#Valentine's mini bingo event

[every-marveler-ever]

Breathing In Love (Breathing Out Friendship)

Fluffbruary Day 20 | @fluffbruary | Lounge

Marvel Rare Pair Valentine’s Mini Bingo | 💘 @marvelrarepairbingo2022 | "That's what friends are for"

IronStrange Bingo Round 3 | 🏥 @ironstrangebingo | Regency Period

All Caps Bingo Round 1 | 🤷 @allcapsbingo | In Love With Someone Else

masterlist :: (ao3 link)

RATING: Teen. WARNING(S): Possesive Husband

A/N: I know absolutely nothing about the regency period so please take everything I say with a grind of salt. Also, this is a very mix of fluff but it’s definitely not whump (I don’t think) it is certainly different. I enjoyed it all the same and I actually think I like the Peter Quill/Bucky pairing.

Bucky’s not in love with Tony Stark, he refuses to be because he’s about to be married to Peter Quill. Tony loves Stephen Strange and they have the money that makes love more than real. Bucky just needs some air instead. | James 'Bucky' Barnes/Peter Quill, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

fluffbruary 2023 | mrprb 💘 valentines mini bingo | isb 🏥 round 3 | acb 🤷 round 1

Bucky’s not in love with Tony Stark, he refuses to be, that’s unlikable it’s unreasonable to be in love with somebody of a much higher class. Instead, he sits across from his best friend, his hand held into Sir Peter Quill’s hand in the formal lounge.

There are smiles on their individual faces trying to convince one another that this is fine.

“Your house is quite lovely, Sir Quill,” Tony says in that sweetly sickening voice that out of the four of them in the room only Bucky understands. Stephen, Tony’s partner who he actually loves, nods along with his newly wedded husband, “I suspect you must have brought it for such a sum,” Stephen enquires.

The strange thing is now Bucky and Tony are in the same class, they are no longer little kids fighting with dirt and getting told off by their mothers. They are wedded men, the next perfect housewife who doesn’t clean because they have a staff who does that, and they certainly don’t assist their husbands with work because that’s not their job. Instead, they have times like this, drinking champagne and tea, while maids flitter around and collect dessert plates and the mess they leave. 

 Quill smiles at his new groom after only getting down on one knee merely weeks ago, Bucky happily said yes because there wasn’t quite any other way to respond to such a proposal. Peter happily complimented Bucky anyway, “well James had quite a lot to do with it, I wanted to put a pretty roof over his head that he could decorate, he has quite the eye for colour palettes.”

James hears Tony scoff at the way Quill uses his real name and Stephen must hear it too from the way he visually tightens his grip on Tony’s forearm. 

Tony knows that the reason Bucky understand colour is because of his brother's passion for art, the passion Steve never got to pursue because he didn’t get as lucky as Bucky, marrying instead to his wife so they could have a next of kin to continue to support the household needs. A small backyard wedding that Bucky got invited to but never did make it to. 

As Stephen straightens his posture he tries to make it so Tony’s previous mutters mean nothing indecent, “will have to have James over to see what we can do with our humble abode,” the humble abode Stephen talks about is actually Tony’s mansion that was left to him in his parents will, which since marriage is now Stephen’s property. 

Bucky stands up with a smile still on his face because he knows Tony loves Stephen, infatuated still despite Stephen’s protective nature, “I would love that, what are friends for after all.” He plays it off politely kissing Peter’s cheek and grabbing his bag, “I have to pop out to do some things for the house but I hope we do this again.”

With that, he steps out of the lounge room and hastily moves towards the front door once there he sucks in the fresh air and breathes. 

Cards:

[marvelrarepairbingo]

Hey everyone! Love is in the air this February here at Marvel Rare Pair Bingo as we kick off our mini-Valentine’s event. For the month of February we are running a mini-event for those looking to spread a little more Marvel love. If you’re interested in checking it out, click here and see how you can get involved on this month long mini-event! We’d love to have you with us! Now below the cut you can find the fantastic fills that were made during week one of this mini-event! Enjoy!

Author: The UltimateUndesirable Title: Waiting To Feel The Wind Card #: 2 Square Filled: E2 - Kissable Pairing: Jennifer Walters/Katy Chen Rating: Teen Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: After a long week, Jen really just wants the opportunity to get out and away from work. What better way to do that than with an old friend that likes to fly in the wind? Katy is from the expected day to day life, and is everything she craves. Word Count: 898 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44601274 Author: The UltimateUndesirable Title: Jarvis Is Watching Card #: 3 Square Filled: O1 - breaking the rules Pairing: Pepper Potts/Maria Hill Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply but PWP Summary: Maria and Pepper don't find a lot of time together, and finally having a relationship that can keep up with her she is always at the ready to embrace everything given to her. If that means moments of spontaneous passion in less-than-ideal places, then so be it. Word Count: 531 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44634913

Author: The UltimateUndesirable Title: A Quarter of Snow Card #: 10 Square Filled: E1 - darling Pairing: Sif/Hela Rating: Teen Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: Hela has insisted on visiting Midgard to see her Modir and Father. As a good loving girlfriend, Sif is happy to oblige. Mostly. Just not during winter because while the part Jotun may be made for it, she is most definitely not. Thankfully the other woman takes her moodiness with graceful ease that does nothing other than remind her why she loves her. Word Count: 523 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44601526 Author: The UltimateUndesirable Title: Pussy Pays The Bills Card #: 3 Square Filled: L1 - secret crush Pairing: Darcy L/Jane F Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: Darcy knew there was money to be made when it came to lesbian porn. She didn't know about the latent romantic tendencies she had towards her best friend. While it creates a bit of an emotional hiccup, it makes for some damn good genuine pleasure. No one has to know the moans aren't faked. Word Count: 1027 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44601733

Author: The UltimateUndesirable Title: Reunited Again and Hopefully Forever Card #: 1 Square Filled: L1 - separated and reunited Pairing: Kate B/Yelena B Rating: Teen Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: Kate has been waiting ages for the opportunity to have Yelena back in her life, or more accurately face to face once more. After she left for Russia, she didn't know what to expect of their little spark. Nearly a year apart has left her with the answer though. The want for even more. Word Count: 828 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44657443 Author: Jeremy Title: The Baby Squad Has A Movie Night Card #: 8 Square Filled: E2 - Valentine’s day sucks, let’s watch movies and stuff our faces instead. Pairing: N/A Rating: G Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: Clint loathed Valentine's Day. Luckily enough his friends make it bearable. (Notes: Completely self indulgent, based on an AU, and it might not make sense except to the people who know and love these characters and their established dynamic) Word Count: 575 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44791243

Author: Jeremy Title: Sneaking In Card #: 8 Square Filled: V2 - Sneaking In/Out Pairing: Bruce Banner/Justin Hammer Rating: G Warnings: Brian Banner's A+ parenting is mentioned Summary: “Dad will kill you.” “I doubt he’ll notice,” Justin said dismissively, instead wrapping his arms around Bruce’s waist and giving him a smile. “I wanted to come and see you.” Word Count: 556 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44858125

[starkerfestivals]

Hello Starkers!

Happy New Year's! 🥂🎆

As we're closing out 2023, we're thankful for everyone that participated in our events. I know SF has been on the quiet side for the past few months but we're still around and will be for 2024! 🥳

For our first 2024 event, we have a small mini bingo. I hope you join us in creating more content for our favorite genius and Spidey ship 🎉🎉 Also, as a sneak peek, SF is thinking of creating a Valentine's Day exchange so stay tuned ♥️

Duration: Jan 1, 2024 - Jan 31, 2024

Minimums: None! Just please remember to tag appropriately.

Tags: @starkerfestivals or use #SFNewYear2024

Prompts:

Relationship First

Fireworks

Out with the Old

New Years Kiss

Free

Promises

Resolutions

New Addition to the Family

Winter Ball

See you guys in 2024!

[blackwood4stucky]

hoping these roses dull the pain, cover the scars and turn the page

author: aspen blackwood

james “bucky” barnes x steve rogers | mcu

masterpost | 🅴 | 🔞 | word count: 3,360 | complete

tags: alpha x alpha, drugged, forced sex, non con body bod, non traditional omegaverse, triggered mating, secondary gender modification, dark elements

"A peculiar scent fills Steve’s nose as he wakes slowly. He knows that scent, it is one that still haunts him, that whispers his failures in his ears like prayers." - There were turncoats on the Lemurian Star.

bingo fills + event prompts

ch. 1: hoping these roses dull the pain, cover the scars and turn the page

@anyfandomangstbingo | barely conscious

@anyfandomdarkbingo | fuck or die

@anyfandomgoesbingo | possessive alpha

@anyfandomkinkbingo | handcuffs

@badthingshappenbingo | mutilation

@buckybarnesevents

alpha bucky april | breeding kink + purring + double minimum requirement babb 2023 | failed mission [april prompt] babb 2023 [babb060] | held down connect 4 [c4013] | c1: sex slave

@catws-anniversary | theme: bucky barnes - metal arm

@deaddovekink

frisky february | drugged sex monsterfcking march | shapeshifting: transforming during sex

@eclipsingbingo | trail of blood

@fandom-free-bingo: valentine’s edition | aphrodisiac, bound

@hurtcember | forced

@julybreakbingo: post-july | sex pollen

@kinky-things-happen | transformation

@marvel-smash-bingo | forced orgasm

@mcukinkbingo: open round | torture

@multifandom-flash

omegaverse | forced mating round 2 [1028] | free space

scalding hot: consent issues bingo | non con body mod: extra fuck holes

@sebastianstanbingo | sex slave

@stuckybingo [5080] | kink: breeding

@stuckygeekevents: stucky geek bingo | captivity, kidnapped

@yearoftheotpevent | april: canon divergence

read: ao3 | ffn | sqwa

mini playlist

[sdbingo]

Valentine's Bingo🌹

Love comes and shows itself in different ways, this month Seasonal Delights Bingo will be hosting 'Types of Love Bingo' centering around different types of relationships and different types of love languages.

There are many ways that a person shows their love, even more ways that one is capable of loving another- however I decided to include five different types for this bingo. (Two different kinds of relationship, three different types of love.)

RELATIONSHIPS

monogamy - a relationship with only one partner at a time. polygamy - having more than one sexual or romantic partner (most of the prompts for this category were written for 'polyfidelity' which refers to a group of three or more people who have a committed relationship with one another.)

TYPES OF LOVE

storge - familial love philautia - self-love philia - love without romantic attraction

At first, I had wanted to only include 'types of love' but considering that this is an event open to everyone it would have been hard to include 'eros' and I was not exactly sure how to include 'agape' either- we might do one that focuses on both relationships and types of love in the future but we shall see. 

This time we have two different themes (dark & light) and two different sizes (mini 3x3 & maxi 5x5).

Every participant is allowed to request two cards in total.

The tags that we ask that you use for us to be able to re-blog your posts are; #seasonaldelightsbingo, #typesoflovebingo (don't forget to tag @seasonaldelightsbingo too!)

You can start posting whenever you would like to do so, there are no time limits to when you complete your card- but you won't be able to sign up for a card after February 28, 2024.

'Types of Love' Bingo Sign Up Form

[hermesmyplatonicbeloved]

Ongoing Fandom Events

Idk about you guys, but finding PJO events to participate in is hard. Here are a few, happening on tumblr and/or ao3. Feel free to participate, or just enjoy the fanworks! Also feel free to check out @/pjobulletinboard for events I might've missed.

Last Updated Feb 4th, 2024. I'm updating this post regularly, so make sure and view the original post on my blog for the most recent updates.

Edit: If you know of an event and want to add it to this list, send me an ask with the link or tumblr blog tag.

9 - 2024 Events:

Rare Love of Olympus @/percabeth4life

Date: Jan 8-12, 2024 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Rare pairs (any ship with less than 100 fanworks on ao3), open to both platonic and romantic relationships Other Criteria: No min/max wordcount

Spring Squinox Gift Exchange @/percyjacksongiftexchange

Date: Feb 16th-March 19th, 2024 Type: Exchange Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: Min 1000 words. No max wordcount. All fics must be completed by deadline.

PJO Equinox-Solstice Exchange @/pjo-equinox-solstice-exchange

Date: Jan 22-March 24, 2024 Type: Exchange Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: no NSFW, min 1000 words for fic or 1 drawing for artists etc. (see post for details)

Jasico Bingo Challenge: Valentines's Day @/jasico-challenge

Date: Feb 2024 Type: Bingo Ships/Characters: Jason Grace/Nico di Anglo Other Criteria: No min/max wordcount. NSFW allowed.

Febuwhump 2024 (multi-fandom) @/febuwhump

Date: Feb 2024 Type: Month long prompt event (29 prompts for 29 days) Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: NSFW is allowed. Prompts should be answered in the form of whump.

PJO/HoO Big Bang, Summer 2024 (unconfirmed) @/pjo-hoo-bigbang

Date: Summer 2024 Type: Big Bang Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: No NSFW. Min 8k for one-shots and 20k for multi-chaptered fics. No max wordcount.

Hades/Percy Fest @/hadesxpercy-events

Date: May 26-June 1, 2024 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/Hades and Percy Jackson/Hades/Persephone. Other Criteria: NSFW allowed. No min/max word count. See post for more details.

Polympians Event @/takaraphoenix

Date: May 28-June 21, 2024 Type: Fest (14 prompts for 28 days) Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/Any god. Rare pairs welcomed. Other Criteria: No min/max word count. NSFW and SFW allowed.

Percico/Nicercy Fest Week @/percico-nicercy-events

Date: August 18-24, 2024 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo Other Criteria: No min/max wordcount.

16 - 2023 Events (Possibly Re-Occurring):

Lavinia Asimov Week @/oranglesswrld

Date: Feb 28-March 6, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Lavinia Asimov Other Criteria: Include Lavinia's Jewish heritage, any fanwork type is welcomed.

The Trials of Apollo - A Mini Bang @/toa-minibang

Date: March 19 - August 31, 2023 Type: Bang Ships/Characters: Any from TOA (?) Other Criteria: Join discord server (on the post) for more details.

Riordanverse Flash Fic Fridays @/drewtanakaweek

Dates: March 24, March 31, April 7, April 14, May 12, May 19, May 26, June 2 Type: Flash Fiction Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

ToApril 2023 @/plumblossom37

Date: April 2023 Type: Month long prompt event (1 prompt per day) Characters/Ships: Apollo, Meg. Other Criteria: no NSFW. Keep it toa-related.

Seafam Mermay 2023 @/seafamblr

Date: May 2023 Type: Month long prompt event (1 prompt per day) Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson, Poseidon, Tyson, Amphitrite, Triton, Kymopoleia etc. Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

Percy's DILFs Week @/percys-tits

Date: May 30 - June 5, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/any father character. Criteria: SFW and NSFW welcomed.

Odyssey of Percy @/stucksolangelo

Date: June 2023 Type: Month long prompt event (2 prompts per week) Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/Any (crack ships encouraged) Other Criteria: Min 100 words a week. No max word count.

Solangelo Week 2023 @/solangeloweek

Date: June 18-24, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Will Solace/Nico di Angelo Other Criteria: Any type of fanwork accepted.

Sapphic Summer Riordanverse 2023 @/sapphic-summer-riordanverse-2023

Date: June 28-24, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Any F/F ships. Other Criteria: No min/max wordcount.

Perpollo Week 2023 @/perpollo

Date: July 9-15, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson/Apollo Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

Riordanverse Rarepair Week @/them-awesome-rarepairs

Date: Aug 20-27, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Any rarepair, or canon pairing that's not endgame. Other Criteria: no NSFW, respect the characters canon sexualities, more details on post.

This or That @/chbnet

Date: September 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy or Annabeth, Camp Halfblood or Camp Jupiter, Percabeth or Solangelo, Gods or Heroes, Thalia or Percy or Nico Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

Seafam Week October 1-7, 2023 @/seafamblr

Date: Oct 1-7, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Percy Jackson, Poseidon, Tyson, Amphitrite, Triton, Kymopoleia etc. Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

Drew Tanaka Week @/drewtanakaweek

Date: Oct 22-28, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Drew Tanaka/Any Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

PJO Gift Exchange 2023 @/rrverseummerbang

Date: Oct 24-Dec 30, 2023 Type: Exchange Ships/Characters: Any Other Criteria: no NSFW, min 1000 words, for art 1 finished polished piece.

Twelve Days of Nicercy Christmas @/percico-nicercy-events

Date: Dec 14-25, 2023 Type: Fest Ships/Characters: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson Other Criteria: No min/max word count.

[narutoevents]

2023 EVENTS!

Open Interest Checks

SasoDei Week 2024

Neji Week 2024

MadaObi Mondays

List of Character Birthdays

Monthly Events

Multifandom - Year of the OTP

November 2023

MadaTobi Big Bang - Artist signups - all Nov

Sakura Zine Preorders - Nov 10th - Dec 10th

Founders Week - Nov 20th - 26th

Rock Lee Week - Nov 21st - 27th

December 2023

NaruHina Month - All Dec

Naruto Vacation Week - Dec 26th - Jan 2nd

Akatsuki Gift Exchange - Gifts Posted ???

2024

January 2024

Naruto Vacation Week - Dec 26th - Jan 2nd

TobiIzu Week - Jan 1st - 7th

ButsuTaji Week - Jan 9th - 16th

ShikaNeji Week 2024 - Jan 15th - 21st

KakaSaku Dead Dove Week - Jan 22nd - 28th

Aburame Shino Week - Jan 22nd - 26th

February 2024

Izuna Week - Feb 4th - 10th

KakaIru Valentines - Feb 8th - 14th

SasoDei Week - Feb 22nd - 28th

March - May 2024

TBA

June 2024

SasuKarin Month - all June

Potential Events????

Gaara Week 2024

Aburame Week 2024

ABOUT | GUIDELINES | FAQS

—————————————————————————————————

Semi-Public Discord Servers

Akatsuki/Sakura

Ino Supremacy

SasoDei

HashiMada

—————————————————————————————————

Past Events

January 2023

Gaara Week - Jan 12th - 19th

February 2023

Izuna Week - Feb 4th - 10th

SasoDei Week - Feb 22nd - 28th

March 2023

FemFounders Week - Mar 4th - 6th

LeeSaku Week - Mar 20th - 26th

Sakura Week (twt) - Mar 22nd - 28th

Kisame Birthday Bash - Mar 17th - 19th

April 2023

KakaIta Week - Apr 24th - 30th

ShikaSaku Week - Apr 28th - May 5th

May 2023

ShikaSaku Week - Apr 28th - May 5th

HashiMito Week - May 1st - 7th

June 2023

MultiFandom Pride Parade - June 3rd - 11th

SakuHina Week (twt) - June 5th - 11th

ShisuSaku Week - June 26th - July 2nd

KakaIru Themed Gift Exchange Signups - All June

Naruto Calendar Contributor Apps - All June

Naruro Rare Pair Month - All June

SasuKarin Month (twt) - All June

MultiSaku Month - All June

July 2023

SasuHina Month - All July

SasuSaku Month (twt) - All July

KakaGai Tanabata - July 7th

HashiMada Week - July 9th - 15th

MinaKushi Week - July 10th - 16th

Team Minato Week - July 24th - 30th

ShisuSaku Weekend - July 28th - 30th

KakaGai Smut Week  - July 30th - Aug 3rd

Naruto Rare Pair Week - July 30th - Aug 5th

August 2023

Hyuga Clan Week (tw) - July 31st - Aug 6th

Founders Tarot Zine - Preorders - all August

NejiTen Month - all August

Kisame Week - Aug 6th - 13th

Kakuzu Week - Aug 9th - 15th

KakaSaku Week - Aug 6th - 12th 

ItaSaku Week - Aug 21st - 27th

September 2023

Founders Tarot Zine - Preorders - close Sept 7th

Naruto Labor Day Mini Bang - Sept 1st - 4th

Kakashi Week - Sept 10th - 17th

Nagato Week Bingo - Sept 12th - 19th

Akatsuki Gift Exchange signup - Sept 12th - Oct 1st

HashiMada Gift Exchange signup - Sept 15th - Oct 15th

GaaSaku Fanfest - all Sept

MadaTobi Big Bang - Writer/Beta Signups - all Sept

MadaTobi Big Bang - Artist Signups - all Sept - Nov

October 2023

SasuNaruSasu Month - all Oct

MadaTobi Big Bang - Artist Signups - all Oct

Naruto Kinktober - all Oct

Akatsuki Gift Exchange signup - Sept 12th - Oct 1st

NejiTen Gift Exchange signup - Sept 29th - Oct 20th

Fest no Jutsu - Work Reveals - Oct 8th

HashiMada Gift Exchange - Sept 15th - Oct 15th

KakaYama Week - Oct 1st - 7th

Shisui Bingo - Oct 15th - 21st

Hashirama Week - Oct 16th - 23rd

ShiIta Weekend - Oct 20th - 22nd

AkaSaku Halloween - Oct 19th - 30th

TobiDei Week - Oct 21st - 29th

KakaGai Halloween - Oct 28th - 31st

Naruto Cookbook Preorders - Oct 15th - Nov 15th

KakuHida Week - Oct 30th - Nov 6th

November 2023

KakuHida Week - Oct 30th - Nov 6th

Tenzo Week - Nov 1st - 10th

MadaTobi Week - Nov 5th - 11th

Sasori Week - Nov 5th - 11th

Nohara Rin Week - Nov 12th - 18th

Founders Week - Nov 20th - 26th

Rock Lee Week - Nov 21st - 27th

2021 Archived

2022 TBA?

2024 >>

[purpleicedteas]

Mod Purple's Events in 2024

If you're new here, I write fic and mod lots of events!

Here's what my modding schedule is looking like for 2024. I will come back to this post and edit it as necessary. I hope you all join me on these fun adventures!!

Current - February 25th, 2024: Stony AUniverse Bingo Round 1

Current - February 14th 2024: Stuckony Valentine Cards (Prompt Fest)

Current - June 12th: WinterIron Mini Reverse Bang

Current - December 16th - WinterIron Bingo Round 2

Monthly parties feat. Round Robin

Monthly Mayhem

Current - May 29th: Tony’s Birthday Gala (Prompt Fest)

??? - October 15th : Tony Stark Big Bang

May 20th - February 25th 2025: Stony AUniverse Bingo Round 2

Drabbles & Doodles

Tony Tuesdays & Steve Saturdays

AUgust (August 1-31st 2024)

jAnUary (January 1-31st 2025)

[lee-bella]

HP Fest News Round-up: October 21, 2023

The latest edition of HP Fest News Round-up is up on Potterfests. The round-up includes both current and upcoming HP fests as of October 21, 2023.

You can find the round-up post on Dreamwidth and Livejournal.

Below are some of the HP fest announcements that were made between October 6 and October 21.

News and Announcement

hpsaffics: Announced Discord members only HP Spooky Saffics.

goodgodfathersiriusblack: Announced Harry & Sirius gen Good Godfather Sirius Black Fest for January.

hpbloodlust: Announced femslash vampire event HP Blood Lust Fest & prompts.

the-house-of-nott: Announced Theodore centric The Wheels of Misfortune.

potterpromptmeme: Announced Harry Potter Kink Meme Round 2 (Dreamwidth).

hpchanfestdw: Announced HP Chan Fest Year 2.

yuletide-and-mulled-wine: Announced Yuletide and Mulled Wine Fest.

hp-soulmates-secret-santa: Announced HP Soulmates Secret Santa & rules.

hpffwritersguild: Announced Comfort Zone Fest.

thethreebroomsticksfic: Announced TTB Weasley Week 2023.

ladiesofhpfest: Announced 2024 timeline & Monthly Minis.

hpfestofstars: Announced winter holiday HP Festival of Stars 2023.

snape_potter (LJ): Announced Snarry-a-Thon24 (DW) for January.

hplyricistsfest: Announced Discord server & mini challenges.

theiceroyals (DW): Announced Lucius/Narcissa The Ice Royals' Valentines Extravaganza.

themaraudersfest: Marauders Fest extended to all year round.

ProngsfootBingo (AO3): Announced Prongsfoot Bingo.

the-marauders-fest: Announced Marauders Christmas Fest.

Drarry Fans Discord (AO3): Announced Drarry Fans Discord Server Double Drabble Exchange.

For the full version of the round-up post, see DW or LJ.

[seasonaldelightsbingo]

Valentine's Bingo🌹

Love comes and shows itself in different ways, this month Seasonal Delights Bingo will be hosting 'Types of Love Bingo' centering around different types of relationships and different types of love languages.

There are many ways that a person shows their love, even more ways that one is capable of loving another- however I decided to include five different types for this bingo. (Two different kinds of relationship, three different types of love.)

RELATIONSHIPS

monogamy - a relationship with only one partner at a time.polygamy - having more than one sexual or romantic partner (most of the prompts for this category were written for 'polyfidelity' which refers to a group of three or more people who have a committed relationship with one another.)

TYPES OF LOVE

storge - familial lovephilautia - self-lovephilia - love without romantic attraction

At first, I had wanted to only include 'types of love' but considering that this is an event open to everyone it would have been hard to include 'eros' and I was not exactly sure how to include 'agape' either- we might do one that focuses on both relationships and types of love in the future but we shall see. 

This time we have two different themes (dark & light) and two different sizes (mini 3x3 & maxi 5x5).

Every participant is allowed to request two cards in total.

The tags that we ask that you use for us to be able to re-blog your posts are; #seasonaldelightsbingo, #typesoflovebingo (don't forget to tag @seasonaldelightsbingo too!)

You can start posting whenever you would like to do so, there are no time limits to when you complete your card- but you won't be able to sign up for a card after February 28, 2024.

'Types of Love' Bingo Sign Up Form

[ironstrangehaven]

IronStrange Valentine's Mini Bingo

Sup, y'all!!!

This isn't a big event, but we created a pair of one-row bingo card prompts for February/Valentine's day for IronStrange.

You can make your works as heartbreaking as you can or as heart-pumping, lovey-dovey as you can.

Just choose which set of bingo prompts you want to do and be free to cause heartbreak or lovey-dovey feels.

As always all forms of work is welcomed. Some examples are listed below:

Digital Art Traditional Art Fanfiction Poetry/Prose Photoshop Videos/GIFS/Related Multimedia Edits Music Playlists Headcanons ETC.

Below is the repurposed Halloween Bingo AO3 Collection, now turned into a Mini Bingos Event Collection for IronStrange. Just add your works to the collection.

Don't forget to @ us on Tumblr or Twitter when you post your works to social media!!

AO3 Collection

[every-marveler-ever]

"Anyone could see that the Prince was charming. The only one for me.”

Fluffbruary Day 18 | @fluffbruary | Film

Marvel Rare Pair Valentine’s Mini Bingo | 💘 @marvelrarepairbingo2022 | Dramatic Proposal

Tony Stark Bingo Mark VI | 😒 @tonystarkbingo | PICTURE

Sam Wilson Bingo Round 3 | 🪶 @samwilsonbingo | Marriage Proposal

masterlist :: (ao3 link)

RATING: General WARNING: N/A

A/N: This was inspired by this beautiful animation by Kayla Coombs (who in my mind is the person Sam commissions (that or Steve)) of which a Husband proposed to his wife durnign Sleeping Beauty.

Sam and Tony watch Snow White and The Seven Dwarfts, but Tony is fairly sure that it’s not Snow White on screen, because he never remembers a proposal in the movie. | Sam Wilson/Tony Stark

fluffbruary 2023 | mrprp 💘 valentine's mini bingo | tsb 😒 mark vi | swb 🪶 round 3

Malibu is different for Sam, especially in the winter, since the house rebuild and the remodelling Tony suggested they come out for a weekend trip, away from the tower and the team just purly Tony and Sam. Despite it being Tony’s idea Sam can still find him in the lab over the 3 days that they stay in the winter, they always have dinner and go to bed together but it is peaceful to do their own things during the day.

Just maybe not today.

“Come watch a flim with me?” Sam leans on the labs door, looking at his boyfriend with adoration in his eyes, as Tony walks through the lab, headset on, black shirt, musles on point (which is a physical gain for Sam).

It’s not their annivevasary, nobodies birthday, but yet it feels like a special moment between them as Tony looks toward Sam. It’s sweet that even when they are in malibu and away from work so Tony can do whatever they want Sam can still convince him out of the lab. “When did you become such a film consour?” Tony teases turning off the holograms infront of him, taking off they ear pieces that control the nanobots of his newest suit.

Smiling Sam moves closer Towards Tony, bith of them meeting in the middle of the lab, “I haven’t had much else to do while we are here, and I thought I should take advantage of the cinema.” Sam brings his arsm around Tony’s shoulder, “I think you should take advantage of it with me,” Sam smiles brgiglht brushing his noes against Tony’s. 

It doesn’t take much more convincing then that.

Tony smiles kissing him on the cheek, shutting down everything around him, “sounds like a plan.”

.

They sit down to watch Snow White as Sam declares that it should be their new years revolution as couple they should watch every disney movie, Tony just laughs. 

“So we are starting with Snow White then?” Tony questions sitting down on a recliner cinema chair, monovouring his popcorn and drink to make sure they don’t spill at the couple sits down. 

Sam corrects with a smile, “Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, actually,” it’s casual as he begins to munch on popcorn before it all even begins, leaning into to Tony’s embrace. The movie rolls without them even needing to ask JARVIS, opening on Snow White singing by the well.

.

Tony is shocked as Sam is crying in his arms as Snow White is placed into the glass coffin, but then something changes, the prince shows up and it’s not prince, well he is in prince gear but he looks a lot like Sam. The camera shift towards the coffin where Snow White is to lay but it isn’t Snow White, it’s a guy, a guy in very similar resemblance to Tony Stark. Prince Sam wakes up Prince Tony and the movie stops as Prince Sam gets on one knee, and Tony is so confused by the movie that he doesn’t realise that real life Sam does the same thing.

Tony on the screen seems frozen in time as he’s only just woken up and now the prince he had been destined for is proposing to. 

The screen zooms in, lonney toons style and Prince Tony winks at him as the screen reading, ‘To Be Continued’ and it takes until them before he looks down a hand flying to his mouth. Sam is on one knee aswell, a ring box in his hand, opening up to a gorgeous gold ring with a ruby jewel encrusted into it.

“Tony from the day I met you I saw a future with you, once Rhodey introduced you as a menace I knee that I wanted you to be my menace. I wanted you to annoy me everyday, and have the experience of attempting to get you to sleep and sleep beside you in a much comfier bed then a camp single.” Tony is crying now, because the ring is beautiful and the speech is gorgeous, and Sam put so much effort into the proposal and the movie and it is very much them.

“Tony Stark will you be my menace, my partner, and my best friend for life? Will you marry me?”

Tony nods with a whispered out, “yes!” Which leaves Sam jumping for joy into Tony’s arms placing the ring on his finger, “no we’ll have to get you a ring of you own,” Tony tells Sam, happy to have his finance in his arms, and the ring doesn’t way him down as much as he thought ut ever would.

Sam smiles kissing Tony once again, “sounds like a future plan.” 

Cards:

[marvelrarepairbingo]

Marvel Rare Pair Valentine Mini-Event

Hey everyone! For those of you wanting to take part in our Valentine mini event, please take a look at the information under the cut and see how you can take part in our mini-event!

Welcome to the Valentine's Bingo mini event! For this event we will be operating under the same rules as before in terms of what is allowed and what isn't in terms of content, so be sure to check out our rules below:

Event Rules

Please no character/ship bashing! Also, no kink shaming on other’s work! This is a place where we encourage people to feel safe in their creativity. If you don’t like something someone creates then try to follow the rule “Don’t Like, Don’t Read/Comment/Etc”. We want this to be a friendly zone for everyone to feel included so please keep that in mind. We want you to create and explore, but be sure to be mindful of your other Marvel loving fans because we want everyone to have a good time!

While we understand that everyone has their own thing that inspires them, we ask that your fills do not contain incest, underage (under 18), rape/non-con or any bestiality themes. If you have any questions about this rule, please feel free to contact us so we can clear up anything for you.

Any fan works that you have made are allowed to be in this event. This Bingo is not just limited to writing and drawing, so if you have something else that inspires you, let your mind roam free and create!

When making a fill be sure to label it accordingly. Warnings are important to readers so if you think you might need one please include it!

In this bingo event we want everyone to have fun, but for safety purposes we want this event to be for those 18+. We encourage authors and artists of all ages to keep creating, but for this event we’d like to keep it adults only. Thank you so much for respecting that and we appreciate your interest moving forward! We are operating on an honor system as we can’t check everyone’s age, so please be respectful in moving forward :)

Bingo and Badges This event will run through the month of February and we intend for it to be a fun, low pressure event. We want to see how creative you can be so for this event with the cards you can choose from one of the pre-made cards listed below and have fun creating. You can pick ANY of the cards below that inspire you (or more than one if you like), but to qualify for a bingo you must have 4 fills. Other badge information is listed below. Because these cards are a little different than the normal cards, to get a bingo and be eligible for a Valentine's bingo badge, you have to complete four square prompts. That's it for this one as it is a smaller card. Anyone who does 1 fill can get a Valentine's badge of participation. Anyone who fills out an entire card can also qualify for an event cover all badge as well.  Fills When making posts on Tumblr be sure to @ us at @marvelrarepairbingo2022​ so we can reblog your posts there too. We also have an AO3 collection up at marvelrarepair_valentine_bingo as well for those who would like to post their works to the event collection. If you have any further questions about the event don't be afraid to reach out and ask us via DM or head over to our discord here. We hope you all have a lot of fun with this mini-event and we look forward to seeing what you come up with! Enjoy! The Bingo Cards Please choose any one of the following cards for your selection. All members have the same choices of the 10 cards below as it is open to whatever participants want to choose for this event! Have fun and happy creating! Card #1:

Card #2:

Card #3:

Card #4:

Card #5:

Card #6:

Card #7:

Card #8:

Card #9:

Card #10:

(Click to enlarge images and pick your card for this event)

[blackwood4stucky]

call of the moon

author: aspen blackwood

james “bucky” barnes x steve rogers | mcu | 🅴 | 🔞

word count: | complete

tags: fantastical elements, omegaverse, werewolf au, some blood and violence

The change was by no means new to him, he was true to this barbaric lifestyle, but that meant little as his spine crackled with the shift. It was a cruel fact of life, pain. - A ruin is what became of the beast's home, but beauty can still be found in the wilds.

bingo fills + event prompts

@afgomegaversebingo | scent marking

@anyfandomangstbingo | werewolf au

@anyfandomdarkbingo | revenge

@anyfandomgoesbingo | breeding

@badthingshappenbingo | wiping the other’s tears away

@buckybarnesevents: babb2023 | wet & messy [jan prompt]

creatures & cryptids: into the wilds bingo | lycan

@eclipsingbingo | first time

@fandombingo

mcu card | omegaverse rpf card | identity reveal

@fandom-free-bingo

valentine’s edition | werewolf au world book night edition | free space

@kinky-things-happen | knotting

@marvel-smash-bingo | free space

@multifandom-flash

april | free space march | enchanted forest omegaverse | scent fetish

@stuckybingo | free space

@stuckygeekevents: stucky geek bingo | laceration

@ultimatechrisbingo | free space

@yearoftheotpevent | august: au of your choice

read: ao3 | ffn | sqwa

mini playlist

[polizwrites]

WIP Update - 1 Feb 2024

Been on vacation for the last 2+ weeks (since Jan 13th) so got very little writing done. Over the past 3 weeks I touched 6 fics ( 2 WIPs & 4 new works) for a total of  890 words.

On Ao3, I posted: Variations on a Theme   - Sam/Clint Secret Santa love confessions After One Or Two False Starts  - Chapter 3 -  Sam/Bucky love confessions Never Have I Ever (But I’d Like to With You) - Chapter 2 -- Tony/Steve love confessions Not Too Far Down the Tracks -  Steve/Tony College AU fluff Fill Me Up With Your Love  - Steve/Bucky/Tony threesome PWP The Things You Said I Wish You Hadn’t - Clint & Steve post-mission with a bit of angst.

I also contributed to the  Stucky Bingo January 2023 Round Robin  - Steve/Bucky pet adoption fluff! 

On Tumblr I posted:  A Rising Star  - Sam passing the wings to Joaquin Thimbles and Acorns -  a last minute Steve Rogers Bingo fill for my Pirate square - pre-war  Steve/Bucky love confessions  

(Do I have a brand? Why yes, yes I do! 😁)

I have  10 active WIPs  with my current  deadline being the  Stuckony  Valentine Cards  event (due 10 Feb)  and the  Tony Stark Bingo (ends 28 Feb)

See below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round 4 [BBB_R4] (Runs thru 7 15 Jan 2023)

23 squares completed with  6 bingos total!  Hoping to carry a few squares forward to the next round.    Masterpost

Sam Wilson Bingo - Mini Holiday Round (SWB_MH) - Ends 20 Jan

Five fills posted with 2 bingos for this  3x3 holiday event card  - my final fill was for the FREE square - A Rising Star [Sam & Joaquin, General, 293 words].     (Belated)  Masterpost

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 2  (SRB_R2) - Ends 31 Jan

Twenty-one fills posted with 6 bingos (Rows 1, 3 & 5 and Columns A & B and 1 diagonal) - masterpost coming probably by the end of the week.

* A4 - Touch Attention/Denial  - posted  Fill Me Up With Your Love   last Friday. It also fills (heh) my  Stucky Bingo  KINK - Double Penetration square.   It’s PWP with Tony and Bucky double-teaming Steve and came in at 1613 smutty words.   

* A5 - Pirate - Thimbles and Acorns was a last minute fill -  I was inspired by a ride on Peter Pan’s Flight at WDW  to dash off a quick pre-war Stucky fic  where a childhood memory leads to a love confession

* B2 - Mile High Club -  Posted chapter 2 of  Never Have I Ever (But I Want To With You), picking up with Tony’s POV after the events of Chapter One. It crosses over with TSB  Tony’s Poor Life Choices  and came in at 820 words (1820 total for the fic)

* C5 - “You get hurt, hurt ‘em back. You get killed … walk it off.” - I combined this with a Tumblr writing prompt “things you said I wish you hadn’t” (requested by @gayspacesprinkles​)  for The Things You Said I Wish You Hadn’t   - post-mission fic with  Clint angst  and vaguely hinted at Clint/Steve. It came in at 245 words.

* D5 - Long Distance Relationship - posted  Not Too Far Down the Tracks as a crossover Flash Fiction Friday Prompt  Late Night Train.  It’s a Stony College AU ficlet that  I added onto to squeeze my TSB Doing Groceries square into.  It came in 411 words.

Stuckony Valentine Cards Event  [Ends 10 Feb]

This Ao3 Event solicited prompts for Stony, Stucky, WinterIron, and/or Stuckony works - it’s now in the creation phase, so if you’re looking to write something short and sweet (or smutty!) and are 18+ plus, feel free to check out the list of prompts!  I skimmed thru them before vacation, but now need to take another look & hopefully find something that I vibe with!

Tony Stark Bingo - Round 6  (TSB_R6)  [Ends 28 Feb]

Twenty fills and two WIPs at the moment -    with  Vague Ideas for almost every other square.  

* T2 - Doing Groceries - see SRB Long Distance Relationship above

* T3 - Pepper Potts/Rescue -  some sort of remix of/inspired by sabrecmc’s  Indecent Proposal  from Pepper’s POV.  At this point, I think I need to re-read the fic & take notes …  

* T4 - KINK: Concubine - was going to combine this with  SRB  E4 - Mental Bondage but still may write up the idea I had - potential titled  My Voice the Chain that Binds You.

*A5 - Scott Lang  - 27dragons shared an interesting plot bunny during the Sept TSB Discord party that I may end up using; that or a follow up to A Piece of the Action

* R1 - Tony’s Poor Life Choices - see SRB Mile High Club above.  

* K2 - Secret Admirer -  carried this over from last round so I could try my hand a remix of Seeds of Love  (WinterIron hanahaki fic by the super-talented @hddnone).  Potential title:  Wraps Around My Heart, Refusing to Unwind.  Poking at some ideas in my head, but haven’t gotten anything on paper yet.

* K5 - Protectiveness -- using this for the third (and probable final) chapter of my  Stony Western AU WIP  Come Down From Your Fences  (And Open the Gate)

Stucky Bingo Round Four [SB_R4] (Ends 31 May 2023

Nine fills and one WIPs with a couple of other vague ideas.

* B1 - Mutual Pining -  no specific idea, but it’s so On Brand for me I’m sure I’ll come up with something!  (maybe  the Centerfold fic idea I’ve been toying with)

* B5 - KINK: Double Penetration - see SRB   Touch Attention/Denial  above.

* O4 - AU: Supernatural - got inspired by a dream to start a Stucky fantasy AU (magician!Steve/ensorcelled!Bucky) that @bill-longbow  is collaborating on with me. We’re currently sitting at 1640 words  (984-ish of which are mine).   Will probably continue on this sometime in February.   Current Last Line:  "My men will accompany you back to Brookline in the morning.”

I also adopted the Writing Format: Remix one of your fics  square  – am thinking of taking one of my Stony or WinterIron  No Powers fics and adapting it to a Stucky pairing – if you have any requests - hit me up!  

WinterIron - No Powers AU  –  Stony No Powers AU

————

On other creative fronts:  I have a Ms Marvel Stuffed With Character figure in progress -  still working on the figures/props for my three Marvel Trumps Hate  auction winners as well (7 of 8 done so far) – thanks so much for your generous support!!  Finally, I am prepping for a superhero con in March  and another con in June  so am pretty well booked up through spring/early summer.

That said, if you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations later in the year, check  out Stuffed With Character   over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 100!).   They’re  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design  requests  for any fandom!

[attempted--eloquence]

So I was going through my drafts. and like, back in February when I was thinking about Valentine’s day fic ideas, I ended up drafting this silly matchmaking fic (based on the 36 questions for love) but I decided to abandon it bc it’s silly and I’m too lazy to flesh it out any further than this. But I dunno it’s maybe cute-ish. So I figured I’d post it here. So yeah!

anyway below the cut is Liam and Theo meeting at a matchmaking event<3

Liam Dunbar - ♥ - Theo Raeken

It’s a Match!

——————————

Name - Dunbar, Liam

Age - 25

“Question one,” Mason reads, settling beside Liam on the couch. “What is your idea of a good night out?”

“Uh, I guess…dinner? A movie?” he shrugs. “Wait, no, don’t put that. That’s probably what everyone is gonna say. When’s the last time I even went to a fucking movie theater? Umm, let me think.”

“Liam, dude.”

“No, hold on! Just—just gimme a sec,” he says.

“How about I just put ‘dinner and a movie’ as a provisional answer and we can move on—”

“Got it,” Liam blurts. “Mini golf.”

“Mini golf?”

Liam nods. “Mini golf.”

“Okay. Mini golf,” Mason sighs, typing in his answer.

“Wait! Maybe one of those barcade places, actually?”

“Only ten questions, and yet I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna be here all night,” Mason sighs.

——————————

Name - Raeken, Theo

Age - 27

Tracy stretches out on the futon, draping her legs across Theo’s lap. She says, “Alright, c’mon. What’s your idea of a good night out?”

“That night you, me, Don, and Josh broke in and hotboxed the projection booth during the horror movie fest is hard to beat,” he grins.

“Mm, try again. Something that won’t prompt the matchmaking company to report you to the local police department?”

“Like they’d be able to find anything on me,” Theo scoffs. “My record’s been expunged.”

“Fine. Good nights out that don’t involve criminal activity?”

He hums, offering a lazy shrug. “Don’t remember most of ‘em.”

“Theo.”

“Kidding,” he sighs. “You know, I hear bingo nights at the senior center get pretty rowdy.”

“I really hate you,” Tracy says beneath her breath.

“Heard it before.”

——————————

“What color best represents your personality?”

Liam glances down at his sweatshirt.

“Blue.”

“Okay,” Mason nods.

“That’s kind of basic isn’t it?” Liam frowns. “I mean, blue? Everyone’s gonna say blue. What color did you say on yours?”

Mason raises a brow, says, “Green.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m comforting and have a mellow energy, I don’t know, dude, I just said green!” Mason answers, waving a dismissive hand.

“Personally, I think you’re more of a teal.”

“Okay, last I checked, you were only signing up for this event with me because I’m too chicken to go alone. Now, you’re putting more effort into your answers than I did.”

“...Let’s go with blue,” Liam relents.

——————————

“I’d say…something between green and black. Like the solid part of birdshit,” Theo answers. “Familiar, but distinctly unpleasant.”

“At least you’re self-aware,” Tracy mutters. “I’m putting red. Confident, warm, and inviting.”

——————————

“I’m easy-going, but also, uh, motivated. And…confident. Yeah. Confident. But not arrogant. Definitely not that. But I have a sensitive side, right? I totally have a sensitive side. Oh, and Hayden used to say I was very thoughtful, so maybe that. And charismatic.”

“Liam—”

“And genuine.”

“That was like ten times the amount of words you were supposed to give,” Mason sighs.  

“Okay, look, just put down…” Liam trails off. He glances around his apartment, like his home decor will give him the answers. “Adventurous, kind-hearted, and intelligent.”

——————————

Tracy scrolls to the next question. Says, “Describe yourself in three words.”

“Down. To. Fuck.”

——————————

“What traits do you like and dislike most in a potential partner?”

“My dislikes?” Liam says. He draws his lip between his teeth, thinking. “Um, Impulsivity, indecisiveness—”

“Are you just describing yourself?” Mason asks.

“Very funny.”

Mason doesn’t laugh.

Liam falters. “Oh, shit. Wait. Am I?”

——————————

“What traits do you like and dislike most in a potential partner?”

He grins. Answers, “I like hefty bank accounts and dislike rigid morality.”

“Fucking hell, Theo, you have to take this somewhat seriously. They’re gonna match you with an absolute trainwreck and then I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Trace, I never even wanted to do the whole speed dating—”

“It’s a blind date event,” she corrects. “Not speed dating.”

“Blind date thing. It’s a combination of my two least favorite things, mandatory small talk and insincere pleasantries with strangers. You’re kinda forcing my hand here,” he grumbles.

“Donovan didn’t complain a single time when he took the personality questionnaire,” Tracy says.  

“Donovan is a serial dater. He’d probably sign up for this even if it wasn't a promotional event for your restaurant.”

She adds, “And Josh helped me put flyers downtown advertising Singles in the City for hours last weekend.”

He narrows his eyes. “Are you implying I’m an unsupportive friend?”

“I’m implying that I’m thinking of demoting you to ‘acquaintance’ status.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would.”

Theo shoots her a dry look.

“I know it’s silly to you, but it means a lot, okay?” Tracy stresses. “Hopefully, people will come and meet their soulmates and then fall in love, and get married, and have babies, and they’ll tell their kids the story of how they met at some cheesy matchmaking event at Chimera, and they’ll return on their anniversary and ask to sit at the table they first met at, and—”

“This is a soft opening for your restaurant. Not a rom-com.”

“I know, I know. I’m a mess,” she groans. “If all else fails, it’s an easy way to establish a customer base and gauge how the appetizer selection will go over with guests. If…anyone actually shows up.”  

Theo softens. He relents, “Okay, whatever. I’ll take it seriously. Promise.”

“Good, ‘cause I’ll be too busy overseeing the front and back of house to get in on the love connection action. I’ll have to live vicariously through you,” Tracy sighs. “Last one. Do you have a gender-specific preference?”

“Eh, surprise me. But, if they match me with a chick maybe I’ll send her your way.”

“Now that’s worthy of you being promoted to Best-Friend-For-Life status.”

“Only if the date sucks though.”

“Wow. How generous of you.”

——————————

“And last pre-survey question…” Mason mumbles. His composure has melted. He’s a lump on the couch, looks more ready to nap than anything else. “Do you have a gender-specific preference?”

Liam shrugs.

“Nope.”

Mason sits up, bewildered. “That’s the only question that hasn’t taken you five minutes to answer. I’m kinda proud.”

“Well, in that case, you think we can reinvest the remaining four minutes to look over my other answers?”

“Oops, my finger slipped,” he presses enter and shuts the laptop. “Looks like your answers have been submitted.”

——————————

“You gotta last name to go with that first?”

Liam startles, only slightly. A guy—his date?—settles into the chair across from him. His nametag says Theo. His face says he’s uninterested.

“Dunbar.”

“Dumb-bar?”

Liam scowls, “No, it’s—”

“Raeken,” he says.

“What? I said Dunbar.”

“My name. Theo Raeken.”

“Oh. Oh,” Liam nods, shifting in his seat. It’s quiet. He hates the quiet. He wonders if his questionnaire answers should’ve been tweaked so that he could’ve been paired with someone that would show more interest in him than in the trays of food being carried around by waiters.

“Look, this is gonna suck, probably,” Liam says. “I mean it’s always weird having to do icebreaker questions and shit with people you don’t know, but uh. Let’s at least give it a shot. Full-fledged honesty’s the best way to go about it, right?”

Theo pulls his lips into a smirk. “And what if I told you I’m a pathological liar.”

“I’d say we’re off to a great start,” Liam mutters.

Theo leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. He runs a finger along the stem of his champagne glass.

“Full-fledged honesty? This is my friend’s place, and I only agreed to participate to offer moral support in exchange for free drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Not love. Sorry to disappoint.”

Over half an hour spent filling out that stupid questionnaire and Liam gets someone that bluffed for a complimentary dinner. Just his fucking luck.

“But…you’re single?”

Theo nods.

“Yes.”

Liam quirks a brow. He asks, “And you’re not lying about that?”

“Nope.”

Liam shrugs.

“Alright. I can work with that,” he slides the sheet across the table. “Ask me something.”

Theo lets out a bemused snort. He loses the disinterested expression, though, so Liam will consider that a win.

“Okay. Question one: Out of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?”

Liam mulls the question over for a few seconds. Says, “Maybe Plato.”

“Anyone in the world and you choose an old dead dude whose greatest ideas are already documented and who speaks a different language.”

He scoffs, “Who says I don’t know Ancient Greek?”

Theo shoots him a dubious look.

“Alright, so, maybe I don’t. But in the fantasy world where anyone can be my dinner guest, let’s assume I’m fluent in every language. And I’m not gonna pass up the opportunity to chat with an ancient Greek philosopher,” Liam answers. “I’d mostly just hope to soak up some enlightenment through osmosis. Plus he’d probably be running his mouth enough that I wouldn’t have to bother with entertaining him much.”

Theo takes a sip from his champagne glass.

“Running his mouth, huh. Sounds familiar.”

Liam sends a glare his direction, but it’s weak. He says, “Alright, smartass, who would you choose then?”

“Pet names already? I’m flattered,” he drawls. “My sister, probably.”

“Out of everyone. In the entire history of the world.”

“Yep.”

Theo doesn’t elaborate, just slides the question card over back over to Liam. He plucks a bacon-wrapped scallop off the appetizer tray carried around by one of the waiters, pops it into his mouth and raises an expectant brow.

Liam gulps.

“Question two…”

——————————

“Do I have a secret hunch about how I’ll die?” Liam groans. “Geez way to kill the mood. I’m still trying to work through the crushing mortality of reaching my mid-20s and this certainly doesn’t help with—”

“I think I’ll go out in a horrible freak accident somewhere random. Like a hardware store. Accidental beheading in Home Depot aisle 12,” Theo interrupts.

His insane answers are almost charming. Theo doesn’t take himself seriously and that makes it halfway-easier for Liam to let his guard down, too.

“Well. Personally, I was thinking something more along the lines of…uh, old age,” Liam shrugs. “My grandpa’s still kicking at the ripe age of 98.”

“Damn. Hope you didn’t just jinx him.”

“Dude.”

Theo raps his fist against the table, lips twitching into a grin.

“Knock on wood.”

——————————

“Am I boring you, Dunbar? Guess my idea of a ‘perfect day’ is too routine for you, yeah?”

“No. Sorry, not at all. Just,” Liam’s eyes drift across the restaurant, “that’s my friend and his blind date. I’m wondering how it’s going.”

Theo cranes his neck. Asks, “Which one?”

“The guy in the denim jacket at the table over there.”

Mason laughs too hard at something his blind date says, spills his glass of water on the neckline of his shirt in the process. Smooth. He’s totally gonna rant to Liam about that later. But his embarrassment will probably be overshadowed by the way he’ll swoon over how blind date guy uses his own napkin to dab at the wet splotch on his collar.

After a moment of unceremonious staring, Theo glances at Liam and says, “They’re beating us.”

“What?”

“Look at them,” he jerks his chin in the direction of their table. “They’re totally leaving here together. Hope he wasn’t your ride.”

Liam frowns. “Well. He actually was—”

“So, c’mon. You gonna let them outdo us or are you gonna win yourself a ride home tonight?”

Well. Liam’s never been one to turn down a challenge.

——————————

“Next one,” Theo says, face scrunched up in preemptive distaste. “Take four minutes to tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.”

Liam grimaces. “Think we can go back to the stupid fantasy questions?”

“C’mon, let’s hear it,” Theo sighs. “I’m timing you, motormouth.”

“I don’t like that pet name.”

“Didn’t ask.”

Liam levels a halfhearted glare at him. Says, “Fine, I’ll start, but you have to promise not to interrupt with a snide remark.”

Theo frowns, all mock-hurt. “That doesn’t even sound like me, but, whatever. Go ahead.”

It’s rushed, Liam’s summary of his life. Dad. Mom. Wedlock-baby him. Glosses over a volatile home life and shared custody and years of anger issues and psych appointments and school re-assignments. Finding a home in lacrosse, his college scholarship, his current assistant-coaching side gig when he’s not working as a curator. Fills in the a picture of his life with a broad brush that he hopes doesn’t make sirens blare in Theo’s head. The timer doesn’t go off. He’s not sure that Theo ever set it.

“So, yeah. That’s…me. I guess,” Liam sighs. At Theo’s patient silence, he adds, “I mean, whose idea was this? Yeah, reveal all your personal baggage to a complete stranger. Boom, instant love connection.”

Theo snorts, “Hey, I don’t know about you, but the subject of court-mandated therapy really gets me going.”

“Alright, your turn,” Liam says, grateful to step out of the spotlight. “Give me some of that full-fledged honesty.”

Theo’s casual about growing up. Only slightly vague. Keeps his voice even in a way that suggests he’s had to do a lot of reckoning with past. Talks about his parents, how them not being around much put him through situations he wishes he didn’t have to experience. But when he mentions his sister, her death, his words go heavy with self-directed blame.

Liam doesn’t time him. At all. Partly because he’d forgotten about the time constraint and partly because telling Theo to stop is the last thing he wants to do. Plus, it’d be a real asshole move. Making someone shut up the moment they decide to open themselves up.

“Anyway, yeah. Self-destructed my way through high school. Cut ties with my parents and got my shit together enough to go to college. I’ve been pursuing social work ever since,” he says, idly smoothing out creases in the tablecloth. “How much time is left?”

“Uh. Well. That would assume I even started the clock in the first place.”

There’s a lull. Quiet but far from uncomfortable. Liam’s cheeks heat up. He’ll blame it on the…lighting. The flame of the tealights in the center of their table. Definitely that.

Theo says, “So. Associate curator.”

“Yep. I spend long nights staring at old, dusty artifacts,” he nods. “Social worker, huh.”

“Mhm. My bank account is full of cobwebs and dust, so we have that in common,” Theo quips. “But, it’s important work to me.”

“Yeah,” Liam murmurs. 

Theo nods. “Yeah.”

——————————

What is your most terrible memory?

Theo’s expression flattens. He says, “Not to impede this highly-scientific matchmaking process, but I’ve found that alcohol and reflecting on bad memories don’t mix. If you don’t mind, I’ll pass.”

Liam exhales, lips tugging upward into a shaky grin.

“You have no clue how badly I was hoping you’d say that.”

He picks up the card, taps it once against the table.

“Alright, next question. What does friendship mean to you?”

“My friends are my family,” Theo says.

“I can tell,” Liam snorts. “You wouldn’t be suffering through a matchmaking event otherwise.”

Theo’s forehead creases. “You think I’m suffering?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Theo gestures to a table across the dining area, where a man and woman sit stiffly across from each other donning match expression of discomfort.

He says, “I think they’re having a much worse time than us.”

——————————

Stare into your partner’s eyes for four minutes.

Liam blurts, “Would this be a bad time to—”

“Shut up, you’re supposed to be staring dreamily into my eyes right now.”

Liam rolls his eyes and stops the clock.

“How long did we make it?” Theo asks.

“Thirty-nine seconds.”

“God, I take it back. That thirty-nine seconds is my most terrible memory,” he huffs out. “You were saying?”

“I—uh. Sorry, this is embarrassing,” Liam mumbles. He draws his lower lip between his teeth. Admits, “I forgot your name like, twenty-five questions ago. Although I could probably rattle off your entire backstory now. But, what was it again?”

Half-restrained amusement flits through Theo’s eyes. He pulled his name tag off and balled it up inside his napkin shortly after introductions. Liam blames that noncompliance for his forgetfulness.

“I only agreed to 36 questions, Liam.”

“We skipped one,” he points out. “So technically you owe me one more answer.”

“It’s Theo.”

“Theo,” Liam echoes, lips curling upward. “Alright, it’s only fair that you ask me something now.”

Theo leans forward, eyes trailing across Liam’s face.

He asks, “Can I have your number?”