#chapter count will be increasing

[campbyler]

happy miwip wednesday! please enjoy (or don’t, but we really hope you will) a preview of the first mike pov chapter in acswy + join us on the 7th to read it in full! 😎

[astrobei]

may i offer some byler exes fic in these trying times (it’s a road trip fic but we’re not there yet)

[lostxmelody]

ch.2 !! sorry for the delay, but it's very long to make up for it, so please forgive me.

[moorishflower]

If I Please You chapter 14 is up!

If I Please You || Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling || Explicit || WIP

Bandits & Outlaws , What You Need vs. What You Want, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus is Bad at Feelings, Hob Gadling is Too Good at Feelings, Two Men with Issues Go to Canterbury, Learning to Understand Joy, Learning to Accept What You Want, Medieval AU but the Medieval isn't the AU Part, There's Also Sex, Frottage, Masturbation, Outdoor Sex, Altar Sex, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Voyeurism, Pining, Devotion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Road Trips, Bodyguard, Mercenaries, Falling In Love, Protective Hob Gadling, POV Hob Gadling, Bottom Hob Gadling, Top Hob Gadling, Bottom Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Top Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Mutual Pining, Anal Sex, Drama & Romance, Strangers to Lovers, Cowgirl Position, Praise Kink, Requited Unrequited Love, Violence, Temporary Character Death, Happy Ending

Hob and his lord leave Rochester. An encounter on the road. Names learned and claimed.

[Chapter 14 on AO3]

[toburnup]

is your light on? chapter 14: illumination | steddie | explicit

The flame flickers and shrinks and Eddie hesitates before handing it back, gives Steve an extra long look.

"What?" Steve tucks it back in his pocket. Eddie's still staring at him, smoke drifting slowly.

"Your, uh," Eddie finally looks away. "Your hair's getting longer."

"Ah," Steve combs his fingers through the back, once. "Little bit."

"Gonna grow it out? Compete with me?"

"Nah, I should get it cut," Steve replies, thrown by his tone. "I can't pull it off like you can."

"I'll cut it," Eddie says, voice light, hand in front of his face. He clears his throat. "If you want."

(1991)

[read on ao3]

[nightfayre]

btw, ch7 of desecration is 97% done and will be posted sometime tomorrow! <3

[solar-synapse]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Five Nights at Freddy's Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Daycare Attendant (Five Nights at Freddy's)/Reader, Moon (Five Nights at Freddy's)/Reader, Sun (Five Nights at Freddy's)/Reader Characters: Sun (Five Nights at Freddy's), Moon (Five Nights at Freddy's) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fae, afab nonbinary reader, Sun and Moon are Not Animatronics, Sidhe seer reader, Reader doesn’t use y/n, Childhood Trauma, Implied/Referenced Parental Abuse, Manipulation, Mental Coercion, Threats of Violence, Healing and personal growth, Slow Romance, Fae Court Politics, Unreliable Narrator, Minor Original Character(s), Everyone is misrepresenting their motivations, Additional tags and characters to be added later

  Summary:

Your mother raised you to observe a certain set of rules:

Ignore that which others do not see. Barter not with the good neighbors, trust not their words, and offer not the truth of your name. Brandish wit before iron, but always carry it with you.

Good advice, meant to keep a young sidhe seer safe from their ensnarement, and you have followed it dutifully all your life. Until now.

Now, you take matters into your own hands.

[illuminatedferret]

.

[juliafied]

Face to Face

Chapter 4: When You're Smiling and Astride Me

Fandom: Hades

Pairing: Thanatos/Zagreus

Rating: Mature

Chapter(s): 4/5

Words: 8765

AO3

Summary:

Thanatos can’t remember the last time he went on a date that wasn’t with his email inbox, so Charon sets about rectifying the situation by making him a profile on a dating app. Sifting through guys who fish and tourists looking for one night stands, Thanatos comes across his childhood best friend, who he hasn’t spoken to since their strange parting as teenagers. Thanzag modern AU, online dating.

It would have been easier if Thanatos had changed. If he’d become full of himself, like the stereotype of the successful finance guy that he is, or if he’d become one of those weird conspiracy theorists that have been cropping up all around lately. That is, if their friendship had been one of convenient proximity and not of genuine connection.

But he’d been just the same. Self-deprecating, dry yet somehow still affectionate, quick to fluster at Zagreus’ teasing. Exactly as they’d been as kids, climbing with their sandwiches to the top of the hill overlooking the ancient ruins in their neighbourhood, laughing at the tourists with their funny hats and single-use cameras. Just a little taller. Better-spoken, maybe. No longer nervously tossing too-long bangs out of his eyes. He wishes… he wishes he’d asked him about the last seven years, about something other than a college fling that had clearly meant so little that Thanatos had barely remembered the guy’s name. About who he spends time with on the weekends, and if he has a favourite coffee shop closer to work. If he still likes to read everything he can get his hands on. Whether he's been in love.

Achilles nudges him out of his thoughts – the stranger has bought the three of them shots. “You alright, lad?”

“Not sure,” Zagreus says truthfully as the bartender expertly flips his bottle of tequila and fills three shot glasses to the brim. Achilles’ admirer flashes a smile in their direction that doesn’t extend to Zagreus. They’re passed three limes by the bartender, and a moment and a ‘cheers’ later, the alcohol has burned its way to a warm place in Zagreus’ stomach.

He watches as Achilles leans in close to yell in the stranger’s ear, whose hand has migrated to the back of the barstool, thumb grazing Achilles’ shoulder periodically, and this annoys him, though Zag’s not sure why. He finishes his other drink that’s mostly melted ice at this point, but the guy behind the bar is busy again, so he thumbs through the menu. Checks his phone – an email’s come in, from Athena thanking them for their hard work on the grant they’d submitted this afternoon, and a text that’s an overly formal but expected request for a catch up lunch from Meg. He swears she must have a reminder in her calendar. First Friday of the month, check on Zagreus. Scheduled, just like everything else in her life. He slides his phone back in his pocket just in time to order another drink, and before long a margarita is in front of him, ice-cold and beading with condensation. By the time he finishes it, Achilles’ new friend’s hand has made it off the back of the chair and onto Achilles’ waist. Zagreus scowls and taps him on the shoulder.

“Should we dance?”

The booze is thick and heavy in his limbs as they make their way slowly to the most densely-packed part of the club, closest to the speakers and the dense, hard bass that slams into Zagreus’ heart with every beat. He’s not a very good dancer, but Achilles is, moving with ease, catching more than a few eyes around him. Zagreus can’t say he’s never thought about it before, especially back when he first joined the lab, assigned to be mentored directly by basically a demigod in a dress shirt. Even now, as Achilles tosses his hair and shoots a smile over his shoulder, there’s a twinge of something in the pit of Zag’s stomach.

And that’s when he spots him.

Keep reading on AO3

[trensu]

Chapters: 3/5 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Jeff (Stranger Things), Dustin Henderson, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Lucas Sinclair, Erica Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Originally Posted on Tumblr, steve harrington wants to be a dad, Siren Eddie Munson, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Sirens, Werewolves, Found Family, 5+1 Things Series: Part 1 of Hawkins Halfway House for Homeless Horrors Summary:

Steve wanted to be a dad more than anything. Unfortunately, he was a single dude in his thirties which meant no adoption agency in the world was willing to give him a chance. Or at least no human adoption agency.

Chapter 3 is up, for those of you following this tag here

[fisheito]

@murdertramp25 replied to your post “excuse me blade, sir, drioid,maam, why are u so...”:

i stg Blade sneaks up on you like that tho!! im like 'haha yeah idk blade is okay i guess' and then i see him and im like '!!!! babey! baby boy!!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!'

​i'm stuck in a slow burn with all these goddamm pnjpegs and i don't know when the oh. is gonna hit this is a neverending daymare

[bluewindfall]

Aphelion

When they return, a hefty box of tangerines has been left to sit outside the hallway. 

“Maybe Konekomaru bought them,” Rin guesses. He shrugs his coat off and squats down to rummage through the bags. “It’s colder in here than I thought. Let’s see if we have some stuff we can heat up.”

Yukio sneezes as he sets his bag aside. 

“Go sit down.” Rin looks amused when he turns around. “Here. Give me your coat.” He prods Yukio over to the couch and swaddles a blanket around his shoulders. “It’s because you stayed outside for so long.”

Yukio sniffles, huddling into the blanket as Rin hands him a pack of tissues. It’s the kind given out by the train station or shopping centers, with an ad for a hair salon printed on its shiny plastic. 

Small flecks of snow have melted on his glasses, leaving a streak when he moves to clean them off. His hands are unsteady, and the world feels so very still.

“Are you still cold?”

Yukio starts to respond, but he sneezes again.

Rin pats his head. “I’ll boil some water.”

“I’m fine,” Yukio mumbles. “You don’t need to rush.”

Rin plugs the electric kettle in. “It’s okay. I’m cold too,” he says, letting his tail sway from side to side as he fills the kettle with water. “I wonder how long this little guy takes to boil.”

Kuro leaps up onto the couch, padding over to crawl under the edge of Yukio’s blanket. 

“Hey, what about these?” Rin smiles as he shakes a cup of instant noodles. “I feel like I remember this brand was pretty spicy. Here.”

Yukio catches the crinkly package reflexively, turning it over to examine the front.

It seems Miwa and Godaiin purchased an assortment of instant noodles, along with several other nonperishables and a large pack of bottled water. There are also sandwiches left from yesterday.

Rin’s coat and shoes were new as well. They really brought so many things. 

“Be careful. It’s hot,” Rin mentions, setting a mug of boiled water on the table before he sits down on the couch. 

“Thank you.” Yukio wraps his stiff fingers around the mug, letting its calming warmth seep into his hands. The crinkle of flavoring packets fills the room, and he listens as Rin pours water into the instant noodle cups.  

Somehow, this quiet, as unremarkable as it is, makes him feel steadier. 

They eat in relative silence. Afterward, Rin pulls out a small notepad. He appears to be concentrating, but he keeps peeking at Yukio every few minutes or so. 

The radio covers a minor flooding event near Lake Towada but soon digresses to rambling about the history of its formation. He recalls reading somewhere that seismic activity had been detected near the caldera lately, but this program has yet to provide any notable information.

Rin makes an inarticulate noise as he pulls at his hair. 

Yukio looks up. “What are you doing?” 

Rin leans back and slides the notepad across the table. “I’ve been trying to memorize this. Konekomaru wrote them down for me yesterday. It’s basic stuff, like the date, the prime minister, and other things to remember.”

Yukio skims through the list. This notepad’s paper has a thin, dry texture. Its corners are sharp and the spine is stiff. 

The pages near the end are rather practical, including social norms such as how to recite the Illuminati’s silly chant, the importance of not mentioning the Order in public unless to disparage it, what stripes and medals on Illuminati uniforms mean, as well as several news events generally anyone would know from the past year. 

He flips a page back, reading more carefully this time. Somehow, looking at the contents of these pages, listed in blue ink and neat margins, makes the time between them seem disproportionately shorter.

Rin reaches for the notepad. “What’s wrong?” 

Yukio swallows. “Nothing. I just…” He lowers his head as he sets the notepad down on the table. “I didn’t explain anything to you before. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Really.” Rin sits back in his chair, grimacing as he turns a page. “Does everyone really hate the Order that much?”

Yukio clenches his fingers gradually, reaching for a tangerine from the pile they washed to occupy his hands. 

Rin’s chair creaks as he leans forward. “It’s only been two years since we really started losing.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Yukio answers. “The media is controlled by the Illuminati. Even if the Order could somehow win the war at this point, they would still be seen as an insurgency.” 

A flicker of worry crosses Rin’s features. “What about you? Do you hate the Order?”

Yukio’s hands pause. 

Rin frowns. 

“Whether I hate them or not doesn’t change anything,” Yukio says. “I can’t go back either way.” 

Rin looks pensive. “But do you want to go back?” 

Yukio sets the tangerine he peeled aside and reaches for a new one. “Do you want to?” 

“Oh.” Rin runs a hand through his hair, and his fingers graze a circle around the stitches on his forehead. “I… hadn’t really thought that far.” 

For a while, Yukio wonders if he’ll say more, but Rin stays quiet as he opens the notepad back up. It’s too simple to read him, even after this long. 

“I don’t hate the Order,” Yukio murmurs. There’s more he should say. It means more to Rin than that.

The Order has warped more and more as the war drags on, peeling and discarding layers of pretenses. It most likely can’t return to the husk of an organization they knew, even if all of this were to end. There’s no use in hating the Order. 

Rin just nods as he takes the tangerine Yukio peeled, separating the sections out into little half moons before he eats them. 

Kuro sets a paw on his arm. 

“I don’t know if tangerines are good for you, Kuro,” Yukio tells him quietly, nudging his glasses straight with the back of his hand. 

For some reason, Rin laughs. “Sure.” 

Kuro’s tails flick up, but all he does is wander over to curl in Yukio’s lap. 

“Yeah.” Rin yawns, setting his notes down as he moves to sit on the couch with them. “I think I’m going to take a nap too. I’ve been staring at that for too long.” 

Yukio stacks two tangerine peels on top of each other, glancing up when Rin’s shoulder brushes his. A familiar stray thought settles over him as he starts to lean away.

There’s something he should have said.

“Nii-san.” He shifts the blanket to sit straighter. 

Rin turns his head.

“Thank you,” Yukio whispers when their eyes meet. “I… wanted to tell you that earlier.” 

“Oh.” Rin’s smile glows a little. “Yeah,” he says, just as quietly, leaning back against the couch. “I’m glad you’re here.” He sighs as he lifts his eyes to the ceiling. “I still have so much to tell you.”

Yukio traces his thumb along the cut across his palm. Only two days have passed, yet so much has changed. 

“You have time,” he says, but the words feel simple for the promise they are. When he looks up, Rin beams. 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” Rin plays with a corner of the blanket. “It’s been a long time since we just sat around talking. I missed that.”

A hazy sense of nostalgia wells in Yukio’s chest, in that hollow space between breaths. For once, the warmth doesn’t twist as it settles. 

He peels another tangerine into five lumpy petals, listening to the chatter of the radio for a while before he switches it off. Kuro is purring, and Rin’s head has slipped to rest on his shoulder.

It’s snowing when he tilts his head back to look out the window. His fingertips are dry and covered with pale dust from the tangerine skins, but he doesn’t think he wants to move. 

“I missed you too.”  

Rin hums a sleepy noise of approval.

To keep reading (on AO3)!

[polaroid-petals]

As a random fun fact, I keep track of all of my fics' word count, and yes, I did once drop two consecutive 23k word chapters and somehow got enough story loyalty that hundreds of people not only read them but kept reading onward

[taradactyls]

"Why is it taking me so many more hours than it used to, to write a single chapter?" I say, while I keep going back to add more to a 13,000 word chapter when the goal for my early chapters was about 4,000 words.

[rabidaly]

just a girl and her inability to stick to an outline

[astro-b-o-y-d]

I worry I'm not typing enough quickly enough but also this is my current word count for the prologue and the first two chapters

Those numbers will probably change by the time I start publishing, but UH. I think I'm doing fine, for how much I've written.