#<- the tag i'll be using specifically for the fic for now (at least until i can come up with a better one)

[howfarwillitcarryyou]

so i got a burst of creative energy out of fuckin nowhere earlier this morning and now the prologue to the fic is both done And posted. which is a Wild amount of productivity for me but hey i'm not complaining

so without further ado, here's the prologue to "as far as it takes"! enjoy :)

[bamboozledbird]

IGNITE: A Teen Wolf S1 AU // Chapter 1 / Next

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski, Reader (You) Pairing: Eventual Stiles x Reader, but man are we talking slow burn Word Count: 4.8k Warnings: Canon typical gore/violence, parental death (rip to your fake mom), descriptions of burning, depictions of depression (apathy, dissociation, 'numb little bug' vibes) Tags: Canon has been lovingly scrapped for parts, author is a chaotic bi and it shows, prolific overuse of the em dash, the slowest of burns i fear

Summary: You can always smell ash long after the fire is gone. Perhaps, that’s why you still can’t breathe without choking on the past. It’s been four years since your mom died. Four years since she burned alive. For years since you didn’t. You survived, but they must have buried your heart with her because you feel like something halfway between a ghost and a lamb for slaughter. 

You can’t wash the smell of hospital out of clothes, not really. Maybe, that’s why death and disease follows Stiles wherever he goes now. It’s been eight years since his mom died. Eight years since he didn’t. Eight years since he decided that he wouldn’t let anyone he loved die ever again. He survived, but Scott’s new-found abilities and the murky world they’ve been dragged into is making it pretty damn hard to keep his promise. 

Time never stops turning. The grief never dissipates. Children soldier on—but in a town where all the monsters under the bed are real and old family skeletons rattle in every closet, how long can two fragile, breakable humans survive? 

Maybe, the real question is how long will they want to? Chapter Summary: After your annual interrogation with Sheriff Stilinski, you meet his son who turns out to be very handy with jumper cables and incoherent babbling.

A/N: Does this look familiar? It should lmao. I gave into the peer pressure. All the messages and requests were too powerful. Here is a reader version of my ofc season 1 fic. Obviously some things have been removed to get rid of specific names/descriptions, so you want to read the full thing you can read the og version and check me out on ao3 (dork_knight)! For the sake of not clogging tags, I'll probably just do my reader version on tumblr and the full oc lore version on ao3 from now on. xx

Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire.

Before your mother’s death, you would have picked fire. Every single time. 

You never liked the cold; never really had to get used to it growing up in central California—but the crux of your argument, the twisted logic behind it all, was that most burn victims died from suffocation before they felt the flames. A small mercy, really, in the face of unspeakable tragedy. 

In the end, however, statistics were just numbers, your mother didn't die from smoke inhalation, and there was no mercy in burying a parent before you were old enough to have children of your own. Nothing ever ended poetically off the page. Death was just death, and it was always ugly. Someone should really tell that to Robert Frost, you mused, biting at a raw hangnail.

The medical examiner said the actual cause of death was pulmonary edema; at least, that was his best guess based on the state of the body. He didn’t say that she felt everything, her skin peeling back into her flesh, her flesh liquefying into fuel, her joints flexing into contorted pleas until the fire incinerated her last nerve ending. He didn’t have to; you connected those dots all on your own. You’d been twelve at the time, not an imbecile. 

“I’m sorry to drag you through this all again.”

You flitted your eyes away from the flickering lightbulb above Sheriff Stilinski’s head and met his gaze; it was nauseatingly sympathetic. Your responding shrug was a small, little thing—more like a twitch in practice, “Not your fault.” 

Your yearly visits to Sheriff Stilinski’s office were solely your father’s doing, even if no one wanted to admit it to your face. Most mayors would use their political power to get their child out of a police station, not into it, but perhaps he stopped being your dad somewhere between the funeral and now. 

“If you could start—”

“From the beginning,” you smoothed your thumb in small circles over the armrest of your chair, attentively tracing patterns into the polished wood, “I know.” This was, after all, the fourth anniversary of your first interrogation. You’d become somewhat of an expert at being a useless witness. You picked at your uneven cuticles before continuing, “Mom put me to bed around 10:00—which was kind of late for a school night, honestly, but she let me stay up to finish another chapter anyway.” The right corner of your mouth twitched for a brief moment, “Nancy Drew: Password to Larkspur Lane. I told her that forcing someone to go to sleep in the middle of a mystery was specifically forbidden in Geneva Protocol II.” Your mom had been far too indulgent of your lip on most occasions, but that night she didn’t smile at your snarky aside. She let you finish the chapter because she was too tired to argue; you could tell. At the time, you saw it as a victory. Now, it kept you up at night, the drooping lines of your mother’s mouth spilling over the pages of whatever book you were trying to read.

You bit down on your tongue when a stray splinter snagged against the soft pad of your thumb, “Dad was out of town, so it was just the two of us. Mom always put me to bed when Dad was gone; said it was the only way she could get to sleep. Had to make sure my window was locked.” You paused for a long moment: everything went dark after this. Your mother kissed the top of your head, murmured, ‘Love you,’ turned out the light, and then that was it. You woke up in the hospital, and your mom was dead. 

A bead of sweat dripped onto your top lip. The air in the Beacon Hills police station was, without fail, sticky with heat and body odor—and it wasn’t just the oppressive Californian sun. Even in the winter, a person could choke on the stifling warmth. Idly, you wondered if it was a matter of interrogatory tactics or budgetary constraints. 

“And then,” Sheriff Stilinski prompted gently, though you both knew how the story went from here. You had told it to him and a dozen other officials at least a hundred times in the last four years. 

You bit down on your thumbnail and winced when your teeth snagged on the tender nail bed, “And then nothing. I opened my eyes, and a nurse said that you found me on the front lawn.” 

“You don’t remember how you got outside?” 

You shook your head, staring past the Sheriff's shoulder. Large pieces of dust floated through the air, highlighted by the slivers of light trickling through the blinds. Suddenly, you had a newfound appreciation for the lack of fans in the room. 

Sheriff Stilinski cleared his throat and rubbed his hand over his jaw, “You don’t remember saying it was an angel?”

Blinking slowly, you looked at the grim line of the Sheriff’s mouth and gripped your knees tightly, digging your fingers into fragile skin until your wrist cracked, “I should, right? I was twelve. I should remember something—that’s what everyone thinks. That’s what my dad thinks.” Your eyelids fluttered to a tight close, and your voice went so quiet you could barely be heard over the hum of the copier outside the door, “He thinks it was me. That’s why he makes you question me every year.” Copper flooded your mouth as the soft lining of your cheek split under the brunt of your teeth, “He thinks you’ll finally figure out how I did it.” 

You were scared to open your eyes as the silence stretched between the two of you. You’d danced around the subject before, hinted and spun around the heart of it, but you’d never truly discussed how it looked from the outside. Sheriff Stilinski had been kind enough to give you a few different excuses over the years: trauma, head injury, oxygen deprivation, just plain ol’ grief—but whatever caused your temporary amnesia wasn’t so conveniently explained. In fact, currently, you had no explanation at all. When you finally peeked through your lashes, clumped together with frustrated tears, you couldn’t quite figure out what expression the Sheriff was making. He leaned back in his desk chair and frowned, “I’m sure he doesn’t—”

“He does,” you cut him off. Your eyes went flinty, irises darkening to something far more ashen with the resolve of your anger. You never had any trouble reading your father’s face; the disgust was thinly-veiled between the flickers of fear. 

Sheriff Stilinksi leaned forward so that you had no choice but to look him in the eyes. They were kind—more tired than usual, but still kind. They always were. That was one thing you remembered from that day, waking up in the hospital to Sheriff Stilinski’s kind, watery blue eyes, just before the entire world fell apart. His voice was gentle, but firm, when he finally spoke, “I don’t.” 

You nodded numbly and pulled at a fraying string on the hem of your denim skirt until the thread snapped. 

“I mean it, kid. They couldn’t identify the source of the fire. They couldn’t even find an origin point; no twelve-year-old could pull that off.”

You chewed on your bottom lip, “Could anyone?”

Sheriff Stilinski’s brow furrowed, and his mouth screwed up into a crooked line, like he was chewing on his words and deciding if he should swallow them or spit them out. “I wish I had all the answers for you. I really do. Not knowing, it’s worse than any truth.”

You blinked up at him for a moment, once again taken aback by his raw sincerity, and swallowed hard. He wasn’t the one who was supposed to have the answers; he was the one who was supposed to ask the questions. There was one failure in his muggy office, and it wasn’t the Sheriff. “It’s okay,” you said quietly. “Not your fault.”

He looked like he wanted to argue the point, but whatever he wanted to say was interrupted by the sharp ringing of the phone on his desk. “I have to take this, but if you remember something, or if you just need to talk—”

“My dad spends a small fortune on a psychiatrist and a behavioral therapist for that,” you stood up quickly, shouldering your bag. You forced the corners of your mouth into a small smile, tight at the edges like a sheet that had been stretched too thin, “But thank you. For everything.” 

The Sheriff’s gaze darted to a framed photo on his desk. You had seen it before, on one of your many visits to his office. It was of a boy—his son, you assumed—he looked like he was around five or six at the time. He was grinning, wide enough to show off his missing incisors, and his fingers and wrist were stained cotton-candy blue from a melting popsicle. You must’ve been that happy once, right? In the beginning, everyone was unencumbered by the weight of imminent mortality. Maybe that’s what Sheriff Stilinski was thinking, too. He looked away from the photo and gave you a small smile, “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You gave a half-hearted wave before wrapping your fingers around the strap of your backpack and walking to the parking lot. 

Outside, the sky was grim, a mocking reflection of the dour expression on your face. The spite in your eyes hardened when big, fat raindrops splattered against the apples of your cheeks. For a moment, you just stood there, glaring at the rain and cursing the cosmos for their utterly unamusing sense of humor.

A jeep pulled into the parking lot, and the squealing engine startled you back into reality. The search for your car keys was, of course, a considerable endeavor. Nothing could be easy. Not here. Not today. Not ever, you thought. A bit melodramatic maybe, but the weather was certainly ripe for a bit of self-pity.

You stacked your textbooks and binders onto the hood of your sedan, haphazardly throwing your jacket on top of the pile to protect your painstakingly penned Kafka essay from the rain. By the time your fingertips brushed against the cool metal of your car keys, your hair was damp and curling at the ends. 

The momentary relief was short-lived when you pressed the unlock button five times and the accompanying beep didn’t sound, not even once. For an absurdly long minute, all you could do was rest your forehead against the driver’s side window, breathing heavily until condensation gathered next to your mouth and the drizzle speckled dots onto the sleeves of your thin cotton shirt.

“If you’re trying to charge the battery through osmosis, it’d probably be more effective to smash your head against the hood.”

You jumped, and then flinched again when your keys clattered against the ground. You caught a glimpse of the phantom speaker in the side-view mirror; bizarrely, he looked just as surprised as you felt. You turned around, trepidatiously—objects may be closer than they appear n’all—and tried to swallow your rapidly rising heart. 

“Sorry,” the boy pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down and had the decency to look contrite, “big mouth.” He rubbed a hand over his chapped lips. “It’s a real problem. It’s so big, actually, that my foot just slides right in there like…all the time,” he gestured animatedly with a flat hand, a quick sliding motion, like a fish through water.

You blinked at him, slowly, and bent down to reach for your keys, “Might wanna see someone about that. Sounds unsanitary.”

“Eh, it’s hardly the worst thing I’ve put in my mouth,” he said, eyes widening into horrified round circles the second he stopped talking. A faint flush creeped up his neck to his ears, and your heart dropped back into your chest. Slashers and ax murderers didn’t blush. Probably. You hadn’t ever met one, but it seemed like sound logic.

“Choking hazard,” you hummed, leaning back against your car. Your fingers traced a small dent in the door, the cause long forgotten, “It’s definitely still a choking hazard.”

The boy grinned before fixing his expression into something on the cusp of severity, “I’m about 95.7% sure that anything bigger than a fist is completely mouth-safe.” He held up his fist and nodded sharply, “Make that 98.3% sure.”

“98.3?” your brow arched.

“Maybe even 98.9.” 

The buzz of a lamp post hummed above your heads as you stared at each other with little smirks until the quiet made you sink your teeth into your bottom lip and big-mouth drum his fingers against his forearm. 

“So,” his sneakers squeaked against the slick asphalt as he shifted his weight, “you need a jump?”

You pursed your lips and ran your eyes over the front of your car, “I might give osmosis another shot. 30 seconds is hardly a fair trial.”

“Of course,” he hummed, “you gotta be fair.”

“We are in front of a police station.”

“Well,” he scratched his cheek, “it’s not a courthouse.”

“Technicality.” You were slightly horrified when you finally noticed that you were smiling. The sensation felt like it had escaped straight out of the uncanny valley and latched onto your face like a parasite in need of a host. It only took two weeks for muscles to atrophy; years must have completely decimated the fibers in your cheeks. “I guess I could use a jump. If your offer was an offer and not a hypothetical.” 

“Smart choice.” The boy rapped his knuckles against the hood of your car and said, “Steel’s probably pretty low on the permeability scale.”

“As opposed to a skull.”

He snorted and then nodded towards the large lump of books and papers covered by your freshly dampened jean jacket, “You should probably move your stuff. Y’know, ‘cause of the very un-permeable battery.”

“There’s that,” you sighed and started stuffing your things back into your backpack, shaking it violently until your notebook finally slid past your chemistry textbook, “and flunking English isn’t high on my list of things to do this weekend.”

His gaze flickered back and forth, rapidly cataloging every corner and crevice of your face. You tilted your head, brows pinched, and stared back at him with your arms crossed tightly over your chest. His eyes, you noticed, became a peculiar shade of brown in the yellow glow of the setting sun and the fluorescent light of the lamppost. More like honey, you realized, more like honey than irises. Something finally clicked behind them. "You,” he pointed aggressively, “you go to Beacon Hills.”

You pushed his finger away from your face with your own, “Safe bet, considering there’s exactly one option for the next 2,000 square miles.”

“You’re kind of a smartass, you know that,” he muttered. He struggled with the trunk of the jeep parked next to your car, cursing under his breath until he finally wrenched it open with an almost guttural grunt.

Your lips parted briefly, and then you grinned drolly. It was refreshing, not being treated like some fragile little creature who would buckle in the knees—or possibly set something on fire—at the slightest confrontation. “Kind of?”

“Total.” He nodded decisively before sticking his head and torso into the depths of his trunk. “Completely, entirely, and wholly a smartass.” There were various clanging sounds until he re-emerged with a pair of jumper cables, “Never noticed that in class. You don’t really…say anything.”

You bit back the snark poised on the tip of your tongue. When people looked at you, the only thing they saw was the worst thing that had ever happened to you. You were the daughter of the woman who burned to death on Cedar Street; your mom died, and you were there. It seemed like that was all you would ever be in Beacon Hills. 

In the grand scheme of things, it was better to be no one. 

High school had been your chance to slip into social obscurity—more kids, more drama, less discussion of homicide by arson—so you took it, wholeheartedly. You kept to the corners of classrooms, away from extracurriculars, and your mouth resolutely shut. 

“I try to exclusively bring the smart and leave the ass at home,” you finally replied.

The boy’s eyes drifted downwards for a moment, and his voice did a funny, squeaky thing when he said, “I should give that a go sometime.”

“10/10 would recommend. No one bugs you—and teachers never throw erasers at your face.”

“So you do remember me,” he grinned a little and rolled up the sleeves of his sweatshirt before unlatching the jeep’s hood and propping it open.

Slanting your head, you watched his profile. There were moles scattered across his cheek and neck, and his angular jaw clenched as he struggled with the knotted cords in his willowy fingers. “Vaguely,” you said faintly. It was coming back to you in pieces. That was life after twelve for you: bits and pieces. Everything was made up of the disquieting moments when you surfaced from the haze and into the present. It should’ve felt like a lungful of air, but it didn’t. It always felt like choking. 

He wiped his grease-smudged hand on his jeans and then extended it towards you, “Stiles.”

You took his hand, despite the strange formality, and shook it—mainly because of the black streaks staining his pants. “Y/N.”

His fingers twitched a few times when he connected the clamp to the coordinating battery terminal, and your eyes widened. You held your breath in your sternum until you registered that he hadn’t been electrocuted. He was just naturally tweaky, you concluded. It was either that, or he had jumped one-too-many engines in the last 24 hours…unless it was hidden option C, and he was actually tweaking. Unlikely, given he was on his way into a building teeming with cops, but far stranger things had happened in Beacon Hills.  

You sighed a little as you listened to the rain patter against the asphalt and the roof of your car, rubbing your palms over your arms until the goosebumps prickling along your biceps receded into your skin. Stiles looked back at you again, and his mouth wormed its way into a little frown. His head disappeared into his trunk, and after a moment a lumpy maroon mass hurtled towards your face. You caught it before it could smack into your nose, and you clutched at the soft material until you realized that the projectile missile was actually just a sweatshirt. 

Stiles was staring at you when you looked up from your hands. A small, unsure…something squirmed over his face, and you felt a little stupid, just standing there, hoodie limp in your arms. It happened a lot—more than it should after so many years. The invisible quicksand materialized in the strangest, most insignificant moments. You blinked, completely brainless, at simple questions, stared aimlessly into your closet until your second alarm startled you into snatching the first shirt you came across—clasped at a stranger’s hoodie until the rainwater pooled on your lashes dripped into your eyes.

Robotically, you thrust your arms through the sleeves and tugged it over your head, “Thanks.” The sweet scent of grass clung to the fabric, and there was something earthier underneath it, something like evergreen. You smiled slightly, combing your baby hairs behind your ears, “I guess I forgive you for attempting to blind me in the process.”

Stiles’s shoulders unwound as he scoffed, “That was an excellent throw. First-line material, honestly.”

You looked at him and tilted your head, eyebrows crawling towards your hairline, and Stiles sighed loudly, “Okay, so I’m not an ‘athlete’ or whatever—but I’m working on it. You’ll see—you’ll all see.”

You hummed softly, unconvinced but grateful enough to not comment further. Another bout of silence fell between you, but it wasn’t so restless this time—even after Stiles torpedoed his body through his passenger seat. He fought with his keys for a while until the correct one slid into the ignition. 

The jeep’s engine hummed pleasantly in the background as you let out a soft sigh, dropping your head back against your car window. The rain had stopped somewhere between trying to unlock your car and now, but you couldn’t quite recall when. The chill wasn’t so bad, you realized, without your foul mood casting a shadow over your head.

Stiles landed back on his feet and leaned against the jeep. You could feel his gaze on you again. A tickling sensation trailed down your spine as you fiddled with your keychain. You took a step backwards and bit your bottom lip, “I should probably try start my car…y’know, before you throw something else at my face.’”

He nodded, taking a step towards his jeep, “Solid plan. A tire iron was next.”

You slid into your car and stared at the steering wheel, forgetting to laugh at his joke. You wrapped your fingers around 10 and 2 and silently called upon every deity you’d ever heard of to end your suffering. Stiles seemed nice enough, but you seriously doubted your smalltalk capabilities were up-to ‘ride home’ standards. Perhaps, you should revisit your resounding dedication to atheism, you thought, as the engine sputtered in protest a few times and then came back to life. 

Stiles flashed two thumbs up through the window. The smile on his face was positively goofy, but his dismount from the jeep was somehow even goofier. He stumbled over his large feet a few times before regaining stability. You bit back a smile when he shot you another thumbs up, this time through the dash as he removed the jumper cables from your car’s battery.

He wiped his hands off on his jeans again; at this point, you were convinced that they were beyond saving, but Stiles didn’t seem concerned. He tapped against your window before stepping around the open door, “You should probably let it run for a while. Take the scenic route home; enjoy all the Beacon Hills hotspots open past 8:00 pm on a weeknight. I personally recommend the Rite Aid or Walmart.”

You snorted, “Maybe I’ll swing by the Preserve. I hear the woods are especially beautiful in the foreboding darkness.”

“Don’t.” Serious was an odd look on Stiles’s face. You decided that you much preferred the goofy grin. “Don’t go anywhere near the Preserve. It’s officially cordoned off—totally locked down, quarantine-zone-central. Something about flesh-eating, parasitic plant life.”

“As completely real and unobtrusive as that sounds,” you drawled, “don’t worry about it. Literally every single person in town knows about the body they found in the woods.” It was bound to happen, small town and all—and ‘woman dies in deadly animal attack’ was the most interesting thing that had happened in Beacon Hills since the intersection got a Target two years ago. “I’ve seen every installment of Friday the 13th and The Blair Witch Project. If I’m going to be murdered, I refuse to also be humiliated by a cliché C.O.D.” 

The manic expression on his face softened to a relieved smile and then again to a little smirk, “So what’s a certified fresh murder, then? Not that I doubt the depths of human depravity, but I think society killed off originality a few centuries ago.”

You thought back to a house fire with no origin, accelerant, or discernible cause. Apparently, not. “You know what they say,” you sighed, “life finds a way.”

Stiles tilted his head, “And death.”

“And death,” you agreed, staring at a small chip in your windshield. The cracks had just begun to spiderweb out from the pit. 

Stiles looked like he wanted to say something, and he looked so much like the Sheriff with his face twisted around thoughtful contemplation that you couldn’t believe it had taken you this long to make the connection. The boy in the photo had grown up. How unfortunate for him. Stiles swallowed whatever it was that was lingering on his tongue and shut your door. He leaned his elbow against the window frame and cocked his hand in a stiff little wave, “Seeya at school. I’ll bring something fun for target practice—maybe grapes. You like grapes? Don’t answer that—I’ll surprise you.”

You put your car in drive once Stiles was safely a few feet from the wheels and gave him a dry smile, “The anticipation is killing me.”

What a scary place to be, you thought as you watched Stiles disappear in your rearview mirror. Anticipation. Hope. Life. You were chronically good at surviving; cockroached your way out of every horrible thing life squashed you with. Lately, all you could do was cling to your heartbeat and the warmth of your skin, until you were barely more than roadkill. A walking carcass was a far cry from living, but death would not stop for you, so you stopped looking for him. You kept treading water, took your pills, stopped existing—you were a lot like Schrödinger’s cat that way: too stubborn to live, too stubborn to die. You didn’t know what to do if someone unsealed the box and forced you to choose. That was the trouble with possibility; it required far too much uncertainty.

Your dad’s SUV was parked in the garage when you finally pulled into your circle driveway. It was a rare sight; your dead battery had disrupted your usual routine. You were supposed to be safely tucked away in your room after an early dinner—take-out usually, sometimes a quesadilla if you were feeling exceptionally inspired—by the time your dad got home from work. It was dysfunctional in every sense of the word, but it was the only way you could function in the same space. 

He used to stare at you from the other end of the dinner table: not eating, not speaking. The only way you knew he was alive was the slow rise and fall of his chest. After a while, he moved dinner to his office. ‘Working dinner,’ he’d say in passing, ‘budgets are due.’ Eventually, he stopped coming home altogether. It was better that way, you thought. You loved each other better from afar, where the power of nostalgia could cloud all the present unpleasantries. You wondered what he saw when he looked at you now. You wondered, and you desperately didn’t want to find out.  

You shouldered your backpack and made sure your car lights were off twice before quietly creeping into the mudroom. You could hear the buzz of the microwave as you toed off your sneakers and tried to discern the smell emanating from the kitchen. Something with garlic and tomato. Bona Vita, probably. Your dad loved their al pomodoro. 

You tried to make yourself as small as possible as you skulked into the kitchen, shoulders hunched to your ears and grip tight around the strap of your backpack. Your dad’s back was to you; you could see the wrinkles in his collar from where he tugged at it when he was agitated. He stopped stirring his pasta once you reached the island. 

“Did…” your dad trailed off for a moment, still facing the kitchen counter, “did everything go alright with the Sheriff?” 

You shrugged even though he couldn’t see you, “I guess.”

“It’s just,” he rubbed at his jaw and looked down towards the oven, “it’s almost eight. I was wondering…worrying.”

He still wasn’t looking at you. You stared at the back of his head and sucked your bottom lip between your teeth. Look at me. Your brows pinched, and your back molars ground together. Look at me. 

“I called him. Sheriff Stilinski. He said that you didn’t speak for long.”

“Didn’t have anything new to say,” you shoved your hands into hoodie pockets, realizing belatedly that you forgot to give Stiles his sweatshirt back. Another problem for another time. 

“That’s not what I—” your dad grasped the lip of the counter and hung his head like it suddenly weighed too much for his spine, “I was wondering what happened to you.” 

“Oh,” you shifted your weight onto your other foot, “dead battery. I think it was the door light.”

Your dad nodded a little, “Do you need someone to pick up your car?”

“Got a jump from a friend.” Not a friend, not really, but you supposed it was the closest you’d come to one in the last four years. That was just a little too sad to say out loud. 

“Good.” He nodded again, “Good.” 

You nodded because it seemed like the only thing to do and slipped towards the hallway. You’d taken no less than five steps out of the kitchen when your dad said, “You could call me. Next time, you could call me.”

Maybe. Maybe you could if he would look at you.

[lottielovelace]

die prinzessin

(PLATONIC könig & sister!reader)

summary: So... turns out your mystery half-brother is a giant Austrian special forces operator. What now? (Catching up on two decades of sibling bonding, that's what)

originally posted on ao3 (wordcount: main version 3.1k)

Rating: T

Relationships: Platonic König & Reader, König/Horangi

Ao3 Tags: Brother-Sister Relationships / Sibling Bonding / Long Lost/Secret Relatives / reader is konig's half sister / Implied/Referenced Self-Harm (reader has scars implied to be from SH but it's ultimately left up to interpretation) / Deutsch | German / Author speaks German (as a second language) / Historical References / reading the prior installment is recommended but not required

this is a part of a series

Notes:

Possible triggers: - König teaches MC to shoot. No violence, but he gives her semi-detailed instructions on how to handle a sniper rifle. - MC talks about past mental health struggles, and König notices old scars of her. These are implied to be from SH, but I tried to leave it open-ended for anyone who doesn't want that in their reading. - König implied to have previously experienced homophobia.

Prior context: I recommend reading the previous installment in the series, but if you really don't wanna here are the truly crucial parts: Your name is Elisabeth "Elise" Linh Veidt, a medical student. You were kidnapped to serve as hostage for a half-brother (König) you've never met before, who ended up rescuing you. There's more, but it's not directly tied to this fic so I'll leave it unspoiled in case you do become interested in reading the first work in the series. I do not use Y/N. I sometimes do use "Elise" & other specific details (you'll see why it's unavoidable in this fic) but I try to—when possible—keep things vague so you can freely project onto her (ex: using "your hair" instead of "your dark hair").

About the German: I speak German as a second language. I like to assess my skill level as "I know what Genitive is, but I don't always remember to use it." As Hochdeutsch-speaking foreign civilian, my speech patterns/vocabulary are going to be pretty similar to Elise's but very different to König, a native Austrian and a hardened soldier. I tried translate as accurately as possible (lots of LEO usage), but besides maybe a "servus" or two, I made and will make no attempt to mimic the Austrian dialect because it's frankly a lost cause for me. That being said, if you are a native speaker and notice any grammatical/syntactical mistakes (or even any sentences where you go "he would not fucking say that" [ex: a term being super formal or old fashioned] please let me know!

About the legibility: This is the primary iteration of the fic. If the German really does make it impossible to read, here's a version devoid of foreign language, but if possible, I highly recommend reading this version for the fullest experience. This version is the most proofread edition and even if you don't speak the language there was linguistic nuances you can still pick up on. If there are any cultural references you don't get, I have an explanation post linked at the bottom. (also available here)

"Können wir jetzt sprechen?” [ Can we speak now? ]

“Fast,” [ Almost ], your brother answered as he continued to guide you through the complex’s winding halls. His refusal to answer questions until your surroundings were secure made the flight over to the KorTac base feel endless.

Finally he stopped at a door-lined hallway. Approaching the second on the left, he punched a combination into its keypad. It swung open, revealing a modest bedroom.

“Großes Bett” [ Big bed ], you noted. His cot was large, even for someone of his rank.

“Ich habe ein Verzicht erhalten” [ I got a waiver ], he lazily indicated at his height. You were once again reminded of your stark height difference.

You looked at him—or at least what you could see of him with the mask—again. Drawing from your bio classes, you knew you shared 25% of your DNA. Clearly none of it manifested in height. Your father had been tall, but even at his peak he was nowhere near as lofty as your brother.

“Deine Mutter muss riesig sein.” [ Your mother must be giant .]

“Sie war.” [ She was. ]

You mentally winced. Way to get off on the wrong foot.

“Meine Mutter ist auch verstorben. Früher dieses Jahres.” [ My mother also passed. Earlier this year. ]

“Entschuldigung.” [ My condolences ].

“Du weißt, dass unser Vater schon ein paar Jahren gestorben ist.” [ You know that our father died a few years ago. ]

You really hoped you weren’t the one to break the news to him.

“Ja, ich weiß. Wir haben einen Brief bekommen.” [ Yes, I know. We received a letter .]

“Gut.” [ Good .]

“Dein Name ist Elisabeth, ja?” [ Your name is Elisabeth, correct? ]

“Ja.” [ Yes. ]

You’re not surprised he knows. There’s gotta be a file on you somewhere packed with everything you’ve ever even sniffed at.

“Magst du deinen Namen?” [ Do you like your name? ]

“Wie bitte?” [ Pardon? ]

“Benutzen Sie Elisabeth oder etwas anderes?" [ Do you go by Elisabeth or something else? ]

“Elise. Und du musst nicht ‘Sie’ benutzen. Wir sind Blut.” [ Elise. And you don’t need to be so formal. We’re blood .] A beat passed. “Wie heißt du?” [ And you? What is your name? ]

“Jeder nennt mich König.” [ Everyone calls me König. ]

“König? Ist das nicht ein wenig dramatisch?” [ King? Isn’t that a bit dramatic? ]

“Wenn du so groß wie ich bin, gibt es keinen Raum für Subtilität. Auch mag ich Geburtsnamens nicht.” [ When you’re as big as me, there is no room for subtlety. Plus I’m not the biggest fan of my birth name. ]

“Darf ich fragen?” [ May I ask? ]

“Ludwig.”

“Ludwig? Wie der König? Der Verrückte?” [ Ludwig? Like the king? The mad one? ]

“Genau. Ich mag es nicht, aber möchte es noch würdigen.” [ Exactly. I don’t like it, but I do enjoy paying tribute to it in my own way.]

“Elisabeth und Ludwig. Unser Vater mochte die Wittelsbacher, ja?” [ Elisabeth and Ludwig. Our father had a fondness for the Wittelsbachers. ]

“Wenn ich der Märchenkönig bin und du die Sisi bist, bist du Kaiserin?” [ If I’m the Fairy Tale King, and you’re Sisi… wouldn’t that make you the Empress? ]

“Dann wäre ich dir überlegen.” [ I would outrank you then. ]

“Gefällt dir das als mögliches Rufzeichen?” [ Would you like that as a callsign? ]

“Was? Kaiserin? Muss ich wirklich einen?” [ What, Empress? Do I even need one? ]

“Ja. Es würde mir ein Stein vom Herzen fallen. Dein Name ist kostbar. Verrate es nicht. Zumindest nicht hier.” [ I think so. It would ease my mind. Your name is a precious thing, I don’t want you to give it away. At least not while you’re on base. ]

Your stomach twisted.

“Du hast mir gesagt, dass dieser Ort sicher sei.” [ I thought you said this place was safe. ]

“Ja voll. Aber jeder kann mithören und hacken.” [ It is. But anyone can tap into radio comms or steal files .]

“Was meinst du damit?” [ What are you implying? ]

“Es ist zusätzlicher Schutz. Bitte. Es könnte irgendetwas. Ich brauche nur, dass du eines hast.” [ It’s an extra barrier of protection. Please. You can pick whatever it is, I just want you to have one. ]

You thought about it for a moment.

“Ich möchte nicht ‘Kaiserin’ sein. Das ist zu viel Macht und Anstrengung. Die Kaiserkrone hat die echte Sisi erwürgen.” [ I don’t want to be ‘Empress’. That’s too much power and pressure. The imperial crown strangled the original Sisi, after all. ]

A smile bloomed on your face.

“Vielleicht zulasse ich ‘Prinzessin’.” [ I might be amenable to ‘Princess’ though. ]

“Prinzessin? Ich kann damit leben. Sinn für kurz?” [ Princess? I can work with that. Sinn (meaning sense/reason/mind) for short? ]

You nodded with deep gravitas, “Einer von uns muss die Intelligenz sein.” [ Someone needs to be the brains around here. ]

Something about the faux-seriousness in your tone made the two of you burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The moment is so beautiful, you almost don’t want to ruin it with the question you know you have to ask. Something ancient, the spirit of Orpheus or Pandora perhaps, urges you to look.

“Darf ich über der Maske fragen?” [ Can I ask about the mask? ]

He paused for a moment, hesitant. Then quietly he spoke:

“Ich kann es ausziehen. Du bist Familie.” [ I can take it off. For you. You’re family, after all. ]

There’s a reluctance in his voice that made your heart twinge.

“Du musst nicht wenn du nicht willst.” [ You don’t have to if you don’t want to. ]

“Nein.” [ No. ] This time his voice seems more resolved, “Ich möchte.” [ I want to. ]

He pulled off his hood. His face was ruddy, but it worked well with his light hair and eyes. You two both looked so similar yet so different.

“Du hast alle guten Gene geerbt,” [ You clearly got all the good genes, ] you joked.

He turned his head bashfully, accidentally revealing his battered side profile.

“Deine arme Nase! Was passiert?” [ Your poor nose! What happened to it? ]

“Zebrochen. Ein paarmal. Bisschen verwickelt medizinische Hilfe zu erkriegen wenn du deinem Gesicht verheimlichst.” [ Broke it. A few times. Bit hard to get medical attention when you refuse to show your face. ]

“Nächste Mal einfach ruf mich. Ich habe dein Gesicht schön gesehen.” [ Next time just come to me. I’ve already seen your face. ]

“Mit Verlaub zu sagen, wie viel kannst du hilf mit helfen?” [ No offense, but how much can you help? ]

“Ja leider. Was weiß ich?” [ You’re right. What do I know? ] you bit back. “Ich habe nur noch ein Viertel vom Medschule übrig.” [ I’m only a quarter out from graduating med school. ]

“Soll das ein Scherz sein?” [ You’re joking. ]

“Das war nicht im Bericht?” [ That didn’t make it into the file? ]

“Nein. Wann ist der Abschluss?” [ No. When’s graduation? ]

You tensed. He was beaming with pride. You hated to ruin it with the ugly truth.

“Ich weiß nicht ob ich graduiere.” [ I don’t know if I will graduate. ]

“Warum? Hast du schulische Probleme?” [ Why? Are you having troubles at school? ]

“Sozusagen. Meine Noten sind gut, aber heuer versuchte ich zu ausscheiden. Sie ließen mich nicht, so nahm ich Gewaltkur.” [ Sort of? My grades are fine but… I tried to drop out earlier this year. They wouldn’t let me so I took more… drastic measures. ]

König’s eyes drifted to your scars.

“Sie sind alt.” [ They’re old, ] you reassured. “Und danach dem ganze Entführungquatch, ich bin entschlossen zu überleben. Vetrau mir. Deshalb möchte ich nicht zurückkehren. Ich möchte leben, nicht in Schule sorgen.” [ Plus after the whole kidnapping ordeal, I’m more determined to live than ever. Trust me. That’s why I don’t want to go back. I want to live, not suffer more in school. ]

Your brother looked at you disapprovingly, “Du musst zurückgehen.” [ You need to go back. ]

“Kann ich einfach hier bleiben? Bei dir? Ich könnte Medizinerin sein.” [ Can’t I just stay here with you? I could be a medic. ]

"Medizinische Arbeit ist nicht leicht.” [ Being a medic is hard work. ]

“Fleiß ist kein fremd.” [ I’m no stranger to hard work.]

“Du wärst ein bessere Medizinerin, wenn du Schule fertigbringst.” [ You’d be a better medic if you finished school. ]

You stared at him with arms crossed, unyielding.

He tried again, “Wenn du dein Medizinstudium abschließt kannst du hier arbeiten. Und du erhältst eine besondere Belohnung von mir.” [ Look, if you graduate you can work here full time—and I’ll ensure you get a special reward. ]

“Was?” [ What? ]

“Eine Überraschung. Du wirst es schön wissen.” [ It’s a surprise. I won’t tell you. Yet. ]

You pursed your lips. Clearly this wasn’t an argument you were going to win.

“In Ordnung. Aber lass mich länger bleiben. Ich möchte dich kennenlernen.” [ Fine. But let me stay a little longer. I want to get to know you.]

“Natürlich.” [ Of course. ]

The tension dissipated.

“Du hast gesagt das du lasst Medical dein Gesicht nicht sehen. Erlaubst du irgendjemand?” [ You said you don’t let medical see your face. Do you let anyone else? ]

Your brother flushed. He really was quite pink under the hood.

“Einer.” [ One person .]

You mentally rolled up your sleeves. You had over two decades of little sister pestering to make up for.

“Echt?” [ Oh really? ]

“Ein Freund.” [ A friend. ]

“Ein Freund oder dein Freund?” [ A friend or your boyfriend? ]

“Ich liebe ihn.” [ I love him. ]

“Gefühl er gleichartig?” [ And does he feel the same?]

“Ja.” [ Yes. ]

“Na ja, ich muss sehen, ob er gut genug für dich ist.” [ Hmm. I’ll have to see if he’s good enough for you. ] 

He slumped in relief. With a jolt you realized he was afraid of you… rejecting him. For what? Being in a relationship with another man? No, you of all people would never do that. You silently resolved to make sure he would never have to fear that ever again.

“Du kannst ihn heute Abend in der Kantine begegen.” [ You can meet him in the mess hall tonight. ]

----------

The mess hall is awash with activity. Even here amongst allies and coworkers, people gave König a wide berth.

“Welcher ist er?” [ Which one is he? ]

König pointed to a man sitting alone at a table.

“Dieser.” [ That one. ]

“Noch ein Maskenträger? Bisschen narzisstisch, ja?” [ Another mask? Bit narcissistic of you, isn’t it?]

You felt your brother roll his eyes under his hood. The sitting man’s head jerked up at the sound of his heavy footsteps. His mask already pulled up over his mouth to eat, the man broke out into a brilliant smile.

“Das ist der Horangi.” [ This is Horangi. ] König introduced. “Klarname Kim Hong-jin.” [ Real name Kim Hong-jin. ]

“Sprecht er Deutsch?” [ Does he speak German? ]

“Ja.” [ Yes. ] Horangi responded. “Er war mein Lehrer. So wurden wir unzertrennlich. Du bist seine Schwester, ja?” [ He has been my tutor. It’s actually how we got close. You’re his sister, right? ]

“Richtig.” [ Yes. ]

“Does she speak English?” Horangi asked your brother, switching languages. You knew it was just a way to test your skills, but it irked you.

“I’m American.”

“Just because you’re American doesn’t mean you speak English. I don’t even know if half the stuff that comes out of Graves’ mouth even qualifies as human speech.”

“Graves?” you looked to your brother for explanation.

“Er ist—wie sagt man das? Yee-haw?” [ He is… how do you say it? Yee-haw? ]

“Südstaatler?” [ Southern? ]

“Geneau.” [ Exactly. ]

You crossed your arms and gave Horangi a final thorough look-over.

“I approve under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“Teach me how to fight. It’s great that I was able to meet my brother but I do not want a repeat of the kidnapping.”

Horangi cocked his head, “Wouldn’t you want to learn from your brother?”

“There are plenty of things I want to learn from him. This is not one of them. Based on size alone, we’re going to have very different strategies. I’m sure he’s a great fighter, but I have a feeling that using his technique with my frame would be… lackluster. No offense.”

“Kein Problem.” [ None taken. ]

“Very well,” Horangi relented. If this was all it took to be on the good side of his in-laws, it was a small price to pay. “I expect to see you at 7 sharp. I won’t go easy on you.”

“Perfect.”

----------

Horangi’s right. It’s not easy, but slowly and steadily—and with no small amount of tears and blood—you managed to win Horangi’s respect (and a nice set of abs).

About a week in, he makes a suggestion. You two were on a water break, your brother was sitting nearby. König had taken to watching your sparring, occasionally commentating or tagging in.

“Du verbesserst!” [ You’re improving! ] the Austrian complimented brightly.

“Und ich habe gar nichts mit es zu tun.” [ And I had absolutely nothing to do with the matter, ] Horangi muttered with mock resentment.

“Unsinn, du bist immer ein prima Lehrer.” [Nonsense, you are an excellent teacher.] König apologized with a kiss.

“Wirklich! Vielen Dank.” [ Definitely, thank you so much! ] you corroborated.

Horangi shifted. Even in training, he still wore the mask—at least while in the base’s general gym. He was more lackadaisical about it in private. Your “family dinners” with him and König had given you a good look at both of their faces. 

You’d become well versed in his facial reactions. Even with his face covered you could feel his devilish smile.

“자기야, du solltest ihr deine erste Liebe vorstellen.” [You know babe, you should introduce her to your first love.]

Your head snapped to your brother. Sans Horangi, you were probably the person on base who he felt most comfortable talking about his past with, but even then it sometimes felt like pulling teeth. You quickly learned to treasure any lore you gleaned.

“Was? Warum habe ich noch nie von das gehört?” [ What? How have I not heard of this before? ]

König raised his hands in defense.

“Das stimmt nicht. Er verhohnepipelt mich.” [ It’s not like that. He’s making fun of me. ]

“Wer ist diese erste Liebe dann?” [ Who is this first love then? ]

“Scharfschützen.” [ Sniping, ] he replied bashfully.

----------

After much cajoling, you finally got König to teach you to snipe. You had a good feeling about it. You always had a steady hand and good hand-eye coordination. Before the kidnapping, you’d even been looking into specializing in surgery (though now—whenever you’d return—you’d be taking a hard turn into emergency medicine and the other subjects required for a combat medic). Plus maybe it ran in the family.

You met at the shooting range one early morning. Horangi had recently been deployed and your brother needed to stop stressing about it.

“Ich wollte ein Heckenschütze sein.” [ I wanted to be a sniper, ] he explained as he showed you the mechanics. The assembly of the gun soundtracked his words with rhythmic clicking.

“Du bist ein Insertionsspezialist, ja? Was passiert?” [ You’re an insertion specialist, right? What happened? ]

“Zu groß. Das wird kein Problem für dich.” [ Too tall. That won’t be an issue for you. ]

You crossed your arms. Cheap shot. König didn’t notice your disapproval, eyes now trained on the target.

“Auch ich zappele.” [ And I fidget .]

“Ich habe dein Scharfschießen gesehen. Du hast eine feste Hand.” [ I’ve seen you shoot. You have a steady hand. ]

“Hände kann ich ruhen. Alles anderes, nicht so viel. Problematisch, wenn man unauffindbar sein muss. Erinnern: Drück, nicht zieh.” [ I can keep my hands steady. The rest of me, not so much. A slight issue when trying to be undetectable. Remember, squeeze don’t pull. ]

BANG

Bullseye.

“Du bist dran.” [ Your turn. ]

You approached the marked spot. This seemed so much easier before you felt the gun in your hands and witnessed your brother’s expertise first hand.

“Hol drei tief Atemzüge. Großer letzter Ausatmen. Das ist der Moment. Beacht Folgemaßnahmen, Rückstoß ist eine knifflige, besonders bei deiner Größe.” [ Take three deep breaths. Big exhale on the last. That’s when you want to shoot. And remember to follow through, recoil can be a bitch, especially at your size. ]

Even with your nervousness, you still found it in yourself to retort.

“Nennst du mich kurz?” [ Are you calling me short? ]

“Für mich seid ihr alle kurz. Das ist nichts speziell. Schussbereit!” [ You’re all short to me. There’s nothing special about that. Position! ]

The gun was heavy, but thanks to your work with Horangi not unbearable.

One.

Two.

Three. 

Even watching your brother’s demonstration hadn’t prepared you for just how loud the gunshot was.

You flinched. Hard.

The bullet went left, landing in the dirt with a small puff.

“Scheiße.” [ Shit. ]

“Gute Form. Ohne dein Zucken, wurdest du ins Schwarze treffen. Du musst nur an dem Krach passen. Probier es noch mal.” [ Good form. If it wasn’t for the flinch you would’ve got it dead on. You just need to get used to the noise. Try again. ]

You were still rattled, but your brother’s confidence in you steadied your hands.

You knew you could do it, you just had to…

Eins.

Zwei.

Drei.

There was no dust cloud this time. Only the noise of the round hitting something solid and your brother’s exhilarated whoop as he took you in his arms.

----------

Saying goodbye was rough. Both König and Horangi joined you on the ride to the airport, wanting to prolong goodbyes for as long as possible.

“Bis bald.” [ See you soon. ]

When your flight finally touched down and you returned to finish med school, it was with a few training bruises, an even steadier finger, and a determination to help your new family the only way you knew how.

An explanation of König & Reader's full names and the historical references behind them

[thenightwolf51]

I noticed something because of this gif

Clampers and Branch have a very similar if not the same skin color.

You know who else has similar skin as Branch

His brothers. But im specifically looking at John Dory right now

So therefore, Clampers has the same skin color as John Dory.

Now hear me out.

I love the headcanon about JD and Delta Dawn being exes or close to that. Absolutely adore the thought of them being young and in love.

I personally like to headcanon that JD passed through Lonesome Flats a year or two after leaving his brothers, and that something led to him staying a while. Maybe he accidentally broke some fences or other property and was forced by the then sheriff to fix them. Or maybe he got heat stroke or was injured out in the deserts and they allowed him to stay until he healed. Either way he ends up spending a bit of time with Delta Dawn, if she's already training to be next sheriff then it makes sence for her to keep an eye on the pop outsider. Over time JD starts to grow on the country trolls, they start to welcome him, and him and Delta start to fall for eachother. But then JD realizes just how deeply in love he is and it makes him panic. Maybe he gets it in his head that if he couldn't even be a good brother then he definitely cant be a good partner, and with his injuries healed/work finished he ends up leaving.

Honestly i love the possibilities for their ship. It can almost have a sorta Hallmark movie vibe and the potential angst that can come from JD still being hopelessly in love with Delta and her being bitterly still in love with him years later is perfect.

But

As much as i love Delta Dory

What if...

We had all that but instead, it was between JD and Delta's sibling.

What if when JD left, he unknowingly left Delta's sibling with an egg. An egg that hatched into Delta's little niece, Clampers.

Given Clampers' age, which i assume is at least 5, that would put the romance as being more recent. JD would have Rhonda and it makes sense if she accidentally caused the damage he has to fix.

But then the angst.

The fact that Delta seems to be Clampers' main caretaker suggests that ther sibling has passed away, thats one arrow through the heart.

Clampers being JD's daughter and he didn't even know. He missed her hatching, her first steps, her fist words, doesn't even know what color or patterns her egg was. Is he even capable of beimg a good dad? That's a few more arrows.

And Delta? She's gonna be real protective. This is her little niece, JD left her sibling heartbroken and she won't let him do the same to Clampers. If he could walk away once, he could do it again. Delta doesn't really want him to have a part in Clampers' life.

Oh or!

What if we kept everything and just changed Clampers to being Delta's Daughter rather than niece?

(Anyway thats it! That gif just had me thinking, especially when i noticed the matching skin.

And i admit to wanting to gush a little about Delta Dory, ive falling into another Trolls fixation era and a few fics have got me focusing on John Dory. Maybe I'll link a few in another post

Feel free to write or use any of the ideas, just tag me so i can read them.)

[loftec]

Shameless DVD Commentary: None the wiser

I was tagged by a lovely anon over at @shamelessdvdcommentary to do this, thank you! Here we gooo

Which fanfic is your DVD commentary about?

The people (11 out of 20) have spoken! None the wiser

Give us some stats - (when you wrote it, word count, how long it took to finish, is it a one-shot/multi-chapter, etc)

First published: 2015-09-23 (coming up on 9 years what is time??)

Last updated: 2021-12-11 (holy heck that's... shit! I'm sorry!)

Words: 218,480 and counting

Chapters: 53/68

What was the initial inspiration for your story?

A little bit of everything, mostly I'd been reading a lot of Shameless fic at the time and really wanted to write something that was both a really quite basic diner/coffee shop AU, but The Most version of it. The slowest burn, the most diner AU. I had no ambition for people to like it but I wanted it to be Known. If anyone ever asked for a diner fic, they'd HAVE to say, well, NTW is The Most diner fic we've got. If someone asked for slow burn, people would sigh and say, WELL, this one over here is the worst, but it is very slow. And also I was inspired by Before Sunrise / Before Sunset, and working in the music industry.

If the story is written from a character’s POV, why did you choose this character?

I chose Mickey specifically because of the Concept, that Ian decides when the chapters start and end (with some exceptions) by going to the diner, but we're limited to Mickey's POV. Generally I think Mickey is easier for me to write, too, he's got a really strong voice and I like looking at the world (and Ian) through his eyes.

What was your favourite scene to write?

The whole banter/walk scene in chapter 44 when they leave the venue:

“Sure you and your lips can do whatever you set your heart to,” he says, “I believe in you.” Ian is silent, and when Mickey risks a glance in the direction of him and his non-trumpeting goddamned marvelous lips, Ian is looking at him like he’s some kind of unsolved mystery. ”What?” Mickey asks, frowning at him when Ian smiles. “Just a thought,” he says. ”You’ve been flirting with me since we first met, haven’t you?”

I had that whole back and forth leading up to the first kiss in my head for years before I got to finally got around to write it and I still love it.

How did you come up with the title?

It's from a song, one of the core songs I associate with this fic. My playlist now has 149 tracks on it, but the ones I consider "core songs" are None the wiser, Day After Tomorrow, Let's Dance, How I Made My Millions, Not Dark Yet, and Mosquitoes. I'm not sure I can explain why, but None The Wiser came on randomly when I was doing dishes and thinking about this fic I was writing, and the vibes just lined up in my head. Also I think it fits this version of Mickey I'm writing, who knows so much and has so much experience, but refuses to understand what's happening when Ian walks into his life.

Are there any little moments or references you hope readers will notice?

Oh, wow. Yeah. I always reference silly little things and I just have to hope people understand them, or tolerate them at least. I think one of my favourite bit of foreshadowing is in chapter 39 when people keep staring at Ian because they obviously recognise him, but Mickey thinks staring at Ian is a completely reasonable thing to do and is mostly just annoyed over how blatant they're being.

Was there anything you struggled to write? If so, how did you overcome this?

I am struggling right now lol, I had meticulous notes for what I wanted to happen for every single chapter up until 45, and now half of them say "they text all day" and I'm like THANKS!!! VERY HELPFUL!! Also life and writers block etc etc.

Favourite line in the story?

This is such a hard choice, so I'll just go with this one from chapter 42:

“So,” Ian says, sitting back to sweep his arms out in a wide motion, presenting his solution. “I think we should go out for breakfast sometime.”

Because to me it pinpoints the moment when Ian breaks the format, in a way? They have met outside the diner before, but only on accident, and here Ian realises that it might be a problem that they only ever hang out at Mickey's job. But metatextually, he also highlights the narrative crux they're stuck in. I don't know, is that a boring favourite line? I have many, and I grabbed the first one I saw so I wouldn't get stuck rereading the whole fic lol. Do you have a favourite line?

Did the storyline change in any way as you wrote the story?

So much, it's hard to believe because there isn't too much of a plot, but so much. My planned ending is so far from what it was when I started out, which is maybe one blessing that comes from how long it's taking me to write it, I have time to rethink things. I can't really talk about it now without spoiling the actual ending, but you better believe I will expose myself once we get to it.

If you are writing a particular trope or genre, was it your first time writing this?

I'd written fic for a different fandom ten years earlier, but nothing in this style I don't think, and this was my first time writing since I was 20 and stopped writing jrock rpf. I suppose I'm still writing about music, though!

What are you most proud about in the story? (plot, characterisation, dialogue, twist/cliffhanger, etc)

One of the things I've always wanted to do with writing for Ian and Mickey is to let them have conversations, have things in common, and be friends. Because I think they were in canon, we just never got to see it (in the first 5 seasons, careful what you wish for). Guess I'm saying I'm proud of the bants!

Are there any deleted scenes that didn’t make it to the final story?

I don't think so! I mean, maybe the last 15 chapters? I kid! They will make it!

Are there any ‘behind the scenes’ info you’d like to share - e.g. what’s going on in a characters head in a certain scene or how you came to write a certain line?

There is one line Ian says where, when I wrote it, I was like; this is the first time Ian thinks "I love you" but says something else. Cannot remember what or where right now, and I don't want to try and find it, it's late! Submit your guesses here, I might find it over the weekend if I have some time to look. Also, it's like one of those silly I love yous, one of the early ones, full of potential and feeling but perhaps lacking a bit in substance, but he thought it and I saw him thinking it!

Reading back the story now, is there anything you’d change or add?

Eh *coughs* I might already have, and I apologise. The worst part about writing something this slowly and posting the chapters as I go is that the fic isn't finished and so I feel like it's fine for me to sometimes go back and edit already published chapters. It's not right but I... will still do it. Sorry! A most embarrassing example is when, not too long ago, we discussed the layout of the diner here and I went back to the first chapter to see how I had described it, and it had changed in so many ways over the years? Small round tables?? The tables haven't been round since 2016!! So that's a very clear case of something having become canon for all the hundred little times I've thought of the tables as square while writing vs that one time in chapter one I carelessly said they were round.

Would you ever write a sequel to this story?

Yes! So many! Or maybe not a sequel, that suggests another part of equal size. But little bits of stories, yes!

If you’ve chosen your most popular story, are you surprised by the popularity?

Yes! Like I said, my only aim was to annoy my way to fandom infamy. Turns out it's so much more fun to actually connect with people and write something with someone else in mind, besides myself. I feel so lucky that so many people have connected with NTW over the years <3

Were you nervous or excited to post this story?

Mostly just excited, I think! I still am, whenever I get to post something : )

Did you have a beta or a friend who helped you as you wrote?

No, I probably should have but I have a very hard time showing things to people when they're not finished.

Ask your followers to pick a snippet (no more than 500 words) and share your thoughts about it.

Add snippets in the replies and I'll share thoughts, if you want!

Thanks for reading! <3 <3 <3

[stellarbit]

1000 Follower Celebration

I never thought much of my work so I've waited to do celebrate until 1000. For those who've followed and anyone who liked, commented, or reblogged anything, here is an event as thanks. Please know that this blog and those in this fandom mean so much to me. I read every tag, comment, and reblog and they make my day every time.

If you've followed me for awhile you'll know my writing can be slow and fickle. As a thank you I am committing to fulfilling the requests I receive between November 23rd - November 30th. After that I'll be closing my requests until I work through them.

Now let's get to it!!

Some quick rules

Pick up to 3 prompts.

I'll take individual character requests or something like "members of the 501st/Bad Batch reacting to" requests as well.

I will be doing requests for Clones/Star Wars first and then any previous fandoms I've written for.

I will not be taking anon requests for this event

Let me know what character(s) you want.

If you have them, please state SFW/NSFW preferences

If you have them, please state what gender preference you have.

I retain the right to not write prompts that are uncomfortable/extreme for me.

Tell me as many details as you want, it really helps! You can DM me too if you'd like to discuss.

If you've submitted previous request you'd still like done, feel free to send it again. Tumblr has vanished some requests and I've never seen them again

Please be patient, I waited until life calmed down to focus on this event but writing takes time.

Prompt List

My favorite prompts are the personal ones. If you've been going through anything and you'd like comfort, distraction, or in character advice from your favs, I'm here for you. It's been helpful for me and I'd love to do that for you. Be as specific as you want <3

I'll take continuation requests for previous fics. (I am working on Two Faces pt 3 and aim to finish the Hound drabbles from the past, so if its for them don't you worry, just be patient please.)

Tropes

And there was one bed~

Love at first sight

Hate at first sight

Fake dating

Locked in together

Aphrodisiac

Amnesia

Sharing body heat

Kissing as a distaction

Dying confession

X denying their feelings for Y until Y shows interest in someone else.

X teaching Y something

Carrying bridal style

Confessing during fight

Romance/Fluff

“I think I’m in love with you.”

“I didn’t know love until you.”

“You’d be easy to love.”

“You are my equal in every way.”

“I will never stop fighting for you.”

“If there was anyone meant for me, it was you.”

“You say you love me, but you don’t know me.” “Then let me.”

“They don’t compare to you. No one does/ever has.”

“Don’t look at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like you love me.”

“I could make you feel better.”

“Beautiful.”

Angst:

“We could’ve been us.”

“I don’t want your apology.”

“It would be easier if I didn’t know you.”

“You said you wouldn’t leave and then you did.”

“I feel like I’m falling apart.”

“All I’ve ever wanted is for you to see me.”

“What is it about me that isn’t good enough?”

“At least I kept my promise.”

“Does he/she/they not know about me?”

“You look exactly the same.”

Funny&Misc

“You’re family.”

“Bite me.”

“What a pretty sight.”

“Get over it.”

“I thought you couldn’t stand me.” “I lied.”

“You’re bleeding.” “No shit.”

“Do you believe in soulmates?” “No.”

“I thought I was alone.”

“Stop staring at me to distract me.” “Oh, I’m not trying to distract you.”

“I can’t remember the last time I laughed like this.”

“Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a smile, my love?” “Oh, shut up.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen something go so wrong so fast.”

“Do you believe in soulmates?” “No.”

“What kind of dumb question is that?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

"it wouldn’t hurt you to smile you know." “it will.”

“I can do it myself.”

“What a tease.”

“I’m hilarious.” “You’re traumatized.” “Is there a difference?”

“All this sneaking around is going to get us into trouble.”

LETS DOOO IT THANK Y'ALL

[vilevenom]

I wrote a part two to "Made to Worship at Your Bed" that no one asked for, lol. Also, I got tired of working on it, so idk if it's as good as the first one. But, I tried! Like before, this fic is EXPLICIT. I ain't your mama, but make good choices.

With My Mind He Runs

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog (no specific media)

Pairing: Sonic/Shadow

Summary: Sonic was used to Shadow being in a foul mood, but perhaps...perhaps he had a way he could fix that.

WARNINGS: Explicit sexual acts. Characters are depicted as ADULTS

P.S - If you want a full list of tags, I'll be posting this on AO3 shortly

Sonic sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as Shadow stormed into the kitchen.

Date night had become a more regular occurance after their first proper one, with Sonic making an effort to clear his calendar at least once a month, and Shadow purposefully booking days off from GUN. Of course, it wasn't always a guaranteed thing, with Eggmans attacks being unpredictable, and GUN sending Shadow off on missions here and there, more often than not without warning. However, the two made a concentrated effort to spend more time alone together.

Tonight was supposed to be one of those nights, with Tails having a sleepover at Charmy's, so the hedgehogs could have the house to themselves. Sonic had even made a point to get ingredients for home made pizza, since Shadow had complained only the week before about how all the hero seemed to eat were premade foods from the convenience store and chili dogs. He wanted to show Shadow that he could cook, he just never felt the urge to. Unfortunately, it would seem that whatever GUN mission the hybrid was coming off of had put him in a foul mood, which would likely sour his demeanor for the rest of the evening. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, and most likely wouldn't be the last. But, by this point, Sonic liked to think he was relatively well versed in how to deal with Shadow when he was in a mood. He'd adopted a rather simple tactic for it, really.

Just let him rant.

"…And then he had the audacity to tell me that I was wrong!" Shadow snarled, setting the table more aggressively than was strictly necessary. Sonic was fairly confident that the plate Shadow had just set down was cracked from how hard he'd slammed it onto the table, but he wasn't about to make a comment when the hybrid was so riled up.

"Mmm, that sucks, Shads," Sonic hummed, absently twirling the pizza cutter between his fingers, before slicing into the steaming hot pie.

"And that wasn't-!" Shadow started, his quills bristled in anger, before he visibly deflated, catching Sonic's eye as he slipped on oven mitts to bring the pizza to the table. "It wasn't even the worst part of my day," he finished, much quieter than before.

"…Shadow?" Sonic approached slowly, setting the pizza on the table softly before turning to the darker hedgehog with a look of concern.

"I…This is going to sound so petty," Shadow groused, rubbing his hands over his face, "But, Commander Tower, he…When I got back from my mission, after the debrief, he wanted to speak with me. It was nothing important, or even really relevant to GUN. He just wanted to talk. I guess he's trying to make reparations for how awful he was as a child." He snorted quietly, moving around the table to sit as he scooped up a piece of pizza and set it on his plate. "It was awkward and stilted, but I thought it was going relatively fine. That was, until he started talking about being on the ARK…He brought up Maria. I made an excuse to leave."

"There's nothing wrong with avoiding conversations you don't want to have," Sonic reassured with a shrug, snagging his own slice of pizza and sitting down.

"I know that. But…The way he spoke, it made me feel like I should have moved past it by now," Shadow growled, glaring down at his pizza as if it had offended him, "It's like he forgets that while he's had 50 years to work through what happened, I've only had a couple. And it's not like I can even really get mad at him, because I think he's genuinely trying to be better. It's…frustrating." With that Shadow took a vicious bite of his pizza, glaring at the plate while he chewed, only to perk up a moment later. "This is very good. Did you actually make this, or did Tails and you're just taking the credit?"

"Nice avoidance tactic there, Shads," Sonic snorted, arching a brow at the hybrid, who looked a bit sheepish at being caught out. "I did make it, thanks. Glad you're enjoying it. I do happen to have some culinary skills. Had to feed Tails and I somehow, y'know. Now, as for Tower…have you tried talking to him?"

The dark hedgehog snorted loudly, taking another vicious bite of his pizza. "Ah, yes," he spoke around his mouthful of food, "Let me just have a heart to heart with the man who, the last time I can recall seeing him as a child, called me a freak and ran off yelling about how I needed to stay away from him." He finished chewing and swallowed his bite. "The man who is now my boss, and runs the military. Yes, let me just make some tea and have a little chat with him about how I still get nightmares about the ARK raid, and have panic attacks over it. That sounds like a fantastic time," he bluntly stated, offering Sonic nothing but a deadpan stare.

"Hey! It was just a suggestion. You don't need to get all snappy about it," the hero scoffed, leaning back in his seat to rock on two legs as he ate his own slice.

Shadow opened his mouth as if to speak again, scowl on his face, before obviously thinking better of it and slumping down in his seat with a sigh. "I'm sorry," he muttered, setting his half eaten pizza back on his plate, "I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you. It's supposed to be date night, and I'm ruining it."

Sonic let out a breath, tossing the last bit of his own slice into his mouth, letting the front legs of his chair hit the kitchen floor with a resounding thump. "It's okay, Shads," he hummed, offering the other a lopsided smile, "You needed to vent. It's not my favorite activity, but I get it."

"I shouldn't be venting on date night," Shadow grumbled, shaking his head slightly while offering Sonic an apologetic look. "I am sorry. I shouldn't come straight here after work when I'm frustrated. I need to find a way to cool off, so I don't do this again." He let out a slow breath, "I wish I could get out of my own head, sometimes…"

At that, Sonic's ears perked forward, a little gift he'd had stashed in his room for a few weeks now jumping to the forefront of his mind. "Well," he hummed, sucking on his teeth for a moment, before shooting Shadow a sly little smirk, "I may have an idea about that? A way for you to maybe get out of your own head, and make it up to me?"

Canting his head in curiosity, Shadow arched a brow. "Oh?"

"Mhmm," Sonic bounced up from his chair, offering Shadow a hand, "You interested?"

"Intrigued, at the very least," the hybrid hummed, taking Sonic's hand and allowing the hero to pull him from his seat and lead the way upstairs to his bedroom.

Upon entering his room, Sonic shut the door and leaned on it for a moment, taking a deep breath, before crossing the room to his bedside table and digging into one of the drawers, all while trying to ignore the curious set of red eyes watching his every move. Once he found what he was looking for he stood with his back to Shadow, suddenly very much doubting if this was really an appropriate time to give it to the hybrid as a sudden case of nerves froze him to the spot.

"Sonic?"

"Right! Yeah," Sonic coughed, hiding his gift between his hands as he turned to Shadow with a nervous grin. "Okay, first just let me say, you are totally allowed to punch me through the wall if you think this is inappropriate, or if you think it's weird," he rambled a bit, before spreading his hands, allowing a thick red ribbon to dangle from his fingers, a shiny gold pet tag hanging from the center. He watched Shadow's gaze snap to the tag, anxious nerves making him fidget where he stood. The two of them had experimented with different sexual acts a few times since that first fateful date night, when Shadow had unintentionally dropped into subspace, but it hadn't really happened again since, and they hadn't really spoken about it, either.

"Is that…?"

"It…it's a collar and tag," Sonic admitted, staring down at the ribbon instead of continuing to watch Shadow's reaction, mouth running away on him, "I know we haven't really talked about that night, but…I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, if I'm being honest. I read that usually submissives buy their own first collar, and it's this whole thing if a dominant buys a collar or whatever, so this isn't exactly, y'know, by the book, or proper etiquette or whatever…Which is why I just got a ribbon! Because, well, I thought that if this was something you really liked or wanted, we could look for a proper one together. The tag doesn't have anything on it, either, since I didn't know if you were really serious before, about being called a 'pet'. So, uhm-" He gasped as suddenly Shadow was inches from his face, bright red eyes boring into his own.

"Yes."

"Wh-huh?" Sonic grunted as Shadow pressed a rough kiss to his lips, before turning his back to the blue hero, his tail wagging faster than Sonic was confident he'd ever seen it go before. "D'you want me to…?"

"Yes," Shadow shot him a look over his shoulder, relaxing his quills so Sonic could get closer without fear of stabbing himself while maneuvering the ribbon.

"Oh," Sonic breathed, truly not having expected to get this far. He quickly shook himself from his stupor to carefully untangled the ribbon from his fingers, reaching around Shadow to wrap it neatly around the hybrid's neck. He was careful not to tie it too tight, but tight enough that the little gold tag nestled into the top of Shadow's white chest fluff. Once satisfied he stepped back, chewing on his lip as he watched Shadow's reaction to the simple, light collar.

Hesitantly, the hybrid lifted his hand to touch the tag, gazing off into the middle distance as he traced his fingers over the simple circular shape. After a moment, his attention flicked to Sonic, eyes focused once more, though his gaze was softer than before. "How does it look?"

"So pretty," Sonic couldn't help but coo, a dopey little smile on his face, "It suits you." He didn't miss the pleased smile Shadow tried to hide by turning towards the mirror on the back of the closet door, nor the way the hybrid's muzzle flushed pink. Slowly, he walked up behind Shadow, who was tilting his head this way and that in the mirror to see how the collar looked at all angles, gently placing his hands on the black hedgehog's shoulders. "Do you like it?"

It took a moment, but finally Shadow offered Sonic a tentative little smile, resting his hands over the hero's with a short nod. "I do."

"I'm glad," Sonic hummed, pressing a kiss to the side of Shadow's muzzle. "I sort of agonized over giving it to you for a little while now."

"I couldn't imagine why."

"Oh, no? Mister shoot first, ask questions later? Couldn't imagine why I, a hedgehog that has seen the bottom side of your air shoes more times than I'd like to admit, would have trouble getting up the courage to offer you a collar? Really?"

"Point taken," Shadow said with a quiet chuckle, letting his hands drop to his sides. He watched himself in the mirror for another beat or two, before turning in Sonic's hold, dislodging his hands. "What now?"

"Now we discuss a few rules, and then I had an idea for a nice little test run."

"I assume you're referring to 'do's and don'ts', as well as a safe word?"

"Pretty much," Sonic shrugged, "I figured we could work with the stop light system for now, instead of a safe word? Since we're just starting out, and I wanna keep tabs on how you feel about things."

"Green for good, yellow for slow down, and red for stop?" Shadow rattled off quickly, surprising Sonic for a moment, before he recalled the black hedgehog mentioning that he had done a lot of reading before their first time about being a submissive.

"Yup! That's right. And then hard rules; do's and don'ts. Personally, I'm down for pretty much anything, though I draw a hard line at bathroom stuff. You?"

"Ah," Shadow faltered, looking a bit flustered as he absently fiddled with the tag on his collar, "I'm not sure?"

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, rolling his eyes at himself. "Right, duh. Kinks aren't exactly something you've got a lot of experience with. Uhm…how about we stick with no pain for now, yeah? No hitting, scratching, slapping, etcetera. Judging from the last couple of times we've had sex, you respond better to praise anyway, so I'll stick with that. Does that sound good?"

"Yes?"

"That sounded more like a question, Shads," Sonic scolded lightly, reaching out to take the hybrid's hands, "If we're gonna do this, you've gotta be sure. I don't want to hurt you."

"Right. You're right," Shadow murmured, giving Sonic's hands a gentle squeeze, "Those terms sound agreeable to me."

Sonic snorted a quiet laugh, grinning and bouncing on his toes a bit as he leaned in to press a kiss to Shadow's lips, his tail whipping back and forth behind him. "Perfect," he sighed into the hybrid's mouth. "One last quick thing…you can call me whatever you want, but I'm gonna either call you by your name, or pet. Maybe babe or baby, we'll see. That sound okay?"

"That's fine…Can I call you 'sir'?"

"Fuck, Shads," Sonic groaned, a visible shiver going up his spine, "Yeah, you can definitely call me that. Now…go take off your clothes for me, and get on your knees next to the bed."

Shadow watched Sonic for a moment, obviously having a brief internal debate, before he licked his lips and began to move with a quiet, "Yes, sir."

Sonic watched as Shadow slipped his shoes and socks off near the bedroom door, before taking his gloves off and setting them on the hero's desk. He then shot Sonic one last questioning glance, before gingerly settling himself on his knees with an encouraging nod from the blue hedgehog. "Already such a good boy," Sonic praised, kicking off his own shoes and socks, while tossing his gloves aside with far less delicacy than Shadow had exercised with his own clothes. He then trotted over to the bed and sat down on the edge, nudging the hybrid's knee with his toes to get Shadow to turn towards the bed. "There we go. Perfect," Sonic hummed, lazy grin on his face, "Now…I want you to put your hands on your thighs, and don't move them. No touching yourself, got it? You're just gonna watch for now."

"Yes, sir."

"Nnn, yeah, I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that," Sonic sighed happily, absently dragging a hand through his chest fur. He bit his lip as he locked eyes with Shadow, quirking a brown as he slid his hand down to draw two fingers over his pouch, rubbing gently just along the outside of the slit. He let out a low chuckle as Shadow visibly swallowed, his attention laser focused on Sonic. "Look at you," the hero sighed, licking his lips as he teased himself, encouraging the head of his cock to slip out of his pouch by gingerly dipping the tip of his finger into his slit, "Sitting so nice and pretty. Mnf…Do you like watching me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow murmured, his voice slightly strained as he clenched his fists against his thighs, his own pouch becoming visibly swollen.

"Good," Sonic purred, dragging his free hand over his chest and up into his quills while spreading his legs wider to give Shadow a better view. "Would you like to touch me, pet? Hmm?"

"Please, sir."

Sonic let out a pleased hum, tossing his head back as his cock slid free of his pouch. He stroked at it languidly, teasing only the tips of his fingers along the length of it and relishing in the low whine he could hear Shadow trying to repress. He tipped his head forward to watch Shadow as he swirled his thumb over the head of his dick, smirking at the way the hybrid had sucked his lower lip into his mouth to bite at it, either to suppress his little sounds or to help ground him, Sonic couldn't say. Either way, he quite liked the look of eager anticipation in Shadow's eyes. He teased at himself for a moment more, before finally shoving himself up from the bed and taking a short step forward so his cock bobbed just in front of Shadow's face, the hybrid nearly going cross eyed as he stared it down, the previous anticipation on his face morphing into mild surprise.

"Open your mouth for me."

Shadow's gaze flicked up to Sonic's face, trepidation blatant. Oral was something that Sonic enjoyed performing, but Shadow had yet to return the favor. Sonic wasn't sure if it was because the hybrid was nervous about his fangs, or if Shadow just didn't think he'd like the taste, but the hero hadn't been able to get the idea out of his head for months.

"It's okay, Shads," Sonic soothed, reaching down to gently stroke Shadow's ears, "If you feel overwhelmed, or want to stop for any reason, just grab my leg and squeeze, okay? Otherwise, keep your hands on your thighs."

Swallowing thickly, Shadow gave a short nod, while slowly opening his mouth for Sonic.

"Good boy," Sonic drawled, caressing Shadow's ears, "Open wide, and stick out your tongue a little bit. That's it." The hero waited patiently as Shadow followed his instructions, before easing the head of his cock into the hybrid's mouth. "Mmm, yeah. See? not so bad, right?" He scratched gently just behind Shadow's ears as he shallowly rocked his hips, a low purr rumbling in his chest at the quiet little slurping sounds Shadow was making. "Your mouth was just made to be used like this, wasn't it, pet?" he began to ramble a bit, grinning to himself at the calm, serene expression beginning to settle itself on Shadow's face as he fell into the steady rhythm of Sonic's cock sliding in and out of his mouth. "That's right, baby. Just focus on the feeling of my dick against your tongue. Doesn't it feel good? Letting me slowly fuck all those pesky little thoughts out of your pretty head."

Without warning Shadow began to purr, surprising Sonic, resulting in a startled yelp and a swift jerk of his hips, which unintentionally shoved his cock into Shadow's mouth deeper then he'd meant to. He began to apologize and pull out, only to pause at the low whine the hybrid let loose as the tip of Sonic's dick slid past his lips. "Oh? Did my pet like that?" he asked as Shadow began to lick at the head of his cock, earning a shudder and a low chuckle from the hero. "Okay, okay," he sighed, sliding his length back into Shadow's mouth, petting at dark ears with a satisfied moan as Shadow's purrs began to kick up again, "You can have your toy back, don't worry. I'll make sure your head stays nice and empty, yeah? Mmm, such a good boy. You really like how I feel in your mouth, don't you? The perfect little pet, aren't you?"

Sonic smirked as Shadow's eyelids fluttered, a happy little moan leaving the dark hedgehog at the praise.

"Yeah, such a sweet boy I have," Sonic sighed, sliding his hands from Shadow's ears into his quills, an idea rapidly forming in his head. "Though, I wonder," he hummed, pressing himself further into Shadow's mouth, watching the hybrid's expression intently, "Just how far down my pretty pet's throat can I go?" He held fast to Shadow's head, chewing at the inside of his cheek as bright red eyes popped open, an alarmed little sound leaving him as his purrs stuttered out, though his hands remained firmly on his thighs. "It's okay, Shads," Sonic murmured, pressing in a bit deeper, biting back a groan as he felt the tip of his dick press into Shadow's throat, "I've got you. You can take it, I know you can. You're such a good boy. My perfect pet can take my cock all the way down his throat, can't he?"

Shadow grunted as Sonic pushed deeper, tears springing to the his eyes as he squeezed them shut, his hands jumping momentarily from his legs, only to clamp back down, his claws digging in slightly.

"That's it, Shads. Breath through your nose and relax. Almost there," Sonic murmured, shifting one foot forward to give himself better leverage as he continued to gingerly push forward, biting at his lip as he watched his length disappear into Shadow's mouth. "Fuck. You're so pretty, Shadow. Love watching you swallow down my cock like you were made for it," he muttered, "And you were made for it, weren't you? Your throat was made to be fucked like this. Such a good, good boy." He let out a low groan as he finally bottomed out, Shadow's nose pressed into his pelvis, his throat fluttering around the length shoved down it as he struggled to breath through his nose. "Chaos, Shadow," Sonic breathed, scratching his claws lightly through black and red quills until his fingers met the hybrid's sensitive ears once again, his thumbs absently petting over them. "You feel amazing, pet. If I weren't sure you would choke," he sighed as he began to pull his hips back at an excruciatingly slow pace, "I'd fuck your throat nice and deep. When we get you all trained up, would you like that? Hmm? Would you like me to cum down your throat after fucking it raw?"

Shadow gasped as Sonic finished pulling his length free of his throat, panting quietly as a few stray tears ran down his muzzle and drool mated the fur on his chin. He coughed quietly as Sonic knelt in front of him, clearing his throat as the hero gently cupped his face. "Yes, please. Sir," he finally muttered, his voice sounding wrecked and deeper than usual.

Sonic let a feral little grin settle on his face, pulling the hybrid in for a rough kiss, pressing his tongue into Shadow's mouth to taste himself there briefly. "You're amazing, Shadow," he moaned as he pulled back, wiping drool from Shadow's chin, "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but Chaos, I hope I keep doing it." With that he stood back up, smirking as the black hedgehog eagerly opened his mouth once again, his tail wagging eagerly as he closed his eyes in anticipation. "Oh, baby," Sonic chuckled, taking his length in hand to gently rub the head of his cock against Shadow's tongue and relishing in the whine he got in response as he pulled away, "As much as I would absolutely love to continue fucking that gorgeous mouth of yours, I have other plans for you."

Shadow blinked his eyes open, his mouth closing with a quiet click of his teeth as he tilted his head at Sonic. He whimpered as Sonic slid a foot between his legs and nudged gently at the underside of his erection, which had slid free of his pouch while Sonic had been using his mouth like his own personal flesh light.

"You're being such a good boy, and I've been wanting to feel this inside me for quite some time," Sonic hummed, sliding his foot back and striding across the room to his desk. He rummaged around for a moment, pulling a bottle of lube from the mess after a beat. "You keep sitting there and watch me, okay? I'm just gonna get myself ready for you," he purred, striding over to Shadow to gently caress his muzzle, "I won't be able to keep an eye on you, but you'll keep being a good boy and keep your hands to yourself, won't you? You won't touch yourself while I'm not looking, right?"

"No, sir."

"Good boy," Sonic leaned down for another sloppy kiss, letting his tongue rove over every inch of Shadow's mouth, before breaking away with a lick of his lips. "Stay." He then turned to trot over to the bed and bend over it, stretching his arms out like a cat against the bed spread as he arched his ass into the air, letting out a chirrupy little moan as he rutted against the side of the bed briefly. He shifted enough to glance behind himself at Shadow to see the hybrid's reaction, entirely pleased with himself at the way shining red eyes were glued to his backside, and thick beads of precum were already beginning to drip down the side of Shadow's cock, while his hands remained steadfastly on his thighs. Sonic let loud purrs erupt from his chest as he drew one leg up to rest his knee on the side of the bed, while pouring a copious amount of lube over his fingers, before reaching back and shoving one into himself without preamble. He was pleasantly surprised as his own moan was echoed by Shadow, causing him to hide a smirk in the blanket as he began to work himself open.

Sonic didn't take nearly as much time with himself as he had with Shadow previously, thrusting each finger in and out of himself once or twice before adding another. Upon thrusting three fingers into himself a few times he drew his fingers free and sat up, glancing over his shoulder to find Shadow shallowly panting on the floor, his claws digging into his thighs hard enough to nearly pierce skin, and his cock an angry, neglected red. "Awww," he cooed, leaning back down to wiggle his ass at Shadow teasingly, "Is my perfect little pet just aching to shove his big fat cock into me? Hmmm? Do you want to fuck me, Shadow?"

"Yes, sir. Please," Shadow managed to choke out, while Sonic watched a generous pearl of precum ooze from the tip of the hybrid's cock and dribble down the side.

"Well, then," Sonic hummed, sitting up and patting the bed eagerly, "I shouldn't keep my pet waiting anymore, should I? Come lay down."

It took a moment for Shadow to push himself up from the floor, gingerly shaking his legs out after kneeling for so long, before he hurried over and onto the bed, laying down as the hero had instructed. He got himself settled amongst the pillows, his eyes bright with anticipation as his dick continued to slowly wept precum onto his belly.

"Such an eager boy," Sonic teased, situating himself between Shadow's knees once the hybrid was still, "Now. You keep your hands on the bed, okay? No touching." He chuckled quietly at Shadow's petulant low growl. "Now, now," the hero chided gently, reaching up to press Shadow's hands down into the blanket, "You're going to feel so good, baby, I promise. But I want to play with you for a little bit, okay? Promise you'll be a good boy and keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yes, sir," Shadow growled out after a moment, obviously not pleased with his instructions, but following them regardless as he dug his claws into the blanket, his hips jerking up slightly as his cock twitched against his stomach.

"Perfect," Sonic purred, drawing a lazy finger up Shadow's length with a smirk, gathering a thick glob of precum, "Look at you. Haven't even touched you properly yet and you're drooling all over yourself." He paused as he shoved his finger into his mouth, watching as Shadow's face screwed up, a low whine leaving him at the gentle tease. Sonic pulled his finger free and chewed his lip for a moment, before leaning up and over Shadow. "You good? What color light?"

Shadow groaned quietly, licking his lips quickly as he rutted himself against Sonic's stomach, "Green."

"Ohh, naughty," Sonic chuckled, letting the moment of churlishness slide as he settled back again. "Alright. Let's get you ready for me then, shall we?" he hummed, pouring lube into his hand and wrapping it around Shadow's shaft, giving the base a light squeeze.

"SONIC!" Shadow shouted gruffly at the touch, his claws digging into the blankets as he turned his head to press his face into the pillow.

"Ohhhh, poor baby. Sorry. I won't tease," Sonic cooed, loosening his hold and stroking up to coat Shadow's shaft, "Don't worry. We'll have that all sorted out here in just a second." Once he felt that Shadow's girth was well coated he repositioned himself, straddling the hybrid's hips, the head of his cock just barely kissing the hero's entrance. "You ready?"

"Please," Shadow gasped out, peering up at Sonic from his spot half hidden in the pillow, "sir."

"Such a polite boy," Sonic purred, letting gravity pull him down onto Shadow's sizable cock. He grinned at the broken little noises the hybrid let pour from his mouth as Sonic sunk down at a leisurely pace, his own litany of whimpers and groans joining the cacophony. "Fuck, Shadow," he gasped once he was fully seated, his fingers trailing absently over his stomach where he could swear he could feel the bulge of other inside him, "You're so big. Fill me up so good, don't you?"

Shadow didn't answer, but the holes being torn into his blanket told Sonic all he really needed to know.

He ground his hips in little circles, enjoying the feeling of being full, before he leaned backwards and tapped at Shadow's legs. "Bend your knees for me, pet," he instructed, humming happily as Shadow did as he was told, though the hybrid was obviously having a touch of trouble controlling himself, if the way his face was still screwed up was anything to go by. "What color, Shads?" Sonic gasped out, using Shadow's bent knees as leverage, the hybrid's length slipping free of him as he hoisted himself up.

"Green! Oh, Chaos, green, green, green," the black hedgehog chanted, his toes curling into the blankets now, adding even more little holes with his claws.

"Good boy," Sonic sighed, letting himself drop back down heavily with a gasp, his ears perked forward as he listened intently to Shadows quiet curses and grunts of pleasure. "Fuck, you're so big, Shads," he whined as he pulled himself back up again, hovering as high as he could hold himself, so only the tip of Shadow's length was still inside, "Can you believe you even fit?" He chuckled, before letting a loud moan rip from his throat as he dropped himself heavily back down, his own cock drooling precum into the puddle already on Shadow's stomach. Slowly, he began to increase his pace as he got used to Shadow's girth, tossing his head back as he bounced on the hybrids' cock, biting his lip at the filthy, wet sounds of his partners dick sliding in and out.

"Fuck!" Sonic gasped out as Shadow's control finally slipped, as the hybrid's hips snapped up as blue hips dropped down. "Chaos, Shadow," he whimpered, leaning forward to rest his hands against Shadow's chest, panting into the black hedgehog's face for a moment as he gathered himself, "That wasn't very nice, was it, pet?"

"Sorry. Sir," Shadow growled out, twisting the blankets in his hands against the bed.

Sonic clicked his tongue quietly, watching Shadow writhe beneath him for a beat. "…Color?"

"Mnn," Shadow grunted, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, before letting out a breath and looking up at Sonic pleadingly, "Yellow."

"Okay," the hero cooed, stroking his fingers through Shadow's chest fluff, "That's okay. What part do you need me to slow down with?"

"Let me touch you," Shadow begged, "Please. I don't…it's not enough."

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Sonic soothed, leaning in so he could peck a few featherlight kisses to Shadow's muzzle, "Of course. You can touch me all you'd like, baby. You were being so good." He gasped as Shadow's hands immediately flew to his thighs, claws lightly digging into skin through his fur. "Careful, pet. Watch your claws."

"Sorry, sir" Shadow murmured, visibly relaxing as he caressed Sonic's thighs in apology.

"It's alright," the hero hummed, sitting back up, a shiver running through him as Shadow's length slipped fully back into him. "Mmm…Can I continue? Color?"

"Yes, sir" the hybrid moaned, arching his hips a bit to push himself deeper into Sonic, "Green."

"Ah! Fuck," Sonic jerked at the push, little sparks of pleasure dancing up his spine. "Nnn…Shit. K-keep doing that," he groaned, starting up his previous rhythm of bouncing on the hybrid's cock. He let his hands settle over dark, grasping fingers as Shadow began to meet his movements partway, driving the hybrid's dick faster and deeper into the hero. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sonic chanted, panting as his legs began to shake, "I-I can't…" He lifted himself and drew away as Shadow tried to push up into him, rolling off the hybrid with the least amount of grace he was certain he'd ever had, flopping onto his back next to the other.

"…Sir?"

"Yellow."

Shadow sat up in alarm, hands hovering in the air, obviously unsure if he was welcome to touch. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Haaa, no," Sonic chuckled, tilting his head to offer Shadow a reassuring little smile, "You're doing great, actually. Little bit too great, though, I think, 'cause my legs are starting to feel like jello." With that he pushed himself up and rolled over, dragging a pillow to his face as he shoved his ass into the air and spread his knees, his tail swaying invitingly over his slick entrance. "I'm gonna need you to do the rest of the work, pet."

"You want me to…?"

"Fuck me, Shadow," Sonic hummed, shit eating grin half hidden by the pillow, "Fill me up like I know you want to, pet."

With a low growl, Shadow quickly scrambled onto his knees, not needing to be told twice as he positioning himself behind Sonic. "Yes, sir," he purred, sliding his cock easily into Sonic's well stretched hole.

"Fuck! Shadow," Sonic moaned, burying his face into the pillow as the hybrid wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the blue hedgehog's chest and starting a near brutal pace, pumping himself into Sonic over and over again without hesitation. Sonic tilted his head to tell the hybrid to slow down, when suddenly he saw stars, a choked wail leaving him instead as the hybrid slammed into his prostate, Shadow's deep purr rumbling against his back as he wantonly shoved himself backwards into the other's thrusts. "Ah! Hah, yesss, yes! Just like that. You feel so good," he babbled into the pillow, drooling as Shadow hammered into him.

Sonic wasn't expecting Shadow to change his position, so when, without warning, the hybrid pushed his hips down into the bed and and pinned his hips by straddled him, he choked on a gasp. Shadow ground his dick into him, his brutal pace turning into short, sharp thrusts, forcing Sonic to rut against the sheets. He whined as he tried to push himself back up, but Shadow sunk his teeth into Sonic's shoulder and held him fast, ignoring the hero's squirming as he chased his pleasure by brazenly driving himself into the hero's body.

"Shadow! Shadow, please," Sonic panted, reaching back to grab at Shadow's quills, only to choke on another breath as the hybrid clenched his jaw, forcing the tips of his fangs into Sonic's shoulder, drawing blood. "F-fuck! Ah!" He shuddered as Shadow bucked into him a few more times, whimpering loudly when the hybrid finally stilled, the thick length inside him pulsing as warmth poured into him. He whined long and low as his own neglected length remained trapped between his stomach and the blankets, twitching weakly as his stomach bloated with Shadow's spend.

They lay like that for a minute or two, until Shadow's cock finally finished throbbing inside Sonic, all while the hybrid licked apologetically at the bloodied bite mark.

"Yeah, you better be sorry," Sonic grumbled quietly as Shadow nuzzled at the side of his face, "You've got some making up to do." He shuddered and mewled as Shadow's cock gingerly eased out of him, a low whine escaping his lips as he could feel the hybrid's cum begin leaking from his abused hole. "You came a lot, huh?" he chuckled into his pillow, squirming slightly as Shadow pressed back up against him, his hot breath against Sonic's ear causing them to twitch.

"May I clean you up, sir?"

"Well," Sonic sighed, "Dirty boys should clean up their messes, shouldn't they?" At that, Shadow's weight lifted away from him, with the hero fully expecting the hybrid to leave to go fetch a cloth, as Sonic had done before. He hoped that the other would take a moment to find the clothes in Sonic's messy bathroom, so he'd at least have time to finish himself off. Instead, Sonic jumped as Shadow's hands began to knead at his ass, spreading him open once again. "Shad-OH!?" He yelped as a bold, hot tongue pressed against his ass, lapping eagerly against his entrance.

"Color?" Shadow's voice was slightly muffled against Sonic's ass cheek, his fangs gently grazing the skin there.

"Ahhh….green," Sonic managed to gasp out, his claws digging into his pillow as he arched his back into Shadow's face. He was definitely going to need new bedding after this, he thought briefly, before the hybrid's tongue was suddenly delving into him, a surprised shout ripping from his throat as the appendage wriggled inside him. He nearly wept as he buried his face into his now torn up pillow, while Shadow thoroughly 'cleaned him up', all while his still hard cock was pinned against bed in such a way that he couldn't cum, no matter how much he desperately wanted to.

Finally, after what felt like a gloriously torturous eternity, Shadow's tongue slipped free of Sonic's ass, the hero letting out an overwhelmed sob as the hybrid sat back. "Chaos," he groaned, tears running down his face, his limbs shaking as he shifted to reach a hand down to try and relieve himself. However, that didn't seem to be the plan, as Shadow's hands were back on his hips without warning, and the hero found himself flipped onto his back, a surprised yip leaving him as he rapidly tried to regain his bearings.

"Color?"

"Huh? Oh," Sonic blinked owlishly, his sluggish, overstimulated brain taking a moment to catch up to the question, "Green."

The low growl that Shadow let out at Sonic's answer made the hero shudder, before another loud, startled shout left him as Shadow grabbed at his hips once more and the hybrid's mouth was on him. He whimpered as Shadow pressed kisses against his hip bones, his fingers tangling in red and black quills, tugging lightly, his neglected cock oozing a steady stream of precum onto his stomach. "Please, Shadow," he openly begged, sucking in a shuddering breath, "Please. Let me cum, pet."

Shadow glanced up at him at that, his eyes sharp and almost predatory as a slow grin split his lips. Then, any thought that may have been in Sonic's head flew right out as Shadow took his dick into his mouth and sucked him down. Not all the way to the back of his throat, like Sonic had been before, but as far down as he could comfortably go. And the warm, wet heat was more than enough to finally shove Sonic over the edge, the hero coming with a scream loud enough to rattle the walls while he pulled harshly at Shadow's quills.

When Sonic's hips stopped twitching and he managed to blink back into reality, he found Shadow hovering over him with a mildly concerned look on his face, his hands absently rubbing at Sonic's thighs.

"Hey," Sonic rumbled, his throat sore and raw from his screams, "I'm okay, Shads. You did really good, pet, I promise. Just…I feel a bit floaty. Give me a sec?"

Shadow hummed quietly, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Sonic's lips before vanishing from the bed momentarily, returning with a glass of water.

"Aww, thank you," Sonic murmured, grunting quietly as Shadow manhandled him into a sitting position, before accepting the glass into shaky hands and taking a long, slow sip. He cleared his throat once he felt it was sufficiently moistened after his yelling, offering Shadow a reassuring smile, since the hybrid was still hovering worriedly next to him. "You did amazing, pet. A very good boy. I don't think I've ever cum that hard in my life." He chuckled as Shadow's tail began to wag, the hybrid moving to tuck himself into Sonic's side and curling against him, his nose pressed into the bite he'd given the other earlier. "Mmmm, such a good boy," Sonic sighed, petting at the quills he'd pulled on as he sipped at his water.

It took a while for Sonic to finally feel his legs enough that he felt like he could stand without falling over, but when he finally did he gently tugged on the bow he'd tied Shadow's collar with, the weight of the little golden tag causing the ribbon to fall onto the bed between the two hedgehogs.

"…Sonic?"

"Didn't figure you'd want to wear it in the tub," the hero hummed, sitting up slightly and dislodging Shadow from his shoulder, "I really need a bath after all that. Pretty sure you do, too."

"I'll go run it," Shadow murmured, slipping from the bed. He paused at the side briefly, a contemplative look on his face, before he reached out and gather the dainty ribbon collar into his hands, chewing absently on his lip.

"…Did you not like it?"

Shadow snorted, shaking his head as he trotted over to Sonic's desk and reverently laid the ribbon down on it, making sure it was flat and neatly displayed, and the tag was clean. "I think I liked it too much."

"No such thing," Sonic teased with a smirk, leaning over to set his now empty glass on his bedside stand. "Did it work?"

"Did what work?"

"Did having the collar on let you get out of your own head?"

The hybrid blinked, staring off into space for a beat, before a fond, warm little smile settled on his face as he turned to Sonic. "It did."

"Then that's all that matters," Sonic shrugged, shoving himself to the edge of the bed. He yelped as he overcompensated and toppled off the side, landing in a rather ungraceful heap. He whined petulantly as Shadow simply chuckled at him, rolling over to shoot the hybrid a glare. "Rude."

"Perhaps, next time, you could simply ask for help," Shadow snorted, leaning down to scoop Sonic into his arms, swiftly turning to the door once the hero was settled in his hold.

"Perhaps next time," Sonic scoffed in a mocking tone, tightly wrapping his arms around Shadow's neck so he couldn't be dropped.

"Brat."

"But I'm your brat."

"How unfortunate."

"Hey!"

Later, as the two sat in a warm bath, bubbles overflowing onto the floor, much to Shadow's chagrin, Sonic perked up, turning to Shadow with a curious look.

"What?" Shadow sighed, already sounding put upon.

"I haven't even asked anything yet."

"No, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be particularly fond of whatever you're going to ask me."

"Presumptuous," Sonic snorted, flicking bubbles at the other, "I was just curious…what gave you the idea to stick your tongue in my ass, when, like, twenty minutes earlier you were nervous to have my dick in your mouth?"

"Ah," Shadow sighed, sinking into the water up to his shoulders, "I'm not sure, really. It just felt…right. In the moment."

Sonic chuckled, draping himself over Shadow's shoulders and settling himself in the hybrids lap, blatantly ignoring the way his movements made the bath water overflow onto the floor. "I mean," he snickered, nuzzling into Shadow's cheek and pressing a sloppy kiss there, enjoying the groan of disdain he got out of the hybrid, "You weren't wrong, but damn. You could've given a guy a little warning."

"I asked you what color you were. Was that not sufficient, when I had literally just licked you?"

"Hmm, fair point," Sonic chuckled, "Fair point."

[flightfoot]

i think you rec fics if i'm wrong i'm so sorry. any fluffy fics with all 4 lovesquare sides? - though just ladynoir/adrienette would work too.

Yep I give those recs! This is actually one of the tricker cases, because on the one hand there's a lot of them and on the other hand they're interwoven with a lot of other things and often don't have specific tags to search with, so I'll see what I can do. I'm mostly just looking for fluff fics that have more than one side of the Lovesquare represented.

I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween. It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise. With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien stumbles upon something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster. At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor. (Adrinette Never Met AU)

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Villainous Matchmaking by @nedjsmlfavs

When Chat Noir is tragically unable to attend an event with Ladybug, the mayor calls in a favor from a designer ‘friend’. Now she’s attending in style, on the arm of the hottest male model in Paris. Which would be fine if it weren’t for one, tiny issue: Paris’ favorite domestic terrorist now knows how Ladybug feels about his son. This leads him to his greatest plan yet, using Ladybug’s extremely obvious crush on Adrien Agreste to akumatize Chat Noir. A Ladrien/“platonic” Ladynoir fic

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Painted Canvas by @wehadabondingmoment

And then, Adrien would send her a selfie, acting as if he was some secret agent trying to not get caught and he was so ridiculous that Marinette’s heart ached at the thought of being away from him. Hushed phone calls, his voice sounding like honey; in moments like these, she wasn’t Ladybug, only a teenage girl drunk on love. Or: Adrien and Marinette are soulmates and it still takes them years until they finally meet. Also fencing.

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Professeure (of your love) by @mostmagical

“We should do it.” Her voice came out in a screech. “What?” “Just a fake wedding at graduation,” he said, like it wasn’t completely crazy. . . After ages of letting Paris believe their beloved superheroes are married and in love, Marinette's superhero partner turned fellow teacher wants to apply the same logic to their civilian lives and put on a fake wedding for their students. Only problem is, for Marinette, the being in love part is very much not an act.

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From School Bells to Wedding Bells by @linnieluna

When the superhero duo takes on another exhausting fight against an akuma, Chat Noir does what he never hesitates to do and takes a hit for his partner. The problem being: neither of them knew what power the akuma possessed. That is... until he is transported into the future. More specifically, to his friend Marinette's wedding.

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The Power of Love by @nedjsmlfavs

In which Ladybug announces that she’s pregnant via her long term boyfriend and Chat Noir is a supportive partner. After all, he can hardly be upset when he’s been dating his Princess for years! A different take on the show’s tagline (“The Power of Love Always so Strong”) written for Valentine’s day 2023.

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The Rules of Engagement by underworkedoverwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face. Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years. As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible. Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him. If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping. Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind. She would go on living her life. He would always be the only one who remembered. At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

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Tell Me Why You Love Me by @linnieluna

“Anyway, that piece of paper contains the name of this texting app. It’s completely anonymous, so you can download it, make your account with no attachments to your personal life, and communicate with me outside our suits. I included my username on the paper, too, so you can add me once you’re done." Her partner skimmed through the words on the paper and nodded his head. “Brilliant as always, M’lady. I’m surprised we didn’t figure this out sooner within our superhero careers.” “Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have this before, but hey, better late than never. Make sure not to have your phone screen on the messages if you’re going to leave it somewhere. We don’t want anyone reading our texts. Also, this is for emergencies only. No jokes or puns. I can only deal with you for so long.” “I don’t know if I can agree to that last one,” he said. Now 22 and working full-time, Marinette and Adrien seem to be getting busier and busier, which means fewer opportunities to keep track of akumas and show up on time. With the idea of using a messaging app to communicate with each other without revealing their identities, their lives immediately grew to be easier... until it wasn't.

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Soul Searching by LiquefiedStars

Marinette was devastated when her soulmate turned out to be Adrien Agreste and not her sweet, loving partner Chat Noir. Despite their misunderstandings, she is willing to give Adrien a chance, even if he doesn’t seem all that interested in her. After all, they are soulmates and the universe says they are meant to be together. A Soulmate AU.

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Love is Blind by @jennagrinsoverml

Tired of all of his potential girlfriends being blinded by his face, his fame and his name, Adrien takes a chance to compete on Love Is Blind: France, where he hopes that dating without seeing each other—or learning each other’s names—will finally help him to be lucky in love. What will he do when he realizes that his Lady is one of the contestants, however? And will he be able to win her heart where he’s never succeeded before? Meanwhile, Marinette is looking to meet the right guy after years of pining away for someone who has only ever seen her as a friend. She’s not entirely sure if she can fall in love with someone without seeing them, but the things that have always mattered to her most are the kinds of things that can’t be seen. What will she do when she realizes her heart is being pulled in two directions? And will she be ready to make a decision in time?

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Over and Over by stcrsquad

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has had the worst day possible. She's failed to confess to Adrien (again), made an embarrassment of herself, and got into a fight with Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste has had the worst day possible. He is tired of being pushed aside by everyone, including his crime-fighting partner Ladybug. Luckily, fate (and Bunnyx) works in mysterious ways because they wake up again on the same day. A do-over. Except it keeps happening. Can the two figure out what they need to fix to break the loop, or will they be stuck forever?

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Graine de toi by MireilleTanaka

Ladybug and Chat Noir think they’re close, until they begin waking up in one another’s skin. AU: Adrien is homeschooled, and he and Marinette have never met. Written for Adrinette April 2020, Day 17: Life Swap. The one prompt snowballed into a multi-chapter fic. Loosely inspired by Your Name (Kimi no na wa), but no need to have watched it to read, since there's no actual plot connection except the premise of swapping lives.

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Knight in Shining Amour by Cakedecorator

Marinette is the daughter of the castle bakers, and she herself is the royal seamstress. She lives her life making clothes, helping her parents, and generally living a simple life. However, she also laments the loss of her childhood friendship with Prince Adrien, and remembers the promise they made when they were five years old. Resigning herself to the reality that she would never be able to marry the prince, and assuming he'd forgotten their promise, Marinette tries to live her life without letting loss get to her. However, her love story begins a new chapter when she's approached by Cat Noir, a debonair new knight in the castle.

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Evergreen by tanyatakaishi

Everything was gone. The entire cityscape had been obliterated, leaving them in a valley of trees. Blue mountains, peaks dressed in snow, stretched tall in the distance and at their foot lay an array of vineyards, miles wide with no civilization in sight. AKA: two heroes lost alone in the woods with no cheese.

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Someone to Watch Over Me by @dfcfanfics

Adrien is used to his father taking him for granted and treating him poorly, especially since his mother's disappearance... but it's never been anywhere _near_ this bad before. Between that and trouble at school, his life is in quite the downward spiral. He's been putting on a brave face, but he's struggling... and his friends are starting to notice. One special friend in particular. Marinette is determined to help him, any way that she can -- with _and_ without her mask. But when Akumas fly towards Adrien, he soon finds himself more deeply entwined in Marinette's life AND Ladybug's private life than he'd ever imagined. Can Adrien possibly decide between the two angels who are making his life worth living again? Can Marinette process Adrien's crush on Ladybug AND his growing feelings for her? And can Gabriel stop laughing long enough to launch his master plan? A fluffy DFC - buggachat Ladrienette jam. 10/15: Our story is now complete with the posting of Chapter 24, the epilogue. Thank you so much for reading, as always.

[onehundredgar]

Click for Palestine 🇵🇸 : https://arab.org/click-to-help/palestine/

Hey! What’s up? Thanks for coming around!

Got most of my quick info in my bio, if you ever feel inclined to skim it! I’m Bangladeshi and Muslim. I’m also pangender and omnisexual. I also am very large and contain multitudes.

This is my main blog! I reblog a lot of stuff I find funny, stuff about the moon, about animals and nature but birds and fish in particular, about community and partnership, about love and family and friends, and about identity and orientation and mental health.

I tag all my posts, replies, and reblogs as accurately as I can. If there are any issues with my tags, post contents, or anything else in my blog, please let me know so I can fix it and make it a more comfortable online space!

I love meeting people! If you'd like to, shoot me a message or an ask and you can be sure I'll respond!

Below is the alphabetically organised guide to my current fandoms and my relationship with them, and to my organisational structure for my tags. It's a long post; keep reading at your own risk!

Fandoms!

Dungeon Meshi

I got into it VERY recently by binging the manga, and now I'm slowly keeping up with the Netflix adaptation! Obsessed with the solid worldbuilding.

Gravity Falls

Top fandom ever everrrrr. Got obsessed with it as a kid and I’ve never let it go since. I know all the sordid fandom history, all the best and most popular headcanons of current day, and some the most based fanartists and fic writers!

My Little Pony

Come on come onnnnn. It's a classic. I have an encyclopaedic and philosophical understanding of the MLP universe.

The Diamond Age

Mind blowing as always but Neal Stephenson's endings man... Sigh sigh, but should have expected this after Snow Crash. The books I am emotionally invested in change on a monthly basis. Expect the title to switch in a little bit.

Welcome to Night Vale

I got into it half a year ago and it literally changed my brain chemistry. One of my forever fandoms for sure, though I must admit it fell off after "Father Kevin"...

Tag Organisation Guide!

Annie’s Anomalous Affairs:

#annie’s aberrant abominations - there’s very little content in this tag. OC tag; I don’t reaaaally talk about my OCs though so don’t worry about it. It’s mostly stuff I reblog to help character build anyway. I’ll list the subtags for individual OCs below as they appear on my blog.

#abomination: Danny #abomination: Hannah #abomination: Hedon #abomination: Lola #abomination: Nicky #abomination: Spring #abomination: Teresa

#annie adores advice - there’s a LOT of content in this tag. Advice or awareness spreading I reblog that I think will help me live easier, or to signal boost so people who need it can use it.

#annie argot - posts of mine where I think I utilised especially clever wordplay, which I archive under this tag for future writing reference.

#annie attempts art - my art! At least up until now I’ve drawn purely on Procreate so it’s all digital medium.

#annie awakened - a tag specifically for answering asks and mentions!

#annie awkwardly articulates - my posts! I talk about my thoughts and experiences, or I’ll be archiving a chat I had here online.

#authentic annie appearances - screenshots of text conversations with my IRL friends.

Annie Appreciates…:

#birdposting - just the same; reblogging cool and/or funny posts about birds! I love birds. Love their behaviour, love how they evolve, love eating them. I try to include the species of bird in the tags whenever I can!

#classic - tag for infamous Tumblr posts that I archive for myself! Gotta collect those heritage posts, man. Can’t have a blog without the colour of the sky.

#classic + #to me - iconic Tumblr posts that feel like they should be infamous but aren’t for some reason.

#fishposting - you guessed it; reblogging cool and/or funny posts about fish! I love fish. Love their biology, love how they look, love eating them. I try to include the species of fish in the tags whenever I can!

#later gator - the tag I use to save things (usually videos) to look at later when I’m scrolling tumblr at double-time (or have my volume on), probably because I’m at work.

#my romantic wife - that’s the moon! I adore the moon, it’s unmatched (tag not to be confused with the term I often use, “my platonic wife”, elaborated on below)!

#number - tag for things that I think are attractive, ranging from blatant thirst trap art to standard-ATX motherboards.

#take me out to dinner first - tag for scheduled posts that have something to do with the date of the day.

Annie’s Associates:

#DNA double felix-cipher - tag for tumblr user carriecarriecatgirl, Felix-Cipher. The tag is a play on the term “double helix structure”.

#gainzcoater - tag for tumblr user @rainncoater, Rainn. He's a gym rat.

#my froinds :3 - I talk about or reblog posts that remind me of my IRL friends! My friends are very important to me and I love them so so much.

#Pseudacanthicus nyktos - tag for tumblr user @nykenima, Nick. It's a fish pun of the blog name.

#quadrangle of qonfusion - tag for tumblr user @confusions-shed-of-ideas, Confusion. The QoQ is the name of a “”place”” from Gravity Falls.

#sarufiyyun - tag for tumblr user nekcihcetaruccayllacilbib, Seraph-Chim, who’s angelkin. Sarufiyyun is the Islamic term for Seraphim.

#the coworker - this very specific colleague I have who who is pretty eccentric. She stalks my blog. You can find her snarky remarks under the reclusive @annielover69420 handle.

#the spouse - this is “my platonic wife” (not to be confused with the tag “my romantic wife”, elaborated on above)! My best friend who I’ve known for nearly two decades.

Annie’s Avocations:

#art reference - what it says on the tin. Step by step guides or simple diagrams of art tips; whatever helps me draw!

#recipes - I feel like I should throw this tag in here now that I have at least two or three reblogs for it. Cool recipes for cool food I’d like to make one day.

#tutorial - tutorials for anything at all! I eat life advice for every meal. Sometimes these won't be strictly tutorials but something adjacent— I tag as such anyway so I can find it later under that label if necessary.

#writing - yes, I have nothing to show for it on here, but I’m a writer! Tag for writing tips and also inspiration.

That's all, folks! Have a good one!

[ninjago-drabbles]

Bruiseshipping Exchange 2024! (Sign-up, how-to, and rules)

I've gotten a good few people that say they're interested in reblogs and DMs so I decided to go ahead an get the ball rolling with the sign-ups! (We'll see how the turn-out is and go from there.) Fill out this below to join as an author or (multimedia) artist! (What is an exchange? What's the schedule? See the read more below!)

Sign up here:

An exchange is a fun opportunity to put more content into the world for our favorite ship! In the sign-up form, you'll put a few prompts (of any level of description) for fic/art you'd like to receive, and then describe some things that you'll be willing to create yourself. I'll go through the entries and match people based on compatibility, and you'll soon be emailed with the "wishlist" of a fellow bruiseshipper! These will be your guidelines to create either your art or fic. On May 25th, you'll post your work and reveal who you are to your giftee!

Rules:

Fic: Minimum will be 1,000 words, as of now. (If you want to join but are unsure if you can meet this in the time frame, please reach out! We can work something out.) No maximum limit! Make sure to tag properly and reach out to me if you have any questions about content.

Art: Digital and traditional pieces of course, and if you want to join with something such as edits or any other kind of media that's not mentioned, please mention so on your sign-up! This exchange is to simply put more bruise into the world, so we don't want to limit what kind of creativity that takes the shape of. Finished drawings must be colored and lined. Videos must be at least 30 seconds. For visual edits such as moodboards, gifsets, etc., I'm roughly putting the minimum at 2. It will be case by case (email to talk about specifics if this applies to you!)

Anything goes as far as content, as long as you meet the criteria provided by your giftee (you will be emailed all this information once you've been matched!) If you want to use any tropes/ratings/etc. that you're unsure of, please reach out to me (NOT your giftee) to act as a liaison to double-check.

Don't tell your giftee that you have them! We'll be operating secretly to add a little extra fun to the exchange, so wait until the posting date to let your person know who you are!

Communication is welcome, so please feel free to send a message or ask if you have any questions or things to say :)

See previously asked questions here

Schedule:

✅ Sign-ups: thru March 1

✅ Giftee info sent out: March 4th

✅ Check-in

Gift reveal: May 25 (Bruise Day!)

Take all of this with grain of salt, as if not enough people sign-up I might switch this over to a Bruise Week or something like that. Anything to bring this fun ship fandom together and spur more fanwork <3 No worries if this is the case, we are an old fandom after all! (We're all a go for an exchange, y'all are wonderful!)😊

-Arella

[solarmorrigan]

Hello! I was tagged for this by the marvelous @paperbackribs about... *checks watch* four months ago! I'm so late, I'm sorry, time is meaningless and slippery!

How many works do you have on AO3? 300 (!)

What’s your total AO3 word count? 976,101

What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, I'm only writing for Stranger Things, but I've written things for about 40ish fandoms over the years.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In Phony Matrimony [Fantastic Beasts]

Shared Space [Homestuck]

Simple Association [James Bond - Craig movies]

Made with Love (and Yarn) [Stranger Things]

These Days I'm Fine (These Days I Tend to Lie) [Stranger Things]

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I used to get fewer comments, and it was easier to respond to each of them. Having recently been in some much larger fandoms, though, I've kind of been getting overwhelmed and have fallen behind. I'm so grateful that people take the time to even just send a little heart--to tell me that they read this thing and enjoyed it--and I'd love to respond to everyone, but at this rate I'm not quite sure I'll manage to catch up D:

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably either For the Love of You (James Bond, established 00Q, in which Bond is forced to go after Q when he turns out to be a traitor) or either of the fics in the Forever and Ever, Amen series (also James Bond, 00Q, in which Q is a necromancer and won't let Bond die). I've written other dark things, but I tend towards hopeful endings even with those

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most things I've written! I'm a big fan of happily ever after and I write a lot of short fluff pieces. But as far as fics where the happy ending is sort of earned, I'd say maybe He Dreams, Until Such Time (Hades game, gen, in which Hypnos is the Elysium boss fight after having been banished from the House, and Zagreus finds a way to get him back in) or We Have Surplus If We Need It (Pacific Rim, established Newmann, in which Newt tries to figure out who he is in a post-kaiju world and cooks a lot about it)

Do you get hate on fics?

Not particularly. I've gotten a few randos trying to tell me off for writing slash, and one or two people who were clearly just mad at a specific trope and happened to land on my fic, but I've been very fortunate to get largely positive feedback

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! I'm not sure it's exactly my strongest suit (and, in fact, often worry that it's not very good at all), but I guess I keep at it?? I've written PWP and plotularly significant smut before; whatever serves my purposes at the time

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not often, but I have! The first fic I ever tried writing on my own was a Buffy/Scooby-Doo crossover, and I've written a fair bit for Gravity Falls/Over the Garden Wall. Not sure how wild either of those are, though?

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I've been alerted to, but I've been posting fic for something like 20 years now, so it wouldn't surprise me if at least one of them has cropped up elsewhere under someone else's name

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yyyyyes...? Pretty sure I remember that happening! I think it was over on ff dot net, so I don't remember which one it was. Good odds it was one of my Criminal Minds fics, though

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A few times! I've done RP-style co-writing, round robins, half-and-half, and just plain collaborating. Most of them never reached the point of being able to publish, but they were still fun

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Gotta confess: I don't think I have one. My favorite is usually whatever I'm focusing on at the time; I don't dislike ones I've shipped previously, but they tend to settle fondly into the background once I've left a fandom

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I had a whole Stranger Things fic planned out exploring the potential relationship between Steve and his mom, and I'd love to get at least the bare bones of that done, but there's something about it that just kind of refuses to come

What are your writing strengths?

Characterization and emotion. Emotion is something I feel like I don't identify particularly well in real life, but I think I'm pretty good at getting the intended response from people in my writing. (Also maybe dialogue, but that's just so fun to write)

What are your writing weaknesses?

I! Am! Impatient! I tend to rush through things sometimes and screw the pacing up or skip over important details because I worry writing it out in full will take too long and I'll lose interest. I can also get a little too rigid in trying to achieve a particular outcome, instead of letting the story flow

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't tend to do it, but that's because I'm only fluent in English and don't want to jar anyone with a bad auto-translate job. If someone is speaking another language, I usually try to find a way to signify that based on whether or not the POV character also knows that language

First fandom you wrote for?

It was either HP (forgive me, this was over 20 years ago) or Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Scooby-Doo (crossover fic I wrote when I was, like, nine?)

Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ever?? In my life?? My dude, I could pick a favorite per fandom maybe, but just straight up favorite?? I cannot. Of things written more recently, I'm very fond of Under My Skin (Steddie, exploring the possibility of Steve with physical scars). Of things written slightly less recently, I still have a complicated soft spot for We Have Surplus If We Need It

Gently tagging (if you've already done this, I'm sorry, just ignore me): @spiritofcamelot @ato-the-bean @puppy-steve @emchant3d @lexirosewrites

[lyzelky]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @gilded-glitter!! Kissing u

When did you start writing?

I remember getting pissed off about the writing choices in the Pokemon Anime when I was about 8 or 9, and I came to the realization that I could write my own story featuring my own Pokemon Trainer and handle the story the ✨right ✨ way (lol). From there I started filling up several dozen school composition notebooks until several years later I realized I could write on my ipod touch and save myself the trouble.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I'll read just about anything as long as it interests me, but I think the genre I enjoy least is sci-fi? I don't hate it, but it just doesn't have that strong enough of an appeal to me, though I do like when people get goofy with it (Doctor Who, some episodes of DS9, etc.) I love a good mystery/period piece though, and I while I enjoy writing it, whether or not I'm any good at it is another matter entirely. If there is a procedural detective show with a will-they-wont-they pair of leads, chances are I've seen it.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

Oh jeez, well, I've never published fic before so I don't think I have ever been compared to anyone else, but an english teacher I had in high school once complimented me on have a "unique voice" in my writing, and I still think about it from time to time. As for writers I admire? Off the top of my head: Toni Morrison, Norman Maclean, Cormac McCarthy, and Tolkien.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space? I write primarily on my phone, so I don't really have a dedicated space. I used Pages primarily but I kept running into issues with lag, so I recently switched over to Scrivener on my phone. As for where I write I either do so at my desk or in bed, or on long train rides. The good thing about writing on my phone is that if I have a sudden burst of inspiration and have the time, I can write almost anywhere.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Music, especially with long train or car rides. Staring out the window at scenery with music often gets my imagination going. Long walks work too, especially if I'm on the treadmill at the gym and can zone out without worrying about walking into oncoming traffic lol. Other than that, ideas often come to me just as I am drifting off to sleep.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Found family, prophecies, newfound/hidden powers, finding purpose, feeling like an outsider. These don't really surprise me, I was always kind of a weird kid and am now a weird adult, with the pervasive feeling of "not belonging" a constant throughout my youth. This isn't to say I don't have friends and family that I love, and am certain love me back, but I've always been a little awkward in most social settings, regardless of the context.

What is your reason for writing?

I have a very active imagination that probably borders on maladaptive dreaming, but writing and art create a healthier outlet to channel that into.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Basically anything vaguely positive or encouraging is enough to make me blush.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Honestly I don't even know, I hope they think I'm moderately cool? I have never been perceived through the lens of my writing before, only my art.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

World building and character development!

How do you feel about your own writing?

Pretty shy, I am always mildly concerned that my stuff is too trope-y or whatever, and other times I re-read what I wrote and go "hey, that's pretty good!".

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I would say 99% of what I write is my own OC stuff that I never plan to make public, so I'd say I write mostly for myself. That being said, I do think people would enjoy certain aspects of my OC stuff, it's just way too jumbled for anyone but myself to make any sense of it at this point in time.

Tagging whoever wants to join in on this!

[aspec-spirits-and-such]

IMPORTANT: I WILL BE GONE UNTIL AT LEAST THE 29TH OF JULY BECAUSE SLEEPAWAY CAMP, BUT I WILL KEEP THE QUEUE RUNNING

hi :)

my name's Enen or Emmory! tumblr shadowbanned (or something similar) my main blog @crystaleevee4 for some reason, so i'm moving here for specifically my original posts. reblogs and stuff will still be on my original blog, though, so go check it out from time to time!

also, basically all of my posts are queued UNLESS they're original posts or i contributed tags to them.

now i will be copy-pasting my old pinned post because im. lazy

[I am a minor, please don't share anything NSFW with me]

Apagender and any pronouns, I don't give a shit. However I currently have a preference towards he/they and the odd neo/xenopronoun, such as chirp/chirpself :3

i am also EVIL and ASPEC and VAGUELY TRANS and NEURODIVERGENT so all of my blorbos are also now assigned EVIL ASPEC TRANS NEURODIVERGENT HEADCANONS

My Ao3! While I don't have much on it right now, I'm planning on adding some more stuff soon.

Send me asks for the Situations(TM) Ask Game! I am also taking writing/drawing requests... however, if you ask me to draw something, be aware that it might take a while and also I only do traditional art.

@traffic-smp-headcannons. send us your headcanons!

@mcyt-rep. I've turned my MCYT Diversity List into a blog! Currently looking for other mods.

@oddly-specific-hermit-headcanons. ooo…. submit your oddly specific hc/life series/etc headcanons….

@sometimes-skizz-doodles. sometimes i doodle skizz

TAGS I USE:

#hermitfic - as per suggested by @/the-minecraft-bee. this is where i'll keep all my hermitcraft-related fics!

#trafficfic - same deal, but with the life series.

#situations (tm) ask game - for the Put The Guy in Situations (TM) ask game!

#important - things i think other people should know about. (note: this also includes silly posts)

#for writing - what it says on the tin.

#for art - same deal as before.

#favorite - stuff i love!

#save - things i want to be able to find later on.

#enen says stuff - general posts that I make. aka, things that aren't reblogs

#my writing - every so often I write stuff and then I post stuff and that stuff goes in this tag

#once in a blue moon enen amanita uploads art - even less often I make and post art and that art goes in this tag

#enen assigns songs - sometimes I like to assign songs to characters or series so that happens here I guess

#enen's splatoon au - Life Series/HC Splatoon au. what else is there to say

Current Fandoms (vaguely in order of how active I am in them):

Mob Psycho 100

Life Series/Hermitcraft, specifically skizz :)

Pokemon, especially Sw/Sh because i am. basic and weak

Doctor Who

Cowboy Bebop

Splatoon

The Magnus Archives

Wings of Fire kind of, vaguely

Unstoppables! (this is a trilogy YA sci-fi book series by charlie jane anders and i expect no one else to know it but. a girl can dream)

Wild Kratts (?!?!?!?!??!?)

Oh, and (glances at url + blog title) because I know you're all wondering.... my EVIL headcanons >:)

Reigen - Aroace :) (i decided when i first discovered him that he was either gay or very flamboyantly aroace and then i went with the second option after season 3)

Mob - demiro, ace, vaguely bi

Serizawa - he's ace and alloro but his romantic orientation is still unclear even to himself !! ^-^ vaguely unlabelled 4 now

Tome - Aro allosexual lesbian :)

Dimple (he counts here guys) - well. considering that spirits are like. canonically asexual. what do you think

ok that is all goodbye :)

[icypantherwrites]

GAME: Identify the Song Title/Lyric Fics and WIN a Fanfic from IcyPanther Prize!

CANCELLED

Unfortunately due to a lack of interest for this game it is now cancelled. Definitely feeling more than a little sad, but I probably shouldn't have expected anything else.

For anyone that was curious, the titles for this game were:

Missing

Razzle Dazzle

Trying So Hard to Breathe (But No Air in My Lungs)

Brightest Day of Your Darkest Hour

Sleeping Somewhere Cold (Until You Lead Me Back Home)

Harder and Harder to Breathe

Trust in Me

This is My Home (Watch Your Step if You Come Around)

Only a Crack in this Castle of Glass

Here for Your Entertainment

Our Farewell

Feel Like a Monster

Overview

I was feeling a little nostalgic so thought I'd try out a fanfiction game on Tumblr :) I have a grand total of 12 VLD titles (on AO3 specifically, not counting Patreon for this) that are inspired/based on song titles and/or lyrics. The breakdown for this is 5 one-shots and 7 multi-chapter fanfictions. There are several stories listed at the bottom of this post that do not count towards these numbers and cannot be used for the game, so please review them!

To play the game, you must first like AND reblog this post with your Tumblr account indicating that you will be playing.

After that, you will need to figure out and identify 6 of the 12 fanfictions on my AO3 account and at least two of them must be multi-chapter. You will need to leave an engaged comment* on each of your selections (for multi-chapter the final chapter is acceptable, but extra love from me if you pop into each one!) for the submission to be counted. You must state in each of your comments your Tumblr username and that you are playing Icy's song title/lyric game or it will not count.

Upon submitting your final comment you'll want to comment on this post (please tag me too!) that you are finished and what name you were submitting your comments under on AO3 (just for me to cross-reference and make sure everything is on the up and up!). I'll announce when we have a first winner so any folks that want to take a crack at the bonus prize can do so! I will say two titles are definitely a little tricky, but technically I did make note of their songs in author's notes so it is out there ;p If you happen to comment on a fic that is not one of the 12, I will let you know.

*What is an Engaged Comment?

It means the comment had at minimum one detail that identified it as a comment on that story. So, for example, as lovely as a comment that says "I loved this!" or "I loved the way you wrote the relationship between Hunk and Lance!" those are not considered engaged comments because they can apply to a lot of fanfictions. The comment must also be at least 100 words that does not include quote back dialogue/exposition (i.e. where you copy and paste lines from the story into the comment). You can absolutely do so to reflect directly on them, but they do not count towards the word count. The goal is to leave a warm, feel good and fuzzy comment for the author, especially with prizes up for grabs. For reference, this entire paragraph (including this sentence) is 147 words, so I know you can do it! ♥

Prizes

If you are the first person to submit your 6 submissions by the deadline of Wednesday, April 9 at 10am CST, you'll get a 1k-2k VLD fanfiction written by me for you (and I haven't taken requests in years so this is like, a super special awesome limited edition offer)! Anything goes so long as it adheres to my Commission Information guidelines and is not SA; I won't write that for shorter wordcounts.

As a bonus, if you are the first person to submit for all 12 submissions by the deadline I'll either increase that story wordcount to 3-4k (if you were also the initial winner) or you will get a 1k-2k fanfiction (if you were not the initial winner). So even if you aren't the first, you could still win! 🥳

If no one solves it by the deadline, there will be no winners.

Stories that DO NOT COUNT for the game:

Battlefield: While the title itself is based on a song each individual chapter is its own story and not related to it. Any story inside Battlefield is also not applicable for this game.

Following the Leader (Wherever He May Go): This is a song title (from Peter Pan) but the story was not in any way inspired or relating to it.

Talk to Me: A very catchy lyric from Cake by the Ocean but not related whatsoever ;p

Happy Little Working Song: From Disney's Enchanted and while the story in question is about singing (including some Disney) it wasn't technically inspired by that song; more of just a happy play on words and coincidence.

I think that about covers it, but please comment below if you have questions :) Hoping to see some folks playing and maybe y'all will get one last fanfiction out of me! (and just given the date, no, no April Fool's prank here. I cannot beat the ones back from 2018 and 2019 and I will not attempt to try ;p)

[kinglazrus]

Beep boop hello to you! Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💚

I adore whoever made this ask game. Thank you for sending me one, Lexx! This was so hard to choose, so these aren't in any particular order.

The Moment It Breaks

Description: After months of lies and secrets, it finally happens. His identity is revealed in the worst of ways—in the middle of a ghost fight. Now everyone knows that Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter

Reason: I made this AU for the Danny Phantom au zine, Reality Trip, and I have had so much fun playing with it. It started as a throwaway wondering "what if Vlad approached Tucker instead of Valerie?" and grew into something huge. I've always adored no one knows aus, and this one takes it a step further. I'll be posting the fic to Ao3 soon, and I've got big plans for the rest of this AU.

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Description: Valerie knows Danny Fenton, everybody does. Youngest of the family, son and heir, future owner of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy. And, for the next week, he's the Red Huntress' newest client.

Reason: I adore writing Valerie's point of view. She's my favourite character, so it's a bit criminal that I don't have more fics focused on her. I've also used some different narrative techniques in this fic playing with perspective, which has been a lot of fun.

The Punishment Fits the Crime

Description: Ghosts are naturally drawn to death. Danny, however, finds himself drawn to those who have wrongfully died. He always said he would never hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. It's not his fault that he keeps finding people who do. Or: Danny is a vengeful spirit.

Reason: My darkest fic, tonally. I got the idea to turn Danny into a vengeful spirit and immediately decided to push it as far as I could. There's only a couple of chapters up right now, but the tags tell you all you need to know about the direction this fic is going.

The In-Laws

Description: Harriet and her son, Kwan, meet each other's boyfriends through a family dinner. Hopefully, Vlad Masters and Danny Fenton can get along for one meal.

Reason: Because it's fun! This is a very light-hearted, humorous fic, and I had a great time with it. I like to write all kinds of pairings, and this was a great way to explore two I hadn't yet: Vlad and Harriet, and Danny and Kwan. Bad News shippers come get your juice.

Blossoms On Her Tongue

Description: Years after Undergrowth’s attack, Sam’s ghost powers from that day are slowly returning. Sam is excited at first, both at the chance to grow closer with Danny, and the opportunity to use her own powers for good. But things aren’t as great as they seem. After all, plants don't mix well with the cold.

Reason: I can't actually say because that would be a spoiler! But there's a specific dynamic I wanted to explore for the trio and this fic was what came out of it. I've got three parts planned for this series, each one focused on a different member of the trio.

Honourable mentions that I almost picked for this:

The Survivalists (of course)

Prince Before King. Genius Before Fool.

Not Your Danny

Deep Wounds

Dead Man Walking

Until Death Do We Part

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

I went down through your landoscar verse tag which has too many letters to remember, and then went and reread them on AO3... (Is the second chapter of the part where they talk more coming soon? 🥹)

But also I was wondering, how did they start out??? You've written they've had sex, but more gentle and normal and then Oscar offers himself up... Did he also get spacey before that? How did they know they are both kinky (and compatible in that sense) but also haven't really talked about it before. When and with who did Oscar learn he's subby? How did Lando??? What's the backstory!?

GOD okay okay okay I have a concert to go to but I'm done making myself presentable bc I'm too tired to put in too much effort.

First things first, I am working on the second chapter. Unfortunately, it's very much become a demand avoidance thing because I have ADHD and Autism and people have been chronically asking me for a new chapter and while I love and appreciate people for wanting more, it's really gotten me in my own head about things. So i'm working, just slowly.

Some of this stuff is actually touched on in Chapter 2, and I thought I'd put it in Chapter 1 and then realized it's just been buzzing around in my head and on paper, and was like "whoopsies"

Essentially, in my headcanon for this verse, after Oscar moves to Monaco, him and Lando start to spend more time together, they go on a few dates, they hook up a bit, and they're like "yeah okay we can get behind this"

It's convenient because they're teammates, they kind of fool around and start to figure out what the other likes. At some point in that, Oscar probably won't really get spacey, but he'll probably talk a little bit with Lando about not minding giving up control, and letting Lando take that control and stuff, but it's never really been a formal dialogue. There's a reason I heavily stress that it is very under-negotiated in all the fics.

While they're engaging in the "casual" sex hellscape with each other, I definitely imagine that they've had some conversations about what Oscar likes, and what Lando likes, but not like...to the extent that really they should be to be participating in some of their kinks. I think I've talked a lot about like...Lando often feels out of control, and likes to use his dominance as a way to feel more in control, and Oscar feels very in control a lot of the time, and likes to be able to give that up. Before the events of "telling me that i gotta behave now" they definitely would've played around a bit with Lando being a bit more controlling, but nothing like...serious.

Very specifically, they don't ever actually discuss kink compatibility until "I'm so Lonely." For both of them, it's a lot of learning a lot about each other in a very short period of time. Along with that, it's Lando and Oscar both trusting each other to know that they would use safe words if either of them felt uncomfortable, or uninterested in something that was happening. Canonically, in this verse specifically, because they're teammates they already have a certain level of trust in one another, so both of them feel the comfortability to be honest about this.

Again, there's a reason I heavily mention the under-negotiated kink.

Oscar learned that he was at least a little subby with an ex-girlfriend. I'll give you a snippet because I'm feeling magnanimous.

It was nice, with his last girlfriend, when she was a little bossy, told him exactly how she wanted it, tugged his hair to get him to the right place, and wouldn’t suck him off or get him off if she didn’t feel like it. But it wasn’t like this. There’s something that he gets with Lando that he’s never gotten with any of them.

And very specifically, the conversation with Lando and Oscar at the beginning of everything ("casual" sex) likely went "You can tell me what to do, I don't mind" from Oscar to Lando, and Lando filing it away in the back of his brain.

And again, as I mentioned above, Lando really figured that he was a little more dominant because of control issues blah blah blah. (Sorry I've very specifically talked about this a lot with a lot of people this week, because I'm currently writing a fic in this verse with top Oscar). He just didn't really realize how much he loved it until he met Oscar.

And as is the nature with sex and sexuality and bdsm and relationships, things are always morphing and changing. The dynamic of top Lando for Oscar is very different than top Oscar for Lando. In the fic I'm working on right now, Oscar is also taking on what could be considered a dominant role, however it's very much to fulfill what Lando needs, which arguably leans more in the direction of service top (despite the fact that he definitely has Lando's hands tied up and Lando over his knees for a spanking.)

Please feel free to come to me with more questions about this verse, you can come off anon too, I don't bite, and I can send you these insanely long replies directly.

I would maybe consider writing a fic that kind of touches on the beginning of their relationships, however I still have to finish the second chapter of "I'm so Lonely," I'm working on a fic in the verse currently, and also have two more fics in this verse planned that have been living rent free in my head that will probably just be short and smutty (that's the goal at least), and then I'm probably going to bring it to a close because i have a LOT of WIPs in progress and I'm taking pause from most other content in January to try and finish my Warped Tour Lestappen AU.