#people should give me more archived fics like this I want to explore

[camellcat]

you guys I'm losing my MIND

I have NEVER seen this sort of thing in any other fandom I've been in and I LOVE IT

[breakfastteatime]

Today's Survivor fic is for the anon who requested 'The last of us'.

Cal wakes early, the others still asleep in their cabins. With BD still charging and sleep already a distant memory, Cal decides he needs some air, and some space. He’s not in the headspace to meditate (even if Cere and Master Tapal always insisted that was exactly the time to meditate). He leaves a note on the galley table (‘Out for a walk. Have comm. Call if you need me’) and heads out. They’ve landed near a beach on Tanalorr this time, Greez and BD having undertaken a survey of the planet and sought out alternative landing spaces. The Jedi of the High Republic did most of the hard work for them by establishing their temple in a perfect spot, geographically speaking, and yet they need to know what the rest of the planet is like, seeing how it’s untouched by the Empire – or the Republic. Greez wanted a beach cookout, so he’d landed them here. Yesterday, Cal patiently gave Kata a few swimming lessons. She’s still a little nervous and learning in a pool or a pond would be better, but she gets the basics and is happy to stay in the shallows for now.

It didn’t take her long to discover the joys of splashing her teacher right in the face, either.

This morning, however, it’s just him. The tide lulls Cal, the Force calm on the beach. The faint undercurrent of darkness lingering on Tanalorr fades away. Cal isn’t sure what that feeling is yet. The time to explore it will come later. Much later unless the Force compels him to investigate sooner. Right now, the Force seems to be determined to make him rest.

Rest. Right. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees people dying. Sometimes he thinks he should go away, far away, from everyone he loves. Their odds of survival will surely increase in his absence.

Cal kicks off his boots, tugs off his socks, shrugs out of his jacket, yanks his shirt over his head, and wades into the ocean. Sand swallows his feet. The chill fades as his body adjusts, and he ducks under the surface, kicking his way into deeper water. He doesn’t stop until the seabed is so far away, he’d need his rebreather to reach the depths. Rolling onto his back, Cal faces the sun and closes his eyes, the water and the Force carrying him.

He is alone. Adrift. A Jedi without an Order. He wants to believe so badly that there are others out there, and yet…

Malicos.

Dagan.

Bode.

He too succumbed to darkness, fell into its thrall, wielded its intoxicating power. Strong, unyielding, he had conquered many enemies, the echo of Cere’s power guiding his every vengeful move.

Never again. Never. If he falls, if he gives in again, if he fails to fight, what remains of the Jedi falls with him. He’s never found any signs of other survivors, not until they jab a lightsaber in his face. Cere said there were ‘very few of us left now’. Did she mean others besides herself and Cal? If she did, what if those others are just as broken as he is? As broken as Malicos, Dagan and Bode were? Twisted like the Inquisitors? Maybe it would be safer for what’s left of his family for him to never seek out other Jedi, to remain the last of the Order, to protect Force-sensitives without turning them into soldiers. The Force belongs to everyone, not just the Jedi. Merrin, the Zeffo, Kashyyyk’s Origin Tree, the Anchorites… All of them, and so many more, with their own perceptions of what the Force is – what it can be.

With or without the Jedi, Tanalorr will be a haven, and it will house all the remains of Cere’s Archive, become her living, breathing legacy. Cal swears he will do better, and if he is the last of the Jedi, he will ensure their ideals live on.

For now though, he should return to shore, go back to the others, and contact The Hidden Path. The galaxy could use some hope, and Cal finally has a little to share.

He returns to the beach. Merrin waits on the shore, fresh caf in her hands. “Did you find what you are looking for?” she asks, blunt as ever.

He takes the drink. “I hope so.”

[writingwell]

20 13 fanfic questions

Thanks to @randomfoggytiger for the tag. I didn’t do all of them, just the pertinent ones, and I modified those just to include ffnet as well. 

1. How many works do you have? 26 on AO3 (for my mature rated Spy Castle stuff); fanfiction.net has 278 Castle fics;and about 300ish archived at Gossamer for X-Files.

4. What are your top fics by kudos/reviews? The Return of Vulcan Simmons, Tempest (not a spy work!) on AO3; ffnet would be One Hundred Days of Summer (co-authored with SandianeCarter) and Dash It All.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yeah, I think if you take the time to contact me, you deserve the respect of hearing from me. It might not be a full-blown conversation, but I’ll do what I can with a full-time profession and a writing one as well. Also, suuuuper sorry, just discovered AO3 has an inbox. 300 days ago, some of you messaged me and I am just now seeing those. Lol. 

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I have a spy fic where the two of them are just so at odds, so grieving with and over each other… okay that’s most of them. But I try not to end on angst, as it’s supposed to be the journey not the destination. (Angst is a twisting of the heart, not a place where you stay. According to me.)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Dash series has the ‘happiest’ endings. Not because life is happy, but because they figured out how to create contentment within what they’d been given/dealt in life. And in ways other versions of the Castle characters hadn’t accomplished. They did the work.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Oh definitely. A while back, I turned off comments on tumblr for about a year as I processed and healed from some targeted attacks, and I can say that I came out more certain of myself and my writing. But I was also an adult who had not been forced to weather these attacks as a vulnerable 13 y-o on social media (as so many of you are unfortunately dealing with). I was able to detach, center myself once more, and rise above because I’d grown up IRL, so to speak. I have a faith in something bigger than me which, while it doesn’t look like what it did, has sustained me and given me the confidence to know my worth even as it spurs me to be/do better. 

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind? Oh definitely, lol. It’s on AO3. Usually I like to explore M/F with a third in there for kicks, as the concept of generosity and giving within the sexual relationship/experience is intriguing to me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I objected to the term ‘stolen.’ I’ve had my fics, without my knowledge, posted elsewhere, translated without my knowledge, and changed to other fandom characters to be posted elsewhere. However! I’ve had loads of people ask me too, and I really appreciate being able to go visit them. (Stolen would indicate I somehow own these fanfictions, and I do not, as that would be a legally difficult hill to stand on. I also do not perceive collective fan art in this manner, because the world is all of ours.)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Oh there’s a co-written story that me, carto, and muppet47 started and have NEVER finished. We all know Castle has to go to jail, but we can’t write it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Writing it the first time. Correctly. As in, it comes out the way it should or ought to or how I am seeing it in the moment. I have the right rhythm, I can spell and I have the grammar skills. My first draft is fast and good enough for submission. Of course, I go back and edit, and I have to, but I’m very blessed in not ever going through anything like writer’s block.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Secondary characters. I have a tendency for tunnel vision, where all I want to do is talk about and to and for the main characters. If they have friends or family, I barely include them. I can’t manage to care that they exist. But all of us live in a complex web of relationships and community; no one is alone. My last novel, Taste of Salt, was an concentrated effort to include as many other perspectives as possible, so it was told through the POVs of the two main characters and interspersed with flashback chapters from the POVs of their friends, family, coworkers, chance encounters, medical personnel, kids, support networks… there you go.You have to do the thing that’s hard. Write it out, over and over, keep practicing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Yeah, sometimes it becomes necessary for the character. But please keep it to a minimum (imo) as it detracts from the reader’s understanding and experience of reading. It ought to be rather easy to understand what the person is saying due to context or just the flow of the scene. If you’re writing in English, and you have a character visiting France, then obviously some of that ought to be in French, but after a while, you can indicate that the language is being used while writing it in English. I say this because most of you are fandom writers who are not writing for literary audiences; therefore, don’t ruin everyone’s fun my making it incomprehensible or inaccessible. Please.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? Don’t ask me to choose between my children! I can tell you that Dash holds a special place in my heart due to the amount of readers who said it gave them understanding of their own sensory issues or their child’s autism, etc. Spy gave me one of my greatest friends, carto, who continues to love and support me and my writing. 

I won't tag anyone, because I deleted so many of these questions, but feel free to answer or share or talk with me about them!

[mikeylivesattheend]

Jason Todd but Not! (AU's)

If you want to read AUs that give you different versions of Jason Todd, this is for you. These 8 fics are all categorized as gen, and I tried to include lesser known works here.

I'll be listing

Word count

Any rating above teen

Archive warnings

Major relationships

Mind the specific tags on a work before you read

~~~

The We in I by forestgreen

12,680; Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne

There never was a Jason.

A fic exploring Jason Todd through the lens of him having DID. There's so much care put into this fic, and it genuinely changed how I thought about certain canon events. I also love the voice forestgreen employs for Jay. They capture the magic of 80s Jason Todd perfectly, while making him sound correct in the modern setting.

I have no tongue and I must scream by Sassaphrass

5,242; The Batfamily Hunger Games AU: Former Victor Jason Todd returns to his District for the first time in a long time. Something is troubling his fellow Victors and he gets a surprising recruit to his murderous crusade against the Capitol.

AND

Red, and Terrible, and Red by Sassaphrass

13,075; Rape/Non-Con, Underage; Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul/Jason Todd On a journey from Victor, to Slave to Rebel (with just a short side-trip through insane vengeance fueled serial killer), for Jason Todd winning the Hunger Games was only the beginning.

I can’t decide which of these to recommend first. They’re part of the same series, and if you get invested you’ll want to read both anyway. The first fic in the series sets the general DC/Hunger Games premise, while the the other one is purely Jason’s backstory. I find myself re-reading Red, and Terrible, and Red because his backstory is immaculate, but you probably should read the setup fic first 😅

Whisper Closely In My Ear by KangaRou

8,518; Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne The words went in one ear, rattled around like bees, before ramming out the other. The doctor was sitting painfully close, only two feet away. The tone of voice implied he was talking louder, not quite a yell but something nearly there; it sounded like a whisper to Jason. So quiet, with every third word unintelligible, except for that first phrase: "Mr Wayne, I'm afraid you're profoundly deaf." --- Jason is profoundly deaf. He learns to cope with it.

The premise is exactly what it sounds like, but so much more. The author goes into detail regarding Jasons treatment, how Bruce (isn't) being helpful, and the genuine fear he feels when he's with his family. It's separated into small scenes that connect beautifully. A must read honestly.

We'll Never Get Free (Lamb To The Slaughter) by AquamarineMemeBender

4,286; Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death; Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne & Colin Wilkes, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne "He keeps throwing kids into his own self destruction and never understands that he'll never be able to save them." "I know," she gasps. "I know. I already know. He didn't save me, he didn't save my mom, he didn't save my best friend or-" "You know," Jason assures her, and rests the end of his gun on her forehead as gently as possible. "He doesn't." Or: Bruce keeps making Robins. Jason keeps killing them.

Very dark, and also relies on the Lazarus Pit. BUT! The pit is used differently here, adding to the surreal horror of this fic. Reading this is like watching a car made of hope, love, and familial trust crash into a brick wall.

Turning Point by Neocolai

4,310; Not Rated; Graphic Depictions Of Violence Hood had one standard as a hired gun — he didn’t shoot kids. The Joker should’ve known better than to involve him, even if the party in question was Bat-trained.

Aaand a fic that is the complete opposite of the last one.

I love seeing how people make Jason the Red Hood without the ‘I am a better Batman’ angle or the bruce daddy issues. This is a solid read.

keep on haunting me by Littlearrows

4,090; Dick Grayson & Jason Todd After his time as a mob boss, Jason opens a private detective agency for Gotham's ghosts, investigating their deaths and helping them find justice. A case leads him to getting justice for his own ghost haunting him. (aka a supernatural noir detective AU)

This is a banger noir fic that sprinkles in intriguing worldbuilding, and gives the characters a really cool vibe. Jason feels like a legitimate detective & I could easily imagine this being a slice from a video game.

The Zombie Robin by Penglaive

36,301 Nearly half a year after Jason Todd was murdered by the Joker, Scarecrow launched a plot to delve six feet deeper into the heart of fear. Whether this plot went ultimately right or horribly wrong is a matter of perspective, but everyone involved could agree it went weird quickly, even by Gotham standards.

Jason must deal with his unknown zombie status in this fic, and it has more depth than you might imagine. Penglaive strikes a nice tonal balance between serious and lighthearted, switching perspectives giving context to the greater impact of Jason's return. This one is uberly underrated.

~~~

Sooo that’s my list. Obviously there are a lot more fics that fit these tropes, but this is just a cheese platter of different Jason Todds......

ANYWAYS I hope you enjoy these hidden teasures, like ken.

Ken out 😘

[blackjackkent]

OK, so, off to the Archive. It's been made pretty clear that shit is going to go tits-up as soon as Raphael realizes what is happening, but I think we've done all the exploring we can right now. Time to set a fire in Hell. >:)

"Hello again, little mouse. The price for speaking is steep, but I must give warning. Your prize is just ahead in the Archive, but you can't take it yet, and even if you could, you mustn't. Trigger the alarm and Raphael will come swooping home on wings of malice to rip out your soul." Again the sudden shrieking wail as the panic takes her over. "IN THIS HOUSE THIEVES ARE MELTED LIKE BUTTER AND SPREAD ONTO TOAST!"

Her head ducks, her voice drops, a sudden frantic tone. "Shhhhhhhh... I'm doing it again I'm doing it again..."

Hector crouches down to her height, reaches out a hand towards her. He can't touch her, not a projection as she is, but perhaps the gesture at least comforts. [MONK] "Focus," he says softly. "Breathe with intent. And the flames that scorch your mind will recede, for they are nothing."

(A/N: I love how, completely by accident, this directly echoes one of the first fics I ever wrote about Hector. "Two beats to the breath...")

Her shoulders relax just slightly, a little of the mania fading briefly from her voice. "Slight problem," she whispers. "The flames are scorching my backside as well as my mind. But I like your optimism. And I can help. The Archivist is the key, but he's as stubborn as a king and as serious as a heart attack." The moment of control slips; her eyes widen, and she bellows out suddenly, "EXPLOIT HIS PIDDLING WEAKNESSES AND MAKE HIM GROVEL!"

She flinches away, curling herself inward. "Oh no..." she mutters. "They hear me. Speak quickly. Speak softly. You know how this goes..."

Hector swallows. He has to take a moment to settle his own mind, find his own center, as this woman's (entirely understandable) erratic behavior has him tremendously on edge.

[WISDOM] Focus your efforts on formulating concise questions.

Narrator: You steady your mind and prepare your questions.

"How should I deal with the archivist?" he asks crisply.

"He fears authority figures," she tells him, quickly, quietly. "Perhaps his teacher took a strap to him and left a deep impression at an early age. There's one regular visitor that he particularly fears... She is..." She flinches. "Shhhhhhh..."

Narrator: A crack like a breaking bone. Hope winces.

Hector frowns tightly. He wants nothing more than to get Hope and the Hammer and be far from this place and its torments. But there is no way out but forward.

[PERSUASION] "Who does the Archivist fear, Hope?" he says. "I need a name."

(A/N: Took three inspirations but we got there.)

"SCARIER THINGS THAN YOU, LITTLE MOUSE!" Hope roars - then controls herself again, her hands wringing together frantically. "Verillius. Verilliuse Receptor. A High Inquisitor of Zariel. Officially entitled to audit Raphael's collection. Her true form is so gargantuan and mind-scarring to behold that she takes on many guises when she visits..."

Another lift of her voice into a panicked scream. "PLAY YOUR PART WELL AND YOU CAN BE ONE OF THOSE BLASPHEMOUS GUISES!"

She vanishes, her words hanging in the air.

-----

"Lovely," Hector mutters. "We all know my talent for deception. Maybe someone else ought to take this one." He hesitates, looking sideways at Karlach.

He doesn't say anything, but she knows what he's thinking, and nods slowly, squaring her shoulders. "It should be me," she mutters. "I know how devils work. I met Verillius once or twice even. And I know how to scare the shit out of people, too."

He smiles faintly. "You did quite a good job with Helsik outside."

She shrugs. "Can't say I much want you admiring me for it. Last thing I want is to show up anything like those monsters. But if it'll help us tear this place apart, I guess it's worth something."

A pause. He steps towards her, rests a hand on her shoulder. "I love you," he says softly, "for everything you are that is good and kind and warm, everything not of this place. We do what must be done and then we'll be gone... we'll be gone from here..."

"Ten years I spent in the hells..." she murmurs, more to herself than to him. "Ten years of doing what must be done, enough to survive... nice to turn it back on them for once..."

[hmserebusadjacent]

Home

Part of Five Days of Izzy Hands Strikes Back

Izzy Hands x Male Reader (Established Friendhsip, Developing Relationship, Both Aromantic Asexual)

Summary: A continuation from my story One Dance, a Regency AU. You and Izzy are firm friends and you have started to question whether Izzy might feel as strongly as you do, leading to an almost confession of feelings.

One Dance can be found here if you want to catch up on the first part of the story.

Word count: 2,225

Fic link:

With a packed day like today, it did not make sense to traipse between houses changing clothes. A lunch time party followed by an exploration of the countryside followed by a ball in the evening. Such business was rare, especially for you and Izzy, but you were trying to take it in your stride. You would both be seeing old friends and getting the chance to eat and dance and likely sneak off for a quiet walk around some exquisite gardens.

Another benefit of being in this part of the world is that you could see Izzy's house once more. He had had it in a lingering state of refurbishment for a little while, with unused furniture still piled into corners and cloth draped over the carpets. But to you, when Izzy had suggested that you drive by and see it, it was another opportunity to almost see inside Izzy's mind.

He might spend a long time in other people's houses, but this was Izzy at his rawest. A reflection of his troubled mind, a house trapped in the mindset of his past even if the present version of himself had tried to move on and grow.

Izzy trusted you with his vulnerability and you would never take it for granted.

So when Izzy stopped his curracle outside the front door, you stared up in wonder at the windows above you. You took Izzy's hand when it was offered, letting the man guide you down onto the floor and giving his hand a little squeeze before you pulled away.

As the man next to you opened the doors and light flooded the entryway, you couldn't help but smile. You wondered what some genuine love would do to the place, to make it seem like a genuine home to Izzy Hands. He more than anyone else in your life deserved contentment, and that wasn't just because of the quiet violence of your affections for him.

No, even before you had realised the way your feelings tended you had believed this. The first time you met something had told you that you were kindred spirits, cut from the same cloth even if not from the same corners.

Now as you realise that your feelings can't be hidden away forever, you realise how true your statement is once more. Even more so when you look back to the old Captain and find him staring at you fondly.

"I apologise again for the languishing state of the place. I should make it more of a home."

You smiled warmly, tilting your head as if to get a better look at him.

"I hope this can be a home to you, Izzy. It is the least you deserve."

As Izzy's gaze softens and you realise that you have been staring too long you turn away, picking up a book and stacking it on top of a pre-existing pile of dust covered books.

"The things you say…", Izzy mused, and the tone of his voice makes your cheeks flush with joy. You turn back towards him, letting him see the effects of his words.

"It is true, I assure you."

Those words seem to embolden the old Captain, and he took a tentative step forward.

"If you settle in this part of the world, do you think you could find a home here? At this stage, this place is as much mine as it is yours."

The things Izzy says. In a friendship as close as theirs these kinds of things are almost to be expected, perfectly natural things to say. But there was something in the man's gaze that made your heart flutter, a little glimmer that made you hope once again that your feelings might not be entirely one sided.

"If you'll have me, Izzy. I do love this old house. It holds many happy memories."

Then Izzy was taking another step forward, reaching out to take your hands in his, bridging the gap between you so effortlessly and with such confidence.

"I'll take whatever you give me. You are a rare treasure that I am still unsure that I deserve."

Your eyes crinkled at the corners as you smiled deeply, warmly, fondly. You turn your palms slightly so you can grab a hold of Izzy's hands to squeeze them, to let him know that you are doubly there.

"Of course you deserve me, my dear. Just as I deserve you. I wouldn't have it any other way because I do love you so very dearly."

"And I you", Izzy was quick to chime in, adoration sparkling in his hazel eyes, a truly mesmerising sight.

"And I you", Izzy repeated, more slowly this time as if he was formulating a plan. After a moment he gently let go of your hands, looking almost apologetic about it.

"I confess that I did have a reason for bringing you here rather than just the chance to reminisce. Follow me, love?"

You nodded quickly, straightening your jacket a little out of habit with maybe just a little need to preen yourself too. You would truly follow Izzy Hands anywhere.

"Always."

The smile that lit up the other man's face was remarkable, comparable to nothing, beautiful in its quiet intensity. Izzy Hands truly was the most beautiful man you had ever met, in every degree of the word. He motioned for you to take the stairs first and he was soon following behind as you ascended.

It was a deliberate ploy on your part to trail your hand delicately along the bannister, giving in to your romantic urges as if this truly was a scene from a novel. To complete the picture Izzy trailed his hand along behind yours, catching your fingers once or twice when you slowed down enough to match his pace. It felt good to laugh with him, to giggle like the little school boys you so often felt like with an adoration for each other that belied what other people thought possible. Love was something you both had different thoughts on compared to the average person, and that was perhaps what had allowed your feelings for Izzy to grow so unchecked.

How could you not fall for him, when he was the only person outside your family of two that seemed to understand you on some deeper level. How could you not love Izzy when he complimented your mind, your personality, your prowess in so many things and only then did he compliment your beauty?

Izzy Hands really was a man like no other, and you had told him this so many times. But never in the way that you felt now, where he truly shone brighter than the stars, the sun and the moon combined. Never in the way that you love him now, where you wanted to take a house with him and spend the rest of your days reading books in the embrace of his arms, walking the countryside arm in arm or finishing the novel he was so keen for you to continue writing.

All of those feelings needed to be expressed, surely?

The look in Izzy’s eyes as you met his gaze on the landing told you all that you needed to know. There was so much love and genuine need there that it spellbound you for a moment, and it was all you could do to wave for him to go ahead of you this time up the next set of stairs.

A look such as that could not surely be merely that of friendship and kinship? You had seen the man’s gaze transform in the years that you had known each other, and this was something entirely different. It looked like…the love you felt…

As you neared the top of the stairs Izzy was already waiting for you, then led you down a corridor that was oh so familiar to you. When you had stayed the night on previous occasions this side of the house had been where your suite lay, even though neither one of you paid much attention to this “rule” when comfort was needed and wanted. Yes, the heavy shutters were familiar to you as were the paintings of tall ships on the walls.

Even the view across the gardens and down to the pond was familiar to you, bringing back flashes of memories as Izzy gestured for you to sit on the window seat only for him to join you a moment later.

“Feels like a lifetime ago that I first admired this view”, you mused and Izzy made a confirmatory noise next to you.

“So much has changed since then. I remember waking up one morning and finding you fishing for frogs in the pond”, Izzy said softly, smile fond as his gaze seemed lost in the mists of time for a moment.

You smiled, lost in the man’s profile and the way his smile lines curled up towards his cheeks. “That was a good day.”

“It was”, Izzy murmured as he turned back to look at you, a determined sort of glint in his gaze. He looked like he had something he wanted to say and you certainly weren’t going to stop him.

"I've…"

He sighed, plucking some courage out of somewhere as he reached over and took one of your hands.

"It has been my torment a little over two years to be unable to look at you and say what I really feel."

"Yes", you had said in a quiet voice, encouraging him.

“I feel a fool for not having the courage to share, and if you knew the enormity of my feelings perhaps you would think worse of me for it.”

You shook your head firmly, sliding closer to Izzy as you laid your free hand on top of the pile of hands, squeezing as if you could transmute your confidence through the touch and directly into the old captain’s soul.

“Never, Iz. I don’t want you to ever think that because I know you. I hope you know that I adore you more than you could ever know.”

A spark of hope lit up in your chest, catching the kindling of your nerves and blowing them away like wisps. Now was the time.

“There are more to my feelings than you know too. And it has been my pain to keep them hidden when I felt that they were not worthy of being spoken aloud.”

The gasp that was rent out of Izzy’s chest was breathtaking, his immediate change of demeanour from nerves to hope as his very being lit up from within. His hands escaped from your lap and immediately moved to cup your cheeks, holding you oh so gently and carefully as if you were something truly precious beyond all measures of man.

“Oh, my love! Please, if your feelings are anything compared to my own please speak them now. End this torment for us both.”

The man sounded so impassioned that you couldn’t help reaching out, mirroring the hands on his cheeks by placing yours on the older man’s cheeks, feeling his beard and his stubble and oh, taking in all of his beauty once more.

“Izzy, I-”

“Izzy!”, came a cry from downstairs and both men jumped, moving closer to each other rather than away. Damn, Edward! He has such spectacularly bad timing!

“Maybe he will give up…”, Izzy offered, but his theory was soon disproved by the sound of booted feet on the stairs.

“James? Come on, love birds. We must be leaving if we are to make the ball in time!”

“I hadn’t realised that it was that late”, you whispered exasperatedly, gently smoothing your thumbs over Izzy’s cheeks once more before dropping your hands. Izzy dropped his too only to grab your hands again and squeeze them reassuringly.

“I promise you we will continue this conversation later. You have my word.”

You smiled and gave a nod of assent, standing up with Izzy as the two of you set about smoothing out the creases in your clothes.

“Here, Edward”, Izzy called, and soon enough Edward was appearing at the end of the corridor in all of his finery, a relieved yet rushed expression upon his face.

“There you are. Come on, now. Let’s make haste.”

As Edward walked back the way he came, you gently pulled Izzy into your embrace. You hoped that it conveyed all of your hopes and exaltations, all of the nameless feelings of joy that existed between you and Izzy, every good thing that you could not wait to talk about if both of your feelings were indeed in alignment.

After that, you took but a moment in the washroom to compose yourself, amazed that Izzy had managed to calm himself down in the time it had taken him to descend the stairs. And oh, how wonderfully Izzy looked up at you now this new understanding existed between the two of you, a different kind of warmth on full display. You allowed Izzy to take your hand from the top step down onto the floor and then all the way to the carriage too.

As the carriage pulled away into the evening twilight and you stole a glance back at the house, something told you that tonight both you and Izzy would be re-entering it as two completely different men.

[lola-andheruniverse]

⭐ Your Turn Sunday ⭐

I'd like to recommend It Takes An Ocean Not To Break by carolthequeen.

"Perhaps Daryl should care, perhaps he should feel self conscious about being so obvious, but honestly he’s done pretending that he doesn’t want to keep her close. To be as close to her as she’ll allow."

carolthequeen is one of the archive's hidden treasures 👑 Every upload is a gem 💎

I've chosen this fic specifically because I wanted Daryl to throw caution to the wind when Carol invited him to go on the boat. I knew why he couldn't say yes, but still. Carol asking Daryl to run away *with her*? That's huge!

Like last week's rec, this another very grounded and introspective fic. I feel like so many of my gripes with the show could have been solved if tptb had slowed things down, giving their characters space to breathe and letting Carol and Daryl spend meaningful time with each other. This fic does all of those things in an authentic and engaging way. Being on the boat doesn't solve Caryl's problems, but it does give them some much needed breathing space and the opportunity to say things which need to be said.

I think the way that Carol's vulnerability is depicted is spot on - how she'll hide behind a smile and trick people into thinking she's doing better than she really is. But she can't hide from Daryl, he sees through her every time. They have a conversation which should have taken place in the show and there's a beautiful parallel with an iconic Caryl moment.

Enjoy!

Hi, @notalkingbusiness! Two in a roll, dear! Thank you so much for participating one more time and sharing another fic with us! I can't express how happy you made me!

It Takes An Ocean Not to Break, one-shot written by @bloodlnthemoonlight, known as carolthequeen | kataurah is available both on 9Lives and AO3. Oh, and I totally agree, this author is hidden treasure indeed (I have How Rare and Beautiful lined up to rec on late october).

Summary:

He’d already known this whole sailing thing wasn’t for him before he’d even taken a step off dry land - had said as much after all - and being out on the water hasn’t changed his mind. But damned if he could ever really refuse Carol anything if she wanted it bad enough.

Post-10x01 fic in which Daryl takes Carol up on her offer to take a trip out on the boat with her.

Rating: G / General Audiences Word count: 2077 Published: December 03, 2019

I love this type of stories, that are a mix of 'fix it' and 'what if', because we can dive into these little moments, sadly lost on canon, and explore all their possibilities on fanon - we all know how things would be different if Daryl and Carol had been given the opportunity to talk, just talk, and give in onto their vulnerability, right?. nottalkingbusiness gave us a 5-star review, so I'll leave you with one of my favorite parts of this fic just to give you the final push to read it: "“I know you’re running…” He begins, and it’s only because he’s so in tune with her that he feels Carol tense ever so slightly. “That you don’t wanna feel any of it. And I get it, I do. But you told me once that I had to. Feel it. And you were right.” He closes his eyes and feels the phantom press of her lips on his forehead and so turns his head to return the gesture, brushing a kiss to her hairline and whispering words of affirmation into her skin. “You don’t have to do it alone. Wherever you are, I’ll be there too.” 

And on this heartbreaking/heartwarming note, week two of caryl fic recs is over! Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. Tomorrow we start all over again! Caryl on!

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

More Writing Chat!

Adopted tag game from @commander-krios - since I’ve been going wild with the tags lately, I’ll restrain myself from tagging anyone in particular but please do pick this up if you want (I did!) and tag me in your post! <3 On with the questions:

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

13, though it should be 14. (I have a short WWDITS fic from a couple of years ago, originally published in a zine, that I keep forgetting to archive!)

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

132,892

3) What fandoms do you write for?

BG3, Ambition: A Minuet In Power, Hades and What We Do in the Shadows

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Sharp Teeth, Rolan x Tav, E

2. Après Theâtre, Guillermo x Nandor, T

3. Sharess’s Sundries, Rolan x Tav, E

4. Planar Tears, Rolan x OFC, E

5. Tail and Tongue, Rolan x Tav, E

5) Do you respond to comments?

HELL YES. Every time, with the rare exception that if someone’s left six in a row within like one day on the same fic, I might only respond to half of them (although if they’re in depth, you bet I’m responding to every single one). It’s second nature to me: comments just give me such an amazing warm glow and I feel compelled to share it right back <3 I honestly have to stop myself from replying too quickly if I happened to be checking my email in the moment a comment came in. If you’ve ever thought ‘Jesus she’s fast’… I probably wanted to reply even faster. Lol.

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Honestly, I haven’t written any with angsty endings. I guess I like my fluff, in fanfic. I’m working on an original novel that will eventually have a bittersweet/open ending I think. But that’s going very slowly.

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ooh, good question. Maybe Sharp Teeth. They saved the world, after all. Tav goes from impending death, and Rolan from precarity and abuse, to love and a happily (grumpily) ever after.

Ribbons also ends with Yvette and Ludovico living their blissful, unconventional happily-ever-after in Rome. So maybe that too.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I don’t think I’ve ever written for pairings that are a locus of that kind of attention. The closest I’ve ever got is spotting a comment in the fanfic subreddit that I’m 95% sure was complaining about the ear licking in Sharp Teeth specifically lol. Which amused me greatly.

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

Yes! M/F mostly, though I’ve also written a bit of F/F. And mostly kinky, lol. The list of kink stuff I want to explore is LONG.

10) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not against it, but haven’t had one occur to me yet.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge. I think I’m too small a fish for that!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

See 11), haha

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

Currently co-writing a very goofy Shane/Farmer & Krobus gift fic with my girlfriend for our flatmate! This reminds me I need to work on it. Purely a private fun gift exchange - she knits us socks <3

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

This doesn’t super work as a question for me, because it’s usually whatever I’m currently obsessed with. But from the sheer number of times I’ve read the book, and watched the 1995 BBC series - Elizabeth and Darcy? (Otherwise I’m just going to say Rolan x Steel Weave Tav. Catrin’s in the doghouse for being difficult to write rn)

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My Hades fic, ‘Family Gatherings’. I have a fun lil plan for Zag hanging out with each of his surface family in turn (sometimes in pairs/trios) and seeing how Meg/Than feel about it. And it is really fun and sweet - but unfortunately I started writing it at the tail end of my Hades obsession, so whilst I think it’ll get a couple more chapters at least, I’m not really motivated to finish.

I also want to finish my Yvette/Ludovico smut fic Britches, which has a pegging chapter that its audience of like 3 people have been waiting for for years - but since that’s half-written, it will definitely happen eventually!

16) What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm. I think I do characterisation well, particularly in dialogue - I try to imagine the characters speaking their lines to check that what I’ve written works. And sometimes I write really neat descriptive lines.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

White room syndrome for sure. I tend to hone in on the characters a lot and ignore the surroundings. Connective tissue - moving from one scene to another - can be a bit janky. Sometimes I can overdo facial expressions, and I rely on ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ a lot to describe all manner of feelings.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

This is a rogue q, haha. I have done it - Guillermo’s mum talks to him in Spanish - but my Spanish is secondary-school level so it’s not great. I did pre-emptively warn about it though, haha.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

As a kid, thinly-veiled Star Trek isekai that went nowhere. As an adult, WWDITS.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh my god. Too hard to choose. I love all my fics. With that said (and with significant recency bias), Sharp Teeth. I’m so proud of writing my first novel (ish) length fic, and it brought me such joy to write.

I’ll also forever love my first fic, Après Theâtre. I re-read it recently for the first time in a while and honestly laughed so much at my own fucking jokes. I think I really nailed the tone of the show and that makes me so happy!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

The Precursor to the Journey - A Kairi Day 2024 Fic

Summary: As Kairi meets two people from another world a few times while she's growing up--and also just grows up in general, and learns more about herself: maybe partly through some of these meetings, but also of course because of her friends Sora and Riku--it puts in place the puzzle pieces that are needed for the trio's eventual journey to start. Written for Kairi Day 2024. Oneshot. Written to both explore what Sora, Riku, and Kairi might have been like together as they grew, but also to somewhat give Kairi her own adventure pre-KH1, that wouldn't mess with canon.

The Precursor to the Journey

Kairi’s PoV

"Why are you here?" Kairi asked a mysterious blonde woman before her, pretty certain that she'd never seen her before, but also not entirely sure of that, either. Kairi was new to the Island, after all.

The woman smiled sweetly for Kairi’s question, it seemed to the five-year-old, but it took her a moment to answer the question. "I'm trying to decide if my decision to abdicate this role I’ve been given is a good one. Tell me, little one: If you had great power, would you give it to someone else?"

Kairi stared at the woman of medium height, definitely confused by the turn of events, as the wind blew and her shoulder-length hair brushed against her shoulders. She really had no idea what the lady was talking about. She was only five. But Kairi didn’t want to admit that she was lost, for she didn’t want to seem dumb. She was about to try and guess at the answer, when the girl seemed to understand that Kairi hadn’t gotten what she was trying to say and attempted it again with, “Would you give something special to someone else?”

“Hmm… Maybe a girl,” Kairi supposed. “I trust them more than mean boys, who have cooties.”

The curly-haired blonde laughed at that, as she stepped closer to Kairi in the sand and out of the shore of the Play Island. And Kairi knew she should have afraid for this—as one shouldn’t talk to strangers—but there was something about this woman that set her at ease.

“That sounds too much like me for comfort,” the woman said, almost seeming lost in her own memories. “And how rude of me to not introduce myself until now! I’m Delamer! But young one… while giving power to girls is fine—and I’d be okay with you ever wanting to do that, if it would somehow help you—is there not even one boy you’d think about sharing with?”

Kairi thought about it for a moment… and at first, she imagined that the answer was “no.” But then she remembered that a boy in her class, Sora—who she hadn’t liked at first, for he had knocked her into the water when their teacher had been teaching them how to fish (1)—had recently jumped into the ocean for her, to retrieve one of the fake nails she had dropped in there, when she had explained that it meant a lot to her since it was from her grandma.

Kairi explained the story to Delamer, and Delamer almost seemed to look… scared to Kairi for a moment. Or was it some other adult emotion Kairi couldn’t understand?

Finally, Delamer said, “Sora seems to remind me of someone that I know. Thank you, Kairi. You really helped me today. I think I will trust and give up this power. In the future… please stay safe and take care of yourself.”

“I’ll try t-” Kairi started, but Delamer was already gone. But what was there in her place, was a giant nailfile.

…

"I wanna make cookie dough," Kairi, at seven, told her adoptive mom, as she put up her hair that now reached just below her shoulders, so she could hopefully help with the task.

As Kairi loved cookie dough more than anything, she thought it would be a good treat for Sora.

But Kairi's mom frowned at her, as the two of them stood in their kitchen, and told Kairi, "You can't really do that, honey. I shouldn't give you the small bits of it that I do. And if you were to give it to Sora, it might give him salmonella."

Now it was Kairi's turn to frown. This had been her best idea, and now she had no clue what else to give her friend. It was hard not to cry at this turn of events, but Kairi fought against it—wanting to press on.

"What if we make cookies, with a little cookie dough on top?" Kairi begged.

And maybe there was something in her eyes or her tone of voice when Kairi had asked, because her mother suddenly relented with a sigh. "I guess there's less a chance for it to be harmful, if we just give Sora a tiny bit that way, than the tin you had been planning. Very well, Kairi."

Kairi beamed wider than she ever had in her life, and jumped up on a chair so she could help her mom with the baking.

And when she presented the cookies to Sora, she thought his own smile looked particularly radiant.

Dangus' PoV

Dangus—Delamer's love, who she had given her power to: though there was much more to the story than that—watched the girl, Kairi (nine now, he believed), as she talked to her friend Riku?

It sounded like Kairi was asking Riku for gift ideas, as she very much wanted to buy him something. But Riku was teasing her by asking if she really wanted to include him in an anniversary that was about her and Sora. Kairi countered by saying if he didn't want the keyboard she was very seriously thinking about getting him, just say so.

The whole thing was cute... And Dangus could understand why Delamer had chosen to speak to Kairi—and wanted to protect her—but part of him wished she hadn’t. He didn't want this power again. …It was too much for him.

Dangus was pulled out of his melancholy thoughts, when he noticed that Kairi was saying goodbye to Sora and Riku outside of their school now, and getting ready to head home. And that’s when it happened:

Water and lightning appeared out of nowhere, mixing together, until it formed the shape of someone Dangus knew all too well, heading straight for the girl!

Dangus began running towards Kairi, but he knew he wouldn't get there in time! So he used his magic to summon to Kairi the gift Delamer had given her years ago and threw it to her!

Just as the... the monster was closing in on Kairi, she first tied her hair that was at her waist into a bun—so the monster couldn’t use it against her—but then she woke up even further, and stabbed at the monster with the nailfile. And while said nailfile was the slightest bit wobbly—Delamer hadn't wanted to give a real weapon to a child, Dangus knew—it was enough to knock him off his feet. And then Dangus was there, and he defeated him with just a look (such was this cursed power he had)... and he hated to do it.

The moment she seemed to gather herself, Kairi looked at him like she'd seen a ghost. "You! You're like that girl... so it wasn't a dream."

"You thought it was a dream, even after Delamer magicked you this ridiculous nailfile?" Dangus laughed, taking Kairi's hand and helping her to her feet from where she’d fallen after having landing her blow on the monster.

"I ended up losing it, after my mom and I moved houses... thank you for bringing it back to me," Kairi said very sincerely. It somewhat baffled Dangus, because why would she care so much about an object that, just a second ago, she thought had been a dream. But there was definitely something about this girl. She seemed so… pure.

"You're more than welcome," Dangus said, suddenly more than charmed by Kairi, even though he should have been staying away from her for quite a few reasons.

"Are you from one of the other islands, or-"

And there was one of the reasons Dangus very much needed to leave. He didn't want to admit he was from another world, after all. But it was also part of the reason he needed to protect her. The Eye he had—that allowed him to see too much, if he allowed it (like someone else in her future with a certain eye)—spoke of an interesting future for this girl.

"...You could argue that I'm from an island. But Kairi, beware of certain people from your island and try to be safe." To try and prove his point, he walked the young girl home.

And once she was inside, Dangus put a strand of green hair behind his ear—getting it out of his brown eyes—and he quietly mourned that this girl would have such a hard fate. Why did so many girls that he knew have to suffer so much?

...

Kairi's PoV

Though Kairi appreciated what Dangus had tried to do for her (Delamer too, even though she barely remembered her now, since that encounter had happened so many years ago) she mostly put it out of her mind by twelve. After all, even if Dangus was right, she wasn't going to ruin her life by worrying about something that might not never come.

She was happy in life: she'd recently become a cheerleader at school; and she loved how it made her more active than she had been before, even if she'd still probably lose a contest with the ever-energetic Sora, Riku, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka.

Kairi was actually on the way to some extra cheerleading practice at the school's gym now, and was getting ready to jump in her canoe in the Play Island to row there, when she saw Delamer and Dangus again!

At first, Kairi thought the sun was playing tricks on her (or maybe her hair [that was so long now, it reached her bottom] had gotten into her eyes and was obscuring her vision), and she rubbed her eyes to make the illusion go away. But no, it was really them: much like Delamer had been standing on the shore here the first time they met.

There was a part of Kairi that was a bit more cautious upon seeing them now, in knowing how badly her having met the strangers could have gone before… But she also couldn't deny they'd been good to her every time she'd seen them; and that really, she was happy to see them.

"Hey, you two! You look well! What brings you here?" Kairi asked, heading over to them with a wide smile on her face, feeling ever curious.

As she got closer to them, she noted that they were holding hands, but not overly affectionate like some older couples she'd seen here on the islands. She stored that information away for later.

"I'm surprised you're not with your friends. You were with that Sora and Riku when I met you. And when I talked to Delamer about it, she said you were just about to befriend Sora when you two met." was Dangus' rejoinder.

Kairi laughed. "The two of them are very dear to me, but we’re not literally joined at the hip. They might surprise me and support me at cheerleading practice today. But if not, we have plans to play after school tomorrow. So, what brings you two-"

"Kairi, there's a chance this will be the last time we'll see you," Delamer interrupted, seemingly giving up all pretenses. And when Sora would one day tell her how Leon had told him they "may never meet again, but they’d never forget each other," she would think of this moment that she had with these two. "Dangus and I have decided, for the good of the people, that it's best that no one reign like this. …But you must know a storm is coming."

"I guess it's a good thing I'm so good at swimming," Kairi said, getting worried now.

"No matter what happens, believe in yourself and be there for your friends," Dangus told her, with something in his eyes. And with him suddenly dropping his humor and getting pretty dire, too, he must have also decided that she needed to know whatever this was, and that they needed to wrap this up.

Kairi wasn't sure she could easily believe in herself, really (it seemed her friends were so much more talented than her), but she didn't want to let these two down down their last time here, so she said words she'd soon know well, "I will. Thanks for everything." And she took both of her friend’s hands and squeezed them, as they smiled warmly at her. Then, they were gone—soon leaving Kairi to wonder if she'd had any kind of journey at all.

But, oddly, it also left her with a thought that maybe she should cut her hair… if anything was really coming, she didn’t want her long hair used against her. Right?

And short hair was more mature, and she definitely thought she was becoming more that.

It was a thought, at least.

Mulling over a number of thoughts in her head—but deciding to file them later—Kairi reminded herself to take things one step at a time, and headed for her practice.

…

Sora’s PoV

“Kairi’s cut her hair,” Sora randomly brought up after he and Riku were done sparring for the day and were sitting on the paopu tree, looking out at the sunset. The thirteen-year-old Sora kicked his feet to and fro as he chewed on a grape popsicle and he waited almost with bated breath for Riku’s reaction to this.

Though, then again, if Sora really thought about it… he imagined that Kairi changing her hair wasn’t really that noteworthy. His and Riku’s best friend seemed to alter her tresses every year. Sometimes she even changed her look more than once a year, as she loved different hairstyles. But what really stood out to Sora, was that Kairi looked very tomboyish this time, and seemed to be acting it, too. She had even said-

“And she said that she’s down for any adventure we want to do. Which is cool, but what brought it up?” Riku asked from almost beneath Sora’s feet—from where he stood standing leaning against the tree trunk—with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, you already knew what I was going to tell you?! Why didn’t you tell me that, before I started acting like this was some breaking news?!” Sora pouted. Crossing his arms over his chest, upon somewhat scooching away from his best friend.

Idly, and somewhat jealously, he wondered if Riku had seen Kairi before he had. It was definitely a possibility, since the two’s houses were closer to each other’s. Sora tried to tell himself it didn’t matter. But ever since he’d gotten sick and the three of them hadn’t been able to go to his and Kairi’s eighth grade dance together like they’d planned to, and Riku and Kairi had just gone instead, Sora had found himself resenting some of the looks Riku and Kairi had been giving each other and the conversations they had had.

But he knew that now was not the time for that.

“But back to your question, Riku, if Kairi’s suddenly decided she wants to be more active, who are we to stop her?” Sora queried. He actually thought it was really cool. And he loved the idea that it might allow them to spend even more time with Kairi now.

“I suppose…” Riku allowed, fishing out a popsicle for himself from the cooler nearby and taking a bite of the lime treat before he continued his conversation with Sora. “But I just think there’s a little more to it, that’s all.”

As much as Sora somewhat hated to admit it—because he didn’t want Riku insinuating that Kairi would change her whole personality on a dime or anything like that—he couldn’t help feeling that his friend was right. Kairi had been somewhat… girlier in years past. But all of a sudden, it had seemed like she had wanted to prove she could rough and tumble with the best of them. And maybe this was just another evolution of that. But even if it was, Sora really didn’t see what the big deal was. He was enjoying seeing this new side of Kairi. And didn’t everyone somewhat change as they grew up?

“Her new haircut reminds me of how she looked when she showed up here when she was five…” Sora found himself muttering, barely even realizing he was speaking as he was pulled back into the memory.

It had been a somewhat dark night, but not entirely so. The falling stars and bright, full moon had turned what otherwise might have been blackness into a vast navy blue. Sora had watched it all from his bedroom window, transfixed. And just as what had looked like a rocket falling from the sky to his young eyes had headed for the islands. Then, he hadn’t been able to remain still any longer and had snuck outside to try and find where it had landed… only to find Kairi. Kairi and Riku both, for it had seemed Riku had had the same idea.

“What?” Riku asked, seemingly confused, pulling Sora out of his reverie.

“The night of the meteor shower when we met Kairi, remember?” Sora asked, finishing up his popsicle that had begun to melt onto his hands at this point. He licked what he could off his fingertips, and then rubbed what remained on his bare legs.

“Oh, right!” Riku exclaimed. A far-away look in his own eyes now as he reminisced. “It was so dark that night, it’s hard for me to recall what Kairi’s hair looked like in it. But I guess it was kind of similar to how it is now. Huh.”

Riku got a far-away look in his eyes again after he said that. And Sora was about to ask what was so great to daydream about that he couldn’t even pay attention to him, when the subject of their conversation made an appearance.

“Oh, popsicles. Yum! Did you save any for me?” Kairi asked, giving each of them a thousand-watt smile, before taking her own trademarked seat on the paopu tree. And if Sora swooned a little bit, and tried to hide it, he couldn’t exactly be blamed. He’d never seen a girl with such cute short hair, okay?

“Kairi, hi!” Sore exclaimed.

“Oh, hi, Kairi,” Riku started. Then, realizing what she’d said, he continued with, “Of course we did. There should be a few coconut popsicles in there just for you.”

Kairi began fishing in the cooler with smiling eyes. And it seemed to Sora, something as simple as coconut popsicles was like she’d won the lottery for Kairi.

The three of them then had a moment of comfortable silence together after Kairi got her popsicle (and maybe Sora and Riku got even more), and it felt like heaven to Sora. This was what it was all about.

“So did you guys hear the scandal that’s going on at school?” Kairi eventually said, as Sora and Riku looked at her with curious eyes. “Mr. Namana and the parents are arguing about what one divided by zero is. The parents think it’s one, while he maintains it’s zero… But, guys? I swore we learned that anything divided by zero is undefined, right? What’s even happening? We’re all going to have Mr. Namana next year and I’m scared for our education.”

Sora burst out laughing, wondering how Kairi always had the best stories.

But Riku put it the best, Sora thought, when he said, “Wow. Sounds like it’s going to be quite the adventure next year.”

“Sounds about right…” Sora voiced. But deep down, it was the kind of adventure he wanted with his friends. Always.

And he knew that as long as they were together, things would work out okay.

Author's Note: (1) It’s probably obvious, but Sora pushed her into the water by accident, though Kairi doesn’t realize that at first.

Delamer and Dangus are characters from a novel of mine. I don’t know if that novel will ever see the light of day (even if I love it), but at least they’re living here somewhat, I guess. Hopefully you guys can enjoy my babies somewhat (even with your limited knowledge of them, because I don’t want to spoil too much in case I do ever do anything with said book).

I’ve had this idea for a long time… Though I’ll admit that originally for Kairi Day, I actually wanted to make an amv for her, but I couldn’t download the song for it. So then I kind of rushed back to this fic—that I’ve had bits and pieces done of for years—and finished it as best as I could for my girl. But there was just no way I could let Kairi Day pass me by without doing something for her, so here is my contribution for her. Happy Kairi Day!

Edit: And if Kairi seems slightly closer to Sora at first in this fic, it’s because he’s in her grade (and Riku’s not, as he’s a year older) so she spends a bit more time with him that way, of course. But then when she starts hanging out with Sora after they become friends, Riku’s also there, and she gets to know him, and then they also become best friends.

[grey-gazania]

1, 11, 19 for the ask game?

@that-angry-noldo || questions for fanfic writers

1. Why do you write fanfiction?

It's fun! Fanfiction lets me explore the characters and worlds that I love in more depth than simply reading about them does. And especially for a book like The Silmarillion, where so much of what we're given in the text is more of a light sketch than a fully-realized portrait, fanfiction is an entertaining way to experiment with different character interpretations.

11. Gen fic or shippy stuff?

I write both, though I think I do write gen more often than shippy stuff. But I have a whole series about Caranthir and his wife, and multiple Fingon/Fingon's Wife and Fingon/Maedhros stories. Sometimes they're the same story, because I hate happiness.

19. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!

I have so many OCs, it's not even funny. The ones I've spent the most time on are:

Parmacundë, who was my first Silmarillion OC. She's rather shy and introverted, a grade-A dweeb, and an archivist who handles government records at Tirion's royal archive. She and Caranthir meet as young apprentices (her at the archive, him at an accounting firm) and become friends and eventual spouses.

Ianneth, who has her own series and also features heavily in my Woman King AU (as she should, considering she's Gil-galad's mother). She's the daughter of Annael of Mithrim and the wife of Fingon. I love Fingon/Maedhros, but I also want Fingon to be Gil-galad's father. I'm not by an stretch of the imagination the first person to try to reconcile these things, but Ianneth was in many ways born of my frustration with the fact that, in so many stories where the M/M ship involves a het-partnered party, the feelings of the woman are completely discounted. She's ignored, or vilified, or even written out of the story altogether. I wanted to put the focus on the wife and give her a voice.

Galwen, a Nandorin/Avarin follower of the Sons of Feanor, who was saved by Amras as an adolescent from an orc attack that left her mute. I created her to be a minor antagonist in my Kidnap Fam multichap, and she proceeded to take on a life of her own and start demanding her own stories. She's a pain in my ass but I love her.

Tókhesh/Tavoreth, who is Ulfang's grandaughter and Bor's niece. She's the star of my First Age Easterlings WIP, which is the WIP that has given me the most agita in my life. She's young, but highly adept with languages, and she becomes the chief translator between Caranthir and Ulfang's people. I can't go into too much detail about her without spoiling the chapters I haven't written yet, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out more. :)

[ofwraithsandwords]

I'm working on an A/U fan fic about a distant cousin being adopted by Integra. I want to publish it on tumblr and need some technical help. Unlike most of you, I'm an older lady who isn't as computer savvy as you younger folk.

I'm writing it on MS Word on my laptop. What software should I transfer it to, in order to publish online?

I'm a little old lady who was involved in the 1980's goth scene. I'm proof that goths don't age out. I would appreciate any advice you can give. The story is written as a first-person diary by the young cousin.

Hey there!

First and foremost, I just want to say how touched I am that you're asking me for advice because I'm certainly no authority on writing or publishing works. Still, I'll answer your question to the best of my ability.

There's nothing wrong with using Microsoft Word for literary works such as fanfiction. I think the best path forward when it comes to writing software is to simply use what you're most comfortable with. If you're only familiar with Microsoft Word, then use Microsoft Word. It's a tried and true software that I've used countless times myself, especially when I was in school and university.

However, if you want to explore other avenues for software, you may be familiar with Google Docs. This is what I use myself for writing my fanfiction. If you have a gmail account, you should have access to Google Drive which is the storage file that contains helpful utilities like Google Docs. If you do not have a gmail account and have some other kind of email, you can still use Google Drive. Here's a link to directions on how to use your existing email to create a Google Account.

Here are the icons for Google Drive and Google Docs, respectively:

To try and simplify, Drive is a folder and Docs is the document inside the folder. You'll also have access to other tools as well, but you don't have to worry about those; I'm just focusing on Docs.

I'll stop there because I don't wish to insult your intelligence in case you're already quite familiar with or have Google Docs. But if you're not and you need any more guidance, please do not hesitate to reach out again! You can even DM me if you so wish.

Other than Microsoft Word or Google Docs, I don't really use any other writing software. I invite anyone who uses any other writing software to reblog this post with their insight and/or advice.

As far as publishing your work goes, if you're to publishing your fanfiction on Tumblr, you should be able to copy and paste the diary entries from Microsoft Word or whatever software you're using into a post and do it that way. Some people get fancy with it, but it's absolutely not necessary; it's just a preference and for aesthetic reasons. Be sure to tag your post with #hellsing and #fanfiction at the very least!

I'm also going to mention Archive Of Our Own (AO3) here as well. You've probably heard of this site too. I've only been on it for...4 or 5 years? And I won't lie to you, learning how to properly format my chapters using AO3's post function took some time. But if you have any interest at all in trying to use AO3, send in another ask or DM me and I'll help you as much as I can. In the meantime, I hope that I at least provided some insight and gave you the answer you were looking for!

On a different note, this fanfiction of yours sounds really intriguing! You don't get that many dairy entry fanfics, especially in the Hellsing fandom. Is it related to how Bram Stoker wrote his dairy entries in Dracula by any chance?

I wish you well on writing this fanfiction! Be sure to send me another ask or shoot me a message when you do publish it!

[watcher0033]

Hi! I'm doing a school design project and I've decided to have a go at designing a Archive of Our Own app! I was wondering if you might be up for answering some questions to help me with my design (I need to show research in my project!)

If you are, answers to these would be SUPER helpful!

How long have you been engaging fanfiction sites such as Archive of our own, Fanfiction.net and Wattpad? 

What are some of your favourite works or fandoms on those sites? 

Are you a writer as well as a reader?

What drew you to these platforms and why do you stay? 

How long have you been engaging with the site Archive of Our Own specifically? 

What does your engagement with the platform look like? 

How often do you engage with the platform?

What are your favourite aspects of the platform? 

Do you think that you engage with all of the elements available on the platform?

Are there any elements of the platform that frustrate you? 

Of the fanfiction sites you frequent, where would you rank the site as a whole and why?

What do other platforms have that Archive of Our Own does not, which you enjoy interacting with? 

Are there any features unique to Archive of Our Own that you enjoy?

If Archive of Our Own were to develop a mobile app, what features would you like to see? 

Would you like the app to be similar in aesthetic and function to the already established website?

Are there any features you would like to see added to the platform in the app?

If you're not interested no worries! Thanks so much

Hello, there!!! That project seems interesting and I hope it does well, GL!! And ofc I won’t mind answering a few questions really.

Well, I’m in my twenties so my first engagement with anything fanfiction in general bfor sticking to ao3 was fanfiction.net back in 2013-2014 I think. So about 10 years. Give or take.

4. and 12. One of the best fanfic classics from fandoms that aren’t as popular as the ones hosted in ao3 these days are still in ffnet like fics of western sci fi shows, western movies in the 2000s, animes from the late 90s-early2000s, you get my drift. So if your hyperfixation is about a movie/show pre-2010s and you’re itching for some fics. Go to ffnet. If one is especially part of a big fandoms that exist today, AO3 ofc is our best home. If you had a Worm phase (or just webnovels in general), or an intense intellectualism phase like I did go to spacebattles.com or sufficient velocity haha

Yes.

I stay at ao3 for the good fics and great comfort/convenience. I visit others when looking for something specific.

I was very pro-ffnet back in the day, it was my 1st comfort site. But the moment I got a taste of those filters I quickly converted back in uhhh 2016.

I read fics (ao3 engagement), filtered to most bookmarked. Exclude tags that I’d rather not engage with. Find a good work. Browse through the authors other works, and their bookmarks too for next recommendation fic to read.

Everyday. Every few hours if I’m not busy irl or other social media sites like this one.

The tags and the filters should be universally used and imitated.

I’d like to think so but there might be more features I haven’t extensively explored yet.

Can’t think of any at the moment.

1st place AO3, 2nd: FFnet, 3rd-4th Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity. 5th Wattpad ig?? Tho I don’t go there unless to read something from my local language.

Mostly just some fandoms have less works in ao3 than some other sites. But more of a people-fandom dilemma than platform one. I guess, I want a forum feature for ao3? Some sites i read works are sometimes interactive like were a poster would post a prompt or the first chapter. And someone would reply to add their own interpretation/what-happens-nxt scenarios and it becomes part of the story. I miss engagements like that.

The 👏🏼 filters 👏🏼 and 👏🏼 tags

And 16. Forum features!!

Hopefully, yes. With added features, but depends ig

[agirlwhoisaphantom]

Shades of Winter - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You finally get to meet James Bucky Barnes. You two are an instant click but would this eventually lead to something good or something bad?

Word Count: 3140

Warnings: The reader talks about past memories such as: kidnapping, torture, starvation, violence. A bit of angst. Also If you like the Hobbit movies, I'm so sorry (yes this is tw) Also if there is anything else let me know.

Author’s Note: A little bit more in-depth on who y/n is in my Bucky fics. Other than that this has been in my archives for a hot minute so.

reblogs/feedback/likes are greatly appreciated & highly encouraged! But please, DO NOT repost/steal ANY of my fics!

It has been a couple of years since you returned to the Avengers Quarters. You had been on the run before the blipped happened. But you have finally told yourself that enough is enough. You always knew that the Avengers would be your family, so you decided to go back to them.

The first person you were excited to see after a while was Sam. So, you decided to go to his hometown and give him a visit.

When you arrived, you notice that there was a party. You felt a little bit left out. But you pushed those feelings aside since Sam didn’t know that you were coming along as well.

Once you laid your eyes on Sam, you knew that you needed to sneak up on him and scare him.

There was loud music playing in the background, so you took that as an advantage. You quietly sneak up to Sam, getting on your toes as you try to cover his eyes.

Sam turns around, putting up his guard. When he notices that you tried to sneak up on him, you could see the relief on his face. He didn’t think twice but to hug you. “Where have you been? You go incognito mode and don’t visit me. I’ve been worried about you.”

You hug him back, “I just needed a break from the world and traveled a bit.” You chuckled a little bit. “But I’m back and better than ever.”

He starts to ramble as you two catch each other up on everything that has happened the past couple of years. You two start to walk up to the docks. You notice how beautiful it was with the sun setting how the sun reflected on the water. You were amazed.

“Hey, I’ll be back. Do you want anything to eat?” Sam pointed to the table that had nothing but plates of food in it. Your small smiled formed on your face as you shook your head.

Walking around, you notice so many little kids running around and having fun. It was such a positive place to be. You could feel the aura around you just filled with joy.

Without noticing where you were walking, you bump into someone. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t-“ you look back at him. The first thing that you noticed was his ocean blue eyes. You could stare at those eyes for hours.

Breaking the eye contact, you took a few steps back so that you wouldn’t be close to him anymore. “I’m Bucky.” He places his hands in the pockets of his black jean jacket. There was a smirk on his face.

“uh, y/n” you had a confused smile on your face.

“y/n,” Bucky says in a deep flirty tone of voice, he looks around, and that smirk became a smile. “I’ll see you around y/n,” he winked as he walked away.

Why did your name sound so much better when he said it. Something about him made you curious. You were on the fence if whether or not you wanted to know more about him or just let him be a mystery. But either way, you knew the moment you bumped into him, Bucky was going to become a trouble.

During the blip, when you helped, there would be moments that Steve would tell stories of Bucky when they were younger. In those stories, Steve would describe him as the most caring friend and always attached to a book such as The Hobbit.

Throughout the day, you would occasionally interact with Bucky. He would ask you random questions such as what your favorite color was? What flowers did you like? He wanted to get to know you.

“So, you are telling me that I should watch the movies and how there are three of them.” Bucky takes a sip of his drink.

You chuckled a little bit “yes, I like the book versions better. But it’s so nice seeing them come to life.”

“I’ll make a note of that, Doll.”

Going back home, you never expected to talk to Bucky again. You didn't have any of his contact information either way, and he didn't have yours.

A couple of days pass by when you receive a message from an unknown number.

10:38 AM "hey there, are you busy this afternoon?"

You decided to ignore the message; it might have been sent to someone else instead of you.

10:45 AM "shit, sorry, It's Bucky."

The moment that you read that, it was Bucky that sent you that message. You wondered how he got your number. Could it have been Steve? Sam? Nat? That gave him your number.

These thoughts were running through your head and were interrupted by that number calling you.

"So, are you busy this afternoon?"

"No, Hi, how are you? How is life? Just going right to asking me what I'm doing this afternoon, what a great start James." You said in an annoying tone of voice.

"Hi, Doll. How are you? There is that better," he said in a mocking voice. Even though you couldn't see him, you could tell that he was rolling his eyes.

You wanted to hang up, but a part of you didn't want to do it. "So much better, thank you." You said sarcastically. "I'm doing nothing later. I'm probably just going to go home and make some dinner."

"You can always say no. But I just bought the three Hobbit movies, and I wondered if you wanted to watch them with me? And Tony is throwing a party tomorrow, and I thought if you wanted to go."

This took you by surprise, it hasn't been an entire week of knowing him, and he is already asking you over to his apartment. "Yeah, that would be fun," you said once again sarcastically. You didn't mean to sound it like that.

When you agreed that you would watch the series with him and to the party, a part of you knew that you had done something you might regret in the long run, but the other part you wanted to see where this would take you, and you wanted to explore it. Something about him made you curious, and you wanted to know why. Why, out of all the people that you had met, he is the one that sparks curiosity in you.

Once again, these thoughts are interrupted by him "I didn't hear a no, so I'm assuming you said yes. I'll send you my address. Meet me here in two hours." He hangs up.

Two hours pass by, and you were unsure what to bring, so you brought a couple of snacks. Walking into Bucky's apartment, there weren't many decorations. It seemed like he had just moved in. There wasn't much besides a small sofa and a tv. It was a very dark place with little to no light coming through.

Bucky notices that you were looking around "sorry if I had more time, I would have cleaned a bit better."

Your eyes widen as you were confused. You look around once again. His place was way cleaner than what your apartment looked like. "you consider this dirty. You should see mine" Bucky goes near the light switch and turns on the lights of the kitchen.

The instant he turned on the lights, that's when you notice what he was wearing. He was wearing a white muscle shirt with a pair of gym shorts, and his hair was messy, and you were able to tell that he had a couple of curls.

If heart eyes were a thing, you would have had them at this exact moment. Bucky was way more handsome than he was when you first met him. As the thoughts continued through your head, you knew that you needed to stop them before you ended up drooling over him.

He points to his bedroom. "I'm going to go change. I have to hide this." He was referring to his left arm. He wasn't sure how you would react to it, and he thought that he should have worn something to cover it before you decided to show up.

You grab the wrist of his metal arm. "It's okay. I don't mind. Besides that, I think it makes you more attractive" the moment that the word attractive escaped your mouth, you could feel your cheeks turn red and your body heat rise. Why did you say that? Especially towards him. Your mind was full of regrets, but at the same time, you didn't care because he was truly attractive.

Bucky covers his mouth with his right hand, trying to cover his laugh. You playfully hit his arm "this isn't funny, Bucky. I'm so close to turning around and making you watch the Hobbit alone." You crossed your arms together. You were getting annoyed with him. All you wanted to do was come over and watch movies with him.

"Fine, I'll stop. But it doesn't mean that I'm not going to hold this against you." Bucky chuckled.

Bucky goes to his bedroom, brings a blanket, and tries to ensure that his place can be as cosey as possible, even though it was dark.

Halfway through the third movie, you could see that he was extremely disappointed. If he could rate the movie, you would 100% be sure he would give it a -1000 rate. "Why the fuck did Peter tell me that these were great. They are complete garbage" Bucky raises his voice. Deep down, he did enjoy the movies. He just wanted to see a reaction out of you. But you were calm since this was your 5th time watching these films.

You couldn't help but laugh at how disappointed Bucky was. He turns to face you and notices the face of amusement you had on "this isn't a joke, Doll. I thought they would be great." He rolls his eyes.

When the movie ended, he put on the sports channel and started to watch it. As much as you loved watching sports, you slowly went to sleep. You felt comfortable around him. It had only been a couple of days that you had met him, so you found it odd.

You fell asleep on his right shoulder. When Bucky felt that you placed your head on his shoulder, a small smile formed on his face, he was unsure why he felt comfortable with you. But he knows that you were going to be one heck of trouble from now on.

Bucky looks at you and notices that you were fast asleep. He can't help but to carry you in his arms and take you to his bed. He made sure to tuck you in.

After he tucked you in, he went back to the living room and continued to watch his sports.

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

Around midnight, you woke up. Not because you had a nightmare, but because you felt like you were in an unknown location. As soon as you woke up, you panicked and started to look around. You immediately went into fight or flight mode in case If you were in danger. Walking outside of the bedroom, you notice Bucky was sleeping on the floor.

Seeing him on the floor, you drastically put your guard down. You sighed in relief that you were with him and no one else. You go into the kitchen to grab a mug to make yourself tea. When you prepared your tea, you went back to Bucky's bedroom and opened the window outside to let some fresh air in. You wrapped yourself with the blanket Bucky gave you, and you held your knees up to your chest as you drank from the mug.

This was the first time you had ever woken up without having a nightmare. You wondered why was it because of Bucky? As your thoughts were running, you could hear someone come into the room. You turn around and notice it was Bucky. "Someone is up early." He chuckled.

A smile formed on your face. "It looks like you are up early too" you rolled your eyes.

There was silence between you and him. You hated being silent, but with him, you didn't mind.

"Is everything alright?" Bucky whispered. You turn your head towards him, and you nodded. "you can tell me anything, you know." He places his hand on your shoulder.

You lift your eyebrows, unsure if he was messing around with you. "I just met you, like yesterday. Why would I-"

"Five days ago, to be exacted." He said in a snarky tone of voice as he interrupted you.

"Fine, you want to know.” You looked away from him because you knew you would start being vulnerable, and you didn't want to see Bucky's reaction or what face he was making. “For the longest time, I've had nightmares back-to-back. But oddly enough, tonight I didn't have any."

"if you don't mind me asking," Bucky takes a big gulp before saying anything. He knew that you were a bit uncomfortable, and he didn't want to push you. "Why do you have nightmares?" "I used to have them constantly because of who I was. It took me time to understand that the winter soldier wasn't me, and jeez, till this day, there would be moments where I doubt myself, but I'm getting better."

Hearing him tell you a little bit of himself made you feel more at ease. You take a big breath before you start telling him why you would have these nightmares. "At a very young age, both of my parents were killed. My brother died as well, trying to protect us. One of the Hydra agents forcefully made me go to one of their camps. I fought for the first couple of months, trying to get out. But eventually, I gave up. I thought they provided me a roof to stay under, and even though they barely fed me, I was somewhat grateful. I could have it worse. They taught me how to fight, how to hold a gun, etc. When I was a teen, I was tortured, starved more than before, and experimented on."

He grabs your hand and tries his best to comfort you. He knew that this was a lot for you to tell him. "They wanted to see if they could make me into a mutant but with every little alternation of genetics. Nothing worked. Even if it did, I didn't want them to know about it. At that point, I just was numb; I didn't want to live anymore. So I let things happen to me. Hoping one day my body just gave up. Till this day, some of those things that they did I don't remember, nor I want to." You take a small pause as you heard yourself. You felt so comfortable telling him about your past.

Your voice started to crack as you thought more about your past. You tried your best not to cry. "After I escaped, I moved to Washington, Nat found me there, and I started to work at SHIELD. Nat was the only person that knew me and helped me get better."

Bucky was unsure how to react to what you had just told him. He had mixed emotions. He didn't know why he felt anger, sadness, grief, and disappointing feelings towards you. But he knew that it took you a lot of courage to tell him all of these things. He sits on the floor next to you and hugs you. The second that he hugged you, you couldn't help but cry. He was the second person to know your story. "I'm sorry, Bucky. I shouldn't have told you. You've been through much worse, and I wish you didn't-"

"Doll, don't apologize. None of this was your fault. I'm glad that you told me. We both didn't deserve anything of that." he held you for a couple of more minutes and let you cry. He wanted to tell you more, that he was glad that you left when you had the chance. That he hated that you were in that position, he wanted to comfort you. He couldn't find the words. So all he did was hold you.

After a couple of minutes, you were grateful that he listened to every word you said. But you were mentally exhausted, and you just wanted to go to bed. You got up and placed the cup on the nightstand, and started to get ready to leave. When Bucky grabs your arm, "stay the night, it's already late enough to walk around." His voice was small and a bit shaky. "You can stay in my bed, and I can sleep on the floor. Please stay."

You agreed to stay the night with him, and he goes to his closet and grabs you some clothes to sleep comfortably. They fit all baggy on you, but you didn't care. You didn't want to sleep uncomfortably. The moment you got out of the bathroom, Bucky chuckled as he looked how big his clothes looked on you. You ended up rolling your eyes.

Bucky laid on the floor next to his bed. As you were closing your eyes, you felt some guilt, so you look to where Bucky was lying. "Buck, come up here." You whispered.

"Nah, I'm comfortable sleeping on the floor." He turns around, facing away from you.

You grab a pillow and throw it to him "well, I'm not. So get your ass up here before I drag you."

"I would like to see you try, Doll." He chuckled. Once again, you threw another pillow at him, accidentally hitting his head. "Fine, I'm going." He grunted.

Lucky enough Bucky had a queen bed. So you had enough room for yourself and him. "One thing, don't invade my bubble, and we won't end up fighting. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go to sleep."

Within minutes you two were in a deep sleep.

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

When you two finally arrived at Tony’s Party. Bucky couldn’t help but be curious about what was happening between the two of you.

He couldn’t help it anymore. He decided to ask you, “So, what are we?”

“What do you mean what are we, Bucky?” there was a confused smile on your face.

“yeah, like are we friends, or I don’t know?” he nervously laughed, unsure if he should be asking this.

You laughed a little “Friends is a bit too much. I don’t think we are there yet.” You teased him. You gently punched his arm.

“Are we acquaintances?”

“I like that. We are for sure acquaintances.” You chuckled.

“you think it’s funny, but I can live with that, Doll.” He shrugs his shoulders.

And just like that, two strangers who never planned on caring for one another became the most inseparable pair.

[venfx]

magnus fic roundup

as tma comes to a close, i thought i'd post some of my favorite fics to come out of this fandom. most of these are classics, listed in no particular order.

A Weather In The Flesh by @cuttoothed​ | 3K | S1-S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete

"There is a span of years where Jon doesn’t touch anyone other than the occasional hand shake. It’s not so bad. He’s never been someone who’s needed physical affection."

Jon has never been any good at making people want to stick around.

↳ this is such a well-done exploration of jon’s character and his relationship with touch, and i’ve re-read it at least five times. sweet and sad and phenomenally well-written.

in the chillest land and on the strangest sea by imperfectcircle, singlecrow | 20K | Safehouse, S1-S4 | Jon & Daisy, Jon/Martin | Complete

Jon remembers a statement he read years ago given by a Jesuit priest, who said that the shortest prayer he knew was, just, fuck it, as in fuck it; it's in God's hands. He takes Daisy's hand and trails on after her.

or; hope is a thing with feathers.

↳ hey, you wanna fuckin..... feel things? read this.

The Magnus Institute vs the 21st Century: a series of emails and IMs by shinyopals | 26K | Series | S3 | Pre-Jon/Martin | Complete

The Magnus Institute hires a Data Protection Officer. He sets about diligently booking in meetings, writing policy documents, and training all the staff in the importance of confidentiality. Now if only he could get hold of the Head Archivist, who seems to have vanished again...

(Jon is only trying to save the world, but apparently some people think he should still be doing his day job.)

↳ i’d be surprised to find people who haven’t read this series, but it’s the definition of “the magnus archives is a workplace comedy”. also, alasdair stuart has actually read some clips of this on Twitch, so that’s a fun bonus.

Bell, Book, and Candle by yellow_caballero | 102K | Series | S3 into S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete 

In accordance with the Ride or Die Pact of 2009, Jonathan Sims can call upon Georgie Barker at any time for aid with no strings attached. Despite their rocky history, their childhood friendship, and Jon’s barely recovered alcoholism, this pact is sacred and must be upheld.

Georgie Barker may regret this. She may regret it when she discovers that the world is full of monsters and eldritch gods and dickhead managers. She may regret it when a punk rocker who should be dead collapses on their doorstep, a teenager again who needs their help. She may regret it when her stupid ex-boyfriend starts selling his soul for knowledge and the ability to keep his new family safe.

But she probably won’t. Georgie isn’t scared of anything - not a Clown’s apocalypse, not the apocalypse that Jon is destined to begin, and not Jon’s own loss of humanity.

Maybe she should be.

↳ if you’re looking for an everyone-lives-no-one-dies-happy-ending fic that also happens to be massively chaotic, look no further. 

The Reverb in These Holy Halls by @wolftraps​ | 98K | AU, S1-S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete

Undoing the apocalypse would have been enough for Jon, if all his people survived. Without them, Jon's only recourse is making it so it never happened in the first place. He's going to do better this time.

↳ quintessential time travel AUs. plot-wise, i feel like these can be difficult to write, but op does a fantastic job of tying things together in a way that makes sense. plus, it’s just fun to read.

jon sims v the nhs by @thoughtsbubble​ | 12K | Series | S3 | Complete

Joan Bright has a new patient. He's carrying an old tape recorder and is covered head to toe in scars. Jonathan Sims looks dangerous, but Dr Bright has dealt with all sorts of atypical individuals. She has no reason to be nervous.

Right?

↳ if you’ve ever thought “hey, jon should probably go to therapy”, then 1) you’re absolutely right and 2) this is... probably what would’ve happened. prior knowledge of The Bright Sessions is not required. also, apparently, this fic is written by the showrunner of The Underwood Collection? wild.

Family, Found by Dribbledscribbles | 9K | S4 | Complete

It’s Basira who catches onto it.

The collective shift that seems to come over them when heading in or out of the Institute. Not just the oppressive sensation of being observed, their every move catalogued for the voyeuristic cravings of some unseen Eye(s). That feeling remained with them even when they left the Institute these days, but it was always stronger inside its walls. That wasn’t the change. Nor was it the point.

The point was: making life worse for Jonathan Sims.

↳ i think being part of the avengers fandom circa 2012 has given me permanent found-family-trope brainrot, but you know what. jonathan sims can have a little happiness, as a treat. 

Road to Damascus by @titanfalling​ | 107K | Series | S4 | Jon & Tim | Complete

n. an important moment of insight, typically one that leads to a dramatic transformation of attitude or belief

Or, in which Tim becomes an avatar for the end of all things.

↳ tim dies and then he doesn’t. there is catharsis and world building. just....read it.

Come, Change Your Ring With Me by @backofthebookshelf​ | 29K | S3 | Peter/Jon, Jon/Martin, Peter/Elias | Complete

The Lukases demand the Archivist marry into the family, and the Institute relies on them too much to say no. Peter is smug. Elias is fuming. Martin is suffering. Jon thinks this might be tolerable if only Peter would hurry up and leave him alone already.

OR, the soap opera we call an Archives revolves around Peter Lukas this time.

↳ superb evil-bastards-in-love content, feat. martin pining, tim being obnoxious, and jon being... well, tired, mostly. i will literally never get tired of how op writes peter. 

creatures that i briefly move along by @dotsayers​ | 16K | Series | AU, Post-S4 | background Jon/Martin 

Mr Sims was so weird, was the thing. Miss Grant always said calling people weird was rude, and Anna sort of agreed, but she didn’t know what other word to use to describe Mr Sims.

He’d only been in with the class for a few days, really, and half of that he just sat at the back listening, but that didn’t stop her from making a swift judgement. 5BG had had student teachers before, back when they were 3ST, and they’d been uniformly normal.

Mr Sims was… actually, Anna had a better adjective. He was interesting.

↳ i just.... love teacher!jon fics. this series delivers. 

Once Bitten by @apatheticbutterflies | 1K | S4 | Jon & Daisy | Complete

Jon Sims has always been a jumpy kind of guy. Nervous. Twitchy. Daisy used to think it meant he was guilty. Turns out he was. Just not of what she’d thought.

Daisy learns how to peel an orange.

↳ daisy and jon’s relationship is an example of an instance where i’m happy to say “fuck what you wrote mr. jonny ‘chocolate torte of tragedy’ sims, i want them to be friends”.

pins and needles by mutterandmumble | 13K | S1-S4 | Complete

He’s got a reputation to uphold anyways; an uptight, rigid reputation that dictates the way that he interacts and functions and is such an integral part of him that he can’t let go of it anytime soon. He likes his safety nets. He likes his contingencies. He likes his privacy, and everything around this place right down to the walls seems to have ears, so he’ll stay tight-lipped up to and beyond the threat of death.

He’s good at that.

In which Jon takes up embroidery and bumbles through life the best that he can.

↳ out of all the introspective jon pieces i’ve read (and there are many), this one stands out. maybe it’s the symbolism or the characterisation, or maybe it’s the fact that i have an embroidery kit lurking in the back of my closet along with a hundred other half-pursued hyperfixations. whatever. this is excellent.

sleeping in by @ivelostmyspectacles | 5K | S2 | Jon/Tim | Complete

“Who are you trying to convince?”

Jon gives up, letting his head sag against Tim’s shoulder. “I don’t know.”

aka Elias gets tired of Jon and Tim's bickering, sends them away for a "team-building" weekend trip, and is sure to book them a room with only one bed

↳ this has everything you’d need from a “oh no there’s only one bed” fic. someone please get these men therapy.

if you try, sometimes (you get what you knead) by @ajcrawly​ | 3.5K | S1-S4 | Jon/Martin, Tim/Sasha | Complete

It starts with an abundance of boeuf bourguignon and ends up as a team tradition.

Food and love in uncertain times.

↳ more found family fic, this time with a diverse og!archival staff and food as a metaphor for love. hurt in all the right ways. made me hungry in the process.

[iatethepomegranate]

Just a fic about Caleb buying a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, and coping with that kind of change and newfound stability (and becoming Professor Widogast). Angst and fluff are at war in this fic.

Chapter Summary: Caleb was loved, in so many different ways, by so many people. The Nein were a whirlwind of chaos and dick jokes, but they were his. And Essek... even when Essek did not use the words "I love you", every word he said and every touch he offered was proof enough. In other words, the Mighty Nein crash at Caleb and Beauyasha's place and shower them with affection.

Notes: Chapter title is from Five by Sleeping at Last. Here's some fluff. Caleb is still Caleb, but everyone loves him and wants him to be happy. Hug your sad wizard friend/research partner/it's complicated.

****

Chapter 2: But something gets lost from a safe distance and now I can't put my mind to rest

There was enough furniture in the house to sleep for the night. After an enormous grocery shop that made gratuitous use of Yasha’s muscles, Beau’s superhuman balance, and Caleb’s telekinesis, the three of them collapsed on the couch.

Beau piled her feet onto Caleb’s lap, resting her head on Yasha’s. “Hey, Caleb?”

“Ja?”

“You good now?”

“I think so.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nein.” Caleb had zero interest in talking about how much he had cried on their kitchen table earlier. He wasn’t ready to process it.

“Cool. Good talk.”

Yasha smiled down at Beauregard, fondly but with an edge to it. “Shh.” She put her finger on Beau’s lips. “Let us just… be quiet for a while.”

Caleb tipped his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. He drifted close to sleep, but Essek’s voice filled his mind.

“Caleb. How was the house? I am in a safe place. I will visit when you have a safe landing spot. Talk soon, love.”

Caleb couldn’t help burst into a grin. “Hallo, Essek. We bought it. Veth gave me the money. Go to the Grove when ready. I will come get you. Ich liebe dich.”

“Gross,” said Beauregard. “You know I can understand you now, right?”

Caleb pinched her ankle. “I remember.”

“Beau,” sighed Yasha.

“I’m kidding. I’m happy you’ve worked things out with him.” She shifted, digging her heel into his thigh. “Look, I don’t give a fuck about your sex life--”

“Good.”

“--but you know you can tell me shit, right? It was just the two of you for weeks, and now it’s… not. Are you okay with that?”

Caleb sighed; he already missed Essek dearly, but he always knew it would be like this. “Ja. We talked about it a lot. We want to be together as much as we can, but we are practical people, ja? I will bring him around soon, for a few days at least. Rexxentrum is not safe for him.”

“Well, good thing you have your own space. I don’t wanna hear that shit.”

Caleb rolled his eyes at her. “We are more likely to stay up late talking.” Sex with Essek was more of a (great) side benefit than a core element of their relationship A relationship they had never bothered to define. It was what it needed to be in the moment.

“That’s even worse, Caleb.”

“How the fuck is that worse?”

Beauregard shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s fuckin’ romantic as shit.”

“Ja, I am sure that you, the woman who makes out with her girlfriend in front of all our friends, is disgusted by romance.”

Beauregard grumbled incoherently at him.

****

Caleb was soon preoccupied with ferrying the Mighty Nein to the new house. He first collected Veth, Fjord and Jester from Yussa’s tower. Kingsley had wanted to explore Nicodranas for a while, without Fjord and Jester’s supervision. They had tentatively allowed it, not that they could’ve stopped Kingsley even if they had wanted to.

“Omigosh it’s so pretty !” Jester screeched upon seeing the house. “The windows are kinda boring, though. Can I paint them?”

Caleb was not in the habit of refusing Jester anything. “I suppose. Ask Beau and Yasha.”

“Which door is theirs?”

“The right. It should be unlocked.”

Jester tore ahead and disappeared inside. Fjord hooked his thumbs into his belt loops, gazing up at the exterior.

“It’s bigger than I expected,” he said.

“Ja, the previous occupant is a professor at Soltryce Academy. She lives alone, and it was too much space for her.”

“You’re okay with that?” asked Veth.

“Ja, she was very nice. She lives on Astrid’s estate now.”

“Trent’s old place?” asked Fjord.

“Ja.”

He whistled softly. “That must be weird.”

Caleb didn’t want to talk about it. “The professor gave us a good deal. I am meeting her for coffee tomorrow to talk about Evocation.” He looked down at Veth. “Thank you for the money.”

“I just wish I could’ve given you more, Cay.”

“It was plenty, Veth.” Caleb led them inside and picked Veth up so he could give her the hug he had wanted for days.

******

Next, Caleb teleported to the Blooming Grove. The grass had grown back where it had once been burned, and the house had been repaired. The tangled residuum trees had held strong, keeping the corruption of the Savalirwood at bay. It was quiet, save for the distant clattering of dishes coming from the house.

Caduceus appeared in the doorway before Caleb had taken more than a few steps. “Oh, excellent. Essek’s in the garden. Go get him. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Caduceus didn’t specify where in the garden, but Caleb assumed he was giving him the satisfaction of figuring it out for himself. Caleb walked further into the grove, occasionally stopping to cradle a blossom or sniff a particularly sweet scent.

He spotted Essek’s broad-brimmed hat first. On loan from the Clays. Caleb approached quietly, watching Essek hover over the bed of a herb garden, wearing the rose gloves Jester had made him while he carefully pulled weeds with a look of utmost concentration. The kind of look that made Caleb remember how attractive it was to watch him work.

As Caleb drew closer, Essek froze. Looked up. Relaxed as his face broke into a smile.

“I am sorry I startled you,” Caleb said, closing the distance.

Essek floated away from the herbs and opened his arms, accepting Caleb into them. “It’s all right. You know I’m a little… jumpy these days.”

Caleb kissed his neck; Essek was taller than him when he floated, and only when he floated. “Are you sure you want to visit Rexxentrum?”

“No one will expect to find me there. It will be fine for a few days.” He kissed Caleb’s forehead, and then lifted Caleb’s chin to kiss his mouth. “I wanted to see your new house. And you.”

Caleb dropped his head to Essek’s shoulder, breathing him in. This was the only peaceful moment they would have all day. Essek tucked Caleb’s head under his chin and gave him a squeeze.

“Caleb, are you all right?”

Caleb laughed softly, remembering the first time Essek had asked him in the heat of battle. “I don’t know. This is a lot.”

Essek kept squeezing; they had both discovered one rough night in Aeor that Caleb found this kind of careful pressure extremely comforting. “I understand. This is a huge change for you. Are you overwhelmed?”

“Ja, very.”

“I hope having me there will help, for what little time I can give.”

“You are already helping, Essek. Danke.”

Essek kissed the top of his head. He had slowly begun to initiate more physical contact, and their time together alone in Aeor had accelerated the process. It let Caleb pull back a bit and let himself accept Essek’s affection once in a while instead of constantly being the one to initiate. It was good. They were good.

Fuck , Caleb had missed him.

****

After saying his hellos and goodbyes to the Clays, Caleb palmed a small stone Yasha had dug from the garden bed behind the house and teleported himself, Caduceus and a disguised Essek. They landed in Caleb’s currently sparse sitting area, as planned.

“This is my side of the house. We are working on the furniture situation.” Caleb took them on a quick tour of the house, and was pleased to find Essek equally excited by the possibilities of the study as he had been.

They then used the door on the middle floor to cross into the other side and down the stairs into the crowded sitting area. Yasha was sitting on the rug, stitching a thick floral fabric to make curtains while Jester “helped” by painting tiny dicks on it. Beau and Fjord were sitting on the couch, watching with a mix of amusement and concern. Veth had probably been with them, but launched herself at Caleb for a hug as soon as he had appeared.

She had more or less glued herself to him since she had arrived, evidently sensing his lack of equilibrium. He was grateful she was there to ground him. For a long time, she and Frumpkin had been all that held together the tattered shreds of his mental health.

Caduceus slipped into the kitchen, but was the least sneaky man alive when he wasn’t trying to prank his siblings. He had a parcel in his hands, brought from the Grove. Caleb followed him.

Caduceus carefully stripped off the brown paper packaging to reveal a small wooden crate, from which he lifted a tea set complete with a kettle. He filled the kettle with water and set it over the fireplace, directing Caleb to light it. Caduceus pulled out a few small boxes of tea and cooking herbs from the Grove, arranging them in cabinets.

“I’ll bring another set next time I visit,” Caduceus promised. “Until then, you are required to spend time with the ladies. No locking yourself in the study and forgetting to eat.”

Essek chuckled from the doorway, knowing full-well Caleb would do exactly that. Repeatedly.

“We’ll go shopping together tomorrow,” Caduceus continued. “There are some things you three need for a good, complete kitchen and I don’t trust you to remember any of them, even with your memory.”

“Thank you, Caduceus.” Caleb was getting emotional again. “I, uh, am having coffee with an Evocation professor tomorrow morning, but we can go after that.”

Caduceus smiled at him. Soft, knowing. “I look forward to it.”

****

The Nein had apparently agreed without Caleb’s knowledge that they would stay on Beau and Yasha’s side for the night to give Caleb and Essek some privacy.

Caleb had ultimately decided to use the larger bedroom (the rest of the Nein may have insisted he treat himself). He was glad for it now that he had Essek in his bed. They were too tired for sex, and not really in the mood, but cuddling is a lot more comfortable when you’re not afraid of falling out of bed.

Essek had arranged things so he was lying on his back with Caleb curled around him. Caleb rested his head on Essek’s chest, listening to the gentle drumming of his heart, while Essek drew lazy patterns on his back with a finger. Spell symbols, mainly. Some Caleb recognised, and some he didn’t.

“This is a good location,” Essek said quietly. “Beauregard showed me a map of the city. It is central, but not too close to anything that would upset you more than the city in general already does.”

“Rexxentrum doesn’t upset me,” Caleb mumbled, halfway to sleep already. He tended to sleep better with trusted company these days.

“Beauregard told me what you said the first time you stepped foot here in years,” Essek said softly.

I don’t know if I can do this. “That was some time ago. It’s… easier now.”

“That does not mean it is easy.”

Caleb sighed deeply, closing his eyes. “Okay. It’s not. But that’s not… the last time I had a house was the Xhorhouse, and we all knew that was never permanent. The only home I’ve ever had that was supposed to be long-term… I burned it. The shitty hospital room they kept me in for eleven year was a roof over my head, one I barely remember, and that was… not a home. I was homeless for a long time. I have slept in the woods, in the streets, under bridges, where I could find even the tiniest bit of shelter. Now I own a house .”

“Caleb, I told you in the Grove this is a huge change for you.” Essek’s voice was soft but firm, as it often was when he thought Caleb was being needlessly stubborn or foolish. “You have been through so much , and now you are doing normal things like buying a house and putting down roots. And you have many painful memories here. I believe you will be okay, but you do not have to be. Not before you’re ready.”

Caleb felt foolish for letting this get to him so much. The last few days had been full of nothing but good things. But he was exhausted nonetheless, and eternally a hair’s breadth away from tears. Even in his worst moments, he had never been fragile in this way,  like he was a bucket of water with a hole in it that would leak at the slightest provocation.

Essek pressed his palm down between Caleb’s shoulder blades, forcing him to exhale. “Caleb. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself time.”

Caleb chucked a little, despite his mod. “That is your specialty.”

“And I have taught you well.”

“The best teacher I ever had,” Caleb said quietly.

“You deserved better. Let yourself have better now, in your own time.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know. Stop pushing it. You know better than anyone it doesn’t work that way.” Essek’s hand slid into Caleb’s hair, cradling the base of his skull. “You of all people deserve patience and kindness, most of all from yourself. I will remind you of this.”

“Thank you.” Caleb pushed himself up on his elbows, finding Essek’s features in the dark. “You know, this is probably the safest I have been in close to twenty years.”

Essek reached up, tucking a strand of Caleb’s hand behind his ear. “Good. You deserve it. Even if I never have a moment’s peace for the rest of my life, all I want is for you to have all the safety and kindness you could ever need.”

“I would give it up in a heartbeat if I could help you.”

“I would never ask that of you,” Essek said warmly, but with a firm edge. “There are a great many things we have already given up. That one is not an option. Of all the people I have known in my 120 years, you deserve a lifetime of peace the most. Even if you will get bored eventually.”

Caleb slid a hand over Essek’s cheek, rubbing the soft skin with his thumb. “Remember when we thought we would never be the kind of people who would make big declarations of love at each other?” Because even if Essek wasn’t explicitly saying I love you , the words he did say were dripping with diamonds of unadulterated affection.

Essek huffed a soft laugh. “Most things between us do not need to be said. This does.”

“Thank you, Essek. I love you too.” Caleb rested his head over Essek’s heart once again, and let the gentle rhythm lull him to sleep.

[hmserebusadjacent]

So this is Christmas

Part of Five Days of Izzy Hands Strikes Back

Izzy Hands x Male Reader (Developing friendship, Established Friendship, Both Aromantic Asexual)

Summary: You and Izzy bond over how difficult you find the festive period, and you both realise how much you mean to each other even though you haven't known each other that long.

Word count: 787

Fic link:

Christmas and New Year weren't really something you celebrated. Too many memories of family arguments, of people who didn't know you very well buying you presents that gave you dysphoria. The feeling that you should feel grateful for all the chaos and misdeeds that lingered over the whole thing didn't feel right to you at all.

So what you had started doing instead was going down to the beach, early in the morning when no one else was around. Skipping stones as the Christmas sun rose in the sky, and making sandcastles when the New Year's sun made her first appearance. In this scheme you had always been alone, no one else willing to get up that early to partake in your unique frivolity.

In truth, there was one reason why you were always glad to do this alone: you didn't feel like anyone else in your life would appreciate why you were doing it. You didn't feel like being questioned or indeed have to worry about other people's misgivings over your actions.

It had always felt easier to do it alone so that was what you did.

Then Izzy Hands arrived in your life in the summer and you realised that you might have found a kindred spirit. As the Christmas stuff arrived in shops horribly early you saw Izzy wince, turn away with a scowl. At the first mention of Christmas presents being bought for people, you chanced to ask Izzy what he was doing for the holiday season.

When he said nothing, just trying to avoid everything, you sensed an opportunity. 

In the time that you had known each other, even if you hadn't been close for much of it, Izzy had done wonders for your life. He'd brought you out of your shell and you out of his, and the amount of interests you shared was fantastic. You'd been on day trips to dockyards and had study sessions with polar exploration books in your laps.

If you wanted to give anyone peace at a difficult time of year, it was Izzy Hands.

What had made your heart ache the most was how glad Izzy seemed to have been to be offered your scheme, the sheer relief washing off of him in waves. In you he had also found a kindred spirit, and some semblance of hope that seemed to give him a new light in his heart.

The hug you had shared afterwards was beautiful, and you had let Izzy dictate how long it went on for so he could take all the succour and strength he needed from you.

So on that early Christmas morning, you had picked Izzy up from his house and driven you both to the seaside. Entourage complete with a flask of hot chocolate and breakfast kept in a warming box, the two of you claimed the beach as your own. Izzy watched as you skimmed stones and he read a book, then you watched as he drew flowery patterns in the sand just because he felt like it. As the sun gifted you more of her rays, Izzy had asked for you to sit down next to him and you could tell that he wanted to have a serious chat.

“I can't quite put into words how much good you have done me this year, but I wanted to thank you for it in my own small way.”

He had handed over a small wrapped parcel, and inside had been the rare and antique polar exploration book you had been eyeing up for months. Apparently Izzy had been looking at it so much the seller had given him a money off voucher, and just the act of your friend looking at it so much made you really smile.

“I know you struggle with all of this Izzy, so just know that I really do mean it when I say I'm so glad that I met you.”

Izzy looked away for a moment to contemplate the shoreline and the sea, and you could have sworn that his eyes nearly misted over with tears. That more than anything else was such an indicator that your friendship meant as much to Izzy as it did to you.

“Here's to many more years”, you murmured as you passed him a cup of hot chocolate, giving Izzy something to focus on other than his impending tears.

When he finally turned back to you, several tears had made their way down his cheeks, running into his goatee. Despite that he looked very happy and content, happily clinking his cup against yours.

“Here's to many more years”, he replied, and the genuine belief and want in Izzy Hands's voice nearly had you crying too.