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neondiamond · 9 months

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🎁 Recently Read Fics - December 2023 🎁

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! ❤️

🎁 A Green Christmas by @tommokat (871, T)

A short, sweet snapshot of Niall and Shawn’s first holiday season living together.

🎁 to wake up by your side is all I wanna do by @beardyboyzx (1k, G)

Sometimes, Niall still thinks about the way Zayn’s laugh sounds when they watch TV and Niall makes up fake answers for whatever quiz show they’re watching.

🎁 Oh Christmas Three by @tommokat (1k, M)

A birthday surprise goes awry. Louis doesn’t understand. Harry blames the oven.

🎁 make my wish come true by @voulezloux (2k, NR)

the one where all harry wants for christmas is lou

🎁 Baby, please come home by @iysics (2k, T)

Breaking into his neighbour's house wasn't on Harry's Christmas checklist.

🎁 Stuck in Midnight Traffic by @letthemusicmoveyou28 (3k, M)

the one where two broken people meet in an empty tube car on Christmas Eve. Can they find a way to heal each other?

🎁 All The Way Home I’ll Be Warm by @justanothershadeofblue (3k, T)

Harry & Louis jokingly send out holiday cards together as friends, and now everyone is congratulating them for finally getting together. A 5+1 fic, for Christmas.

🎁 Santa Baby (one little thing I really need) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (3k, T)

When Louis himself had first heard those words - all the nurses at the A&E have a secret line to Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve-, not nearly long enough ago to be considered a child himself, but long enough that he hadn't really felt like an adult all the time, he’d laughed them off. Thought they were sweet, of course, but just a line, something said to appease the kids who ended up having to stay overnight. Something to explain the presents that parents brought to the hospital on Christmas morning, or that were waiting for them at home, if they were lucky not to have to stay any longer.

Something that would allow a little bit of Christmas spirit in the sometimes sterile rooms of the hospital.

But that was before he’d met him.

🎁 A Christmas at Home by @parmahamlarrie (3k, T)

After meeting his boyfriend in the emergency room, not having Louis home for Christmas Eve (and his birthday) was not a big surprise to Harry. What he didn't expect was just how hard that would be on his six year old son, Arlo.

Or, the one where Arlo wants nothing more than to celebrate Louis' birthday with him, and Harry hates having to be the parent who says no.

🎁 I Saw Several Angels in the Self Help Section by @londonfoginacup (3k, G)

Zayn and Louis are soulmates.

They're also missing some soulmates.

For extra flavour, it's Christmas.

🎁 Elf on the Shelf Suprise by @megz1985 (6k, T)

Liam brings home an Elf on the Shelf to surprise his and Zayn's toddler with Christmas magic, but things don't go as planned when she's completely terrified of her new Christmas friend.

🎁 The Busker by @chelsea-frew (7k, T)

A snowstorm has trapped artist Louis at home on his birthday--Christmas Eve--and on Christmas. Louis anticipates a lonely holiday. A mysterious stranger appears on Christmas morning, however, and Louis doesn't have to spend the day alone. But where did the man come from? Why does he seem familiar? It's a Christmas mystery.

🎁 Lonely Cards Club by @hellolovers13 (25k, T)

Harry's life in Cardiff is rather uneventful. Until he receives a strange Christmas postcard.

It gets even stranger when he finds another one the next day.

An Advent story about missed opportunities and second chances.

🎁 You Ain’t Gotta Feel Fear Just Mingle by @londonfoginacup (32k, T)

Harry has been at his dream job for less than three months, and he knows two things for sure; first, his project manager doesn't know what he's doing, and second, someone in the office is apparently pure evil, and no one will tell Harry who it is.

Oh, and the guy who works in conservation at the other end of the building is the most beautiful man Harry's ever seen, even when wielding a hot iron as a weapon.

Happy Christmas, here's to many more.

🎁 Snow In Love by @lululawrence (33k, NR)

Harry and Louis are best friends and have been for basically as long as they can remember. For the first time since middle school, they are both single for the holidays leaving them with the brilliant idea to take each other as their dates to work events. To make things easier they will pretend like they’re dating. But then they learn something funny.

People thought they were already dating. Weird.

An advent fic featuring childhood friends, fake dating turned actual dating, really horrible secret keeping, and a winter weather surprise.

🎁 Heart Beat by @allwaswell16 (33k, E)

Hideaway Haven is the place that Louis has always called home. It's also the place that Harry had tried to leave behind him. When Harry returns to start a music academy in his hometown, he finds himself face to face with his high school crush—and his charming daughter who wants to learn to play the drums.

🎁 I Really Like Your Styles: The Baking Advent-ure by @homosociallyyours (34k, T)

Louis isn't much for frills, and the coffee shop he co-owns with his best friend Liam is evidence of that. Yes, it's got a decent sized, well-kept industrial kitchen, but Louis insists that people come to coffee shops for coffee, not mediocre pastry and plastic wrapped cookies. When Liam's campaign for serving treats turns into watching a few baking accounts on whichever popular app he's on, there's one that really gets on Louis' nerves: "I Like Your Styles." With his chipper demeanor and over the top descriptions of the food he makes, Louis is sure that the (unfortunately cute) baker is full of it. Nothing that adorable could possibly be worth the hype.

It doesn't actually take much for him to eat his words...and some quality baked goods, while he's at it.

#chose the present emoji this month because all of these lovely fics are the best presents to all of us #🥰🥰🥰#28th appreciation #monthly recs #fic rec #tracksintheam

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itsany62 · 3 years

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SteveTony - Alternate Universe

Here are some Alternate Universe fics that I love. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Food for the Heart, by LagLemon, 14 k >, Cooking, No Powers.

After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipes are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn't so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

"Free to Good Home" by Captain_Panda, 7 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

"Oliver and Company" AU.

There's a great big world outside the box.

But it's a dog-eat-dog world, and Tony's just one cat. Then a stray dog comes along, looking for a friend.

A Day In Principal Stark's Office, by nannersmelo, 10 k > words, Steve Single Parent, Director Tony.

Tony Stark has his hands full with not only Stark Industries, but also his beloved mother's life project: The Maria Stark Academy, and as he enters his office in order to deal with a ferocious mother whose son was apparently assaulted by one of his brightest students, he was sure this day would culminate in nothing but a heinous headache. Little did he know - he was in for one hell of a surprise.

I Am the Night by gottalovev, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire Tony Stark, Wizard Steve Rogers.

That's it. Tony is doomed. He rolls on his back, crosses his wings over his belly and closes his eyes. He'll await death here, misunderstood by the world to the bitter end.

C is for Calculus and Compromise, by heydoeydoey, 11 k>, Gifted AU, Post-Divorce, Angts with a Happy Ending.

Steve's just trying to give his prodigy daughter a normal childhood. Enter a meddling school administrator, Tony Stark, and too many lawyers.

tell you my love for you by jelliebean, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Based on Love Simon.

A guy at Shield High comes out on tumblr, anonymously. Tony thought he was the only gay guy on campus--not out, because of Howard--and sends him an email.

“Hey, Flying. Same here. I’ve got a secret too, and it’s like I’m hiding who I am, every day. From everyone. All the closest people to me. But I just can’t tell them. I’m gay, too. It feels like I’m putting on this mask, this shell of who I think they want me to be. Even though I don’t think my friends would judge me. I don’t know why. I just. I’ve got a secret. –Shell”

The guy seems great--amazing, even, and then Hammer has to step in and ruin it all.

Mergers & Acquisitions by Robin_tCJ, 33 k > words, Angst, sex as currency.

Steve Rogers is the CEO of the Rogers Corporation, which he built from the ground up. When he learns that Hydra International is making a bid for a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, he decides he has to do what he can to stop Hydra from overtaking the market and becoming an unstoppable, unethical conglomerate. Tony Stark asks for something Steve isn’t sure he should give, but he does it anyway – and it completely changes everything. But when Hydra keeps coming, Steve and Tony realize there’s more to this than they’d realized.

Meeting the Monsters by itsallAvengers, 23 k > words, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters.

Tony's at public school with kids his age for the first time in seventeen years, and he is determined that this year is gonna be his year. He's going to make friends. He's going to be popular. People will like him.

Unsurprisngly, none of that actually happens.

He does sort-of-maybe fall in love with a vampire in his class that everyone is terrified of, though. So... there's that.

(I Want You To See) The Darkest Side Of Me by ann2who, 45 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Post-World War II.

In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.

Gift With Purchase Remix by sabrecmc, 43 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, hooker Steve, Sugar Daddy.

Gift With Purchase Remix wherein Steve actually is a hooker. But for a Really Sympathetic Reason.

The Little Glass Screwdriver by ann2who, 19 k > words, Cinderella AU.

When Prince Steven is forced to find himself a bride, true love gets in the way. As the night of the grand ball unfolds, the prince meets a mysterious knight who might just change his entire life in a way he could have never imagined.

**Cinderella AU**

Covered in Lines by royal_chandler, 3 k > words, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Alternate Universe - College/University, Age Difference.

He can’t lose sight of pale, deft hands that gesture on transitive verbs, an ink-stained thumb edging underneath Tony’s ribcage with an affection that can only be called dangerous.

half-wild and glimmering by deathsweetqueen , 15 k > words, Alternate Universe - Western, Prostitution.

“Give me a drink, Tasha,” Tony sighs as he lands in front of the bar. “I’ve had one hell of a day.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Have you really?” she asks, loftily, sliding a tumbler of whiskey along the well-polished wood.

Tony lets his head hang, the sweat beading on the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put myself through today,” he sighs, wearily.

“I would not know. You will not let me work the rooms,” Natasha retorts, her voice a little strained, busying her hands in a dirty glass.

“I don’t let you work the rooms ‘cause you’re liable to kill anyone who touches ya the wrong way and we can’t lose that much of our business,” Tony reminds her, wryly amused, sipping at his whiskey. He shakes his head at the burn. “We peddle flesh, darling, not death.”

peers, fears and holiday cheers by jacobby, 24 k > words, Parent Tony Stark.

“He’s only two years older than you,” Tony finally says when the silence becomes too much to bear.

“Dad, Teddy is turning twenty-seven next year.”

“I am not dating your husband—”

“I’m not implying you are. I just want you to be...aware that he’s practically the same age as my husband.”

AKA

Tony Stark's new boyfriend is only two years older than his adult sons. Telling them is one thing, introducing them is another. What Tony doesn't expect is that the past always has a way of catching up to him, of biting him in the ass when he least expects it. Well, at least they're all together for the Holidays. What more can he ask for?

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc, 292 k > words, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Romance.

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

you can call me babe for the weekend by complicationstoo, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, actor Tony Stark.

Tony left his small town for Los Angeles after high school, leaving behind everything to pursue his dream. Ten years later, he comes back for the first time and finds that some things are impossible to let go of.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be by iam93percentstardust, 72 k > words, Alternate Universe - Theatre.

Famed director Phil Coulson brings Shakespeare’s beloved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to Broadway. This production though comes with a twist: a brief but passionate love affair between the faerie king, Oberon, and his attendant, Puck. In the roles of the two star-crossed lovers, Coulson casts America’s darling Steve Rogers, fresh off his third Academy Award, and Broadway royalty, Tony Stark. Steve quickly finds himself falling for the quick-witted and sarcastic actor but Tony is dating the stage manager. Unwilling to come between the seemingly happy couple, Steve steps back but all isn’t right behind the scenes and Tony may need him when everything falls apart.

and so we rebuild by raeldaza, 26 k > words, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Soulmates, Mutual Pining.

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes.

Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

and teach this heart (how to beat with light), by starklystar, 40 k >, AU Hospital, Single parent Steve.

Eight years ago, at a funeral with a baby's cries ringing in his ears, Tony Stark decided to turn his life around. He's a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. What's so hard to adding 'doctor' to that list? And after that, it can't be that hard to add 'husband' and 'father' too, right? But the past has a way of haunting even the very best of us, and in any universe, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have never had an easy love.

Featuring: drama, chaos, Peter's scheming, meddling friends, and doctors learning again that the heart can never be as simple as four chambers and four valves.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc, 120 k > words, Alternate Universe - Sweet Home Alabama Fusion.

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

Or, the Sweet Home Alabama AU that no one--well, okay, a few of you--asked for.

The Night Shift by weethreequarter , 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Hospital.

Welcome to the Emergency Department of San Antonio General where Dr. Tony Stark joins the team fresh from his most recent tour in Afghanistan and - much to the consternation of the other staff - strikes up an instant rapport with Nurse Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, new resident Bruce Banner refuses to give up on his patient, and Dr. Sharon Carter learns something from her own patients. Throw in a pissed off hospital administrator, Clint using the coffee pot as a mug again, and a major car crash and you have, well, just another night shift.

Cake It Till You Make It by ChocolateCapCookie, 10 k > words, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Bakery.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a lot in common. They're single parents, they own rival bakeries at the center of town... and they both hate each other's guts.

When a mix-up at Peter and Morgan's school has both fathers scrambling to prove they're the better baker, they do the mature, adult thing and compete in a bake-off. Between the mixing and the creaming, the baking and the icing, Steve and Tony find that hate is actually not that far from love.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub, 31 k > words, Alternate Universe - Regency, Marriage of Convenience.

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

just a guy, standing in front of another guy by theappleppielifestyle, 12 k > words.

“It’s not real,” Tony says, still smiling, jaw twitching with effort. “The fame. It’s - I’m just a guy."

(Or, Notting Hill AU, with a twist.)

Mother of Exiles (A Titanic AU) by BladeoftheNebula, 21 k > words, Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Steve said, taking a deep breath to try and calm his breathing. “I met someone. A guy from first class.”

Dublin 1912: Steve Rogers is barely making ends meet, living in the tenement slums of Dublin. But a stroke of good luck gives him and his best friend the chance to change their fortune. Two tickets to America on board the RMS Titanic.

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl, 17 k > words, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Author/Novelist.

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

Bears and Mountains and Lumberjacks Oh My! by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday), 24 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Lumberjack Steve Rogers.

It was supposed to be easy--go meet the reclusive artist and buy some art. And then came the broken down car. And the snowstorm. And the lumberjack with a face like a greek god. So yea, Tony is stuck in a cabin in the woods with a hot lumberjack till the storm clears. Could be worse.

Series: A Furious Vexation by Annie D (scaramouche), 18 k > words, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse.

A Steve/Tony post-apocalypse AU that exists pretty much just for the smut.

That Feline Beat by Tito11, 5 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

Presenting Steve and Tony in the Aristocats!AU

Tony and his three kittens have been kidnapped from their fancy Upper East Side apartment while their owners are away and deposited on the mean streets of Harlem. Unsure of where they are or how to get back home, they'll have to rely on street cat Steve to guide them. Will they get home safely? Will Tony's fear of abandonment cause him to drive away the best tomcat he's ever known? Only time will tell.

do you fondue? by calciseptine, 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting.

Tony has done crazy things in the name of food, but falling in love with Steve Rogers really takes the cake.

a glimpse of heaven's love by parkrstark, 13 k> words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Terminal Illnesses.

The child begins to empty his pockets. He starts to count coins on the counter. Tony huffs a little impatiently as he realizes most of them are pennies.

The cashier actually humors the kid and counts along with him. They reach 3 dollars and 54 cents before he shakes his head sadly. "Sorry, kid. There's not enough here."

The kid sounds close to crying. "I need these paints for my Papa. It's Christmas Eve and these...he doesn't have any. The doctors said he doesn't have long. I want him to have these. In case he meets Jesus tonight, I want him to paint one more time. Please."

Tony takes a step forward, arms still full of toys he's buying just because. He can cover this child's gift for his dying father. Money. Money is what he's good for.

"I'll buy them."

Or, the Christmas Shoes AU no one but me asked for.

If you survive first impressions, you're good to go by itsallAvengers, 3 k > words, Parent Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers.

The first time Peter Parker-Stark sees Steve Rogers, he may or may not be standing in direct path of the man's motorcycle.

His daddy is really not going to be happy about that one.

A Rat-ional Conclusion by BladeoftheNebula, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Parent Tony Stark.

He had a strong flurry of patients throughout the morning and by the time it rolled around to noon, he was just about worn out.

He walked out into the reception, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop. “Are we done?”

Bucky checked the screen. “Just about. One more before lunch - a rat, singular.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully straight forward then. “Great, let me know when they-”

He was interrupted by the bell over the door and looked up to see a little girl cradling a small animal carrier, being shepherded through the door by easily one of the hottest men he’d ever seen in real life.

Oh wow.

Tidal Pull by sabrecmc, 97 k > words, Octopus Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked.

After the American Civil War, Union soldier Steve Rogers takes a chance on an opportunity to sail with the Stark Trading Company down in the Caribbean. During a terrible storm, his ship is lost. To his surprise, he survives, and ends up stranded on an island that isn't quite as deserted as he first thinks.

Or, a reverse Little Mermaid tale where Steve has to fall for the fish-man.

Twelve Days by elysianprince, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Ghosts.

In which Tony finds himself in a town that looks like it crawled out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, trying to sell an inn he didn't know he owned, all while dealing with Steve Rogers, the resident ghost who has returned to haunt the inn each December during the twelve days of Christmas for the past seventy years. Tony has only one logical solution that benefits them both: break the curse that binds him - but falling for a man almost a century old wasn't among his plans.

She kissed me by S_Horne, 1 k > words, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting.

“Your mom kissed me.”

Steve blinked awake and lifted his head from his pillow to look over at the silhouette in the doorway. “What?”

“Your mom,” Tony reiterated. “She kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said simply, “she does that.”

#stevetony #stony #fic rec #tony stark #steve rogers #my recs

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autumnslance · 3 years

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About Plagiarism

I left a long, planned essay on Twitter tonight. I will copy the meat of it here for y’all, as recently a friend was copied (a rarer ship in the fandom, so very noticeable by the writer and their regular beta reader) and it seems we need a Talk, kids. Links and screenshots and my rambling underway.

------

Apparently we need to discuss what is and isn’t plagiarism. Especially in FanFic where we're interacting with the same characters, settings, ideas. Let’s start with the dictionary and continue the thread from there (I like the word origin/history personally):

Definition of plagiarize

transitive verb : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

intransitive verb : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

The Kidnapping Roots of Plagiarize

If schools wish to impress upon their students how serious an offense plagiarism is, they might start with an explanation of the word’s history. Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.” This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another. When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.

“Ideas” is fuzzy in the Merriam-Webster definition. There are story archetypes that exist in many forms. Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth/Hero's Journey outlines many famous stories. And it's popular to say that “Avatar” is “Dances with Wolves” is “Pocahontas” is “The Last Samurai” etc.

But note how while those films have similar plotlines--”Military Guy falls for Native woman, learns to appreciate her Culture, stands up to Evil Bosses”--none of them execute those ideas in the same way. Sully’s story is different from Dunbar’s not just cuz one’s a Science Fiction epic and the other a Western. Disney's “Pocahontas” Very Loosely takes history and uses the same story beats. The Last Samurai uses the Meiji era Westernization. Same ideas, different executions, even beyond settings.

None of these are plagiarizing each other though the ideas are similar. They’re told in their own ways, own language; both in the genres they belong to (Western, Pseudo-History, SciFi, Animated) and how characters interact with each other and settings. Original dialogues (variable quality).

We also see this in books as similar novel plots get published in waves so we end up with bunches of post-apocalypse teen revolutionaries or various vampires or lots of young wizard stories all at once. Sometimes ideas just happen like this; multiple discovery, simultaneous invention, concurrent inspiration, cognitive emergence are all phrases I’ve seen for it. So it happens in original content as well, and legality gets fuzzy (Also why you don't send authors your fanfic ideas).

In existing properties, this gets trickier but even “Elementary”’s Holmes and Watson are nothing like the BBC’s “Sherlock” characters. Who are nothing like other versions of the Detective and his Doctor pal over the decades in various media properties.

FanFic's in a similar position where like Sherlock Holmes we play with the same characters, setting, and storyarcs but give our own spin to them. People can and will have similar ideas about plots. Trick is to use your own words. Take the characters and make the story your own.

I have a good example courtesy of @raelly-writing. We both ship Wolcred. We both wrote soft post-Paglth’an scenes with Thancred and our WoLs. Both features the couples helping each other undress, examining injuries, bathing, bantering. My fic was written soon after 5.5 part 1 came out. Dara’s is much more recent. Yet at no point reading hers did I feel she was copying my words. The PoVs differ. Our characters focus on different things. Mine has a mini-arc concerning the Nutkin.

The links for comparison’s sake (and maybe leave kudos/comments if so inclined please and thanks). Note while the scenes are very similar no phrases are written in the same way. Mine: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25417882/chapters/76059467 Dara’s: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26067565/chapters/81832915

Dara and I both hang out in certain Discords and I know conversations about Thancred and WoL caring for each other post-battle has come up in those channels and we've both participated. It’s a stock FanFic scene to boot. Cuz it's soft and feels warm and snuggly.

I HAVE been copied before, back in WoW. My case is pretty clear cut so here are the images of my old RP Haven profile (1st, old RP website) and the plagiarist’s RSP (2nd, an in game mod to share descriptions and basic info).

This was a decade ago on Shadow Council and I think the character deleted so any Availa’s in WoW now aren’t the same person. I left the names to point out what changed. Just the names and a word or 2 to make sense for the class changes as well. Otherwise lifted directly from my RP profile.

The funny part is how the person got caught. Literally walked into our weekly RP Guild meeting that I was running and asked to join. Folks noticed right away the similar backstory; after all there may have been more Outland-born Azerothians. My initial excitement at a character I could weave into our story turned to gut-twisting rage and grief as I recognized my own exact words though. Words I’d carefully crafted and constantly iterated on to improve over time (before and after this incident, until the site died).

When caught they tried to claim their significant other had leveled the character for them and made up the backstory based on Skyrim. If you know WoW’s Outland story and Skyrim’s plot you know how ridiculous that is. Also tried to lie about other drama I knew about thanks to roommate's characters but hey. I had to be blunt that I’d shared the info with Haven mods and other guild officers Alliance and Horde. That we would not “laugh about this” one day though lucky this was “just” RP not original or academic work. Cuz if it'd been monetized or academic I would've raked them through the coals.

I felt violated. Hurt. Had anxiety attacks. They took MY WORDS and tried to claim them as theirs. Have another character born in Outland trained by Draenei; Awesome! Our characters have an instant connect in similarities and differences of that experience. Don’t steal my characters wholesale!

Then the audacity of trying to come into my guild as if no one would notice. ShC wasn’t a large server by then, still active but not nearly Wyrmrest Accord or Moon Guard big. My character was well known due to my writing and RP. Speaking of how easy it is to get caught in specific spaces...A case of a self-published novelist getting noticed for plagiarizing fanfic was discovered recently (explicit erotica examples through the thread).

One way they got noticed was how much content they put out in only a year, lifted from fandom. The examples in Kokom’s threads show how the material was altered but still recognizable. In some cases, just the names are changed as in my experience. In other passages more has changed but you can still see the bones of the original fic poking through in the descriptions and character interactions, even with adjustments made.

Similar ideas happen. Similar plots exist. Same 'ships with friends are fun! In FanFic we’re working with the same material. It’s possible to write a similar scene differently. To make that scene and characters your own. All we’re asking is not to copy others' words. Others' characters. Others' specific phrases and descriptions used to bring those words, those characters, to life. Use your own. In the end you’ll be happier.

I get wanting to have what the perceived “popular people” have. I get seeing concepts others succeed with and wanting some of that too. We all get a bit jealous now and then for various reasons. Sometimes we don't even realize it, consciously. But do it in your own way. Maybe check to see if you’re getting a bit too close to the “inspiration” you admired, maybe reread often. Don’t hurt your fellow creatives. If you do and get caught don’t try to double down. Have the grace to be abashed at least and work to do better. Eventually you WILL get caught. All it takes is once to throw all else you've done into question. Ao3 doesn’t take kindly to plagiarists. Nor do a lot of fan communities focused on writing and RP. Getting back that trust is hard. The internet doesn’t forget easily, for good or ill.

#writing #blogging #about me #social media #plagiarism #fanfiction #Ao3

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headheartbellarke · 4 years

Text

Speak Now | WILLEX

dear @calamitykaty - happy valentine’s day! i’m your secret valentine, and i hope you have a brilliant, lovely day!! i just wanted to say that i absolutely adore your fics hehe :3 this one is for you, i hope u like it, you wonderful human!!

& a million thanks & kudos to @screwunsaidemily / @jatpsecretvalentine for organizing this!! happy valentine’s day, raegan! and i hope today is as amazing as you are!!

✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

PAIRING(s): Alex Mercer x Willie, Flynn x Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina x Luke Patterson, past!Alex Mercer x Luke Patterson

WARNING(s): nothing haha just some fluff and we stan bobby in this house.. oh and some language

WORDS: 3.85k

SUMMARY: With his boyfriend marrying Carrie Wilson (well, in his defence, that’s his grandmother’s ‘dying wish’), Willie fancies himself to be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Based on Speak Now by Taylor Swift.

KEEP READING BELOW OR READ ON AO3

Willie exhales, watching his breath crystallize into tiny ice particles. He extends a hand to catch them, but that action causes the little cloud to dissipate.

He rolls his eyes. Who has their wedding in Canada, in winter? Plus, not just on any day, but on Valentine’s Day.

He fancies that he might as well be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Watching your boyfriend get married is painful enough, but to a girl? That shit makes you feel as if your heart has a screw lodged in it. He feels as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Willie likes to say that he hates Alex (i.e., the said boyfriend, the love, the light, the star of his life) – but that sentence leaves behind a bitter taste in his mouth, like he’s just had that weird cough syrup that his mother buys.

Alex’s friends can definitely see through his act, like, right now.

“Willie, relax! Everything’s gonna be alright!” Julie Molina, Alex’s bandmate, ‘unbiological sister’, and ‘best gossip partner’ exclaims. She is crouching beside him.

“Julie, I’m not the type of guy to crash a wedding and sabotage it, especially one hosted by those…” His hand moves in circular motions, pointing to the direction of the church, where Alex’s parents are probably seated.

Luke Patterson, Julie’s boyfriend and Alex’s ex-boyfriend, and current best friend and bandmate pipes in. “Homophobic, racist mingers?”

Willie grins. “Don’t know what that means but sounds accurate!”

“You know, we are saving Alex’s life, right? Literally?” Bobby Wilson chimes in, Alex’s other best friend from his position behind them. They are currently hiding behind a table laden with sweets of all kinds, and it makes Reggie, the last of Alex’s best friend-cum-bandmates’ mouth water.

“I still can’t believe that his parents are forcing him to marry a girl!” Julie exclaims, ponytail bobbing as she speaks. Luke adds, “Not just any girl, but Carrie fucking Wilson.”

“My fucking cousin!” Bobby says, looking behind to check if anyone’s there. There is, but they’re all either part of the caterer’s group, or the waiters – they are currently outside a church, where the reception will be held, post wedding. The attendees, the families, everyone – are inside the church, for the wedding.

“Hey, is Grandma Ruth really that sick?” Reggie finally asks, his eyes diverting from the sweets. Luke smiles sweetly at him. “I’m glad you finally decided to join us, Reginald.”

Reggie fails to catch the sarcasm in his tone, and he smiles brightly. Luke rolls his eyes, but a faint smile teases the corners of his lips. “Yeah, she really has stage four cancer.”

Julie says, “Poor Ruth.”

Luke huffs, “I don’t care that she’s dying – she shouldn’t fucking blackmail her grandson like that! Alex, honey, I’m dying. My dying wish, you ask? Marry someone. No, not your boyfriend of four years! Marry a girl, dummy. Homosexuality is a sin!”

Bobby adds, “Not just any girl, but your best friend’s cousin! Whose probably into Flynn, but, yeah, whatever.”

Julie smiles brightly at the mention of her best friend. “Oh, she definitely is.”

Reggie’s brows quirk. “I thought she was still into Nick.”

Bobby shakes his head. “They broke up last summer.”

Willie clears his throat, finally gaining some confidence. “He shouldn’t be marrying the wrong girl.” He exhales, and adds, as an afterthought, “Or any girl.”

“You two should be walking down the aisle, Willie.” Julie says, resting a hand on his shoulder. He nods, grateful for her support.

He remembers this morning, when he was at the grocery store, buying as many buckets of chocolate ice cream as he could fit in his arms. Suddenly, he had felt a warm hand wrap around the back of his throat, and he let out a yelp, dropping all the buckets.

He remembers thinking that the universe was against him. First, it’s the day of his boyfriend’s wedding, and along with that, someone’s here to kill him. Well, he thought, it’s better to die than –

“Willie!” A familiar voice exclaimed, and of course, it’s Julie – he realized that the hand that he thought was here to murder him, belonged to her. She was dressed in a long, pink, A-Line dress, that complimented her skin tone perfectly and – suddenly, Willie understood that it was a bridesmaid’s dress. Yep, she’s Carrie’s bridesmaid, along with Flynn.

Willie wondered if she was here to rub salt on his wound.

“What do you want?” He had mumbled, averting his gaze from her dress. Sure, it’s a pretty dress, but it reminds him of Alex, because he has a hoodie that he adores in the same colour. (It’s in Willie’s closet now, and he makes a mental note to burn it.)

“We have a plan.” She said, conspiratorially.

Willie sighed, leaning down to pick up the fallen containers of ice cream. “I’m not in the mood, Jules.”

She grinned, evilly. Or as evilly as you could while having an angelic face.

Sure, it took her a while to convince him to crash his boyfriend’s wedding, but on the way here, he felt as if it was worth it. Julie helped sneak him in, since he doesn’t have an invite – and he found the rest of Alex’s friends – Luke, Reggie, and Bobby waiting for him.

Now, as Carrie’s family emerges from the church doors, he doesn’t feel that way anymore.

“God, I think I’m gonna throw up just by looking at them.” Luke murmurs, while Julie slaps his shoulder. “Don’t say that, they look very… colourful.”

Bobby snorts.

Carrie’s family includes her parents, two of her cousin sisters and an aunt – and they are all dressed in pastel yellow. To be really honest, that colour looks like vomit. They stand in a circle in front of the church doors, and Willie notices her aunt rolling her eyes at the waiters. He sighs. This is the same aunt who told Carrie that ‘oh, honey, it’s just a phase’, when she came out as bisexual.

“Guys, guys, guys!”

Willie sees his cousin, Flynn, running in their direction, and stopping at their table. She huffs, catching her breath and he notices that she’s wearing the same dress that Julie is.

“Carrie is losing her shit, dude.” She says, once she’s breathing normally again. “Why?” Julie asks, concerned.

“Probably because she doesn’t wanna marry Alex? I don’t know, but she yelled at me for eating!” She exclaims, an annoyed expression taking over her face.

Willie and Bobby exchange a look – they all know that Carrie can get a little intense sometimes – she doesn’t mean harm, but on a day like this, you can’t really hold it against her.

“Where is she?” Julie asks, alarmed.

“She’s in the back. Her mom misplaced her veil, and its total chaos out there. Also, her gown looks like a fucking pastry.”

Everyone’s eyes widen, and Flynn sighs, looking away. “I hate everything.”

Willie knows that she’s feeling just the way he is.

Julie stands up. “Come on, let’s help her. And boys?” She points a finger in their direction. “Stick to the fucking plan.”

Everyone nods rapidly, and Reggie whispers, “Yes, mam.”

She kisses Luke, whispering something in his ear, and squeezes Willie’s shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look, before running off in the opposite direction with Flynn.

Watching Julie and Luke, Willie is suddenly overpowered by a memory, a memory that was gathering dust in his brain. He remembers a cold, dark winter morning in their – his and Alex’s – apartment. It was last year, and their first morning in that apartment, in their home. They were nineteen and couldn’t get enough of each other – even after three years of being together. Somehow, somewhere they felt as if an invisible string was pulling them closer and closer, until they merged into one.

He remembers Alex combing his fingers through Willie’s hair, and whispering, “Is it crazy if I say that this is everything that I’ve ever wanted in life?”

He had smiled, eyes filled to the brim with euphoria. “No, then that would mean that I’m crazy.”

“We’re both crazy.”

“Maybe.” He had pulled him closer, loving the way Alex buried his face in the crook of his neck.

“Willie?” Alex softly asked, drawing patterns on his bare skin.

“Hmm?”

“I want to wake up next to you every single day. Like, I don’t ever wanna be without you,”

“Me, too.” He had said, then adding, “I don’t see myself marrying if not you.”

He could feel his boyfriend’s grin. “Not gonna lie, I’ve thought about it. A little.”

“A little?”

“Okay, I’ve planned it all out.” They both laughed, and Willie felt as if he was flying.

Alex continued, “I imagine us getting married on a beautiful summer day – on the beach. Where we met all those years ago. Remember?”

Willie smiled. “How could I forget? I will love Flynn forever for bringing me to Julie’s sweet sixteen – I never thought that I’d meet my soulmate that day.”

“Yeah. I imagine Luke to be my best man, and Flynn to be yours. Julie and Carrie would be our groomsmaids, yep, I invented that – and Reggie and Bobby could be the other best men. It’s a little messy, because I love them all so much and I can’t choose – but yeah.”

“Funny that your ex-boyfriend will be your best man at our wedding.”

“Shut up, Willie.”

“Carlos could be the ring bearer.”

“I think he’s a little too old for that.”

“Well, you have a point. But he’s gonna be pissed if he doesn’t get a title like his sister does.”

“All right, he’ll be the ring bearer.”

“We could have a skateboard shaped cake.”

“We will… think about it.”

“And we won’t need a band!”

“I’m not playing at my own wedding!”

“Well, Bobby could take your place. I’m sure he won’t mind taking a day off his solo touring.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

As they went over every possibility, every dream, the world melted away and all Willie could see were the oceans in Alex’s eyes.

Luke’s voice dissipates the haze of nostalgia around Willie’s brain. “Yep, Carrie’s family went inside.”

Bobby nods. “Okay, Willie, you stay with Reggie and Luke – I’ll go inside first and distract everyone, and y’all will come at my signal.” With that, he runs towards the church.

“Uh… what is his signal…” Willie trails off. Luke and Reggie exchange a panicked look, as Reggie says, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out! Besides – oh my god, are those flamingos?”

Willie and Luke’s eyes dart to the church door, where a bunch of flamingos – Carrie’s favorite bird, apparently – are on the loose and the waiters and the staff are running around trying to catch them.

“Boys, I think that’s our signal.” Luke says, grabbing their hands and dragging them towards the back of the church, where the girls had previously disappeared into.

Luke sneezes, and Willie absentmindedly whispers a ‘bless you.’ He shifts, saying, “There’s so much dirt here! It’s like nobody cares about my allergies!”

“I’m sure nobody in Canada will ever care about your allergies, Patterson.” Flynn hisses.

The trio are currently hiding behind a curtain, the lilac shades sickening them. “Well, you wouldn’t be in this position if Alex’s lovely bride-to-be didn’t uninvite me!” Willie exclaims, looking around to make sure nobody is nearby.

“I’m sure she has a very good reason!” Flynn says, and Luke rolls his eyes, saying, “You’re saying that as if you don’t know Carrie. She’s hyper fixating on this wedding to distract herself from the fact that her parents will never accept her for who she is, from her fear about the fact that she’ll never get someone who sees and loves her for who she is and right now, she believes that this wedding would gain her parents’ favour, that somehow they’d be okay with her being bisexual if she’s married a man, a gay man at that, too – and now she’s doing everything in her power to make sure nothing gets fucked up.”

Willie and Flynn sharply look at Luke.

“Dude, that was deep.” He whispers. Flynn dabs the corner of her right eye. “You should be a therapist, bro.”

“I know, bro.” He grins.

Willie can’t stop a smile from breaking out on his face. He turns back to the scene in front of him, and his heart seizes because there’s Alex, dressed in a perfect tuxedo, with his hair perfectly done, with a perfect smile on his face, and Willie realizes that that is not the man he loves.

The man standing in front of him looks too pristine, too immaculate. It’s almost as if he is being strung up by invisible puppet strings, but his face doesn’t give away any of that – it’s absolutely blank, and Willie would have thought that the man in the front is not real if he hadn’t seen his eyes. His eyes, which houses cyclones, cyclones being fed by the apprehension, the fear, the anger, the sadness that he must be feeling inside. His eyes, that Willie loves to see first thing in the morning, showing off the parts of his soul that he is desperately trying to shield.

Willie wonders if he’ll see him standing behind the curtains. He probably won’t. Willie’s at the back of the room, and he’s at the front, waiting, waiting, waiting. For a moment, Willie wonders if Carrie is going to show up at all – because the wedding was supposed to start half an hour ago, and it doesn’t make sense why a person who has never been late in her entire life, would be late on her wedding day.

He doesn’t have to wonder long, though. The organ starts to play ‘Here Comes the Bride’, and honestly it sounds more like a death march. Willie is reminded, yet again, of another reason why this is not what Alex wants – he wants to play ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift at his wedding.

Willie takes in a sharp breath when Carrie enters. She looks like a pageant queen – wearing a beautiful, white, classic dress. In one hand, she holds her dad’s arm, and in the other, there is a bouquet of daisies.

Flynn whispers. “I have to go. Boys, do not mess this up. Or I swear I’ll kill you.”

As the duo watch her run to the front of the room, Willie whispers, “Does she know about Carrie’s big, fat crush?”

Luke snorts. “You think so? Come on, let’s sit. They won’t be able to see us here.”

As they crouch down and make their way to the benches, Willie casts one last look at Alex, and he knows, he knows that Alex wishes it was Willie walking down the aisle instead.

“Speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The preacher says, and Willie’s heart erupts into a frenzy. As the room goes completely silent, Luke whispers, “That’s your cue, Willie.”

Ignoring his anxiety, he stands up with his hands shaking, and his brain telling him to just fucking run out the doors.

Alex’s eyes widen, relief flooding his features, and for a moment, he looks like the real Alex again. Willie catches Julie and Flynn’s eyes, who are standing beside Carrie, and they nod at him, enthusiastically. But the bride, Carrie – she looks absolutely horrified. And so does all the other people in this room, including Alex’s parents, his grandma Ruth, and Carrie’s parents, too.

From Alex’s right side, Reggie and Bobby give him encouraging looks, and finally, he averts his eyes back to the man he loves.

But he can’t say anything. He feels as if he’s frozen in time, and his mind completely blanks out. For a moment he wonders if this is his rock bottom.

But Luke comes to the rescue, thrusting a guitar in his hands, and breaking him out of his trance. “I remember you told me that you can always sing, even if the world was ending. So, I brought this along, as backup.”

It’s true. Music is a part of his soul, much like it is Alex’s. Music is what connected them in the first place, and music is what still keeps them connected now.

He positions the guitar, and notices that it’s Luke’s acoustic guitar. He strums it, and finally, his mind comes back to himself. He keeps his eyes trained on that of Alex, and he watches the storm of emotions in his irises.

“I am not the kind of guy, who should be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…” He sings, loving how Taylor Swift has written a song for every occasion.

“But you are not the kind of boy, who should be marrying the wrong girl!” He sings and hears loud gasps around the room – he knows that people expected him to be in love with Carrie or something.

“Or any girl!” Reggie adds, and Alex grins, and that gives him the motivation to continue.

“So, don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door… Don't wait or say a single vow – You need to hear me out, and they said speak now!”

He drags the ‘now’ for as long as he can, because he knows that the silence that will follow will be excruciating. And it is. Alex just stares at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

Willie finally looks at Carrie, and when their eyes meet, she gives him an odd look. He half expected her to kill him, but the way she looks at him, it’s almost as if she’s relieved.

Alex clears his throat, the sound piercing through the silence of the room. Whispers arise, and Willie exchanges a look with Luke, who asks him, “You want me to dig you a hole to die?”

Before he can nod, Alex says, “Uh…” He fiddles with his hands, before finally saying, “Fuck it”, and untying his tie. His mother gasps, and his father stands up, but he raises a hand.

He locks eyes with Willie, and his world spins on its axis.

“You are not the kind of guy to be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…But I am not the kind of boy… who should be marrying the wrong girl… or any girl!” Alex sings in that raspy voice of his, and Willie feels his heart soar. He can’t help the grin from escaping on his face, and he knows that his eyes are what Julie calls, ‘heart eyes.’ Luke grabs the guitar from Willie’s hand and starts playing along.

“And you'll say let's run away now, and I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door,”

Alex walks down the aisle, but suddenly remembers something, or rather, someone. He turns around, locking eyes with Carrie, and Willie can’t see what he’s saying, but Carrie smiles a big, soft one – one probably no one has ever seen on her face, and he sees her mouth ‘go.’

“Baby, I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around; when they said speak now!”

He finishes, and stands in front of Willie, and Willie knows that the both of them can feel the air electrifying between them.

He turns, facing his grandmother. “Grandma, I’m sorry, but you’re 93, and I’m 20. I’m not going to give up my life for you to live. I love you, though. Mom, Dad, I’m truly sad that I’m not what you wanted. But I’m not gonna apologize for being myself, nor am I gonna apologize for loving who I want to. This is my life, and maybe it’s time that I start acting like it. I can’t keep wasting my life to please you. You – you should love me for who I am, that’s what good parents do.” Alex’s voice cracks, and Willie intertwines their fingers. Alex squeezes his hand.

Carrie’s mom stands up, shaking her head. “No, no, no… you do not get to ruin my daughter’s wedding –”

Alex’s father stands beside her, his face matching the shade of Carrie’s red lipstick. “I will not accept this –”

“Will?” Alex whispers, his eyes trained on his father.

“Yeah?”

“Run.”

With that, Alex tightens his hold on Willie’s hand, and the both of them run down the aisle, and outside. Willie can hear an uproar behind him, but it fades to background noise behind the thump of his heart.

“That was so fucking romantic!” Alex exclaims, as they come to a stop before Willie’s car.

“I just…”

“Wait – I’m sorry, Willie. I shouldn’t have put you through that. I should’ve fought more; I should’ve run away or something. That was not okay. I’m a twenty-year-old adult, and I should – I should – learn to be it, and not hurt any – anyone –”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Willie says, stepping closer to Alex. “It’s alright. They’re your parents. It’s not your fault that you want their approval. But I just want you to know that I love you, all of you, for who you are. And all of us do – Luke, Julie, Bobby, Reggie, Flynn, and even Carrie. We all love you, for who you are, and we’re always gonna be by your side.”

He smiles, cupping Willie’s face. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I – I love you so fucking much.” He kisses Willie, and the latter feels like he is floating amongst the stars.

“That – everything inside – from this tux to the decorations was horrible. I’m really glad that you… you know, stopped it.” Alex says, rubbing his thumb around Willie’s cheek.

He shrugs. “Well, it was your friends’ idea.”

“Of course it was.”

“Guys! Guys, guys, guys!”

Willie and Alex break out of their embrace at Carrie’s voice, who is currently running towards them, her dress bunched in her hands. Flynn is following her, holding her veil in her arms. Julie, Luke, Bobby, and Reggie are behind them, and they all have a look of panic plastered on their faces.

Flynn yells. “Carrie might’ve told your and her parents to fuck off, and your grandma to just die already, and so there’s a fair chance that we’re all gonna get killed, now that everyone knows that we’re all behind this.”

“Also, I threw red wine at our aunt’s dress, Carrie!” Bobby yells.

“I might have told your parents that they’re failures, and Julie and I are your real parents, Alex!” Luke yells.

“Also, Flynn and I are getting married!” Carrie yells.

Alex’s eyes widen, and he looks at Willie. “I think we all need to run.”

Willie nods, and he looks around. Maybe they will get killed (probably not), and maybe everything is a little crazy right now – but what he knows is that all of them are a family, and that he’d do anything for them. He also knows that Alex is worth everything, and that someday, they will get married, just the way they want, with the people that love them just the way they are.

Plus, is it weird to say that he kind of feels like Taylor Swift right now?

33 notes · View notes

shyneanon · 4 years

Text

And the fic I started about a week ago with a MF one-shot continues! It’s now called The Boss’s Daughter and it’s up on AO3.

I’ll continue to post it here but you can go to AO3 to subscribe or kudos or comment or whatever you’d like. It also just might be easier for people to read the whole thing there, since these chapters are long and the whole work will be in one place. Anyway, enjoy!

---

Your father was an unforgiving man.

As kind as he was to you and your mother, when he went to work, he became a different person. He did not tolerate failure, he did not tolerate deceit, and he did not tolerate disrespect. It was no wonder that he had become one of the richest and most powerful mob bosses in the city. People feared him.

And thus, they feared you.

He called you Princess for a reason. You were very much his princess. And there was no mobster in the city who didn’t know the consequences of making a wrong move around you. If he saw a man as a threat against his daughter-- whether physically, emotionally, or otherwise-- that man was as good as dead. And your father’s definition of a threat was a bit loose. He was a very jealous man. Every gangster knew that.

Well, Sans hadn’t, until Papyrus had gone on a tirade about it at him.

Truth be told, it hadn’t really scared Sans much at all. It was difficult to scare him-- though whether that was because he was tough or stupid, he wasn’t sure. Though it did make him view your encounter through a new lens. When he’d spoken with you, he’d had no idea you were such… forbidden fruit.

Unfortunately for Papyrus, whose… suggestion… was reasonable, telling Sans that you were a literal danger to him had only made you more desirable to him. It was that thrill that causes even the best of people to date partners who are bad for them: The feeling of playing with fire, of doing something despite knowing it was bad for you. You were so pretty, and you had been so much fun, but if he’d known all of this before, the spark of electricity he’d felt at being close to you would’ve felt like a thousand-volt shock. To think that he had held someone virtually unattainable-- had gone so far as to kiss your neck and the corner of your lips-- and come out of it alive?

Hell, now he just wanted to do it again.

Since he had nothing better to do with his time (well, he did, he just liked not doing what he was supposed to be doing), he’d eventually asked some of his men how much anyone even knew about you, if you were so heavily protected. Surprisingly, quite a bit, because your father liked to talk about you a lot. According to him, you were very intelligent. That didn’t surprise Sans at all, it had been pretty obvious. Well, sort of. It had been this look behind your eyes. Like you were always observing things, assessing them. No doubt you were unused to being hit on and yet you had remained cool and collected.

Heh. Maybe you’d make for a good mob boss yourself.

Your father even claimed that you helped with the business sometimes. The record-keeping and number-crunching, anyway. He didn’t like telling you exactly what your beloved daddy was doing during business hours.

It was funny how many small details had stuck with Sans’ men (and probably many others). You were just such an enigma that any information your father threw out was like a piece of a very large puzzle. You liked dancing, although you’d never actually been out dancing before. Papa was too worried about boys hitting on you. You did go out sometimes, with some friend of yours, but only during the day, and only to high-end spaces where the chances of a guy trying to put moves on you were low. An odd detail: You liked little chocolates, particularly the ones with cherry filling. Sans could vividly picture you gently biting into one, the filling as red as those soft lips. Dangerous lips that spelled death for anyone who dared to come near them.

You were just so off-limits that all you did was rile Sans up when he thought about you.

His mind raced with What ifs. What if he had just taken the opportunity to kiss you right there? What if you had agreed to his offer to show you how he could get around without being seen? What if he had been able to bring you somewhere private… and take away that innocence your father had worked so painstakingly hard to preserve?

Heheh. You would’ve been calling out “Daddy,” but you wouldn’t have meant--

“I heard that guy Acerbi is after her.”

“Acerbi? Don Acerbi?”

“No, you idiot, his son.”

Sans was snapped out of his incredibly racy daydream. “Huh? Who?”

Vinnie answered his question. “Adolfo Acerbi, Boss. The Acerbi family’s territory is right around--”

“I don’t care about that, whaddaya mean he’s after her?”

Don answered that. “Y’know, he wants to marry her. She’s an only child, so if he married ‘er, once her dad croaked he’d end up being the heir to their whole business.”

“Fuck, you serious?”

“Yeah. And for now it’d unite the families ‘n such. All that mafia stuff.”

Sans felt a surge of jealousy, even though he knew it was unwarranted. You didn’t belong to him-- well, you didn’t belong to anyone, you were your own person, even if your father wanted you to be his. Still, Sans wasn’t your boyfriend, he had no real right to feel jealous over you. Especially not the level of jealousy he was feeling right now.

But the objective truth couldn’t change the way he felt.

“Hey, Boss,” said Vinnie. “Didn’tcha say you were gonna talk with someone today?”

He was startled out of his thoughts again and checked his watch. “Oh, shit.” He got up. At least he wouldn’t be late. “Thanks, Vinnie.”

“Oh, uh, no problem, Boss.”

“Was he nice?” asked Mindy.

“Of course,” you told her. “He was in front of my dad.”

The two of you were sitting in a small but very expensive cafe and deli, immaculately clean and filled with people in nice dress. It was always nice to be with her, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, she was your friend. You simply enjoyed her company.

Secondly, the cat monster was your window to the outside world.

While she was wealthy-- most monsters were after having left the Underground-- Mindy didn’t know where your father actually got his money. She was a civilian. Unlike you, she’d gone to college, and she’d been on dates with lots of boys. Ironically, despite being a monster, she knew a certain kind of freedom you’d never known. Mindy actually got around quite a bit, though you didn’t mind that. It was part of what made her interesting. She was wild, so she had a lot of fun stories.

At the moment, though, you were the one telling her a story, about the “nice young man” you’d met at the party. Adolfo Acerbi. Italian, obviously. Your parents had taken quite a liking to him, and you could understand why: He seemed well-educated, he was polite, and he had only said the sweetest of things to you.

You hated him already.

It was all fake. You could tell. He did a good job of hiding it from your parents but it was fairly obvious to you what was going on. You had no brothers. If he could just weasel his way into your father’s favor and wed you, then he could sit atop an empire made of two families’ blood, greed and arrogance. And you would be stuck right there with him. It was a no from you, but unlike Mindy, you didn’t really have any say in the matter. Mafia princesses were called princesses for a reason.

But you couldn’t tell Mindy all of that. She didn’t know where your family got their money. So all you said was, “He just wants my dad’s money.”

“Aw, honey, maybe you’re just being paranoid.” Mindy smiled at you. “Love exists, you know.”

You snorted. “I know that. It’s just… he’s sweet, but… too sweet? Too romantic.”

“Mmm, like he rehearsed it or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh, those boys are the worst.” She shrugged. “Oh well. You don’t have to date him if you don’t want to.”

If only.

You considered telling her about the encounter with Sans and Papyrus-- she’d be bound to find it entertaining-- but you had the feeling that if you did she would just keep teasing you about Sans. Besides, she didn’t need to know anything about mobsters who didn’t really have anything to do with you. Your father didn’t do business with the skeleton brothers, as far as you knew, and chances were you would never speak with them again. Sans wasn’t worth mentioning.

But fate is a cruel mistress, and no sooner had you dismissed any thoughts of Sans than a large shape emerged in your periphery. Near the doorway. The shape was unmistakable.

Sans had been fun. Too fun. As much as you wanted someone in the underbelly of society to make you smile, you didn’t need it. If you had fun, you would forget just how bad your world was, and you would quit wanting to leave. You didn’t need to speak to him any more.

“What are you doing?” asked Mindy.

You realized you had ducked down and held up your menu in hopes of hiding your face. You wanted to relax, but you really didn’t need to talk to him anymore. “Nothing,” you said, though you knew she wouldn’t believe you.

“Oh my God, is it him?” She started to look around unabashedly.

“N-- no, it’s not Acerbi.”

“Not Acerbi-- Wait, is there somebody else? Is that why you don’t like Acerbi?” Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Oooooh, there’s a boy you haven’t told me about.”

“No, it’s not like that!” you said. But you couldn’t explain, it had everything to do with your world, and she couldn’t know about your world.

“Oh my, are you blushing?”

“What? No.” Your face didn’t even feel warm.

“Don’t lie to me, I can see it. Your face is so red.”

Well, now your face was warm. Mindy beamed. Thanks a lot, Mindy.

“Hey there, dollface. Fancy seein’ you here.”

… Fuck.

You lowered the menu. You didn’t have to look for him; Sans’ shape on your left blocked out everything else nearby. You tried to ignore the burning on your face and smiled politely. “Hello, Mr. Sans.”

“Hey, sweetheart, I toldja last night, ya can call me Sans.”

You saw Mindy’s eyes widen. Last night, no she’s getting the wrong impression, no no Mindy it’s not like that I didn’t have sex with him I didn’t I don’t even know how we would do that I just met him at a party--

You forced your mind to stop racing. “Right. Sans. Is there anything you need?”

“Just to talk to you, doll.” He winked. His smile was so genuine, so goofy despite the sharp teeth. You felt the corners of your mouth turning up and bit the insides of your cheeks to keep yourself from smiling any more. You’re just making this worse, jackass….

His voice lowered:

“What’s with the red face? Happy to see me?”

You tried to ignore your face getting hotter. “M… My friend here was embarrassing me about something.” Good, a distraction. You gestured to Mindy. “Um, Sans, this is my good friend Mindy. Mindy, this is Sans, my… um…”

Sans raised a brow. “Aww. Tellin’ me we ain’t friends?”

Oh my God, did he learn anything from last night?

“... friend,” you finished. “My friend, Sans.”

Mindy wasn’t buying it even though it was the truth. “Oh, of course. Your friend.” She wiggled her eyebrows. Still, she gave Sans a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, sweetheart.” His grin widened. “You look like the cat’s pajamas.” A wink. “Absolutely purrfect.”

Before you could stop yourself, you snorted, which only made Sans look more enthusiastic. You tried to hide your face again.

Mindy raised her eyebrows at him. “Oh my, aren’t you a charmer?”

He tipped the brim of his hat. “Sure, to the women I want.” His eyelights looked over at you and he winked.

You glared at him, openly this time. You are such a moron. You could literally die. For doing this. You couldn’t defend him forever.

His smile became slightly nervous. Finally, he was getting the message. Why did he have to be so thick? And funny?

“So,” said Mindy, “why are you here? You’re not stalking my friend, are you? Stalking isn’t romantic, you know.”

He chuckled. “Nah. I can’t actually talk fer too long, I’m here tah meet a, uh… business associate.”

Mindy smiled incredulously. “Business associate? What are you, part of the mob?”

You forced yourself to snicker at that, as if the idea was ridiculous. Sans blinked, looking mildly surprised-- he’d probably expected Mindy to know. Thankfully, he recovered quickly. “I wish. It’d be more exciting.” He turned back to you. “I also wanted to give you an offer.”

He nodded in the direction of the doorway and you squinted at him. You weren’t going to leave with him. Was he that stupid?

“I jus’ wanna talk over there.”

You raised an eyebrow, and felt your thumb fiddling with your menu. You didn’t need to speak with him… but you were curious. So you got up and followed him, still inside, by the door.

He dug around in his pocket. “Last night was nice.”

“Which part?” you asked coldly.

“All of it, babe, yer fun to talk to.” He pulled out his wallet and started going through it. “I was thinkin’ I’d like to talk to ya again, if ya ever want.”

He found what he was looking for and held up what was clearly a fake business card for whatever civilian job he claimed to have. He held it out to you.

“If ya ever need anythin’... like, y’know, company… jus’ give me or Paps a call, huh?” He shrugged. “Well, maybe not Paps. But me.” He flashed those shark-like teeth at you.

You just stared. What on Earth was his problem? He could easily go flirt with someone whose father wouldn’t have him shot for it.

“C’mon, babe, you were fun. I don’t meet a lotta fun people.” He held it out further. “Please?”

His pleading smile was seemed so genuine.

Whatever. You smiled politely, taking the card. “Thanks. I’ll keep your offer in mind.”

Judging from the look on his face, he could tell you didn’t mean it. He seemed… disappointed.

You felt disappointed too. Good.

He tipped the brim of his hat again. “Anyway, I’ll let you two ladies keep talking. It was nice seein’ you again.”

“Nice seeing you,” you said.

When you made your way back to the table and sat down, Mindy folded her arms. “So. Mister Sans, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” you said.

“‘Sure, to the women I want,’” she said, doing her best impression of Sans’ deep, smooth voice. She then raised her eyebrows at you as if daring you to offer an explanation.

“We met at the same party where I met Adolfo,” you said. “He flirted with me, and I turned him down.” You left out the part where you let him hold you and… kiss you. The spot at the corner of your lip that he’d kissed suddenly felt tingly. It had probably been the most rebellious thing you’d ever done, despite how much you hated the lifestyle you’d been born into.

“You what?” Mindy said, almost slamming her hands down on the table in outrage. “Why?”

“Because I don’t like him. He’s probably the dumbest person I’ve ever met.”

“Ouch,” she said. “Harsh.” She sighed in mock disappointment. “What a shame. His name is so short. Easy to moan.”

You felt a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. “Why don’t you just go sleep with him if you find him so appealing?”

“Nuh-uh. I smell a budding romance.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “An intelligent girl, wooed by an unlikely man. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

“That will never happen in a million--”

“Ooh, ooh, before I forget to tell you! Next weekend this… club I know…” She gave you a wink. You knew what that meant-- a speakeasy. “... is having a swing night. You told me you’ve never gone dancing before. We should go!”

You felt your heart sink, the previous conversation instantly forgotten. You shook your head. “My parents wouldn’t let me.” Too many boys.

“Then sneak out. Easy fix.”

“N… No.”

She sighed in exasperation. “Just ask, OK? Please?”

You nodded. “... OK.”

“Thank you.” She looked at the card in your hand. “What’s that?”

“Oh, just some stupid card he gave me with his number.” You turned it over in your hand.

“Mmmm, his number. You gonna keep it?”

“I already said I don’t like him, why would I keep his number?”

You grabbed your purse. Trying not to make eye contact with Mindy, you tilted the bag towards you so that she wouldn’t see the small pistol inside, and tucked the card into a pocket inside the purse. You tried to seem nonchalant about it, but when you looked at Mindy again she was wearing a massive, smug grin on her face.

“I’m going to throw it away when I get home,” you told her.

“Riiiight.” She took a sip of her water. “Of course.”

“I am,” you insisted. You just didn’t want to toss it anywhere. But you told yourself you were going to throw it away.

You didn’t.

#fanfiction #self-insert #reader-insert #sans x reader #sans/reader #mafiafell #mf sans #mafiafell sans #fanfic

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badger-writes · 3 years

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Star Wars OC Ship Week 2021 - for light and love

uhhhh Hello! 😄

This fic and all its chapters was written for Star Wars OC Ship Week's inaugural year 2021, an event spotlighting OCxEC romances & platonic friendships helmed by @findswoman! It's also the first time I've personally ever taken part in an event week so I hope I do a good job! 😅

Whether you're a High Republic fan or you just want to see the big lizard get smooches, hope you enjoy! Leave comments and kudos if you do! Looking forward to sharing all I've written over the course of the week w/ y'all!

1 - How They Met

It all started, as these things do, in a medical bay.

Kelto Lem, a Jedi healer, had been busying himself with organizing the implements and instruments of the first aid wing in the Halls of Healing. This was light work, and peaceful, which suited him fine. Rarely, if ever, were there emergencies in the Jedi Temple of such scope and scale as to totally overwhelm the medical ward, and to the best of his recollection they had never occurred in the early morning, when dew was still settled on the trees and grasses of Monument Park. This made it an optimal time for preparing the ward for most of the day’s eventualities well ahead of schedule; this making good sense to him, he settled into this habit as a padawan and had never quite given it up. In time, it became almost a meditative practice for him - refilling stores of fresh bandages, taking stock of available pharmaceuticals and herbal remedies, refilling the kolto canisters…

And so it was in the middle of this daily routine that he was interrupted by the door sliding open. He turned to look and nearly dropped the medical scanner he was holding - for two reasons.

The first: his guest was built like a permacrete E-Web bunker. Broad and tall, with an implied physicality that not even Jedi robes concealed, the visitor - a Trandoshan - strode into the ward with an aura of stern command, stolid orange eyes locking upon Kelto almost immediately. His emerald scales shone with a slight luster as he walked, the claws of his toes clicking against the tile floor, until he came to the edge of the biobed in the center of the room less than a foot away from the resident healer. The sheer weight of his presence made Kelto feel small by comparison - he, a shorter pale-scaled Rodian with stripes of deep blue running along his jaw and neck, who wore a satchel of first aid essentials on his hip everywhere he went and tied back his spines in a long, narrow topknot ending in a spiky pom where they escaped the hold of the strip of linen which restrained them.

The second: he was covered in scorchmarks.

“Star’s End,” Kelto said, when he could finally get his (dry, dry) mouth to work correctly. “What in the world happened to you?”

The Trandoshan rumbled, mouth pulling to one side in chagrin. It was a deep, bassy sound, and it landed straight in the pit of Kelto’s stomach.

“A… mishap with the duelling droid,” he grunted, in the sibilant speech of his species. “I was not focused. Lost sight of my present. It seized the opportunity, as you can see,” he added, gesturing to his scorched robes.

“You were training? This early? Chee,” Kelto said, shaking his head. “And I thought my morning habits were odd - jump up on the bench, here, I’ll patch you up.”

He turned away to fetch some burn relief supplies, piling them on a tray. When he turned back, the Trandoshan had sat upon the biobed - and his tunic was resting carefully folded on the bench beside him.

“Ahghg,” he said, and everything on his tray rattled as he short-circuited.

The Trandoshan gave him an odd look. “Yes?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing. I’m fine,” Kelto stammered. “Let me just, uhhh… set this down here.”

He let the tray’s repulsorlifts catch it in midair, so that it would hover at his side. Then he took a ball of fluff and daubed it in a squat open vial of kolto, letting the excess drip off and trying not to think too much about the barrel-chested masterpiece of physicality sitting just within arm’s reach to his right.

“So, how did this happen, Master …?”

“Knight, actually,” the patient replied. “Not master - not yet, anyway. And as I said, I was training.”

“Only a Knight? ...Well, I guess if you were a Master, you wouldn’t have ended up - err, you know what, forget I said that.”

With kolto-ball and medigauze dressings in hand, Kelto turned to his patient and gave him a quick once-over. There were injuries in areas roughly corresponding to the placement of scorch marks on the surface of his clothes, but fortunately, most of them didn’t seem too severe - the robes acting as a layer of insulation against the worst of it. Quite intentionally, he started on the outside limbs, an attempt to spare himself another hot flush provoked by looking straight on at his patient’s torso. Sskeer didn’t even flinch when he touched the wet medical fluff against an abrasion on the side of his arm.

“I train on one or two levels above the normal training setting,” the Trandoshan offered, by way of explanation. “Thus, my injuries.”

“Ah,” Kelto murmured, mostly to himself. “A masochist.”

Sskeer grunted reproachfully. “The training settings are designed to hold back. There will be no such reprieve in the field. Therefore, I train the body to anticipate the presence of harm - to become numb to its threat, and then, to surpass it.”

“So you’re fine with the pain?”

“Pain can be ignored. And my people have thick hides. I endure.”

“Well, I’m no duelist, but in my estimation you could probably stand to bump back down a few levels,” Kelto observed, winding a bandage around his forearm. “At least until you can defeat one of those saber-happy droids.”

Sskeer hrrred. The sound landed in Kelto’s gut again. “Bold words from a nurse.”

“Bold enough to be a Knight, like you.” The Rodian retorted, flashing him a smirk - and turning away immediately when the sensation of being perceived became too much. (His cheeks were so warm - was it supposed to be so hot in here?) Falling silent, he took one of Sskeer’s wide, thick-fingered hands in his own, turning it to inspect the green welt on its back.

“I did not realize you had risen to Knighthood as well,” the Trandoshan offered as Kelto dressed his injury. “If I offended, it was not by intent.”

“It’s fine. I’d rather people forget, honestly. Most people, they see a Jedi and think, ‘wow! Laser swords! Magic powers!’ - but that’s… never really where I felt comfortable.”

“You feel your place is here.”

“It’s where my talents lie, I think. I’ve sort of been drawn to the healing halls ever since I left the creche. And… well, to be honest, I like being able to help people doing this. So… I guess it’s true what they say, about the Force having a path for us all, and all that.”

Sskeer hummed. “That is good.”

“Yeah, and I remember when I was little, Master Rancisis came by the ward and said a-- I’m sorry, am I rambling? I’m rambling, aren’t I? I’ll just shut up and tend you--”

“It’s fine.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I just dropped basically my whole backstory on you--”

“It’s fine,” Sskeer said - firmly, but patiently. “Really.”

And Kelto believed him.

It’s funny, he thought suddenly, how quickly you can get comfortable with someone else. A moment ago he could barely stand to meet Sskeer’s gaze - now, though, he could look him straight in the eye without feeling like wilting. Sskeer had surprisingly deep eyes, he noticed, for how small they were. Deep and dark. Like he could dip into his pupils and fall forever --

Oh gosh, there’s a huge green mark right on his temple. How did he miss that??

Kelto dunked a fresh puffball in the healing fluid and held it up to the Trandoshan’s brow, cradling it in his long, sucker-tipped fingers. This time, when it touched his skin, Sskeer flinched and barely suppressed a hiss. On instinct, Kelto shushed him - a habit picked up from soothing much younger patients, when he got his start tending the younglings’ skinned knees and broken bones.

“This one’s not so bad, I think,” he murmurs. “Just needs a little kolto to help keep it clean. Just put some ice on it every few hours for the swelling and it’ll go away soon.”

“And this?”

“Hm?”

Sskeer gestured again to a long line of angry green flesh across his trunk.

“OH Force,” the Rodian cried, slapping a hand against his forehead. “I completely missed that somehow, thank you so much, I’m so sorry. Gods, I’ll get right on that--”

The Trandoshan surprises him with a chuckle. “Rather absentminded for a healer, aren’t you?”

“D-don’t judge!” Kelto sputters. “I’ve been distracted.”

“By what, exactly?” Sskeer asked, with a smirk.

“... J-just lie all the way down, please?”

Sskeer leaned back onto the biobed, hands resting behind his back. Now the whole of his broad, stocky abdomen lies prone under the glowlights, throwing the long diagonal burn across his trunk into stark, unmistakable relief.

“Why is this one so much worse,” Kelto wonders aloud.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘worse’. As I said, I endure.”

“I’m sorry, this doesn’t look like a giant, stinging saber-welt to you?” Kelto peered closer at the mark, hesitantly plying the flesh of the Trandoshan’s belly under his fingers. “...Actually, wait. This is almost a first degree burn. What kind of training saber makes marks like these?”

Now it was Sskeer’s turn to fall quiet and avoid eye contact.

“...You… did something pretty dumb, didn’t you.”

“...When my performance against the droids began to suffer, I… disabled some of the limiters on the droids,” Sskeer growled, at length.

“Y-you did WHAT?”

“I thought it would motivate me to improve,” he shrugged.

“So when I called you a masochist earlier and you didn’t really deny it--”

This time, Sskeer almost snarled. “It’s no crime to seek out a proper challenge.”

“Oh, and if every adrenaline junkie Padawan jumped off the High Council Tower, you would too?”

“Will you just stop arguing and fix this?”

“I--” Kelto groaned. “Okay, whatever, big guy. Just - just hang on.”

He arranged his hands on either side of Sskeer’s wound - one above on his chest, one below on his stomach. Then he sucked in a deep breath through his snout and released it slowly, letting his eyes fall shut as he exhaled.

He was panicking, he knew. Overcorrecting. There was no reason to take things this far when he was literally standing in a room filled with other, more practical solutions - and certainly not over something so silly as a shouting match with a Knight he barely knew. But by now, good sense and training had momentarily fled him.

Here, in this moment, Kelto sank into the Force and let himself be guided by the simple instinct to help.

He took another slow breath in, and out, and began to concentrate.

And then…

Sskeer sensed it before he saw it. He craned his neck over his chest to see - and rose up on his elbows, watching intensely.

With preternatural speed, the hideous burn across his torso lightened, shrank - and then vanished. In its place only unblemished scales remained.

Like he’d never even been touched.

Kelto let out one final, explosive breath - and almost collapsed. Sskeer jolted to his feet and grabbed his arms, cradled his back in one arm, steadying him on his feet until he could recover.

“Nice catch,” Kelto panted, when he’d finally recovered.

Sskeer was looking at him differently, the Rodian noticed through the blur of lightheadedness. Looking with him with something like awe.

“That was… quite a feat,” the Trandoshan noted. “It seems you were correct to follow the path of the healers.”

“Y-yes, well,” Kelto murmured sleepily, “we all have our own special talents.”

His eyes trailed back to Sskeer’s chest, fingertips idly following their gaze down his trunk. They tickled, just slightly; Sskeer registered an unexpected, but not wholly unpleasant shiver down his spine.

“Think we’re all done now,” the Rodian mumbled. Then his big, sea-blue eyes blinked - slowly, then rapidly, like a Wookiee propeller-engine starting up - and he realized his hand was just shy of cupping one of Sskeer’s pecs.

“UM,” he said loudly, jumping away. “YEAH, so, all done. Clean bill of health. You should be completely fine within the next day or so, and then you can go get your butt handed to you by the training droids again, right? Yup, glad to help, have a nice day, May the Force Be With You and all that jizz, ahaha~”

The Rodian became a flurry of hyperactivity around the ward, re-stocking and re-checking shelves and cabinets for reasons Sskeer could not divine. To appear busy, he supposed - and discourage his continued presence.

It was, he decided, reather endearing.

Sskeer let the flustered healer flail a moment more before saying, “I don’t think you ever shared your name.”

When he looked over his shoulder, Kelto’s face looked as bright as a Life Day orb - only much, much greener. “Huh?”

“Force healing is no small feat,” the Trandoshan observed, slipping his tunic and tabard back over his shoulders. “To have seen it performed is a privilege; for something as small as my own self-inflicted injury, and after my own stubbornness - an honor.

“I’d prefer to thank you for it properly, and to apologize. But for that, I must ask your name.”

The Rodian stared. Then coughed, turning to lean back against the counter before him. “Uh, well… That’s … kind of you, but I - you know, we’re Jedi and all. W-we don’t really serve for gratitude’s sake.”

“For the sake of a fellow Jedi, then, and a friend?”

“…Friend?”

A bemused head tilt. “Are we not?”

“W-well, that’s moving a bit quickly, isn’t it? I mean - we don’t even know each other’s names.”

Sskeer stared.

“Sorry. Sorry. I’m not dumb, I swear, I’m just -- panicking.”

The Trandoshan gave him a funny look. (It was kinda cute, Kelto noticed, when his nose scrunched up like that.)

Just spit it out. Spit it out. Spit it out. You’re blowing it. Just spit it out spititout spititout---

“My name’s Kolto,” he said -- and groaned.

“Your name,” Sskeer echoed, “is...‘Kolto’?”

“Noooo, no, not ‘Kolto’ - Kelto! Kelto! My name is Kelto. Kelto Lem. I just - I’m just called ‘Kolto’. By - certain people.”

“Because… you work with kolto?” he ventured. “Or because it happens to sound similar?”

Kelto sulked, crossing his arms. “Because Torban Buck thinks he’s funny.”

Understanding dawned. “Ah. Yes, he certainly does.”

“Mmmmgh. Well, now that I’ve botched my own introduction, I guess you know me. So you can leave me to my shame, now, I guess.” Kelto returned to the business of managing the ward - opening and closing cabinet doors slightly harder, this time.

A wide, three-fingered hand landed on his narrow shoulder, making him jump.

“Thank you, Kelto Lem,” Sskeer said. “Truly, you’re a credit to the Order.”

His voice was deep and warm. Kelto swore he could feel his breath tickling his ear.

“A-anytime,” he replied, spine locking ramrod straight.

He senses Sskeer’s presence pass by behind him, and imagines it’s what little Rodian swamp-fish feel like when big surface trawlers pass by, and catch them in their wake. “And perhaps when I continue my training,” Sskeer added, “I will remember to return here, for my wounds to be dressed.”

“Orrr you could crush those droids and never need to come back here again!” Kelto shakily returned.

“I’m sure I could, at that,” Sskeer chuckled. And the door slides shut behind him.

The moment Kelto was certain he was alone, he took a little paper cup and pours himself a drink of cool sinkwater. It takes gulping down two full cupfuls before he cools down, sinking heavily on his elbows against the counter.

“‘Kolto’,” he muttered, scoffing. “God damn it.”

#StarWarsOCShipWeek2021 #star wars #the high republic #sskeer #original character #oc x canon #how they met #fanfic

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huacheng-zhu · 4 years

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HAPPY FANFIC WRITERS APPRECIATION DAY!

For the occasion, I made a short (because I unfortunately haven’t read many fics yet) mdzs fic rec list! Various ships, but also gen. They are all SFW.

If you read them and like them, don’t forget to show the author your appreciation with a kudos and a comment!

GEN

a symbol to remind you that there's more to see by paperminds

For as long as Jin Ling can remember, he has been immune to the majority of supernatural hauntings that plague the cultivation world.

Or: what if Jin Ling had received his first-month birthday gift.

(y’all I’m EMOTIONAL. an excellent reconciliation fic.)

WANGXIAN

The Grand Master of Daemonic Cultivation by FayJay

No real summary, but basically: what if daemons were linked to golden cores?

(the daemon concept is applied to mdzs so beautifully, and hits right where it hurts. so, so good.)

how does one begin by Shializaro

If the love of your life jumps off a cliff after fighting alone against an army, do you jump, too? Yes, Lan Wangji decides. Wei Wuxian and his experimental time travel talisman vehemently disagree with that course of action.

As usual, nobody has told Jiang Cheng anything. All he knows is this: On their way to receive indoctrination in the Cloud Recesses, his brother starts acting weird and he is going to find out why. Also, if the Second Jade of Lan doesn't get the hell out of his way, he's going to start throwing fists.

(man, this one sure did things to my heart)

Following Your Song by poetatertot

Lan Zhan takes in a stray cat and gets a little more than he bargained for.

(the concept is SO FUN, and the fic is lovely. I was really sad the day I read it and it made me smile so hard.)

SANGCHENG

The Color Of Your Soul by poetatertot

In a world where shapeshifters only become human after meeting their soulmates, Jiang Cheng is a single, lonely alleycat.

Until he comes along.

(perfect character voices and a sweet, funny fic. some parts were straight up hilarious and made me laugh out loud.)

SONGXIAO

hold me close (don't let go) by oliverdalstonbrowning

Song Lan has only ever been an observer of love, until he meets Xiao XingChen.

(this one has raised the bar SO HIGH for all modern songxiao fics I’ll read in the future. do yourself a favor and read this absolutely beautiful piece.)

XICHENG

Emergency Help Wanted by Piyo13

EMERGENCY HELP WANTED I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.

(SUCH a delightful, feel-good story! this fic is a treat that you should not deny yourself. bonus for the absolute best wwx & jc interactions)

That’s it for now! I’ll be sure to have read more fics by the time the Fic Rec Days in February come haha! Until then, enjoy these, and don’t forget to show my fellow fic writers the love and appreciation they deserve!

#fanfiction writers appreciation day #ffwad #songxiao #wangxian #xicheng #sangcheng #mdzs fanfic #as you can see I have yet to find the time to read longer fics #what can I say i'm a slow reader with poor time management #and too busy writing myself!

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scruffypendragon-fest · 4 years

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MASTER POST: Week 7

That’s a wrap, folks!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the fest — whether by submitting fanwork, commenting, liking, reblogging or leaving kudos. You guys are the best! I’d also like to give a special shout-out to those who submitted multiple scruffy!Arthur works over the past 7 weeks; the fest wouldn’t have been the same without your efforts 😘

This week, we received a whopping 18 submissions, bringing the final tally to 75 fanworks for the fest in total (if you’re following along, then I’m including a collaborative work as 2 separate contributions).

Now that the posting is done, it’s a great time to get caught up on any submissions you may have missed. You can find the complete set of master posts here, or check out the #scruffypendragonfest tag for all of the submission posts. Don’t forget to like/reblog/kudos and leave the creators some love in the comments!

Stay safe out there, everyone.

♥️ Scruffy Pendragon Fest Mod

Fanart

ceesaltsanctuary ( 1 ) – Arthur scarcely visited his sanctuary, only seeking its comfort when there was too much turmoil for him to keep hidden beneath his perfect-prince mask.

excaliburstark ( 1 ) – A pencil drawn headshot of my favourite photo from Dale McCready’s recent pics.

siennavie & touchofstrange ( 1 ) – A hilarious fancomic in which Arthur tries and fails to grow a beard.

Art + Fic

Lead Me Home with the Beat of Your Heart by ceesaltsanctuary [ Merlin/Arthur, G, 2076w ] – Arthur is captured and Merlin is searching for a way to find his King when he realizes he needs to look inward and look with the connection that he and the King share that is stronger than the destiny they forged.

I Owe Every Breath to You by touchofstrange with art by siennavie [ Merlin/Arthur, E, WIP ] – Returning after a journey that kept them far from Camelot for many weeks, Merlin finds himself dutifully trailing a strangely reticent Arthur to his chambers. Once inside he expects things to proceed as they normally would - a meal, a bath, getting Arthur settled for bed - but that mercurial mood persists and things progress in a direction (albeit a welcome one) that Merlin certainly didn’t expect.

Fanfic

Secret of Change by unmarkedinlife [ Merlin/Arthur/Gwen, E, WIP ] – Arthur becoming Prince Regent brought many changes to Camelot. Governance, Knight's Training, and even Arthur's appearance are different. In these new times, Merlin and Arthur's relationship does not stay the same either.

Or the Scruffy Arthur fic that has the shaving scene with a twist.

Alternatively, the one where Merlin teaches Arthur how to eat a girl out.

we’ll be a fine line (we’ll be alright) by merlinemrys [ Merlin/Arthur, E, 12,038w ] – Merlin just wanted to go back in time to pull a prank on Arthur. It doesn't go as planned. His plans never do. Now he and King Arthur are back in the past to make sure their present doesn’t get destroyed. Confusing, he knows. He has a headache as well.

Magpie by excaliburstark [ Merlin/Arthur, G, 584w ] – The Dragon part of Merlin loves to hoard shiny things. He's also obsessed with Arthur's golden hair.

You’re Going to Fix It by tehfanglyfish [ Merlin/Arthur, T+, 2502w ] – Arthur has a late night hair emergency and Merlin has to fix it. Along the way, secrets are revealed and Camelot gets a new knight.

merlin, mon amour by tentatively [ Merlin/Arthur, T+, 1689w ] – Merlin tries to throw himself to his death mid-battle, trying to evade his immortality.

With the roar of the fire my heart rose to its feet by 0hHeyThereBigBadWolf [ Merlin/Arthur, M, 8243w ] – There is another dragon in Camelot. Arthur doesn't know if it is the other one's mate or its offspring. He doesn't care. The only thing he cares about is that it has taken Merlin away from him. He'll have it's head for that, one way or another.

The issue with that, however, is that the dragon has not eaten Merlin. The dragon is Merlin. It seems being a Dragonlord has its downfalls.

The Kingdoms Behind Their Eyes by whatthedruidscallme [ Merlin/Arthur, T+, 22,625w ] – The cold throne of Camelot, built on steel and harsh battlecries, is a seat Arthur Pendragon has been trained his entire life to take. Uther Pendragon is nothing more than a living corpse that still waits for an estranged daughter to return to him, and when the responsibilities of ruling the kingdom Arthur stills thinks of as his father's come down on him, he buckles beneath it. The council that should bow to their king regent is full of men with veiled ideas and eyes that glitter in the wake of Arthur's grief, boys that are hardly more than children kneel to be knighted, and sleep does not come to him no matter how his eyes close or his limbs weaken. As Arthur contends with challenges that burn bright in the light of day and brighter still in the gloom of his mind, he learns the comfort of fearless words from the clear-eyed servant he calls a friend, and discovers that Merlin is not only an extension of Arthur, but a man with insight, kindness, and his own tribulations.

Twisted and Twined by 0hHeyThereBigBadWolf [ Merlin & Arthur, G, 1010w ] – Everyone keeps staring at him, and Arthur doesn't quite know why. Until he does. He is going to kill his manservant.

I have belonged to you in a way you haven’t to me by lawless_bard [ Merlin/Arthur, E, WIP ] – When Arthur is abducted during an assumed routine patrol, Merlin sets off to rescue his prince. But when he finds him, something is seriously wrong.

Coffee and Cherries by FutureAlien [ Merlin/Arthur, T+, 4542w ] – Arthur knows for a fact, in that tiny kitchen at a quarter to three, after who knows how many cups of coffee, that he will never love another human so much as this.

In the Dark Without You by MapleBreeze [ Merlin & Arthur, T+, 3280w ] – During a hunting trip gone wrong, Arthur gets captured. He waits alone, worried about Merlin, guilt eating away at him. But when he is finally rescued, Arthur realizes that there is more to Merlin than he thought, and perhaps he can handle himself.

each nearly, each almost by clasch [ Merlin/Arthur, T+, 1877w ] – It was a rare occurrence for Merlin to see Arthur with any sort of stubble. He had, of course, seen it before, on longer patrols where conditions simply were not conducive to shaving. But they were not on patrol now and the sight of Arthur’s almost-beard darkening his cheeks against the rich brocade of his pillow was rather different from that same stubble against the rough cloth of his bedroll. On patrol, the shadow on Arthur’s jaw could be mistaken for dirt or general unwashed grime. Here, it made Arthur look older, more mature. Merlin rather liked it.

#merlin #merlin fanart #merlin fanfic #scruffypendragonfest #arthur pendragon #master post #week 7

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preathfics · 4 years

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Two answers to asks

Hi anons,

Two of you have recently asked questions that I want to answer but don’t feel comfortable putting the original text out there.

Before I do, I just want to remind everyone that the people writing fic do so 100% for free and we get to read 100% for free. They take time out of their day to give us a gift and I we should respect that. As my sister-in-law tells her daughter on Christmas: “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

We should also respect that people might have different preferences than us and give authors the space to write about the things that they want to write about. We all benefit from inclusion: more readers, more writers, more kudos, a stronger fandom.

Finally, please remember that these people who write fic are humans with emotions who can get really sad and frustrated when people are mean to them. If you don’t like something, filtering it out or ignoring it will have the same benefit to you as will directly coming after an author, but won't come at the cost of an actual human person’s emotions and the likelihood that writers will generate works that include our favs.

To your questions:

1) Have I noticed an excess number of guest kudos on a few fics? I haven’t, but I believe you it’s happening. I know other people noticed that on one of the fics you mentioned. However, I am choosing to assume that the readers of those fics just happen to be good with VPN and want to reward the author with kudos on each chapter (honestly, how many times have you clicked that little heart only to get the “you’ve already left kudos here” message). I myself have gone into a private browser just to leave kudos one more time on my favorite multi-chapter fics.

I know i’ve been guilty of relying on kudos as a metric of success, and authors do it all the time, but I think we can just agree that it's not a competition between fics. Some of my favorite fics have fewer kudos than I’d expect. For example, I really liked MaresThird’s Take a Gamble on Love but it’s nowhere near the top of her kudos as a fic, and is tied for like 300th if you rank things by kudos.

2) The shortest fic ever thing is really not my jam. Sorry you don’t like that. I sort of inspired it by telling people that the shortest preathfic was 24 words but it was one of those finding a fic fics, so then people started making 23 word fics, then 17 word fics, then 1 word, and now 0 words. I think we can all agree that at 0 words the competition is over. So, I don’t suspect too many other fics to emerge, which will hopefully grate you less.

3) There are some fics that have a lot of ship tags and it kind of annoys me. AO3 would be better without these type of fics. I’m sorry that you aren’t a big fan of those fics, but I think some people really like them. The good news is that AO3 has a pretty standard 20 fics/page. Also, don’t forget the advanced search option, you can always exclude specific tags and get those off of there.

#asks

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circlique · 7 years

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Insomnia (Korea Bros)

I’ve always had a headcanon that the Koreas are insomniacs as a result of their division and decided to explore it a little.

Author: circlique (me) on AO3/FF.net Character(s): North Korea and South Korea, minor appearances from America and China; no ships Rating: T (minor language) Word Count: 2885 Chapter Warnings: Medication use (but not abuse) Fic Summary: Without the sleep pills, Yong Soo, too, would be kept awake by the flashes of the many lives he could no longer feel, disembodied voices of citizens that were his, but weren’t, the intense magnetic pull of a part of his country he would never be able to reach. It tugged at the empty part of him whenever he found himself in a moment of quiet, but never more than when he was alone in the dark, trying to get sleep to lift him away into the darkness. It was a problem uniquely theirs, and Yong Soo was quite possibly the only person who understood enough to be sympathetic.

Please also support this work by leaving a kudos or comment on ao3!

A knock at the door at this hour couldn’t be good.

The week of conferences had only just begun. Yong Soo had arrived in New York earlier that afternoon, after boarding a flight that had left Seoul nearly a day ago. After 17 hours in a cramped plane cabin, he was exhausted and looking forward to getting a decent night’s rest. Alfred had pulled out all the stops for this one, renting out one of New York’s finest hotels for the annual World Conference. It had taken all of Yong Soo’s willpower to keep from flopping down on the luxurious bed, with its gleaming white sheets and down stuffed pillows, and forgetting the rest of the world the moment he’d walked in. Instead, he’d forced himself to find something to do until later that night so he could adjust to the time change.

It was now nearly 10pm. He was in the bathroom, about to take a dose of sleep pills, when the sound of knuckles rapping on his door had filled the little hallway next to the bathroom. Only emergencies come knocking on doors at 10pm.

With a sigh, he went to answer the door—and immediately wished he hadn’t.

Yong Soo’s heart sank into his stomach at the sight of the last person in the world he wanted to see. His twin stood just beyond the threshold of the doorway, wearing a loose-fitting shirt and sweat pants, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than ever. He did not look up at Yong Soo even after he’d stood in the doorway in silence for several uncomfortably long seconds.

“What do you want?” Yong Soo growled at last, his fingers tightening around the edge of the door.

“You know what I want,” Sang Kyu grumbled, continuing to glare elsewhere.

Yong Soo did, in fact, know what Sang Kyu was there for, and he had half a mind not to give it to him.

“Why should I help you?” Yong Soo demanded, keeping his voice low though he wanted so badly to yell at Sang Kyu to go away.

Sang Kyu met Yong Soo’s eyes with an icy look. “It’s in your interest for both of us to be in a good mood tomorrow.”

“But you’re never in a good mood,” Yong Soo shot back.

“And why do you think that is?” Sang Kyu asked sardonically, the words bitter.

Yong Soo knew the answer to this as well. Without the sleep pills, Yong Soo, too, would be kept awake by the flashes of the many lives he could no longer feel, the disembodied voices of citizens that were his, but weren’t, the intense magnetic pull of a part of his country he would never be able to reach. It tugged at the empty part of him whenever he found himself in a moment of quiet, but never more than when he was alone in the dark, trying to get sleep to lift him away into the darkness. It was a problem uniquely theirs, and Yong Soo was quite possibly the only person who understood enough to be sympathetic.

Some part of him wanted to curse Sang Kyu to that misery tonight, but at the same time, having to deal with a North Korea cranky from jet lag and lack of sleep in the morning would be far worse than swallowing a small bit of pride tonight.

Yong Soo glowered at Sang Kyu from behind the door, but after moment, he finally said, “What’s the magic word?”

“South, just give me the damn pills.”

“I want to hear you say it!”

“South!”

“That’s not it. Try again!”

Sang Kyu gritted his teeth, clearly weighing the options in his head. Suck up some pride, or suffer through the insomnia? Finally, he bit back whatever insult he’d been working up and looked at Yong Soo with a begrudging look of defeat.

“Please,” he mumbled, barely loud enough for Yong Soo to hear.

Well, Yong Soo doubted he’d be able to get him to say it a second time, so he decided it was good enough. He had better things to do than stand in the doorway all night trying to get Sang Kyu to beg him. Like sleep. He slipped back behind the door for a moment, grabbed the bottle of pills, then returned to the doorway and shoved it at Sang Kyu.

“Goodnight,” he jeered, only realizing what a grave mistake he’d made after the door was shut.

Damn it. He hadn’t even taken his own dose yet, but in his haste to be rid of his disowned brother he’d given him the whole bottle. He didn’t have a spare. If he didn’t get it back, he’d spend every night this week tossing and turning.

Sheepishly, he returned to the door and opened it a crack. It had been less than a minute, so Sang Kyu had not made it far down the hall. The sound of the door opening caused him to turn and look over his shoulder.

Yong Soo glared at him for a moment before calling after him, his wavering voice betraying his embarrassment.

“So, you know I’m not giving you the whole bottle right? Take what you need and give it back.”

To his dismay, Sang Kyu seemed to pick up right away on the fact that giving him the whole bottle had been a mistake. He glanced at the bottle label, then looked up at Yong Soo with a wry smile.

“And what if I don’t?”

Yong Soo wracked his brain for a good threat, but came up empty handed. The best response he had was the one Sang Kyu had given him before.

“You said we should both be in a good mood tomorrow.”

“You seem to manage to be in an annoyingly good mood even without sleep.”

“Stealing my stuff is going to put me in a great mood, North!” Yong Soo said, his voiced edged with sarcasm.

“I didn’t steal it. You gave it to me,” Sang Kyu pointed out, holding up the bottle smugly.

Yong Soo seethed quietly, but could come up with no good reply that might make his stupid brother want to give back the bottle.

Except...

“Give it back and I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow,” he muttered after a long moment, knowing his brother rarely turned down an offer of free food.

This did seem to pique Sang Kyu’s interest, as he took a step toward Yong Soo as if to accept the offer before quickly pulling back. “How do I know you’ll uphold that promise if I give it back now?”

“I’ll give you twenty bucks and you can buy it yourself,” Yong Soo replied bitterly, hating himself for now giving his brother much more in one night than he had ever intended.

Sang Kyu seemed to consider this for a moment, then decided it was good enough.

“Fine,” he said, and began to make his way back toward the room. Yong Soo left the door ajar, an unspoken invitation to enter for a minute while he searched for his wallet.

Sang Kyu quickly made himself at home on the bed, settling down to read the label of the bottle.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Yong Soo grunted as he bent down to look through his backpack for the wallet.

“Then hurry up,” Sang Kyu retorted, eyeing Yong Soo as he opened pocket after pocket, and what should have been a quick search began to drag on.

“You’re lucky America even let you into the country,” Yong Soo replied distractedly, as he checked yet another pocket of his backpack.

Surely he hadn’t actually lost his wallet, right? He was sure he’d had it when he’d arrived. The most logical place for it to be was his backpack, since that was where he’d kept it for most of the flight. But several minutes of searching every pocket turned up nothing, so he moved on to his suitcase, thinking maybe he’d tossed it in there after arriving.

Behind him, he heard the jostling of pills against the sides of the bottle as Sang Kyu counted out a week’s worth. It seemed unlikely that Sang Kyu would have been able to find and steal his wallet in the few minutes he’d been in the room without Yong Soo noticing, but the frantic beating of his heart as he grew more desperate in his search left him looking for someone to blame.

“I told you stealing my stuff would put me in a bad mood,” Yong Soo said, turning to throw an accusing glare in Sang Kyu’s direction.

“Don’t blame me for you not keeping track of your things,” Sang Kyu replied, throwing his hands behind his head lazily.

“Give it back,” Yong Soo said flatly.

“I didn’t take your damn wallet,” Sang Kyu said defensively. “I’ve been here the whole time.”

Despite wanting to believe that Sang Kyu had somehow stolen his wallet, the better part of Yong Soo knew he couldn’t have. Indeed, he’d been on the bed the whole time. Yong Soo kept looking, and finally had a thought to check the pocket of the pants he’d been wearing earlier, and there it was at last. He opened the wallet, pulled out a fresh twenty that he’d gotten at the exchange counter in the airport, and turned to hand it to Sang Kyu.

But Sang Kyu, who must have grown bored and taken one of the pills while he was waiting, was already asleep, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling softly.

Yong Soo sighed in annoyance. After going through brand after brand of pills and growing immune to all of them, the doctor had moved him up to something stronger. They worked fast, and he knew that trying to wake Sang Kyu up now would just result in him dragging a half-asleep North back to his room. It was more trouble than it was worth.

“I guess you can stay,” Yong Soo grumbled, tired enough now that he was just happy to not have to argue anymore.

He scooped up the stray pills lying next to Sang Kyu’s hand and moved them to the nightstand. The pill bottle, now unguarded, was quickly returned to the bathroom counter. Should he still give him the money? Well, a deal was a deal, and he had a funny suspicion that if he didn’t, Sang Kyu would hold him to it in some way regardless. So, Yong Soo pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and left it on the nightstand next to the pills, then slipped his wallet back into his backpack where it belonged.

A few minutes later, he’d stripped down to his boxers and was trying to slip under the covers without disturbing Sang Kyu, who had fallen asleep on top, when he realized he still hadn’t taken his own dose of the sleep medication. He could try to reach across his brother and grab a pill off the nightstand, but then again…

He was surprised to find that he felt tired enough on his own, sleep already trying to pull him down into the darkness. The voices weren’t there. The flashes of lives across the border had not yet begun to dance in front of his lidded eyes. And most noticeably, the tug toward the part of his country he could never reach—

Was absent.

Presumably because, well, with Sang Kyu a mere foot away, he could reach it.

Yong Soo pulled the covers up to his chin and wrapped them as snugly around himself as he could without disturbing his brother, then turned so that he was facing away from him. It shouldn’t be like this, and the insomnia was the world’s way of telling them so.

The next conscious thought to enter Yong Soo’s mind was that it was far too bright, and he opened his eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the curtains. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep, much less that he’d actually slept through the night without medication.

Sometime during the night, he’d rolled over so that he was facing Sang Kyu, who had rolled so that his back was to Yong Soo. He looked to still be sleeping soundly, and in the warmth and comfort of this rare, peaceful moment, Yong Soo had a thought—

Could he do it without waking his brother? Even if he did wake, Yong Soo could always pretend he’d done it in his sleep, and Sang Kyu would be none the wiser. Slowly, he draped one arm over the other and pulled himself closer, so that the action resembled the closest thing to a loving embrace they’d had together in decades. With a sigh, Yong Soo pressed his forehead into the back of Sang Kyu’s neck, and for a moment they were still, just the rhythmic cycle of their breathing and now synced heartbeats. They could have been kids again, huddled close in their bed and sleeping in late until the sunlight caused the room to grow uncomfortably warm in the humid Korean summer. Sang Kyu never had to know, and that was the worst part of it all—that such a moment could now only be possible if one or the other of them were unconscious.

“I hate what’s become of us,” Yong Soo murmured, letting his eyes drift shut once more.

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but eventually Yong Soo looked up to see what time it was.

“Oh, shi—”

Well, it was nice having a brotherly moment with Sang Kyu, but all good things must come to an end. Yong Soo planted his hands on Sang Kyu’s back and, with a rough shove, pushed him over the edge of the bed, where he landed on the floor with a satisfying thud and awoke with a very unsatisfied grunt.

“Get up, lazy!” Yong Soo said, leaping out of bed and tearing through his suitcase for proper meeting clothes. “Our meeting starts in ten minutes!”

“Was that necessary?” Sang Kyu growled, his head poking up from behind the bed to glare rather weakly at Yong Soo. It was much harder, Yong Soo noticed, for his brother to look angry when well-rested.

“Yes!” Yong Soo grinned back, pulling on his shirt. “Because unless you want to be late, you still have to go back to your room and get dressed!”

“Whatever,” Sang Kyu said, still trying to look angry, though the look on his face came off as merely annoyed, and perhaps some part amused. “I’ll just be late.”

“Suit yourself,” Yong Soo said, by now tucking his shirt into his pants and throwing a belt through the loops.

Sang Kyu simply rolled his eyes and grabbed his things off the night stand. Without another word, he left, the door swinging shut behind him. Yong Soo could only hope he hadn’t actually been awake to notice what Yong Soo had done or what he’d said.

Nearly twenty minutes later, after Yong Soo had already seated himself in the meeting room with the likes of Russia, China, America, and Japan, North finally saw fit to join them. Though Yong Soo had already noticed that Sang Kyu seemed better rested, it was much more apparent now in the even lighting of the meeting room, the dark circles under his eyes significantly less prominent than they’d been the night before.

“Geez, you took your sweet time this morning, didn’t you?” Alfred complained, his eyes following Sang Kyu as he took his seat between Ivan and Yao. “Do you want to discuss the damn nukes or not?”

“Oh, yes,” Sang Kyu assured him, nonchalantly pulling a file from his briefcase without looking at Alfred. “I can’t wait to listen to you berate me for an hour.”

Beside him, Ivan gave a lighthearted snort.

Alfred seemed much less amused. “Only about forty minutes at this rate,” he muttered. Sang Kyu merely grinned back slyly, causing Alfred to frown and direct his attention to Yao instead, who was assumed to be in charge on Sang Kyu’s side of the table. “Well, where do you want to start?”

“How about ‘hello,’ or ‘good morning?’” Sang Kyu suggested before Yao could even say a word.

“The rest of us did that while we were waiting for you,” Alfred informed Sang Kyu haughtily.

“Enough,” Yao broke in, raising a hand to silence Sang Kyu, who was clearly gearing up for another retort, and glaring hotly at Alfred, who looked ready to leap across the table. “Good morning, North. Good morning, everyone. I think we all know why we’re here. Since America was so kind as to let me begin, why don’t we start with my proposal from last time?”

Next to Yong Soo, Alfred slowly sank back down into his seat, still glaring daggers at Sang Kyu, who returned his look with a smirk.

When Alfred finally looked away, Sang Kyu’s eyes fell instead on Yong Soo, who must have been staring at him with something like amazement. His brother simply rolled his eyes and smiled knowingly before looking away once more, as if the night before had never happened. Yong Soo couldn’t help but smile a little himself. It was a rare day indeed when North Korea was in a better mood than America.

#hetalia #aph south korea #aph north korea #korea bros #korea brothers #my writing

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rosewhipped22 · 7 years

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Whump!Cas/Hurt!Cas fic recs

Hurt!Cas fics are my absolute favorite, (in case you couldn’t tell that from my own writing) so here are some I really enjoyed. I hope you will too! Please, please, please read and heed the warnings/ratings/tags. Some are super dark.

Repent of your Sins by Anonymous

AU from the end of Season 8.When Cas returns to Dean and Sam, human, confused, disoriented and scared, they take him in. What else can they do?But Dean is still harboring some resentments. Sam is still sick and damaged from the trials, and Dean feels that Cas is to blame for much of what's happened to them in the past couple of years - things he's never really made amends for...

This one is really good, but definitely dark. Dean is not his usual kind and forgiving self and Cas is hurting throughout.

It's gettin' dark, too dark to see by Enochian Things (Salr323)

Cas is human and alone in the world; Dean's not handling it. At all. But then again, neither is Castiel.

I tagged this in my bookmarks as ‘homeless Castiel, Angst, lovely’ what else do you need to know??

Kiss the Baker by @ltleflrt

Jo is pregnant and craving something a little bit unusual. When she sends Dean on a mission to find her some chocolate cake donuts with bacon sprinkles, he's sure that he'll fail. Luckily his partner Benny comes to his rescue and introduces him to a quirky little bakery that sells all kinds of weird (and delicious!) baked goods. And they do special orders!

Dean finds excuses to keep going back, and Castiel finds excuses to keep giving him special treats.

I feel like everyone needs to read this fic at least once. It’s amazing from beginning to end. I adored it. It’s fluffy too <3 (@ltleflrt, you were looking for dark fics the other day--maybe you’ll find something you haven’t tried here!)

Blackbird Fly by artsyUnderstudy

Nearly a year after starting the fire that claimed the lives of Ruby Darvelle and Anna Novak, fifteen year old Sam Winchester returns home from his stint in court ordered rehab. Sam and his older brother, Dean, struggle to remake their own complicated relationship and the home they’ve lost in the wake of this tragedy, while a chance meeting brings Anna’s brother, the troubled and secretive Castiel, into their lives. Fighting with his recovery, Sam finds himself drawn to the strong and lively Jess, while Castiel and Dean find comfort in one another. As consequences of their past emerge and threaten to tear apart what they’ve carefully rebuilt, they are all forced to reevaluate who their family really is, and to what lengths they’re willing to go to keep it safe.

Great fic! Plenty of Sam in this one too.

Stitches by Askance

Castiel survived Leviathan--but only barely. Vessel mauled and eyes destroyed, Cas is barely clinging to what's left of his grace when Dean finds him naked and alone on the reservoir's edge; in a panic, Dean brings him home to the cabin where he and Sam have been holed up off the grid. What follows is the slow process of the angel's recovery and the unexpected changes that come with his being blind, and in the three months this takes, their little family slowly begins to patch itself back together in forgiveness, love, and darkness.

This was so much better than Cas being left at the hospital with Meg. I’m glad the boys stick together and help each other.

Dean Is His Mission by LisaEllyn

Castiel is stunned -- absolutely astounded to still be alive. But he needs to focus on healing himself. He needs to get out of the bunker before Dean returns because he has no doubt that the hunter will stay true to his word and not “miss” next time.

He is far from healed when he hears Dean approach the library. “You just aren’t the listening type, are you, Cas?”

This picks up after Dean beats Cas in the bunker after 10.22. Good stuff.

Less Than Angels by ashitanoyuki

Newly human, Castiel moves in with Sam and Dean to the Men of Letters bunker. Unfortunately, his presence attracts the attention of Ezekiel, who develops a dark fascination with him. Hiding behind Sam's face and body, Ezekiel coerces Castiel into a sexual relationship, threatening to kick him out of the bunker if Castiel denies his advances. As Castiel wonders if he himself is to blame for "Sam's" actions, Sam himself is blissfully unaware of the angel inside him. Only when Dean catches wind of what's going on can they come up with a plan to get rid of Ezekiel once and for all.

I enjoyed this one a lot more than I should have. More than once. Poor Cas, man. Poor Sam..

A Hunter's Prey by alpineshoodratt

A blue eyed boy he locked gazes with at a stoplight. His prey sat in the back of a pricey SUV, 4 other boys in the car, rowdy and loud. This kid sat quietly, watching out the window, until he noticed Dean looking. His sapphire eyes met Dean’s emerald ones for all of three seconds, before blushing and looking down.

Yummy

This is another dark!Dean one. Like serial killer dark.

And I Will Walk On Water by tracy_loo_who

This fic is set after season 4 and totals ~122,600 words. It's a story about friendship and love, recovery and trust, free will, and Dean and Castiel's journey through it all. It's also about chocolate and hugs. If you read it, I really hope you enjoy it. ♥

I really love this fic! If you love whump!Cas and early seasons Cas then you will too!! It’s really fabulous. Please give it a try, you won’t regret it.

Hesitation by apokteino

Zachariah orders Castiel to seduce Dean in order to strengthen his allegiance to heaven. Castiel thinks it will be something to endure. Dean just thinks Castiel wants him. Neither one is right.

Oh man, this fic. Apokteino is amazing and this fic is too! Read everything by this author. Bonus: Early season Cas is so well written.

Hautley's Bend by ColdIntheStudio

Castiel Novak is used to change. He's used to being the new kid in school. So when he moves with his family to the small town of Rail Pass, he doesn't expect things to be much different than the last three towns. But then he meets Dean Winchester, an aggressive fellow student who sees Castiel as the shiny new toy he and his friends get to mess with. Castiel has had his fair share of bullies in the past, but nothing like this. He's never felt this way about a bully, or anyone for that matter, before. Maybe something's wrong with him, that he could feel so attracted to someone who makes his everyday life hell. But then again, he sees the way Dean looks at him sometimes. And there's a lot more to Dean Winchester than meets the eye.

Wow! Buckle in for 500k words of an excellent HS au. My favorite one. It’s a slow burn enemies to lovers and it’s simply fabulous.

It’s Not Easy Being Dean by strangeandcharm

The Winchesters are given a mission: they have to save Castiel. The trouble is, Castiel isn’t really Castiel any more…

I’m really shocked this fic doesn’t have more kudos, I so enjoyed it! Zachariah is a colossal dick to our favorite angel via his AU creation powers.

Pay Your Dues by Huggle

Castiel knows he has a lot to make up for and now he's human it will be harder than ever.

The Winchesters know it too, and they won't let him forget it.

Dark Winchesters. A shorter option for you kids, but it still hurts so good.

Unforgiven by coldrottingtrees

For the SPN Kink Meme.

Prompt: "Abaddon, wearing Dean, uses and abuses the hell out of Castiel. (Who probably figures out it's not really Dean...eventually.)"

I’ve reread this one several times because I have issues. It’s really well done and Abaddon manipulates Cas like a pro

Specimen Two Eighty Five by @hazeldomain

Prompt: Cas gets taken prisoner by the MOL or some other people. They lump angels in with all the other supernatural creatures, and believe they’re little better than animals. They keep Cas restrained and burn or tattoo warding on him. They talk about him like he can’t understand them. They strip him, examine him, make him manifest his wings. He can’t escape, and every day brings new mistreatment and misery.

Hazel is amazing and has lots of good fics--definitely a whump master. Her fic It Was On Sale is fabulous as well but it features wincest if that’s not for you. It worked for me because it’s an AU and Sam and Dean aren’t brothers. Plus Cas is a total BAMF.

Paid In Full by Huggle

Dean and Sam get word of a book that might hold the key to stopping the Apocalypse. Desperate times, and all, so they don't hesitate to steal it.

Unfortunately for Cas, its owner holds a grudge and has a rather cruel way of settling scores.

This is a short fic (with a 2nd part!! that I actually like even better) but so satisfying. Huggle is on my list twice because this is one writer who knows how to make things hurt and they have a way with words that just sucks you right in.

Love in a McHopeless Place by @weasleychick32

Throughout his years working at McDonald’s Dean has experienced a great number of awkward, unsanitary, and just plain strange situations, but what exactly is he supposed to do when he finds a homeless man sleeping in the playplace? This isn’t in the employee handbook.

I almost forgot this one! Yikes, that would have been a mistake. A great AU with homeless!Cas. This one’s got fluff too!! So probably a good one to end the list with. It’s well written and highly recommended.

I do have more, but this should keep you kids busy for a while I hope. Enjoy! and please leave comments for the authors if you like something! They really do mean so much. <3 (Authors let me know if you want your tumblr linked to your fic. I’ll add it!)

#colleen recs fics #castiel whump #hurt cas

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zentherainbowunicorn · 8 years

Text

Everlasting Party - Mystic Messenger Time Loop AU (pt 31)

<- Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter ->

Summary: You’re caught in a time loop during the 11 days leading up to the RFA’s party unless you can do… what, exactly?

13+ Spoilers for Day 9 of Jumin’s route.

Instead of feeling guilty over such a long time between updates, I have instead decided that I shall make a triumphant return and aim for a new update schedule of every other week or so. I am damn determined to finish what I started ;) Thanks so much for the people who have stuck with me so long! I really really appreciate it :”)

Also, a zillion kudos to Masdevallia on AO3 for helping me make sense of my draft lol. Enjoy!

Seven taps the screen a few times to sign out of the RFA messenger and opens up his contacts to find V’s number. He glances over at Yoosung, who’s several feet away and looking just about everywhere except at the giant green-roofed palace visible in the distance. He’d burst out of the car as soon as they had stopped, clearly dying to stretch his legs, but now he kept walking in tight circles and looking at his phone. Seven sighs and looks away again. He’d had been selfish in bringing Yoosung along; if anything went wrong and something happened to Yoosung, he’d hate himself for the rest of his life. But it was nice to have someone he trusted by his side.

He walks a little farther from Yoosung so that the younger boy won’t be able to listen to his conversation, but just as he’s about to call V an Incoming Call message flashes up on the screen and his thumb lands on the “answer” button. Wait. What?

Seven stares at his phone in slight bewilderment, watching the “call time” seconds count up. Then he slowly holds the phone up to his ear.

“Seven? Seven.” A sigh, and her voice sounds more distant from the phone. “He picked up, didn’t he? Then—”

“Beep beep beep. You have reached Agent Seven-Zero-Seven. Beep beep beep. Please state your business.”

“I—oh. I thought maybe you weren’t going to pick up. I’ve been trying to contact you since last night. I was hoping to catch you since I just missed you in the chatroom.” It’s been a while since he talked to the RFA’s new member, it’s true. Part of it was due to the fact that he’d been driving nearly all night, and the other part was that he knew he’d probably just worry the RFA more by explaining the situation. They’d want to know what he and Yoosung were doing out here, and what’s happening with the hacker, and—

“Seven? You’re still there, right?”

“O-oh,” he says. “Of course! Reception isn’t that good in the countryside, you know~ What’s on your mind?”

“Well I um… have you read the messages from earlier?” Her voice is oddly high-pitched, and he wishes that he could see her expression.

Seven pulls at the strings of his hoodie and traces a line in the dirt with his shoe. “We’ve been driving all night, so I…” …haven’t had a chance to? He could have, though; before he sent that message telling the RFA what to do if he went missing, he could have scrolled through the messages from the night before, but he didn’t because he didn’t want to be distracted. There’s enough on his mind already.

“No, no, of course,” she blurts out, as though she doesn’t want him to feel guilty. “I just ah… well, you see, I’m still at Jumin’s and he’s been… I mean, everything’s fine, but…” Her voice starts to quiver on the last few words.

“Hey,” Seven says, lowering his voice. “Are you all right?”

“Yes of course, I’m… I’m…” He hears a sniffle and it sounds like she’s clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh god, I’m sorry, don’t get the wrong idea, I-I’m really okay, I’m just… just stressed and I…” Her voice gets very quiet and Seven puts his hand over his other ear to catch her next words. “Seven, I can’t handle being here. I thought I was fine, but I don’t know how to help Jumin and I’m not sure why it won’t… why it won’t…”

Seven walks a few paces to his left, stops, and walks back to his original position. This is hardly his area of expertise, and making a joke to lighten the mood like he usually does doesn’t exactly seem appropriate. “Can Jaehee go pick you up? Or talk some sense into Jumin?”

“She tried! She came last night but he sent her away without even talking with her.” She sniffles again, but her next words sound a bit steadier. “Do you think you can tell V to come here? He’s the only other person I could think of.”

Funny, he’d been just about to call V, before she’d called him. “Of course. I won’t be able to call you again for a while, though. You’ll be all right?”

“I’ll be okay. Thank you,” Pause. “…Luciel.”

He can’t remember if he’s heard her call him Luciel before. He’s not sure how it makes him feel. “Okay~! Agent Seven-Zero-Seven, signing off. Sayonara!” He pulls the phone away from his ear and watches the screen, waiting for her to hang up first. A few seconds later, she does, and he sighs. When did everything get this complicated? They were just supposed to be a charity organization…

He scrolls back to V’s number again and dials it.

“V? It’s me.”

***

There’s a boy outside Mint Eye. Blonde. Short. Looks a bit like a high school student. Why the hell would someone like that be here?

“Oh my god! You really are Jumin’s cat!” The blond boy is crouching down and talking to something. “Why are you here? Everyone’s been looking for you…”

No, wait. This is… Yoosung. Yoosung Kim. He’s with the RFA.

Shit. If this boy is here, the RFA’s hacker is sure to be, too.

“Wait.”

The boy—Yoosung—freezes. There’s a white cat by his feet. “Yes?”

“Where are you taking that cat?”

Yoosung turns around and pales when he sees the person he’s talking to. He looks at the tattoo on the other boy’s shoulder, then at his face. “O-oh, uh, she’s… my friend’s cat. She went missing and there’s an ad for her online, so we were just… I mean, I’ll just go now, if that’s okay.” A drop of sweat beads on Yoosung’s forehead and he offers a shaky smile.

He doesn’t return the smile. “Sorry, I can’t let you leave just yet. Who did you say you came here with?”

“D-did I say that? I must have made a mistake; I’m just passing by~!”

“Yoosung!” Someone else is calling after the boy. A redhead emerges from the trees and jogs towards them.

Yoosung’s shoulders sag with relief at the sight of the newcomer, who yells “What are you doing over there?”

“Seven…! Where were you? I was worried!”

“I was more worried. I told you to stay in the car!”

‘Seven’… haha. Of course I’d meet him here.

The redhead is tugging at Yoosung’s jacket. “I apologize~ We were just passing by!”

Does he know?

The fake smile the redhead was wearing drops as he looks at the boy with the tattoos. “Yoosung,” he says, “run.”

Yoosung’s mind seems to stall. “What?”

“Run! Go to the car! Now!” He shoves at Yoosung’s back and the boy stumbles before starting to run away. Oddly enough, the cat follows at his heels.

“So you figured it out,” the tattooed boy says.

“What do you mean? We were just on a picnic and got lost~ Sorry to bother you!”

“I know you’re lying… Luciel.”

That causes him to stop. “…Who are you?”

The tattooed boy’s hands shake, and he curls them into fists. He doesn’t know. Of course he doesn’t know. Probably didn’t give him a second thought after leaving him behind. “You don’t remember…” he says, his nails biting into his palms. “You forgot about me. I knew it.” A short, bitter laugh escapes his lips. “You know how long I’ve thought about what I would do when I saw you again? It wasn’t supposed to be like this, though. You’re not supposed to be here.”

The redhead’s eyes widen. Now he understands. “You… no, that isn’t…you can’t be…”

“So you recognize me now? How does it make you feel, Luciel?” He spits out the word like it’s acid and the other man takes a step backwards, his face growing pale. “I hear you got rid of your name, too.” Trying to forget about me? Did you ever feel guilty?

He’s shaking his head, as though he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing in front of him. “No, you… the RFA…”

“How is your new member doing? I’m sure she just loves living in that apartment, with the special security system and all…” He’s really rubbing it in, isn’t he? But he needs to see a reaction from him. It’s not enough for the RFA’s hacker to be surprised, or horrified, no… he has to feel the same sense of despair, the pain of endless days filled with nothing but hopelessness...

“This isn’t…” His eyes are wide and unfocused behind his striped glasses. “Rika told me…!”

There’s a loud engine noise to the left and both boys turn to watch a fancy sports car screech to a stop behind the redhead. The blond boy from earlier sticks his head out the window and shouts “Seven!!! Get in the car!”

“Huh? Yoosung…!”

“Hurry up! Haven’t you seen any action movies?”

With a pained glance back at the pale boy standing in front of the palace in the mountains, the redhead gets into the car with his friend and drives away, leaving the other boy in a cloud of dust.

Slowly, he uncurls his fist and glances down to see the tiny cuts he’s carved into his palms. Dammit. Dammit. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He wasn’t supposed to show up here and mess with their plans, and he wasn’t supposed to know about Mint Eye until later. The next time they met, he was supposed to have the upper hand, with all of Mint Eye backing him. Then the other boy would see how very wrong he’d been. This was all… wrong…

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I always love hearing what you think, if you wanna leave a comment or send me an ask! Here’s a link to the masterpost of all my Mystic Messenger fics. Thank you very much for reading! ♥

#mystic messenger #fanfic #fanfiction #seven #unknown #yoosung kim #cheritz #rainbow unicorn stuff #everlasting party au #I'm actually so relieved I finally wrote this #it was honestly eating away at me...#I've been busy but it's a good kind of busy #I've been practicing a crap-ton of japanese lol #and working #thank you thank you for being so patient!! I love reading your kind comments honestly

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