#the first au that published what a shame

[tatlitte-lian]

Ok, ok this will be a lot of text so I'll use a translator because I'm tired (⁠｡⁠・⁠/⁠/⁠ε⁠/⁠/⁠・⁠｡⁠)

I have been making sketches and ideas for several days about an AU that is about Shiho never being part of the black Org and Shinichi for his part being an active member of it.

In the AU Shiho would be a girl passionate about science just like her parents, famous pharmacists, she lives alone but in the care of Agasa, her neighbor.

Shinichi is a boy who grew up in the Organization, his parents were tricked into joining and they tried to escape, failing, and they took Shinichi hostage so that they would continue working for them, but they began to notice Shinichi's potential from an early age and joined as a member.

Shinichi's parents found out about this and complained since it was not part of the deal and killed them, while Shinichi was tricked into telling him that his parents were locked up in a far away place and if I continued working with them His parents would be safe if they found out at 17 about the deception, rebelling against the organization.

Ending in Shinichi being captured and locked in a gas chamber, not giving the organization the satisfaction of killing him, he would do so by taking the ATPX 4869 that he had hidden and instead of killing him he shrunk him and decided that life gave him another chance and he remembered that his parents always talked about a trusted friend named Agasa so he found out his location.

Arriving there, Shinichi couldn't take it anymore due to physical and mental exhaustion, he fainted and Shiho was going out to see Agasa and sees Shinichi lying there helping him and taking him with her to Dr. Agasa's house.

And that would be like the scoop, but what do you think, most of the Sketckes I had were traditional so I made some quick ones in digital And I already have other things in mind, but I'm not used to sharing personal Au's or Headcanons, it's the first time I've done it, and sorry if there's something wrong, it's all full Google Translate (⁠(⁠(⁠;⁠ꏿ⁠_⁠ꏿ⁠;⁠)⁠)⁠)

[shibaraki]

🍉 ─ SPONSOR A WIP FOR GAZA

Hi friends!! I don't know how this will go but I wanted to participate and help contribute a little bit more to the fundraising efforts for Gaza set up by ficsforgaza. I’m taking things slower on the writing front this year so I only have a few to list, some longer than others. Even so, I hope some appeal to you and encourage you to give a donation.

RATE: $1 per 100 words

INSTRUCTIONS: donate to a vetted fundraiser of your choosing, take a screenshot of the donation confirmation (make sure your private information is censored) and send it to me along with the title of whatever WIP you're sponsoring!

Here’s an example:

hi monty! here's proof of my donation to child mohammed and family's gofundme. I'd like this to go toward the wip 'name your courage' :) ty!! [screenshot.png showing evidence of donation states that $5 was given, therefore 500 words will be written for the wip titled 'name your courage']

Upon receiving your ask (I won't be publishing them) I will amend the list below and prioritise progressing that WIP as well as keeping this post updated weekly. Just for clarity: I’ll be submitting redacted evidence I receive to @ficsforgaza to try and ensure that people are not sending those same screenshots to different writers.

TO AVOID BEING OVERWHELMED I HAVE MADE A DONATION WC GOAL FOR EACH WIP❗️Just to be clear—donations go towards progressing a WIP. The sole purpose of this is to encourage donations and spread awareness. Every little bit helps. Even if a fic doesn’t get completed right away I still appreciate your participation and promise to fulfil the WC goals.

🍉 ─ WIPS AVAILABLE:

↳ NAME YOUR COURAGE — BAKUGO KATSUKI #: GN AFAB reader, post canon au, quirkless discrimination, falling in love, social work, worldbuilding, angst + fluff + eventual smut

determined to reach deep inside himself and reconcile the shame that still lingers there, pro hero dynamight publicly aligns with a well-known quirkless charity organization. what he gains is greater than he could’ve imagined.

current wc: 12,932/20,000+ donated (goal) wc: 5,000/5,000 🎊 ☑️

↳ A MANY SPLENDORED THING — KUROO TETSURO #: GN AFAB reader, divorcee kuroo, best friends to lovers, heavy mutual pining, hurt/comfort, eventual smut + romance

you wonder, not for the first time, why tetsuro could never see what was right in front of him. it was as though the compass of his sharp intuition reversed polarity when you were in the vicinity. you’ve been in love with him since you were sixteen and he’s the one person that never noticed.

current wc: 13,962/20,000+ donated (goal) wc: 5,000/5,000 🎊 ☑️

↳ #HEARTBURN — TODOROKI SHOUTO [COLLAB FIC] #: GN reader, meet-cutes, social media + shipping, reader is a paramedic, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff + humour

who knew your run-ins with the suspiciously accident prone pro-hero shouto would capture the hearts of the general public—or that a bit of harmless flirting could have such inconvenient consequences?

current wc: 2,500/5,000 donated (goal) wc: 2,500/2,500 🎊 ☑️

↳ EMERGENCY CONTACT — AIZAWA SHOUTA #: GN reader, friends to lovers, fluff + humour, sexual tension, reader is an underground hero, adopted eri, getting together

when aizawa gives eri a special card with a number to call if there’s ever a big emergency and no one else is around who can help, he doesn't consider the fact that her idea of an emergency is vastly different from his.

current wc: 1,600/3,000 donated (goal) wc: 2,500/2,500 🎊

↳ THE STAG — OKKOTSU YUUTA [RETURNING WIP!] #: AFAB reader, courtesan au (no curses), courtesan yuuta, reader is a tailor, falling in (forbidden) love, fluff + angst, love letters

your hands were made to embroider, to cut fine silks and sew tales into fabric. from time to time they’ll find themselves touching a courtesans skin. it is only to measure, and never for pleasure.

current wc: 649/? donated (goal) wc: 2,000/2,000 🎊

↳ SOMETHING BORROWED — NANAMI KENTO [EVENT WIP!] #: AFAB GN reader, no curse au, neighbours to lovers, single parent nanami, foster kids yuji + sukuna, fake engagement, pining, getting together

the precious little you know about your neighbor is that he’s handsome, unmarried, and he has two long term foster sons. after the twins panic during an inspection and identify you as nanami’s fiancé, you’re left with the opportunity to learn more. 

current wc: 10,288/? donated (goal) wc: 250/2,000 ☑️

That’s all for now, though there is a possibility that I will add more WIPs later. And let me know if you’ve got any questions (or if I’ve missed anything lol).

It’s totally fine if you can’t donate or if none of these fics appeal to you!! Please feel free to check out the other writers on @ficsforgaza’s page if you’d rather sponsor some different fics, or even make requests to those accepting them ^_^ thank you guys!

HERE’S EVEN MORE WAYS TO HELP PALESTINE, AND DON’T FORGET YOUR DAILY CLICKS!

[ohdearlingwhathappened]

A Pair Made in the Pits

TFP Megatron x Reader

Summary: A soulmate au where near everyone has the first thing their soulmate says to them marked into their wrist. What a shame Y/n's is in some unknown language. Living with this for 7.5 years, she decides to settle down in Jasper, Nevada, not knowing that being the teacher in charge of the exchange student's overall academics and wellbeing in the school would lead her to being involved with giant robots and finding her soulmate in an unconventional method.

A/n: Sorry for the long summary! This is my first published transformers fic, so please be kind. If there are any inaccuracies, feel free to message me. I hope you enjoy my story!

WC: 2099

Chapter 1: Falling Behind Pt. 1

Chap 2, Chap 3

“Miko! Miko Nakadai!” The woman briskly walks down the hall, after the young exchange student who looked back and groaned in annoyance.

“I know. I know.” As the woman comes to a stop, Miko waves her off, “My grades need work. I need to pay attention in class. I can’t keep drawing on the desks. Can I go now?”

“Very funny, young lady-”

“You’re only ten years older than me- stop calling me that.” She crosses her arms and looks away.

“Miko, you know you were supposed to come by the office to pick up some papers for your host parents.” The woman places a hand on her hip, and raises a brow expectantly, “Any reason for you to skip out on me?”

“There’s a bike.”

“A… bike.”

“Outside!” She rolls her eyes again, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “I saw it from my last class, and I wanted to draw it. It’s gonna be gone if I go to the office and get the papers. You know the desk lady talks for, like, a million years.”

“Mrs. Albert does have a penchant for talking… tell you what- why don’t you go sit on the stairs of the school and draw that bike. I’ll grab the papers and bring them out to you. Just promise to stay on the entrance stairs. Ok?” 

The girl whoops and breaks out into a run, excited to be let off the hook of being subject to Mrs. Albert’s stories of her childhood. “Thank you, Y/n!!”

Y/n shakes her head, a soft smile on her lips as she watches after the Japanese girl then makes her way to the office, silently knowing she’ll now be listening to one of the aforementioned talks. The woman was sweet but goodness, she needs to join a bookclub, or something. 

“Ah. Y/n, dear! I thought Miko was supposed to be collecting these?” 

There, sitting behind the desk, is Mrs. Albert, smiling as brightly as the sun. Her curly gray hair frames her rounded, wrinkled face- giving her the vibe of a grandmother who is about to offer you either butterscotch or one of those little red candies wrapped in those strawberry wrappers. The older woman was just as sweet as she appeared, which made Y/n feel the slightest bit guilty when she would dread one of the long-winded stories, Mrs. Albert never fails to tell.

“Hello Mrs. Albert. I let Miko go off to draw something she saw outside. She was too excited to say no, I’m afraid.” Y/n gave an airy but clipped laugh. “I told her I would bring her the papers for her host parents.”

“You’re too easy on that girl.” Mrs. Albert teasingly chastises, “Though, I guess I can’t blame you. That girl is the first exchange student you’re in charge of, it’s no wonder you’re so lenient with her. It reminds me of how I treated my baby, Samuel. Did I ever tell you about Sammy? He was such a delightful boy. He was heartbroken when he never got his quote…” She teeters off, the solemn look now on her face doesn’t suit her. Y/n had heard this story before, but it isn’t often that it comes up, nor is it often for ‘Sammy’ to be brought up at all. Not that it isn’t understandable as to why.

Quotes- a subject Y/n always loathes hearing about. 

The thing about everyone’s quotes is that they link people to each other- your other half, according to many. Most people receive their quotes sometime at 18 years old, a few will get them younger, and even fewer never get them at all. Many times, if a person does not receive their quote, they don’t live for much longer- whether it be due to the societal pressures that they failed to meet, due to no fault of their own; or they have some kind of accident. Long story short, if you don’t get your mark by your 19th birthday, you spend the rest of that year mourning and wondering what will become of you. Not to say everyone without a quote dies, but they are a particularly rare find, that’s for sure.

On top of that source of dread, each quote comes in the native language of wherever your partner is from, so once people get their quote, they are either thrilled and/or they hit the books to understand their other half’s language. Meaning that with the gibberish printed on Y/n’s arm, she’s cursed with the unknown regarding some so-called soulmate. 

“I’m sorry, dear. I shouldn’t mention quotes. I know you don’t like talking about them.” Mrs. Albert looks at her, a level of pity swimming in those big, brown eyes behind those glasses she adorns. She pats Y/n’s hand comfortingly, looking at the long sleeves she wears, even in the midst of September in the middle of Jasper, Nevada.

“Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Albert. I’ve been living with my quote for about 7 and a half years now. I’m ok.” Y/n smiles, knowing she didn’t mean any harm. “...About those papers?”

“Oh! Oh, yes. Let me grab those for you, dear.” She jumps up and walks over to one of her filing cabinets and quickly snags one of the multiple files out and hands it over. How she keeps track of where all of those papers are is baffling, but Y/n supposes the years of practice have definitely helped. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Y/n keeps up her smile and nods at the older woman. “You have a great rest of your afternoon, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Have a good night, Y/n. And be careful- I’ve heard that those street racers have been causing more trouble recently.” She calls out as the young woman leaves the office.

“I will!”

As she closes the door to the office, the smile on Y/n’s face slowly fades and she takes a deep breath, trying to brush off the snaring emotions surrounding her quote. After another breath, the woman rights herself and begins making her way down the hall, Y/n sifting through the papers in the manila folder, ensuring all of the papers are there. Her progress report and reviews from her teachers didn’t spell out anything good even so early into the year. All subjects but art, music, and english were less than adequate.

I’m going to have to talk to her about her grades again. 

“Alright, Miko, I have your papers fo- Miko?” Exiting the front doors, Y/n looks around for her student, only to find her running off down the sidewalk. “Miko!” She takes off after her, cursing herself for not working out more. 

This girl is gonna kill me.

Miko finally stops to peek around a corner, and the woman slows to a stop and leans against her own knees, heavy breathing covering up any sounds around her. After a moment of steadying her breath, she looks to the girl on her left, irritated, “Miko, I told you to stay on-”

“Shhh!!”

“You did not just shush me, young lady.” Miko gestures to whatever is so important that she ran over for, revealing a giant robot and a boy. A very familiar boy. “Jack Darby! You get away from that thing this instant!” Y/n yells, making both the teen and robot jump and look to her and Miko’s direction. She runs up to the boy, looking him over for any possible injuries, and pulls him behind her next to Miko.

“What?! He should totally go with!” Miko looks at Y/n, who keeps her eyes on the visibly bothered robot, like she’s crazy, and argues that he should do the opposite.

“Absolutely not! We don’t know what that thing even is!”

“Scrap.” The blue robot looks to Jack and then to the other two, standing up from her previously kneeling position when she had been speaking with the teenage boy, her tone obviously exasperated, “I have to bring all of you with me.”

“Excuse me? I am not going anywhere, and neither are these children. You wanna abduct someone for whatever wacky robot thing you have going on? You leave these children out of it.” Y/n crosses her arms, looking up at the blue and pink being before her, not willing to step down- much to the distaste of said robot.

“I don’t have time for this-” The bot raised her hand to the side of her head with quite possibly one of the most bothered expressions Y/n had ever seen on a human or anything else. “Bee, you need to come back… the kid is fine, but we’ve run into a couple of issues.”

“Did you not hear me? You can’t just-”

“Oh, I heard you, but I can and I will.” Apparently done with what Y/n can only assume was some kind of phone call- that or this was not only a giant robot but a crazy one at that. “I have orders and you’re now part of those orders because you were nosy.”

“We’ll act like we never saw you, not that anyone in their right mind would believe any of us if we told them we saw a giant robot lady that wanted to- what? Take us to some government facility and lock us away because of seeing whatever kind of prototype you are?” Y/n argues back, left hand on her hip and her right pointing up at the mech accusingly, to which the mechanical woman’s jaw falls agape before screwing up, insulted.

“We weren’t made by humans, and you are wasting my time. I have better things to do rather than argue with some woman who’s putting a hitch in today’s plans.”

“Oh, well I’m so-”

A yellow Urbana 500 with black racing stripes drives up behind Miko and Y/n and revs the engine, making the woman jump and the teen whirl around, excited to see yet another possible robot. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Y/n weighs her options. If she tries to take the children with her, it is possible these robots, while they may not have shown any aggressive or violent responses, it couldn’t be confirmed that they wouldn’t, if there was any opposition. The safest option was, unfortunately, to go with the kids and keep them as safe as possible. No matter how much she didn’t like this. 

“Ok… alright.” Another deep breath in and out. The kids are what’s important right now. “We’ll come with you, but these kids stay as safe as possible.”

“That was the plan.” The dead tone rings through the alleyway, continuing to irk the only other adult present, but before Y/n could say anything, the metal woman transformed into a motorcycle, having Jack move around her, reluctantly getting on and Miko enthusiastically hops on with absolutely no hesitation. “Get in Bee, and we’ll meet you back at base.”

And then they were gone, leaving Y/n frustrated and clenching her fists with the other vehicle behind her, probably another transforming thing- hopefully with less attitude. Grumbling about the behavior of not only the bot, but the reckless behavior of the children as well, she turns around and awkwardly half-smiles at the yellow and black car- all of the frustration draining out of her.

“I don’t suppose there’s a person in there whose, like, codename is Bee, is there?” The bright lights of the car flick on and off a couple of times before the right side backdoor opens, confirming her fear. Letting out a quiet groan, Y/n walks to the awkward door, hoping there is a human ‘at base’ to help explain what the hell is going on. Getting in, she looks at the empty driver’s seat, then notices hair sticking ever so slightly above the passenger seat. “Oh, thank god. Another person. What is going- How many children exactly are you lot abducting?!”

A series of beeping, whirring, and whistling is the only response Y/n receives from the car’s radio as said child shyly smiles up at her. “Hello. Bee says we aren’t being taken, but someone named Optimus needs to see us after what happened yesterday.”

A moment’s pause settles over the car before Y/n leans back in her seat, rubbing her hands across her face, the car finally beginning to move and quickly pick up speed, “What exactly happened yesterday?”

“Um…”

I would much rather be listening to one of Mrs. Albert’s stories right now.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  Pricklywhicket/@messessentialist ! Prickleywhicket has four fics published to AO3 -- All in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by pricklywhicket:

so let's sneak in from the cheap seats, honey

it's supposed to be fun (turning twenty-one)

start by pulling him out of the fire

"Sadie is so super talented in the way she describes literally everything. She is so good at writing and it's a shame that she's flown under the radar because she's not the quickest at putting things out there." -- Anonymous

Below the cut, Pricklywhicket answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Why do any of us write anything? Because we want the story to exist in the world, and it doesn’t yet, so we gotta hike up our pants and do it ourselves!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Hurt/Comfort. I’m always a sucker for the blorbos taking care of one another, in whatever form that takes. This has always been true, across a truly astronomical number of fandoms I’ve found myself dabbling in over the years.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

…actually, probably hurt/comfort! I just need to get those little dudes some validation and unconditional positive regard, okay?

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I’m sure I won’t be the first one to say this, but: I HAVE TO PICK ONE????? Okay, alright. I can do this. I’m gonna say…Sanctuary by SpicedSage.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve only written canon or canon-adjacent fic so far, so I’m eager to work on something that’s completely AU. I think there’s a unique challenge to keeping characters recognizable as themselves in a world that might not have all the same contexts that made them into that person.

What is your writing process like?

I would love to say it’s super organized and well-planned, but the truth is it’s mostly about routine and responsibility. I set aside time to do it every day, even if I can only tap out a few sentences. I’m not very strict about writing in a straight line - I can stop a scene if it’s giving me trouble, write a note about what I think happens in some [brackets], and move on to something that I have more fully fleshed-out ideas for. Sometimes writing the next scene helps you know more about what needs to happen in the current one. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

I'm sure my betas would say yes 🙃 I tend to write a lot of dialogue - a lot of my revision process is going back through and realizing I have two pages of a conversation with no indication of what’s physically happening in the world around the speakers.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Definitely when I’m finished. Prior to my ‘23 bang fic, I had never written anything chaptered. I knew going in that I could NOT start posting if it wasn’t finished, because I’ve been burned too many times by abandoned works. I didn’t want to do that to people reading my fic, and the best way to avoid it is to finish before you post.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Easily start by pulling him out of the fire. The biggest, most ambitious thing I’ve ever attempted - I still kind of can’t believe I wrote 85k.

How did you get the idea for start by pulling him out of the fire?

Like most terrible ideas, it was spawned in a fandom discord chat. We were discussing the tendency of Steddie fics to centralize the party at Steve’s house, because his parents are never there anyway. And then someone mentioned what if the parents came home and found their house occupied, and someone else mentioned Wayne being there, and it just sort of…spiraled out from there.

When writing start by pulling him out of the fire, what was something you didn’t expect?

I had no idea, going in, that I was going to write a comprehensive history of the Wayne and Eddie Munson relationship. I started writing it where I did to give some background on Wayne’s existing distaste for the elder Harrington, and then I just…kept writing. Over the course of a month or two I wrote 20k of WayneAndEddie that I had no idea was in me - it just kept coming.

What inspired it's supposed to be fun (turning twenty-one)?

@wynnyfryd. It was a gift for her birthday. We were talking about our mutual love of Letterkenny, and she mentioned that the episode was her favorite and wouldn’t it be funny if someone wrote… and the rest is history.

What was your favorite part to write from it's supposed to be fun (turning twenty-one)?

I had an unreasonable amount of fun with that one in general. But I think my favorite part was Eddie polling the party about what Steve means to them all. It was fun to sort of put myself in each character’s shoes and think about how they would answer. Plus y’know, any excuse to unironically love on Steve Harrington.

How do/did you feel writing so let's sneak in from the cheap seats, honey?

I believe my exact words upon deciding to write it were “jingles miserably to a blank google doc.” This was a classic case of saying “god I wish there was a fic where—” and having friends tell me that it was now my responsibility to write it. I’m glad I did, though. I love that story, and it proved to me that I could write sex and publish it and not burst into flames. I also just really, really love summer storms. And Wayne’s use of the singular ‘herpe.’

What was the most difficult part of writing so let's sneak in from the cheap seats honey?

Getting over the fear of publishing something E-rated. It was just something I hadn’t done, and I had a lot of anxiety that people were not going to respond well to it. I made three people individually review the sex scenes before I even asked anyone to beta the full fic. Of course I was worried for nothing, the reception for that fic was super lovely and gave me the confidence boost I needed to attempt start by pulling him out of the fire!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child. I’ll say this: most of my favorite lines in start by pulling him out of the fire were taken directly from conversations @wormdebut and I had about the fic. She’s my number one cheerleader and sounding board, and sometimes she’s so goddamn funny that I just have to include it. You have her to thank, for instance, for Steve quite literally dropping his croissant when he first sees Eddie in glasses.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I have a couple of irons in the fire, but nothing I’m ready to share just yet! I’ve been taking a breather from writing (blame baldur’s gate 3, okay) but my WIPs are still very much IP. Stay tuned!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Not that I can think of!

Thank you to our author, Pricklywhicket, and our anonymous nominator! See more of pricklywhicket's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[wangxianficrecs]

The Winner Takes It All by YilingSani

The Winner Takes It All

by YilingSani (@yiling-sani)

M, 46k, Wangxian

Summary: "Wei Ying doesn't know why he ended up on this exact island. All he knows is that he's scared, alone and hungry. And with a child." ----- 18 years later Wei Yuan has grown into a proper young man, helping his Baba to run the hotel on the island. On the week of his wedding, Wei Yuan comes across Wei Ying's diary and decides to invite the man mentioned in it to the island, unaware of the consequences it will bring. Kay's comments: I never knew that I needed a MDZS Mamma Mia AU until I started reading this story. I have never even watched Mamma Mia (I know, shame on me, what kind of gay even am I), but I was so hooked on this story. So hooked in fact, that I read it first as it was published as a thread fic and then once again once it updated on AO3 and I could still hardly wait for the updates. The drama, the heartbreak, the angst, the found family! All of it was such a delight. The angst hit especially hard in this story and for the longest time, as a reader, you're wondering whether you even want Wei Ying and Lan Zhan to get back together again, but it all works out in the end without being a magical fix-it. Highly recommended. Excerpt: Granny Wen extends a hand to brush away a strand from the young man's face, but the moment her fingers touch his forehead, she feels the heat coming from the boy. He's running a fever. It would be inhuman to leave the boy to fate, so Granny Wen nudges him awake. Once the silver eyes open, they immediately fill with fear, and the boy draws deep into the corner, looking like a frightened deer. "It's alright," the woman speaks softly. "I won't hurt you." The silver eyes are puffy and red-rimmed - it's clear that the young man has cried himself to sleep. "It's alright," Granny Wen repeats. "You’re safe. I’m Granny Wen. What's your name?" "W-Wei Ying," the boy's voice is hoarse, his throat dry as a dessert. "Are you from the mainland?" she asks the next question, and the boy nods. She notices how the boy's hands are placed protectively on his belly and she frowns. "How old are you?" "Seventeen." Seventeen.

pov alternating, modern setting, modern no powers, mpreg, single parent wei wuxian, inspired by mamma mia!, one night stands, first time, unplanned pregnancy, traumatic childbirth, post-traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, illnesses, chronic illness, teen pregnancy, panic attacks, angst with a happy ending, emotional hurt/comfort, families of choice, no jiang cheng & wei wuxian reconciliation, background character death

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

An Interview with Lydia (My Yuu ♡) Part One

One of the students apart of NRC's newspaper club got the opportunity to interview Lydia, the girl that appeared from another world! Though magicless, she became a student at NRC, and currently resides in Octavinelle. Here is the first part of the published interview! Enjoy ♡

(Please note that Lydia resides in an AU where NRC is an actual college, like my friend Ian (@crystallizsch) has for her OC Yuusha. Ramshackle and Grim do not exist in this AU, and Lydia is not in-game Yuu)

Interviewer: Hello, students and staff of NRC! I'm here today with our classmate from another world, Lydia Sweet. Thanks again for agreeing to this interview, Lydia.

Lydia: I... didn't really have a choice...

Interviewer: Now then, let's get started! We'll do some basic questions first, before going to the student submitted ones. So, Lydia, is that your full name?

Lydia: Yes, Lydia is my full name.

Interviewer: And do you have any nicknames you go by?

Lydia: I have a couple. Lyddie is the one most people use, though Lyds is a close second. Some people have specific names they call me, like Floyd and his nickname Leaf Sheep.

Interviewer: I see. And you're a 2nd year, right?

Lydia: Yes, that's right.

Interviewer: What club are you apart of?

Lydia: Well, I was a member of the Board Game Club... before...

Interviewer: Before you and the housewarden of Ignihyde broke up?

Lydia: ...

Interviewer: Touchy subject?

Lydia: I'd rather not talk about it, if that's alright...

Interviewer: What a shame... I'm sure everyone's dying to know what happened.

Lydia: ...

Interviewer: Alright, alright. I won't push it. So, if you're not in the Board Game Club anymore, what club are you in?

Lydia: I'm not in any club, really. I usually just join Jamil, Ace, and Floyd during their club meetings...

Interviewer: So, the Basketball Club?

Lydia: I don't play, though. Sports aren't really my thing... I just sit in the stands and watch.

Interviewer: Is there a club you'd like to join?

Lydia: Well... maybe the Science Club? I'd rather be in the Board Game Club, though...

Interviewer: Do you miss the Board Game Club?

Lydia: I do... even if it meant more time spent with Azul, every club meeting was always so fun. I didn't want to leave, but...

Interviewer: You felt like you had to?

Lydia: *She doesn't give a response, but nods her head yes after hesitating a moment*

Interviewer: How did you end up in Twisted Wonderland anyway?

Lydia: I was walking home after taking my cat to the vet. He was in his carrier, and I know I had it locked, but somehow... he got out. I chased after him, and ended up falling down a hole.

Interviewer: A hole?

Lydia: *She nods her head* The next thing I know, I was landing in the middle of a runway, decorated with flowers.

Interviewer: The Fairy Gala.

Lydia: Yes, the Fairy Gala. Leona was leading the group, while Kalim and Jamil followed. I landed between them.

Interviewer: Must have been quite the scene.

Lydia: I'm sure it was... I lost consciousness upon impact, so all I remember is waking up to Kalim leaning over my face, and Leona and Jamil staring down at me behind him.

Interviewer: Where was your cat?

Lydia: Throwing a fit in Leona's arms, trying to get to me... He must have been so worried.

Interviewer: I'm sure they all were.

Lydia: It was all so confusing... Nobody knew how I ended up there. And they couldn't really stop the Fairy Gala... So...

Interviewer: ... You joined the Fairy Gala?

Lydia: Yep!

Interviewer: On your first day in Twisted Wonderland...?

Lydia: Yep... Trust me, they didn't really want me too. They wanted me to go see the nurse, or the Headmage. But the gala was already happening, and they couldn't risk their plan...

Interviewer: Being thrown into a new situation like this must have been frightening... I can only imagine how lost you were.

Lydia: Oh, I thought I was losing my mind... or that this had to be one big dream.

Interviewer: Yet, you never woke up.

Lydia: *She nods her head* It's hard to believe at first... being in a whole new world. Sometimes it's easier to pretend it's a dream, then to face reality.

Interviewer: Do you still think this is a dream?

Lydia: *She laughs* Oh, no. Not at all. That's just how I coped my first day here. Telling myself, "This must be a dream" or "This can't be real"

Interviewer: So what happened after the Fairy Gala?

Lydia: I got examined by the nurse, and went to see the Headmage. Since I didn't have anywhere to go, Kalim offered for me to stay in Scarabia, which Crowley agreed to. He's supposed to be finding me a way home.

Interviewer: You live in the Scarabia dorm, then?

Lydia: I did, before I was transferred to Octavinelle...

Interviewer: What made you want to transfer to Octavinelle?

Lydia: I didn't... it's... a bit of a long story...

Interviewer: Well... Do you like being a member of Octavinelle?

Lydia: I like it more than I thought I would, which is... nice...

Interviewer: How tall are you?

Lydia: 163 cm

Interviewer: When's your birthday?

Lydia: October 20th

Interviewer: Are you single?

Lydia: *Her face turns red, caught off guard by the question* ... What?

Interviewer: Are you single?

Lydia: *She hesitates a moment before responding* Yes, I am...

Interviewer: What do you look for in a partner?

Lydia: I... I don't-

Interviewer: Do you have a preference when it comes to gender?

Lydia: No, but-

Interviewer: So you're more interested in personality, then?

Lydia: I have to be friends with someone first, before I'm able to develop feelings for them... I'm sorry, but these questions seem... very sudden.

Interviewer: I'm just going in the order I was given. If the question makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to answer it.

Lydia: It's not that. I was just... caught off guard. I wasn't expecting questions about my love life...

Interviewer: More people are interested in your love life than you know, Lydia. We've had dozens of students submit questions wondering about it.

Lydia: Really...?

Interviewer: Yes. Take my next question for example... why did you and Idia break up?

Lydia: ... I'm not answering that.

Interviewer: It was worth a shot... Moving on, what's your ideal first date?

Lydia: Mini golf! I've always wanted to try it, and it's... actually my dream date.

Interviewer: To play mini golf?

Lydia: I know it sounds silly, but I think it'd be fun!

Interviewer: Did Idia ever take you to play mini golf?

Lydia: Oh, no I... never brought it up with him, actually. I figured it wouldn't be his thing...

Interviewer: What do you like to do in your free time?

Lydia: I like to play video games! From otomes, to mobile rhythm games, to handheld consoles like the Nintendo DS and Switch! While I love my Gamecube, I don't really play it as much as I used to. Same with my Gameboy Advance.

Interviewer: Anything else you like to do?

Lydia: I like to read, and write... listen to music... I like to bake sometimes...

Interviewer: Do you collect anything? Cards, coins...

Lydia: Stuffed animals. I don't try to collect them, it just sorta... happens. *She laughs* I'm particularly fond of Sanrio, or anything cute really. Honestly, with how much nail polish I have, I guess I collect that too. I love painting my nails.

Interviewer: Outside of the school's uniform, what sort of outfits do you like to wear?

Lydia: Well, usually I just wear a graphic t-shirt and some leggings. Maybe a cute top, if I'm feeling fancy. *She laughs* When I'm in the mood for it, I'll wear a nice dress. Something cute, that makes me feel pretty. I like my pajamas, but I really only wear them when I'm in my dorm.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite outfit?

Lydia: I do... this one.

Interviewer: I'm guessing you're a fan of My Sweet Piano?

Lydia: Oh, yes! Some of my friends like to joke that I am her *She laughs*

Interviewer: Do you wear this outfit often?

Lydia: Not really... I mainly only wear it for special occasions, like when I'm interested in someone...

Interviewer: So it's your date outfit, then?

Lydia: Oh, I guess you could call it that, yeah...

Interviewer: What's your favorite food?

Lydia: Cheese fries!

Interviewer: Your favorite drink?

Lydia: I like sweet tea, or sparkling water... but only if it's flavored.

Interviewer: What's your least favorite food?

Lydia: I've been told I'm a picky eater before... I don't like condiments... or pumpkin... or popcorn... or pickles... or raw fish...

Interviewer: Your least favorite drink?

Lydia: Soda... I used to drink it all the time before I quit, and I surprisingly don't miss it.

Interviewer: What's your favorite subject?

Lydia: Since I don't have magic, there's only a few classes I can attend. I think alchemy is interesting.

Interviewer: What do you do while everyone is in class?

Lydia: Oh, I'm usually working at Sam's shop, or the Mostro Lounge.

Interviewer: Well that's all the time we have for now. Join us tomorrow, where Lydia will be answering questions submitted by you, the students!

Lydia: I thought you said some of the questions I've already answered were submitted by others..?

Interviewer: Yes, by me.

Lydia: Oh...

Interviewer: And remember, these interviews are exclusive to NRC's newspaper! Now on Magicam, at NRCnewspaperclub! Until next time!

Lydia: If this is a newspaper, why are you talking like we're live on TV...?

Here's the first part to Lydia's interview! ♡ Since it got so long, I decided to split it up in two parts. The first part being general questions, while the second will feature the questions you submitted! ♡ (Feel free to submit more, if you'd like ♡)

Tagging:

@crystallizsch, @anbaisai, @0honeybones0, @cheerleaderman, @midnightmah07

@theolivetree123, @fell-fell, @justm3di0cr3, @cyanide-latte

@oya-oya-okay, @offorestsongs, @skriblee-ksk, @jewelulu

Thank you! ♡

[reganmian]

hello gay relatives gallavich nation!! i am finally making an intro post :)

thank you @callivich for creating such a comprehensive guide to the community here + encouragement for lurkers. i’ve been encouraged. 🫡🩷

Name: yi + my username means ‘hot dry noodles’ which is a popular chinese noodle dish. i picked it bc 1) it’s delicious 2) it has ian embedded

Age: 20

What made you fall in love with Gallavich? they’re complex characters who go through harrowing experiences, ups and downs, pain and suffering—situations where it seems impossible for any good to materialize. in spite of it all, they find each other over and over again. they scrape together every last sliver of hope. they try and try again, until they can finally match each others' pace, slow down, and just exist together. tl;dr - even with the deck stacked against them, they emerged from the angst victorious and in love. and i'm supposed to not eat it up?

How long have you been a fan? 67 days. i had seen a lot of shameless clips on youtube over the years - mostly of white boy carl, to which i was like wtf is this 💀 and ignored. eventually came across the clip of mickey chasing ian re: mandy in s1, checked the comments out, saw someone say “i can’t believe these 2 guys got married” and i was like What LMFAO? and fell into the All Gallavich Scenes | S01-S11 + Hall Of Shame | 1080p playlist and kinda got stuck there. started watching shameless a couple weeks later just for them

Favourite Gallavich moment/scene? when mickey’s on the brink of losing ian (many such cases) and in a split-second, decides to risk it all for him and comes out to everyone/his pos father at the alibi. then they get to beat him up. i giggle everytime at ian flipping terry off as the cop car pulls away, and sniffle when he kisses mickey’s head. mickey’s courage and fierce love for ian is so clear and it fills my heart with pride to see him finally out.

Favourite Shameless character apart from Ian and Mickey? fiona + mandy <3

Do you write or draw or make edits? i mostly write + i’m currently working on an AU fic—my very first for gallavich 🫡 i also draw once in a blue moon (limited to b&w sketches)

Favourite type of Gallavich fics? i'm drawn to AUs!! much of the canonverse is, for a lack of better words, ouchie. i will pretty much read anything tho; this fandom publishes some impeccable literature.

Favourite Gallavich quote? “ian, what you and i have makes me free. not what these assholes know.” instant classic.

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself? i’m taller than mickey/noel, speak en/fr/中文, and i’d love to make friends and pick writer brains and scream abt gallavich fics/ideas and gallavich themselves. i have so many thoughts abt them i will explode!!

i also wanted to say thank you so much for all the love received on the ian drawing i posted for his bday!! i hadn't drawn in a loooong time and i was met w/ so many kind words for which i am so grateful! 🫶🏻

that is it for me for now. i hope to hear from yall soon! 🩷

[eomma-jpeg]

trigun fic rec list - from lace!

alright, FINE, twist my arm

FIRST UP: @squid789 Blank Ticket - vashmeryl/milivio

so i have a personal fanfic like... catalog LOL and i make little notes as i read and here is the note i left on BT right after i finished it about a year ago

seriously sooooooooooooooo good. squid does an incredible job at post trimax work

blank ticket is so good if you like post trimax stuff (like I do >:)) and squid is so good at representing vash as he ought to be (a brat with a bad attitude and abandonment issues)

Sea Foam - vashmeryl/millywood

once again i have notes from my catalog LOL

PERFECT STUPENDOUS INCREDIBLE I LOVE SQUID AND THE DRAMA AND TRAUMA THEY GIVE ME

SF is a mermaid au and i adore ANYTHING THAT GIVES ME MERMAIDS. It is such an amazing exploration into so many characters, and especially knives WHOM I LOVE TO HATE IN THIS FIC. hes such a brat and yet is just a kid who never got to be a kid and i love him

After Eden - vashmeryl/milivio

I don't have this one in my catalog !!!!! a tragedy !!! (i stopped updating my catalog when i started writing what a shame T-T)

But i can chat about after eden bc i was there for its conception!!! and I beta for it teehee

but its an exploration of BT and i just

it hurts me

squid loves to hurt me

but it hurts so good T-T

if you love to see manga vash act like a spoiled brat and enjoy meryl whump, you will LOVE after eden

Not a Chance - vashmeryl

a lil fic written in the in the meadow universe and its by squid and i love squid and this is my favorite thing in the world

meryl contemplates why she had to fall in love with this doofus

Now, for just a HUGE line up of fics !! these will include my initial thoughts that i have saved in my catalog teehee:

vashmeryl

Truth of a Memory by @fullcry

Vash and Meryl experiment with Vash’s telepathy and memory sharing.

one of my favs just because meryl and vash are so sweet to each other T-T

The Art of the Date by fullcry

Meryl and Milly pity Vash for being a terrible flirt, and Vash dares Meryl to a date to teach him to do better. Vash does better than anticipated.

i go back and reread this one often lol

Memories on Film by fullcry

okay.... this one is spicy and I'm not a huge fan of explicit content....

BUT THE GROWTH AND THE SWEET TENDER MOMENTS AND VASH BEING OBVIOUS MAKES ME SWOON ITS SO GOOD

Other Ways to Speak by fullcry

Meryl kisses each and every one of Vash’s scars

inspired by this

OH BABY THIS ONE IS SO GOOD.

No Reason by @eilwen

this is more of a collection of one shots rather than a complete story, but it has some very cute chapters.

LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST TRIGUN FANFIC AUTHORS OUT THERE !

Seriously one of the best fics. I'm still not completely caught up bc i have zero time, but its so incredibly written. i wanna be like eilwen when i grow up

Distractions by eilwen

eilwen at it again !!! their stuff is so good !!!!!!

this is an incredible exploration of meryl’s character and the growth of their relationship through the books she reads.

The End by @ginger-mosaic

Long fic. It is a vashmeryl fic but it is MORE of an exploration of Vash and Knives’ relationship after the events of the manga.

currently unfinished and I want to die because I need more. I love Livio

ITS ALMOST DONE AND AHHHHHHHHHH CHRONICAAAAAAAAA

seriously an INCREDIBLE FIC. it is a book that could be published at this point its so good. not incredibly vashmeryl heavy, but it is there and i adore it sm T-T

The thomas in the room by @anime-grimmy

Paired with a comic by the author, this takes place after the events of the movie Trigun: Badlands Rumble.

Meryl is acting weird and Vash is determined to figure out what he did to make her so angry at him.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEYRE SO DUMB AND SO IN LOVE GRAHHHHH

Saving Grace by anonymous

TRIGUN SPOILERS - biblically accurate vash. big angel boy

Meryl gets injured and vash tries something new in order to help her

uhhhh if you like monsters and big angels and kisses then uhhhhh this is for you

Roots by @magadauthan

Meryl and Vash have a… whirlwind of a relationship. Vash notices something strange about his hair. Meryl makes him clean the bathroom.

soooooooo silly and domestic and dumb they heal each other its cute.

Interjacence by herdedcats (jaina <3)

Vash and Meryl can’t sleep and decide to make donuts in the middle of the night. Unfortunately that also leave a lot of time for evaluating feelings and confessing thoughts.

no comfort :(

this one is SO GOOD BY WHY DID IT HAVE TO HURT ME SO

Flying or Falling by @madnessmadness

MAXIMUM RIDE AND TRIGUN MIX AHHHHHHELFJFLEFJELKJFLEKJFLJE

my two niche interests slammed together and its so good aldkjfsljdflkj

Bluebells by @needle-noggins

once again, i don't like explicit content, but sav gets me HOOKED IN WITH THE COMFORT AND THE CHARACTER BUILDING AND THE WAY THESE TWO LOVE EACH OTHER SO DESPERATELY THEY WANT TO HELP EACH OTHER SO BAD

Like a Limb by @commander-goo

points aggressively

you like post trimax ? you like feathers and hurt/comfort ???

YOU LIKE THIS

READ THIS

Wait, he can do that? by anonymous

SOFT

FEATHERY AND SOFT AND GOOD

meryl gets a glimpse into vash's ..... dreams.... and gets a bit flustered

millywood

Absolution by SMP

companion piece to tension, describes the intimate moment between Milly and Wolfwood just after he kills Zazie and before [MAJOR TRIGUN SPOILER]

one of the best millywood pieces out there. seriously so good and so soft and has some of the best imagery

i can see a lot of life in you by procrastinatingbookworm

Milly and Wolfwood share clothes

some trigun spoilers because of Wolfwood’s guilt :/

VERY POETIC AND VERY GOOD

In Eden by MicrosuedeMouse

a 98 fic where wolfwood happens to be alive 1!!! and he’s scared to come forward and see milly………….

but then he sees her

millynai

Zirconium Blues by @madnessmadness

alt au where Nai is the hero and Vash is the villain……..

ITS SO INCREDIBLE AHHHHHHHH I LOVE THIS ONE ITS SO POETIC AND AWESOME AND I LOVE LENI THEY FRICKING CATER TO ME AHHHH

milly takes care of an injured nai and shes so country i love her so much

In the Moonlight by @veilder

THIS WAS WRITTEN FOR ME ITS IN THE MEADOW CONTENT T-T

I LOVE VEIL SO MUCH THEYFJEFLEJFLSJD THEY DID THIS FOR ME AHHHHHHH

How to say "You are the sun to my moon" in Flowers by FullmetalDude1

a cute fic inspired by in the meadow and its suuuper sweet

this is a flowershop au where knives is essentially domesticated by milly and i love them so much

Interested in the fics i didn't mention? here you go Lace's Fanfic Catalog

[buckybarnesevents]

ALTERNATE JUNE-IVERSE 2024

You read that correct, little astronauts!

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞-𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 is back for 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝟐 in 2024!

Things are operating very similar to the first round, but please click the Read More below to refresh yourself on the way this event runs.

RULES

Be sure to check out the blanket event rules found HERE.

Due to the nature of all media and works within this event, it is only for those that are 18 and older – upon signing up you acknowledge that you are not a minor.

Any kind of hate (kink bashing/shaming, harassment, toxic behaviour, etc.) will not be tolerated at any point. There will be no warnings given and if proven to have exhibited any disagreeable behaviours, you will be removed from the event.

Tag your works accordingly. We expect explicit works, and that will contain squicks, triggers, etc.  We believe in Kinktomato here. YKINMKATOK (Your Kink Is Not My Kink (And That’s OK) but you are responsible for advising our readers what to expect. 

This event, as always, is open to any and all pairings that involve our favourite murder muffin! If you’re finding that inspiration isn’t coming to you with just Bucky, we will also allow up to two squares per card to feature a different Sebastian Stan persona (Sebastian himself, Steve Kemp, Max Burnett, etc.)

The AU’s are entirely up to your interpretation, so long as they are featured prominently in your creation.

Read our FAQs thoroughly for event conduct, swapping prompts, schedule and more!

FAQs

What is a Connect Four event? 

Simple! It’s very similar to a Bingo Event, where you will receive a card with four categories.  

What happens if we finish our card? 

You can request additional cards! Please only request a new card once you have finished your current card. If you are not happy with the prompts on your card, please request a swap for that square/those squares. You can request one swap per card, up to four squares (yes, you can ask for a whole new card).

If there's a square you don't vibe with, please use our Square Swap Form to begin the process of either requesting up to 2 new squares, or an entirely new card. The email must include your username, card number and the square + prompt you are purging from your card. 

Can we use a fill for another event as well (ie. another bingo, etc)?

Absolutely! So long as the other event allows it, we have no rules against cross-posting.

How do I post to the AO3 collection? 

Under collections (when posting), type in Connect 4: Into an Alternate June-iverse or Connect4AU

You can also add your work directly from the collection by going to https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Connect4AURound2 and selecting “post to collection” on the top right. 

What fills are accepted?

Any creative media is accepted:

Fics Moodboards Digital / traditional art (sketches, too)! Playlists Etc. 

If there is a medium not listed that you want to create and you’re not sure about, shoot us an ask and we will add it to the list!

All work must be newly uploaded to count towards the fill (no entering a fic you published a few months ago, for example). They may count towards already existing AU’s that you write for (a new chapter for an ongoing fic), or they can be something brand new – it is entirely up to you.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE YOUR OWN WORK. 

What pairings are allowed?

Any. Whether that be /Reader, /Steve, /Reader/Steve, /Natasha, /Clint – so long as Bucky is still the main character.

Is there a limit to submissions?

Absolutely not. You are free to create as many works / pieces of media that you feel inspired for – whether that be 5 fics for a Mafia AU square, or 10. It does not matter.

Schedule:

19th of January – Signups open

WHENEVER you receive your card, you can begin posting

1st of June – Submissions close

You can sign up to this event from the 19th of January right through until the end – keep in mind that we are aiming for cards to be in your inbox within 3 days of you signing the form – though we are only human, there may be delays.

If you have concerns or if it takes longer than 5 days, please email us or tag rookthorne / buckyismybicycle on the discord server, and we will check the progress.

[blainesebastian]

lunch break

words: 1,631 ship: austin butler x reader summary: (anon request) “what's your take on Aus unexpectedly coming to visit reader at work? :)” notes: masterlist on my sidebar and linked here!  warnings: none tag list: @killerqueenfan, @karamelcoveredolicity, @elizabethrosecresswell, @gigisworldsstuff, @stylesmendeshearted, @rairaielv

You don't consider your job as something very high end or glamorous, it's kinda a step in the direction of what you want your future to be but haven’t yet acquired. Then again, that makes it sound like you aren’t in control of what’s keeping you immobile, behind barriers and walls, but in fact you’re in charge of your own hourglass. When the sand runs out, instead of making decisions, you just turn the thing over and start the process all again.

Wanting to write your own novel is somehow a cycled mixture of self-doubt and self-loathing—every time you think you’ve come up with an idea that would actually prompt you to put words to paper, you get so caught up in your own thoughts that it’s almost paralyzing. One day, you think, you’ll move the needle forward…today’s just not that day.

That isn’t to say that you don’t love your job, you do—you lead an editing team for a publishing company, your hands are constantly touching the pages of books, of someone else’s thoughts and dreams, blood, sweat and tears. There’s no shame in the work…you just feel like you could be doing more. Austin is endlessly supportive, no matter how many times you ride and sink on the waves of ideas. He’s the one constant, the one person in which you can depend on to completely encourage your dream and push you towards it when you feel like running away.

It feels funny to say things like ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’—as a writer, there has to be better words out there to use and yet nothing feels so all encompassing as meeting Austin just in happenstance at a bar near your apartment. You knew who he was, of course, and hadn’t even thought to enter his orbit until he approached you and a few friends playing darts and asked if he could join in. Out of all the other dart boards, in all the bars in New York, Austin found himself at that specific one, with you—and things just bloomed from there.

It's kinda difficult to wrap your head around sometimes, as if these experiences and steps in your relationship don’t always feel real. Austin is someone who lives larger than life in many different aspects…and for some reason, you’re included in that. You’re really working on accepting that you deserve good things like this, despite how many times you may need to remind yourself. There might be plenty of excuses as to why a relationship between you two wouldn’t work…but there are so many reasons about why it does. You lean into that as often as possible.

Among many things that you can say about Austin, you appreciate that he’s pretty private with his personal life. He isn’t very active on social media and he keeps you out of the public eye as much as he can, warmth fluttering in your chest as you think about him being protective, looking out for you. You don’t realize how much you appreciate that with the few events you have gone with him to—it’s not that you don’t want to be supportive, of course you do, but cameras constantly being shoved into your face, the endless questions that sometimes toe the line of appropriate, the pressure to always be on, pleasant, accommodating. It’s a lot to get used to, a lot to be able to adapt to.

In spite of this, in small circles and unfortunately your much larger ones, people know you’re dating Austin. It was a giant ‘watercooler’ topic at work when it first happened, the Elvis film had just come out in theaters and Austin’s name was slingshot into a lot of headlines, a lot of ads, a lot of social media. Most people respected your privacy, but you definitely had moments of being ambushed in the break room with coffee.

For the most part, it’s settled down. There’s the occasional whispering you can hear as you pass cubicles to head to your office, which pretty much only happens when you attend some sort of event with Austin. You’ve never really thought to invite him to anything that’s had to do with your work—not that you wouldn’t enjoy showing him off, because you’re constantly proud of him and the work he’s doing. But honestly? The last thing you want is for it to come across like you have him on your arm like some sort of accessory or cause absolute chaos with anyone you work with who are fans.

Never say never—one of these days you’ll invite him to your office, let him see where you work as you’ve been invited on set. One compared to the other is obviously more exciting, but you want Austin to feel just as included in your world.

Letting out a soft breath, you look down at your phone as it buzzes with a message from Austin. Speaking of—a smile tugs the corners of your mouth as you tap open the message,

Austin: you eat today?

And that’s something you can definitely appreciate him for. You’ve been known to bury yourself in work that you’re always losing track of time. Between edits, meetings, phone calls, a few coffee breaks, it’s easy to get lost in the sauce.

Y/N: not yet—does iced coffee count? 😊

A few moments pass before,

Austin: you definitely know the answer to that

You smirk before setting your phone down, checking the time and rolling your eyes. Alright, he’s right (though you’re not about to message him that). You’ll take a break in ten, you suppose it is two PM already, and get something to eat. You gotta pull a longer night than usual to get this book edit in by six AM tomorrow, so…need fuel for that.

Closing a few tabs on your laptop, you type in a place nearby that has tacos to see if they deliver, when a string of conversations catch your attention from down the hallway. It’s not particularly loud with your door ajar, but something is definitely going on that you’re missing. Maybe someone put an entire order in for food again for the department…that’s only happened once but it was so nice. You don’t think you heard a fire alarm going off or anything…

Letting out a sigh, you pull yourself from your desk to tug your door open, moving to walk out and around the corner when you bump right into—

You blink, “Austin?”

Your boyfriend lets out a soft amused breath, steadying you with his one hand along your arm. You feel like your brain is kinda short circuiting because this…is the last place you expected him to be? Taking him in, the black slacks, typical boots, black leather jacket with a soft blue sweater underneath, you realize he has a lanyard that says VISITOR on his chest.

And then all the blocks start clicking into place—he came up the elevator, stopped at the front desk, actually signed in and asked where your office was and walked…down the hallway, which explains the commotion. Your eyes dart over his shoulder to take in the state of the office and it seems to be a mix of people gawking or minding their own business. Your cheeks kiss pink as your gaze fixes once again on your boyfriend as you realize he’s got a bag in his hand,

“Did you—”

Austin glances down at the bag as you back up in the office and he lingers in the doorway for a moment, “Yeah, you like that taco place on the corner, right?”

You can’t help but grin, your stomach rumbling in pleased excitement as you reach to take the bag, “I do…I didn’t realize you were bringing me lunch.”

“I like to surprise you every now and then,” He teases, moving to brush your hair off your forehead, “Keeps things interestin’ so you don’t dump me.”

You roll your eyes but it’s definitely fond, smiling up at him, “Thank you.” It’s actually really sweet of him to think of you, especially since he knew you were close to skipping lunch anyways…or is it practically dinner? There has to be more important things to do on his schedule and yet he’s here, making sure you’re taking care of yourself.

Austin leans down to press a kiss to your lips and it’s out of instinct that you flinch, tilting your head a little sideways. He raises his eyebrows, a soft laugh leaving his lips, “What’s goin’ on with that?”

God—you hadn’t meant to do that, not exactly anyways. You can feel people’s eyes on you from outside your office, watching your interactions with your boyfriend, like being placed on a slide underneath a microscope. And while you don’t care what people think, it’s more just…wanting to keep things with Austin where they belong, between the two of you, not meant to be shared with anyone else. But the last thing you want is for Austin to somehow think you’re embarrassed to be with him,

“Sorry—” You shake your head, “People talk about me—it’s just,” You roll your eyes, “You know, gossip. It’s just noise.” You wave your hand in nonchalance, giving Austin a small smile. You’re hoping he can stick around a while, maybe share some chips with you.

He hums a little, glancing over his shoulder before rolling back on the balls of his feet. “I see.” He then takes a step forward into your space, forcing you to look up at him as he closes the distance,

“Let’s give them somethin’ to talk about then.”

A soft laugh leaves your lips, your stomach fluttering in heated butterflies as Austin leans down to kiss you and closes your office door.

[mooncello]

thank you for the tags this past week @shrekgogurt, @nightimedreamersworld and @artsyunderstudy!

lost boys has been resting a bit this week. like bread dough. chapter two needs some significant revision, and sometimes I need to give a story some space to see what my brain does with it when I'm not actively thinking about it.

I think chapter one is about ready though, and will likely publish in the next week. I think.

in the meantime, I've been playing around with a new wip. it's an untitled celebrity au. it's so very different from lost boys, which has been fun to write, and I'm trying to trust my instincts on this one instead of overthinking everything. massive thanks to @thewholelemon and @best--dress for reading the first chapter and reassuring me there's something here. mwah. not sure if this one will end up on ao3 yet, but I'm gonna keep playing with it for now.

here's a couple excerpts, Baz POV.

The team arranges me how they want—first, a series of photographs with a massive tree they’ve somehow managed into the studio, me hanging from its limbs like some sensual macaque, and then a second series of me lounging in a deep green velvet chair. I have no idea what theme Vogue is going for here. But then I never do, and I don’t really care. It’s my job to smolder. Sneer. Pout. Give them the Pitch face. So I do, as they hover around me like fruit flies between each take, freshening my makeup, flipping my hair, always ensuring the dress drapes perfectly over one exposed shoulder. (I don’t mind the last bit. My shoulders are sublime.)

One more under the cut for mild spice.

But as I lie here in my darkened room, those are not the thoughts swirling around my head. No, to my great shame and humiliation, my body is fucking buzzing at the memory of Simon in that photograph. I close my eyes and, There he is. Debauched, flushed, obscenely sex-hazed. It’s not triumph or concern that thrums through my veins but searing lust. And overwhelming jealousy of whoever that other guy is in the photo. The one who knows what Simon's sweaty skin tastes like, what Simon's hot open mouth feels like, what sounds Simon makes when he comes. I white-knuckle the blanket so I don’t reach down and grip myself between my fingers. I will not wank to a paparazzi shot of Simon Snow. I will not.

tags and hellos -- we've nearly made it thru january! @supercutedinosaurs @hushed-chorus @rimeswithpurple @facewithoutheart @iamamythologicalcreature @shrekgogurt @larkral @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @bookish-bogwitch @fatalfangirl @raenestee @best--dress @nightimedreamersworld @artsyunderstudy @cutestkilla @orange-peony

[lola-andheruniverse]

Fix It Wednesday - Caryl Fanfiction Rec

Today's rec is for all my fellow carylers who still dislike the Daryl Dixon's spin-off/can't feel excited for TBOC and lament what could have been. Your feelings and opinions are valid; this fandom is big enough for all of us. 💗

as long as the day is full of time written by averita/ @catelyngrant is posted on 9Lives and AO3.

Summary: New Mexico is hot and dry. or, five endings that would have made more sense than the one we got. Rating: T / Teen and Up Audiences Word count: 2.324 Published: November 26, 2022 - ONE-SHOT

Five endings beautifully written and that make sense for Carol and Daryl even when they are not what we would like. If you're not up for angst, pay attention to the author's note and, maybe, read only the second and fifth. I especially love the first ending, because I can't bear the idea of ​​them being separated forever - and, before Mel/Carol's return to TBOC, this was my deal breaker with TWD:DD. They belong together. Our author writes with so much love for our favorite characters (the way she uses adjectives and adverbs to build the rhythm of the narrative and conceive feelings is superb) that I wish each of the happier endings were expanded upon in multi-chapters AU stories. I don't want to spoil any more of this fic, but I'll highlight two quotes that deserve all the praise: Daryl’s face crumples, just a little, and this time she reaches for him. He presses their foreheads together and they share air until they’re both steadier, both solid, and when he smiles she does too. and It’s the sort of happy ending this world isn’t made for anymore, and it knocks the breath right out of him because even now—even now, in the deepest, most shameful, and most honest part of his heart, he can’t help but think the cost was too high.

As always, if you do read this, dear fellow caryler, remember to leave a kudos or a nice review. Feedback is love. Caryl on!

[xoxoladyaz]

AU-gust, Day 3: Writer

TW: References to monster smut and genitalia, Shrek

Robin’s mad at him.

(Well, mad isn’t the right word. Frustrated? Annoyed? Shocked by his enduring stupidity? All of those are probably better options.)

“Seriously, dingus? You haven’t told him yet?!”

Steve anxiously ran his fingers through his no-longer perfectly-styled coif. “I’ve tried, Robin! It’s just kind of hard to tell the guy that you’re falling in love with that you write monster porn for a living!”

It had started when he was a senior in college, reeling from his break-up with Nancy and trying desperately to find anything to distract himself from his heartbreak. It was a total joke at first, trying to find the cringiest romances he could find and reading them with Robin as they got progressively more and more drunk on whatever cheap booze he’d squirreled away from Tommy that week. But then one night he found himself in bed crying when Matthias the Minotaur sacrificed his life for his one-true love and he couldn’t stand it because Matthias deserved a happy ending after everything he’d been through and Steve had read enough of these books, for fuck’s sake, he could write a better ending!

It was just a hobby for a while, a secret shame that got him through the doldrums of working for his father while trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. Steve could never keep anything from Robin, though, and while she initially teased him for writing “monster porn,” after she read one of his stories she demanded he submit it to some indie romance publishing houses and she didn’t give up until he had done so and now – well, now Steve was making a truly obscene amount of money off of his many, many monstrous and paranormal romance books (with Robin as his editor, of course) and had kissed his shitty parents goodbye.

(And if his pen name was his father’s name, which meant that anytime someone googled “Richard Harrington” the first thing that popped up were book titles like “Prisoner of the Gargoyle’s Heart” and not his father’s incredibly influential law office, well, that was just payback for twenty-five years of bullshit.)

The thing is, Steve isn’t even ashamed of it, not really. He’s always been a kinky guy, first of all, and besides, it’s not all about the sex (although his sex scenes are some of the best in the business and he hadn’t shied away from writing queer books when the rest of the world had.) What he liked most about the stories he wrote was that regardless of what his monsters had looked like, or lived through, or done in their past, or where they’d come from, they all found someone who loved them because of their differences - because of their monstrousness – and not in spite of it.

(And yeah, okay, he liked the sex stuff too. Who wouldn’t want to fuck a dragon with two dicks? Or Prince Titian, the golden-haired merman who had both sets of humanoid genitalia? Or Neptus, the half-man, half-octopus who had all those huge tentacles - )

“Dingus. Stop thinking about Neptus.”

“Huh?” Steve asked, shaking his head. “How did you - ”

“Because I know you, Steve Harrington, and there’s only one person slash fictional entity that you get that weird horny look for and honestly, I could have lived my entire life without knowing about your tentacle thing - ”

“ROBIN, it’s not – I don’t have a tentacle thing ­- ”

“ – but we can deal with your weird fetishes another day, right now we need to discuss why your boyfriend still thinks that you’re an accountant and the fact that you need to tell your boyfriend about your job so I can tell my girlfriend about my job so she understands why I need so much therapy and why I know so much about your sexual preferences - ”

“Jesus, Robin, I got it, I got it!” Steve stood and headed for his minibar. “Look, it’s not – it’s not that I don’t want to tell him, it’s just – people can get kind of weird about it.”

“Yeah, and those people suck,” Robin replied as she followed after him. “But Eddie isn’t Nancy or Tommy or Cheryl or Brad or Kel, he’s Eddie.”

“Yeah, world-famous-high-fantasy-author-Eddie-Munson! He’s, like, actually legit Robin! He’s won the Hugo Award twice!”

“He also likes to go to the Renaissance fair dressed up as a faun and annoy people by playing the pipes, Steve. And you’ve seen his weird monster dildo collection which I know you have too - ”

“I know, I know!” Steve exclaimed as he poured both himself and Robin a glass of Merlot. “I just,” Steve turned to face Robin and sighed. “I’m just scared, Robin. Like, it hasn’t even been that long but he makes me feel – I don’t even know, like, I haven’t felt this way about someone since Nancy, you know? And Eddie - this feels like it could be more than that. Like a forever sort of thing.”

Robin sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know, dingus. And I know that people have you given you all kinds of shit in the past, but that’s not going to be Eddie. And if it is Eddie, I will kick his ass into the ocean and feed him to your squid-man.”

“Neptus isn’t a squid man, Robin - ”

/////

Robin was right, of course. Robin was always right.

(Except for when it came to best Marvel movie, she said Civil War when everyone knew that Thor: Ragnarok was the superior film.)

Anyways.

Robin was right, it was time for Steve to tell Eddie the truth. And Steve had known that too, knew that stretching it much longer than two months would probably end really, really badly, especially if Eddie didn’t take it well, but enough of his relationships (romantic and otherwise) had been ruined by people just not understanding or not caring enough to try to understand his stories or why he loved what he did, but Eddie was different. Successful and handsome and creative and intelligent? Sure, Steve had dated people who had all those qualities before. But only Eddie Munson spent hours on the phone with Steve’s friends, talking them through their D&D related problems. Only Eddie Munson showed up on their first date with flowers for Steve, when Steve was the one who normally had to go all out for his partner. 

And only Eddie Munson would learn Steve’s favorite Taylor Swift songs in his free time (instead of the latest Metallica or Ghost) because he wanted to make Steve smile, which is what Eddie was in the middle of doing when Steve finally worked up the nerve to tell him. 

“The stakes are high, the water’s rough, but this love is - ”

“Hey, uh, Eddie? I kind of need to tell you something,” Steve interrupted him as he walked into the living room, beers in hand.

Eddie stopped what he was doing at Steve’s entrance and beamed, setting his acoustic guitar off to the side. “Everything alright, angel?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I just – here,” Steve handed him a beer. He waited until Eddie had taken a sip (and swallowed) before continuing. “I, uh, well – look, we’ve been dating for two months now - ”

“Two months, three days and fourteen hours,” Eddie winked as he took another sip.

“ – and – right,” Steve flushed bright red at the look in Eddie’s eyes. “Right. Uh, anyways, we’ve been dating for two months and I just thought it was time to tell you and – okay, it’s not a big deal but it is kind of a big deal? But not what you’re probably thinking, I’m not, like, married or anything, I – I’m not an accountant, okay, I’m a writer!”

“I know.”

“ – not, like, a normal writer, I write – wait, what?” Steve gaped at Eddie. “You – what?!”

“Baby,” Eddie started slowly, his finger running in tempting circles around the rim of his beer, “you know I know people in the romance world, right?”

“I – what? You knew this whole time?”

“Yep,” Eddie shot Steve a sultry smirk along with another wink. “I knew exactly who you were when I asked you out, big boy. Or, I knew who Robin was and I put two and two together.”

“I – how?!”

“Baby, you didn’t even change your last name.”

Steve just sat there in stunned silence while Eddie continued to sip on his beer, a teasing gleam in his eyes. “But – I – and you’re okay with it?”

At that, Eddie’s smile grew a bit more serious, and he set his beer down on the coffee table so he could hold Steve’s hands in his. “Of course I am, sweetheart. You’re insanely talented, Stevie.”

“I – I write porn, Eddie. With monsters in it.”

“I know, it’s stupidly hot.”

“But you – it could hurt your career if people found out,” Steve said softly, sadly, squeezing Eddie’s hands. “People – people would give you so much shit, Eddie.”

Eddie squeezed back. “Steve, my nickname was ‘The Freak’ in high school. I was a poor kid with shitty parents who was raised in a trailer park. People have given me shit my entire life and frankly, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about what anyone said about you and your writing. If anything, people are going to ask me what the fuck someone as handsome and gifted as you is doing with someone like me.”

Steve snorted and Eddie let out a laugh. “I mean it! You’re like Prince Charming or some shit and I’m the ogre living in the swamp.”

Eddie froze for a few seconds before a maniacal grin overtook his face.

“Eddie?”

“Stevie, baby, have you ever considered a sexy Shrek retelling?”

“No. No.”

(“There’s an Ogre in His Swamp” was released on April Fool’s Day the following year. The author, Richard Harrington, posted a dedication in this book, the first of many that he would dedicate to his husband, E. W. Munson:

To my Ogre – thank you for being my happily ever after.)

[lady-pug]

if we could wake up

Chapter I of Wouldn't It Be Nice

Summary: You sustain a head injury while on a mission but Whiskey isn’t fast enough to administer the alpha gel, so your memories of your time at Statesman don’t come back. Instead, you only remember up until the day before you were recruited and your memory ends up being reset every night. Jack makes it his mission to make you fall in love with him everyday (50 First Dates AU)

Pairing: Jack Daniels | Agent Whiskey x Reader

Word count: 1,1k

Warnings: major head injury (bullet to the head, but it's reversed using Statesman technology), memory loss

Notes: Hello dearest readers, it is I. I bring thee something that has been sitting among my WIPs for over two (I kid you not) whole years. I’ve had chapters one and two of this story completely ready stored in my files alongside all my other WIPs and simply never remembered to publish it FOR OVER TWO YEARS! Shame on me, wtf. Which makes me quite sad because it was one of my favorites to work on when I first came up with this idea. But anyways here it is.

I distinctly remember having come up with the idea for this after watching ‘50 First Dates’ four times in the same week (if it wasn’t clear by now this is my all time favorite rom-com) and thinking it fit right up with this cowboy right here.

I really hope you, dear reader, enjoy this story, and if you spot any mistakes, please feel free to warn me and I'll correct it right away, and feedback is always welcome and appreciated.

Reader is female, but no physical descriptions provided

Next part | Masterlist | Read on AO3

Bullets were flying, coming from everywhere. Whiskey could barely look over the cover he was hiding behind before someone was shooting at him.

“Ginger!” he screamed into the earpiece “Cider’s down!”

“What happened?” he heard the static voice of Agent Ginger Ale, or as her friends liked to call her, Elizabeth or Liz, over the comms.

“Dunno. Some goons are shooting at us. She just went down.” he ducked again after failing to locate his partner “Can’t even find her. Probably shot at.”

“Get to her immediately. If she got hit in the head you need to administer the alpha gel as soon as possible!”

“I’m trying here, Ging! Ain’t as easy with twenty guys aiming at your head.”

“Use one of those stunning bombs I made you.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to use those prototypes yet.”

“That’s all you got now!” he could tell Ginger was becoming agitated “Just do it, Jack!”

He did just that. Picking up one of the stunning bombs in his pocket he threw it as hard as he could towards the barricade. A loud, piercing sound erupted almost immediately, hurting his ears even from where he was. Poor goons, he thought. With his ears still ringing, he took off using his whip and lasso to take out the men one by one.

Once the place was clear and no other enemies could be detected, he ran towards the place he last saw you. Where you had gone down. He came to a halt, however, his heart dropping to his stomach when his eyes landed on your slumped form, a bullet hole on your temple and blood covering the ground.

“Shit, Ging! They blew her brains out.”

“Administer the gel, quick! It’s been way too long already.”

He fumbled with the equipment, almost dropping the roll of gel, before he quickly placed  it over your face, making sure to cover the wound.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m going to take care of you. Ging is going to fix your pretty little head in no time, yeah?”

The gel inflated and seemed to be doing its job. 

“Ginger, the gel’s been administered. What now?”

“I’m sending a rescue team your way. Try keeping her head slightly elevated.” she said “And Jack? She’s going to be okay.”

Jack nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. He moved around and propped his back against a tree, his legs extended in front of him. As carefully as he could, he dragged your body, laying your head on his lap, running his fingers through your hair.

“You are going to be fine, sweetheart. I promise.”

The following hours were amongst the longest of his life. Jack would even go as far as to say it was almost as long as the hours he went without any news from his wife the day she had died. As soon as the plane landed on the tarmac, a gurney was ready to take you, rolling you to Ginger’s lab.

She wouldn’t allow him to go inside. The machine you were currently hooked onto had nanoparticles working on your brain to regenerate your neurons, astrocytes and neuroglia, or something sciency he couldn’t quite understand. He was in absolute agony not knowing how you were.  

Finally, after what seemed like weeks, Ginger finally walked out of the lab. He scrambled to his feet from where he was sitting slumped against the wall in front of the lab’s doors.

“How is she?” he blurted out.

“Stable. But the damage to her brain was extensive. And the alpha gel wasn’t administered within the correct window of time.”

“Shit, Liz- I- If I had gotten to her quicker…”

“Hey, hey Jack” she laid a hand on his shoulder “It’s not your fault. There were 23 men shooting at the both of you. Our entire elite squad couldn’t take them all out that quick. You did all you could.”

He sighed, only half believing her.

“What does that mean to her?”

It was Ginger’s turn to sigh.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll only be able to assess the real extent of the damage once she wakes up.”

His shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Why don’t you take a shower, maybe try taking a nap? I’ll wake you up if anything changes.”

He nodded, actually wanting desperately to clean up now that Ginger mentioned it, but already knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink until he knew you were safe. 

Jack walked slowly back towards his quarters, almost dragging his feet into the shower. The water seemed to sooth his aches, but not his worries. He couldn’t get the image of your form, suddenly dropping lifeless, out of his head. Everytime he closed his eyes that scene replayed in the back of his eyelids like some sick, twisted film.

He couldn’t lose you. He couldn’t lose another person he- shit, did he love you? You have been partners for years now, always had each other's backs. You were one of the few people he truly trusted, someone he felt comfortable enough to open up and be vulnerable. To be himself. Recently, he’s started feeling something more than just the friendship you’ve nourished for the past years. He felt the urge to protect you, even though he knew for a fact you could look after yourself. He wanted to kiss you goodnight and wake up next to you the following morning. So did he love you? 

Yeah. Yeah, he did. He knew that now. And he couldn’t lose you.

Laying on his bed, his hair was still wet from the shower when Ginger pinged him. He was out of bed and halfway across the base in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t remember running that fast in years. Bursting through the door of the lab, he found you sitting on one of the pristine white beds, Ginger in front of you holding a clipboard.

“Sweetheart…”

Both you and Ginger looked at him with wide eyes. Ginger walked around your bed in his direction.

“Whiskey, wait-” but he didn’t listen.

“Sweetheart, thank all things sacred, you’re okay!” 

He rushed forward, wrapping his arms around you in the tightest embrace you two had ever shared. He pulled back, hardly noticing the way you stiffened in his embrace, cupping your cheeks so he could look into your eyes.

“Jack-” he faintly registered Ginger’s voice behind him, but he didn’t truly care. All he cared about was that you were safe. That is until you opened your mouth to talk.

“I’m sorry,” you smiled politely at him “but who are you?”

[the-marron]

Strawberry and snowflake, please?

Hi ❤️ Thanks for asking ~ I answered both of these in the previous ask, but, as usual, I have a lot to say, so I shall do it again ;-)

🍓 - aside from the Inuyasha blog and the tales I used to tell my siblings, I think my first legitimate fanfiction that I knew was *fanfiction*, you know, happened with Harry Potter - as many before me and many after me, and the first fandoms I wrote for and published on Fanfiction.net were Yu-Gi-Oh and Naruto - I really wanted to add to these universes, to share different 'what ifs' with the characters I loved. And now I am mostly writing aus, that figures 🤣

❄️ - My Fan Wei/Mu Ge wish is one thing, and I also have a long list of "things my friends are writing and I really wanna see", but there is, as usual, more. I really like humour too, not only angst, and I think writing a good comedy is harder than writing a story relying on sadness and compassion, on a purely technical level, so another thing I would love to see is more good, funny crack.

Especially when dealing with untilisation of Shen Wei's creepy factor. I see a lot of stories with people loving him, crushing on him, admiring him and all that, but I would love to see the opposite - SW creeping people out for seemingly *no reason*. Like, sure, he is a good professor, very good manners, polite and calm, but he sometimes gets this look in his eye... The vibes are off, your honour. Basically: SW as the adult equivalent of The Omen Child, from the outsiders POV. Who would I like to see write it? Well, aside from the designated friend that I asked to, everyone who is interested in it? I believe in poking a bit of fun at characters we love, and SW deserves some shaming for his Stalkery Intense Ways 😁❤️

[corpocyborg]

Secure Your Soul: A Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfiction

This fic was previously published under the title “Before the Event Horizon.”

Summary: Six months ago, V’s boss at Arasaka ordered her to assassinate his rival. Instead, with the reluctant but invaluable help of her old friend Jackie Welles, she pushed them both off their thrones and claimed one for herself. Now the new Director of Arasaka Counter Intel has a problem. She’s uncovered information that indicates that Yorinobu Arasaka, the heir apparent to the Arasaka dynasty, is a traitor. But without solid proof, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands.

An AU in which Corpo!V never leaves Arasaka.

CHAPTER FOUR: HALL OF MIRRORS

[read on ao3]

They left her in an interrogation room on one of the unlisted levels of Arasaka Tower. It would have been pointless for her to speculate where exactly in the building she was. At least four different floors of the Tower included sets of interrogation rooms, and those were just the ones she knew about. Besides, they all looked alike on the inside. 

The room was small, but so sparsely furnished that it seemed both cramped and barren at the same time. A single table stood in the center, flanked by two rigid chairs. One of these was occupied by V. The other was empty. The lights in the room were bright red, and they glinted off the metallic gray surfaces in a manner that made it hard for V to look at any one thing in the room for too long.   

She didn’t need to look. V was highly familiar with the features of an Arasaka interrogation room. She would know what was in it with her eyes closed. She was even aware of what couldn't be seen—the extensive surveillance system. Every inch of the room was covered with various sensors, and datasevers in an adjoining room were undoubtedly busy compiling detailed reports on her body language, skin temperature, heart rate, and vocal inflections. It’d almost be enough to unnerve her, if she didn’t know that they could already obtain all the same basic information from checking the logs on her cyberware. Besides, V had been trained to withstand interrogation. She could fool the sensors nine times out of ten. 

As she waited, V wiped the food stains off her face, pulled her hair back into shape, and resisted sinking into the shame and frustration that came along with having underestimated an enemy. 

A few minutes later, the door opened. Abernathy stepped in. As she settled into the chair on the other side of the table, V straightened her back attentively. Although they worked in associated departments, V had only met Abernathy face-to-face on a handful of separate occasions. This was a rare opportunity to compare what she’d learned about her from second-hand sources to the actual woman. 

Her style struck V as slightly incongruous, but immediately comprehensible. She wore a neatly-pressed black suit jacket, and her hair was in a tight, high ponytail similar to V’s own. On the other hand, she’d forgone the classic immono-cotton slacks that V tended to prefer in favor of a short pencil skirt, and her knee-high boots had heels even taller than V’s pumps did. She had followed the general Arasaka dress code but incorporated her own flair. Professional, but not demure. It was a delicate balance that V knew well, and Abernathy walked it proficiently.

Abernathy had neither spoken nor taken her eyes off V since she’d walked into the room, and V was sure a similar assessment was brewing in her mind, with V as the subject matter. Her legs were crossed and she was leaning back in the chair, one arm draped across its side. An open posture that was either meant to imply trust or lack of fear. V would venture to guess the latter.

In all probability, she was waiting for V to speak first and planning to let her lead the conversation. It made sense. The more V said, the more likely she was to slip up and reveal something she didn’t want Abernathy to know. At the same time, dominating the conversation inherently yielded the opportunity to control the narrative. If V could weave the proper story, she could influence Abernathy’s conception of events while letting Abernathy believe that her tactic was working. She’d bite. 

“What does he have on you?” V asked suddenly. She twitched forward in her chair as she said it, as if she simply couldn’t hold the question back any longer. 

“Excuse me?” Abernathy responded. She tilted her head in a gesture of confusion.  

“Jenkins,” V insisted. “Come on. You don’t believe I’m trying to frame him. So why all this, then?"

Abernathy didn't respond. She wouldn’t, not for a while anyway, if V’s assessment of her strategy was accurate, and she was quite certain it was. But V waited, counting the reasonable amount of seconds in her head, as if she expected an answer.   

"I have a theory," V continued. "I think that datashard wasn't everything he had on you. It did feel a bit lacking. Full of facts, but none of them substantial. Nothing I could actually use."

Abernathy remained silent. V waited again, but this time she decreased the length of her pause, imitating a loss in patience. 

"So it was a trap all along then, wasn't it?” She went on. “He suspected I was disloyal, and he knew for a fact you hated his guts, so he decided he'd take us both down in one fell swoop. Dig up dirt on you, then give me all of it except the parts that matter. If I manage to make it work anyway, he's rid of you and I'm bound to him via guilt. And if not, then he extorts you himself and forces you to let me take the blame. Either way leads to victory." 

Abernathy’s face finally betrayed a hint of emotion. She seemed as though she was slightly amused. "I used to think he lacked nuance."  

From that brief concession, V understood that Abernathy respected Jenkins more for having bested her than she did V for not having tried. In her place, she'd have felt exactly the same way. That was how she knew she had just one chance left to convince her she was siding with the wrong person. She gave Abernathy some honest advice. "If you let him get away with this, you'll never be free. Whatever it is you've done, you're better off just admitting to it. Get ahead of the story. Focus on spin control. Don’t let him hold this over you, or he'll own you forever."

"'Forever' is a tricky word, V. What goes up always comes down eventually." Abernathy gestured a rising and falling motion with her hand. "Assuming your little theory were true, I'd already have contingencies in place to erode the impact of any supposed blackmail. The longer Arthur waited to reveal his intel, the more he'd find his leverage shrinking in his hands until it was nothing. All I would need would be time."

V had the uncanny sensation that she was listening to a recording of herself. She held back a smile. Abernathy was so clever. Jenkins was greedy. It was one of his biggest weaknesses as an opponent. She’d first noticed it years ago. He didn’t just want to beat you; he wanted to beat you by as large a margin as possible. It often led him to postpone a win and allow his enemy a chance to recuperate.  

“I see,” V responded, with a slight hesitation that hinted that she didn’t. Then, cautiously, as if holding back her curiosity, “And what if you didn't have time?”

“Arthur’s greedy,” Abernathy said, unknowingly explaining V’s earlier thoughts to her. “Were he to find himself in a position like the one you outlined, he’d want to see how much he could milk out of me before he pulled the trigger.” 

“He could be spooked into firing prematurely,” V suggested. It was true. Jenkins was greedy, but also impulsive. The right surge of emotion could push him into an earlier strike.  

“He could,” Abernathy admitted, “but do you really think you'll have that chance?”

V let her face fall into an image of dashed hopes. “So what happens to me now?”

"I suppose you know what 'firing' means in your case? Considering your level of access to Arasaka intel.”

"Of course I do.” She said it defensively, like someone who was trying to compensate for the fact that she’d been beaten. 

Abernathy had an amused look on her face again. She leaned forward slightly. "I wonder… are you afraid?"

Was that a spark of pleasure she spotted in Abernathy? Interesting. Sadism had not been on her preconceived list of Abernathy’s traits. That could be a useful discovery. She decided to test how much of a difference it made to her. She jutted out her chin defiantly. "No one with a healthy fear of death makes it as far as I have."

"Hmm." The spark went out. Abernathy leaned back in her chair again. "Easy not to fear death when it feels like a theoretical. You might find that changes when the moment comes."

V stayed silent, projecting a sullen indifference.   

"Well, V, I think you've given me everything I need,” Abernathy concluded. “You'll hear our final decision by tomorrow morning.” She stood. “Have a lovely evening." 

She exited, leaving V alone in the nearly empty room.

So she was meant to spend the night here. That didn’t surprise her. It was a common interrogation tactic. Lack of sleep weakened the defenses of even the most vigilant of people. Someday, V thought, when Arasaka finally perfected the digital afterlife, she'd be the first in line to toss away the limitations of the flesh. Well, maybe second in line. She was willing to concede that Adam Smasher might beat her there. 

V crossed her arms on the surface of the table and laid her head on top of them as a makeshift pillow. Nothing to do now but wait for Jackie. Surely he’d understood what she expected him to do. It was time for him to hold up his end of their original deal. 

Jackie’s very own pacto con el diablo, she thought, smiling fondly. For all his moralist talk, when shit hit the fan, Jackie always did the smart thing in the end. If he didn't, she could never have tolerated him long enough for their arrangement to bear fruit, nevermind bloom into a genuine friendship. 

Strange to think the moment had finally arrived, though. It seemed so long ago that they'd come to terms. She readjusted her position and let her mind wander back to that day.