#(that is not to say I mind being tagged in those WIP ask games! I am flattered to be thought of for those!)

[a-lonely-dunedain]

must a fic "have plot progression" and "a pont"? is it not enough to simply have two guys talk about their feelings alongside a narrator prone to rambling for *checks notes* 6 pages and counting?

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

Hi, for the wip ask game, bff Soap Hurt Comfort? :') please and thank you!

for the wip ask game--lighter, sweeter bff!Soap. you're meeting him at the airport. he's coming home after being MIA. scared you to death.

this one is short, so here it is edited + posted in full. for the hurt/comfort girlies :)

600 words / 23

…

“Thought you couldna live without me, eh?”

You tackle Soap in a hug, tactical gear and all. "Shut up. Shut up. God, you're alive."

He laughs and returns the embrace. "Too stubborn to die. I thought I told you not to worry about me."

You grip the straps on the back of his vest and keep your face in his chest to hide the tears threatening to track down your cheeks. "You can't just say that and go MIA. They talked about putting your name on a memorial and everything."

"You know me. Always gotta do things my way."

"Your way is stupid."

He chuckles and rubs your back. "Yeah, I'm stupid. I've missed you, though. I haven't stopped thinkin' bout you."

"Really? Cause I..." The dam breaks. You can't stop the flood of hot, angry tears. "I missed you too." Then you start sobbing. God, it's embarrassing. But you refuse to let go of him.

He strokes your hair. "Hen, don't cry. Please. I'm here and I'm not goin' anywhere. I'm your man, aye?"

You shake your head, stubbornly refusing to move.

He rests his cheek on you. "I don't want you to be sad. I'll make it up to you, I promise. I love you."

Hearing him say that just makes your heart skip before the tears come out faster. You love him, too, more than a friend should. How could anyone not fall in love with him? He's Johnny. It's just that you were always too chickenshit to tell him. You thought you lost your chance.

"Come on, look at me."

"No," you mutter, refusing to unbury your face from his shirt. Scared to, maybe. "I don't want you to make it up to me. I want to stay here."

"That's no problem. We can stay here for however long. I just need to know you're not upset at me. I can't stand seein' you sad. Makes me sad."

You sniff. "You deserve it."

"Aye, I do. But what can I do to cheer you up'?"

"Nothing," you mumble into his chest. "I've been crying for two weeks because of you."

You try to collect yourself anyway, wiping your eyes with your sleeve. His squadmates stand a little ways away from the terminal, looking curious at this scene you're causing. This isn't exactly how you wanted to meet them. You're supposed to be Johnny's cool best friend, not a weepy mess.

Johnny recaptures your attention, wiping away a stray tear track with his thumb. "You've been cryin' about me?"

You shove him, but it's light and there's no anger in it. "Of course I have, asshole, you're my best friend. They said you were MIA. Why wouldn't I cry?"

He grins. "But I'm here now, though. Could use a wee bit of comforting myself. You mind?"

You sniff, nodding as you press your sleeves into your eyes one more time to dry them. He's right. He's the one who's been away from home for a month. Probably endured some draconian shit, missing for two weeks and all. But the way he's looking at you through those blue eyes of his... it's not fair how easy it is to fall under his spell again.

"Yeah. I guess. What do you want? More fawning and crying?"

He laughs softly and pulls you into another tight hug. He presses a kiss to your temple, and you have to act like it doesn't make your heart explode into tiny pieces. He rests his chin on the top of your head, content to keep you here, totally enveloped in his frame. "Mm, that'll do. Just to start."

...

wip ask game / more Soap / masterlist tag

[moonmanatee]

this was one of those years that felt like it didn’t happen at all. where every time i did the whole so-what-are-your-updates thing with a friend i found myself saying “yeah nothing’s really going on except these four huge things” - change and turmoil just far enough out from my center that i’m standing in the still eye and everything else is whirling around me in a blur.

this year has been about resilience and accountability, about refining rituals and systems, digging deeper, grief and release and steadiness and loneliness, skill-building and recognizing what i can already do. working hard to reach out for connection in new social spaces; be honest be generous be earnest be kind, put the mask down and let them see. a lot of supporting others and feeling like i have to support myself all alone until i open my eyes and see who’s right there with me. and often, also, being alone in it.

i’m proud of myself for writing two tiny fics, both of which poured out in a frenzy of sprints in just about one evening, and slowly etched away at many languishing wips. i didn’t know i could do that, so wow.

but this year did happen: i read dozens of novels, cooked and baked many new and favorite recipes, hiked new trails and swam at old beaches, listened to not enough music and read not enough fics, cried melted shouted in the comments section and dms, chatted and connected with so many wonderful people, watched the weather change outside my window, rocked many a kiddo to sleep, learned more and more about myself.

for the new year i���d really like to remember more about 2024, look at it so i can go whoa yeah, i did that. so! if you’d like to, send me a word/phrase, an ingredient, a color, a date of the year, a genre, a prompt, an ao3 tag, a thought, an anything, and i will find and share something from my year that comes to mind. might be a pic, a song, a memory, a book rec, a piece of a wip, who knows.

thanks for being here with me.

💌 leo

thank you @getawayfox for the tag!! if any friends would like to do a year-in-reflection grab bag ask game too, please tag me so i can send you things. consider this an open tag! you!! and i’ll tag @apricitydays-lazynights @basicallyahedgehog @beloved-child-of-the-house @epitomereally @lqtraintracks @saintgarbanzo @starquestingfordrarry @thehoneybeet @uncannycerulean @xalandrix to tell me about your years, if you want.

[lambourngb]

good fences make good neighbors

Commiseration Tuesday

With AO3 temporarily down, lots of us are sad at not being able to read when we wanted to! With that in mind, I’m taking the opportunity to invite you guys to share a little something from a WIP to keep us going through the downtime! Preferably something we haven’t shared before, but whatever works for you! Tagged by @ravens-words​ - thank you! I am working on an exchange fic, so I can’t share that, but I can share a WIP that I had before then...

ICEMAV - Set just after 1986 - based on a prompt where Mav and Ice are roommates and they have noisy neighbors. mentions of period-typical homophobia, and some misunderstandings ....

4400 words currently, but unfinished.

***

It was the third time that week.

Maverick stared sightless up at the plain white ceiling, tracing the cracks in the plaster while he listened to his next-door neighbors, Wolf and Hollywood, do their best to medal in the sex noise Olympics. It would be one thing if they decided to do this during the early evening hours when Mav could raise the volume on the ball game enough to drown out the moans and rhythmic thumping, but apparently, no one had any excess energy *right* after a work day. Instead, the second wind came at 2 am.

Again, the third time in the week, and it was only Tuesday. Christ.

Mav swung his legs out of bed, abandoning his attempts at sleep. Tomorrow's seminar on flight instructor certification was going to be rough, but judging from his recent experience, and god did he hate that he had this knowledge, the next-door noise had only just gotten started. It would be at least an hour before things quieted down again.

He met his own roommate in the dimly lit kitchen. Ice's face was flat with annoyance.

"Woke you up too?" Mav asked stupidly because, of course, it did. Ice was completely by the book and subscribed to the minimum of eight hours of sleep during the week; only the noise of Hollywood and Wolf would have had him in the kitchen nursing a warm bottle of Budweiser.

"I bet if I reported them to the brass, it would stop," Ice muttered darkly before pushing a chair open for Mav with his foot and nodding toward the open six-pack on the table.

"Well, just means they would be annoying their fellow prison cellmates with this instead of us." Mav traded a tired smile with Ice, both of them secure in the knowledge that reporting Hollywood and Wolf was completely out of the question. A few sleepless nights was a small price to pay for them, a momentary annoyance; a complaint about the two pilots breaking the UCMJ with each other would have them both dishonorably discharged and likely imprisoned. In fact, because it *was* Mav and Ice sharing a wall in their base housing duplex was probably the only reason the couple felt safe enough to make any noise in the first place.

Still. It was one thing that their friends had a feeling of safety knowing they would never be turned in, it was becoming clear there was also ... a level of shamelessness going on next door.

Mav knuckled the gritty feeling of fatigue out of his eyes, "What I don't understand is ... how do they even have the energy? We're logging four hours in the cockpit and six in the classroom during this new certification session, and I think Jester has become even more sadistic in his teaching since we graduated from Top Gun. I can barely make it through the evening news at the end of the day, let alone want to do..."

He paused, and then they both heard the enthusiastic beat of a bed frame from next door, and the loud tempo of 'Oh god, oh fuck' soundtrack. "That."

"Are you admitting to a lack of stamina, Mitchell?" Ice smirked, his usual cool expression curving into an even more familiar expression of mocking Mav. At least now, there was only humor in Ice's blue eyes instead of the dislike from when they first met.

"What?! No, there's nothing wrong with my stamina; I have zero complaints about that. I'm just saying... those idiots have been together for years, how are they still... like that?"

This time Ice looked away, taking a long slow draw from his beer. The oven light and microwave clock hid most of the details, but Mav knew him pretty well now, he could sense the discomfort in the question. "I wouldn't know. My longest relationship lasted through the holiday break during the Academy."

"Are we talking two days of Christmas or the eight nights of Hanukkah?"

"The former...and believe me, my mother despairs of me."

Mav laughed and held out his beer to clink against Ice's in solidarity over their sad love lives. "Well, you beat me. My streak is six weeks, give or take." 

He wasn't even sure if he could count the time between Hop 31 and getting cleared to fly again as time spent with Charlie, most of that was a blank in his memory of grief and intense accident investigation prep work. Top Gun was an 8-week combat school session, in between finally scoring a date with Charlie and getting dumped for the Washington job two weeks after the Layton rescue, six weeks was probably generous. Maybe he should count Penny instead, add up his assorted weekends with her after meeting her in flight school when her father was overseeing Pensacola. Four years, six weekends.

"I always beat you," Ice reminded him, annoying as always in his precision, with the memory of last year between them. 

Mav had no idea where the Top Gun trophy was, only that he was a little surprised that it wasn’t displayed prominently in their quarters, especially after Ice had found out who his roommate was at the beginning of the session. 

Actually a lot of Mav’s presumptions about Ice and what he would be like to live with had not come true. Neatness was a rule, but there were no white glove inspections of Mav’s room and only the drollest reminder to throw out the carryout containers after a few days, and they both agreed to keep the women at the O-Club. After all, the curriculum to qualify as a Top Gun instructor was difficult enough, without complicating it with a clingy boat chaser or pilot groupie that stalked the bars around Miramar. As it turned out, as straight-laced as Ice was in his job, he was surprisingly relaxed about the apartment. Mav had even expected some sort of judgment from Ice about his sparse civilian wardrobe or his cheap generic toiletries from the exchange, but there was nothing. 

Other than the old joke about who was the better pilot, Ice was a generous and easy-going roommate. Most of the time he put up a token protest about Ice’s winning streak (1 out 1 in competitions) but he was too tired to argue tonight. 

Instead, he flashed a smile at Ice, letting his shit-eating grin say everything for him. Ice rolled his eyes in turn, but maybe he was tired too, allowing the subject to drop without a further jibe.

The thumps and sounds were slowly winding down, and Maverick picked up their empty bottles to take to the trash. He yawned, and gestured to the side where Wolf and Hollywood were staying, “I do appreciate that they feel safe here, what I don’t appreciate is the timing of it. I almost yawned in Viper’s face during the flight log review today because of them.”

Ice’s eyes crinkled at the admission, but he was kind enough not to laugh at least. He put the rest of the six pack back in the fridge and then wiped the table down with a papertowel, leaving the kitchen pristine again. “I agree. Their timing could be better, or at least quieter, and I guess I’m only a little jealous of them.”

“Why, because they’re getting laid?”

“No,” Ice drawled, without an eyeroll this time, “because they found each other. I might not have had a long-term relationship before, but I’m not opposed to the idea. Wood and Wolf, while I know they have to hide their relationship, at least they can talk about their jobs without boring the other person, or worse, spending the evening explaining acronyms. That kinda sounds nice to me.”

Then it had to be a trick of shadow, or the thin draperies by the window, but Mav suddenly had the impression that Ice was *blushing* after that confession. His mind spun over the possibilities, was that something that his wingman was interested in, and with whom, only a few people could possibly check that narrow set of boxes. Certainly not any of the women at the O-Club, unless Ice had his eye on someone Mav didn’t know. Pensacola had been graduating women for at least ten years, though not many in fixed-wing operations. He shook his head, deciding that he must have imagined that. Iceman was way too controlled to blush. 

He realized he was staring just then, and was standing too close to Ice in the dimly lit kitchen. Rushing to cover for his shameful preoccupation, Mav rubbed the back of his head and scoffed. “Yeah, sure it sounds nice, but I can’t really imagine it being realistic. At least not for me.” 

Ice said nothing in response, not even to make fun of Mav, he just brushed past him to leave the kitchen. The quiet in their apartment had been restored, it was time to attempt sleep again. 

As Mav waited to fall back asleep he realized that another presumption that he had about Ice had fallen completely flat. Ice might have been robotic in his flying at time, but the man was also a secret romantic. 

*

Two nights later it happened again. The thin walls transcribe nearly every movement and every breathless gasp from Wolfman and Hollywood.

Mav sat up in bed with a loud groan of annoyance as the ‘Oh oh, yes!’ chorus started up again. His textbook that he had fallen asleep reading slipped off his lap onto the floor with a loud thump, and then he crashed into his nightstand after overbalancing in his attempt to reach it. The nightstand hit the wall, and Mav yelped loudly in pain.

There was a pause and a giggle from the shared wall and then a loud shushing noise.

He rubbed his elbow, retrieving the textbook from the floor. Thank god blessed silence, Mav thought as the quiet extended past a few minutes, before pushing up from the floor to crawl back in bed.

Except the respite was brief, and the rocking movements of the headboard.

Mav groaned again, even more annoyed by them now. 

There was another spell of quiet, and suddenly, he realized what was going on. Wolf and Wood were listening to him. “Oh you fucking pervs,” Mav whispered to himself, and then shrugged. Maybe it was time for them to get a taste of their own medicine. He got on his knees and grabbed the plain headboard with one hand, then started to rock his hips in motion until the mattress squeaked in time with his efforts.

Boom, boom, boom, he knocked the headboard into the wall, while the mattress made obliging sounds with it. Mav pinched his thumb between the wall and the bed, pulling a loud cry of pain from his lips. Despite the circumstances that gave him an idea, it was the sound that was missing from his production. He moaned and cried loudly, until his muscles started to burn with the exertion.

Had it been long enough? How long did he have to do this? He didn’t want to be teased for being an early finisher if he quit too early-

Out of caution, Mav gave a few more minutes of his best performance without laughing, then he let out a satisfied whimper for his audience. 

It was silent next door. Maybe they were both voyeurs and got off to the noise and idea of someone else getting laid. Whatever the reason, Mav laid flat on his bed and fell asleep quickly in the renewed quiet. His last thought was smug, he had silenced the neighbors in half of the time and all it cost him was a bruised thumb.

* 

The next day was strange. It was Friday, and Mav woke up with a smile on his face. The class had an early morning test before they were all dismissed for the weekend, practically a three day holiday. He had studied the night before thoroughly and felt prepared, his sleep had only been disturbed briefly thanks to his ingenuity, and the weather was beautiful, perfect for an afternoon at the beach. Everything was coming up aces for him.

Except for one thing. Well, one person. Ice.

Never a chatty person in the morning without caffeine, Ice was downright monosyllabic on Friday. He nodded to Mav in the kitchen, taking his coffee back to his room with a brief return of Mav’s greeting of ‘Good morning’ and then he left for class before Mav was dressed from his shower, instead of sharing the walk to the hanger with him. 

Hollywood and Wolf on the other hand were all smiles and jokes that morning, elbowing each other and laughing whenever Mav came near them. He had chocked their behavior up to being a pair of immature pervs, even if they were madly in love with each other, and he had dismissed it completely. 

Ice’s behavior was a little harder to puzzle out.

His uniform was perfectly pressed, and his gold pen was still in his hand while they waited for the test to be passed out to the class. No sign of the lazy, hypnotic twirl that Ice was prone to do. It was as if every inch of him was locked down and under complete control. A complete 1-180 from how they first encountered each other. It was then that Mav realized that the pen-flipping and gum chewing were all signs of Ice being comfortable and at ease with his environment, and why wouldn’t he had been during TOPGUN, his skills had him in first place on day one, and everyone else had to play catch up, Mav included. Not today. A statue had more warmth and movement than Ice did. Mav tried to catch his eye from across the room, but Ice seemed to be deeply interested in front of the classroom and never acknowledged Mav.

That was also new.

“This might be a short day, gentlemen, but this test will determine whether you have the proficiency to teach the theories of aerial combat to incoming Top Gun classes. I hope you all studied hard,” Jester said from the podium with the tests in hand.

Hollywood smothered a laugh after Wolfman kicked the back of his chair.

“Something to add, Lt. Neven?” 

“No sir, we all studied hard. Some of us went at it a little harder than others last night,” Hollywood answered, almost respectfully. Mav noticed that Ice’s shoulders seemed to tighten and a red flush was spreading over Ice’s ear as he stared straight ahead completely stone-faced. The rest of the room was used to Hollywood running his mouth, nearly everyone rolled their eyes at the innuendo.

Mav had the strange feeling that he was missing something. Ice’s knuckles were white where he clutched his pen when just the other day that type of remark would have had him trading long-suffering looks with Mav. They knew better than anyone what Hollywood was referring to as the unlucky neighbors. However his musings were cut off by the appearance of the test. There would be time to figure out his wingman later, Mav reasoned, first he needed to make sure he didn’t wash out of the training program because of a stupid written exam.

The previous hard work the night before in studying was at least well rewarded. He confidently wrote in the answers to the open-ended questions and circled the appropriate bubbles during the multiple choice sections, hardly needing to pause to remember the correct information. Mav had to hide a smile as he reached the end of the exam, and noticed that Viper had updated the scenario with the MiG and inverted tanks. Finishing the test with a flourish, Mav stood at almost the same time as Ice did, both of them were the first to turn in their exams. 

He rushed to the front of the classroom, mostly with grace and slapped down his test in front of Jester with a smug celebration for being the first. Jester raised his eyebrows at the display, and placed the completed test to the side with an exaggerated gesture of patience. Mav turned his head to see if Ice was bothered by finishing second, only to watch him walk slowly and unhurriedly to the front, seemingly without a care. 

Like Mav was the only one who was competing. Like Mav wasn’t even worth competing with.

He was definitely missing *something* when it came to Ice. Well, as a pilot, Mav was well-trained in the dogged-pursuit of a bogie; putting his wingman in his sights was easy. Target acquired time to move in for the easy kill.

Or at least it should have been easy. Mav waited just outside of the classroom doors for Ice. 

Ice took one step out of the hanger, then caught sight of him, he then made a text-book perfect dress-right move away from him in an obvious attempt at avoidance. Ice must have been in charge of drill formations for his brigade at the academy, Mav mused to himself before jogging to catch up to match Ice’s long strides down toward the housing block. Something was definitely up with him.

Deciding to start with the obvious, Mav fell breathlessly in step with him, “Hey, so how do you think you did on the test? Not as bad as we thought, right?”

“Fine,” Ice gritted out without looking over at him.

“Just fine? I think I aced it,” Mav continued, undeterred by the short response. “Did you see the question about the inverted tanks? I feel like perhaps my name should have been cited as a resource there, since it was my intel from the Enterprise-”  he paused to see if Ice reacted to that, and was met with a clenched jaw but nothing else. “I guess we will find out on Monday if they wash any of us out for being too stupid to teach here. It’s not like the ASVAB where you get thirty points for spelling your name right, although yours was probably a challenge, Kazansky.”

“Right.”

There was no way that Ice was worried about failing out of the program, Mav thought, but maybe he was wrong about that. It was barely ten am, and there was almost three days before the results would be ready, maybe what Ice needed was a distraction. 

“Listen, it’s early enough, why don’t we hit the beach, scout out the best location before the rest of our class finishes up. Maybe it’s time for another rematch in volleyball,-”

“No, thank you,” Ice replied firmly.

The response was polite on the surface, but completely cold. Mav blinked, and realized that they were back at their shared quarters. Instead of moving toward his bedroom to remove his uniform for the long weekend, Ice was packing a slim carrying case with his textbooks and notes. His movements were smooth and unhurried under Mav’s stare, as if Mav wasn’t even there in the room with him.

He had tried subtle, but that had rarely worked for him, so Mav got straight to the point. “Is something wrong?” 

Ice didn’t pause after zipping the case up, even though his hands flexed on the supple leather. “No, nothing is wrong.”

“Are you sure? Because if I pissed you off, it wasn’t deliberate-”

Ice straightened, holding the case in his right hand. He was still the consummate officer, his left hand was free to salute, as he flicked his gaze over to Maverick for the first time all day. Up and down, without a hint of his thoughts on his face as Mav shifted anxiously under it. Whatever he saw on Mav, it must not have been interesting as he executed another precise pivot away from Mav. “You didn’t, I just don't have time for you right now, Mitchell.”

Dismissed. 

Mav thought about what Goose had said during that first night at the O-Club about Ice, “he wears you down, you get bored, frustrated, do something stupid and he's got ya-” somehow without Mav becoming aware of it, Ice had gotten lock on him and had fired, echoing the words of disinterested foster parents and bored peers who hadn’t cared to hear his teenage-mouth runoff about planes and the Navy in that dead end town.

Ice had his back to him thankfully for Mav’s ego, he was too intent on leaving the small duplex and missed the devastation left in his wake, calling out a belated, “Later, Mitchell,” over his shoulder. 

Still precise and polite, even after leaving a knife inside Mav. 

*

Time played games with Mav after that, slipping away in hours before lingering painfully over the last few minutes with Ice. He was somewhat aware of movement outside the door, a knock and call from Wolfman, some offer about the beach, but it felt unimportant to Mav. One thing was clear, he had not imagined the tension in Ice that morning and then the sudden dismissal after the test solidified that into fact. 

He had done something wrong, something that had killed the blossoming friendship between them after the Layton rescue. He had no idea what it could be, but he was a little too familiar with this type of confusion after having experienced it before as a kid. He remembered how it went back then, foster parents that were excited to welcome a son into their family, with wide smiles and effusive hugs always seemed to slip into cold, disapproving strangers because of something Mav had done.

There was even a particular look they would get after making the decision to return him to foster care, but before the social worker could find the next placement. With the brief return of the wide empty smiles, everyone would act nice, but behind it was the peace of knowing it would be just temporary and he would soon be someone else’s problem. 

Ice had found his limit with him; apparently, he was now cooly polite to Mav and obviously avoiding him. Maybe he had reached his own decision about Mav, there was no social worker for Ice to call to pick Mav up, but there were transfer orders and reassignments instead. 

He’s waiting to finish the teaching certification and then he’ll be headed back to sea, away from Miramar, Mav realized dully. They would finish the program qualified to be instructors, but not together. Somewhere along the line after Ice had signed up for the class with him, he had pictured sharing an office with him at Top Gun, taking up new pilots and bickering over paperwork, turning that bond they had from the Indian Ocean into something… more. 

Mav had never felt more stupid in his life, he suddenly understood why his stomach had clenched when Ice had confessed being a little jealous of Hollywood and Wolfman having found each other. “I might not have had a long-term relationship before, but I’m not opposed to the idea.” He was jealous, because he now realized that he wanted that too, with Ice. 

He swallowed the sour taste in his mouth and stood up from their couch, suddenly aware that hours had passed and he had done nothing to fix whatever he had done to piss Ice off. The key to convincing someone to keep him around had always revolved around being useful to them. He had learned early on that certain home placements had lasted longer when he accepted the bulk of household chores, then later on, he had ensnared Nick Bradshaw’s lifelong friendship when he had volunteered for newborn diaper duty with baby Bradley. Hell, even Charlie had hung around for his knowledge of the MiG, which was all very useful to her career prospects in Washington. 

Now how could he be useful to Ice, and make up for whatever he did to alienate the other man?

The quarters they shared were still neat, as per Ice’s original request but maybe he also meant he wanted them to be clean? That he could do.

*

It was almost eleven when Mav heard the key scrape in the lock that signaled Ice’s return. 

He kept his attention on the baseball game, long since placed on mute after the sound of the announcers had started to scrape over his anxiety. Ice flipped on the lights, causing him to blink owlishly at the brightness, his eyes having long since grown used to the dim light of the television.

“Sorry,” Ice apologized, still polite and courteous. “I didn’t think you’d be back.”

Mav glanced over at him before returning his attention to the game, even though he had no idea how his team was up by four. That confirmed another suspicion, Ice had stayed away until now because he wanted to avoid him. He hated it when his suspicions were proven correct. “Never left.”

He could see out of his periphery that his admission seemed to halt Ice in his tracks to the kitchen. It was just temporary, he recovered and continued to the small alcove to retrieve a beer from the fridge after placing his leather case on the small card table that masqueraded as a kitchen table. The sounds were familiar to Mav, the hiss of the refrigerator door, the snap of the bottle cap, the careful clink of Ice throwing the cap away in the trash, instead of tossing it carelessly like the rest of their class.

It all sounded normal, except for the bounds of tension that were looped around his chest. 

A ball was hit to the outfield, and Mav watched as it arched higher and higher over the desperate reach of a desperate center fielder. He blinked, realizing belatedly that his team had allowed the opponent to tie up the game. It was the bottom of the ninth, if his team held it they would have another shot at winning, but if they slipped it was all over. That, at least, felt familiar to Mav. 

“You cleaned,” Ice said, stating the obvious with a small wrinkle of confusion on his face as he took a seat next to Mav on the couch. His blue eyes scanned the room, noting each small change, like the rug was freshly beaten, the wood floors swept, the scent of lemon oil in the air. 

Mav pulled his attention away from the game and tried to read his expression, looking for some sign of approval or disapproval. Damnit, he was twenty-five years old, and somehow he had found a time portal back to 1973, eleven years old and wondering if he had cleaned the house well enough to avoid being sent back. For the first time since Ice had brushed him off, he felt the lick of anger at himself for being this weak. 

“I did.”

[lordgrimwing]

Glorfindel’s Long Day

[for Glorfindel Week, hosted by @glorfindelweek, Day 5, and for the WIP game @thescrapwitch tagged me in]

[why is this a wip? I have a list of other things that he needs to do still but it so long and dull (as it's supposed to be) that I doubt I'll finished. This has a nice conclusion as it is now]

“I’m not sure how that rumor started, but I’ll look into it,” Glorfindel said shortly. A frown pulled at his lips. “And correct the appropriate parties.” 

“Thank you,” Elrond sifted through the disorganized piles of loose papers on his desk. The Lord of Imladris was not habitually so messy, but Galadriel’s impending visit appeared to be putting just as much strain on him as his guard captain. 

“Was there anything else, my Lord?” The golden-haired elf asked, mind already well departed from the cluttered office.

“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind,” Elrond looked up, several limp strands of hair escaping their precarious housing atop his head. “I could use—no, no,” He interrupted himself with a quick shake of his head, causing more brown hair to tumble free. “Lindir can do that. I won’t take up any more of your time. Thank you, Glorfindel.”

Finally dismissed, his body followed his thoughts back through the winding stairs of the sanctuary carved into the gorge all the way back to the guard house where several elves waited for a tongue-lashing the likes of which they’d never experienced. The problem, he thought as he walked through the stone passages, with building a serviceable guard from those primarily beget in the latter years of the second age, was that they did not have the requisite experience to understand why they should never leave a post unattended for even a minute—no matter how tempting the colorful skylights were last night.

No sooner had Glorfindel finished with the flighty, would-be guards, then a young elleth (were they not all young to him?) came with a written message from the head baker. She gave him the tightly rolled paper and, apron shedding flour onto the rug before his desk, informed him the baker directed her to not return until she had a written response.

With a mighty sigh that could no longer be called long-suffering, he opened the letter and read. 

After only a few lines, it grew quite clear that the problem of which the baker wrote should not be addressed to him but rather to Erestor or more probably Lindir as it was nothing but complaints about the new system for ordering irregularly used spices. He said as much to the apprentice baker, offering the page back to her.

She raised her hands and shook her head, saying that the baker ‘insisted she wanted an answer from Glorfindel’.

He reiterated that he had no say in anything that had to do with managing and running the House. She swore she wasn’t leaving until she had something in writing to prove she’d done exactly as directed. 

Glorfindel was many thousand years old—yes he spent a good chunk of that time as a bodiless spirit in the halls of the dead but it still counted—so he had the self control to not roll his eyes at whatever low stakes power struggle was being waged among the house staff. Taking up a small note page and his inkwell, he scrawled out a quick response, reminding the baker to use appropriate communication chains; they were, after all, set up for a reason (mostly to keep half of the staff from stepping on the toes of the other half, as elves were rather prone to do when no greater threat was around to distract them from small grievances). He ended the letter with the most serviceable of unembellished tengwar.

After a quick blotting, the elleth departed with the note, too happy to report that she completed the task set before her and exactly nothing else. 

If Glorfindel ground his teeth slightly at the preposterous nature of that entire interaction, well, it was merely an accident caused when he jerked his head up from where he rested it against the desk, suddenly realizing that it was past time for him to go up to the plateau that formed the highest border on the the secluded valley and see how the field exercise was going.  

Down to the floor of the gorge he went, then up another meandering staircase and tunnel until he reached the hidden exit onto the grasslands above.

Gwendyon met him just behind the next hill.

“Good afternoon, Captain,” the guardsman chirped brightly, popping up from the brush he'd been hidden in, telescope in one hand and notebook in the other. “How are things in the valley today?”

Glorfindel liked Gwendyon. Born late in the first age, the Sinda had enough experience and focus to keep newer guards in order, while keeping a cheery good nature—a combination that saw him regularly managing field training exercise, as Glorfindel's duties generally did not permit his leaving for extended periods except when the lord or lady of the valley, or their children, wished to travel.

“Better once I have your report,” Glorfindel said. Today, the blazing cheer was rather too bright.

Gwendyon nodded out toward the west, where the long grasses faded into rocky hills and trees, and jumped into a review of how well the teams were working together.

The taller elf nodded and asked a few clarifying questions, then directed changes for tomorrow's schedule based on how things were going so far. 

“Keep up the good work,” He said at last, ready to depart.

“One more thing,” The dark elf said quickly. He opened the leather bound notebook and withdrew a folded sheet. “It sounds rather silly,” He laughed at himself, “but I’ve written a poem for Mileidh and I was hoping I might convince you to take it to them. They should be bringing the goats back to the barns any time now.”

Glorfindel pushed a smile across his face. “Of course I can,” He said. 

He'd need to do it as soon as he returned to the valley. There were several reports waiting for him to review and sign off on in his office, as well as that tracking down the origin of those rumors for Elrond, but if he dealt with those first, he wouldn't have time to go back down to the barns before Mileidh went home.

“Thank you!” Gwendyon enthused, clasping his shoulder briefly in gratitude. 

Glorfindel left after that with a terse farewell that may have made the young ellon wonder if he'd offended him or overstepped propriety with the personal request, but the golden elf didn’t care at the moment, he just wanted to be done up here and get on to the many other things he had left to do.

[welcometololaland]

wip wednesday

y'all - i feel like i've been so fucking annoying lately but i'm here to request one thing of you - give me some juicy snippets to read because i'm finally on top of my shit. and i've always wanted to start wip wednesday (for all i know someone has already started it but don't rain on my parade! let me live in denial) and now i maybe can. This is from ALTA which is (omg) so close to being posted. 10 days. fuck. i'm not ready (i am).

“She’s really gone, isn’t she?” TK asks, his voice breaking as his head remains burrowed into Carlos’ shoulder. He’s stopped shaking now, which Carlos takes to be a good sign, but he’s cried so persistently that the whole front of Carlos’ jacket is wet. 

He pauses, leans back and cups TK’s face in his hands, using his thumbs to brush away a few errant tears. He briefly considers making a passionate speech about TK’s mother being dead but not gone – living on in his heart – but then he decides for pragmatism. He thinks TK will appreciate that more, anyway.

“Yes,” he says simply. “But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to accept.”

TK sniffs, his glazed eyes staring helplessly into Carlos’ own. “What do I do now, Carlos?”

Carlos sighs, brushing away another of TK's tears. “I’m not really sure, TK,” he admits. “But right now, I can take you home. It might be nice to cry somewhere that isn’t your high school computer lab.”

A tiny, hesitant smile appears at the corners of TK’s mouth. “I think my dad will be relieved,” he says. “He keeps asking why I haven’t cried yet, like it's some kind of crime.”

“Well, he’s definitely going to be pleased to see you,” Carlos points out, as TK nods tearfully. 

“Could you— Do you mind coming with me?” TK asks as Carlos steps back and drops his hands. “I don’t really want to be alone and my dad is driving me nuts. My other friends…they wouldn’t understand.”

“I hope they do understand, TK,” Carlos replies solemnly, collecting his books and following TK out of the darkened classroom. “I think everyone will do their best to support you.”

TK makes a non-committal sound as they walk down the empty hall – devoid of students – amplifying the sound of their sneakers on the linoleum. “Not like you,” he says, after a pause. “I know we’ve only been friends for a little bit, but you’re different.”

“Oh yeah?” Carlos asks, pushing open the front doors and following TK down the steps. “In what way?”

TK pauses, looking back up at Carlos as he descends the stairs, a pensive look on his face. “You’re good, Carlos,” he replies simply. “You’re good for me.”

Open tag for anyone to share but also some targeted attacks under the cut (with insane requests, feel free to ignore me)!!!

@theghostofashton (need some exes to lovers PLEASE), @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut (boxing AU boxing AU!), @goodways (got a tasty treat shannon?) @reyesstrand (food fic???) @strandnreyes (please don't hurt me but you can if you want) @rmd-writes (just because i love you) @heartstringsduet (FIRST AID?!) @carlos-in-glasses (what's next up CIG?) @birdclowns (your wip snippet game has me blurry eyed, i must know more) @fitzherbertssmolder (any comic progress?) @louis-ii-reyes-strand (been loving your snippets) @lilythesilly (fighter pilot AU?!) @kiloskywalker (tarlos fighter pilot AU????) @sanjuwrites (soulmates????) @three-drink-amy (teacher AU teacher AU teacher AU!!) @chicgeekgirl89 (any yachts about?) @lemonlyman-dotcom (some music fic for my ears???) @wandering-night19 (4 x 18 coda???) @thisbuildinghasfeelings (cross stitching update??!!!) @freneticfloetry (something from the soulmates timer fic???) @alrightbuckaroo (summer parisian au my beloved!!!!) @cha-melodius (you've got mail AU????) @redshirt2 (anything you would like to contribute, i'd just love you to keep feeding me!) @iboatedhere (how are those prompts???) @orchidscript (lovingly bullying you to keep writing) @marjansmarwani (i know the words are hard but also i am lovingly bullying you as well <3) @morganaspendragonss (has angst queen got anything this week?) @lightningboltreader (THAT ANGSTY ONE BED THING I AM SCARED BUT I WANT)

[panelshowsource]

masterpost update... 🥹

hi guys it's been a minute 🥹 as i mentioned, i was working on updating the masterpost this past week, moving a large bulk of content onto my panelshowsource googledrive account, because i think everything stored there will be easily accessible and safe long term :)

the masterpost is the same original link it's been since it was established over 5 years ago! always bookmark the original post, not a reblog and not this post, so you have access to the most updated version & its links!

—

i had to do some reorganising of the post because of tumblr's latest round of post restrictions:

i'm not able to provide many alternative links because i'm nearly at the link limit as it is, but i think what's provided is reliable and you can always send an ask if a link needs updating!

since i can no longer give every series its own photo header, everything is organised by bolded text and bullet points, which will look and read best on desktop opposed to mobile (mobile seems to despise indentation)

—

a few notes regarding specific titles:

i did add all of taskmaster to my drive due to overwhelming requests, but only s1–4+15 are in 1080p, so i will begin updating the 720p files to 1080p over the next couple of weeks. thanks for your patience! in the meantime, you can watch them in hd on youtube ofc! i'll also update hypothetical as i get those locked down

i...i wanna say something so honest... i really don't care about a league of their own and most of you don't seem to either. it's a huge hassle organising the episodes because — not to say this for the third time in two sentences — but most people don't care much about it and haven't made the effort to keep it archived. we haven't seen a source for a complete series 6 in, like, 8 years. i'm not going to be making an effort to log that title for the time being. sorry if that's an inconvenience, but feel free to use the resources linked in my faq for your own research!

i added all of travel man (720p) and bridget christie's the change (1080p) to the misc watch links post (link below). i'll work on finishing upstart crow and then adding the rest of as yet untitled, game face, man down, and the cleaner!

i will continue uploading as-hd-as-possible versions of cats does countdown to my youtube channel and will eventually get them all on drive, but that's a slow process; i don't spend much time on youtube because half the commenters are tossers and deleting their negativity to keep it a fun space doesn't always leave me in a good mood 😡😡😡

i know a ton of celeb juice is on youtube but i haven't gotten around to organising it into a playlist (at least), but it's on my to-do list!

—

if you want to contribute to the post, i'm currently seeking these!

ask rhod gilbert

breaking the news (mostly looking for the tv version)

the news quiz (s97–current...i might have a source but it's a slow wip...)

there's something about movies

mel giedroyc unforgivable s03

—

➭ PANEL SHOW MASTERPOST

woooooooo

➭ ADDITIONAL WATCH LINKS

more wooooooooo

—

i'm going to tentatively open my requests (for watch links & gifs) so feel free to send a polite ask for something you may be seeking. it's much easier for me to keep track of asks than dms, if you don't mind sending there :)

okay friends enjoy! ヽ(゜∇゜)ノ

—

WATCH LINKS MASTERPOST / FAQ / TAGS / ASK

[thecourtjester12]

Tis I the Jester! They/them and Ey/em + (more under cut)

This is my main blog for the DCA fandom my pseudo main for anything else (@/jestersdlc) can be found here.)

This blog is a LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse, and Systems safe space!

No bigotry, racism, sexism, ableism, TERF's, aphobia, syscourse, and anything else possibly missed. All in all be nice to each other and respect others please!

The Jester is an Atertiary (spec.) Autistic, Adult. And may not always use the /p tone tag but am ok with it being used towards me even when I don't use it.

I use the terms Friend/Familiar and moots interchangeably along with the term Dove as a platonic (or general) endearment.

PLEASE be direct with me (tone tags are helpful, but in gen just be direct about things like if you want to be/consider me a friend, if you are or aren't comfy with something, etc general rule just be direct it would be GREATLY appreciated.)

ABOUT.

I post art and writing to do with the DCA's and my own DCA Au's! Along with reblogging stuff for the DCA fandom (and occasional tag games when I get tagged on here.)

I love the DCA and the DCA fandom so I may occasionally reblog a lot but most stuff is queued! (Everyone's art and written works for canon and fanon of the DCA's is awesome!)

I have many Au's, most with outdated masterdoc's but you can find out a bit more on them from our old pinned post (Found here!) or you can send an ask about them! (Current Au focus is LSAU (The Lonely Star Au)

ASKS.

Asks are open, so feel free to send me some, I love to answer them. General rule be nice, no bigoty/hate/etc. Not fond of swearing but some is fine, just no slurs (and tone tags would be appreciated.) Nothing NSFW. Can be about au's, the DCA or anything in general as long as it's not inappropriate!

Questions are welcome.

I do make userboxes, feel free to ask about them! (Most of the one's above are made by yours truly!)

Additional links and info under the cut!

TAGS LIST.

#jesterposts - Any and all posts, general tag!

#jesterdraws - Any and all drawings, sketches, all art stuff (old tag was #jesterdoodles)

#jesterwrites - Any and all writing posts, be it wips, sneak peaks and finished works for A03 that are DCA/DCA au themed!

#jester rambles - Just random rants and tangents and whatnot that are just me rambling on whatever, anything that doesn't get tagged with the main gen tag will be tagged with this!

#jesteranswers - Ask tag!

Things will also be tagged for CW's as needed

LINKS.

A03 main.

Artfight.

ADDITIONAL INFO.

PRONOUNS!

They/them/their/themself and Ey/em/eir/eirself and none (just name or 3rd person like 'the Jester')

Xey/xem/xeir/xemself, xe/xem/xyr/xemself, andddd pink/pinks/pinkself (strictly lowercase) pronouns

I like them being used interchangeably, so go wild!

I don't mind being tagged in tag games/picrews, may take some time to answer them. But would rather generally be tagged on out Pseudo main (but it's ok if you tag this one instead! ^-^)

Please don't send me the ask chains, they get repetitive (and not in an enjoyable way.) and are distressing. (Ex. send this to X people that make you happy, say 5 things you like and send to X people keep the chain going. Those types of asks.)

Dm's are open! I don't mind them, but may take some time to answer. Just please don't be inappropriate!

I have a discord as well as a Simply Plural. You are welcome to ask for either and if we are comfortable enough with you, I will give you the information to 'friend' on them. I'm not the most chatty with people on either unless I know you really well!

[ravenmold]

WIP GAME

Hello! I was tagged very kindly by my friends @auofgoldandfantasies @42donotpanic and @inkforhumanhands

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

Okay so, I was originally gonna limit this to mattfoggy for obvious reasons (and also because there's enough of them as is) but then I thought.... where's the fun in that? So, behold, a list of wips - some years old, some barely more than a paragraph and a dream - from a mixed bag of fandoms taken straight from my poor laptop's AO3 file.

You get bonus points if you recognise the song lyrics 😂 if you include the song or reference in the hypothetical ask you'll send me, I'll add a lil doodle to my answer. I say this very seriously because I love when people listen to the same music as me 😂

eyes closed against the threat of death

all unquiet things

the future's out to get you

send me sweetly to my doom

Agent Matt (Moochy prompt 78)

on a toujours un truc à faire

semper in fide (always in faith or always loyal)

your gentle winding mind

Retired, Extremely Dangerous

Murphy's fourth law or something (Pom prompt 1)

Well, as I live and breathe

(SPACE PIRATES) those who stare at stars

just don't call me yours

Gravity's Pull

my domestic fix it

Brave au

Atlantis au

baby, bring me home to bed

sound the keening bell

Let's not be friends (stupid)

cuddled up with a heart condemned

Up For Air

mini ideas dumping ground

the trap I set for you

"Ta petite blonde sexy"

you couldn't lose if you tried

i like the way you

drew lotr travelfic convo + ideas

there's no way around it

HOMOPHOBIC MATT

look at me when you walk by (just enough to make me cry)

idk man ....... Pirate au

first of all, these look fake

Pretend

I hate it when that happens

doo wop au boii

Knock

Bagman's Gambit au

idk what to call this (yes that is its name)

taylor swift

To Be Your Home

Until You Break, Until You Yield

Time Loop

baby matt idea

read my mind, but say you didn't

it's always lose-lose

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

This feels weirdly personal lmao because there is .... So much of me inside these. I really love a song lyric huh??? 😅 I'm just not gonna think about it. None of them are on the internet because I don't post wips. Most of them probably never will be, but they were fun to dream about in their time. I also have a few wips/ideas not mentioned. Otherwise I'd be here all day and you'd be scrolling to high hell, and I don't want to be directly responsible for someone going to hell. I mean I'm not known for being succinct (case in point) but whatever.

Thank you for the tags, I really enjoyed going through my fics again lmao some of them surprised me. I have one (1) cherik fic in all of these, and I was actually so surprised to find it again and see that it has 2118 words 😂

Who will I tag??? Erm I'm trying to go for people who i haven't seen tagged in these yet, so if this is your second time .... Well, I'm not sorry did you see that three people tagged me??? Yeah. Suck it up 😂

@zekeyboy @foggynelsonsblog @missmoochy @amazing-spiderling and whoever feels like joining us!

[spaceprincessem]

wip thursday

if you see me posting this today no you don't <3 thank you for the tag yesterday @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @devirnis @steadfastsaturnsrings more from the catching fire au as i slowly chip away at it 💖

“Do you think they gave us both twelves to make sure everyone targets us?” Eddie asks at some point in the afternoon. They’re laying on a blanket, Buck’s fingers running through Eddie’s hair absentmindedly. “Probably,” Buck says with a shrug like it doesn’t matter, because, really, in the end it doesn’t, “why did you hang Claudette?” “To show them that I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” Eddie says with a grin as he looks up at Buck. A year ago Buck had said those exact words on this very roof. Eddie hadn’t understood what he meant then, so hell bent on just surviving, on making sure he was the one coming home. It wasn’t until he was burying a twelve year old boy in a garden of wildflowers that he finally realized what Buck meant.  Buck huffs a quiet laugh, no doubt remembering the same thing. “You know I’m going to try my hardest you get you home, right?” Buck says, suddenly serious and slightly pained. Eddie swallows. “I know,” he whispers. “But,” Buck continues as his hand slides from Eddie’s hair to cup his face, “if i’m being perfectly honest…” Eddie smiles sadly, placing his hand over Buck’s and says, “If you’re being perfectly honest you think President Gerrard has given direct orders to make sure we die in the arena anyway.” “It crossed my mind.” Buck says, his eyes glossing over, but no tears fall. Eddie knows for sure he isn’t leaving that arena alive, but he’s still holding out hope for Buck. Eddie was the one who pulled the berries out, not Buck. There’s never been any doubt that what Buck did for him was out of love and devotion. The worst President Gerrard can do is keep Buck alive, crushed and heartbroken, as a living warning to others. And while the thought makes Eddie’s head reel he can’t let Buck die while his own heart still beats.

just gonna tag people who've been interested in the wip!

@eddiebabygirldiaz @wildlife4life @colonoscopys @hoodie-buck @disasterbuckdiaz @buckbuckgoose @shortsighted-owl

[alrightbuckaroo]

Thanks to @jesuisici33, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @orchidscript for the tags and double thanks to @welcometololaland for the tag and thinking up this lovely little game <3

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more)

1. WIP List:

Alright, so to save you from endless scrolling, I'm just going to list those that have a semblance of a plot and some words written (because surprisingly, yes there are more):

you can't catch a sinner with a saint (old west au)

yesterday's love was a warm summer breeze (sequel to the parisian summer romance au)

lone star lately (workplace mid 2000s rom-com au)

beauty lingers out of reach (artist!carlos nude model!tk au)

everybody is somebody's fool (1940s au)

the rolling thunder of your finger tips (reporter!tk weatherman!carlos dom/sub au)

the sunshine is in your smile (alternate first meeting)

these eyes don't cry (5 + 1)

love in a hurricane (bodyguard au)

love by any other name (witness protection au [but make it funny] )

shoot a man and watch him die (on the lam au)

29 going on 30 (tk turns thirty event fic)

come and take a walk on the wild side (partly published, partly driving me bonkers)

We'll be here forever if I tell you the summary of each one, but if you want to know more, don't be afraid to ask!

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?:

come and take a walk on the wild side is currently 60k and does not show ANY sign of stopping right now.

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

I'm thinking either the Old West AU or the 1940s AU simply because I plan to do such vast world building.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

Old West AU for sure, but that's also where most of my mind has been on my upcoming WIPs. I'm going to love revisiting the "We'll Always Have Paris" verse though.

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Either the 1940s AU because it's a case fic and I'll have to put a lot of thought into that b-plot or the On the Lam AU because it's not going to be the most sanitized storytelling.

Neither Carlos nor Tk is the villain, but the world won't see it that way.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

I think it's yesterday's love was a warm summer breeze, the sequel to summer slipped us underneath her tongue.

I didn't expect so many people to be excited for the sequel, let alone love the story so much, so I'm just hoping I continue doing justice to that little world.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

I'm not sure, I think I might need a sensitivity reader for these eyes don't cry simply because I've never written a therapist before.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

come and take a walk on the wild side was on the mend for a second there, but right now the inspiration is back. TK's interlude is being written, ya'll!

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

If you've read any of my AUs you know I LOVE a good OC so this is like asking me to pick a favorite child.

Ruth Baker is an office clerk in the Old West AU who I simply just adore. I get to write things like this:

Roy chuckles and it’s both sinister and mocking. “Oh Reyes, what I actually want to say wouldn’t be polite to do so in such,” Roy’s eyes glance over at Ruth, they land on her chest for a little too long. “Feminine company.” “Eat shit, Roy.” Ruth’s cigarette doesn’t move as she says it, not once looking up from her typewriter. 

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

come and take a walk is sexy but it's not the couple you necessarily want to root for so that might be subjective. Though, I do get write fun moments like this:

“God,” Hartlock emphasizes the word, putting a mix of exasperation and desperate, wanton longing. TK’s aware of where this is going and decides to lean into it. He lowers himself on his lap, straddling him. Hartlock welcomes him, as if his lap is a spot made for TK. “You are such a handful.” He places his hands on TK’s hips, reaches under his shirt and touches his bare skin. his fingertips feeling like a sunburn. TK leans in and whispers, “I know, but that’s what you’ve got two hands for.” He presses his lips against Sam’s neck, kissing it with intent. Hartlock gives in to the moment, his hands looking to grab purchase on TK’s skin.

If we're talking strictly Tarlos sexy; toss up between the Old West AU and the Bodyguard AU (for now 🤭)

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Definitely these eyes don't cry. That said, it's almost been one of the most fun to write; so what does that really say about me 🥴

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

I write so many AUs so it's hard to say who's extremely true to the show, but maybe these eyes don't cry since it's exploring what the show has given us as Carlos?

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Old West AU most likely. That's one I'm really take my time with the world building on. By the end of you're going to be so sick of hearing about dim bar lightning, crooked streams and blood crusted eyebrows.

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

Right now, it's probably yesterday's summer love was a warm summer breeze since I made both TK and Carlos' journey in the Parisian Summer AU so detailed. Now I have to keep it going LMAO

Here's what the research folder looks like right now (and I haven't even fully started writing it yet):

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

Old West AU because I'm finally writing things I've always wanted to give myself the chance to write. Cowboys, religious imagery, a fully fleshed arc and hey, the smut is kind of just icing on the cake at this point.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

I actually just had one (as in TODAY) and I dreamed I wrote half a chapter of two of them and just POSTED THEM??

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

I'm hesitant to say other stories won't have these things going forward, come and take a walk on the wild side really does utilize the non-linear storytelling tag and the unreliable narrator tag.

You're not supposed to agree with TK often, but that's the point.

That said, I love an unreliable narrator so I can't say it won't show up again. It just doesn't show up in the other works I'm working on, right now.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Either Lone Star Lately or Beauty Lingers Out of Reach. Lone Star Lately is literally a workplace rom-com au that teeters the line of enemies to lovers it's gotta be FILLED with humor.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Owen's arc is actually the B Plot of the Witness Protection AU! I love a good b-plot (and sometimes even a c-plot) and this one is no different.

Due to being in the Witness Protection program and not being able to be out in the public eye as often as he used to, he can't be a firefighter for the time being. So, now he has to figure out who he is when he's not his job.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Four of these AUs already have sequels outlined - some are multi-chapter, some are just really long one-shots

I'm actually working on one that's a giant secret and I can't wait to share it with all of you (it's been a blast to write so far)

no pressure tagging: @heartstringsduet, @carlos-in-glasses, @strandnreyes, @reyesstrand, @bonheur-cafe, @freneticfloetry, @rosedavid, @ambiguouspenny, @wandering-night19, @thisbuildinghasfeelings, @lightningboltreader, @paperstorm, @three-drink-amy, @chaotictarlos, @carlos-tk, @sanjuwrites, @birdclowns, @basilsunrise, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @catanisspicy, @rmd-writes, @kiloskywalker, @whatsintheboxmh, @guardian-angle22 and of course anyone who wants to join in :)

if you're an artist, gifmaker or cross-stitcher, these questions might be better suited for you :)

[gingerpeachtea]

tell me more about something’s in your eyes??:)

(wip list game!)

BITCHHHH I LITERALLY LOOKEF AT THIS ASK LIKE THE WENDY WILLIAMS GIF LEMME FIND IT

YEAHHHHHH BABYYYYYY okay i can’t give you any excerpts bc i feel like i’ve already posted so many and also every line is a spoiler at this point 😭😭 but i would LOVE to talk about it so here we go!!!!

it might end up being my longest posted fic but i’m not sure yet; we’re teetering on the edge of 4k (3,853 words currently) with multiple scenes (���/flashbacks Smirk Emoji) left to write. but also take that number with a grain of salt bc i do this insane thing when writing where if i think of an alternate phrasing for something i just. put it right next to the original. or if i need to rework a paragraph i’ll copy and paste it and rework it directly below the original so i can compare them side by side. my current longest posted fic is lose your faith in me with 4.3k so maybe it’ll be longer than that !! :3

this fic drives me INSANEEEEEEEEEEE every time i read it. truly am NEVERRRR going to shut up about it once it’s posted. idk when that will be but it WILL happen eventually I SWEAR. u know how i go fucking insane every time i read that line from when memories snow “let me take you home on my lunch break. please.” yeah i have that reaction to at least one line every paragraph. bitch it’s INSANE.

here are the tags >:3

i forget this fic was infiltrated by my polyland insanity brain worms every single time without fail and then i’ll read a line and be like OMG??????? as if i didn’t literally write it

genuinely i have never edited a fic as much as i’ve edited this one. i think this fic is… two years in the making as of 2025? probably technically 1 1/2 or something but i don’t remember when i started it so🧚

i feel like the tags don’t necessarily give an indication of the plot but idk how much of the plot i wanna give away 👀 i might’ve talked about it before but i’m not sure??

mike punches someone (not briggs). i think that’s all i’ll say for now >:]

not important but the jakes inclusion in this fic is very much why is hoseok da bus driver all of da sudden sorry jakes stans (me and maybe 2 other people on planet earth. shoutout to those 2 other crazy bitches tho‼️‼️)

this fic is entirely about mike’s trauma and i’ve actually been struggling to balance how much of paul’s trauma to include (considering it’s so similar and mikebriggs cycles narrative foils etc etc you understand). there are lines that Hint at the backstories and the effects of canon events on other characters, but it all varies based on mike’s heavily limited perspective and what i think he realistically wouldn’t or wouldn’t be privy to. a good example of this is this moment from somewhere in the haze:

the context, of course, is charlie seeing mike and thinking of finding whistler dead on the bathroom floor. i thought that this was something briggs knew about and mike didn’t, not sure if that’s actually true in canon but even if not, briggs having been there with charlie when it happened would be able to immediately make that connection and know where charlie’s mind had gone.

of course, the hints in something’s in your eyes are certainly not as heavy-handed, where it is directly pointed out that there is something mike is “on the outskirts of”—the fic is quite literally about secrets. it is also not so easily resolved as this particular example is, where charlie tells mike in the last scene the context for her reaction. many things are instead left unsaid because. y’know. secrets. >:)

the particular example of this i’m thinking of in siye is actually about jakes. goddd there’s this one jakesbriggs moment where…no……i shan’t say. it’s literally the only jb moment in the entire fic and it’s like five words total probably but bitchhhhh u gotta pick up what im putting down!!! the Context… coconut tree etc etc… u gotta Think it’s a Thinker. thinkerbell? i’m tired

i use the tiny moments of info that mike is or isn’t privy to in order to show the closeness of the polycule and show how open other characters (cough cough johnny and charlie cough cough!!!) are in comparison to mike’s repressed ass. lowkey one of those things i didn’t even realize i did until i read it back and was like WTF!!!! I DID THAT

every time i write for this fic i feel like the fucking horse post!!!!! this one!!!!!! EVERY TIME!!!!!!

okay i’ve said. a lot i think maybe. hope u all enjoyed <3 SO FUCKING EXCITED FOR THIS FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

(fun fact i had to go back and add the link to the wip list game after writing this entire post bc i got so excited to talk abt this fic i just swan dived right into it)

[iiraae]

intro ?!

my name is cameron !

i draw and stuff .... allegedly . when i have free time LOL although i do say my blog is multifandom , u'll probably be seeing mostly ourlife stuff from me (i love those games dearly) ! as well as other ocs i have and maybe some other misc. art hehe . we shall see

i also spout a lot of nonsense .... my mind is always moving at one thousand while simultaneously being completely void of any thoughts . clogging my own blog with random bullshit Realness <3

feel free to pop into my ask box if u want to say hi ! talk to me abt ur characters , or my characters , or anything u want .... the world is ur oyster .

a lil note - my blog is gonna b sfw (besides like , weed and whatever LOL) so feel free to look around ! but i would like to ask for u to be 17+ if we r going to b interacting directly :-)) i'm over twenty years old (</3) so that's just what makes me the most comfortable hehe. thank u in advance !

anywayz , i don't know what else to say or add LOL , so i'll leave this at that . i hope u enjoy my silly art :-D

↓ some extra stuff ↓

my carrd !

my ko-fi ! (i don't currently have comms or tips open , but i'd like to in the future !)

i have another tumblr acc , @gortashluvr ! idk how this app works , so if u get a notif from this account , it's also me LOL

↓ extra tags below the cut ↓

#cam's art → my completed artwork #cam's wips → works in progress #cam's sketches → doodles and whateva #cam is insane → literally me being a dumbass LOL

i'll prob add tags for ocs later on when i yap abt them more ;-D

[twipsai]

heyoo! just wanted to say love your rewrite comic of sonic forces!! tis very cool :)

if you don't mind me asking, is anything else going on in this rewrite which you could let us know about? or tis a secret?

ok first of all this ask, the two reblogs you added tags to, and the comment you left literally made me wanna write so much more for this rewrite you have no idea. genuinely such a large motivation burst TYSMMMM

SECOND OF ALL! this rewrite is kind of vague rn, i have an idea for a four or five chapter fic that takes place in the month gap between forces and idw, but (glances at my 2/3rds finished wip thats 32k words rotting in my gdocs) well. im trying to finish something else for the time being, so i have no idea when thats gonna happen

in terms of actually rewriting forces itself, i have quite a few ideas for it but not a lot of concrete things written down -- my main problem with the game, especially after fully playing it (5 hours of my life fucking WASTED), is that it is simultaneously such a serious story, but doesnt take itself seriously in the slightest -- you have, on one hand, Sonic being tortured for six months in a tiny prison cell, but on the other, you have Sonic walking out of there completely fine and it's never acknowledged again. you have, on one hand, two teenagers leading a resistance in a war, but on the other, you have those two teenagers acting bland and uninteresting the entire time. theres so much that could have been done with this story, but instead of grabbing hold of that spark, the writers, instead, decided to write something bland, boring, and worst of all, disingenuous. this is worse than writing something thats bad, in my opinion.

my rewrite takes a lot of notes from my buddy Chip's rewrite called Reinforced (which theyve only really posted about on artfight here), so much so that sometimes i talk about them interchangeably lol, one of the biggest changes in the story is that Tails and Rouge work together. also Infinite is a much bigger threat, specifically to Sonic, and his death is much more intense

this might sound like a deranged thing to say but ive been tossing around in my head what i want Sonic to go through during his time in the death egg, whether i want it to be a white room torture sort of deal, or if i wanna torment him with visions (illusions), so ive sorta been trying to figure out in exactly what way hes fucked up LMAO

additionally, like most other people, im cutting the avatar and Classic Sonic from the script -- theres something to be said about Sonic going through something that fundamentally changes both him and the world, and fighting that threat along side his younger self, but the source material isnt interested in exploring that, so im not either (i actually am, but not in this rewrite,,,, not in this rewrite.) and im cutting the avatar from this in favor of bringing Tails back into the story beyond him being scared and smart for like 10 minutes of the total runtime and then saying "true dat" at the end. i mean cmon!! he watched his big brother presumably die right in front of him! the unbreakable bond, well, broke! thats fucking important! Frontiers and IDW explored this, and i want to as well. its very interesting to me. and he should have been playable. i will die on this hill

also, Sonic doesnt get rescued at the start of the story, it happens wayyy later into the story (right before the climax probably). i hated how they found him practically two seconds after they lost him

a lot of this may be influenced by Sonic Forces Overclocked, which i have plans to play (once i have. free time), since ive heard a lot of good things about it and am very interested in the story it has to tell.

"wheres shadow" idk :( probably brooding in a cave i havent thought that far ahead

[ioannemos]

tagged by @dangerously-human a week ago... thank you 🧡

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs (or, you know, as many as you feel like, but keep in mind Tumblr only lets tags stick anymore for the first five people mentioned in a post).

i have sooooooo many wips. so many. here are the ten most recent

(i'm adding the first line(s) of each (ignoring the numerous epigraphs) for reasons)

01. the buzz of a saw

> csi au, the setting for which that only my sister would understand without extensive explanation (sandstorm, babey)

Time falls in yellow-white sparks, reopening potholes as they skitter across the streets, turning trees back into saplings, and reversing the years on roofs.

02. Victors

> prospect

Banging against the ladder. Rhythmic, insistent. Maybe trying to get her attention.

03. certain kinds of deaths

> ...the bear au. no i have never watched the show

It’s around midnight in the middle of the week when the guy shows up.

04. so tell me you're still here

> national treasure

He’s opened the phone and put it to his ear before his eyes are even open.

05. Manifest

> is this an au of an au? is this basically original fiction with names that belong to an au of a video game i've never played? all i know is it's 8k words of weird post-apocalypse world building and making a guy Come to Terms with Being Perceived

I swore in surprise and dismay as I pulled Trooper to an abrupt halt at the top of the hill; he sidled and snorted, picking up on my unease.

06. Interlinked

> blade runner 2049

The thin layer of white compacts under his boots.

07. those who keep silent

> pacific rim au

They say you stumbled out of the surf, bleeding and whispering your brother’s name.

08. monster

> grimm au

You learn fast. You have to, when they could be around every corner.

09. silence like darkness

> stargate: atlantis

“Keep- k-keep-”

Words fly overhead before being diced to pieces by radio interference, the tread of boots, the smack of leaves, the calls of birds; pressure and heat and friction scrape over his skin like shark teeth, and flickering light bears down on his closed eyes like a heavy weight.

10. Naissance

> detroit: become human

“I’m sorry,” the woman says. “They- It sounds so- is racist the proper word? -but honestly, they do all look alike.”

tagging uhhh anyone who's been writing who wants to talk about their wips... idk who's writing rn. @morfinwen ? @sunheart ? i'm so tired and my brain is fried

[welcometololaland]

20 Questions aka. Oversharing on the Internet version 92840938

Thanks for the tag @rmd-writes - how did you know i didn't feel like doing work?

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

excluding the ones i've flagged for deletion (when i get around to it) - 46.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

972,000 and i'm going to hit a million by the end of the year! i have one co-written collab so we can subtract about 30k (ish) from that total (but with ALTA i'll still make a milly woohoo).

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Red, White & Royal Blue, 911 Lone Star, Top Gun Maverick (occasionally)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

ah man this kills me because it excludes my most beloved fic (love game lol). in descending order:

Speak for Yourself (RWRB, my very first fic for that fandom! 2021 me in her study writing a random 3k first chapter could never have imagined being this lucky)

The Ring-In (with @dustratcentral) (911 Lone Star, this fic makes me feel like my Tarlos writing has gotten worse instead of better lmao)

Fifty First Dates (RWRB)

(Not) A Cinderella Story (RWRB)

Cursed is a State of Mind (with @dustratcentral) (RWRB, just about to hit 1k! there's something magical about an ifyoustay collab apparently)

jeez i never realised how RWRB heavy that is...

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

Always. You put in the effort to comment on my work, I'm gonna put in the effort to reply to you. I appreciate comments so much, even if they're just emojis or one line or whatever. I appreciate every single one of them (except the mean ones).

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

I don't usually go here, but I think it has to be Contaminated (RWRB).

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

99% of my fics have happy endings (except for the fic above lol) but I'd say the happiest ending is in (Un)Professional Services because they're So. In. Love. and they just *spoiler* together and they're about to *spoiler*.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rarely and I usually ignore it or delete it (so there's no point doing it).

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

A Lot. Usually served with a heavy side of feelings - I like it when the smut drives the plot, when it helps the characters have those Oh Shit realisations. I'm also a sucker for explicit, enthusiastic consent.

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

I have written like 30% of a RWRB/Lone Star crossover that may never see the light of day because I keep forgetting about it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If I have, I don't know about it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I've had a few of my fics translated by incredible people! Phonography, Warm Whispers and Baby, Make Your Move have all been translated and can be found above. I'm fine with people translating my fics, so long as they're linked to the original and remain on ao3.

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

Yes and I love it. I want to do it more often! @rmd-writes collab was an amazing experience. i've also loved working with @dustratcentral on so many of my more unhinged works.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't think I can choose between Alex/Henry and TK/Carlos.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Probably that damn crossover, unless there's like significant interest in me finishing it lmao.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh no. giving myself a compliment help. I would say worldbuilding. dialogue/banter. gratuitous feelings during sex.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

exposition. being concise. overwriting to the max @three-drink-amy (this is an attack on you as well but we are we).

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

i've done it before but to be honest i'm scared to. 1) i don't want to get it wrong. 2) i don't want to annoy my very talented friends that can speak other languages by asking them 10 billion questions lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

...I plead the 5th.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Love Game. I don't care that it's not as popular. it's my child. Also, ALTA (because of the many tears that went into it). We are bonded by trauma.

open tag on this one and also calling: @reyesstrand @strandnreyes @heartstringsduet @alrightbuckaroo @three-drink-amy @goodways @iboatedhere @wandering-night19 @birdclowns @liminalmemories21 @indomitable-love @clottedcreamfudge @sherryvalli @cha-melodius @cricketnationrise @carlos-in-glasses @bonheur-cafe @theghostofashton @orchidscript @lemonlyman-dotcom @kiwiana-writes @freneticfloetry @sunshinestrand @nelsonnicholas @tailoredshirt @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @lightningboltreader @hippolotamus @dumbpeachjuice @tellmegoodbye @ladytessa74 @louisii-reyes-strand @beautifulhigh @athousandrooms @villiageidiot @inflarescent @marjansmarwani @safeashousespdf @tintagel-or-cockleshells @sanjuwrites @lilythesilly @kiloskywalker @noxsoulmate