#and things you’d love to see in a romantic fic set in nyc in the fall

[prettydjarinsoloinspires]

so i guess i’ve actually got the start of something here..

[saynotoshityouhate]

photo from pinterest

Across the Alley (Adam Sackler x Reader)

summary: Your new neighbor likes to put on a show - but little did you know, he knows you’ve been watching.

note: this was a piece I wrote for the Summer 2021 @adcuficexchange for AO3 user 1986_Special, who also wrote my gift fic! I had so much fun with this prompt - maybe I’ll work on a part two?

cw: mutual masturbation, solo masturbation (male and female), watching your neighbor play, playing with cum like only Sackler can

Adam awoke as your bedroom light shone through his window. You were home; it was late. He wondered how the date he correctly assumed you’d been on, based on your many outfit changes, had fared. Poking his head up from his pillow, he looked across the alleyway to see you sitting on your bed, head in your hands. Must not have gone well, he thought.

Adam had been watching you since you’d moved in. He had noticed the moving trucks outside one day and, being curious, he looked out to see who his new neighbor would be. He ended up very pleasantly surprised. Over the course of the next few months he picked up on your little habits and quirks, like your love for black and white films, your morning dance parties in your underwear, and your favorite chinese food order. He found himself craving more from you - like why haven’t you brought anyone home, or why the pink vibrator is your favorite.

He’d also love to know your name, so he could hear it pass through his lips, tasting every vowel and consonant as he came.

----

After getting unceremoniously dumped by your long-term boyfriend, you needed a major life change. Moving to New York City as a single young adult was the absolute dream...right? You’d been surrounded by romantic media portrayals of life in the Big Apple growing up - Friends! Sex and the City! Will and Grace! How I Met Your Mother! As soon as you handed “he who must not be named” your set of keys, you knew this was the logical next step in your life plan.

It was your first night in your apartment by yourself when you noticed him. You had yourself all cozy in bed, watching your favorite old movie, when you heard a loud growl coming from across the alleyway. Carefully peeking out of the window, you saw a large man swinging a 2x4 around his apartment - wood and dust and glass were flying around his muscular frame, dressed in only a pair of low slung jeans and safety goggles. You called your best friend in the morning to let her know you had found your first crazy New Yorker - a right of passage and something to check off your NYC bucket list.

You worked from home, giving you plenty of opportunity to study this man across the alley. He had an odd sense of style - it was either the same pair of jeans (no shirt needed, a trait you quickly began to appreciate) or a dingy onesie that looked like something his great grandfather may have worn. He was some kind of carpenter, and was always shouting at something or someone. He had a dog, but only for a day, and didn’t often have company.

You were lonely - your friends were across the country, and every date you had been on so far had been a disaster. You were starting to reconsider this decision, but you were too stubborn to truly admit you were wrong. Plus, there were other ways to fulfil those lonely feelings.

When he didn’t have company, he had a certain nightly routine. He’d grab a tall glass of milk and a tattered old book from his extensive collection, and head into the bedroom. He’d read a few chapters until the milk was gone, and then make himself comfortable propped up with pillows against the headboard. He’d wiggle his hips, moving his tight black briefs down past his knees. He’d squirt two pumps of some kind of lubricant into his enormous hand before slowly, and not at all gracefully, bringing himself to orgasm.

You were usually already in bed when this routine would begin. Covering yourself with your blanket, you’d get comfy enough to watch the show, bringing your trusty pink vibrator along. You wondered if he knew you were watching him, if he knew you were touching yourself along with him, mirroring his long, languid strokes with your fingers, wishing it was his thick veiny cock that brought you to your release instead.

——

Adam caught on quickly that you were watching him too. He could gauge how your day was going based on how many trips you took to refill your coffee cup throughout the day. More coffee meant more stress, meaning more urgency for a way to relieve that stress. Who knew he’d have a dirty little voyeur move in next door? Adam had some kinks, but voyeurism was never one of them - until now. Tonight, however, Adam had a plan.

——

“Oh god, yes, yes,” you whimpered, eyes shut tight. Your head was full of the dirty things the man next door could do to you. The guy you had dinner with tonight was a total loser, some Wall Street know it all with a fancy apartment but zero social skills. Your neighbor was already asleep, so you had nothing but your own thoughts to put you in the mood. Thinking of his broad chest, muscular back, and endearingly goofy mannerisms tightened the coil in your lower belly. The image of his two hands pumping himself up and down while his entire body flexed in anticipation snapped that coil, causing your back to arch almost unnaturally, moaning louder than ever before. As you relaxed back down into the mattress, you turned your head towards your sleeping neighbor’s apartment. Only to see that he was not asleep.

——

As soon as your light turned off, Adam snapped to attention. He watched you reach into your bottom drawer, pulling out your favorite toy. He smiled. Show time. He gave you a bit of a head start, watching your body movements slowly increase in speed and intensity. He palmed himself through his briefs, wanting to last a bit longer. He saw the way your toes began to curl, spurring him to jump out of bed, kicking off his briefs in the process. He stood in front of the window, cock in hand, and watched as silent words spilled from your perfect lips, as your forehead furrowed and your back ultimately arched, stroking himself the entire time. It was the most erotic moment he had ever experienced. As his legs began to shake, he leaned one forearm against the window keeping his eyes on you from beneath his dark eyelashes.

—-

This was how you saw him, chest heaving, right arm pumping vigorously, a flush crept across his chest and neck, punctuated by his hair, dampened from sweat and stuck to his forehead. His eyes were trained on you.

You sat up in bed, fascinated by what was happening before your eyes. Your mind was reeling - so he knew what you were doing…and he was more than okay with it? How long had he known? Oh my god what if you saw each other on the street? He didn’t seem like a murderer - a bit erratic, maybe, but not a murderer. For every panicked thought, there were two that sent quivers throughout your already overstimulated body. You crawled to the edge of your bed, sitting cross-legged and watched as your neighbor climaxed, spurts of cum hitting the windowpane in front of him.

——

Adam closed his eyes for just a moment, regulating his breath and heart rate. Slowly opening them back up, he saw you were literally on the edge of your seat. He laughed, more than satisfied with his performance. Leaning down, he smeared some of the mess on his window, letting him write a crude “hi” message. He saw you laugh, covering your face and shaking your head. Adam scampered across his bedroom, wiping his hands on a dirty towel before grabbing a notepad and pen. He wrote a message and held it up against the dirty window for you to read.

“Hi! I’m Adam! Same time tomorrow?”

[internalsealpanic]

Love Through the Ages (Tim Drake)

Summary:  Love like baggage needs to be declared.

a/n: This is part two of a series that is a fic rec list disguised as a fic. For these fics, most of the characters will be speaking different languages, so unless specified otherwise assume that the characters are speaking in the first language I mention. They’re all vampires with centuries under their belt. Why wouldn’t I make them all polyglots.  Also, thank you to the proof reading gang for putting up with my shenanigans.  I will have links to the fics I recommend in the fic itself.

Warnings: Everyone is dramatic.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist. 

You watch the rusty green of the warehouse wall disappear behind a spray of orange paint. There is nothing more satisfying than watching paint make old things new. 

A whistle interrupts your reverie, making the can slip from your hand. You swear, the harsh syllables echoing in the empty air. The can bounces down the scaffold and lands in someone’s hands. Tim’s face gets sprayed with a mist of orange. He makes a noise and rubs at his face. You bark out a laugh and he grimaces at you. The begrudging fondness obvious on his face. 

He waves at you, eyes still stinging from the paint. Giddiness flourishes in your chest. “I knew I’d find you here!” He shouts in a dialect of Mandarin that you hadn’t heard in ages.

It takes you a moment to understand him. You’re honestly extremely rusty. It takes you another moment to realize that it made no sense for him to find you. “How?” You shout back in Romanian. 

Tim shakes his head, throwing his hand over his shoulder. “Open canvas.”

You snort, looking down at him. Tim’s breath catches as he stares up at you, your smile. You’re haloed by sunlight. You look like an angel descending from heaven.

Tim’s forced to pick up his jaw when he hears your voice again. You’re tapping your watch. The words are lost to him.

“What?!”

You shake your head, strands of hair coming loose from behind your ear. “I asked...” You shout in a coarse frawl. “... Isn’t it a bit early for you to be here?”

It was. 

He was only 30 minutes early. No big deal. 

He shrugs. “I just wanted to watch you paint.” He says, trailing off. Oh God, Tim thinks. Does he sound lovesick? Is Cassie right? He pushes the thoughts down, opting to look at the building instead. On the side of the building was an immaculate portrait of the Red Hood rendered like a saint, haloed in golden light and surrounded by your orange marigolds. It would look at home in any grand cathedral. Your talents never ceased to amaze him.

“Should I ask why you’re defacing a building?”

You turn back to the building picking up a can of yellow paint. You tilt your head. “It’s a massive improvement, yes?”

Tim looks around. The pavement is littered with wet trash mixed. The buildings were rusted. Everything else is covered in grime. “You’re rude…  but not wrong.”

You preen, electing to ignore the first half. You turn back to your canvas before Tim can get another word in. He knows he’s lost you. 

“So, why *the* Red Hood?” 

You look away from the portrait, setting the can of yellow spray paint. It sprays your sweatshirt and Tim laughs. You stick your tongue out at his face flushing. You liked this sweatshirt. He gave it to you the last time you had meandered into Gotham. “Why not? We’re in the Bowery. He’s like a saint here.” You snip, switching to Russian. Ok, that made sense. You toss your sweatshirt into Tim’s face. The fabric is lousy with the smell of paint and of 5-hour energy drinks. It was an improvement over the pungent odor of garbage. 

He tries to rub the orange paint on his face away before he tucks your sweatshirt beneath his arm. You’re still looking down at him, wry amusement on your face. “I’ll paint your beloved Red Robin when I get to China Town. Heard he was quite popular in those parts.”

Tim’s heart flutters.  He stutters out his next question. “Why are you using spray paint for this type of illustration?”

“Kon said I couldn’t do it.”

Tim snickers, “As if Kon could tell the difference.”

You frown only realizing your mistake. You curse under your breath. Tim doesn’t stop laughing at you. “Shut up!” You snarl.

Tim dodges the next paint can you throw but the next one hits him square in the face. You grin triumphantly. Tim raises a middle finger at you and you giggle in response. You feel bad, seeing him wince in pain. You’d buy him apology tea later but for now, you clasp your hands and call out to him sweetly. “Sorry, Timmers!”

Tim, equally as mature and well aware that you’re only half sorry, blows out a breath, muttering something colorful before shouting back: “we should get going if we wanna eat out after looting the museum.”

At that, you launch yourself off the scaffolding, your body feeling weightless as it falls. Tim drops your sweatshirt as he holds his arms out to catch you. He catches you easily. You two spin as you wrap your arms around him. 

“You are certifiably insane.” He laughs. His nose smooshed against yours. 

“And so are you.” You snort, hugging him. 

He hugs you back. You hum so softly into his hair that Tim wouldn’t be able to tell it from a breath if he were human.  Tim holds you close, hugging your waist tightly. He doesn’t really want to let you go. You don’t either.  You and Tim stand there for a bit when you hear his cell beep. 

“Why does your phone sound like a pager?” 

“Because Babs told me how to.”

“That literally explains nothing.”

“I’m not taking crap from the gremlin who had ‘Baby Shark’ as their ringtone for 12 months. WILLINGLY.”

You pout at him, your face so close to his. Tim’s only half paying attention to your defense. To be fair, it basically boiled down to ‘it isn’t that bad’ and ‘Bart’s ringtone is worse’. 

After a short shopping trip and a cab ride later, you arrive at the museum in fresh clothes and less paint on his face for Tim. 

“All the World’s a Stage. They botched it! The nerve! The barbarity of it all. It's just like when they botched ‘Words with Friends’ or ‘In Ice We Trust’ or even ‘Tomcat’. That last one was pretty much gift wrapped for them!” You say throwing up your hands nearly hitting Tim and whatever poor bastard was unlucky enough to be behind you. 

“For someone who isn't invested in modern media, you're getting fired up.” Tim chuckles, eyes flickering behind you. You had managed to miss the people behind you but you do have a rather conspicuous space behind you. 

“They had such good material to work with”  you say, gesticulating wildly. “And- and they butchered it.”

“You need a 5 minute breather?” Tim asks, resting a hand on your back. 

 “Shut up,” you laugh.

Tim grins at you as if he had no idea what this ultimate betrayal feels like. 

Determined to prove him wrong, you say : “C'mon, Timothy,  you ranted like this when they botched the star thingy.”

“It’s Star Wars, you heathen.”

“Star. Thingy.” You repeat, crossing your arms. 

Tim squints at you. You know he’s not gonna blow up at you but somehow that’s scarier. 

“You can pay for your own cab later.” He grumbles. 

“Star. Thing-Y.” 

Tim turns to leave. This always worked. Always without fail, you grab at his hand, lacing your fingers with his. Tim tries not to smile.

“Fine.”

“Was that so hard?”

“It was excruciating actually.”

“You're being dramatic.” He says, showing the woman behind the ticket counter your passes. 

“Excuse me, I left all my drama in the Renaissance.”

“Oh really?”

“Ok not really but admit that both Andromeda and Stars, Forgive Me have better writing.“ You bite out.

 “I- That’s unfair,” he says. You raise your brow in response. 

“...”

“Fine,” he sighs. “But admit that Andromeda should have been named ‘Space Whores’.”

You squint at him then smile. “Oh abso-posi-tute-ly.”

 “Have you seen this dirty old hockey mask?” You ask, tapping the glass as if the hockey mask would react if you just agitate it enough. 

 “What is that?” Tim asks, looking over your shoulder. His brows crinkles when he sees the mask. “How is that romantic?”

You hum. “Ask the curator?” You suggest, looking around. He was usually out and about. He could never sit still even if he tried. You lean down narrowing your eyes at the plaque. “Says here some dude called Jason terrorized 3 kids over summer.”

“That’s very romantic for our Jay to do.” Tim says, crossing his arms and switching to Cantonese. It was a weird habit but you knew why. Apparently for all Jason’s skill in languages he somehow could not get a handle on Cantonese. 

 “Not that Jason.” You say, smirking. 

“You sure?” Tim asks, leaning closer to you. 

You snicker,  “As in character as that would be...”

“True,” he says, edging closer and closer to you. You rock on your heels nervously at the proximity. “It’s a shame, I thought there would be a machete to match too…” You can feel Tim’s breath on your cheek. 

“OH LOOK AT THIS.” You say twisting away and pointing to a black and white photo. Tim’s hands leave his sides to grab for you, to pin you to his chest, but he has enough self control not to. Instead, he follows you.

“It’s just a man and a woman in business suits. Yanno something you can see in any metropolitan city.”

“Yes but,” you say, tracing a nonsensical pattern into the air, “I’ve heard a story about this, they were both extremely rich and heads of their companies, went from enemies to lovers - my all time favourite.” 

Tim looks closer at the photo of the man and woman with their backs to the camera just holding hands along the NYC sidewalk. It’s cute. “I thought your favorite was lovers to enemies.”

“Well of course, it is! The drama, the absolute tragedy. It’s better than any trope in existence. But I love that this is just black and white. You don’t need anything else to indicate they’re in love with each other.”

Tim is all too tempted to point out that that likely wasn’t intentional, that it was a limitation of the time, but the look in your eyes robbed him of his breath, so he swallowed his thoughts. 

Your eyes rove over the room frantically in search of something. 

“So is there any reason you wanted to go to this exhibit instead of watching lavalantula 10 in theaters?” Tim says, tapping another case. 

You turn to look at him, shock etched into your features.“10? We've seen lavalantula 1 through 9 in theaters? Why did I agree to that?”

“Cus you love me?”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Probably not.”

Tim gives you a hurt look. 

You scowl at him. You have no idea why everyone thinks he’s the nice Wayne sibling. He is a manipulative little shit who plays you like a fiddle. And yet here you are falling for it. An absolute buffoon. 

You grumble an apology under your breath before continuing. “This is more cultural Timmers and lord knows we need more culture.” You wave sarcastically. 

“I think we've lived enough culture.”

“it cannot hurt to experience more Tim,” you snort. He rolls his eyes. You grab onto his arm and look up at him bright eyed. Two can play it at that game. “Please Tim....”

He scowls at you. “Fine-”

“Yes!”

“-but you owe me a movie marathon.”

“Fine. Fine,” you nod, “just don’t pick something dumb.”

“I just got the new star trek box collection.” He beams. 

“You could just shove me into a grave.” You sigh dramatically. 

Tim grins. “The Renaissance called-”

“Oh fuck you, Grackle.”

He snorts and you hate that you fall in love with him more every time he laughs. 

You cross your arms giving him a hard look. “Fine but we have to have an intermission of my choice.” You say, offering a hand. 

“Deal.” He says, shaking your outstretched hand. 

“Great, you've just agreed to watch the Great British Baking Show with me.” You say smug. 

Tim curses himself. 

"Are you still looking for that one painting?"

You tip your body back to look at him, your eyes wide and startled. It takes no time at all for them to shift to their usual angry shape. "Yes," you say quietly. It's Tim’s turn to be startled. Your hands curl into a fist. "It wasn't done and those bastards took it." 

Tim reaches out to put his hand on your shoulder. 

You cast your hands up to the sky dramatically.  "The barbarity of it all!"

Tim smiles, letting his hand fall to his side. You would be ok. 

You two walk on as Tim rants about StarGate  could have had a bigger fanbase if it hadn’t excluded so many people. You add StarGate to the list of things to not remember. 

You stop.

Your heart presses a bruise in your throat. 

Framed in  wood laden in ivy and marigolds is a painting that was painfully familiar.  Even unwashed, you can still see the bright reds of rose petals, the wild greens of the women’s skirts, the brilliant oranges of marigolds, and the blinding whites of cobble stones. The image was a practice in entropy made into perfection. The chaos of Valentine's day in a small town square reduced and captured in an infinitesimal moment.

Damian told you that people had started calling them Warsaw’s Faceless Sweethearts. You hated that.  A part of you wants to scream. You want to tell them that this wasn’t for them. This painting was made for one person and one person only.

You’ve been staring at it too long. Tim looks at you. You’ve known him too long to not know that he’s worried. That he’s feeling that stupid surge of protectiveness he always does when you go quiet. It’s in the cautious way he reaches out to you, slow and steady the way you approach a spooked animal. You want to lash out at him but he’s your Tim. Besides, too much of your mind is trapped in the painting, in the white gazebo, in between the couple who’s stuck in the moment before a kiss. 

Tim stands closer to you, his fingers lacing into yours with centuries worth or practice. He looks at the painting. “This painting looks familiar.” Tim says for the lack of anything better to say. It was yours. He knew that with only a few seconds of looking. 

“I… I don’t think so,” you say clumsily, “that’s definitely not the painting I’ve been looking for. Yup that one looks completely finished. Yup definitely.” You tug at Tim’s arm. 

He gives you a look, staying perfectly in place, before turning back to the painting. His gaze draws low. In a glass case sits scraps of paper lined with charcoal.  It takes an embarrassingly long time for Tim to realize that they’re sketches the artist did. Tim recognized the baker, the blacksmith, the seamstress, and even the constable. Most glaring of all he recognizes your marigolds.  His eyes drift to the sketches of the couple in  the gazebo. They were numerous, haphazard and unsatisfied. You were clearly frustrated with the groom’s face. Tim wonders who the poor guy could be. 

In the corner of the page in the center, he sees it.  “Wait… is that me?”

“NO!”

“Is that you?” He asks, pointing to the figure next to his. In the sketch, your lips are brushing against his. Tim’s lip tingles trying to replicate the sensation. 

You’re frozen stiff. You try to pull your hand away. You want to bury your face in them. Scratch that, you wanna be buried six feet under. Tim doesn’t let go of your hand. 

“That’s the umbrella you lost back in London.”

“I lost a lot in London, Timmy.” 

“Well...” Ok. Yeah, you did. Hence why he can’t get you to London even with the promise of letting you ‘improve’ Buckingham palace. But that isn’t the point. “(Y/n), this is gorgeous.” He says, turning to you. You look at him stunned and scared. He squeezes your hand.

You shake yourself out of his grip. Tim lets you. He knows when to back down. 

You step forward leaning on the rope separating you from your work. “I told you it wasn't finished.” You say, glaring at the painting as if willing the colors to move. 

“What happened?” He asks, bumping his shoulder against yours.

You bump your shoulder against his. “Warsaw.”

“I don’t follow.”

“That little town in Warsaw. It was kind of hard to finish the painting when soldiers were setting fires to houses. Ok, they didn’t do it directly but there was smoke.”

“Yeah kind of.” Tim agrees, smiling sadly. He looks back at the painting. “I want to keep it.”

“What?” You blink not quite following the shift in conversation. 

“Darling, I think we should have it. It’s ours after all.” Tim says holding your hand in his. Your mind is bouncing between too many things. He called you darling. He’s holding your hand. He’s smiling so sweetly at you. You’re addicted to that look in his eyes, pure unadulterated adoration. 

You cover your face with your free hand, feeling the smile on your face go uncomfortable wide. You feel something on your forehead, a kiss like a raindrop. It comes again and you feel like you’re going to collapse. 

“It’s yours..” He trails off hesitantly. “..if..” You look up at Tim, waiting with bated breath. Tim squeezes your hands. “...if you’ll be mine. ”

@batarella​, @anothertimdrakestan​, @lucy-roo​, @multifandomgirl-us​, @bungunz​, @birdy-bat-writes​,  @boosyboo9206​, @americasmarauders​ , @l-inkage​, @arestorationofbalance​ , @cloudie-skay​, @wunderstell​   @hyp-oh-critical​ @glorified-red​

[friendofhayley]

I’m back after my hiatus from fanfiction, to give y’all the best multifandom recs of the fics I read this month. Shoutout to all content creators who helped us live to see the close of this year. This fic includes 15 fics for Sterek, Larry, Winteriron, and Geraskier. The starred ones put me through heaven and hell *chef’s kiss*.

Sterek (Teen Wolf)

1. Six Letter Word for Romance by @troubleiwant | domestic kink - omg there’s only one bed - soft Derek - oblivious idiots in love - 6k

Stiles definitely starts off thinking it’s fucking hilarious that Derek-sourwolf-Hale does crosswords and cares about scuffs on his furniture.

But at a certain point, and he can’t pinpoint exactly when, “fully functional adult couple” somehow becomes a massive fetish of his. Derek in sweats and bare feet, nudging his glasses up his nose while he does the Sunday crossword? Unff. Derek filling out forms to get some renovations on his property approved? Oh God, yes. Derek putting away groceries and bitching that the corner store was out of the right type of Greek yogurt? Take me now, Stiles thinks, worrying at his lower lip with his teeth.

This can’t be normal.

2. *Dirty Little Secret* by @isthatbloodonhisshirt | Cora & Stiles bffs - no one can resist the Stilinski charm - celebrity Derek - human au - 91k

“Holy shit, this is a date!” he blurted out, turning back to Derek wide-eyed. “This is a date! You intended for this to be a date, this was supposed to be a date!” He figured if he said it enough times, maybe he would believe it, but so far, no dice.

Derek was scowling again—seriously, did he want wrinkles?—but he just reached into one of the bags and pulled out a burger, checking what was written on the foil in sharpie before handing it over to Stiles.

“Of course it’s a date, what did you think this was?”

3. Can You Feel A Whole New Part of Your World? by @isthatbloodonhisshirt | i genuinely don’t look at authors names i just click i am sorry for spamming you but you write too good - neighbors Sterek - emotionally mature Stiles - the ideal fluffy world you’d want to live in - 53k

Can you hear me singing in the shower?” Stiles blurted out, because he had to know, now. If one of his neighbours had slid that note under his door, then it meant Parrish as another neighbour could hear him, too! He had to know if this was all a huge joke and one person had walked by and overheard him and decided to fuck with him.

Parrish gave him a weird look at the question, but answered anyway, making Stiles’ plans to leave the country speed up in his mind.

“Of course I can. You’re actually not bad. Though you have been singing a lot of Frozen lately, getting kind of tired of the soundtrack.”

4. Theory of Overprotective Canines by @petals42 | derek can turn into wolf - oblivious Stiles - future fic - mutual pining - 11k

Stiles is totally looking forward to living alone in his super cool apartment off-campus. He is. He is also very excited to bike to school every day, ready to set up an awesome game room, and definitely over his crush on Derek Hale. Completely over it.

Or at least he is until Derek decides he's moving in with him. And then turns out to be the perfect roommate. And then starts attending all his classes. As a wolf.

This is not going according to plan.

Larry (One Direction)

5. **The Changer and the Changed** by @homosociallyyours | literally the best fic of all time i want to live in there - girl direction - NYC ‘70s au - trans Zayn - the girls are so lovely - 59k

It’s the spring of 1977 and Harry Styles has just moved to New York City after graduating college. She knows she’s a lesbian. She just needs to figure out how to meet other lesbians.

Louis Tomlinson works at a popular women’s bookstore in the Lower East Side, Womon’s Direction, where she spends her days reading feminist literature, writing poetry, exchanging friendly barbs with her boss Niall, and dreaming of finding someone to love.

When Harry and Louis meet, their connection is instantaneous. Slowly but surely, Louis welcomes Harry into her community of women. Stonewall veteran and old school butch Niall; Liam, a land dyke who’s moved to the city for love; and Zayn, a lesbian musician who’s been ostracized by a vocal part of women’s community for being trans, welcome Harry with open arms, ready to help her find her place in New York City’s bustling lesbian scene.

6. others i’ve seen might never be mean (but they would never do) by @cherrylouvol6 | aaaaaaaa it’s lesbian When Harry Met Sally !!! - rom com - girl direction - coming out and first times - really great sex - 20k

Louis sighs.

“Do you remember what I said to you the first time we met?”

“That I’m naive and neurotic and would be hard pressed to ever find someone who could put up with me?” Harry snaps.

7. some things fade (some never do) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | aaaaaa this story took me apart and back together again just like Louis and Harry - urban fantasy au - second chances - exes to friends to lovers - hurt/comfort - 25k

Matching tattoos. He’d never thought he’d be the type for tattoos to begin with, let alone matching or magical ones, but once Harry had put the idea in his mind it had never quite managed to disappear. And it had made sense. With their relationship a long distance one, this was simply another way of feeling close to one another. Of knowing where the other was, how they felt. It had made so much sense.

Back then.

8. we can take the long way home by @eleadore | i usually don’t rec my porn but there’s so much feels in this one - canon-divergent - kink discovery - friends to lovers - this was written in 2015 as a future fic but it felt like it was taking place now so good job - 27k

“Fertile,” Louis says, and then laughs because it sounds stupid to say out loud. He hasn’t ever really thought of himself in those terms. Baby-making terms. It’s just one of those things his body can do, like exercise, or go without tea. Doesn’t mean he will.

Winteriron (MCU)

9. **Dig No Graves** by @missaphelion | Tony finds out about his parents right after winter soldier au - Tony Stark has a heart - Bucky heals with bots and lots of sugar - slow burn - 142k

"I'm here to kill you, Terminator," Tony said slowly, "does that compute?"

The soldier looked up at him with wide blue eyes and no expression. "Okay."

Tony froze. "Okay," he echoed. "I tell you I came here to kill you and your response is 'okay'?"

10. A Rifling Matter by Penndragon27 | Winter Soldier has such a big crush on Tony’s weapons, he escapes Hydra au - identity porn - pining Bucky - fluff and angst - Winter Soldier is a fanboy and it’s cute - 37k

All the Asset knows is fighting, killing.

He also knows a good weapon when he sees one and Stark Industries... they make some great weapons.

11. *Winter is Coming (aka Fifty First Avengers Dates)* by @tisfan & @everyworldneedslove | enemies to friends to lovers to 50 first dates - pining Bucky - Tony gets amnesia - no Steve bashing but he’s a little bit of an ass - mental health issues - 109k

Bucky Barnes is still mostly The Asset, and he's pretty sure Hydra is going to come back for him soon, so in the meantime he's just going to keep an eye on the Avengers for them. But then Clint spotted him hiding in the shadows, so Tony came out and dragged Bucky back to the Tower, threw him in the shower, and fed him cheeseburgers.

Now The Asset is having anomalous feelings. In his pants.

Geraskier (The Witcher)

12. *no reason to run* by @yoursummerfrost | different meeting au - only one bed but camping - cursed Jaskier - soft Geralt!!!! - poly negotiations - 61k

"You'll change your mind one day," says the innkeep. "The road can't love you back."

What a strange way to flatten something so beautiful, Jaskier thinks. What a small way to love.

13. *He Fell into a Faerie Ring* by @geraltnoises | Jaskier gets bardnapped after the fight au - non-human Jaskier - soft Geralt - Jaskier encourages people to be kind and becomes a god - emotionally mature Geralt - 57k

Traders are a gossiping sort. If there was a scandal within the noble houses of Posada, you’d hear about it in Cretegor by the end of the week. So, the quick spread of a rumor about a little village in the Kestrel Mountain range was not at all surprising. What was surprising was the story that the traders wove. They said that Luibhtorrach, a sad, ghost of a farming town, had miraculously become a hub for trade, as if overnight. Their lands unbelievably fertile and brimming with crop. Even stranger, each and every one of Luibhtorrach’s people professed that their good fortune was the work of a mysterious beast they’d claimed as their personal deity. Most recent news foretold of their plans to throw a midsummer festival celebrating this newfound god. In preparation, silken blue banners were erected in every corner of the town, each bearing the symbol of their new patron: A delicate dandelion wrapping around a golden sun.

14. Barking Up the Wrong Tree by KHansen | 5+1 things - I’m worried about Geralt’s skills - non-human Jaskier - monsterfucker Geralt - crack treated seriously - 11k

Geralt is 100% certain that Jaskier is a vampire.

He's 100% proven wrong.

15. Bardic Idyll by Lisztful | fake relationship - Geralt is soft and oblivious - pining - fluff and angst - Jaskier you can’t show your emotions mainly through song! - 13k

Jaskier is certain he can win the Continent's annual bardic competition, but he needs to be accompanied by a dashing romantic companion in order to enter. Enter Geralt, who is definitely, for sure, only interested in the free food, and not at all in staring lovingly into Jaskier's eyes.

[keilanabug]

Stargazing

Peter Parker x fem!reader, although it’s not the whole focus

Special thank you to my friends for letting me use their names or this fic could’ve gotten confusing to read.

Warnings: None. This is pure fluff.

Picture below belongs to Sierra Mahseelah. Please do not use.

You had gone stargazing several times before. You had gone stargazing several different places. It was one of your favorite things to do wherever you went.

But in New York, it was hard to see the stars with all the light pollution. You were so used to seeing the stars as you fell asleep.

So when you suggested to go Stargazing to the Avengers, they looked at you like you were crazy. “Y/N, there is nowhere to go stargazing in the whole state of New York where it will be possible to get away from the light pollution.”

“Whoever said it was here?”

Tony gave you a questioning look. “I know the best stargazing spots ever. And there’s no place like Montana.”

The Avengers chuckled. “You want to go to Montana?” Nat questioned.

“Yes! Please! Stargazing there is so much fun. And I know the best places we can go in Montana. My friends can meet us there. It’ll be fun and relaxing. And next week is the Sturgeon moon. Between that and the wildfire season, the moon will look amazing.” No one was going for it.

But luckily, Peter came to your side. “I think it sounds like an amazing idea Y/N! C’mon Mr. Stark it’ll be fun. Besides, I’ve barely left the state besides to go to D.C.”

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea. I mean, I think it could be fun.” Nat agreed. Tony still didn’t seem convinced. “C’mon Tony. It’ll be fun for Y/N to go home and Peter I’m sure would like to go somewhere besides NYC and D.C.” Steve said, jumping on the bandwagon. Tony looked at the four of you.

“I never said it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Well you didn’t seem convinced it was.” Nat shot back.

“You know what? Fine. We can go to Montana to Stargaze. What day is this ‘sturgeon moon’?” Tony asked.

“August 3rd.” You answered excitedly. “So I’ll call my friends and I can have them meet us at the spot around 9:30z could I go up a couple days early to help them set up?”

“Set up?” Peter asked, making it sound outrageous. “What do you have to set up? You gonna throw a whole party?”

“No. I just want to make sure your first time Stargazing is perfect. Besides, I’d like to see my friends. I haven’t seen them since May.” You explained.

Sure, the Avengers were your friends, your family even, but your first home would always be in Montana. It hasn’t been your choice to come to NYC, your parent’s jobs had required you to move here.

But that’s ok. You had a better chance to use your skills for things like helping the Avengers and becoming part of the team and working in the labs at SI and finding and making amazing new friends. Like Peter.

You flew out a few days later. You had vetoed the idea of calling them, so you could surprise them instead. And you knew that even with the short time frame, they’d be able to pull together something nice for the Stargazing night. Heck, you often threw your stargazing night party the same day you decided to do them. You weren’t worried.

Your best friend’s mom picked you up. She was in on the surprise thing and you’d be staying with one of your friends for the few days you would be here before the Avengers came.

“Are you excited to see everyone again?” Your best friend’s mom asked. “Yes. New York is great, but nothing beats home. I can’t wait to surprise all my friends.” She smiled at you.

“Miriam has no clue right?”

“No, no one does.” It was a 30 minute drive from the airport back to your hometown.

When you pull up to the house, you immediately jump out of the car, running to the front door like you had many times before. You opened the door with no hesitation yelling, “Miriam! I’m home!”

“Y/N?” You heard your friends voice from farther inside the house. Before seeing her face pop out, seeing yours.

“Y/N!” Miriam yelled in excitement, barreling into you for a hug. “Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you! What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be back in New York…”

She whispered in your ear, “...the Avengers?” Only your closest friends and immediate family knew about you working with the Avengers.

“Yes. But I need your help. And the help of a few others.” Miriam smiled. “We’re getting the free back together?”

You smiled, “We’re getting the crew back together.”

Once you had the crew, which was composed of you, Miriam, and your friends Joselyn and Mackenzie, you told them the plan.

“Look, I’m not here for just any reason. I’ve convinced the Avengers to come out here and stargaze. But I need some help from you guys and want you guys to come with me.”

“You convinced the Avengers to come to Montana and Stargaze?” Joselyn asked you like you were crazy.

“Yes, ok. I want it to be perfect. Peter’s coming too and I want him to be impressed. Plus, it’s the Sturgeon moon and with fire season it’ll look absolutely amazing.”

“Peter?”

“My boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend? Ooh! How long have you been dating? You didn’t tell us about any boyfriend.” Miriam said.

“He asked me out to prom and we’ve been dating since then.”

“Since April?! And you didn’t tell us?!” Mackenzie exclaimed.

“It didn’t seem important. That’s besides the point. I need your help to set up a stargazing night for the Avengers. So I need any trucks I can get. Blankets and pillows too. Maybe tents if we can’t get enough trucks. And shopping for some treats and food? Can I count on your help?”

Your friends smiled at you before saying, “Only if we can come along too.” You smile, thinking about it. “Fine. Just, don't embarrass yourselves.”

Your friends cheered as you laughed. “Ok, so here’s the game plan…”

The day came and you had everything set up and ready at Miriam’s property. Trucks, and tents and even some hammocks between some of the trees. You had no idea when the Avenger’s would get here. You were just trying to have everything perfect and ready for them.

And you expected lots of different entrances for the Avengers. Landing the jet in the middle of Miriam’s field was not one of them. But you honestly didn’t expect anything less. You watched as the plane landed and the Avenger’s walked out of it, looking around.

“This is actually really nice.” Nat said, surprised. “Hey, don’t sound so surprised. I can have good ideas too. Welcome to Montana guys. These are my friends Miriam, Joselyn, and Mackenzie. They helped me with this.” The Avenger’s introduced themselves. It came to Peter and they smiled.

“So this is the boyfriend?” Miriam questioned. You rolled your eyes, trying to hide your smile. “Yes, this is the boyfriend. Peter these are the friends I’ve told you about.”

“Oh. Ok. So what do we do during the stargazing party?”

“Yeah, what do we do?” Steve asked.

“Well, we cuddle up in our trucks or the tents with blankets and pillows, while we watch the stars. Spot constellations and what not. I often take pictures and we play music from my phone using a Bluetooth speaker. We also have lots of snacks. My friends already claimed the middle truck. I claim the outside left one with Peter.” Peter smiled.

“Anything else is free. You can often fit two to three people in the back of each of these trucks. So we can probably fit 4 to 6 more. It just depends on how massive you are and how much room is left in the trucks.

“The sun is almost completely set. Help yourselves.” You smiled. Everything was going well so far. You grabbed your camera before asking your friends and Peter if they wanted to do photos which they happily agreed to.

A bit later, soft music played in the background. You were talking to your friends when Peter grabbed your hand, pulling you down from the truck’s tailgate.

Peter walked you away from your friends. You chuckled, “What are you doing Peter? I was about to go snuggle up in the truck.”

“What? I can’t dance with my girlfriend?”

“Dance? Since when do you dance Parker?” You asked. “Since this seemed like such a romantic moment. Under the stars with my favorite girl with soft music playing in the background.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Just dance with me please.” Peter pleaded. You chuckled softly. “Fine.” Peter took your hand, placing his other on your hip. You got into position and you quietly danced as music played. It still wasn’t completely dark, but as you danced, you could see the moon rising, a bright light red color. You smile before placing your head on Peter’s chest as you dance.

The song ended and you looked at Peter who gave you a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Can we go lay in the truck now and actually look at the stars now?” You asked.

Peter gave you a teasing exaggerated eye roll, “I guess.” You laughed, hoping into the back of the truck. You moved towards the back of the truck before lifting the blankets and getting under them, Peter following you. You snuggled close to each other, looking up at the stars.

Everyone was impressed with the amount of stars in the sky. And having lived most your life in Montana, you had grown so used to it, and were able to point out constellations.

But Peter has his eyes on you. He loved how happy you were. You pointed out every constellation Peter thought possible and he admired how much you enjoyed something so simple. And you wanted to share it with everyone. Most of the Avenger’s were talking to each other or spacing off or sleeping already. And here you were, pointing out stars, with your closest friends helping spot ones you were having trouble finding.

Peter finally looked up at the sky and pointed out a star. “I like that one. Look at how bright it is. Like you, you’re my little star.”

You couldn’t help but smile at your boyfriend. “You know Peter, that’s also the northern star.”

“And you’re always pointing me in the right direction.” You were speechless. “Peter-“

You were cut off by a gentle kiss from Peter. When you pulled away, you smiled. “That was so sweet.”

“The kiss or the words?”

“Both.”

He kissed you again. “Ok, ok you two. No more PDA. You’re disgusting.” You and Peter both started laughing at Miriam’s scolding. “Wait Y/N and Peter were showing PDA? We can’t have any of that.” Steve scolded. You and Peter were laughing hard now.

“Excuse me teenagers, you are not allowed to show PDA. Remember the rules?” Tony yelled. You laughed with Peter. “Ok, ok. No more PDA. Promise.” You said.

You looked back at Peter. He shrugged. “You know you look really cute when you're pointing out the stars.” Heat rose in your cheeks. “Stars are my favorite. When I miss home, I can look up at the stars, and know that my friends are sleeping under the stars and everything feels right again. That’s part of why New York is too hard for me to live in. Too much light pollution.”

Peter smiled. “Well, I like the stars. They’re so beautiful. They remind me of you. Bright and happy and hopeful. A little light peaking through the darkness.”

“I love you Peter.”

“I love you too Y/N.”

And with those words, you snuggled up close, keeping each other warm during the cold summer night, falling asleep while watching the stars.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story!!! Feedback is always welcome. I hope you enjoyed it. Huge thank you (again) to Sierra Mahseelah (who is my uncle’s girlfriend) for giving me permission to use her photo.

Tagging some people: @tommysparker @the-crazy-fanfictionist @halfblood-princess-505 @angel-spidey @spideygirl2003 @tonguetiedholland @greenorangevioletgrass

[musings-on-bucky-barnes]

Q&A Part 3 with Owlet about The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail series

Here is Part the Third of Owlet answering questions about The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail series and also about her other writing. Some of the questions are from readers of the first Q&A, and some come from a Tumblr post of suggested questions for writers.

Warning for discussion of rape.

OWLET'S NOTE:

Thanks for all the cheers and good wishes on part 2! I'm glad people think the behind-the-scenes stuff is interesting and not just me being a windbag.

I was delighted that so many of you seem interested in my novel! It's not available anywhere yet: I still have to find an agent, and who knows how the heck long that's going to take? (I am NOT cut out for self-publishing.) But I certainly hope it'll find a home. If you want to keep up with me on tumblr (vmohlere) or twitter (virginiamohlere), I assure you that when such time comes, I will scream about it a LOT.

Pink floaty hearts, y'all.

  Reader questions:

From EssayOfThoughts:

 I know that you say that you like to imagine AOU doesn't exist, but I will admit (because I find Wanda deeply compelling and the twins story as a whole very interesting) that I've wondered a lot about how your Bucky would deal with the Maximoff twins? Like, on the one hand there's Wanda's ability to mess with minds, which he'd hate, but simultaneously (at least according to the AOU prelude comic) the twins was effectively radicalised by HYDRA while they were pretending to be SHIELD and expected to be their weapons which is not wholly dissimilar to Nat or Bucky. So if you're willing to acknowledge AOU just enough to ponder this I'd really like to know your thoughts! If not, of course, I understand.

Wanda’s not a character I’ve given much thought to. You’re right that her abilities would freak Barnes out. But he has a strict policy of observation before reaction, so he would give them a chance. And they’re so young (and so broken) that his protective instincts would kick in. I think they could probably count on some wary kindness, along with a dose of irritation at Pietro’s shenanigans.

From Ev42:

 Thing I can't stop thinking about today: babies. Specifically, Bucky + baby = ???

 I personally am a sucker for "Steve knows nothing, Bucky's a pro" thing re: babies. Mix that up with the Mission and the Briefing and what would we get? I keep think about, idk, maybe Sam has a niece or nephew, or one of the Olds has a grandchild or grandniece or something, and I just really want your thoughts on Bucky + baby... Please?

Barnes would be too worried about inadvertently hurting an infant to be willing to touch one, though he likes the directness of slightly older kids.

If in the presence of Steve trying to deal with an infant, the Briefing would definitely have a lot of commentary about everything he was doing wrong.

From Fred1085:

 I guess if I had one question though it would be: Do you always see Bucky existing as Barnes, the Briefing, and the Mission, or do you see a time in his future in which those aspects of him would be more integrated. Not through the magical Asgaridan science, but through his own force of will/healing?

  He definitely does become more integrated over time. The Mission is a protective identity, and as he needs it less, it recedes. The Briefing is literally his memories, which he does recover many of over time, though that’s a long and painful process. There’s a lot of regression throughout the long-term forward progress. But he keeps some of the habits, like “confirm” and “deny.”

 MusingsOnBuckyBarnes:

 After “This, You Protect”, the Mission went to ground so to speak for a bit and Bucky was distressed at its loss, at it not communicating with him. But over time as he heals and it recedes, he wouldn’t be so upset?

Exactly. When the Mission’s going quiet is part of the organic process of healing, he misses it but isn’t upset by its loss.

From stentorian_lore_n:

 Did Bucky and Steve ever make a donation to Sam's VA?? :)

Yes, of course! But Sam had to be bullied into buying a better chair for himself, because he wanted all the money to go to programs.

There’s a lot of red tape involved with how much money the center can receive in donations, so Steve & Bucky give that much each year, even much later, when Sam does in fact move to NYC to become an Avenger.

From englishghosts:

 Also, since you're taking questions, I'd like to ask you something. (TW RAPE)

Although Bucky suffering sexual abuse and torture "for fun" during his time with HYDRA makes perfect sense in my head (70 years in the hands of powerful white men who had complete control over him, it's difficult to imagine nobody got ideas), especially with the imagery of the bank scene, it's something we don't see that often in fics outside certain areas of fandom. I'm really glad you included this, because for me it not only makes it more realistic, but also it brings an extra layer into Bucky reclaiming himself and being comfortable with touching and his feelings for Steve. So the question is what made you decide to include it in this fic?

Like you say, powerful men with a powerful man under their complete control, over the course of 70 years – to me, it’s a given that among the many abuses he suffered was sexual abuse. It was always part of the character, for me, one of the many layers that he needed to work through to reclaim both his body and his self.

I started to think that the romantic-physical relationship with Steve was an inevitable part of Barnes’s healing process, because he and Steve really just do love each other SO much. The more I thought about it, the more I could see that given the style that I’d set up, writing Barnes’s reactions to things kind of obliquely, would be SUPER FUN for writing about bodies and sex. I cackled my whole way through writing that section.

And, you know, there were a lot of commenters who were like “hey man where’s the smut?” – a few of them NOT SO NICELY. I’m glad I stuck it in its own section, though, because I know there are also a lot of people who like to only read the gen parts.

From Selkieinthesea:

How did you come up with the curses? My favorite is “Lenin’s pickled scrotum.” It makes me laugh every time I think of it. I’d use it, but I have toddlers so then I’d have to explain what pickling is, what a scrotum is and why you’d pickle one.

That is a mystery and a blessing from the part of my brain from which jokes arise. Every one of them delighted me. “Lenin’s pickled scrotum” hearkens back to college jokes in Russian History class about how they embalmed Lenin with a mixture of Twinkie filling and maraschino cherry juice, and of course scrotums are always hilarious, I don’t know how people who have them even deal.

from Ev42 (about the fic “Love Is for Children”):

 Nicholas. Anything to do with Nick Fury? Bc I think that'd make his faking-my-death-without-telling-Natasha sting that much more. Ouch.

 I'm trying to imagine how Nicholas meeting the gang would go. I... have no idea? Barnes would bake, of course, but what? The Olds would be happy. Barton already knows. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what the hurt/happy ratio for the rest would be

I actually have a tiny bit of this written out – it was originally going to be another piece of ICaPD, but I couldn’t get it to have any kind of arc to it, and the pacing was just BALLS.

Anyhow, yes, Nicholas is named after Nick Fury. His sperm donor is no one of import, and the only one of the Avengers who knows about him is Clint.

The snippet I never wrote involved Bad Guys kidnapping Nicholas & Steve/Barnes/Nat/Clint/Sam going on a rescue mission.

In this universe, Nat & Clint have a couple of Barton-Romanoffs, of whom Nicholas is the first (Clint adopts him). Tony & Pepper likewise have several kids in this universe.

  The remaining questions are from a “Fanfiction Writer Asks” Tumblr post by criminal-minds-fanfiction:

Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I haven’t written a reader-insertish kind of thing since I wrote a Duran Duran scifi AU when I was 14 years old. Original characters are where it’s at.

What is your favourite genre to write for?

Fantasy, for sure. Tho romance tends to worm its way into most of my stuff.

If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

I think This, You Protect has better pacing than The Long Road Begins at Home, and writing it helped me fall back in love with writing.

If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

Um. Maybe my Loki poem? Tho I don’t think it’s necessarily bad.

When is your preferred time to write?

First thing in the morning, tho I’m grateful to be able to write almost any time. In the past couple of years, I've gotten into writing into the notepad on my phone, so I literally write any- and everywhere.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

Absolutely everywhere.

In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote? [Any of your Bucky fics]

The chapter of Team-Building Exercises where Barnes & Pepper go to France is something I’m so proud of. I think I did pretty well with the action and the pacing in that one, and I love writing Pepper.

Their first Thanksgiving, with the Sandwich of Suffering, is also a favorite.

In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? [The Long Road Begins at Home]

It was always going to go Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving.

If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

ARGH NAMES. What a pain. Second only to titles in terms of terribleness. I try to roll a few names around and chew on them until I find the one that feels right.

Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

I have notes for 3 more sections of Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail – one that’s pure fluff, one that’s an action scene, and one at the very end of their lives. But I dunno. For one thing, the last one is unbearably sad. And I don’t really have Barnes’s voice in my head anymore. I think it’s time to be done.

More about the action scene is answered in response to a reader question in the previous section. The Sad Ending is just too far off in tone that it doesn’t fit the series at all, so let’s leave it in a dark drawer. But Barnes & Steve live for a very long time and remain faithful to the successive generations of their Avengers family. And when they go, they reach the end of the line together.

The fluff scene is CAT JACK and will post on Friday, June 7. (it's not a full story, just a snippet)

Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

The epilogue chapter of This, You Protect has some cute jokes, but it’s pretty weird, and I kind of wish I’d left it off.

Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

Depends on the day. I definitely like music when I’m Pondering, though.

How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

LOVE IT

Do people know you write fanfiction?

People know about my MCU fic, yes.

What’s your favourite minor character you’ve written?

That’s like asking about my favorite child!! Hill is definitely up there on the list, though. Hair Club in general was fun to have around.

Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I wish I could remember what it was, but yes. That was really fun.

If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Smut, because I think the best smut is also really emotional, so it’s not like cutting out angst, fluff, or anything else.

xXx

The link to the full list of questions for fanfic writer is here:

http://criminal-minds-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/172926526725/fanfiction-writer-asks

(EDIT: link appears to be maybe-broken?)

[swissmissficrecs]

I saw someone was looking for recs of long Johnlock fics with “No mpreg or real death of John or Sherlock, teenfic, or parentlock” and I was going to point them to my lists:

Long post-Reichenbach, lesser known

Long (50K+) high-rated casefics

Long, angsty casefics completed in the second half of 2016

Long (50-100K) Johnlock relationship fics, no kids or AUs

But then I realized that these lists, by and large, don’t have many of the mega longfics (100k+). I also have a 100k+ tag but that’s 10 pages long, so not very practical.

So here is a list to rectify that. These fics more or less fit within pre-series 4 canon so have no death, Teenlock, Parentlock, or Omegaverse.

Super long (100k+) close-to-canon Johnlock fics

A Ritual to Read to Each Other by weeesi (101K, Explicit, Johnlock and Warstan) After Mycroft terminated his exile but before Sherlock could escape from the infuriating plane, John and Mary were whisked away by car to an unknown location. Sherlock hasn't seen them for an entire year. He doesn't know when he'll see John again -- until one day, he does. But, of course, nothing is simple.

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (151K, Explicit, Johnlock and Warstan) Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns. Post-Reichenbach.

Be Here Now Series by Todesfuge (181K, Mature, Johnlock) John Watson was already fighting demons when he and Sherlock met. With Sherlock's suicide, it all comes flooding back, forcing Sherlock to intervene before he's solved the persistent riddles of Jim Moriarty and his game. Together they find that something darker lurks behind Moriarty, forcing Sherlock, John, and Irene Adler into an even deadlier game with a much more dangerous foe.  Begins six months after the events of The Reichenbach Fall.

between each beat are words unsaid by darcylindbergh & hudders-and-hiddles (107K, Teen, Johnlock) On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years.

Breakable Not Broken Series by MissDavis (137K, Explicit, Johnlock) After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it's supposed to be.

Castle and Sand by grey853 (158K, Explicit, Johnlock) Sherlock and John both have difficult pasts that affect their evolving relationship. When John prevents a mugging, it sets off a dangerous chain of events that not only impacts him, but his whole family. In the end there's a wedding and a honeymoon, but will there really be a happy ending?

Empty Houses & The Young Men Carbuncular by PlaidAdder (150K, Teen, Johnlock) A month after Sherlock's fall, John is coming apart at the seams. His sister Harry puts her law practice on hold and comes out to help John through the worst. When Harry reluctantly agrees to go out to Clara's house in Norwood to make out Clara's will, she becomes the prime suspect in Clara's murder. With Lestrade now his bitter enemy, John has to solve the case on his own...or does he?

Four Corners of the Western World Series by pennypaperbrain (100K, Explicit, Johnlock) Undercover after Reichenbach, tracking the snipers who threatened his friends, Sherlock has one thing left he can depend on: his mind. But when he faces making his first kill, alone among the mad excesses of Las Vegas, the pressure turns out to be greater than even he can endure without John beside him.

Midnight Blue Serenity by BeautifulFiction (151K, Explicit, Johnlock) “This was like nothing John had ever thought to associate with Sherlock: stubble, skin-tight jeans and three small silver rings gleaming at the crest of one ear. It was unbelievable, like stepping into an alternative universe, and John couldn't stop staring.”When Sherlock infiltrates a club in order to track down a serial killer, his altered appearance is enough to make John question his assumption that Sherlock is beyond his reach. However, is he the only one who appreciates his flatmate's charms, or is Sherlock at risk of becoming the next victim?

On Pins and Needles Series by 7PercentSolution & JBaillier (550K, Johnlock, Explicit) His immune system is decimating his nervous system - a civil war raging inside of him. Is there a reaction he's supposed to be having to this news, now? Something normal: cry, scream, pound the wall? Shake his fist at the uncaring universe? John can't stop this. An uncomfortable bed at some hospital ward isn't going to stop this. They keep telling him that this will most likely pass, but no one is answering the most important question: how will he be able to endure the uncertainty and the long wait?

Pax Americana by emmadelosnardos (109K, Explicit, Johnlock) "There is a very thin line between that which kills and that which heals." As John is preparing to leave 221B, Sherlock forces his hand with a surprise trip to NYC. But will Sherlock ever understand sentiment? Will John trust Sherlock not to harm him?

Safe Distance by merripestin (114K, Explicit, Johnlock) The mother was apparently poisoned, the son seems to have killed himself playing Russian roulette.  It's a murder and a suicide.  Or is it a suicide and a murder?At least the case is distracting John from the fact that sex with Sherlock was probably a mistake right from the start.   John will learn to cope, one way or another.

Scotland Series by snorklepie (320K, Explicit, Johnlock) “A nice holiday, just a bit more...murdery. ” John said drily. “Yes! The best kind of holiday!” Sherlock beamed. “So we won’t get bored!” After he separates from Mary, John returns to Baker Street. Following a request for help from Sherlock's cousin Violet, the detective and his blogger take a trip to Edinburgh. John discovers more about the Holmes family and Sherlock than he bargained for, but tries not to run screaming.

Sketchy Series by serpentynka (608K, Johnlock and Mycroft/OMC) What (and who) will be left when nobody cares about your Work?  A slow-burn fic with cases, places, mistaken identities, unfair choices, essential changes, violent feels, blatant lies, fearless portraiture, family secrets, high-risk bespoke gifts, durable friendships, bedtime stories, foreign travel and tongues, sickness (and health), and the significance of things which are slow to unfurl -- but cannot be ignored.  Oh, and...porn.

The Adventure of the Silver Scars by tangledblue (142K, Johnlock, Not Rated) It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

The Circle of Fifths Series by Nikoshinigami (163K, Mature, Johnlock) Stories dealing with the resolution of season two's "The Reichenbach Fall".

The Fabric of Life by orphan_account (156K, Explicit, Johnlock and Warstan) The fabric of life rearranges itself around the re-emergence of Sherlock.

The Illustrious Client by ArabellaStrange (113K, Johnlock, Explicit) ‘We’re a couple!’ John burst out, bluntly. His face was nearly twitching with rage. He hadn’t even meant to say anything, to anybody, because he wanted what they had for himself just a bit longer, for a million reasons half-romantic and half-defensive, and yet here he was, gripping Chez Francine’s thick cream tablecloth with enough force to tear it in half, suddenly wanting nothing more than to tell everyone within earshot that Sherlock was absolutely infuriating, surprisingly good at blowjobs, and probably in love with him.

The Last Place You’d Look by theorclair (138K, Mature, Johnlock) An abuse case turns into an investigation where Sherlock, John, and all of Scotland Yard will learn stunning things about Sherlock's past and will change the relationship between him and John forever.

The Quiet Man by ivyblossom (157K, Explicit, Johnlock and Warstan) "Do you just carry on talking when I'm away?"

The Taming of John Watson by heresyourstupidjohnlock (126K, Mature, Johnlock) In the aftermath of the Great Game, Sherlock decides it’s time to break in the lovely John Watson. Gratuitous smut, whips, chains, and slashy goodness will ensue.

Thirst by bittergreens (122K, Explicit, Johnlock) When John realizes he has feelings for Sherlock and decides he must keep those feelings secret at all costs, the resulting tension might bring Baker Street to the ground.

To Light Another’s Path by BeautifulFiction (128K, Explicit, Johnlock) Teaching John to observe seems to be a losing battle, but when Sherlock falls ill and submits himself to John's care, will he realise that there is more to life than the science of deduction? Meanwhile, there is a murder to solve, and John must try and convince Sherlock not to sacrifice his own health for the sake of the case.

[greatpretending]

Can you do a Tom Holland x reader soulmate au? Can the readers BFF also be soulmates with Harrison which is what causes the reader to meet Tom?

Alright nonnie, I’m not sure that this is what you were looking for, but you sparked some inspiration in me and I ran with it. I didn’t have the energy for a full-blown fic tonight, but here’s 2000 unedited words of my fingers vomiting on my keyboard. I hope you enjoy!

Elena is your best friend and the best part of your life.

She’s sweet, funny, sassy, and doesn’t take shit from anyone.

The two of you met in kindergarten and became inseparable. Even though you were in different classes for third and fifth grade, you’d managed to keep your friendship strong.

You two went on each other’s family vacations and spent full weeks at each other’s houses during the summer.

The day you watched her punch a kid in the nose for calling a boy a slur was the day you fell in love with her.

Elena was absolutely perfect, except for one thing: she was obsessed with finding her soulmate.

You didn’t give a shit about your soulmate. You knew there would never be a person you loved more than Elena.

People found their soulmates by making skin contact for the first time. No one was ever able to explain it, everyone who found their soulmate said “you just know” whenever someone asked.

So you took to wearing hoodies and jeans- covering as much skin as possible, because despite having held hands with and hugged Elena multiple times, there was no “magic spark” or “sudden feeling of rightness”

If Elena wasn’t your soulmate, you didn’t want one at all.

Elena, however, felt differently. About as differently as possible. She went to those stupid “Soulmate Speed Search” gatherings where you paid twenty bucks to be stuffed in a room with a hundred other people and shake all their hands. It was disgusting.

After you graduate high school, you both go to college in-state. The separation is hard, but you’re close enough that you get to see each other at least once a month.

Right before your senior year of college, the two of you decide to take the summer to go on a roadtrip.

She tells her parents that it’s just that- travelling- but you know she’s hoping to find her soulmate out there, she was so disappointed that she hadn’t found hers in college, like so many people did.

So the two of you learn how to check oil and change a flat tire, pack up the car, and head out. One of you signs up for a Planet Fitness Black Card membership so you two always have a place to shower, even if you’re sleeping in the car.

You go all over the place, but it isn’t until early July, when you’re in NYC when it finally happens.

You’d let Elena drag you to a club because while it wasn’t really your scene, she loved to dance, and you loved to make her happy.

But you started to get worried when she went up to the bar to get you a couple more drinks and she didn’t come back for half an hour.

When you went searching, you found her by the line to the bathroom, pushing some dude up against the wall and shoving her tongue down his throat. Everyone was uncomfortable.

You pulled her off of him, and she turned to look at you, but didn’t let go.

“Y/n! This is Harrison! He’s my soulmate!”

And your heart breaks.

Elena convinces you to put your road trip on hold. Harrison is in town for the next few weeks for work, but then he’s going back to England.

You offer to just fly home and let them work things out together, but Elena begs you to stay

So you do.

Harrison is staying in an apartment with his best friend Tom, who Harrison works for, and after hearing what happened, Tom invites you and Elena to stay there with them. You appreciate this, because you weren’t looking forward to spending the next couple weeks sleeping in the car. Hotel prices in the city were astronomical.

Luckily, Tom’s apartment has three bedrooms, so you get one two yourself.

Elena stays in Harrison’s room, and you spend a lot of nights sleeping with your headphones in.

Tom and Harrison spend most of their time at work. Sometimes you go with them to the set of the movie Tom is working on, and sometimes you explore the city.

Since Harrison and Elena are attached at the hip now, you and Tom spend a lot of time together.

You’re not a touchy-feely person. You don’t like personal contact unless it’s from Elena or your immediate family. Tom picks up on this and respects it.

Tom is a nice enough guy, he’s silly and fun and he makes you laugh, but you’re still bitter and broken-hearted from watching the person you love find her soulmate, who isn’t you.

One night, you wake up hungry, and Tom finds you at the kitchen island with a bowl of cereal. He pours his own bowl and joins you.

You don’t know if it’s the quiet safety of the late hour or your inability to hold it in any longer, but you find yourself telling him everything. About how much you love Elena and how hard it is to watch her love someone else. You tell him how you think the whole soulmate thing was bullshit, and how people shouldn’t rely on something scientists can’t even figure out to determine who they should spend their life with.

Tom is sweet and sympathetic, even if he doesn’t agree. He shows you where he hides the good snacks.

You find yourself meeting him there at the kitchen island almost every night after that. The two of you sharing a snack and talking for an hour or so before heading back to bed.

You learn about all his brothers and he shows you countless pictures of Tessa. You talk about school and the differences between growing up in the states and growing up in the UK. You laugh over the words you pronounce differently. You say you’d love to visit London one day and he promises to fly you out there.

You become friends.

Meanwhile Elena and Harrison are still figuring out how they’re going to make their new relationship work. Elena still has a year of school left and Harrison can’t just drop everything and move in with her. They agree they’ll have to do their best long-distance until Elena graduates.

You listen to Elena as she vents and worries and cries about this. You don’t understand how she can care so much about someone she’s only known for a month.

Tom and Harrison are set to fly back to England in a week, and you and Elena have to drive home and get ready to go back to school.

Just three days before you all go your separate ways, the four of you go out for dinner to a nearby pizza place. Afterward, Harrison and Elena excuse themselves to go back to the apartment, and you and Tom decide to walk around the city for a bit.

You’re walking down the street, talking and people watching, when you roll your ankle in a broken piece of sidewalk. Before you can go down, Tom catches your arm.

And the whole world stops

A sudden warmth floods from the spot where your skin is connected, it squeezes your heart and fills your eyes.

You know.

But you don’t want to believe it.

You flinch out of his grasp and stumble backward, hand over your arm where he had been holding it moments ago.

You look up at him and he looks just as shocked as you are. Neither of you move for a long time.

Finally, you say. “We should get back to the apartment.”

Tom doesn’t reply, he just nods, and the two of you walk back in silence.

When you get back, you pull Elena out of the bathroom and into your room, and you don’t talk to Tom for the rest of the night.

In the morning is Tom’s final day of shooting for the film. You hate sending him off to work without talking about what happened, but you just don’t have enough time before he heads out.

He’s kept late that night. Harrison comes home around ten and says Tom still won’t be there for another few hours.

You’re waiting up in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal when he finally comes back.

He looks exhausted, but he sits down at the island and pours himself a bowl. Determined to stay awake as long as it takes to work things out between you two.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t actually take that long.

You tell him you really like him. You’d never become so close with someone so fast before. You appreciate his friendship and you certainly don’t want to lose it.

But you’re also not ready for a romantic relationship. You need time to move one from Elena and accept that she’s with someone else. On top of that, she and Harrison might be able to make long distance work, but they’ve had a month to figure it out. You only have two more days.

Tom, being the amazing soul that he is, is completely understanding and supportive. He can handle one more year apart if it means spending the rest of his life with you, his soulmate. But he doesn’t say that out loud, because he knows it would freak you out.

So when you and Elena take him and Harrison to JFK a few days later, you leave him with a long call and a promise to Skype soon.

You and Elena drive home, and college starts back up, people moving around you as if that summer had never happened. How could the world still be turning like it always had when your world had been completely flipped upside down?

You and Tom text almost as often as you and Elena do. You Skype weekly. You dream about him often, though that isn’t uncommon for soulmates.

Tom sends you a cereal bowl that says “midnight snack” on it for Christmas, and you cry because you miss him.

You hoped you would be able to see him during Spring Break, but then you’re offered an opportunity with one of the professors in your field that you just can’t pass up.

But when you’re standing on the stage at graduation, your family, Elena’s family, Elena, Harrison, and Tom are all in the audience.

When you find them afterward, your cap falls off your head as you run into Tom’s arms.

Hugging him feels like coming home.

You all go out to dinner, and you not-so-subtly make sure you sit by Tom. You don’t leave his side for the rest of the night.

Your family and Elena’s family drive home after dinner, while you, Elena, Harrison, and Tom go back to your apartment. It had been a long day for everyone, and Elena and Harrison retire early, with promises to not have sex on your guest bed.

Then it’s just you and Tom. You feel like things should be awkward but even the silence is comfortable.

You talk into the late hours of the night, but eventually his jet lag catches up with him. After one particularly large yawn, you take his face in your hands, and you kiss him.

It’s unlike anything you’ve felt before.

You had kissed people before, but it was nothing compared to kissing Tom. When you kissed Tom if felt like every inch of your skin was on fire.

Tom sleeps in your bed that night (fully clothed, this was not the time for that) and as you drift off to sleep in his arms you think that it’s okay that Elena didn’t turn out to be your soulmate. She would always be your best friend, and your soulmate in a different kind of way. Your bond with her wasn’t any weaker now that you had these ridiculously dorky and ridiculously sweet boys in your life. If anything it brought you closer together, and you didn’t even think that was possible.

No, Elena wasn’t your soulmate. Tom was, and you couldn’t be happier with anyone else.

[unbreakablejemmasimmons]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thanks for signing up for this superfun exchange! This is the fourth year I’ve participated now, and I’ve always enjoyed it-- I hope you do, too.

Below you’ll find the following:

General Likes/Kinks

General DNWs

Fandom Specifics/Prompts

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Rebecca Bunch, Greg Serrano

Schitt’s Creek - Stevie Budd, David Rose

The Good Place - Eleanor Shellstrop, Trevor the Demon

Newsies - Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Jack Kelly

I’ve tried to list some varied prompts for each fandom, but please don’t feel like you have to stick to what I’ve come up with! If the rest of my letter gives you another idea you’d like to write, I’d love to read it!

A little about me to start:

My AO3 name is SuburbanSun; you can also check out my Tumblr if you’d like, and my tags for each of my requested fandoms (that I’ve posted about before-- apparently that excludes Schitt’s Creek!) here: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Good Place, Newsies.

General Likes/Kinks:

I’m a big trope fan in general– faves include rivals/enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, bed-sharing, trapped in an enclosed space, mutual pining, secret dating/sneaking around, slow burn, FWBs that turns into something more. Subversions of tropes are also great, so don’t feel like you have to go the obvious route if you choose to write something tropey!

I have a weird (not weird because it’s uncommon, more weird because it doesn’t fit in obviously with the rest of my likes and favored tropes) love for Secret Service/bodyguard/witness protection AUs and private eye AUs.

Epistolary fic, either as part of a story or as all of it, is always fun to me, if it’s up your alley. 

I love strong female friendships, strong-but-flawed-and-realistic female characters in general. Ladies kicking ass, preferably through cleverness and wit and competence as much if not more than through brawn, is the best, and I love it when they’re allowed to make mistakes and fuck up and dig themselves into a hole, too. That said, I will literally never turn down a Vampire Slayer AU. They’re among my faves. (I loved the one I got for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend last Yuletide, but am always excited to see more of them for other fandoms!)

Smut is cool and fun and here are some kinks that I like to read: Teasing. Phone sex/sexting. Semi-public sex (not actually getting caught though). Workplace sex. Dirty talk. Light domination (aka more like just bossing each other around rather than actual D/s stuff). Oral sex. Playfulness/joking around during sex.

General DNWs:

Darkfic. Sad endings. Gore/intense violence. Miscommunication that could super easily be avoided. Babyfic/kidfic/pregnancy in general. Self-harm/abuse. Noncon/dubcon. A/B/O, mpreg, incest, bestiality, hard kink. Poly/threesomes/orgies. Members of my ships being paired romantically with other people (unless it’s just briefly, on the way to an OTP-happy ending). First person POV.

Fandom Specifics/Prompts:

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Rebecca Bunch, Greg Serrano

I love this show so much. It’s clever, it’s feminist, it’s funny, it’s real (even as it features elaborate musical sequences!), and the characters are so flawed but so great. I got a couple of great giftfics for this fandom last Yuletide that I loved, but I’m always excited to read more.

I ship Rebecca and Greg so hard, in spite of their many flaws, and am bummed that Greg’s gone, and hope they find a way to bring him back someday. I just love their chemistry– bickery battle-of-wits style relationships are a huge favorite of mine. I also really just love Rebecca as a character. She’s such a mess and makes so many mistakes but I find her really relatable.

I’m very interested to see where the show goes this season with Rebecca’s revenge plot and seeming descent into (back into?) madness, but I don’t know that Greg easily fits into that trajectory for now, so don’t feel like you need to write something that takes place in current canon. I’d be happy with a story set while Greg was still in West Covina, or a future fic, or just a total AU.

Prompts:

Rebecca/Greg + any number of tropes– stuck somewhere together; inconvenient bed-sharing; fake dating, the works.

Rebecca’s blindness toward money is intriguing to me, in a “when is this shit going to REALLY hit the fan” kind of way. What if that had come to a head somehow and she had to get a second job at Home Base? How would she and Greg have taken to working together into the wee hours of the night? (Store-room sex could be a good addition here if you’d like!)

What’s their dynamic like in a couple of years when Greg returns from Atlanta? Are they over each other or not quite so much?

Conversely, what if a couple years go by, and Rebecca feels compelled to leave West Covina? Maybe she moves back to NYC (hopefully after a few hundred hours of therapy with Dr. Akopian to give her the coping mechanisms she needs to be happy there). Maybe Greg moves to NYC for a job after graduating Emory. Have they kept in touch enough to know they’re both in the same city again, or do they run into each other randomly, an echo of her NYC run-in with Josh in the pilot, only better, because she’s older and wiser and hopefully better-adjusted?

Schitt’s Creek Stevie Budd, David Rose

This show is so funny, dry and ridiculous at the same time. I love how absurdly out of touch the Roses are, and how the show balances their outrageousness with the humdrum middle-America of the town of Schitt’s Creek.

I can’t help but ship Stevie and David, and I hope the show leans into that. If you aren’t into them romantically, though, that’s okay-- they are also fab as begrudging BFFs. I love how they challenge each other and one-up each other, always smirkingly pushing each other’s buttons.

*Note: Season 3 was only just added to Netflix US this week, so when I wrote this letter I hadn’t seen it yet. I just marathoned it (loved it obvs) and it’s pretty clear that they’re not going go lean into Stevie/David, and that’s ok! I’m really digging the Patrick thing so far too. For the purpose of Yuletide, feel free to write something that takes place earlier in the series, or goes AU, etc. 

Prompts:

David finds out Stevie’s birthday is coming up, and decides (or perhaps is convinced by Alexis) to throw her a party, as posh as the parties of his old life with the limited resources of Schitt’s Creek. Of course, everything goes wrong.

I love Stevie teaching David how to adult. What other normal things has he never experienced before that she needs to walk him through?

Schitt’s Creek throws a fall festival, complete with a parade. Stevie gets chosen to be Sweet Potato Pie Queen or something equally ridiculous, and David will never. Stop. Teasing. Her. Until the Sweet Potato Pie King (or similar) comes down with shingles and Roland insists David step in.

Somehow (perhaps through a series of dares?), Stevie winds up running for local government. 

The Good Place Eleanor Shellstrop, Trevor the Demon

There’s not much on Earth I love more than a Mike Schur show, and I’ve always loved Kristen Bell, so I was pretty destined to dig this show. It’s just so clever and interesting and fun to watch!

That said, I wasn’t really shipping anything on the show yet. I like all the characters but nothing leapt out for me romantically. But then they introduced Trevor, and the thing is, Adam Scott is my weakness. If he exists on a show, I can’t help but ship him with somebody, and I have loved his and KBell’s chemistry together in other shows (Party Down! VMars!). I’m not proud of it, but my mind immediately went there.

But things are a little more complicated now! Is Trevor just a Bad Place demon who was acting like the head of the Bad Place, or does he actually hold some kind of leadership role? Is “Trevor” even his real name?? There are so many possibilities! I’m cool with fic that assumes any of them are true.

Prompts:

Trevor has a bad day at the "office," because he's really just a Bad Place underling who enjoyed the chance to play a big-shot evil-doer in Michael’s first attempt. He somehow runs into Eleanor get sloppy drunk together.

Eleanor and Trevor have to team up for some reason-- so he can get ahead in Bad Place bureaucracy, and so she can try to defeat Michael, for instance. How does that work out?

Any sort of stuck together/trapped in an enclosed space tropefic would be great– especially if they start to have feelings for each other.

Nothing wrong with a little good oldfashioned hatesex.

Newsies Jack Kelly, Katherine Plumber Pulitzer

A friend of mine invited me to go see Newsies when they did the first Fathom Events screening early this year, and I had nearly no familiarity with it-- hadn’t even seen the movie. So naturally, I loved it and immediately fell down the Newsies rabbit hole.

I love Jack and Katherine individually and together. I love how cocky he is, and the vulnerability that cockiness masks. I love how headstrong she is, and ambitious. I would love to see fic for them that takes place after the events of the show-- what happens next? How do they begin to have a real relationship, as different as they are, now that the strike is over? Does Jack take that cartoonist job? Does he keep selling papes, too? Where do they live? What do they do on dates?

Prompts:

Even out from under her father’s thumb, Katherine’s lifestyle is certainly a bit ritzier than what Jack’s used to. How does it go the first time she has him over to her apartment?

Jack likes to leave little notes around for Katherine to find, sketches, doodles, and the like. I’m not opposed to epistolary fic here or elsewhere.

Katherine has to plot with the other newsies behind Jack’s back, for some reason (surprise party? Surprise gift?).

So, that’s that! I really hope you enjoy the whole process this Yuletide season, and thanks for participating! Happy writing!