#i went back to my old wip and decided to give it another shot

[baryonyxclaws]

my favorite crab armed, stork legged, one eye alien robit 

made another version with a few color changes cause I didn’t know which one I liked more so have both.

[lunchtimebedamned1997]

Cosplay WIP and Doodle Dump >:3

Haven't really been working on a bunch of digital art lately bc I've been busy working on cosplays and crying over Stolitz XD

But I thought I'd show you all what I've been working on since I'm really excited about it! <3 (So many updates :D)

Let's start with Helluva doodles!

I finally started drawing Blitzø and Fizzy-Frog! <3 Fizzy looks so much healthier in the newst ep I could CRY ohhh my goddd. And both Fizz and Blitzø look so dapper! Little cuties! Little cuties who are friends again! My heart!

Next up: Cosplay props!

We've got a lot of stuff for the Vees, and then a liiiitle bit of Angel Dust progress to show y'all!

Let's start with Vox since I only have one main thing I've made so far!

I had an old pair of headphones that stopped working, and I'd already worn them to costest Vox (since I'm not going for the TV screen approach) and so I thought I could give them a makeover! I decided to do the symbols from his silly little hat, and paint the microphone tip to resemble the little red bauble at the end of his antenna!

I just sanded the labels off, painted everything in acrylic and then sealed it with clear nail polish, pretty simple stuff, but I'm really pleased with the effect! And I think it will be a nice touch for the costume! <3

Now onto Valentino! I have the most stuff for him so far bc everything that wretched man owns is cool AF and I wanted to make, like, all of it XD

I started with the guns from 1x02 ala: "Which of these makes me look sexier ;3" since I thought they were both pretty iconic and I definitely want to film that little clip once my cosplays are ready to go hehe

(My reference Image ^)

This pink one is definitely my favorite, both in the show and based on how it came out in the end! I've only ever built one propgun before this for Jinx, so it was really fun to get back to it again! Lots of math and measurements, but luckily I'm a little racoon creature who hordes recycling like my life depends on it XD Even though he actually bedazzles another gun in the meeting room in 1x02, I was not about to make a third one in the span of two weeks, so I decided to just put it on one side of the pink, and I really love it tbh!

The gold and grey definitely looks a bit more... cardboard-y, but I'm okay with it tbh, I don't love the design of this one as much, so I probably won't be using it on it's own as often as the pink! But I still think it turned out well overall! Especially bc by the time I got to this one my exacto-blade was crapping out on me hardcore lmao

I also have two hand options ready for Valentino! I noticed that sometimes he has gold claws, and sometimes his hands are fully black, so I thought it would be good to have a couple options!

I went ahead and ordered some pleather gloves which I think work really well for him on their own, but then I also took some fake nails and layered them with gold acrylic paints and clear nail polish to make his 'actual' hands. I figured if I need a particular close-up for a shot it would be really cool to use black facepaint on my skin, and then have these nails stuck on! I just used eyelash glue to test out affixing them last night, and I think it actually worked super well!

Since the nails are pretty, well, claw-like I don't want them on all the time, but I still need them to stay when I'm moving around in costume, and I think the eyelash glue is kind of the perfect things for my at-home cosplay needs! I'd definitely want to do something stronger if I was going to a con in these, but yeah - XD I'm rambling, anyways -

Let's move onto Velvette!

I had an extra set of gold nails I'd made, that I was originally planning on attaching to the gloves (I did not like how that looked lmao) but I didn't want them to go to waste, so I used some of the little gems and do-dads that I had laying around to make them match one of the bra-tops I'm planning to use for Velvette! (Yes that sparkly orange and pink thing on the left is what I tried to match it to!)

I have a plethora of blank fake nails now, so I think it would be really fun to make a pair that matches each of Vel's outfits! I hyper-fixated on nail art for a couple years when I was a kid, so I'm really excited to play with those skillz again lmao - especially because I can use acrylic paint for these instead of nail polish which really cuts down on cost and expands my color ranges exponentially!

The last thing I have to show you for the Vee's specifically is the wigs I ordered for them! (I want to scream, I'm so excited!!!!)

(All of these are from Wig Is Fashion btw, notspon or anything I just have really loved their wigs so far! I really hope these three work well!)

Finally, my gloves for Angel and a couple of my colored lights for filming came in, so I just threw on one of the outfits I have ready for him, the wig I styled, and the gloves to get a feel for how it was coming along :3

I think I want to get different little shorts for this look (maybe pleather?) and figure out a couple other details to add in, because I feel like there is currently too much 'blank' space in the look. I'm sure that will be lessened by the makeup, set, etc. But I want to make sure the extra looks I have for characters still feel 'designed'/styled well, obvi.

Anyways! Lots of work to do, and I still need to buy a new sewing machine so i can make some of the actual outfits from the show, but it's all a process lmao

I'm planning a full-on Angel CMV atm, as well as a ton of other videos, but that's all a ways away lmao, I wanna really put effort into it which means time haha

I did already post some little Cherri, Angel, Vox and Charlie closet-costests to my TT if y'all are interested! I've also made Millie and Blitzø horns, but tbh I just can't be assed to get pictures of all of that rn XD if you look at the most recent (as of rn lmao) 'cosplay updates' vid that's up, you can see the horns, wigs etc that I didn't show in this post!

My main links are all right here if you want 'em: https://lunchtimebedamned.carrd.co/

And with that I'm going to go have brain-off time LMAO I've been working non-stop for weeks on this. I'm also sorry to anyone waiting for the Ch.4 update on The Space Between Us, this chapter is deciding to be very slow-going and difficult. IRL stuff is probably heavily contributing to that, but oh well. Know that I am working on it <3

[rarespawnwrites]

Hey, WIP Wednesday is a thing, right?

Maybe I can make it my thing? Let's find out.

Red Hood Steph, anyone?

~

Age 20

One moment, Stephanie Brown slept, sprawled out like a starfish in her underwear on a hotel boxspring mattress. The next, the bed vanished from beneath her and she thumped gracelessly to the floor with a startled yelp.

Her eyes opened to find themselves looking once more through her helmet’s display, and she didn’t need to look to know she was once again in full Red Hood get-up. She could hear the wind and the uncomfortably close pattering of raindrops. She sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling of the now empty, decrepit room, then tilted her head to see the wall to the outside missing. Old scorch marks and a wrecked exterior revealed the location to have been victim to explosive force at some point.

The air was damp. It was raining. It was always raining in Gotham.

Stephanie lay where she’d fallen, unmoving on the dirty floor of what was now an abandoned hotel. “Good morning to you too, universe,” she drawled.

She should get up, figure out the lay of the land of this new Gotham. Hide from whatever version of the bats existed here before the energy spike from the dimension shift lured them over. With her luck, they’d be vampires again. She’d just finished decapitating her evil vampire self.

‘...Five more minutes,’ she decided, and closed her eyes.

Exhaustion pulled her back into a fitful doze and she drifted. The sensation of being exposed kept her jerking back to awareness every few minutes, but her hyper-vigilance frequently kept her in this cycle, so she’d take what she could get.

The uncomfortable half-sleep seemed to drag on for an eternity, and yet it still wasn’t long enough before it was interrupted.

Adrenaline spiked and her eyes shot open just before thuds to her left signaled the impact of feet onto the nearby floor. Two figures stood at the wrecked entrance of the room, the low light giving her minimal details without turning her night vision on. Not worth the glow that would give away her state of consciousness. Both newcomers were capes, though only the shorter one was actually wearing a cape. Stephanie’s armor hid her sudden tension, so she kept her breathing deep and slow.

‘If I stay reeeal still, maybe they won’t see me,’ she thought wryly.

“Is that—” there was a choked-off noise from the taller figure. “Why does he have...?!” The sputtering voice was only vaguely familiar. His outline was too slim to be Damian, but too tall and well-built to be the rich kid. The timbre of his voice was an adult’s, anyway. Not Duke’s, though. One of the extended family?

Oh, wait. If she was picking up on the subtext of this guy’s freak-out correctly, they’d expected the Red Hood to be a guy. That meant gender swap or a sidekick remix.

“Might be an imitator,” another voice suggested, “but no one’s had eyes on Red Hood all night.” That voice she recognized. Teenaged. Wiz kid vibe. Sharp enunciation.

‘Ugh,’ she thought. ‘The rich kid.’ No matter how mixed up or messed up the universe, there he was: the Bat’s third Shadow. She could only see him in her periphery, but it looked like he was fiddling with something in his hands. Probably getting readings off the residual energy in the area.

“Magic transformation?” he theorized. “Time-traveling successor?” His fidgeting paused as he eyed her still form. “Hey, is she dead?”

The other one stepped closer and dropped to a knee, giving her a clearer view of him. Shaggy dark hair; movie star cheekbones; domino; minimal armor on a striped bodysuit. ‘Nightnight or something. Night Knight?’ She hadn’t really interacted with him in the one version of Gotham she’d seen him in. She wasn’t sure he even existed in her home dimension.

“No,” he called out. “She’s breathing. Just unconscious. And my money’s on ‘brainwashed into thinking she’s the real one.’” His hand went to his utility belt.

Bats were predictable. Even a bat Stephanie was only vaguely aware existed. That’s why she was ready when Nightguy came at her with a syringe filled with what she presumed was a sedative so she could be moved to a secure location.

The lenses on her helmet blinked on, startling him while the hand closest to him snapped up and gripped the side of his hand. In the same movement, she twisted to pull herself up and into his space before shoving his neck with her other forearm, using his resistance to get her feet under her. With a slide and a shift, she got a good angle to push his head down and hopped over him, giving him a good kick as she passed to give herself momentum.

“Nice to meet you too, pretty-boy,” she called over her shoulder as she fled. Her voice came out monotone and tinny through the modulation of her helmet, but she liked to think it added personality.

After the last couple months of world-hopping, Stephanie had learned to infer what relationship the bats had with their local Red Hood based on their reception toward a new one showing up. This group had thought there was a possibility she was a magically transformed version of their original. Immediately trying to ensure she stayed unconscious while they moved her… well, that was a pretty blatant hint this world’s Red Hood wasn’t in on like… family dinners or game nights. Whatever the good little boys and girls did when they didn’t have the kind of “troubled history” that put them on the outs with Bruce.

Nah, he was like her. Guilty until proven innocent.

She tried not to take this Nightguy’s approach personally, even if she definitely took it extremely personally.

‘Wow, Bruce raises ONE murderous assassin child, and suddenly every kid with a shady background is a potential villain.’ To be fair, both Damian and Stephanie were, in fact, categorized as villains. And these days, Stephanie could also be categorized as a murderous assassin.It was possible Bruce had a point. But Stephanie was pretty sure it never paid to be fair to a billionaire, much less Bruce Wayne.

Fuck that guy.

[splendentgoddess]

Okay, so like I want to know to know about every single WIP you have on that list, because like I'm obsessed with your work, so instead I'm gonna ask for you to tell me about the top three you're most excited to write about. ☺️

Hiya @heynikkiyousofine !

That's also a tough one, LOL. Well not really. I had BETTER say my top "most excited to write" WIP is No More Secrets, eh @hnn-wnchstr ? LOL

I'm working on that story for her! It started as a request-fic/birthday-fic that I realized would actually work perfectly in the Secret Santa universe, and so I started it as part four of that once-trilogy. It was originally supposed to be a long one-shot or maybe two (or possibly three) chapters, and now I'm hoping it'll cap at five chapters, LOL. This is the WIP I am currently working on! It will be the next story I post on AO3! It gives us a larger look at how humans interact with youkai in this world, and I go into more details regarding how I've recreated the inu-youkai race to be inherently protectors of humans. I also make use of the evolution of there being 'soulmates' in this universe, which wasn't originally intended back when I wrote the first fic but I already leaned that way in and towards the third story, where Inu/Kag had decided they were soulmates. Since I already went that way I just decided to go for it and so soulmates are totally a thing now, just very rare. There is a decent amount of Inu/Kag in the story because of course, they are my OTP, and specifically we get Inu/Kag being bad asses because there's a wee bit of a youkai problem they both have to help out with, but there is also a lot of Rin and this story features a Sess/Rin pairing. It's an AU and she's a grown ass woman! LOL

The next fic I think I'm most excited to finish is Freak Show, which once upon a time had been my active WIP and so it's pretty far along and close to finished. The reason I called it a 'semi-modern' AU is 'cause it takes place in like sort of the 1930s, but not the real 1930s in either Japan or America. It's also a fake Americanized Japanese-esque sort of mixed world, but it's 1930s technologically, and so old school traveling freak shows are totally a thing. Also too, Kagome is a reiki user, but in this world, reiki users are a secret society of very rare humans. The ones who know youkai not only were real, but are still real, while most humans think youkai (and reiki users) are just myths. So how's a hanyou supposed to earn a living in a world where most humans think youkai aren't real? Come one! Come all! Meet Dog Boy! A man who is half human, half canine beast!

Man, I am torn on picking only one third one, LOL. I'll tell you about a few more, but I'll try to be less wordy, since apparently I can't put a 'cut' in Ask answers.

Heat of the Moment is a canon divergence that opens like a moonless night blanket fic (Inu/Kag alone and huddling in an abandoned hut to survive a blizzard and then whoops they had sex) but then instead of ending shortly after a morning after love confession, the intention is that it will be a long fic and one of my more epic adventures when everything's said and done.

Her Father had a Daughter is another major epic canon divergence that, spoiler alert, includes an OC who is INUYASHA'S DAUGHTER! *gasp*. All will be explained, but the long short of it is she predates Kikyou, her mother was an inu-youkai so she's 3/4 inu, and I arbitrarily decided slow youkai aging means she still appears to be around age 12-ish (if memory serves). Don't worry, Mom's not in the picture and it's an Inu/Kag fic through and through.

I think last I'm gonna just pick A mid-spring moonless night's dream which as stated is the first upcoming sequel for my post-canon After The End universe. It's just a fluffy/lemony new moon one-shot, takes place during the first new moon after Inu/Kag moved into their own hut together as husband and wife, but I'm excited to get it finished and posted because I have SO MANY IDEAS FOR THAT UNIVERSE OMG. I just wanna get the ball rolling already.

In fact, after I finish and post No More Secrets, finishing my reread/editing of ATE New Beginnings and getting it posted on AO3 is my next project before I get back to any other WIP.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[shades-of-stony]

Post CA:CW Fix It Stony Fanfics

Making Amends by TheseStoriesAreWrittenOnMyHeart

Summary: Everything about them happened in seconds. Their first meeting was quick, with Tony landing next to the Captain, each man giving a curt nod and name in greeting. Their argument on the hellicarrier took mere seconds to escalate. Until Steve was goading Tony into putting on the suit and going a few rounds and Tony not so subtly reminding Steve that he wasn’t afraid to hit an old man. It was only seconds of staring at Tony on that New York City Street, his arc reactor dark, no rise and fall of his chest, for Steve to know that inside the tin can, was a good man. Then Ultron happened, and it took seconds for their world to change, seconds for Steve to throw his shield at Tony and for the billionaire to send a repulsor blast back. They went from laughing and relaxing to standing on an edge thousands of feet above solid ground. And now…now everything’s changed. And all it took was a combination of seconds; of decisions made, actions performed and words spoken that they couldn’t get back. Just a few ticks of the clock for their world to shatter.

It’ll take more than that to make things right.

Note: This one deals with amending the accords. It is about how the avengers pick up after the civil war and how they learn to be friends again. It is an incredibly detailed and well written piece! Also, NO TEAM CAP OR TEAM IRON MAN BASHING. I was only supposed to re-read a few chapters to recall the story and give a few-word review but I ended up re-reading the whole goddamn thing. It’s a masterpiece. 

maybe love is the reason why (we're seeing it eye to eye) by parkrstark

Summary: "I'm sorry. Repeat that again." Tony leaned forward in his seat from across the table. He even stuck a finger in his ear as if he was cleaning it out. "I don't think I heard you right."

Fury rolled his eyes-- or well, eye. "You and Rogers need to go undercover as a married couple in a community out on Long Island."

--

After Civil War, Tony and Steve are sent on an undercover mission as a couple to try and find Hydra informants. Somehow, they end up with Peter as their undercover son who decides to play matchmaker even if the two of them are doing their best to ignore their feelings after Siberia.

Note: My latest Fix It read! It just completed today. This fic is a phenomenal read, with its fake relationship, superfamily, undercover, and sexual tension elements! A definite 1000/10!

and this is the map of my heart by CydSA

Summary: The Avengers are splintered - spread out across the world.

There are many things to regret. The biggest one is what could have been.

Tony refuses to have any more regrets. Steve realizes that perhaps he made the wrong choice.

It starts from here....

Note: Here is some sweet, sweet, Civil War Fix It. It dwells deep into the Accords, how Tony fixes it, and the downfall of Ross. 

floating point exception by ooka

There is something, he knows, to see a man as mortal. To see his fault lines and jagged edges instead of the smooth surface they present. Most people don’t like the illusion, whether it be good or not. They don’t want people like him to be human.

But that’s what he is, under the suit and the smile and the sunglasses. Under the bravo and the quick grins. He’s just a man, trying to hide his broken pieces, the dents in his heart, the washed out color of his soul. He’s just a man, trying to solve problems and make the world better. That’s why he’s Ironman, just a man in a suit. Nothing extra.

The place where the arc reactor used to rest in his chest aches so fiercely for a moment that Tony can’t breathe.

He takes in a few breaths and does what Tony does best - pushes it down and goes to work.

(Tony, after the Civil War. Post CA:CW)

Note: A 150k+ fanfic that is centered on Tony, his issues, and his struggles. PREPARE TO CRY.

Not Enough Scotch for this Matchmaking Scheme by desolateice:

Summary:  After Civil War and a lot of healing the Avengers are fed up with the stubborn silence between Steve and Tony and try to take things in their own hands.

Note: A Fix It where the ‘kids’ play matchmaker to bring their fighting ‘parents’ back together! 

Never Eye To Eye by vorkosigan for mrsgingles

Summary: After the Civli War, the Avengers were back together.

How is everything going, Tony? Pepper had asked in her email. It's fine (Tony had written back). I'm fighting with Steve all the time. Everything is going to hell. I'm okay (you know I'm always okay).

(Or: How Tony and Steve learned to be a bit gentler with each other)

Note: A 26k+ fic where Steve and Tony learned how to be friends again, and more. It deals with the struggles and frustrations they had just to salvage their friendship.  

Fly One More Time (Alternately Titled--The Phoenix) by RavenLost2187

Summary: Steve couldn't see them before.

But then he woke up and there they were.

There's a small problem though.

One of his teammates doesn't have wings like he should.

And that's Tony Stark

Note: Some winged fics anyone? This has a bit of a Team as Family element and not to mention that glorious Civil War fix it theme! 

What it’s worth by masterlokisev159

Summary:  Tony's scent is off. Wanda realizes why.

Note: Here is a Hurt and Comfort fic for you with a dash ABO elements in it! 

Sunrise Over the End of the World by Sapphic_Futurist

Summary: When Dr. Strange arrives at an Accords Committee Meeting and warns of the coming of an alien megalomaniac set on destroying the world, the Rogues are pardoned and Tony finds himself exactly where he never wanted to be. Back at the Compound with Steve, who still can't take a hint and won't leave him alone.

--

In which Tony is broken and Steve finds redemption.

Note: A Bad case of Tony acting like nothing happened and doing his goddamn best to avoid Steve. It’ll work all out in the end. Well, it will get worst first before that though.. 

We stand together (or not at all) by Jana_C

Summary:  It’s so easy to hate this man, so painfully easy. He’s the embodiment of rich, white male privilege. He’s irritatingly arrogant, and he doesn’t always think before acting, and even when he does, he manages to twist his logic around and shape it into something that will always benefit him, and yet, here he is, building the guy who killed his parents an arm, without having been asked; working his way through diplomacy and politics, even though he hates it with every fiber of his being, just so he can correct the mistakes all of them made. She watches him go and sighs, small and tired, before texting a single line to Steve. Get ready to come home.

Note: Anyone up for some Tony Whump and Appreciation fanfic? 

You Don’t Only Get One Shot by janonny

Summary: In which Tony voluntarily carries a tracker around, and learns how to talk to Steve all over again in-between and during kidnapping attempts.

“Leave you alone for two months, and you have an operation all set up to track wayward Hydra cells and rescue innocent billionaires,” Tony said, his tone skating the line of annoyance and admiration.

Note: a dose of Stalkerish!Steve (but not in an entirely creepy way because he just wants to keep Tony safe dammit). 

You've Got A Sister Now by ZaraMelMercury

Summary: It's been a year since the events of the Avengers' Civil War. Tony Stark is trying to pick up the pieces of his life, while juggling his work, his remaining friendships, getting therapy sessions for Rhodey and dealing with government politics, as well as the Accords.

It is a bit rough, but he's got Pepper (always a steady rock by his side), Rhodey, Happy and the Kid- Peter Parker. Tony would never admit to it up front and center, but you could always catch a proud look on the man's face whenever the young Spiderling was mentioned!

Life seemed to be looking up...

Except for one, minor detail:

Steve Rogers.

The hope for one reconciliation, surprisingly, led to another!

A new bond that would form that Tony would ultimately always be thankful for.

"Oh, I wanna take it back!... " "No, no, no, you can't retract it!"

Who would've thought it?

Tony Stark has a sister looking out for him, after all.

Note: Here are some Tony and Nat friendship for you! This one isn’t exactly a solid fix it but one with a more of hopeful ending. 

The Bro Code by Sullen

Summary: In a world where the Winter Soldier is found years earlier and is named Tony’s godfather, Zemo plays a different R-rated video and Siberia goes a little differently.Or –Steve breaks the bro code.

Note: This is just too cute and wholesome not to include. 

WIP

Used to be Mine by Fangirlingmanaged

Tony can't even recognize himself nowadays.

Note: This one certainly deserves a place at the heavy angst category because that’s what it is. HEAVY ANGST AND HEARTBREAK.

[elisaphoenix13]

This Dance Of Ours

Another Witcher fic, but I believe I got it out of my system (for now) so I can turn my focus back on my Marvel WIP's 😂. Still getting a feel for writing in this fandom so I apologize for any OOC.

Geralt woke up with a start. The feeling of wrong nagging at him as he sat up and looked around the small campsite. Roach stamped the ground in her unease and the Witcher could smell the metallic tang of human blood hanging in the air. If that wasn't alarming enough, Geralt finally realized what had been missing. A heartbeat.

A quick glance to the bedroll nearby confirmed his suspicions when he found it empty.

"Jaskier?" Geralt calls out.

It wasn't unusual for the bard to respond to the call of nature in the middle of the night, but considering Roach was uncharacteristically restless, Geralt knew something was wrong. Jaskier's lute was still strapped to Roach's saddle as well so it wasn't like the bard took off without a word. Geralt was always aware of his surroundings, even while he meditated or slept, but maybe it was because he was used to movement from Jaskier that it didn't disturb him. He got to his feet and walked over to Roach to calm her with a pet to her flank and then tried looking around the immediate vicinity. It was the night of a new moon so the forest was nearly pitch black, even for Geralt, so he had to assume that Jaskier didn't go far. If he couldn't see the campfire on a night like this, he wouldn't go any farther.

The stench of blood was also worrisome.

"I'll find him." Geralt says to his horse as he digs through the saddle bags for some potions and strips of cloth.

With another pat, Geralt grabs his swords, drinks one of his Cat potions, and follows the smell of blood as the elixir takes effect. He was better able to see when it did, so he was also able to catch more than one set of footprints just outside the radius of the campfire. He found blood as well. As he followed the tracks and the periodic drops of blood, Geralt wondered in the back of his mind how he hadn't heard Jaskier being attacked. Had he gone so long without adequate rest that he fell into a deeper sleep than he normally did?

Did Jaskier even get to call out for help?

Geralt didn't get a chance to think much more about it because the tracks led him to a cave that was poorly lit and narrow. He could hear voices from within, but as he silently walked in and made his way through the passage, he had yet to hear Jaskier. He was hoping it was either because the bard had somehow gotten away or he was here and unconscious.

Unfortunately, neither ended up being true when the passage opened up into a large chamber and Geralt carefully peeked around the corner to assess the situation. Normally, he would have strode in with his usual confidence but if Jaskier was there, whoever took him might use the bard as a human shield. His quick glance revealed that Jaskier was in the cavern, and that the guilty party for his kidnapping were bandits...the smell of blood was stronger than ever as well.

"You said he would come!" One of the bandits snarls.

"He will." Another bites back.

"Not before he bleeds out!" The first says while motioning to Jaskier's unmoving body.

Geralt decided it was best to step into the cavern if Jaskier's life was in jeopardy, and did so while drawing his sword. "You have something of mine."

He had counted five bandits while he listened to them argue amongst themselves, and they all turned to face him. Before anyone could utter another word, the Witcher scrunches his nose in disgust when the smell of urine overpowers the smell of Jaskier's blood. He looks at the bandit on the far right and regards him with a raised eyebrow when he finds the very obvious wet patch in his breeches. Bandits were notorious for being courageous in a foolhardy way, but this one clearly missed the memo.

"Don't worry. You'll be free of your embarrassment soon enough." Geralt growls out.

The Cat potion tended to make him look a little feral so Geralt wasn't too surprised. A lot of people would run screaming if they saw him like this. All but the bard that is.

"Give us everything of value you own and we'll let the bard go." The leader bargains and Geralt glares at him.

"I don't make deals with bandits."

"Then we'll take it off your corpse!"

Geralt dodged the arrow shot at him and focused on getting closer to Jaskier. The bard wasn't in shackles, or even in a cage, but he was alarmingly pale and barely conscious. It was no wonder they didn't bother. Jaskier was in no condition to move, let alone run, and there was a small puddle of blood beneath his leg where he was no doubt shot with an arrow. The situation only served to further anger Geralt and he used his Aard sign to send a blast at the group of bandits once he circled them out of Jaskier's range. He dealt with each bandit that got up and ran at him in preparation of their own attack but didn't get a chance to land and they were all dead within moments.

It was pathetic.

"...alt…"

Geralt sheaths his sword and looks back at Jaskier before rushing to his side and dropping to his knees beside him. He carefully lifts the bard's face to look at his eyes and ignores Jaskier reaching out to grab the front of Geralt's tunic. He hadn't even bothered putting his armor on in his haste to find Jaskier. Just some bandages that he started to wrap around the bard's wound. Fortunately it looked like the arrow missed anything fatal and would heal once Geralt got the bleeding to stop and Jaskier got some rest.

"Jaskier, what happened?"

"Got shot in the leg with a fucking arrow. That's what happened." Jaskier mumbles and looks up into Geralt's eyes as the Witcher binds his leg. "You look feral...like it…" he continues to mumble. "Makes me feel safe--OW!"

Geralt ties off the bandage. "It doesn't look like you're going into shock like I originally thought."

"No. Just hurts." He answers and groans when Geralt pulls him to his feet and wraps one of his arms around him. "As much as I enjoy our little excursions, being shot and then asked questions later isn't ideal. I told them they were wasting their time because you wouldn't come for little old me…"

Geralt let Jaskier ramble despite the fact that he was wrong. While the bard was always talking, somehow he knew this time it was to distract Jaskier from the pain. He figured he didn't need to deny Jaskier's assumption anyway since Geralt clearly did come to his aid, and instead led the way back to camp. With the bard's injury, they would have to find somewhere with a proper bed to stay so Jaskier could rest and recuperate, but the nearest town was a day's ride.

"Sorry."

Jaskier's sudden apology nearly made Geralt stumble in surprise, but he managed to keep his feet and finish the walk to the campsite. He silently helps Jaskier sit down against a tree before moving about to pack up their bedrolls and stash them in Roach's saddle bags, who look more relaxed now that Jaskier was safe.

"What are you doing?" The bard asks. "Going after the basilisk? I'll be alright here-"

"Jaskier." Geralt sighs heavily and the bard falls quiet as he walks over to help him back to his feet and over to Roach. "Come on."

"What? You mean on Roach? Oh, okay!" Jaskier yelps when Geralt helps him mount the horse. He looked even more surprised when Geralt mounted behind him after extinguishing the campfire. "Why are you…?"

"If you pass out, it'll be easier to keep you on the horse this way." Geralt grunts out.

"That...makes sense. Now that you mention it, I am a little tired." Jaskier admits.

Geralt hums and urges Roach forward, quickly finding the road and taking it toward the next town. Jaskier continued his rambling for the next half hour before his talking turned into mumbling and he started to nod off, but instead of falling forward like Geralt expected him to, his head lulled back. Jaskier's body followed, and Geralt soon found himself with the younger man resting against him and fast asleep. He did have to keep the bard from falling sideways at least once, and kept his arms somewhat rigid to keep Jaskier in place as he continued toward town.

Geralt wasn't uncomfortable with the situation like he thought he would be (and was prepared to be), but he was definitely concerned. He found himself looking down at Jaskier's leg more often than not to check the bleeding, but even if that had been easy in the beginning, it proved almost impossible once the effects of his elixir finally wore off. Even with his enhanced vision, there was only so much he could see on a night like this.

Makes me feel safe.

Jaskier's earlier words suddenly came to mind and Geralt's first thought was that the bard was insane. He had seen his reflection before after taking that specific potion and he knew it was a terrifying sight, but Jaskier...saw things in a different light. While most ran from him in fear, Jaskier ran toward him. Without fear and for protection and safety...and Geralt provided that. He couldn't help it after the younger man stepped right into his personal space, made himself comfortable, and wormed his way into Geralt's heart. Now he couldn't imagine life without Jaskier in it. Which was why he was insistent on finding even the smallest hamlet with a tavern or an inn.

As if destiny heard his wish, Geralt came upon a small town an hour later...if it could even be called a town. But it had a tavern and he rode up to it without hesitation and dismounted carefully so he wouldn't knock Jaskier off before he was ready. Geralt made sure he wasn't in danger of falling off the saddle while he went inside to ask for a room, and pet Roach.

"Steady. Don't let him fall." He tells her before heading inside and over to the barkeeper. "I need a room. Is there a healer here?"

"One is supposed to pass through in the morning." The barkeeper says as he hands Geralt the key after the Witcher pays.

Geralt nods and goes back outside, fortunately finding Jaskier as he left him, and carefully pulls him down. Since the bard was in no position to pull his weight, Geralt hefted him into his arms and carried him inside and up into the room, ignoring the curious glances directed at him. It was probably quite the sight to see a Witcher carry someone, whether they were injured or not, and Geralt wouldn't be surprised if it caused suspicion. Hopefully nothing would come of it, and they would be undisturbed.

He changed Jaskier's bandages once he laid him on one side of the bed, and when he was finished and washed his hands clean of blood, he looked at the other side of the bed. His attempt at proper sleep was disturbed and he was starting to get desperate for a good night's sleep before there was another djinn incident. When he thought about how Jaskier might react if he woke up to see Geralt sharing the bed with him, he sighed because he knew the younger man wouldn't mind. In fact, he would praise the decision and say something along the lines of "See? There's nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence of comfort."

That had been what drove Geralt to kick off his boots and collapse heavily onto the other side of the bed with a sigh. Jaskier had already seen the best and the worst of him so this was nothing in comparison. He'd be more careful about staying aware of Jaskier's condition though. He wouldn't let anything happen to him while he had anything to do about it.

~~~~

Jaskier woke to the feeling of his trousers being removed and rather than panic immediately, he first looked to see who the culprit was. He definitely wasn't expecting it to be Geralt though.

"As flattered as I am, could you hold off until I'm in considerably less pain before you try...what was it you said? Hide your sausage in my pantry?" Jaskier says and Geralt looks at him for a long moment before smacking the bard's uninjured leg.

"I need to clean your wound. Shut up and behave." Geralt growls.

Well that certainly wasn't the response Jaskier was expecting. He thought Geralt would glare at him and toss him off the bed for being a pest. But since he had reacted like this, it made Jaskier very curious about what was going on in the older man's head.

"Ow. Way to hit a man while he's down." Jaskier complains.

"How's the pain?"

"Not as bad I suppose. It just throbs." Jaskier sits up and watches Geralt wrap his leg in fresh bandages. "Geralt? Have you slept?"

"Yes. Now lay back down." He replies and pushes Jaskier down. "The healer said you need to rest and drink that." He points at the cup sitting on the table by Jaskier. "It should help with the pain and stave off infection."

Jaskier sits up again just enough to grab the cup and swallow the contents before coughing at the bitter and foul taste. "Oh gods, it's like drinking the guts of a rancid fish."

"It is rancid fish."

"Wh-What?!" Jaskier gawks at Geralt and he huffs when he finds amusement in his eyes. "Oh yes, very funny, pick on the bedridden bard. See if I help you next time you get hurt!"

"Rest. I'll bring food."

"Bread, cheese, grapes, and ale?" Jaskier asks hopefully.

"Stew and apple juice."

"Really Geralt. I'm not a child." Jaskier bemoans as he lays down and stares at the ceiling. "At least make it grape juice."

"You'll get whatever I bring you." Geralt grunts.

Geralt throws a blanket over Jaskier before he stands up and leaves the room. The fact that the older man was showing such gentleness was a surprise to Jaskier. Not just with the blanket, but how he had tended to his wounds. He was so gentle that the younger man was just now processing that his hands had been big and warm...and that Geralt had applied a soothing salve. It only made Jaskier wonder if maybe the Witcher would always be that gentle with him. No matter the reason for the touch. Especially with the jest he made earlier.

And then there was what Geralt had said last night. You have something of mine.

No matter how much Jaskier told himself not to look too much into it, he couldn't help the giddy feeling welling up in his chest. He prided himself in being one of the very few people that knew Geralt well, and he knew the older man wouldn't say something like that just because. In fact, he would go out of his way to deny any sort of friendship with Jaskier. But what he said? It was intimate.

When Geralt returned with their food, he held out the tankard. "Don't say I never do anything for you."

"I would never."

Jaskier took a swig of his juice, fully expecting apple, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was grape.

He's a big softie.

[grovyrosegirl]

Confrontation: MCSM Fic

Author’s Note: I’ve been replaying MCSM seasons 1 and 2 recently because I got nostalgic for those blocky dorks. Then I went through some old WIPs in my docs and found this Lukas and Aiden fic from a few years ago. I really liked it, so I spruced it up a bit and finished it for old times’ sake. Enjoy!

---

“Bring him in.”

The guards wasted no time leading Lukas into the small cobblestone room. Despite confiscating everything in his inventory upon arrival, including his weapons, they kept a tight, secure grip on both of his arms. It was only when his former friend, who leaned against the wall with the most satisfied smirk on his face, gave them a small handwave that the guards released Lukas and stepped back, still blocking the only exit to the room.

“Leave us,” Aiden then ordered the two guards, much to Lukas’ surprise.

Even with the wary looks he saw on their faces, the guards obeyed and left the room, shutting the iron door behind them. Lukas faced forward once again, now noticing the oak wood table resting in the center of the room, two identical chairs stood on opposite sides of the table’s surface.

“Take a seat, Lukas,” Aiden made his way over and sat down in the chair facing the door, casually resting his arms behind his head. “Let’s chat.”

Lukas didn’t speak, eyeing the other carefully. Despite everything that had occurred in the past year, knowing what Aiden was capable of, and how low he’d sunk already, seeing that look--that smile--on his face felt unsettling to him. Lukas recalled their theater days that felt like centuries ago, the days before the Witherstorm, before they even thought to call themselves the Ocelots. Aiden was never much of an actor, his specialty had always been the set production.

But clearly, Lukas thought to himself as he felt his eyes lower into a glare, Aiden was enjoying playing the villain.

Slowly, he made his way over to the other chair, sitting down and folding his arms.

“So, is this the part where you try to get me to talk?” Lukas curtly began before Aiden could open his mouth again. “Because you’re wasting your time. Even if I did know where Jesse was, I wouldn’t tell you.”

Everything had happened so fast. The guards raced towards them all, closing in fast when they were revealed as the bridge-builders, an innocent act back home, but a crime on the floating island. His own capture occurred in a matter of seconds, he didn’t even see the guard coming until the very last moment. One minute he was watching Jesse sprint away into the alley, the next he was on the ground, pinned down by the guard. But those few seconds let Jesse and Petra escape, and for that, he took some relief in. By the time Lukas and Ivor were escorted to the throne room, the Founder was already getting the report from another guard that they’d lost sight of the “remaining criminals” as they put it.

He felt relieved knowing that his two friends hadn’t been captured yet. It meant there was a sliver of hope of getting out of this place.

Aiden let out an exaggerated sigh and sat up straight in the chair, leaning forward slightly and placing his arms crossed on the table’s surface, “Man, Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Aren’t you sick of talking about her yet? Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and get an answer out of you. Like you said, it would be a waste of time. Besides, you already got plenty of that from the Founder.” He snickered for a moment before continuing, “No. This is the part where I throw you a bone.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” Lukas said.

“It means I’m giving you a chance here, buddy,” Aiden said, “to join the winning team again.”

Lukas blinked, “What?”

“You heard me.”

He eyed Aiden suspiciously before saying, “You can’t be serious.”

“No games here, friend. Out of the goodness of my heart, I’ve decided to give you a second chance,” Aiden stood from his seat and began to walk around the table to stand next to Lukas. “C’mon, Lukas! It’ll be like the old days. Don’t you remember? We were the top dogs for years, and now, we can finally be on top again. But this time, it’ll be more than just winning some lame building contest.”

Aiden let out a deep chuckle, he wrapped one arm around Lukas’ shoulders and leaned in closer, a grin on his face.

“Here in this world, buddy? We can be kings.”

Lukas roughly shoved against Aiden’s chest, making the other man stumble back a few steps.

“I knew it,” Lukas said through his heated glare, “you’re planning to betray the Founder, aren’t you? It’s not enough that you want to steal the Eversource from her, you want her throne too.”

Aiden shot his own blazing glare back at Lukas, before regaining his composure and saying with that same grin, “Congrats Captain Obvious, you want a cookie?”

“Eat a slimeball, Aiden,” Lukas fired back, “do you honestly think you’ll get away with this?”

“I already am. But right now? That’s nothing you need to worry about,” He once again leaned back against the cobblestone walls. “The real question you should be asking is whether or not you’ll get to be a part of the spoils. It’s easy, Lukas. All you have to do is say yes and follow my lead. After that? Well, it’ll take a while, but I’m sure you can make up for abandoning your real team.”

At those words, Lukas’ boiling thoughts began to steam. He smashed his hands against the table’s surface and pushed himself up from the chair.

“Excuse me?!” He exclaimed. “You must’ve really lost me there, because last time I checked, it was you who abandoned me!”

At that reaction, Aiden almost seemed to shrink against the wall. However, he swiftly recovered his bravado and moved towards Lukas with gripped fists.

“We left because all you could think about was Jesse and her loser friends! It was always, ‘I’ve got to help Jesse build today!’ or ‘I’m going to visit Jesse!’” He clasped his hands together, held them close to his cheek as if he were hopelessly in love, and swung them back and forth while speaking in a mocking manner, “‘She’s my new best friend! We make cookies together! She’s sooo nice, and she’s sooo cool!’ You followed her around like a lovesick puppy. It makes me want to hurl!”

“I don’t get it all. Why?” Lukas shook his head in frustration. “Why do you hate her so much? Why have you always hated her so much? She never did anything to you! You always just got a kick out of torturing her and her friends, didn’t you? And when you couldn’t pick on her anymore, you start pushing Maya and Gill around. Anything to make yourself feel tall, is that it?!”

“Not like you ever tried to stop me,” he scoffed.

“Because back then, I thought it was all some dumb rivalry. But I was wrong. And I still kick myself everyday for not putting a stop to it. Maybe if I had,” Lukas paused, then let out a sigh that was flooded with a regretful tone, “maybe we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Aiden scowled, “She’s a loser. And all she does is drag people down to her loser level. She did it with Petra, and she did it with you.”

“She’s a hero. And she’s my friend!”

“I was your friend!” Aiden snarled.

“Yeah, you were. Until you decided that your stupid, fragile ego mattered more than years worth of friendship!”

“If you were really my friend, you wouldn’t have chosen Jesse over me!”

“If you were really my friend, you wouldn’t have made me choose!”

At the end of his patience, Aiden lunged forward with an angry screech. He grabbed the collar of Lukas’ jacket and yanked the boy forward, dangling him slightly off the ground.

“I can do it, you know,” Aiden said through gritted teeth. His voice was low, but ever-so menacing, “I can throw you off this island right now. No one would blame me if I told them you attacked me. The people here believe whatever I tell them. You fall into the void forever, and all you’ll be remembered as is some villain who tried to attack this island’s savior.”

Lukas, amidst his struggle against Aiden’s grip, looked him directly in the eyes and said in his own low, fearsome voice, “I dare you.”

Aiden went still. All of the bravado, the threats, and the glares were drained from his face. His eyes went wide with disbelief, and in that moment, Lukas saw it. Fear. Hesitation. The thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d taken a step too far. Aiden opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. With only a sentence, Lukas was allowed to see the tiniest glimpse of the person he used to trust most in the world.

He saw the scared, insecure kid he’d met all those years ago.

Aiden’s grip on Lukas became loose, allowing the latter to easily push him away.

“That’s what I thought,” Lukas broke the silence with a sigh. He buried his hands into his jacket pockets, looking down to the floor, “You’re all talk, Aiden. Always have been.”

The anger returned as quickly as it had fled. But it wasn’t explosive. It was simmering. Aiden narrowed his eyes back into a glare, his fists, clenched so tight it looked painful, were trembling.

Another moment of silence passed before Aiden finally looked away from Lukas and exclaimed, “Guards!”

The same guards who’d brought Lukas here returned swiftly, entering the room and grabbing ahold of both of his arms once more. Lukas did little to resist their hold, only keeping a hard stare on Aiden.

“Get him out of my sight,” Aiden said in a low growl. “He’s useless.”

The guards obeyed and led Lukas out of the room. With a slam of the iron door, Aiden was left alone.

[coffeestainsandcashmere]

Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - (older Dramione), Part Four

Well, here’s part four for you! It’s really just part three continued, but since I didn’t want the previous part to be 7k words or so long, I split it up. The total wordcount is 12.4k words now!!

Thank you very much to those of you who’ve commented and sent me lovely owls on here to let me know you’re enjoying it! (this is a sideblog for me, so I don’t respond to comments on posts, but I do answer asks as Cashmere).

I know a lot of folks (me included) don’t like starting to read WIPs that are unfinished, so thanks to those of you who have hopped on now. Consider yourselves honoured beta readers! It’ll go up on AO3 when it’s all posted on here and completed.

No real warnings for this one, just some discussion of their past relationships (for both Hermione and Draco) before the plot thickens and things warm up a bit in part five. Not sure when that’ll go up - it kind of depends on how much feedback I get on this one I guess! Comments and reblogs feed an author’s muse after all.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

___

At her wry smile and tiny shrug, Malfoy laughed, apparently reassured. “A little,” he repeated softly to himself under his breath.  

After a heartbeat she shot him a sidelong look and added, “You’ve changed so much, Draco. I can hardly believe it, but it’s clear as day.”

He did a little double take at the sound of his name on her lips, and then he smiled. It was such a tiny, fragile melting of his expression that she nearly missed it.  

“I mean it,” she said, tightening her fingers on his steel-cable forearm for a fraction of a second. “I don’t know if it was the war or your marriage, or becoming a father, or something else entirely, but… you’re not the same person you were back at Hogwarts. Not at all.”

“Thank fuck for that,” he hissed. “I had a hell of a lot of growing up to do. I think I did ninety percent of it in the space of sixth year. But Astoria helped steady me after… after Hogwarts and all the bollocks and bullshit of the aftermath of… of… you know.”

“‘Bollocks and bullshit’ is a mighty casual way to say ‘a short stay in Azkaban and three years of house arrest’, Malfoy. That’s got to change a person, for sure.”  

He shrugged. “I’m just glad it’s all in the past now. For the most part, anyway.” The silence that followed spoke volumes of the baggage that they were all still hauling around with them, of one kind or another.  

They wound their way across the park’s pathways with no particular direction in mind. As the glittering waters of the Serpentine drew into view in the deepening dusk, she murmured, “I’m glad you came tonight.”

“Me too,” he said, voice little more than a low rumble above the sussurating wind in the trees. “Theo seemed on fine form, and it was nice to see Pans again. It’s been a few months. Longbottom looks good too,” he added as an afterthought. “He grew into himself, didn’t he?”

“Mmm,” she nodded. “Never would have called his and Pansy’s relationship though. I thought she went for the bad boys like you and Blaise…”

Malfoy snorted. “I’m a ‘bad boy’ now, am I? That’s an interesting spin on my past.”

“Maybe not so much ‘bad boy’ now as ‘grumpy reclusive Mr. Rochester’. How about that?”

“He one of your Muggle heroes?” he asked without sting.  

“Yeah. He’s Jane Eyre’s leading male. A bad-tempered rich man who has a big house in the middle of nowhere and a secret deranged wife in the attic.”

“Well, I hit three out of the four criteria…” he said and Hermione’s heart lurched as she remembered he wasn’t a bachelor but a widower.  

“Shit, Draco, I’m sorry,” she said. “That was thoughtless of me.”

He shook his head, the silver hair of his forelock tossing about as he chuckled, an entirely unfamiliar sound which she decided she wanted to hear again almost immediately. “It’s fine, Granger. You haven’t got a malicious bone in your body. Besides, it was a long time ago.”  

They came naturally to a halt in front of the man-made lake and stared out at the lapping water for a time before she uncoupled her grip from his arm and shucked her coat back on.  

That done, she drew in a deep breath and paused, leaning her forearms on the back of a cast-iron bench overlooking a flock of huddled, plastic pedalo boats moored up offshore. Malfoy remained a pace behind her, back straight as an arrow, his hands tucked into his pockets now that she was no longer hanging onto him.  

A fair few Muggles were out and about, some walking lazily as she and Draco had been, others pounding along the pavement on their evening run, and a good number were walking dogs. The sheer mundanity of it all struck her deeply for a moment and her breath caught in her throat.  

“Granger?” he asked in a soft voice.  

She straightened and turned to look back at him over her shoulder. “I was just thinking how close we came to losing all of this… Sometimes it seems like a million years ago, and others…”

“Like yesterday,” he finished a beat later. His eyes glittered in the half-light, pale lashes ghostly and ethereal, and in the dark, his pupils were wide and black and inviting.  

“Let’s keep going, hmm?” she chirped.  

In fact, he walked her all the way back to her rather modest apartment in Muggle London. “You didn’t want to live closer to work at the bookshop?” he asked as she fumbled for her very ordinary, Muggle keys with half-frozen fingers.  

Giving up, she murmured a quick ‘alohomora’ and pressed her hand to the extra ward she had placed on it. “I’ve lived here since I moved out of the house with Ron. Never seen any point in looking for something bigger or whatever. It’s cosy, and it’s just me anyway. You want to come in? I’ll have to tweak the wards if you do.”

“I… I don’t want to be a bother,” he said, his expression pinching.  

“No bother. It’s a three minute job, if that.”  

He looked torn, teetering on the edge of a refusal, but as she swept her curls back out of her face and blinked up at him, he seemed to waver, and finally he nodded. “Alright. Yes please.”

“Stay put. I’ll be right back,” she said, and left the door open so that he wouldn’t feel like a stray dog shut out in the cold.  

After setting her bag and coat down on a sofa in the main living room, she stood and centred herself, reaching for the wards with her magic. They thrummed reassuringly as she wove a slightly different pattern into them, allowing Draco Malfoy to come and go, and then she released the magic once again.  

“Ok!” she called to him and he stepped tentatively inside, shutting the door with a polite click behind him and levering off his fancy dragonhide Oxfords at the doormat.  

There was something so intimately sweet about seeing him pad across the fake-wooden lino of her living room floor in his dark socks that she couldn’t help grinning.  

“Those are some powerful wards you’ve got up,” he commented as he blinked curiously around the room.  

“Hangover from the Ministry days, I suppose. Plus this is technically a Muggle building, so I can’t have anyone noticing anything strange. There’s another witch here, up on the seventh floor, but we don’t see each other often. You want something to drink? I’ve got tea or coffee, and a small selection of wine, though nothing nearly as nice as what Theo has on tap…”

He smiled. “A tea would be lovely.”

She ducked out into the tiny galley kitchen and lost herself in the simple task of filling and boiling the Muggle kettle. She turned to find Malfoy leaning his shoulder against the door frame, hands cupped under opposite elbows, watching her with that owl-like intensity again.  

“Muggle kitchen,” she grinned almost sheepishly. “Magic is great for a lot of things, but some routines just can’t be beaten.” Ron had always hated and mistrusted things like electric kettles and refrigerators, not quite fully understanding the way it grounded her in her Muggle upbringing.  

“I’m not judging you,” he said, voice low and slightly hoarse. “I’m just interested. Do you mind?”

“No,” she said, fishing in the cupboard for her selection of teabags. She held the cardboard box open for him to select one and her eyebrows rose when he chose a delicate mint and chamomile one, but she offered no comment. “I can give you a masterclass in using Muggle kitchens if you like.”

His lips pulled back into a broad, dazzling smile and he laughed. “Go on then.”

“Fridge,” she said, opening it and showing him. “Keeps things cold; powered by electricity. Freezer, keeps things, well, frozen…” She continued her tour while the tea steeped, and by the time she was done, the tea was ready and they made their way back out into the humble living room, with a second-hand sofa and a battered old coffee table with more ringed coffee-stains on than visible surface.  

Her stomach rumbled and he raised an eyebrow at her.  

“I didn’t get a chance to eat anything yet, other than nibbles at Theo’s,” she cringed.

“Don’t let me stop you having something for supper then,” he said.  

“I’m not going to scoff a freezer dinner on my own while you sit there and watch me,” she blurted, laughing. “Unless you want to join me? I’ve got a couple of pizzas in the freezer. Nothing fancy, but they’ll be ready in twenty minutes or so if I put the oven on now.”

Malfoy looked like he’d missed something somewhere but was too embarrassed to ask, so he just said, “Pizza? Sure. The last time I had pizza was when I took Scorpius to Rome.”

“Well,” she said, setting her mug down on the table and heading into the kitchen. Over her shoulder, she called, “I can guaranteed these won’t be nearly as good as those were, but they’re pretty tasty. I think they’re both chicken and pesto - is that alright?”

“Perfectly.”

Oven on, she returned and folded herself into the squashy armchair which sat at right angles to the sofa, tucking one leg up beneath her and drawing the other foot up beside her. Malfoy, of course, sat like he was about to take tea with the Queen, while she felt like a pretzel on a shelf. A comfy pretzel though, she thought as she reached for her mug.  

“I’m glad we walked back,” she said after a moment. “I can’t believe I worked myself up into such a tizzy over Ron like that. It’s so childish…”

Malfoy sipped his tea and then cradled it between his long, pale fingers for a moment. “What happened between you two? I thought you three were —”

“— the ‘Golden Trio’?” she purred, voice laden with sarcasm.  

He made a conciliatory gesture with his head but said nothing more.  

She sighed. “We were. I mean, Harry and I are still super close - I’m James’ godmother after all. Ginny’s the sister I never had, but something went wrong with Ron somewhere along the line.” She knew exactly what the final blow had been, but there had been a myriad other issues on both sides before that. “I think… I think he felt like he never had a real niche, you know? He was always second fiddle to Harry in the heroics and quidditch departments, and, well, everyone knows I was the brains of the trio,” she said self-effacingly. “That’s not to say that he’s stupid — he’s not.”  

Malfoy scoffed at that, and for a moment she saw the petulant, petty little thirteen year old he had once been. A deeply sceptical look filled his eyes, and he looked like he was physically biting his tongue to keep himself from disagreeing with her.  

“No, really,” she scowled. “He just makes stupid, split-second decisions without thinking anything through. I’m not defending what he did or how he behaved at the end of our marriage, but…” she sighed heavily and drank a mouthful of too-hot tea that scalded her throat on its way down. “He’s in a pretty good place now with Lavender. We just… rub each other up the wrong way, even now I think.”

“Theo said he was being an arsehole earlier,” Malfoy pushed.  

She shrugged. “A bit. I think he carries a lot of bitterness towards…” she gestured vaguely in Malfoy’s direction, “… Slytherins? I’m not really sure. Stupid house prejudices that a lot of witches and wizards clearly never get over. As if one moment in our history defines us for the rest of our lives, or as if we’re limited to the characteristics of the house we were sorted into at the age of eleven… It’s just so fucking dumb, Malfoy!”

He laughed softly at that.  

“What? You don’t agree?”

“No, I absolutely agree with you. I was enjoying hearing you swear, that’s all. Forgive me.”

She flushed and looked away, anger leaving her as swiftly as it had come. “Ron has a lot of insecurities, and a few of them centre around me, but… I guess I just wasn’t enough for him in the end.”

“How could you possibly be ‘not enough’ for someone, Granger?” Draco asked in a hoarse whisper. “And you were the bloody Minister for Magic for Merlin’s sake…! What more did he want from his witch? Morgana herself reincarnated?”

She laughed long and loud at that, and Malfoy seemed to relax a little in the wake of his little outburst. “My reign was very short though,” she said as she stood and took the opportunity to put the pizzas in the oven. When she returned, she asked carefully, “What about you and Astoria?”  

“What about us?” he asked, voice even and steady, though his eyes swirled softly like Trelawney’s crystal balls, hiding their secrets behind a shifting sheen of silver.  

“Were you happy?”

Malfoy’s eyes slid away from her to stare unseeing at a point across the room, and he sat back against the sofa cushions, still nursing his cheap, Tesco mug between his hands.

“Yes,” he said eventually. “For the most part we were. It wasn’t… earth-shattering or anything, but it was pretty good, all things considered. It was arranged by our families, you know?”

She nodded.

“I knew Astoria’s older sister, Daphne, far better than I knew her, but Daph promised to an Austrian count already. He’s actually very nice. I’m glad for her.”

“I vaguely remember Daphne from school, but I didn’t have many classes with her as we got older.”

“I’d met Astoria a few times before it was all formally arranged, but even then, we only met a total of perhaps five or six times before the wedding proper. It wasn’t the huge event my mother had always dreamed of throwing for me, but with my father in Azkaban and me under house arrest, the mood wasn’t really there, you know?”  

Hermione did some quick maths and realised he must have been only nineteen or so when he’d been married, and her eyes widened. She’d only been twenty-two when Ron and she had tied the knot, but still, that struck her as very young. Scorpius hadn’t been born straight away though, and there had been vicious gossip about blood-curse-related infertility until the little mandrake had arrived. Hermione been about to make the leap to Minister at the incredibly tender age of twenty five when the attack on the Manor had taken place, and Scorpius had been mere months old at the time.

“Toria and I grew to know each other better,” Draco went on, “And in time, I think we came to love each other, in our own way. She certainly adored Scorpius before the blood curse took her.”

“What was she like?” Hermione asked in a whisper.  

Again, Malfoy sighed and closed his eyes with his head tipped back to rest against the sofa cushions. “Quiet, intelligent, articulate, easy-going most of the time, but when she got passionate about something, she could be pretty stubborn. Scorpius inherited a lot of that from her.”

“He looks like you though,” she said. “I mean… almost exactly like you did at that age. It gave me quite the turn when I saw the two of you on Platform 9 3/4 you know?”

He smirked and cracked an eye open. “Tell me about it,” he said. “Mother is always calling him ‘Draco’ instead of ‘Scorpius’. It drives him nuts.”

They shared a laugh at that. “Your mother lives with you at the Manor then?”

“Yes and no,” he said, shuffling a little and getting comfy again, relaxing his torso more casually against the arm of the sofa at last. “She moved out of the main manor when Toria and I married. Now she lives at what we affectionately call the Dower House. Officially it’s called Nightshade Cottage.”

“Ominous name,” she said and he smiled again.  

“Apt though. There’s a rambling, stone-walled potion-garden round the back of it, full of all sorts of interesting plants, and a stunning rose garden at the front. It’s really beautiful in spring, and rather potent in summer.”

“You make it sound almost welcoming,” she said without thinking and he huffed a dry laugh.  

“Parts of the estate really are lovely, Granger; its sordid past notwithstanding.”

When the beeper went on the timer, Malfoy jumped and looked confused, but she laughed and showed him. She did use her wand to cut up the pizzas though, and by the time they were seated back on the sofas with plates in their lap, they resumed their easy talk as if they’d never been interrupted. Watching Malfoy in his fancy clothes and eating pizza with his hands was almost too much for Hermione to bear, but if she focused on his voice too much instead, she found herself mesmerised on that front too. Who’d have thought that Hermione Granger would have found herself growing more and more attracted to Draco Malfoy all these years later.  

Long after they’d finished eating, they spoke a little more of Scorpius, and how Malfoy guessed he was getting on after his first week at school. “Of course, he hasn’t written to me yet, but I’m hoping he might pen something this weekend…”

“You worry about him, don’t you?”

“Constantly,” he snorted. “One of the burdens of being a father, I suppose.”

“Of being a good one,” she amended, and she didn’t miss the way he swallowed thickly and blinked his glassy eyes rapidly a few times.  

Then he sighed expansively and then levered himself to his feet. “It’s late, Granger, and I should probably be going. I’ve got a meeting to get to early tomorrow morning in Scotland, and I still have a bit of paperwork to do tonight.”

“But it’s the weekend, Malfoy,” she said as she rose too. “You can’t have to work, surely?”

He nodded and shrugged, but made his way to the door and slid his feet back into his shoes without further comment or explanation.  

A little, fluttering, doxy-wing cloud of nerves shimmered to life in her chest as they stood face to face at the door. Malfoy swallowed again and hitched a tiny, lopsided smile. “Thanks for tonight, Granger. And…” he faltered and shook his head. “Yeah,” he said roughly. “Thank you.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you,” she said. “You got me out of my funk and walked me safely home.” She ran her fingers through her mass of curls and didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered to watch the movement before he blinked and turned away to open the door, clearing his throat.  

With his fingers still on the handle, he paused and looked back over his shoulder. “My pleasure, Granger. Sincerely.”

Hermione barely managed to offer him a watery smile before he was striding off down the corridor.  

She lingered in the doorway long after his footsteps had faded down the stairwell — apparently using the Muggle lift alone had proved too daunting for him. After she locked the door and recharged the wards behind her, she picked up his empty plate and mug to put them in the dishwasher.  

As she passed the dresser that had once belonged to her mother, she caught sight of a moving photograph of Crookshanks. The half-kneazel was staring at the flat’s front door with his yellow, lamp-like eyes wide. “What do you think of him now, huh Crooks?” she asked the photo. “Bit different, eh?”

Photo-Crookshanks purred and circled in the bottom corner of the frame a few times, bottle-brush tail twitching, before returning to his fireplace and curling up with a look of contentment on his face. God, she missed that cat.  

“Yeah. I think I like him too, Crooks,” she said. “Merlin help me, but I think I like him too.”

.

Part Five

___

I’ve only written all 12,410 words of this because people told me they liked it, otherwise it’d have stayed on whatever the first chapter was, so if you want more, let me know with a reblog! Feel free to send me an anonymous owl too if you’re more comfortable doing that.

Anyway, take care, and more soon, I hope. I’ve got a fair chunk plotted out, and it should take us up to Christmas in the storyline (it’s September now for them).

writing masterlist | Ao3

[chyrstis]

WIP Sunday!

Got a few ideas here to share for sure! @jackiesarch @starsandskies and @fadedjacket were all kind enough to tag me throughout the week (thank you all! <3) and usually if Fridays aren’t able to work, Sundays definitely do. 

Tagging: @cobb-vanthss @amistrio @hunnybadgerv @shallow-gravy @painterofhorizons @ma-sulevin @tommymillers @nightwingshero  @princess-underthemountain @chazz-anova @faithchel @consumedkings @vasiktomis @adelaidedrubman @strafethesesinners @aceghosts but no worries or obligation intended at all! 

First, a little Trap fic, maybe? And maybe I’ll get this chapter done today too? *crosses fingers hard*

---

Now she’d messed around with a few things when she was younger. Played some pranks, knew her way around a few locks, and tried making a cherry bomb or two when one of her friends wanted to piss off an asshole that had been tormenting them, but hadn’t fully committed to dabbling in it more than that. Especially since the last thing she needed her mom to find at random on her after coming home was a set of improvised explosives.

But this wasn’t exactly the same situation, and the improvised explosives that Hurk affectionately dubbed ‘party favors’ had a hell of a lot more bang to them than any cherry bomb she’d put her hands on. Enough to throw Hana down to the bed of the truck she was standing in after pitching one towards a nearby billboard, and couldn’t stop cackling the minute she caught what was left of it.

So she might’ve made a mental note to get together with him and Sharky later on to make a few more of these, because at this rate it wasn’t just about getting their people home safe and doing the Resistance a solid.

She could have fun with this. A hell of a lot of fun, she decided as she gave the charred remains of John’s message the finger on the way out.

And two silos, and one ruined roadblock later, they were all feeling pretty good about the hell they were raising. Took turns behind the wheel and with Gina - with Hurk’s enthusiastic blessing, of course - and Hana almost held her breath until the call finally came through. That the other tanker had reached Fall’s End safely, and once they’d shaken the lats few cultists that were tailing them, headed on home.

But that was it.

The only call that she received, even after managing to score a bullseye shot at another one of John’s billboards, tagging him right in the middle of his smarmy face.

---

And how about some more Hana/Sharky nonsense too? Since this idea’s coming along pretty well, it’s just a matter of getting these two to hush up for a bit so I can have a chance to actually finish it. (not that I’m discouraging them /at all/ here)

---

“You two really mean a lot to each other, huh? It’s nice.” She took one look at the dwindling cigarette in her hand and held it out to him.

“Yeah, we give each other shit, and I might’ve told him to take a ride to hell on a lubed up slip n’ slide after he said he liked having me around just to have skeeters divebomb me instead of him, but…there’s nothing mean behind it, you know?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

“He’s my bro. Don’t got anyone else like him around, though you’re getting pretty close, so…” She saw his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, and quickly took the cigarette after that. “How about you, H? You got any family outside of here?”

“No.”

The answer slipped out so easily it left her stunned for a second. In fact, the last time she’d even gotten into family history had been back with Whitehorse, and even then he’d been able to read her discomfort from a mile away.

But here as she looked over at Sharky, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing to consider.

“I…there were a couple of people that counted for a while, but no. No huge family, no white picket fence, all of that jazz. Just me, my mom, and one of the most boring sedans on earth. Cruising from city to city seeing which one would be the one to work for us.”

She cracked a smile as she remembered the chips in its paint. The fabric of the seats, the sound of the radio and her mother flipping through stations until music started filtering through the static. How she’d try singing along to it while holding the map in front of her, unsure whether to keep her legs folded under her, or to stretch them out.

“I loved that old piece of junk with all of my heart, even when it kept on trying to die on us, and the day we finally had to sell it off, I was inconsolable for a week. Cried and fussed and didn’t even want to look at anything else, because that was-I think that was the closest thing to a home that we had, if that makes any sense.”

“Let’s see.” Sharky raised his fingers and started ticking them off. “You got four walls and a set of doors and windows. Keeps you warm when it’s cold, and cold when it’s hot, and you can hide and store shit whenever you want,” he pointed out, grinning at her. “Plus, it’s on wheels, which is pretty badass when you wanna go somewhere and ain’t got much else, and a winnie’s as good a home as any other, so I’d say that all counts.“

He held out the cigarette to her. Hadn’t even used it after taking it, and it took a few seconds for that to sink in as she looked at him.

But she returned the smile. Tilted her head towards him as she took the cigarette back, and raised an eyebrow. “You really think so?”

“I know so, H. Think I spent more Sundays down in my old car than any of the Peggies did with Broseph, and we’d be in it in now if I hadn’t packed it full of C4 and launched it at some Angels.” He sighed. “Might’ve shed more than a tear or two once the smoke cleared and the fire really started, but if I had to pick a way to send it off, that’s a top fucking choice right there.”

“Really? That’s - that’s how it went?”

Sharky whistled as his arm swung down in an arc, only to spread both of his hands out after.

A giggle burst out of her. Had her clapping a hand to her mouth as she visualized it, and almost couldn’t stop.

“…You know what? I really can’t argue with that.”

[fountainpenguin]

It’s an Update

Hello, Riddle here! I know I’ve been pretty quiet on Tumblr lately. Here’s an update on my situation:

I will definitely post more fanfic updates soon. I’ve picked at drafts, but haven’t posted anything lately. Here are the reasons why:

I got a new IRL job. It’s a good fit for me, but I have less free time than I used to, of course. It’s a job that involves writing lots of articles on a variety of topics, and I enjoy how every day is a little different

Most of my free time for the last year has gone towards my mod work at the Creature-Crossing ARPG, and to my personal CC writing. I’ve been working on new activities over there (my recent favorite being our seasonal familiar shows... I won first place in the summer show!) and I have a lot of plot plans that are coming together now. If you ever want to see my original characters and read my CC writing, you can find my character directory HERE and my Table of Contents HERE.

Once November 1st hits, I won’t be preparing for the release of any more CC activities or events. All future activity or event releases will be overseen by the other mods, and I’ll simply be someone they can ask for extra help if needed. This is a big change for a mod who spent the last 12 months working on new releases, and will give me back some of the free time my IRL job will eat

The Creature-Crossing admin (my boss) greenlit my request to bring an assistant on the mod team who will specifically help me with a lot of my behind-the-scenes work, such as data entry and organization. I’ve never had another mod who specifically helps me with the back end duties before, so that will be awesome. I will need to spend some time training them, but once they are official, that will take some of my workload off and allow me more free time for this blog and personal writing time.

===

Fanfic updates you can expect to see soon:

- Reedfilter Rules

- Frayed Knots

- Origin of the Pixies

- Debut of Factor It In, my Kid Math-centric “WordGirl” fanfic (Subtitled “Tales of a third-grade superhero in training”)... Yes I am still in love with this idiot boy, expect lots of doodle pages soon

- The 130 Prompts project is on a slow-burn writing schedule... I’ll write for it when I want to, but I mostly want to focus on Origin and Knots this year.

Further info below the cut. There is more info about non-Fairly OddParents ‘fics in here too (under “non-FOP fanfics”), so if you’re looking forward to Mario World or “WordGirl” ‘fics from me, give this a click so you know what’s coming!

So, what does this update mean for your fanfics?

They’ll be active again soon! I’ve been picking at them behind the scenes, trying to build up a buffer. In an ideal world, I would love to release a new chapter for SOMETHING every Friday. I doubt this will be possible, but it’s something I would love to work towards in the future. Realistically, you can probably expect some kind of fanfic update once every two Fridays (two updates per month).

There might be some Fridays where posting an update is not possible. Instead, I’ll make a post about what progress I made instead. In the past, I often overworked myself to get a chapter out in time for my old deadline. I will not be doing that anymore, but will instead hold myself to a goal of “Make progress on something every week.”

In the best ideal world, I would love to post one FOP fanfic update per week and one non-FOP fanfic update per week. This is not likely to happen for a long, long time, but that would be the dream.

-

Here are the things I most likely worked on if there is no fanfic update:

- A fanfic chapter draft that needs more time

- A sideblog profile

- A Toyhouse profile for personal characters

- IRL work or mod work may have kept me busy this week

- Creature-Crossing writing... I will try to prioritize my fanfics more, but my CC writing is still important to me and I will be working on it in a lot of my free time too. At the moment, I have a hard deadline of December 14th that I need to meet if I want to release huge plot drama on the day that it happens in canon. I’ve been building up to this for a long time, so I’m really excited about that.

I currently have summer or autumn 2022 planned as the “finale” for the majority of my plot to explode. I will be hosting a member-run event in Creature-Crossing that will last for two months, so a lot of my time from January until the event’s release will be spent doing event prep. Once the event ends, my story content will mostly be a “return to slice of life.” Stories will be more casual one-offs as characters grow, live their lives, and start their own families. Hitting seasonal deadlines for plot will no longer be so important. I’ll be giving Creature-Crossing work less attention after that, and much more attention to my fanfics.

- I may not have a fanfic chapter out each week, but I WILL post a note every Friday to let you know what I have been doing with my time. You’ll see me around. Feel free to send Asks and talk!

===

What non-FOP fanfics would you like to work on?

For literal years, I’ve been claiming I want to post Mario World fanfics. This is still something I want to do. I tag Mario World posts as “mushrooms and more.” I’ve already done a lot of worldbuilding, I have thousands of words of content written for this fandom... I just haven’t posted any of it. I hope to do this soon.

- “WordGirl” fanfics are prioritized over Mario World fanfics. After I finish my first “WordGirl” multi-chapter, I will probably be ready to post my Mario World ‘fics. I may possibly post some Mario World one-shots in between other fanfic updates. Might take another year or more before I touch Mario stuff unless there’s high interest in seeing it sooner?

I also really want to write some WordGirl ‘fics and get more involved with the fandom community. I’ve been building headcanons and lore for this show ever since I was a kid, and I have multiple ‘fics for this fandom that I want to write.

- “AlgoRhythm” is a ‘fic I have already posted on FFN and AO3, about WordGirl introducing Kid Math to the villains in town

- 28 Cities is a ‘fic I started about Rhyme and Reason before they arrived in Fair City. I put it on hiatus since it didn’t seem like anyone was interested, but I’m willing to post more for it if there is interest in it now that years have passed and I’ve gotten more followers who like WordGirl. I have a lot of worldbuilding and plot I never shared for it

- Factor It In is a ‘fic I’ve been working for a while that parallels the official show from the moment Kid Math arrives in town. It focuses on Rex’s struggle to adjust to this world as a child coming into his superpowers for the first time (Y’know, the whole “superheroes don’t have powers when they’re on their home planets” thing), his struggle to adapt to the social world of a non-logical planet, and Becky’s struggle to help him become accustomed to Earth and learn to share it with her as well. If the episode “Kid Math” was a full-length novel about Rex’s arrival and character development, that’s what this story is. This is the highest priority of all my non-FOP ‘fics... I’ve had a cover image made for 6 months and even though I tried setting it aside, I’ve always been super inspired to write for it. If I felt like it would be a good idea to commit to weekly updates alongside my FOP updates, I would, haha.

- I have two one-shot WIPs called “Squishy Feelings” and “A Little Ambiguity”, one of them focusing on Becky and Rex talking about the events of “Rhyme and Reason” and what it means for Rex’s secret identity, and the latter being a future ‘fic showing WordGirl and Kid Math dealing with life 10 to 15 years down the road. I’ll probably post the latter, not sure yet on the former.

- If desired, I may make a WordGirl specific sideblog where I post lore, answer Asks, post character profiles [smaller than my FOP sideblog ones], and mention fanfic updates. If you would be interested in this, feel free to send me an Ask requesting I do this. If there’s not interest, I’ll just keep my WordGirl stuff on the main blog.

- I’d like to get more involved in the WordGirl community, so I’ll probably post more content and reblog more art and headcanons

I also have a handful of miscellaneous ideas I might follow through with. I’d like to write at least one “TUFF Puppy” fanfic so I can say I did. In a perfect world I would like to finish the two “Danny Phantom” and “Bunsen Is a Beast” fanfics I started because... I just kind of want to dip my toe in each of the Hartman shows once since I already went through all the effort of worldbuilding for them to make them canon in a single Hartman show universe. “ChalkZone” is another show I adore and might touch someday (You may recall I have a full outline planned for an FOP/ChalkZone crossover ‘fic called “Dust to Dust”).

Will I write all of these things? Maybe not. I have no idea if I want to spend the next 10+ years writing fanfics, or if I’ll simply be done with all misc. fanfics immediately once I decide to be done with my main ‘fics. I definitely intend to write for a few more years and finish my main ‘fics, but I might not go through with some less popular side ‘fics if life is getting busy for me.

===

What is the posting schedule for FOP ‘fics?

Reedfilter Rules, Frayed Knots, Origin of the Pixies, the 130 Prompts project, and “Come What May” are all high priority FOP writings. I will swap between them depending on my mood that week.

Here are some other ‘fics I want to work on.

- If you like, you can send me Asks requesting I work on a specific story above the rest. I will try to prioritize whichever stories interest you guys most.

Snips and Snails is a ‘fic I started and posted the first chapter for years ago. I’m not sure when I will get back to it, as I ran into some writer’s block. It’s still on tentative hiatus for now..... Possibly forever, though I hope it isn’t forever since it’s only supposed to be, like, five more chapters.

Pink and Gray is on official hiatus. I actually have a lot written for it, but I know it’s a little weird to put so much time and energy into Gary and Betty content when... well, let’s be honest: they’re my niche favorites and most of you probably don’t care. So, I am lifting my usual “no spoilers” policy from my Ask Box. If you would like to ask about my Gary and Betty backstory headcanons, feel free. I will tag my replies as “ridwriting spoilers” for anyone who wants to blacklist the tag, and spoilers will be hidden under a Read More line. 

I’d like to return to this story someday because there are tons of things I like about it (ranging from Betty’s secret tattoos to Gary’s plot drama with his mom to the background drama between Talon and Anti-Cosmo, but I always feel immense pressure to make it extra cool to make up for the fact these are weird side characters, so... it’s officially at the bottom of the priority pile. Once Talon shows up in Frayed Knots and readers understand who he is and why he exists, I’ll consider coming back to it.

Identity Theft is a story about Foop and his time in the alternate dimension he was flung into following the episode “Playdate of Doom.” To put it short, Foop was abused by alternate versions of his parents in this dimension and he witnessed some pretty intense stuff, including the death of the alt version of himself who existed in that reality. The trauma he experienced resulted in his alternate personality, Hiccup. Foop himself has very few memories of what happened, as Hiccup has all of those memories. This story is canon in my works, and it is regularly referred to during the 130 Prompts as part of Foop’s backstory. It’s my highest priority side story to work on.

Along the Cherry Lane is a 20-chapter work focusing on the lives of the main human cast from age 11 to age 30, with one chapter showing a snippet of their lives each year. You see Timmy raising Tommy and Tammy in this ‘fic, and it ends with them receiving godparents. Since the 130 Prompts don’t give humans much attention, this ‘fic does. You’ll probably see it debut two years from now, closer to when the 130 Prompts is ready to talk more about humans.

If this becomes a popular ‘fic of mine, I’ll probably write a sequel or continue it past Chapter 30 and write about Tammy and Tommy living with fairies, but I won’t if there’s no interest in that.

Little Imperfections is a Pixie AU ‘fic of mine about what life would be like in a universe where the Fairies are even more like insects than I play them as during my main works (where I already play them as semi-similar to insects). In this world, the Head Pixie is a figurehead whose duty is to reproduce for the sake of the colony and do nothing else, and he’s bored out of his mind until he befriends Sanderson, who introduces him to music. It’s extremely self-indulgent and silly because I like Pixies.

Francis is a multi-chapter ‘fic about bully Francis’s life getting yet another fairy godparent in a long string of memory wipes and godparents. It takes place during the canon series, and when you see an “orange fairy” mentioned in some of my writings, it’s usually referring to this fairy. His name is Rover and I occasionally post art of him. I feel like I can’t truly call myself an FOP fanfic writer until I actually write about a godkid and their godparents, haha...

Hawthorn Haven is a side ‘fic that will be posted towards the end of the 130 Prompts, as it veers off from the prompts in its own self-contained multi-chapter story. It will be approximately the length of “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.”

Acacia Arcadia is a far-past ‘fic detailing the fall of the ancient fae, the imprisonment of the nature spirits, the rise and fall of the chimera nation, the fall of the Martian genies, and the early days of the cloudlands. This is close to the bottom of the priority pile... It’s something I spend time on for personal reference to ensure accuracy in my other ‘fics, but it’s probably not what you guys came here to read.

AA has a bunch of characters in it that you might vaguely recognize, such as Ezekiel Whimsifinado, Evadne, Ione, Two Feathers, Rho, and Sablewood (If you’re astute, you might recall cloudland legends and landmarks in modern day that refer back to these characters). There are also a lot of characters who were reincarnated as Anti-Fairies, in accordance to traditional Anti-Fairy beliefs; Foop for example exists as a main character in one of his past lives, and you’ll see a hint dropped about each of his lives in the first chapter of Identity Theft. My tentative plan is to use Foop’s past lives as my central characters, following the events of each part of the timeline until he gets killed and reincarnates at a later point of the timeline.

I also keep some one-shots in a file I call Mixed Nuts and I may possibly post them someday (they’re mostly just one-shots of main cast characters I do to get a feel for their personalities, I have some Wanda and Cupid in here). @zachbrightside and I are also working on a collab ‘fic called Like a House On Fire that shows more of Timmy and Chloe’s lives during Season 10 (especially around the time of “Which Is Wish?”) No news on a release date for that yet.

-

As I’ve said before, once all my other FOP works are complete, I will write Devil’s Backbone, which is my far-future ‘fic and the finale of my FOP writing. I do not plan to write any more FOP content after that story is finished, as I expect to have all other FOP projects done by then.

- Devil’s Backbone is a finale 'fic, so all worldbuilding from all stories is fair game to blend together, and it’s highly recommended you read everything else first. This story has been outlined since 2016, and it might not be published for another 10 years... Who knows! But it’s something I always work towards as a concrete endgame goal.

- If something serious comes up in my life and I officially decide I don’t want to write this story, I will post the outline for it. The link to this draft is included with all the other Google Docs links I have in a far-future queued post unveiling my WIPs in case I unexpectedly die and you still want to know how my stories would have gone, so you’ll get access to this story eventually even if I die young. Yes, share access is turned on for them all and I do take extra careful measures to be sure that post doesn’t get posted early skldfj

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What is the plan for the main blog?

Every Friday, I will post either a fanfic chapter or a progress update. You can blacklist the tag “ridlife” if you do not want to see the progress updates on your dashboard. Fanfic updates will not have the “ridlife” tag, so you will not be blocking them.

During the rest of the week, I might post doodles, reblogs, or general comments. Basically... you’ll see the blog become active again. Feel free to send in Asks about my worldbuilding and thoughts on fanfic characters.

@fountainpenguin is my personal blog, so you will see non-fandom things on here sometimes

@riddledeep is my FOP-exclusive sideblog. It contains all my lore notes and goes into a ton of depth, more than my fanfics give in one breath

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What does this mean for the Riddledeep sideblog?

I really want to go back and edit those character profiles that were posted early by mistake. The reason they were queued is because if I turned them into drafts, they would have been buried all the way at the beginning of my draft collection, and I have many, many drafts saved. There are no page numbers to navigate quickly through the draft collection, so I would have to click through each page one by one if I ever wanted to look at them. I hated doing this, which is why I kept my posts queued.

I was regularly updating the queue deadlines, trying to keep things in the order I wanted to post them in, but Tumblr made a change to the way drafts are dated and it kept throwing off my system. My inability to remember when my queued things would post combined with my busy schedule led to some profiles being posted early and incomplete. I want to fix these.

Over a year ago, my good friend Vulpix150 helped me finalize my designs for the Aos Sí and Daoine Sith. I’ve been sitting on that art in secret for a while, and at some point I plan to post it on the sideblog and talk more about that lore.

Updating fanfics is my higher priority (and it was the priority my followers voted for when I asked you to send votes to my Ask Box a while back). So, I will usually spend my free time working on fanfics unless I need a break from them and want to work on sideblog profiles instead. Thank you for your patience!

===

TL;DR

I’m posting fanfics again soon. I’m going to take a more relaxed approach to posting them. I’m going to post more of what I want to post and what I feel motivated to post, not always a main ‘fic update. If I’m not “feeling it” when working on a draft, then I’ll set it aside for a while unless I know my followers and readers have high interest in the next chapter of that story. I always write for me first, but if I know there are other people who care a lot about a story, then of course I want to write it for you too!

I’m going to embrace my decade-long love for WordGirl and post more ‘fics and art or this fandom. I’ve always been a little shy about doing this, but I’m ready to make it an official fandom on my main blog (unless there are lots of requests for WordGirl things to be contained in their own sideblog). I will be posting the first chapter for a ‘fic called Factor It In very soon. Love my easily frustrated alien kiddos having a long day.

I am working on Creature-Crossing stuff too, and will be especially busy in November and December. Updates will be slow for a few months, but I hope to find my groove and a good pace soon.

Each Friday, I will post either a fanfic update or a mention of what I am working on. I will be checking in on Tumblr regularly. Feel free to talk! I much prefer you send messages to my Ask Box, not my private messenger, please <3

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Is there a specific story of mine you like and want more updates for?

Asks and reviews help me know which ‘fics people are enjoying. I plan to keep writing ‘fics no matter what, but I definitely give more time to the ‘fics that get more attention (and I have been spending so much time writing for Creature-Crossing because that’s where the attention was coming from)

It’s easy to stay motivated and get the next part of a story out soon if I know that people like it. It’s always harder if you feel like people are silently judging you and ignoring your posts. So, let me know what you’re interested in. And if you only leave Likes or Favorites instead of asks and reviews, that’s okay too! Thank you for interacting anyway and enjoying my work.

Thanks for reading!

[goodomensficrecommendations]

What are your all time favorite fics?

I’ve been thinking about this for far too long but I think (for now) I have an answer (maybe).

Which stories do you come back to over and over again? Think of when reading others? Made you immediately look up the author and read all their other work? 

In no particular order, here are mine! Please share yours!

1. A Memory of Eden

by ImprobableDreams900 ( @improbabledreams900 )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated M (for violence) I sing the praises of this series a lot, I know. It’s one of the first GO fics I read and I’ve been spoiled ever since. Prior to this, I’d really only read one-shots or shorter stories. I didn’t even know that “series” existed on AO3 and was so excited to find there was more when I finished a Memory of Eden! Also, some people use “series” more like chapters or unrelated works - this was truly like picking up an amazing novel in the library and then discovering there are more (!) to read. I joined tumblr because of this series - I was really just following different posts about this series at first. This story is intense! I am not a huge crier, but it had me out and out sobbing BOTH times I’ve read it! It is so so good. This is the only one on my list I’ve only read twice, just because I have to be emotionally prepared for it. ;) But I really love the world building, original characters, and the amazingly real-feeling A and C. There are 3 “main” stories that are each novels in their own right, plus some short accompanying stories. 

The author is a graphic designer/book designer and fully designed and printed them (not for sale) with book covers and everything and I am so jealous (check them out, they’re so pretty!). Partially because I’m in marketing and LOVE print design and would love to design books and partially because I would love to have a copy! ;) 

2. Slow Show

by  mia_ugly ( @mia-ugly )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E  This one is on most people’s fic rec lists, but for good reason! This one came out shortly after the show and I hadn’t yet read a lot of Human AUs (ha! that’s almost all I seem to read now lol). I remember thinking the premise wouldn’t be my thing, but I had seen it mentioned a few times and decided to give it a try. I tend not to love the over the top parallels to the book/show, so at the first “you gave it away?” I thought it was going to repeat lines too much and almost stopped reading! Thankfully I kept reading!!! I also didn’t realize it was a WIP when I started, so I followed along with updates as they came out from near the beginning. I prefer to read my stories in one go, but it was really awesome to follow along as this story progressed. I’ve read it all again many times and it’s just written so well! Someone also made a printed version of it, which looks amazing, check it out here! 

3. Good Neighbours, Good Fences (and Other Misunderstandings)

by out_there ( @out-there-tmblr )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E Another that I see recommended often, but for good reason! It’s just so lovely. I love the descriptions of both Crowley and Aziraphale (”He's not a twenty-four year old twink anymore; he can't get away with hot pants and a mesh shirt” just is so amazing). Their banter is fantastic and so is the natural way their relationship evolves. This one is fairly short (IMO) and I have no idea how many times I’ve read it, it’s one I saved a long time ago and reread often.

4. Anthophilia

by FortinbrasFTW ( @fortinbrasftw )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E More Human AU? Yeah, yeah, I know. This one came out before the show so it’s been around for quite some time. Seems like everyone has read this already, but you definitely should if you haven’t yet. Every now and then I search AO3 fics to look for something new and if I sort by total kudos, bookmarks, or comments this one is always near the top. It is so so good. I have read this at least five or six times so far. Love both A and C in this with an awesome Anathema as well.

5. Shotgun Wedding: sometimes a first date requires paperwork

By charlottemadison ( @charlottemadison42 )

(link to cover and my recommendation here)

Rated E Kind of cheating with this one (but I made the rules! Oh wait, no rules, carry on), but this story has captured me since the beginning! I tried valiantly to wait until it was finished, but I’m really glad I didn’t because I get so excited when it updates and I love charlotte’s posts with fun gifs when there are updates. I held out for awhile, but the post with a snippet of conversation at the bar with Aziraphale, Tracy, Shadwell, and Anathema pulled me in (looks like it’s in chapter 10) and read it before I could stop myself lol. I live in New England and I loved the time put into sounding out their accents. It caught my attention and I’ve been hooked ever since! I’ve reread it from the start so many times already! The insights into relationships (in general and romantic) are so insightful! And the premise is superb. I also love the small easter egg things but that they don’t pull me out of the story but are so amazing when you catch them (I’ll be honest, read chapter 30 too fast and the therapist “Herb” went totally over my head! I love Demonology and I didn’t catch it!). The writing is phenomenal! This one’s an all time favorite, I am both excited and already sad about it finishing up soon. 

So what are your favorites? I’m sure I’ll be posting more at some point! It was really hard to narrow it down to five. Basically if I’ve made a cover out of it, then it’s a favorite of mine. ;) But I'd love to hear yours!

[borkthemork]

Got tagged by @calamity-unlocked for the procrastinating writer ask, and might as well! Always fun to get away from the pains of editing, RIP to Falling Down Dry’s eighth chapter.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

26.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

220,000.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

A lot. Just...a lot before I got into Ao3 so let’s keep it at that. But mainly I wrote for SU, Amphibia, and FMA.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

-Death of the Ego

I would say this happened because I wrote this at the right place at the right time. People had been theorizing that Steven would get corrupted ever since the trailer to SUF, and I originally made this as a one-shot...until people encouraged me to start exploring it.

Wouldn’t say it was my best work, but every time I wrote something it meant I improved slowly, and I would always appreciate that no matter the weather.

-Doesn’t Have to be Solo

Oh man, I loved this one! Just a series of connected events with Steven going on his road trip, and learning more about himself and who he was along the way. It also was the fic where I needed a lot of beta readers as time went on, so it made me learn a lot about grammar, prose, and overall the internal rules I developed while writing in general.

-Beyond the Music Box

This was the surprising one! This fic was originally a place where I could archive all the drabbles I written on Tumblr, and y’all really wanted it due to how chaotic my tag format is for this stuff.

It’s surprising for me because I didn’t expect a lot of love when it came to my casual writings since they take I don’t know an hour or so in creating, so thank you everyone who encouraged me to do this.

Just ignore the fact I’ve been lazy at updating the drabbles, shhhh.

-Building One Up

Marcanne, my beloved. Me and my friend kept talking about how Anne was a buff dork and this was at a time where no one really focused on that except mainly on Sasha when it came to strength (for obvious reasons).

I found this slander (I’m joking, by the way) and decided that I needed to write my feelings out on the topic.

And y’all agreed with me so dthdfthtfhtfht.

This also was the first time I had to hone in on a new form of characterization entirely, being that I infused the character’s thoughts and feelings into the way the prose flowed out itself. For Marcy, I went on a pretty analytical front with this piece, and it helped me get into the groove for people like Anne and Sasha and many others over the course of writing.

-Late Night Talks

I didn’t expect this one to blow up at all. I wrote this at one a.m. and y’all just grabbed this fic and ran, I am still confused.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I respond to comments all the time because comments just give a lot of serotonin, you know? Someone took their time out of their day to remark on things I did in the work itself, and it’s just very validating to see. It also creates this environment that says, “Yes, I see you, and you can interact with me anytime you want.” so it’s all about that friendliness unless you’re rude to me back.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Pizza for One. Had an angst kick when SUF occurred so I milked it whenever my motivation got the best of me.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t write crossovers unless you mean a crossover of characters to a new environment and set of rules. I would gladly write characters into the FMA world, oh my Lord!

But I guess the craziest stuff I’d written would just be comedy sketches? Best example would be Joe and Bessie having kids and Marcy having a conniption over it, so take that what you will.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t believe so? I did get one person on my old SU fic asking me to continue while giving me unsolicited advice but they apologized not soon after.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do write smut. I write it privately but I adore characterization and intimacy, and so I try to make rather domestic pieces that connect to the characters themselves. If it has a certain kink, I make sure to research it so I could understand why the character finds the act rather arousing, and I just want to pay respects to the act itself.

Even with our current day and age, there’s still a lot of conservative anti-sex rhetoric going around, and I always try to view the act of physical intimacy in the same lens as one who adores love in all its different facets and forms.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope to that either!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sadly, no. I do art trades with people and those are lovely to do since we get to brainstorm and make art together, but I’ve never co-written work with someone. If anyone wants to do that, then sure, just hit me up.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

It changes every season, every morning tide, every peace loving hour on the Planet Earth.

It’s Marcanne, right now.

When it comes to ships I always go with the Friends-to-Lovers dynamic, but a lot of the ships I have come from seeing the amount of intrigue in how that type of ship would play out. That could be with Kannao and the amount of commentary over Japanese gender biases, or Royai with their very complicated but extensive adoration and loyalty to one another.

For Marcanne, it’s all about that playful banter that could definitely bubble out of the surface if you just (bangs table) allow them to communicate and be transparent fully. (cries)

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Sadly, that Anne fic with her confiding in Hop Pop after they get settled in her house. After what happened with the sneak peek, I realized that this fic would need a lot of build-up to be satisfying and I didn’t have the strength to do a 10k build-up to Anne crying.

Maybe I’ll finish it, we’ll see.

15) What are your writing strengths?

Writing strengths would be concise prose and characterization. I am a worry wart, I worry over the importance of each paragraph and how it all forms and transitions together, it’s just a part of how I work a great deal of the time. And man, characterization is the big one for me, if I don’t understand how the people work and could theoretically function in the story itself, I feel absolutely lost.

Which is also the reason why I’m struggling right now with FDD Chapter Eight, because Marcy’s reaction to Yunan keeps eluding my grasp!

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I overthink a lot. Concise prose is great but I force myself to get all fancy and massive with details since I’ve got to unless I want a specific part to be so quick and unmeaningful, and this leads to pacing issues or just not enough intended time for people to breathe in the fic itself.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I need to get a beta to make sure I don’t sound like an asshole, haha. I do love other languages, they are beautiful and can add a lot towards an audience who does know the language itself, but it depends on the work I’m doing.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That would be uhhhhh, my memory is lacking but Minecraft. The whole videogame had a wish fulfillment atmosphere to it, and since I got rather obsessed by how anything could happen in the engine itself I went with it.

19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

When it comes to me, my own perception of my art changes day to day. Back when I first posted the Lapidot fic I thought it was the best thing I’ve ever done even though now, with the knowledge I have from workshops and betas, that the style I drafted had a lot of grammar and prose mistakes that I wouldn’t make in the future. It is pretty subjective, but for now I think the best fic I could look at right now would be amestrian catcher (set something ablaze).

Thank you Calamity once again for this! And I’ll be tagging @resplendent-chungus, @aanau, and @golddragon387!

[freddie-weaselbee]

Paradise//F.W.

Series Summary: I’m thinking of making this in a short series called To The Dreamers (yes I know I already have 10 wips but I don’t care), so let me know if you want a part 2!

Pairing(s): Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader, Georgelina

Warnings: Mentions of sex, very brief description of sex scene (nothing graphic), slight language (like one word)

Summary: The Mirror of Erised wasn’t supposed to work like this. Was it?

Word Count: 3.2k

Song: Paradise by Coldplay

A/N: This might get confusing so bolded italics is song lyrics, only italics is what is seen in the mirror, and normal text is what’s actually happening at Hogwarts. It’ll make sense as it goes hopefully. 

“You don’t find love, it finds you. It’s got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what’s written in the stars.     -Anaïs Nin

If there was one thing that Fred Weasley was, it was a dreamer. His imagination controlled him, running rampant in everything he did. He didn’t think before he acted. Instead, he would have an idea, which spiraled into an intricate, albeit not well thought out, plan, which quickly became an action that usually had unintended consequences. But no matter how many times Fred would get in trouble, how many detentions he would have to face or lectures from his mother he would have to endure, he would always be a dreamer. 

“Fred, hurry up!” His twin brother was calling him from down the corridor, snapping Fred out of his current daydream. At the moment he was wondering if a person would be able to fly if they were surgically implanted with wood from a broom, and he was considering people he could test it out on. Fred rushed to catch up with George, who was standing outside of a passageway they had explored multiple times. 

The twins knew Hogwarts like the back of their identical hands, having used the Marauders Map for a majority of their time at the school. They had explored every nook and cranny dozens of times, memorizing the twists and turns that the passageways took.

 Having seen everything multiple times already it didn’t make sense why they would be sneaking around just to walk the familiar passages. But with Umbridge reigning supreme in her dictatorship, sometimes it was nice to feel like they had some sort of control and upper hand. 

Fred didn’t know what drew him and his brother to this certain passage. They had both decided to sneak out and figure out where to go from there, but as soon as they left Gryffindor Tower they had an odd sense telling them to follow their gut. It eventually led them to a small room they had seen countless times. It was an abandoned classroom, nothing special. A few old books and broken chairs, dust covering every inch of the place. And yet, it was as if something was calling from inside the room. Something bigger than themselves. 

George pushed the door open and stepped into the familiar darkness, casting lumos from his wand with Fred following suit. They squinted as they peered around the room, looking for whatever would satisfy this desire inside of them. Simultaneously, their  eyes rested on a dim glow in the corner. 

“What do you think that is?” Fred asked his brother, who had begun moving toward the light. It was a tall, rectangular object with a light tarp draped over it, the only thing separating the light from overtaking the room. George reached his hand up to grab the cloth. 

“Only one way to find out.”

The large covering came fluttering down and the boys had to shield their eyes from the intense glow that overtook them. After a few seconds of letting their eyes adjust, the Weasley brothers were staring at a large mirror with letters engraved, spelling out nonsense. The one word that did stand out was one that they had heard before, a legend at Hogwarts that was known to be true from countless stories. 

Erised. 

“Oi look at this!” cried the younger twin. He hesitantly took a few steps toward the corner, eyes gleaming with excitement. 

“Is that what I think it is?” Fred had heard countless stories about the Mirror of Erised, some from his younger brother and others from Harry Potter himself who had multiple encounters with it his first year. But Fred had never actually seen the mirror, no matter how hard he and George searched for it. And then suddenly, it was here. 

“It shows your deepest desires, right?” George was standing off to the right of the mirror, about to step in front and stare at his reflection. 

“Yeah,” Fred said, “I bet yours will be you shagging Angelina won’t it?” His cheeky grin was plastered on his face as his twin gave him an annoyed shove. 

“You’re just jealous that I actually have someone and you’re all alone,” George shot back. Fred rolled his eyes playfully, but the quip still stung. It was difficult seeing all his friends get into serious relationships in their last year of Hogwarts while he stayed the ever-single flirt he was known to be. It was just another reminder that they were growing up too fast, and soon they’d be adults, getting married and starting families. It was all happening too soon. 

George had stepped into the line of sight of the mirror, and his face lit up as he looked at himself. 

“What is it?” Fred asked. 

“Well, you were right about the Angelina part, but we’re not shagging. No, she’s holding my hand and we’re standing outside--our joke shop! Freddie it’s the joke shop, it looks exactly like the designs you’ve drawn. You’re there too, and we look good! Successful. Important.”

George continued to look into what he hoped to one day be his future, until Fred cleared his throat and signaled for his turn. “So, you really see Angelina there, huh?” Fred and Angelina had been friends since they were 11, having most of their classes together and being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Fred had even asked her to the Yule Ball the year before as friends, only to have her talk to him about George the whole night. 

He was ecstatic when George had finally asked her out, not having to hear them complain about the other one being so oblivious all the time. But thinking about George seeing himself with someone long term made Fred jealous. His brother had his whole life planned out, all of his dreams set to come true. And Fred still had never had a serious relationship. How was he ever supposed to grow up when he was so behind everyone else?

Fred hadn’t even heard George’s answer or noticed the weird looks he was giving him, because music began to play. “Do you hear that George?” he said, interrupting the other redhead’s words. 

George continued to furrow his brow at his twin. “Hear what?”

“The music…” It sounded like violins playing, a chorus of beautiful noises that just made him want to close his eyes and float away on a dream, ignoring the harsh truths of reality. 

“Umm Fred,” George said, looking very concerned, “there’s no music.”

Fred looked around the room, trying to pinpoint the source. He soon realized it was coming from the mirror itself, and he took that as a sign to step in front. He let his eyes adjust to the shining light as he watched the reflection change. The music was slowly getting louder as shapes formed. The violins played a tune that sounded so familiar, and yet so distant. 

The buildup of the sounds continued, spiraling around him and drowning out every other noise. Fred could feel the music coursing through him, shaking him to his core. The song slowed, calming down ever so slightly and building up to a big drop.

And then the music exploded.

Fred was nearly thrown back by the chorus of noises streaming through his years, sounds which his brother didn’t seem to notice at all, but Fred was far too invested in what was in front of him to care.

It was almost too much to take in. In front of him in the mirror, instead of where his reflection should be, flashed scene after scene, sending him into sensory overload. But the scenes weren’t of his life or his future. In fact he wasn’t in any of them. Instead, it was a girl.

She was driving a car, singing her heart out to music on the radio.

Flash.

She was swinging on a park swing, skirt flying up slightly as she jumped off and soared through the air.

Flash.

She was wiping down tables at a restaurant, talking with customers.

Flash.

She was dancing as rain poured down and soaked her, but she didn’t care.

Flash.

The pictures came and went, faster and faster in time with the music. 

She gazed at a painting in a museum, an intrigued look in her eyes.

Flash.

The shadow of her naked body appeared as she jumped into a lake with a few other girls.

Flash.

She was surrounded by people who were laughing as she flipped off the crowd, not letting her annoyed smile leave her face.

Flash.

She threw her arms around two boys on either side of her, sending one of them a wink as they skipped off down the road.

Fred felt a pang of jealousy after seeing the last image, for reasons completely unknown to him. He didn’t recognize this girl, and he knew he would’ve remembered seeing her. Her cheeky smile and boisterous laugh would have been ingrained in his mind if he had ever seen this girl in person. But he didn’t have time to ponder this, because that was when he heard the lyrics.

When she was just a girl, she expected the world

Her body flashed to that of a girl much younger, one with endless excitement and curiosity on her eyes. She sat gazing out of a car window, staring at the scenery that passed by her.

But it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep 

She was older again, a teenager of about 17 if Fred had to guess. She had the same gleam in her eyes as when she was younger as she laid down, arms and legs spread out, plugging in Muggle headphones and closing her eyes. 

And dreamed of para-para-paradise

She was standing outside of Hogwarts.

Para-para-paradise

She gazed down at her robes, tugging them as if they were the most amazing things she could be wearing.

Para-para-paradise

She reached toward the castle and moved to take a step in.

Every time she closed her eyes

She was back in her bed looking tired and annoyed. The hope her face had adorned seconds ago was slowly draining.

“Freddie, what’s happening?” George spoke up and Fred jumped, extremely startled. He was so invested in this girl, the one he knew nothing about, the one who seemed to be just outside of Hogwarts, or at least trying to get there.

“Shut up George.” He turned back to the mirror and ignored any protests from his brother's mouth.

When she was just a girl she expected the world

She was back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling fan spinning in circles.

But it flew away from her reach and bullets catch in her teeth

She was now staring directly at him, and it made Fred’s heart flutter. Her eyes were longing, as if all she wanted was to be with him. 

Life goes on it gets so heavy

She reached out a hand, placing it on the other side of the mirror.

The wheel breaks the butterfly

Fred moved to copy her position, the palms of their hands separated by only the layer of glass keeping them apart.

Every tear a waterfall 

She sighed and turned, walking away from him.

Fred almost called out, crying for her to come back, to look at him again. 

In the night the stormy night she’d close her eyes

She climbed out of a window leading to a flat part of the roof. She wrapped herself up in a blanket and stared up at the sky.

In the night the stormy night away she’d fly

She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting her hair frame her face and her arms wrap around herself.

And dream of—

and the music exploded once again

—para-para-paradise

Fred’s eyes went wide as he saw what flashed before him, similar to the first series of moments. Except this time, he was there too.

Fred was in the passenger seat of the car, singing along and stealing glances at the girl.

Para-para-paradise

They jumped off the swings together and she landed on top of him, both of them giggling and tickling each other.

Para-para-paradise

He was at a booth in a restaurant, this time with her sitting across from him instead of wiping the table down.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Fred spun her as they danced in the rain. She laughed when he dipped her and brought her back up. They were inches away from each other, lips getting closer by the second.

She’d dream of para-para-paradise

His arm was around her as she pointed at a piece of artwork and said something that was muffled by the music.

Para-para-paradise

Fred held her hand as their naked bodies splashed into the water before them. They resurfaced and Fred dunked her head under, causing a play fight to arise between them.

Para-para-paradise

She playfully smacked the back of his head and held up her middle finger, before she was engulfed in a hug from him.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

It was now Fred rather than the two other guys who she had her arm around, throwing him a flirtatious wink similar to his signature one. She gazed at him as if he was the only person in the world.

Fred had to remind himself to breathe. It was too much happening all at once, and yet he didn’t want it to stop. He didn’t even realize that his brother was calling for him and beginning to look worried about the sanity of his older twin. 

The music changed once again. It seemed to spiral around him as one long scene unfolded in the mirror of your deepest desire. 

La-la-la-la-la-la-la

She was dragging him up a hill, the glow of the moon and stars illuminating her face.

 Fred had never seen himself look so happy before, at least not happy in the way he looked then. 

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

She pulled him down to the ground, both laying on their backs. He pressed a small kiss to her neck and she squirmed, before turning his head to face the sky. 

And so lying underneath those stormy skies

The sky was alight with shooting stars. His hand slipped into hers. It was so natural, like they were meant to be there. To be together.

She'd say, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I know the sun must set to rise"

And as the male voice sang those lyrics, the girl turned and said them to Fred, playing with his ginger locks as she spoke. He leaned toward her, cupping her cheek. She leaned in too, and the room once again returned to its booming chorus as soon as their lips touched. 

This could be para-para-paradise

They were now inside, her legs wrapped around his waist as he held her up, lips attached in a heated but love-filled make out session. 

Para-para-paradise

They were in a bedroom, their bodies pressed together as they showed their love physically. 

Fred averted his gaze at this scene. While nothing was too graphic, he felt weird staring at himself have sex with a girl he didn’t even know. But from what he did see, the passion and love behind the actions, he yearned for it even more. 

This could be para-para-paradise

Fred looked back as he noticed the scene change. 

She was asleep in his arms, still naked but covered up with a blanket. Their arms and legs were interlocked in any way possible, trying to become as close to each other as they could.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Fred and the girl were standing inside what Fred had pictured for his future joke shop. They gazed around the bustling store, hands interlocked. 

This could be para-para-paradise

The entire Weasley family was sitting in the Burrow for dinner, as Fred introduced the girl to everyone. She took turns hugging them, before sitting down next to Fred. 

Para-para-paradise

Fred was on one knee, a beautiful ring in his hand. Her hands were covering her mouth as she nodded, jumping into Fred’s arms. 

This could be para-para-paradise

She walked down the aisle, looking angelic in her white dress. She reached the altar and took Fred’s hands, a tear streaking down his cheek. 

Oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh, oh

They both arrived home at the same time, donned in their respective work clothes. They greeted each other with a passionate kiss as they entered a small house. Their small house. 

This could be para-para-paradise

She held a stick in her hand, one with two blue lines appearing on the screen. Fred wrapped her in his arms, taking care to be gentle and not squeeze her stomach too hard. 

Para-para-paradise

Fred held a young boy in his arms, rocking him gently as he drifted to sleep. She sat next to him, a slightly older toddler on her lap. 

This could be para-para-paradise

The only thing that could be seen was their faces. They each held the others cheek in one of their hands and their lips mouthed the same words in sync. “I love you.” 

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

And once again, she was alone. She stared at Fred, the real Fred, her hand on the glass and tears streaming down her face. 

Fred felt his eyes begin to water. As the song ended, the image of the girl faded away, and Fred was left with an empty mirror, showing nothing except darkness.

“What the hell Fred?” The ginger standing in front of the mirror was knocked out of his trance, literally, as George smacked his head. Hard. 

“You’ve been staring at that bloody mirror for 5 minutes, ignoring everything I said! What did you even see in that thing anyway?”

Fred turned to look at his brother, and George stepped back at the sight. Fred was looking at George, and yet it was as if he wasn’t really there. His mind and his heart were somewhere else, distracted by whatever that mirror had done to him. A single tear fell from Fred’s eyes and he tried to wipe it away, but he wasn’t quick enough. 

“Freddie…” George reached out to hold his brother. He had never seen Fred like this before. So vulnerable, so confused. Whatever he had seen in that mirror had changed him, but whether it was good change or bad George didn’t know. 

Before George could touch him Fred turned away. “I have to go.” And with that he dashed out of the room, not even bothering to look back. 

As Fred walked through the abandoned corridors of the Hogwarts castle, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from thinking. What in the world was that? That’s not how Ron and Harry had described their experiences at all, and why was there music involved? But most importantly, who was the girl?

How was his greatest desire for a life with someone he didn’t even know? That’s not how the mirror worked. Was it?

He didn’t know. All he did know was that whoever this girl was, whatever the scenes that played out represented, he needed to find out. 

Fred was a dreamer. He longed to live an exciting life, filled with adventure, excitement, and love. The Mirror of Erised had shown him his dream. It was right there. All he had to do was obtain it.

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Darling Sipping That Red Wine

Summary: You get lost in the memories on Steve’s birthday.

Features: References to character death; references to afterlife

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes/Reader

Notes: This has been a WIP for months because I kept getting stuck. 

Word Count: 2038

You sat on the front porch, watching as the children played in the yard. It was the 4th of July, and everyone was in town. Steve sat beside you, his hand curled around yours. The two of you were sitting on the front porch swing. 

“You have that look on your face,” he said. You looked at him.

“What look is that?” you asked. He smiled.

“The same look you had after that mission in Galway, when we went to that pub and you and Bucky went shot for shot with the tequila on a bet,” he said. You laughed at the memory.

“It’s not my fault he didn’t realize I had been dosed with a serum when the US was trying to recreate the success they had with you. I just saw easy money once he realized I wasn’t affected either and could keep up with him,” you said. Talking about Bucky didn’t hurt as much as it had. The three of you had been together for so long, living without him had been something that was difficult to grow used to. You found yourself lost in the memory.

It had been a cool day in the late summer. The breeze coming in off Galway Bay sent a chill down your back. Bucky had noticed and wrapped his jacket around you. You smiled at him. You, Bucky, Steve, Sam, and Nat had been in Galway on a mission, your first major mission since joining the Avengers. Bucky went for the tequila shots when your group descended upon the bar. You decided to have a little fun at his expense. The fact that you were living proof of the US succeeding at recreating the serum that made Steve Captain America was a secret, even from the team, aside from Steve. 

“Bet I can keep up with you Barnes,” you said. Bucky raised an eyebrow.

“Alcohol doesn’t affect me like it does you, sweetheart,” he said.

“Wanna make that a bet? If I can keep up with you without keeling over from alcohol poisoning, you gotta give me $200,” you said. He laughed.

“And if I win?” he asked. 

“You won’t, but how about you decide?” you replied. 

“A kiss,” he said with a smirk. The two of you shook on it and Steve hid his amusement behind the glass of beer he was taking a sip of. Natasha and Sam were certain Bucky was going to win and threw in their own bets. 

Fifteen shots later and you were still unaffected. The three of them were shocked. Steve finally busted out laughing.

“She’s got the serum,” he said.

“Steve! That’s classified!” you scolded. He just smiled.

“They’re family, doll. Can’t keep anything from them forever. I’m surprised Romanoff didn’t figure it out sooner,” he said. 

You were pulled out of the memory by someone coming onto the porch. 

“It’s time for cake,” the woman said. You and Steve both nodded. 

Steve helped you up and the two of you made your way, arm in arm, to where a table was set up. A cake read ‘Happy Birthday Steve’ with the number 135 in candles. Your family hadn’t gone with his birth year. You chuckled at the thought of what that number would be. No, your family had started counting Steve and Bucky’s birthdays by the ages they presented as. It had been your idea, way back when. A way to help them feel like they weren’t so different. There were jokes, of course, about how old they really were. But they appreciated the feeling of being normal, for once.

It was Steve’s birthday. July 4, 2028. Technically, he was one hundred and ten years old. When they’d pulled him from the ice in 2011, he’d physically been twenty-seven, going on twenty-eight. By your count, Steve was only turning forty-five years old, considering he had ‘turned’ twenty-eight the year he was found. You saw the look on his face when he opened a card to see that it made reference to him being one hundred and ten. A small frown quickly covered with a smile toward Tony in thanks. It was the same look you’d seen in March, when Bucky turned one hundred and eleven. Your boys would never say it. But you knew it bothered them. 

You slipped out to the store, heading straight for the aisle that held cake decorations. You grabbed two candles, one in the shape of a four, the other a five, before deciding to grab a stockpile of candles. You checked out, but not before grabbing a smaller cake, one of Bucky’s favorites. If you were going to do this, you were going to do this right. With how much he’d been on and off ice, it wasn’t easy to tell what his age would be. At least with Steve, you’d known how old he was when he’d crashed that plane into the arctic. It was easiest just to say he was forty-six, you decided. 

When it came time for cake that night, you had swapped the gaudy candles Tony had ordered out for the ones you’d bought at the grocery store. Bucky had caught you doing it and assisted with keeping Tony away from the cake before you brought it out. Steve smiled when he saw the numbers. It wasn’t a big thing. But it meant something to him. It was a slice of normal. Later that night, you presented Bucky with the smaller cake, in the quiet of your home, away from the hustle and bustle of the compound. 

“Thank you, doll. You don’t understand how much this means,” Bucky said. Steve came up behind you, wrapping his arms around you.

“I don’t know about you Buck, but I think this pair of forty somethings should show our girl that we still got it,” Steve said before picking you up. You let out a screeching laugh as he carried you toward your shared bedroom, the children staying with their Aunt Natasha and Uncle Bruce for the night. 

You were pulled out of your memory by the singing. You smiled as you watched Steve blow out the candles, though your heart ached. It had only been a year since you’d lost Bucky. Age caught up to you all. You knew it wouldn’t be long before you and Steve followed, but the two of you had promised him you’d keep living your lives, that you wouldn’t let heartbreak take you too soon. 

The three of you had a big family. Three children turned into seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and twenty some-odd great-great grandchildren with two more on the way, and one great-great-great grandchild, who was just a few months old, the first child of your eldest great-great granddaughter. You knew getting to meet them all, see them all, was an opportunity so few got. Your friends had long since passed, with the exception of Thor. Thor still looked young as ever. Your heart ached, knowing some day soon, he would be the last one left from the original team. 

Though the serum affected your children, it wasn’t to the extent it affected the three of you. Your eldest had just turned one-hundred. Even for your ages, you looked young, a benefit of the serum. 

“Happy birthday, pops,” your son, Jamie, said as he hugged Steve. He was the oldest of your children, Steve’s child through and through. You could remember the first time the three of you had realized he had some version of enhanced strength.

You were due with little Tasha any day now. You were ready to be done with pregnancy. The last few weeks, it appeared, would always be the hardest for you. 

You were in the kitchen with Bucky while Steve sat with your nearly two year old, playing with a new toy Wanda and Vis had given him when you heard a crash and a yelp from Steve.

“What on earth?” you asked. Bucky was doubled over laughing. Your husband sat in the remains of your coffee table while your son giggled.

“He’s uh, stronger than I thought,” Steve explained. 

“Are you telling me our two year old son managed to push you over?” you asked, a brow raised.

“I think that’s exactly what he’s saying, doll,” Bucky said as another fit of laughter came over him. You couldn’t help yourself either, wishing you had been able to see it, before you remembered that FRIDAY likely had a recording. You caught Bucky’s eye and you saw Steve’s eyes widen.

“No, no, you don’t need to see that,” Steve argued as he scrambled to his feet. It was too late. Bucky had already asked FRIDAY who gladly brought up a hologram showing the incident on replay as you and Bucky doubled over.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Glad your husband getting hurt is so funny,” Steve grumbled. You looked at him, a hand on your hip and a look of incredulity on your face. 

“It already stopped hurting,” Steve grumbled.

“That’s what I thought. But, if you want, I can kiss it better later,” you said, quiet enough that only he and Bucky picked up on it.

“You’re trouble,” Steve said before coming closer to pull you into a kiss. 

You heard someone calling for you, pulling you out of your thoughts once more. Tasha was standing beside you, holding a slice of cake out for you.

“Are you alright, mom?” she asked, quietly. 

“I’m fine, sweetheart, just lost in thought,” you said, taking the plate from her. Steve was sitting, waiting for you. You made your way over to him. His once blond hair was now fully grey, his smooth skin now full of wrinkles and signs of a life well lived. 

The party was winding down by the early evening, your family members reluctantly heading out. You and Steve weren’t as young as you used to be, and late nights were a thing of the past for you both, instead spending the evenings together, talking about anything and everything. The loss of Bucky was still heavily felt by you both. The empty space in your bed, the chair that sat empty at the kitchen table. The mug that still sat beside the coffee machine. 

“Ready, sweetheart?” Steve asked as the two of you sat on the couch, watching a re-run of some show.

“Yeah, I think I am,” you said, taking his hand as he turned off the television, before he led you to your bedroom. The two of you got ready for bed in a comfortable silence, settling in beside each other.

“I love you,” Steve murmured.

“I love you too,” you replied, before he placed a soft kiss on your lips. The two of you drifted off, forever ahead of you. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You swore you could hear Bucky’s voice as you fell asleep, distant and distorted at first before it became clear. You saw him in front of you, looking as young as the day you’d met, a warm smile on his face. You glanced to your left, Steve’s fingers still laced with yours, his features slowly shifting as he started to resemble his younger self.

“Buck?” Steve asked. 

“Happy birthday, Stevie. A flair for the dramatic, hm?” Bucky asked.

“Am I dreaming?” you asked.

“No, doll. This is real. Always had a feeling the two of you would go together,” Bucky replied. You and Steve looked at one another.

“Go together? Are you saying?” you asked not able to find the words. Bucky simply nodded. You looked around. It looked like you were on the grounds of the Avengers compound, where all of the original team had settled down with homes in a secluded portion. A way to keep their families safe. 

“Nat?” you said, seeing the familiar redhead. One by one, your teammates, your friends, your family came out of their homes. It had been so long since Nat had been lost. A mission gone wrong in Arizona. You had carried the guilt for years. You cried as she hugged you. 

Later, you and your boys had time for yourselves. Time to just be together. Neither you or Steve were willing to leave Bucky’s side, and in Bucky’s opinion, well, that was just fine. 

[starkatana]

Everything Must Go

Jason Todd x Female Reader // Peter Parker x Female Reader

Yeah, it’s a Marvel cross-over in a DC universe! Because I can.

Summary:

After deciding to leave Gotham, you need to say one last good-bye.

Warning: Light swearing, death (nothing graphic – just mentions)

Before Reading Background:

You and Jason were dating for four years before Joker ‘killed’ him.

Now you are dating Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

Selina is your godmother. You are the child of Selina’s childhood friends. There is no family relationship between you and Jason even though you live in Wayne Manor

You are also a vigilante in the Batfam as Black Cat

Author’s Note:

So, here begins my various one-shots of Jason Todd/Red Hood x Reader//y/n AKA my current obsession. I may compile all of them into chronological order once everything is done. I just really wanted to write and post something. I just have too many WIP’s right now that I need to focus on.

Sorry I didn’t want to put the year of birth and the death year on Jason’s tombstone since I changed all their ages. I’ll deal with it on a different day.

They aren’t exact ages. This is just a world that I made using these characters because I can. In this story, Jason has ‘died’ at 21 and you and peter are visiting his grave a year later. The three of you are 22

This Peter Parker is more based off of the Playstation 4 Spiderman game.

Sorry if it's a little out of character, this is just based on my knowledge that Tumblr has given me.

Also! Thank you for all your likes and reblogs! It really helps my self-esteem in continuing to write and share this story! <3

Enjoy!

After you had decided to leave Gotham, you immediately made the preparations to go back home with your mom. You told Selina and Bruce and as much as they’d miss having you around they understood your choice.

“About your suit.” Bruce brought up.

You shake your head no. You hadn’t even thought about taking it with you. “I don’t need it where I’m going.”

He nods. “You will always have a place here,” Bruce reassured.

“I’m going to miss you, KitKat.” Selina hugged you.

Gotham was about three hours away from home by train. You just knew you didn’t want to come back for a long time.

As for the rest of your ‘family,' they had some choice words for you and refused to let you leave. Damian threw a tantrum and ignored you for a few hours before coming to terms and quietly hanging around you, as Damien does. Cass, Steph, and Babs forced a sleepover with you every night. You went out to eat at your must-have locations with Duke and Tim, rotating with the others. Dick went around with you from place to place, to not only keep an eye on you but so you wouldn’t be alone. Occasionally, trading places with Roy when Dick had to go to work. You knew they were babysitting, but enjoyed your time with each of them anyway. Eventually, everyone came to terms with you leaving and reluctantly supported your decision.

Today was your last day in Gotham. Peter came down from New York to help you pack the finishing touches and spend your last day in Gotham. He had the weekend off and was going to go to your hometown with you. You were going to show him around and introduce him to your mom. After packing your belongings and moving the boxes from your room to the main entrance hall, you went through your list to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

“There’s only one thing left.”

“What’s up?”

You pause and fidget with your fingers before you take a deep breath to respond.

“I want to visit Jason’s grave.”

Peter nods. “When do you want to go?”

You shrug. “Today’s the only day I have. I don’t know when I’ll be in Gotham again. I just know I have to go and I don’t think I can go alone…I haven’t been there since…” your voice trails off. “Is that weird? Asking you to go with me to my dead boyfriend’s grave? It’s a little weird. You can say no.”

Peter lets out a light chuckle and gently grabs your arms to stop you from rambling, “No, it’s not weird. I’m more than happy to go with you.”

You place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Peter.”

You two take a car to the flower shop, buying some of –your favorite flowers-, for Jason’s grave. Next was a train ride to the city suburb, finally following a short walk to the church graveyard. This was where Bruce’s parents are buried, along with Jason. It was all a very somber experience.

The day of Jason’s funeral was not the kind of weather you felt. It was a sunny day in Gotham. Light breeze, mid to lower 80’s, it was good weather. Abnormal for Gotham and abnormal for a funeral.

You hung your head low and cried the entire time at the funeral. Damien held your hand and Cass rested her head on your shoulder. You tried to be strong, but you were shaking. From sadness and anger. It wasn’t fair.

When the funeral ended, you went for a walk through the flower garden and Dick joined you.

When you two were far enough away from any people and crowds. You started bawling like a baby. Dick held you and you cried into his jacket.

“It’s okay.” He reassured.

“No!” you snapped up, “I hate the weather.”

Dick tilts his head slightly confused.

“It’s not fair! It rains any other godforsaken day in Gotham but when it’s Jason’s funeral and I’m sad! And I think the world should be sad! But it’s fucking sunny.” You try wiping away your tears that keep coming. “It’s stupid and it’s not fair!”

Dick nods giving you another hug. “You’re right, it’s not fair.”

“The sun is dumb and this is dumb and Jason should be alive.”

Dick caresses your head as he rocks you back and forth.

“And it’s all my fault!” you sob into Dick’s coat hugging him tightly.

“Y/n.” Dick grabs your shoulders to have you look at him. “It’s not your fault. What happened to Jay is not your fault.”

You hiccup between your sobs. “If I didn’t stop him from being on time, he would’ve been with you.”

Dick pulls you in for another hug. “Shhh.”

“Y/n?”

You came back from your thoughts at the sound of Peter’s voice. You two stood outside of the graveyard gates. You look at Peter, tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize wiping your tears away. “I’m sad.”

He smiles and squeezes your hand, “That’s okay. You’re allowed to be sad.”

You sniffle, holding your tears back, return his hand squeeze, and take a deep breath.

“How long has it been?”

“Its been a little over a year,” You pause, “I still miss him.” You realize what you said. You look at Peter expecting to see some sort of reaction that you had told him you still miss your dead ex. He didn’t have one. He just watched you lovingly and listened contently. “I’m sorry, that was weird.” You hang your head trying to hide your face.

“Y/n.” He steps in front of you and tilts your face up to look at him. Gently he caresses your cheek. You stare into his brown eyes, the warmest brown that glowed like warm honey on a summer’s day. And with the sun shining in eyes, they glowed even more. So warm and kind it’s been a while since you felt like this and you felt a smile grow on your lips. He tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m here to support you. You can miss Jason all you want. I don’t it’s weird. I don’t expect you to just replace him with me either. This is normal. What you’re feeling is normal. You don’t need to apologize for missing someone you love.”

You two share a hug. “Thank you, Peter.”

He places a kiss on the top of your head. “Let's go in.”

You lead him towards the flower field in the graveyard. You stop a few feet away, being able to read his gravestone in the distance.

Jason Peter Todd

Son Brother

“You okay?” Peter asks.

“Yeah.” You two continue forward, stepping up to the gravestone. You crouch down in front of his tombstone wiping off the debris that was collecting on it from the year, but other than that it was in good shape.

“Hi Jaybird.” You greet the grave like an old friend. “Sorry, it’s been so long. This is Peter.” You put the flowers down next to the grave, “He’s the guy I’ve been telling you about. He came out with me because,” You pause to collect your thoughts and find your words. “Because I wasn’t sure I could come out here by myself. I still feel bad and I still feel like this is all my fault.”

Peter puts a hand on your shoulder giving you a small squeeze.

You touch Peter’s hang before continuing. “I’m working through it though. I’ve been seeing a counselor, keeping a journal, talking to family and friends.” You pause and smile at the grave. It felt therapeutic. “I wanted to say good-bye before I left Gotham. I….” You pause feeling Peter’s eyes on you and your mouth gets dry, “miss you.” You turn to face Peter. “This is weird isn’t it?”

“No.” Peter responds crouching next to you, “He was your best friend and first love. Of course, you’d miss him.”

You put on a smile. “I feel like you two would get along in another life. You guys have a lot of the same interests.” You stop again, “Oh, that felt weird.” You cringe.

Peter puts a hand on your knee to reassure you, “It’s not weird. I’m flattered. I heard great things about him.” You smile at him, no matter what you did, and said, Peter, is nothing but supportive of you. This is was what you loved about Peter, always so positive. That and so much more. This entire process was hard, but with Peter by your side supporting you, it made you feel less alone.

“I’d like to think that the night on the balcony, when we met, Jason guided you into my life.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this getting too weird for you yet? Me talking about my dead boyfriend who I’m clearly not over?”

Peter rolls his eyes at you and smiles at you. “Stop it, y/n. No, I don’t think it’s weird. I think it’s normal and I want you to know that I’m here for you through everything. I know you care about me and I know Jason will always have a place in your heart. I don’t want to take his place, I just want to make you happy.” He kisses your forehead. “We both just want you to be happy.”

You lean against Peter with a lighthearted smile.

“Now quit asking me if it’s weird. Cause I think you’re weird.” He playfully bumps into you causing you to lose your balance, but he catches you before you can fall over. “But that’s why I like you.”

You chuckle and lean into him, “I like you too.” You say while he puts his arm around you. “Thank you, Peter, for everything.”

He nods. “Thank you for introducing us.” He faces Jason’s grave, “I promise I’ll take care of her.”

[neverendingstories00]

a winnix! found family au with easy company as kids part one out of a million!!

hi, hello! i’m back on my bullshit again. the creativity train had once stopped at my brain. I may have a thousand wip’s but tonight I’ve decided to focus solely on this one. also a ton of credit to @apairofwingsforme for rambling with me about this idea, thanks buddy! anyways, my mind is literally a terrifying place 😁 please send help. i’m literally at my breaking point

Also this is part one out of..a lot! I wanna write a fic of this, but school is a bitch. This is just winnix at the moment, but I promise I’ll start talking about easy company as kids and how chaotic it is. Literally. Child! Luz is going to be a little monster. But hey, only seven more weeks!!

It's a modern au. Both dick and Lew have been married for seven years and are happier than ever.

Okay! But before the found family part, time for the backstory!

dick and lew both met in college when there were in the same intro to marketing class. dick was struggling in the class and absolutely despised Lew, who he stereotyped as a “typical New Yorker '' as Dick donned his bean boots and flannel shirts. However, Dick learned not to make assumptions about people. Their study sessions would turn into long conversations about the newest episode of Mad Men, their families in Lancaster and Manhattan, etc. Dick and Lew grew to be best friends.

Dick felt strange around Lew. He wanted to hate him, but he couldn't. He would catch himself staring at Lew for too long and a strange feeling in his stomach. Lew caught onto this, but said nothing. He was overthinking it. Dick was the poster catholic boy with his outfits head to toe from LL Bean, carried a tiny bible in his backpack, etc. Lew knew Dick was too good for him. Besides, there was no way he would be gay.

One thing led to another and the complicated relationship between Dick and Lew changed. Dick had sworn off alcohol, but had no idea that the orange juice was a screwdriver. Dick got intoxicated and Lew dragged him back to his dorm. Next thing he knew, Lew woke up, cuddled with Dick in his neat dorm room.

After that little incident, things became awkward. They were in their senior year; friends for four years and the awkward tension was high between them. After they graduated, there was an afterparty held at their old farneity. Dick, of course, had won vladicictroain and Lew won salutadorian (shockingly). Dick knew that if it wasn’t for Lew three years ago, he wouldn’t be where he is.

So in a little corner, Dick walked up to Nixon and gifted him an apple pie, fresh from The Winter’s farm in Lancaster, thanking him for all he’s done for him. Nixon smirked and knew that Dick would give him some pie, but he was still nice about it. He took Dick to his room and gave him cufflinks that he bought especially for Dick from Nordstrom because during their freshman year, Dick was in charge of planning events in their fraternity. It was movie night and in 2007, Casino Royale was all the hype. Nobody came to the movie night since there was a huge football game and party after. Dick sat there, popcorn all made and even pushed the coaches together, and nobody showed up. He considered just packing up and calling it a night until he heard the door slam open. As he was cleaning up, Dick ran right into Lew.

“Hi, hello. Sorry I’m late, I was busy doing...stuff.”

“Oh,” Dick would reply, “I was just packing up.”

“What movie?”

“Casino Royale. Nobody’s coming though.”

“Well, is the popcorn still hot?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, consider me your customer.”

Dick and Lew watched the movie. Lew never shuts up during the film. Dick talks ethier to tell Lew to be quiet or that he loves Daniel Craig’s cufflinks. Lew made a mental note of that.

The night of graduation, stuffed in Dick’s little dorm room, was the last time Dick and Lew ever saw each other. For a while, atleast. They had a heated makeuout session that followed with awkward but passionate sex. The next morning, it was a screaming match between Lew and Dick. Dick didn’t even remember what it was about-he was too upset. He simply finished packing, threw the stuff into the back of his subaru outback, and drove back to Lancaster.

Seven years flew by, and Dick and Lew hadn’t spoken a word. Both of them were no longer twenty two year old’s who had no idea what they were doing with their life-they were now twenty nine, both trying to figure out their lives.

Dick worked as an accountant in Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, and jumped around the east coast. He didn’t really enjoy his job so he went back to Franklin and Marshall to become a History Teacher. He had been looking for work for some time and eventually found a teaching job at a boy’s school in Bronxville. It was a job, after all.

So Dick arrives in Bronoxville and gets an email. He recognizes the last time-it’s Lew. He heard about Dick moving and wanted to catch up. Dick was new to Bronoxville and as reluctant as he was, he agreed to meet with Lew.

Lew and Dick meet at Rosie’s, a nice little Italian restaurant in the middle of Bronoxville. Lew surprises Dick, and greets him with a “going my way?”. Lew looks different; he’s gotten more handsome with age, his hair is shorter but still unruly with a tint of gray, and there’s a good amount of stubble. He hasn’t changed one bit.

Their first meeting went well. Just like Dick, Lew had a rocky start after college. Lew had foolishly gotten married to some girl he had gone to boarding school with. They barely lasted a year, and Lew left the marriage with a child he had no custody with and a large penthouse in Tribeca. Life had been lonely. He worked as an economist for a while, but hated the job and quit. With no job and a failing marriage, Lew turned to one resort; alcohol. He had nobody and nothing left in life.

Dick could see the fire that was once in Lew slowly dying out. The once sarcastic and dry Lew became a self--deprecating and lonely man with too much money and time on his hands. Naturally, Dick pitied him. He could see that Lew still loved him-if he didn’t, then how did he find out about Dick moving to Bronxville? How did he find out about Dick’s new job? Why did Lew take Dick to the nicest restaurant in Bronxville. And still, even though seven years had gone by, Dick was still in love with Lew. He’d come up in his thoughts once and while, but now, when faced with him-it was hard to resist those old feelings.

Dick was worried about Lew. So being the Architect he is (mbti type wise, he’s an INTJ), he creates a plan. Lew comes down from the city to Bronxivlle on Fridays and they meet at Rosies. They catch up on their week. From court cases to annoying students, the little things that they share each make their day a little better.

Dick was well aware of Lew’s alcoholism. It was noticeable in college, but it seemed to have worsened as Lew got older. Dick encouraged Lewis to go to therapy. When things had gotten to the worst, Lew enrolled in rehab (all thanks to Dick). He saw the stubbornness in Dick and the clear frustration. Dick wasn’t one for emotions, but when he saw Lewis with a bloody forehead because he fell down the stairs, barely able to speak, Dick sobbed in the waiting room at the hospital. Lewis had never seen Dick ever be that emotional. He was hurt.

That’s when Lewis realized two things. One, he needed to fix himself. If he kept living this deductive lifestyle, he could end up dead. He didn’t want that. And Two, as much as he repressed it-he was still in love with Dick.

Lew finally deals with his issues, ranging from alcohol to his childhood trauma and abuse. It was all with the help of Dick. Dick was there for him every step on the way, playing the role as that supportive friend. Here they were, two thirty year olds. Lew would’ve never imagined being friends with a Quaker that was too good for him, but there he was.

One night, after they had dinner at Rosies, Dick and Lew go back to Dick’s tiny little colonial house. It’s not his house, but a shared apartment. It’s small, but it’s something. Lew is shocked by the living conditions, and Dick simply finds the place charming. They laugh, lock eyes, and next thing they know their lips are clashing together, rushing to take off their clothes as they fit onto Dick’s small bed.

Seven years later, they finally realize they're in love with each other and officially start dating. Dick moves to Lew’s apartment and they live there together for a while. Both getting sick of their lives in the city, Lew decides they need a break from the city and the states.

A year later, Lew proposes to Dick at Rosies, all thanks to the help of Anne Winters, Blanche, Kitty Gorgan, and Harry Welsh. Dick happily accepts, and yes; he sheds a tear. And so does Lew. Everybody sheds a solid tear; it’s a beautiful moment.

Three days before their wedding, Dick and Lew elope on the rooftop of their apartment complex. They invite the same people who helped Lewis propose to Dick. It’s a small and intimate ceremony. Their dance song is “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”. They wanted to get married without the big crowd and Lewis’s “rich jerk friends'' and “daddy’s money”.

For the next seven years, Dick and Lew travel the world. They live all over Europe. From London, To Austria, to Tokyo-they do it all. Dick always ends up sunburnt and Lew is always wearing his classic aviators, wanting to take a photo of Dick. Whenever they go to a new location, Lew always forces Dick to pose next to something, whether that be the La Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi or the Tokyo tower, and then he sets the photo as his lock screen. Now THAT is romance right there.

Seven years of travel is a lot. Dick and Lew traveled back to the states once in a while for Holidays, but spent most of their time overseas. They are both now in their late thirties and a little exhausted from travel.

Whenever they go to a forgien country, Lew has a tendency to buy shot glasses from each country even though he’s sworn off drinking. I just want to imagine Lew, dragging Dick into a little chaka shop and being like “Oh look darling! Aren’t these adorable” and Dick would just sigh.

So after their final destination, Greece, Dick and Lew decide to retreat back to the states. They don’t wanna live in the city, so they choose to move to the quaint Lancaster. Dick mentioned that he and his friends used to go explore this abandoned farmhouse that wasn’t too far from where he used to live (about 20 mins). Lew wants to be a romantic so he decides to pay a whole lotta money to revinate the barn into a modern mansion. Here’s a picture for reference. Lew goes the extra mile and Dick is like “ *insert eye roll emoji* lew, were two people. Lew would give him a little kiss on the cheek, “and? I’m making room for the dogs.

Oh I should add that Lew officially retires (he has loads of money, it’s called inheritance baby!) while Dick considers it, but chooses not too. He chooses to live the peaceful life of a farmer.

OKAY, but here is the very juicy part

Reminder that there house is like...fucking huge. Like ridiculously big. Like there are so many rooms, and they are furnished. Like what is the point of having furnished rooms if you only have two people living in the house??

Also Lew and Dick adopt a whole armanda of dogs. If you want specifics, they have a collie named Lassie, two westie named Lovey and Duffer, A carin named Toto, Beethoven the St.Bernard, and Copper the hound dog. Oh-and that’s the start. So. Many. BUNNIES.

Dick knows Lew. He already has a child that he’s unfortunately not been able to raise since he barely has custody over his child. He seems to like his own dogs over his children. Dick doesn’t mind. Sure, he’s worked with kids, but he’s okay not having them. He does like his dogs, after all.

Harry, Dick and Lew’s best friend from college, doesn’t live far from them. He’s been married to his college sweetheart, Kitty, for five years. Together, they have a little son named Louie. Harry comes over a lot with Louie, and Louie plays with the dogs in the backyard. Dick’s a very observant person; he sees the relationship between Louie, the dogs, Lewis, and Harry. Lewis doesn’t mind Louie. Actually, he likes the kid. He’ll run around the backyard with Louie and their dog.

So Dick starts thinking about children. Maybe he’s changed his mind; maybe he wants a kid. One or two would be fine. It could be through adoption, help a family out or a kid who’s stuck in the system. Dick is like a mother when he wants to help others around him.

One night, Dick and Lew are sitting in bed. Did I mention all the dogs sleep in their bed. When shopping for furniture, Lew wanted to pick out a bed to fit all of the animals they were gonna have. Dick didn’t like the idea and made the dogs all sleep in their crates. But one night, Lew walked in on Dick snoring, lovey and dovey tucked right next to his stomach and feet. Lew once again, takes a photo, and shows it to Dick, who’s as red as a tomato.

Dick does a little sigh and Lew looks up from his book, his reading glasses slipping down his nose. He’d be like “oh, what is it now sweetheart?”

“We have such a big house, Lew. Twenty rooms and only two people live in the house-”

“Actually Six dogs and three rabbits. The dogs sleep with us and the rabbits...wherever they sleep.”

“Lew, I know you don’t like children but-”

Lew holds up Toto, who tilts her head. “But look at her! Yeah, you’re a good girl aren’t you? Daddy's little girl!”

“You love Louie-”

“Yeah, cause he’s not mine. He’s a nice kid. But children, especially teenagers, are the devils of this earth. You need to fear them, pay for them, do all kinds of stuff. With dog’s it’s easier.”

“I love our animals, but just one or two. We have so much space in the house. Help out a child who needs it. I know you don’t wanna admit it, but your great with kids-”

“Not my own. I don’t even know my own daughter. Kathy got married to some damn twink. How the hell do you think I’d be a good father?”

Dick gives him that *insert pouty emoji* look. “Just think about, Lew.”

So Lew actually thinks about. He walks around the house, feeling and seeing the quietness. They do have thousands of empty rooms and a little too much freetime on their hands. Plus, Lew hates the puppy eye stare Dick gives him.