#so if my brain is happy working on six fics at once then that is what we will do ✌

[satorusugurugurl]

My Wedding Date is an Escort!

Summary: When invited to your best friend's wedding, you panic. One of the groomsmen, Toji Fushiguro, is your ex-fiancè. Not wanting to deal with probing questions and the embarrassment of being single, your friend Haibara recommends using an Escort! Taking a leap of faith, you book one, the hottest one. Gojo Satoru is hot, sweet, and funny! The package deal! Men and Women pay thousands to go on a date with him (even more, which he doesn't do often). So when your request comes in, the desperation and pleading tone of your voice. Gojo’s heartthrobs, even more so when you tell him you don't want to have sex.

Pairing: Escort!Gojo x FAB Reader

Word Count: 3,682

Warning: Mentions of depression, anxiety, language

A/N: And so part one is complete!! Please let me know what you think! I plan on posting a new part every Saturday! In the mean time I will work on my brain worm fics/requests!!

Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

Gold calligraphy mocked you as you stared at the wedding invitation on your table. Any normal person would have been elated over their best friend getting married. The dresses, cake, looking at venues! It should have been a happy, wonderful time.

And it would have been amazing if your best friend had met her fiance through anyone other than Toji Zenin. Your ex-fiance, the man who broke your heart, who was also the groomsman at the wedding! The same wedding you were a bridesmaid in.

Life fucking hated you.

Your break up was a year and a half ago. It was tucking painful, watching the life and future you had imagined slip away. You were inconsolable for the first few months, but any other person would feel the same if their fiance broke up with them the way Toji had done to you. Part of you liked to think you were getting better; you knew you weren't healed completely.

The closer the wedding came, the more nervous and sick you got. In a month, you would have to face Toji for the first time in over a year. He was doing much better off than you. He got married! He was now Toji Fushiguro and he and his wife had a son!

Fate was a cruel bitch. He was living his dreams: a house, a pretty wife, a sweet, beautiful son. Toji got everything he wanted while you sunk into the darkness of despair. Toji had ruined you, marked you in ways you weren't sure you'd ever heal from. You never wanted to be hurt like that again. That's why you were single.

Single and traumatized. Perfect intro on your dating profile. So yeah, dating wasn't your thing right now.

Which puts you in a messy fucking predicament. You would be at a wedding with your Ex, who was living the life you had always wanted. Why was he given happily ever after while you were left to pick up the pieces of your broken heart? You could already see the pitiful expressions that your loved ones would be wearing, and that made your skin crawl with anxiety.

You could not show up to the wedding alone.

Which is why you were sitting in your kitchen, drowning in anxiety. You stared at your laptop, bouncing your leg nervously as you scrolled on Escorts4y0u.com. Damn, Yu Haibara, for suggesting this to you. You were shopping for a fuckin’ escort!?

You shot his insane suggestion down as soon as he said it. You had begun ranting about how even more embarrassing it would be if your family found out. First, your fiance leaves you a month before your wedding. Then you go and pay for someone to pretend to be your boyfriend all because you couldn’t bear yourself to start dating again?

Amid your nervous rant, Haibara just put his hand on yours. He assured you that no one would know that they were an escort. If they were good at their job, all your family would see was a happy couple. They would be someone to go to the wedding with, and once you paid them, you would never see them again! No one would be the wiser.

“It's their job to make you feel good and help you have a good time. And you deserve to be happy.” Haibara had said with pity in his eyes. Just thinking about his face, that expression, made you cringe to think of the faces of everyone at the wedding.

“Fuck it.” You cursed, clicking on the escort you liked the most.

Gojo Satoru, twenty-eight years old. His profile listed that he was well-educated and came from a prestigious clan. He was charismatic, confident, and kind. You read dozens of reviews. His previous clients gushed over him. All five stars, every single person he’d helped was grateful for him. Plus, Gojo was very attractive. He had pure white hair, was over six feet tall, and had the most stunning blue eyes you'd ever seen. He was the ideal partner anyone would want to take home to meet the family.

Which would explain why he was the most expensive escort on the website.

“¥120,000 for a day!?” You screeched as you bounced your leg faster, doing the mental math in your head. “That’s ¥900,000.00 for a week.” The mere amount of money you were about to spend almost had you slamming your laptop shut. But Haibara’s face crossed your mind; Toji’s face began to form before you shook your head.

Hiring Gojo was your only option. You had to do this to avoid getting hurt again. Plus, you had to use the deposit from your honeymoon eventually. It would be like burying the past!

“Okay, okay, you got this; just book it Y/N!” Getting up, you jumped up and down to hype yourself up before you hit the green phone icon and dialed the number. The phone rang once and twice.

“This is Gojo!” A gruff but cheery voice answered.

You’re sure your soul left your body as you squealed in shock. He answered!? The man you were going not only to pay but also beg to pretend to be your boyfriend?!

“Hello?” A faint hint of humor and curiosity laced the voice in your ear.

You groaned, rubbing your hand down your face with a whine. “S-Sorry, I was expecting a receptionist for something.” You put the phone on speaker before hitting your head against your table.

“Oh! My bad, sorry!” His chuckle was a deep noise through the receiver. “We put our business numbers on the site. It’s just easier for us to schedule our clients like this.” He hummed. “I assume you’re on the escort website?”

“Yes, I—I was wondering if you might be free next month for a wedding? It’s my best friend.”

“Give me a sec.” Shuffling papers filled your anxiety. “A month from today?”

“Yes.”

Gojo hummed happily, “I am free that whole week! So will it be the wedding and reception?” A pen could be heard writing down notes.

”So it’s uhm, it’s a destination wedding. It’s in Kyoto, and I need you for the whole week. If that’s not an issue or problem.”

”Okay, that shouldn’t be an issue. It’s far enough out that I can block my schedule.” He whistled happily, jotting down more notes. “So the whole week, wedding, reception—“

For some odd reason, it sounded like he was hesitating or weighing his options, questioning if he wanted to even take you on as a client. The growing fear of rejection spreads like wildfire through your stomach. You never used to feel like this; you were so happy and confident before. But after everything Toji did, what he said to you after you had—well, it left some really deep scars that still hadn’t healed. When your mind picked at those still healing wounds, making them bleed, you acted before thinking.

”I have the money!” Gripping the table's edge, you stared at Gojo’s headshot on the website. “Please, I need this!”

“Hey, hey! I’m not worried about the money, sweetheart.” His voice was thick like honey; the pet name sounded so sweet. “I’m just making sure I got everything down.” On the other line, Gojo looked down at his calendar. There was something in your voice, desperation, that was genuine.

He’d had tons of clients, and many of them needed help. But in his two years of working in this field, he had never heard such a raw plea for help. Gojo’s interest peaked. Just who were you? What made you so anxious and desperate for his help?

”Let me confirm the details so I can put you in my books, Ms.?” He waited for your name, hearing you sigh in relief as you calmed yourself down

”Y/N, my name is Y/N Y/L/N.”

”Y/N,” Gojo repeated, “Okay, I have you down for next month, the whole week, for a destination wedding in Kyoto.”

You were sighing happily as you relaxed into your chair. “Thank you. It’s 900,000.00. For the whole week?” Gojo cocked an eyebrow, grinning at your straightforward attitude.

”Depends, will food and hotel be included?”

“Yes, we’ll be staying at my parents' inn; they offered to host my friend's wedding. So food, money, and accommodations will be included. Plus, I’ll take care of your travel expenses.”

Gojo turned in his desk chair, biting his lip as he listened to your stern voice. “Okay, so it’s going to be ¥600,000. A lot of the cost goes to food and hotels. Since you’re taking care of it, you get a lovely discount, sweetheart.” A scoff sounded from his phone, making him smile even wider.

”Great, lucky me.”

Gojo bit his lip, chuckling. “Did you want any other additions?”

“If you’re asking if I want to include your other services, no. I don’t need sex.”

“Don’t need sex?” He perked up as Suguru, his roommate, peeked in, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”

You gave the phone a confused look as if you were looking at Gojo yourself. “Yes, I’m dead serious.” The line went utterly silent before rich, stunned laughter filled your kitchen.

”Well shit, that’s a first!”

”Glad I could keep you on your toes, Gojo.”

”Nope.”

You blinked. “No, what?” Gojo snickered as you picked up your phone heading into your room.

”I’m going to be your boyfriend. You have a month, one month, to get used to saying my first name.” The seriousness of his tone made you stop in your tracks. “So it’s Satoru to you, Y/N.”

With a blush dusting your cheeks, you giggled, shaking your head. “Alright, that makes sense. Thank you, Satoru.”

”You’re welcome, Y/N. I’ll see you in a month.”

In one month, you were ¥600,000 poorer, and your nerves were shot as you searched for your fake boyfriend at the train station coffee shop. In the last month, you had spoken to Goj—Satoru twice over the. Once to book his services and yesterday to discuss where you were meeting. His company took care of everything else.

It was still surreal that you hired an escort to be your date, and you were waiting for a stranger at a coffee shop. This wasn't like you; it was so unbelievable. You sipped your coffee, looking around anxiously.

It was like a Greek God walked in. He was tall, like his profile said, over six-three. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes as his white fluffy hair bounced with every step. Straightening, you hesitated before lifting your hand and waving at your fake boyfriend. Seeing your arm raised, Gojo grinned, bounding forward as he pulled his sunglasses off.

“Hi! Are you Y/N?” You stood, swallowing as he still towered over you. God, he was dressed nice, all designer brand clothes. Which wasn't surprising with the amount of money you dropped to spend a week with him.

“Yes, I'm Y/L/N Y/N.” You handed him a cup of coffee that he took before sitting at the table. “Thank you again for doing this.”

Gojo grabbed six sugar packets, ripped them open, and poured all of them into his coffee. “Oh, you're welcome! I love seeing people happy.” Your eyes followed his hands as he poured cream into the coffee. “So, what's our story? That way, we're on the same page.” You couldn't help but smile as he sipped the sugary coffee with a grin.

“You have a sweet tooth?” Gojo hummed, taking another drink. “Maybe I'll make you something at the inn; I'm a pastry chef.” Gojo’s eyes went wide as you ran your fingers over the lid of your cup. “That’s a good story, we met at the bakery I wor—”

“You're a pastry chef?!” Gojo’s eyes sparkled. “Seriously?! What shop?!”

“Uhm, I work at Ichigo Cafe? It's in downtown Tokyo.”

“I love that place! The mochi there is the best!” His words had your cheeks burning your cheeks. “The cakes, the ice cream! Hell, the coffee is good too.”

You twirl your thumbs together. “Thank you, as the head chef, that makes me happy.” Satoru sat back, smiling sweetly. “So I uhm, yeah, that's a good story.”

“Yeah, it does. How long have we been together?”

The two of you settled on five months. That way, it was still pretty new. The whole time, Satoru nodded and added to your cover story. Thank god he was easy to talk to, putting your nerves at ear by the time your coffee was finished. Together, you were optimistic that you and Satoru could get through this week without a hiccup.

You both settled in on the train, getting to know each other more like favorite colors, foods, likes, and dislikes. Satoru didn't drink, had a major sweet tooth, and did his escorting gig full-time. He lived with his roommate and best friend, Geto Suguru, and he had a lot of free time.

You told him everything about yourself: likes, dislikes, favorite color, hell, even your blood type. But as the conversation began to dwindle, Satoru tilted his head. Sure, all that stuff was good now for the coming week, but he wanted to know more. Like why you hired him and why you ‘don’t do sex.’ That question had plagued his mind for the last month.

“Can I ask why you hired me?” His question had your head snapping up. “I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but you've been tense since we got on the train. There's more to this than just wanting a date to a wedding.”

“Uhh, is that obvious? I'm sorry. It's just my ex-fiance is at the wedding party with me.” Satoru paid close attention to how your eyes darkened as you looked out the window. “Our breakup was a shock since it happened a month before our wedding. So, I have all these trust issues, and I don't want to date anyone. Because it's easier not to get hurt if you don't put yourself out there.”

“Why did he break up with you?”

“Why didn't he?” The tone of your voice and words had Satoru peeking up. Not in curiosity but surprisingly in anger. Satoru had seen a lot of women and men in his days as an escort. Many are desperate, lonely, and want to have a good time. But whoever had broken your heart had hurt. You in more ways than one. “There were a lot of things that he uhm—listed off.”

You quickly changed the subject, much too fast for Satoru’s liking. But he wasn’t the type to pry, especially when it came to the feelings and comfort of his clients. So he let you change the subject. And the rest of the train ride to Kyoto, even up to your family's inn, the subject stayed clear of your ex. It was bad enough you’d be seeing him soon; you would much rather not talk about him before you saw his face.

You stood in front of the door to your family's inn. Satoru grabbed your hand, his fingers interlacing with yours as you took a deep breath. “Hey, we got this.” God, you hoped Satoru was right; this had to go perfectly.

Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, you stepped inside. The laughter and distant conversations echoed off the halls as wedding guests conversed and chatted while wandering around. You spotted your mother carrying a tray. She took one glance at you before looking away.

”Oh, Y/N darling, good you’re here. Whenever you get a chance, could you help me make some treats for afternoon tea? Everyone is instant with trying those matcha cookies you made last year.” After years of helping out, in the end, your body began to move on muscle memory, but Satoru stopped you, pulling you into his side with a grin.

“Hey, don’t just up and leave me. At least introduce me to your family first, sweetheart.” The bustling, noisy chatter around you stopped as your family and friends just seemed to notice the giant man standing beside you. His arm wrapped around your waist as he leaned down to kiss your temple. “My poor sweet girl is already in work mode. I thought this was supposed to be a vacation.”

”Right, of course, I’m sorry, Satoru. Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Gojo Satoru.”

”Eh!?”

Those sad, pitful reactions you had been so familiar with over the last year and a half were nowhere to be found on the faces of your loved ones. They were faces of shock, curiosity, and joy. A much better reaction, one that had you letting out a shaky breath you had no idea you were holding in. As you basked in relief, dark eyes watched the two of you, reading you.

The afternoon went off without a hitch. Satoru fit in with any conversation thrown his way. From what he did for a living to how the two of you met, he never stuttered or looked to you for help. He was exactly what you needed. With Gojo by your side, you knew you could get through this wedding without losing yourself in the darkness again.

You owed Haibara big time for this.

After the two of you answered several rounds of twenty questions and an early dinner, you and Satoru stepped into your room. You shut the door, sliding back against it as you shut your eyes. “Oh my gosh, that went much better than anticipated.” Satoru chuckled, setting both of your luggage off in the corner of the room.

“You did great.” His praise had you smiling more. “Seriously, this will be a walk in the park!”

You wanted to agree with him, but your mouth remained shut. That was just your family you met with. Things might be a different story when you face Toji. Because despite you not wanting him to, you knew he could read you like a book. He always could tell when you weren’t feeling the best or something was wrong. But maybe, if you keep playing your card right, you might be able to fool him, too.

”Yeah, a walk in the park.” You looked around the room, relieved to find the futon already laid out for you both. But it was missing the extra pillows you had asked for. The pillows that were going to be used to separate you and Satoru. “Huh, I thought my dad said the pillows would be here when we got to the room. I’ll be right back; the shower is just to the right if you want to wash up first.”

“Awesome, thanks a lot.”

As you reached for the door, the handle turned, startling you. Satoru moved so fast, his arms wrapping around you as the door opened wide. “Have you ever heard of knocking before? My girlfriend and I could have been doing something. If you saw that, I would have had to charge you for the show.” Satoru started as the door opened wide, revealing the person standing in front of it, four pillows in his arms.

”You seriously think I believe that?”

Your body went rigid as you stared into the dark eyes of the man who broke your heart. “T-Toji? What are you doing here?” You learned further back into Satoru’s chest, trying to put distance between the man that had stained your life.

“Bringing you your pillows.” He motioned his chin down at them to emphasize his words. “Look, we need to talk.”

Satoru could feel your breath quicken, your chest moving faster with each inhale you took. From your reaction, he could figure out just who exactly this asshole was. This dark-haired asshole who just barged into your room had to be the ex you didn’t want to talk about in any way, shape, or form. Looking at him, Satoru came to one conclusion without even knowing the guy. He was a fucking prick.

”Look, Toji, I’m exhausted. I don't want to talk right now.” You snatched the pillows away from him. “Satoru and I were going to get ready for bed. I require some TLC tonight.” You went to shut the door, but Toji placed his palm against it, preventing it from moving.

”Please, you and I both know this isn’t your boyfriend. I need to talk to you now. Tell your friend here he can fucking wait until our conversation is over.”

The tone and mere attitude of the prick in the door had Satoru seeing red. He released you, turning you to face him, glaring daggers at the man spewing toxic commands. “I’m not a friend.” Satoru spit out the last word. In a flash, his hand gripped your chin, turning you towards him. His other hand rested on the back of your head, pulling you into a kiss.

It was your first kiss in a year and a half, a kiss that was full of rage and passion like you had never experienced before. Satoru’s kiss was for show, but fuck, it had your knees buckling. You matched his pace, kissing him back urgently. His hands tangled in your hair while you fisted his shirt. You prayed that this mini-makeout session was enough to fool your ex. Satoru pulled away to glare at Toji. His chest rose and fell as he slowly licked his bottom lip with a smirk.

“My girlfriend and I were just getting ready to bed, if you caught the drift. If she wants to talk to you tomorrow, she’ll find you. Later.” Without another word, Satoru slammed the door in Toji’s face before turning to face you.

”Wow.” Was all you could manage to say as you ran your fingers over your lips. Seeing you do that while hearing your breathless voice had Satoru fifty shades of red. In his whole career as an escort, he has never lost his cool like that until he was with you.

Oh, he was fucked.

(TBC)

[ja3hwa]

♡ 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟐: 𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐤/𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 - 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐢 ♡

【sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs】 : Your two professors were more than happy to show you some tips and tricks to help you study.

『ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ』 : 1.36k

-> ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: Colleg Au. Suggestive. 

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: Professor!Yungi x Student!Reader 

[ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs] : Swearing. Pet names. Hints of sex. Teasing. Dirty talk. Some man handling. Mingi and Yunho are HUGE.

Thank you, @mixling-blog, @yugy-oh, and @senpai-of-doom, for requesting Mingi and Yunho for this day. ♡♡♡

Note: I actually forgot to finish this day, and I'm so sorry. So I'll be making a part 2 once kinktober is done cause I had this whole idea but i just lost track of all the fics and this one got put on the bottom of my list by accident ahhhh.

Masterlist | Navigation | Kinktober List

There was a secret code in college, an unspoken rule if you will. Never, ever, by any means, fall in love, or sleep with your professors. And yes, they might be handsome, and they might be only seven or so in age difference. But never, EVER, be romantically or sexually involved.  And this rule stuck by most students and more professors. There were young girls who always fawned over the brooding, tall, and mysterious drinks of water known as their music or mathematics teachers. And boys that would whisper among themselves who was the hottest, Ms. Kim, the science teacher, or Mrs. Park, the criminology professor.

But you? You swore the minute you only got barely accepted to the college―since you were late for the cut―that you would not look at your teachers in such an inappropriate and unprofessional way. Besides, you were one day going to be joining them as a professor once you pass your training exam. You always wanted to teach visual arts and Theater and this college has allowed you not only to study such majors and degrees but also train so that one day you’ll be able to teach them yourself to others.

You worked hard, studied instead of sleeping. Sleeping instead of hanging out with friends. Your life revolved around your work, and yet when you met the stand-in, since your normal teacher was away for a couple of weeks. It was like your brain no longer understood how to function. And the worst part…

Theres two of them.

Both are strong, tall, and deviously handsome. One had a voice so deep you could feel the vibrations of his vocals every time he spoke, and the other had eyes as piercing as the sun and a smile that could kill. To say they were your ideal type would be an understatement. And what was the icing on the cake? They are huge. Beefy broad shoulders, thick biceps and thighs, heavy chests. They were like super soldiers, and oh, how that made you swoon. Wanting nothing more than for them to pick you up and throw you around as if you weighed nothing. If you were to stand in between them, you surely would be caged in the best way possible.

You met them during the first term, six months ago. And every day since was a little unspoken game of cat and mouse. You didn’t flirt at first, still wanting to be professional but as your late hours at the library grew or the time spent sitting in an empty classroom for some quiet as your dorm was too loud to considerate became more common. Mr Park and Mr Jung came to your aid to help you with your studies, of course. First, they would sit at the front of the classroom while you were at a row of desks. They would explain about being a teacher, cheat sheets of sorts, and tips for when to do your first training shift. Helping you understand the ins and outs of navigating college students. And then it slowly moved to one of them sitting next to you, Mr Song, you could smell his cologne, the musk of his natural scent. His arm would brush yours, occasionally making you see how his large biceps were. And they were definitely the same if not larger than your thighs. Your body felt so small next to him.

And then Mr Jung sat on the other side of you. The feeling of being caged was coming to reality, and it was burning a fire inside of you. You tried to brush away these feelings. They are your professors, after all and one day, co-workers, not some school crush to dot over. But they were so smooth-talking, charming, with flirtatious smiles, and your mind couldn’t help but wonder since they are so naturally big, were they big else where…

“You get all that peach?” Mr Jung’s voice snapped you out of your lewd thoughts, redness suddenly pooling on your cheeks. You see that’s why Mr Jung had given you such a nickname, Peach, was because of the shade of pink your cheeks would be whenever he made eye contact with you. Deep down you knew your professor shouldn’t be nicknaming his student but then again you didn’t take the classes they taught, and the longer you thought about it, the more okay it was to flirt back. After all, you were all adults.

“You seem a bit distracted today?” Mr Song grumbled behind you, making a shiver dance down your back. My god, if that man sounded like that on a regular, you wondered what his bedroom voice sounded like, or even better, his morning voice. “Is something bothering you?” he asked, placing his large hand on your shoulder, stopping you from turning to the side to see him. No, instead, he slowly rubbed his fingers deep into your tense muscle, making you feel relief surge through you. You almost forgot to answer the question, too focused on the older man's hands doing wonders on your shoulders.

“I-I uhmm…” You were lost, suddenly feeling Mr Jung’s hand grip the top part of your thigh, rubbing circles on your exposed flesh where the hem of your shorts are. “It’s just. M-mr Jung…”

“Don’t worry, Peach, and I said already. Call me Yunho. We are going to be co-workers soon. You should address me and Mingi as such.” He included his friend and co-worker at the end, letting you know what you’ve been told for the thousandth time, call them by their first names. “You seem tense, darling. What could ever be the cause of so much tension in this pretty body of yours.”

Your eyes snapped open now, looking at Mr Jung―uh you mean Yunho―in his intense stare. Did he just call you darling? Now, your face was definitely redder than a tomato at this point. “Y-Yunho…”

Yunho groaned, biting his lip while rolling his eyes slightly. he had to pull back for a second before returning his hand to your thigh. “God, my name sounds so good when you say it.”

You looked away for a moment, feeling your heart was going to beat right out of your chest. The next thing you knew, a pair of large beefy arms pulled you by your waist until your ass was placed onto a board, hard, lap. “Say my name Doll Face. I wanna hear what my name sounds like coming off your pretty lips.” All barriers were gone and lines were being crossed. But none of you cared anyone. The flirtation became too much, more so for the men it seems and with Mingi’s lips finding the sweet spot behind your ear you couldn’t help but moan;

“Mingi…”

“Fuck, that’s it. Such a good girl.” The hold Min had on you got tighter, and his huge biceps caged your back against his heavy chest. Your mind was spinning at the sheer thought that all Mingi and Yunho had to do was squeeze you tight enough that you’d break. They are so much bigger than you, stronger than you. They could throw you around and do as they pleased to you and all you could―would―do is lay back and take it.

“We knew you’d be such a good girl for us peach. Just look at you, head empty already when we have barely touched you.” Yunho chuckled, squeezing your thigh, letting his long fingers slip towards where you needed them most. “you want us to touch you, darling? Teach you some real lessons?” He emphasized the word ‘real’, all knowing that He and Mingi were going to teach you anything but a real lesson in this moment.

“Please…” you retched out for Yunho, gripping his perfectly iron button-up, pulling him towards you. “Please show me…” He drew his lips to yours quickly as Mingi’s bit down onto your shoulder while his hands loosely move to open your legs, letting Yunho cup your entire wet cunt with his huge hand. You were most definitely in for a night of your life.

-♥︎

[koolades-world]

Hello is hug deprived anon again (this might be becoming my name oh no) and I’ve had an idea

I’m sure we can all agree that mammon deserves all the love, especially because his brothers are too mean to him, they pretend they don’t love him too constantly

So, what if Mammon is away for a week, doing photoshoots or dealing with witches or something, and MC is moping because they miss him,, like, they keep turning to their side to whisper to him and then like deflating when they see no Mammon,, and like, reaching out on that side to hold his hand and then being confused when there’s nothing there, and then they realize :( maybe they stole his blanket from his room because it smells like him, so it’s the best substitute for Mammon hugs while he’s away

Maybe Beel (idk if any of the other bros would be nice enough to tell him) is texting him like “your human is too sad come back soon” and sending him pictures of MC doing this stuff

When Mammon returns MC jumps on him for hugs like “you’re home!!!!!”

Idk I think he’d cry

I think he would feel very loved and probably also cry abt it

What you think? What do you think he’d do?

(If you choose not to write anything about this no worries obviously) (but I eventually might lol I think it’d be very cute and make him very happy to have someone who really misses him when he’s away)

HI!! haha if you want and plan to request more, feel free to pick an anon name! or I could just call you something like hug LOL

wayyy back when I first got into obey me in like 2021, there was this one specific fic I read kind of similar to his idea where mammon was upset at be mistreated and mc stood up for him and it was this cute bonding moment, and this request kinda reminded me of that!! gonna try to channel it a little bit

this idea is literally so cute and I'd be happy to write it! it makes my brain like a cat who has the zoomies hehe enjoy :D

How Ironic

You watched agonizingly as the clock ticked by even slower than usual. You'd been trying to do some sort of work, or anything other than stare at the damned clock forever now, but you just couldn't focus.

It had been exactly four days, six hours, and fifteen minutes and counting since Mammon had left for a week long promotional photoshoot in another ring of hell. You had your sad, but sweet send off and you promise yourself that time apart might be good for you. After all, it always felt like you could never get anything done with Mammon around. Yet, here you were, staring blankly at a clock with a blank piece of paper and pen in front of you.

Finally deciding to throw in the towel for now, you got up from your desk in your room. A walk to a local convivence store was in order. Snacks and fresh air wasn't a combo you could pass up. On your way out, you passed the door to his room which was slightly ajar. You briefly had the thought to poke your head in and ask him if he wanted to come, before remembering that he wouldn't be in there. You continued your walk to the front door, where you put on your shoes and grabbed a bag that had a few necessities in it for the short journey.

Thankfully, you hadn't passed any of his brothers on the way there, meaning you didn't have to explain yourself or have them ask to tag along. While you enjoyed their company, they weren't Mammon. If you needed help, you could always summon one of them thanks to the pacts, but you needed this short walk to clear your head.

The air was unfortunately stifling and overly humid outside, making you glad you were dressed light. It was basically just your pajamas but when you went out with Mammon, the two of you did this every time. As you autopiloted to your favorite corner store, your thoughts wandered back to Mammon again. You wondered how he was doing and if he missed being at home. You couldn't blame him if he didn't and hoped he was enjoying his time away from home as much as you wished he was by your side.

Once you got to the store, you wandered around for a bit, debating what to get. After grabbing a small basket, you began to pile in various things that sounded good. Once the basket was full, you came to the realization that all the snacks were Mammon's favorites; hell sauce flavored instant noodles, Chaos Devil Cider and ginger ale to mix, Devilbee honey popcorn, and a variety pack of Devildom gummies. This is what he introduced you to the first time you did a snack run together. You decided, in light of this discovery, to buy extras for him for when he got back. You figured he would enjoy it and it was the least you could do to thank him for introducing you to so many tasty things you would've not tried otherwise. Once you checked out, you returned back to the House of Lamentation with a new skip in your step.

You made your way back up to your room, and passed the ajar door of Mammon's room again. Memories of the two of you together flooded back again, and you couldn't help but step in. Just being in his room was like he was really right next to you again. You couldn't help but sit on his sofa and think about how much you missed him even though it hadn't even been a full week. His absence made you realize how much you missed his presence. After a moment, you decide to leave the snacks you bought for him on his bedside table so his brothers were less likely to wander in and find them before him.

As you were setting down everything you'd gotten for him, you something caught your eye just about to fall off the end of his bed. After you picked it off the edge of his bed, you realized it was the hoodie he always wore around the house. It was faded from lots of usage and the strings were fraying. You knew it smelt like his cologne and his shampoo from all of the tight embraces he'd given you while wearing it. You for sure thought he would've taken it with him, but it looked as if he had thrown it off last minute and thrown it on his bed without looking back.

Looking around as if someone might be watching (which could very well be the case since Lucifer was notoriously quiet), you pulled it to your chest and deeply inhaled. Of course, there was the chance that it was dirty, but you couldn't care less. It wasn't anything you hadn't seen of him before. Since there really wasn't anything stopping you, you took it back to your room with you. You weren't even really that cold, in all honesty. It was more of the idea that he was right next to you since it smelt just like him.

You continued your night like you had before you left, just with his hoodie on. You were magically much more productive wearing it and you managed to get several things done. Usually, you would be chatting with Mammon on the phone at about this time to talk about how your days were, but he was unfortunately busy with something work related. Instead, you decided to send him a sweet goodnight text and send a picture of your set up with the food and the show you've been watching one episode at a time. Not expecting a response before you called it a night, you turn your phone off and focused on eating and watching tv.

Beel wasn't sure what woke him up first: his stomach or Mammon blowing up his phone. Sitting up in his bed, he peered at his screen, squinting at it. He had at least twenty texts from his brother asking him to check on Mc for him after they hadn't responded to his texts. He wasn't sure if Mammon knew they were probably asleep or if he was just worrying for no reason. Either way, he decided to check on them for him anways. After his kitchen run, of course.

After letting Mammon know, he got out of bed and left his room. On his way to the kitchen, however, he ended up following the smell of cup noodles to Mc's room. There, he was able to complete both of his missions. He snapped a picture of Mc fast asleep with a couple half finished snacks, then took the snacks. Mission complete.

Mammon was only halfway through the only kind of dumb business dinner when he spammed Beel about Mc. He was more worried than he would admit to himself about them. He knew it was probably nothing and that they had fallen asleep, but Beel was usually awake at this time eating anyways. The food was nice and he was the star of the show, but the dinner was much too stifling for his taste. Most importantly, it was cutting into his precious time with Mc, something he looked forward to at the end of every day. He loved getting to hear their voice after being away from them for so long. He missed getting to see them in person, but getting to hear them was next best.

As he was poking at his food, he finally got the response he was waiting hand and foot on. Beel had responded with just an image at first, so he scrambled to open it. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was a picture of his beloved Mc fast asleep in their bed. You looked so peaceful but your face was barely visible because of the hood pulled up over your eyes. After squinting, he realized the hoodie you were wearing looked oddly familiar. He realized that that was his hoodie, the one he'd left on his bed when he was late the morning he left.

He could barely contain his excitement and it must had been evident on his face since those around him glanced at him, and then between each other a few times. He saved the photo to his phone, and texted Beel back a thanks. As everyone talked around him, he debating asking to leave the shoot early right then and there. If he left right now, he would be able to make it home before you woke up. While he entertained this thought for a while, eventually he decided to stick it out since there were only a few days left. As soon as he was allowed to leave, however, he would buy you something with the paycheck he'd be given. Something nice, maybe a gold bracelet that would remind you of him when you see it. He spent the rest of the night thinking, then dreaming about you. He could only hope you were doing the same. (you were <3)

After those final two and a half agonizing days and many texts later, it was finally time for Mammon to return home. For now, he decided to leave his car parked just outside the house, since he may or may not have been planning to take you out to dinner later that day. As soon as he walked in the door, one of his suitcases in tow, something, or rather someone, attacked him with a flying hug. At first, he was processing the situation as Mc began to squeal and squeeze him as tight as they could into a hug. He wasn't really sure where they had come from, but he knew who it was as soon as their arms were around him.

"MAMMON!" Mc swung the both of them around, buzzing with excitement. "Diavolo, I missed you so much. I don't want to let go of you. If you don't take me with you next time, I might die of sadness and loneliness!" Their arms were around his neck, and their face in his chest. He finally let go of his suitcase and hugged them back. He held them close, shutting his eyes for a moment to take it all in.

"I missed ya too. 's good to be back." He, again, couldn't stop the smile from growing on his face. His brothers never expressed themselves the way Mc was to him in that moment, so he wasn't quite sure how to feel. They never seemed excited to see him, so it was so refreshing to see Mc visibly excited and made him feel truly loved. All their time apart was worth moments like these.

As MC was squealing, a few of his brothers began to gather around the foyer around them. Perhaps they heard them, or maybe they knew he'd be back today at around this time. Either way, he waved at them, still keeping an arm around Mc.

"Guys! Mammon is back." Mc nuzzled his neck, still holding onto him.

"We can see that." Belphie remarked, sounding unamused. Mammon's smile faded a little. So, they didn't care that he was back, did they? He should've expected that from them. Actually, they probably wished he'd been gone for longer with the way they treated him sometimes.

"I talked to you guys about this. I don't expect you to do what I'm doing, but you need to show him you're happy he's back. You can't lie, he's irreplaceable! I don't know what I'd do without him, and I missed him so much." Just like that, Mc's words lifted him back up. Suddenly, he was no longer upset that his brothers didn't care. He had the attention and care from the person he thought about the entire time he was gone. "Shame on you all. Don't expect me to talk to you for the next few days. Let's get your things from the car, and go upstairs. We have so much to catch up on!" Mc only let go of his neck to grab his hand instead. They dragged him back out of the house, shutting the door with their foot behind the two of them.

"Mc, ya didn't have to do all that fer me..." Mammon glanced back at the shut door. His brothers didn't open it, or try to follow them.

"But I did! You're my first man, after all. I really can't express how much I missed you and just saying it doesn't feel like enough." They reached into the trunk of his car to begin taking out his suitcases. Mammon moved them aside gently, not wanting them to do even more for him that he felt as if he didn't deserve.

Mammon was silent for a moment, then decided to go digging through his backpack for the bracelet he'd bought for you. He hoped it would make it easier to tell you how he felt. "Here, this is fer you." He presented the small, black box to them. Looking caught off guard, they accepted it and opened it carefully. Your mouth dropped open as you saw the golden piece of jewelry he bought for you on the drive back.

"Mammon! This is beautiful. Thank you so much! But, I don't understand why. What's the occasion?" You removed it from the box and held it up to the light to study it. Several small charms hung off of it.

"That's the thing. There isn't one." He took a deep breath and looked down at his feet before continuing. "I just... yer so good to me. Ya texted me daily, called me daily, thought about me while I was gone, and even waited fer me like that so ya could surprise me when I got back. Ya care, and I know I'm not the best with showin' I care and it makes me feel shitty. Thank you, fer everythin'. I really missed ya." He couldn't see how Mc reacted, but was essentially tackled into another hug again by them.

"Mams, you show me you care in little ways. Just because you don't say it, doesn't mean that you don't. You just being back here with me is more than enough." He immediately thought about how ironic the entire situation was. He never actually told them how he felt and treated them like garbage sometimes, and he thought it might've been pushing the person he cared for most away, but really, he never had to worry about that. he'd never considered that they could see past his inability to admit his feelings. He hugged them back, savoring the moment since this time they were alone.

"Thank you Mc." He held back happy tears.

"No, thank you! Thank you for always being by my side. Now, instead of actually unpacking, let's just lock the car and sneak back inside. Maybe they'll eventually feel sorry and come looking for us, but we'll actually be hiding right under their noses. It'll be like a spy mission." Mc giggled leaning back to see his face. Mammon let them look him in the eyes, glistening tears and all.

"Yeah, let's do that. We can watch that movie ya wanted to watch and just share headphones." He found himself joining in with the quiet laughing along to something he wasn't sure either of them really understood. Something he did understand however, was that he knew he was loved back by the one he loved the most, and couldn't ask for more.

[atelierlili]

It's time take you back to the past

to play the shitty games that suck ass.

Some besties wanted a list of Everlark fics recs where Katniss and/or Peeta are blasted to the past/alternate universe to relive the events of the games to fix it, so here we are!

Time Is Never Found Again...Or Is It? (113,000 + words) by blahblahblah1703

Katniss, after talking to Snow in his rose garden, finds herself somehow back in her childhood home. She has seven months until she enters the arena for the 74th annual Hunger Games, along with the love of her life, who when she last saw him, was still struggling not to kill her, just perfect.

The pre-game everlark that happens here is 🤌. This is part one of a larger series. The sequel (which is wonderful as well) can be found here. This is the series that got me into this rabbit hole.

Afterburn ( 104,000+ words) by BlueMaple

Katniss Everdeen-Mellark goes to the woods surrounding New Appalachia, a.k.a the former District Twelve, on the morning of the fiftieth anniversary of the final Reaping of the Hunger Games. There, she is literally waylaid by her own past, and wakes in the past, six weeks before Primrose was first Reaped. Alone, grieving, terrified, and without a clue on how she got there (and then), she realizes that it will be impossible for her- on every level- to simply live through events as they transpired in her personal future. With no way to return her to that future, she is nevertheless determined to get back to her own party - hopefully with a lot less damage and fewer crucial casualties along the way.

This is apart of the All Sorrows Less series, which is still being updated. It's filled with wonderful side characters, mindblowing twists, a baby I will kill people for and GILF Katniss, what more can I say?

Second Burn ( 127,000+ words) by carnationhes

Katniss wonders if things could be different if she got a second chance. And then she gets one. This morning she wakes up back in District 12 after Peeta's warning of the bombing on Thirteen.

Have you read Second burn? Why haven't you read it yet? You should read it. It's amazing. Literally makes my brain chemistry tingle. I think this is most accurate depiction of a Katniss being blasted to the past with no meta explanation why. It's sooo soo soo good. I'm on my knees please read it and please read the sequel Ignite as well. This series is so underated please.

over and over (lost again) (13,000+ words) by TeaBrigadier

I died in the Hunger Games. It isn’t even the first time it’s happened. I’ve died in the Hunger Games five times now

This is a very self contained time loop where Katniss continuously relieves the first games until she gets it right. I know it doesn't really fit the theme, but this one makes my feel happy feelings and i wanted to recommend something that's isn't so long so I'm adding it anyway. Deathloops are fun!

Ongoing:

Catching sparks (19k words) (Last update 26 Feb 2024) by Silver_Cleo

The time when 23 year old Katniss and Peeta get transported from their home in what had once been Victor's Village of District 12, and into the bodies of their much younger selves, who have just woken up from exiting the arena of the 74th Hunger Games.

Here Katniss and Peeta get traveled to the past to the point where they just win their games. It's a great WIP. I love Everlark working together and being cute + humanizing the 74th tributes and their family <3

I'm probably missing a few, but these are my favourite ones so far. As much as I love the trope, I know it's a monster to take on from a writing standpoint so props to the writers!

I hope you enjoy them <3 There's nothing I love more than shining a light on amazing fics new and old. If you have recs of your own, please send them my way. I love this trope so much haha

@bbrooklynbabe @nightlocked-in @waywardangel-wilds

[sunflowervoltwentyeight]

Happy 28th! Here is my December 2023 fic rec, organized by word count from longest to shortest. Enjoy!

Bitter Tangerine by purpledaisy / @daisyharry (119k)

Maybe it’s Niall, he reasons to calm his storming heart. Maybe he’s not actually gone for the holidays yet, maybe Harry got the dates confused. Slowly, he holds his breath and pushes the kitchen door open. The first thing he sees make him jump, a wooden spoon held out like a sword. Once his brain processes the sight in front of him, it’s less the sword that gets him than who is attached to the wooden spoon.

“Harry,” the swordsmen speaks before Harry can, his voice low and steady though confusion laces each word.

Harry’s breath catches. Every string around his heart, all the protection he spent nine months building, rips out and tears open all at once as he says, “Hi Louis.”

-

AU: Nine months after they break up, a twist of fate brings Harry and Louis back together at Christmas.

Summer’s In the Air and Baby, Heaven’s In Your Eyesby starryhaze / @starryhaze28 (71k)

“So we probably shouldn’t do this.” Louis says, and Harry knows he means staying like this, wrapped up in each other, and he nods, then lifts his head from Louis’ shoulder. His eyes are focused on the ground while he tries to will the tears away.

“We shouldn’t. I’m sorry Lou it’s just-“

“Hey it’s fine, baby.” Louis promises, gently rubbing this thumb over Harry’s cheek. Harry leans into the touch and blinks up at Louis.

“Not your fault.” Louis says, looking around before he presses his lips against Harry’s in a short but sweet kiss. “You’re like my dirty little secret now.” He grins wickedly and gives a wink, making Harry blush and bite his lip as he steps away.

⋆ .ೃ ࿔ *: ･

or a 70s tennis au filled with skirts, pet names and intrigue

Bring It Back That Old Feeling by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings (57k)

After six years together, Harry thought there wasn’t anything that he didn’t know about his husband, and no problem they couldn’t solve with a kiss and a snuggle. After a painful year of booze and heartache, he realizes some problems are much harder to fix, but the wait is always worth it.

Little Wings on My Shoes by juliusschmidt / @juliusschmidt (39k)

You have C Lunch?” Louis asks, peering over at Harry's work. The problem Harry’s just finished is printed neatly, the correct answer circled. Harry’s finger marks the next problem in his book as he copies it onto the page. It doesn’t look like he’s stealing the answers out of the back. Nice. 

He’s dimpled and smart. 

And probably gay. [The American High School AU in which no one is cool (except Niall) and Harry wears a rainbow bracelet.]

Playing To Win by  jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom (36k)

Big Brother UK alumni Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are selected for the UK vs Australia All Stars series with a massive one million dollar prize in the offing. They’re both fit and smart and would make a great alliance... if only they can stop their feelings from getting in the way.

OR the one where Louis really doesn’t want to like Harry, Harry is struggling to quell his growing fondness for Louis, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t fight fate.

Big, Bright World by RealName (35k)

It really was just a little crush in the beginning, nothing to be worried about. Louis had never really liked anyone he’d worked with in the past, but he was sure he could control himself. Little did he know that over time his ‘little crush’ would develop into a blazing inferno of Hell-fire proportions. Every day, Louis’ feelings became more intense, more immediate, each little smile and gesture and silly flirtation mounting up into something palpable, with a life of its own. Louis felt it every moment they were together.

The only problem? Harry was engaged to someone else and had been from the moment Louis started working at Visionary.

Office AU (not based on the TV show).

Our Little Corner of the World by brownheadedstranger (29k)

AU. Louis is stuck in his mom’s diner for the summer. Harry is the line cook with a pickup truck.

Woke Up With a Boy (Who Looks Just Like You) by glitteredcurls / @kissyboystyles (26k)

Harry goes to sleep in his shared flat with Louis. He wakes up older and sharing something more with his best friend-- a bed. Harry doesn’t know where the past four years of his life have gone. There is quite a bit he’s forgotten, but still would have never guessed for himself. The only thing familiar is Louis, who seems to mean something different to him at his new age than he did before… Harry just can’t seem to place how.

OR snapshots of the week Louis and Harry jump four years into their (unknowingly married) future suddenly and have to gather their bearings without alerting anyone else.

Lapful Of Lou by hazzahtomlinson / @itsnotreal (2k)

Harry sighed, snuggling into his pillow. “You’re the best boyfriend.” He said, and then his eyes shot open. “I mean— you would be the best boyfriend.” His eyes flickered to Louis’ face, who was standing beside the bed, with a smirk on his face. “Not— not like my boyfriend. I mean— like. I wouldn’t mind if you were my— no.” He pressed his lips together to stop anymore words from barreling out. His face was flaming. And Louis was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, like he was waiting for Harry to finish.

“You done?” He asked with a little bubble of laughter.

Harry grimaced, “Just leave me here to die.”

Or they are both idiots and it takes a drunk Harry (with no brain to mouth filter) to get things going.

[five-rivers]

Checkerboard

Will add an AO3 link once the ddos attack is over. In the meantime, please enjoy this Gen Rex fic! It's whump. :)

Edit: AO3 Link!

.

One moment, Rex was breaking free of the control collar, as planned.  The next– 

Caesar hadn't realized that witch could move that fast.  

The fight was, in a word, brutal.  Rex was good, very good, even Caesar could see that, but against both an equal opponent and the relentless black pawns, even he had limits.  Especially when he was avoiding lethal blows.  It appeared he hadn't, quite, realized that the black pawns were robots.  

That was an oversight on Caesar's part, he'd admit.  He knew that Rex had the ability to detect nearby nanites, but he didn't know if that ability was behind the consciousness partition his parents had set up in the onboard AI, and even if it wasn't, well, having the ability to perceive something and understanding the information it gave you were two very different things.  Especially under stress.  

Black Knight crushed Rex's latest set of smack hands with a nanite-generated hammer, then tipped him over, wrapping him with her whip.  He hit the floor hard, but it was obvious he was going to break free momentarily, and possibly even counter with his own whip build, but Black Knight's hammer shifted into a sword, and she brought it down through Rex's shoulder.

"Stop!  Stop!  What are you doing?" demanded Caesar.  

The black pawns moved in, aiming at Rex from point blank range.

"Kill or control," said Black Knight.  "That's Providence's current protocol.  If we get your brother back under control, we can put ‘cure’ back on the table, but until then… What will it be?"  The ultimatum, because that's what it was, was delivered in the same falsely pleasant tone Black Knight gave all her orders in.  

Caesar clenched his jaw.  Some people might think he was cold and disconnected, that he lacked empathy, feelings, care for anything that wasn’t one of his experiments.  Dr. Holiday, for example, had, shortly after Rex’s disappearance, accused Caesar of being a psychopath.

Well.  Caesar knew there was something not quite right about him.  Never had felt like getting a diagnosis.  But he hadn’t cried over his parents’ deaths, and he hadn’t cried over Rex’s disappearance.  He certainly hadn’t gotten as emotional as Holiday, or even Six. 

But he did love his brother.  He knew that love was just the result of neural connections in the brain, coupled with certain chemical reactions, but that didn’t make it less real.  He wanted his brother to be healthy and happy.  That was love, yes?  

But for Rex to be healthy and happy, he also had to be alive.  

He met Rex’s eyes.  Rex, unlike Caesar, was emotional.  Caesar could easily read the pain, fury, and fear on Rex’s face.  Fear that quickly slid into terror as Rex realized what Caesar was going to do.

“Dr. Salazar, your decision.  You can stop stalling.  We neutralized the robot monkey, and even all the Numbers working together couldn’t break into this facility fast enough to keep me and my pawns from terminating this EVO.”

“He-ahhhh!”  Rex’s protest was cut off with a sideways jerk of Black Knights blade, ending with a high-pitched whine.  There was no blood - Rex, as a rule, didn’t bleed.  His nanites had instructions about that.  But even so…

“Alright, alright!” said Caesar.  “I’ll do it!  I’ll just.  This isn’t something I can do immediately.  I told you Rex’s nanites were different.”  He had.  Multiple times.  Some of those times were even after his six-years-in-fifteen-minutes trip.  

“I’d think it’d be a simple matter, considering you worked on him before.  And your control of the Omega-1 during your… reappearance.”

“I’d think,” said Caesar, retrieving a set of new control collars and checking their serial numbers, “you’d appreciate the difficulty, considering anything that could easily be done to Rex could easily be done to you.”  

Black Knight’s smile grew sharper, showing teeth.  “Careful.  Dr. Salazar.”

Caesar made sure his tablet computer was synchronized with the main control computer and walked towards Rex.  The pawns who weren’t aiming at him were now aiming at Caesar.  He held up the collars and his tablet.  “I’ve got to start somewhere, right?”

“Let him by,” said Black Knight in an almost magnanimous tone.  She had a lot of practice with that one.  

“Okay, mijo,” said Caesar, with false cheer, “let’s get started.”

“Don’t do thi–”

His protest was cut off as Black Knight changed the angle of her sword, enlarging the wound.  Rex gasp, breath hitching, and Caesar decided the best way to handle this was fast, like ripping off a bandaid.  He wrapped the first collar around Rex’s neck.  

Predictably, because Rex could be predictable, sometimes, (it was, Caesar thought, probably a result of many of his subconscious thought processes and actions being directed by nanite programs) the skin on his neck lit up with blue lines that crossed over onto the collar and took it apart.  

“Don’t–” said Caesar, quickly.  “Don’t.  There’s a reason I brought more than one, yes?”

“You have fifteen minutes.  My arm is getting tired.”

“Please, Rex, just… Let it happen.”

Rex bit his lower lip and glared up at him.  Caesar swallowed and checked his tablet, looked at what, exactly, Rex had done to the collar, and made a few adjustments.  He had to - he had to get this right.  

Despite the whip and despite the sword, Rex still tried to twitch away from the collar.  This time, Caesar could hear the activation tone of the nanites.  They’d intended to remove some of the audio cues after the nanites got out of the prototype phase, but since things had turned out the way they did, they’d never gotten around to it.  

He kept an eye on the tablet, watching the feedback and already making adjustments to the next collar.  When the second - or should he count it as the third? - one broke, it was ready to slide into place.  

And…  There!  He’d need some more changes.  Just a little more.  But this time… Yes!  He could stop Rex from breaking this one for long enough to get his foot in the door, at least.  And Rex was wearing out.  

He had limits.  And Caesar wasn’t exactly fighting fair.  

He snapped the next collar - hopefully the last one - into place.  The program, a construction command for the Omega-1, started running immediately, relaying its results to the tablet.  Caesar watched them anxiously, but he didn’t have much faith in that particular program as anything but a delaying tactic.  Rex’s self-programming capabilities had taken care of that particular backdoor within the first week of Caesar’s return.  

But the program he was loading up now was a bit different.  Simple, yes, there wasn’t time for anything complex, but hopefully effective, given Caesar’s special permissions and privileges in the nanite system.  

The second program worked like this: it sent a request for access to Rex’s code interface, tagged with Caesar’s administrator codes.  For various ethical and practical reasons (their parents didn’t quite trust Caesar not to use higher-level access for pranks) Caesar had never been given full, unimpeded access to Rex’s nanite programming.  But… the admin codes meant that he got a response.  A little popup that said nothing but ‘request denied.’  Rex also could accept the request, but, well…

Caesar looked at Rex, whose face was screwed up into an expression of pained but determined confusion.  That just didn’t seem likely.  Even if the request was handled entirely behind the consciousness partition.  

The program didn’t just send one request, though.  It sent repeated requests.  As many as it could, on a code loop only a few lines long.  

The whirr of the nanites became more stressed as they worked on endless access requests.  The nanites were tiny, brilliant computers, but they were, in the end, still computers.  Computers (and everything, really), as a rule, generated heat when they were working.  They’d managed to break physics in so many ways working on the nanite project, but not that one.  

Rex began to sweat and pant as his body tried to regulate its internal temperature.  Every inhale hitched and every exhale was accompanied by a pained whine.  As a rule, Caesar didn’t experience empathy, didn’t feel with other people.  Probably a mirror neuron problem.  But this?  This hurt.  

He didn't want to do this.  

His tablet beeped.  

Their parents hadn’t trusted Caesar not to play pranks on his little brother, but they did trust him to look after Rex’s wellbeing in an emergency.  An emergency like a significantly elevated body temperature and a huge hole in his body.  

The popup now read, ‘access granted.’

The first thing Caesar did was make a new back door.  He was confident that this one, the one he used to get in just now, would be patched within a week.  Probably some limit on access-requests-per-minute, even for admins.  

Rex’s code was a mess.  Six years of unregulated self-modification would do that.  Few of the new programs were instantly understandable, even to Caesar.  Builds, wifi hacking tools, a series of ‘handshakes’ for various systems, dormant EVO-originating code, probably copied from people and animals he’d cured, active EVO code, from the same, a rather ingenious fix for a problem they’d never solved, back in the nanite project days.  But buried underneath all that was the original code for Rex’s nanites.  Even the Omega-1.  

He brought up the set of programs they’d written after the first time Rex had forgotten everything.  It was just a little something to help him recognize them, trust them, in case it happened again.  It was why it had been so easy to convince Rex to come with him, when they had met again.  

But family wasn’t the only thing on the list anymore.  Dr. Holiday, Six, Noah, and even Bobo were there, primarily identified through their nanite loci, rather than the facial, vocal, and code recognition that identified the Salazars.  Although, now that he looked, he could see that Rex had appended Caesar’s nanite locus to his ID data.  

He went to the part of the code that dictated how much and how the nanites could influence Rex’s thoughts about a given person, and changed a few variables and permissions.  He went back to the main list, added in Black Knight, and generated variables for her, too.  

There.  Rex was controlled.  Not, perhaps, the same way all the other EVOs were, but with the values Caesar had just assigned, saying ‘no’ to him or Black Knight would be given roughly the same avoidance priority as self harm, and just being around them should feel vaguely pleasant.  

Rex made a tiny noise of protest, but judging by how glazed over his eyes were, and how clammy his skin looked, Caesar doubted he was really aware of what Caesar had just done.  He would be, though.  

Caesar went back to the main list one more time, and told Rex’s nanites that Rafael and Violeta Salazar were dead.  The effect of this was immediate and far more dramatic.  Rex started sobbing.  

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”  He really was.  But this was the fastest way to get to the other thing he wanted.  The consciousness partition.  Without their parents, Caesar was now recognized as having the highest level of admin access.  

He… hesitated before he deleted it.  There were a vast number of reasons it existed.  The primary one being to keep ten-year-old Rex from accidentally deleting his liver, but also because the nanite project’s… well, Caesar’s… track record with AIs was not good, and even if this was more of an integrated intelligence, than an artificial one…

But Rex needed this.  For that matter, if Caesar’s original plan had worked, and Rex had escaped, and he got Providence to restart the project, and, and, and…  Eventually, the partition would have been removed anyway, was the point.  

He hit the button and moved on.  Medical options.  He brought up a list of prearranged medically-related voice commands - it was short, for emergency use only, in case Rex lost control of his nanites while he was ill.  He interdicted Rex’s builds, put them behind a voice authorization from a ‘person of trust’ and he desperately hoped Rex would figure out that particular loophole.  He told the nanites to take over Rex’s breathing reflex for the moment, because the way he was currently breathing had to be cutting him up on Black Knight’s sword.  He–

“That’s been fifteen minutes, Dr. Salazar.”

“Rex,” said Caesar, clearly, “go to sleep.”

Rex’s eyes fluttered closed.  

“There you go!” said Caesar, a horrible approximation of a smile on his face.  “All under control!”

"Dr. Donevsky," said Black Knight. 

Caesar flinched as the doctor approached from the side of the room.  He hadn't noticed anyone else come in.  

“It won’t be the same as with the other EVOs, his base programming is too different,” said Caesar, now anxious as Donevsky checked Rex’s pulse and reflexes.  “You won’t be able to– To puppet him around.  There are only a few voice commands he has to follow, but–”

Black Knight raised an eyebrow.  “That doesn’t sound like under control.”

“I’ve made him trust us,” said Caesar.  “Even more than he trusts Holiday or Six.  I’ve made it– You are familiar with Pavlov’s experiments with dogs, aren’t you?”  It wasn’t quite what was going on, but, honestly, he didn’t want to explain it to Black Knight.  

“He’s really asleep, ma’am,” said Donevsky, stepping back.  

“Hm,” said Black Knight.  She withdrew her builds.  “How long does this last for?”

“Eight hours,” said Caesar.  “That’s the recommended amount, after all!”

“Interesting.  We’ll give this a trial run.”

Other medical staff, who had been standing at the periphery of the room, came forward.  They heaved Rex up onto a gurney and started taking more measurements and readings.  Rex stayed entirely limp throughout, like a rag doll.  The doctors conferred over their results for a moment, then started to wheel him out of the room.  Caesar began to follow.  

Black Knight’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.  

“I think we have some things to discuss, before you join your brother,” she said.  

.

It wasn’t as if Rex had never been stabbed before.  He had.  Mostly by Van Kleiss and his stupid, stabby, sucky fingers.  It sucked, but he could deal with it.  Maybe with some complaining and a bit of encouragement from Dr. Holiday or Six, or some well-timed snark from Bobo, but he could deal with it.  

On the other hand, the stuff that stabbed him usually wasn’t this big and usually didn’t stay stabbed in him for this long.  Benefit of having the most awesome nanites on the planet was that he could safely ignore the whole ‘don’t remove the thing stabbing you or else you might bleed out’ thing…  Which he totally hadn’t discovered by ignoring Holiday when she said ‘don’t remove the thing stabbing you or else you might bleed out.’  Good times.  

What wasn’t a good time?  The fact that the literal backstabbing he was dealing with had come after a metaphorical backstabbing.  

(He was pretty sure that when people said siblings were a pain, they didn’t mean like this.)

The whole ‘tied up with a dozen guns pointed at him’ thing was bad, also.  But it was kind of…  Expectedly bad?  Like, it wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary for his life, except for the when and where of it.  But Caesar trying to mind control him?  That was just…   

Well.  It sucked.  What else was he supposed to say?  He didn’t know what to say, which was, maybe, why he wasn’t saying anything while Black Knight was giving Caesar some kind of psycho speech about why he needed to be controlled.  

He didn’t know why she was bothering with that, honestly.  Caesar had already decided to control him.  With that stupidly easy to break collar… that Caesar had to know wouldn’t work on him.

Ughhhhh sometimes he hated being the kind of person who gave others the benefit of the doubt.  

He looked up and glared at Caesar, hard enough to hide any trace of hope.  Not that he really kept a lot of hope as Caesar’s expression went from ‘blank’ to ‘resigned.’  

A bunch of words that Dr. Holiday thought he didn’t know went through his brain so fast they sounded like static.  Caesar was a weirdo and a space case most of the time, but he also knew Rex, and his nanites, better than anyone else.  Caesar had gotten him to build that freaky containment machine on remote control, sans collar.  Caesar could screw him over so freaking much.  

“Dr. Salazar, your decision.  You can stop stalling.  We neutralized the robot monkey, and even all the Numbers working together couldn’t break into this facility fast enough to keep me and my pawns from terminating this EVO.”

Robot monkey?  Did that mean Bobo wasn’t under control?  And he hated it when people talked over him like he was some kind of object.  “He-ahhhh!” 

Black Knight must have moved her sword by, like, a foot, because Rex’s entire arm and back lit up like they were on fire.  In the back of his mind there was something with the general shape and texture of the few times his nanites had talked to him directly.  Not that any information got through to Rex.  It was probably just them trying to tell him how stabbed he was, so no biggie.  He could figure that out on his own.  He had this whole biological system called pain and more pain, oh, and get this, yet more pain, to help him figure it out!  Wasn’t that wonderful?

“Alright, alright!” said Caesar.  “I’ll do it!  I’ll just.  This isn’t something I can do immediately.  I told you Rex’s nanites were different.”

Yeah, no kidding.  He was sure Providence’s new evil overlord knew nothing about that at all.  It wasn’t like Providence hadn’t been studying them since Rex first got here.  

Caesar strode across the room and out of Rex’s immediate line of sight.  His attempt to shift his position resulted in a heel being dug into his spine, the whip tightening to the point of crushing the air out of his lungs, and the sword being twisted so viciously his vision whited out for a second.  

“....could easily be done to Rex could easily be done to you.”  

Okay, maybe more than a second.

“Careful.  Dr. Salazar.”

Rex blinked hard, still trying to follow what was going on around him.  It could be done to Black Knight, too?  All of this?  The mind control thing?  Something else?

“I’ve got to start somewhere, right?”

“Let him by,” said Black Knight in an almost magnanimous tone.  The agents between Caesar and Rex parted.  

“Okay, mijo,” said Caesar, with obvious false cheer, “let’s get started.”

Rex tried to catch Caesar’s eyes.  If Caesar didn't want to do this, maybe Rex could convince him not to.  Sure, he wasn’t at the point of things where he’d rather die than be mind controlled - he wasn’t that noble, and he remembered the follow-up interviews from the Meechum incident - but seriously injured?  Imprisoned?  Those both sounded way better.  

“Don’t do thi–”

Black Knight wrenched her sword to one side, and Rex’s argument was lost to agony.  For a split second, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and when he could the collar was there.  He sent his nanites against it, first disabling the code that let it send messages to his nanites, then telling it to disassemble stuff.  

Not for the first time, Rex wondered why people didn’t make things more mechanical and less electronic.  If there wasn’t an electronic disassembly command, it would be way harder for him to do stuff like this.  

He wasn’t going to ask anyone that, though.  His life was hard enough as it was.  Case in point, his current situation (which was bad).

“Don’t–” said Caesar.  “Don’t.  There’s a reason I brought more than one, yes?”

What, was that some kind of threat?  Rex had heard better.  

“You have fifteen minutes.  My arm is getting tired.”

… or maybe he was talking to someone else.  Again.  

“Please, Rex, just… Let it happen.”

Like heck.  If Caesar and Black Knight were going to do this to him, he was going to make them work for it.  In the spirit of that - and not because he was scared - he tried to pull away when Caesar picked up the next collar and put it on.  Not that it did much good.  But it didn’t do Caesar any good, either, so there.  Ha.  

It had been harder, this time, though.  Not a lot harder, but enough to make him apprehensive.  

He really hoped Black Knight was wrong about that backup.  He didn’t think he’d be able to get out of this on his own, and he was liking his chances of holding out against mind control long term less and less.  

He broke the next collar, too.  That one had been hard, and Rex was starting to feel tired.  More tired.  His nanites were starting to protest being diverted from the giant gaping hole in his shoulder.  

But Caesar already had the next collar around Rex’s neck.  Rex told his nanites to take it apart, too, but… they were… busy?  He pushed through, overriding whatever was occupying them, and the collar fell off.  

Caesar put the next one on.  

For a second, Rex zoned out like he had when Caesar had been sending the Omega-1 instructions.  When he came back to himself, he felt hot.  

Well, he always felt hot.  He was hot.  Blisteringly good looking, even.  But he was physically hot right now.  Fever-level hot.  Best he could compare it to was when his nanites had been working overtime trying to counteract the chupacabra poison.  Except there was no chupacabra poison this time.  Probably.  What was Caesar doing to him? 

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on getting his nanites back under control.  There was a feeling like someone knocking, knocking, knocking on the back of his mind until the sound turned to jackhammer black noise.  It hurt, and he was rapidly approaching the temperatures where it was hard for him to think.  His skin felt slick and sticky, and he started to pant, even as the motion made Black Knight’s sword saw back and forth inside him.  

And then the building pressure against him disappeared all at once.  He didn’t exactly relax, but he did go limp, unable to maintain the state of tension from before.  He was going to pass out, soon, he could tell.  He hated passing out.  

With difficulty, he opened his eyes to glare blearily at Caesar.  He was hunched over his tablet, tapping away at the screen.  Traitor.  Backstabber.  Jerk.  It wasn’t as if Rex hadn’t been backstabbed by, like, everyone, except for Holiday, Bobo (except for really minor things), and Six (there had been that time with the Numbers, and the other thing with the memory loss, but, really, that was fine, water under the bridge and all), but family was supposed to be different.  You were supposed to be able to trust family.  Family wasn’t supposed to try to mind control you for creepy middle-aged women, which is why Rex had to trust that Caesar was doing this for a very good reason.  

Rex blinked slowly.  There was something wrong with that train of thought.  The people you…  Caesar wouldn’t mind control him just because.  Caesar had betrayed him– But Caesar wouldn’t do that.  Had Rex misunderstood something?  Somewhere?  Was he not working for Black Knight?  Except, Black Knight was a good person.  He knew that.  He trusted her.  Good people didn’t just mind control people for no reason.  Or stab people for no reason.  So, there had to be a reason.  But it was so hard to think of one.  

… Had he hurt someone?

A weak whine built in the back of his throat.  He didn’t remember hurting… But maybe he did?  He was so angry about the control collars, but Black Knight and Caesar said they were good, so…?  His thoughts felt so sticky and slow.  What had he been thinking about before?  Caesar and Black Knight had… They had been…?

He was hit with a wave of grief absolutely unlike anything he had ever experienced before.  Grief, like something he’d always had, something he’d held so close he couldn’t even see it, being ripped away from him without warning.  A piece of his world, just gone, and he didn’t even know what it was, just that he wanted it back, please, please, please.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Rex was sorry, too.  He didn’t know what he had done, but he wanted this to stop.  

And then, something in the back of Rex’s mind opened up, and his thoughts stopped being anything like coherent.  He watched, more or less passively, as Caesar turned on emergency medical controls, put his builds on lock, and made the nanites actively regulate his breathing.  Which actually did help, a little.  Rex may have been hyperventilating.  

Black Knight and Caesar started talking, but Rex couldn’t follow anything they were saying at all.  It was okay for him to just… zone out a bit, right?  He could… obviously, they could take care of things…

“Rex,” said Caesar, dragging Rex’s attention back into the real world, if only for a moment, “go to sleep.”

.

To be continued. :)

[veryace-ficrecs]

Tim Drake & Jason Todd Angst Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

in the planter outside my front door by CosmoKid - Rated G

When Tim’s six years old, his third-grade class takes a field trip to the old firehouse in The Narrows.

By the age of seven years old, he’s learned that there’s a difference between pain and Pain, and that while adults are generally happy to deal with pain, they do not enjoy you talking about Pain.

These two things may be related.

This Dark Ceiling Without a Star by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday - Rated M

“For fuck’s sake, your chatter is going to drive me crazy faster than this stupid spell.” “Then you talk!” “There’s no point!” Jason snaps. “I can feel it, okay. It’s—there’s no emotion behind it, it’s not using my thoughts. It’s just a bunch of weird Greek echoing in my brain and a compulsion to act. And it’s getting stronger. Talking isn’t going to slow it down.” “Then what will slow it down?” After five long seconds of silence, Tim gives into the urge and viciously jabs his fist into Jason’s leg for the second time. “Goddammit, why?” Jason snaps, green briefly sparking in his eyes before disappearing just as quickly. “You are not seriously going to just sit there and wait to die.” “The hell do you care anyway?” “Because I don’t want you to die! Obviously!” “You fucking should.” 

unaware i'm tearing you asunder by hendecagrisms - Rated T

The pieces were starting to click into place, aligning to create a deeply disturbing picture. “Are you seriously saying you’ll become a missing person and fake your death for this stupid homecoming plan?” Jason interrupted, his voice full of as much judgmental incredulity as possible. The kid’s eyes skated back over to him, his face twitching into a brief frown. “What? No.” A pause. “I mean, we could do that instead, if you wanted. But to fool Batman I’d need facial reconstruction surgery and new papers and it would all have to be untraceable—,” he broke off with a scoff, shaking his head slightly. “No, it’s just smarter and more cost-efficient to do it for real.” - Tim learns about Jason Todd's return, does some research on the Lazarus Pit, and realizes that there might be a way to solve multiple problems all at once: removing himself from the picture. For some strange reason, the Red Hood doesn't seem keen on cooperating.

Grin and Bear It (I got blood on your carpet) by Alia_JuneBug - Not Rated

When Jack Drake’s business trip gets canceled, he is forced to stay at home while the legal kinks get worked out. He’s not used to having a teenager underfoot, so it’s only rational that he’s a little snappish around Tim. At least, that’s what Tim tells himself each time his dad’s idea of discipline gets harsher. Bruce had told him to take a break from Robin in order to spend some time at home with his dad, and Tim can’t say no to that. He knows Bruce is probably glad to be rid of him for a short while. And he can handle discipline. This is a Tim Drake problem, not a Robin problem anyway. There’s no need for Bruce to know anything. Things get a little muddled when an injured Jason Todd crawls through his bedroom window.

Thrown into the Storm by ThePokeOne - Rated T

"It figured, Tim thought as he trekked through Gotham's streets in one of the worst storms he'd ever seen. He'd been careless. So stupidly careless."

Or:

Tim gets kicked out, and Jason has a change of plans.

am i the only one pretending (i did it to myself) by rutaceae - Rated T

Tim doesn’t expect his latest civilian kidnapping to be any different from the rest, but when he remembers things best left buried in the past, things take a turn for the worse. Luckily, his family is here to help.

sallow skin (and they can’t look away) by Ghxst_Bird - Rated T

Bruce is off planet when Robin’s distress beacon is lit. He tries not to worry, but then Nightwing contacts him: Robin’s tracker leads straight into Gotham Bay.

1-800-ROBIN by spqr - Rated T

“Gotham Youth Mental Health Hotline, this is Jason speaking. Can I ask who I’m talking to?” There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, and then a small voice says, “I, um. Sorry, I don’t know why I called. This was a mistake. I’ll just hang up now.” “Hey, wait.” Jason drops his feet to the floor, sitting forward in his shitty cubicle. Suddenly his heart is racing and he’s not sure why, but he can’t let this kid hang up. “You don’t have to tell me your name. That’s okay. Just – why don’t you tell me why you’re calling?”

buy the ticket, take the ride by Anonymous - Rated M

Tim had always figured that if he ever woke up in Vegas sans-memory, it would be when he was older than fourteen. But there were some things he couldn’t control, and apparently whatever had happened last night that he didn’t remember was one of them.

hungry for strays by Ghxst_Bird - Rated T

Tim knows something is wrong with Batman and Nightwing, and somehow it all has to do with the new crime lord on the rise in crime alley. So of course he’s not going to stay at the manor while they’re out risking their lives. Tim leaves a note and sets out for intel on the Red Hood. Aka. Everyone is straight up not having a good time

Safe and Warm by sardonic_sprite - Rated G

Batman.

Batman lived right next door. Batman surely had a generator, or at least a fireplace and wood, or some way to get warm.

Batman took care of kids, and Mr. Wayne was really nice. He would at least let Tim warm himself back up. Maybe he could even stay just until the power came back on.

It was worth a shot.

Nervous Breakdown by AhsokaJackson - Rated T

Jay closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose to push back the encroaching headache. And possibly the admittedly ironic desire to strangle this kid for his lack of self-care instincts. "Tim. Timmy. Answer me this. Where exactly is the old man? Actually, better question: Why in the ever-living hell is the answer to that anything other than 'right here'?" Tim gave a huff that sounded more tired than defiant. "Because, like I said, it's a mild case and I don't need to be under observation. I already told Bruce the same thing I told you: I'm fine." "And he believed that."

Don't You Know? by sardonic_sprite - Rated T

“How the hell did you think taking everything the real Robin had was going to make him proud of you?” Jason snapped. “I didn’t want to take anything,” Replacement cried. “I wanted to save it. It… Batman… they were… everything was just… It was awful, and, and Gotham needed… but Robin…” The kid looked up at Jason, desperation in his eyes, like he was trying to find justification from his accuser. “I-I know he wouldn’t have wanted Batman to die.”

Living Dead Boy by Terranpheum - Rated T

Tim was having a normal night photographing Batman and mourning the dead when Jason Todd suddenly breaks out of his own grave. He's unresponsive and catatonic, and Tim knows there's no way he can leave the boy on his own. So, he brings him back to Drake Manor to try and help him recover. It goes… well?

Instead of All the Colors That I Saw by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

Dick comes around to stand fully in front of him, keeping a steadying hand on Tim’s arm. “Just because you know you’re safe intellectually doesn’t mean you always feel safe,” he says softly. “It’s okay if you don’t feel safe.” “But it’s not okay!” Tim bursts out. “Because if I don’t feel safe, then how is Jason supposed to feel safe? He shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable just because my brain is screwed up!” There’s a faint sound by the door, barely more than an intake of breath, and his eyes snap to the no-longer empty doorway.

The Worst Kind of Crush by TimDrakeIsMyPatronus - Rated T

Civilians came first.  It was one of the foundational truths of being a superhero. Their job was to save civilians regardless of the personal cost. Each of them knew and understood the risks associated with the cape when they put it on.  Still, rules got fuzzy when one woke up underneath a building.  Or the one where a building explodes and Tim is trapped under the rubble

Last Request by destiny919 - Rated T

"Any last words, Replacement?" Red Hood casually crouches down in front of him. "Or how about a last request? I'm feeling generous. I'll do you one last favor before I clip those little wings. Whatever you want. Sky's the limit." There's only one thing he's ever really wanted from Jason Todd.

Echoes of You by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

Graveyard mud, heavy and dark, clinging to a stained and torn suit. One shoe missing, a leg bent awkwardly and blood staining a bare foot.

Milk white skin beneath the mud, black hair hanging in muddy clumps around his ears. Blue eyes staring back at him, animal-bright and dilated in the brief moment before he flinches back from the light with a cry of pain that stabs through Jason to the soul.

His shaking hand closes around the flashlight before he can even think about it, cutting off the piercing beam and letting it spill out in shards between his fingers. For a petrifying moment as his eyes readjust, he’s sure that when he looks again, there will be nothing there.

“Tim?” he whispers.

The lean and ragged figure, tiny, god he’s so small, lowers his hands away from his face, away from his eyes wide and glittering almost silver in the moonlight.

Hands, mud-covered and torn. The red of his shredded fingernails is sickeningly dark in the broken light.

He’s vomiting before he even feels the bile making its way up his throat.

Petals for Armor by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

There’s a small half-moon of blood under the white of Tim’s nail where he bent it. He studies the red of it, feeling foggy and dreamlike. “Can I ask you a question?” His brother’s eyes flick to him and away again, surprised and wary. “What?” His nail doesn’t hurt much, just the dullest of aches when he presses down against it. “When you were homeless, you slept with people for money, didn’t you?” Jason jerks like he’s been slapped. His knuckles are so pale where they grip the steering wheel they suddenly look more bone than flesh. “Did I -” “Was it worth it?” Tim asks, drifting like a cloud over whatever furious reaction Jason was about to give him. “The money, I mean.” His sternum slams into the seatbelt with bruising force. Unbraced for it, his head whips forward and back against his seat as they swerve off the road again and skid to a halt with a screech of rubber.

farthest you’ve ever flown by rutaceae - Rated T

When Jack Drake kicks Tim out in a rage, Tim, not wanting to be a bother, tries to make it work without getting the Bats involved. But he can only go so long without being found out, and it’s not Batman that ends up discovering his secret; it’s the Red Hood.

Familial Ties by AnonymousWhump - Rated T

What he wasn't expecting was to walk into the kitchen to find Tim,  yes Tim because he wasn't in the Robin outfit he was dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, was that blood on his feet?  Staring at him in shock, eyes flicking from him to the phone in his hand, before mumbling a quiet,

“Jason?”  

Or, Jason breaks into the Titan's Tower to hurt Robin but his plan is quickly derailed when he sees signs of abuse.

Drop In by iselsis - Rated T

Tim's injured, alone in Crime Alley, and the worst possible person finds him. And yet it doesn't turn out as badly as Tim expected.

Watch Your Step Dear by Redaliveviolation - Rated T

Tim was having a great time watching the Dynamic Duo race across Gotham. He was getting so many good photos and he never wanted these nights to end. Too bad the heroes aren’t around when he takes a trip off of the side of a building.

[saintsenara]

back with more for @hprecfest - although i'll be skipping day three because i have the concentration span of a kitten and therefore no chance of making it through a podfic...

day two: favourite comfort fics

two boys kissing by writcraft sirius black/severus snape mature | 6.8k words

why i recommend it:

because I'm a sucker for both sirius and snape getting a happy ending, and this fic delivers this within a beautiful, gentle examination of the horrors of sirius' young adult life and the way that hope and desire are things he clings to during the lonely misery of his confinement in azkaban. the repeated motif of the sky always gets to me:

when he showers, he whistles a song. he’s not sure he knows it’s name, but he can remember strobe lights and the way snape looked when he was as young as sirius can remember him being. that was back in the days when severus tried so hard not to be queer and sirius thought he had everything to live for.

sirius spits out toothpaste into the sink and contemplates himself in the mirror. it looks like there’ll be a thunderstorm tonight. he puts his toothbrush into the glass and moves into the room, poking his head out of the window. the wind has gathered momentum but the sky is clear.

he breathes in the air and watches the stars.

so bracing by @kellychambliss minerva mcgonagall/severus snape teen | 9.2k words

why i recommend it:

because i love to see older woman/younger man relationships in fandom - there's still far too few of them - and because i love to see fics from the perspective of minor characters, and this, which is as much a careful and generous character study of tom the barman (and the town of skegness) as it is of its central couple never fails to make me smile:

tom took the chance of sitting down again, and when he didn't get tossed out on his arse, he felt a little emboldened. "and you thought you wanted this? life in a muggle pub in skegness?"

snape loaded a glass into a dishpan, and then another. and another.

"my family," he said, just when tom had decided that he probably wasn't going to say anything at all. "my family wasn't one for holidays. it was all my father could do to keep food on the table, once the mills failed. and once the drinking started. but before all that, there was one summer -- spring, actually. may. we couldn't afford high summer season. da somehow saw his way clear to taking my mother and me to the seaside. i was about six. we came here. skegness. we froze our arses off."

"skegness is. . . so bracing," tom murmured, and snape snorted.

"in a word. three days in a grotty little caravan. cheap, greasy food. saw a sad muggle magic show." he loaded more glasses with a crash. "i loved it. fucking loved the lot of it. "

never gonna give you up by @laeveteinn harry potter/lord voldemort teen | 15k words

why i recommend it:

because it makes me shriek. i'm not usually a fan of either professor harry or professor voldemort fics, but it turns out that my exception is when they're forced to work together as a team because harry's newly-divorced and adrift in a world which no longer makes sense and voldemort's a ghost who's obsessed with memes:

“what are you thinking so intently about?” voldemort murmurs. “you mustn’t overtax your brain, it wasn’t meant for hard activity.”

harry snorts. “honestly, i’m just trying to figure out where albus got his bad taste in men. it’s not ginny; lars isn’t actually that terrible.”

and for some reason, voldemort lets out a lengthy sigh.

clay by @titconao3 harry potter & severus snape general | 46k words

why i recommend it:

because i have an unstoppable fondness for the concept of redemption, which is hugely and unfairly maligned in this fandom, and this story is an astonishingly beautiful meditation on the theme, not only in how it approaches both snape and harry as they come to terms with the war and what it has taken from them, but in how it portrays tobias snape and his own reckoning with his past and quest to make amends with his son:

tobias was on a roll. “you lot, always talking about your magic, waving your bloody sticks around like it makes you better than us normal people…” he slammed his hands on the table and severus shuddered, his fists opening and closing around nothing. he’d left his wand in the room; it wasn’t like he could use it, and he had to trust potter could deal with tobias snape. the man was nothing, to a boy who’d faced the dark lord and come out the victor. “you’re not. you’re not! your goddamn magic… we’d have been better off without it, i’m telling you.” severus looked again through the crack and saw tobias with his back turned on potter, his shoulders shaking. he was angry, but not yet taking it out on potter. maybe he was scared of potter’s wand; maybe now that he was sober he was better at keeping his violence in check. either way, severus didn’t trust it would last forever. it never had, before.

to forgive divine by jellybeany neville longbottom/draco malfoy teen | 7.4k words

why i recommend it:

because there are days when you need eighth-year fluff, and this sort of fluff is so rarely given to neville as a central character, but it should be:

he’d wondered if it was something like that, to be honest. 

because, because. malfoy was always so interested. he’d read in a fortune cookie once that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it's indifference.

which was a rubbish fortune at the time, but it’s relevant now.

[hgejfmw-hgejhsf]

Six Sentence Sunday!

Y'all! The amount of tags I've had pinging my phone throughout the day today as I tippity typed along on my New Year's Eve AU is astounding. I don't deserve all of you lovely humans wanting to read my words, but I'm grateful for it.

To @kiwiana-writes, @firenati0n, @ninzied, @sparklepocalypse, @notspecialbabe, @affectionatelyrs, @suseagull04, @ships-to-sail, @anincompletelist, and @happiness-of-the-pursuit, envision me pressing my hand to my heart with the biggest expression of love on my face. I adore y'all, and I'm loving everything you've already posted.

With that being said, would it be all right if I gave you all TWO sections of (sort of) six sentences from my first multichapter fic, starting posting this Wednesday, AND the New Year's Eve AU aka the first AU ever that wandered into my brain and took up residence? I sure hope so because y'all are gonna get these twelve-ish sentences anyway haha.

The official White House Christmas ornament arrives each year by way of an envelope they both know is from Zahra despite the fact that she’s never once signed her name to it. On more than one occasion, Alex has caught her smiling at each of the ornaments while visiting during the Christmas season. When she spots him watching, he’s typically met with the nearest throw pillow to the face, which he knows is her way of expressing her unconditional love for him, so he always ensures there’s a throw pillow on the edge of the couch closest to the tree when she comes for just such occasions. Bea has sent along some of Henry’s childhood ornaments, similar to Alex’s, and they combine Henry’s box of polo-playing figurines and a commemorative Oxford ornament with the lacrosse ornament from the tree at the White House and Alex’s commemorative Georgetown ornament. It’s Nora who managed to track down a special edition Rio Olympics ornament somewhere on the black market, or probably eBay. It had appeared in their mailbox one day with a note that said, “So you’ll never forget where it all started.” And when they Facetimed her, both crying and grateful, she’d waved them off and added, “I just hope it reminds you of all the times you could have been hooking up over the years” with a knowing wink.

AND

And his eyes…God, his eyes. Cast in the glow of passing strobes in a variety of colors, they seem to transform.  A green light passes, and they’re aqua, like a tropical sea in a land with no name somewhere just beyond the boundary of paradise. When he’s bathed in a yellow as bright as the early morning sun, his eyes flash emerald beneath. Bright red, the color of warning, of hazard, of stop please turn back and forget about the dangers that lay ahead, turns purple, diluting its energy into something less treacherous and far more regal, as if the gold in his mask and his carefully curated armor would be far better served as a glittering crown atop his already golden head. But it’s the white light slashing across his face to accent the original blue, as deep and fathomless as the ocean itself, that steals Alex’s breath. Like he could dive in and never surface, and he’d be perfectly happy drowning in the depths of Henry.

I still have a few hours, so I'm gonna toss some tags out for: @whimsymanaged, @inexplicablymine, @rockyroadkylers, @indestructibleheart, @littlemisskittentoes, @heybuddy-drabbles, @statueinthestonetoo, @vanillahigh00, and @ssmtskw

As always, consider this tag WIDE OPEN for all of you lovelies out there to share your work! Please please always tag me so I can read and yeet your work out into my little curated corner of the world!

[enchantedlandcoffee]

Happy 28th everyone!! Here's my list of fics that I've enjoyed over the past month!

in this world, it's just us by larryftnoctrl / @the-larry-way

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Teen and Up Audiences | 2.8k | Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff

Harry returns home from the Brits with his 4 awards happy and very drunk. Louis is super proud and extremely in love with his boy and more than happy to show it in any way he can.

Just a little taste by lunarheslwt / @lunarheslwt

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | General Audiences | 3.6k | Human/Vampire Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff

"Little dove," Louis crooned, making Harry shiver a little, affected, "you're shaking. Do you want to bite?" Harry stilled. He knew what Louis was asking. He knew Louis probably could sense how in dire need of comfort he was. He knew Louis was offering. And yet- "No," he whispered, even as he felt the strong urge to let his lips trace the well-known path to the spot he usually bit into, "I could hurt you." "Harry, my darling, you haven't hurt me once in the numerous times you've needed to bite. Today will be no different. You know it'll do you good." Harry sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, torn. In the end, it was an offer he was too weak to resist. "So...do you want to? Little taste?" "Yeah," Harry rasped out, "please." Or, Harry is a vampire that comes home one night, grappling with the darkness that comes with being one. Louis offers him unwavering love, acceptance and the one thing he needs but is reluctant to ask for; permission to bite for the sake of comfort and safety seeking.

Can't keep my hands to myself by DaddyAlphaLouisBabyOmegaHarry @bottomhaztoplou

Explicit | 2.5k | Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Harry and Louis try something new in bed

ti dedico le autostrade che portano al mare (i dedicate to you the highways that bring you to the sea) by me_her_themoon / @greeneyesfriedrice

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Explicit | 87k+ | Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, OT5 Friendship (One Direction)

"Simon, please. I need a break." Louis speaks softly into the phone. "I've been working constantly for the past 4 years," His voice strains. "I suppose you've earned it." Simon reluctantly sighs. (Louis goes on hiatus for six months to a small coastal town in Italy where he doesn't expect to fall in love with the charming baker.

Quiet People Have The Loudest Minds by 2tiedships2 / @2tiedships2

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Mature | 38k | Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mute Louis, Alpha Harry, Omega Louis

Broadway shows were one of the few things that could keep Louis’ attention for a full two hours without needing to move about. But not tonight. The alpha next to him was both infuriating him and practically turning him on at the same time. He needed to leave. The alpha, that is. Louis was staying. Or the one where Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry.

it's a long shot just to beat these odds by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

Zayn Malik/Liam Payne | Teen and Up Audiences | 14k | Famous Liam Payne, Non-Famous Zayn Malik, Awkward Dates, Strangers to Lovers

Zayn: how many years in prison would I get for murdering a popstar??? He scrapes the plates clean, resists the urge to kick the trash can, his breathing still feeling shallow and high in his chest. He wants a cigarette. And a cuddle from Louis. But a text is the most he can realistically ask for now, and luckily Louis doesn’t leave him hanging. Louis: ????? Okay, so it isn’t that helpful, but Zayn knows his anxiety well enough that just distracting his mind is usually enough to keep from having an actual attack. It doesn’t matter that the subject he’s discussing is the one thing his brain is actually panicking about, just trying to formulate words into a text is helping. Zayn: I served him raw chicken. RAW. And he was kind enough to want to try and eat it too. I could have killed him!!! That would’ve made headlines for sure. FORMER BOYBANDER GETS POISONED ON FIRST DATE, more on the ten p.m. news. Louis: well that’s one way of making sure he’s not going to go on any of the other dates. Bit drastic though mate.

Coffee, Kisses, and I Love You's by wemadethishome / @wemadethishome

Zayn Malik/Liam Payne | General Audiences | 429 | Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship

Liam's always loved the mornings. And they get even sweeter with Zayn by his side.

[hederasgarden]

Hey bestie! ❤️ We need more sierra six x dom - i've recently rewatched the gray man and your fics ignited the fire even more, especially the dom one...so good! 🤌🤌 (dont feel pressured tho, only if you feel like writing)❤️

So happy you liked it!

I am working on part 2 as we speak. Please enjoy this little snippet.

Warnings for D/s dynamics, submission, kneeling and subspace. Mild sexual content. 18+ only.

Masterlist ♡ The Grey Man Masterlist

“Open your mouth,” Six says, reaching into the bowl of fruit. The blackberry looks tiny between his thick fingers. They're warm and dry as they slip past your lips to deposit the berry on your tongue. “Chew,” he says, withdrawing.

The berry is ripe enough that it melts in your mouth, sweet and tart. You sigh at the taste and rub your cheek against his thigh.

“You’re going to eat this whole bowl for me,” he says and you respond with a soft, yes sir.

He feeds you each piece of fruit by hand, peppering in praise for how well you’re doing and offering you a sip of water now and then. More than the fruit you love the feel of his fingers in your mouth, their heavy warmth, and the hint of salt on his skin. You think about having something else there. Another way you might make him happy and help yourself relax. The image has you pressing your thighs together and your heart racing.

With each soft word of encouragement and the building heat in your belly, you grow a little bolder. The next time he deposits a piece of strawberry in your mouth you close your lips around his fingers before he can withdraw. You suck on them, tongue curling around his thumb with a low moan.

Six inhales sharply, a ripple of something passing over his normally blank face. It’s only a moment but it’s enough to embolden you further. You lift your head and grasp his wrist, repeating the action with your tongue. He stares at you for a long moment, breathing shallowly. The hand you place on his upper thigh seems to snap him out of it. His jaw flexes and he pulls his fingers from your mouth.

“Sir….I’m sorry.” You draw back embarrassed, but he’s quick, leaning forward to grasp your jaw firmly. His face is impassive once more and when he speaks his voice is calm and measured.

"This is not why we’re here today,” he reminds you. Even though you want to look away from his intense gaze, you know you’re not supposed to do so you force yourself to keep looking.

He releases you and leans back, shifting in the chair before relaxing again. "Now, put your head back where it belongs," he says, picking up the bowl again.

[spaceoddball1969]

Teach Me - Part 2 (18+)

Hey there all! It has been a minute and I apologize. I had a really fucked up end of my semester and did not have the brain capacity to work on this fic. I will be trying to update this a bit more often from now on but honestly no promises. Also happy holidays! Whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope you have had a good holiday season and enjoy this little gift of mine to you! Also

PLOT SUMMARY: The reader and Eddie begin to develop their relationship. The reader has a choir concert coming up with her students and Eddie might just feel the need to go to it??? Also like some seriously sexy things may or may not happen in this chapter. They most definitely are going to happen so if you’re under 18 you gotta get the heck out of here. Sorry, but please leave. This is going to be fluffy and smutty and just sappy because damn after the shit I experienced these last few weeks I really need something sappy to restore my faith in humanity. Also please excuse any typos - it’s late.

WARNINGS: Smut, penetrative sex, nipple play, aftercare, fluff, making out. 18+

It had been three weeks since I had stayed at Eddie’s after the Hellfire Club meeting. We had been casually seeing each other in that time, but it had mostly been quick coffees or rushed lunches during my break at the school. My work was keeping me busy as we were getting ready for our first choir concert at the high school. It was a musical theater cabaret show and I eager to show off how talented my students were to the school community. I was honestly doing fine in terms of anxiety until I was having lunch with Eddie in my office one day and he happened to notice the promotional poster I had made for the concert sitting on my desk.

“What’s this?” he asked, picking it up.

“The poster for the choir concert next week,” I said, shoveling a bite of my sandwich into my mouth.

“You have a choir concert next week?” he asked, setting the poster down.

“Yeah, it’s Thursday,” I said.

“And you didn’t tell me about it?” Eddie asked, picking at the chips in the bag he had bought from the vending machine.

“I didn’t think you’d want to come,” I said. “It’s just a high school choir concert,”

“But it’s your high school choir concert,” Eddie said, crunching on a chip.

“You really want to come?” I asked, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks.

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “Besides, isn’t Henderson in your choir?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“So I’ll come support him. But really, I’d love to see you up there directing those little knuckleheads,” Eddie smirked.

“Ok,” I said, “it’s at seven next Thursday,”

“I’ll be there,” he said.

That was when the real anxiety set in. Even though I knew Eddie didn’t know the first thing about choral conducting, I still felt self conscious about being up there on stage for him to observe for an entire concert. I spent all of Thursday afternoon after school running through the set in my head, practicing the conducting patterns to myself, and working on the piano accompaniment for the student’s solo performances. I spent far too much time re-thinking through my outfit. I knew that I would not have the time to go to my apartment to change between when school ended and when I needed to be back for the concert, so I had packed my concert clothes that morning. I had decided on a black turtle neck with a black pencil skirt and patent leather heals with sheer black tights. I hoped it would look ok but now I was not so certain.

Once I had finished my planning for my other classes, I double checked the stage to make sure all of our equipment was in the right place and then I went to hide in my office until the students showed up.

They arrived at six and we walked through some of the staging and then I led them through vocal warm-ups. Once we were finished, I set them loose to get water and go to the bathroom before they got in their places on stage. As I stood from the piano, Dustin Henderson approached me with a wild grin on his face. He looked sharp, dressed in all black with a green bow tie. The kid was very quickly becoming my favorite student.

“Eddie’s gonna come tonight,” he said to me with a toothy grin. “Did he tell you?’

“Yeah,” I said. “He let me know last week that he’d be here tonight,”

“He wouldn’t stop talking about it,” Dustin said. “I think he was really excited about it,”

“That’s sweet,” I said. “I’m glad he’s excited,”

Despite having spent time outside of school with Dustin I still did not totally know how I should be interacting with him. He was one of my best students and I definitely favored him, but I couldn’t let the others know that. I also wasn’t too keen to be discussing my love life with a seventeen year old boy.

“Ok, go get some water and get in place,” I said. “I’ll see you out there,”

Dustin nodded and then strode off to get settled for the concert. I gathered my music folder from my office and then followed my students out to the auditorium. Just as I was about to step through the doorway to the backstage area of the auditorium, I saw a tall figure rushing down the hallway. I turned to get a better look at who it was and saw Eddie Munson wearing dark blue jeans and a worn out red button down. He looked flustered but he froze when he saw me standing there.

“Wow,” he said. “You look incredible,”

“I have to go conduct a concert,” I said, awkwardly.

“I better go find a seat,” he said.

I watched him rush into the auditorium before I stepped backstage. My students were already in their places for their first song on the risers. I took one long look at them before stepping on stage and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with how much I loved them.

The concert went off without a hitch. The ensemble numbers sounded better than I had ever heard them. The soloists ate it up as their friends and families cheered them on. By the end of the show I felt like I was floating on air. 

I let the students and the audience clear out first and then I followed them into the choir room. My students and I started cheering in excitement. A few of them even hugged me and I couldn’t help but squeeze them back. After a few minutes of congratulations, I retreated to my office to collect my things and to have a minute to myself. Most of the students had cleared out once they had gathered their things. There was only one or two stragglers.

“Eddie’s out there,” I heard a voice call into my office. I looked up and saw Dustin standing in my doorway. “I already saw him, he said he was going to wait out there for you,”

“Send him in when you step out,” I said. 

“Will do,” Dustin said, saluting me.

As the last few students left, Eddie stepped into the choir room. He peaked his head into my office with a wicked grin on his face.

“Ok so you’re awesome yeah?” he said as he stepped into my office.

“It’s the students,” I said. “They did so well tonight.”

“Yeah but they’re only able to do so well because of what you teach them,” he said, stepping closer to me. Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and pulled me against him. “Seriously, you’re amazing,”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

Eddie returned my smile and dipped his head lower to press a soft kiss to my lips. We hadn’t been very physical since our first night together and it took everything in me not to completely lose myself in this kiss.

“Wanna go out and celebrate?” he asked.

“Oh, I’d love to but I am so drained,” I said, resting my forehead on his chest. 

“Then let’s go back to my place,” he said. “We can have a drink, you could stay over if you want.”

“I guess I could do that,” I said. “Yeah that sounds great. Can we get food or something though? I didn’t eat dinner and I am starving,”

“I will get you anything that you want,” Eddie smiled.

“Pizza?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” Eddie said, pressing another kiss to my lips.

“Let’s go,” I said.

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

Eddie gave me his key to the store so I could let myself in while he got the pizza for us. I wandered up to his apartment and set my things down before I made my way back down to the store. I awkwardly looked around the store as I waited for Eddie to get back. I had just started looking through a stack of used vinyls behind the counter when I heard the bell go off and saw Eddie walking through the door. 

“Food has arrived,” Eddie smiled as he locked the door behind him. “You can bring some of those upstairs if you want to. I’ve been meaning to give them a listen to make sure they aren’t too beat up to sell,”

I picked out a couple records and followed Eddie up the stairs to his apartment. While Eddie got out plates for our pizza and beer for each of us, I sorted through the stack of albums I had brought up. At the bottom of the stack there was a record I had not realized I had picked up. It was a greatest hits collection of Elvis Presley tunes. I smiled happily at the record and hoped to God that it wasn’t too scratched up by its previous owner.

When the lyrics of “Heartbreak Hotel” popped out of the speaker, I heard Eddie call my name from the kitchen.

“Did you really just put on Elvis?” he asked.

“Yes?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen. “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Eddie said, handing me a plate. “I just didn’t expect it,”

“I was raised on Elvis,” I said. “My dad loves him,”

“Yeah my mom was a big fan,” Eddie said, leading me to the living room. “God, I haven’t listened to his music in ages,”

“I didn’t realize I had grabbed the record from downstairs,” I said. “It was in the bottom of the stack,”

“Well, I’m glad you grabbed it,” Eddie said as he sat down.

I sat down with him and within seconds was devouring my pizza. I relished in the taste of the food. I also was very much enjoying the heat that I could feel radiating off of Eddie next to me. He looked remarkably handsome in his black jeans and red button down. His hair was absolutely wild tonight and there seemed to be a gleam to his eye.

I was content to sit and talk and eat pizza and listen to Elvis for the rest of the night, but then a particular song came on the speaker. The opening horns of “Trouble” blared through the room and Eddie jumped up from the couch. He immediately launched into a full on performance of the song. I couldn’t help but laugh as Eddie tossed himself around the room, using his beer bottle as a microphone. By the second verse, Eddie was pulling me up by my hands and dragging me into his performance. He held me close as I laughed at his silliness. 

But then that gleam reappeared in Eddie’s eyes and I felt my heart start to beat faster. I let Eddie pull me tight against him and wrapped my arms around his neck. His eyes were locked on mine as he pressed a firm kiss to my lips. Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, holding close to him as he deepened the kiss. I was getting lost in it just as the beat picked up in the song.

The change in the music shocked me and I jumped away from Eddie. We both stared at each other for a moment and then I started collecting our empty plates.

“We better get these cleaned up,” I said and rushed into the kitchen.

By the time I had the plug in the sink and the soap bubbling up, the next song on the record had started playing.

I heard him before I felt him. Soft footsteps approached me and then I felt one of his arms gently wrap around my waist from behind me. He used his other hand to brush the hair away from my neck and then placed a soft kiss agaisnt my sensitive skin.

“I didn’t mean to overwhelm you,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry if that was too much,” 

I sighed and rested my hand over his on my waist. “It’s ok,” I said. “I didn’t mean to run away. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to be with you. I just don’t want to rush into anything and I don’t always feel like I am in control of myself when I’m with you,”

“Would that be so bad?” Eddie asked, kissing my neck again. “Would it be all that bad if you let yourself go a little?”

“The last time I did that I got screwed over,” I said. “I let him have every part of me and he left without even looking back,”

“Can you turn around?” Eddie asked. I did as I was asked. Eddie stroked both sides of my face gently with his hands and then rested them on either side of me on the counter so that I was caged within his arms. “I’m not going to do that to you,”

“How can you possibly know that?” I asked.

“Because I would have to be crazy to even think about leaving you,” Eddie said. “I know we haven’t known each other all that long, but I feel a real connection with you. And I want to work on it. I want to build it. I want you to trust me,”

“I do trust you,” I said.

“Ok,” Eddie said. And then he looked back at the record player in the living room.”Don’t” had started playing. “Then dance with me,”

“What?” I asked.

“Dance with me,” Eddie repeated. “Come here,”

I let Eddie intertwine our fingers and wrap an arm around my waist. He pulled me away from the counter and we began to sway around the kitchen. 

“I know you don’t believe me when I say that I’m not going to hurt you,” Eddie said, “but I really mean it. I’m sorry that your last boyfriend ran off, but I’m not going to do that. I’m here to stay and you’re going to have to live with that,”

I looked up at Eddie and locked my eyes on his. He didn’t look away. He didn’t even think about it. I felt a sensation that I couldn’t explain taking over me. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry, maybe both. All I knew was I was standing in the arms of an incredible man who was telling me everything that I needed to hear. And better yet, I believed him.

I pushed myself up onto my tip toes and pressed my lips to Eddie’s, letting myself get caught up in the feeling of our connection. He pulled me against him and kissed me over and over. I couldn’t stop kissing him back. It was an overwhelming feeling that I didn’t want to let go of. 

I heard the record stop playing and figured me we must be at the end of the first side. Eddie pulled away from me and hurried off to take the record off the stereo. 

“So, uh,” Eddie stumbled. “Uh, that was really nice,”

“Yeah it was,” I said, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks.

He looked down at the floor for a moment and fiddled with his hair.

“Eddie?” I asked.

“Yeah?” he said, lifting his head up.

“Would you please come back over here?” I asked.

Eddie smiled and within seconds I was back in his arms. He began to kiss me again, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up just a few inches off the floor. I giggled and held on tightly to him. “Can we take this out of the kitchen?” I asked.

“Uh yeah,” Eddie said and then started to stutter. “Where were you thinking?”

“Well the best option would probably be your room,” I said.

“Oh, uh yeah,” Eddie said. He let me go and then wrapped his hand around mine. “Let’s go,”

Eddie led me to his room and then closed the door behind us. He left the light off and approached me slowly in the dim light. Eddie’s hands snaked around my waist again as he began to kiss my neck. I couldn’t help but sigh at the feeling of his lips against my skin. 

“Do you like that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I nearly moaned.

Eddie’s hands squeezed my hips as he kissed my neck over and over again. He kept fidgeting with my turtle neck, trying to find a way for his lips to reach my skin.

“Eddie,” I said. “You can take it off,” 

“Hmm?” he asked, busying with his work.

“Take off my shirt,” I said.

Eddie’s head lifted and his eyes met mine. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

Eddie nodded and then gripped the hem of my shirt. He lifted it over my head, exposing my black bra. Eddie tossed my shirt on the floor and turned back to look at me. I saw his mouth go a little slack and he let out a short breath. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said with a soft smile and then paused. “Can I - is it ok if - I mean - can I touch you?”

“Yes,” I said, smiling slightly at his cautiousness. “I didn’t think you’d be so polite,” I added with a giggle.

“I want you to be comfortable,” Eddie said, lifting his eyes to mine. “I want you to feel safe. And we don’t have to do everything tonight if you don’t want,”

“Let’s start here and I’ll let you know if I want to stop,” I said.

Eddie nodded slowly and then rested his hands on my waist. Eddie pressed a kiss to my lips and then began kissing all over my face. He moved down to my jaw line and then my neck. Now that it was exposed, he didn’t hold anything back. I moaned as he trailed kisses over my throat and nipped at the soft skin. Eddie’s hands started to travel upward over my torso. I felt a chill run up my spine as his rough skin brushed against mine. 

“Is this ok?” Eddie asked against my neck. His hands started creeping closer to my breasts.

“Yes,” I said, pulling him closer. “Don’t stop, Eddie,”

That was all the encouragement he needed. Eddie held me by my waist with one hand while the other slipped over the silky fabric of my bra. I gasped at the feeling. He gently squeezed my chest as his lips returned to mine.

I wanted to feel Eddie in the same ways that he was feeling me. I could hardly think about what I was doing before my hands were reaching forward to unbutton the front of his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders. I let my hands run over his skin, feeling every groove and crevice of his torso. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed our bodies together, aching to feel his skin on mine. When our bare torsos met I almost drowned in the feeling.

“Eddie,” I said. “I want more,”

“What?” he asked, pulling away.

I clung to him, scared that he would pull away entirely. “I want more,” I said again. “I want you. All of you,”

Eddie looked me in the eye for a moment, trying to get a read on what I was thinking. I didn’t dare to break his glance. He leaned forward and kissed me slowly and deeply. I felt a rush of heat pulse through my body. It was most apparent in my core and slowly was creeping between my legs. 

Eddie began to push us towards the bed. He sat down on the edge of the mattress and pulled me closer until I stood between his legs. He eventually broke away from our kiss and began to kiss down my torso until he reached the hem of my skirt. His fingers fiddled with the zipper on the side.

“Can I?” he asked and I nodded. Eddie slowly unzipped the skirt and pulled it down my legs. He slipped his fingers into the waistband of my tights and pulled them down until I could step out of them. 

I felt cold suddenly and quite bare standing in front of him in nothing but my underwear. Eddie’s hands found their place on my waist again and he pulled me closer until I had to climb into his lap. I straddled him, holding onto his shoulders for balance. Eddie began to kiss me again and I soon found myself lost in the feeling again. Swiftly and gently he flipped us over so that I was lying on my back on the bed and he was hovering over my body.

“You are so gorgeous,” he said between kisses. 

“I want to see more of you,” I said kissing him desperately.

“Whoa we’re bold now,” Eddie chuckled.

“Hey it’s only fair,” I said. “I’m over here in my underwear and you still have a whole pair of pants on,”

“I guess that makes sense,” Eddie said with a smile. “Do you want to do the honors?”

“No, I’d rather watch you do it,” I said with a smirk.

Eddie grinned and kissed me one more time before he stood up. I pushed myself up onto my elbows and watched as he unbuckled his belt and undid the zipper on his jeans. I felt a new rush of heat between my thighs when he pulled his pants down to his ankles. He was truly beautiful and I didn’t know how to handle it.

“Like what you see?” Eddie asked shyly.

“Yeah,” I said, crawling towards the edge of the bed. I sat up on my knees and reached out for him. “Come here,” I said as he stepped closer to me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him over and over. Eddie’s hands traveled down my torso to my hips. I felt his hands glide over my ass and then grip the backs of my thighs. Suddenly he pulled against them, sending me flying back on the bed. I shrieked with the sudden movement but then Eddie was over me again, holding me still.

“Sorry,” Eddie giggled. “Didn’t mean to scare you,”

“It’s ok,” I said, giggling with him. “Just come here,”

We were wrapped in each other’s arms for longer than I could comprehend. It kept getting better by the moment and I never wanted it to end. Eddie finally reached behind me and unhooked my bra. It was tossed to the floor and Eddie quickly attached his mouth to one of my nipples. I moaned at the sensation. Eddie looked up at me as my moans got louder.

“God,” Eddie said. “Please don’t ever stop making those sounds,”

I giggled at his remark but when I felt his teeth graze the skin of my nipple, my giggle became a moan once more. “Oh God, Eddie,” I said, burrying my hands into his hair. “That’s so good,” I said.

“Yeah?” he asked. “You like that?”

“Yes,” I gasped. “Don’t stop,”

“Anything for you,” he said.

I felt a pulse strengthening between my legs. With Eddie slotted between my thighs, I started to grind up against him. I gasped when I felt his hard-on through his boxers. My hands slid down my his sides until I was grasping at his hips. I pulled at his body, desperately trying to bring him closer to me. Eddie started to groan as our bodies started to rub against each other in just the right way.

“You’re gonna make me cum if you keep doing that,” Eddie groaned as he kissed my throat.

“I want you, Eddie,” I said. “I need you,”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I think I’d lose my mind if we stopped now,”

Eddie chuckled and kissed me quickly on the mouth before climbing off the bed. He searched through his dresser drawer and pulled out a box of condoms. I felt my heart rate pick up slightly as I watched him take out one of the condoms and tear open the package. Eddie slipped his boxers off and if I thought his body was beautiful before, it was perfect now. He rolled the condom on and then walked over to the bed. It was hard not to stare at his body as Eddie leaned over me. I felt his fingers slip under the waistband of my panties and then they were off and discarded on the floor.

Eddie climbed back over me and began kissing me gently. I let my hands explore his body and I began to pull him closer to me again. “Eddie,” I said. “I’m ready. I want this. Just go slow,” 

“Ok,” Eddie said with one final kiss.

He reached down to line himself with my entrance. Anticipation filled my entire body and then he was pushing into me. I gasped at the feeling and my body quickly began adjusting itself to his size. Eddie and I both groaned as he bottomed out inside of me. 

“Oh my God,” Eddie moaned in the most filthy tone I had ever heard. “Are you ok?”

“Yes,” I gasped. “It feels incredible,”

“Yeah, it does,” Eddie said.

He slowly started to pump in and out of me, eliciting even more pornographic moans from the both of us. It had never felt like this before. I had never experienced anything like this. For a moment I wondered if this is what it always should have felt like and I had just been missing out for most of my adult life.

“More, Eddie,” I gasped. “Go harder,”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I want it,”

He didn’t hesitate. Eddie started to pick up his pace and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. Eddie seemed close as well. I held onto him and pushed myself up to meet his motions. Eddie’s arms faultered just slightly over me, pressing his chest against mine. 

“You’re gonna make me cum,” Eddie said.

“Cum for me,” I said. “Please, cum for me, Eddie,”

“Only if you cum too,” Eddie groaned.

His words sent me over the edge. I nearly screamed as my orgasm tore through me. As my body spasmed beneath him, Eddie let out one final moan and his body began to shudder. He collapsed over me and I clung onto him. We held each other for what felt like an eternity. As we both caught our breath, Eddie began kissing every inch of my body. He finally made it back up to my lips and then brushed the hair out of my face.

“That was amazing,” Eddie said.

I smiled and kissed him. “That was amazing,” I repeated.

“Come on,” Eddie said. “I’ll clean you up,”

He picked me up from the bed and then took me to the bathroom. He pealed the condom off his body once he had set me down and tossed it in the trash. Then he turned the sink faucet on and ran a wash cloth under the warm water. He cleaned himself off and once the cloth was rinsed, he walked over to me. Eddie knelt in front of me and kissed my thighs. He ran the cloth over my skin and washed away any lube left on my skin from the condom. 

Once we were both clean, I pulled on one of his old T-shirts and my earlier discarded panties and crawled into bed. Eddie crawled in beside me and pulled me close. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips then rested his head on the pillow. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” Eddie whispered.

“Goodnight, Eddie,” I said contentedly.

I fell asleep quickly and slept better than I had in a long, long time. 

[lynxindisguise]

20 asks for fic writers

ty for the tag @plecotusauritus and @wanderingdonut <333

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

16

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

300,242 (damn)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

hp, have considered branching into black sails and good omens

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hot Cocoa Incident of '77

shorn and scarred and yours

A Dog in Stag's Clothing

Sarcastic Truths and Lies By Omission

exes, horcruxes, and other reasons to panic

conclusion: bitches love hogwarts fluff, slytherin sirius, and divorce!!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I love comments!

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

Uhhh I guess the corndog fic?? all my wolfstar fics currently end happily, though Of Monsters and Cowards has more of an open ending

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They're all happy honestly, but The Hut of the Mistold is probably the most neatly wrapped up, all the warm and fuzzies, happily ever after ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nothing directly mean, but I'll get comments that make me go, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Like ranting a little too enthusiastically about the main character's choices or commenting on how they wanted more of xyz in a chapter (especially when the fic isn't even finished!) Oh and I got one the other day from a guest on a reply I made to someone else that was clearly trying to start an argument about something that had nothing to do with the fic??? I don't respond to those comments.

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

Typically I write a little smooching that fades into a vague description, but I wrote six different versions of smut for don't cover our tracks

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I write a lot of AU's based in other worlds, but not crossovers. (Unless @impishtubist and I make the ineffable wolfstar crossover happen!)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. And hot take—I genuinely think a lot of cases of "fic stealing" are just coincidence. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I do believe we're all collectively tossing around one brain cell, and we're bound to have similar ideas.

I once read a fic that shared a lot of themes/ideas/details with one of my fics, and upon discovering this, I plotted to trick the writer into becoming my deeply beloved mutual.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had people ask if they could translate my fics before a few times, but I don't think anything has come of it?

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

Not currently... (refer to 10)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Wolfstar

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

... probably the ATLA AU :/

The idea possessed me back in January of last year, and I plotted out the entire thing, but I've had no motivation to actually write it. I think the problem is that it's too cinematic, and I can't translate it to prose.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably world-building, in the way that I can look at one world and say "how would this translate to another?" "what little details and references can I pull from and play with?" "how do I adjust my writing style to make this feel like the genre I'm replicating?"

Also unusual metaphors, zingy little commentary, and comedic timing in dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I really struggle with prose. Which sounds silly, but like, I'm not writing prose—I'm translating the screenplay in my brain to prose, which is weird. And I think it can make my writing really jarring because it's lacking that slow, immersive reflection that is just so delicious when done well.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Dude I put a few Welsh words in hotm and panicked that even those would be wrong. If it was ever important for the story, I'd find someone who spoke the language to help me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

hp

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Please Don't See Me

tagging @kaaaaaaarf @spindrifters @impishtubist @soloorganaas @femme--de--lettres @fruityindividual @worldenough-and-time

[aughtpunk]

A03 Questions Tag Game

I got tagged by: @coffincrows

I tag: @ventela1 @autumn2may @farshootingstar

1 – How many works do you have on AO3?

70

2 – What's your total AO3 word count?

552,955

3 – What fandoms do you write for?

In no particular order: Cult of the Lamb, Welcome to Night Vale, Disco Elysium, Good Omens, Overwatch and a bunch of series I've only written one fic in

4 – What are your top five fics by kudos?

Points on a Circle (Overwatch, lots of ships, mainly Yeehan)

Now Streaming: Love! (Overwatch, lots of ships, D.va POV)

White is Not the New Black (Good Omens, Ineffable Husbands)

Fusion is Just a Cheap Tactic to Make Weak Angels Stronger (Good Omens, Ineffable Husbands)

Welcome to Cyber Vale (Welcome to Night Vale, Cecilos)

5 – Do you respond to comments?

I may accidentally skip a few (sorry) but I try to respond to everyone!

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

Another Pyramid, although I'm not sure I would call it angsty. The fic is about two robots (omnics) discussion an opera and the play based on it, and it ends with one of the robots wondering if the more opened-ended play could possibly be about the endless cycle of tragedy and romance, and how that's very fitting in the current war for robot rights.

7 – What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably To Forgive is Divine since it ends with the Bishop family back together AND Narinder and Lamb as a couple AND other happy spoilers

8 – Do you get hate on fics?

Okay so I wouldn't call it hate but I will take a moment to talk about the weirdest comment I ever got on a fic: Someone once posted in the third chapter of a fic that they hadn't read the first two chapters (on purpose) and they were only going to read every-other chapter from then on. And then every other chapter they kept posting about how the fic made no sense and kept asking questions that were answered in the parts they skipped.

Yeah I ended up blocking them and deleting the comments. Like, the fuck?

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

I have written smut. I would describe it as "bad".

10 – Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Probably the Good Omens/Pokemon crossover fic The Evils of Truth and Love. Sadly I couldn't figure out anything to do with it plot-wise so it's only just three chapters of silliness.

11 – Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No idea. Imagine someone stealing my work. It'd be like someone stealing my twelve year old hyundai. Like, why?

12 – Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I know Cyber Vale got partially translated, and one of my Disco Elysium fics was translated into Russian!

13 – Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, I'm not into co-writing.

14 – What's your all-time favorite ship?

Probably X/Zero. Which is funny considering I've never written a ship about them.

15 – What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Dear Notes in a Line and Five Shalle Ryde fans:

I swear I'll come back one day to finish these. Pinky-swear.

16 – What are your writing strengths?

Apparently I have a real knack for writing immortal God/God-like beings/Immortal Robots and I don't know what to do with this power besides writing fanfic.

17 – What are your writing weaknesses?

I am so, so bad at smut. I've tried, you guys. I've really tried. But writing it feels like someone is sandpapering my brain. In another timeline where I can write smut I'm probably making bank on a terrible amazon published erotica series.

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

I try to avoid it myself because I can barely handle English most days. Never mind other languages Do you know how many times I've failed French 1? Six. SIX TIMES.

EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that I've written multiple characters in multiple stories that use ASL. I am not a clever person.

19 – First fandom you wrote for?

NiGHTS Into Dreams! It's called TWiNS and I actually dug it up from the depths of FF.net to post on Ao3 because I'm so proud of my teen self for writing it.

20 – Favorite fic you've written?

Probably As Mayflies, which I wrote one beautiful summer morning while I was feeling very emotional over Sir Terry Pratchett's passing and wrote a little story about how the humans Crowley and Aziraphale meet live forever in their hearts.

[ryehouses]

i was tagged in this by @bobafett, who wants to bring back ask box games! this was really fun and really helped drive home the fact that i am maybe a little too wordy!

y'all know the drill. copy, paste, fill in your own answers! feel free to share!

How many works do you have on AO3? impossible for me to say because i have shed ao3 handles like a particularly robust hermit crab, but if i'm just counting everything under iridan, thirteen!

What’s your total AO3 word count? ......1.3 million, as iridan. if we throw in some of my other psueds and the truly awful eragon fanfiction i wrote when i was fourteen, we're probably loking at 2 - 2.5 mil.

What fandoms do you write for? presently, star wars, jujutsu kaisen, star wars again. i have some witcher fic in my gdocs and older projects in rdr2, dishonored, anything that can catch and hold my attention for long enough for my brain to produce a bit of dopamine,

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? all five of them are in the ast 'verse except for lost country

Do you respond to comments? i try to, but it's really hit or miss! i am painfully shy and usually can only go '!!!!!' in thanks

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? of my completed fics, none! i am not really in to the angst ending. if i ever do get around to finishing it, i started a dishonored/his dark materials au that would have ended with corvo going slowly, gently nuts and taking over the outsider's place in the void

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i like happy endings, so all of them!

Do you get hate on fics? occasionally. i still think about that one commentor on ast who accused me of blaming the jedi for order 66 like, all the time. mostly no, though, everyone is really nice!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i've been told that 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' is something of a signature move of mine, so! 1) yes and 2) whatever kind of smut 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' applies as

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? yes, but almost exclusively his dark materials crossovers. i do have a witcher/temeraire fusion au sitting in my gdocs

Have you ever had a fic stolen? no, not that i'm aware of. i do semi-frequent google searches to see if my shit pops up anywhere.

Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so! ast was podfic'd, if that counts.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? i don't think so, because i am a whole idiot and am hard to collaborate with.

What’s your all time favorite ship? of ALL TIME? impossible to say. i am inconsistent and flighty. bobadin hit me pretty good, though

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? haha too many. i started a jedi!din fic and didn't get far. i've had several WIPs on ao3 sit without an update for years. i have drafted, redrafted, and drafted again a novel that will most likely never see the light of day. finishing even one of those would likely water my crops for several years

What are your writing strengths? i take particular pride in my settings! somebody on ao3 told me last week that i have nice turns of phrase, too, and i am proud of those too

What are your writing weaknesses? i have never once said anything in six words when i could say them in six hundred million billion instead

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? obviously i've experimented in various projects, but i am fundamentally kind of lazy and prefer to sprinkle in a few words here and there instead of spending the time to learn about another language's grammar structure

First fandom you wrote for? the first fandom i published anything in was eragon, way back in the day! the first fandom i wrote for was his dark materials, in a composition notebook in like the fifth or sixth grade!

Favorite fic you’ve written? could not possibly pic! they are all like my children and also my therapist.

i'm tagging @meyerlansky and anybody else who wants to participate! consider yourself invited!

[lu-sn]

thank you @veliseraptor for tagging me ❤️ i had a lot of fun with this one

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

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first fic ever published: prickly hearts

my beloved!!! this story is extra funny to me because before this i was all "it would be hubris to try to write vp they're too NUANCED i'll mess them up" and then the ghost of khun spikes whacked me on the head with a crackfic idea and the rest is history

last fic published: warm-blooded

cue me from almost exactly a year ago telling my roommate i could "never write porn" skjdfksadfkjhdsfjkhf where's my clown nose

any fic i wrote for a ship only once: press F to pay respects

my one and only kinn/porsche fic. but the real crime here is that it's my one and only macau & chay fic 😭 I'LL GET TO IT ONE DAY

favorite fic for ship with most works: you can't make me choose

i love so many of them! and i'm fond of them for different reasons, so it's really hard to pick one over the rest. breathtaking might be some of my best writing. vivace has characterization i'm very happy with, and i'm proud that i managed to do that while keeping it lighthearted. but if we're talking favorite fic for me to read... god this is hard!!!!! i love reading my funnier stuff. so maybe it really still is prickly hearts

fic i wish more people read: have u heard of the f/f vp agenda–

here is my running theory: if more people read f/f vp then more people will write it and then there will be more of it for ME to read. this is a flawless plan. i will take no criticism

fic i agonized over the most: [redacted]

i could pick a published fic for this but i don't tend to agonize too much over oneshots when i'm writing them and anyway you could add up all of the agony over all of my published fics and it would not even be 1/100th of the agonizing i am doing over my current wip. longfics SUCK. "it'll just be 3 chapters that's not so bad" "ah shit this wasn't in the outline" "why does the halfway mark keep getting FURTHER away" 0/10 would not recommend i am blinking twice please airlift me out of here

fic that sprang fully formed from my mind: blindside

this is kind of a stretch in that i had had a couple of stray macau thoughts hanging around my head for months. things like "macau goes off at korn and it's heartwrenching and futile and pete has to drag him away" or "pete and macau have a days-long staring match over vegas's comatose body" but let's be real it was mostly a giant metaphorical whiteboard in my brain with the words "PETE AND MACAU????!!!" written on it and underlined six times. it didn't coalesce into "pete holds a gun to macau's head and it somehow ruins all of korn's plans" until i was standing in the middle of a crosswalk on my way home going oh my GOD THAT WOULD BE INSANE PETE WOULD BE THAT INSANE!!!! then i blacked out and it was written

work i am proud of: reignite

i reread this recently and it reads like it was written by someone who was not me. i would not in a million years have imagined i was capable of writing like that. so i love it very much, and i feel like i did namphueng justice, and she fucking deserves it.

--

hmmm tagging @ghost--houses and @fanonplussed and @magicaldreamfox1 if you're feeling it!