIC BLUE eyes. Almost green, like his mother's minty ones.

Intense as his father's, but more focused. Sharp. Shocking.

Side note: in my research I actually learned it's easier for tripod cats to RUN than it is for them to walk. They can "canter" like a horse, but when they go slow they have to hop. Taking this into consideration.

I put a splash of white on the little bit of lower limb that Thunder Storm has on the leg, so it sticks out a bit more. I don't want it to be hidden I want it to be prominent

I also figured out a hilarious trick for Bright Storm to pull on Sky's Clan at some point lmao

Thunder's crew is in conflict with Sky's cats and the attacks are getting more and more frequent. They decide they need some extra time to carry out some kind of hunt or diplomatic mission, but Bright Storm only has a small group of cats to pull off a stunt with.

She knows she can't fight them head on, but she NEEDS to buy her son more time, so she hatches a plan.

Clear Sky values his intelligence and his ferocity very much. To a fault, even. He loves to outsmart his opponents and overpower them-- so Bright Storm gets all her cats to build a very large, very tall, nearly impenetrable wall out of briar thorns. There's only one way in; the well-guarded tunnel they've constructed in the front.

It would be a challenge for a lesser cat. But Clear Sky, clever devil he is, realizes they've made a fatal flaw; they've built their camp right next to the trees. His fighters don't need to jump over the wall or push through it, the oaks are their allies!

So, while Thunder's cats are all surely sleeping, he gathers his best men and come through the canopy. In well-trained patrols, they swoop down into the camp and prepare for battle.

and no one is there.

You see, there was only one way in... and only one way out.

And Clear Sky and his best fighters watch with HORROR as the tiny crew of guards seals that entrance up like the neck of a bag. There are no trees to climb INSIDE the wall, and it's too tall to hop out of. It won't hold them forever, but it will hold them JUST LONG ENOUGH.

Bright calls this little plan "Operation Timeout."

#I can't help it. Ever since I mentioned how cool a warlord gray wing would be now I can't stop thinking about Bright Storm doing--#Art of War Looney Tunes tactics lmao #LET THE BATTLE CATS BATTLE #BB!DOTC #BB!Bright Storm #BB!Thunder Storm #BB!Thunderstar #Better Bones AU #It feels very fitting for Bright to have a lot of very ''annoying'' but nonlethal plans like that #Though she CAN and WILL hurt others to defend her family #She doesn't LIKE doing that.#One thing I do want her to keep from Gray is his aversion to violence #But unlike him she's able to come to terms with the fact she HAS to defend what she loves.#And though a lot of it does come from the love she had for Clear... it also comes from her compassion and kindness towards others.#She's been lead astray and blinded by her love of him in the past (especially in how she abetted what happened to Bumble)#But unlike Canon!Gray she's ashamed of what she did after she sits with the consequences #She doesn't want to hurt anyone. But she did. She let it happen. Contributed even #And that's rough.#YOUR HONOR. I LIKE HER.

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victorluvsalice · 1 year

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AU Thursday: Smiler’s Otherland!

This feels like an appropriate post to make today, given it is both Alice’s birthday and the tail end of the Smiler Takeover at Alton Towers. And frankly, it’s one that I probably should have done long before, given how enthusiastically I designed an Otherland for Victor back when I was deep in the Forgotten Vows Verse! I blame Wonderland-related thoughts for Smiler being in short supply on my main AUs with them being the type that don’t lend themselves well to Alice magically getting in their head for Wonderland-style shenanigans -- basically, it just hasn’t really come up before now! And I still haven’t gotten too deep into the subject -- certainly not as deep as I did with Victor. But here are my current thoughts, for your entertainment:

Domains --

-->Obviously, the main portion of Smiler’s Otherland would have to be a theme park of some kind. XD Though, of course, how elaborate that theme park is would depend on the AU -- a Smiler in the modern day would of course have modern roller coasters and such, while a Victorian Smiler might have something more akin to Alice’s mine cart ride and little parks with stages and suchlike. The basic vibe I’m going for with this area is a combination of Smiler Takeover X-Sector in Alton Towers and that amusement park area from Nier: Automata (hey, if I can borrow the forest stuff for Victor’s Living Dead Forest. . .).

-->However, we can’t neglect the creepy part of the coaster’s lore and theme, and thus I have one other domain in mind for Smiler, accessed via some sort of basement entrance or portal from the main park. . .a horrible, underground medical facility with crumbling walls, big white cells, nurses and doctors with bloodstained uniforms, and patients with smiles carved right into their faces. Basically if you know anything about the old Sanctuary scaremaze from 2012 and 2013, think that -- if not, just go with A:MR’s Rutledge section combined with a little Silent Hill 2 action and you should get the right vibe. This is, of course, where Smiler’s deepest, darkest fears reside -- particularly hurting the ones they love and, where applicable, of ending up like Kelman. My Smiler is NOT interested in becoming anything like THAT asshole! They try to bury it down, hence why it’s in the basement (well, that and the old Smiler AR game suggested that’s where the Ministry was hiding), but -- yeah. If you want a fight, this is where you’re most likely to get one.

Weapons --

-->Smiler’s Wonderland weapons proved to be very easy once I started thinking about what they would need in a “standard A:MR” set -- specifically, they’re all the different elements of the roller coaster’s Marmaliser! Here’s what I’ve come up with:

The Inoculator: The equivalent of Alice’s Pepper Grinder or Victor’s Wedding Wine, this is a giant syringe full of glowing yellow serum that can be squirted at enemies. Like Victor’s Wine, it has limited capacity, and once it��s empty, it needs a moment to refill. Good range, though!

The Tickler: The equivalent of Alice’s Hobby Horse or Victor’s Grim Scythe, this is -- essentially a large fuzzy paint roller on an extra-long stick. It’s a bit unwieldy to swing, but has great reach!

The Flasher: The equivalent of Alice’s Clockwork Bomb or Victor’s Altar Candle, this is a little mechanical box covered in light bulbs that, when prepped and set down, goes off with a massive FLASH of bright white light after a few seconds. VERY good for stunning enemies!

The Giggler: The equivalent of Alice’s Teapot Cannon or Victor’s Quill Bow, this is a large canister of purple gas with a nozzle that Smiler can use to kind of spray/blast out clouds of the stuff. The longer they “charge” a shot by squeezing the nozzle, the bigger the resultant Giggler cloud!

The Hypnotizer: The equivalent of Alice’s Umbrella or Victor’s Sketchbook, this is a large disc with a black-white-and-yellow spiral on it, like the logo, which can be used to both deflect incoming projectiles or distract enemies. Think a bit like the disc the old Sims 2 psychiatrist guy used to fly in when Sims had a total aspiration failure!

Now, you may notice a lack of Vorpal Blade/Vorpal Fork equivalent up there -- this is because while trying to figure that out, I thought the words “Vorpal Spoon” to complete the cutlery set and couldn’t let it go. XD Smlier seemed to like the silliness factor too! But I have found a way to tie that to the coaster as well -- specifically, by giving the spoon a twisted corkscrew handle that looks at least something like The Smiler’s actual track! And maybe the logo can be engraved on the bowl. XD

-->You may ALSO notice that none of these weapons actually seem particularly dangerous. Well -- you’re right. Smiler’s weapon set is in fact pretty much entirely non-lethal. The effects of their weapons are either to stun --

Or to turn the creature they’re fighting FRIENDLY, at least for a short time. Because the coaster’s theme isn’t violence, it’s conversion. By using their weapons on their enemies, they make those enemies their friends, or at least not a threat anymore for a time. I thought this was a nice change from Victor and Alice’s more violent stuff!

-->That being said, I also imagine Smiler having a “Hysteria Mode” equivalent, using the version of hysteria that we’re most familiar with these days -- that is, being overcome with laughter. Smiler’s would have them literally laughing their way through a rampage, and it would be the only time that their weapons are actually capable of harm. I don’t know if they’d have a bloodstained look like Victor and Alice or something a little different. . .ooh, maybe the same sort of “bloodstained” vibe, only the “blood” is bright yellow and/or purple. . .

Creatures --

-->Haven’t thought too much about this, but beyond the Sanctuary/Ministry of Joy staff, I know there should also be some sort of creature based on the Marmaliser itself. Just trying to decide if it should be friendly or hostile. . .or maybe there’s two different variants depending on where you are in the Otherland? Hmmm. . . Also believe there should be lots of robotic or techy stuff, just because that’s kind of The Smiler’s whole deal.

Clothing --

-->Again, one I haven’t considered much yet, but Smiler’s outfits across the various Wonderland/Otherland domains would definitely have a strong yellow-black theme, with white and purple highlights and occasional other colors or rainbow patterns where appropriate. Honestly, that yellow-and-black Beetlejuice suit I have for their vampiric “dark form” in Sims 4 might be a good starting place. XD Alice and Victor would also go yellow-and-black to match their domains -- in fact, thinking about it, the outfits of the wandering Advocates from The Smiler Takeover might work for Victor: black suit, yellow shirt, black-and-white-striped tie. . .it’s a start, at any rate!

-->Oh, and just for fun, I’ve decided that, in a Valicer situation, Victor’s own Otherland outfits -- like his Classic Blue Alice-style suit -- update to have a black-white-and-yellow spiral-patterned tie. :) I’d kind of like to maybe add a similar touch to Alice’s outfits -- maybe a black-and-yellow-checked border on her aprons? More thought is required.

#valicer #wonderland #otherlands #otherland #weapons #smiler alton #the smiler #yeah I dove right into Modern Human AU shenanigans with this lot #Victorian!Smiler didn't happen for a while #and even then I wasn't thinking in terms of an AU where they could go inside their Otherland #but now I am and now I have a few ideas #it was EXTREMELY CONVENIENT of the ride to have a bunch of elements that translated into Wonderland Weapons #and I rather enjoy that they're all nonlethal #I don't see Smiler as a full-on pacifist #but they're very much a 'make friends' over 'slaughter your enemies' type #it probably confuses the hell out of Alice the first time Smiler uses the Inoculator on a Ruin #and it promptly tries to hug her #'wtf' 'it loves you!' 'I DON'T WANT IT TO LOVE ME'#and yes Vorpal Spoon #I had to in the end XD #at least I found a way to relate it to the coaster with the handle!#and I do love the idea of Victor in his Alice blue suit with his Smiler tie :)#it feels right ya know?#queued

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jackyandjackster · 1 month

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I can't draw Error so i drew his friend!

(What's his name?? Sans?)

Puppet/Doll sans by @nonlethal-au

#[ NOL Art ]#sans au #undertale #my art #artists on tumblr #sans the skeleton #error sans

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aspiringwarriorlibrarian · 1 year

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AU where Miguel gets hung up on the nonlethal Canon Events instead.

"Miles you need to kiss someone while hanging upside down. I don't know why this is important but it is."

"Also have you ever shoved a ton of rubble off yourself? That's important too."

"If you ever come across an alien trying to turn itself into a costume, you have to put it on and then take it off later. You'll figure out why."

#across the spider verse spoilers #atsv #spider man: across the spider verse #across the spider verse

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brucewaynehater101 · 5 days

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I just had a thought about the Spider Tim/Emperor Tim AU crossover thing

GL tries to make a stealthy incursion via portal onto a planet where the Silken Emperor Obi Wan Kenobi is known to be, and which already sees the GLC as the bad guys bc the GLC wants to harm/depose their beloved Emperor, but fuck up the coordinates and end up in a daycare center on the other side of the planet. A planet that already sees them as villains. All hell breaks loose: The children run screaming, the daycare staff attack the GLC with chairs and stuff to try to buy the kids time, the planetary police are called, and Tim shows up to lure the Corps away.

Ooh! And the daycare robots also attack the GLC, but since they're robots they don't get nonlethally incapacitated. These daycare robots are also sentient and the mangled survivors start an entirely separate lawsuit against the GLC from the one the Emperor is doing. (HC that the public front of the suit is this sort of robotic Nutcracker made to resemble a symbol of childhood joy from the Emperor's homeworld, and the poor guy is attached to the robot version of a mobile life support unit after he tried to thump Hal Jordan over the head with his prop cavalry saber)

New-to-the-team Lantern: "Are we the bad guys?"

The GLC being attacked by a group of children is a cute and funny concept.

However, it would be cool as hell to see the "baby overlord" switch into "parent bear" mode after hearing that his children citizens were "attacked." He would be ruthless in court if he doesn't outright beat them up.

Tim, by the end of the week, becomes an expert on space law just so he can't sue the hell out the GLC for "attacking" children (I'm putting the quotations there because it sounds more like the children were attacking the GLC while the GLC only retaliated against the robots and maybe adult caretakers).

I'm also super curious about these sentient robots if you'd like to go more in detail about them ^^

#dc comics #tim drake #dc universe #thank you for the ask!!!!#dc au

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rosesofenvy · 1 year

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I was very inspired by @sha-biest goldenfuture au so I wrote a drabble for some of her most recent posts that I’m linking below! (they're also linked in the fic)

The arm incident

Leoichi

Kendratello

Check out the goldenfutureau tag if you’re confused!

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I'll Be the Sweetest Thing To Ever Scare You (5350 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi, Donatello/Kendra (TMNT) Characters: Leonardo (TMNT), Donatello (TMNT), Yuichi Usagi, Kendra (TMNT), Michelangelo (TMNT), Raphael (TMNT), April O'Neil (TMNT), Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit, Agent John Bishop (TMNT) Additional Tags: goldenfutureau, shabiest golden future, Post Movie, Violence, Loss of Limbs, bishop is a dick, kidnapped donnie, saving donnie from bishop, both leo and donnie lose an arm, Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Hurt, lots of comfort, Nightmares, Injury Recovery, lowkey donnie whump, but kendra makes him laugh so it's all ok

Summary: Leo doesn't regret his choices to safe Donnie from Bishop, it just means a longer recovery for everyone involved.

Enjoy :)

Leo doesn’t regret his decision.

Donnie had been missing for a week, a week of no contact, a week of frantic searches, and a week of desperate calls to every friend and enemy they had ever encountered. They spared no expense in their efforts to find him, but it was almost a slap in the face to find that Donnie had been so close to them all along - he hadn’t even been taken out of New York. The sudden burst of Donnie’s mystic energy, coordinates and maps tracing to his exact location had been a source of relief and frustration as they mobilized and moved out.

Leo doesn’t regret moving when he did.

Raph and Mikey were holding down the lower levels of the base, guaranteeing their escape route since their abilities were dampened by whatever that mad scientist Bishop had cooked up. Leo was in charge of the extraction of their brother since he was by far the fastest and they were relying on the element of surprise here. Someone who’d been able to take down Donnie without their knowledge wasn’t someone they were taking lightly. Whatever Bishop had installed in the building had disabled most of their mystic powers, he can’t even risk using his portals if he didn’t want to lose a limb.

That doesn’t matter, he didn’t need mystic powers. He would tear this building apart with his bare hands if that meant he’d get his brother back safe. Faceless scientists run screaming past him, those who attempt to stop his progression are swiftly taken care of. Whether or not those rebuffs are nonlethal doesn’t matter, what does matter is that he’s reached the main lab. Kendra had shown him the blueprints, this entire floor was a blackout but he could assume it followed the general path that the previous labs had. As he bounds up the stairwell - and enters the open floor plan, every sense screams to high alert.

Even though Kendra was controlling every electrical aspect to the lab, this floor only had emergency lights. Even with the low glow of bulbs placed too far apart Leo’s senses are overwhelmed. There’s too much. Wires sparking from where they’d been torn from the wall blood on the floor static from a radio system now defunct thanks to Kendra’s interference blood on the wall his brother's blood everywhere. It reeks of iron and metal and sickness and despite the nausea curling in his gut Leo doesn’t hesitate to sprint forward because there’s his fucking brother.

Leo doesn’t regret throwing himself directly into the path of danger despite every time he’s been told to stop being such a self sacrificial idiot.

Donnie is crumpled near some sort of shadowed metal robot. Leo can’t quite make out the details with the intermittent flicker from the emergency lights, but it doesn’t matter as he darts across the length of the lab. He couldn’t see any humans in this room, something that made his scales itch with paranoia as he searched the dark corners of the lab for movement but he can’t afford to waste his attention on the absence of a being when what he came for is right in front of him. As he’s almost to Donnie, the robot his brother is kneeled in front of activates with a flash of red and a creaking of metal.

Leo regrets not moving faster.

There’s a blankness in Donnie’s gaze that makes Leo’s heart clench as the softshell staggers to his feet, clearly exhausted and with blood dripping from a number of wounds. Despite standing, he sways and Leo can see that Donnie doesn’t or maybe can’t register the danger directly to his right. Leo can’t tell if Donnie even recognizes him.

“Donnie! Move! ” Leo screams, finally getting in range of his brother, but it’s still not enough. There’s a red light shining over the both of them, a warning burst of heat just as Leo wraps his left arm around Donnie’s shell and uses his momentum to shove them both out of the way. The blaze that wraps around Leo’s shell and scorches his arm clean off is so sudden that he doesn’t register what had happened until Donnie is on the floor beneath him. Pain radiates from the remains of his arm and he gasps through clenched teeth as he takes in Donnie’s uncomprehending stare and the blood slowly seeping from the partially cauterized remains of the softshell's left arm. Leo slams his panic button as he takes in the physical wounds Donnie had suffered over the past week.

“You gotta keep your eyes open for me, we gotta wait for Raph, no passin' out yet.” Leo pants desperately, trying to follow his own order as he practically collapses over Donnie, "Is anyone still here?”

Donnie’s eyes flicker open, and Leo follows the path of his gaze up to where he recognizes an observational balcony. Leo didn't see it before in his desperation to grab Donnie, but there’s an outline of a man holding some sort of control panel. Bishop. Leo’s grip on Donnie’s shoulder tightens, but the human makes no move towards and instead sinks into the shadows where Leo couldn’t follow. The building shakes and Leo tries to lift Donnie, but it’s useless with the weakness that has filled his limbs. Pounding footsteps reach his ears and Leo turns to see Raph emerge from the same stairwell he had run up just moments earlier.

“Leo, Donnie!” Raph’s voice is frantic as he runs into the room. Leo feels his muscles going limp despite his best efforts to remain conscious as their older brother scoops them both up, then punches the machine to destroy the glass embedded in the robot that had nearly killed them both. The floor splinters beneath their feet and Raph wastes no time making their escape.

Leo regrets not being able to stay conscious during the destruction of the lab. He would’ve liked to revel in the downfall of one of Bishop’s pride and joys.

Waking up in the med bay was unfortunately a familiar experience for Leo. The steady beep of a heart monitor - although it was doubled for some reason, the scent of antiseptic, and the herculean effort it took to pry open his eyelids.

The light was nearly blinding as he tilted his head to the side, registering the flow of drugs from the IV drip making his limbs feel heavy and grimacing at the dryness of his mouth. Mikey was sitting in a chair at his bedside, and at his movement the box turtle leaps up and grips the bars to the bed.

“Leo! Are you awake?”

Leo can’t do much more than click in response, already wanting to go back to sleep but the stress in Mikey’s expression keeps him conscious. How long had he been out for Mikey to look so concerned? What had even happened this time? What were they all doing before…

“Here, I’ve got some water for ya,” Mikey says quickly, grabbing a cup and urging Leo to drink, “Do you want-”

“Donnie?!” Leo interrupts, voice rough as the memory of his brother, bloody and bruised, surfaces. He realizes through the sludge of the painkillers that he’d managed to grab Mikey’s hand before he could help him with the water and his grip was trembling as he searched Mikey’s face for answers. “Is he here? Is he ok?”

“Donnie’s fine,” Mikey reassures, pointing over Leo’s shoulder, “look he’s right there.” At Mikey’s gesture Leo lets his head fall to the other side and can see Donnie laying flat on his plastron still passed out. That nausea swirls again at the sight of all the bandages and wires that seemed to mirror what was hooked up to Leo so he tilts back towards Mikey with a small sigh of relief.

“Does Yuichi know?” He asks after he takes a few sips of blessedly cool water and can talk without it feeling like his throat is being carved to pieces.

“Can you worry about yourself for two seconds Leo?” Mikey murmurs miserably as he fidgets with Leo's blankets, “What do you remember? Raph didn’t see what happened and Kendra couldn’t pull cameras since Bishop had everything disabled on that floor.”

“I had to get Donnie out of the way,” Leo replies with a frown, “If I didn’t then…” It all hits him at once. The scene in the lab, the blood, the pain of a part of him being rendered from existence. He rolls his gaze down to his right arm, feeling an odd choking feeling overtake him as he realizes that his arm ends at the bicep, wrapped tightly in stark white bandages.

“Bishop had built something, I couldn’t see all of it since the power had been cut to most of the lab, but Donnie had just been left there. When I was trying to get to him, it lit up and I realized…” He trails off, swallowing hard as he recalls the sharp angles and the alien features of the robot, a shape that had often haunted nightmares, “If I didn’t get him out of the way, then he would’ve-” his words are cut off by his own choked sob. He’d been so close to losing his brother. Donnie was so close to being gone because of some stupid fucking scientist.

“Ok ok I got it,” Mikey quickly says, trying to calm the rising heart rate of his older brother and prevent those pained noises from escalating.

“You gotta tell Yuichi, Mikey you gotta call him, it’s been a week he’s probably worried sick, ” Leo gasps, tightening his grip on Mikey’s arm. The guilt of unintentionally keeping Yuichi in the dark was eating at every ounce of air in his chest.

“I will, I’ll get Raph to do it right now ok?” promises replies, holding onto Leo’s hand with both of his until he can feel Leo’s grip loosening and can see his eyelids fluttering.

“Okay,” Leo mumbles, the burst of energy leaving him as quickly as it had arrived. “Mikey imma sleep now ‘kay?”

“That’s fine Leo, rest up,” Mikey whispers, patting Leo’s hand as the slider relaxes and almost instantly falls back asleep. Mikey breathes a sigh of relief once he’s sure Leo’s under then sends a text to Raph.

-------

Yuichi knew that it wasn’t necessarily uncommon for Leo to go radio silent on missions, it came with the territory of keeping the world safe. However, it’d been a week at this point and with the abruptness of Leo’s departure, he was anxiously pacing the length of his room and overthinking everything that could’ve gone wrong. It had become his habit within the week, spending his downtime in this way but the routine is interrupted when his phone begins buzzing.

He leaps at where it had been set on his bedside table, dropping it on the floor once before he manages to hold onto it, seeing Leo’s caller ID and nearly crying with relief.

“Leo! It’s been a week, are you ok? What happened to Donnie?” He rattles off once he answers, clutching his phone up to his ear and holding his breath for the response.

There’s a beat of silence before Raph replies.

“Hey Usagi, I don’t want you freaking out ok?” Raph greets gently, “I’m gonna tell you what happened and then Mikey’s gonna bring you over here.”

“What went wrong? Is Leo hurt?” Usagi questions anxiously, feeling his phone beginning to creak with how tightly he was holding it. All of the worst case scenarios he’d been considering claw their way to the forefront of his mind.

“Leo and Donnie were both seriously injured in the escape from the lab that Donnie was being held in, but they’re both alive and recovering,” Raph reports, “Leo’s been in and out of consciousness for the past day and he just woke up for longer than just a few minutes. He’s been asking for you. Are you ok to come over?”

“Yes yes of course,” Usagi replies quickly, darting around to grab his katana and tug on his shoes, “Get me over there.”

A golden portal opens in front of him as he’s pocketing his phone and Usagi doesn’t hesitate to step through. Once the spots clear from his vision he sees that Mikey had pulled him into the atrium of their lair, both Mikey and Raph waiting for him. He can see the exhaustion in their expressions and it makes the anxiety that had been simmering begin to boil over.

“Where is he?” Usagi demands, dropping his katana onto the nearest empty surface and flicking his ears to see if he can catch any sound of the slider. He can hear the slightly raised heartbeats of the brothers in front of him before he catches the steady electrical beeps further into the lair.

“I’ll take you to him,” Mikey says, raising his hands in a placating gesture, “He’s still kind of out of it from the painkillers, but he’s been asking about you since he woke up.”

Usagi knows that’s supposed to reassure him but it just makes his heart beat harder as he follows Mikey to the medical bay. He’s seen Leo hurt before, but it was very rare that he or any of the brothers had to be completely hospitalized. Their healing factors often kicked in before it was needed, so the thought of both of them being injured badly enough to need serious painkillers was nerve wracking. Since Donnie was on the far side of the room, Usagi’s gaze catches on the softshell before he fully enters and turns to see Leo.

He’s not sure what to look at first, eyes flickering from the bruises under Leo’s eyes to the bandages wrapping around his upper chest and his right arm - his right arm that was gone from the elbow down. He can’t help his gasp, moving quickly to Leo’s bedside. Leo opens his eyes at the vocalization, gaze taking a moment to focus before he smiles gently.

“Yuichi,” He says, voice soft but clearly rough from disuse as Usagi scans the lines of IV’s and wires before leaning over and cradling Leo’s head. He wraps his arms as gently as he could, tucking Leo’s head against his own as he whispers his name. He waits until he can hear the steadiness of Leo’s heartbeat before he takes a shuddered breath and shifts to hide his face against Leo.

“‘Chi?” Leo inquires, drawing back a bit as he can feel the heat of Yuichi’s tears against the side of his neck.

Yuichi moves back just enough to meet Leo’s eyes as he bites back the angry choking thing that wants to scream about unfairness and instead presses his cheek against Leo’s, seeing the tears budding in the slider’s eyes.

“Don’t you dare do this again,” He whispers fiercely, “Next time you leave, I’m coming with you.” He can feel Leo’s tears mingling with his own, and it takes only a tilt of his head to connect the two of them in a kiss. Usagi would normally worry about the fact that Leo’s brothers were likely still nearby, and would be concerned if Leo was in any pain with the proximity, but all he can think about is how he nearly lost the slider and he would’ve only known when his brothers had been able to contact him. He curls the fingers he has cradling the back of Leo’s neck, feeling the slider sigh into his mouth before he pulls back and searches out Yuichi’s hand with his remaining one. Once their fingers are intertwined, Leo visibly relaxes.

“I won’t Yuichi, promise.”

“Damn straight,” Yuichi says firmly, “And if you think I’m leaving anytime in the near future you’d be sorely mistaken.”

“Well the angle you’re standing at doesn’t look comfortable,” Leo offers quietly, “Care to join me?”

Yuichi frowns at the number of wires that Leo was connected to before carefully arranging himself on the bed beside Leo. He can feel the tension fade as he carefully tangles their legs and props his head against the side of Leo’s. The slider melts into his side, sighing in comfort and it brings Usagi back to many of their sleepovers. If there wasn’t the scent of antiseptic and the sounds of heart rate monitors, he’d be able to pretend that it was just another night after coming back from a mission. The sleepless nights spent worrying over Leo’s condition catch up to him, and he allows himself to rest with Leo tucked into his arms.

-------

Kendra had seen a lot in her time. Being a teenage hacker often meant seeing things that she really wasn’t supposed to. Sometimes it was what the neighbors Tuesday afternoon drunken parties entailed, sometimes it was the ledgers of foreign governments and lists of experiments that were far from ethical.

Helping two of the Hamato’s through their amputations? That was new. She can’t help but thank her instinct to pursue medicine (sure it was veterinary medicine but it had helped them out here hadn’t it?) as she clears away the materials she’d used for stitches.

She wasn’t sure what to think when she was first contacted about Donatello being missing. It seemed that the Hamato’s had just been going through each of Donnie’s contacts to see if they’d heard anything. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised that she was one of the first on his list since she was contacted mere hours after his disappearance, but she was not ashamed to admit that she threw herself back into her computer hacking days to provide her services.

It was odd, returning to watching cameras and scanning security footage for any signs of the freakishly large turtle instead of attending to her much more morally correct job of a veterinarian. When Donnie’s systems finally pinged his location and the brothers had ran in yelling about his mystic energy, she remained as the “woman in the chair” despite every instinct to strap on one of Donnie’s battleshells and join the fight herself.

She watched through security cameras while she remotely detonated the lab’s systems - reveling in the panic on the scientists faces as they realized that rooms were locked and sirens were growing louder thanks to her call to every station in the area regarding illegal experimentation and unauthorized lab usage. They wouldn’t be able to access the building until she opened the doors, but it was good to rile them up. The building would be going down regardless thanks to April and Casey’s actions to rig the foundations with Purple Dragon grade explosives. She had already evacuated nearby blocks, the only danger was to those that had chosen to imprison and experiment on Donnie and whatever other poor mutants Bishop had gotten his slimy hands on. Unfortunately the only area she wasn’t able to see, much to her and everyone else’s frustration, was the lab that Donnie was being kept in.

This means that the only thing she sees when the battle ends is Leo and Donnie being carried out by Raph before she loses access to her systems as the cameras explode into a golden light. Whatever Raph had done to that lab had disabled what was hindering their powers then if Mikey was able to begin the detonation process. She hurries to the med bay, keeping her panic tucked away as the blood that had been trailing the trio flickers through her mind. There’s another flash of golden light just as she’s set up the beds and the brothers appear through Mikey’s portal.

She still doesn’t allow herself to panic as she helps with the surgery, an odd mix of modern medicine and magic keeping the two brothers alive and stable until she steps back and deems it all they can do for the moment. Through numb lips she explains the aftercare and the Hamato’s set up schedules and watches. She should be surprised that she’s included in these, but she also knows that the only way she’s leaving Donnie’s side is if she’s dragged out. Well, after she scrubs their blood from her clothes anyway. She borrows some of Donnie’s while hers are being treated, drawing comfort in the too large hoodie as she sets up post beside Donnie’s bed.

Leo wakes up first, unsurprising since he hadn’t been locked away for a week in a psychopath's care. Their healing factor has clearly kicked in as within a day Leo is taken off the heavy painkillers and requests to move back to his room. Kendra tries not to be impatient as she routinely checks on the stitches, monitoring for infection between her shifts with Donnie. The brothers regularly switched off with Kendra - barring Leo since he was bed bound - but Kendra insisted on spending as much time as possible with Donnie. He should be waking up soon after all and if she didn’t get to tell that stupid idiot her true feelings she’s going to lose it.

It’s late on day two when she hears movement, glancing over to see Donnie’s eyes open wide and staring at her uncomprehending. She freezes, staring back and not even daring to blink as she waits for understanding to wash over Donatello’s expression.

It doesn’t.

Instead he snarls, lips drawing back to expose sharp teeth and she scrambles to press the call button (more of a localized panic button for the med bay) before Donatello tries to sit up, becoming off balance and falling to his side as he tries to balance with an arm he doesn’t have. “You’ll hurt yourself,” Kendra barks, hands going to help him sit up when he snaps at her arms, then hissing a warning when she doesn’t immediately draw back. She is so not qualified to deal with a hostile mutant turtle who had probably been through an excess of uncertified medical procedures over the past week if his injuries were anything to go by. Thankfully she doesn’t have to worry about her hand being bitten off as Raph and Mikey come running in.

She backs off, only so that Donnie doesn’t feel overwhelmed and becomes more violent, but remains in eyesight in case he tries to rip out the IV’s. Mikey does disconnect the heart monitor since its high-pitched scream was doing none of them any favors and she could see how quickly Donnie relaxed at the quiet. It still clearly takes a moment for him to recognize where he was and who was around him with his brothers reassurances the only reason he’s willing to settle back onto the bed with a low whine. Kendra steps in, quickly checking fluids and changing out the painkillers since they were low. She can see the concern on both Mikey and Raph’s expressions, but completes everything clinically before returning to her spot at his bedside.

“You can leave now, I can handle it,” She says only a bit harshly. It was true, she’s sure she can handle whatever reaction Donnie may have now that he’s aware of where he is. She knew the dangers of an unfamiliar face attempting to administer care, but now Donnie could see her and understood why he was hooked up to the various equipment. She had no concerns about her safety.

“If you’re sure…” Raph says hesitantly, “You know how to get a hold of us.”

“Yep, now go back to bed, you two are dead on your feet,” Kendra says, trying to be cold but it’s difficult when all she can do is trace the bandages wrapping Donatello’s shell. She hears the brothers leave and heaves a sigh of relief. From the glaze over Donnie’s eyes, she can tell the painkillers have a hold on him but she can't help but slowly reach out to grasp his left hand.

“I know you’re probably loopy because those are high grade as shit,” She starts quietly, “But if I don’t get this off my chest before you fall asleep again I think I’ll actually lose my mind.”

Donnie blinks slowly at her.

“You’re an idiot,” She whispers harshly, “You scared the hell out of us you know? You scared the hell out of me.” She squeezes his hand, feeling him squeeze back before she can force herself to continue. “You know I didn’t even realize it until your brothers called me, but I care about you. I care about you, the guy who humiliated me every chance he could get, the dumb turtle who put a stop to a whole ass alien invasion, and the absolute dickhead who got kidnapped and hurt by an actually crazy scientist and leaving me behind.”

She doesn’t know when she started crying.

“You’re really making me say it, Donatello Hamato, but I like you, and if anything - I mean anything - happens to you again? I’m going to kill whoever did it with my bare hands.”

She’s not sure if Donnie understands, but she can see the corner of his lips quirk slightly before his eyes slip shut and he stills. His breaths become deep with sleep but his hand still remains firmly grasped in Kendra’s. She doesn’t let go until Mikey comes in to take over.

-------

A week goes by in silence. Not from all of the Hamato’s, Kendra doesn’t think it’d be possible for them to be quiet for more than ten seconds. No. Donatello has not said a single word, or even made a noise of discomfort since he’d first woken up. He rarely even signs, much to the disappointment and worry of his brothers. He doesn’t ask for food or water, although they’re brought to him anyway, and he remains in his room nestled under his blankets and only moves when absolutely necessary. Despondent is the word that immediately springs to Kendra’s mind and she hates it.

They retain their rotating shifts, although Kendra takes as many of them as she can. The last thing Donnie needs is an interrogation from his family, since it’s clear that he’s still gathering his thoughts over what had happened to him and shows discomfort any time his brothers try to remain alone with him. She justifies her veterinary knowledge, but she can also see Mikey whispering to Raph whenever the older brother looks like he’s going to protest. Thank whatever pizza thing they worship for the younger brother’s empathy. Kendra sets up a cot that Donnie had in his lab and sleeps across the room when she can.

This is how she knows Donnie’s having a nightmare almost exactly a week after he’d moved back into his room.

He didn’t sleep very often, fiddling at all hours with some form of tech since he had to avoid screens with his head injury or pretending to sleep as he laid on top of the mattress. Kendra’s relief at his breaths finally evening out is short lived as a few hours after he slipped under she hears him begin to thrash, then cries out in pain as he aggravates the wounds on his shell. She’s out of the cot and onto his bed in seconds, cupping her hands gently onto his face and tapping gently at his cheeks. His eyes snap open and for a moment she wonders if she’s going to lose a finger or two before clarity comes to his vision. For the first time in a week she feels like he recognizes her.

She finds herself wrapped in an embrace, a surprising development but not one she’s going to take lightly as she feels Donnie trembling against her. She squeezes, not enough to hurt but enough to ground as Donnie’s forehead falls heavy to her shoulder. The two of them sit there, Kendra gently rubbing Donnie’s shell until she feels his breath hitch.

“He…made a control panel…like the technodrome…” His voice is raspy from disuse and Kendra almost wants to stop him so he could get a drink or something, but she also understands that this is important both for Donatello to say and for her to hear. Regardless of how sick the thought of hearing what caused these wounds makes her feel.

“Or…tried to…’t was…nothing like her…”

Kendra recalls the ship that had hovered over New York. She thinks of its size and the terror it struck into its citizens. She couldn’t imagine anyone willingly recreating that, this Bishop Bastard was even worse than she thought. Mikey had told them a bit about how the ship had been controlled - access directly to the nervous system as far as they could tell. One sleepless night Donnie had even described what it had felt like to control the ship, Kendra never forgot the almost melancholic expression on his face as he recalled connecting to it.

“There was no synergy…just pain…it tried to control…it tried to take…take… take ….” The anguish in Donnie’s voice has Kendra holding him all the tighter, burying her face in his shoulder in the only way she could try to comfort. The words are spilling out of him now, faster and every word sounds worse as he explains in fractured segments what Bishop had done.

“...I felt violated …it tried to control me even though it was supposed to be controlled. Bishop was furious…he didn’t understand why it wasn’t working…” Donnie let out a broken laugh, “took it out on me…but it was nothing compared to it…nausea got worse…every time I was hooked up to it…”

She can feel him shudder at the memory and she squeezes him the best she can, hoping that the weight of her against him was helping to keep him grounded as he continued talking.

“He kept upgrading it…and connecting me to it…” He pauses, exhaling hard and coughing a bit as he does so, “It noticed too late when I took control...That’s how I got the signal out. You already know the rest…”

Kendra can feel that he’s done, the way he slumps against her and the ragged breathing as he attempts to reign in his thoughts. She’s never been great at comforting people in the conventional sense, but she has a feeling she can share what she was feeling about the whole situation.

“What an absolute shithead.”

She feels him jolt in surprise before he snorts, finally finally returning her hold and tugging her closer to him as he laughs. It’s the best sound she’s ever heard.

“Yeah, he really was an absolute dick! A real piece of work, shit from the sewers!” Donnie manages to choke out between chuckles and Kendra can’t help but lean into his laughter.

“So just to make sure I wasn’t just high on painkillers…you did say you liked me right?” Donnie murmurs after they’d both calmed down enough to lay comfortably on the bed. Donnie doesn’t let Kendra go, drawing comfort in her warmth as she messes absently with his hand. She pressed her palm against his own, twining and untwining their fingers until he spoke - then she abruptly dropped his hand.

Kendra groans, rolling over to hide her face against the mattress despite their tangled legs keeping her mostly facing Donnie, “Yes, yes unfortunately I did.”

“What was that? Could you repeat it?” Donnie asks cheekily, laughing again when Kendra lifts her face from the mattress to scowl at him.

“Yes! I did! Got a problem with it ?”

Donnie’s face is priceless, shifting from teasing to blushing in a way that makes Kendra smirk victoriously as she gently rubs his arm.

“I…suppose…I like you too,” Donnie manages to stutter out.

“You tell anyone I got mushy like that and I’ll strangle you,” Kendra mutters.

Donnie barks out a laugh, “Wouldn’t dream of it Kendra.”

Kendra knows deep down that this isn’t over. Bishop was still out there, a destroyed lab surely wouldn’t keep him down for long. For the moment however, she’s going to enjoy Donnie’s warm embrace and do what she can to help him feel safe even if that means tearing down the bastard herself.

#rottmnt #rottmntfanfic #samurairabbitusagichronicles #samurairabbit #leoichi #kendratello #goldenfutureau #ao3 #fanfic #leonardo hamato #usagi yuichi #rottmnt kendra #donatello hamato #honestly all characters are featured a little bit in here

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ty-bayonet-betteridge · 7 months

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notes on taylors headmates for the plural au idea:

Taylor - civilian identity, system core. strong connection to protecting her immediate friends and family, very passive and willing to put up with abuse. instinctual use of power is to ignore it, allowing bugs in the area to act normally; can control them if necessary but her control is clumsy. Master 2.

Weaver - superhero identity, forms before fic begins as a response to Taylor gaining powers. doesnt initially come up with the name (im not yet certain what she will call herself b4 being named Weaver). believes in fair law and order, willing to make any sacrifice of herself to save others, does NOT expect others to do the same. nonlethal methods of subduing, against killing except for class-s threats. instinctual use of power is using small amounts of bugs to feel out area around her, and connecting threads between everything which she can use to pull enemies off balance, yank objects around, or trap enemies. Master (Shaker) 5, Thinker 1

Skitter - supervillain identity, forms after Weaver joins Undersiders as an undercover operation and Taylor starts to become attached to them (first public debut is bank robbery.) still cares about greater good and keeping the peace, but also cares about living a good life for herself, and is more vindictive, ruthless, and intimidating than the others. ok with killing for the greater good or to protect herself, as well as causing permanent harm to do the same or to prove a point. instinctual use of power is to use large amounts of bugs to scout out areas or track people, and to create swarm-clones. Also not shy about using the wasps, fire ants, etc. in her swarm. Prefers fighting from back and allowing her swarm to do most of the work. Master 7, Thinker 1.

Arsenal - Armsmaster introject, forms around the same time as Skitter. Persecutor-protector; he is agressive and dismissive towards the ideas and plans of the others and may sabotage them because he thinks that they arent as capable as they think, and are likely to fail, thus tries to keep them out of dangerous scenarios. Prideful. Does not have access to Taylor's power; passenger suppresses it completely if he is the only one fronting.

Dragonfly - forms during the meeting between the villains to discuss the ABB's presence; sees herself as a leader, negotiator, and diplomat. becomes much more prominent as the system starts to gain more respect for itself as an influential cape, and as Taylor becomes a warlord responsible for leading and organizing ordinary people. instinctual use of power is purely observational, limited to minor mapping of areas and tracking of key individuals. Master 5, Thinker 1.

TT - Lisa introject, forms around the time Taylor and Skitter join The Undersiders for real. Smug and self-assured. Leans more into the Thinker side of their power; she is most adept in the system at using the smallest amount of bugs she can to covertly map areas or track people, as well as most easily able to process their sensory information, but struggles in combat situations. Master 4 (Thinker 2, Stranger 2).

Antlion - restless, impulsive, emotional, straightforward. forms when they start spending more time with Rachel and is fiercely loyal towards her. prefers being in close quarters in combat as she does not want to be seen as cowardly - instinctual use of power is to gather them around herself, hiding her location and allowing her to intimidate her opponents. Master 5 (Changer 1), Thinker 1.

Passenger - formed by the other system members (primarily TT, Skitter, and Weaver) as a tulpa during the two-year timeskip in an attempt to break down their internal barriers surrounding power use. It doesn't work very well. Passenger is only semi-verbal and, though its power is slightly stronger than the others (longer range and somewhat better control,) it has worse emotional control and is not as rational as the others. largely acts on self-preservation and fight-or-flight instinct. Master 8, Thinker 2

Khepri - name given by external forces as it does not have the wherewithal to name itself. formed by the violent interaction between the actual system and their shard prompted by Amy's modifying of their corona pollentia. you remember speck, its basically just that, the thing that taylor turned into as her shard took over more of her actions. the other system members are all aware and in cocon during the speck-analogue but have only very limited ability to affect Khepris actions. Master/Trump 10, Thinker 5, Stranger 5

#wormblr #parahumans #worm spoilers #writing #taylor hebert #skitter

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swiftmitsu · 1 month

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The bedbugs will piss on your bed

(art by @/nonlethal-au)

GET THEM OUT.

#mitsuasks #p skyexd #<3333

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nonlethal-au · 5 months

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0.2 - [ ♥ PREVIOUS ] [ ♥ NEXT ]

Maybe you should keep your hands to yourself...

[ ✦ MASTERLIST ]

#[ NOL Thread ]#nonlethal au #nol au #undertale au #utmv #undertale multiverse #undertale comic #comic #error sans #ink sans #dream sans #swap sans

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s3-izures · 4 months

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Important Silly Update

Howdy y'all. @nonlethal-au is currently shadowbanned (like how I was a year or so ago).

I whined to Tumblr already, all we gotta do is wait for things to be resolved.

Soz for inconvenience I do not control the Tumblr Energy

#comme n ts #nonlethal au

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crossinklove · 1 month

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Вторая часть перевода! Надеюсь он кому-то нужен^^

#андертейл_ау #перевод #nonlethal #nonlethal au #комикс

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jeminy3 · 2 months

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AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Wanted to finish this ages ago, was gonna be a fic, friendships fell apart, I forgot, no one cares anyway, yadda yadda.

AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Very loosely based on the movie Strange Magic

-Opens with Mia and Maya as children being told a fairy tale about Love Potions by their mother.

OR: Maya recounting this fairy tale to Phoenix sometime during AA1, either out of boredom or because of an episode of Steel Samurai she was watching that mentioned some kind of magical Love-themed item. Phoenix is strangely prickly about it, as he usually is when the subject of Love Potions is brought up. Maya thinks he’s just being a stick in the mud with no romantic imagination.

This fairy tale summarizes the events of the film Strange Magic and justifies the existence of Primrose petals in the real world, and how they can be brewed into Love Potions. They are usually found in remote, less developed areas, like the Fey village and Eagle Mountain.

+ Love Potions are semi-magical concoctions that recreate intense feelings of infatuation for hours at a time with regular dosage. There is no known cure besides waiting for the effects to wear off – or, according to Maya, “real love – if you fall in love for real, they won’t work at all.”

Legally, they are recognized as an illegal form of psychoactive, nonlethal poison. Love Potions and Primrose petals are implied to be coveted black market items.

–

- A summary of the events of AA1, introducing Phoenix, Miles, Maya, and their relationships with each other. Puts focus on the complicated relationship between Phoenix and Miles, especially during Turnabout Goodbyes and Rise from the Ashes.

- They seemed to be on the verge of reviving their childhood friendship, despite the years of separation and trauma. But by the end of these stressful cases, a rift forms between them again, leading to Miles’ sudden departure.

+ Maybe: this part features the first mention of Love Potions being used to manipulate people during Rise from the Ashes.

As Phoenix and Ema look into how and why Gant is keeping Lana under his thumb, Phoenix has a strange thought, and searches their desks for bottled fluids of some kind. He finds nothing of the sort, and he lets out a frustrated sigh. Ema asks him what he was looking for, but Phoenix blows her off, saying it was nothing. He tries to shake off the cold, sick feeling in his gut that had formed as he thought of this theory.

–

- Summary of AA2’s events, focusing on Miles’ departure and the devastating effect it had on Phoenix. Phoenix tries not to dwell on his feelings and focus on helping his clients, but it’s hard on him.

- Gumshoe and Franziska mentioning Miles are sore spots for Phoenix, but he is dodgy about it, as usual.

- Leads into Goodbye My Turnabout and the sudden return of Miles. Phoenix is justifiably angry with him, and Miles is slightly bewildered, then ashamed at this reaction. They eventually set aside their personal feelings to work on the case at hand and rescue Maya.

–

- A summary of the Engarde case so far, leading into Phoenix and Miles now investigating Adrien’s office/quarters for evidence that will help indict Engarde. Phoenix finds a cup of coffee left behind on her desk and notices something strange about it. Giving into impulse, he takes it and smells it, sensing something familiar enough to send a chill down his spine, and a sick feeling into his stomach.

He states his surprise out loud, getting Miles’ attention. When Miles asks, Phoenix says he might have a crazy theory right now. He thinks Adrien is being poisoned – specifically with Love Potion.

Miles is momentarily shocked – Phoenix explains his theory by talking about her strangely obsessive, dependent behavior about Engarde and how she defends/defended him. Engarde might be keeping her in his thrall with more than just his manipulative charms. Phoenix knows this is a wild theory, but he can’t explain how or why he knows about this right now and just asks for Miles’ trust on this. They need to hand the coffee to Gumshoe and the police for lab testing.

Miles processes this, and to Phoenix’s surprise, he not only accepts this theory, but takes the coffee for himself, stating there is no need for police involvement, Miles can test this theory here and now. Then, to Phoenix’s utter shock, he sips the coffee.

After tasting it, Miles scowls and confirms that yes, there is Love Potion in Adrien’s coffee. At Phoenix’s shocked expression, Miles tells him to relax – Miles says he is immune to Love Potions. Phoenix is only further confused by this, so Miles shakes his head and mimics what Phoenix said earlier – there’s no time to explain how or why, he only needs Phoenix to trust him right now.

Phoenix processes this, then nods and agrees. They can both talk about this later – rescuing Maya and getting Engarde in jail is the highest priority right now. They set off to take the coffee to Gumshoe.

+ Aside: as they continue this investigation, Miles feels strangely flustered and concerned around Phoenix for a while after this event, but he ignores this, blaming it on a random bout of sickness probably brought on from his immunity/aversion to Love Potion. (In reality this is an effect of the Potion he drank from the coffee, slightly amplifying his existing feelings for Phoenix).

–

- Summary of the ending of Goodbye My Turnabout, with Maya safe and reunited with Pearl, and Phoenix and Miles reconciling.

After reconciling with Franziska and seeing her off at the airport, Miles returns to Phoenix’s office, surprising him. Maya and Pearl have already retired to bed for the evening, so Phoenix meets him alone, correctly guessing that Miles is here for that “talk” they owe each other. Miles confirms this.

The two settle in and awkwardly begin talking about how and why they both know about Love Potions.

Phoenix says that unfortunately, he was a lot like Adrien, once upon a time. Which includes being poisoned with doses of Love Potion, specifically via his cold medication by his murderous college girlfriend, “Dollie”. He avoids specifics because this is a painful subject for him.

He talks in broad strokes about how “Dollie” used Love Potion to make him head over heels in love with her, manipulating him into unknowingly holding important evidence for her, then take the fall when he was framed for a murder she committed. It was only through Mia’s dogged determination to defend his innocence and uncover the truth that he was shown the extent that he had been manipulated. (He pointedly casts a sad, but proud glance at Mia’s former office around them). It’s clear it was a very difficult and traumatizing time in Phoenix’s life, and to this day there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding it.

Miles is appropriately shocked and disgusted by this, and gives his sympathies. He can’t imagine the pain Phoenix went through, though he supposed he can at least empathize with being betrayed by someone you once trusted.

Phoenix carefully guesses he is talking about Manfred von Karma. Miles nods solemnly, his brows furrowed. He speaks broadly about his time as Manfred’s ward, how much he had respected and trusted the man without realizing that most of the time, Miles was nothing more than a target of abuse and twisted revenge for Manfred.

And when Phoenix asks, yes, it seems Manfred treated his own daughter Franziska similarly poorly. Miles is visibly tense about it, after seeing the results of that pain in her crying face just earlier that day.

But, Miles continues, at least there were some times when Manfred seemed to make an effort to be a decent guardian, however feeble the efforts were. During Miles’ youth, when he was still studying to become a prosecutor, Manfred sometimes brought him to social gatherings within the world of law to encourage him to socialize with his peers – especially those of the opposite sex.

...Mostly those of the opposite sex. (Miles looks visibly uncomfortable about this, and even Phoenix cringes a little). Yes, unfortunately, Manfred and his equally-conservative colleagues attempted to set up Miles with their daughters / female wards in arranged dates, hoping they would strike up a relationship. These only resulted in forced meetings that were mostly boring, awkward and in Miles’ eyes, a complete waste of time.

But, Miles adds, looking even more uncomfortable by the second, there was more to it than that. Painfully, he recounts an evening where Manfred took him aside just before the start of one of these arranged dates and discreetly gave him a bottle filled with a strange liquid, and instructed him to add its contents to his own drinks. He claimed it would make him more… ‘agreeable’ to the lady, more comfortable.

Phoenix, after a moment, guesses if that was a Love Potion. Miles nods somberly. Manfred was apparently so ashamed of Miles’ lack of romantic interest in these young women, and so desperate to save face with his colleagues, that he had (illegally) procured a bottle of the stuff to give to Miles and instruct him to, essentially, poison himself to make him fall in love with one of these young women.

“...But you’re immune, you said,” Phoenix says, and Miles confirms with a grave nod. He painfully recounts that no matter how many times he dosed himself, or how much he poured into his drinks, he didn’t feel any kind of heightened affection or fondness for any of the women, not even enough to fake it. At most the only kind of reaction he got out of the stuff was dizziness in his head and a sick feeling in his stomach, likely side effects from the large doses.

Needless to say, even Manfred had to give up on these efforts. Eventually he quietly stopped inviting Miles to these dates, or to any social gatherings at all, instructing him to focus solely on his studies, since it seemed like the only thing he would be useful at.

When Manfred did attend gatherings after that, he only brought Franziska with him, telling Miles to watch over the manor in their absence and keep it tidy. Manfred had a maid in his employ. Miles wasn’t needed for something like that.

Miles sighs deeply as he finishes his story, and Phoenix stews over this silently, eventually extending his sympathies. Though he still finds it a bit strange that someone could just be completely immune to a Love Potion.

Miles shrugs sadly, saying that he’s figured he is simply incapable of falling in love at all. Phoenix is sad about this, but attempts to comfort Miles, saying that there’s nothing wrong or broken about him even if he can’t feel love. Aromantics exist, after all. And they have just as fulfilling relationship with friends – at least, Phoenix still considers Miles a good friend.

Miles is touched by this, that Phoenix still considers him a good friend even after the hurt he caused with his sudden sabbatical. Phoenix flusters, saying yeah, guess he just can’t stay mad at him. He still treasures their friendship, especially after all they’ve been through.

Miles is the one to start flustering now, and he coughs and pointedly changes the subject. The point is, it seems they’ve both had bad experiences with Love Potions, manipulated and heartbroken in different ways, and it’s likely that many other people have been hurt in similar ways by their existence. They’re already an illegal substance, but they should take greater pains to crack down on criminals who keep getting their hands on them.

Phoenix, eagerly following the change of subject to escape the awkwardness, agrees wholeheartedly. Love is a silly thing in general anyway, especially if it can be so easily manipulated by weird magical drugs. They mutually agree to work harder to be more wary of Love Potions and one day, stamp them out of the world altogether. Miles concurs, and they shake on it, ending the night on a good note.

- Miles decides to go back home shortly after this, but not before Phoenix awkwardly asks him if he’ll be very busy now that he’s back. He wanted to properly catch up with Miles in a more casual setting sometime. Miles awkwardly says he’s still figuring things out, and has even been considering traveling again, since he found it quite agreeable on his sabbatical and could learn a lot from international legal systems… But for now, yes, he could arrange to join Phoenix for a casual outing or two. He owes it to him, after all.

Phoenix flusters again, but is happy and grateful, and they exchange phone numbers to stay in contact. They share warm goodbyes and goodnights, and Miles steps out the door and into the night.

+ Despite all their cynicism, Phoenix and Miles, ironically, are unaware of the feelings developing between them.

–

- AA3’s events are summarized, with more focus put on the offscreen relationship between Phoenix and Miles during this time. They’ve spent several months keeping in contact through calls and text, occasionally joining each other for lunches/dinners to talk and catch up. Shortly before the start of AA3’s first case (in the present timeline), Miles left the country to study international legal systems like he hinted at before. Phoenix is okay with this and happy for Miles as he takes control of the direction of his life, and it’s implied that he’s still staying in contact with him via texting.

- Somewhere in case 3-2 or 3-3, Love Potions come up again, either used in a minor way or simply mentioned in passing. Phoenix is set on edge even more than usual, between Godot’s seemingly-baseless hatred for him and the uncomfortable themes of lovers, betrayal and poison that keep coming up in these cases. Phoenix thinks of Miles and holds fast to the promise they made about stamping out all Love Potions.

- Case 3-5 begins

- Hospital scene. Phoenix is moved by Miles visiting him so suddenly. He gives Miles his badge and has him defend Iris.

- After Phoenix recovers, they investigate together. Primroses grow on the mountain. Nick hates the sight of them and Miles does too. They wonder if love potions are being used to influence the case.

Eventually – Dahlia, via possessing Iris/Maya, reveals she has been trying to poison everyone with Love Potion, but for some reason it hasn’t had any effects on Phoenix or Miles.

+Hasn't worked on Godot either because his love, Mia, is dead and Godot is too careful about his coffee to be poisoned again.

- Dahlia is defeated, Iris is saved, and both she and Godot go to jail.

Later, they wonder about the poisonings. Maya says the only way to be immune to love potion is to fall in love for real. So Phoenix and Miles have fallen in love already with someone. But who?

They are deeply confused until they look at each other and begin to wonder. Phoenix feels absolute trust in miles, and Miles feels the same for Phoenix. They fluster and dodge the issue

- Later, before Miles goes back to Europe, he meets with Phoenix privately. Miles says he is leaving again but would not be opposed to dinner together before he goes. Phoenix agrees, it’d be nice to unwind and rekindle their childhood friendship. Internally he wonders if they’ll explore something more between them as well, after remembering the Love Potion incidents.

Both silently think that maybe love isn’t so bad after all.

END

#aa love potion au #narumitsu #wrightworth #strange magic #jeminy writes

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