august-anon

[august-anon]

Hi August! Stopping by to tell you how much I adored your latest fic since I don't think I have yet!

Tim panicking and tickling Jason back to get him to stop was SO CUTE

And Tim trying so hard to understand Jason's 'plan' of attack while being tickled senseless... Tim even your brain does not work that fast/well buddy

Thank you for feeding us as always chef!! Every time I see you’ve posted something I get a little dopamine hit 😎

And thank you to everyone who enjoyed my fic :) I saw your comment Vileha and I will be sending more in! So thank you :))

- Moody

omg i'm so disorganized, i forgot there was multiple asks from you besides the fic moody sdjffh sorry i would have combined them in one post otherwise!!

I am so glad you enjoyed Snotface, thank you so much!!!

Also, YES, your other fic was so amazing, and the one going up tomorrow morning is amazing as well, I can't wait for everyone else to get to read it as well!

[august-anon]

Just wanted to drop in and say that I loved your most recent fic. How many times have I read it? Yes.  I always enjoy a good fic with good siblings Tim and Jason. I especially always enjoy how you write both characters and their relationships. I love the detail of Jason constantly calling Tim nicknames. But the moment that Tim truly annoys Jason, the first name comes out and Tim knows that he’s messed up. This poor Victorian child has been fed a feast.

-Turtle

Thank you so much Turtle, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!!! I LOVE the trope of a person constantly using nicknames and only using a regular first name if theyre pissed off/annoyed/concerned sdkjfhdf its such a vibe and i will always use it where i can

[august-anon]

I’m so sorry you’re sick!! :( I hope you can get lots of rest and you feel better soon!

I offer digital chicken soup in the form of a short fic I’ll send your way!

(Do not feel any rush to post it at all I truly am just sending it now so you have something to read while you’re sick if you want! because when I am sick I consume more fan fiction than air lol)

- Moody :)

MOODYYYYY thank you so much it was so sweet of you, and it did really cheer me up!! and i am much the same, i consume so much fanfic while sick sdkjfhf (and youtube.... went down a rabbit hole of a horror series and now i am so unfortunately hyperfixated despite the mediocre execution of interesting ideas SDFHDHF)

i'm gonna get your fic up for everyone i think tomorrow morning!!

[august-anon]

To those of you who don’t know what’s buried in this Big Bogus Bill…

[august-anon]

heyo

just wonderin' if you knew any authors similar to envysparkler or yourself

<3 catalogue

Fic recs coming right up for you, catalogue anon!!!! Gonna put this under a cut in case it gets long because i am a Crazy Person djfhjdf

But yeah, feel free to come back for more recs at any time, because i consume fanfic at a voracious rate so I will always have more/re-find ones i read awhile ago and forgot about because i almost ALWAYS forget to login to read fanfic jkfdfh.

(been trying to log in while i read more often recently, since a lot of ppl are restricting works bcuz of the AI scraping and also just so my history actually records it so i can MAYBE find it again, and so i can remember to bookmark and subscribe to stuff lol, so hopefully i will lose fics less often)

Starting with tickle fics!!!

Other authors i know of that have some batfam fics include:

@13phantom13angel13

@tickletastic

@ficsstuff

@the-hawk-anon who we saw the tickle fic debut of in my askbox and now has a blog!

@kourtniwritesagain should have at least one if i remember correctly

@rosiesramblings also has one, and she and i chat and i know she's hoping to write some more batfam eventually! (which i am so patiently frothing at the mouth for skdjsfhh)

and i know we're talking fics, but @fluffyweeby has some absolutely ADORABLE batfam tickle art

i know there has to be some i'm forgetting, but basically, for stuff on tumblr, just go through my batfam tickling tag and you'll find all the good stuff lol (and if there's any that anyone else knows of that i dont PLEASE let me know i am always wanting more fic sdjfhdf)

as for general DC tickling but not necessarily batfam, along with some of the batfam ppl above posting that as well, i know @fickle-tiction, @cantwritethetword, @tickle-bugs have some. i think @amazingmsme has some My Adventures With Superman specific fics (which are sitting in my drafts to read once i finally watch it lol), and I think @thebest-medicine does as well, along with some Teen Titans fics? which i also havent read yet until i watch the teen titans cartoon lol. i think @fanficsandfluff has some DCEU stuff on their masterpost that ive shoved into my drafts recently to read and reblog when i have time lol

to find all DC stuff on my blog (including batfam stuff) you can go into my DC tickling tag in case there's people i've missed, and i also try to tag as well by groupings (batfam, justice league, teen titans, young justice, etc.) for organizational purposes if you want to find something specific

Now, for a few ao3-specific tickle fics i've found!!!

It Turns Out, You Can't Be Serious Forever by Alicelikesgravity

I haven't watched the live action Titan's show yet (i have heard SUCH mixed opinions about it though sdkjfhdf), but this is based in that universe, and is a platonic short n sweet tickle fic between Jason and Beast Boy

(This work is restricted to archive users only, you will have to be logged in)

Roy's Little Experiment by Kunoichirin

this is a short n sweet JayRoy fic, absolutely heart-melting, switch!both. i go and reread it all the time because its just so adorably tooth-rotting

Safe Space. by dangerouscoffeetheorist

back tickles my beloved 😭 8K of Jason character exploration (and Jason and Bruce relationship exploration) through back tickles, the fic that inspired in my brain for Jason to have the most ticklish back of any of the batboys (and inspired the back-tickles series i am soooo slowly working on that you all will hopefully see someday lol). I come back and reread this CONSTANTLY bro dskjfh. i dont remember if i've read the rest of the series it belongs to yet, but i'm sure the rest of it is great too! (but the rest of the series is not tickle fics fyi!)

___________________________________

Moving on to non-tfics!

for this section, even if the author has a tumblr that i know of, i will NOT be tagging them because idk this is my little tickle fic corner i dont want them all looking at me im sorry dsjfkhf if they find me on their own and enjoy my work then good for them but im not going to Draw Them Here because sometimes ppl think this fixation is weird/it makes them uncomfy lol

BUT, since you mentioned envy, i def am ready to rec some normie fics for you as well! because i read so much fic lol like, Bruh, i need to do more things with my time than read all this fic lol

some of these may be in-progress WIPs that i dug out of the bookmarks of my normie ao3 account, i hope that is fine! as many oneshots as i read, chaptered fics tends to be where i live lol. i have like 200+ tabs open on my phone lol

(also fair warning that most if not all of these probably lean HEAVILY into fanon characterizations)

STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT (pun unintentional lol)

envysparkler does actually have a secondary account under greeneyedfirework. I haven't read many of the fics on this account, because a lot of them are SlaDick (or just have, like, Murder Uncle Slade Wilson) and I'm personally not into those tags at all so I haven't read a lot of them lol. BUT there are some good batfam works, often of the platonic/familial a/b/o persuasion, which i have started to really love lol. BUT BE WARNED!!!!! most of the works on this secondary account have a lot more intense of triggers than anything on envy's main account. heed the tags greatly, and do not read if it would be harmful or upsetting to you!

As for other authors with a good Batfamily fic selection, from memory and/or rediscovery with looking for fics to rec you:

Lulu_Rhythm - a large number of batfam fics. I haven't read all of them, but i have read a good number of them! they also have some roy harper centric fics (because they like to include roy into the batfam dynamics a lot) that i have not read yet, but theyre there if you are interested!

Harpersdragons - I actually just started going through this author's ao3 myself very recently, because a LOT of their works are archive-users-only restricted and as i have said many times, i always forget to log in lol. I've read a good handful of their fics so far and i am SUPER enjoying them!

Sohotthateveryonedied - they have a PLETHORA of batfam fics, a veritable feast lol. I def have not read them all because not all of them call to me personally, but in scanned through their works I do remember reading a good number of them, so I'm sure you'll find some that appeal to you here!

sardonic-sprite - a huge number of batfam fics, i def havent read them all, but i have read a number of them (and reread them in the process of making this post lol) and you should be able to find something that appeals to you here (just heed the fact that when they use "creator chose not to use archive warnings" tag that they use it properly and mean it. that is not a "no triggers" tag, that is a "this probably contains an archive warning but i am not telling you what because Spoilers")

TheCopperPan - some batfam works and some shippy works! I know i've read a good number of theirs, if not most of theirs, but its been a while and i only refreshed myself on a couple. Hopefully you find some things to enjoy here!

DaisyBirb - they have a lot of batfam stuff! I have not read all of it, but i've read at least a handful (even if its been a while since then lol) and i enjoy their stuff. But all their works (except I think one?) are archive-locked so you'll need to be logged in!

iselsis - TONS of batfam works!!! I've only gone back through a couple pages of their works so far in making this list but I have wound up rereading most of the works i come across on their page so would def recommend them lol

sElkieNight60 - rediscovered this author when going through the platnic a/b/o section below lol, and realized i had read a lot more by them so i figured i should put them here! i do believe some of their works are archive-locked (i cant remember if i've read any of the archive-locked works)

Miss_Lazy_Tuesday - a good handful of batfam fics! I've read most of these, and their 130K longfic i have read multiple times over lol. Just remember to heed the warnings and triggers for a lot of this author's work!! also keep in mind that they often delve heavily into the fanon idea of Lazarus Pit Madness for a few of their fics, so if that's a no-go for you, then some of their works (including their longfic) will not be for you!

_____________________________

Now, idk how else to present fics to you sdfkjhdf so i am gonna just go through some favorite tropes of mine!

Batfam fics with the Cuddle Pollen trope (cuddle pollen trope my beloved, i can never get enough of it -- and some of the authors listed above also have great cuddle pollen fics that i wont list here)

Beneath the Armor by Spagsdem

comes attached to a series with more batfam cuddles!!

Catherine Didn't Raise No Coward by Femme_Morte

ALSO comes with a series attached -- but I dont think ive read all of them. some of them are definitely too new compared to the last time i peeked at the series last year lol

Paper Hearts and Shredded Masks by Reesachan (Clymenestra)

this one is archive-locked, you will need to be logged in to read it

Adopting a Cuddly Stalker by ILoveFictioN

again, archive-locked, be logged in

personal space by lawltam

archive-locked, be logged in

The Second Stage by nightwalker

Cuddles Are The Best Medicine by Georgie_Likes_Toast

another cuddle pollen one that comes attached to a little series!

hold me close and hold me tight, tomorrow it'll be alright by soft_cactus

drink in the jasmine and rain by TaraLaurel

also has a series attached! have not reread the other two fics in the series in a hot minute though lol

reticent by CrimzonCrow

dancing shadows on the wall by Alienu

wing!fic!!!! i love a good wing!fic

The Ache of Loneliness by concur

The right thing by Lilse

heed the warnings on this one!! nothing like That happens, but Jason does fear that it will

Emergency Beacon by batsandthebirds

A Wilting Flower by C4t1l1n4

Spirit of the Rules by AceOfDivineChlorophyll

red hood identity reveal fic AND cuddle pollen fic???? sign me tf up lol. i have reread this one so many times i love it sm dskjfhf

embraced by foerchen

this one is also connected to a series, about the batboys being brothers! i think ive read at least most of the fics in the series? theyre also good, check them out!

long ride back by Muddell

somehow read this one for the first time going through the cuddle pollen tags for recs, and man, timmy is almost always the one Going Through It aint he dsjfdhf i guess he's just real whumpable lol

bleed just to know you're alive by no_writing_just_ideas_without_motivation

background/low-level superbat in this one!

Cuddle Pollen: there's an app for that by potofsoup

swear on my freedom by carpbread

another wing!fic!!! i had also never seen/read this one before going through the tags to get recs and i very much liked it lol

_________________________

Batfam fics with platonic/familial a/b/o trope (i pulled these out of links i sent to Vileha a little while back, so i might be missing some that i like cuz i dont think i went the entire tag again when giving her recs lol. also a good number of the platonic a/b/o i like are by authors rec'd in the author section above, so check out those sorts of fics from them!!)

A Guide to Tame a Feral Crime Lord for Dummies by IntheRobinNest

an in-progress WIP i've been following for a few weeks now. i was hesitant to start it for months because i had no idea who some of the kiddo characters were, but i am so glad i started it because i am waiting on the edge of my seat for every update right now lol. i am LOVING this fic omg, if you are into (or interested in trying out) platonic a/b/o give it a shot

batpack genfic series by Anonymous

i revisit this series CONSTANTLY. would HIGHLY recommend. i love the way they explore the pack/family dynamics in this series, i think its some of the first batfam a/b/o i read when I started getting into the idea of it and looking through tags

Call for Comfort by VioletShimmer

Faith in Ghosts by timbitsandpieces

heed the tags and triggers on this one!!!!!!!

You Can Cry On My Shoulder by hero_red

Who could ever leave me (But who would stay?) by only2braincellsavailable

pillow forts and other necessities by Violettavonviolet

A pack in hand is worth two in the bush by only2braincellsavailable

Healing Through the Hurt by Huntressundone

this one is a cuddle pollen AND a/b/o fic so i didn't know which category to put it in jsdfjhdf but i decided a/b/o category lol

Other fics i would recommend that i can remember off the top of my head/have been reading recently lol (which, a number of long fics that i was gonna rec were actually by people in the author section so def check the longer fics out for those that have some lol)

To be Loved is to be Known by loreoftheforgotten

An in-progress WIP, slower to update. Heed the warnings and tags on this one! i've been following this one for several months now and i truly adore it. if you're into shifters tropes and trauma healing def look into this one. this one IS archive-locked, so you will need to be logged in to view it! (i almost lost this one because it got archive-locked between updates at some point and i freaked out when i couldnt find it again dsjfhdf)

Before Robin by wafflebish

another in-progress WIP. This one is focusing primarily on Dick and Bruce, and it's a time-travel fic (Dick traveling into the past to before Bruce even met Dick) so there's all sorts of delicious angst and secrets. ive really been enjoying this one too!

Inscribed on Body & Soul by drowningfire

when i was in high school i was kinda obsessed with soulmate AUs, but i very much fell out of it shortly after high school and have only read probably a handful since lol. I've been dipping back into the trope again with batfam (because platonic/familial soulmates are so wonderful!!) and this one i thought was SO good. i love the concept of a soulmark that isnt predestined but instead forms on you (or fades) thanks to the love that person has for you in the moment. Jason-centric

Sometimes Family Is Just The Guy Who Shows Up by AWarriorAtHeart1

mer-AU!!! I just started reading this one (by "just started" i mean "just found and read all 10 chapters in one sitting on the clock instead of working at my job" but thats just how i operate lol), but i find it very intriguing and i am eager to see where it goes next!!

hey angel (find the broken pieces of me, put them back together) by lavendar_betrayal

the moment i discovered this i immediately read it twice in a row lol. we got touch-starvation, we got embarassed by affection, we've got intense (platonic) relationship between batfam members, we got jason being a menace of an older brother. extremely soft (the first oneshot in this "other fics" section so far dsjfkhdf)

Let Them Be Brothers series(/The Mafia Files series) by quotidian_void

okay so i barely remember reading this one, BUT its in both my bookmarks and my subscriptions on ao3, and from a time when i was never remembering to log in. so if i remembered to log in to make sure i never lost this series, you know i had to have loved it sdkjhf. For this one, the "Let Them Be Brothers" series is the primary series, but the "Mafia Files (expansion pack)" series has some extra little add-ons to the universe if you wanna go deeper

Shutterbug series by goldkirk

i have not read all of the fics in this series!!! honestly i think i only really remember reading the first one (Latchkey), so like djfhdf, there are several fics in the series that are updating slowly so I've been waiting for them to finish before moving forward to see if the rest of the series is for me. Stalker/BatWatch blogger Tim Drake joins the batfam!

Safety by WrongLeverKronk

be warned, i think the tags dont really cover it, but tim Does get tortured for information in this fic by some thugs! but otherwise its a lot of comfort of his family taking care of him after they rescue him

The New Adventures of TimTam, the Chocolate Wonder by Kirazalea

been a while since i reread this one so i dont have much to say lol, but the summary and tags sum it up pretty well!

Banshee in a Well by liverobinreaction (bugbee)

heed the warnings and triggers on this one!!! i havent reread it in a while (i meant to reread it a bit ago when i sent it as a rec to Vileha, but i completely forgot dkjfhf) but if i remember right it gets a little intense with violence/gore? i dont remember a lot of specifics about this one but i remember enjoying it! angsty but if i liked it, it had to have ended well enough at least lol

____________________________

I was GONNA add a "Batfam meets the Justice League" trope section as well (because stumbling across fics under that trope was what got me into the batfam fandom initially, almost exactly a year ago now lol) but this was already SO long and taking me so long that i was like,,,, maybe if people want more fics recs i'll put that section in another post lol

AND LIKE I SAID 100% ask me for more if you want and I can take some days/weeks and gather some fics to do another round of this lol, i am always reading fic (and trying to do so logged in more often so i stop losing all the fics i read kjdsfh) this is non-exhaustive!!! there's even so so many good fics i didnt include in here!

if there is ever a specific trope, length of fic, etc etc etc that yall are looking for recs for (and it's something i will read) let me know because either i have read something that i can re-find for you, OR i will go and read fics until i find some recs for you lol (this goes for everyone fyi, not just catalogue lol)

also. i will never ever say no to someone rec'ing me fics back dskjfhdjfh if you have a fic rec i will devour it (if i havent already) (and even then i will probs reread it lol)

[august-anon]

i have caught up on all replies and notifications!!! hopefully tomorrow i can start tackling the asks that have built up!! (and i will probably schedule them to post more spaced-out so that it's not a big bunch of asks going up all at once sdjfhdf)

i'll try to pop at least a couple things in my queue for the next couple of days before i disappear to hibernate for the night, though, so that the blog doesnt remain so quiet while i catch up and schedule things and re-fill the queue for a longer period of time lol

the regularly scheduled BS is getting back on track!!

bestiessss i have been Sick(tm) but do not fret i will make a valiant recovery soon and return to my regularly scheduled BS lol

[august-anon]

oh no my queue ran out while i was sick 😭

[august-anon]

just a heads up to my fellow writers out there that AO3 is currently fighting off bots commenting on people’s works to tell them that AO3 will delete their fics “due to the works being deprecated”, and the deletion will affect their accounts unless the authors delete the fics themselves first. IT IS A SCAM. AO3 will NOT delete your works. please do NOT fall for these bots!

I’ve been told the reason why these bots are doing this is due to copyright infringement issue where they’re trying to steal your works (possibly to train AI but this is just a guess) ‼️‼️‼️and once you deleted your fics, it will be either very difficult or impossible for you to claim ownership of your own fics when they were already deleted.‼️‼️‼️

a reminder that AO3 will never contact you through your comments section (in case they claim to be one of the moderators). AO3 will only contact you through your email address which you use to register your account, and it will be from AO3’s official handle. not some sketchy ass @

so if you get a comment telling you you should “delete your works to protect your account because AO3 is doing blah blah blah” report that comment. don’t delete your works.

PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THESE SCAM.

AO3 IS NOT DELETING WORKS.

DO NOT DELETE YOUR WORKS JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE CLAIMS THEY KNOW SOMETHING.

[august-anon]

Been fixating on Treasure Planet lately, and these guys' father-son relationship is everything to me

[august-anon]

i think the only sibling that comes close to beating Dick's "eldest sibling" winning streak in things like mario kart is Tim. you cant tell me that kid isnt killer good at video games. and Dick definitely isnt, he's just okay at them, except for things like mario kart and mario party and the like because he's the Oldest and Competitive As Hell

and so if tim starts getting too close to winning for dick's comfort, you bet dick is gonna cheat with some tickles. all it takes is a few pokes or squeezes to the ribs and tim is totally distracted and dick can pull into the lead again. it drives tim CRAZY

so he makes dick play smash bros instead, which he actually cant win against tim because dick is a button masher and tim actually strategizes his moves and plans attacks (like a NERD, who DOES that sdkjfhdsf). tim gets tickled anyway just for beating dick at a video game

[august-anon]

Cuddles Turn To Giggles

Prinxiety [Virgil/Anxiety x Roman/Princey]

Summary: Virgil is very ticklish in a somewhat odd place. v e r y ticklish, and roman is a tease [WARNING: THIS IS A TICKLE FIC]

based on prompts from my inbox thanks yall

Keep reading

[august-anon]

bestiessss i have been Sick(tm) but do not fret i will make a valiant recovery soon and return to my regularly scheduled BS lol

[august-anon]

this is the kind of stuff i think about with the asmrtist clark kent au for the record lol

like, yes it is a massage! relaxing! those fingertips are getting awfully close to the armpits though and depending on the kind/amount of pressure behind them, definitely ticklish

and this is why bruce would not be able to handle being asmrtist clark's model lol

[august-anon]

DON'T PUT YOUR TRIGGERS AND/OR PHOBIAS IN YOUR WEBSITES/PINNED POSTS/BIOS/ETC. FOR EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET TO SEE. ONLY TRUSTED PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT INFORMATION, NOT THE WHOLE INTERNET. YOU WILL GET HURT!!! MEAN PEOPLE WILL USE IT AGAINST YOU!!!

[august-anon]

[august-anon]

Let Your Hair Down

I finished this in December of 2021 and somehow never posted it lol

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Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins

Ship(s): PRE - Alistair/Warden (F)

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Warden/Ler!Alistair

Word Count: 2105 words

Summary: The group never took breaks, never lingered, never rested, never took a breath, always moving toward the next target. The only moment they slowed was in camp, and that was only with their bodies, not so much with their minds. Maybe they could all use some fun.

[ao3 link]

--------------------

The Warden shook some of the water from her hair with her hands, combing through it roughly with her fingers to get the worst tangles out before starting to pull it up into the style she usually wore it in. She flinched as a voice spoke behind her, despite the fact that she was normally far more aware of her surroundings than that.

“Don’t you ever leave your hair down?” Alistair asked.

Alistair did have a way of worming his way past her defenses.

“It’s more practical to wear up,” she replied, dropping her hands and letting her damp hair tumble down her back again. “Can’t exactly go around killing darkspawn with a curtain of hair in the way.”

He settled on the ground next to her where she had kneeled down by the fire, hoping for the heat to dry her hair faster. “Well, we aren’t killing darkspawn right now.” He tilted his head to the side. “Leliana wears her hair down to fight darkspawn.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Leliana’s hair is shorter, and she’s an archer. Why do you want me to wear my hair down so badly?”

He cleared his throat, looking away from her. It was hard to tell by only the firelight, but she swore he looked a little red. She smothered a grin.

“I just– think it would look nice, is all,” he stammered out. “A nice change. Everyone needs a change every once in a while. Not that I’m telling you to change–”

She couldn’t help it anymore. She tossed her head back with a laugh. “Don’t strain yourself.”

He pouted at her. She grinned and leaned toward him, watching his eyes go wide, before ducking her head and shaking it. Her hair was still decently wet, and Alistair flinched back with a yelp, raising his hand to shield his face.

“Why are you wet?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Because, Alistair. Some of us actually bathe.”

He put a hand over his heart. “Are you saying I smell? You know, I actually take offense to that.”

“Good,” she said. “Maybe it’ll actually get you to take a bath.”

“I do bathe!” Alistair said, reaching out to slide his hand up into the underside of her hair and shake it out. “You just… aren’t around when I go off to do that.”

She squeaked and jolted away from his hand, rolling her shoulders. She tried to save face and move right on, hoping Alistair wouldn’t mention it. “Really? When am I not around, Alistair.”

Unfortunately, Alistair was not fooled. “What was that?”

She rubbed the back of her neck, where the ghostly touch of his fingertips still lingered. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Alistair grinned, leaning in a little. “Oh, come on, now. Aren’t we friends?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Something tells me you’ve already figured out what it was, and I will not subject myself to the embarrassment of telling you.”

He chuckled a little. “Come on, everyone’s at least a little ticklish. I bet even Sten is. There’s no reason to get so defensive about it.”

The Warden continued to glare at him, sliding slowly to the other side of the log.

“See, you look at me like that, but now I have the perfect tidbit of information to get you to smile.” He cocked his head at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to just give up now?”

She smirked at him. “Oh, Alistair. You should know by now. I never give up.”

She launched herself off the log, sprinting around the fire and toward the treeline. Her sudden movement unfortunately made their little tussle quite obvious to everyone else in camp, and she could feel their eyes on her. Glancing over her shoulder, the Warden saw Alistair close on her heels, fingers wiggling threateningly. 

Yeah, there was no way their friends hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on already. Except maybe Sten. Were Qunari even capable of being ticklish? She shook the thought out of her head. She needed to focus.

Apparently, she caught herself too late. She tripped over something – an outstretched leg, likely, they weren’t close enough to the trees for her to have tripped over any roots (based on Leliana’s bright laughter nearby, the Warden had an idea of who it might have been) – and crashed to the ground. She didn’t bother trying to scramble up, instead she rolled over and started crab-walking backwards, one hand raised protectively in front of her.

“Alistair,” she said, a warning note in her voice.

He grinned down at her, his hands still raised in threatening claws, though his eyes softened. “If you ask nicely, I might be persuaded to have mercy.”

The Warden’s mouth twisted. He was giving her an easy out. She was going to get tickled either way, that was for certain now after they put on this whole show in front of everyone, but he was offering up mercy. The question was, did she want it.

They were in the middle of the end of the world. The Warden hadn’t gotten a decent night of sleep since she’d left home with Duncan, and she doubted many of her companions were having a good time of it, either. They never took breaks, never lingered, never rested, never took a breath, always moving toward the next target. The only moment they slowed was in camp, and that was only with their bodies, not so much with their minds.

Maybe they could all use some fun. 

But only a little bit.

“You think I’m scared of you?” The Warden taunted. “You’re like a giant teddy bear. You think this is a threat?”

Alistair gave a low chuckle. “I’ll admit, I never had much time for practicing fun and games, what growing up in the Chantry and all, but you, my dear, should be very afraid.”

The Warden’s eyes widened as he lunged at her, and she tried to roll away. Alistair managed to catch her around the waist and pull her back, pinning her down to the grass underneath him. She tried to catch his hands and spared a moment to glance at his position, straddling her. She smirked.

“Maker, Alistair, buy a lady dinner first,” she said, and grinned when his face suddenly went bright red. He always made it too easy.

He started stammering excuses and apologies, and she managed to slip out from under him while he was busy being flustered. Despite all the teasing Morrigan dished out, Alistair wasn’t stupid, and he caught on to her plan the second she slipped out of his grip.

“Oh, you little minx,” Alistair called after her, and was chasing her again in an instant.

She wasn’t so quick, this time, too busy watching her feet and steering clear of their other companions to avoid falling again. Really, it was just to give her an excuse to be slower, to allow Alistair to catch up without being obvious about it. She was built to be quick and sneaky, he was built to stand strong and defend. If she didn’t give him the victory here, he may not have gotten it otherwise.

Alistair caught the Warden around the waist once more, tugging her back into his chest. She put up a struggle against his grip, and while she knew she could easily slip from it had she wanted to, she allowed him to wrap her tight in his arms, his fingertips resting just against the fleshy parts of her sides.

“Any last words?” He asked her.

The Warden made a show of giving a last few struggles against him. Then, she turned her head to glare up at him over her shoulder. “My revenge will be swift and unforgiving.”

Alistair just laughed at her, and then his fingers dug in and she was the one who was laughing. She started to fight his grip for real, then, but was just as unsuccessful as before, now that she was weakened from her laughter. She pushed back against his chest instead, as if that would in any way bring her further away from his fingers.

She could hear Zevran laugh nearby, closer to the fire. “My friend! How is it that none of us knew you were so ticklish?”

The Warden couldn’t move around much in Alistair’s grip, and she wasn’t going to waste the air she needed for her laughter on telling Zevran off. What she could do, however, was wrench one of her arms away from where she’d been trying to tug Alistair’s hands off of her and flip Zevran the bird. She heard him laugh once more.

Raising her arm turned out to be very much an incorrect choice, however, as Alistair immediately took the opening. His fingers dove into the newly exposed spot, wiggling and scratching away. The Warden shrieked and slammed her arm back down against her side, but it did nothing to protect her against the hand that was already there.

“Sorry,” Alistair said into her ear, “does that tickle?”

She squealed again and tried to twist her body out of his grip. She managed to get loose, and started to make another break for it, but Alistair was a lot more coordinated than her at the moment, considering he hadn’t just been the subject of a tickle attack. He grabbed her arm before she’d even taken two steps and pulled her back in, this time holding her so they were chest to chest. 

At first, she thought it was a blessing. After all, it at least protected her stomach and a few other spots, right? But then, his hands started randomly skittering up and down the Warden’s back and a gasp tore from her throat. She burst into childish giggles, squirming every which way with no idea on how to escape. She didn’t even know she was ticklish on her back, let alone to this degree.

Alistair hummed, and she could feel the vibration through his chest. “You seemed the type,” he said, quietly enough to be only for her ears. “I had a friend in templar training who was ticklish here.”

She shook her head and buried her face into his chest, trying to muffle the embarrassing giggles into his shirt. The Warden laughed. The Warden laughed and chuckled and scoffed and huffed, but the Warden did not giggle. She could feel her face growing warm with her embarrassment, desperately trying to reach behind her to stop his hands, but she couldn’t reach. She pushed forward against his chest to try and lean away from his devious fingers, but he had no give in front of her, and his fingers easily followed every arch and jerk of her back.

She wondered if the option of mercy was still on the table.

“Please,” she ground out between her hysterical giggles, digging her fingers desperately into his shirt. “Alistair!”

He chuckled, and she flinched away from his breath on her ear. Even that was too ticklish for her, now. “First,” he said, “you have admit to me that you wanted this.”

She jerked in his grip. “What?!”

“Just to me,” he hummed. “But you think I don’t know what you look like when you’re actually fighting back, after all this time together?”

Well now her blush wasn’t just from the embarrassing giggling. She gave it another bout of fighting first, trying to tear herself out of his arms, but her legs could barely hold her up anymore, they were so shaky from her laughter. There was no possible way she was going to break free from this, not without Alistair letting her go.

“Fine!” She hissed, trying to keep her words quiet and lost in her giggling so that the rest of their companions wouldn’t hear. “Fine, I let you catch me!”

“Why?”

“I thought it would be fun! Alistair, come on!”

He chuckled and stopped his tickling, holding her tight when she sagged against him. She gripped at one of his arms, glaring up at him in warning.

“And was it?” He asked.

She twisted her lips, trying to force the involuntary smile off of them. “Maybe.”

She pulled herself out of his grip, reached up to tug the tangles out of her hair once more. Alistair dropped his arm around her shoulders and led them back toward the fire.

“Leave it down tonight?” He asked.

The Warden pursed her lips. “Fine. But just for tonight!” She danced out of his grip to flick Zevran on the ear for his teasing. “And Alistair?”

“Yes?” He asked, drawing out the word.

“Sleep with one eye open.”

[august-anon]

The Daybreak Ritual

A/N: This is nothing but teeth-rotting fluff. Contains much schmoop and cuddling. You have been warned.

—

Pale light glowed through Dean’s closed eyelids and warmed the back of his neck, gently tugging him across the threshold into consciousness. He drew a long breath through his nose and held it for a moment while arching his spine to stretch out the dull ache, then exhaled and allowed his eyes to flutter open. He didn’t bother lifting his head to look at the clock; it was early, that was all that mattered. He could probably get away with drifting in and out of sleep for another hour or two.

There was a shift in the sheets to his right. He didn’t have to turn his head to know each move his partner was making - readjusting the pillow, stretching both legs, then… there it was, a nuzzle at his shoulder, a hand sliding down over his lumbar. Dean maneuvered onto his side and hummed when the sleepwarm body pressed fully against his back, slotting knees under his thighs and an arm over his torso. A contented sigh thrummed against the nape of his neck.

He’d long since banished the word “girly” from his brain when it came to mornings. Anything that felt this nice, even something that could be called cuddling, was fair game if it happened before 10 AM. And then again after nine o'clock at night. Maybe eight. Seven if it had been a rough day. And weekends were extenuating circumstances.

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