#uhhh we'll see if i ever get to starting that project

[teddyqd]

20 Questions for Writers

eeee thanks for the tag @fuckyeahfang!! <3 i'm gonna tag @maraschinomerry if u wanna (no pressure tho!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 31! Dang I've been writing fic for a second and a half huh (Note: one of these fics is not mine lol -- I posted it for a friend without AO3)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 77,138 -- waough

3. What fandoms do you write for? Whatever's rotting my brain most at the moment -- I had a long streak of Critical Role, which went into TMA, and I have a feeling Dunmeshi might get a few fics by the time it's done with me; also original stuff but I don't post that

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My Lightbringer - 4,891 Hits, Critical Role

[incoming communication] - 3,018 Hits, Lifeline

little blue pills - 2,919 Hits, The Magnus Archives

The Hands-On Approach To Teaching Dunamantic Spells: A Guide by Essek Thelyss (Results may vary) - 2,271 Hits, Critical Role

Shitty Hair - 1,190 Hits, My Hero Academia

5. Do you respond to comments? I try, I really do, but sometimes I'll see one and be like "I'll reply to that later!" and then I don't and then it's been 2 years and I feel bad for replying so late that I just don't 😭 But I do read and appreciate them all I prommy

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? this would require me to finish fics EVER lmao... but seriously probably (Don't) Look Away. Do NOT read this if you haven't played Outer Wilds, but DO go and play Outer Wilds, and THEN read this.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably [incoming communication]? It's definitely the ending I'm most proud of -- it's very self indulgent, but I'm fond of it :"

8. Do you get hate on fics? nah people tend to be chill

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Sometimes, but not often, and I post it even less often. I prefer reading it to writing it, but I do like tossing around ideas I'll never write about the characters' weird and intriguing kinks lmao

10. Do you write crossovers? I don't tend to, unless they're incredibly funny to me. Reading-wise, crossovers just annoy me because there's 2x the chances for mischaracterisation/misunderstanding of the setting(s), but sometimes a really good one can scratch my brain.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not into another language, but I have had a podfic made of Cabin Fever -- which was great since it was a scriptfic anyway! It's really well made, go give it a listen!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Quite a few! Not in a while, but it's fun to work with someone whose brain ticks in synch with mine about a character or ship. I actually started dating my current partner in part because we were talking about a fic we wanted to write together! We'll get to it one day, and get sooo much hate about it it's quite fucked up LMAO

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? MAN. YOU CAN'T ASK ME THIS. it's like picking children. uhhh Shadowgast (Critical Role) is up there for All Timers but they are def not the only one. Probably the one I've thought most about, but now I'm thinking about Blupjeans (TAZ)... JMart.... augh. i love when people love each other despite the very terrible consequences

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? little blue pills! It's a fun concept -- I love fucking with the very rubbish trope of soulmate AUs and making them Weird and Queer, but I am not great at finishing projects and I have also cooled slightly on TMA since I started it.

16. What are your writing strengths? big emotions! being purple prose but like good about it! Weird People.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? finishing things, plotting, writing convincing dialogue -- yknow, just little things (🥲)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? It can be done well, but it needs to be considered deeply. Also, used sparingly. I like throwing in terms of endearment in other languages, but when it's whole conversations, it's not fun to be checking google translate/the AN every five seconds.

19. First fandom you wrote for? the first one that's still up? Layton Brothers! the first ever? harry potter 😔

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? i hate favourite questions i hate favourite questions uHHHHHH You Were My Conscience. fucked up monster lovers trying to moralise their way out of being responsible for a man's mental breakdown <3

thanks again for the tag sunny i love u mwah

[kyrodo]

We... sussed out kaskat's group XD of all people. I never expected him to pull me away to another room lol when I turned on player pick up. Even stranger still I never expected to hop off kaskat's instance early to watch kirby. And uhhh we're being shipped together again in places I didn't expect xD choskey has been sweeter with me, and I can feel my heart melting when we're around each other. And Red is getting jealous unfortunately >.> tbh I don't know how things will progress from here. I'm more focused on the journey than the destination at this point, because the journey has been really fun. I have so many things to think about. Small things here and there that C himself has initiated and videos he's shared that relate to us. It would be difficult at this point to say I'm not his crush. And I'm really happy being around him. Petting him. Helping him understand programming. Planning out projects we'll work on together. Or things to play and watch. Helping him find his identity in the furry fandom. Helping him grow. I've helped him in so many ways and had gratitude expressed for it. And thinking back now I think cho wanted the same thing I did from vrchat. A default. Not just random people to visit now and then but someone to plan out things to do with. And that's what I became. People keep saying we're cute together. People keep matching us together onsite in public lobbies even when we're not even doing anything. Just for showing up in our avatars. But it perfectly reflects how I feel inside. I don't want to cheat or hurt Red and I don't think cho wants that either but I do love him a lot. I feel the fire burning inside with so much more weight to it than random fantasies I've had for Twitter mutuals and the like. Memories. Expressions. Identity. Personality. Interactions. Fantasies. This constant study of everything we share and do together and what he could be thinking from them. It is a much more proper crush than all the times I've admired anyone from afar. And one where I know for a fact we get along really well. The problem as always is the destination. Where can love grow when I'm already mated. And I am much more comfortable with the concept of polyamory than I was before, I didn't think I'd actually get anywhere close to it being a reality. I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone that would make me seriously consider it. Though I've certainly been in this hole a lot over the past few years. Red is unfortunately not enough to fulfill my social needs. Gaming wise or activity wise or even sexually if I want to think that far. Red always stops things early. Or regrets the recreational time we share when he'd rather be productive. Or is hyper picky about food, bright lights, socializing etc. I don't fully embrace his worship for emergency services, especially police. I get no assistance finding things to actually do together. So I think a part of me is constantly looking for someone to fill in the gaps that he leaves behind. And maybe that's why I keep falling in love. I desperately need something that I'm not getting sitting still. But I have to be very careful about it. I can't start relationships with people other than Red. I don't want to be known for that. So I'm basically trying to get as close as I can to one without actually making that final step. But again there's no final goal beyond spending as much time as I can with my crush. A situation I never seem to escape but learned to navigate better and safer.

I genuinely and deeply care for choskey. I want to see him happy. I want to see him grow. And I want to spend as much time as I can with him. Because it makes me feel extremely happy. A part of me constantly wishes I could be so much more for him. But maybe this is all I need.

And I know a part of it is to also make up for my trauma, my social and romantic failings. But there's so much more depth to it than that now. Cho's personality and presence is baked into my life now, my daily thoughts, my dreams and wishes. There are very good reasons for me to feel the way I do, reasons even people on the outside would have to respect I think. I mostly wish I had always been this respectful. I would never have gotten hurt at the very least, or at least it would have hurt quieter and without any added drama. Even though I keep falling in love, I'm proud of who I am now, and I don't feel as ashamed about it.

[fizzsea]

In any case, here is a track I finished some time ago djfdsfj

[voxmortuus]

Silly Crush | POSSIBLE CHAPTER SERIES

Stu Macher x F!Reader

Scream FanFic

TW: Fluff, mild language, heated make-out session

Forgive my writing. It’s been a while.

GIF created by @2026

Late summer of 1996, just before school starts back up again. The summer fair had come to town, this year it decided to not skip town, the weather was perfect for it! Being the loner you usually steered clear of these things, but you had befriended Tatum and Sidney. It was nice to have friends that you could talk to, to trust, plus the added perks of Stu's flirtatious nature, though you could never bear to tell him that you had a crush on him, you'd be risking your friendship and likely look foolish, there was no way you thought that Stu would be into someone like you... I mean, after all, he was Stu Macher, he and Billy were kind of known around Woodsboro High.

Slipping into your favorite pair of black overalls, one strap off, and slipping on a black crop top and a pair of black LEI black platforms a touch of makeup, and braided your hair into long pigtails, and headed out. Tatum loved your outfit. "We'll meet the guys there, Stu had to do something." Tatum chirped while you hopped into her red Volkswagen bug and takes off down the road. "What did have to do?" You casually ask. "Something with Billy, said they'd show up after, some project they're working on." Sidney chimed in. "Yeah something stupid important." Tatum mocked. With a chuckle, you shake your head and watch out the window.

Getting out of the car after she parked it you three look around and decide to head to the benches waiting for the two boys to arrive. Tatum played with her gum and Sidney reading a book, you sat there, people watching, three unlikely friends, but so far so good, this was going to be good for you, real good, so you hoped, minus the odd guilt of crushing on Tatum's man. Letting out a soft breath, Stu and Billy approach from behind startling their better halves. Stu looks at you and gives you a sweet smile. "Hey Y/N. Glad you made it." It could be he was being nice, but the feeling behind his words was something more. You give a kind smile back and flush slightly. "Me too." Clearing your throat and with a side stare from Tatum and a smile from Sidney the girls hop up and look around.

Without any hesitation Tatum looks a Stu, "It's time for that big blue dog you promised me!" She grinned taking his hand and dragging him away. Sidney looked at Billy, "Ferris Wheel?" with a shrug and a nod. "Sure." Sidney looks at you. "You can come if you'd like." You shake your head and give a smile. "Nah, I'll be good, I'll be here. It's just nice to get out of the house." Sidney nods and pats your shoulder before she and Billy take off to the wheel while you sat there, alone, like always. "I knew this was a bad idea." you tell yourself before letting out a sigh and slump on the bench picking at your glitter nail polish and staring at the ground a bit.

After a few hours had passed Tatum started to feel sick, of course, that's what happens when one inhales two cotton candies and a thing of funnel cake and a corn dog and a diet soda. She looks at you. "Hey, I'm going to head home, thanks for coming with us, Stu is going to take you home if that's alright?" You look at her "Yeah, that's fine. Feel better." You tell her. "Billy, Sidney you ready?" she askes them almost feeling ignored you look down at the ground, your jaw clenches, Sidney touches your shoulder again and the three of them take off. Stu sits next to you and looks ahead of himself. "You know, she doesn't mean to be a bitch all the time." You look up and over at him and arch a brow. "She's not a bitch, just, set in her ways." With a chuckle, he shakes his head. "No need to be polite. She brought you here and ditched you. Personally Bitch move." He stated

Shaking your head you know how people like that can be, you slump a bit more. "Nothing like being a third wheel." you chuckle. "It's alright though, it was nice to get out of the house." you state with a soft voice and maybe some optimism. Looking at you he smiled. "How about I make up for it?" You quickly shake your head and smile. "You don't have to, there's nothing to make up for." Shaking his head again. "I don't think you understand. Let me make it up to you. I don't think I'm giving you much of a choice." Clearing your throat you look down and pick at your nails again and nod your head. "Okay Stu."

Standing up he takes your hand and your whole body gets warm, flushed, and nervous as he takes you to win you that blue dog he botched trying to get for Tatum. "Until I win the big blue one Merve." He tells the man behind the counter. "Anything for you Stu." He chuckles and hands him some baseballs. You watch as he looks at you. "I'm bad at this." He laughs throwing a few, "Not too bad." you reassure him. After a good five minutes, he wins you the large blue dog, smiling you bite your lip taking the dog. "Thank you," you tell the man and then at Stu. "And thank you. I have the perfect spot for him in my room." You beam a smile nuzzling into the dog a bit.

"Next stop!" He takes your hand and takes you to get something to eat. You blush a bit as he took it upon himself to order for you. Taking a seat a the picnic benches Stu looks at you and looks around. "There are a few more stops before we hit the big ending." He nodded to the Ferris wheel. Biting your lip and taking a bite of your burger you look at him and back at the end of the strip and let out a shaky breath. Nerves are going to get the better of you, you know this and grip the large paw of the dog and look at Stu. "Thank you, for all of this so far." He laughed. "Don't thank me until the end." He tells you.

Finishing food he takes you to the water guns, the ball toss and ends up winning you a goldfish, the thunderbolt, and last but not least, you two are standing in line for the Ferris Wheel, your stomach is turning, nerves, the Ferris wheel was a special ride. "We don't have to do this." You tell him. "Nonsense, we're going." He laughs taking your hand and getting into a cart and closes the door. Placing the dog and the bag with the goldfish on the bench across the way Stu decides to sit next to you with his arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. Taking in his cheap cologne your eyes close, feeling this odd sense of safety.

The ride takes off and you jump a little and he pulls you closer. "Heights make me uneasy." you tell him, looking down at you. "I'll protect you." He tells you with a cheeky grin and looks around. "Thank you for tonight, I'm glad I came." She smiled. "I'm glad you came too." A few times around the wheel stops, Looking around Stu chuckles. "Uhhh, bad news, we're going to be stuck here for a bit." Your eyes grow wide and you get closer to him and bite your lip harder. Stu holds you petting your head a bet and you look up. "Well I guess, we should talk... I need to distract myself. I'm a horrible friend Stu." You tell him.

With an arched brow, he looks at you, "How so?" you fidget and he looks at you, waiting for you to speak. "I've uhh, I've got this thing for someone, and this someone has someone, and this someone's someone had befriended me this summer and I feel like a bad friend for liking this someone." You state, "Vague... I'm sure Sidney would understand, everyone's got a thing for Billy." He moves away a little bit. Shaking your head you look up at him. "No Stu, I like you, and Tatum would have a cow if she found out." Stu looks at you. "You like me?" He asks you, nodding your head he chuckles and smiles. "I like you." He tells you.

With a nervous laugh, you lean into him and bite on your lip. He looks down at you, and tilts your head up, and presses his lips to yours, his hand resting on the side of your neck as you grip his shirt and press into the kiss a bit more. His tongue dances with yours as the kiss becomes a bit more heated, his hand moves from your neck to your breast gripping it in his hand as the other pulls you closer. He pulls you on top of him and you look over his face, moving your hips a bit and he lets off a soft groan, pulling you closer back into a kiss as his hands rest on your butt pulling you even closer, any closer and you'd melt into him. His hand slips under your shirt playing with the perky bit of flesh and the suppleness of your breast while your fingers play with his hairline.

Tongues dancing together he lifts his hips up into yours. Looking over his face. "We shouldn't do this here, not here, and it's too quick, and I... Stu..." Stu looks at you. "Yeah Y/N?" He askes with a smile. "Do you love Tatum?" You ask him. "I wouldn't call it love, she's annoying, needy, and overly clingy... I offered to take you home, I wanted to tell you I liked you, and was hoping that maybe you'd be my girl." He looked over your face. Hugging him you nuzzle into his neck. "Yes, absolutely. Tatum is going to shit." You chuckle shaking your head. "She will at first, but she'll find someone else to occupy her time." He smirked and places you next to him and fixed your shirt, taking care of you, holding you close.

The wheel starts moving again and when you two get off the wheel, he smiles taking your hand, and escorts you to his car where he then takes you home. "I'll come by tomorrow we'll go see a movie or something. After I tell Tatum see ya." He chuckled planting a kiss on your lips before you get out of the car and make your way inside with your dog and fish. Your mother looks at you. "Well well, looks like you had fun." You smirk big and nod. "Night mum. Love you." You kiss her cheek and rush upstairs. Putting the fish in a bowl and the dog on the foot of the bed you strip down into something comfortable grab your journal and being to write. "Dear Diary, Tonight, was the best night EVER!"

—————————————————————————————————

If you want to be tagged let me know. This is the first of many stories! I am also taking requests!

@luciferslittleastre

[wildflowers-of-trolberg]

How about a directors cut (if you haven’t already down them) for Get Out, YNMM, and uhhh… any wildflower fic of your choosing. And I supposed it would be neat to know if there’s anything I don’t know about Swim Until You Can’t See Land :3

Okie so:

Get Out I think I have talked about before? But I'll talk about it again, cause it is interesting - while a lot of the final fic's inspiration came from the song Good For You, from Dear Evan Hansen, which I initially connected to Hilda because I think it really fits her worst fears in the Runaway AU, it wasn't the origin point; it just provided a lot of the vibes for the nightmare scene. This entire fic actually exists specifically because of two things, the first being this fanart of Luz:

Which made me think about wanting to put Hilda in a similar amount of hurt; I actually directly referenced it for the description of Hilda right after her nightmare, and sent it to @sarasplenda (yes I know you sent the ask :)) as reference for the comic version of this fic.

Hilda was sitting up in bed, hunched over, the covers around her a crumpled mess of red fabric. She was outright sobbing; her mouth hung open, her face twisted with horrible pain, tears running in rivers down her face.

The second thing that inspired this fic was a meme, specifically this one:

I think the specific version I saw had Hilda saying "Terraria is just 2D Minecraft"; I know it's just for fun, but I just couldn't stop thinking about this, and about what it would be like if Johanna had actually reacted to that moment in the Stone Forest by kicking Hilda out. And once I had a thought about hurting Hilda, and a way to hurt her, the fic was inevitable.

Looking back, though, my feelings on Get Out aren't perfect. I don't hate any of my older works, but I think it's probably the weakest Wildflowers fic. That being said, there's really only one line in it I don;t like, and I can see why it's so beloved :))

You're Not My Mum was a weird one, because I think a lot of people have the order of events confused. I actually didn't come up with the idea after reading the Hilda tie-in novels; I came up with the idea after asking @walruses-hilda-variety-hour about his experience of them, because I'd already seen that one bit from Hilda and the Nowhere Space, and was worried about the books' portrayal of Johanna. When he said she was genuinely abusive, I started making plans, and I bought the first three novels specifically to reference for this project.

I didn't expect the situation to be even worse than Walrus had mentioned, but it was, and I ended up having much more to address than I planned. But I think the fic came out really well - the only thing it doesn't really get at is Novel Hilda has a tendency to sass her friends more than Show Hilda, but since Novel Hilda spends the whole thing distraught, and her friends really suck anyway, I don't think it really matters; if she does ever get a sequel where she interacts with David and Frida, and comes out of her shell a bit more, we'll see more of that side of her.

My final fun fact about YNMM is that it's technically not the first thing I made for this AU. That honour goes to this image:

Which is a fairly shonky edit of my mental image for Novel Johanna after losing her daughter (thanks to some comments I got on this, in my head she's now Norwegian Crime Drama Johanna).

I think you do already know everything about Swim Until You Can't See Land. I came up with the thing by combining two of the ideas your headcanons gave me (Summoning Sickness, a Wildflowers about dispelling the Tide Mice making Hilda sick, and Big Sister, a fic about Alfur using his nickname for Hilda and her having to ask Kaisa what it means - I might actually still have to write that, as a sequel to Swim...)

I will say that the final chapter is much longer than the others because my plans changed; originally, Chapter 4 would have ended with Hilda deciding to come back to shore, and then there would have been a separate Chapter 5 from either Alfur or Johanna's perspective, about the final reconcilliation. But I just never can get away from Hilda's POV, so this was the result.

Also - I genuinely have no idea who recommended me the song, which ended up inspiring the whole fic. I'm sure it was somebody, but I asked all the friends I could think of a while ago and none of them had.

And finally, I'll take that Wildflowers offer to talk about When She Wasn't There. That fic basically only exists because of the scene in Mountain King where Trylla shuts Johanna outside; the thing is, in the graphic novel, I don't think it's clear whether Trylla actually saw Johanna, so I wasn't able to acknowledge it in There Was A Kindness In Her, and wanted to retread the concept as a result.

That meant a greater focus on Johanna and her trauma from the incident; because she goes through an awful lot (I would genuinely argue a couple of moments actually go too far for the tone of the show, although it's not as bad as The Fifty Year Night and it being a movie helps it get away with more). The original concept was actually to have her be out when Hilda got home, because she'd gone to talk to a potential therapist, and didn't want to tell Hilda. But I just couldn't get the scene break between Hilda deciding to wait for her and her returning home to work right, so I recycled what I'd written and turned most of it into the start of Hilda's nightmare.

And that's the other thing I wanted to do. There are some fantastic fics about Hilda coping with Mountain King (this fic was a gift specifically because @sarasplenda wrote what I think is the absolute best one and one of the best Hilda fics, period), but one thing I wanted to explore myself was the idea of Hilda getting Separation Anxiety. Especially for a kid like her, who's very independent and really doesn't like imposing on her mum, it would be really hard for her to feel like that, I think. I actually took a lot of inspiration from the graphic novel version of Bird Parade, where Hilda actually does get really worried when she comes home and her mum isn't there, and it ends with Johanna offering to join Hilda on her adventures at the end of the Bird Parade (both versions of that story have Johanna at her absolute best, even if the Johannas are very different characters and good for very different reasons) so I stole that directly (I am still annoyed that the graphic novels never really made good on what was implied to be a change for the better in their relationship).

Still, part of me genuinely thinks this might be the most spiteful fic I've ever published. I have similar bitter feelings towards Infinity Train, and Forests of Oregon does address those in its final Book, but it's never been written; the Afraid series gets some of it, especially in the second part, and so does Authorisation Void, but who would've thought Hilda would be the show to really get it out of me?

[emachinescat]

Explosion + Hands + Jack

A MacGyver Fan-Fiction

by @emachinescat ​

@febuwhump ​ day 22 - burned

Summary: A bomb Mac is disposing of goes off prematurely – and Mac’s hands pay the price. Or, the time when Jack has to be Mac's hands. 

Characters: Mac, Jack

Words: 2,945

TW: Relatively graphic description of burns

Note: This story is based loosely off a scene from classic MacGyver. Also, please take the vague MacGyverism with a grain of salt. I did some research (and also wrote this before Mac made the same thing a different way on the newest episode), but I also took some creative liberties.

Keep reading here, or on AO3!

If you enjoy, please consider liking, commenting, or re-blogging, and you can follow me for more content like this!

"These have to be the stupidest bad guys I've ever met," Jack griped. He sat in an old dining chair, ankles lashed together with rope and hands tied behind his back. MacGyver was his mirror image, tied similarly, in another chair, back to back with his partner. Their bound hands had been connected to each other, so every time Mac moved, working the ropes, Jack's arms jerked with him.

Even though he couldn't see Mac's face, he could clearly picture the raised eyebrow in his mind's eye as Mac responded dryly, "And you're… complaining about it?"

A cramp ran through Jack's upper back, and he instinctively rolled his shoulders. Mac squawked indignantly as Jack's movement impeded his progress. "Hey, watch it! You almost made me stab myself!"

"Sorry." Jack paused for a brief moment, trying not to think about why Mac was working so feverishly to cut through the thick ropes with his knife – seriously, they hadn't taken his knife before they'd tied them up! – without cutting himself or Jack. "You about got it, hoss?"

Mac's voice was strained with concentration when he responded. "Just … about," he grunted. "Keep talking."

Jack smirked. "Can't get enough of hearing ol' Jack's wisdom, huh?"

"It's more like white noise, but if it makes you feel better…"

"It does." Jack continued on his earlier line of conversation. "I'm just sayin', man, these lunatics didn't leave nobody here to keep an eye on us, and they left Angus MacGyver tied with regular ol' rope with his SAK in his pocket and a room stock fulla toys he can use to escape." When he spoke, Jack's Texas drawl was thicker than usual. He'd noticed that his accent got more pronounced when he was nervous or in a rough situation. He'd mentioned it to Mac once, and his partner had quickly informed him that it was more than likely a coping mechanism, Jack's way of unconsciously trying to keep himself calm. Jack disagreed. He was convinced that his cowboy twang got heavier in nerve wracking situations because he was actively channeling the spirit of Clint Eastwood and his mind and body were preparing him to do some insanely awesome hero stuff to fix the situation.

"Yeah, well… they also left a bomb in the room," Mac reasoned. Jack could feel the sawing motion as Mac carefully made his way through the rope. Any other time, Jack knew that he would have cut through it in half the time, but with all four of their collective hands gathered together in one bundle of scratchy rope, Mac had to move slowly, methodically, so he didn't cut either one of them. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem for him to take his time, but as Mac had so helpfully pointed out, there was the matter of a ticking bomb just out of arm's reach. And they had no idea how much time was left.

Jack tried to paint their situation in a better light. "It's just a little one. The explosion won't even be all that big."

"No," Mac agreed, "but with all the gasoline they scattered around us, I think it's a safe bet that the size of the explosion won't matter, since we'll burn with the warehouse."

A snap, a sigh of relief, and then Jack felt Mac move in the chair, and knew he was bending forward to untie his feet. As soon as he was free, Mac pelted forward so quickly that he pushed the chairs back a couple of inches, Jack and all. He didn't stop to untie Jack – no time – but he did leave the SAK in his palm. Jack immediately started sawing at his own ropes.

He was still working when he heard Mac swear loudly from somewhere behind him. A queasy dread settled in Jack's gut.

"Talk to me, Mac!"

"No time!" Mac spat, and Jack knew, heart stuttering, that his partner wasn't just saying that he had no time to talk – there was no time on the bomb.

"I can't disarm it!" Mac yelled, his voice growing farther away as he ran, presumably with the bomb in tow, away from Jack. "I'm going to try to contain it!"

Jack continued to cut at the ropes – almost there! He heard the sound of something metal being pried open, and he remembered that there was a large dumpster near the door of the warehouse, one of those industrial ones. Hope rose cautiously within him. Mac had done similar things before; there was no reason why it shouldn't work this time!

The one thing that he didn't factor in, however, was the bomb's timer running out before Mac could close the dumpster.

He heard the explosion, a terrible, anguished scream, and then, the worst sound of all – low, uncontrollable, rocking sobs of pain.

Jack cut himself three times in his haste to get free, but he made it to Mac's side in less than a minute. What he saw made his stomach curdle and his hands shake as he pulled Mac back, further from the smoking dumpster.

Mac had curled into himself on the floor, his hands gnarled before him in pain. Once they'd moved a safe distance from the mostly contained bomb, Jack took a closer look at them and nearly vomited – not from the blood or the burns themselves, but from the knowledge that these were Mac's hands that had been caught in the explosion, burned, blistered, and bloody almost beyond recognition. Jack knew he should be grateful that all of Mac's fingers were intact, but it was hard to feel thankful for anything when Mac's hands could serve as a suitable stand-in for ground beef.

Mac's head was low, chin flush against his chest, his shoulders trembling in pain. Jack remembered when Mac had sustained first and second degree burns pulling his dumb ass out of a crematorium. Jack too had been burned on the bottoms of his feet, and the healing process for both Mac and himself had been one of the most painful experiences either of them could recall in recent memory. There had been debriding, cleaning, bandages, antibiotics, and, in Mac's case, a few sessions of physical therapy.

This was so much worse.

"Mac, buddy," Jack entreated, trying to keep his voice steady for his partner's sake. His accent was slathered liberally on every syllable, his voice gentle and quiet, like he was approaching a startled horse. "I need you to look at me. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Mac didn't respond, just heaved in a great gulp of air, and the breath rattled in his lungs like the last throes of a dying man. The sound clenched its icy fist around Jack's heart. He reached out, placing his index and middle fingers carefully beneath Mac's chin and lifting his kid's head to look him in the eyes. What he saw there nearly killed him.

Jack had been Mac's overwatch for a long time, and he'd seen the kid in a lot of less than ideal situations – roughed up, sick, shot, you name it. But never had Jack seen the level of fear and pain blazing in Mac's eyes as he did now. Tear streaks ran down his face, which was sooty and a bit red, especially around his forehead, but the burns on his face were superficial. Definitely first-degree. He'd managed to shield his face and eyes from the blast.

But his hands… Mac had to have just let go of the bomb to drop it in the dumpster for his hands to look like that but still be basically intact. Jack moved his hand from Mac's chin and cupped his partner's face in his hand, gently brushing a tear away, trying to get Mac's attention on him, to calm him down. "Mac, talk to me." He had no idea how he was keeping himself from crying right alongside his friend. "I need to know you're with me."

Mac hiccuped, took a deep breath through his nose and made a visible effort to calm himself down. When he spoke, every bit of the agony Jack saw in his face translated to his voice. "I–I'm okay."

Jack chuckled, but there was no humor to it. "I don't believe that for a second. But you will be, ya hear me?"

Mac nodded shakily, a low, keening whine building at the base of his throat like a wounded hound dog. He choked out, "It h-hurts."

"I know, bud. Can I see your hands?"

Mac shook his head, pulling his hands closer to his body. "Not yet. We n-need to find a way out of here f-f-first." Mac's teeth had started chattering, which sent a whole new wave of fear tearing through Jack's body. If Mac was going into shock, they were really out of time. And as much as Jack wanted to get a better idea of the damage, figure out what they were working with, he knew Mac was right. In all the chaos and worry, he'd almost forgotten that they were still locked in the warehouse with a smoking dumpster slowly turning the air against them. From where they sat on the floor, the air wasn't bad yet, but they needed to kick it into third gear – it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"Okay," Jack agreed. "How do we get out? As I recall, they've padlocked all the doors from the outside, and this whole place is made of steel. Can you figure out how to make something to bust those doors down?"

Mac's eyes, glazed with pain, darted around the warehouse, which had until very recently been one of the stashes of the cartel that had captured them. "Uhhh…" His voice broke, and Jack saw Mac's hands twitch in a painful spasm out of the corner of his eye. Fresh tears welled up, and Mac blew out a shaky breath. "Okay. Yeah. We should b-be able to make a blowtorch to c-cut us out of here."

Jack shot Mac a dubious look. "You're not makin' anything hoss, and I sure as hell don't know how to make a blowtorch. Think you got it in you to walk me through it?"

Mac didn't look so sure, and Jack's stomach flipped as he saw how much the trembling had increased. Still, MacGyver was never one to admit defeat, and he nodded. His voice was thick with pain, dry and raspy, but he managed to walk Jack through a collection of basic supplies, all of which were readily available in their current space – an empty syringe, a thumbtack, pliers, lighter fluid, and Jack's own lighter, which the bad guys had left on him. Seems the only things they'd actually taken were their prisoner's phones.

By the time Mac had coached Jack through the process of actually building the DIY blowtorch, an incredibly precise and delicate venture that Jack barely managed with his sausage-like fingers, smoke was beginning to gather in earnest, and Mac was shaking so badly that he sounded like he was working a jackhammer when he talked. But Jack had finished it, and to his shock and utter relief, it worked – he'd not doubted Mac, of course, but his own ability to bring Mac's idea to fruition – and Mac had offered a pained, crooked smile at him, and said, "S-s-see, we m-make a p-p-pretty good t-team." Then, whether from pain or shock or hyperventilation, he passed out, and Jack only spared enough time to check his vitals before he used his lighter-turned-blowtorch to cut his way through the steel wall of the warehouse.

It was a slow process, and Jack burned himself no less four times, but at last he'd carved their escape route. The men who'd left them here to burn had gone. Jack hoisted Mac onto his shoulder, taking extra care not to jostle his mangled hands, and set out in search of a phone – he knew there was a gas station a few miles away.

Mac just had to hold on until then.

***

24 Hours Later

Jack was there when Mac woke up from his first surgery.

Jack was always there when Mac woke up in medical.

Mac peered at him through groggy, drug-hazy eyes and gave his partner a weak smile. "Hey, Jack."

Jack fought the urge to pull the kid into the tightest bear hug he'd ever experienced. Only a glance down at Mac's heavily bandaged hands lying delicately on his chest kept him where he was, in the cushioned hospital chair that played at being comfortable but really wasn't after ten minutes. Jack had been sitting in it for nearly sixteen hours, give or take, not counting bathroom breaks and coffee runs. Others had stopped by at various times, too – Matty, Bozer, and Riley chief among them – but right now it was just Jack and Mac. The way it had always been.

The way it would always be.

"Hey, kiddo. How're ya feelin'?"

Mac thought about this for a long moment, his brow furrowed in concentration like he was trying to figure out some complicated equation. Finally, he answered, "Weird."

Jack threw his head back and laughed, though what Mac had said in no way warranted the kind of reaction he was getting. It was like all of the stress and fear and uncertainty and trauma of the last day were riding the shockwave of that almost manic laugh.

Mac's eyebrows creased further in concern. "What's so funny?"

Jack scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, not sure if his eyes were watering from laughing, or if he had started crying somewhere along the way. "Nothing, hoss. What feels weird?"

"Floaty?" Mac answered uncertainty. From where Jack was sitting, Mac looked all of seven years old, tucked into the hospital bed in the Phoenix recovery ward, hair messy, eyes tired and confused.

Jack patted Mac on the shoulder, and Mac stared at the hand like it was the most surprising thing he'd ever encountered. Damn, they had him on the good stuff. He told Mac as much.

Mac's eyes were already drifting shut, the pull of the drugs too strong. "You go to sleep," Jack said softly, unable to keep himself from brushing a stray lock of hair from Mac's reddened forehead. "We can talk more when you wake up."

Mac, for once, did as he was told.

***

Jack spent the night at Mac's side, of course, despite Matty's urging that he go home and get some sleep. He wouldn't have been able to sleep, anyway, even if he had been in his own bed. He couldn't stop thinking, stop remembering. When he looked at Mac now, he saw pristine white bandages and the kind of tentative peace that could only come from whatever drugs they had him on – probably morphine and a cocktail of antibiotics, if he had his guess.

The problem was, Jack knew what lay beneath the bandages. He had seen, once he had finally found a phone and called for help, the extent of damage that had been done to Mac's hands up close. And it terrified him.

Even now every time he closed his eyes, even to blink, he could see his kid's hands, covered in burns, some so deep that Jack swore he could see tendons. They were bloody and blistered and the angriest shade of red Jack had ever seen.

He also saw, whenever his body betrayed him and he started to doze off, the way that MacGyver had writhed and twitched and moaned even while unconscious as Jack tried to examine them. His mind dragged him back to the Phoenix chopper, where a medical team immediately gave Mac painkillers and started debriding the burns. Mac had woken up then, thrashing and screaming the most terrible, guttural, animal screams, and Jack had been forced to hold him down while the medics worked, and he'd cried alongside Mac, and after they'd landed and Mac had been rushed in, Jack had found the nearest trash can and puked his guts out.

Even now, one surgery down, it was far from over. The doctor's prognosis had been hopeful, but cautious. Mac should be able to gain control of his hands again, should be able to build things and destroy Jack's phones and return fist bumps and high fives, and open doors and climb and pick things up and shoot hoops and anything else he wanted to do… but it would take time.

Six surgeries, minimum, to repair damage to tendons, do skin grafts. Mac's hands would always bear some scars, even though Phoenix had flown in the best surgeons in the country to rebuild the hands that usually did the rebuilding. And the few sessions of physical therapy he'd been through the last time he'd burned his hands were child's play to the PT he had in store in the coming months.

Jack sure as hell hoped the world would hold it together until MacGyver healed. He knew that it might as well have ended if Mac hadn't made it out of that explosion alive. Jack's world would have, at any rate.

But, Jack reminded himself as he watched the steady rise and fall of Mac's chest, despite all of the pain and physical therapy and surgeries in his future, Mac was by far the strongest person he knew. He had no doubt that the cautionary "should" the doctor placed on Mac's recovery was more of a "will definitely," because Mac didn't let anything slow him down for long.

So Jack had to be strong, too.

"I'll do it for you, Mac," he said aloud. He carded his fingers gently through mussed blonde hair.

It was a promise he intended to keep.

[dear-alex-chill]

Ducktales Story from Discord #1

Louie: what's the one thing mark Beaks doesn't have?

Webby: a brain?

Gyro: originality.

Scrooge: as much money as me

Fenton: Morals

Huey: an honest plan

Dewey: these sweet dance moves!!

Louie: all correct, but no.

Louie: he’s single

Scrooge and everyone: ooooooohhh

Mark beaks walks in: what’s so funny?

Everyone: nothing-

Louie and Gyro: your depressing life.

Webby: you tell him!

Scrooge: I’m too old for this-

Mark: Hey!! I- I HAVE MORE FOLLOWERS ON QUACK CHAT THAN YOU!!

Louie: oh please, when you’re the nephew of the richest duck in the world—*hold up phone*

Everyone wants to be your friend

Gyro: then how come you can’t get somebody to love?

Mark: speak for yourself robot dude

Fenton: well actually-

Gyro: Uh- yeah-

Mark: oh. Oh wait! Ohhhh!!! This is so going on my feed!

Louie: ha look at that.

Webby: never would’ve guessed

Louie: really?

Webby: no it was so obvious

Gyro: Why are you posting about something you don’t have?

Mark: it's just the way the world works nerd

Louie: got ‘em

Fenton: blathering blatherskite *summons arm

shoots phone*

Gyro: Yes, get him.

Mark: Hey!! Not cool Chico! Thankfully I have my backup phone..

Mark: y-yeah well I don’t see any of these kids having love lives!

Webby: actually *holds lena’s hand*

Louie: oooooOooooh what’re ya gonna do now Mark?

Mark: I am so not accepting your friend requests now!

Fenton: bold of you to assume any of us want to be your friends to begin with

Louie: you’ve been blocked

Gyro: ->- and plus, we actually have more with our lives other than looking at a screen all day.

Dewey: Yeah. Who wants to be friends with this jerk?

Huey: a masochist

Dewey: what now?

Louie: you mean like duckaplier?

Huey: yeah..

Mark: At least I have a social life. Unlike some Chicken I know..

Gyro: Excuse me?

Scrooge: alright Goldie stole the fountain of youth let’s go kids, before this..”thing” keeps talking

Mark: whatever old man. I got a business to run anyway

Louie: actually you’ve just been canceled

Mark: WHAT?!!??!

Louie: yeah, apparently you’re..just too “Mark beaks like”

Mark: *storming out of the room*

We'll see about that

Louie: hmm the moment he tries to tries to become trending I’ll cancel him again

Gyro: snickers

Dewey and Huey: Louie!

Gyro: No, please keep going green nephew.

Louie: whatttt? Im just doing what need to be done

Webby: looks like gyro has a favorite nephew

Louie: and now he’s been canceled again.

Gyro: I do not! All of you are equally annoying!

Fenton: what about me?

Huey: your his boyfriend-

Louie: and? He’s probably annoying to some extent

Gyro: You’re the most annoying! *mumbles* In the best way-

Mark: Awww #ship it!

Fenton: awwww

Gyro: WHA- Where did you come from!?

Louie: here comes the bride- all dressed in...uh tech

Gyro: ->- green nephew, I order you to stop

Louie: yeah alrighty

Webby: I swear I have no idea what’s going on anymore this conversation is just madness

Louie: uhh he’s trending somehow- and it looks like it’s just a bunch of picture of you and Fenton. He’s calling it #fenro

Gyro: What? Give me that! points to Louie’s phone

Louie: *hands it over*

Gyro: Oh this is ridiculous.

Fenton leans over to see the screen

Louie: yeah it’s gone viral everywhere

Gyro: *Shows Fenton* there

Fenton: grabs phone and stares

Gyro: well can we stop..whatever this is?

Gyro: And hey! I was holding that!

Louie: I’d cancel it, but then I might be canceled myself-

Fenton: scrolling though the tags they made fan art

Louie: I saw some links to fan fiction too

Gyro: WHAT.

Fenton: they made us kids

Mark beaks: Ha! I win

Louie: they do based on these pictures from mark’s new phone

Louie: they’re calling you the bottom

Gyro: I AM NOT!

Fenton: well how do they know that-

Louie: well whatever the truth is, they are now saying that they want a kiss pic from Mark, who probably won’t get that and then they’ll riot

Louie: we could also just give them a cuter couple

Louie: like Webby and Lena

Webby: wait What?

Louie: or Scrooge and Goldie

Huey: penumbra and mom

Dewey: Donald and daisy

Fenton: let’s just calm down, maybe we should just see if it goes away on its own

Lena: oh come on, we are the cutest couple to exist

Louie: doubt that’s ever gonna happen

Fenton: ummm *blasts all the phones in the room* solution!

Lena: well that’s one way to solve the problem ?

Louie: *pulls out another one* yeah you’re still trending

Fenton: *sighs*

Lena: okay never mind

Louie: our motto at Louie incorporated is always have a backup phone, and after that another backup

Mark: hey that was my motto first

Louie: are you sure about that?

Louie: cause now it’s mine and trending

Louie: a lie is simply a truth that has not been repeated enough times yet

Lena: he’s not wrong you know

Louie: ayyyy

Webby: LENA!

Louie: just listen to your girlfriend Webby, she’s clearly got the right idea

Huey: LOUIE!

Dewey: *posts this on Dewey Dew- night*

Mark: your just a kid! You can't possibly *looks down at phone to see Louie trending* Oh YOU-

Louie: wait, how long have you been filming for?

Dewey: the entire time

Louie: *looks over at mark* I told you it was mine

Mark: Whatever. I'll just start a new trend

Louie: too late I canceled you

Mark: *takes a selfie* Canceled Selfie!

Gyro: *sighs* will you ever shut up Beaks?

Mark beaks: i Don’t know Gryo when will you stop making evil inventions?

Gyro: Not until I crush you.

Mark: woah woah. Assassination is not a good look on you

Fenton: who said it was on him.

Webby: I don’t think it’s a good look on anyone

Louie: oh Webby, when you’re older you’ll understand

Mark: 'specially with your little project in tokyolk

Webby: and you do?

Gyro: *punches him*

Louie: uhhhhh yes?

Gyro: Now, what was that you said?

Fenton: oh my god *starts fanboying in spanish*

Mark: who PUNCHES a guy?!?!

Gyro: Me.

Louie: you’re not a guy, nor a man. Just sad little baby

Mark: *disgusted* Augh!

Huey : uhhh Dewey did you get that?

Louie: who relies on his it list mama

Dewey: yeah

Huey: should we be worried?

Dewey: nah

Gyro: No, not at all.

Louie: get out of here beaks

Mark: Fine! But I'll be back!

Scrooge walks in the room

Gyro: uhh, no you won’t

Louie: no you won’t

Scrooge: what in the blazes happened in here?!

Mark: Your children are maniacs!

Louie: Mark was bullying us

Gyro: It was simply business Mr. McDuck.

Scrooge: oh was he now?

louie pulls out puppy eyes

Scrooge: in that case, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!

Mark leaves mumbling: stupid grouchy old man

Louie: hah! Woo

Gyro: I can now finally get away from it.

Louie: you’re welcome?

Fenton: thanks. *pats on head*

Louie: HEY!

Huey: well with that settled-

Fenton: we should probably get back to whatever it is we were doing

Louie: which is?

Gyro: I actually do not know

Scrooge: Adventure!!

Louie: oh no not again

Gyro: Ah, yes. That.

Louie: *tries to walk away*

Scrooge: Now where are you going lad?

Louie: I- Uh..I’m dying?

Lena: pffft nice

Gyro: What-

Gyro: What am I even doing here, I’m leaving this chaos

Louie: y-yeah came down with the common cold of uh WAIT FOR ME!

*runs after gyro*

Gyro: No, I won’t. *continues to walk away*

Fenton: Wait what about me?

Louie: I promise to not speak or even breathe!

Gyro: hmmmm. No

Gyro: well if you don’t hurry up Cabrera then I’m leaving you

Louie: Fenton can I come? *puppy eyes*

Fenton: yes-

Gyro: *sighs* fine.

Webby: it feels like we’ve been talking for 53 years!

Lena: I know right

Huey: I know what you mean, I feel like I’m being controlled by a teen and typing out unoriginal dialogue in a phone

Credit to the Discord Chat (for making this a proper story), specifically:

@shadybelievercat

Queen_of_bread

Neighborhood Nerd

[shiro-0197]

Oh I'm so glad to know that you were able to sleep in!! You got your new year's rest :D that's true 😿😿 but I'm feeling better now. Abigail just dropped me home. The surprise place was actually McDonald's 😝😝 we did the drive thru and sat in the parking lot to eat for a while, and then she took me to her boyfriend's house because she had to pick something up, while I played with Gordon😭😭‼️‼️💖, and just chatted with his older bro. It was nice.

I know!! They're so aesthetically pleasing oh gosh. I've been obsessed with them lately, and I so badly wanna make a pair. Not like I'd ever know where to wear them, but it'll be a fun project xD wait what???

That's so cool, wasnt he your schoolmate too?? 😮😮 That's a real coincidence tho tbh haha AHH no you're not his dog 😾😾 just his soulmate or something, 😣💖💖💖💖💖💖

bones go brr, BUT OKAY OKAY I PROMISE I SHALL NEVER DO IT AGAIN 😣💖💖💖💖💖👀

awww. I feel the same way when I get moody in front of my mom. I can't deal with emotions like normal, so when I'm sad or mad or angry, I don't scream or anything, I just get so quiet and don't talk, and I really really wanna change that and start communicating better. It happens rarely, but I want it to completely stop.im also sure your mom knows you don't mean to, and that it just happens in the heat of the moment, so don't beat yourself up over it, bae 😭💖

well, I don't know what you look like, but I DO KNOW you're the cutest to me <3

Oh it tastes like that, I think. And yeah I hope you do enjoy it when you taste it someday :D and that's really so cool, you'll be able to eat anything without problem then, you're so lucky >.<

awww that's a shame 😿 if you don't mind me asking, what's your ethnicity? I'm actually half Indian, but I'm mixed, as I also take after my Chinese and Portuguese grandmothers. And yes I find culture immensely cool, and I always love learning about different cultures.

THAT IS INDEED WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!! and I'm so so glad you'll do that if you ever wanna rant :>

OMG NICE!! SNACKS!! YUM!! and random guy?? ALSO NICE!! 😼😼😼😼😼 Why'd you say that :(( who knows, maybe you guys will talk again?? He did wish you after all ;)

I hope your day went well!! Did you guys have fun?, (I also hope that this sandwich was better xD)

I'm looking forward to that meetup too!! We'll countdown together it'll be so fun <3 I have that stupid presidency round table in a few minutes so I'm gonna shower before it so I can get back to money heist as soon as it's done 😭 I love you too bae !! 💖💖💖✨

—a person who loves you

Yep, I skipped my first morning of 2021 XD it was pretty nice, though I still woke up a bit sleepy for some reason and was a bit tired till noon. Still good😌

Wow, I'd love to go to a McDonald's one day😩 We're gonna have a date in there when we meet 😡 after the other ones we planned kwqkkkdk

That sounds so nice!! And you got to see Gordon yayy😭😭😭❤ that sounds like a good day, I'm glad!!

True true, like what are they even for... fingers are the first part to get cold so like uhhh. But they're still so awesome and I also wanna wear them on an autumn day or something, just so I can look a little hotter😝😝

Actually, he isnt my schoolmate, he's in the same school, but its in a different city, you know? I hope that makes sense, ask me if you're confused though hehe~

Noooo dont call us soulmates that's weird, how about... Twins? Yeah, twins with an age gap😭😭 a but offtopic, but during the call we had talked about how we should make a person that has all the traits we share, which is a lot, starting from our love for cheese, to our family conditions XD it's kinda scary how similar we are lmao, I guess that's a Scorpio thing. At least we have someone who actually relates, which is cool

Ohh, i see!! You're right, it's really better to start talking things out, because otherwise it's just gonna get worse... I wish you the best in that! I'm sure you can do this<3

I really hope so. She's been through a lot and I dont wanna add to that:( Thank you, hehe♡

Hmm about that, I'm not really comfortable with showing my pictures, but Kuro said he could try to make me in Artbreeder once he gets a hold of it (because as of now he has absolutely no idea how to use it ejejjsjf) so you might see how I look🤭 I'll make sure it looks like 90% of me, at least hehe. You're still cuter😡

I'm half Russian, half Kazakh! It's a miracle how I'm not the same ethnicity as Kuro, really. That's so cool!! All of my relatives are either Kazakh or Russian, though someone from my father's side is Uzbek, but I've seen them, like, once. It's a shame I hate my father, I'd get to meet that person. I heard that they constantly travel to Turkey with their family, I wish I was with them😭😭😭

Fairrr, maybe we will. We have the same interest so maybe we'll interact somehow XD he seems cool, as he had passed the vibe check, so I hope that he messages me sometimes.

We did!! Kuro kept on talking about the dream he had (he doesnt have those often, so it's really awesome to hear him talk about it!!!) and tbh it was so cute XD my favorite part was how him and someone he doesnt remember (he likes to think it was Shoyo😭 my son) tried making a cake, but one of the eggs hatched and they panicked. Then they raised the chick together. It was so funny I'm surprised I didnt choke on the sandwich. Oh yeah, ut was pretty good!! Better than the one that had lied about its spiciness. At least this one wasnt filled with lies😒 it was filled with a really nice sauce instead, it was like a mix of ketchup, mayo and mustard. Weird, but I'm also weird so I loved it xD

Ohhh sounds lovely, I'm gonna count in mixed languages because ima show off like that😙

I hope the meetup went well and that you're enjoying your watch!! Love you too, sugar, good night💕💞