#(Selkie JUST joined the army for this one)

[taxi-cab-to-slowtown]

WIP Vote

This is my current WIP plan out with the days of the week for updates BUT you have a chance to change that. For each fic that has more than 2 per day it means you will get updates triweekly instead of biweekly. In the voting are only the fics published before this october, since the new ones are the babies. If you're eager for an october fic then pick "other" and comment or tag the fic. It's up to you to vote, which of these fics are you the most eager for an update for?

Don't know what these fics are but are interested? check below the cut!

Sign Your Life Away [E]: Wally West is being sent to his death. Vampires, according to the legend, liked virginal human omegas. They liked to have their way with them, fucking them until they couldn’t move, and then draining them of their blood and killing them. Sometimes, they’d stretch it out over months, or years, killing them slowly, sometimes they’d take their pleasure all in one night. If the vampire’s desires were met, then they wouldn’t hurt the greater Kingdom.They paid their sacrifices to the vampiric nobility. They would send a request for an omega of their choice, and the King of Central would sign their life away, turning them over to the vampire who made the request, hoping that it would keep the peace.Vampires are brutal, inhuman monsters. Or... that's what humans think.

Poor Dumb Seahorse [E]: Dick steals a magical artifact that will give him legs, and heads to the land to find his baby brother. Jason was taken by the selkie-trader Jack Napier two years before, and he's been assumed dead since. On the way, he meets a cute adopted son of a selkie who's willing to help him find his brother. He thinks he might be in love.

An Omega Worth Fighting For [E]: The emperor has made it illegal for any omega to go to war, but he has also demanded one alpha from every pack to join the army as they defend themselves from the oncomming Manhunter invasion. When a summons is sent for Dick's baby brother to join the war, he has no choice but to take his place, omega or not.

You Can't Hurt Me Anymore [E]: “He’s awake,” one woman noted. She was holding a large syringe like the ones they used in movies filled with silver liquid. “Should we sedate him?”“No, he can’t do anything,” Rudy’s voice came from behind Wally’s head.He strained back in his bonds to see the man behind him, but he couldn’t move his head enough to. The woman shrugged, grabbed Wally’s stomach and held him still as she inserted the needle beneath his skin. Whatever the liquid was inside of it, it burned as it slid in. Wally thrashed, throwing his head back farther and screaming his throat hoarse. He heard his father chuckle above him.

We're Going Back (To The Future) [T]: “Look now!” Max declared excitedly, picking the watch up off Dox’s neck and holding it up against his. “Dox’s clock is exactly one minute behind mine!”“Did it break?” Bart asked. “Max, what’s going on?”“Dox has just been the first being ever to travel through time!” Max grabbed his shoulder, grinning in glee. “It’s a time machine, Bart. A time machine.”Bart’s eyes widened. A time machine?

Red Hood, Prince of Crime [E]: There were many interesting ways to find your soulmate. Roy Harper had heard dozens of them as teens argued over which was the worst. At that moment, he knew with all certainty, This was it. The worst way to find out about who your soulmate was, was to find it carved into the grave of your best friend's little brother you only spoke with once, after having found out that the boy was brutally murdered and left unavenged. A cold rage burned in Roy. He wouldn’t let this rest. Jason Todd would not go unavenged. No one kills his soulmate and gets away with it

The Fox Princess [E]: In the kingdom of Keystone, the alpha nobility had a favourite sport– hunting down the animal-creatures of the woods. They specifically loved omegas. They would take them back to their palaces, make them unbreedable, and then keep them as their concubines until they died. Lately though, every single royal had their mind set on one target: the golden fox. When he caught the creature, Eo did not intend to do what most of his kind did and remove the omega’s ovaries. He intended to breed him. Such a beautiful creature should not be wasted and tortured, he should be bred and cultivated, made into Eo’s lady. He was so pretty, all bright, his tail and ears golden, and his skin bright tan. It was rumoured that what at first drew the royals to the forest creatures was the fact that they walked in nakedness. That their bodies were on display, bare and tempting, and Eo could understand that. He couldn’t imagine holding himself back if he were to see this creature even if he were not on the hunt for him

The Alphas From the Club [E]: Wally and Linda (alphas) pick up a 21 year old Dick at a club and then start courting him. It’s not until awhile into the relationship that they realise they’ve begun courting Robin, and now Nighthawk is out for Flash’s head for touching his baby brother

Sell Yourself to Chance [E]: "We three owe a debt to the king of the vampires. He offered us protection from his people in exchange for a bride fit for his son.” “No omega we’ve found has equaled his standards.” “But you?” The witch reached out a hand and cupped his face again, tilting his head up, her eyes roaming down his body. “You’re an omega fit for the gods. You would make any prince a very happy man.” Dick swallowed. “So… you want me to give up one engagement for another?” “I know, it seems like a bad price, but this prince is not a man you regard as your father,”

I'll Take Care of You [E]: “I’m an omega,” his voice quivered. “I’m sorry I hid it from you but I was scared. I know omegas are–” “Wally… I can’t–” Wally looked over, eyes fluttering, pain filling them. “Can’t… can’t what?” “I can’t protect you… because I’m going into heat too.”

Mermaid Biology [E]: The mer sat at the bottom of the tank, tail curled around him, staring up at the surface of the water with big, round, terrified eyes. He’d been brought to the marine centre three months earlier, after he was injured by poachers and unable to swim away. So far, no one had been able to get close enough to him to help him, which was why Wally was here. Wally was a doctor in mercreature studies. His doctorate specifically focused on the humanistic nature of the species, their mannerisms and their communication. Although the centre’s director didn’t seem enthused about that specific area of Wally’s expertise– he was very much of the opinion that mers were fish and that thinking anything else was a lapse in reason– he’d realised that he was the best one to make sure that his most costly specimen didn’t die on them. Wally had never been this close to a mer before. 

Partners in Crime [T]: The skies are black with lead-filled rain/A morbid painting on display/This is the night the young love died/Buried at each others side

Coping Through You (Inside Me) [E]: The mercenary growled and turned toward the omega, pressing him up against the wall and putting his face right against his. “Stop trying to fight me and remember your place, Richard,” he hissed, squeezing his hand on Dick’s hip. The omega looked into his eyes with big, blue watery ones. He was on the verge of shaking out of his skin. “Slade you have to go back and get Wally. He’s… he’s still alive, but if he stays there his healing factor will… and he won’t– and I– I–” Big tears flooded down Dick’s face and he slid to his knees on the ground as Slade let go of him. The alpha growled, nose crinkling, mad. “You what?”Dick covered his face. “I love him.”

No One to Turn To (But You) [E]: “Unless Hunter drops his claim.” Wally curled in tighter. “He’s not going to... I can’t.”“No, he’s not just going to give up his claim if you ask, but if you’re ruined, he won’t want you anymore.” Wally dropped his hands down. “Ruined?” Dick stared at Slade with round, shocked eyes as he pieced together what he was saying.“I happen to know that Hunter is one of those alphas who believes in purity in an omega. He doesn’t care if you’ve been assaulted, or if you’ve cheated, it would still be your fault, and he’d toss you out.”

Haunted By Ill Angels Only [E]: When Barry dies in the future, leaving Wally to take up his legacy and stand up for himself, Wally can't do it. When he realises he's probably going to end his life anyway, he goes to a crossroads to make a demon deal. His life for aunt and uncle's return to life. He doesn't realise that he and the demon have a very different definition of what giving someone you life means.

Princess of Defiance [E]: “I’M DOING THIS FOR YOU!” Jason screamed, “THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS SAY THANK YOU, JACKASS!” he stormed out of his father’s office, body tense, anger in every footstep.Roy fell behind him as he walked, nervous about the princess’ outburst. He knew that Jay had been freaking out since the council’s decision to offer the King of Defiance the marriage treaty, and he could understand, after all, Jason wasn’t the kind of omega who liked being treated like an omega.As soon as he got back to his room, he slammed the door and dropped down to the floor, pressing his knees against his chest. Roy sighed and sat down next to him, flopping his arms over his knees. Jason’s head fell in his hands.

Spoilage [E]: Dick had known from the beginning that Slade would have him as his prize. What he hadn’t expected was the alpha breaking his spoilage collar and throwing it aside, before lifting him up and carrying him in his arms over the threshold of Wilson manor, declaring Dick his wife-to-be. He’d been surprised. To Dick’s understanding, Slade had offered him a lifetime of servitude in exchange for his life, and he had reluctantly accepted it in the hope that Slade would also let Wally live. He had not expected to be Slade’s new bride. He didn’t know how he felt. On one hand: he was still a person, despite everything. His guardian and those close to him might have their heads spiked on the walls of the new world leaders’ fortress, but Dick still had his rights.At least, as many rights as an omega usually had. Wally is not so lucky...

Prized Omega [E]: Slade chose for Dick to be transferred into his ownership and not killed. It wasn’t long before Dick found out why.Slade wanted to make an alliance with the Gem cities, which made sense. Keystone and Central were two very powerful nations, and their ruler– King Eobard– was a very powerful man. He intended to do this through a marriage alliance, but he hadn’t believed that Joey was a fine enough omega to garner Prince Wallace’s attention. Enter Dick, the fairest omega in the land, and Slade had the perfect plan to get what he wanted. Slade wanted to make Dick irresistible, the perfect omega for Prince Wallace, which meant training him to be such.

[captain-mj]

"Something in him told him to put it on, feeling it against his skin."

Please. Please MJ, Pretty please, I don't know how or why it would happen, but I need Ghost to put on the coat or handle it a bit more. (Preferably without knowing the implications) Love the flustered Selkie!McTavish.

Foaming at the mouth because this is my two special interests merged

~~~~

Ghost tried not to do it again. Really, really tried. But Soap was in med bay and had asked him to grab some stuff for him. And the coat was laid out on the bed. 

The feeling crept back under his skin and before he knew it, his gloves were back off, running their way their way through the fur. 

Soap tensed, the entire base away, feeling the ghost of a touch. He closed his eyes tight. “Please don’t put it on. Please don’t put it on.” 

Ghost lifted his mask, just to the bridge of his nose, and lightly pressed it to his face. It was so soft. Smelled so intensely of Soap and the sea. Salt blending with the vanilla body wash he always used. He understood why Soap found it so comforting. It felt pretty heavy too, like the weighted blanket Ghost refused to admit he had in his room. 

Soap flushed, feeling the increasingly gentle touch. “What are you doing to me, Ghost?” He shuddered. Out of all of the team, Ghost would probably be the best he supposed. He didn’t ask him many questions, so Soap wouldn’t have to worry about spilling any secrets. Only really ordered him to do things in the field. Soap would just be an exceptional soldier a couple of days. 

That instinct started at the top of his spine, begging for him to slip it on. He shouldn’t. 

Ghost shrugged off the hoodie he had been wearing and fully removed the mask. He avoided looking in the mirror as he gently slipping it on. For once, he had worn short sleeves, which was perfect. The soft fur on him made something in his brain fizzle. 

Reluctantly, he looked in the mirror. He didn’t hate what he saw. Still scarred, still too much like his Father. But it didn’t seem as bad.

Soap winced, always hating this feeling. The strings in his body tensing and wrapping around his muscles. One always trying to drag him to the sea. And now one tangled around his heart that pulled him to Ghost. It wasn’t the best of feelings normally, even worse when he already had been harboring a crush on him. 

He remembered his mom, a selkie taken from her home and forced to marry his dad, explain to him one day what it was like to have your coat stolen. 

She had spoken like it was a poem, though she had said it so sadly.

“What do you want me to be? What do you need me to be? 

I’ll be perfect at whatever you want. 

I’ll rip my heart out if you ask.

I’ll be your guard. I’ll be your wife. I’ll bleed myself dry.”

They didn’t get a choice. Soap had his coat taken before. Once he found it, he joined the army to get far, far away. He was too human to just fuck off and be a seal. 

Wanted to sometimes. 

Soap closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax. His injured leg and the bullet wound in his side meant he couldn’t go to Ghost. He’d take any orders he was given, like always. He just hoped Ghost was kinder than the previous coat holder. 

Ghost gathered everything up while still wearing a coat. He put his mask on and then, with great reluctance, took off the coat. He folded it carefully and gently before putting it on top of the clothes and blanket that Soap had requested. Soap would be stuck in medical a couple of days so he thought it would be nice to have. 

Ghost didn’t knock, Soap would be expecting him back, and he almost laughed when the heart monitor sped up. He dropped the things on his lap.

“There you go.” 

Soap stared at the coat for a second, freezing. “What?”

“I saw it and thought you’d want it.” Ghost wasn’t going to admit to the crime of putting it on. 

Soap flushed bright red but didn’t pick it up. Ghost frowned at him and pushed it to his chest to show him what else he got. Soap wrapped his arms around it and flushed more. 

“Thanks, Simon.” 

“No problem, Johnny.” Ghost patted his head without thinking. “Feel better soon, yeah?”

Soap nodded dumbly and Ghost eventually left.

Soap got his phone and immediately called his mom.

“A bhobain! How are you?”

“Máthair. Are you able to talk?” Soap said it softly and she immediately became more serious. 

“Yes. Are you okay? Your coat is it safe?” She switched to Gaelic and he followed suit. 

“You know that... guy I had a crush on?”

“Oh no.”

“He gave it back. Physically pushed it back in my hands.”

“Oh no...” 

“Are we married now?”

[indigos-stardust]

Four Keys (four swords DND inspired au, name up to change)

Intro post lol

In this au, it follows the DND trope of different fantasy races and classes coming together (willingly or not) for a quest.

(these are not the characters, just a representation of the race's appearances)

It's going to contain some heavy themes that I will warn in advance about for each post, these themes include: forced labor, imperialism, PTSD, dehumanization, loss, child abuse, abusive relationships, manipulation, classism, racism, ableism, and other themes that I may have forgotten to add.

Most of these aren't graphic or too intense by my standards, but they are treated seriously. I will warn before any of these themes are brought up.

Please note that I am still working on the world building and lore, so there are some vague things atm:

Each of the main characters come from a different species/fantasy race. These include Selkie Folk, Draconicen, Avians, Fire Moths, Elfs and... uhhhh whatever THAT is? probably just some uh... story tale, yeah, that's it...

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

In this au our hero's come together under the quest's goal to find all the four swords which serve as keys to a secret realm hiding the a wish granting artifact holding the triforce! They've been chosen by a mysterious force (some weird lady that's probably addicted to fairydust and might've killed someone- but hey are YOU gonna refuse the lady who spawns sentient-meat-eating-plants??? yeah I don't THINK SO)

Their reasons of joining is very heroic as well! Let's see uh, hm-

"I have to prove myself!"

" Maybe I Will have the Sadness Inside Gone"

"I'm kinda just sticking with the other guy so I don't die, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up for anything honestly..."

"I wanted money."

"Wow me too!! I'm in this for the cash and babes B)"

They need to use the triforce in order to stop The Curse from killing off all the life in the world, apparently it's one of the only forces that can stop The Curse... Apparently more than half of them being runaways is a good reason to trust them over entire governmental systems with armies, but hey the weird cryptic (creepy) cloaked lady did say she had wisdom about these things. Probably some fae or something-

I really hope no one relieves their trauma or gains any new trauma on this journey! And I really hope there isn't ANY secrets that are revealed and have disastrous consequences!

I'm sure these BRAVE, HONORABLE, totally not THIEVES or INSANE or DESPERATE heroes will be able to retrieve all the keys without almost dying several times!

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

The Wolf Rises

⚔️ All Previous Parts Here ⚔️

Dom x Colson (Yungblud x Machine Gun Kelly)

Warnings: ABO (more in part two), slick, mpreg, Viking/god Col, fae Dom, slight PTSD, mentions of war and death, playful boys, heavily pregnant Dom, talks of wolf Col, vague mentions of shifted sex (if you squint, I'm just being careful), Tod fluff, mentions of sex, grinding, just lots of fluff and peace ☠️ rating: let's say explicit ☠️ ideas helped by @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🖤

Dom sighed happily and grinned when his lover saw him from across the yard. He'd slept in a little late but who could blame him? There was a pup growing larger in his womb every day, weighing him down and exhausting all his energy. Well… he wasn't the only pup stealing the fae's energy, his father was a menace to society at large but certainly to his pregnant mate. No matter his form he was pawing at Damhnaic day and night. His palms rubbed slow circles under his swollen belly, the babe was resting lower than usual and driving him mad but he was more thankful than he could explain for all they had together. For a runaway prince his life was turning out next to perfect, though he still had nightmares sometimes about all they'd fought through to get where they were. He knew that might take a long time to work through and his lover gave him the support he needed. Always.

Kol'son dropped the ax he was using and wiped his brow before running to meet his wife at the steps of their hut. He worried about his prince every time he tried to waddle down them alone and he wondered where the bodyguard was that should have been babysitting. Of course he didn't have to ponder for long when he heard his cousin's laughter and saw the two fae stumble out of the forest.

It had been awkward for a while after they found out they were kin, less for them and more for Inga but they both knew she'd only lied so long to keep Mod safe. He was honestly surprised how much the village had warmed to him when they realized Modig wasn't mad- well wasn't just mad and high but he was magic and related to their clan mother. Before long they'd welcomed the new regime. He was finding himself more relaxed than ever before- he wasn't the only one in charge and he was getting his dick wet regularly. If not for his fear of Dom's impending delivery he couldn't fully shake he'd be ecstatic all the time.

"Don't growl. It ain't nice unless you taking me back to bed." Dom grumbled as his lover glared at their kin and he swat gently at the man's arm. He could get himself down the damn steps but he didn't mind the help, though he'd rather his daidí do exactly that, he swore he woke up hot and needy every day and it only got worse the closer they were to the day they met their whelp.

"Maybe I should eat him. I mean if he won't obey…" Kol trailed off, he was finding himself easier to anger since he first shifted but his love could always soothe his wild beast. He still didn't understand what was happening to him and he wasn't sure how to find out- but with a fae prince for a mate, a seal for a friend, and a nymph for a cousin he wasn't too shocked by the wolf he held inside himself. Well, his first night had been surprising but Dom had scratched behind his ears and held him close and eventually he'd shifted human again. He didn't believe the boy when he called him a demigod but he could never complain about his selkie thinking he was special. It was taking time but he was finally learning to control it and in those moments he couldn't- when the hold was too overwhelming he would push his snout against his mate's belly and breathe in that warm baby scent. He didn't know why his child smelled like fresh honeyed bread but he wouldn't complain. Mixed with the siren's rose, amber, and sea salt smell it was perfect.

"Try it puppy, I've got an army behind me." Mod joked back as the two finally joined them and Dom whined. He'd been hoping to lure his husband back to bed.

"No, I think my thrall has an army behind him. They just tolerate you." Kol'son huffed, poking his tongue out at the seer.

"Technically they follow Mush but… I'm sorry I have to agree here. They like Dom better, love." Tom teased his boyfriend. Those old instincts to side with his prince would probably never leave no matter how long he was with the one he called his mushroom man- or Mush for short. Dom had never thought he'd see the day that his best friend went soft but gods he was. They had truly found a home among the mixed clans- both human and fae and any other strays they picked up along the way.

The fae clan probably did like Dom a little more but he couldn't help everyone thinking he was precious. It was honestly annoying at times, he knew it was mostly that he was an incubator for… well, none of them were quite sure what the child would be, but it was a pleasant turn around from being alone so long. He and his kin were loved finally, he was loved. "What are you thinking about boy?" The Viking hummed, stepping up close behind his mate and wrapping his arms around him. The noise that escaped the siren when he gently lifted his stomach went straight to the god's cock and he couldn't stop himself from gently rutting against him. "Because if it's bed…"

Dom's lips curled in a slow smile, his fangs on sharp display as he turned his face up to his scarred and inked lover. "Mmm, you read me mind." The next sound he made was closer to a squeal when the man picked him up bridal style to drag him back inside. Kol no longer felt like he had to be outside constantly, he had other leaders of the clan to help him out. Where once it was almost impossible to convince him to hide away in their room together- he spent days in bed making love to his wife. Though he still had trouble not being available. Dom had tried convincing him to take a little trip deep into the forest and stay a few days in a little hideaway but it made the chieftain too nervous. Someday though, someday.

"Finish the wood Mod, I'm sure it would do you good to show off a little. I'm taking the afternoon off." Kol shouted to his cousin before they disappeared through the doorway and Dom caught the seer pout before he heard his friend laugh and say he would do it. He couldn't help thinking his mate saw Modig as more of the man between them- as he saw himself, but Damhnaic knew relationships didn't work that way all the time and truthfully the forest nymph was more like him than Tom was. He was trying to help his lover understand but… they tended to easily distract each other.

When Dom's feet touched the ground again he giggled, his husband was more handsy than he used to be, all nerves about his purity had fallen away as their breeding became visibly obvious. "Not fair of you. Come outside while I'm trying to take care of our people. Looking as you do." The Viking growled, licking his lover's throat as he untied the shift dress from his body.

"Oh? I didn't fink. You poor man. Jus' trying to do right by ya clan but 'ow can ya wiv a nymph about?" He teased, his cheeks flushing as the fabric fell away and he was left bare to his mate's heavy gaze.

Kol'son smiled, holding his boy closer as his cock slid gently between Dom's thighs to rest against his dripping wet core. His hands wandered, one cupping the siren's softly swelled tit and the other sliding under his stomach to cradle their son. Of course they weren't positive he was a boy but… Kol knew. They wouldn't raise their pups thinking the oldest was any more special than the others and they'd commanded their clans to treat them equal as well. The pain that befell his family would die with Bjørn. He vowed it to whatever gods would listen and to his wife. He would be a better father than his own, their babes would all feel loved. "I don't know who you're talking about boy, I wed a siren. No nymphs here." He purred, his hips shifting slowly, the head of his cock catching exactly where he was needed most with every playful thrust.

Dom whined but smiled wide, he loved how adamant his daidí was about teaching their children exactly what they were. He was proud of everything his wife was and he'd correct anyone who called him the wrong thing- including Damhnaic himself. He didn't think their pup could understand anything in the warmth of his womb but he wouldn't complain about the respect he was shown from the man he'd been so careful of early on. Who knew when he came to gather his second skin that night so many months before that he would find all he'd ever dreamed of and so much more? "Should you teach me a lesson?" He asked softly, his plush ass bouncing gently against his husband's abs.

"Mmm, should I worship you or should I make you worship me?" The Viking's voice was barely above a growl, his animalistic side so near to the surface when they got this close to making love. He couldn't help it. Dom just brought it out of him. So did rage but mostly his sweet gorgeous selkie. At the sound of his voice he felt a fresh rush of slick escape the boy and he found it almost impossible not to push right in. His mate deserved better though, he was carrying such a large load he deserved pampering... and perhaps another kind of load. Fresh and warm and dripping down his thick thighs. His lover's perfect pink pussy wasn't the only thing that reacted to his growls though and he chuckled at the feel of his son's foot pressing at his palm. "I believe his vote is you being cared for. Sorry queen, two to one."

Dom pouted at the man he once called his master but he had a far better term for him. "But I wanted to be on me knees for me god." His voice rasped and half shifted fangs nipped at his neck.

"Fuck. Such a good boy for me. Don't worry, you will be." The wolf growled, curling his fist around the base of his cock to hold back his pleasure. He led his prince to their bed and helped him get comfortable on all fours, perhaps it wasn't exactly what Dom had wanted but he was careful with his pack. Besides, it put him in the perfect position. Since he first shifted he couldn't help finding it hotter than he should when his lover presented for him. He felt made up of so much animal instinct but that was alright.

He was learning about things, Dom was helping him with books Bjørn had stolen from other lands. Of course he'd been shocked when they made love after his true self came out and he realized the pain in his cock that night had been… something strange- but he was starting to learn he was an alpha and that had just been his first knot trying to form. It was frightening having his dick change after twenty three years of life but nothing had ever felt more right than when they were tied together. It was the only thing he ever wanted to do.

"Daidí please?" The siren whimpered, his hips bucking back, his core dripping slick down his thighs. Kol couldn't help but admire a moment longer, his mate was curvier than he'd been before and he loved every place he could grope and caress. "Me god?"

"Fuck." The Viking cursed. His boy really should be careful if he didn't want to be mounted by a wolf instead. "If I wish to stare at you I will. You were a petulant thrall and now you're an even more stubborn queen. What did I get myself into?" He teased, spanking softly at the fae's perky ass. He knew though, he knew exactly what he'd gotten himself into- paradise and a happiness he'd never even dreamed he could find.

Author's Note/Tags: @manicpixiedreamb0y @hollywoodxwhore @jaxbreaker @cole-way-iero28 @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🖤

🥹😭 Thank you all so much for being on this journey with me. I'd like to admit something here, I've never truly been able to finish something like this. I always get lost along the way and nervous I'll ruin it. Honestly I've never even tried writing something so structured and novel-like. I'm more proud of this than I've been of anything I think, even though it's shorter than some it feels complete and real in a way I've not experienced before. I couldn't have written this without you, genuinely I wouldn't be doing as much as I have without you all. I always get overwhelmed and think I'm not good enough but all the comments and likes have been so inspiring.

This idea started with @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker and she's helped so much, so it's not just mine but she'll get annoyed if I try to give her too much credit. Seriously though, she's been amazing and I wouldn't have had the idea without her help. I hope she knows how thankful I am.

I hope you'll all join me for part two, there's so much more in store for these boys and their pack! I promise at least for a bit I'll give you fluff and happiness. Mostly. Thank you again, you've been incredible! I just hope you love this as much as I do! 🖤☠️

[kitsuneiisms]

👀

♪ You are the ocean’s gray waves… ♪

From behind a nearby tree, Selkie stared in awe. The Lady of the Lake, Azura - her father spoke very highly of her, and Selkie just had to meet her. Her voice was so soft, though, and the kitsune couldn’t bring herself to move from her spot behind her tree. 

She’d never been nervous before. It was a weird feeling, and Selkie did not like it. She’d felt fear only a few times, and those were times she didn’t care to think about - but nerves failing, anxiety, those feelings were new and uncomfortable. 

Something about this maiden was off, however, despite her captivating voice and lovely appearance. This feeling of unease, it rose within, keeping her feet planted firmly in the ground, even as the singing stopped, even as Azura turned and left, Selkie couldn’t find the strength to move until she was long gone.

Captivating, but there was something behind the mask. Selkie was determined to find out what.

[lovelylogans]

i wish i knew how (your eyes are like starlight now)

warnings: vampires (blood drinking mentioned), alcohol consumption, food mentions, cuddling, kissing, death mentions, if i’ve missed any please let me know!

pairing: logan/patton

word count: 6,003

notes: for @fangirltothefullest for our discord server’s secret santa! prompted with “Preferably logan-centric and fluffy! Logicality would be great! Logince would also be good. Maybe some cute cuddles by a fireplace?” title is from “baby it’s cold outside!” the idea of vampires being able to eat red food comes from a book i remember reading as a kid, but i cannot place the title, so if anyone knows it please let me know!

Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and Bailey’s, it turns out, is a particularly adept calmative.

It’s made the world go hazy and lovely and beautiful, and that’s even before Logan acknowledges the way his eyes are half-lidded and he’s leaning his head a bit more against the side of his wingback armchair than he would if he were entirely sober.

Logan narrows his eyes down at his mug, the one Roman had wheel-thrown and painted him with the chemical illustration of the molecular construction of caffeine on it, which is half-drained, the whipped cream and marshmallows melted, the peppermint stick meant to stir already losing its red stripes. Logan plucks it from the mug and sticks it into his mouth, crunching it, wriggling in the armchair to get more comfortably seated, and to get a better view.

Roman, Janus, Virgil, and Patton have long since been occupied with a board game; Remus left to do whatever it is that Remus does at night, probably screaming profanities at random passerby, so it’s just the five of them left. The Christmas party’s been winding down slowly for the past hour or so, the fireplace still crackling but burning lower and lower, their hot chocolate supply depleted, and Roman and Virgil’s fits of competitiveness losing fervor as the moon creeps higher and higher in the sky. The white of the waxing moon peeks out against the clouds that distribute the fat, fluffy flakes falling from the sky.

The snow catches the light of the Christmas lights hung outside the house (goodness, hadn’t that been a trying day) so the snow gleams in technicolor reflection, the rest of the world lit by the hazy orange glow of the street lamps. It is very beautiful, and Logan, in an unusually sentimental fit that he would tell himself in the morning was brought on by the alcohol, is incredibly grateful to be alive, at this precise moment, that allows him the company of such wonderful friends in such a beautiful world.

What a statistically improbable event they all are. What an outright scientifically impossible group they all make—a vampire, a set of twins that turned out to be a banshee and a siren, a selkie, and two humans. Three years ago Logan would have scoffed at the idea of any sort of supernatural, mythical humanoid, much less even suspected he’d meet them. And now he is in love with one, and is best friends with the others, and his life is so strange, so odd, so wonderful.

Logan comes back into himself when Roman cries out in protest, making Logan’s ears ring unpleasantly, as Janus crows in victory, holding the longest road card aloft, the dark gray seal-skin on his face gleaming pearlescent in the firelight. 

“Cheater!” Roman accuses, his voice still maintaining that double-pitch—a high keen layered over Roman’s typically pleasant baritone—that always makes something in Logan’s head throb.

“Just because you didn’t strategize your road properly,” Janus gloats, pointing—and yes, the yellow road winding around the edge of Catan is decidedly longer than the red road circling over itself in the middle.

All the while, Virgil is muttering darkly about how useless the Largest Army card has been, tossing it aside, and Patton looks up at Logan, dark eyes glinting brightly in amusement, freckles speckled across his face like constellations, trying his best to hide his smile around the specially-ordered red-dominant candy canes he’s been eating all season, his fangs gleaming white, freed from the fake teeth Patton usually wears to pass as human, his lips tinged artificially red.

Logan feels even warmer all over at the sight of him.

Patton’s eyes get even brighter, and he flashes a sweet smile at Logan before he turns back to the board game and breaks up the squabbling with patient declarations of “Everyone did a really great job!” and “The fun’s what matters, right?” and being so stubborn and relentless in his optimism and platitudes that Janus and Roman relent and grumble grudging “good game”s at each other.

Patton’s far more patient than the pair of them—which makes sense, as he’s been practicing at it since the seventeenth century, according to all their estimations surrounding the first edition of Human Understanding he’d acquired the month after he’d been turned, in a fit of uncharacteristically dark humor—so he always wins out when it comes to digging in his heels and cheerfully going about something with the consistency of the little bird and the diamond mountain.

Roman ducks out to sulk for a moment, under the excuse of adjusting Patton’s painstakingly maintained gramophone he’d bought in the 1920s—he still has the early prototype phonograph he bought in the 1870s, but that one is even more painstakingly preserved in the rooms full of obsolete technologies, clothes, and knick-knacks that Patton’s accrued and hoarded throughout the years like a magpie—and the sound of Bing Crosby crackles to life in the next room, crooning “White Christmas,” the snapping of the fire providing unintentionally harmonious percussion. Logan wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of the original vinyls, too—Patton’s got loads of vintage music from artists Logan had never even heard of before.

Janus bows out, next, content to allow the high of his victory usher him out the door. He even allows Patton to fuss over ensuring his coat is warm enough to protect him from the snow, considering he’s wearing his sealskin coat and not a proper winter coat, and then even lets him fret over Janus staying moisturized, despite the fact that both Janus and Logan have attempted to explain that Janus’ version of moisturized and the human version of moisturized are quite different in execution, one being smearing lotion all over oneself and the other consisting of sealing himself into his skin and taking a dip in the nearest ocean. 

Logan mentally backtracks over the previous sentence and immediately blames Patton for the pun, and simultaneously promises himself to never utter it in Patton’s presence. Patton still brings up the time Logan had accidentally mentioned Patton sinking his teeth into something, and can hardly finish recounting it before bursting into giggles. He is fortunate he is so adorable, otherwise it would irk Logan to no end. As it is, when it happens, Logan can’t summon up anything stronger than resigned affection. 

He’s in love with a vampire who is currently fretting over a selkie with the exact air of a concerned father. It’s a fate he’s all too eagerly accepted.

Janus usually gets snappy about being mother-henned, so Logan suspects that either the Bailey’s has done a number on him, or the Christmas sentimentality is getting to him. 

And, considering that Janus had one mug of mulled wine with dinner, Logan has a fairly good guess as to which is the root cause—especially taking into consideration Janus allows Patton to hug him goodbye. Janus wishes him a happy Christmas in a tone that is not quite as drawlingly dramatic as usual.

By then, the gramophone is playing a new song, a soprano prettily warbling “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and Roman seems to be over his discontent over losing because he joins in, singing pleasantly rather than shrieking—he usually leaves the wailing to the banshee in the family, it’s just that the whole “drawing men to their deaths” aspect of his voice emerges when his temper flares—and Logan swallows down the sudden lump in his throat at the sound of it.

Of course, Roman’s voice is supernaturally exquisite, but there’s something different about it now; Roman had tried enchanting Logan, exactly once, after Logan had pestered him for weeks out of scientific curiosity, so he can say with certainty that this isn’t like the captivating sound that put him in a stupor with the speed and subtlety of being hit by a train, but it’s like someone has captured the flame in the fireplace and tempered it to a temperature that a human could stand, the cozy sensation of being beside a fire rather than the fire itself, and set it directly inside his heart.

You’re happy, a sober corner of his brain says dryly. You know this, you’re happy.

He is.

He is stupidly, incandescently, absolutely happy.

He will blame the dryness of the room from the fire for the sudden wetness in his eyes when Virgil joins in, usually quite shy about singing, but it is almost equally as pleasant as Roman’s, even though Virgil’s vocal chords (and the rest of Virgil) were entirely, completely, mortally human.

They are excellent, the pair of them. Not just their voices, but them, as people—they are excellent. Logan is exceptionally glad to have made their companionship.

Logan takes a deep breath, downs the last half of his hot chocolate, and launches himself from his armchair, perhaps a bit wobblier than he was at the start of the night, and Roman laughs without halting his song, wrapping an arm around Logan’s shoulder to steady him.

He can only join in for the last part of the song, which is probably for the best; Logan supposes his voice is tolerable enough, but it surely cannot compare to a siren, or to Virgil’s voice, rumbling like thunder. Also, he does not want to make a fool of himself, and surely singing more Christmas carols than necessary while not entirely sober would be a surefire way to do that. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Patton watching the three of them, a fond expression on his face, even if there is a flash of sudden gloom that passes over his face as the three of them sing “ Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow,” and Logan frowns to himself, noting it.

Intellectually, he is aware of the various burdens an immortal life forces upon its receiver; Patton has hundreds if not thousands of sketchings and, when the technology became available, photographs of people he had known through the hundreds of years of his life, painstakingly filed away. 

Intellectually, he is aware that Patton was the source of unexpected windfalls that had been bestowed on Virgil’s family throughout the years, the reason Virgil and his siblings could afford to go to college; it is only after he and Virgil knew who Patton truly was that they found the reason behind the luck that struck his family once a generation. Patton had once been Virgil’s great-great-great-grandmother Violetta’s dearest friend, and she his; he’s been anonymously helping the descendants of all his friends in a similar manner for centuries. 

Intellectually. He is aware that Patton fears the day that he will lose them all, and he will be left alone, unchanged, eternally in his late twenties, as he has been for centuries.

It is different to be intellectually aware of something, and to remember seeing Patton show Virgil the portrait he had personally painted of Violetta and choke back his tears because he’d missed her so much, and meeting and befriending Virgil had been a bit like having a piece of her back in his life again, and getting to know you has been such a gift, such a blessing. She would have adored you, as I do, and then Virgil had hugged him, and Patton had gotten so overcome he had not been able to say much else.

It is this memory plucking at his heartstrings that sends him stumbling in Patton’s direction.

Patton moves so quickly that Logan’s eyes can’t track it; one moment he was watching the three of them, the next he’s caught Logan around the waist, smiling down at him.

“Hi,” Patton says, and Logan takes a half-step closer to wrap his arms around Patton’s neck.

“Hello,” Logan says. He is about to attempt to say something that is emotionally adept, he really is, except Patton’s skin is smooth and cold under his fingers, and his lips are still tinged red, and Patton’s eyes dart down to Logan’s lips and then looks him in the eye and then he smiles, and any particularly subtle ideas about how to probe Patton’s emotions or perhaps to get him to stop thinking about the curse of bearing witness to the passage of time entirely flee his mind.

He barely has enough time to hope that Patton’s mind is similarly empty before Patton meets him halfway, pressing his lips against Logan’s; even though they’ve been together for years, Logan still isn’t quite used to the chill of Patton’s lips meeting his own. It makes him shiver every time.

Patton is always so sweet, so soft—Logan thinks only part of that is that he is a vampire afraid of hurting his comparatively delicate human lover, and the majority of it is because Patton strives to be sweet and soft as a default state of being, because he is a person who understands that kindness is not a state of being but constantly, consciously making mindful choices to be kind—and his kisses reflect that about him. 

He almost always tastes of mint, because Logan had established early that he was perfectly fine with Patton drinking blood, he would not be facing secondary exposure to someone else’s blood, absolutely not, he holds a less than zero amount of desire to become an amateur hematologist through taste, and so Patton was incredibly scrupulous about brushing his teeth after consuming the blood he’d procured through a source of his in blood donation.

Patton tastes of peppermint now, and Logan sighs into the kiss, lips parting, and he feels the slightest, teasing pinprick of fangs against that sends a thrill zipping down his spine, and—

“And that’s our cue to leave!” Roman bellows with good humor; Logan turns to scowl at him over his shoulder anyways.

“Oh, you don’t have to—” Patton begins, brow creasing ever so slightly.

“Yeah, we do,” Virgil says, an edge of a laugh in his voice. “Besides, us humans have to sleep.”

Patton usually forgets about this; he doesn’t necessarily need to sleep, but he can. Logan knows of at least three decade-long naps that Patton’s taken; he has next to no memories of the foundation of the United States, because he was snoozing for the vast majority of the buildup to the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the government afterwards.

He is, though, content to lie in a bed he’d bought for Logan’s use as Logan dozes throughout the night; sometimes Logan wakes up to Patton propped up on an elbow, looking at him with an expression in his eyes that is a bizarre mixture of fondness and jealousy.

Patton nods and says wisely, “Or else Santa won’t come to your house.”

Virgil snorts, “Yeah, that’s why.”

“I’ll have you know that Nikolass’ a close personal friend of mine,” Patton sniffs, “and it is a very long way from Gemile.”

“North Pole,” Virgil corrects. “Santa lives at the North Pole.”

“Mm,” Patton says neutrally.

“Patton, did you really know St. Nick?” Roman demands.

“No, no, you’re right,” Patton sighs, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. “Far too late for you mortals. Off to bed, then, and don’t forget to leave him some börek!”

“ Milk and cookies,” Virgil says, he and Roman now wearing twin expressions of desperate curiosity. Logan, who knows when St. Nick supposedly lived, keeps silent.

“He prefers börek,” Patton says, his nose twitching, a telltale sign he’s holding in laughter. “It’s traditional, where he’s from. Leave him a note that old Patton remembers him, it’ll earn you börek points!”

“Brownie points,” Virgil corrects again, “Patton, did you actually know Santa Claus—”

Patton bursts into giggles, unable to hold up the ruse for very long.

“The figure we know today as St. Nicholas of Myra lived in the 300s,” Logan explains. “He predates Patton by thirteen hundred years, approximately.”

“I can’t believe you fell for that!” Patton cackles, eyes bright, making him look as young as his face presents him to be.

“Yeah, okay,” Virgil says, as Patton pulls Roman into a hug, “you say that like it’s entirely unbelievable when you’ve shown us paintings of you and other completely unreal people like Maid Marian—”

“Aw, I miss her,” Patton says.

“— sorry if Santa Claus is too far out of the realm of belief from the vampire, ” Virgil continues to grumble, even as Patton folds him into a hug, too.

“He has also known Marie Curie,” Logan says, still unable to quite believe it even though he’s practically memorized the missives she had sent Patton. “Also, I may have elevated my threshold of belief to include vampires, selkies, sirens, and banshees, but I absolutely will not be budged to start believing in childhood myths.”

He pins Patton with a look. “And I am still unconvinced that you knew Robin Hood.”

“Well, he wasn’t actually called that then — ” Patton begins.

“Nope!” Roman practically yells. “Nope, Logan, you are not going to take the fact that I am one degree separated from the Merry Men, I refuse to listen to you debate this again, Sheriff of Not-letting-Roman-have-this-one-thing-ingham—”

“All of my research suggests the people you knew were imitators—” Logan begins again.

“As a Christmas gift to me, shut up,” Roman says. 

“Roman,” Patton scolds.

“ Please shut up,” Roman amends politely—only his tone is polite, as the words themselves and the eyeroll that accompanies them are not particularly courteous. 

Virgil distracts him quite handily by physically turning Roman around and nudging him toward the door.

Patton follows after them, Logan a few steps behind.

“All right, well, be safe going home,” Patton says, beginning on his spiel as Roman and Virgil pull on gloves and scarves. “Are you calling for a ride?”

“Walking,” Virgil says.

Patton makes a discomfited noise. “In this cold?”

“We barely live three blocks away, Ed-worry Cullen,” Roman says, and flaps his arms to show off his new peacoat, a gift from Janus. “We’re all bundled up.”

“All right, well,” Patton says, clearly still fretting, “Text message me when you get home?”

“Just text works,” Logan murmurs, but he can empathize with Patton’s difficulty with memorizing certain terms; it’s just that Patton’s are mostly technological in nature, and Logan’s are slang. Back when they first met, Patton still had the occasional slip-up and called texts telegrams.  

“Text me,” Patton corrects himself, smiling at Logan and squeezing his hand in silent thanks before turning his attention back to Roman and Virgil.

“We will,” Virgil says, and amends, “or at least, I will,” because Roman was notorious for promising he’d text when he got home only to wake up to fifteen missed calls from Patton because he’d forgotten to do so.

“Good,” Patton says with a sigh of relief, then, “All right, bring it in!”

Logan releases Patton’s hand so Patton can step forward and hug Roman and Virgil simultaneously; Roman pulls a face at him over Patton’s shoulder, likely still stung by Logan’s accurate theory about the validity of the so-called Merry Men Patton had been acquainted with.

Though Logan is the correct one, Patton may believe that those people were the original Robin Hood and his band of thieves, but he was most likely deceived considering the earliest myths of Robin Hood originated two hundred years prior to Patton’s birth, even if Patton protests that the dates of the origin of many myths during his human life are incorrectly cited—

Logan presses his lips together in an expression that is not reciprocating the face that Roman pulled at him. Logan is correct; he can rest easily knowing this. And perhaps Christmas is not the proper time to bring up this oft-rehashed debate.

Even though Logan is right. It should not be oft-rehashed because he is right.

“Merry Christmas, Brainy Swan,” Roman says, stepping forward to give Logan a hug that Logan would describe as brotherly, except he knows Roman’s brother and this is far too tame, even if there is more back-slapping and hair ruffling than Logan would prefer. 

“I am not anything like Isabella Swan,” he begins—this is an oft-rehashed debate, too, but this one is far more teasing in nature; Logan, at least, has the retort of pulling up any image of a particularly hideous mermaid mock-up or ugly fish and showing it to him with the (Virgil-taught) response “This you?”—and Roman rolls his eyes.

“Stop denying the Twilight renaissance, Lucy Weste- nerd -a,” Roman says, and reaches out to pluck at the patched elbow of Logan’s tweed jacket, even as he’s hugging Patton goodbye. “You’re dressed Victorian enough—”

“Patton isn’t anything like Dracula,” Logan disputes this time, because obviously Patton would never drink Logan’s blood or turn him without his consent. He straightens his waistcoat, and is about to reach into his pocket, grab his phone, and show Roman the image of a blobfish he has saved for a special occasion to tell him that this is clearly his long-lost twin, not Remus.

He may or may not have rehearsed this with Virgil to ensure a devastating effect.

“Can we please go before you two spend all of Christmas Eve talking about vampire franchises,” Virgil groans.

“Yeah, as fun as that is, most nights, this is kind of a special night!” Patton says brightly. If it were anyone else, Logan would wonder if he should attempt to scan his tone for sarcasm, but Patton probably does think it’s fun. 

Virgil steps forward to hug Logan next; a one-armed hug around the shoulders, quick. It’s what they’re both best with, really; abrupt, swift affection that can be moved on from in a tidy manner. 

“Merry Christmas, L,” Virgil says, then he steps forward to allow Patton to give him a more substantial hug; Patton wraps his arms around Virgil’s shoulders, squeezing him tight, his eyes shuttering for a brief moment, his face becoming gaunt. 

“Merry Christmas, Pat,” Virgil says in a very quiet voice.

“Merry Christmas, V,” Patton says, his voice equally quiet and a touch strained.

Something deep in Logan aches at the sight of them before the look on Patton’s is wiped clean, so abruptly it’s almost as if Logan’s imagined it, and Patton inhales deeply and lets go of Virgil.

“Text me,” Patton reminds them, as Roman and Virgil step off the front stoop.

“I will,” Virgil promises.

Roman’s face splits into a grin, and he calls back, “Merry Christmas, Elena Gil-boring!”

Logan’s head whips around, and he opens his mouth to respond—he isn’t sure with what— and the world surrounding him spins, and he’s weightless, airborne, and as suddenly as it started, it’s stopped. He sees Patton smile at him before Logan closes his eyes, the world still spinning in a way that is distinctly unpleasant.

“Okay?” Patton asks, gently touching Logan’s shoulder.

“Mm. Dizzy.” Logan takes in a deep breath through his nose—the smoke off the fire, the lingering scents of their dinner and desserts, peppermint—and releases it, shaky, through his mouth, before he chances opening his eyes again.

“Sorry,” Patton says, guilt in his tone.

“It’s all right,” Logan says, and he smirks a little. “I’m sure Roman would have said something to interrupt the Yuletide peace if you hadn’t.”

“Yes, Roman would have,” Patton teases, amused, before he blurs for a moment and comes into focus just as quickly, Logan’s empty mug in his hands, one of his many fluffy blankets over his arm—Patton is almost always eager to use his preternatural speed when they are alone in his home. “Would you like another?”

Logan evaluates it; he does not drink very often, but it is a holiday, and he has eaten a sufficient amount and kept well-hydrated today. Though, he does not usually get too vertiginous when Patton moves him quickly, unless they are moving a great distance, he does have reason to suspect that the alcohol is the reason for it today. He’ll have to mention it to Patton; so long as he avoids that, and keeps it to this last mug, he should not face any unfortunate aftereffects in the morning.

“Yes, please,” he decides.

Patton kisses his temple and casts the blanket in front of the fireplace with great fanfare, fluffing it up so that it is at optimum comfort levels, before he unfolds another with an equal amount of fanfare, wrapping it around Logan’s shoulders. Logan smiles at him in thanks, as he knows the blanket is likely for his benefit—Patton frets about Logan getting too cold when they cuddle due to their disparate temperatures—and there’s a rush of artificial wind as Patton zooms to the kitchen. 

Logan wraps the blanket around himself a little more securely as he settles in front of the fire, taking a moment to adjust the wood with the poker, listening to the popping crackle that allows him to lean back in time to watch the spray of sparks leap up the chimney. There’s the sound of a needle being lifted off a vinyl, the vinyl being replaced, and the needle lowered back down; Patton has switched them to an album of orchestral performances of Christmas songs.

Another rush of wind, then, a soft tap of fingers at the top of his head. Logan tilts his head back to look up at him.

Patton’s smiling down at him, eyes reflecting the last remaining sparks, his dark eyes catching the light like stars. He cradles the mug in his hand, and, despite the great speed at which he had moved, he has not spilled a drop.

“Here you are, love.”

“Thank you, dear,” Logan says, placing the poker back where it’s meant to be before he accepts the mug. Patton takes the time to settle in beside him, setting a tray on the hearth, before he wraps his shoulders in the fluffy blanket, too.

Logan smiles a little at the sight of the tray. One half would pass as a traditional, human charcuterie board, if perhaps a bit heavier on jellies than most. The other half is crowded with sectioned blood oranges, a small bowl of pomegranate seeds, raspberries, cherries, and strawberries, all foods as red as Patton’s punny Christmas sweater. It says Merry Chrismath! on it, with math formulas sketched out to form the shape of a Christmas tree, which Patton had purchased specifically because the corners of Logan’s lips had turned up at the sight of it in the store.

Patton takes a sip from his own mug—from the smell of it, mulled wine—and sighs in satisfaction.

“This feels very human, doesn’t it?” Patton asks Logan, as if he is asking for Logan’s approval, and in all honesty he probably is; Patton has been undead for so long that the memories of his human life are dim and distant. “Sitting in front of the fire, eating snacks. About to cuddle.”

It does feel rather human—all he has to do is pretend that his boyfriend is a red food enthusiast, rather than, for whatever reason, red foods being passable enough to a vampire that they are the only human foods he can stomach. 

He doesn’t waste time pretending, though. Why should he, when his reality is stranger than fiction?

Logan presses his cheek to Patton’s shoulder, for a moment.

“I’m perfectly satisfied with this being a shared vampire-human experience,” Logan says, deliberately misunderstanding why Patton is asking. He likes that Patton is a vampire; it is part of him, it is why they have been able to meet. He does not understand why Patton sometimes seems to act like Logan would prefer a human boyfriend, because he wouldn’t. He prefers Patton.

“Well,” Patton says, his voice almost unbearably soft. “I suppose I’m all right with that too.”

Logan reaches for his own mug and takes a sip, before, once again, pressing his cheek against Patton’s shoulder in a way that presses his hair against Patton’s face.

Patton huffs softly in amusement. “Are you trying to get me to smell you?”

“I find it interesting,” Logan says, and he does; the amount of data Patton can deduce by one smell is absolutely astounding. He has plans for a more specific experiment, which he will ask Patton to conduct on a day he is bored and amenable to such suggestions.

Patton hesitates, just for a little bit, before Logan scoots closer, about to tilt so that some of his more major arteries will be closer to his nose.

“All right, then, for Christmas.”

Patton presses his nose against Logan’s hair, kissing the crown of his head, before he inhales, slowly, curiously, like someone trying to place what’s cooking in a kitchen without being able to see what is being prepared.

“And?” Logan asks.

“Mm,” Patton hums, getting his thoughts in order, before he inhales again, this time as if he is a sommelier inhaling the scent of a fine vintage. “Well, you, my favorite smell in the whole world.”

Logan feels very warm in a way that has nothing to do with the blanket, Patton’s arm around his shoulders, or the fire before them.

“You washed your hair this morning—oh, this is a new shampoo!”

“You didn’t like the other one, you thought it was too chemical-y,” Logan says. “I finished it yesterday.”

“Ooh, thank you,” Patton says. “Not that you didn’t smell lovely without the overtone of whatever phoenix is supposed to smell like, but I like this one much better—ooh, lemongrass? You’re spoiling me.”

Logan grins into Patton’s collarbone; really, only Patton would think that a new shampoo scent was spoiling.

“And the usual soap smell,” Patton says. “Sweat, skin, deodorant, your aftershave. You walked by someone smoking today; tobacco and herbal cigarettes, that’s unusual, those were way more common back in the forties—damiana, blackberry leaf, rose, and,” another inhale, “hibiscus and mullein. Gosh, the thought of those takes me back.”

Logan is about to ask—perhaps a past acquaintance or friend smoked something similar in those days—but Patton moves on without ruminating on it further, which makes Logan feel an odd prick of pride; nostalgia has been one of Patton’s greatest strengths, true, but also one of his greatest downfalls.

“Did you have tacos for lunch yesterday? I can smell the spicy salsa still.”

“You cannot,” Logan says, still stunned, even after years, at the amount of things Patton can detect. He’s probably smelling the capsaicin in his salsa, for one, but Patton can also smell certain chemicals the body produces: illness, for example, but also things like cortisol and oxytocin.

“Mhm, makes my nose itch a little. And I can smell the stuff we had at the party, and for dinner last night and breakfast this morning, so it wouldn’t be as fun for you if I listed that off...” Another inhale. “Oh, and I can tell you’re a little tipsy.”

“I think that’s probably why I got dizzy when you ran with me earlier.”

Patton kisses his forehead as a form of apology. “And. You’re happy.”

Logan pulls back just enough, just so he can look Patton in the eyes. 

There are a great many supposed vampire stories that claim to know the color of a vampire’s eyes; blood red, commonly, but yellow or gold were popular ideas, as well. Silver, sometimes. Almost always, the presumed color was a color not found in nature.

Patton’s eyes are so dark a brown they are practically black, the iris near indistinguishable from his pupil unless someone was shining a direct light at them. They were the same color when he was human, Patton thinks; he has an illustration of his mother hidden away upstairs, and they are identical in shape and shade. They are beautiful, and captivating, and full of the warmth and love that are so perfectly, wonderfully Patton.

“I hope you don’t have to smell me to know that,” Logan says, and then, fumblingly, “I mean—I am aware you can smell my oxytocin, but I hope you know that I am without relying on that sense. That I am happy, I mean. Because I am. I do not tell you how you make me feel enough and I feel the need to do so now and articulate it clearly. You make me incandescently, impeccably happy. I am deeply in love with you. I could not have imagined the way my life is now, but I do not want it any other way, because you have made my life so much better.”

Patton’s expression has softened, his head tilting to the side, his lips tilted up into a smile, his eyes so full of affection that Logan almost has the urge to look away, overwhelmed. But Logan, bolstered by something —the Bailey’s and peppermint schnapps, the Christmas spirit, his own love for Patton, he isn’t sure which or if it’s a combination of all of them—keeps looking at him, savoring the expression, before his hand drifts up to cup Patton’s jaw.

They lean in simultaneously, and Logan’s eyes drift shut as he presses his lips to Patton’s once again; this time, without anyone to watch or heckle, Patton’s soft lips part easily for him, Patton’s fingers tangling in his hair, and Logan shivers a little with pleasure as Patton’s tongue brushes against Logan’s bottom lip. Patton is always, always so intolerably tender with him, so careful and deliberate, as if Logan is something to be savored, something exquisite and vitreous that needs to be handled delicately, something precious.

Logan tries his best to treat him in kind. He touches Patton’s face, Patton’s mouth and lips and tongue, eternally cool to the touch, with the kind of mindfulness he gives to pipettes and microscopes and test tubes, as if touching Patton in a way that is any less than the amount of devotion and love Patton deserves will irrevocably contaminate the results of his hypothesis. 

But then Patton’s tongue brushes against his own, and Logan gasps, and he moves to kiss Patton with the devotion and love and passion that ignites in Logan’s stomach, burning hotter than a Yule log, his heartbeat thudding rapidly in his ears, and Logan presses himself even closer to Patton, so wonderfully chilled to the touch, the only thing that could temper the heat flaring to life in Logan’s stomach to something bearable, the only thing that brings balance, something as undeniably well-paired as the heat source and the heat sink—they bring each other thermodynamic equilibrium, romantic equilibrium, equilibrium in all things—

Patton pulls away, just in time, just as Logan needs to break away to gulp in a breath that Patton does not need to take, and Logan looks at Patton, whose eyes are flaring with their own kind of heat.

“I love you too,” Patton says, and he presses his forehead to Logan’s, inhaling deeply; Logan wonders if his body has started producing dopamine and norepinephrine and serotonin and vasopressin, if Patton can smell it.

“I love you so much,” Patton says again, his voice trembling with the weight of it.

Patton wraps his arms around Logan’s waist, pulling him into his lap, and Logan wraps his arms around him. Patton cuddles closer, rubbing his cheeks against Logan’s hair almost like a cat.

“I love you too,” Logan says, “I love you.”

Patton bundles the blanket around them, the fire crackling and the ebb and flow of string music in the background, and Logan presses a kiss to Patton’s cheek.

“I love you,” Patton repeats.

I love you, I love you, I love you, they whisper at each other, wrapped up in a blanket until the fire sputters down to embers, Patton’s cold skin keeping Logan from overheating, the pair of them exchanging kisses that only slightly tip into overly passionate, always returning to holding each other, cuddling in front of the fire, even as Logan’s eyelids slip lower and lower as the moon rises higher and higher in the sky, so comfortable and so adored and so absolutely, completely sated that he cannot help but drift off in the comfort of it, one thing ringing in his ears that carries him off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

[roselightfairy]

If you're still doing fic recs, do you have any favorite AUs?

Oh, do I!! This is an EXCELLENT prompt, and I’ve had a lot of fun compiling this list tonight. I’ve ended up grouping it into two different sections: modern AU (because there are a lot of those!) and “other,” which are…non-modern AU, haha. For the most part I’ve left out UA (universe alteration, in which the universe is the same but something about the story changes), because I can’t think of any of those right now – but I know there are some really good ones of that as well!

So:

Modern:

like, comment, subscribe by DeHeerKonijn

Summary: A collection of fics that take place in my modern ‘verse, wherein Minas Tirith is a bustling city, Gimli is a professor at the university, and Legolas is a model-slash-influencer-slash-layabout.

…

Come on, you all knew this was going to be first on the list. The amount of worldbuilding @deheerkonijn has put into this series is absolutely breathtaking, and what you see on Tumblr is probably only the half of it. (Go stalk her Twitter, even if you don’t have a profile – I do it all the time!) This series is all she’s written for it so far, plus the fic that we cowrote about the OC roommates. But aside from that, the series has a whole assortment of always sexy, always funny, always sweet stories about Legolas and Gimli; go read them all!

No Place Like HoME by Flamebyrd

Summary: In which our heroes play a MMORPG called Heroes of Middle-Earth.

…

THIS IS SO GOOD. I love this premise so much, haha – Legolas and Gimli are just regular humans (with regular names, even!) and a rivalry they don’t even know about – but it turns out they’ve been playing each other in a game for quite awhile! It’s cute, fun, and creative, and I wish there were more.

life’s just a game (and it’s just your turn) by plinys

Summary: Legolas and Gimli try to have phone sex (or well, headset sex) with some unforeseen consequences.

…

I ADORE that these two as gamers is a fic idea that exists more than once, and this one is so fluffy with just a hint of spice (and a hefty dose of embarrassment, haha, but they deserved it!). Read it and grin!

Hold My Number by katajainen

Summary: It's a Saturday night at the A&E, and Gimli only wants to get to the triage nurse and be done with this whole stupid business.

That is, until he meets a tall, dark stranger (a ridiculously pretty one).

…

I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH. The crowning glory of meet-cutes (though it’s more of a meet-ugly, really), in which Legolas and Gimli meet at the emergency room for very embarrassing reasons . . . and hit it off right away, in a way that is adorable, delightful, and funny to watch. Read for their embarrassing stories, their adorable dorkiness (they’re gamers again!), and their undeniable chemistry.

Perfect Fit by mssileas

Summary: "Both of them were painfully aware that their physical differences were shockingly obvious – much more so than their also very different personalities. And that they usually led people to assumptions they weren't shy of declaring."

Or, Legolas single-handedly disproves all prejudice, and Gimli loves it.

…

This is a lovely (and smutty, so be warned) modern AU oneshot that challenges the stereotypes of these two based on how they look – and how they would probably be treated, if they were a couple in our world. If you’re interested in the modern AU premise but not the smut, there’s another oneshot set in this ‘verse, Christmas Body, that is mostly just fluff!

Other (non-modern):

The Earth Moves Under Our Feet (It’s A Loco Motion) by notanightlight

Summary: The West is still Wild. Gimli is working on the railway, Legolas is a gunslinger, and someone needs to turn this train around.

…

WILD WEST AU WILD WEST AU!! This story is one of my favorite things ever because it’s a WILD WEST AU and Gimli is an Irish immigrant and Legolas is an outlaw and they meet in a near-death situation and bond! It has wonderful worldbuilding, excellent banter, and little moments of flirting that almost hide below the surface of the aforementioned near-death situation, but not quite. ;) Please go read it, or listen to the amazing accompanying podfic by Morvidra, which is an astounding performance.

Nothing Doth Fade (But Suffers a Sea-Change) by notanightlight

Summary: Gimli has always heard stories about the seals that lived near the cliffs of Castle Durin. “They aren’t what they seem,” they’d tell him. Gimli never knew what to think of those stories, until the night he met a stranger on the shore, with the sea in his eyes and moonlight on his skin.

…

@notanightlight has too many amazing AUs to list them all here, but I have to give a shout-out to this one because SELKIES but also ANGST and SORROW and BETRAYAL but FORGIVENESS and HOPE and – I don’t know. It plays with a common and really sad trope, but gives our characters a way through that is hard and painful, but worth it, in the end – a story in which everything is not all okay, but in which that doesn’t have to be the end, if everyone is willing to work. Plus, Thranduil makes an appearance and he is magnificent.

Wild Hunt by consumptive_sphinx

Summary: There’s a knock on the door.

It isn’t quite dusk; it isn’t too dangerous yet. But still, it’s late to be out on Midwinter’s Night. What if he was held up somewhere?

Legolas takes a nail with him when he opens the door. “Gimli. It’s late.”

…

Fae AU!! consumptive_sphinx has many wonderful AUs and you should check out their whole profile, but I had to give this one a shout-out. It’s mysterious and tender and packs a whole lot of story between the lines of its 917 words and made me yearn for more!

The Monstrous Fellowship by IchijouKenichiro

Summary: Astrin's cousins Fíli and Kíli left to fight the forces of Mordor over two years ago, but there's been no word from them for the last six months. Being a woman of action and the one who always is there to get them out of trouble, Astrin disguises herself as the male warrior Gimli and joins the army to fight for them. But the regiment she joins is anything but typical. With troublesome hobbits, a religious fanatic, the undead, a golem, and even an elf, are the greatest dangers to come from her fellow man? And what secrets are they all holding onto?

A parody of Terry Prachett's "A Monstrous Regiment"

…

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. This is ACTUALLY a Monstrous Regiment rewrite of LOTR, with the Fellowship in the place of the Regiment, and the characters are – actually matched up really, really well. Full disclosure: I read this before I read Monstrous Regiment and went in fully prepared to ship Polly and Maladict… but it turns out they were extremely shippable anyway, so that turned out all right. ;) Seriously – this is an excellent fic, such a fun story, and such a good homage!

Aulë’s Gift by daisynorbury

Summary: "Our friendship endures these strange periods of inequality. You can't remember, and I can't forget."

A new chapter in Adina's classic Back to the Beginning cycle, wherein Aulë granted Gimli perpetual reincarnation. Two thousand years into the Fourth Age, Legolas meets the ninth version of his dearest friend. Told mostly from Gimli's amnesiac POV.

…

I don’t know if this story fully counts as an AU, but I’ve been longing to rec it for several lists and just – couldn’t ever quite find a category it fit into. AU is close enough, since even though the world is meant to be Middle-earth far in the future, it’s different enough to feel like another world. This is a reincarnation story of Legolas and Gimli set in the series referenced above (and recommended in a different list), and it deals with the extreme complication of the situation with so much sensitivity and grace that it rivets me. Even if I didn’t know @daisyfornost, it would be so obvious to me that an absolutely unbelievable amount of thought and care went into the worldbuilding, the writing, the creation of this story. It is such a labor of love, and that love is evident throughout the whole thing. Please go read it, but I warn you that you will have lots of feelings.

…

Thank you again for this amazing prompt, anon! Reminder to all that this is in no way a comprehensive list – I’m sure I’ve left out so many other wonderful stories. Please feel free to add your own, if you reblog this! And my usual reminder to please leave the author a comment if you read any of these and enjoy it. <3

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 83: If I Had A Nickel For Every Murderous Teenage Furry Girl

Paralogue 18: Nutty Family

While Keaton is going to visit his daughter Velouria, ghost dudes show up. Then the battle begins. Somehow, this set up is even worse than Siegbert’s. This chapter has us fighting an army of magic users and faceless, with Dragon Veins that silence every enemy on the map that makes it a joke to beat. Halfway through the battle, Velouria shows up, drawn by Keaton’s scent.

After the battle, Velouria thanks Keaton for setting up such a fun game. They already used the idea of the teenage girl Laguz not understanding that war isn’t a game with Selkie. Keaton tells Velouria to go home, but she demands to join his pack. He says he doesn’t want her to join, but his wagging tail betrays him. Velouria gives him an acorn as a present and Keaton gives her a dead bat he tore up. The two of them then sniff each other, because they’re dogs.

Velouria

Keaton’s daughter. Naive, shares her father’s love of garbage. Also, she weirdly resembles Nah from Awakening. I don’t know if it’s intentional, because she doesn’t fit the pattern of other Awakening characters. I assume its just a similar design, like Hayato looking like Ricken. While we’re on the topic of design, Velouria’s white hair and little red riding hood motif are neat. Her personal skill, Goody Basket, gives her a luck percent chance to recover a bit of health each turn.

Support: Keaton/Velouria

C: Velouria sniffs and tickles Keaton. He gives her a hairball.

B: Keaton tells Velouria she's to clingy. She says that not clinging to Keaton is a punishment worse than death.

A: Keaton calls Velouria weird for being so attached, but she doesn't mind. Velouria explains that she's so clingy because she knows Keaton will die, possibly very soon cause of the war and shit, and that she already spent so much time alone in the deeprealm.

Review: Man, pairing up Keaton’s weirdness and Velouria’s weirdness makes this a really weird Support. Like seriously, stop sniffing each other. Other than that, this one is fine. A bit generic with the worry about parent dying, but not awful.

Support: Velouria/Mother

C: Velouria asks her mother for a hug and falls asleep in her arms.

B: Velouria asks her mother to leave the army so she'll be safe because Velouria needs her mother.

A: Velouria vows to get stronger to protect her mother.

Review: I’m not sure why this one hit so much harder than the Keaton Support, but I really enjoyed it. It portrays Velouria as a young, scared kid afraid of being alone again and that really works for me.

Support: Corrin/Velouria

C: Corrin throws out a bunch of junk in her room, including her teddy bear from when she was a child that apparently she's had with her this whole time. Velouria steals Corrin's garbage.

B: Velouria eats a dropped muffin off the floor.

A: Velouria gives Corrin a hairball as a present. Corrin gives it back because Velouria actually likes it.

Support: This one is shallow, but not awful; Velouria is so weird it’s amusing.

Support: Moron/Velouria

C: Velouria sniffs Corrin and shows him one of her treasures: a dust bunny.

B: Velouria gives Corrin a gift, a sword that he broke, because they are kindred spirits. I don't know how Corrin broke a sword in a game with indestructible weapons, but whatever its fine. Also Corrin gets mauled by a weasel with rabies.

A: Velouria gives Corrin more treasures. Corrin says the only treasure he needs is her friendship, so she gelafully asks for the treasures back.

S: Corrin proposes. Velouria like the box more than the ring.

Review: Velouria is just Keaton 2.0, isn’t she? Setting that aside, this one was fine, but forgettable. Corrin getting mauled is funny, though. The rabies explains why Corrin is so fucking stupid in Conquest.

[jarmes]

Entry 43: Warzone Math Homework

Paralogue 8: A Great Hunt

While Takumi is searching for his son Kiragi in the Deeprealm forest where he lives, the group is attacked by spooky ghost men. Cut to Kiragi, who accidentally shoots a ghost dude while hunting. When Takumi reaches Kiragi, he isn’t scared, and just wants to show off the big bear he killed.

This chapter takes place in a forest filled with flying enemies, which fits with Kiragi’s strengths and personality. Kiragi actually ended up dying when I played through this one, but he still joined after battle which was nice.

Kiragi, instead of being scared of the ghost army that eviscerated his young body, is totally pumped about fighting and begs to join our army because it’ll be cool.

So, I forgot about a lot of characters in this game until I replayed it, Kiragi being one of them. I knew Takumi had a son, but forgot everything else about him. I realized, when playing this chapter, why I clearly remembered units like Selkie and Nina but forgot others like Kiragi and Mitama. I only remember the units they added to Heroes. Which also explains why I blanked on Orochi months ago.

Kiragi

Takumi’s son. He looks like his father but a baby. His personal skill, Optimists, boosts speed and luck for the turn after you have him wait. From his introductory chapter, Kiragi seems to be really eager and cheery about fighting, contrasting the horror of war themes in Shigure and Shiro’s introductions.

Support: Kiragi/Takumi

C: Kiragi goes hunting with Takumi and snipes a deer perfectly. Takumi, not wanting to praise Kiragi, makes up some fake criticisms.

B: Kiragi, thanks to Takumi criticizes his perfect stance, somehow becomes even better at archery. Takumi admits he lied and admits that he isn't as cool as Kiragi thinks. In a surprisingly heartfelt moment, Takumi admits that he's an anxious loser whose strength comes solely from his legendary weapon.

A: Kiragi attempts to use Fujin Yumi, but fails to hit the target because the bow's wind arrows require perfect concentration to summon. Kiragi encourages Takumi to acknowledge he's cool.

Review: A fantastic Support that gives great characterization to Takumi and gives him and Kiragi a heartwarming relationship.

Support: Kirag/Mother

C: Kiragi wants to go hunting, but his mother makes him study math and history. This is a game about a war.

B: Kiragi's mom rewrites the test questions to be about hunting. Kiragi, touched by this, dedicates himself to studying.

A: Kiragi gets good at smart stuff to the point where he'd rather study than hunt.

Review: This Support does not make sense as a thing happening during this game. It’s fine, but it feels like it takes place in suburban America rather than a medieval war. This goes back to the problem I have with the portal babies, that they don’t feel like they’re part of the story. They feel like a poorly written, tacked-on DLC that doesn’t connect with anything, except they were with the game at launch.

Support: Corrin/Kiragi

C: Corrin talks to Kiragi about hunting and he reveals that as a child his caretakers wouldn't let him go hunting because he was a prince. He complains about people thinking royals are sheltered shut-ins, oblivious of Corrin's past.

B: Kiragi and Corrin go hunting together. Kiragi bitches about his caretakers some more. Corrin praises him for running away as a child so he could go hunting.

A: Corrin tells Kiragi that his caretakers probably loved him and forbid him from hunting because they were worried about him. Kiragi decides to visit his Deeprealm with Corrin.

S: Kiragi, after realizing he likes his aunt romantically, runs ten goddamn miles so he can tell her.

Review: A decent Support. It’s always good when they find a similarity characters have and build bonds off that. In this case, Corrin and Kiragi’s sheltered childhoods.

Support: Moron/Kiragi

C: Kiragi hides and scares Corrin because he likes hide and seek. Corrin reveals he also likes hide and seek.

B: Kiragi finds Corrin because of his superior senses and ability to sense Corrin's aura.

A: Corrin hides from Kiragi after learning to hide his dragon aura.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

TUA SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN AU

(please understand that by AU, I mean they share an incredibly small amount of things in common with the original source material which I barely remember BUT the "story" takes place in the setting of the film) (not to be misleading or anything :p)

(Huntsman) Diego has been roaming the dark woods for years, on the run from the two queens. He loves his mother Grace, but she died with Ben - and the person in her body now just isn’t very nice. He’s angry, and bitter, and full of heartache and pain… losing your family will do that to you. But he’s still looking for Five. His beloved husband may be dead, but there’s still hope for their son. Right?

(Gold Queen) The Handler is the gold queen. She believes love is a weakness, and how could she not - her sister Grace ruined herself with love for her children. Then again, she supposes it’s a bit her fault that Grace went mad - the Handler was, after all, the one who killed the child that left Grace a cold, icy bitch.

(Ice Queen) Grace does not believe in love. Any child of hers foolish enough to fall in love will be taught the same lesson she suffered to learn - love is synonymous with death.

Five can’t remember the names of all the people he’s killed. The Handler took him from his mother when he was just a baby - he has no knowledge whatsoever of who she is. The Handler forces him to kill people in her courtyard arena, claiming him as her champion, and he knows he’ll die if he lets her down. She promised to bring him back to his family if he just stays a good little boy and does what he’s told - Five thinks she’s probably lying though. He had a friend here once, Dolores, and the Handler agreed not to make him fight her… and then turned her into a gold statue in the middle of the courtyard, where Five has to see her and be reminded of his failure to keep her safe every single day.

Klaus has been stuck down here for who knows how long. It’s damp and dark and cold and there are bars on the window. Grace dragged him here what must’ve been years ago, probably because she found out about him and Diego - not that it matters. Grace banished Diego, and Five was taken from him long ago. Diego’s probably dead, Klaus knows how it is out there, and his son is also probably dead. There’s only so long for Klaus anyway - he’s been seeing his dead brother Ben lately, and even Klaus is smart enough to know that’s probably not a good sign.

Ben died at the hands of the Handler when he was only fourteen. His death cause Grace to go full psycho, and Ben… exists with that guilt every day as he looks after Klaus, who is slowly going mad. Ben needs to get him out of here, but first he needs to find Diego… and Diego has always made a point of being very, very hard to find.

Allison was one of few children who managed to escape both the queens when the war began. She found a home with a man called Reginald and thought she was saved… but he was just another asshole. He treats her and the other refugees like slaves, knowing they’ll never leave out of fear of the queens’ killing arenas. Ray and Luther are her fellow inmates - and they all want out.

Vanya is a witch, trapped in a cave by the Handler after being stolen from her mother Grace. A selkie named Sissy came to help her settle in her first day, and now collects ingredients for Vanya’s experimental break-out spells. They fell in love, and have a son named Harlan together from Vanya’s magic, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever be allowed to touch, a constant blue shield between them.

Cha-Cha and Hazel are the Handler’s personal generals, and when they learn that Klaus is alive, they take him on orders from the Handler, who knows he’ll be good bait now that Diego is the symbol of the revolution. Agnes is the village healer they force to heal Klaus after they’re done torturing him for information, which he never gives. She detests both of them, and eventually uses her magic to knock them out and set Klaus free.

Eudora is leading a rebellion against the two queens in secret. She has no idea about Reginald, or else she’d go after him too. When Allison kills Reginald, she brings herself, Luther, Ray, and all the other captive young adults to Eudora’s safe haven, where she trains them into soldiers for the upcoming fight. If they don’t want to be soldiers, they train to be healers under Agnes, who tells Eudora of the dead prince being locked in the Handler’s dungeon and tortured, having apparently been imprisoned. Look, Eudora’s not a bad person, she’s just a strategist - and it’s better to have Klaus in captivity long enough for her to get Diego on her side, using his husband’s rescue as leverage.

Lila is the Handler’s personal guard. The Handler believes she has Lila’s complete loyalty, but Lila’s been slipping information to Eudora for years - Eudora, who she’s in love with. Eudora, who kisses like the sky does the ground. Eudora, who will leave Lila to die once she’s no longer of use. Or so she thinks.

The Handler wiped Five’s memory when she took him at five years old, so he doesn’t remember his family at all. She’s hoping nobody comes along and breaks his programming. She’s spent so long on it. It’d be such a shame.

Across the land, Allison serves Reginald dinner. She refills his drink, picks his knife up from the ground, and stabs him through the heart. Then she and Ray and Luther and the others fucking book it.

Diego wanders the woods alone, intercepted only by Eudora, who he locks in awesome battle with before realizing who she is. They smile at each other and she asks him yet again to join her movement, which he refuses. She smiles ruefully and disappears.

Allison and Ray and Luther join Eudora’s cause with the others, Luther quickly becoming their best soldier, Ray their most gifted healer, and Allison equal to Eudora in both physical and mental prowess. Eudora is hunting in the woods one day and runs into Lila, the two of them having a love-at-first-sight moment. Lila hears her name called and runs away, but they remain drawn to each other, even if Eudora can’t shake the mark of gold on Lila’s wrist from her mind.

The Handler starts making threats at Vanya, mostly about Sissy and Harlan. Klaus has forgotten what the sun looks like, but is given a refresher on the moon when Cha-Cha and Hazel break into his cell and steal him in the middle of the night. Ben holds him the whole time, but he’s so scared. So so scared.

Eudora and Lila keep meeting in the woods, mostly by accident. Lila starts telling her things, important things, and one day lets slip that the dead prince Klaus is alive and imprisoned in the Handler’s dungeons, to which he was brought from Grace’s dungeons. Eudora listens, enraptured, and nearly kisses Lila goodbye before remembering herself. This is how she wins Diego.

Diego finds out Klaus is alive from Eudora and is angry at her for using Klaus’ life as leverage, deciding to go see for himself. He overhears some guards talking about it, and is running down to the dungeons when he slams right into someone. They pull back, curse words on Diego’s lips, and Diego is met with Klaus’ wide green eyes, looking at him with some sort of euphoric wonder.

Overjoyed, Diego clasps Klaus’ face in his hands and kisses him. Klaus laughs, loud and bright, and slings his still shackled hands up to loop his arms around Diego’s neck, kissing him again and again and again. Their reunion is interrupted by a loud clang, upon which they realize they’re still in the Handler’s castle. Diego wraps his arm around Klaus’ waist and they run together, but skid to a stop in the shadows in the Great Hall, freezing as they stare across the room at Five, whose memories are slamming back into him as he lays eyes on his parents for the first time in eight years.

Klaus makes for him, Diego not far behind, but just as Five takes a step forward, finally broken from his shock, the sound of the Handler’s stilettos clicking down the hall come from behind. Their eyes meet again, Klaus’ widening as he realizes what Five’s about to do, but Five just shakes his head, mouthing, I love you. He then reaches out with his hand and sweeps them out the door with a snap of his fingers, locking himself inside with the Handler once and for all.

Devastated at the loss of their son, again, Klaus and Diego wander through the night, only settling down once to sleep, Klaus’ head on Diego’s chest. They whisper about their son and each other until dawn, finally rising to continue their journey. Diego manages to use a stick to pick the lock on Klaus’ chains, and they head for Eudora’s camp, Diego finally agreeing to join now that he knows his son is trapped in the Handler’s hold.

With Diego in the fold, Eudora’s army is combat-ready in no time. Eudora makes her way to the woods, waiting for Lila, who has finally agreed to leave the Handler and join Eudora’s cause. But instead of Lila, the Handler comes, having found out about Lila’s little excursions and deciding it was time to put a stop to it. She captures Eudora, taking her back to the dungeon, and starts making the moves to enact her big plan.

Lila finds Eudora’s bow on the ground in the woods and rushes towards her camp to tell Diego the news.

The Handler goes to retrieve Vanya from her cave, ready to use her secret weapon. Sissy screams, trying to stop her, but the Handler shoves her back, Sissy knocking her head on a rock and going limp. Vanya, seeing this and Harlan hiding behind a tree, screams, all of her power letting loose at once and shattering the cave and the curse that traps her in it. The rubble nearly crushes the Handler, but she saves herself with a shield, though not before Vanya is able to escape with Sissy and Harlan, disappearing into the woods.

She makes her home at Eudora’s camp, where Lila now helps lead troops with Diego, scared for Eudora’s life. Klaus helps the healers, and brings them undead soldiers to improve their numbers, desperate to bring his son home. Allison and Ray have an unstoppable magic act, and Luther has his own legion of soldiers to lead. They finally feel they’re ready, marching towards their positions to surround the Handler’s castle, when winter suddenly falls over the land and Grace emerges from the trees, calm and as cold as ever.

Agnes is behind her, trembling. Klaus gently guides her to their side, remembering how she helped him escape. Diego stares down Grace, saddened beyond belief at who their mother has turned out to be. Grace tells Diego she’s disappointed in him - he was her greatest prodigy, the only one she truly believed was strong enough to be a good soldier, the only one who had given up love - an ice blast gathering in her hand, ready for Diego’s heart. And then suddenly, Ben is in front of her, his eyes full of sorrow as he whispers her name - Hey Momma.

Grace’s blast desintigrates in her hand. She stares at the ghost of her long-dead son, tearing up, and falls to her knees as winter extinguinshes into dust around her. She sobs into her hands, apologizing over and over for all she’s done to them, and is shocked when Diego touches her shoulder gently, gazing at her with soulful eyes. Help us win this war, Momma, he says softly. Help us, and all is forgiven. She swallows, and nods, and takes his hand, walking with them into battle.

They march to the castle. Lila saves Eudora from the dungeons, who kisses her through the bars - I knew you’d come for me. Diego is leading one legion up against the back while Allison, Ray, and Luther lead legions in on all other sides. Vanya’s working on breaking down the magical shields the Handler’s put up. The Handler emerges, and the battle is in full swing.

Agnes is knocking out bitches left and right with her wooden cane, and Hazel is punching the lights out of anyone who gets too close. Cha-Cha closes in on Five, who’s caught up in defending Dolores, and strikes him with a spell that’s blocked by Klaus. Klaus, with fire in his eyes, steps in front of a wide-eyed Five with glowing hands and a morbid grin. Not my son, you bitch, he hisses, and proceeds to beat the shit out of Cha-Cha while Five grins and whoops before running off to help Diego.

Eventually it comes down to the Handler in the throne room. Her legions falling, she prepares to oblierate everyone with her powers, but Grace enters the room, ready to stop her. They engage in an epic battle of gold and ice, in which Grace is fatally wounded by the Handler. She uses the last of her power and strength to impale the Handler on an icicle, watching with a smile as Diego brings a battleaxe down on the Handler’s neck, Grace’s eyes fluttering closed.

The kingdoms are reunited under Allison’s common rule. She rules alone, though married to both Ray and Luther, and her siblings make their homes in her court. A statue of Grace spins in the courtyard on the other side of Dolores and Ben, all surrounded by flowers. Eudora and Lila remain unmarried, but travel the world together. Ben still talks with Klaus, who helps organize all the parties at the palace. Diego is the captain of the guard and Five enjoys childhood, though he is also regarded as a fierce warrior in his own right. Vanya and Sissy settle down in the woods with Harlan and Agnes and Hazel stay down in the villages on a farm (they have a lot of cows). They’re all very happy, and very safe. Well, until Leonard the king of tar shows up. But that’s a story for another day.

Oh, and there are dragons. Because reasons.

[authordgaster]

Prologue 0.1

“CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!”

That was the first thing Midori had heard upon entering Fort Corrin.

Since the war had ended and Xander, Corrin, and Ryoma had become the kings of their respective kingdoms, the fort that their army had once used had become a sort of relay station for the former members of the army. Using the fort, one could travel to any of the kingdoms in a very short amount of time. Due to time flowing at a rapid rate within the realm, it also served as a place to visit and meet up with friends, or to simply get away from it all and relax for a period of time.

It seemed like someone had come to do just that, as the sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from the Arena. Midori adjusted the large medicine creation kit on her back before making her way to see who among her friends had come to visit.

---

“You’re right where I want you!”

“I won’t surrender!”

“CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!”

Midori watched from the side in fascination as lance met katana in the sparring match between Shiro and Soleil. Despite the inherent weapon advantage, Soleil was managing to keep pace with the Prince of Hoshido.

“Ah, Midori. How nice of you to join us.” To Midori’s left was Forrest. It seemed that the young Prince was hard at work with a dress of some sorts. Midori was certain it’d look amazing once he was done.

“Hiya Forrest! I came to work on my medicine and see if anyone was around! Is it just the three of you here?” Asked Midori.

“Actually, there are six of us now,” replied Forrest as he nodded his head in Midori’s direction. Midori followed his gaze past her to see Dwyer and Selkie taking a nap together, somehow able to sleep through the racket the other two were making.

“Oh my gosh!” Midori has to stop herself from squealing at the sight.

“I know what you mean.” Laughed Forrest. “I’ll never understand how Dwyer of all people is capable of keeping up with her, or being able to get her to slow down.”

“It is pretty impressive,” giggled Midori as she set her pack down and began removing her kit. “Well, better get to work! This medicine won’t make itself!”

“Oh? What’re you making this time?” Forrest scooched closer to Midori while still making sure to keep a safe distance for the sake of his fabrics.

“Well you see…” Forrest continued to work as Midori rambled about her latest project. He didn’t quite grasp all of it, but it was a passion to her just like how his work was a passion to him. 

“CLUNK!”

Shiro let out a chuckle at the sound of his lance successfully blocking Soleil’s blade. “Sorry kiddo! Gotta try harder than that!” 

Soleil chuckled as she brought her katana back and swung at Shiro again. The pair had agreed to make it interesting by using the foreign version of their weapon specialties, but after so much use in the war, they practically felt the same.

She jumped back just in time to avoid a thrust from Shiro’s lance, and then a second before doing a spinning swing, which Shiro ducked under.

The pair had been going back and forth like this for so long that they’d failed to notice their little audience. Even though the war was over, Soleil had inherited her mother’s love for combat, and Shiro was always trying to get stronger in order to surpass his father, so the pair regularly had bouts in Fort Corrin. 

“Next you’re going to say: ‘dance for me’!” Shouted Shiro as Soleil reared her arm back and thrusted her katana at Shiro.

“Dance for-!” Soleil’s eyes widened as she realized that Shiro had anticipated her words, which meant-! Shiro spun his lance, striking the incoming blade and sending it flying, embedding it in a nearby wall. Even if she was disarmed, Soleil wasn’t going down without a fight. She raised her hands and prepared to brawl.

“DWYER/SELKIE!!”

However the sounds of two younger voices crying out snapped the pair back into reality as they looked towards the source of the voices. 

Soleil and Shiro saw Midori and Forrest scrambling towards the direction that Soleil’s sword had been sent, and in that direction was-. The pair stared in shock, realizing that the sword had been launched at Selkie and Dwyer, who were laying there and not moving. They quickly rushed over, their chests tight with fear.

---

Dwyer had been having a nice nap. He’s been dreaming about taking a nap with Selkie. Truly the best dream. However that dream had been rudely cut short at the sounds of shouting. His eyes slowly opened to the sight of four people standing over him.

“…Can I help you?” He asked tiredly as he tried sitting up, only to hit his head on something metal. He adjusted his head to see that there was a sword sticking out of the wall inches from his head. He stared at the sword for a few seconds before slowly turning his attention back to the four people in front of him. 

Shiro and Soleil slowly pointed at each other while Midori and Forrest simply pointed at the pair. Dwyer let out a groan as he reached up and gripped the sword’s handle. “‘Let’s nap here Dwyer’ she said. ‘I wanna play with them next’ she said.” He muttered before yanking the blade out of the wall, causing some chunks to break loose and fall onto Selkie’s head.

“Ow, hey…!” She said as the rubble woke her up. “Who’s dropping rocks on my head?”

“I believe this is yours?” Asked Dwyer with an unimpressed expression as he held the sword out for her to grab. Soleil let out a sheepish chuckle as she took the katana.

“Wait, what happened?” Asked Selkie as she looked between everyone.

“Oh nothing, just some fools failing to remember the concept of ‘self-control’.” Said Dwyer.

“Oh! Are you guys done?! Do I get to play now!?” Selkie excitedly leapt to her feet. 

Soleil chuckled. “I’d love to play with you cutie. How about you, me, and a cup of tea?” She asked coyly.

Selkie tilted her head at Soleil. “Soleil? Your face is turning red again. Maybe you should talk to Midori about that?” She suggested.

“Uh…” Soleil was not used to her attempts at flirting to fly straight over the head of her target. All her friends either sighed or began to chuckle at her utter flop at flirting.

“Well, I’m glad Selkie and Dwyer are alright.” Said Forrest.

“Yeah! Though if they were hurt I could’ve made something that would’ve fixed them right up!” Said Midori proudly.

“Preeetty sure a little salve isn’t gonna fix a hole in someone’s head.” Muttered Shiro. Fortunately, Midori didn’t hear him.

“So what brings you two here?” Asked Soleil as she looked at the nap time duo.

“It’s our weekly nap time together!” Said Selkie proudly. 

“Right, but when she heard you two sparring, she said we should nap here so she could wake up and play with you next.” Explained Dwyer. “I considered explaining why that would be a terrible idea, but I was too sleepy.”

“Dwyer, you’re always sleepy.” Said Midori.

“I don’t see your point.” Said Dwyer.

“Maybe it’s time for some more of my anti sleepiness medicine…” Mumbled Midori as she looked back towards her medicine kit.

“No way! I like my Dwyer just the way he is!” Said Selkie happily.

“He’s your Dwyer? And you’ve been sleeping together? How scandalous.” Giggled Forrest.

“You’ve been spending too much time around Nina.” Said Dwyer drily.

“Perhaps.” Hummed Forrest.

“Hey! I still wanna play! Who’s gonna play with me!” Said Selkie.

“Alright, alright, I’ll spar with ya,” said Shiro as he walked back over to grab the lance he’d dropped.

Selkie cheered as she pulled out her Beaststone and transformed into her fox form, ready to play with Shiro.

However, before they could start, there was a sound like shattering glass that caught the group’s attention. They all turned and looked towards the north just in time to see the world around them turn to a dark blue before everything went dark.

---

First leader of the United Kingdom of Fodlan, Byleth Eisner stared at the rising sun.

Fifteen.

That was the number of times he’d reset the world back to that fateful day.

Sixteen.

That was the number of times he’d rescued Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude from those bandits, become a teacher at Garreg Mach, and become a leading figure in the war that Edelgard instigated.

Four.

That was the number of times he’d walked the path of the Crimson Flowers, the path of the Azure Moon, the path of the Verdant Wind, and the path of the Silver Snow.

Nine and Seven

That was the ratio for the times he’d walked these paths as a man versus as a woman. It was strange, it seemed like no matter what gender he chose to be, nobody questioned it, as if he’d always been that gender.

Thirty two

That was the number of birthdays he’s celebrated, the date changing every time to whatever he felt like at the start of a new loop, and nobody questioned it, nobody noticed anything different.

Ten

The number of times he’d gotten married.

For a while it had been something he could do, falling in love with one of his comrades, sharing a life with them. But he could never enjoy it.

Because no matter how many times he tried, he always failed someone. 

Someone he couldn’t convince to join him before it was too late.

Ten.

The number of people he’d failed

“Father… Dimitri… Edelgard… Rhea… Claude… Hubert… Dedue… Hilda… Gilbart… Jeritza… I’m sorry…” 

One by one, he listed them. No matter what he did, someone he loved would perish.

Because of that, he could never be satisfied.

Even if everyone who lived shared happy lives with each other, Byleth would be haunted by the memories of those he’d failed. The Knowledge that if he’d done things a little differently, they could be alive.

Seventeen.

That would be the number of this loop.

Maybe he’d finally get it right this time.

“Sothis… reset the world.”

Byleth heard the all too familiar sound of time shattering around him like glass as he returned to that day, six years ago…

---

Fire Emblem: Three Fates

[sieglindegrimm]

Clara’s lines! (updated)

Finally updated them! and wow did she come a long way, all the way from @muffinrecord‘s post to one of my most fridge-horrific meguca yet! maybe the most horrific if you look in her lore. But for now please enjoy her lines! I’ll be doing her gameplay shortly! just need her stats as i have 95% done!

Self Introduction 1: Why hello there! They call me "The skeleton queen" but you, my sweet child, may call me Clara Blake! Come and sit for a while, I promise I won't rattle your… bones!

Self Introduction 2: They call me “The skeleton queen” for a reason, dear. As for said reason… I honestly have no clue! Heh… I don’t remember doing anything besides my usual flair I swear! Not like you know anything yet, do you, dear~

Story Chapter End 1: “Sorry dear, I only wished for mine to be gone!” Story Chapter End 2: “I still wonder… How did they go from a turnip to a pumpkin?” Story Chapter End 3: “I thought I’d never have to think about her again…”

Story Select 1: I swear I didn’t do anything! This time of course... Story Select 2: Ohohoho~ Of course my wish was so exponential! How else do I get this power? Story Select 3: No wonder I called her that, with how vicious they are it was a given. Story Select 4: Do you think i could move the wheels on a dullahan’s cart? They’re made of femurs after all! Story Select 5: I promised Janet I’d eat lunch with her today! Just need to check in at the front desk first! Story Select 6: Okay but why a turnip? Is that what he had on hand? No wonder they call him stingy!

Strengthening Complete: More bones means more to bend! Tell me, how many do you have? Strengthening Max: The answer is 206 bones! Even the small ones can be bent! Or even shattered! A~ hahaha~

Episode Level Up: Oh my, want to know more do you? Well you know how I keep my own skeletons...

Magical Release 1: If there were a griffon witch would I be eaten? Un-fucking-likely! Magical Release 2: Do you ever feel so much pain that you just want to… wish it away? Magical Release 3:  Awww… Those cowards took everything and threw it out the window… Who wouldn’t want to have such an amazing weapon? A~ hahaha~

Magia Level Up: If you want me gone then just hit me with gold! No? Aww, such a coward!

Awaken 1: My my my my~ You’re one good skeleton! Tell me, would you like to feel your- Oh right! Gotta… be civil... Awaken 2:  A skeleton army! Just imagine how powerful I’d be with even a battalion! Oh my how exhilarating! Awaken 3: Would you join my skeleton army? Oh don’t worry! I’ll make sure to remember it’s your’s! Although I don't think there’s a return date...

First Login: Aren’t you a sight to see? I would say it’s nice to see you but with what I’ve been doing… Tell me, how long does it take for a shattered bone to heal? I’d say around 7 weeks yes? Why do I ask? Oh… Nothing! Just wanted to secure a seed!

Login (Morning): Morning already? I swore it was night only 5! Well… I need to get more rest apparently huh? A~ Anyway it’s time to start on today apparently! I’ll go check on Janet to make sure she’s still asleep! She needs it more than I.

Login (Noon): I’m meeting with the selkie for lunch today! With how much time we’re together I’m surprised she- well then again if any of us were to ask I’d say I would! Her girls definitely see it, not sure if she sees my side though...

Login (Evening): Around now I always feel unsettled. I don’t know if it’s because of her or just some weird atmosphere thing. I’d honestly say both but when I think about her I always feel like my gem could darken...

Login (Night): Sometimes, when Janet can’t sleep, I usually turn on a show for us to watch together. Heh… She always loves when I put on crashbox for her. And once she falls asleep I can watch some of mine, well, if they ever bothered to get stuff correct… ugh, how the mighty have fallen.

Login (Other): What time is it now? What are you doing just sitting around here? Well, either way I~ am off to see that selkie chick again! Considering her and Janet are let’s say… 95 or so percent of my impulse control, it's no wonder she’s such an angel!

Login (AP Full): My my it’s time to hunt again! Janet’s been helping a whole lot, maybe I can go solo and get some for her? She always wants to accompany me but with her stamina I always end up protecting her more than getting the witch but… I just can’t leave her… we were both hurt there...

Login (BP Full): Interesting… I might take Janet with me to investigate! Maybe then I can see what's happening in there! Oh and maybe I can practice some new moves! A~ hahaha! I’m sure the selkie would have some qualms though… I just hope I don’t run into… Her...

Tap 1: I've been wondering, if my ability let's me move bones, could I possibly also shatter them with just a snap? Hmm…

Tap 2: Perfect timing! Say, do you know where my hat is? No not the one on my actual outfit, my regular hat! No? Well shi~ per...

Tap 3: That selkie, how does she keep me on that trail? Tell me, is she a wild goose chase? Or… Maybe something perfect?

Tap 4: It’s already time for Janet’s check-up again! With how much she hates that place why doesn't she just burn it do- Ah am I slipping again?

Tap 5: Is it overkill if I were to use another girl to smack a familiar? Then again I only know a few strong enough to do that… Good thing one of them’s on my side! heh...

Tap 6: So put your best face on everybody! Pretend you know this song! A~ hahaha~ I so do love that song, such flair!

Tap 7: Although the skeleton queen has been my title even before I met Janet, so much change has been because of that little bug! I can’t thank her enough...

Tap 8: How many years has it been since she- Oh! I didn’t see you! Tell me~ If you run across someone with a skinned ballgown you promise to not mention me, yes? Thank you~

Tap 9: Why is it that nobody listens when you tell them about pain? They listen for SO much! Grades, places, even people! But pain… No wonder Janet’s like that!

Battle Start: A~ hahahaha~ The skeletons from your closet are here to play!~

Battle Victory 1: C’mon! You know she deserved her bones bent! Battle Victory 2: I didn't break anyone's bones too bad this time, Ellie~! Battle Victory 3: Tell me, how many bones can you break at once? Would you like me to show you?

Doppel: That Jack’s lantern! Dying: Ah- my back!

[krinsbez]

GI Joe: Remixed, Viper Leaders 1

More OCs by Night_stalker, in this case, the bosses of various Viper cadres

(It was very fun trying to make it fit when we found out one of the Viper-types already HAS a boss)

TELE-VIPER LEADER:

Name: Kyu-Hwang, along with many usernames online. Codename: Gwisin DoB: Unknown Former Affiliation: Bureau 121 Orientation: Het Bio: Little is known about Kyu's past, but given his past affiliation, one can make some guesses. The fact that he also has a fondness for snapping to attention whenever a superiro comes by, and is a bit rickety makes one suspect North Korea was involved in some way. That said, he's not your sterotypical nerd. Suave, charismatic, ruthless, bit paranoid.... Kyu is one part hacker, one part cat manager, as having to run a department of IT personnel in a terrorist organization does tend to turn off the actually qualified people from turning up in person. Hobbies: Movie pirating, Coffee roasting, Cooking, and Tai Chi.

LASER-VIPER LEADER:

Name: Adrian Townes Codename: Rytov DoB: April 28th, 1965 Former Affiliation: US Army Corps of Engineers ERADC Orientation- Homosexual Bio: Born into a family that had lasers in their blood, Townes was fascinated by them. In fact, he could say he was all but in love with them. Getting appointed to the Army Corps of Engineers was his dream, where he started looking at the applications of lasers on a smaller scale then his comrades. While they tinkered with making lasers able to shoot down Ivan's ICBMs, he looked at fitting them inside tanks, if not smaller. However, finding funding for laser armed tanks and such, even in the 80s was difficult, to say the least.  Matters were not helped considering that while he was incredibly gifted when it came to developing lasers, he was less then skilled at interacting with others, or with what he termed "Petty minded bureaucrats seeking only to further their own power". When the 90s came around, he found himself out of a job, the laser projects all being put into cold storage. Faced with the prospect of his life's work being left to rot in some musty filing cabinet, Adrian started making the rounds of the Pentagon's higher ups, as well as the GAO. His arguments, while very technically impressive and certainly promising quite a lot of things, well, were considerably out of touch with fiscal reality, as well as the political realities. Left fuming in a dead end post, mostly being spent watching over the laser projects in cold storage, Townes heard of Cobra's announcements, and decided this was the means to affect revenge, while also finally vindicating himself. The fact that, as an added bonus, he could likely turn his weapons against his hated rivals in the Pentagon was, in his mind, icing on the cake. Hobbies: DiY Electronics, 3D Printing, Caligraphy, and Kombucha brewing.

RANGE-VIPER LEADER:

Name: Venus Callahan Codename: Ishtar DoB: Asking a Lady her age isn't polite. Much less a ex SF Lady with more guns then employees. Former Affiliation: Canadian Airborne Regiment Orientation: Hetero Bio: Venus had a relatively normal life in Canada. Growing up in the frozen wilderness, Venus learned how to clean a rabbit before she could walk, and viewed icy temperatures as "Bit nippy". Shockingly to literally nobody, she signed up to be a officer in the Canadian Army, where she rose up the ranks due to her jocular personality, as well as being able to set a personal example for many of the men to live up to. That said, she was given one of the tougher assignments in the army, namely, the famous, or depending on who you asked, infamous, Canadian Airborne Regiment. Unfortunately for her, she was assigned to it barely before the infamous Somali Affair occurred, which meant that when the resulting inquriy occured, she was one of the victims. Naturally, being the most junior officer present who could be held accountable, she was thrown under the bus as much as possible. Being "suggested" that she resign in order to avoid a lengthy court martial that would probably lead to a lot of unsavory details being outed, well, it doesn't inspire loyalty in one towards their government. Holding a grudge against the government and establishment that had tossed her aside so easily, Venus signed up with Sandline International. When that was shut down in the early 2000s, she signed up with MARS Industries, but didn't quite fit in. Her once jocular personality had turned acidic over the years, and while her skills hadn't degraded any, well..... There were certain topics one didn't bring up around her. Or in earshot. Or someplace gossip might reach her about it. So when Cobra started headhunting, HR for MARS pitched her over so fast it was a miracle she even realized what was happening. That said, she seemed to fit in like she'd been born for the role. Her skills, combined with a refusal to take shit from literally anyone, and backing up that stance with the threat of stranding them in the middle of the Arctic, buck naked, well, it got results. Hobbies: Archery, Stamp Collecting, Gardening, Latin Dancing, Trainspotting, and Hunting. 

SNOW SERPENT LEADER

Name: Otto Koskinen Codename: Wendigo DoB: November 11, 1975 Former Affiliation: UTJR Orientation: Bisexual Bio: Formerly a Finnish sniping instructor, Otto ended up leaving the army under circumstances he's refused to reveal. That said, people suspect it's tied to his fondness for eating almost anything, and a shrink's diagnosis of him basically being a sociopath with some severe mental hangups. Shockingly, he seems to get along well with the Snow Serpents, which has helped make him the leader of those frosty psychopaths. Hobbies: Skiing, Trail Skating, Ballroom Dancing, Model Trains (N Scale), and Sewing.

EEL LEADER:

Name: Ro Yun-Soo Codename: Selkie DoB: November 18th, 1984 Former Affiliation: Republic of Korea Navy Special Warfare Flotilla Orientation: Asexual, formerly heterosexual Bio: Ro grew up in a small fishing village on Baengnyeongdo Island, the only child of a fisherman and his wife. A few years into her young life, her mother died from a North Korean artillery barrage, leading her father to bring her along on his fishing vessel to keep her safe. There, she grew to love the ocean, and hate North Korea with a passion. These passions led her to join the Navy, where she excelled in diving and swimming, leading to her transfer to the Special Warfare Flotilla. She had a promising career ahead of her, even had a fiance who was an RoK Marine assigned to the Flotilla as a liason. Then it all fell apart in a manner of weeks. Her fiance was struck and killed by a drunk driver, at first. Then she was discharged from the Navy due to what she has described only as "office politics". The final straw was her father dying in yet another North Korean artillery barrage, just a week after her discharge from the Navy. Furious at the world, and the Norks most of all, she joined Cobra, where her talents had her assigned to the Hydro-Viper program. Hobbies: Rowing, Wrestling, Chess, Starcraft, and Fishkeeping.

MORAY LEADER:

Name: Secondina Vespa Codename: Lemure DoB: December 12th, 1982 Former Affiliation: COMSUBIN Operational Raider Group Orientation: Bisexual Bio: Growing up in Sicily, Vespa learned to take crap from nobody, and that above all else, family came first. Unfortunately for her, this proved to be a dangerous combo when, years into her naval career, her brother was revealed to be a member of the infamous Motsi Mafia Clan. This naturally sank her career faster then a crash diving submarine, but thanks to her brother's career, some doors were opened up for her. Turns out the Mafia saw some benefit in a diver who was combat trained and would have no qualms helping to smuggle cargo or loot shipwrecks. Though after awhile, her brother vanished. Well, to be fair, depending on who you asked, he said he was going off to the cafe with some friends, and would be right back, or said something like "I gotta get out of town, they're after me man". Shockingly, without a brother who was a Capo, people who are openly bisexual don't tend to last long in the Mafia. That said, she wasn't stupid enough to be unprepared this time around, and on her way to the local airport, swung by the local Carabinieri ROS office to drop off a thick file of evidence for their perusal. Her bridges by now more then thoroughly torched, she fled to the Florida Keys, doing mercenary diving work for local OC. This came to the attention of a Cobra headhunter, who also saw that she had no quarrels with body alteration, or at least didn't totally read that employment contract well enough, and she was slated for the Moray program in no time at all. Hobbies: Wine tasting, Audiophile, Magnet Fishing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

HYDRO-VIPER Leader:

Name: Brad Thor Codename: Leviathan DoB: August 21, 1969 Former Affiliation: USMC Force Recon Orientation: Het, married to a Nitro-Viper. Bio: Once a Marine Force Recon captain, Thor ran into hard financial times. Desperate to earn money to pay off some debts, he made a deal with Destro. Unfortunately, Destro didn't show, but rather a NCIS team, who arrested him. While enroute to his new prison, he reached out to Cobra, and requested a job. This was granted, and before long, he was assigned into the Hydro-Viper program. Of course, he requested it on the grounds of it being the one he was least likely to interact with Destro with, and also suited his talents the best. As luck would have it, he even met his future wife while in the basic Viper program's bootcamp. Of course, she was a Nitro-Viper, so it turned out great for all involved. His loyalty was cemented, and she got a loving husband to help get her over the last husband's untimely demise at the hands of faulty Destro merchandise. Hobbies: Fantasy Basketball, Glass Sculpting, Poetry, and Drama.

[evangelinemercy]

Soul on Your Sleeve ‘verse: A Starter’s Guide

Genre: LGBTQ Comedic Fantasy. 

Tags I use for it (or will): SOYS, Suzy Sells Seashores, Silk Roses SOYS, Widows Kiss SOYS

Tag List (ask if you wanna be on it!): @kainablue

What’s So Special About It?

The visibility of (what is probably) souls, commonly referred to as a ‘spark’ in universe. Everyone has a unique way of conceptualizing what others’ sparks look like (usually around one theme), and so using the word ‘spark’ and adjectives like ‘dim’ or ‘bright’ help keep interactions from becoming confusing.

The other thing that’s significant about SoYS verse is that magic and inhuman creatures are all very common! Magic takes the place for a lot of what we would use electricity or mechanical solutions for, like the plumbing. Everyone with a spark can do magic, but they usually specialize, and it’s something you have to be careful with. Magic draws on your spark, and using too much of it can kill you - and, some even believe, destroy your chance at an afterlife or reincarnation.

Major inspirations: 

Terry Pratchett, Which Witch?, The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool, any writer who ever thought ‘that would be funny’ and then immediately followed it up with ‘but wouldn’t it be even funnier if I made it logical?’ 

What stories exist for this universe?

A lot of in progress ones! The original plan was to write a series of short stories for each of the OC’s/group of OC’s, and they will eventually all join the righteous army of a Princess (unnamed) who befriended the dragon guarding her tower and is going to conquer the 10 Kingdoms one at a time until no one can ever put her in a tower again. I mean, I say righteous army, but it’s a bit more of a spiteful morally-confused bandit group comprised of variously suffering people lacking direction in their lives. The Princess really was just the first person to give it to them.

Here’s the short pitches for the 3 more fleshed out WIPs:

- Silk Roses. Princess Rose has a secret and an affliction that could topple her entire government. Comet has a secret and an affliction that’s already killed her sister, who was supposed to make Princess Rose’s wedding dress. During the traditional year of seclusion prior to a royal marriage Comet is a frequent visitor, and Rose finds herself feeling doubt for the first time about her place in the world. 

- Suzy Sells Seashores. Suzy the Selkie used to sell seashells she found on the seashore. It was a way to make a living, after the human who dragged her from the sea died without revealing where he’d hidden her skin. When an evil wizard adopts her life story in his horrifying ‘tongue twister’ curse, she loses even that. Out of options and friends, she makes an impulsive bargain with a sea witch. Now she just has to get an infamously hardhearted royal to propose to her, and she’ll have a brand new skin better than the last. What part could possibly be a trick?

- Widow’s Kiss. When a wizard proposes and the Princess rejects him on the grounds that he is NOT her true love and is in fact a man she’s never met yelling marriage proposals outside her window, he curses her so that any but her ~true love~ will die a painful death upon kissing her. The Queen, finding her daughter cursed and with a dead wizard at her feet, decides that there’s nothing for it but to put her in a tower guarded by a dragon until the curse is broken. As the years pass, at least the dragon is surprisingly good company...

[hakuryuu]

1, 6 (abt torredaga maybe?? i always see u tag it and wonder!!!), 19 aaaand 31 !!!

1. Tell us 3 useless facts about your favourite OC!: I CANNOT POSSIBLY PICK A FAVORITE OC I AHVE…..SO MANY but i’ve been thinking abt dorado a lot recently while i try to assemble her story so!

1) loves to be up high

2) has a little pipe that doubles as a measuring spoon for one of the chemicals that runs her plane, the pipe is an old one that was a gift

3) knows how to sail!

6. Tell us about a setting/world you’ve created!: torredaga is the world that me and my friends are (were??) playing a tabletop rpg in!! i say “were” because we technically just finished the whole campaign but we may go back someday, AND i can talk about it for this question anyway cause we built the world together!! torredaga is actually the name of a tiered city built into the side of a cliff and its where a lot of the game takes place, other notable locations are the empire and its capitol helios (which the god ilios founded near the end of his life after searching for a cure to the rat plague), the pelisian islands (which the goddess reylith became the goddess of after landing there on her search for the cure and starting a relationship with a local selkie who was ruling the main island), and erdash’s stronghold (which the deity erdash founded on their quest for a cure and where most of the dwarves live/come from/have relatives)(it also has very stringent anti-rat-plague measures so theyve never had an infection i think). in this world most if not all dwarf names start with ‘er’ to honor ‘erdash’, so there’s erdan, ermax, ermia, erlaz, etc. magic in this world is done through ghosts and crystals (which have ghosts in them): to do magic, you draw a circle. the type and design of the circle varies depending on what you want your magic to do. the concept is kind of a mix between fma alchemy circles and the magic system in the bartimaeus trilogy. my character, noonday, does a lot of experimenting with magic, so she’s invented ghost mics, which are little earpieces that use the power of a ghost to be essentially the same as walkie-talkies, teacups with circles in the rim that when broken will explode or will trap someone briefly, etc etc! in this world is also The Vanta, or (as our KidZ named her) “vanessa”, who was an elf that was left behind when the elves left torredaga to keep an eye on the four remaining elves who DIDNT leave (who became the four gods). she got stuck in a knife at some point but also founded a weird underground refugee city of children (called neverland) where if you drink the water you become a furry and have to join the army. theres SO much in torredaga i love the world i could talk about it for HOURS ask me more questions about torredaga

19. What are some of the coolest or most interesting (to you!) hobbies/pastimes your OCs have?: OK HONESTLY noonday’s hobby of being a, like, magic scientist, or just like constantly fucking around with new ideas of what to do with magic and coming up with a ton of weird and useful shit along the way, is SO fun and cool and interesting to me, i love it, it was one of my favorite parts of playing her. also my oc sonia from this too shall pass (that was my….2013 nanowrimo) makes rings and i think thats dope as fuck

31. On a scale of one (tucks them in softly and lets them Rest) to ten (murders their whole family before their eyes) how bad do you treat your OCs?:

SGJGDKSLNFDNGJFN I TEND TO……….ive become nicer to my characters in recent years which is probably like a positive expression of my internal state, or something? MY HISTORY OF KILLING CHARACTERS IS STORIED, i killed half the entire cast in the first chapter of my 2015 nano and then worked backwards through their timeline while their reincarnated counterparts worked forwards chronologically which in hindsight was a super cool way to write a story i wish bitter order hadnt been so absolutely horrible in every other conceivable way….i was gonna say that at least one main character in all of my nanos 2010-2015 dies BUT in nano 2012 TECHNICALLY none of the main characters died and the main character turnadot was only transported to the realm of the gods to spend a lonely immortal life maintaining its borders to protect the fabric of the mortal world SO. but as far as meanness goes i like happy endings so i tend to put my characters through a lot of like…..emotional and mental turmoil in the form of like dangerous quests or interpersonal conflict or internal conflict, and then try to resolve it in a fun and satisfying way SO OVERALL I WOULD RATE MYSELF AT A MAYBE 6 OR 7

[kitsuneiisms]

No Cure for Fools [Selkie/Lucina]

“Two for one sale!”

“Spectacular prices, today only!”

“You won’t find these deals anywhere else!”

Bustling more than usual, the town market was full of vendors announcing their various deals and sales. With new shipments coming in, many stores had no space for their new merchandise, and so resorted to clearing out their inventory by any means necessary - much to the appreciation of students and townsfolk alike. However, as with any sale, not all the merchandise is quite so... worthwhile. 

Unless you had a very good eye - like one particular kitsune. 

“Woah, this is like, 90% off! How can anyone turn down a deal like this?”

Selkie wasn’t even quite sure what she was buying - it looked like some kind of wood carving, strange faces aligning the sides and a hole in the top to put something inside. To many, the piece was unnerving to say the least - but to Selkie, it was another treasured find, a souvenir she could send home. 

Gold traded hands before Selkie could even finish contemplating what it did. As she trotted off, the merchant felt only fair to try to holler after her, despite how ecstatic he was to get rid of the damn thing - “It holds incense!” - Selkie’s attention had already been brought elsewhere, letting out a gasp as she shoved past several crowds to get to the next sale that piqued her interest. 

“Woah, 95% off these outfits? I’m sure I can find something in here I’d wear, right?”

The vendor could only smile nervously, eyes shifting between the merchandise - if it could even be called that - to the strange customer standing before her. Selkie didn’t seem to notice, or care, merely flipping through the clothing to decide if anything was her style. 

“Hmm...do you have anything else? This stuff’s good and all, but It’s not me, ya know -”

Suddenly the kitsune stopped dead in her tracks, eyes caught on something past the merchant. Without waiting for a response, she pushed past the crowd, reaching a display off to the side. Stars glittered in her eyes as she beheld the top on display - a faux fur coat, with red and black diagonal stripes. Wait - it was... was it also a dress? As Selkie grasped the sides of the coat, from the bottom up - yes, of course! Once zipped up, the piece became a dress, fur lining around the wearer’s neck. 

“My god...”

“Yes yes, it was... a mixed up order. For obvious reasons, no one wanted to pick it up when it was delivered - I just want to get rid of-”

“It’s perfect!” 

If Selkie hadn’t exclaimed her love towards the clothing, the shock overcoming the merchant would have warranted a healer. However, they still managed to hold out a hand, Selkie trading the meager amount of gold requested for ownership of such a perfect piece. It was just so... her, after all!

However, as she turned around, Selkie noticed that someone else was eyeing her prize, feeling the coat-dress-jacket-something up - and Selkie quickly stomped over, grasping the other side firmly in one hand.

“Hey! Sorry, but I already got this one. Better luck...next...”

Voice trailed off - blue hair, that outfit, that sword at the girl’s hip... Selkie was suddenly reminded of a certain warrior from another realm, one that joined the army so long ago, after a fight to prove their worth. Would that she could remember her clearly, but this girl certainly reminded her.

“Hey... aren’t you, like... a student? Have I seen you before?”

@exalteye