#<- tag and title for when i eventually post them all as collection on ao3

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Fanfic Thieves on Youtube

A collection of youtube channels have been uploading preexisting fanfictions in videos with little to no credit to the original authors. These are not podfics, these channels copy-paste the fics into text-to-speech readers then upload the unaltered audio over static or unrelated backgrounds, either art that is also stolen or mobile game footage. In addition to not naming the authors, they alter the title to make it that much harder for readers to recognize or find the original uploads. Some go so far as to pretend they themselves are creating the fics in question. Many claim that their stealing actually helps give fics "exposure" despite the intentional steps they take to conceal the origins of the fics they profit off of. However, this practice has lead many authors to discontinue fics after the frustration of having their hard work stolen. Many of these channels claim they will remove videos upon request, but will either argue with the author in order to keep it up, or simply unlist the video for a time until they think the author isn't paying attention anymore. And their solution to receiving strikes against their channels in the past has been to further obfuscate the origins of their content instead of even considering asking first.

”I got caught stealing, so instead of not stealing anymore, I’m doubling down on stealing even more so it’s harder for people to find out and prove I’m stealing. Stealing doesn't count if the specific person I stole from didn't call me out. I am the real victim.”

That, plus the incessant tag scumming in all the videos (spamming unrelated tags in order to appear in more search results) proves to me that these are lazy attention seekers who don't want to put in creative effort when they could just leech off of the passion of others.

In order to report them, go to their channel's "About" page and click the flag icon. Said icon might be behind the three dots in the top bar on mobile. Go to "Report User" at the bottom and tick the "spam and scams" button. This will allow you to list multiple videos as offenders instead of reporting them individually. Youtube's policy states that video spam constitutes:

Massively uploading content that you scraped from other creators.

Auto-generated content that computers post without regard for quality or viewer experience.

If you recognize one of your fics among the stolen, say so in the additional comments box, and perhaps call out the channel directly in the video's comments. If you recognize someone else's fic, please let the original author know so they can report the channel as well. Many have been confronted for stealing previously and refuse to admit wrongdoing.

Most of what I've found has been My Hero Academia fics since that's my fandom and those are the ones I can recognize as stolen, but there are many other channels that steal from other fandoms, so I invite anyone and everyone to reblog this with their own findings.

The reality is that this extremely low-effort content and new youtube channels are both very easy to make, so most likely they'll start new channels once the ones on this list are run through. But hopefully, if we all work together and keep whacking these moles, perhaps we can instill that same defeatism they caused so many creators who didn't deserve it, and eventually they'll give up.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who helped bring additional channels to my attention. A special thanks to ao3 user InArduisFidelis who brought the initial attention to the issue, and @owlf45 whose work was stolen.

Links under the cut.

YurikoFanfics - Not only stole content, but acted in comments as though they were the one writing these stories.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@YurikoFanfics

What-IF-Anime - Has the exact same "disclaimer" about not being the original author as the one above. Either they're the same person or the thieves are stealing from each other.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@What-IF-Anime

quirkywhatif7 - Either an alt of the above, or all these people are talking to one another because this one made a community post identical to a comment the one above made in response to being called out (the above screenshots).

https://www.youtube.com/@quirkywhatif7/about

DekuFanfic - It's the same fucking guy again.

https://www.youtube.com/@DekuFanfic/about

InfiniteParadoxfanfics - Nothing notable, same deal as the others.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@InfiniteParadoxfanfics/about

WhatIfAnimeChannel - Admits in their community posts that other people write the fics they post but still doesn't give credit. Migrated to a new channel after issues with youtube, likely being flagged previously.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeChannel/about

WhatIfAnimeAll - Alt of above.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfAnimeAll

FWNWorld - Makes sure to tell you that the videogame footage is theirs, but can't bother to credit anyone else.

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@FWNWorld/about

WTFW - Claims to have "[A] team of talented writers, voice actors, and artists work together to create immersive fan fiction stories that are sure to captivate your imagination." Just the same test-to-speech stolen content over videogames. So straight up lying claiming that everything is theirs (and that anything they make is quality).

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/@WTFW

MHA2.0Fanfics - Lots of crossover theft.

https://www.youtube.com/@MHA2.0Fanfics/about

Collerwhatiif - Pretty sure this one is the same guy as the previous 2, also has one for another fandom.

https://www.youtube.com/@Collerwhatiif/about

https://www.youtube.com/@GoJoFanfiction/videos

ko_sensei - Another that claims to have a "team" that makes the stories they steal: " passionate about creating compelling and engaging fanfiction that explores the various "what ifs" in the anime universe."

https://www.youtube.com/@ko_sensei/about

FantasticWhatIf - Multifandom stealing, uses the exact same bs disclaimer as many others.

https://www.youtube.com/@FantasticWhatIf/about

LettuceHeadFanfics - No credit, no acknowledgement of anything. Next one is an alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@LettuceHeadFanfics/about

brocollifanfics - Alt of above, once again admits to stealing with a declaration of "☆If you want to takedown any videos. You can mail us or leave a comment below the video☆"

https://www.youtube.com/@brocollifanfics/about

whatifofficial786 - Focuses on MHA/Naruto crossovers. Identical format.

https://www.youtube.com/@whatifofficial786/about

NotWhatIf - I've lost track of who's an alt of who but yet another identical format, descriptions, and bullshit claims of "enhancing the viewer experience" by putting a robot voice over bootleg fortnite footage.

https://www.youtube.com/@NotWhatIf/about

weebxds - Same again.

https://www.youtube.com/@weebxds/about

ItachiFanfics - Naruto channel, we can at least confirm that this one is run by a human given the rare different descriptions and a real voice at the beginning of videos before the robot comes back.

https://www.youtube.com/@ItachiFanfics/about

WhatIfDN - As if mockingly, a bunch of videos have a "credit" section in their descriptions that is of course blank.

https://www.youtube.com/@WhatIfDN/about

SpiceandBooks and spiceandfiction - Apparently Youtube itself has started picking up on the bullshit, because this multifandom channel is being dinged as ai spam so they started a new one.

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiceandBooks/about

https://www.youtube.com/@spiceandfiction/about

theoriginalastra - Doesn't even bother with disclaimers, the following are multiple alts/potential alts for different fandoms.

https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalastra/about

SillySenpai12 - Highschool DXD alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@SillySenpai12/about

RosieRealms - Naruto alt.

https://www.youtube.com/@RosieRealms/about

DekuWhatIfs - Potentially another astra alt but not sure, doesn't matter because all these channels do the same thing anyway.

AnimeStark688 - No credits or disclaimers.

https://www.youtube.com/@AnimeStark688/about

Please take the time to report these channels, spread this post around, and reblog with any additional offending channels you find.

[faejilly]

writing patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

tagged by @junemermaid, no-pressure tagging anyone who would like, because I have no idea who's seen and either done or passed on this one lately. PLEASE PLEASE DO IT AND BLAME ME IF YOU HAVE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST INCLINATION, I love seeing these things, I'm just brain-dead re: tagging today. 💙

1. Vakarian makes Shepard feel old.

Chicory, Mass Effect, Weaver Shepard, not on AO3 yet because I'm trying to turn it into a series of first/early impressions of the ME1 crew from Shepard's perspective. But then I've done Kaidan's first impression of Shepard already, so I can't decide if I should do her version of that or figure out another one. But also should I add Joker? I should always add Joker. But then in what order? (You can see the overthinking process here, can't you?) SOMEDAY I WILL WRITE WEAVER & TALI AND IT WILL BE DELIGHTFUL. She adores Tali. But also wishes to keep her safely in engineering 99% of the time. BUT ALSO...

anyway. back to sentences. ->

2. Emmett had known that he would see her.

Almond Blossoms, 7kpp, Emmett/Sheltered Princess & a lot of chaperone POV's. Also I posted that in September last year so this is clearly going to be a little depressing in terms of my ongoing 'am I a writer anymore?' existential crisis

3. “Don’t move.”

Never Again, Shadowhunters, Malec, sort of omegaverse, sort of weird magic bonds, a very belated prompt fill from the @knotinmyname anti-ai-scraping event.

4. The Matchmaker may have announced them, they may consider themselves engaged, this might be exactly what they should be doing as these connections are exactly what the Summit claims to be for… but Nathalie’s a 'known’ seductress and suspected murderer, but Clarmont’s only 'allowed’ here for the Royal Family to keep an eye on him, to make sure he knows how generous they are being with their mercy.

Relief, 7kpp, Clarmont/Ambitious Widow (Revaire feels!). Yes, that is just one sentence. Yes, I did that on purpose. No, I probably shouldn't have, but idc. 😅

5. Alec hasn’t even been Marked, still technically a fledgling rather than a Shadowhunter, when he learns that most nephilim can’t hear their weapons sing.

untitled eldritch angel powers prequel, Shadowhunters, Alec Lightwood & Politics is my jam, even when he's like 10 or something. As is weird magic and angel lore that I get to make up! Not on ao3 because I think it's going to be in a bigger thing, but I haven't actually done it yet, but I also get really tired of trying to rearrange my AO3 stuff because then I lose links and comments and brain power that should have been used for maybe writing something again some day.

6. All the dealers know Magnus’ name.

Fluff for @foodsies4me! Malec Auctioneer AU on the floor because it made me smile. (I used to be an auction block clerk.)

7. A familiar flare lit up his apothecary, and Magnus reached out to catch the fire message.

working title is 'wtf the clave is competent' and this is another playing-with-lore Shadowhunters prequel (that will eventually be Malec) started off via a Tangential Tuesdays prompt (which is a thing I would like to properly do again, but I keep not writing which makes it tricky)

8. An Omega heir to two old bloodlines in line for a Headship was something the Nephilim hadn’t seen in almost a century, and ought to have been prestigious enough for Alec to have chosen any path or mate he wanted. [x]

9. That was Magnus. [x]

These are both omegaverse prompts for the aforementioned anti-ai event and actually posted on time last June. Both Shadowhunters and Malec and just little bits and pieces of almost things. And fun on their own, imo, but. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

10. Cullen thought he’d gotten used to seeing this new Hawke in Haven.

Gladiolus, Cullen/Hawke, Dragon Age: Inquisition (Hawke as Inquisitor). Another prompt fill, a ficlet for a collection I have on AO3; its continuing existence is almost entirely @jadesabre301's fault.

Well, picking chapters and scenes posted on tumblr rather than my ao3 was probably good for my sanity, since my ao3 is a bit of a mess.

I seem to start with very declarative sentences this past year or so: we are here and this is what we're dealing with. Which is not... how I have previously concluded this meme, but I'm not sure that it's really any different than usual, just more obvious. It's a habit developed, I think, in writing relatively short-fic and also playing with lore or setting, because I very much need to set up my framework if I want anyone else to follow it.

I definitely should try and play some ME and/or watch some Shadowhunters and clean up some of the bits that I would really really like to have as finished stories though. This has successfully reminded me that I do, in fact, usually like writing and still think like a writer, so that's probably good!

/thank you june 🥰

[tigerlyla-of-metinna]

Lost Scenes Thursday! Get to know your favourite authors better. Show five scenes from either abandoned fics where you regret they will never see the light of day, or five scenes from WIPs where you are impatient to see them out there. Long, short, one-liner... it's all good reading. Tag five other authors where you are curious.

Hi Valandhir!

Sorry for the late late response. I was trying to wrack my brain for a fic, let alone five, that I may have abandoned and found just one. Not exactly left in the dustbin, but re-written to be published on an undisclosed date. It is about Witcheress Ciri reconciling with her emperor father Emhyr. They met before sunrise and had an awkward chat. The notable scene there is Emhyr's attempt to make a joke, Ciri remarked that he is bad at it. Eventually they share a father-daughter bonding moment: Ciri finally calls him Papa and for Emhyr, that is enough.

I actually posted a ficlet with pics but sadly the story is gone because I decided to correct the spelling error of my account name, but I do plan on expounding the ficlet and refine this someday for AO3.

I have a WIP that I am excited to unleash and this was seeded by that "anon" who bristled at @laurikarauchscat beautiful art of the 3 generations of var Emreis, and gave birth to a series of beautiful, and pregnant, Morvran arts (hehehe).

Here is the anons' "ask":

Currently re-reading and re-writing my next chapter of The Roles We Play and it's a right mess!

And here is my other fic in the draft stage, with a placeholder title: Morvran is a seahorse dad. I swear it will have a dignified title when this is done!

Chapter 1

The emperor of Nilfgaard… is, pretty much, indisposed.

Emperor Morvran Voorhis- var Emreis shifted uncomfortably on the heavily cushioned mattress of the bed he shares with his wife, the empress Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon Voorhis- var Emreis. He grunted, placing a supporting hand on his belly as he pushed himself a little higher on the pillows. The child, their little girl, gave him a kick for the disturbance, earning Morvran a painful grunt, then laughter. His daughter is exhibiting traits akin to his wife.

He patted his belly affectionately and cooed at the unborn child within in a singsong tone, which seems to calm their daughter: Pavetta var Emreis. It was Cirilla’s idea and no one could convince her to reconsider. She nearly came to blows with her father, the outgoing emperor, Emhyr var Emreis, when he expressed his hesitation. Emhyr did not refuse the idea that his grandchild is named after his unfortunate departed wife, but that his granddaughter will become a living reminder of his past transgressions. Cirilla sneered and told him he’d just have to learn to live with it.

But Morvran knows that Emhyr will soften the moment he sees his granddaughter. Like all grandparents, he isn’t immune to the protective, and, doting instincts upon the sight of a little one: the carrier of their bloodline. Not even an emperor as powerful as the White Flame.

He felt movement in the womb. Not a kick, but a gentler nudge. His little one was demanding attention. Morvran, also, was not immune to the doting instincts and gently ran his hand on his belly.

“My little girl, my impatient Pavetta” he said, chuckling. “You’ve inherited that from your grandfather.” Another series of little tremors. Morvran imagines his daughter laughing.

He sighs “I hope you inherited something from me besides our mutual love for your mother.”

*it was noted in the latest edition of maximus Mundi that the Princess Pavetta var Emreis is a superb equestrian, winning many laurels. She is also known for her love of pickled onions and ginger: a less known affectation she learned from her father.*

[eliotqueliot]

WIP Tag Game

RULES: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I am still working on a number of the same WIPs, so I'll talk about progress and priorities a bit to make it more interesting. Also, I make art as well as fic, so I'll tag a few artists. Please note: I'm tagging you only because I love your work. Absolutely no worries if you don't wish to post! Also, please, anyone looking at this--please jump in if you like💖 @magicians4time @vooruitmariek @itsminimes @violetsarepurple-fuckyou @wolfnprey

also tagging (please stop being funny about this, Tumblr!!!)

@bravelostgirl @cyprianlatewood @jessalae @lovequeliot @springybreak

okay Tumblr, I have your number, thank you, also tagging

@tbraves24 @lizardkingeliot @yourtinseltinkerbell

Tagged by @unlifeira. Thank you!

All my WIPs are The Magicians, specifically Queliot fanfic/fanart.

I'm super, beyond excited to announce we've started working on this project again! So dear to my heart! I'm illustrating the brilliant fic by @magicians4time

We Could Build a Castle - EliotQueliot, Librarity - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

2. I'm making art for every still photo on the AO3 side of my collection of haiku about the Mosaic life of Eliot and Quentin. This is a long-term project. There are going to be more than a hundred paintings in it when I'm done. So far I've posted nine of them. My aim is to add something, some touch, some light and color, an expression, to each scene. (There will also be more haiku eventually!)

Mosaic Haiku (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

(the photos I'll be painting are visible in the Tumblr mirror chapters)

3. I have a Secret Queliot Novel collaboration project with a beloved Queliot artist. I'm working on the middle chapter right now. The "finished" chapters are about 80k so far. Teaser: it concerns a mix of book and show to retell the Keys Boat Quest!

4. Ongoing and very important to me, I just posted Ch. 4 for this AU:

you want it darker? || dark king eliot - EliotQueliot, victoriaandalbert - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

It's a challenging fic to write, so I got slowed down a bit, but in general I try to post a chapter every other month.

5. I'm actively working on the next chapter of this. Hoping it will be the next fic chapter I post:

Sailing to Blackspire - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Below are the rest of my WIPs, basically in the order they appear in my list of works on AO3. I'm making art for some of them. I'll finish all of them. I just have so much going on! Also, I have ideas sketched out for quite a number of Queliot fanfic and fanart pieces after these. Just trying to maintain some kind of order in all this chaos!

6. ...Baby One More Time - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

This will be short but needs a few chapters. Time loops!

7. All We Need Is One Good Day (Any Day That You're Alive) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

One more chapter and another moodboard to go!

8. Secret Lives - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Several more chapters, it seems. I have a rough outline and a number of scenes sketched out.

9. The First Duty of All Magicians Is to Save Their Friends (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Making art for every chapter! The next chapter you read will earn the E-rating!

10. Eliot Rocks the Memory Palace (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Oh, so many chapters to go, can't wait to fully write them! I have many, many scenes sketched or partly written. A few more pieces of art to make.

11. How They Met Themselves (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

The drawing and scenario are posted. I'll be painting it. I might even write a tiny fic to go with it.

12. Going South (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

I have a number of scenes written and a lot of plot sketched out. Will also be making a few more piece of art.

13. The Once and Future Kings of Fillory - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Lots of draft, but it's going in a different direction than I planned. We'll see if I can get it back on track.

14. The fic for this one is finished, but I'm slowly working on painting the art for

How Did That Basket of Peaches Get There? Or, A Secret Royal Wedding, Bitches! (with Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

15. The painting is finished, but at some point I'll write the fic for

Secret Admirers (Art) - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

16. Mosaic Mendings - EliotQueliot - The Magicians (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

I have some plot notes. But it turns out there's a lot more to this story than anticipated!

[toodrasticallydumb]

20 questions for fic writers

Oh! Hello! I was tagged by @pinkytoothlesso11 ! Thanks for thinking of me pinky! I’m kinda new to the whole fanfic scene so i really appreciate it! This was already a long list of questions to begin with but i fear i may have made it worse…

OH WELL HAVE FUN SPORT :}>

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Unfortunately just 2, though I do plan to add a few more in the future as ideas flow. Might take me a minute ‘cause my schedule is just a little bit kinda sorta really swamped down with my main child which requires let me you, A LOT OF CARE DONT SIGN UP TO ADOPT KIDS PEOPLE IT’S NOT—

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Phew. ummmm it changes very rapidly (because i’m a girl w suspected adhd and can NEVER be told to shut up) with every chapter but as of this moment is 228,665! wow! i don’t really know how great of a number that is but i’m sure it’s a lot! I told you I can never shut up! (-whispers- Hey kid, u want some dRuGs? i mean- an update? That itty bitty word count is about to take another not regularly scheduled mini-skyrocket so get ready for it ehehe ;})

3. What fandoms do you write for?

For now, just Trollhunters/Tales of Arcadia, mainly Trollhunters despite the fact that the first of the Tales of Arcadia shows that i watched and really enjoyed was actually 3-Below, but oh well my man is in Trollhunters sooooo oopsie but i DO have some random snippets of fics for Miraculous (rewrite), the Star Wars sequels (rewrite), Batman, some for the Dream SMP, and weirdly enough also Raya and the Last Dragon (rewrite). All of which i prolly wont ever post because i wrote them a while ago and yeaaaahhh not my best writing but if i get enough people other than my best friend wanting me to post them, i might…

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

uhhhh i dont actually HAVE five fics to my name, so i’ll just…put em in order (w their long-ahh title names):

Trollhunter!Strickler: Destiny's Ill-fitted Chosen

'A MiStAkE' because I haven't updated in ages--A Stricklake month 2023 prompt collection

but i am so happy for the people who have left so many kudos on my work it really warms mah little heart ❤️

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

Yes. At first, I sorta struggled with it (who the heck am i kidding i STILL do) but since my fic USED to be two times a week updates i would feel like i couldn’t respond to a comment left after i posted a new chapter so i might’ve left some comments in the earlier days unanswered, super sorry. Nowadays i make it a point to reply back to everyone in the order that they commented in because (anxiety makes me think if i don’t respond they won’t comment anymore and know that i love reading their comments and that they’re so amazing for actually taking the time to write something back AND I DO LOVE IT I PROMISE IT JUST TAKES ME A WHILE TO RESPOND—) …because it’s pretty chill to geek out w em and see they liked stuff that i loved to write! I do have a backlog of comments to get to i just end up overthinking everything to match the person’s energy to be sure they know i love em.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Unfortunately, i haven’t actually finished a fully-fledged fic to say it has the angstiest ending bUt definitely a contender would be chapter 1 of my 2023 Stricklake prompt collection because i just leave it on the sad note and don’t do anything about it because angst and because spoilers for my actual story fic that will eventually make it to that point.

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

Happiest ending, huh? I like to say that most of the things i will/have chosen to write end happy/hopeful because i hate when books/tv shows end bittersweetly it’s like i have enough with life itself being bittersweet most of the time let me be happy LET THEM BE HAPPY. But that doesn’t exclude me from providing the proper banquet of angst that ends in caretaking, my absolute favorite trope.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Oh heck no. I would be devastated honestly, but thankfully everyone who comments is always the sweetest and kindest people ever and really encourage me to keep going, for that i am only thankful.

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

No. Just no. I love romance but i am a minor, so i’ve never consumed smut nor intend to ever write it. Give me a soft romance and loving gestures, I can allude to greater happenings but not details.

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

I don’t, sorry. I don’t know something in me just doesn’t sit well with crossovers, for the life of me I don’t know why. Like genuinely i wish i could get into them but maybe it’s like food on a plate? i don’t like the foods touching each other so maybe the same rules apply??? yeah i’m drasticallydumb

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that i know of, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t believe so, and if someone did they’re in for a heck of a lot of work there…

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

Nope! I’d like to sometime but i have no idea how one even goes about making a co-written fic, on top of which i am a very sporadic person in terms of motivation and random ideas produced by a song i’m listening to while writing.

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

Stricklake obviously is a really big contender if not the winner, the ship that brought me to AO3, writing fanfics, and tumblr. But, if i had to pick other options i’d say Eugene and Repunzel from Tangled would be one of my ogs, another might be uhhh Chris and Aviva from Wild Kratts the og of the ogs.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Chapter 3 of my stricklake 2023 prompt collection, it just has a lot of moving parts and me and my best friend are chronic procrastinators and with the month pretty far gone it might just end up sittin’ there for the foreseeable future 😞 but who knows

16. What are your writing strengths?

Phew, that’s a dozy mainly because i’m not super sure. I’d like to think one of my main strengths is descriptions and really putting you in the mind of the character, i don’t really like spelling things out and i like a little investigating to get you where u end up, u know? I like to think my writing FEELS a little more like a show on a page rather than a true book, most to blame would be my maladaptive daydreaming taking up a lot of time in my planning for my writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Ah. How the turn tables. I would say that my weaknesses in writing mostly consist of me going a little *too* far into detail on meaningless things or making it too convoluted for people to understand, sometimes spelling it out is better in certain scenarios and i just really need to get myself past that. Another one i would say is that i go REALLY into detail not only in a sentence/chapter sense but also a complete STORYLINE sense, i hate time skips and i shoot myself in the foot wanting to completely document every moment of everyday w a character and hence it seems like a lot of time in universe hasn’t gone by. Trying to improve and grow tho 💪

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

Can’t wait to do more of it! Especially with Claire and her family (including NotEnrique) speaking spanglish w each other automatically mainly because i am hispanic and completely fluent in Spanish and live in a similar household so i just love to add a little ✨personalization✨ to my dialogue and interactions in that way. Other languages………….yeaaaahhh i’m not super good will prolly use google translate and hope.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Trollhunters, my gateway into AO3. HOWEVER. if you promise not to tell, the very first fandom i read/wanted to write a fanfic for was actually, as far as i can tell, Wordgirl. don’t ask why. don’t ask me how. it just kinda happened. But, officially, it’s Trollhunters. (maybe with a side of Warrior Cats).

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Not hard at all! My pride and joy, my youngest baby in the grand scheme of my writing journey, Trollhunter!Strickler: Destiny's Ill-fitted Chosen! A surprise to absolutely NO ONE. It’s honestly so amazing to both write and see people read and enjoy as much as I do, he’s my little man ❤️ And doing so much rewriting and character growth and having so much written and planned for the future, it’s just my absolute fav

[smblmn]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @a-noble-dragon! 😘❤️

How many works do you have on Ao3? Technically 14, but one is the epilogue to another fic and another is a collection of drabbles, so I'd say 12 complete fics.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 167,100

What fandoms do you write for? At the moment Schitt's Creek and RWRB (though I haven't posted anything for latter yet)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1- In the eyes of the beholder 2- Just because you like to wander, that doesn't mean you don't know the way 3- On the Outside Looking Through 4- The Great Canadian Baking Baker Show (Off) 5- When you least expect it

Do you respond to comments? Why or Why not? It might take me a while, but I do. I really appreciate people commenting on my fics, so I think the least I can do to show that appreciation is to answer. I admit that there have been times when I've saved those comments for later, when I've been dealing with a particular bad case of writer's block, as some sort of motivation. I'll answer to every comment eventually.

What is the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I don't do angsty endings, so none.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? This is very hard to judge because all my fics have happy endings... But my angstiest fic is In another life, so maybe it feels happiest because I put them through a lot?

Do you get hate on fics? I haven't yet. It's not something I'm particularly looking forward. (PSA: don't be mean to writers, if you don't like what they've witten, just close the tab. It's not that hard.)

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I've written sex scenes but I don't think they can be considered smut. They're rated M, but if anyone comes to my fics expecting smut they're gonna be very disappointed. I have every intention of writing smut eventually, but at the moment I have a couple of fics with placeholders like: character A puts X part of their body into character B or they do filthy things to one another. All my respect to smut writers, I wish I knew how to do what you do.

Do you write crossovers? I haven't, no. Who knows if I'll try in the future.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope. I'd like to, though. It must be fun.

What’s your all time favorite ship? This is very hard to judge, but I'll say that David and Patrick are the ones that made me brave enough to share my writing, and my obsession with them isn't going anywhere.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? There are a few that I don't think I'll finish. The one I'm most sad about is a David/Patrick Russian Doll AU because I have quite a lot written and I find that Universe fascinating. The saddest part is that I even have a title for it. I can never come up with a title, but this one, that I doubt I'll ever finish, has one already 🤦🏻‍♀️

What are your writing strengths? Oooooof, I don't know. I think I'm okay at plotting? And dialogue comes quite "easy" to me, but I don't know if that's a strength...

What are your writing weaknesses? Punctuation for sure.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Everything I write in english is in another language for me... Alexander or June Claremont-Díaz might give me the chance of writing in my language for a change 😅

First fandom you wrote for? The Hunger Games my beloved (never posted, of course)

Favorite fic you’ve written? This is an impossible question but my go to answer is always On the Outside Looking Through. First fic I ever finished and posted, I'm still enormously proud of that one.

Tagging @lizzie-bennetdarcy @beaiola @wordthieve @noahreids @dinnfameron @blackandwhiteandrose @jamilas-pen @alienajackson @stereopticons @tyfinn @apothecarose @vanillahigh00 and anyone else who wants to answer!

[fireflyhwufanficwriter]

(New Dr. Stone fanfic chapter on AO3!) Chapter 03: Embarrassed Sorcerer

FANFIC TITLE: "Ten Billion Time Travelers" (2,000+ words)

—

FANFIC TITLE: "Ten Billion Time Travelers" (2,000+ words)

FANFIC SUMMARY: (Eventual Senku/Kohaku.) When Kohaku leads him to her community, a surprised Senku finds out that almost all of the villagers are VERY eager to help him achieve his goals… but why do they look like they're hiding something? (Features a very confused Senku.)

FANFIC LINK: (I’ll put the AO3 link in the notes/comments :D Tumblr does weird things when I put links in posts...)

PERSONAL MESSAGE: Hello and happy reading, fellow Dr. Stone fans! ^_^

—

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 03:

“…A few minutes later, they arrived at the base of an elevated hut of some sort, and Chrome, with the ease of somebody who had done so an uncountable number of times in the past, quickly went up the ladder, gathered some items, and made his way back down. On his way back to them, Chrome collected some firewood from the forest nearby, and shortly after he joined them again, he had a blazing bonfire ready.

As for what the bonfire was actually for... that was something that Chrome didn't seem to excited about.

"Check out my s-" he coughed again, "I mean, check out my sorcery! Ah, I can't believe I have to call it that again..."

For somebody who should have been proud of his opening attack in their "sorcery battle," Chrome was blushing in embarrassment as he dropped three different types of materials into the bonfire…”

---

TAGS: dr stone, ishigami senku, senku x kohaku, senhaku, kohaku, dr stone kohaku, kohasen, dr. stone, dr stone fanfic, dr. stone fanfic, dr. stone kohaku, dr stone chrome, dr. stone chrome, drstonefanfictenbilliontimetravelers

---

[27twinsister]

Btw I made a SquidgeWorld and spent all day cross-posting works there!

Basically I’m crossposting, so my works on AO3 will remain up there, any works I post in December might be posted to both at the same time but I don’t plan to post exclusively on SquidgeWorld. All my works are backdated, so the date it says they were posted reflects when it was posted on AO3 and not the fact that I archived 90 works in less than 24 hours.

I’m going to archive almost all my works on SquidgeWorld, *except* any works I’ve tagged as Abandoned - maybe I’ll archive them eventually, but they’re very low priority.

I’m going to prioritize/make sure to archive poetry, microfics, meta, and the entirety of my Collection Books series (ideally once the import feature is…better, for that series...)

If you wanna hear me ramble more about how I’m planning to archive my works on SquidgeWorld, it’s under the cut.

I will be archiving Ryusoulger Oneshots and Kiramager Oneshots as individual works, not as oneshot books- I’ve wanted to repost them for a while but like…they’ve been up on AO3 for years, they have significant stats…but on SquidgeWorld everything is back to 0! So I’ll be reposting them as individual works. There are some chapters of Ryusoulger Oneshots that don’t have chapter titles…if I really *really* can’t think of a title I’ll put them lower on the priority list is all. All the chapters of Kiramager Oneshots have titles except for one.

All my works are remaining the same rating, tags, etc. as the content itself hasn’t changed. If a work is locked on AO3, it’ll be locked on SquidgeWorld as well.

Also, if I gifted you a work on AO3 (for a gift exchange, birthday, or just for fun) and you want me to gift it to you on SquidgeWorld, go ahead! Just message me or comment on the work on AO3 or whatever works for you, and once you have an account I’ll gift it to you.

(If you’re reading this and you gifted me anything on AO3 at any point, yes please I would love to re-receive the gift on SquidgeWorld!)

[silverutahraptor]

I’m posting older writing snippets and AU ideas, so have a HashiMada one!

Premise: Madara timetravelled back into his younger self, and he is so very tired of everything. First Person POV.

    Somberness overtakes Hashirama’s features as he considers my own. “...Madara?”

At his soft inquiry, there’s suddenly a dozen different feelings burning behind my eyes, and I want to scream and I want to burn things and I want-

I want-

“I’ve been dreaming about Izuna dying,” I say instead and watch the sorrow and sympathy steal on his lovely face.

“It’s always by Tobirama’s hands,” I add before he can open his stupid mouth to say something stupidly uplifting.

I shouldn’t fall apart in front of him like this, he shouldn’t even know about this sort of vulnerability, but the truth is—I can’t.

I can’t I can’tican’tican’t

When Izuna dies, I can’t-

When he dies-

When-

There are hands in my hair and I’m leaning against a broad chest. “Breathe, Madara,” a voice says, and there’s something so familiar and warm about the voice that I do what it says.

Breathing comes like such a relief that I realize I must not have been doing it for a bit.

“I won’t let that happen,” Hashirama says. His voice is still soft, but there’s a hint of steely determination in it that makes me crane my head back to catch a look at his face. He’s staring right back into my eyes. “I won’t let Izuna die, Madara,” he continues and- and- did I say all that out loud earlier? Oh no. “And I won’t let you go mad, either” he adds. His arms, still around me, tighten. It feels comfortable.

I want to laugh.

I want to cry.

I want to yell and scream and ask this man who he is to be so certain to avoid fate.

“If only.” I whisper into the safety of his neck before I fall silent again.

If only we weren’t all mere pieces in fortune’s game, destined to live and kill and then die when our roles fulfilled their purposes.

If only I hadn’t tried and tried and tried to bring an end to this endless war.

If only all that had gotten me wasn’t a Clan that looks at my back with scorn and a brother that frowns at me more often than not.

If only all the options I hadn’t tried are the ones that would cost me a brother’s love or life or maybe both.

(“Izuna,” I ask, because I’m tired of thinking this over on my own, “if you were Clan Head–what would you do?”

“Senju isn’t able to kill you,” my brother immediately scoffs, shaking his head.

His trust in my strength threatens to choke me up, so I continue hastily. “No, just- if you were Clan Head instead of me, what would you do?”

Izuna is still frowning at me.

“I’d still be around, just- you’d be Clan Head?”

His eyes narrow.

There are only so many ways such a scenario could happen.

“Indulge me,” I add.

“I’d kill all the Senju, of course.” Izuna is still staring at me like he’s trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

He has been looking at me like that more and more recently.

“I’d send you on more solo missions,” he continues after a pause. At my raised eyebrows he snorts. “The ones that are high risk, but with little chance of contact with Senju forces. You leave too many of them alive.”

I stare.

“You do, Niisan.” Izuna shakes his head. “We wouldn’t be in such a long term impasse if you would just kill more of them.”

I open my mouth to say something, but- he’s right. 

I hate killing Senju shinobi.

They all die so easily.

‘They could be y o u, Izuna’ I want to say but don’t.

My little brother hates being compared to the Senju in any way.)

“If only…?” Hashirama prompts after long minutes stretch past.

I shake my head.

A miniscule tightening of the muscles under my head is my only warning. 

Then Hashirama rolls both of us off the roof.

“You-”

We fall down in a tangle of limbs and hair.

I stay laying where I landed on the ground, blinking up at the sky.

“I am dead,” I say when I’ve caught my breath, ignoring the twinge of sadness that thought always brings me. “You killed me and now I’m dead.”

Hashirama’s laughter fills the air. 

His warm hands close around my face, and then his face—upside down—is hovering way too close. “You kneed me in the ribs on the way down! So maybe we both died and this is the Pure Lands…”

The idiot is still smiling, but his words sound almost wistful.

I could probably stare up into his face forever, which is why I shove him away and sit up.

If the Pure Lands exist, it seems that I am denied entry. Why else would I be here now, like this. Unable to truly change things.

The familiar feeling of Hashirama’s chakra lingers in the air, so I survey our surroundings. We landed in one of the smaller side gardens in the visitors’ wing of the palace, but the plants in this particular garden seem to have mysteriously gained some life of their own. I’m pretty sure that none of the plethora of plants I stare at should be blooming right now, nor have grown such dense foliage that it’s nigh impossible to catch a glimpse of the courtyard’s interior from the outside or above...

“…Really?” I finally ask.

But because I’m me, I also flick on my Sharingan for a moment and let a subtle genjutsu settle on the new plant growth, making it impossible for anyone to listen to our conversation or even remember there is anything out of the ordinary in this particular courtyard.

I hesitate before quickly glancing at Hashirama, still channeling chakra through my eyes. It’s rare that I get to remember him like this, carefree and playful and grinning, and not grim and covered in mud from a battlefield.

Hashirama smiles even more widely and stretches like a cat. “Want to get a good look?”

His hands stray towards his collar and start to loosen it.

I abruptly turn my head away, cheeks burning. “Don’t play around,” I hiss and deactivate my Sharingan.

One glance is enough, but still.

Hashirama is Hashirama, however, so his arm quickly settles around my shoulders again. “I did hear a laugh when we fell down the roof.” His chin is digging into my shoulder. “So that did cheer you up!” 

“You threw us off the roof,” I huff, trying to ignore that he’s also kind of breathing directly into my ear. 

“I wanted to watch the stars with you! You told me so many Uchiha legends about them but I forgot most of them by now.”

I sigh, and somehow fail to shrug him off my shoulder. “…The roof would have worked better, idiot.”

Neither of us gets up or mentions that down here, no one will find us for a little while.

[eskelbigbang]

Eskel Big Bang 2021 Masterpost

Here are all the fics and art made this year for the Eskel Big Bang. Congratulations on the hard work, everyone!

AO3 collection || #ebb works tag || #ebb art tag || #ebb fic tag

Below the cut is a full list of all EBB works:

Uprooted (T, No Pairing, 12k) by @rachofspades, art by @drachedraws

When a nondescript notice begging for a witcher's aid catches Eskel's attention on his way back to Kaer Morhen for the winter, he finds himself drawn in by his own curiosity despite his initial reservations. Once he arrives, it quickly becomes apparent that there's something more sinister going on than typical monster attacks, and he's determined to figure out what it is. Fic || Art (1) (2)

These Clay Hands (T, Eskel/Jaskier, 4.7k) by @aalizazareth, art by @hobbart-art

Eskel is a shy pottery instructor who meets Jaskier during one of his lessons. The two hit it off. Fic || Art

The Empty Safe Job (M, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 18k) by @iboughtaplant, art by @gods-no-longer-tread-here

A team of thieves with complicated pasts take down the rich and powerful to help those that get left out from justice. Their latest job should be simple, but an unexpected adversary has Eskel confronting his past. Sometimes bad guys make the best good guys. Fic || Art

the broken vines are an open door (M, Eskel & Geralt & Yennefer, 5.2k) by @trissmarrygoals, art by @flyingyarn

Traveling through Aedirn with his newly acquired child surprise, Eskel stumbles upon a dead body - and with it, a mystery. Fic || Art

With you I'll never be alone (T, Eskel/Geralt, 5.8k) by @dat-carovieh, art by @mondfuchs

From their first meeting, through their whole long life Geralt and Eskel have always been there to comfort each other when one of them got hurt. --- Or five times Geralt and Eskel comfort each other through some kind of hurt and one time they're just comfortable. Fic || Art

Eskel Has A Good Day (G, Eskel & Wolf Witchers, 9.3k) by @gods-no-longer-tread-here, art by @phoenixandjacob

The Wolves (and bard) of Kaer Morhen go on a vacation to the coast, and have a good day. Fic || Art (1) (2)

Tu Me Manques. (T, Eskel/Jaskier, 8k) by @etcorsolus, art by @cvbeebop

In which, Eskel meets a bard who calms him. Body, mind, and soul. Story title is how the French say 'I miss you.' The more literal translation is 'You are missing from me.' Fic || Art

Little Red (M, Eskel/Lambert, 6.1k) by @miahclone, art by @llwynbleidd

Eskel helps Lambert while he's recovering from a serious injury. To distract him from the pain, Eskel tells stories of past hunts. Fic || Art

Constellations (M, Eskel/Geralt, 7.2k) by @dredshirtroberts, art by @dat-carovieh

Eskel loves Geralt but their soulmarks don't match - he'd know. They're witchers, and scars are their business. As he joins Geralt in retirement, Eskel figures whatever he can get with the other witcher will be enough. He might get a little bit more than he thought he was bargaining for, but Eskel's never passed up a good deal. Fic || Art (1) (2)

Trial By Fire (Eskel and Aza's Wild Ride) (E, Eskel/OFC, 11k) by @janzoo, art by @liaonyxrayne

When Eskel rescues his succubus acquaintance from witch hunters, their reunion becomes something more as they're drawn into the hunters' plot. What can they do against a twisted idealist and the danger he presents to witchers and non-humans? Fic || Art

Pardon Me While I Burst Into Flames (E, Eskel/Jaskier, 29k) by @ghostinthelibrarywrites, art by @wolfgeralt

When Eskel is hired to kill an incubus who ruined a noble wedding, he finds that his target is far from a bloodthirsty beast, a too-pretty court bard. Eskel spares Jaskier and they go their separate ways, with Eskel expecting never to see the incubus again. But Jaskier has other ideas. Fic || Art

I Could Eat the World Raw (E, Eskel/Jaskier, 7k) by @buttercupsanddandelions, art by @gods-no-longer-tread-here

“This is Eskel.” He pushes him slightly forward, “And he just had his conduit moment.” After becoming a mage, Eskel finds that he's been soul-bound to a little lordling. Fic || Art

Something we bury (M, Eskel/Geralt, 10k) by @heartoferebor, art by @craftgamerzz

“Where’s Eskel?” Ciri asks Geralt, frowning a little. “He went out to do more hunting and gather some potion ingredients. Should be back any moment,” Geralt reassures her. “Ah. Good.” She hesitates a little before deciding to forge right ahead with her next question. She’s asked everyone else in the keep, of course she’ll have to ask Geralt, too. “About his scars…” * Ciri wants to know where Eskel's scars came from, so she decides to ask everyone at the keep about them. Except, they all seem to have different stories... Fic || Art

Lord What Fools These Witchers Be (T, Aiden/Eskel, 21k) by @jayofolympus and @frenchkey, art by aviixrc

When Lambert brings Aiden to winter with him in Kaer Morhen, Eskel is catapulted straight into his own personal hell. It would be easier if he didn’t like the Cat. Instead, he finds himself falling head over heels for his brother’s boyfriend and trying to hide it from a pack of nosy Witchers. If only Aiden would stop flirting with him... Fic || Art (1) (2)

A Moment of Comfort (M, Eskel/OC) by @merpancake

An attack at a brothel begins with blood and carnage, but Eskel finds an unexpected peace in the arms of Cenna. As their paths continue to cross, Eskel carries that same peace within him on his journey through monsters and men. Art

Toussaint's Finest (M, Eskel/Geralt, 9.1k) by @kate-river, art by @justhereforeskel

Eskel is still roaming the Continent. But in recent years the Path has become harder and harder. Eskel has made it a habit to come by Corvo Bianco around vintage and this year's events might change a few things in his life forever. Fic || Art

Beneath the Shadow and the Soul (E, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 32k) by @vix-spes, art by @buffskierights

Eskel had the strange feeling that everything was going to change when he passed through Dol Blathanna one year on his way back to Kaer Morhen for winter. He had been passing through a town and, instead of running away from him, someone had exclaimed “You’re a Witcher,” and proceeded to sing at him. He just hadn't realised how much of an impact it would have on him. Fic || Art

Daughter of Fire (T, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 4.9k) by @kittynannygaming, art by @zmezagain

Witchers are sterile, that's a fact. No female human can bear their child. Well, the keyword here is 'human' and a succubus is very not human. And Eskel now has a sweet 7 years old daughter. Fic || Art

Break It Recklessly (E, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 22k) by @anonymousblueberry, art by @nol-nol

From teenage tearaways to successful adults, Geralt and Eskel have always been inseparable. To the extent that when Geralt accepts a wedding invite with Eskel as his plus one, there’s the assumption that they have finally sorted their shit out and got together, forcing them to keep up the facade or cause chaos for the happy couple. What follows is a crash course in emotions, dating, and working out that love can burn long and slow for a very long time. Fic || Art

The Question (M, Eskel/Istredd, 40k) by @eskelchopchop, art by @stars-in-my-damn-eyes

Eskel's in Ohio when Yennefer calls. He’s reluctant to pick up; he’s still not over Geralt, and he's got zero desire to chat with Geralt's new lover. Turns out Yen isn’t his lover anymore, and this isn’t about Geralt. It’s about witcher’s work. Yennefer owns Portal, one of New York City's most popular gay clubs. A Post-Conjunction Entity (PCE) is hunting her clientele, leaving a string of withered corpses in its wake. The police are doing jackshit. Will Eskel come back to a city full of bad memories and take a job off the books to stop it? He'll sure as hell try. Along the way, he’ll cross paths with Istredd, a man with sorcerer’s eyes and a painful past of his own. If Eskel doesn't work fast enough, they both might become the PCE's next victims. Fic || Art

Is It Cold In The Water? (E, Eskel/Jaskier, 12k) by @jennyloggins, art by @jerry-of-rivia

His horse is tied to a branch a few trees out, and that’s where Eskel heads to grab his water skein, taking a deep drink and soothe his dry throat. Patting his horse’s backside affectionately on his way past her, Eskel feigns a stern voice to say, “Zuzanna, keep watch for me.” Her tail twitches as if to swat him away. Fic || Art

Everything I Want (I Can Find in You) by @eyesofshinigami, art by @phoenixandjacob

Eskel didn't think he'd ever see Jaskier again, sure the Cat witcher was only looking for a night of fun. But then he keeps showing up, taking Eskel to bed and leaving him little presents. It takes Eskel a bit, but eventually he realizes that maybe, just maybe, Jaskier means it when he says he wants to keep him. Or Eskel doesn't think he deserves nice things and Jaskier is determined to show him otherwise. Fic || Art

One Stop Shop; Tattoo's Piercings, And Love (M, Eskel/Jaskier/Lambert, 7.4k) by @jesheckah, art by @moondrunkart

When Eskel fumbles an invitation at a party to come into his tattoo shop, Jaskier and he move towards an explosive love. How many tattoo sessions does it take for the heart to know what it wants? Fic || Art

Entanglement (and other words for a mess) (E, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 31k) by @violaceum-vitellina-viridis, art by @merpancake

Eskel has a hundred marks on his body, but a soulmark isn't one of them. Fic || Art

Beneath Each Other's Bones (E, Eskel/Geralt, 7.6k) by @pressedinthepages, art by @drachedraws

Winter at Kaer Morhen can be brutal. But Eskel and Geralt find warmth in each other in an effort to stave off the cold. Fic || Art (1) (2)

#9fe2bf on the Shore (T, Eskel/Jaskier, 4.5k) by @buffskierights, art by @phoenixandjacob

The sea roars with a vengeance, something angering the waves even as the stars shine brightly overhead in the clear night sky. If Eskel were a poet he’d say it almost sounded like a wail of mourning, the way the whitewater crashes upon the night black sand and the gathering foam, the sea frothing furiously. But Eskel’s always hated his poetry lessons so being a poet is firmly off the table. Fic || Art

lion in the wolf's den (T, Coen/Eskel, 5k) by @patchwork-doublet, art by @justhereforeskel

eskel is nervous being around ciri, afraid things will go south like they did last time. Fic || Art

Sugar Baby Blues (E, Eskel/Jaskier, 24k) by adevinecomedy, art by @pastelrune

Jaskier’s mind slipped back to a night several months ago when he was all worked up but had nowhere to go and a mountain of school work to get through. How it was just so much easier to log onto a camming website and watch someone perform seemingly just for him. The gorgeous, confident man on the other side of the screen had been so accommodating, even though Jaskier had been shy and hadn’t typed much into the chat. Modern au where Eskel is a Cam boy and runs into a bit of a financial bind. Enter Jaskier who just might be the answer to all his woes. Fic || Art

Winter Comfort (T, Eskel/Jaskier, 10k) by @myidlehand, art by @liaonyxrayne

Jaskier comes to Kaer Morhen to spend some time with Eskel, after briefly meeting him in the fall. And while both of them seem delighted to see each other again, Eskel starts to shy away from Jaskier's comments and flirting. It doesn't take a genius to see Eskel is having body image issue. Jaskier aims to help him through it. Fic || Art

The Subtle Knife (M, Eskel/Jaskier, 26k) by @major-trouble, art by @cylin-aka-ankamo

There's an assassin haunting the Continent. No one knows their name, everyone - that is, everyone in the know - calls them The Specter. If you want a rival out of the way, a political opponent disposed of, or a strategic target taken out, contacting The Specter gets the job done. For a price, of course. There's an art to subtlety, after all, and it wouldn't do to risk the attention of law enforcement. So there's no obvious cause, no knife to the back, and the deaths aren't usually remarked upon. The Kaer Morhen Agency, however, has noticed. One of their agents has been hired to protect potential victims, people scared that they've been targeted. And they have reason to worry. When Eskel's first assignment winds up dead of no discernible cause, it starts him on a search for the elusive Specter, hoping against hope to track down the assassin before they're hired again. Setting a trap for a ghost is something Witchers are used to. Setting one for a trained killer may prove beyond them. Fic || Art

No Funny Business (M, Eskel/Jaskier, 11k) by goldendaydreams, art by @nanero11

Eskel had long given up on finding his soulmate, his soulmark nothing but scar tissue from a house fire he’d survived as a child. Knowing that most people wait for their perfect someone, their destiny, didn’t stop him from falling in love with Jaskier, the nurse he met after a hunt gone wrong. Fic || Art

Stronger Than My Storm (E, Eskel/Geralt) by @rawrkinjd, art by @nol-nol

Eskel and Geralt were friends from the very beginning. They added the benefits later. It was another way to offer comfort and companionship when the rest of the world closed in around them, and Eskel was content with it for years. Until he wakes up one day and realises it’s become something more. He touches Geralt’s silver hair, wreathed in a halo of yellow sunlight, and allows himself to feel the cracks spreading through his heart. Witchers can’t love each other. It would only lead to suffering. Eskel realises he must weather the storm inside or let Geralt go forever. Fic || Art

Full of Life (T, Eskel/Jaskier, 6.3k) by @sternenstaub28, art by @llwynbleidd

When Eskel gets hired to solve the case of people disappearing in town, she didn’t know she’d find a friend and maybe even something more. or Beauty and strength don't necessarily make your life easier, a companion and love however do. Fic || Art

choices are the hinges of destiny (T, Eskel/Geralt, 7.5k) by @lutes-and-dandelions, art by @cassandrasartworld

After rescuing a fae from the clutches of death, they repay Eskel by helping him make a choice. -oOo- A story about what would have happened if Eskel had claimed his child of surprise. Fic || Art

Eskel Vs The Continent (And His Feelings) (M, No Pairing, 47k) by @chibitabathasloves, art by @zmezagain

Eskel decides he needs to leave Kaer Morhen after the fight with the Hunt. Where will it take him? And will he be able to face his feelings he desperately tries to ignore. Fic || Art

lookin' to the sky to save me (T, Eskel/Geralt, 10k) by @torynickles, art by @trissmarrygoals

Geralt slides his hand from Eskel’s shoulder to his back. And then. Then he keeps moving it, outwards, away from Eskel’s torso, where there should be nothing but air, but— “What the fuck?” he chokes, because he can still feel Geralt’s hand, sensation where there should be none. He shakes his head wildly, twisting his arm to reach for his own back. His fingers connect to something, but—it’s not his body, it can’t be his body, even though he can feel himself touching it. Because he’s made up of skin and flesh, bone and muscle, and this thing has all of those, but— It’s covered in sticky, damp feathers. Fic || Art

A Fine Night at the Faire (M, Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier, 12k) by Elensule, art by @liaonyxrayne

Eskel has been hurt by the world and hides for refuge in his little goat farm. He's found no reason to look for love, or much of anything else. But encouragement from his brother sends him to an unfamiliar locale; the renfaire! Maybe stepping out of his comfort zone was just what he needed. Fic || Art

[omgeternal]

RUNNING WITH THE WIND

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*EVENTUAL SMUT

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June Devers took a long drag of her cigarette as she stood on the front stoop of the apartment building she lived in. Her newly arriving guest would be pulling in front at any moment. The girl’s father had passed over a month ago in Texas, all the way in the states. She detested the way that an entire ocean laid between her & the man she’d adored since childhood. Throughout the years, they’d remained friends, even after he’d left Ireland to be with the American woman who birthed him a daughter. She’d remained right where he left her. In Ireland. June had moved on with her life, reasonable so, with the late father of her 4 children. All of which remained under her roof with Dympna being the oldest and only boy at 23. She adored her family, extended family also. She was mother to them all. They were a unit… a brand. The Devers name was infamous in their part of Ireland. A brand name to be respected, as well as feared. The family business demanded the loyalty of all involved. All the way up from the bosses to the delegates to the dealers all the way to the down to the cooks and so on. The drug business wasn’t for the weak or timid. But these titles and descriptions weren’t for her or her daughters to worry about. It was strictly a Devers male construct. Her job was to provide a bit of wisdom and to take care of her family. She never worried about the ins and outs of things. June knew the Devers took care of their own and more. However, she worried about her son, Dympna. He had taken on the role of the man of the house once their father died of a heart attack some 10 years ago. Her brothers in law, Hector and Paudi, began molding him into the image they wanted at the tender age of 13. Dympna would become their street man until one, or both, of them met their own demise. June often missed sleep at night worrying her only son would never open the door to their home again. Dympna would then be boss. Head of the Devers family. June struggled with that concept. On one hand she was proud of the strength he’d harnessed from his endeavors. On the other hand, he could be a monster when provoked. June secretly wished a better life for all of her children. Dympna would be out every night, collecting and making deals. The only reason she didn’t go searching for him when he stayed out past 3am is Douglas “Arm” Armstrong. The muscle. He was Dympna’s enforcer. Arm may not be her flesh and blood but he lived in her home with the rest of her children, most of the time. He had his own issues to deal with at other times. Arm was the most feared enforcer this side of Ireland…… Fear. It was synonymous with the Devers name.

Yet, fear was not the emotion coursing through June Devers veins at the moment. The current emotion was anxiety. Was this a good idea? Should she open her home to this young stranger? The girl was innocent of who her family really was and how they made a living. Not long before the girl’s father passed, He’d called June. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. Patrick would call her from time to time, especially after her husband’s death 10 years ago. His wife died giving birth to his daughter 20 years ago. Patrick had a favor to ask June that day. The lung cancer was eating away at his life faster than the chemo would stop it. So he refused the treatment. His only regret was that his daughter would be left in the states alone. She was only 20 years old and he didn’t have a dime to leave her. “ Paddie, what are you asking of me? What can I do?” He sighed. “I need you to take care of me daughter June. She’s in no shape to take care of herself yet. We have no family here. I never kept in touch with her mother’s family here in the states after she passed. She’s a good girl June. She just needs family. I won’t be here for much longer.” And there it was. The confession. The favor. Now here she was. Standing in front of the apartment building that her family owned in the forgotten section of the small town they’d always resided in. The very same town they grew up in, waiting to her new ward.

 Dust kicked up behind the small Toyota as her oldest daughter, Niamh, pulled in front of the building. June tossed her cigarette butt to the side and walked towards the car. A small framed black girl climbs out of the back seat to greet June. She was lovely. Thick curly black hair that stretched to the middle of her petite back. Those high cheek bones gave her more of a fairy like appearance than a 20 yr old. She wore a black collared crop top with faded blue jeans and black doc martin boots. The girl couldn’t have been more than 100 lbs but bore a shapely figure for someone so petite at 5 ft tall. A gasp fell from June’s mouth when the girl looked directly into her eyes with a shy dimpled smile. June knew those eyes. They were Patrick’s eyes. Just as grey as the Irish sky. Maybe even a shade lighter. Almost silver. June caught herself staring at the intimately familiar gaze and captured the girl in her arms in greeting. “Hello Everly. It’s wonderful to finally meet you dear. I’m so sorry about your father.” Everly was temporarily caught off guard when the thin red-haired matron embraced her. She wasn’t expecting that. Everly wasn’t put off by the public display of affection. Though, most people don’t greet first time guest that way in the states. It was familiar. Her father had always greeted others with such affection. He said it was the way of the Irish. So, the embrace was welcomed. June’s eyes shown with tears as she peered into Everly’s grey gaze like she wanted to say more but stopped herself. “Welcome to our home dear. Bring your bags inside, and I’ll show you around the house.”

Everly grabbed the only suitcase she had and followed the 2 Devers women into the tenement. After introductions to a few tenants and a brief tour pf the building, Niamh introduced Everly to the other 2 Devers women in the home. 14-year-old Charlie with her bright blue eyes & Dark auburn hair was adorable with freckles that stretched across her elfin nose. She was the quiet sort. She didn’t speak much but was respectful and polit. 19-year-old Chevorn was friendlier with a mass of dark curls that framed her round dimpled face and blue eyes. 21 yr old Niamh was the outspoken Devers sister with her fiery red hair and piercing emerald green eyes. She resembled her mother the most. She nearly always smiled when she spoke, which was often. That was fine with Everly. The more Niamh spoke the more she didn’t have to. “You’ll meet my son Dympna later. Hopefully he’ll make it in time for dinner. Let me show you to your room dear.” June noticed Everly viewing all of the family photos taken over the years and placed the walls of the stairway to the 2nd floor of the apartment. “We’ve lived here a very long time. My late husband and I raised all our children here right after we bought the building. It may not look like much on the outside but it’s home to us and other families that rent from us. Now it’s home to you too.” June smiled. “you’ll share a room with Chevorn & Niamh. I’ll leave it to the 3 of you to make any adjustments. Please feel free to use the drawers and closet for your tings. Dinner should be in a couple hours. I’ll leave you to sort your things.” June peered into those ever-familiar grey eyes & placed a gentle hand on Everly’s cheek. “You’re a Devers now. You’re family. Loyalty is all we ask of you here. You can expect the same from us. Loyalty makes you part of the family. Always remember that.” Everly gave a small smile and nodded. June turned to leave “Ms. Devers? Thank you. For everything.” June smiled “your welcome dear, and please call me June.” June turned to leave Everly to unpack her things and get acquainted with her new surroundings. June knew that the truth behind her subtle warning to Everly regarding loyalty would be revealed eventually, and she’d have to give an overview of the family business. She’d save that info as it needed to be revealed. For now, she’d allow the Everly to become accustomed to them. The girl seemed to accept her new situation, but June could tell that there was a sadness behind those familiar grey eyes. Not that June could blame her, but eventually Everly would have to separate that sadness to move on with her new life in Ireland.

 “How do Brando?” Dympna chimed as he and Arm strolled through the entrance of the apartment building, he’d been raised in. He was finally home. It had been a long arduous day for the two. There was a shipment of drugs that came in from Greece as usual….. a week late. Hector and Paudi were climbing the walls. The buyers had to wait until the ship was offloaded and the cargo inspected by the gardi before Dympna could oversee the placement of their cargo into vehicles for transport to their farm. Their payments to the same gardi officer had always covered them in that area. So, of course the inspection went smooth…the usual. The buyers waited patiently. Of course, they waited. You don’t question the Devers family, especially not on their grounds. Uncle Paudi was primed and ready for any misstep from anyone. Sometimes, even a lingering stare would get him riled. The offender would find themselves upside down, chained by the ankles, electrocuted, and bleeding profusely in one of the many warehouses on the farm. Or maybe Paudi’ would rip your fingernails out one by one with an old pair of rusted pliers. Your reaction being his pleasure. Uncle Paudi was a known sadist. He inflicted pain when necessary…. And more often than not, unnecessarily. His psychotic tendencies were legend and elicited fear and commanded respect.

The ever-present Arm was at Dympna’s side as they entered their home. A loyal skin. A simple-minded fella in Dympna’s eyes but loyal, no doubt. That fact made him uncomplicated. Dympna also considered him a friend. A brother of sorts. He tried to take care of Arm after his breakup with Ursula. The mother of his son, Jack. Arm had refrain from boxing after he killed a fella during a fight some years ago. It wasn’t his fault, but Arm blamed himself no less. So Dympna gave him a job with the Devers family. He’d proven himself time and time again as Dympna’s right hand man and enforcer. After the deal was over this day and everyone went their separate ways, Dympna and Arm paid a visit to a few customers that owed money. Right so. You pay what you owe, or we pay you a visit. Simple. If not, you may or may not be missing teeth by the end of the sit down. After all was said and done, the two bros went their way with the cash they intended to get, even if a couple fellas had to be handled in an uncivilized like manner. That put Dympna in a piss poor mood. He did what he had to do, but he didn’t enjoy the violence. He loved the power this business provided but not the means to get it. He was ready to get home, take a shower, and relax until dinner was ready. A Guinness was a necessity at the local pub on the way. That was why when his mother called to remind him that their new house guest had arrived and he was expected to be on time for dinner, he groaned aloud. “What’s the problem Dympna?” Said Arm. Expecting it to be some last second mission given to them by Hector and Paudi. Arm was suddenly on high alert. “nothin buddy. Just me Ma. Our new house guest is there. We have to go straight home to dinner with the girls. Ya know… play nice, be friendly to whoever this Yankee girl is.” Dympna sighed. “Who is she to your family?” asked Arm. Genuinely curious. “She’s the daughter of an old family friend I hear. From way back with me Ma and me uncles. I think me Dad knew him too. Anyway, he died some months ago in the states. Me Ma promised to look after the girl. So, we have to skip the pub for tonight yea?” Arm nodded his head saying.  “Aye. Right so.”

 The two pulled in behind Niamh’s car and parked. Dympna opened the door to the smell of food wafting from the kitchen. Young Charlie greeted them first. Arm went upstairs to wash the remaining blood off of his knuckles while Dympna played his part as the annoying older brother by ruffling Charlie’s hair and kissing her cheek. Much to her protest. He then kissed his mother on the cheek in greeting and traded lighthearted banter with his other 2 sisters. “where’s the Yankee girlie?” he smiled. “she’ll be down in a second, I’m sure.” Said June. Arm soon came back downstairs, freshly washed hands, and sat quietly. Listening to the familial chatter in the kitchen.

“Hi” all present turned to see Everly standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a shy smile on her face. Dympna’s jaw nearly hit the floor, much to Arm’s delight. Dympna could have sworn he heard a thunderclap at that moment. She was ethereal. A mass of jet-black curls framed a delicate elfin face, nose, full lips, brown skin, and the most angelic light grey eyes he’d ever seen. She looked directly at him and he felt his hand twitch. Dympna could feel those eyes piercing though him. If he stood there long enough, he thought she’d see straight through him to the wall behind him. He tried to put on a cocky smile and shake her hand, like a nice host. Then she smiled at him. A full megawatt smile. A large dimple formed on her right cheek that gave her the innocent look of small child. Dympna swallowed hard and introduced himself. “How do? I’m Dympna. Nice to meet you Yankee.” He said cheekily. “Nice to meet you. I’m Everly, not Yankee.” She said in her slow Texas drawl. Dympna was taken back a bit by her accent. Before he could say more, June introduced Arm to Everly. She could see the look on her son’s face. He was obviously awe struck by the pretty young lady, but she was off limits. June would make that clear to Dympna before the night was over with. She knew what kind of women he “associated” with. She promised to take care of Everly, not feed her to the wolves. June loved her son but his choices of female companionship left something to be desired. She wished he was more like Arm in that respect. Arm was devoted to that spoiled cunt Ursula. Even after their breakup he STILL loved her, if June’s instincts were correct.

 Dinner was a lively affair. Much more than Everly had ever been exposed to. Meals with Dad consisted of him telling her of all the myths, legends, and storied of his Irish homeland. He’d tell the same stories over the years, but she didn’t care. She loved hearing him tell them in his beautiful Irish lilt. It was just the two of them, and she adored her often drunk chain-smoking father. Everyone at the table had stories of their day to tell the others. Everly couldn’t focus on the conversations for a long period of time. Her equilibrium had been disturbed. Dympna with his bleached blond hair, deep dimpled carefree smile, and full pouty lips had caught her off guard. Then she just had to look him in the eyes, didn’t she? Those sky-blue eyes. She’d never seen eyes that blue before. She was tempted to ask if they were contacts!! They were magnetic….. and off putting. Similar to the butterflies that formed in her belly. Along with some other sensations she didn’t care to analyze now…or ever.

 Ever so often during the dinner conversation, Arm would catch Dympna sneaking a look at Everly. Then he’d catch Everly sneaking a look at Dympna. Non one else seemed to notice so far. He didn’t blame Dympna for looking. She was a stunning girl. Half white Irish half black American. Not typical in their part of Ireland, but not unheard of either. Unlike the states, the Irish were accepting like that. The usual jokes and laughter were present at the table. Arm couldn’t help but think that the near future is about to get REALLY interesting. He enjoyed the conversations long enough to be polite. Then excused himself to go to bed early. He had a playdate with Jack in the morning.

 Everly helped pick up plates and load the dish washer with Charlie at the end of the night. Everyone had been so kind. They included her in their dinner conversation and made her feel welcome. She thought it odd that no one ever mentioned work or what they do for a living. Don’t most people at least mention work during family dinner conversations? She didn’t dwell on it. She couldn’t. Not with Dympna eyeing her like a hawk from the other side of the kitchen. All through dinner, he never spoke directly to her. Not once. She didn’t know what to make of him. He seemed to be outgoing and social. At least around his family anyway. By all appearances, Dympna was the family entertainer with his quick wit and cheeky commentary. Everly also detected a bit of arrogance. That’s the part that gave her pause. He was a cocky bastard. A hot one, but cocky none the less. Everly just couldn’t figure out if that was what intrigued her about him. Nevertheless, she felt like a bug under a microscope with him eyeing her. She and Charlie finished their task and started to retreat to the room Everly was to share with the other 2 Devers sisters.

 “Hey Yankee girl! I hear you’re some kind of artist. What do you do?” Dympna inquired with a smirk as he blocked her path with his own body. Everly could smell the cologne from his body and the beer on his breathe. He was uncomfortably close, and several inches taller than she. She had to look up to see his handsome smug face looking down his nose at her, beer in hand. “I’m a jack of many trades but yes I’m an artist. I paint. And yourself? What do you do, sir?” Everly hoped she sounded braver than she actually was. Dympna gave a dimpled lopsided grin and said “aye, I’m also a jack of many trades. Painting, eh? What do you paint? Need a model?” he winked at his inuendo and swigged his beer. Everly let out a laugh while he continued to block her only means of escape from his proximity. “You laugh but I mean it. I could be the next Leonardo DiCaprio one day. You’ll regret that you laughed at me offer. You should take me up on it while I’m still available.” Dympna put his lips next to Everly’s ear. “I may be persuaded to do a nude for ye, IF you ask nicely.” Everly was overheating. There were sensations happening to her body as his breath ticked her ear were foreign. She’d been near attractive guys before, but she’d never really been attracted to anyone. Her best friend back in Texas often told her she was missing the sex gene. Meaning, she never really had a desire for it. Maybe she was a late bloomer? That was neither here nor there at the moment. For once in her life Everly felt…..DESIRE. At the ripe old age of 20, virginity still intact. Everly couldn’t help but watch his Adams apple bob up and down as Dympna stood straight up again, taking another swig of beer. She liked the way the muscles in his neck contracted as he swallowed. She enjoyed that so much that she didn’t realize Dympna was staring at her waiting for an answer to his inappropriate question. “um, right, um, I’ll let you know.” She ducked under  his arm on the door frame and bolted upstairs.

Dympna could see the lustful look on Everly’s face. Her pupils dilated. Good. He wanted a reaction out of her. He wanted to disturb that calm demeanor. He hoped he was making her as uncomfortable as he’d been all night. Watching her out of the corner of his eye each time she placed the fork between her full lips. Desire pool in his lower half so fiercely that he dragged his gaze away from her towards the table several times before he realized he couldn’t look at her without the desire to suck on those lips taking over his train of thought. So, he decided to flirt with her a bit. Test the waters while no one else was eyeing them. After she’d ducked beneath his arm to run upstairs, there was a hint of the perfume left in her wake. A soft coconut scent. Dympna smiled to himself at their brief interaction.

“Dympna, can you come outside with me for a minute?” June asked, pulling him from his memories.  Dympna dutifully followed his mother out in front of the building as she lit a cigarette. Those bright green eyes gave him a knowing look. “Listen, I know you were watching Everly. You’ve been eyeing her since you met. I don’t blame you. She’s a beautiful girl, but she’s also sweet. She just lost her father and she’s living in our house. She out of her element here in Ireland and the last thing he needs is to be perused by you or anyone else.” Dympna could see she wasn’t angry, just direct as always. His mother didn’t believe in beating around the bush. She just told things as they were, but this was making for an uncomfortable conversation. No man wanted to have these types of conversations with their mother. “Ma, I’m planning not on pursuing her. But if I did, would that be SO bad?” He was starting to get offended by her implications. “ye think she not good enough for me eh? Is that it?” He’d keep his tone of voice neutral. Always out of respect. “You’re my child and I love you Dympna Devers, but I know the likes of all the women in this town that you’ve pursued over the years. The numbers are growing steadily.” She deadpanned with a cheeky smile pf her own. Dympna couldn’t help but smirk at her. She knew him sure enough. He’d charmed his way through many of this town’s women, of all ages, since he was 14 yrs old. Now at 22, he’d held the title of womanizer around town. Women couldn’t help themselves around him. He could charm the panties off most he met and smile his way through the rest. Those dimples and sky-blue eyes he’d inherited from his father gave him more of an edge on the dating scene. He could get a way with it because of who he was and what family he was apart of. He was the Aire apparent. Set to inherit the Devers drug business. That instilled enough fear in anyone who’d oppose anything he did or said. His short temper and lack of patience was also infamous. He knew he was a force to be reckoned with, but in the presence of his dear mother, he always humbled himself. “I get it. I get it. I promise I won’t lay finger on her. Yeah?” Grabbing her Hand to give it a quick kiss. June cupped his cheek and smiled “thank you. Da last thing I need is to have to nurse her broken heart after all she been through. Ye know wit er father passin an all. I’m not sayin you can’t be a friend, but just be careful not to lead er on, eh?” Dympna released her hand and nodded his agreement, heading back into their apartment building. He’d do his best to be kind, accommodating, and hands off towards Everly. No more flirty comments or proximity or he’d make himself into a liar.

Everly woke early from a disturbing dream. In the dream, she was running from a voice but towards it at the same time. It was familiar but she couldn’t place it with anyone. There was no face.  No physical form but there was this sense of danger that she craved and was repelled by. There was a hint of something else lingering in the air, though faint. Fear. A man’s voice beckoning her to him in the night. She could still hear him whispering her name as she sat up in bed hoping against hope that she hadn’t disturbed Chevorn and Niamh. They were dead asleep in the much larger Queen-sized bed across the room from her twin sized bed. The sunlight was barely parting the clouds outside the window. She’d been in Ireland over a month now. Everyone had fallen into routine, and there was a comfortable familiarity between her and the Devers clan. They rarely did anything apart from each other, at least the girls anyway. Young Charlie had taken to following Everly to different rural locations while she sought out artistic inspiration from the lush natural landscape Ireland provided. Everly enjoyed the girl’s quiet companionship. She was an excellent guide to all the ancient ruins and rock formations. The environment was different here than in Texas. The mountains formed a natural barrier from the rest of the island. It was like being on a different planet for a while. You’d almost imagined fairies lived near. It was ethereal. The lake waters always so calm and tranquil. So calm that there would always be a heavenly reflection in them. Just like a mirror. When the sky was blue, a rarity for long, the reflection on the lake mirroring the sky reminded Everly of Dympna’s eyes. The depth in those eyes always spoke a different tale than he tried to portray to others with his playful demeanor. She could see there was wisdom and a sadness in them. Like, something in life had made him old before his time, but the only way to tell it was to peer into those blue orbs. His youthful good looks shielded him from most looking to question his aura. He’d made himself scarce over the last couple of weeks, missing most of the family dinners. He and Arm were always first to leave the house and last to come in at night. You’d think he’d take a day off…but no. He appeared to be consumed with whatever he did for a living 7 days a week. Even when he happened to cross her path, he was distant. He kept to himself. Polite but brief. Everly didn’t know if that bothered her or not. On one hand it was a relief to not be subjected to that sexual tension that made it hard for her to think properly. On the other hand, she wanted to be near him again. To feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek again. She may or may not have daydreamed about taking him up on his offer to be a nude model for her to paint. Instead, she came out to the hills near the mountains with Charlie with her easel, paints, and brushes. Determined to rid her mind of everything with each brush stroke. She lightly penciled a horizontal line across the middle canvas and began to work. Sure enough, after adding the final details to her artwork, she and Charlie made their way out of the hills and back to the trails that led back to their apartment building. Her head was clearer now. That what painting did for her. It settled her anxiety. A problem she’d had since she was a child. I would rear its ugly head once in a while, and she’d release the frustration onto a canvas. It’s what made her artwork so poignant. The art school she’d been forced to abandon back in Texas, after her and her father could no longer float the bills, accepted her before she’d even graduated high school due to her talents. After her dad got too sick to work, she’d quit to get a full-time job. So, she could help him with medical bills and prescriptions. She was ok with that. Happy with her decision to choose her family over her career. Now she had an opportunity to showcase her art in a small gallery in the next small town, Ballenbracken, there in the west of Ireland. The email had come a few days ago. She’d sent some samples of her work to the art gallery 2 weeks ago in hopes of trying to sell them to the gallery. Instead, she got an invitation to showcase her art for a couple nights about a month from then. Everly was ecstatic but nervous. There was a nervous tension in her hands, making them shake slightly. Of course, that made it hard to work. She needed another outlet. Something to shake the anxiety out of her, and mostly just to get herself out of her own head. Typical artist. Everly chuffed to herself as she trudged up the stairs to remove her boots and jacket.  

“Hey girlie!! Been out paintin da town ye?” Came the cheerful voice of Niamh. Everly smiled at her raising a surprised eye at Niamh’s attire. Niamh was decked in a dark denim mini skirt with a bright yellow sleeveless top teetering in 6-inch black heels. “Yea I was…where are you going like that honey?” Chevorn came in. “We’re going out to da pub tonight. As in, you’re going too. You’re one of us now. It’s about time you got to party wit us, ye?” Everly smiled and didn’t argue. Maybe this was what she needed. To literally shake the stress off on a dancefloor. Have a few drinks. Anything but stay in the house and worry. “Sounds good to me. I could use a night out.” Chevorn pulled a short pale green sweater over her head to compliment her skintight light washed jeans minus the heels. She opted for black knee boots instead. “You could use a man but leave that to us. We’ll have you getting your head banged into someone’s headboard at some point tonight. Hopefully the next morning too.” Niamh squealed her agreement, and Everly laughed. They had no idea of her lack of sexual experience. Of course, they’d told her all about their sexual exploits over the last month. A couple of those exploits would be present at this pub tonight, she was sure. It is a small town after all. She wasn’t ashamed of the fact that she still held her v-card at nearly 21 but she’d never really gotten an opportunity to spill that part of her business to them yet. It had only been a month since she’d arrived. Hopefully, when the occasion came for her to spill the beans about her nonexistent sex life, they wouldn’t be to upset with her for not mentioning that tad bit of information with them. “Aye, what’s this I hear about a pub tonight?” Dympna’s smiling face appeared in the doorway. “We’re going to Castle’s pub tonight.” Niamh smiled wickedly at her older brother. Dympna narrowed his eyes in thought. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. Niamh’s ex-boyfriend would most likely be there. A self-centered cunt if he ever saw one. A faker that his sister was determined to be near. This smelled like trouble. His sisters were beautiful, but a bit wild since their father had passed. He’d taken to being the man of the house since then and kept a careful eye on them. No one would dare lay a finger on a Devers lady. The town knew better. They called him overprotective at times, but they didn’t witness the things he did on a daily basis. Drug dealing opened the eyes to danger. It makes you more aware of your surroundings and makes you consider all of those around you. His sisters? Not so much. They preferred to consider their surroundings after the fact. Neither of them made wise choices when it came to men. He knew the types they were attracted to because those men were a lot like himself. However, this was not time to consider the influence his lifestyle choices were having on his younger siblings. Right now, he had to figure a way to accompany them tonight to the pub. There was no way he would let his sisters drag Everly out and then abandon her to seek their own pleasure with whoever they decided to leave with that night. He needed to keep an on them, her especially. Everly seemed wise enough, but he wasn’t able to gage her street sense. Hell, she wouldn’t even know her way back home by herself. Of that, he was sure. At night, the roads appeared to be the same in these parts, and this wasn’t the states. The police force didn’t roam the streets at night looking to assist. “Well well Yankee girl!! Time for you to get a taste of the night life here. I’ll consider it my responsibility to chauffer you ladies tonight.” He smiled giving a slight bow. “Well, aren’t you the proper gentlemen.” Everly quipped with an eye roll. He winked at her then. Enjoying the purposeful indifference Everly was trying to set forth, but he saw that slight smile she tried to hide. “What time will be ladies be ready?” “Give us about an hour.” Answered Niamh as Dympna headed to Arm’s room to tell him the night’s plans. 

@ftrmrs-barry-keoghan - My mutual/beta. I adore you for helping me xoxo

[wangxianficrecs]

Tips On Making A Fic Rec Blog

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These are just suggestions for a Nonny, so please remember that ymmv!

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Start with a clear idea of what your blog will feature.

Different rec blogs focus on different things. Some are more about archiving/retrieval, some include tumblr fics and twitter threadfics along with ao3 fics. Some reblog other people’s rec posts alongside their own. You might want to run a blog that only recs fics suitable for minors, or only kink, or only fic from sites other than AO3, etc. You could focus on a single pairing, or all ships; a single show or multiple fandoms. It helps if you know your focus in advance, so that you can advertise yourself.

For example, my blog only recs stories that I’ve personally read (excepting clearly differentiated Follower Recs, Fic Finders and Mood For posts). My focus is on adding my own comments/summary and my own tags to each rec, because that is what matters to me when I’m selecting a fic. (My cover graphics get attention, and they’re tremendously fun to do, which is why they’re there—I appreciate visuals!—but it’s a huge time commitment, which is probably why no one else does it.)

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Keep it Streamlined

I would suggest that you not use your rec blog to just reblog random fan content (art, gifs, meta, etc.), personal stuff, current events, etc. Save that for another, messier blog. The more concise your offering is, the more people will be willing to follow it. But that’s entirely up to you.

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*Always assume the author will read your rec/bookmark*

Fandom is actually a small world. Be kind and stay positive. Please don’t say things like, The story was great but the grammar/characterization was terrible. Just. Don’t. It’s so harmful. Authors do this for free, and don’t deserve to be stripped raw in public because you want to write a critical review. (This goes for your AO3 bookmarks, too, which are public by default and ALWAYS cruised by the authors.)

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Tag Page - make one!

One of the most important things about running a useful fic rec blog is archiving, which means you should create a tag page (here’s a how to). Find other people’s tag pages to use as a guide, so you’re not overwhelmed by categories. I’ve used the very well-organized wheredidhiseyebrowsgo and mdzs-fic to help me figure out the best way to categorize themes, tropes, etc.

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Tag Your Posts

Only the first 5 tags will show up in public tag feeds (for example, if someone tracks #wangxian, and you use that tag, they’ll see your post on their dash feed even if they aren’t following you). So pick your first 5 tags very carefully, because that’s how people are going to discover your posts. Pick tags that are popular and common, so that you’re seen.

Only the first 20 tags will show up in a dashboard search, so tags 21- ∞ are only useful within your own blog. (Actually, tags might stop at 30, these days, I’ve been cut off a few times when I go over.)

On your blog, ‘search’ and ‘tagged’ will find different posts even if all of them have your term in the tags. So when you’re making your tag page, try both of them on for size and then pick the one that pulls up the most/best options. (I usually use ‘search’.) [Example: https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/tagged/3zun vs https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/search/3zun]

Be consistent! Don’t tag wangxian one time and lan zhan/wei ying the next, for example, or fox!wwx and later use fox wei wuxian. You’ve only got maybe 30 tags to work with, and one tag page!

The tumblr censor-bot will often render your posts invisible to all but your followers, so be careful what you put in tags. *cough* sex acts *cough* Tags that have set off the censor-bot: #prostate exam, #role reversal, #virgin, #explicit. (ETA: this post is actually invisible to searches, probably because of this very paragraph. Sigh.) As you can see, the list is puritanical along with occasionally being simply baffling. Check your post once you’ve posted by clicking on one of the first 5 tags to see if it shows up. If it doesn’t, no one can find it except your followers, so start eliminating any tags or text you think might offend a conservative granny… it’ll show up eventually. Hopefully. Maybe.

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Tumblr Limitations

Tumblr tag searches only pull up the last 200 posts with that tag. Do with that what you will. (My blog has nearly 700 recs at this point, so the common tags, like ‘wangxian’, will only pull up the recent posts.)

Tumblr will sometimes just… remove your links. I haven’t figured out a pattern, it’ll just take some out randomly from here and there. You are limited to only 200 links total (soon to be only 100 😟). So be aware.

Sometimes your posts won’t show up in searches or tag feeds for no discernable reason. If you don’t see an obvious culprit (like the word ‘prostate’), just attribute it to chaotic coding nonsense and decide whether you want to re-post (not reblog) a day or so later to see if that works better.

On your dashboard, a ‘search’ will sort through titles, some content, and tags 1-20 —whereas ‘tagged’ only covers the first 5 tags.

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Searches on AO3 vs. Tumblr

AO3 has a MUCH more robust search feature, and it’ll pull up so much more than your tag page on Tumblr... due to Tumblr’s limitations, not your own as an archivist. So if you keep your AO3 bookmarks in order, you can direct followers to search those if they need more granular or complete searches.

AO3 Collections is a fabulous feature—mine is WangxianFicRecs. You can make one for your rec posts so that you and others can select and exclude multiple tags at a time. I suggest you just do a bookmarks collection rather than a works collection, because the latter requires the authors to approve their inclusion, while the former is something you control completely. @ao3commentoftheday has helpful posts on #How To AO3.

One last thing about AO3 bookmarks. This being a fandom where many authors get bullied out, I've begun adding the fic title & author to my bookmarks, so I can still find it once a work has been hidden or deleted. I also download PDFs of each work I rec, so that it doesn't vanish forever. (I don't make them publicly available, but I will share them on an individual basis unless the author asks me not to.)

~*~

These are things I’ve worked out over the entire past year, so don’t get overwhelmed, you don’t have to do all (or any) of this, and certainly not all at once.

I hope this helps, good luck, and have fun!

~ mojo

P.S. I don’t have a clue how tag pages work on mobile, since I don’t use mobile for any of this. I think it sucks, though?

[I posted this once before, here.]

[paperandsong]

So, I still have a few more things to say. And then I think I might be done with this topic. I write this for the record.

One of the strangest things about @phandombigotryarchive /@wjsnsfriend is how she turned on so many people who once supported her fics. She has since changed usernames on ao3 and made her Pharoga fics anonymous – but they’re still there. And you can see all the people who left kudos and nice comments who were eventually harassed and driven out by PBA/@wjsnsfriend and @trans-flint.

The only interaction I had with PBA/@wjsnsfriend before February 2021 was when I left a nice comment on her fic Tristeza não tem fim. I was excited to see that title and to read in the notes that she had been inspired by the 1959 film Orfeu Negro. The interaction we had in her comments is probably why she mistakenly thinks I am Brazilian. Because she assumes things without knowing anything.

I’ve written two posts about this complicated film here and here. It is both one of my favorite films and also a deeply problematic piece of art. So problematic that Barack Obama wrote about his negative experience watching it in his book Dreams of My Father. In other words, it needs to be viewed with nuance. Nuance PBA did not lend Madame Faust’s work.

While Orfeu Negro is a Portuguese-language film, made in Brazil with an all Black cast, it was directed by a white French man, Marcel Camus. He was married to the lead actress, the Black American Marpessa Dawn, at the time of filming.

Among many issues with the film is a really awful and racist scene involving watermelon. I mention this scene in this post. [Photo after the cut]

I don’t criticize the quality of PBA’s fic or her use of Orfeu Negro as inspiration. I think the film is important enough to transcend the racism inherent in most films made at that time. But I find it extremely hypocritical that she would excoriate another author for addressing themes of slavery and racism in fanfiction while uncritically enjoying a film made by a white French man as problematic as this one. 

What was it about Madame Faust that really bothered PBA? And let’s not forget that PBA didn’t work alone. @trans-flint/ @cenfantomeenhabitnoir /elegantidler had a lot to do with PBA’s actions in February and March of 2021. They are both responsible for trying to destroy another author and to cause harm to as many people as possible within the Phantom of the Opera fandom. I wonder how long it took for them to plan it all out? From the tags in this post it looks like @trans-flint had some idea that he was going to start hurting people at least as of January 1 2021.

Why Madame Faust? Both PBA and @trans-flint wrote Pharoga fics and MF a was a popular Pharoga writer. And she is a nice person who they rightly assumed wouldn’t fight back. Within that MF call out post there was a long tirade about how all Pharoga writers are racist and Orientalist, again making assumptions about who Pharoga writers really are, completely ignoring non-white people in the PotO fandom.

I am not a Pharoga writer. PBA never came after any of my fics. I don’t think she even reads fic – not even MF’s fic beyond searching for some quotes to take out of context. I have often wondered why I was targeted by PBA - she wrote absolutely sickening lies about me – why was I even in her sights? Here’s what I think: PBA and @trans-flint went after people who shared common interest with them. I believe @trans-flint encouraged PBA to come after me because just a week before the MF post on February 25, I made a proposal for a PotO Paris Commune Week to be held in May. Clearly, he found this intolerable.

@trans-flint makes a lot of assumptions about the phandom and about how stupid he thinks we all are. The tags are interesting. While I am politically sympathetic to the Paris Commune, the execution of their 62 hostages was the worst thing they did and it damaged their reputation in history for decades. Leroux plays heavily upon this bad reputation too. Maybe the Commune was good – but executing hostages is always vile. Commune Week went really well, by the way. Even if PBA tried to spam the tag with some k-pop reblogs, because that’s not racist or fetishizing at all.

PBA reblogged this post from @trans-flint on March 5 2021 and she again insists that I am Brazilian and again tells lies about me.

I have never tried to excuse the trans-Atlantic slave trade – and neither did Madame Faust. It’s all lies. It’s disgusting that she would say this. It makes a mockery of actual racism. There is racism in the PotO fandom, absolutely. But MF’s fic was not it.

I never complained about anything PBA did until August 2021. It took me a while to get some perspective on what happened. But I think I get it now. @trans-flint and PBA laid out that MF post like a trap. They created something so outrageous that it would horrify everyone in the fandom, even people just watching it unfold. They were probably always going to make a list – that post was just a way to collect names. If PBA actually cared about racism in PotO, she would be out here calling out those who have said awful things about Lucy St. Louis. But she’s not. Her work is done.

But they’ve already lost. Their list has been proven meaningless. It protects no one. Even PBA seems to have forgotten about it. And I think the phandom should too. Let @trans-flint drive himself crazy trying to update it without using excel. 

[heytheredeann]

Broken heart and broken liver

Tags:  Major Character Death, Post-Canon, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Gaby Teller Is Bad At Feelings, (In her defense they are very big feelings), Gaby Teller centric, Polyamory, Either all three of them are together or it's a V thing and Napoleon and Gaby are (...were) platonic            

Summary: She doesn’t need his pity, and she’s fine. It’s just an adjustment. Just like when her father left and she felt too naked to sleep at night: she clung to her favourite doll, sealed her eyes shut, and eventually it passed. This will too. In the meantime, Illya’s suffocating attention isn’t helping. Most of the time, it feels like he’s trying to strangle her in an attempt at making sure she won’t be straying too far from his side.

Notes: ...sometimes my inner angst gremlin takes over and this is what comes out. Title and lyrics below are from "The Calling" by The Amazing Devil, which is totally at fault for this because I've been wanting to write something like this since I heard that song. So. uh. enjoy? LOL

.

.

'Cause I'm between that just-one-more And drank-too-much-again And I promise you I'll write "I love you" With my fingers on your sleeping hand

.

She isn’t exactly steady on her legs, but the apartment has enough furniture for her to lean on while she makes her way to the bedroom, and it’s still progress from the nights that she’ll just pass out cold on the floor.

Having already made half the way without throwing up or falling on her face, she realizes that she left the lights on behind her. Eh, it doesn’t matter, Illya won’t bitch about it in the morning anyway. He doesn’t bitch about much of anything these days, he just looks at her all worried and shit. It’s yet one more reason why she kinda wants to turn back and go another round.

But, well, she got up already, and drinking games aren’t as fun alone anyway. The fact that she promised Illya she’d cut back and she doesn’t want him to get all sad and disappointed about it is also a good reason.

(Yes, this is ‘cutting back’. She’s standing, sort of, so it’s cutting back. Yesterday he found her sprawled on the floor, as he did many times before that. She’s pretty confident she will remember all this in the morning too, so.)

When she gets to him, Illya is asleep.

It isn’t entirely surprising, though it is unusual: he has developed the habit to let her drink alone, only to wait awake in their bedroom for her to either stumble back or, more likely, crash and force him to get up and come collect her. To be fair, at first he tried to stay with her, apparently not too keen on letting her wallow in her misery alone, but—it’s not supposed to be him. It’s not supposed to be him, and it made her furious, to have him sit there in contemplative silence when she should instead be with Solo, who would be cracking jokes and annoying the shit out of her. She told him as much, or something close to it, and the shouting apparently was enough for him to decide not to intrude on her night-drinking. He still waits up for her, and it only enrages her some days.

Today, though, it shouldn’t really surprise her that he’d be exhausted enough to crash, after—well, everything. He’s been having more episodes than he did before, triggers that used to only warrant some de-escalation for a few minutes now resulting in thrashed rooms or equipment.

Waverly mentioned he thinks it’s because he’s stressed. Gaby scoffed at him and sarcastically wondered what might possibly be stressing him out.

[More on Ao3]

[jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets]

Screw It, I Love You

Title: Screw It, I Love You

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Destiel 

Rating: G 

Tags: Just a lot of fluff! 

Summary: This is based of this post I saw the other day, find it HERE. It’s about Cas being newly human and Dean leaving him reminder notes all over the bunker.

Also, thanks as always to @thebridgekid for reading this <3<3<3

AO3

*** My works are not to be posted on any sites without my permission! But comments and reblogs are love! <3 Please and thanks!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Cas woke up around noon, still tired as hell and still not completely healed, but definitely better then the previous day's. Being human always took a beating on him, especially right after losing his grace, but he knew eventually he would adjust and be able to hunt with Sam and Dean again. 

     The brother’s had left early that morning to take down a vamp nest in a nearby town. He knew they wouldn't be back till late, and there was the possibility they wouldn't even come home until tomorrow, so Cas had taken the opportunity to sleep in. But now he decided it was time to get up and not waste the entire day. So he forced his still exhausted body to get out of bed and venture out into the bunker. 

     He was just about to open his door when a little yellow piece of paper caught his attention. He took the sticky note off the door and read it aloud, "Cas, you're human now, so don't forget to eat. Dean."

     His stomach took that moment to growl furiously, "I guess I am a little hungry. I don't know how humans maintain their bodies if they are this hungry all the time."

     He tucked the little note into his pajama pants pocket and made his way into the kitchen. As he walked the hall’s of the bunker he noticed more and more how hungry he actually was, but in the same instant hoped that there was something in the kitchen that he was actually able to make. He was certainly no chef, he could barely make eggs without nearly burning the kitchen down, so hopefully Sam had some cereal left in the cupboard or something easy. Otherwise he wasn't too sure what he was going to eat. 

     He made the last turn into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway. On the counter there was a small pile of clothes and another yellow note. He walked over and read the note, "Hey, Cas, don't forget that humans get cold. I grabbed you a sweater and some socks, stay warm, Dean."

     Cas couldn't help but smile to himself, Dean was right again. Now that he was out of the warmth of his bed, his arms and toes were getting cold. So he put on the socks and sweater and walked over to the fridge. 

     "Another note," he smiled and took it off the fridge door, "I sort of figured you'd sleep past breakfast, and I know how much you suck at using the stove, so I made you some lunch. It's in the fridge. Just some PB&J sandwiches, I know how much you like them and I know it's simple, but it's definitely better than scorched eggs and bacon. I also made you some pasta and garlic bread for dinner if I'm not back. Just put it in the microwave for two minutes. Dean."

     Cas tucked that note into his pocket with the others and grabbed one of the wrapped up sandwiches from the fridge then sat down. With the first bite he moaned, he loved PB&J sandwiches so much, and he was so glad that Dean had been so kind as to prepare him food for the day. He would not have been happy with any of the burnt food he would have ended up with had he cooked himself. 

     He spent a little bit extra time eating the sandwich, savouring it as much as he could, before he was finally finished and now found himself with nothing to do. He tossed his wrapper in the garbage, stood there for a minute, then sighed and slowly wandered through the bunker. 

     He had been in this situation before, him staying behind while the brothers went on a hunt without him, and every time he hated it. He hated being alone in the bunker with nothing to do, and to top it off both Dean and Sam had taken their laptop’s with him to prevent him from attempting to do anything other than relaxing. As he recalled, Dean's exact words on the matter had been, "No work, no searching for cases, nothing related to hunting, period, while we're gone. You just sit back, relax, and focus on getting your strength back." And so now here he was, bored, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. 

     He considered for a brief moment calling Dean to see how the hunt was going, but quickly decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally distract Dean mid hunt and have him end up injured or even possibly worse, especially now considering he couldn't heal him if something happened. So instead he kept wandering. 

     He eventually wandered through the map room, ended up in the library, considered for a moment reading a book but decided he wasn't in the mood to focus that hard right now, and was about to head back to his room with the thought of going back to bed when he saw another yellow note on the wall. 

     He walked over to it and grabbed it from the wall and all this one said was, "Cas," with an arrow pointing to the right. He followed it, finding yet another note with the same message, and another, and another, until he found himself in front of Dean's hidden little man cave at the back of the bunker. The note on the door this time said, "Come on in, Cas, and look on the tv."

     "If you say so, Dean," and he walked in. There was another note on the tv right where the last note had said it would be, so he read that one, "I knew you would end up wandering around, bored with nothing to do. So I cued up a new Netflix series for you to watch, there's also beer in the mini fridge, and snacks for you in the cupboard above it. When I get back, maybe we could have a movie night? Haven't had one in a while. Dean."

     "I would love that, Dean, now you just need to hurry home." He added that note to his collection and walked over to the cupboard. Inside there was a bowl with all of Cas's favourite snacks, he then grabbed a couple beers, and walked over to the couch. He placed the snacks and beer on the table, grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. 

     "The Walking Dead," he read the title and the description of the show, "why are all the shows about monsters? We deal with this everyday and now it's all over tv. But if Dean likes it, then it must be good."

     He hit play on the first episode and then started digging through the bags of snacks in the bowl, trying to decide which one to open first, when he found another note. "Enjoy the snacks, Cas, but don't eat them all at once or you won't wanna eat dinner later, and you have to eat dinner. Humans need more than just candy and sweets all day, so make sure you save some room for that pasta. Also, don't forget at some point to shower, humans have to shower. Dean."

     Cas stared at the note for a second before he added it to his pocket. He then grabbed the bag of mini Twix bars and tossed one into his mouth. The man on the tv who had been shot in the beginning of the episode, Officer Rick if he remembered correctly, was just waking up from his coma, so he decided he'd watch another episode or two after this then he would shower as Dean had reminded him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

     Six episode’s, one shower, a bowl of pasta, and three bags of candy later and Cas was starting to feel tired again. He tried to wait up a little bit in hopes that Sam and Dean might come back tonight, but it was nearing midnight now and he assumed that they had decided to find a motel for the night. He would call them in the morning to make sure. 

     The episode he was watching was almost over, so he decided to wait for it to finish before he turned the tv off, but his newly human body had other plans. He felt himself slowly tipping to the side, falling, his eyes closing, and he ended up landing his head on the throw pillow. But a little crinkle on the side of his face woke him up enough to sit up and grab the sticky note that was now stuck to his face. 

     "Hey, Cas, I knew you would try waiting up for us and falling asleep halfway through your Netflix binge. But since we're not home yet go to bed, Cas, don't sleep on the couch all night, alright. See you when I get home, Dean."

     He chuckled lightly, still almost half asleep, but the thoughtfulness of Dean, leaving all those notes for him all day to make sure he was ok on his own, reminding him to eat and drink and rest, Cas couldn't help but blush. Not to mention he suddenly felt much warmer then he had all day. 

     He tucked that note into his pocket as he stretched on the couch, then forced himself to get up and shuffled to his room. 

     Even though he had been in there this morning and already found the note on the door, he couldn't help but find himself looking for one last note from Dean. Maybe there had been one he didn't see before he went to the kitchen for food, or a hidden note for him to find before he went to bed for the night. But after spending ten minutes searching the room, he was disappointed that he didn't find any more notes. But he pushed the disappointment aside, shucked everything but his boxers, and crawled into bed. 

     Where he was exhausted not too long ago he now found himself tossing and turning. He was wide awake and could not see sleep in his near future whatsoever. And after a few more minutes of restlessly trying to relax enough to sleep, he realized exactly why he was suddenly so unsettled. It was Dean. 

     As an angel, Cas didn't need to sleep, but now that he was human apparently it was necessary. And since he first became human a few days ago, this had been his first time without Dean, his first night going to bed without having spoken to the hunter, or even just as much as passing him by in the bunker. And his smell… it was comforting to Cas, Dean's scent always calmed him, even as an angel. But here in his own room, in his own bed, he had nothing of Dean to bring him that calm. 

     He grunted in frustration as he was still not able to relax, violently tossed the blankets off of him, and stormed towards the door, "As Dean would say, 'screw this!'"

     He threw his bedroom door open and marched down the hallway in nothing but his boxers, then barged his way into Dean's room. Dean's scent instantly hit his nose and he could already feel himself relaxing. And without even so much as a second thought he walked over and got into Dean's bed. 

     He pulled the blankets over him and snuggled into the pillow. Dean, it was all Dean, it all smelled like Dean, it was comfort and home. God, he missed Dean. 

     He laid there for a while, eyes closed just taking deep breaths, though he had no intention of sleeping there. He couldn't imagine Dean would be too happy when he came home from the hunt tomorrow morning and found Cas passed out in his bed. But he figured he could stay there for a little bit longer before he went back to his own bed. So he rolled over onto his stomach and stretched out on the bed, his arm finding its way under the pillows, and his fingers hit something. He grabbed it and pulled it out, finding a full sized piece of paper. He was about to put it back, sure that it was something personal to Dean if he had hidden it there, but in the dim glow of Dean's digital clock on the bedside table, he saw his name at the top. 

     He quickly turned on Dean's lamp and sat up to read the new note, and it would be an understatement to say he was only a little excited about it. "Cas, I wasn't sure if you'd come in here or not, I was hoping you would. And I know you'll probably think you have to go back to your own room, but you don't, you can stay if you want, you don't have to leave. So just lay back, relax, and go to sleep, okay. I'll come wake you up in the morning when I get back from the hunt. Good night, Cas, I…"

     Cas squinted at the bottom of the paper, Dean had written something but scribbled it out completely. Then it looked like Dean tried again, "I… Cas…" Then more scribbles, and more, until he was at the bottom of the page. 

     Cas wanted to know what he had written, what he had wanted to say that he was too scared to. Maybe he could tell if he turned it over…

     "There's more," he whispered to himself then read the rest.

     "Screw it. I love you, Cas. I hope you see this side of the note before you go to sleep, and I can't wait to get home so I can tell you that in person. Sweet dreams, Cas."

     He was stunned, speechless, his brain had even turned off. Dean loved him, and now that was going to be all Cas could think about. His heart was fluttering, he was anxious with anticipation, and all he wanted was for Dean to be home already so he could say it back. How was Cas supposed to sleep now?!

     But eventually he did sleep, with thoughts of Dean's confession on his mind and clutching the note close to his chest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

     "Man, I don't know why we couldn't have just grabbed a room at one of the many motels we passed on the way here," Sam complained as they grabbed their bags from the back of the car, "I'm exhausted."

     Well, that was a lie, Sam did know why. He also knew why Dean was practically running through the garage and down the stairs, "Dude, where’s the fire. Slow down."

     "I'm just tired too, wanna head right to bed."

     "You don't want to stay up for a beer?" He asked, though he knew the answer, he just wanted to see what Dean would say, "Celebrate taking down that nest?"

     "Nah, I'm just gunna go to bed, I'm beat, see ya in the morning."

     "Yeah, see ya," Sam waved him off and watched with a smirk as Dean practically ran through the bunker towards the rooms. He knew Dean wasn't as tired as he was trying to make it out to be, he had seen Dean running around the morning before, placing notes around the bunker and setting things up for Cas all day. He also knew about the little confession note that Dean had left in his bedroom in hopes that Cas would find. 

     He had caught Dean writing it just before they left, and was able to catch a sneak peek over his shoulder without Dean noticing he was there. Sam also knew that Cas had most definitely already found that note, where he knew Dean wasn't sure if he would. But it was no news to Sam that if Cas was in fact in Dean's room, it would not have been the first time he caught Cas sneaking in there to grab a sweater or blanket of Dean's to take to his own room. He was just glad that these two were finally going to get over themselves. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

     Dean was just standing, frozen, outside his bedroom door. He was nervous, to say the least. There was no guarantee that Cas would be in there, or that he had seen the note he hid. He was just running off of hope that he had been right in thinking that his missing clothes and blankets had been taken by the ex angel, that maybe he had been taking them for a reason, and that his confession would be taken the way he was hoping it would. 

     He looked down the hallway towards Cas's room, but the door was closed. All he could do was hope that his little hunches were right, and that when he opened this door he would find Cas on the other side. 

     Slowly, he reached his hand out and turned the handle. He was holding his breath, his whole body felt numb, and when he peeked his head in his heart went into overdrive. Cas was in fact there, asleep in his bed, the blankets resting low on his hips showing off his toned back. 

     Dean tried to pull himself together a little bit, to calm down so he didn't wake Cas. He was still recovering from losing his grace and needed as much rest as he could get. So he quietly slipped inside and closed the door as softly as he could. 

     He placed his bag at the bottom of the bed, all the while keeping his eyes on Cas, worried that if he woke him he'd spook and leave in a panic. But thankfully he was still sound asleep. So he removed his shirts and pants and almost in slow motion, he crawled into the other side of the bed beside Cas. 

     He didn't touch him or get too close once he was under the covers with him. Dean was thrilled that everything he had thought and hoped for, was currently laying right across from him in his bed. So he decided to just soak it in for a few minutes, to just lay there and adore Cas, just stare at him for as long as he could before he could feel sleep starting to take over. 

     Just before he closed his eyes, he ran the back of his hand over Cas's slightly stubbled cheek, then he laid back against his pillow. Then suddenly Cas shifted beside him and moved until he was practically right on top of Dean. He tucked his head under Dean's chin, tangled their legs together, and snuggled as close as he could get. 

     Dean just smiled, as happy as he had ever been in that moment, and wrapped his arms around Cas. They laid like that for a minute before Cas moved his hand from where it was rested on Dean's chest, and a second later, he brought it back up and stuck the entire pile of sticky notes he had collected all day to Dean's forehead. Dean chuckled, shaking Cas on his chest who also laughed. Then he brought his hand up again and placed the confession note over Dean’s heart where his hand had just been resting. 

     Dean grabbed all the notes and placed them on the bedside table, then opened the drawer to reach in and grab the pad of sticky notes and wrote out another one. He laughed as he peeled the note off the pad and moved his hand between them to stick it over Cas’s heart. Cas tucked his chin down to read the note upside down and smiled from ear to ear, “Property of Dean Winchester.”

     “At least I hope,” he said, laying his hand over Cas's where it still rested over his heart.

     "I love you too, Dean," Cas spoke into Dean's neck, drawing mindless circles over Dean's heart. 

     Dean moved his hand over to Cas's chin and lifted his face up to his. "I'm glad you found my note, I wasn't sure if you'd come in here."

     "I missed you," Cas admitted, "the pillows and blankets smell like you."

     "I missed you too, Cas, a lot. I did everything I could so that I could make it back here tonight so we could be together." He rubbed his thumb over Cas's bottom lip, then asked in an almost whisper, "Can I…"

     Cas nodded, his nose rubbing against Dean's as he did, and Dean leaned in closing the gap. He touched his lips to Cas's and kissed him softly, sucking lightly on his bottom lip. It was slow, and gentle, and perfect, filled with years of love between them and Dean couldn't think of anything better than this. He had never been happier. 

     When they finally pulled apart, Dean pulled Cas against his chest again, tucking him perfectly against his body as he was before, running his fingers up and down his back. Then he started thinking, as he was staring up at the ceiling, with Cas finally in his arms, and as usual his brain started running wild. He suddenly became nervous and began shifting under Cas. 

     Cas felt it, knew Dean well enough by now to know exactly what was going on, so he just rubbed his hand over his bare chest. It might have been easy enough to write it down on paper, but Cas knew Dean would struggle with actually saying it out loud. But eventually, with the soothing motion of Cas's hand on his chest, he managed to get it out. 

     "I… I love you, Cas, I really love you, so much."

     Dean leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Cas's forehead and he smiled, tucked himself tighter under Dean's chin, "I love you too, Dean, and I'm glad you came back tonight."

     "Me too," he kissed him again, then wiggled to settle back into the bed and closed his eyes, "good night, Cas."

     "Good night, Dean."

End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hope y’all liked that cute little fluff fest XD 

[gay-otlc]

Keepers Of The Chaos (3)

Summary: Tam, Linh, Dex, Keefe, Biana, and Fitz are part of the tiny fandom for Keeper of the Chaos, and Tam and Linh’s podcast convinces some of their other friends to watch it as well. The group finds themselves strangely invested in this show, where students at Tumblr High School who work together to write about an elf named Sophia, cause incomprehensible chaos, and fight their rival Pinterest High School.

Content warnings: Cursing, religion (Jewish Vackers), and Amsterdam (just in case, I know that was stressful for some people).

Word count: 1621

Notes: Most of the episodes are just events stolen from Lynn's roundup, Dex's memes are here

(Read on AO3)

The life of an amateur meme maker on dumbles dot com was a strange one, that was for sure. After finishing xyr favorite show- Ze-Ra: Monaerchs of Powhir- for the third time, Dex had searched for another show to fill the void in xyr soul. Biana recommended this show called "Keepers of the Chaos" and described it to xem. Xe was doubtful at first, but after watching the first episode, xe was hooked.

Xe used to not have many friends at xyr school, so xe did what every neurodivergent queer teen would do- made an account on dumbles dot com. People seemed to like xem- or at least, they liked dizznee-plus's memes and edits of Ze-Ra characters. Even after Dex befriended xyr squish, Fitz, thons sister, Biana, and aer girlfriend, Sophie, xe continued making content on dumbles. Around that time, the Ze-Ra fandom started dying off, and xyr memes started getting fewer note

In a sudden, two am burst of inspiration, Dex made edits of some of xyr favorite characters, like Ref, Akki, and Rose, with their respective pride flags (all of them bi) over them, and captioned it "we must be gay." The post blew up, or at least, what could be considered blowing up in Keeper of the Chaos's tiny fandom, and that was how Dex found xyr calling as an amateur meme/edit maker for KOTC.

History had been repeating itself, with the KOTC fandom starting to die off, until it was revived by an announcement from creator Saturn Nolastname- a season two would be released soon. Frantically, Dex made a meme about season one episode two, with the car salesman meme. Xe edited "chaos keepers" onto the car salesman, "the rarelynoticed" on the car, and "this bad boy can fit so many stripper outfits into it."

That had been... an interesting episode, to say the least. The chaos keepers had been talking about the antagonists of "Sophie and the Dark Duck"- a rebel group called the Rarelynoticed. In the information packet they'd been given, it was confirmed that the Rarelynoticed wore black cloaks and armbands, but no other clothes had been mentioned. Somehow, the chaos keepers came to the conclusion that the Rarelynoticed really wore neon pink leotards and green stripper heels, then drew this idea.

Needless to say, the Tumblr staff did not let them write that into the book. Nor did Lynn, the unofficially chosen leader of the group. Unfortunately for her, this didn't stop the chaos keepers from drawing more of these- or the fandom from making a ton of memes. In addition to the car salesman meme, a post with Drake saying no to "wearing normal fucking villain outfits" and yes to "leotards and stripper heels" gained popularity within the small fandom.

Though nothing could match the absolute shock of seeing the Rarelynoticed stripper outfit for the first time, Dex decided to rewatch the episode anyway- it was funny to see the chaos keepers freak out, and maybe xe could get some good screen captures. The good Saturn Nolastname indulged xem, and xe captured an excellent scene of most of the chaos keepers either laughing or screaming at the Rarelynoticed stripper outfits, with Kimber- one of xyr favorites- sitting on the side, explaining to Juno and Kaitee why Bianca Cracker was bisexual.

Xe went over to dumbles, posted the picture, added an image description, and captioned it "Live photo of me not caring when my friends talk about sex/romance." Xe chuckled to xemself- this really was how it felt to be aroace. Xe tagged it as aromantic and asexual as well, since dumbles added flag colors. Smiling, xe went to go check xyr notifications.

Xyr jaw dropped when xe saw that @lordofthesnuggles- Fitzroy (Dex didn't know thons middle name) Vacker thonself had liked and reblogged all three of xyr memes, even adding compliments in the tags! Xe'd had a bit of a platonic crush on Fitz for... a really long time, but xe always felt too awkward to talk to thon, so it was nice to see that thon appreciated xyr humor.

Feeling energized- and excited to procrastinate on xyr math homework- Dex went to watch the next episode: Dark Duck Is Jewish Now. Being Jewish xemself, this was a really funny episode to xem.

Lynn had been writing a sort of spinoff- it would be called fanfiction, but it was for her own story- about some of the Dark Duck characters celebrating Christmas, and added a throwaway line about Bianca and Finn Cracker celebrating Hanukkah. Then, her fiance, Shai, had taken that idea and run with it, writing a list of ideas about what would happen if the Cracker family was Jewish. Hir friend Sam had jumped on the idea, and soon they had abandoned writing the actual Dark Duck in favor of writing a story about Jewish Dark Duck characters. Some of the other Jewish chaos keepers, like Ref and Cat, helped out.

To be honest, it kind of surprised Dex that no one had made a joke about the Jewish Crackers just being matzah, so xe supposed xe would have to be the first.

Xe posted that observation, quickly getting a like from Fitz- which made xem smile. After a few minutes, Dex posted another meme: Shai and Sam standing in front of a door with a sign that read "elves don't have religion," and them saying "This sign won't stop me, because I can't read!"

It was accurate.

While that episode was great for Jewish representation, and funny, the Banana Noir episode was just plain weird.

It focused less on the Dark Duck than most of the other episodes, and was more about the crazy interactions of the chaos keepers. The episode was named for Banana Noir, who was really Cat Noir, but in a banana suit. Banana Noir was the son of Mellie, who looked like a shark, and Nora, who had platonically married faer. The mothers tried to arrange a marriage between him and Akki, who loved the side characters of the Dark Duck series. However, Akki wanted to marry Amelia. After a lot of shit that basically no one understood, Banana Noir's attempts were thwarted, and Lynn officiated the wedding between Akki and Amelia.

Yeah, Dex had no idea what the fuck was going on either. Xe'd watched an episode of Twins of the Chaos and a youtube video by arsonpog analyzing the Banana Noir chronicles, as it had been dubbed by the chaos keepers, and both expert opinions seemed to agree that Saturn Nolastname and the rest of the writers had probably been on crack when they made that episode.

The next episode made slightly more sense, though it was a low bar. After taking a break from the "official" Dark Duck story, the chaos keepers began collectively writing a Cinderella story about the characters Sophia and Bianca. People weren't allowed to be queer in the official story, but the chaos keepers still wanted to have fun with their obviously gay characters.

Even to the viewers of the show, who only received secondhand information about the Dark Duck characters, knew there was no way any of them, let alone all of them, were allocishet. The exact identities weren't entirely clear- when Dex had made edits of the characters' official art and xyr headcanons for their pride flags, a few people had disagreed- but both the chaos keepers and the fandom knew that despite what Shannon said, Sophia and Bianca were in love, and their Cinderella story should have made it in to the official Dark Duck story.

While excerpts of the Cinderella story were quoted in the show, most of it was left unclear, so Biana had taken it upon aerself to write aer own version of it. Dex was expecting an update later  that day, actually, or maybe the next. Ae wasn't always 100% reliable with aer update schedule. Still, Dex looked forward to when it eventually did come.

After the brief calmness from the Sophianca Cinderella episode, season one episode six, Amsterdam, exploded back into chaos. A few of the chaos keepers decided to discuss a fake scene in the book in which crazy shit went down, with the scene supposedly being located in Amsterdam. It had never been written and was never going to be, but everyone discussed it like it was real. Some of the highlights involved all the Dark Duck girls having swords (and the chaos keepers being gay for them), and a speedboat chase scene through the canals. Fitz had a popular theory that the chaos keepers would actually travel to Amsterdam in order to commemorate this crazy part of their lives. Almost as popular as that was a meme Dex made, with a man labeled "chaos keepers discussing amsterdam" and gesturing feverishly to a wall covered in papers and red string.

Of course, episode seven (Dark Duck Disney) was chaotic too. Everything was chaotic with this group, it was in the title. Shannon announced that the winning Dark Duck story would be adapted into a Disney movie. After past experience with terrible book to movie adaptations, the chaos keepers panicked. They panicked so much that it became major news within their school, which until then, had been largely ignoring the chaos keepers. Once the discussion about the movie settled down, they talked a lot about how in awe they were that their Dark Duck shenanigans were trending within the school.

But of course, none of that compared to the last episode of the season...

Dex changed xyr profile picture to include an ominous pair of teal eyes and sighed.