#but i am so grateful for the reception five dragons has had over time

[theladyragnell]

A stranger at a party releases Brennu Zahin from an enchantment, and while he recovers, they write letters. They shouldn't have much in common, but Elyn of Procyon is determined to be his friend, not just his rescuer.

A fic for a different D&D campaign than usual! This is the Godsfall campaign, what I was writing epistolary recaps about over at @letterstosestrilles over the past five years, and this is the first non-recap fic!

This is 32k, a slowburn romance with lots of epistolary elements and trauma recovery (mind the warnings), and a decent introduction to the campaign since it’s an NPC’s viewpoint of it from level 8 on. If it intrigues you, there are links to the blog at the end!

[toast-the-unknowing]

lydia-st-james tagged me in a writing in review meme, which, man. That takes me back. I haven't done one of these in ages.

Main take-aways: 1. 2017 was the year of the long-ass fic titles, apparently. 2. It only took ten freaking years but I can mostly write romance without dying of embarrassment. Mostly. 3. Ten years has not been long enough to teach me how to start something and just finish it already before starting twenty more things. Seriously, there are so many stories that I started this year that I keep thinking ya'll have read already and then I remember that no one has read those because I haven't finished them yet. Oh well. Maybe 2018 will be a year of extraordinary personal growth and self-discipline. Spoiler alert: it won't be.

Anyway. These are the things that I've published so far this year.

Listed in chronological order of publication, with one exception:

new worlds for the weary, new lands for the living Okay, so, I don't know if anyone else thinks of any of their stories this way, but I have a very small handful of fics that are my heartsong fics. I don't think of them as being stories. I think of them as being thousands of words of meta and criticism and gushing and character love and, just, me, pouring my heart out over some aspect of canon that is important to me, and then maybe if I'm lucky, I trick people into reading it and thinking it's a story.

Yeah. This is one of those. I started this story before I had even finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue, which is not a thing I do. I always finish canon (to whatever extent canon exists at the time of my joining fandom) before I start writing. But I wanted so badly to write about Adam and Ronan and how I felt about their relationship that I couldn't wait.

This was something like a five month writing process all told, and I'm really happy with the end result. The moment where Ronan smears ink on Adam's face, in particular, I'm very proud of. I'm proud of that whole fight scene, really, but that moment is such a strong visual, and I'm not generally great at creating those.

don't think about how much it will hurt God, I still hate this title, but I do love this fic. It exists because I had been toying around with a canon-divergent AU that I quickly realized was going to take a shit-ton of work and not actually be that interesting. I ditched the AU, but there was one scene I liked enough that I didn't want to give up on it (Ronan trying to provoke Adam into punching him and then holding his hand while wondering wtf he's doing), and I realized it could pretty easily be made canon-compliant and given the legs to stand on its own.

I briefly considered tagging this as "preslash if you consider fighting and bad decisions to be flirting, which if you ship pynch, you probably do," and then I considered how poorly that would match the tone of this story. I am very happy with the tone of this story. It was hard to write, and I think it's hard to read, and it's a better story for it.

the more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind NO ONE ON EARTH READ THIS FIC BUT I DON'T GIVE A SHIT I LOVE IT. There are so many, many, many things in this fic that make me happy: -Clarke being an unholy mashup of my sister and talldecafcappuccino -"You thought that there was an intersection of sentimentality and camp that Miller wouldn't be interested in?" -Just, Murphy. All of Murphy. -The Inseparable, Indestructible Blake Siblings (which is when the Blake siblings are at their best, fuck you, canon) -"Do you ever worry that we're going to turn out to be warped people with unhealthy relationships/Honestly at this point I'm counting on it." -the whole scene where Raven friend-dumps Clarke -Monty taking "gas grass or ass" too seriously -Nate's stupid "you know what they say about those guys with Bigfoot" t-shirt (I would wear that t-shirt)

Like, I know why this story wasn't successful as an item of fan culture. And I acknowledge that there are weaknesses in the writing. But I still fucking love it.

so familiar, like an old bedtime song Ugh, this was called "came in quiet with the rain" right up until the very second I published it and then I changed my mind and I still regret it. Never second gues yourselves, kids. (Either way: "Raising Cain" is a good Adam/Ronan song.) I wrote about half of this on a whim and then shoved it in a corner waiting for inspiration for the longer story that I thought it was meant to be a part of. Then I was sitting around on Adam's birthday/my birthday weekend, a little tipsy in the middle of the day, and I decided, nah, this can be a standalone. I'm not kidding myself that it's great literature but I think it does what it sets out to do well.

The Fake Geek Boy Job This is a rare example, for me, of coming up with a title first and writing the story around it. So that was fun. I was so, so, so happy with the response to this fic. I've written case fic before, but I'm not good at heists, and I was really worried that the way I handle the heavier plot elements here – basically cutting around them and explaining all of the offstage action through snarky banter – was going to feel like cheating. Like, there's probably a version of this story that's 20k words longer and is twice as good, but it would have taken ten times as much work. It seems like people understood the plot as it stands and didn't feel robbed, and it was such a relief to hear that.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name IT IS THE PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF MY ENTIRE LIFE that there are only two fanfics on AO3 tagged with the relationship tag "Quark & Jake Sisko" and I wrote both of them. Though I fully admit that "Everybody Comes to Quark's" is the better story of the two. This one feels like the first half is from one story and the second half is from a different story and neither of those two stories is complete, per se. But love a lot of the individual lines, character moments, etc. Also, just, any times spend with my beloved ridiculous giraffe boy Jake is good time.

faith, hope, all that bullshit This is the best thing that I have ever written that is based on a typo. And...I don't really know how to talk about this fic beyond that. It took something like seven months of on-again-off-again work; I am super grateful to Pynch Week for giving me the kick in the pants to finish it. There were so many things that were challenging about this – I hated everything in life the entire time I was writing Matthew. Plus trying to write all the characters as being a little older and more mature and their relationships as having progressed. But it was worth it because there are so many moments in this fic that just are still living in my head, even though I've put the fic down.

I think my favorite scene of all is the Christmas Eve scene, partly because I love Declan and partly because I love the "fucking Cain ruined it for the rest of us" exchange. But from a craft point of view I'm proud of that scene a lot. The first scene is its own contained story with beginning/middle/end; the Christmas Eve scene is what makes the proposal scene the beginning of a longer story, and it happens without the POV character understanding that it's happening. I'm pretty happy with how that all turned out.

People really liked the wedding scene, which is gratifying and totally baffling. That scene was murder to write. I don't even want to plan my own wedding, now I got to make one up for someone else? Of course, I mean. I cheated, because I didn't actually write the reception. Maybe the lesson here is if I don't even want to write a scene then for sure no one would want to read it?

Word on the Street This is another one, like The Fake Geek Boy Job, where I think there's a version of the story that's twice as good and eight times as long and a hundred times more work to write; I'm satisfied with my version. Also, I think the longer version is much more serious, whereas this is a comedy and I am happy with it as a comedy. Adam maybe comes off a little poorly, in the way that comedy characters sometimes come off dickish/rude/sociopathic. But it makes me laugh and honestly if I make myself laugh I'm happy. (That's not to say I'm never going to write the epic tale of how Ronan becomes Greywaren – I know what the first line of it is – but it's a real low priority).

come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls OKAY I WROTE THIS IN LIKE LITERALLY TWO DAYS AND YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW HAPPY THAT MAKES ME. Even just writing something of this length usually takes weeks if not months between when I start it and when I finish it. This was like a dirty little fling, and as someone who never has dirty little flings either in life or in writing, that was a fun change of pace.

The Dragon's Nest Avatar: The Last Airbender is, in my eyes, basically a perfect television show, and it's a lot harder to write fic for something that you think is well-written/complete on its own, because where do you and your fanwriting fit in? As such, this was a challenge, but I'm pretty happy with it. Alchemicink, for whom this was written, mentioned being happy just from seeing the "intergenerational friendship" tag, and I gotta say I was happy just from getting to use that tag. And any day you get to write Toph stomping around yelling at people is a good day.

while we're on the subject, could we change the subject now So credit where credit is due: lydia-st-james gave me the prompts here and put up with my intermittent screeching as I was working on it. It took me a while to get it all done, but I wrote literally 13k words of this in the first four days, which is bonkers; I'm usually much more of a percolator in the early stages of writing. As such a lot of the outlining process is lost to the sands of time. I don't remember making an actual decision to set this in LA; I think my subconscious realized before I did that this was going to be a story about loneliness and depression, and, fairly or unfairly, I associate loneliness and depression with the city of Los Angeles. In any case, it gave me lots of opportunities to throw shade at LA and I'm always down for that, and I've loved hearing people respond to the specificity of the location.

It's funny to me that people are responding to this one so strongly because I don't generally groove on fake dating; I’ve never written it as a trope and I always find it hard to swallow as a reader. I wonder if there's something to be said for writing tropes one is somewhat critical of. Though I don't think, generally, it works out when people write a thing they actively hate. It's a theory I'm tinkering with, anyway.

[inawickedlittletown]

Walking The Wire (166/167)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

@findmeinthestarss

Masterpost

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Five

-

“I’m a really big fan,” Peter said. 

Thor was really really tall. He was also more muscular than Peter had expected when standing up close and yet there were his biceps. May was right about them being something to admire because they were huge. All of Thor was kind of just big. Even, it seemed, his personality. Maybe that just came with the territory of being a god. 

“I’ve been told that, Peter son of Stark,” Thor said. “You have your own fans, I hear.”

“Um, I guess so--”

Sam next to Peter chuckled. Peter glared at him. The reception was in full swing. There was music playing -- something from the eighties because Quill had decided that he needed to have some input with the music but no one really seemed to mind. His dad and Steve were dancing. Everyone was still eating or finishing up and Peter had finally had his chance to meet Thor. At last.

“So is it true that only you can wield the hammer? Well, the axe now?” 

Thor nodded. He didn’t seem at all bothered by Peter talking to him and asking questions. 

“Only someone worthy can lift it,” Thor said. “Would you like a try?” 

Peter shook his head at once. Eyes wide. “No. No. I don’t think I could--”

Thor chuckled. “All the Avengers tried once. Your father came close.” 

“My father? Really? What was he wearing the armor while he tried or something?” 

Thor chuckled. “Not that father. The other one.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, I could see Steve maybe being able to do it.” 

It would have been fitting, too, Peter thought. Steve was probably worthy. 

Peter asked Thor about the other Asgardians and how they were settling into Earth and it was nice to listen to Thor explain how different “Midgard” was to his home planet. But it seemed like his people were settling in fine. 

“They have Valkyrie, she’s a good leader,” Thor said. He motioned towards the Asgardian that was currently playing some sort of drinking game with Rocket and Quill. 

He talked to him for a while and Thor seemed entertained by Peter even after Dr. Banner joined them. Peter was also quite star struck by the mild mannered Bruce Banner and Peter had a whole lot of questions to ask him that were more science related and he could tell that Dr. Banner was curious about him and his powers. 

“You’ll just need to stop by my lab sometime, Peter, I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about.” 

“Yes. Definitely. I’m so down for that.” 

He only left them when he spotted Ned waving him over.  Ned and Michelle were sitting with May and Pepper and Happy. It was in many ways the most normal table at the reception. May still got on really well with Pepper, and they were mid-conversation when Peter approached the table. 

“Hey,” Ned said, “were you just talking to Thor? That is so cool.” 

Peter laughed. “Yeah, it kind of was. He’s very different but nice.” 

“So, the crush will remain alive and well,” Michelle said with a smirk. 

“It’s not a crush,” Peter muttered. “I kinda -- no, it’s not important. Are you guys having a good time?” He pulled a chair from another table to sit down between them. 

“We are,” Michelle said. “I am. This has been -- I never expected to go to anything quite like this.” 

“Nor I,” May said, but she was smiling. 

“It’s a crazy world the one that Tony Stark inhabits,” Pepper said. “Never a dull moment. I don’t know how Steve’s going to deal with it.” 

Bucky happened to be passing at that moment and he stopped. “Stevie is just as much of a mess, that’s how. They’re kind of perfect for each other.” 

They really were. When Peter looked for them, he spotted them at their table and they were talking to each other. Steve laughed at something and his dad smiled and there was just so much love and fondness in their eyes when they looked at each other. It was kind of amazing to see two people so in love. 

---

When we met, I didn’t see you. But when I started looking, I couldn’t stop seeing you. You make the world brighter, Tony Stark, and I selfishly want to keep you forever. You gave me a home, a family, and a future. I love you. I will always love you. 

---

The whole of it was a success. Tony had had a few doubts with the rain and then with Pepper having the bad news that their DJ cancelled. But in the end, everything turned out fine. As Friday predicted the rain stopped and then Peter Quill had stepped up and dealt with the music and somehow nothing went amiss. He and Steve were married and Tony was happier than he could ever remember being. 

All his friends -- his family -- had come. Scott and his ex-wife, wife’s new husband, and daughter. His girlfriend Hope and the Pyms. Clint and his brood. A lot of the people that Tony actually respected from SI including Agent and Sharon Carter -- although she wasn’t really Shield anymore these days. All the of The Avengers. The Guardians of the Galaxy. T’Challa and Shuri. Even Strange and Wong had shown up. Fury and Maria Hill had made it and Carol had returned from space just in time. 

“This everything you wanted?” he asked Steve as they slow danced. 

Steve was a careful dancer, wary of stepping on Tony. Wary of skills that he thought he didn’t have even though he moved more like a dancer than a fighter when in the middle of battle. It was a matter of how he seemed to overthink his every step. He didn’t trust himself. 

“You are everything I wanted,” Steve whispered. “This is just nice -- having everyone here.” 

“Sappy. You’re getting sappy in your old age, husband.” 

“I am not the oldest one in this relationship, husband,” Steve said. 

Tony tutted at him. “Just because you were in ice,” Tony whispered back. “Something I will always be grateful for.”

“Is it everything you wanted?” Steve asked. 

Tony shrugged his shoulders and he spun them, looking around at the other dancing couples. Clint and Laura. Scott and Hope. Natasha was trying to get Nebula to dance with her to not avail. Gamora was over in a more secluded area with Quill. Then there was everyone else mingling around them. Pepper and Happy laughing at a table with Rhodey. He spotted Peter with his friends. Thor was talking to Shuri and Tony would have loved to know how that was going. Then, he spotted May talking to Bruce. 

“Yeah. You at my side. All of our friends. Our son.”

Steve’s eyes met his. “Our son,” he repeated. 

Tony kissed him, chaste and quick. He pressed their foreheads together. “Steve, you jumped off a cliff to bring him back to me even though you had no idea if you’d survive it because you love him just as much as I do. He’s yours too.”

Steve smiled and nodded. They’d discussed it before a few times,but it was nice to bring it up again. “Yeah, he is. We talked about it before the ceremony.”

“Of course you did. He loves you too, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t think I needed to hear it from him, but when he said it, it was one of the best feelings in the world.”

Peter laughed from the table he was at -- joined by Bucky and Sam -- and for a while Tony just watched him and he remembered once not expecting to ever get to meet or be a part of Peter’s life at all. But he had met him and formed a relationship with him. He’d brought him back after Thanos snapped him from existence. 

Steve kissed his temple and pulled at his hand. Tony followed, walking beside him towards Peter who immediately got up and hugged him first and then Steve, staying between them for a moment once May got out her phone to take a picture. 

“Be sure to send that to me,” Tony said. 

“Of course,” May said. 

When Peter moved away, again, Tony drifted closer to Steve, pressed against his side. Peter glanced back at them and Tony just smiled at him and then looked to Steve again. He was so so lucky. 

---

I once thought I’d be alone forever. I didn’t think I’d ever even meet my son much less someone I would want to share him with. Not until you, Steve Rogers. There are no words to describe the relief I feel at having you at my side. This is for as long as the universe allows and even beyond that. I love you. 

---

The rest of the night went well. There were speeches at some point and Peter could tell that Bucky had gotten into some of Thor’s Asgardian mead because he seemed a little drunk when he gave his.

“Super soldiers aren’t supposed to get drunk, are they?” Ned asked. 

“No. Not unless it’s alien mead.” He motioned towards Thor and the other Asgardians. 

Rhodey had given a best man’s speech too -- a more coherent one. Peter really intended to spend more time with him and ask him about stories about his dad when they were both in MIT because he knew they had to be good. And despite officiating the wedding, Pepper had had a few things to add to Rhodey’s speech as well. Peter was just glad that he didn’t have to make one. 

All in all, the wedding was perfect. It was towards the end of the night that his dad got up to talk. 

“I want to thank everyone for being here. It’s been a long few months for a lot of us but the world is finally set right and we can only hope that it will remain so. Today I married the love of my life -- a man for another era entirely and one I’ve loved and hated my entire life. He brings out the best in me and I hope I do the same for him. And I’m just glad I get to share this with all of you. With my friends, my teammates, and our son.”

He paused them, to glance around at everyone. 

“My dear husband and I are going to take off, now, but the party can keep going. There is a lot to celebrate and plenty of cake.” 

Before leaving, his dad and Steve stopped where Peter was standing with a plate of cake. 

“Have a good night,” Peter said and wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Don’t be cheeky, child,” his dad said.  

Peter hugged his dad first and then Steve.

“I’m really happy for you,” Peter whispered. 

His dad kissed the top of his head. “Love you kid. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

The party kept going after they left. Thor and the other Asgardians were still drinking. Quill kept up his playlist and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Peter spotted Natasha dancing with one of Clint’s kids. Scott was dancing with his daughter. It was cute. 

“This was nice,” MJ said. “Thanks for the invite.” 

Peter nodded. “I’m glad you came. Did you--” he motioned at the dance floor, “did you want to dance? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, but there’s really nothing else to do and I think May said we’d be leaving soon too so--”

MJ grabbed his hand and Peter trailed off, his eyes widened and when he looked at her she just laughed and then tugged him along. 

“You ramble a lot,” she said. 

Peter didn’t know what song was playing because it was something too old for him to actually know, but it was soft and easy to dance to even if it still made him just a little nervous when MJ turned to him. But moments later, his arms were around her waist and her arms were over his shoulders and as nervous as it made him, MJ felt good in his arms. She smelled like something flowery. 

It felt like the moment lasted mere seconds but also forever and when it was over and Peter pulled back, he smiled at her and she smiled back. 

“That was...that was nice,” Peter said. 

“Yeah…”

It was awkward. Everything was just so awkward. It was lucky that Ned appeared then and he clapped Peter on the shoulder. 

“Good, found you two. May thinks it might be a good time to go.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “Yeah, sure.” 

Although his dad and Steve were going to some fancy hotel for the night and Peter had had the option to stay at the compound with Bucky and Sam and the rest, he’d decided to spend the night with May instead. He hadn’t gotten to see much of her since the first time he went to see her and it also meant spending a bit more time with Ned and MJ on the drive to Queens. 

May had insisted on driving instead of letting Happy pick her up or letting Doctor Strange bring them over through a portal, but Peter didn’t mind the drive. They found her soon enough. She was talking to Happy and Pepper and Peter was surprised to see how weirdly cozy they looked. 

He gave Pepper a hug and high fived Happy and then said his goodbyes to Natasha and Bucky but only because he saw them as they were heading out. He wasn’t sure how much longer the party would go for, but everyone still seemed to be having fun. 

“It wasn’t as overthetop as I thought it was going to be,” May said as they set out. 

Peter shrugged. “Pepper and the wedding planner had a lot to do with that. Also how fast they had to arrange things.”

“Well, it was nice,” MJ said. “I had a great time.” 

She met his eyes and Peter ducked his head and then they all got into May’s car. Ned told them all about how he’d managed to talk to Sam for a while and how cool he was and it was easy to let Ned just fill the silence. 

The topic of conversation drifted away from the wedding to other things eventually and everything just felt normal. MJ even tried to bring up decathlon. 

“We’re not even in school right now,” Ned said. “We don’t have to worry about it.” 

“I just want us to do well, Ned, and as captain that falls on me. All I’m saying is that Peter can’t slack off because of his spiderness.” 

“Hey! I went to all the practices last year.” 

“He did,” Ned said. 

After they dropped off Ned and MJ, Peter leaned back into his seat. He was actually feeling quite tired from the day and he wasn’t expecting for May to want to talk to him about anything. 

“You know, for a while there I hated that you knew the truth,” May said. “I didn’t trust Tony Stark to really know what was best for you. I figured he would take you away. I guess, well, he sort of did. But he also didn’t keep you away and after Ben -- I’m really glad you get to have him be your father. Your dad. And from the state he was in when you were gone, I know that he loves you and that he needs you just as much.”

“May, I--”

May reached over and grabbed his hand. “You have a big family, actually, and I’m really glad you do.”

Peter nodded, thinking about everyone at the wedding. Most of them he could consider family. A big superhero family and some of them weren’t even human. 

“I guess I do,” Peter said. 

---

“I don’t even want to know how much money you spent on this place. Especially when we could have just gone back to the tower seeing as no one is there.” 

Tony just chuckled. Steve had been nagging him about their post-wedding plans since he’d learned of them earlier in the day, but Tony wanted to end the night in style by which he meant with a surprise.  

“I really love hearing you put down all my romantic plans,” Tony said, but shot Steve a grin.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Steve said. 

Tony nodded. “I kind of figured you’d feel that way. But have I mentioned how much I enjoy seeing you riled up over something that doesn’t even matter?”

Although Tony was in the driver’s seat, it was Friday that had control of the car and so Tony felt entirely safe turning to look at his new husband. “I did something a little crazy,” he said. 

Steve’s suit looked as pristine on him as it had in the beginning of the night and the way he looked at Tony was with a warmth fondness rather than any real annoyance. They were both so sappy and in love and it was kind of disgusting. 

“Crazy how?” Steve asked. 

“Crazy as in, Peter is right, and we do deserve to have a honeymoon. Even a small one. And if we do it in another time, then Peter won’t have a chance to get into any real trouble.”

Steve shook his head. “Tony, you’re...where -- no, when are we even going?” 

“Any time you want. Anywhere you want. As long as we’re together.”

“Together,” Steve said. “I like the sound of that.” 

-

Epilogue