#Laurent time travels AU fic idea

[altruistic-meme]

we may be feeling brain power?? just a smidgen??? shall we attempt to take control of it for a moment???

[kybelles]

so after a recent conversation with my friends we’ve come to a realization: fandom loves Slave Rights Advocate laurent trope. whether it be an arranged marriage au, a time travel au, an auguste lives au or any kind of setting where slavery is still in motion; it’s always laurent who opens damen’s eyes to the horrors of slavery and insists they can’t be with each other until slavery is abolished, that slavery is a deal breaker on whether they can be together or not. now i certainly don’t want to sound like i’m policing anybody’s creative choices but it’s become such a common trope in the fandom that it is baffling at this point because. here’s the thing. slavery isn’t one of laurent’s battles. at all.

allow me to explain further before i make people angry. it’s clear laurent is against the fundamental premise of slavery and finds it inhumane. but through the series (counting out taofc where he and damen are trying to build an empire together), he doesn’t actively fight or challenge the system or slavery. i don’t even think this is a hot take when you remember that he;

i. didn’t protect the akielon slaves in arles until damen begged him to and sold them to torveld for personal gain (which was the best course of action he could take under the circumstances but as i said, he wasn’t above using them)

ii. referred to damen as his slave constantly in both a technical and romantic sense

iii. got turned on by playing master and slave and master and pet

iv. used isander as a way to get back at damen: was fed by isander in the feast, stroked him, allowed him to kiss his feet and boots etc.

in fact here are plenty of instances where it’s clear laurent enjoyed the type of power he had over damen:

and here’s the only part where i can remember damen and laurent discussing slavery after damen’s identity is revealed and they have the possibility of a future together. as you can see, laurent’s attitude towards it is pretty neutral. he doesn’t approve, but it’s clear he’s not a passionate champion of the anti slavery movement.

let me make it clear that none of this is a criticism towards laurent. it’s important to remember that capri started as a slavekink fic (in pacat’s own words) and though it evolved, by the final draft she still kept some of those elements: like making the first night between lamen a romantic, sacred, precious thing between them; laurent telling damen he’s his slave by feeding him as a slave would, damen calling himself laurent’s slave as a sign of submission/love/romance before their first kiss, laurent saying damen is still his slave before sleeping with him… the narrative still eroticizes slavery to some extent and uses it as a vehicle of romance.

the thing is, laurent finding enjoyment in these practices is not the problem. when the fandom loves to pretend like laurent would be so disgusted by the idea of slavery (even though the text repeatedly shows he’s not) , that he; a perfect civilized blonde veretian angel would come to akielos and educate those barbarians about how horrible slavery is and damen would only open his eyes to the truth through laurent’s guidance, that’s when my issues start. because, like i said, this was never laurent’s battle and it pretty much reads like laurent is some sort of white savior, someone who comes to damen’s country to “fix” the problems of akielos without understanding their history, needs, or the region’s current state of affairs.

another very important thing to underline is that the whole slavery ordeal in the series was damen’s character arc, not laurent’s. he’s the actual slave in the scenario, and as much as laurent doesn’t like slavery, damen didn’t come to the conclusion that it was bad because of laurent’s preachings. it leaves a bad taste in the mouth that damen was the one who actually experienced slavery and faced countless humiliations in vere and yet people still insist on making laurent educate damen about why it’s wrong, even though he himself has never experienced slavery in his life. (one might argue in aus where damen was never sent to vere as a slave he wouldn’t come to the same realizations but that still doesn’t mean laurent would have a passionate agenda regarding slaves. at best i believe he would demand damen to stop sleeping with his slaves as they are monogamous.)

choosing laurent as The One who firmly stands against slavery is bad from a narrative pov too. making this specifically about laurent makes no sense because it's got nothing to do with him. it's not his country! he doesn't care about akielos the way damen does. everything about it thematically relates back to damen; who exists as a metaphor for akielos - any insult or injury done to him is an insult to akielos. he embodies it’s values and it’s people, and by becoming a slave he’s reflecting the current slave state of akielos, and through finding liberation for himself he’s also finding liberation for akielos. it’s a powerful symbolism for how akielos is changed and freed directly BECAUSE of his own personal liberation. laurent has nothing more than an intellectual interest in anti-slavery and he only ever begins to care about akielos because he cares for damen. but damen was raised with it and experienced it and cares very deeply about it. it’s his country! it's his story!

tldr; through the series, it was damen’s journey to experience what it was like to be a slave, to see the true horrors of this practice and decide he doesn’t want to rule his country that way anymore. so taking his agency and giving it laurent, someone who was neutral at best about slavery, feels incredibly insensitive and wrong.

[ao3feed-piltovers-finest]

All Good Things

by ViSexual (xtracurricular)

Caitlyn is a Remembrancer, a chrono-enforcer, and a legendary sheriff. She is feared across all timelines, known to all chrono-fugitives who would dare pass into her crosshairs. Underneath her model performance record however, is an inescapable past that haunts her every nightmare. Her current assignment, hunting the chrono-fugitive Ezreal, has had her jumping through time at a breakneck pace, but recently, it appears that Ezreal's time has finally run out. She has cornered him in one of the timelines that the Remembrancers have a base in, no less! It is only a matter of time before she catches him, but this timeline threatens to dredge up everything in her past that she has been keen on suppressing... And that's because she has to team up with Piltover's 'finest' cyborg beat cop who is an alternate version of her childhood love. Father time have bloody mercy...

Though, all of that pales in comparison to the fact that the end of the Remembrancers is just around the corner...

**A.k.a. the Pulsefire/PROJECT AU**

Words: 3253, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021), League of Legends

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F

Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends), Corina Veraza, Thresh (League of Legends), Fiora Laurent, Lucian (League of Legends), Pantheon (League of Legends), Ekko (League of Legends), Ezreal (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Akali (League of Legends), Shauna Vayne, Khada Jhin

Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - PROJECT (League of Legends), Alternate Universe - Pulsefire (League of Legends), Character Death, Time Travel, Tragedy/Comedy, Angst, the inevitable heat death of the universe, Multiverse, Alternate Universe, Time Travelling Lesbians, Badass Caitlyn (League of Legends), Caitlyn Needs a Hug (League of Legends), Character Study, Young Vi (League of Legends), Young Caitlyn (League of Legends), Blood and Violence, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Suicidal Thoughts, Eventual Smut, maybe?? - Freeform, im going to play with so many riot skin lines so i really have no idea where this fic is going to go

from AO3 works tagged 'Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)'

[rollercoasterwords]

💖👀📚🧠sirius for this one!

💖 - what made u start writing

hmmm like ever in life? idk man i've been writing stories since i was like a little little kid i've just always loved it

but if this means writing fic specifically! i sort of stopped writing creatively/for fun in college aside from the odd short story or poem, but then in my last year at school i went home for the holidays for the first time in a while and was going insane staying with my parents and needed something to do and i was also verrrryyyy into the captive prince series so i was like u know what would be fun? reading this from laurent's pov. guess i'll write it.

and then i finished that roughly 10 months later and i wasn't PLANNING to write anything else but my sister was reading atyd for the first time so of course i had to reread it along with her and we were talking about how we wished we could read certain scenes from sirius's pov and i was like what if i wrote it lol and she was like if u do u should send it to me lol so i wrote the first 20 chapters and just emailed them to her and then i was like i suppose i might as well post this rewrite on ao3 too since some people liked the captive prince one. and now here we are almost a year later 🤠

👀 - tell me about an up and coming wip!

i was just complaining about wips last night lmao i currently have 3 that i've started in addition to thtf so i will just list them and if anyone wants to hear more i am happy 2 ramble but i will refrain from doing so here

1 - marylily/jegulus zombie apocalypse au

2 - dorlene beauty and the beast (but more of the norwegian than the french version)

3 - pandalily time-travel au that's inspired mostly by the book "this is how you lose the time war" but also kind of by the myth of calypso so like. enemies in a time war start to fall for each other slowly

and then i haven't actually started this one yet but it feels like i have because it's sort of sprinkled into thtf; once i finish the fic i'll be writing a little companion emmary fic to go along with it telling their story in like ~thtf universe~ so!! lots that i'm excited to write but also i need the ideas in my brain to shut up for five seconds

📚 - would you ever want to turn writing into a career?

mmm idk. it's always been a goal of mine to publish a book but with the way the publishing industry is going i'm just kinda like....huh. hmm. i don't think i could make writing creatively my entire career (even in a dream world where like everything worked out perfectly and i had the opportunity to) just bc part of me thinks doing it as a job might suck all the joy out of it lol. like i've written more in the past two years just getting into fanfic than i had in the 22 years preceding it when i told myself trying to write a book was only worth it if i was going to get it published so. yeah :)

🧠 - pick a character, and i'll tell u my favorite headcannon

sirius - ok one of my favorite sirius hcs in like modern aus is when people make him an artist !! idk why it just feels correct to me. also the homosexuality of course my number one favorite sirius headcannon 🕺

emojis from this

[josselinkohl]

I’m thinking again about the Laurent time traveling AU and especially the sequel where poor past Laurent gets transported to the middle of the Summer Palace. 

I find the idea of Paschal quizzing Damen on everything that happened the night before hilarious. Paschal is trying to figure out if Laurent somehow got a head injury? Or is drugged? And Damen is stammering and blushing and recounting what they did in bed amidst much protesting from Laurent. Laurent is denying he would ever consider doing these things with Damianos of Akielos of all people, and Damen is offended that anyone thinks he would have done these things if Laurent hadn’t been enthusiastically in agreement at the time, and Laurent keeps appealing to Paschal for support and Damen looks to Nikandros for support and Nikandros is just shaking his head like, I am not getting involved in this.

It’s a terrible argument. Damen will say what happened, like, “And then, I sucked him.” Laurent objects that this is disgusting and he would have never permitted it. Damen argues with him. “You asked me to!” Laurent loudly protests how ridiculous that is.

The argument only gets sidetracked because Laurent announces he wants clothing. They woke up naked and Laurent is clutching a sheet around himself and he’s not going to put up with that any longer. Damen is standing next to Laurent’s clothes from the day before so he hands Laurent a chiton.

Laurent objects that he already has a sheet and Damen handing him another is useless and he wants actual clothes.

Damen sends a servant off to find one of Laurent’s trunks of Veretian clothes. No one is quite sure where they are -- they’re at the summer palace so he wasn’t planning to wear anything besides Akielon clothes. 

The trunk is fetched eventually. Paschal has made no progress diagnosing Laurent in the meantime. The clothes within it are relatively new, and Laurent doesn’t recognize any of them. He insists they aren’t his. Damen objects that they fit Laurent. Laurent insists he knows his own clothing and these aren’t his. Everyone else remembers the weeks of negotiation with the tailor doing justice to Charls’s cloth so they are kind of giving each other looks about Laurent.

Laurent wears the clothes anyway. At least they fit.

Then, Laurent announces that Damen killed his brother and he’s not going to talk to the Prince Killer any longer. Damen can face him over swords but Damen is not worth his breath otherwise. He proceeds to ignore Damen and try to leave the camp. Damen follows him around worriedly and everyone else in the camp tries to not explicitly disobey Laurent but also not let him leave because he is definitely not himself. 

Eventually Laurent tires of Damen following him around and draws a sword on him and Damen draws defensively and they fight and Damen finally starts to realize while they are fighting that there is something profoundly wrong with Laurent. Because Laurent fights differently. His style is different. And he’s not as good. And he and Damen had been practicing a certain move a few weeks before and now Damen gives Laurent an opening to use it and he doesn’t take it. And that surprises Damen enough that he does it again, giving Laurent an even more obvious opening, and Laurent doesn’t take it again. 

So Damen manages to pin Laurent without his weapon, and then Damen is the one calling for Paschal insisting that there is something very wrong because, “This is not Laurent” and poor Paschal and Nikandros exchange glances like “oh dear now they are both crazy.”

[damianosismyking]

I am the QUEEN of “Incredibly Specific AUs” so HEAR ME OUT ok?

TIME TRAVEL AU in which Egeria is either the Goddess of Time or Goddess of Destiny - or neither or both or whatever. Maybe she’s just an etheral creature who can mess with time lines?? god i feel so stupid. she knows her shit tho and she isn’t human. 

So, ok, Laurent is Big Sad over Auguste for reasons i did not to come up with (i didn’t think this far) and Damen ~~still~~ feels extremely guilty over it

And Egeria is like... there, watching the whole thing, aight? just, being an entity who can mess with time. and the whole spirit thing, like sensing their feelings and reading minds and being everywhere at once, hell if I know any details. I swear this sounds so good in my head

DAMEN, who is very sad because Laurent is very sad, somehow under circuntances I, again, did not come up with yet, contacts his mother, who is also a goddess and pleads for her to let him go back in time and not kill Auguste so Laurent can live a happier life. And he’s like, really suffering with that. Like, he being serious, there are tears maybe. 

And Egeria, being Weak For Her Son, because we been knew etheral creatures can be dumb af in fanfiction, she ALLOWS HIM TO. what could possibly go wrong?

So here’s the thing: the destiny is that Vere and Akielos have to become one kingdom one way or another, and with Auguste & Damen alive at the same time this can’t happen. I know it’s shit, but like, it’s my au so i get to do shit. 

So, in order to keep Auguste alive, Damen has to die. He isn’t given more details than that. And Egeria is like “This is a very bad idea, Damianos” but Damen is like “I don’t care because Laurent would still have his brother”

And Egeria is heartbroken because she knows how different things are going to be, but Damen’s being serious and she can’t talk him out of it, so in the end Damen is taken back to the battle of Marlas and he DIES.

So obv, it’s a Major Character Death au. And Auguste gets to live. 

THE THING IS, AND HERE’S THE CATCH, LAURENT’S COUNCIOUSNESS IS ALSO TRANSPORTED TO THE REALITY IN WHICH AUGUSTE GETS TO LIVE. 

And my poor guy has no idea at all what the hell is going on, he just wakes up in a place he doesn’t recognize and his husby isn’t there and he is... scared. 

Until he sees his brother - who’s now much older than he was last time Laurent had seen him, and he should feel like a stranger but he wasn’t really because when Laurent was tossed in this reality he also was given the memories of This Life, the way it was lived, all the years of Auguste being the king and the War that brought Akielos to its knees. 

And like - Laurent freaks out. He is FREAKED. There are a lot of emotions, obv, but he is mainly confused. 

The thing is: this version of unifying the kingdoms is much bloodier. To Akielos. And when Damen dies things just go south - because Auguste is a great leader and strategist and manages to win the Battle of Marlas and many other battles. And then Vere decides to keep striking and the war lasts for much, much longer and Akielos keeps loosing ground and... things don’t go the way Theomedes planned.

He dies. Kastor is a terrible King (wbk) and then he also dies, maybe, who even cares. Nikandros probably dies too. Everyone dies.

And then he remembers Damen died and his world is turned upside down. the guy really doesn’t deserve it, but this kind of shit keeps happening to him.

Then he gets to know Egeria who explains to him everything and tells him the best would be for him to let her erase his memory of the other reality because that would only cause him pain. Laurent is super reluctant though, because he doesn’t want to forget about Damen. They become very good friends, they really get along, i don’t care what you think, Laurent and Egeria really bond no one can tell me otherwise. She keeps him company all the time. Laurent realizes Damen looks a lot like his mom, his dimple comes from her etc,,,

There’s a lot that happens. Laurent goes about seeing what is left of Akielos - the Kingsmeet being one of the few things that remain mostly unchanged. There’s a statue of Damen there and Laurent is very angry at it - actually angry at Damen, but then Damen is dead so he can’t really scream at him, so he settles with getting pissed at Damen’s statue. 

There are also mixed feelings because he is so happy to be around Auguste again but then Auguste has changed a lot and he isn’t just quite how Laurent remembered him. 

For two reasons mainly: first bc kingship and a long ass war can change a man; second bc Laurent had been a child when he lost Auguste, so he had an idolized image of his brother AND he was in many ways left out of the harsher sides of Auguste, that are all very obvious now and became obvious over the course of the years. They love each other and their bond is still strong but they argue a lot.  

THE WHOLE THING is told from Egeria’s perspective, bc I said so. Laurent isn’t happy in the slightest to see what Akielos has become and yet he ISN’T allowed to change things back to the way they were because he wasn’t directly connected to the event that altered the course of the destiny (i.e. the battle in marlas that either kills Damen or Auguste) and so his options are: a) allow Egeria to erase Damen from his memory and live the life of Prince of Colonizer Vere (shoot me pls) or b) live with the memory of Damen and both of their kingdoms and everything he’s lost. 

I DON’T KNOW how I would prefer to end this. It would be either Auguste becoming aware of everything and changing things back (in a way that I still didn’t think of, pls don’t call me dumbass) OR Laurent letting his memory be erased and forget about Damen and his old life altogether. all very melodramatic.

you know... just.  think about it. it’s not that bad.

Ok, i’m going to sleep because I OBVIOUSLY shouldn’t be on the internet right now. 

*sighs* I’m so sorry about this my dudes. 

[yuurilly]

fic rec friday

part 2

Please kudos and reblog if you read and like these!

Weighed and Measured by Kittendiamore

Captive Prince, rating M, 29k, Damen/Laurent, time travel au

“Don’t read it,” Damen says, urgently, and he tries to pull Laurent back.

In Akielon and, oddly, Veretian, the wall of the cave says: What does your heart desire? Laurent already has everything that his heart desires. Everything except- Auguste.

A Bird in the Hand by barbitone

Captive Prince, rating E, 18k, Ancel/Berenger, modern au, fake relationship

After an untimely break-up Ancel finds himself with no home, no income, and no prospects. But if there’s anything he’s good at by now, it’s finding a promising mark and wrapping them around his finger.

His latest mark- Berenger- is a bit more square than what Ancel usually goes for, but he’s young and handsome and most importantly- filthy rich. When he proves more resistant to Ancel’s charms than most, Ancel cuts his losses. He thinks his acquaintance with Berenger is over, but it’s just beginning.

The Leonardo Effect by Phoenike

Assassin's Creed, rating E, 67k, Ezio Auditore da Firenze/Leonardo da Vinci, period typical attitudes, developmenting relationship

To Ezio’s best knowledge, Leonardo's idea of debauchery was staying up until morning with a bottle of wine and too many sketching supplies. But why would the gondolier have lied? It was a heavy accusation. In both Firenze and Venezia, mere allegations of unnatural conduct had condemned men to be pilloried or hanged.

Please kudos and reblog if you read and like these!

[fandomcares]

The Project Black Lives Matter Silent Auction IS CLOSED!!

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Fandom is full of creators that wanted a way to support the Black Community. This auction will be multi fandom and a percentage of the proceeds will be split between several charities suggested by our participants. Check out this post for more information: 

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#1 >5k word fic: DiscontentedWinter - Opening Bid: $20

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Fandom(s):  Marvel (MCU) - Steve/Bucky, Captive Prince - Damen/Laurent // Likes:  angst, fluff, smut, getting-together, first kiss, mutual pining, UST // Dislikes:  non-con, A/B/O, hardcore BDSM // Offering:  Writing (fics 5k words and under)

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620122054562398208/disraeligears

Bid on Me!

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#13 Digital Art: happyzimm - Opening Bid: $15

Current Bid: $25 Current Bid: $30 Current Bid: $40 Current Bid: $41 Current Bid: $45  Current Bid: $46  Current Bid: $50  Current Bid: $55

Current Bid: $57

Fandom(s):  Check Please (zimbits) // Likes:  portraits (no background, digital illustrations/drawings // Dislikes:  nsfw, violence // Offering:  Digital Art

https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620062669146374144/happyzimm

Bid on Me!

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#14 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15

Fandom(s): Teen Wolf: gen or Sterek, Supernatural: gen or Wincest, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spuffy, Spillow, Spangel, or no pairing // Likes:  gen, fluffy, dark, angsty, Sterek, Winchest, Spuffy, Spangel, Spillow // Dislikes:  cheating // Offering:  Writing (fics 5k words and under)

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620062661373296640/astus Bid on Me!

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#15 Digital Art: Poetry-Protest-Pornography - Opening Bid:

 $15 Current Bid: $25 Current Bid: $30 Current Bid: $35

Current Bid: $40

Fandom(s):  Teen Wolf (Sterek, other ships can be discussed),  OMG Check Please! (Pretty much any ship that doesn’t involve Parse), The Witcher // Likes: Sterek and Zimbits // Dislikes:  non-con, graphic violence/gore, bestiality // Additional Info:  Poetry-Protest-Pornography is open for other fandoms as well as OC’s. // Offering:  Writing (fics 5k words and under), Digital Art

https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620062775276961792/poetry-protest-pornography

Bid on Me!

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#16 Digital Art: BEERWOLVES - Opening Bid: $20

Current Bid: $30 Current Bid: $50 Current Bid: $65 Current Bid: $75  Current Bid: $80

Current Bid: $100

Fandom(s): Sterek (Teen Wolf) // Likes:  Fluff or anything SFW // Dislikes:  Non-Con or anything NSFW // Offering: Digital Art/Sketches

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620062720027459584/beerwolves

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#17 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15

Current Bid: $50

Fandom(s):  Teen Wolf - Stiles/Derek, Stiles/Peter, Stiles/Derek/Peter // Likes:  romantic, fluffy, angst // Dislikes:  non-con, humiliation, major character death // Additional Info: Devilscut is definitely into ‘happy ever afters’ or at the very least into hopeful, positive endings. // Offering:  Writing (fics 5k words and under)

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620120197360156672/devilscut

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#18 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $20

Current Bid: $35

Fandom(s): please visit LadyMerlin's showcase https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061333557280768/ladymerlin // Likes: fluff and angst but fine with any genres, happy to do smut too // Dislikes: graphic violence, non-con // Offering: Writing (fics 5k words and under)

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061333557280768/ladymerlin Bid on Me!

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#19 GIFs and/or GIF sets: Klam - Opening Bid: $15

Current Bid: $20

Fandom(s):Teen Wolf (any and all characters prior to season 4)// Offering: 1 - GIF or GIF Set // Likes: Dark fics, fluff, angst // Dislikes: Non-sterek, super sweet fics

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620120341660991488/klam Bid on Me!

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#20 >5 word fic:  Halehathnofury : Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15 Current Bid: $20 Current Bid: $30

Current Bid: $50

Fandom(s): Sterek, Stucky, Hannigram, any Sterek side ships especially Berica, Clintasha  // Offering: 1 - > 5k word fic // Likes: Anything goes // Dislikes: Non-con, female Stiles, self insert, oc insert with main ship

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620120820925235200/halehathnofury Bid on Me!

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#21 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $20 

Fandom(s): Check Please, Star Trek, Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, Leverage (Please check the creators ost for more information) // Offering: 1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620120526501920768/thereoncewasagirl Bid on Me!

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#22 Digital Art/Traditional Art- Gwen- Opening Bid: $15

Current Bid: $25

Fandom(s): Hetalia (Fruk; Gerita; Spamano; Prumano; AusHun; PruHun; Ameviet; open to discuss other ships; open to general fics and brotp)  // Offering: 1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620121138941558784/gwen Bid on Me!

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#23 Opening Bid: $ 10

Current Bid: $15 Current Bid: $25

Current Bid: $50

Fandom(s): Sterek, Stony  // Offering: 1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620121321217605632/yoda Bid on Me!

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#24 >5k word fic: HolyCatsAndRabbits - Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $20 Current Bid: $35 Current Bid: $55 Current Bid: $70 Current Bid: $85  Current Bid: $150

Current Bid: $200

Fandom(s): Good Omens (please check the creators post for more information) or Original Characters// Offering: 1 - >5k word fic // Likes: low-fantasy romance, erotica, pining, fluff, adventures & misadventures, SFW and NSFW, with characters in a variety of gender identities and sexual orientations, including aro/ace.  // Dislikes: No horror, graphic violence, torture, non-con, dub-con, underage, & other really dark stuff. For the erotica, kinks are negotiable: most common kinks are fine, and I will do light consensual non-consent with safe words and after care.

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620121431708172288/holycatsandrabbits Bid on Me!

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#25 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15

Current Bid: $25

Fandom(s): Yuri on Ice (Viktuuri, Salami, EmiMike, Leoji, Seung chuchu), The Magnus Archives (Jonmartin, What the Girlfriends), Fullmetal Alchemist(/Brotherhood) (canon ships, Royhughes), Sherlock Holmes (Holmes/Watson) // Offering: 7 - >5k word fics // Likes: shippy fluff, domestic moments or slice-of-life, or single-character introspective pieces // Dislikes: Noncon/dubcon, underage, heavy angst/angst without a happy ending

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620121795702472704/the-walrus Bid on Me!

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# 26 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $30

Fandom(s): YuGiOh DM & GX (not Abridged or dub), Hetalia, Babylon 5, Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed, Persona 4 // Offering: 1 - >5k word fic // Likes: Fluff, h/c, unusual AUs, crossovers (if both fandoms are known), dark or mature themes, rare pairs // Dislikes: Explicit NSFW, ABO. Dark themes discretionary to be discussed

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620060934002655232/sixy Bid on Me!

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#27 >5k word fic: Gia (outtoshatter) - Opening Bid: $10 Current Bid: $15

Current Bid: $25 

Fandom(s): Sterek, Teen Wolf // Offering: 3 - >5k word fics // Likes: AUs, fluff, action, adventure, romance, plot driven, world building // Dislikes: non con, graphic sex, incest, drug use

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620060976948117504/gia Bid on Me!

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#28 Digital Art: hillnerd- Opening Bid: $15

Current Bid: $40 Current Bid: $55

Current Bid: $60

Fandom(s): Harry potter "I prefer canon pairings but am willing to do almost any", marvel, dc, broadway shows, jane austen, anne of green gables, avatar tla "Really any fandom I'm happy to draw- as long as I don't have to do mechs/furries." // Offering:  2 - Digital Paintings // Likes: "I'm best at cute fluffy moments- sweet romantic ones, character moments- check out my art and see for yourself :)"// Dislikes: non-con, gore, anything like pedo/chan works.

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620017264783196160/hillnerd Bid on Me!

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#29 >5k word fics: Neche - Opening Bid: $10  Current Bid $15

Current Bid: $30

Fandom(s): Teen Wolf (Sterek)Marvel MCU (Stucky) // Offering:  2 - >5k word fic  // Likes:  fluff, one shots, get together, canon compliant // Dislikes: rape, no main character deaths, no drug use, no incest (this includes adoptive & step siblings), no paedophilia

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061125051072512/neche Bid on Me!

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#30 $15

Current Bid: $20

Current Bid: $50

Fandom(s): TW, Sterek, Supernatural, Harry Potter, Buzzfeed Unsolved, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, MCU, crossovers, Rare Pairs (please check their creators post for more information) // Offering:  1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620060896844234753/stormlyht Bid on Me!

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#31 >5 word fic: cleo - Opening Bid: $10 Current Bid: $20

Current Bid: $45

Fandom(s): Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (please check the creators post for more information)  // Offering:  1 - >5k word fic  // Likes: smut, dark, au, fluff, crack // Dislikes: Hard DNWs: Foreplay and sex involving food scat, watersports, emetophiliaUnrealistically happy endingsHigh School AUA/B/OCalling a partner Mommy or Daddy (or variations) during sexAnimal abuse/animals in peril

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061570378153984/cleo Bid on Me!

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#32 >5k word fic: deathsweetqueen - Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15

Fandom(s): Marvel - anything with Tony (please check the creators post for more information) // Offering: 1 - >5k word fic // Likes: Racebends Tony as Indian, Tony or fem!Tony centric, poly relationships, soulmate AUs, canon AUs, canon divergences, genderswaps, horror movie AUs, Skrulls, pirate AUs, daemon AUs, time travel, historical AUs, A/B/O AU, supernatural bonds // Dislikes: Non-human (except supernatural) sex, tentacles, scat, urine, age play, mpreg, Zombie AU, Hogwarts AU, Coffee Shop AUs, bodyswaps, Steampunk/Cyberpunk AUs, apocalypses, fake dating, incestuous pairings

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061517301366785/deathsweetqueen Bid on Me!

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#33 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: 10

Current Bid: 15

Fandom(s): Steve/Tony, MCU  // Offering: 1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620061270009380864/neb Bid on Me!

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#34 Traditional Art: Alby ( artgroves) - Opening Bid: $15

Current Bid: $50 Current Bid: $75 Current Bid: $80 Current Bid: $100  Current Bid: $200

Current Bid: $215

Fandom(s): Merlin, Marvel (any fandom), X-Men, The Eagle, TW (Sterek)  // Offering: 1 - Pencil sketch or paste painting // Likes: "Happy to draw any rating, including fluff, angst, porn and romance, would prefer something shippy" // Dislikes: character death, violence, complex armour, mecha or furries

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620122286012399617/alby Bid on Me!

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#35 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $10

Current Bid: $15

Fandom(s): Marvel - Bucky/Tony, Loki/Tony, Stephen Strange/Tony, Gen // Offering: 1 -

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620016483950592000/calmena Bid on Me!

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#36 Opening Bid: $10

Current Bid: $25

Current Bid: $50

Fandom(s):  Teen Wolf -  Steter, Stetopher, Stargent, Chris/Lydia, Derek/Lydia, Corydia (Cora/Lydia), Lucifer, Tidelands - something Cal-focussed; preference is Cal/Corey/Dylan, but Cal/Corey, Cal/Dylan, and dark Cal/Adrielle is also on the table. Also willing to do Lucifer/TW crossover pairings // Likes & Dislikes: please visit Twist's showcase at https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620116913977180160/queerfictionwriter // Additional Info: Twist is disabled, so there’s a good chance they won’t be fast in completing your prompt. They also do not, as a general rule, take prompts, so if you’ve ever wanted them to write something for you, this is your chance! // Offering: Writing (fics 5k words and under)

Creator Profile: https://fandomcares.tumblr.com/post/620116913977180160/queerfictionwriter Bid on Me!

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[goldeneyedgirl]

Fic-Mas Day 11: All These Broken Things

Our penultimate post! Today, I bring you more of All These Broken Things. I posted the first two chapters before, which you can find right here.

Much love to you all.

(AU in which James kept Alice as a prisoner after she was changed, and she travelled with them against her will up until the fateful baseball game. I highly recommend reading the first two parts here. Possible trigger warning for implication of abuse.) 

For the next day, she is treated like an unwanted package, dragged about upon someone else’s orders, with her solemn-faced jailers at her side. Isabella – they all call her Bella – has been admitted to a hospital under the disingenuous guise of falling downstairs and out a window. The dance studio has burnt to the ground, and James’ last bite on her shoulder is still hot agony, but the angle is wrong for her to remove the venom herself.

Lovely Rosalie sneers at her when she meets up with them to discuss their plan of action. It would be simpler if they divested themselves of her, of course: Carlisle and Edward could stay in Phoenix with Bella, the rest of the Cullens could drive back home to the little town named Forks. But they need to be together to ‘deal with her’ – no one seems to trust her to be alone with Esme or Rosalie - and so they wait. There is a musty, dingy motel room not far from the hospital, where she is ensconced for the duration. She notices that the Cullens seem to rotate, watching her, and wonders where the rest are.

Then Rosalie joins Emmett watching over her, and she understands – the rest of them are somewhere far, far nicer than this brown and yellow room where she can see dried blood and vomit in the webbing of the carpet; where they can relax, and talk, and be themselves.

But she does not begrudge them the small comforts they have offered - she gets to pour cold, albeit dirty, water over the new bite and that almost eases the pain. She spends hours, sitting in the grimy bathtub, collecting water in the palm of her hand and trickling it over her shoulder. They make her leave the door open, and they all clearly think she’s crazy, but she doesn’t explain.

She doesn’t see Carlisle, Esme, or Edward until the end of the week. Apparently, they are leaving. Bella’s parents have arrived, and as much as Edward wishes to stay at Bella’s side, they ‘need to deal with the nomad girl’. They have two cars – one for Esme and Rosalie to drive back in, one for her and the men to be drive back in.

As they prepare to leave the motel, she is rather sorry to leave the bathtub behind; the venom in her shoulder has almost faded, and she feels a fondness towards it. She wonders if she will be allowed to feed soon, she feels hollow and insubstantial – her last meal was long before they ever crossed paths with the Cullens.

And she wonders if they do try her and declare her guilty, if she could ask them to burn her under the stars.

Edward is staring at her in barely disguised horror as she is bundled into the car.

It is one thing to know how she was going to be travelling, but quite another to live it and she wants to scream. Strapped into the car, her first time ever, with the bulk of Emmett on one side and Jasper on the other, their legs pressing against hers, and it is less than ten minutes in, and she has her head between her knees because nothing good has ever – ever – come from being caged in like this.

She recalls rough hands and teeth with clarity that makes her forget where she is for a second, useless breath stolen from her lungs and those memory hands are burning into her skin again…

She knows that they are speaking to her, calling to her, but it all seems very far away and the bite on her shoulder feels so hot and…

Only the very back of her mind processes that the car is pulling off the road, tucked behind a billboard lest some kind busy-body try to help them. That they are getting out of the car, and she is being dragged from it by Emmett and the shredded remains of her preservation instinct kick in and she yowls like an angry cat, kicking away and falling into the dirt before she realises her terrible mistake.

There are four of them and one of her, and she is so tired of fighting. And when has it ever saved her? Better to wait and comply than protest. Acknowledge their rights, their power, and obey, whatever they want. There’s nothing she can think of that she hasn’t been forced to give up before.

“She’s terrified,” Edward supplies, finally, clearly confused by exactly what he sees in her head. “Of us. Of travelling in the car.”

She wants to crack open her memories for Edward to see, to face, and see if he would be particularly grateful to be bundled into the car, to be touched and grabbed so much.

Instead, Carlisle sighs and looks tired but resolute. “Jasper,” he says and it takes her a second to remember and realise, and suddenly she is so calm she feels sleepy, and has a hard time keeping her eyes open. Emmett is chuckling at her, and this time, she is placed in the front seat, the window open, cool air blowing on her face, her knees tucked up to her chest, and this … this is the closest she’s been to sleep since 1920.

//

The coven's house is huge; beyond anything she has ever seen.

She – they – had always lived rough, or maybe in tiny, rundown shacks. Money and clothing was stolen, usually from victims. The nicest thing she ever owned was her cardigan, taken from one of James’ bodies, with the bloodstain on the collar and the tear down the back.

This is Cinderella's palace, and she wonders if she should wash in the river before she crosses into it. But no one says anything about the layer of filth on her. They wouldn’t let her close the bathroom door at the motel to wash, and she resents them for that, in the face of their perfect home. The towering house, the precise flowerbeds… it is magic.

Inside is even lovelier - shiny wooden floors, silky rugs, so much light. There's a gleaming piano, and beautiful paintings, and so many books. Framed photographs adorn the walls. Bouquets of fresh flowers arranged in glass and crystal vases, throwing heady, sweet scents into the air. Nothing will ever be as beautiful or wonderful as this house in this moment.

They are wary around her - Esme stays within Carlisle’s grasp at all times, and Rosalie always addresses her from just behind Emmett – but she understands. James nearly killed the human girl that was so important, and she helped him. But they don't know what she had to survive. And they could have destroyed her. But they didn't, and she is so grateful. They have shown her both mercy and this beautiful home, and she’s already forgiven them for the car ride and Jasper soaking her in so much calm she could barely think.

Esme tries to be a gracious hostess, nervous but polite. She is given plush towels and clean clothing and escorted to an enormous bathroom – the bathtub here is big enough to house the entire family; no wonder they thought her enjoyment of the motel tub was ridiculous. There's hot water, soap and about a dozen different bottles and jars that all smell like heaven and she scrubs away at layers of dirt and blood, waiting for the water to run clear again. She wraps herself in one of the towels, the softest thing she has ever touched, and if they send her to her death, she will have died with visions of heaven in her eyes.

The clothing is at least two sizes too big for her, but soft and clean, smelling like flowers and fresh air. She folds the cuffs and sleeves over and over, but still looks like a little girl in borrowed pyjamas. She pulls a comb through her wet hair and stares at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are dull and black, and there’s a faint shadow of the cracks from James’ last beating but they will fade away when she feeds, she is positive.

They are all cautious of her, which is something new. No one has ever feared her; the only skill she ever had in a fight was her speed, and James fixed that. She is the smallest of all of them, she has nowhere to go and they just spared her life. She is indebted to them.

She creeps downstairs, to where they are all waiting. Carlisle looks stern, and she wonders if he’s going to beat her now. James always liked an audience. And they used to tell her they weren’t nearly as cruel as they should be. That any other coven would tear her apart in seconds, she was that pathetic, that stupid.

Instead, they talk to her. They explain to her their lifestyle – no humans, just animals. That she cannot feed on humans at all while she is with them; they want to assimilate with the human population.

She agrees – she fed on whatever James allowed her, and that varied, from children to rats, depending on his mood. Esme is quick to reassure her that the deer are quite palatable, and the idea of a deer is an indulgence she cannot comprehend. She doesn’t know if she could drain a full one.

They seem kind – Carlisle is solemn and asks her several questions about James, basic ones – yes, Victoria was James’ mate. Yes, she will be angry and yes, she will want retribution. Yes, Victoria and Laurent are likely to harm her if they discover she has lived, but they will have expected the Cullens to destroy her with James.

Her name is Alice.

No, she wasn’t travelling with them by choice.

She’s been with James since she woke, in 1920.

No, she has no recollection of her human life or the change. She woke up to James, this life, and that was that.

[violetclarity]

Author Meme

Thanks for tagging me @tsundanire and @aibidil and @carpemermaidtales!! <3

Author Name: violetclarity

Fandoms You Write For: I’ve only published in the Harry Potter fandom, but I have projects in progress on for both Captive Prince and Yuri!! on Ice. (The CaPri one is way more likely to be finished than the YOI one, I’ve written almost 12k for it lol.)

Where You Post: AO3 (and occasionally short things on tumblr only)

Most Popular One-Shot: Proper (E, Draco/Harry, 8.7k)

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Antlers and Ivy (E, Drarry, 19k)

Favorite Story You Wrote: Nooo this is too hard to answer!! Pretty much all of the stories that I’m really satisfied with (which I would say ends up being about half of them?) could be my favorite for one reason or another. I mean, I’m proud of all of them! And I’m really bad at picking favorites in general so believe me when I say I’m limiting myself to three. the strength to stay (E, Draco/Harry, 29k) because I’m still really thrilled with how it turned out and that I actually achieved what I set out to do. Private Relations (E, Ginny/Pansy, 10k) because I feel like that was me really hitting my stride with the “drarry tropes in f/f fics” thing, in that I took the trope and went even further and ended up with this really cool new separate thing. And Legz for Days (E, Albus/Scorpius, 2.7k) because it is silly and ridiculous and I still love it.

Story You Were Nervous To Post: Also a hard question! I think I’m always nervous to post stories, because I’ve worked on them and I want people to like them of course! And that nervousness always goes up a little for fests or when they are gifts because that’s additional pressure. However I think I was most nervous about posting As Long As There’s Sun (E, James/Teddy, 55k) because it’s my longest fic to date and I spent so much time working on it - I started writing it in September 2018 and didn’t publish it until April 2019 - I was so invested and it was also dealing with a lot of heavier issues and had a lot of warnings so I knew it wouldn’t get as many people reading it anyway, which was more nerve-wracking posting it.

How Do You Choose Your Titles: hahahahahahaha. Well. Sometimes things come to me early on (a note to the boy I love had a title before it was even written), or I use song titles, or the fic is short so I don’t stress to much and come up with something simple and referential. But also plenty of times I know the mood I want the title to evoke, but have NO IDEA what the title should actually be, and end up throwing random ideas at lovely humans like @aibidil and @whiskyandwildflowers and they tell me which ones are bad until we come up with something I like hahaha. (Bless them, truly.)

Do You Outline: This is something I would really like to get better at, but as of now, not really. The only story I’ve properly outlined was the strength to stay. Normally I do more of a “start writing and then make a bullet point list of what comes next as I get ideas” thing, but it’s definitely a skill I want to improve on.

Complete: 36

In-Progress: None on AO3, because I don’t tend to post WIPs. I have a lot of ideas that I wrote a few k of and haven’t picked back up, but the story I am most actively working on at the moment is a Damen/Laurent fake dating modern college AU. Damen is the big man on a small liberal arts campus; Laurent is a transfer student. Laurent proposes they fake date in order to make Jokaste jealous and prove to Auguste that Laurent is doing well at his new school. Spoiler alert...

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: besides that fic ^^ which is coming most soon, there are two stories I started and discarded for the @hpwlwbigbang before settling on my final idea, both of which I’d like to finish. One is a Ginny/Luna story where they travel around the world while falling in love, and the other is a Pansy/Hermione 8th year roommates story where Pansy teaches Hermione to embrace her sexuality O.O

Do You Accept Prompts: No. I’ve asked for prompts a few times on tumblr and every time I’ve written a few and then lost motivation and not finished, then been wracked by guilt over not finishing them all, so I’ve decided not to do it anymore.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited To Write: It’s gonna need a lot of percolating and planning, but I have a Scorpius/Albus and Scorpius/Lily fic idea that I am very excited about writing once that’s done! The premise is that Scorpius and Lily are both kind of horrible people, and Scorpius is cheating on Albus with Lily for years. (I know this is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and I don’t care!)

Seems like a lot of people may have done this already since I was MIA most of the day but I’ll tag @frnklymrshnkly @goldentruth813 @fidgetyweirdo if you want to!

[17piesinseptember]

any/all of F, G, I, L, O, or P for the fanfic ask! (you don’t have to answer all of them, or answer them all in one post)

Haha, oh man! Here I go… (I’ll do a part one + part two)

Check out the full list and ask me a question

F: Share a snippet from one of your favoritedialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

I’m finding it so hard to think of one for this! I remember answering this ages ago here, so I’ll try grab dialogue from a newer fic of mine…

Here is some comedic dialogue from my fic What do you think my job is? (Jack’s a cop but Bitty thinks he works as a stripper). I’m choosing it because I think it turned out well. The snippets are short enough that you don’t lose the flow of each characters sentence, also, I think it captures that panicked energy of realising you’ve dug yourself into a hole and trying to get yourself out of it.

“I could be there, but not as-”

“Jack, you don’t have to.”

“-not as a stripper. As me. But only-”

“I invited you because I thought–But you’re not, so.”

“-only if you want me there.”

“It’d be a terrible first date, I don’t think-”

“But I don’t know your friend, and if it makes you uncomfortable-”

and it keeps going for a while and is quite funny, see below ;)“Even though I thought you were a stripper?”“Yes. Even though you thought that.”“Because you really are very attractive,” Bitty tries to explain himself.“Thank you,” Jack says, smiling at Bitty.“And the uniforms really were very tight.”“I know.” Jack’s smile gets bigger.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish,or do you write the scenes out of order?

Out of order! Because sometimes I get a great idea for a scene that comes way at the end of a fic I’ve barely started on. That’s why with my longer fics I write out a plot synopsis then break it down into scenes first so that when I randomly get an idea for some dialogue or action, I can slip it into the right spot in the story and work on it. (It’s why I don’t really do WIPs with weekly updates because I jump around too much and things I write for a back-half scene might mean I need to go back and amend or add a scene earlier in the work for it to have a greater impact.)

For those interested, under the cut I’ve pasted an early version of the plot synopsis I wrote for my 2017 Big Bang Fic Sounds Like Something That I Need to Feel. It’s 1.7k and a little different from the plot of the completed fic. (fyi, it’s explicit)

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (readingor writing)?

There’s no guilt in pleasure! I consume media for enjoyment (particularly fanfic!) so I can always fall happily back on most soulmate AUs, meet-cute fics, any of those fluffy tropes really.

In terms of writing, I realise I have a few things I fall back on doing a lot. One is using the word ‘just’. All the time! Way too much. I have to cut it out a lot from all my fics. It’s just such a great word ;)

The other thing is having characters repeat each others’ dialogue. Like;

“Why?”

“Why what?

“Why call him now?”

“What do you mean why call him now?”

“I mean, why now when it’s been two months since you last spoke?”

Really blows out a word count but I think it’s fun, even if not something you’d hear in real life all that much.

Check out the full list and ask me a question    

[part two here]

2017 Big Bang Fic Sounds Like Something That I Need to Feel initial plot idea

Bitty as a phone sex line operator. Jack as a NHL player.

Jack is bi, not out, and not finding anyone interesting.He’s comfortable enough in the NHL to be noticing that his life in lacking inthat department, especially when a lot of the team is married, in seriousrelationships, or else hooking up regularly. As much as some may like to throwhim in the box of ‘hockey robot’ he has feeling. He gets horny. He checkspeople out when he can get away with it. He doesn’t really watch porn, but heuses his imagination and sometimes erotica.

During a night out with some of the Falconers, the topic isbrought up about keeping hook-ups discreet/privacy issues with hooking up witha steady partner while you’re travelling. X says that he always stays off video/photobased uses, even though it’s like an unwritten rule to try snapchat for it atleast once. Too big of a risk. But X says that phone sex is always a classic.Can’t go wrong.

The idea sticks with Jack and a few nights later, when he’sfeeling out of sorts after a loss, and most the rest of the team has takencomfort in someone, he calls up a phone line that’s he’d looked up earlier inthe week.

He fumbles through getting connected and then finds himselfspeaking to Bitty. Jack’s nervous, like it’s his first time. He was still only60% convinced when he made the call, but he did make it, and now there’s a realperson there and he can’t just hang up on them.

Bitty can tell that Jack (he uses ‘Laurent’ for the service)is nervous, so eases him into it. He’s very sweet, but also, very sexy. Jackcomes and it feels great. They hang up straight after.

Jack keeps thinking about Bitty, and just remembering hownice it felt to have someone else to orgasm with, even if it was just astranger over the phone. He doesn’t want to intrude or seems eager, so hedoesn’t call back. At least, not until the next time his team loses, and hewants the distraction.

He calls, asks for Bitty explicitly, and gets through. Jackis a lot more vocal on the phone this time, and it’s a faster orgasm. Bittyasks afterward whether everything is alright. Jack hesitates over telling him.He wants to, but it’s probably the orgasm talking and he doesn’t want toaccidentally give away who he is while he’s in that post-sex laziness. Hedenies. Bitty says goodnight.

He worries about it all the following day, feeling bad. Xnotices and asks what’s up. Jack skirts around the issue but essentially sayshe lied (by omission) to someone and feels bad about it because they were justconcerned. X says it’s an easy fix, all you have to do it tell them, the soonerthe better.

Jack calls Bitty straight away, but Bitty isn’t in at themoment. Of course. He must have a life outside of this job. Jack startswondering what it is, but then stops, telling himself not to get too caught upin the fantasy. He asks for Bitty’s regular hours. Receptionist can’t give themtoo him, but Jack pleads some more and she eventually says she can’t give out aschedule but he’ll be in tonight and if Jack wants to ask Bitty direct, that’sup to him.

Jack calls that night, and apologies to Bitty about the lie.Bitty is totally fine with it. They talk a little bit before Bitty eases intowhat it’s really about. “If I was there with you right now, I’d…”. Afterwards,Jack asks Bitty for his schedule and Bitty gives it to him.

Jack starts calling Bitty regularly, twice a week. He canafford it, it’s no big deal, and he feels a connection to Bitty beyond the sexthey have (and it’s good sex). He lets slip his real name at some point, recountinga story with his parents (“And maman was like “Jack, if I see you YADA” andBitty’s silent and Jack’s like “you alright?” and Bitty’s like “I don’t thinkyou meant to but you just told me your name.” “Oh.” “Do you want me to forgetit?” Jack thinks about it. Definitely not. Then they have sex and when Bittycomes, chanting JackJackJack like aprayer, it’s amazing.

Jack realises he’s in too deep when his teammates startnoticing he’s acting different. Ever since he told Bitty his name, he feelslike it’s tipped them over into new territory. It feels more personal now. Jackloosens even more during their phone conversations.

Bitty’s father has a heart attack and he’s off work for awhile. Jack is told by the receptionist who he has a rappor with now. He asksif he can contact Bitty in any way and he’s told no. He can’t be given personalnumbers/info etc. He sends Bitty his regular fees even though he’s not takingthe phone calls.

Jack gets a text while Bitty is away. It’s from Bitty.Telling Jack he needs to take the money back. Jack texts him no. He gets acall, Bitty explains he got the number from the receptionist after Jack’s moneystarted coming through again. “I knew it was you.”

They get into an argument about it. Jack admits that hecares for Bitty and he won’t be taking the money back. He also hedges aroundrevealing his job, but settles for just saying he makes a lot of money, toomuch to know what to do with, and it’s nice to know in this instance it’shelping someone. Bitty accepts it with much thanks.

Jack doesn’t want to push Bitty, so he stops communicationbetween them. His teammates notice. He doesn’t use Bitty’s number, which hesaved to his phone, but he calls up the line every week until one week, Bittyis back. The call goes through and Bitty and Jack have the equivalent ofreunions sex. Jack basically does all the talking. Bitty says so at the end,saying he feels like their roles are reversed. Bitty then says that, since Jackhas his number, did he want to start texting him sometimes? Like as friends.

Jack and Bitty start texting. Jack figures out whereaboutsBitty is located based on the area code. He still calls up the phone line butless often now, not needing to use that way to reach Bitty.

The lines between stranger, friends, and more than blurs,and Jack brings up the idea of meeting in person, something he’s been thinkingabout for a long time.

Bitty is hesitant. He does feel close to Jack, and he’d loveto, but he’s got to think about his personal security. Jack is saddened but hewon’t put Bitty in that position.

They text and call as normal until Bitty asks Jack to stopcalling him through the service. Jack’s shocked, what has he done to push Bittyaway? Nothing. Bitty has come to realise that he likes Jack, and he doesn’tthink it’s fair of Jack to be being charged when it’s not a job to Bitty anymore.

Jack agreed right away. They stop having phone sex, but thetexting become more frequent. Bitty calls him one night and it’s just to chat.Jack is feeling in a really good place.

Bitty’s the one to suggest they meet up next time. Jackwants to but is just about to go out a roadie for three weeks. Bitty suggestmaybe they could exchange snapchat or skype details. Jack says he can’t, forjob security reasons. If anything got out. Bitty doesn’t know what Jack’s jobis, and he asks but Jack doesn’t want to admit to anything until they meet inperson. If it doesn’t go well he doesn’t want Bitty to have the potential totake the story to the media. He doesn’t think he would, but he can’t be stupidwith his career.

It gets him thinking though, and while he’s on his roadie,he begins talks with PR and management about coming out soon. Even though heand Bitty don’t have anything yet, they’ve known each other for months and Jackhas a gut feeling it’s going to work out. He wants to be out.

After the roadie, Jack and Bitty make plans to meet up. It’stricky to navigate because Bitty wants it somewhere public, which Jackunderstands, but Jack doesn’t want to have issues with paparazzi. They end upmeeting at a park.

Bitty knows who Jack is, and Jack is worried it’s going tokill them before anything starts. Bitty asks Jack to give him some time toprocess, and Jack is more than willing. Anything to give him the chance. Bittysaid 24hours no contact. Bitty calls Jack after 5.

Bitty says it all makes sense now, all the little hintsJack’s dropped. Why he has so much money. Why he travels a lot for his job. Whyprivacy was an issue. He says straight up he’ll never say anything, even ifJack decides not to date him. He says the choice to come out is important andhe’d never interfere with that. He didn’t come out until he was older either.Jack is very relived. Confirms his feelings towards Bitty. Bitty teases himabout using his middle name. Jack asks whether the ‘bitty’ thing is because ofhis height. Bitty confesses it was a hockey nickname and Jack and Bitty end uptalking about that. Jack offers Bitty a ticket to his next game, and maybeafter they could get dinner as their first date? Bitty agrees.

Bitty comes to the game. Jack gest chirped by his teammateswho he’s admitted about Bitty to (to an extent). The game doesn’t go in theirfavour but Jack pushes through for Bitty. Bitty can see that Jack isn’t sohappy and offers to just go back to his place for takeaway. Jack is so relived.

They share an easy dinner, and chatter. Jack offers Bittyhis spare room but Bitty doesn’t want to overstay his welcome, even though Jackassures him he won’t be. Bitty leaves but then comes back immediately. He sayshe needs to know what it’s like to kiss Jack. That he’s been talking about itfor months and now he just needs to know. They kiss. Jack invites him to stayagain. Bitty declines again. “There’ll be other chances.”

And there are.

[ahdriking]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any recs for lesser-known CP fic writers? I wanna expand my horizons! Lol

Hmmmm thats a good question, but i’m not sure how good my answer will be cos I have no idea really who’s well known or not. What I can tell you is who my favourite fic writers are, be they famous or not, and about the fics that deserve all the love and attention in the world.

l_cloudy/ @liesmyth is a fucking fantastic writer. Her WIP go astray is basically every time Damen/Laurent could (should) have had sex during Prince’s Gambit as essentially a character study, and its the most phenomenal, smutty series i’ve ever read. Aside from go astray, there’s its inspiring fic (but lover, you’re the one to blame) which is a damn delight, and her recent Nik/Damen/Laurent porn (and desperately wanting) which personally sates some of my own niche lil cravings. I adore her and her writing, she’s a phenomenal gal, and new to the fandom, so she deserves all the love and attention.

dragonmage27/ @dragonmage27 is also brilliant and deserving of all the fuckin love. She has some stunning lil pwps (The King’s Arrival, figs and dates and orange scones, slow down) and a wip series of one-shots (changing variables), and she’s mentioned a mafia au she wanted to do. I adore her fics, and her, so she’s definitely someone you should keep an eye out for!!!! 

dawnofthursday/ @americancupsofbritishtea, who unfortunately, and to the loss of us all, doesn’t write much for capri any more, blessed us with some absolutely sensational fics during her tenure. Personally, lonely without you; might possibly be one of my most favourite pwp’s of all time. I’ve honestly re-read this fic more than any other in this fandom, it’s just that good (in fact, now that i’ve mentioned it imma go read it again brb). She has some other delightful lil pwp’s as well and a modern royalty au, so give them all a read!!

@nikanndros/ Kittendiamore is by no means a small time gal, but some of her lesser known ao3 fics are just worthy of all the attention as her monumentally awesome time travel au, specifically her adultery au (The Sun Goes Down Every Night) which kills me every fucking time.

@ruby–wednesday/Ruby_Wednesday, whose fic One the Other might be the most famous fic in this fandom, has some lesser known fics that are 100% worth checking out (Tread Softly and Break the Lock are some personal recs)

I’ve recently made great mates with 27th/ @niqaise, and if the fic ideas she’s shared with me are any indication, she is 100% someone to watch. She’s only written one piece for capri so far, the ongoing WIP Towards the Sun, but i wholeheartedly recommend that as well (I just started reading it, and i’m enjoying the shit out of it godbless l’auguste)

I’m sure i’m missing half a dozen more people who I’ll remember later, but those were the first to come to mind. Reblog and add your own favourite small time authors who deserve more love!!!

[josselinkohl]

Previous parts: one, two

Past Laurent keeps trying to kill Damen. Eventually Paschal and Damen negotiate with him that they will take him back to Vere if he stops trying to kill Damen. He agrees warily. Damen is the only one who believes that Laurent is going to keep his word in this agreement and Nikandros keeps watching his back. No one wants to let Laurent go off to Vere by himself but they also can’t really keep him in Akielos against all of his objections, so it’s hard to know what to do. Damen is moping and alone since Laurent avoids him.

While they are on their way to Vere they encounter Makedon. 

Damen is off sitting by himself. Nikandros is watching for Laurent in case Laurent comes to kill him.

Laurent does show up, surprisingly, though, since he usually avoids Damen. This evening he’s like, “Hide me!”

Damen is very pleased that Laurent has come over to him voluntarily but raises an eyebrow at Laurent’s comment.

Laurent says, “He keeps slapping me on the back! And talking about hunting and trying to make me drink this swill.”

Damen smiles fondly. “He likes you.”

Laurent scoffs at that. “I can’t imagine why.”

Damen just smiles again. “You bonded. You just don’t remember.”

Laurent sits down next to Damen in front of the fire. Makedon has perhaps been successful in getting Laurent to have some griva so Laurent is like, “There’s a lot of things you claim I don’t remember.”

“Yes,” Damen says.

There’s a moment of silence. Damen continues. “I wonder where our memories diverge. You remember Marlas?”

Laurent looks at him acidly. “When you killed my brother?”

Damen takes this remarkably evenly. “Yes.”

Damen has a sudden realization of how to progress. “How old are you?”

Laurent looks at him like this is a ridiculous question. “Eighteen,” he drawls.

There’s a dawning look of realization on Damen’s face. 

Laurent is confused. “What?”

“No, you are twenty-one,” Damen says.

This causes an argument. Laurent objects that he knows how old he is, and how would Damen know how old he is anyway. Damen recruits help and is like, “Nikandros!”

“Exalted?”

“How old is Laurent?”

Nikandros looks long-suffering. “Twenty-one.”

“And how do you know that?”

Nikandros has this expression he’s worn a lot recently that shows that he thinks Damen is also losing his mind. “Because there was a giant fete when he came of age last year?”

Damen looks back at Laurent in triumph. Laurent is not convinced. They argue some more.

They continue to other notable events. There was a large flood in Patras the year Laurent would have been nineteen. Everyone knew about it. But Laurent doesn’t know about this.

Damen turns to people, quizzing Laurent about some of their mutual acquaintances.

He knows Jord. He doesn’t know Lazar. He thinks Aimeric is the younger son of one of the councilors but he’s never met him.

Damen is hesitant for a moment. “Nicaise?”

“That pipsqueak?” says Laurent. Damen flinches; the timing makes sense but he was kind of hoping for a different answer.

But Laurent is not content being questioned for long. He wants to know how Damen knows all of these things. Conquering Vere and taking Laurent prisoner wouldn’t tell him who Nicaise is.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” says Damen, but all Laurent remembers is going to bed after a party in the gardens in Arles. Then he woke up in Akielos. 

Damen listens intently. Laurent says, “I suppose you are going to tell me that when I turned nineteen I woke up insane and rode for the border to become allies with my worst enemy.”

“No, it was nothing like that,” says Damen.

“Did I at least try to kill you?” says Laurent.

“Yes, multiple times.”

Laurent makes a satisfied noise. Damen finds himself helplessly charmed. He’s reminded of Torveld wooing Laurent on the balcony, and Laurent showing his claws just a little.

"Well, then, how is it that I failed to kill you and ended up in Akielos?" says Laurent.

Damen is scratching his chin. How to explain this? Finally: "Well, my brother and my former lover conspired against me and sent me to Vere as a slave as a gift to you.”

Laurent stares at him. That seems preposterous. But why would Damen make that up?

“A slave?” Laurent says.

“A pleasure slave.”

Laurent stares at him again. “I suppose I would like that.”

Damen makes a face. “I think it upset you.”

“You think?”

“Well, we weren’t exchanging confidences at the time.”

Laurent laughs. Damen continues to feel hopelessly charmed. Laurent expresses some doubt that Damen would make a convincing slave. He’s wondering to himself about if he would have used Damen, thinking about him as a pleasure slave. “My uncle allowed me to keep a pleasure slave?”

Damen makes a face at that question. 

This has set Laurent off on another round of questions, though. “Where is my uncle? Is he in Arles?”

Damen hesitates. “You executed him.”

Laurent is not sure what to think about this. “Who is ruling Vere?”

“We are.”

[nikanndros]

Hennike (and Auguste) Lives AU

*This is the first 6.5k ish of an unedited, unfinished fic that I probably won’t finish. So, like, read at your own risk. HAHA Just kidding, it’s finished now. [Part 2]

One

Kempt is a small palace. Hennike is the youngest of three brothers and five sisters, and she’s never been shown a lot of attention. When Prince Aleron of Vere arrives, dark haired and handsome, the first thing he does is kiss her hand and gift her with a heavy sapphire necklace. Becoming a Queen was never something she’d imagined would happen to her, but Aleron is taken with her. She is taken enough to wear the necklace every day until her wedding, regardless of the shade of her dress, and then many days after that.

She still wonders whether he noticed the first time she went without it.

-

Her life is wonderful, at first. The court at Vere is a little excessive, but she likes parties and she can look past the pets and focus on the architecture and the literature. When Auguste is born, he is the happiest, most beautiful baby in the world.

On Auguste’s seventh birthday, she spends the morning out in the gardens with him. He is not, as she’d privately hoped, the clingy sort of child. He’s happy to swing his wooden sword and play by himself and with the other children.

Hennike is sitting on a blanket, reading aloud a fairy story, while Auguste plays, when Regnier approaches. She doesn’t know much about her husband’s younger brother. Regnier has always been perfectly polite to her, but she can’t kick the feeling that he’s never liked her much at all. It’s rare that he approaches her like this.

He’s walking with a child, a boy no older than thirteen who is holding his hand with all the clinginess that Auguste has never displayed. His ward, then. Aleron had mentioned, once, that Regnier had never developed an interest in marriage or even in employing a pet as a lover. He is bound by intellectual pursuits, Aleron said, and charitable ones. He adopts young, disadvantaged children as his wards and raises them until they’re old enough to step out on their own.

“Queen Hennike,” Regnier says. “Prince Auguste. Many happy returns.”

Auguste smiles up at him. “Thank you, Uncle.”

“Perhaps,” Regnier says, “Now that you are so old, I can take you hunting in the future.”

Auguste is delighted by the idea.

Later, when Hennike is retiring to bed, she mentions the offer to Aleron.

Aleron frowns. “Regnier said this?” he asks.

She nods, brushing out her long blonde hair that Auguste inherited.

One week later, Aleron gifts his brother with the property at Chastillon. “The hunt is much better there,” the King says, “since I have heard you are so fond of the activity.”

“Can I visit?” Auguste says, sweetly.

Regnier looks down at him, his ward clutching at his pants. “No,” Regnier says, tightly. “I don’t suppose you will.”

Despite the generous gift, the tension between the brothers is palpable. Aleron nods once, and that is the last that the royal family sees of Regnier for quite some time.

-

It took Auguste six hours to be born, a feat many had been impressed with. Laurent takes eighteen in total, and Hennike spends those hours fearing for her and her newest child’s lives. When the boy is placed in her arms - so tiny, Hennike had forgotten how tiny babies were - she feels as if they have been through a great calamity together and bonded for it.

Older now, and more willing to make queenly demands, Hennike sends away the nursemaids and spends the next few months feeding her newborn at her own breast. Aleron is displeased, especially on the nights when she has a chaise brought into Laurent’s room so that she can sleep beside his crib, but he focuses his energy on raising Auguste to be the future King.

Laurent, the second son and the sweetest, fussiest baby she has known, has the privilege of being her child first and a royal second. Auguste is equally enamored with his little brother. He loves to carry him around, introducing him to courtiers proudly.

Perhaps her life isn’t as divinely happy as she’d imagined, but Auguste and Laurent make it worth every moment. They are her truest loves.

-

“There’s trouble on the border,” Aleron says, at a family dinner one evening. “Akielons.”

Auguste, the golden epitome of princehood at just nineteen, nods. “What shall we do about it, father?”

Aleron looks to Hennike, “Auguste and I will travel to the border and get the men prepared and in line.”

Laurent is sitting at the table with a book hidden on his lap. They all pretend not to notice. The boy is advanced for his age. Aleron is pleased in that distant way of his, that Laurent will be an asset to Auguste’s future rule. For years now, Auguste has been the light of Aleron’s life.

At this though, Laurent looks up. “But why?” he says. “Vere and Akielos were one kingdom once. Shouldn’t we offer a negotiation first? Surely there is some arrangement better than war for both kingdoms.”

Aleron frowns, but before he can berate Laurent, Auguste laughs.

“It’s not always that easy,” Auguste says, adoring, “But thank you for your input, Laurent. It’s important to consider these things from many angles.”

The King nods, appeased. “We leave the day after tomorrow. Choose six men from your guard to bring.”

-

After they leave, Regnier makes his return. “The court needs a man who can take charge in these tough times,” he says, “since Aleron and Auguste are away.”

-

The border difficulties continue on for the next two years, with Aleron and Auguste making only short, infrequent returns. “The Akielons are preparing for war,” Aleron says, grim faced. “The forts will hold, but they have more men than us. It will be difficult.”

Hennike kisses both his cheeks. “I don’t care what happens,” she says, “only that you return to me, and you bring our son with you.”

Laurent sleeps in Auguste’s room every night that they’re returned. It hurts her heart to see them together, they are like the two halves of one soul. The separation is hard for them both. The next time Auguste leaves, he gives Laurent a gift. It’s a little fairytale book.

“I’m too old for books like this,” Laurent says, “I’m twelve. Men don’t read fairy stories.”

He’s had a sudden preoccupation with his age lately, Hennike notices. He keeps insisting to be a man already. She worries he’s planning to use that to insist he go to war with his brother later.

Auguste just smiles and ruffles Laurent’s hair. “I’ve read it,” he says. “And I’m an adult as well.”

When she turns away from the two, Hennike can see Aleron and Regnier talking. Aleron looks angry at first, but Regnier is speaking calmly and eventually Aleron calms down as well.

-

There’s a brunette pet at the court, maybe seventeen, that keeps making longing looks at Regnier. Hennike can’t understand the appeal, other than that Regnier is very rich and influential. He was never gifted with the regal handsomeness that Aleron and his sons were.

One evening, when she’s making her way to a dinner, she catches Regnier and the pet in an argument.

“You told me you loved me,” the pet says. “You told me you wanted us to be together but that I deserved a better life in Arles.”

“You do,” Regnier says. “You’ve been flourishing here.”

“You said you loved me,” the boy says, “but you won’t even look at me now that you’re here.”

“Be reasonable,” he replies, “you have a contract.”

“You could afford to buy it out,” he insists.

“Oh, Maximilien,” Regnier says, affectionately. Maximilien, Hennike recalls, was the name of his latest ward. “I don’t want to.”

-

Hennike has to do the rounds at dinner. War encroaches in all their futures, and it is her job to reassure the courtiers that they’ll still get to live in comfort with their sons while all the other young men are sent to their deaths. She has to garner their support.

“The pheasant is absolutely sublime this evening,” one councillor’s wife says.

Hennike smiles and agrees and pretends she isn’t thinking about the argument she’d overheard. She cannot abide by this, a man who takes advantage of his wards and then turns them out when they get older. Aleron must know, she thinks, and that’s why Regnier was sent to Chastillon.

Being sent away is too good for him, but she can hardly arrest the King’s brother. Especially since her marriage has lost its early fervor.

“Is there any news from the border?” Guion’s wife asks, as Hennike’s eyes seek out Laurent.

He’s standing at the far side of the room, his laced brocade a decadent crimson that he chose himself. He’s looking up, nodding very seriously at something-

-something Regnier is saying.

Hennike rises, and makes straight for her son, too fast to look casual. She interrupts their conversation by putting a hand on Laurent’s shoulder, and Laurent, her sweet, clever child - who used to climb into her lap when she read to him - flinches.

Her blood runs cold. “Mother,” Laurent says, looking shocked and guilty. He used to call her Maman. She didn’t notice when he’d stopped.

“Hennike,” Regnier says. “Are you well? You look pale.”

“Laurent,” she says, voice tight, “go to your rooms, my love. I will come see you shortly.”

“I haven’t eaten,” Laurent argues.

“I’ll have the servants bring you something. Go now.” She signals one of the guards to follow him.

Laurent has barely left the room when she rounds on Regnier.

“I will kill you,” she says. “I will have your name struck from the histories. Your head will be spiked on the gates and your body will be thrown to the crows, and you will never be able to touch another little boy again.”

“Hennike,” Regnier says, holding up his hands. “Calm down, please. What is this about?”

“I heard you,” she says. “I heard you fighting with that pet, Maximilien.”

“You would execute me for a discussion with a pet?”

“Laurent flinched when I touched his shoulder.” She feels like she’s choking, fighting back tears.

“Sister,” Regnier says. “I don’t like what you’re implying. My private life has nothing to do with Laurent. He is my nephew. You’re being unseemly.”

“Stay away from him,” she says. “I will kill you myself if you so much as lay eyes on my son again. You leave for Chastillon tomorrow.”

“I am offended,” Regnier says. “But I can understand a mother’s love and fear. I’ll go until this all gets cleared up. You should ask Laurent yourself.”

-

She makes quick apologies, citing a headache, and leaves for her rooms. Her first task is to dismiss her guards to go wait outside Laurent’s room. She will not leave her son vulnerable to any more trauma. Part of her hopes fervently that Regnier was telling the truth, that his devious tendencies don’t include incest. That hope is the worst part, because it feels like a lie. She can now fully see the change that has overcome Laurent in the past few months.

Hennike is unlacing her evening gown - she wants to look as approachable as possible when she talks to Laurent - when she hears the door open and shut.

She looks up. There is a man, he looks handsome and not yet thirty, standing not ten feet away.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m sorry. He’s threatened my family.”

A man, not her husband, alone with her in her own rooms and the guards sent away. This alone has ruined her reputation already. But Regnier, Hennike realises with her dress still halfway unlaced, will not stop at that alone.

The man advances on her, and she grabs at the items on her dressing table. She throws a brush at him, he knocks it aside. She throws a jewellery box. The trinkets clatter across the floor. The man grabs her by the arms and pushes her against the table. Her things fall loudly. Glass breaks.

“Stop,” she demands, trying to struggle free. “Stop.”

“I can’t,” the man says.

Hennike jerks her arm and splashes perfume in his face. He rears back, eyes burning. She grabs a candelabrum and hits him violently across his head once, twice, three times. He falls to his knees and she continues to hit him until there is so much blood she can barely breathe.

She’s never killed a man before, there are tears on her face. The moment his body is found, Regnier will step in and spin the story. A lover’s quarrel gone wrong, probably. Vere abhors bastards so much that they spurn people for extramarital affairs even when a child isn’t produced. She will be executed for adultery. Laurent’s legitimacy will be in question. Auguste should be safe, she knows. The dead man in her rooms is too young to be plausible as his father.

Too young, she thinks, and then her knees are suddenly on the ground and she is retching uselessly.

-

By the time she makes it to Laurent’s rooms, she’s washed her face and dressed in riding clothes. She looks at the guards and sends them all away except for one: Jord. He’s a member of Auguste’s guards and one of his most promising soldiers. He’d left the man behind to keep an eye on Hennike and Laurent. Hennike wants to strangle him for watching her at all. He should have been by Laurent’s side every night to keep that vile uncle away.

But Auguste trusts him, and Jord has never seemed anything but loyal. She needs someone to help her and this is her best option.

-

Hennike has Laurent pack a bag of things - one change of clothes and only the most expensive jewels he has.

“We’re going on a trip for a little while,” she says.

“To see Auguste?” Laurent asks, sweetly excited. She doesn’t have the heart to deny it.

She has her own bag, with the same things as he does, but also some food, water, and coin.

“You know what to do?” Hennike says to Jord, as she pulls the hood of her cloak over her head. Laurent is saddling her horse.

Jord looks grim. He nods. She’s already had him quietly steal two corpses - a woman and a child - and lay them out in Laurent’s room. “I set the fire,” he says.

“Yes,” she replies. “Knock the door down when the bodies have been burnt beyond recognition. Call the other guards. I went into Laurent’s room and locked you all out.”

“I didn’t realise anything was wrong until I saw the smoke,” Jord recites. “By the time I got the door down, it was too late.”

“Yes,” she says. “I know it will be hard, but you cannot tell anyone the truth. Not Aleron. Not Auguste. Everyone must think we are dead.”

Jord nods. She turns to leave but pauses, turns back. “One more thing,” Hennike says, as Laurent quietly leads their horse out of the stables. “Don’t trust Regnier. Lead Auguste away from his influence. This is important.”

-

She rides through the night, Laurent asleep at the front of the saddle, leaning into her. The next day they ride through as well. They cannot go to Kempt. Her father is long dead and her brother, the King, cares more for the alliance than he does his youngest sister.

They cannot go to Vask. She’s not a warrior and they’ll want to send Laurent to a men’s camp. Patras is an option, but it’s also the first place anyone who knew her would look. The best route, is to go to Akielos. Even if someone finds out they faked their deaths, no one would expect them in enemy territory.

“We’re not going to see Auguste,” Laurent says, on the third day. They’ve done little but ride and take breaks to eat and sleep. They sleep on the ground, cuddled together under their cloaks.

“No,” Hennike says.

“Are you mad at me?” he asks, in a small voice.

“Why would I be?”

“You caught me talking to uncle,” he speaks softly. “Uncle said if you found us together, you wouldn’t love me anymore.”

She pulls him closer and he clings to her like he used to, before Auguste went off to the border. “No,” she says. “Nothing is your fault. I love you. I’ll always love you no matter what, my little star.”

“He’ll be mad,” Laurent says, muffled by her cloak, “that we didn’t say goodbye.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she promises. “We’ll never see him again.”

He’s old enough to know, she thinks. She tells him about her confrontation with Regnier and the attack in her rooms. She explains why they have to leave, and why they can’t be Queen Hennike and Prince Laurent anymore.

When he cries into her shoulder that night, wishing he could see Auguste just once more, it’s the last time she sees him cry for a long while.

-

Two

They end up at an inn in Sicyon. The plan, more solid now, is to settle in Aegina. There they’ll be far away from Vere and the border conflicts, near Patras, and near a port. They sit at a table together, eating a meagre meal of bread and meat. It will do them no good to flash coin here, so the basics it is.

“Ah,” a man from the table over says, when he overhears her asking for more wine. “Veretians.”

She learnt Akielon in Vere, and thus speaks it with a Veretian accent. She chooses not to answer the man.

Men don’t typically like being ignored. He approaches her table.

“Leave them, Gregor,” one of his tablemates groans. “Do you have to start something at every inn?”

“I’m just talking,” Gregor says, smiling down at them in an unfriendly manner.

“We don’t want to talk to you,” Laurent says, before Hennike can stop him. “Fuck off.”

“That’s not very polite,” Gregor says. “Only a whoreson would speak like that.” He turns to Hennike. “How much, darling?”

“More than you can afford,” Hennike replies. She’s hoping the innkeeper will step in. There’s a knife in her cloak but she doubts she’ll be able to take on Gregor and his two friends alone.

“You might be pretty,” he says, offended. “But you’re old, bitch.” He throws a coin at her. It’s not enough to even buy a piece of bread with. “You should be begging me for that alone.”

Hennike is a princess turned Queen. She has never been spoken to like this. She doesn’t know what to say, how to diffuse the situation.

“Gregor!” booms a loud voice. “What are you doing?”

Gregor goes pale in the space of a second. He spins around to face an interloper. “Sir!” he says, rather more high pitched than before.

“Answer me,” the man demands. He looks like a man who’s seen many battles. Broad and dark, with a long scar across his face. He stands like a commander who only ever receives absolute respect. He looks about forty.

“I was just having a conversation. I haven’t seen them around here before.”

“You were being a fucking shit,” the commander says.

“The boy sassed me,” Gregor says.

“The boy is half your age.”

“And,” Laurent cuts in. Hennike makes a note to teach him tact as soon as possible. “You were being a cunt first.”

“Laurent!” Hennike says, shocked.

The commander looks at Laurent for a long moment, judging. Hennike wonders what the chances are that Laurent will actually run if she tells him to, if she has to try and fight this man off.

“Ha,” the commander says, “ha, ha. Well said.” He turns to Gregor. “If you’re going to act like an animal, we’ll treat you like one. Sleep in the stables with the horse shit, tonight.”

Gregor hastily escapes before more punishments can be made.

He turns to the two boys still at the table. “You should have stopped him.”

“I did try,” one of them says.

“Try harder next time,” he replies. “Take down your tents ten times before you retire.”

“Yes sir,” the boys say, clearly relieved they aren’t also being sent to sleep in shit.

“Now.”

They run off.

The commander turns to Hennike and Laurent. “Don’t worry,” he says, “by the time I’m through with them they’ll be afraid to even look at a woman wrong.”

“Thank you,” Hennike says carefully.

He nods. “You must be in a lot of trouble if you’re willing to travel down this way.”

“Yes,” Hennike agrees. “Would you like to join us for a drink?” She’d like to avoid any more run ins with rude soldiers.

The man sits down. “My name is Makedon,” he says.

Hennike knows the name. He’s Commander of the largest independent army of Akielos. If she killed him here and now, there’d be a chance that the ensuing chaos would stop the war efforts against Vere. Then again, it might just make all his men angrier.

“Henrietta,” she says. “This is my son, Laurent.” She’d already said his name earlier unthinkingly. It’s not too dire a slip. Laurent is a common name, and everyone knows that the Veretian King’s wife and youngest son are dead. Suicide, everyone whispers. The wife had an affair and killed herself and her probable bastard. As she should have.

“Henrietta,” Makedon says. “You should leave here as soon as you can. War is coming.”

“We plan to,” she answers.

-

They don’t.

Makedon, it turns out, is strict and proud, but also honourable. They spend the evening talking, Laurent asleep against her shoulder on that bench well into the night. The next night, they’re still there and Makedon returns. By the third night, Hennike has agreed to go back to his fort with him, temporarily. Until she has more solid plans.

Three

Laurent is almost fourteen by the time war is officially declared between Akielos and Vere. The Akielons want Delfeur back. The Veretians aren’t amenable. From what Laurent hears, Auguste leads many successful campaigns. But he cannot be at every skirmish at once, the Akielons make their own successes.

“Boy,” Makedon says. He’s frowning up at Laurent, who is perched in a tree, reading. “You should be training.”

“I’m not going to war,” he says. “I won’t fight for your barbarian country.”

Makedon, despite being an Akielon brute with a scarred face, has somehow charmed Laurent’s mother. They’ve been here for over a year and Laurent has lost all hope of them moving on. He only tolerates the situation because every now and then his mother smiles like she used to in the gardens at Arles.

“You’re scrawny and clumsy,” Makedon says, “we don’t want you to.”

“Then I shouldn’t have to spend my days hitting brutes with sticks.”

“You’re a Veretian brat, and a pretty boy” - he says the last part like it’s a bad thing to be pretty - “and you live in a military province. You need to learn how to defend yourself when someone tries to break your nose.”

Another thing about Makedon is that he’s blunt. No-one would ever talk to him like this in Vere. But despite his harsh words and his clear strength, Makedon has never raised a fist or made Laurent feel threatened. If Laurent were ever to find a grudging respect for an Akielon - it’d be for Makedon.

Laurent sighs and climbs down from his spot in the tree. “Fine,” he says.”

-

King Theomedes and his two sons, Prince Damianos and the bastard Prince Kastor, are personally joining the war effort. They are riding through Akielos and collecting soldiers along the way to Delfeur.

“I think it’s time to move on,” Laurent’s mother says quietly.

The Royal family’s last stop before the border is Makedon’s home for his army. Laurent doesn’t want to see them, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with these barbarians attacking his brother, but he also knows that his mother is at least close to happiness here.

(He overheard Makedon - who is a widower with a married off daughter and a dead son - speak to his mother of marriage.

She had sounded truly regretful to have to tell him no. “Not yet,” she had said. It wasn’t a no. Laurent didn’t want a new father, but he did want his mother to smile more).

“No,” Laurent says. “We are safe enough here. You can feign sick when the Akielon excuse for royalty shows up, if you don’t want to see them.”

-

There’s a subtle alcove in the main hall of Makedon’s property. Laurent uses it to spy from time to time. He uses it when the royals show up.

They are all sun-dark and showing an embarrassing amount of skin. Theomedes looks strong despite his age. Kastor looks like he’d had too many blows to the face to ever be considered handsome. Damianos looks like the brute that he is. His dimples are incongruent with Laurent’s former mental image of him. He smiles too much.

-

Laurent doesn’t know what possesses him, but he sneaks into Damianos’ room one night.

“Who,” the Prince says, shocked, “are you?”

“Makedon is besotted with my mother,” Laurent says. “I live here.”

“Ah,” he smiles (as always). “Laurent, was it?”

“Are you going to try to kill Prince Auguste?”

Damianos shrugs. “Perhaps. If it’ll end the war.”

“You started the war,” Laurent says. “Not him. He shouldn’t have to fight you just because you want more land.”

Damianos sits down. “This might be hard for you,” he says, “because for a time, Vere was your home. But we fight with honour in Akielos. I won’t fight any man who doesn’t choose to pick up his sword against me.”

“You’re a bad prince,” Laurent says, then rushes on at Damianos’ offended look. “You’re prideful and foolhardy and you’ll probably get killed in battle. You should consider a treaty. You should consider that maybe your men staying alive and well is more important than a small patch of dirt. Vere doesn’t want to fight you, you’re forcing their hand. Treat with them.”

Damianos is staring at Laurent, open-mouthed. Then he snaps it shut. “It’s past your bedtime,” he says. “Go kiss your mother goodnight.”

-

Four

The Crown Prince of Vere is a beacon of gold, even when covered in all the blood and dirt of the battlefield. Damen watches him cut through men like butter, an elegant dance that only he knows. It’s captivating.

“Father,” Damen says. “I can beat him.” He thinks. Probably.

“Go,” his father says, absolute in his faith for Damen’s abilities.

It’s only when Damen cuts his way through to the Prince that he sees how he really is. His hair is shorn, blonde cropped close to his head. He used to have long hair, Damen had heard, until his brother and his mother killed themselves and then he cut it all off in his grief.

He doesn’t look like the beam of hope that the Veretian’s rally behind. He looks like a man, resplendent in armour, but tired and hurt and fighting only because he doesn’t know what else he can do.

Auguste stabs a man through the chest and continues on like it’s nothing. He makes a reckless swing as if he doesn’t entirely value his own life. He stops when he comes face to face with Damen.

“Ah,” Auguste says. “It’s time to end this.” He sounds resigned. An actor in a play who hates the role he’s been given.

Men create space around them, eager to see their Prince’s fight.

Auguste knocks Damen’s sword out of his hand.

“Pick it up,” Auguste says. “Once more.”

They fight. They swing, dodge, parry. Auguste stabs Damen’s shoulder. Damen swipes Auguste’s collar bone. Eventually, he knocks Auguste to his knees. He raises his sword for the killing blow and -- freezes. Auguste doesn’t look afraid to die. It’s rumoured that he’s still wearing black to mourn his dead brother and mother, which is looked upon badly in Arles because of the scandal of their deaths.

Damen thinks of Makedon’s boy, the Veretian who spoke lovingly of his former Prince. He thinks of all the death and destruction he’s seen today and how war is nothing like the glory that men sing of. It’s ugly and harsh, and he suddenly doesn’t want to be the kind of King that disregards other’s lives for glory.

“Perhaps,” Damen says, tasting the words as he says them, “there’s an arrangement better than war, that we can make.”

Auguste looks up at Damen with the most emotion he’s shown so far. “You sound,” Auguste laughs in a way that pierces the heart with sorrow, “like my brother.”

A child killed by a scared woman who felt she had no other choice. Damen breathes out, lowers his sword. In that moment, Auguste is just a man who has faced too much hurt already. “Let’s treat,” he says.

-

A treaty is made. Akielos receives Delpha, and Auguste - who now only has one living relative in an uncle - receives his life. The people of Vere have taken too many blows in the last few years, and Damen hopes for Auguste’s sake that this one doesn’t result in too much unrest.

When everything is signed and witnessed, there is a moment where Damen and Auguste are left alone in the tent.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Auguste says, looking anything but thankful, “for not killing me.”

“You knocked the sword out of my hand first,” Damen replies.

Auguste takes a deep breath. “To be honest, I don’t know what I’m to do now that I’m alone.”

“You still have an uncle, don’t you?” Damen says awkwardly.

Auguste laughs bitterly. “I never knew him well,” he says. “And when I came back to court and Laurent was-- there was a pet who told me he’d seen my uncle and my mother arguing shortly before she-- and that my uncle had seemed angry afterwards. Then my most trusted friend advised me not to trust my uncle, but that he couldn’t tell me why.”

“That doesn’t mean,” Damen pauses. “Whenever there’s a tragedy, people try to make sense of what happened in whatever way they can.” He thinks of nursemaids telling him that his mother loved him so much that she traded her life for his. He thinks of Kastor saying once that all he was good for was killing, like he’d murdered his mother.

“I thought that,” Auguste says. “But this war. We were safe in our fort. It was my uncle that convinced us to meet you on the field. That we could beat you. He has this way with words that makes you believe anything until…”

“You’re alone,” Damen says. “If you had died today…”

“My uncle would be King.”

“Send him away,” Damen advises. “To better relations somewhere like Vask where the women won’t respect him. Get married and have heirs while you can.”

“So that I have more people to lose?” Auguste frowns. “I should have just let uncle come here in my place. He’ll probably be king soon enough.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Damen says, feeling helpless.

“Who else is there to tell?” Auguste says. “I can trust no-one in my court. At least I know you’re my enemy. I’m not good with deception, I can’t predict it.”

“We’re allies now.” Damen is thoughtful for a long moment. “You need someone cunning to help you. Someone who won’t benefit from your downfall.”

“There is no Veretian alive that my uncle can’t plausibly get to.”

Damen doesn’t know why he feels compelled to help Auguste, when he was ready to kill him just hours ago. Maybe it’s just because he’s sympathetic to his issues, or that he’d rather face the man as king than his allegedly treacherous uncle.

“Stay alive,” Damen says. “Give me a month, and I’m going to send you someone that can help you. “

-

It’s not long before they’re back at Makedon’s fort, and Damen is sending his father and brother home ahead of him. “I’ll stay to celebrate with Makedon and his men,” Damen tells them. “They’re a little unhappy that the war ended without the anticipated amount of bloodshed, but it’s nothing a bit of griva can’t fix.”

Theomedes, who has had enough griva in his earlier days to last him a lifetime, just claps Damen on the shoulder and agrees. “You’re starting to think like a King,” he says. “Keep it that way.”

There’s a lot of revelry, but Damen finds a moment to send off a quick letter.

-

Makedon’s boy approaches him again a couple of night’s later.

“I heard,” he says, “that you could have killed the Veretian Prince but you chose to treat instead.”

Damen smiles at the boy. He’s laced up tightly, but his long golden hair spills over his shoulders in waves. “It was good advice,” Damen says. “Keep it up and I might let you be one of my advisors when I’m King.”

The boy looks pleased by this. “What was Prince Auguste like?”

“He’ll make a fine King,” Damen says. He looks out at the soldiers, celebrating the victory at Delpha, and when he looks back, the boy is gone.

-

Jokaste arrives to the sound of wolf-whistles.

Damen met her very briefly before he left for the war, but he saw enough to know that she was determined, devious and very, very beautiful.

She curtsies playfully to her admirers and the soldiers laugh. She’s also very charming. She smiles at Damen.

“My Prince,” she says, kissing his face. “I was surprised you wanted me out here, with all of these men, but I have answered your request.”

“Jokaste,” Damen says. “Let’s talk inside.”

-

He tells her everything about his conversation with Auguste. “I need you to go to Arles,” he finishes with.

Jokaste raises an eyebrow. “To help King Auguste with his situation.”

“You’re the most devious mind I know,” Damen says.

“You barely know me,” Jokaste replies, “if you think I’m going to risk my life for a shaky at best alliance with nothing to show for it.”

“When Prince Regnier has been dealt with,” Damen says, “come back and I’ll make you a queen.”

-

He takes Jokaste and a selection of men and women, under the guise of a diplomatic trip, as far as Delpha, where they cross the new border on their own. Delpha, which was last under Akielon rule a hundred years ago, is facing its own difficulties.

“The people are displeased,” Nikandros, who has been left behind to become the Kyros of Delpha once he’s tamed it, says. “They’re worried about food and taxes and the family they’ve left behind in Vere. I can barely speak enough of the language to console them.”

It isn’t often that Nik talks like this. Damen is always secretly touched when his friend feels comfortable enough to discuss his problems as if they are equals. “Do you want me to stay for a few weeks?” Damen offers. “I can teach you some.”

“Can you teach me the magic words that will make everyone acknowledge that they are Akielons again?”

Damen speaks in Veretian.

Nik laughs and gently nudges their shoulders together. “Even I know how to say ‘fuck off’ in Veretian, thank you Damen.”

Before he leaves, Damen tells Nik about the plan with Jokaste. It will be good to have someone trustworthy near the border who knows, just in case. Nik frowns but doesn’t dispute the plans.

“I just hope,” Nik says, “that you’re as aware of traitors in your own court as you are in King Auguste’s.”

-

Five

Laurent’s sword hits the dirt with a thud.

“Ha!” Makedon says, victorious. “I’ve still got it.”

Laurent picks up his weapon. “Maybe once every three attempts, you do,” he says, drily.

Makedon laughs, while Laurent dusts himself off and they return back to the house together. Laurent has been officially resigned to his life here ever since they’d found out his father had died (a soldier in the war, Hennike had told Makedon), and Makedon had convinced his mother to marry him. It’s not so bad, really, if it weren’t for the sharp pain Laurent gets every time he thinks of Auguste.

“Laurent,” Makedon says, when they’re inside. “Joyeux Anniversaire,” he says, awkwardly.

It’s oddly touching, for a man who hated everything Veretian with a passion a few years ago to learn this phrase just for Laurent. Laurent blinks away his surprise. “Thank you,” he says, quietly.

“Eighteen now,” Makedon continues on, blustering past the almost fatherly moment. “I suppose you’re going to reject my present for you again this year.”

“Yes,” Laurent says. “No slave girls, please.”

“Slave boys?” Makedon offers, as he has every year since Laurent turned fifteen.

“No,” Laurent says, “Thank you.”

“How about another gift?” he offers. “Come with me to Ios for the wedding.”

Prince Kastor is marrying a Patran princess next month. Rumour has it, the Princess was intended for Damianos, but he had claimed that he planned to marry someone else. The country was abuzz with who Damianos’ mystery woman could be.

“Is mother going?” Laurent asks, already knowing she isn’t.

“Someone needs to keep the soldiers in line while I’m gone,” Makedon jokes. They both know that Laurent’s mother has a distaste for courts and royalty. Makedon thinks it’s because her last lover - the mystery man who sired Laurent the bastard - was a member of court. He’s not entirely wrong.

“Alright,” Laurent says. Unlike his mother, sometimes he misses what court was like, all the parties and decadence and silly people who don’t think about the evils in the world. “I’ll go.”

-

Makedon is a big enough deal to warrant a greeting from the King upon arrival. Theomedes slings an arm around Makedon’s shoulder like the young soldiers they surely once were together, and pulls him away.

Laurent watches them retreat and the casts his eyes over to Damianos, who seems to be frozen and staring at him.

“You have,” he says. “Grown.”

“Yes,” Laurent replies. “That tends to happen with time.”

Laurent is not the only one to have changed in the last four years. Damen had been tall and broad before, but now at twenty three, he looks truly formidable. Laurent, who has been hoping for a final growth spurt, barely comes up to Damen’s shoulder. His skin is dark, in an evenly coloured way that makes Laurent think of Akielon soldiers, wrestling in the nude.

He feels, rather absurdly, his cheeks begin to flush.

Damen smiles. His dimple hasn’t changed. “Come,” he says, “Let me show you around.”

-

The next morning a servant shows up at Laurent’s door with a golden brooch in the shape of a rose and hands it to him.

“What’s this?” Laurent says, surprised.

“It’s a gift from Prince Damianos,” the boy says, head bowed respectfully. “He wishes to invite you on a ride this morning, before the festivities start.”

Laurent opens his mouth and then closes it.

“Will you accept?” The boy asks.

“No,” Laurent replies. “Tell Damianos that if he wishes for my company, he can ask for it himself.”

-

[aftgonice]

made up title: when you live with a teenager who only has international friends and you hear about them at ridiculous hours of the day

That’s a long title but I actually love it, ok bear with me anon, I don’t know if you’re in the Captive Prince fandom but this gave me a great idea:

when you live with a teenager who only has international friends and you hear about them at ridiculous hours of the day: Captive Prince modern AU in which Nicaise is Laurent’s and Auguste’s adoptive brother and he does figure skating -yes fucking figure skating- and he’s really really good, so he gets in all the international junior competitions and even though he’s barely 14 he has already traveled a lot because of that (Laurent goes with him every time). Nicaise isn’t really welcome in his school and some of the kids bully him but throughout the years he has made a lot of figure skater friends, and of course they’re scattered all over the world right? Nicaise and Laurent live in France so Laurent has to deal with all kinds of things: he keeps being woken up at 8am on a Sunday because Nicaise has to Skype to his friends in Japan, and at night he often has to bribe Nicaise into going tf to sleep instead of staying up until 2am to talk to his American and Canadian friends. There’s probably a side of Damen/Laurent somewhere but it’d be more focused on Laurent and Nicaise as brothers

Thank you!

send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it

[thickenmyblood]

I love how you really put a lot of thought into how you regard and read fanfic as well as how you respond to questions about how you feel aout it. Can I ask what are some parts/ideas in fics that really made you go wow, this is well planned or like I never would have thought about this or I forgot that this plot point and device were even a thing! I hope this makes sense

I love you, kind stranger. Thank you for reading my delirious posts and giving me the chance to scream about fics, which is always a pleasure. 

Note: If your fic is in this post and you don’t want it to be, let me know and I’ll take it down. 

Zeitnot by thereshaegoes

I love the idea of time travel, so when I read this fic’s summary I bookmarked it instantly. At first, I thought it was going to be eight chapters of Laurent waking up the day of the battle of Marlas, but the author really surprised me.

I loved that someone died at the end of each chapter (at first, at least) but what really made me go ‘oh’ is when Lauret realizes the Damen from “this new reality” is, in fact, his Damen! 

Damen not being with Jokaste was weird to me, but I shrugged it off as a personal choice the author had made. Then, when Damen was talking about abolishing slavery, I was still in denial. ‘Oh, well, some people don’t like to write Damen as a slave owner, which is cool’. And then, when the big reveal finally came, I was just… amazed. I literally put my phone down and went, ‘okay, this person really knows what they’re doing when it comes to writing’. 

I love the little plot twists. In my head, a plot twist most basic example is ‘oh, X is a traitor’ but… this? This is so much better.

Between the Shadow and the Soul by Anonymous

This work was… insanely refreshing, innovative, transgressive, and outrageously good. It does feature a lot of sex scenes, but at the same time, it felt like sex was the least important part of the story. I don’t know how to explain myself when it comes to this fic (and God knows I’ve tried) but… The sex scenes aren’t there just for the smut of it all, if that makes any sense. 

Auguste as a narrator is so unusual, and yet it made the fic so painful and enjoyable! I loved the way it left you wondering just how accurate his POV was. I loved the sex scenes with actual characterization. This author never, not even for one second, stopped focusing on the dynamic between Laurent, Auguste, and Damen. It could be argued that the Laurent/Auguste bit weighted more than the overall OT3 bit, but still… I had literally forgotten what sex scenes were for until I read this fic.

Sex scenes, especially in this particular work, are not parentheses in the story. They’re not there for the reader to take a break from the “actual plot” or “narration”. They are what holds the story together, and they’re opportunities for the reader to learn more about the characters

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Cherry Wine by SteeleStingray

Yes, I’m back on my bullshit. Yes, I’m talking about CW again. But I’ll make it short because there is no way you don’t know how I feel about this work. If you don’t, check out this comment (which, by the way, is not even a fraction of what I wanted to say to the author when I read the fic). 

What I found innovative and made me go “is this allowed?” about CW is not the idea of an OT3, but rather this particular take on a relationship that consists of three people. I’ve read a few published books that feature similar couples (all of them suck, and when I say they suck I mean it) so I was very hesitant to read this because of that reason. 

Usually, when people write OT3 they pepper in a lot of stuff I don’t like to read about: extreme jealousy, misunderstandings, cheating, weird dynamics that feel stilted, awkward sex scenes where one of the three just sits in a chair and watches the other two like some voyeur from Juan José Saer’s stories. Guess what doesn’t happen in CW? 

Another thing I liked about this work is that it reminded me that themes in fiction aren’t limited to one specific work. This author really likes nicknames. At the time, when I had only read CW, I thought it was just a one-time thing. Turns out, it’s not. An emerald-coloured nightmare also features nicknames. I like this idea that you can tell who wrote something based on little details and narrative choices. It’s like the author is winking at you, going ‘ha, did you get it?’

Ink on Paper by deripmaver

I don’t usually like fics with non-linear narrative because I’m a lazy bitch who can’t keep up. I’d never really seen the point in using flashbacks, scenes from the past, or anything like that because my writing style (oh, fuck off, my writing style, who the fuck do I think I am) is more about references. And then I read this fic. And I was like, ‘okay, I’ve seen the light of not writing everything linearly like an idiot’. 

The Mannequin Gallery by marrieddorks

Yes, I realize I’m talking about all my favorite fics. I feel no shame.

This fic is a Modern AU. Everyone who has ever written a Modern AU knows that one of the trickiest parts is finding characters professions that make sense with who they are/what they like/what they’re good at. This story features Damen as an influencer. That’s it, that’s my whole tweet. 

It reminded me that even when you’re writing a Modern AU (or any sort of AU, really) it’s important to know what the essence of the characters you’re writing is. The way even Jord’s job makes sense… And how it feels like the author didn’t just steal the characters’ names and use them to create a random story (which is valid, too)... and… Okay, this has nothing to do with a plot twist or a narrative device but have you read this Nicaise? Have you? You haven’t read Nicaise until you’ve read this fic.

(and that's why) you're so beautiful now by iwasgonegonegone

This fic is 612 words. It has no plot. One of the tags reads, “listen they're in love and they're cute and that's all i have to say” and I… yes. This fic inspired me to write plot-less stories again. Not only that, it made me enjoy writing them. 

Lately, I’ve been talking to a friend of mine about a new pairing we both like a lot. We go back and forth for hours sometimes just talking about what they’d do, details about the worldbuilding, a billion ‘what-ifs’... and I love it. If one of us sat down to write a story based on all our conversations, it would be a character study fic. It would have, maybe, some plot to it, but… Plot would feel like an excuse to talk about their relationship. And I love that. I fucking hate plot, I hate it, and this… Yes. This fic is like a little slice of life. The author has mentioned before that they enjoy writing poetry (more than longer pieces of fiction) and this story reads like a poem. You know when you read a poem and you get this weird tingly feeling? Read this and feel that, you’re welcome.

The Life We Live by homewithyou

I’ve said before that I don’t go looking for mpreg. Sometimes, mpreg has come looking for me, and I’ve closed my door on its face. I read this fic mainly because I never pay attention to the tags on AO3 (healthy, I know) and I was too busy making myself toast to read the summary. 

I was five paragraphs in and this bit hit me like a fucking electric hammer to the head: “...which had been going haywire more often than not since the pregnancy began five months ago.” I was like, ‘wait, did I—am I reading—why am I—’ and then I just shut my mouth and continued reading. I’m glad I did. I’m glad I didn’t let my narrowmindedness stop me from giving this fic a try. I’m glad people out there are writing stories that they enjoy, about topics a few others would deem controversial. 

This also applies to the Lamen/Auguste fic I mentioned above. What’s the point of writing if you’re not going to take risks and be honest about what you like to write about? It takes honesty and commitment to write anything that strays from the norm. And so I’m glad this person posted this story, because it changed me in a small way (‘what if I shut the fuck up and read more mpreg instead of instantly clicking out?’).

This is another perfect example of how plot is poison and you don’t need it in your life (unless you enjoy poison. In that case consume the plot, write the plot, sniff the plot. And die). A morning in bed, just nuzzling and talking… living life… Again, this made me realize that you can say a lot about two characters just from a morning in bed. It made me want to write 25 pages of dialogue in bed (this and Manuel Puig’s book titled Kiss of the spider woman, which I recommend fervently). 

Plot? In this house? We don’t know her. You’re a strong, independent writer. You don’t need no plot.

For a more general response, I’d say that Steele’s worldbuilding is impeccable and made me look at the setting of stories differently. 

Foreshadowing is always amazing, but I haven’t read a lot of fics where it’s a prominent element (which is not to say authors aren’t good at it, I just don’t read enough fics to give you a good example of this). 

I really like oxymorons and when writers use funny adverbs. GallaPlacidia’s adverbs are to die for, so definitely check out her stories if you’re interested in that. 

I also love the way xlydiadeetz writes archs. She does this thing where she divides the story into different… timelines? archs? I… don’t even know. Amazing.

I hope this answer made sense.