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phoenixyfriend · 10 days ago

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Holiday Rec List

Alright, got a couple requests on this post, and I'll toss in some holiday-ish fics as well. I'm going to keep this list to Star Wars.

Time Travel - Got its own post

Friends to lovers

The most unique concepts you’ve come across

Leaning more into the prequel tragedy vibes, even through AUs

Holiday Fics

In my cultural background, presents are given on New Year's Day due to changes that were enacted a few decades back to marry the several religions and different calendars that were in use throughout Yugoslavia. Christmas is Jan. 7th for me and mine, but Dec. 25th for the Croats, and the Bosniaks were majority Muslim, so the the gift giving was moved to the secular holiday instead, and a lot of people never switched back.

The clock just hit midnight. Happy New Year! Here's the gift!

(I've tagged what authors I could.)

Friends to Lovers

I find this prompt a bit broad, but here's a few good ones.

Rivers and Roads by PhenomenalWoman This is an Anakin Skywalker/Kitster Banai fic, with an overarching plot of Saving Tatooine.

you, or your memory by cinnamonsalt Obikin, Amnesia AU. Obi-Wan, not remembering how he half-raised Anakin, no longer has any compunctions against flirting with his best friend.

In Your Dreams! by @exonerin Mermaid Anakin! Dream invasions! Also Obikin.

To Our Halcyon Days by @krispyscreams, @lothcatthree QuinObi, and IDK if I'd call it Friends to Lovers so much as Friends to Lovers to Friends to Married to Co-Parents to Friends to--

A Smile Full of Sunshine by @jayofolympus Anidala falling for Rex, who is already dreadfully in love with them both.

24 Seconds by @c-m-li-s-fanfic-corner QuinObi, though it's mostly in hindsight? IDK I just wanted an excuse to recommend this one, it's really good.

The Creche by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning Obikin, but they don't meet until Anakin's an adult and already considering Ahsoka for an apprentice... and Ahsoka's crechemaster is Obi-Wan! They become friends, get a little side-tracked by a bunch of drama that often takes the shape of Qui-Gon Jinn, and then resolve things to kiss.

falling up by @obiwanobi, @shatouto More of a... Enemies to Friends to Lovers then just the last two. Obikin, unsurprisingly (y'all have the best fics for some reason, I swear), in a RaisedSith!Ani universe.

He Said Yes by @threebea QuinObi, omegaverse, very qpp. Are they even lovers? Unclear. They're married, though.

Concord Dawn Bed & Breakfast by @ironhoshi Modern AU, QuinObi. Obi-Wan's family inn is haunted. Like, so haunted.

Out in the Corner of the Dark with You by @kazmirone Another Obikin! This one's omegaverse.

within and without by @maderilien Rexwalker go on a date!

Supplemental Equipment Maintenance by subtropicalStenella Time to get some Rexsoka in here! It's very, very horny, and very, very explicit. Fun!

Most Unique Concepts

Post Order 66 Exile AU by @livsy Partial O66 AU, lots of dead Jedi but not all. Everyone wants Anakin to be locked up or even executed for the Vader Stuff, but instead he's taken away by Obi-Wan for In The Field Rehabilitation. I'm not describing it well, but it's a very easy fic to get invested in.

The Dutiful Wife by Dirtymindtrick (Dancinglightsabers) X-rated, noncon bodymod, noncon sex. But damn is it unique. (Palpatine/Obi-Wan, beware the tags)

stubborn in the bones by @tideswept Anakin is a magical panther cub. Then he grows up and turns into a catboy, and it becomes Obikin.

The Care and Feeding of Our Jedi by @bitter-chocolate-stars I love a good epistolary fic, and this one is real solid. Clones POV.

Palpatine is Arrested for Fashion Crimes by @jedi-order-apologist Exactly what it says on the tin.

ForTheRepublic.mp4 by @padmestrilogy You don't need to know the YouTuber being referenced to find this funny, but it sure does help. Also, nothing can sell this one better than the official summary:

Popular HoloTuber Spacebomberguy uploads an exposé on Chancellor Palpatine, resulting in destructive results.

Skywalker Family Values by Ariel_Sojourner Did you ever want canonverse Parent Trap AU where Luke and Leia decide to sabotage an imperial propaganda event and it helps topple Sidious? It's the best.

The Warrior and the Pacifist by @threebea I'm biased but everyone should read this. Duke Kryze/Jaster Mereel.

Some Assembly Required by beasfics Seemingly on hiatus? But the premise is very fun, that Myles the Mandalorian and Obi-Wan have a bond for years before they ever met, and it has... consequences? Results. Effects. Things happen, basically.

sometimes, the feeling is right by @ossidae-passeridae Obi-Wan is intersex, in a way that's reflective of real-world forms of intersexuality. The fic is from the POV of his rather frustrated medic.

Lion Jinn by @esamastation After the events of TPM, Anakin breaks into a zoo in Theed, and steals a lion cub that is apparently Qui-Gon Jinn reincarnated.

every planet, every star, every single grain of sand by @loosingmoreletters Just gonna use the author's summary:

In which Darth Vader finds 9-year-old Luke on Tatooine, proceeds to have a breakdown, kills Palpatine and makes his preteen son Emperor, as you do. Otherwise known as the Adventures of Teeny Tiny Emperor Luke and his Royal Dad Guard Darth Vader.

Rulebreaker/Wildheart by chapstickaddict IDK if I'd call it unique as a concept (raised a Sith!Anakin, after Padme's death, falls in love with Obi-Wan), but it's uniquely good in its execution, so I'm counting it. I think about it often, and some of it has definitely influenced my own writing and AUs.

Fishhooks by @yellowocaballero Boba was quick-aged to about eight years old and then decanted to age normally, so he's about eighteen at the time of the war, and doing a Mandalorian rumspringa. Unfortunately, little sister Omega, ten years old, stows away with him, and Kamino is pissed about it.

My Dad the Purge Trooper by @nutella531 Purge Trooper Cody takes his job, "protect Luke" very seriously. So seriously that he abducts the kid to protect him from Vader.

R2-D2 Saves the Galaxy (Okay, so Obi-Wan helps a little) by @feybarn Exactly what it says on the tin. Takes place in AotC. R2 causes Obi-Wan to become an unwilling emperor, among other things. The entire fic is just comedic escalation after comedic escalation, purely accidental on Obi-Wan's part, and very much intentional on R2's.

A Star to Steer By by @dogmatix, @norcumii Okay so yes it's a crossover and thus by default much more unique. But also. It's so good, guys. I read this before I watched Stargate, and it was just as amazing then. It's like 115k so far and not yet done. Go read it, shoo.

Pitter Patter by IronCannon There are tiny versions of the Jedi that live parallel to the Jedi themselves. Sometimes multiple versions of a given Jedi!

Unmake Me (Not For Long) by Utter_Immolation Winter Soldier Ahsoka.

forge the iron in your veins by @afearsomecritter To quote the summary: "The Jedi are warships, and the clones were made for them."

Legally Blonde Jedi AU by @trixree After Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan didn't rejoin the Jedi. He went to law school. Then became a lawyer, married Maul, and adopted Anakin Skywalker. Not in that order. Also most of it is Fox POV. And it's amazing.

The Corteous Art of Correspondence During A Galactic War as Performed Aptly by Certain Sith and Jedi by @je-suis-deux Epistolary fic. Rael sends letters to Count Dooku. They're not very pleasant letters.

Be Careful What You Sith For by @11paruline44 Sithly magic reveals 'cause of death' for every individual in the galaxy! Things happen quickly after that.

Untitled Soulmate Game by @twilightofthe ObiAnidala are being harassed by magic geese into soulmate-hood. This is one of the first Star Wars fics I ever read. I still come back to it sometimes.

Prequel Tragedy Fics

in the fractions of our lives lost to peace by @loosingmoreletters Force Dyad but make it horror.

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by @yellowocaballero I'm also reccing this in the time travel list, but it is SUCH a good tragedy. Leans heavily into how the march of a whole government towards fascism isn't something that can be avoided with just one small change. There is no one big shift.

at the edge of the cliff by @loosingmoreletters Anakin doesn't fall during RotS, and neither does the Republic... but Padme's still dead, and Anakin's teetering at the edge of a cliff.

Well It Goes Like This by orphan_account Anakin doesn't fall during RotS, but it doesn't fix much. He saves a single creche clan on his way out of the Temple. After that, it's just a matter of surviving.

No Choir by @adiduck Obi-Wan and Cody on Tatooine after O66 (platonic). Also heavily intertwined with Owen and Beru and Luke.

between pole and tropic by Anonymous Anakin/Rex/Maul. Even without Anakin succumbing to the dark in RotS, someone must. Anakin's also very untrusted by the Jedi at large because they found out about the Tuskens right after AotC.

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genevievefangirl · 3 months ago

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Gen's Top 100 DBDA Fics - PART 4

For all caveats/rules/backstory, please read the Master Post

Halcyon Days By: cordelianoir @cordelia-noir Rating: T Tags: AU - Modern Setting, AU - High School, AU - Heartstopper, Protective Charles, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: There were a lot of reasons why Charles Rowland had changed schools. His suffering grades, constant reprimands over being out of dress code and the school’s growing suspicions about his home life were only some of the reasons why Charles’ mother enrolled him in boarding school for sixth form. There was really only one problem… well two problems, maybe three. ------------ When Cricket-star Charles transfers to St. Hilarion's, he urgently needs a Latin tutor. Enter Edwin Payne, a language genius but not very popular. As the two become friends, the past rears its head in ugly ways. Can the two navigate such a new, odd-couple friendship in the face of their pasts? And what happens if that friendship starts to blossom into more? My Notes: The most adorable (yet sometimes dark) boarding school AU there is! I think I speak for a lot of us in the fandom when I say this fic warms my heart. I'm not usually a fluff person, but this fic balences the fluff with the hurt very well. I highly recommend if you haven't read it already

half of my soul, as the poets say By: thegirlofthorns @edwinspaynes Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, gravestones Summary: Edwin existed, just as Charles had. Charles, who occupied a space in loving memory. A much-deserved space – Edwin would have wanted it no other way – but the core of him wanted to scream that he had been here, too. He never would be again, but he had lived, and he had breathed and laughed and moved with too much frippery and frill to continue on breathing, and he had been a whole person, once. And it had not mattered. So looked at CHARLES ROWLAND through tears, allowed himself to. Even Charles's hammer on metal on stone was not enough to dull the pain, but it was enough to remind him that he was still here, even if he was no longer living. It was an awful sound, a jarring sound, and tears shone in Charles’s eyes as he focused intently on carving out the A in his surname, but it was something. They were there, together, and they were feeling. - Or, Charles finds Edwin's unmarked grave and will, in the lightest of terms, not be having it. My Notes: I love Charles being angry at the world for how Edwin died and how little anyone cared about him. This fic expands on that and the epithet that Charles puts on Edwin's gravestone is perfection.

head in the clouds but my gravity's centered By: shadowquill17 @shadowquill17 Rating: T Tags: Feelings Realization, Love Confessions, Protective Charles Rowland Summary: Charles touched Edwin’s face when they were in Hell, and it made them both feel better. So of course he keeps doing it. And of course it escalates. My Notes: Who doesn't love some intimate face touching from their best mate? I think this is a great tactic to use to pull Edwin out of his own head lol

Heaven To No One Else But Me By: coloursflyaway @coloursflyaway Rating: T Tags: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Feelings Realization Summary: We would like to offer you a gift, Edwin Payne, the entity says, and holds out its hand; Charles has to force himself to stay put and not step between it and Edwin, because it feels like danger, even if it shouldn’t. The entity wouldn’t hurt Edwin, he tells himself, and he knows it’s true, it’s just that it is so powerful that even the slightest touch is terrifying and Charles is terrified about losing Edwin all the time anyway. “Why me?”, Edwin asks, head raised high and the entity’s light reflecting off his skin in a way that makes it look like porcelain, fragile and translucent and beautiful, “Why not Charles?” There is nothing we could offer Charles Rowland to take his pain away, the entity says and its voice rings out in Charles’ head. But you, we could erase yours. If you wish us to. Edwin gets the opportunity to go back in time and change his life so he will never have to go to Hell, but price of it is losing Charles; Charles can only stand next to him and wait for his decision. My Notes: Edwin sees flashes of the life he could have while Charles just stands by thinking Edwin is going to leave him. It is so painful, but also so good.

hell or high water - Series By: oddessea @oddessea Rating: T Tags: AU - Different First Meeting, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Charles Rowland, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: Together - After decades of searching for a way out of Hell between being eaten by a large spider made of baby dolls, Edwin Payne is ready to try anything. When he finds a torture chamber in an out-of-the way part of the Doll House, he meets a boy his age named Charles Rowland. But, more importantly, he realizes that he might not be the only one who doesn't belong in Hell, and that, maybe, escaping is easier when you aren't alone. Feel - Every good detective agency needs an office, and every good detective needs a break. After escaping from Hell, Edwin and Charles want nothing more than to have a nice, long rest. Charles worries that something irreparable has been done to him by his time in Hell, but he can't worry about that now. The Dead Boy Detectives have their first case, and if they solve it, they may just earn their very own office and, hopefully, somewhere safe for them to land. My Notes: The boys meeting in Hell greatly shifts their bond and dynamic in this fic and I LOVE IT! They are so attached to each other and I can't! Like you think they are codependent in canon? Read this!

holding on to patience (like a sunrise) By: toomoon (jjjat3am) @toomoonfic Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Touch-Starved, Getting Together Summary: In the aftermath of their appointment to the Lost and Found Department, Charles and Edwin's hug lingers. or, 5 times Charles touched Edwin, and one time Edwin touched him first. My Note: We can all agree that hug in ep 8 was great right? Well here's a fic expanding on their various touches after that!

I dont think I could stand to be (Where You Dont See Me) By: BadBoyDeanAsf @thepopsicle Rating: T Tags: Protective Charles Rowland, Depression, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Trauma, PTSD Summary: So Charles decides then and there with his eyes boring into the image of a woman who couldn’t have possibly been half as lucky as them that he would confess to Edwin. He wasn’t sure when or even how but he knows without a doubt that his partner deserved to know he was loved, that his feelings weren’t unrequited. - Six months after the events of S1 canon, the boys are trying to return to normal in London and deal with their own struggles. Edwin is fighting the grief of losing Niko and Charles struggles between worrying for Edwin and attempting to unpack his feelings. My Note: Charles worries so much about Edwin in this one that it makes my heart hurt. He just wants Edwin to be well again and takes him to see some art to try and make him feel better and it turns into some deep thoughts.

I Turned Back One Last Time (just to prove you were there) By: isnt_that_wizard @skateboardtotheheart Rating: T Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Protective Charles Rowland, Touching, Touch Starved, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Angst Summary: Since they'd fallen out of hell, the Night Nurse slamming the door on the awful baby doll demon behind them, Charles had been itching to touch Edwin. And it wasn't like his usual touch-oriented personality just wishing to have some sort of contact. He could control that easily enough after all this time. No, this was something different. This felt like a desperation. A need to be in Edwin's personal space, to keep his hands on him. He wanted to wrap his best friend in a hug and never let go, he wanted to sit as close as possible as they heard a new case. He wanted to take Niko’s place as she grabbed Edwin's hand to drag him to watch another one of her shows. He wanted to tuck Edwin against him as they sat on the couch. He would wrap an arm around Crystal and wish it was Edwin, who was merely across the room. --- After Hell, Charles is terrified of letting Edwin out of his reach for fear that he might get taken away again. He is, of course, being very subtle in his attempts to keep Edwin close. or a series of moments when charles can't stop touching edwin to remind himself that he's real and safe, until it all finally catches up to him and he snaps My Note: Charles is freaking out in this and the tension is palatable. In particular the end of chapter 2 into the beginning of chapter 3 gives me such strong emotions. I have reread this one so many times

i’d be the choiceless hope in grief [that drove him underground] By: Laney_Rockin @laney-rockin Rating: T Tags: Hurt No Comfort, Hell, Unhappy Ending, Angst, Orpheus and Eurydice, Love Confessions, Time Loop Summary: Charles had a bad feeling that when Edwin stopped running up those spiral stairs the first time something terrible would occur. An awful gnawing feeling deep within that he chalked up to a ghostly intuition. If he was alive he'd think it was a stomachache, almost on the edge of making him sick. He hated when he was right. ---- Or: Charles becomes much more like Orpheus than he'd like. Edwin doesn't blame him for it. He doesn't think he ever could. My Notes: We love Hell time loops! But also you want sad? Here you go. This line in particular sticks with me, I love it so much. (spoilers ahead!) - "I said the ending was tragic, not that the love Orpheus and Eurydice had for each other was. In fact, it was perhaps the greatest part of the story. Eurydice holds no ill will towards her husband even as she dies a second time. Knowing and comforted in the fact that she was utterly adored by him."

If I could hold you for a minute By: HistoriaGloria @historia-gloria Rating: G Tags: Case Fic, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: "For as vicious as it can be for ghosts, iron is not as common as you would think. It is rare, in Edwin’s experience, that the supernatural forces they are dealing with actually know that iron hurts as much as it does. Rare, but not rare enough." Charles is hurt on a case, leaving Edwin and Crystal to pick up the pieces. My Notes: The fight scene in this fic really stands out, it is super well done. And Crystal gets to help the boys!

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iammissdistress · 2 months ago

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Payneland Alive AU fic recs. Part 7

Love for Hire by @dear-lucrow

Rating: Mature

Words: 118,077

“A deal. You pretend to be my boyfriend for a few weeks, show up at my house, escort me to social functions and such. Your overall person, manner and opinions should be enough to truly scandalise my parents. You will only need to be yourself, only less... charming.” Charles gave him a bright grin. ��You think I’m charming?” Edwin ignored him. “And I will act all smitten with you. When they offer you the money to break up with me – and rest assured, throwing money at problems is their only way of handling anything – you will take it. I shall be horribly heartbroken to make them feel guilty and any subsequent romantic partner who is a bit more... mellow than you will be quite welcome.” Charles stared at him, unsure of how he could’ve ever thought of Edwin Payne as innocent. “Damn... you are a conniving little bastard, aren’t you?” - Charles Rowland's first impression of Edwin Payne can be summerized as privileged, rich and aloof – also incredibly pretty, but that’s besides the point. However, when Edwin presents him with a scheme to piss off his conservative parents and get some money out of them in the process, Charles can’t resist the siren call of causing mayham for some Tories.

Halcyon Days by @cordelia-noir

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 58,940

There were a lot of reasons why Charles Rowland had changed schools. His suffering grades, constant reprimands over being out of dress code and the school’s growing suspicions about his home life were only some of the reasons why Charles’ mother enrolled him in boarding school for sixth form. There was really only one problem… well two problems, maybe three. ------------ When Cricket-star Charles transfers to St. Hilarion's, he urgently needs a Latin tutor. Enter Edwin Payne, a language genius but not very popular. As the two become friends, the past rears its head in ugly ways. Can the two navigate such a new, odd-couple friendship in the face of their pasts? And what happens if that friendship starts to blossom into more?

a petal for your thoughts by FafalTheFangirl, sisalt, TheMarsOddyssey

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 34,234

When Charles keeps receiving mysterious bouquets of flowers, he turns to Edwin, the neighbourhood florist to help him.

OR the florist x tattoo artist AU

Like a record, baby by singtome

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 11,329

Charles’ crush on Edwin is starting to get a little out of hand. Turns out the internet is just as enamoured as he is. (Or: the one where Edwin accidentally goes viral after a couple of very confused photographers take some photos of him at an event. As one does.)

these are fast times and fast nights by @nix-nihili

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 6,855

“Charles!” Crystal huffed, bringing his attention back to the phone call. A couple of teaspoons should be enough, anyway. He shook it directly into the simmering pot, setting the container aside to grab his phone before it slipped into the curry. “Okay, I’m here, I’m here, hold onto your horses, Crys. What’s going on?” “Jesus, what’s going on?” Okay, he did not sound like that. “Edwin is leaving.” What. “What,” he said, disbelief lacing his voice, causing a sharp huff of laughter. But he didn't really take Crystal to be the joking type, not for this. “What do you mean, leaving?” “As in top-secret filming project that he's flying out for in a couple hours. And no Charles, this is different. It’s in goddamn America. He told Niko that she can’t come visit which means you can’t come visit which means he’s being so utterly stupid about this." or Charles realises that waiting isn't doing anybody any favours.

#haven't done one of these in a while #only my favs as always #i think 'a petal for your thoughts' deserves more love #give it a read please #thank you fic writers i will love you forever <3 #payneland #dead boy detectives #fic rec #alive aus

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flagellant · 1 year ago

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The more I think about Wildmender the more I grow invested in it. It's a fascinating interpretation of terra nil and solarpunk since so often the genre is fundamentally rooted in settler-colonialist philosophy, and even games which are intended to be the opposite of that--terra nil comes to mind as the obvious one--just end up actually revealing a different side of the factorio problem, because terra nil is an incredible impersonal restoration of ecological systems. Terra Nil acknowledges climate destruction on a global catastrophic scale and it accepts the responsibility to fix that, but it isn't shown as a human act, nor does it really allow itself the realism of just how terrifyingly impossible the task is to try and literally fix the entire world. Its game structure is supposed to be the anti-factorio but its puzzle structures focusing on efficiency and robotic engineering patterns of rewilding end up feeling more like a dialogue than an inversion. It's trying to say that the idea of humanity as fundamentally destructive is wrong while it doesn't actually ever address the human element.

And then there's fucking Wildmender. A game where you are a single human child in a world of endless wasteland and death, where the only other things are ghosts who remember a halcyon era and the hubris that ended it, wraiths which are consumed by their own greed and destruction of the land for their cursed immortality, and a couple god statues. The entire map is just ceaseless grief, filled with the literal dessicated remains of all the biodiversity that came before the countless disasters. And it's a big fucking map.

And then...the game gives you a shovel and a sickle and a mirror that shows the wraiths what twisted reflections they've become.

And the game says, "The entire world is waiting to be better, and the only way to do that is by doing it yourself, long and hard and hopeless as it seems."

I cannot emphasize enough how overwhelming the task you're handed. There is not a single speck of life left in the world. You are given a shovel and a water bottle and just...expected to do something about it. To look at the literal endless wastes and think you can heal it.

This is what Wildmender cherishes that Terra Nil denies: This is an impossible task for you alone. But it has to be done...and you can actually do it. The way you can turn sand into soil and dig irrigation channels is beautiful. Every single scrap of land that you reclaim is something you had to do on purpose. You had to do it yourself. You had to actively choose how to do it.

And the game makes the reward of even just getting a bit more water into the sand feel like victory. Your starting oasis turns from soil into lush and beautiful meadows--sure, technically instantaneously by doing magic on a specific type of plant. But it took me 4-5 hours before I got there. You have to travel so far into the desert to learn how to grow grass again, and then you realize that this endless hostile wasteland is a fraction of the map you're given. And you look at this sudden profusion of meadowy grassland surrounding your spring and despite how sudden it feels you remember how big the world is. You made more progress in a minute than you did in 5 hours and it's not even a speck on the map. How the fuck is this gonna happen?

And the answer is by accepting that it's going to take a long fucking time and a lot of hard work.

That's how it's gonna happen. Get to work.

#i have Opinions on the concept of desert as fundamentally empty and devoid of life as a SW native #but honestly the game handles the baggage really beautifully in ways i adore #it makes this impossible task youre handed not merely meaningful but also empowering #because it never does shy away from what its demanding of you it makes you earn every fucking inch #but like. when my first oak tree gave me my first harvest of acorns?#acorns i could use to bring the ghosts of more old oaks back to life?#the feelings i felt knowing that this little oak grove was a major first step in turning the endless translucent corpses filling the land #oh man #i choked up for real.#anyway. buy wildmender :)#and if for some reason youre having serious performance issues for no fucking reason when you first install #getting a refund and then rebuying the game somehow completely solved it for me. so uh. theres one solution maybe?#OH RIGHT #my writing #my essay #my essays #wildmender

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youwerethedefeated · 4 months ago

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please reveal some of your favorite kagehina fic recs? I literally am in love with them and i cannot stop

Hi anon!!

Surprisingly, I haven't read a whole lot of kagehina fics yet 😭 I'm a slow reader and uni has been very stressful...

Still, here are some that I have read and love:

Better than firewhiskey - it's a Harry Potter/Hogwarts AU where Kageyama is chosen for the Triwizard Tournament and it's sooo good. It's got all my favorite Harry Potter tropes but this time with Kagehina!

Halcyon in chains - this is a Daemon AU and the writing is just gorgeous. It feels like being enveloped in a warm blanket. It's also by the same author of thirty three days of mist and mountains, a post time skip fic which I also LOVE and recommend lots!

Hunger Pangs - NSFW, Karasuno era, third year. I love love love this one!!

Arrhythmia - this one is VERY NSFW so beware. It's probably the most delicate A/B/O fic I've ever read tho, and it focuses a lot on the feeling of growing up and being left behind when everyone else seems to hit all the proper milestones.. everyone but you that is

(Also I recommend basically everything else by this author cause their writing is just delicious)

Hinata Shouyou's fucking face - a classic. Kageyama is SO stupid in this I love it.

Butcher with a Smile - again, NSFW (sorry I rec so much porn 😭) but anyway THIS is probably one of my fave fics ever. I keep re-reading it and it never fails to give me a tummy ache. Don't let the first person POV scare you away, the author's writing is absolutely entrancing. There's also something so... hungry about this fic. Kageyama and Hinata are absolutely feral in the best way possible

And a honorable mention even though I haven't read it yet: (because it's @kagehiner 's fave fic and he's constantly attacking me with quotes)

The fish who swallowed the sun - mature, post time skip, probably gonna tear your heart out

Hope there's something here you'll like :)

#i have such a long list of stuff to read too #but these are my favorites so far #kagehina #hinata shouyou #kageyama tobio

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 10 months ago

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Dear Headmage,

What would be your ideal date?

For no particular reason, of course….

Enter; An Unkindness of Ravens.

"Dear me, Prefect!" Crowley gasped, a hand to his mouth. "Could it be that you and the other students... mean to play cupid for your teachers?!"

"What? Nooooo," you insisted, feigning ignorance. "I'm just curious! Isn't that how students are supposed to be? Brimming with curiosity and the willingness to learn?"

"Not on this matter, no!!"

"Come ooon, we won't do anything weird with that information. We promise!! ... Er, well. At least I promise. I can't speak for the others."

"Now see here! It's not on any students to ask about, nor meddle in, the private affairs of their elders," the headmaster chided, wiggling a finger. "You will cease sticking your nose into these matters at once--am I understood?"

"Awww..." You visibly wilted, not bothering to conceal your disappointment.

"I'm glad we've resolved this little dispute." Crowley clicked open a golden pocket watch and glanced at the time. His eyes bulged. "If you'll excuse me, I must be on my way! I'm running late for a very important date!"

"A date?!" You repeated, heart leaping into your throat. "With who!?"

"Why, myself, of course!!" Crowley confessed it without a shred of remorse. His grin, broad. "There can be no other to match me. I'm far too perfect of a specimen!

"I have a packed schedule today. First, a casual stroll throughout the campus to soak up the nice weather and to observe the staff and students. After that, a hearty meal full of luxurious meats and succulent fruits! Then a moment of self-reflection and contemplation to let the food settle... contemplating the meaning of life and how very fortunate I am to be my most glorious self.

"Perhaps I'll drop in a few remedial classes, or an extracurricular or two. The stars come out in the evening, so I think I shall take dinner under them! When at last my eyes begin to grow heavy and my body tired, I'll return to my nest and settle off to sleep, dreaming of what halcyon days tomorrow might bring~"

That's his ideal date?!

"Um, why didn't I hear 'work' in that entire schedule of yours... It's mostly eating, goofing off, and talking a whole lot about yourself!"

"Don't worry over the details, Prefect! You've promised to not dig deeper into this subject, and I expect you to keep your word!!"

With that, Crowley started to make his way off and toward the looming shadow of NRC' main building. It resembled a castle with its turrets and stoney walls--and if NRC was a castle, then surely Crowley was its self-appointed king.

Glittering crown and all.

#twst #twisted wonderland #Dire Crowley #Reader #self insert #twst interactions #twisted wonderland interactions #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #Two Ravens at the Writing Desk

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demigod-shenanigans · 4 months ago

Text

Lean on Me

Summary: After the war, Leo finally has some time to process some pretty big feelings he’s been avoiding. Thankfully, Piper is there to help.

Shoutout to my friend @halcyon-hyacinth for beta reading!

Word count: ~7K

So, I passed 250 followers a while back and I thought I’d take this as an opportunity to do a test run of tumblr fanfic posting (Ao3 version linked in the title). Therefore, have my very first HoO fic from all the way back in March! Feat. lots of Leo and Piper friendship, Leo being an oblivious pining little idiot over Jason and some very minor background pipeyna.

———

Even though it had been weeks since they’d gotten back home, Leo was sometimes still in disbelief about the fact that he was back at Camp Half-Blood after how long they’d been away. It felt weird not falling asleep to a rumbling engine anymore. It felt even weirder to wake up in a cabin full of people.

The number of people being home involved was something he didn’t think he’d ever grow used to. He’d grown up with just his mom and the very occasional visit from family who couldn’t be bothered to care about him after she’d passed away. Then there’d been the foster homes… well, the less said about those, the better. Point being, it was strange how different things were here, and despite the months he’d lived here before the mission, it never stopped feeling that way.

Leo liked his half-siblings, but he wasn’t great with people. He was even worse at being any kind of role model. Most of his time as head counselor for the Hephaestus cabin had been spent on constructing the Argo II. What exactly being head counselor involved now that that was done… that was a problem for future Leo, he supposed. Current Leo was perfectly content hanging out in the same space as some of his siblings, watching their various contraptions grow as he worked on his own. So far, no one had asked him to do anything else, save for the occasional question about his epic adventures. Those he could handle just fine.

Part of Leo missed the time on the Argo, beyond the soothing familiarity of piloting Festus. Not all of it—not the constant monster attacks or knowing the world might end or having to replace the mast four times in the same week. Not the lonely moments when everyone seemed perfectly content without him. But he missed the group breakfasts, and the peaceful bits of the night time watches he’d had with his friends, before something inevitably tried to eat the ship. He missed running into Jason when he got up for a midnight snack, the strange comfort of knowing neither of them could sleep. He missed teasing Frank, and spending three hours arguing with Annabeth about one of her architectural sketches that was as gorgeous as it was physically impossible to construct. Something about the contained space of the ship had made certain things easier. Camp wasn’t huge, but most of them got swept up in their respective tasks, and it just wasn’t the same, especially since Frank and Hazel had left. Some of the Romans had stayed to help with the rebuilding effort, but they’d needed at least one praetor back at Camp Jupiter, so he’d gone, and Hazel had gone with him.

Still, for the most part, Leo was glad to be back home. It was nice to not be fighting for his life every thirty seconds for a change. It was even nicer to be back in his usual tinkering space. Note to self: if he ever built another flying ship, it desperately needed to come with a furnace. His own fire was handy, sure, but setting his limbs alight wasn’t the safest or the most effective way to forge Celestial Bronze. Kid Leo really should have thought his crayon sketch through better.

Speaking of projects he should have spent more time thinking through… he dipped the hot metal disc into cold water, waiting for a moment before he retrieved it with his bare hands.

He’d always felt kind of silly wearing protective gloves considering he could reach into the furnace just fine without it affecting him. (He’d done that exactly once, before a very startled Nyssa had ruined his fun by insisting that the head counselor maybe shouldn’t be teaching his not-fireproof younger siblings that it was fine to stick your bare hands into the furnace. Being a role model was seriously boring sometimes.)

Leo eyed his device, uncertain. It looked better than it had before the last correction, but… yep. Like he’d suspected, the folding mechanism still wasn’t working right. On the last few attempts, the helmet hadn’t unfolded at all, and now that it had, it wasn’t retracting correctly. He had a feeling it had something to do with uneven volume distribution, but he’d gotten too attached to this prototype to just start over now. There had to be a way to make this work. He’d rebuilt a whole metal dragon nearly from scratch, for crying out loud. Like Hades was he going to let a piece of armor defeat him.

Leo was still thinking about whether to take a break and try sketching out the prototype to see if that would help or continue to just wing it when Piper appeared.

“You busy?” She looked tired, but satisfied, like Leo felt when he had a breakthrough on one of his projects at two in the morning.

She’d been dropping by more often since they’d gotten back. Jason was about a million times worse.

It felt… not like old times, exactly, since the time when they’d been a trio of friends and Piper and Jason hadn’t been dating had mostly been Mist memories. But it did feel nice.

“Very. Currently having a staring contest with my newest project. Don’t distract me, or it’s going to win,” Leo joked.

He was met with an eye roll, but Piper’s smile didn’t waver.

“Right. What are you working on, and how worried do I need to be about it blowing us all up?”

“Not very, I hope. That’d kinda defeat the purpose.” He showed her the palm-shaped device, a few parts of metal still sticking out of the sides where they weren’t supposed to. “Retractable helmet—though currently not as retractable as I’d like it to be. I’m tired of Jason constantly getting concussed. There’s only so much brain damage any demigod should be subjected to, ambrosia or no.”

Piper snorted.

“Yeah, he could really use that.”

She was looking at Leo in a strange way—like he’d just answered correctly on a game show he hadn’t even known he was participating in.

“Why are you in such a good mood? Do I need to be worried?”

“Reyna said my combat skills needed more work. She’s spent all morning repeatedly disarming me in three moves.”

“Your girlfriend is terrifying.”

“Yeah, she is.” Piper sighed contently.

Leo was happy for her—she hadn’t been dating Reyna for long, but he’d never seen Piper smile this much before. In some ways, it was easier than seeing her with Jason. It didn’t come with the same weird pang in his chest.

That didn’t mean being around Reyna had stopped feeling weird to Leo, though. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she hadn’t fully forgiven him for getting possessed and firing on her home. Not like he’d fully forgiven himself for it, either. He was still seriously considering that Slap-Leo-in-the-Face machine. He was unfortunately pretty sure there’d be more opportunities to use it in the future.

“I really don't get what Reyna’s problem is. You’ve got excellent aim when it comes to firing smoked hams at monsters. We just need to come up with a convenient way to carry those around now that we don’t have the cornucopia anymore.”

“Har. Har.” Piper rolled her eyes at him. “Anyway, any chance you could interrupt your glaring contest with the helmet for a bit? I need to talk to you.”

Leo’s mediocre mood had started to improve slightly since the start of their conversation, but now it took a massive dip. Those words never meant anything good.

He squashed down the first question that popped into his head—that being ‘who died’—because Piper was still smiling, so even if someone had died, it probably wasn’t anyone they liked.

More likely, Leo was about to be scolded for something.

“Whatever it is, it wasn’t me, and if it was me, it probably wasn’t on purpose,” he tried, mentally running through all the ways he’d messed up lately to figure out which one she was most likely to be mad about. It wasn’t that Piper scolded him a lot—half the time, she was a very enthusiastic participant in his nonsense—but maybe her rule-abiding girlfriend was being a bad influence. “If it’s about the glitter bomb I placed in Drew’s handbag-”

“You did what?” Piper asked, crossing her arms.

Great. So she hadn’t known, and Leo had just snitched on himself. Good job, him.

“I needed to test the mechanism for a new monster fighting gadget.” He shrugged.

“And you didn’t let me help?” Piper did actually look kind of offended. So Reyna wasn’t being that bad of an influence. Good to know.

“Hey, I can’t let you have all the fun. I’m head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin, remember? Someone’s gotta teach Harley about strategic glitter bomb placement. I take my responsibilities as an older brother very seriously.” Piper snorted, and Leo knew he was forgiven. Still, he wasn’t willing to risk any more guesses. “So what did you want to talk about, if it isn’t that?”

“Walk with me?”

“Slightly ominous request, but okay.”

Leo dropped the prototype into his tool belt to be retrieved later, then started fiddling with his rings until the crutches folded out obediently. Those weren’t his own design, unlike his prosthetic leg. They’d been a gift from his siblings. He didn’t need them as much at the forge, where he mainly went from briefly standing up to sitting down a lot, but outside of that, they were extremely convenient. It was great to not have to worry about where to put them so they wouldn’t topple into the campfire during singalong.

Relearning to walk was more frustrating than he cared to admit, but hey, at least he was about ninety percent less dead than the Fates had wanted him to be. That was pretty great.

“And me wanting to talk to you is ominous, why, exactly?” Piper asked, an eyebrow raised at him.

“She said, luring me into the woods like any half-decent murderer would,” Leo joked. It wasn’t that he actually feared for his life—not after Piper had put up with him for this long—but the whole situation did make him nervous. “For the record, I will be the world’s most annoying ghost, so, you know. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I was actually going to help you, but I think I’m pushing you into the canoe lake instead,” Piper deadpanned. “Or maybe I’ll just ask Reyna to-”

“Alright, alright, message received. No need to actually threaten my life.” Leo lifted his palms in surrender, which was a bit of a ridiculous balancing act with the crutches, but entirely worth the effort as far as he was concerned. “Just tell me why you’ve dragged me out here.”

Piper moved to sit on a large rock at the edge of the water and patted the spot next to her. Leo flopped down next to her, his crutches obediently folding back into the jewelry. He swung his legs back and forth, the celestial bronze parts of his prosthesis clunking whenever it hit the rock. That maybe wasn’t good, but he’d fix it later if it got dented. His fidgeting always got worse when he was nervous. There wasn’t much he could do about it.

He pulled a spring from his tool belt and started bending it with nothing specific in mind to keep his hands busy. Maybe he’d end up with something handy to use for one of his devices later. Maybe he’d just end up with a completely ruined spring. Who knew.

“Like I said, I wanted to talk to you. Preferably alone—or as alone as you can be here, with the dryads and the harpies everywhere.” Piper sighed. “I feel like we’ve not done that in a while.”

“Yeah.” Leo looked down at his sneakers. “Not that I can remember most of the time we did spend alone.”

That still stung. For the first few weeks after they’d freed Hera, Leo had assumed his and Piper’s real memories of Wilderness School would come back—that the influence of the Mist would fade. It hadn’t. They’d saved Hera’s life, but she wasn’t quite so grateful that she could be bothered to fix the memories she’d messed up by interspersing them within a bunch of fake memories of Jason.

Leo wasn’t even sure what was made up completely, and what had been Hera taking memories that should have been him and Piper messing with Hedge and testing out some of his faultier contraptions during lunch break and replacing her with Jason. Part of him wondered if it had been the two of them sneaking onto the roof for the meteor shower, sitting next to each other and lamenting about how romantic this would be if they weren’t both so painfully single.

Wondering was all he could do, for most of these moments. He couldn’t remember.

Some memories were clearer than others, like Piper telling him about her dad, or when she’d realized he was down on the anniversary of his mother’s death. She hadn’t pushed him to talk about why he was upset—just suggested they sneak into the kitchen for some low-stakes theft. He remembered being sprawled out on the carpet in her room afterwards, laughing, victoriously splitting a box of strawberry ice cream. But even in those memories, Jason was there, distracting the staff and laughing with them.

It was like Hera had pressed Control-Alt-Delete all over those first months of their friendship, leaving only fragments. File that under even more reasons to hate his evil babysitter.

“It doesn’t change anything, you know,” Piper said gently. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad that Hera messed up our memories. But memories or no, you’re still my best friend. I wanted to make sure you know that.”

“Hate to break it to you, but Jason is my best friend,” Leo joked, because he absolutely could not let Piper get away being this sappy, no matter how relieved it made him feel.

Piper raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure.”

He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and honestly, he was afraid to ask.

“So did you bring me out here just to talk about how amazing I am? Because I’m absolutely down to talk about that any minute of the day, obviously, but we really could have had that conversation back at the forge.”

Piper rolled her eyes at him, though it was in a way that Leo knew was more fond than anything. He’d learned to tell the difference at some point. Which, if nothing else, really did say something about how much she rolled her eyes at him.

“I actually wanted to talk about why you spent so much of the mission avoiding me and Jason. A lot of the time before the mission, too, honestly.”

Oh, great. Part of him had hoped she wouldn’t notice, naive as that had been. He kind of wanted to bolt, but that would just make her bug him about it more. Besides, running with crutches was really inconvenient, and Will would not be happy with him if he overdid it again. Forget Nico being scary. Will could be terrifying when he wanted to be.

“Maybe I just thought you wouldn’t appreciate my presence as much as you should,” he joked, but the words felt hollow in his throat. He really didn’t want to talk about this, but he couldn’t exactly skirt the topic forever.

Avoiding them hadn’t been a conscious choice—not at first. It had been a lot of work to finish the Argo in time. Then he’d had to fix it. Then he’d had to work on Festus. And, well, a bunch of their missions required him to go with Hazel and Frank instead of Piper or Jason. Most of them, really.

Leo wasn’t sure at which point he’d realized he was just making excuses to not be around his two closest friends. To not see them be perfectly happy without him. He loved them both so much, and he’d hated the resentment he’d felt looking at them. So he’d found reasons to look somewhere—anywhere—else.

“Well, you were wrong.” Piper looked at him, expression soft. She’d known him too long. His humor deflections only worked so well when the other person was aware that was what he was doing. “We both missed hanging out with you. I know you couldn’t see it, but you’ve always been part of the group. You were captain of the damn ship. We couldn’t have done any of it without you. No matter what some goddess says.”

Leo tensed. “Hazel told you? About the Nemesis thing?”

“She’s been worried. So have I.” Piper squeezed his shoulder. “Talk to me, please. Tell me how you’re actually feeling.”

Piper wasn’t charmspeaking him—she’d done it enough times by accident that Leo knew how to tell when she was—but he still found it nearly impossible to refuse when she looked at him like that. It was obvious she cared. So few people in his life had, since his mom passed away.

The truth came tumbling out, then, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“It’s just, you were probably the first real friend I made, and Jason’s my best friend, and when you two started dating… it sucked, okay? It felt like you didn’t need me anymore.” It was like something burned inside him every time he thought about it. His chest felt hot and painful enough that he kind of wanted to cry. The spring he’d been carefully uncurling snapped in his hand. “I finally got myself to stop running and tried to fit in somewhere, and it still didn’t work. I just found new and exciting ways to be alone.”

No matter what he did, he’d always be the odd one out. The seventh wheel. The sacrificial lamb that no one would miss too much. That was the only role he’d ever been promised.

“Oh, Leo.” Piper hugged him, then, fierce and warm. He sunk into her, hands cramping into the back of her shirt. She didn’t seem to mind. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because, as we all know, I’m the ‘talks about his issues’-guy. Key defining Leo feature.” He tried to smile, but he wasn’t even fooling himself with that embarrassing attempt. His heart was a piece of burnt-up wood, fragile and aching. Human emotions sucked. “Besides, we were so busy saving the world and trying not to die. Me feeling a little excluded seemed kind of unimportant in comparison.”

For a while, they stayed curled into each other like that, in a way they hadn’t really done since Wilderness School. Gods, he’d missed this. But being around her and Jason had just stung too much.

“It’s not. I’m sorry that I made you feel like it was. I haven’t exactly been a great friend lately.”

“Hey, you saved my life a couple times, that counts for something.” Leo nudged her. “It’s not your fault that I’m not great at the whole feelings thing. That’s just part of what you signed up for when you agreed to be my friend. Unfortunately for you, I’m non-returnable. You get the honor of being stuck with me forever.”

Leo had never minded being an only child when he was little. Then he’d met Piper, and for the first time he’d realized how much he liked having a sister. He teased her, sure, but that came with the territory. That didn’t mean he liked seeing her upset.

“I wouldn’t get rid of you even if I could,” she said, nudging him back. “But I know you. I know talking about stuff like this isn’t easy for you. That means I need to pay more attention to it, not less. I should have realized something was wrong. I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t. I was so caught up in my own problems that…” Piper trailed off. She looked seriously unhappy with herself. “I can’t believe I didn’t even notice how jealous you were until after Jason and I broke up.”

“I-” Leo stared at Piper for a long moment, then he burst out laughing, despite his charred coal of a heart. The thought was so completely ridiculous that he couldn’t help it. “Gods, Pipes, I’m not- you’re great, but I don't like you like that. You do realize I can hang out with girls without falling in love with them, right?”

Piper quirked an eyebrow, as if to say ‘can you?’ But the next words out of her mouth were, “I didn’t say you were jealous of Jason.”

Leo felt like he’d just walked face-first into a wall. “I- hang on. You think I- with Jason?” He didn’t feel much like laughing anymore. He felt a bit like he was suffocating, actually—like the time he’d been in that underwater cave with Frank and had accidentally set his oxygen supply on fire.

“You didn’t realize?” Piper asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Oh great, we’re both idiots. No wonder we’re best friends.”

“Pause. Can we take, like, fifteen steps back, maybe?” Leo felt like he’d missed about an hour of this conversation. And sure, he zoned out sometimes, but not that much. “What exactly makes you think I’m into Jason?”

“Do you want the list in alphabetical or chronological order?” Piper deadpanned. “You were literally napping on his shoulder at campfire yesterday. Clinging to him like a freaking koala. Apparently he had some trouble getting you to let go once he got you to bed.”

Leo’s face burned. He had vague memories of drifting off to the crackling fire, his head lolling to the side. He had wondered how he’d gotten back to his cabin. “I haven’t gotten a ton of sleep lately. And I just- I cling to stuff when I have bad dreams. You know that.”

Now that he thought about it, that did explain the strange looks he’d gotten from his siblings this morning.

“Right.” Piper looked amused in a way Leo wasn’t sure he liked. “Then there’s the fact that the project you’re working on at the moment is for him. Or how you’re always trying to make him laugh. Oh, and the wistful little looks you give him. You stare at his mouth a lot.”

“Making people laugh is my thing, that’s not exactly Jason-specific,” Leo protested. Of course he liked making Jason laugh. He was so serious a lot of the time, like at some point someone had decided to drop the whole world on his shoulders and he had just taken it and carried on. Whenever Leo managed to make him laugh, something inside his chest softened. That didn’t mean anything aside from the fact that he liked to see his friend happy. Did it? “And it’s not my fault his stupid scar is so distracting.”

Piper grinned. Yeah, well, he’d walked right into that one. “So?”

“Fine, I do think he’s attractive. Obviously. I have eyes.” Leo shrugged. His face still felt hot. Part of him was worried he’d catch his nose on fire again. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Right, and me walking around grumbling about Reyna being all ‘how dare she be so beautiful and powerful and competent’ was peak heterosexuality.” Piper’s tone was teasing, but her expression was soft. “You know it’s fine if you like him, right?”

“It’s not that. I’ve liked guys before. There was this kid across the street from my mom’s shop…” He trailed off. Okay, so maybe the kid had been a blond guy with glasses. Getting into that probably wouldn’t help his case. “But I get crushes on people a lot. You’ve witnessed an embarrassing amount of them. They’re not- they don’t usually feel the way it does with Jason.”

“So what does it feel like with him?” The teasing had melted out of Piper’s voice. She sounded sincere, like she really was just offering to listen in an attempt to help. Somehow, that didn’t make it any easier.

“It’s… I don’t really know how to describe it.” Leo sighed. “I’m not great at this stuff. ‘This stuff’ being people, just in general. But it’s easy with Jason, in a way that it’s never been with anyone else. I like being around him. It just makes me feel good. He treats me like I’m competent, even when I feel like a colossal fuckup. And he won’t always get it when I ramble about my inventions or fidget with whatever new thing I’m working on while we talk, but he listens like he’s actually interested in what I’m saying. Sometimes he’ll just sit with me, and we don’t talk at all, but it still doesn’t feel weird the way it would with other people. But it’s not… that doesn’t mean I have a crush on him.”

His legs tapped a discordant rhythm against the rock. He couldn’t believe he was actually saying all this. He wasn’t the type to talk about things so openly. Not even with Piper.

Never mind the fact that he wasn’t sure what there was to talk about. Leo’s crushes tended to be pretty easy to pin down, usually. Jason was just… different, somehow.

“So, let’s recap: the reason you think you can’t have a crush on him is that he’s easy to be around and it feels nice?”

“Uhm.” Well, when she put it like that, he just sounded like a moron. “I mean, doesn’t it feel like that for everyone? Do you not feel like that when you’re around him?”

“Not… exactly.” Piper looked embarrassed. “You remember the incident with the giant killer shrimp?”

“No, I fight those about twice a week. You’re gonna have to be a little more specific,” Leo replied sarcastically. He had no clue where she was going with this. It felt like he’d lost several minutes of the conversation again.

“When Jason and I were cleaning up after, I kept wishing we were more like Percy and Annabeth. There I was, dating the guy that was everything I thought I was supposed to want, and didn’t at all know what to do with him. Jason’s great, I’m glad he’s my friend, but we never had those kinds of easy silences. Us being together romantically was a total disaster. I’d just sit next to him with nothing to say, being all ‘wow, this is awkward’ and trying to convince myself that some relationships were just like that.” Piper laughed dryly. “Some daughter of Aphrodite I am.”

“Hang on. Are you telling me that the times you two ditched me to hang out, you just spent sitting awkwardly next to each other in silence?” Leo felt bad for her, truly, but he was also trying not to laugh.

“I plead the fifth.” Piper still seemed embarrassed, but also a bit amused. “Honestly, it’s gotten better since we broke up, but we’re still not great at it. There’s a reason we don’t hang out much, just the two of us.”

“I thought that reason was mostly you and Reyna being attached at the hip, but that’s honestly way funnier.”

“Well, it’s also that.” Piper got that dreamy, faraway look in her eyes again, and Leo briefly hoped he’d successfully distracted her, but his luck didn’t hold. “And it doesn’t help that Jason followed you around everywhere for days after you got out of the infirmary.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Leo snorted. That experience had been so ridiculous that it was easy enough to talk about. “He spent a bunch of time hovering—and I do mean both metaphorically and literally hovering—while I was at the forge. His feet were not touching the ground.”

Piper burst out laughing. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish. I don’t think he even realized he was doing it until I pointed it out.” Leo probably should have minded that. He didn’t need a babysitter. But honestly, getting all that time with Jason had been kind of nice, even if Jason was being an overprotective idiot about it. “You die once, and suddenly everyone’s all worried you’re gonna drop dead a second time. Like, no thanks. Been there, done that, never doing it again. Death really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Yeah, you better not.” Piper flicked him in the head. “You scared all of us pretty badly.”

“Sorry.” Leo shrugged. “Next time I go up in flames and get half my leg chewed off, I’ll try to be less dramatic about it.”

“I really don’t know why I’m friends with you.”

“Because I’m hilarious and smart and I make great tofu tacos?”

Piper put a hand on her chin like she needed to consider this. “It’s mostly the tacos.”

“I can’t believe you.”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m non-returnable,” Piper said with a wink, echoing his words from earlier. “Suppose we’ll just have to be stuck with each other.”

“Suppose we will.”

“Circling back to your little Jason issue,” she said, just when Leo had been starting to hope he’d finally escaped that topic. Damn the fact that Piper knew him well enough to realize he was trying to derail the conversation and didn’t let him get away with it. “I really think you should just talk to him.”

“Yeah, that’ll happen.” The piece of coal in Leo’s chest flickered with heat. He’d snapped the third spring in a row in half, scooping the scraps back into his belt. The dryads didn’t take too kindly to littering. He’d learnt that the hard way. “Jason’s… I don’t know. He’s a born hero. He’s brave and powerful and kind. He trusts other people to lead and know what they’re doing. Even me. He’ll tell me I can do something, and I’ll feel like I can. And then instead I’ll get possessed and blow up half of New Rome, or I’ll make a crappy deal with Nemesis and everyone else suffers the consequences. I’m a huge mess, Pipes. Even if I was into him, what chance would I have with someone like that?”

“Right, you only sacrificed yourself to save us all. Not a heroic bone in your body.” She rolled her eyes again, this time in a distinctly fond but annoyed way. “Putting aside the fact that you did save the world, that’s not a requirement for someone to like you. There’s a reason you were my best friend way before you were ever a hero. And Jason cares about you. A lot. You know that, right?”

“No, I thought he just hung out with me because I’m so hard to get rid of.” Leo was back to looking at his sneakers. Wow, those were some thrilling shoelaces, alright. “That’s just how he is, Pipes. He cares a lot. About many people. That doesn’t really mean much. Besides, I don’t want to mess up a perfectly good friendship. I don’t get to have these a lot.”

It was too much and too raw and he barely resisted the urge to throw another joke at it to make it hurt less.

“With all the love that I have for you, sometimes I think you’re the dumbest smart person I know.” Piper squeezed his shoulder. “Jason wouldn’t leave the infirmary the first three nights after we revived you. He barely slept. We all visited a lot to check on you, obviously, but Jason refused to move.”

“I did tell him he looked like death when I woke up,” Leo commented, not thinking about it.

Not thinking about the days he’d spent drifting, not registering much except faraway voices and the warm feeling of a hand in his and fingers brushing softly through his hair. Not thinking about waking up to a hand pressed to his cheek and blue eyes like storm clouds. Not thinking about the way Jason’s entire face had lit up when he’d said his name. Leo’s brain had still been so filled with fog and charcoal at the time that he hadn’t been sure how much of it he’d made up after.

He’d known Jason had worried about him, with the hovering and all. He wasn’t going to feel all warm and fuzzy just because it was a bit more than he’d realized. Absolutely not.

“Leo…” Piper looked at him, exasperated. Having a friend who had a love goddess for a mom and could read you like a book on top of that was really inconvenient sometimes. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then her eyes widened in alarm. “Leo, your shirt is smoking.”

“Crap.” So maybe he was feeling warm about it. Maybe a bit more than was convenient. His thoughts running rampant was always an excellent way to catch himself on fire. So was him being nervous. Both of those combined… well, this should be fun.

He moved away from Piper to avoid lighting her on fire by accident and tugged his rings off to drop them into the tool belt—a burnt-up shirt was annoying, sure, but there was a reason he didn’t get too attached to most of his clothes. Melting the crutches would be way more inconvenient. Once that was done, he started patting down his sleeves, trying to smother the sparks before it could get worse. The dryads would be furious with him if he started another forest fire.

It finally felt like he was starting to succeed, but because his life was a comedy intent on making jokes at his expense at every opportunity, that was when Jason wandered into the area. One of the slightly charred sleeves he’d just carefully put out immediately burst into flame again.

“I was wondering where you two-” Jason started, then stopped. “Why is Leo on fire?”

“Maybe I just really hate this shirt,” Leo joked, distinctly not focusing on the way Jason’s eyebrows knitted together in an expression somewhere between worry and amusement.

“Do you need anything? Should I get Percy so he can put you out? Or a bucket?”

“A hug would be nice.” It should have been obvious that he was still joking, but Jason was chewing on the stupid scar on his lip like he was genuinely considering it. And yep, Leo was definitely staring, heart migrating into his throat where it didn’t even slightly belong. If he got in any deeper, he’d be all the way underwater. “Sparky, I know I'm, like, extremely hot right now, but trust me, those third degree burns are not worth it.”

“Maybe get him a new shirt?” Piper suggested unhelpfully.

She was visibly struggling not to burst out laughing, and Leo briefly considered that maybe her shirt would look better on fire. He was also reconsidering the bolting option. Maybe Gaia could wake up just enough to swallow him whole? That sounded great just about now.

“Right, yeah, I can totally do that. Anything else?”

“A cheese platter would be nice, since you’re offering. Oh, and maybe a new gaming system.”

Leo wasn’t sure if he was being funny or just extremely annoying at this point. Gods, his jokes always got so much worse when he was anxious. Why did any of these people want to hang out with him? He desperately needed some time off from humans after this.

To his relief, the corner of Jason’s mouth just ticked up into a smile, and Piper did not push him into the canoe lake—though if she had, that at least would have resolved the fire situation.

“Gonna have to decline on the other stuff, but I could get some sandwiches, since you two missed lunch. Is it… are you sure there isn’t any other way I can help? I don’t want to just leave if you’re upset.”

Jason was looking directly at him, soft, worried eyes and all, and if he kept looking at him like that, Leo would fully combust. Jason staying right now, nice as it sounded in theory, would be the opposite of helpful. Leo really didn’t want to accidentally melt part of his prosthesis again. He was pretty sure demigod insurance wouldn’t cover that.

“No need to go all mushy on me, Superman,” Leo tried, his voice barely working. Gods, what was wrong with him? “I’m fine. Don’t start hovering again.”

“That was one time!” Jason protested. “And the last time you went up in flames-”

“It was three times,” Leo corrected, because like Hades was he ever going to let him live that one down. “And this isn’t Gaia, okay? It isn’t- I’m not in danger or anything. This is just me being my usual smoking self. Seriously, I’m good.”

Jason still didn’t seem entirely convinced. He glanced at Piper, who looked meaningfully back and gave him a nod in return. That was… slightly worrying. Them communicating in facial expressions was never a good sign. They might have been a terrible fit as a couple, but they’d still spent enough time together to develop some alien language that Leo couldn’t understand. Constantly being in life-or-death situations together apparently did wonders for your ability to silently communicate.

“I’ll make sure Leo doesn’t burn the forest down until you get back, don’t worry.”

Leo thought that was slightly unfair. Sure, his left shoulder was still on fire and currently refusing to go out, but he had managed to keep the fire from spreading after it had eaten his entire shirtsleeve. He’d probably manage to extinguish it completely the moment Jason and his stupid smile finally left the area.

Leo needed to get his shit together and make sure this didn’t become a regular occurrence. If he started to burst into flame every time Jason smiled at him… well, that would be somewhat inconvenient.

“Maybe check in with Reyna while you’re at it,” Leo tried, desperate to change the subject to something that wasn’t him or the fact that he was on fire. “Let her know Piper hasn’t been kidnapped before she sends out a search party.”

Now it was Piper’s turn to blush. Ah, sweet revenge.

“She’s not going to-” she started to protest, but Jason cut her off.

“She was a bit nervous about you not showing up for lunch, actually. She said something about your mom?” He shrugged. “Can’t really blame her for worrying about her girlfriend disappearing, after what happened with Hera.”

“I did tell her what I was going to do,” Piper said, face still burning. “I guess we lost track of time. I didn’t realize we’d missed lunch.”

“Breaking news!” Leo said, extending his arms outward like an overly dramatic TV host, careful to avoid brushing Piper with his burning shoulder. “Two ADHD kids have a shockingly bad sense of time! Also, water is wet! More details at six!”

That got them both laughing, and Leo laughed with them, having to focus really hard on keeping his fire situation under control. It was so easy to feel warm when he was with Jason and Piper. It was a feeling of home—something no place or person had been since his mom had passed away. His heart was all sparks.

“Let Reyna know I’m still hanging out with this dork for a while, yeah? No kidnappings scheduled for the day,” Piper joked. “Oh, and tell her I want a rematch for this morning.”

“I’m honestly afraid to ask, but noted.” Jason met Leo’s eyes again, smiling, and Leo smiled back, trying to calm the live wire feeling in his chest. “See you in a bit?”

“Only if you really do bring sandwiches.”

Jason laughed and gave a thumbs up before he disappeared between the trees, thankfully missing the way Leo’s entire left arm caught fire in a last nervous burst before the flames finally had the decency to flicker out. The live wire feeling stayed behind, and so did the extensive need to fidget, but at least that wasn’t a forest fire.

“Yeah, I really have no clue what gave me the idea that you might be into Jason,” Piper laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. “Gods, you are a complete disaster.”

“The universe is punishing me for giving you shit about Reyna, clearly.” Leo sighed dramatically. “I’m going to get you back for this.”

“You’re welcome.” Piper grinned, elbowing him. “You and Jason would be good together. I really do mean that. As long as you don’t accidentally set yourself on fire every time you try to flirt with him, at least.”

“I hate you.”

So maybe Leo did have a crush on Jason. Worse—and better—Piper actually thought he had a shot. The anxiety he felt about it being out in the open after he’d run from it for so long, the same way he always ran when things got hard, slowly gave way to relief. It might take a minute for him to process all the things he’d been feeling that were suddenly starting to slot into place in a way that actually made sense. But he was glad that, out of anyone, it was Piper who knew. Piper, who understood, even if she teased him relentlessly.

Piper, who was the first real friend Leo had made.

Fate was a funny thing—when it wasn’t actively trying to kill you, at least. Sure, fate was prophecies, and for some people, it was romance, doomed or otherwise. But sometimes, fate was looking at a girl in an old band shirt and faded jeans, and knowing, somehow, that you were meant to be friends.

———

Some notes:

This takes place in a universe where the whole Calypso/Ogygia stuff didn’t happen. The ending of BoO went down a little differently, which is obviously vaguely referenced here and which I’m hoping to eventually do a oneshot about (it’s been sitting in my app at around 2.5k continuously getting neglected in favor of the Orpheus Eurydice fic so we’ll see when I get around to that). Jason and Piper amicably broke up halfway through house of hades, which I do have a oneshot on my Ao3 about that I’ll probably post here eventually.

Yes, technically this fic is part two in a series of oneshots. Why didn’t I post part one first? Excellent question. The thing is, the oneshots are mostly standalone anyway (they obviously take place in the same universe and are loosely connected but aside from missing a joke or two, you’re fine to read them separately or in whatever order you want), and I have a couple more ideas for that universe that won’t be written or posted in order either, so I thought I’d start confusing you early on, lol

…in all seriousness, this is just the only HoO fic that I hadn’t already posted the link to here yet and since it was the first one I wrote, it also just felt appropriate for it to be the first I cross-post to tumblr.

Anyway! Would love to hear your thoughts on this if you have any (here or over on Ao3) and thoughts in general about whether or not you’d like me to keep posting my fics on tumblr. It’s been a long time since I last did that and putting all the italics back in was a little annoying, but it’s definitely doable.

Fun fact! I reread pjo and Heroes of Olympus specifically because I couldn’t afford to get into a new fixation during exam phase. Unfortunately, Leo Valdez whacked me in the back of the head with a baseball bat, and well, here we are. As you can all see, that plan did not go well for me, lmao

Tagging @poppitron360 very specifically since you said you wanted to be tagged if I ever posted any of my fics on tumblr!

#valgrace #jason grace #leo valdez #piper McLean #lost trio #heroes of olympus #hoo #leo x jason #jason x leo #my writing #HoO fanfic #valgrace fanfic #fate and other technicalities

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tieronecrush · 2 years ago

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the lakes

joel miller x reader

rating: M

word count: 1.9k

summary:

take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die / i don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you / those windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry / i'm setting off, but not without my muse

warnings: nudity, skinny dipping, talk about grief, death, family tension, self-doubt, self-deprecation, idk man it’s just sad

a/n: my first song for the folklore anthology!! can’t wait to share others & read all the other great works from my pals <3

The sounds of birds chirping surround you in echoes across the valley, mountainous hills convexing in front of you and dotted with evergreens. Underneath you is sun-warmed sand, interspersed with smoothed rocks from rushing water shaping them over hundreds or thousands of years. The fresh, gentle waves of the lake lick against your bare feet, knees bent up as you sit at the shore, eyes trained ahead on the glassy surface reflecting the late summer sky above. Joel is sitting next to you in the same position, his hands joined together in a circle and forearms resting on his kneecaps.

It’d been a quiet hike to the spot you discovered while on patrol. Lately, Joel has been his own worst enemy — closed off to you, stewing in his thoughts about his strained relationship with Ellie and continuing to adjust to life in Jackson, a world so slow and still that he can’t seem to find a place he fits in after moving for so long. His inertia hasn’t caught up to his lifestyle change; he is constantly picking up patrol shifts, and volunteering to oversee new construction and renovations across the town, but even through his go go go, he can’t find a place to land.

This place was the perfect spot to take him; to abate the anxious energy that vibrates throughout him every day with the halcyon elements of nature. Animals that live their lives with no concept of time, a lesson in living in the present, trees that have been around for hundreds of years, solid and strong like the man himself, and the lake. The lake that provides for everything growing around it, that reflects beauty in sunrises and sunsets, that finds itself full no matter any barriers built in its feeding river, replenished by other means from rain to groundwater.

The silence between the two of you breaks for the first time in hours.

“You know what I first thought of you when I met you?” you question him, eyes trained forward on the view. Joel offers a soft grunt in response, hinting for you to continue.

“I thought: Wow, this guy is an asshole,” he scoffs with the hint of a smirk, shaking his head while your own grin plays at your lips, “But then, I got to know you. Forced proximity really tells you a lot about a person. And I very quickly learned how much you care. This world should have jaded you, should have broken you to the bone with what you have been through, but yet, you still find means to nurture. You protect, and you provide. You love so deeply, so incredibly much. Every day I wake up next to you, I thank the lucky stars that I have Joel Miller in my corner. By my side. Watching my back.”

“I know you are feeling something, thinking about something in that head of yours all the time. And I want you to know that I love you as deeply, that I care as much for you as you do for everyone in your life. You can share with me, whatever you feel like sharing.”

Joel is quiet, squinting in the sun as he tosses a round pebble from the sand between his legs into the shallow waters. The ripple appears and dissipates before he speaks.

“That sounded like a eulogy, darlin’.”

You scoff now, that same type of soft smirk that he held minutes before pulling the corners of your mouth up.

“Is that all you took from all of what I said?”

“No, ‘course not. Just, I don’t know, felt like I was listening to what you would say about me after I’m gone.” At that you turn towards him, hand wrapping around his nearest forearm and squeezing with even, steady pressure that says ‘We are not talking about that, I can’t talk about that.’

“I do wanna share with you, I just—I don’t know how. I’ve kept all this inside, locked down in my chest. Anger, temper, violence, even, as armor to keep me alive. Don’t ever think I’ve been very nurturing since, well, since…” His throat chokes up, head drops to stare at the ground. Another squeeze to his arm, this time to say ‘It’s okay. I know. You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.’

Something that he said sticks out in your head, a means to attempt to combat his walls going up again now that they have crumbled slightly. You stand, glancing around out of habit before you pull your shirt over your head, your jeans following with your undergarments in their wake. Joel looks up, expression puzzled as he watches your naked form wade into the water. You hiss as the still-icy water engulfs you from the shoulders down, treading and turning back to your man on the shore. A gentle smile covers your face, beckoning him in with one nod of your head.

He follows suit with stripping down, clothes mixing in a pile with yours as they do on the floor of your bedroom. His own pained expression from the cold lake makes you giggle quietly, a scolding stare aimed your way. He paddles over to you smoothly, the water hitting his chest where he can continue to touch with his feet at the bottom. Your arms slither around his neck, wet fingers carding through the hair at the back of his head. The leverage against him is used to tug you closer, his large palms settling at your waist under the surface while the two of you bathe in the fresh Adam’s ale of these cliffside pools. Two pairs of eyes communicate without words, the soundtrack of the birds and rustling trees occupying the dead air until you speak again, hushed despite the fact that you are the only humans for miles.

“You can take your armor off around me.”

Joel’s eyes flutter closed, a long sigh exhaled as his hands grip your curves tighter. When his burnt chestnut and amber irises are revealed again, he speaks in the same reserved volume that you had.

“I don’t belong there. In Jackson.”

Silence gently urges him to carry on.

“What I’ve done, to strangers, to myself, to Tess, to you, to Tommy, to Ellie…I don’t deserve any chance at life. With what I have taken from others, I don’t deserve to be given anything. Kindness, respect, care, love. From anyone.”

“I’ve been selfish this whole twenty years. I almost left Tommy alone. I dragged us up north to Boston. I got Tess into smuggling. I kept Ellie at a distance for so long because I couldn’t bear to feel that kind of responsibility, that familial tie. And then I chose for her, in that hospital. I couldn’t lose another kid.”

“It—it feels like I should be over the past, over what I have done now that I have a chance at a fresh start, or as close to a fresh start as I could possibly have here in Jackson. I have a shot to build a life with you, to work for Ellie’s forgiveness, to be an uncle to Maria and Tommy’s baby. But what has been chasing me — what has been over — it feels like it’s burrowed under my skin. And all I can feel when I start to forget is these—these heartstopping waves of hurt.”

“And I don’t know how to move on. I don’t know how to forget when my body, my mind, my soul won’t let me.”

Across his cheeks, salty tears have carved rivers, the dampness still in his eyes shining in the midday sunlight. The water sounds as if it’s rushing in your ear, your pulse racing as you attempt to process his confession. His head has bowed in a prayer position, awaiting your means to reconciliation or absolution.

Hands settled on his broad shoulders, another communicative squeeze, this one to say ‘I don’t know either. But I know how to try.’

“You let your people heal you,” Joel’s eyes meet yours, drops cascading from the damp bits of hair hanging over his forehead, attention completely and utterly on you, “Time can’t fix everything. The past can hold us in its grip even with all the time in the world. But people can help you forget. They can help to lessen the pain in your body until it’s merely a pinch. Their love can pull you up when you fall. Their care can nurture your soul to grow resilient again. Their reassurance can teach your mind to hear those sordid thoughts you have but pay them no attention.”

“I want to do this for you, Joel. I want to help you. To care for you. To love you, completely. Your people want to do it for you. And if you can learn from experience, you can do it for Ellie…” Your hands move from his shoulder, skating across his glistening skin and wrapping around the sides of his neck, thumbs resting against his jaw.

“You made choices you had to. Including for Ellie. She was — she is a child. Your kid, if not by blood. She may not understand now, but I know she will find a means to forgive you, or at least understand you.”

“Maybe when she’s older, if she has a kid of her own, she’ll understand.”

Joel’s mouth quips to one side with a faint smile, tears drying on his cheeks as he thinks of the image.

“Reckon we’d be pretty fun, well, sorta grandparents.”

“I think so, too,” you speak with a grin stretched and thumbs brushing back and forth at his jaw, “I can’t wait to grow old with you. To sit on the porch and watch you still yell across the street to your brother for full conversations instead of the two getting off of your asses —”

“Watch it, darlin’,” he warns playfully.

“Hey, it’s true. I listen to it nearly every day. Now, back to what I was imagining, cowboy.”

He nods for you to continue, a full-blown smile on his face.

“We’ll have Ellie over weekly dinners, and whoever else makes up her family. You’ll play me guitar and sing whenever I ask ‘cause you love me so much. I’ll help to heal you, and we will be happy together. We will take our second chance. And you will enjoy your time with your family. And me, hopefully.”

“Definitely with you. My beautiful girl,” his own hand leaves the water, wetting your hair as he brushes it out of your face with tender eyes, “You’re like—like a red rose that’s grown out of my ice-frozen ground. I am so lucky to have you. That you chose me, and continue to choose me every damn day. My grief sometimes feels insurmountable; like I am going to be stuck here forever with no way out of that feeling. But if I get stuck here, with you in my arms and all my people around me, I’d be fine if I simply grow old and wither away back into the earth.”

“I love you, darlin’. So much it might just end in tragedy, that my heart might just explode from lookin’ at you one day. But I do love you.”

A gentle kiss is shared between the two of you, the bitter water combined with your torrid love stirring up a tornado of tingling nerves.

You pull away, only enough to get the words out that you have told him, Joel, your man, every day and will continue to tell him every day you have him, “I love you.”

taglist: @wannab-urs @atinylittlepain @bearsbeetsbeskar @serenaxpedro @casa-boiardi @rav3n-pascal22 @dinsdjrn @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @johnwatsn @amanitacowboy @leeeesahhh @isitmelookin4u @javiscigarette @mrsyixingunicorn10 @sugarspiceanthrax @orphanbird95 @space-cowboy-like-me @tuquoquebrute @rsquared31 @morning-star-joy @canseethebrushstrokes @atremises @sstarboy777 @undrthelights @butiknewyoudlinger @dayrdreaming @disassociation-daydreams @joelsversion @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mydailyhyperfixations @diamndx @mingiast @kdogreads @blxsphemy7 @marchai @littlevenicebitch69 @ghostofbrock @iwrotethissky @ladynightingale @jksprincess10 @swiftispunk @pr0ximamidnight @beskarandblasters

#joel #writing #folklore anthology #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader

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cocogrrrl · 1 year ago

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my princess (choose your own adventure!)

a choose your own adventure story where you, a princess, spend the day getting to know your soon-to-be husband, prince kyle.

prince!kyle x fem princess!yn (arranged marriage + royal au) cw: near breakdown bc of sensory overstim for one of the routes wc: 1157 for this chapter, 9201 for all parts

an: omg its done!! :'] please wait from me to attach the links if you're early btw HAHA while there is no bad ending, there is one ending i consider to be the canon one because i may or may not make a part 2 ;0 ps: i made the parts in very different states of mind LOL + take a shot everytime it says word hum, muse, and silence

For most princesses, their fate was often sealed by the decision of their parents. You were no different.

Last week, your parents told you that you would be wed to Kyle Broflovski of Larnion. First and foremost, it was to form an allegiance with his family, seeing how your kingdom’s, Halcyon, military was quite advanced and strong while Larnion was very wealthy. Second, he and your parents have known each other for a long time, so it was a no-brainer to set your children up, I guess.

You’ve never met Kyle, to be frank, but you’ve definitely heard of him. He was stereotypically perfect—physically active, studious, and ambitious. People praised him for the person he was. You weren’t stoked to meet him, but you weren’t upset either. You knew of your fate ever since you were a child, and what you got didn’t seem so bad.

What did he think of you, though? Most, unsure if he was one of them, viewed you as an educated, well-spoken, and graceful young lady. You weren’t well-spoken, though, you just knew when to shut your mouth. You didn’t like the very feminine appearance you had in public, yet some thought you were a bit too smart for your own good. They did get to you sometimes, but you believe that it’s best to just brush it off. However, the main thing you were worried about is if you were going to be wed to a person like those people.

The carriage turned by the circular driveway of the palace, where you would stay for the next week. If there was only one word you could use to describe the place, it would most definitely be posh. It looked like it supported only lavish lifestyles. You wouldn’t call it aristocratic, but it was shocking just how sophisticated and elegant the place was decorated.

Your parents, with your following behind them, proceeded to head to the throne hall, where you spotted Prince Gerald and Queen Sheila—two familiar faces you saw from time to time growing up. Beside them sat, what you could only assume, is Kyle.

For the most part, he looked what you expected his to look like, just a lot more lanky. You heard he took quite a few sports growing up, including football and horseracing, so your best judgment was that he was super buff—which didn’t exactly stoke you. You were happy to see that he didn’t look like a bodybuilder with a small head popping out at the top. It was the opposite, he did seem fit, but his body seemed faintly toned. Sleeper build, you guessed.

Greetings and compliments were exchanged between your parents. You stood there, smiling and waving to Mrs. and Mr. Broflovski. Kyle had gotten up to say hello to your parents as well. As the four of them chatted by the side, Kyle made his way to you, a polite and welcoming smile on his face.

“You must be YN?” was the first thing he said.

“And you must be Kyle.” Your head was raised high, nodding at him.

“I am” he hummed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady,” He got on one knee as he took your hand to gently lay a kiss upon it.

You caught your cheeks heating up, taken aback by the action. You expected this, but that didn’t mean you were prepared to actually deal with it. “Please, the pleasure is all mine.” You curtsied as he stood back up.

“There’s our soon-to-be,” a voice chimed from the side. You two turned to look see who it was—it was Kyle’s mother.

You exchanged a look with Kyle, both of your eyes sending a ‘What do we do?’ to what she said. Luckily for Kyle, you spoke first.

“Oh, Mrs. Broflovski,” you swoooned as you feigned innocence and embarrassment with a chuckle.

“Please.” she grinned at you. “Call Gerald and me, Mom and Dad.”

“A-Already?” Your surprise was genuine, but your tone continued to remain soft and calm.

“We insist, dear.” She walked towards you, stroking your hair.

Your father joined Sheila. “You may call us Mom and Dad as well, Kyle,” he said as he pat his back.

Kyle seemed to laugh it off, but with a quick glance at him, you could tell he felt a little awkward about the whole thing. The tense in his shoulder and the way he look everywhere but at the people in the room said it all. “Haha, thank you very much…”

“So, you two are aware why we’ve brought you two here today, yes?” Gerald spoke. Although you knew Sheila, or now Mom, to be the sterner one between the two, Gerald had a more serious tone than the rest right now.

You and Kyle simply nodded to his question. You were going to spend time together and get to know each other better in preparation for the wedding. It’s a good thing they didn’t rush you into marriage right away, but it’s not like you had a choice if you didn’t like Kyle anyway.

“There’s going to be a masquerade ball tonight,” your mom explained. “You don’t have to come, but we highly suggest you do.”

A few more words were exchanged between you two and the adults, and, soon enough, you found them leaving you and Kyle left to your own devices.

“See you later, little baby girl!” Your father waved ecstatically as he strolled off. You shook your head, feeling humiliated. Kyle spotted your embarrassment and laughed at it. Maybe a little too loudly for your liking, but any volume of laughter from that was plenty too much for you.

Before Sheila left, she quickly made her way to Kyle. “Take care of YN. Okay, booby?” You tried to hold in laughter. Kyle stared back at you, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, Mom.” He sighed.

“Alright. I’ll be heading out now. See you two cuties soon.” Kyle’s mom smiled, walking in the direction where the rest of your parents were.

“So, booby,” You teased.

The red on his face when he got flustered or angered was cute, you thought. “What is it, little baby girl?” He spat back, not realizing how weird sounded when he said it.

“Don’t say that. It sounds weird.” You rolled your eyes, elbowing him in the arm. He paused, looking at you to process what you meant by that. Once the realization sunk in his face more red than you could ever possibly imagine.

To ease the tension between you two, changed the topic. “Today’s free rein, though,” you continued. “You have any ideas where we could go?” You gave him a smile, hoping to ease his embarrassment even a little bit.

“Well, there’s the masquerade ball,” he hummed, looking everywhere but at you. “I suppose we can also go to the garden or a nearby village here as well…”

Which do you pick?

The Garden.

The Village.

The Masquerade Ball.

#south park fanfiction #south park x reader #cocogrrrl's writing #kyle broflovski x reader #kyle broflovski x y/n #kyle broflovski x you #kyle x reader #my princess by cocogrrrl (all routes)

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randomvarious · 1 year ago

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Chicago House Playlist

Alright, folks, here's something that's been a long time coming: a playlist of house tunes that came from the city that gave birth to the global phenomenon in the first place, and also kickstarted the whole evolution of electronic dance music as we currently know it. When house music began, most dancefloors had moved on from disco to a mishmash of post-disco, boogie, hi-NRG, dance-pop, synthy funk, electro, freestyle, and a whole lot of other stuff, but there was something different that started to brew itself into a movement during the mid-1980s among a predominantly black, gay crowd in the city where disco had first been symbolically murdered in 1979.

And eventually, it became known as house music, named after both The Warehouse, the place that the genre's godfather, Frankie Knuckles, would have residency, and the posters that would be hung up to advertise the venue's events, which referred to 'house parties' and 'house music.' The Warehouse would open up in the late 70s and close in the early 80s, but in 1983, Frankie would open up his own club, The Power House, which would then change its name to the Power Plant, and then change its name again to The Music Box, after another legendary house DJ, Ron Hardy, would take up residency there.

So, a lot of this playlist channels the greatness of some of those halcyon Chicago house days. And so much of it is just pure, primordial dance music bliss; lighthearted, unserious, super fun, revolutionary grooves. There was an amateurishness to a lot of it back then that gave it a significant level of goofy charm, and that's something that seems to have gotten mostly left behind as the music continued to grow into the 90s. Songs like "Move Your Body," by Marshall Jefferson, which opened with this rich and clanging, jauntily unpolished piano rag of sorts, was so infectious, and Curtis McClain's plainly bad, but passionate singing voice that would follow that iconic intro couldn't help but be adored too. And the song on this playlist that currently comes after that one, "Love Can't Turn Around," by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk & Jesse Saunders, is in much the same vein, as featured vocalist Darryl Pandy goes over-the-top berserk to start his second verse, making for another song that you really just can't resist 🥰.

Another total favorite of mine on here is one that was produced by Frankie Knuckles himself: "Let the Music Use You," by the Night Writers, which is a near-eight minute masterpiece that has a divine, string-pad-and-bell-laden beat that immediately shows you why Frankie was revered as such a master of his own craft. And that beat gets paired beautifully with Ricky Dillard's soft and tender, heartfelt vocals too.

And then there's Kevin Irving's "Children of the Night," which features his excellent, soulful voice on a beat that combines string pads with prickly electro stabs, and was made by Larry Sherman, the founder of the most important label in the history of Chicago house itself, Trax Records, which has also caught a lot of flak over the years for its shady business practices.

A couple more notes: first, be forewarned that the track that starts this playlist is another tremendous classic, "Mind Games," by Quest— which features the voice of Liz Torres and some great and dreamy freestyle-type synth work—but even though it's on Spotify, it is, unfortunately, pretty damn scratchy. Luckily, I was able to include a much cleaner version on the YouTube version of this playlist, though 😊. And second, I like to keep these playlists as chronologically ordered as possible, but I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out when Screamin' Rachael's "Bip Bop" was actually made. It has an aggressive male rap vocal on it that's reminiscent of Turbo B's on Snap!'s "The Power," so it could be from that early 90s period, but I really don't know. So I just put it at the end, where it will stay until I one day possibly figure out when it was actually created.

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible and links are provided below to songs that have been posted about previously in order to give them more context:

Quest - "Mind Games" Marshall Jefferson - "Move Your Body" Farley "Jackmaster" Funk & Jesse Saunders - "Love Can't Turn Around" On the House - "Pleasure Control" Housemaster Boyz - "House Nation" Ralphi Rosario - "You Used to Hold Me" Night Writers - "Let the Music Use You" Dalis - "Rock Steady" Kevin Irving - "Children of the Night" Bam Bam - "Where's Your Child?" Paul Johnson - "3rd Dimension (Remixed by Armando)" Screamin' Rachael - "Bip Bop"

And while there are some incredible moments in that Spotify playlist, I still have way more Chicago house music to show you in the YouTube version. Some tracks that stand out in this bonus crop are the first one, the silly and campy "Undercover," by Doctor Derelict, which has about 3,500 plays on YouTube across a couple uploads; another one from Frankie Knuckles, which is a rare remix of his very popular "Baby Wants to Ride" that has ~31.6K plays, and features some political opining from vocalist Jamie Principle, and even a detouring interpolation of "America the Beautiful" in its second half (😆); and then one from a later era of Chicago—'99, to be exact—called "Testing & Balancing," by Jimminy Cricket, aka James Curd, that has around 170 plays and liberally samples from Al Green's soul classic, "Love & Happiness."

Doctor Derelict - "Undercover" Jungle Wonz - "The Jungle" Steve "Silk" Hurley - "House Beat Box" On the House - "Ride the Rhythm"Libra Libra - "I Like It" Paris Grey - "Don't Make Me Jack" Liz Torres - "Can't Get Enough" Frankie Knuckles - "Baby Wants to Ride" On the House - "Let's Get Busy" Mister Lee - "Come to House" Jimminy Cricket - "Testing & Balancing"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So, with the Spotify version of this playlist, we currently have 12 songs that total an hour and 16 minutes, and with YouTube, we're at 23 songs that total 2 hours and 24 minutes. Clearly, there are a whole lot more goodies in that YouTube one.

And if you want a Chicago house playlist that's a bit shorter, I have one that's made of stuff that's solely from the 80s too.

1980s Chicago House: Spotify / YouTube / YouTube Music

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!

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steak-n-popotoes · 4 months ago

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FFxivWrite '24 - 6

What should we do today?

Haha, I win this time!

I'm hungry, could we get some popcorn?

Oh, I'm so glad to see you again...

It's like something out of a story book!

Hurry, or we'll miss the fountains!

A dip in the water sounds lovely.

These flowers don't grow anywhere else, anymore.

"Are you drawing pictures?"

Beef looked up from the pages of his sketchbook, a silhouette half-finished.

A boy, who looked to be a few years younger than him, lingered across the path from where Beef sat. He was Tonawawtan, or perhaps a Hyune, and wore a flat cap along with a sweet, round smile. "May I see them?"

Beef returned the smile and made space on the bench for the other boy. Gale fluttered in annoyance at the movement, but re-settled quickly enough.

"Who's your friend?"

"Gale. She's grumpy."

"Oh," said the other boy, "hello, Gale."

Gale did not return the greeting.

"She says hello." Beef shifted the sketchbook toward his new friend so he could see the project he'd been in the middle of.

"Wow, you're really good! It looks just like real life!"

Beef flipped through a few pages of more complete drawings, then nudged the book yet closer to the boy.

With only brief uncertainty, he reached over and lifted the book into his own lap. "I really like the flowers here, too... You draw people a lot, huh?"

Beef nodded and watched the boy skim through the pages. Each rustle of paper revealed another group of likenesses.

"I saw you the last time you were here, but you looked so busy drawing everyone, and I was too shy to say hello." the boy said. He studied the features of each face carefully. "Actually, I'm looking for somebody in particular."

Beef cocked his head at an angle (again, jostling Gale) while the other boy continued to search.

"We planned to meet up here because we knew I'd get here first, but I haven't seen her yet." Suddenly, recognition sparked in the boy's eyes, glimmering under the shadow from his cap's brim. "Oh!"

Smiling back from the sketchbook was a Shetona, presumably a girl, who appeared to be of similar age. Her hair was tied into thick braids on either side of her head.

"So you did draw her before! Awh, I must have just missed her!"

For a moment, the boy seemed sad.

The golden, halcyon day had long given way to restful night, and already the sun was rising anew.

"That's okay. I guess she ought to go first every once in a while." He handed the sketchbook back to Beef. "At least I got to see her again... Hey, you should draw me next!"

Beef smiled at the idea, and turned to poke through his pack for a pencil. He then flipped to a fresh page and looked back to his subject.

But the boy had already moved on.

That was okay. Beef would draw him while his memory was still fresh.

#FFxivWrite2024 #FFxivWrite #7.0 Spoilers #Beef Broganoff

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twisted-tales-of-all · 1 year ago

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Halcyon Memories

Revisiting the ATEEZ universe with a short tale of 861 words, the gender-ambiguous reader reminisces about first meeting their rabbit-hybrid boyfriend Hongjoong while they enjoy a calm morning. This is an extremely fluffy piece, so there are no warnings.

halcyon (n.) - From a story in Greek mythology about the halcyon bird, which had the power to calm the rough ocean waves every December so she could nest. Like those calm waters, halcyon has come to mean a sense of peace or tranquility.

(Special thanks to new storyteller friend Felix for sparking this idea, hope you enjoy)

Lazing around on your day off, you're never alone. Your boyfriend stays with you, basically attached at the hip, whenever you stay home.

Today, as you scroll through your comic strips and social media, Hongjoong is nuzzled into your side, quietly enjoying your company. When you feel him tug on the fabric of your shirt, you look down at him. Running a hand lightly down one of his long, floppy, tawny-colored ears, you ask whether he'd like to do something else.

Not one for words very often, he uses actions and noises to explain most of the time. So, when he shakes his head no and cuddles closer to you, you find comfort in the small sounds of his movement. However, when you hear his stomach growl, you take that as your sign to finally get out of bed to eat. After all, you've both been awake for two hours at this point; you haven't even stretched your body much yet. Despite his whines, you insist that your bodies need food.

"We can cuddle again after we eat, okay, Joong?" You coax, trying to guide him towards the kitchen with you.

Defiantly, he joins you and begins to brew coffee for you both. The smell makes you smile as you're reminded of how you met your bunny boy almost a year prior. With a giggle, you reminisce and poke fun at the shy boy he once was.

"You still know exactly how I like it, don't you?" You take a sip, letting the rich taste of his perfectly-brewed coffee linger in your mouth as your mind drifts back to the day a cute rabbit hybrid personally delivered a free coffee to your table.

It began as any other day, walking down to your favorite cafe to grab a coffee and a muffin and leech off of their internet for a few hours. You'd been at the table for an hour, so you'd finished your drink at this point. Debating whether to buy another, you sense someone approaching you from the corner of your vision. Ready to awkwardly reject someone, you look up and notice the cafe's shirt and apron combo before meeting the gaze of the barista you so often see silently mixing together the drink orders. Once your eyes met his, he dropped his gaze, quietly placing the drink down on your table with the slightest whisper.

"I thought you might want another."

As you thank him and joke that he read your mind, you notice his ears swaying around at his chest. Wondering whether it's hard for him to stand still, you offer him the seat across from you at the small table, but he refuses, claiming that his break would be over soon.

"Can I get your name, at least? You know mine from my orders, and I'd like to thank you for the drink at some point." You request, hoping to hang out with him another time.

"O-oh. I'm Hongjoong." He quickly answers before scurrying back behind the counter to make drinks again.

You distinctly remember his coworker teasing him and ruffling his hair, but you've never tried to figure out why. Remembering, you grow curious and ask him about it.

"Joongie, you remember when you first gave me that drink? What were your coworkers saying when you came back? It looked like they were teasing you."

He softly nods, "They were proud."

"Proud?"

You see his face go red as he curls inward on himself. Giving him time to gather himself, you continue to sip your coffee and embrace the smell of the freshly cooked food.

"I liked you." He eventually finds his words, "Before that day, I saw you a lot. I thought that you seemed nice."

"Oh, you were crushing? That's so sweet, Hongjoong." You reach out and place your hand atop his as you continue, "They must be very proud since we've been together for so long, all thanks to you giving me a drink that day."

When you both finish eating, you lounge on the couch, scrolling through the collection of options to watch. You find a new romance movie you haven't herd of and stop scrolling when your boyfriend's grip tightens slightly around your arm.

"Should we check this one out, love?"

You know that he much prefers when you choose things, so he nods, entirely unaware that you decided based on his actions. You found that so endearing; his wonderful memory and heightened hearing seemed to translate into a slight lack of awareness in his surroundings. You play the movie, hold Hongjoong's hand, and enjoy his company with the still-lingering scent of coffee and the sounds of a cheesy romance flick playing. The whole situation feels so right, and you silently wish to live like this forever.

#kpoparchives #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop fluff #ateez #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez hongjoong #kim hongjoong #hongjoong scenarios #hongjoong imagines #hongjoong fluff #kim hongjoong fluff

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spaceratprodigy · 9 months ago

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could i bother u for more thoughts on faith and max in a mock apple orchard 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

@gayafsatan — I would absolutely LOVE to brainstorm some fun ideas of them in a mock apple orchard!!

I've been replaying again so they've been rotating around in my mind a lot extra hard and was especially thinking about mock apple picking bc the botanical labs also has a lil orchard where you can pick mock apples up off the ground! But I'm currently in Roseway so oughhh.. ideas....

I want you now I am going to ramble a LOT so please bear with me I swearsies it'll be more fun if we get the full lore dump from my brain 😩💖💕

–

👇 ROSEWAY THOUGHTS 👇

(I AM GOING TO TALK ABT ROSEWAY THOUGHTS AS A WHOLE AND THEN EASE INTO SOME SILLY MOCK APPLE ORCHARD IDEAS AT THE END OKAY. OKAY ILY THANK YOU).

–

My thoughts are very chaotic and rambly so let me try to walk though my ideas lmao

Roseway is typically where I peg Faith's death wish arc happening, and to summarize what all that entails, it's when the mask slips and the weight of everything finally hits her in full force.

I always envision this story happening over a long period of time so a lot of time has passed since first arriving at Edgewater and the Groundbreaker.

Halcyon. Her situation. Her identity. The life Phineas threw her into abruptly and his expectations for her. Making split second moral decisions where no matter what someone is going to get hurt. Being so alien and alone, no one to understand her or believe in her predicament but having to be the mysterious competent captain regardless.

It finally gets to her. Bad. And she makes some self destructive decisions. She gets sloppy, careless, hoping someone else will end this nightmare for her. Until they almost do.

I am swiftly brushing past many details so we don't get too lost in the sauce. But Max went after her, found her collapsed and injured bad, carried her back to the ship for Ellie to do whatever she could, and then stayed by her side for as long as it took for her to wake up.

This is such a key moment for them getting closer. Because there was a lot of frustration and emotion and being forced to confront the possibility of feelings existing, but nothing they fully understand or are ready to acknowledge as such yet.

She tries to brush past the subject of what happened, deflecting everything until he raises his voice in a way he hasn't since she gave him the journal and she threatened he never talk like that to her again. And it was enough to break through her facade, for her to show just how utterly broken and vulnerable she is, and they have a proper fucking conversation about where she's at mentally. He still isn't ready for the truth about her life before. But it's a step forward.

There is a lot of patience and understanding and just. Yeah. A lot happens here. Some walls come down. There grows some room for them to become softer and closer over more time.

All of this is important because a short piece I had written a long time ago took place in this area roughly after this incident.

It was a personal outlet vent piece, I will be honest. When I wrote it it was after I had a very bad panic attack after an awful scare. And I wrote it into Faith because I just wanted to get some feelings from that experience out of my system.

The shortened version of that one is Faith recovering from a bad episode, trying to calm her breathing, waiting for her ears to stop ringing and for her vision to come back. Her legs gave out on her and she was sitting under the mock apple trees. Her voice locks up on her when she's seriously distressed. Yadda yadda yadda, Max had brought along his datapad so she could communicate anything important and she was incredibly confused because she knows he doesn't like using his datapad ever and then rendered even more speechless to know he brought it specifically for her in case something like this were to happen again. It ends with her just asking if he would keep talking to her, and they sit there under the mock apple trees for a while, in no particular rush to get anywhere.

And after this point, I think the mock apple orchards become a really peaceful, therapeutic spot for her when she just wants a moment to herself. Sits there, breathes, takes in the Roseway scenery and collects herself before jumping back into the horrors of Halcyon. Spends some time picking mock apples to take back to the ship.

I've been having a lot of ideas of her asking Max to go with her. I'm of the mind if she'd ask directly that he'd either decline, or at least pretend to be uninterested but she's the one who asked so he accepts the offer.

But I can see her being vague and just saying that she's heading out if he'd join her and she leads him to the orchards. By this point they're already often in each other's company, she indulges his interests often, letting him be the one who is finally listened to. But in general, they get along very well in conversation when it comes to a handful of similar interests and their personalities and attitudes bounce off of each other well.

(In my story anyway, since she spends an extended amount of time in Edgewater and the Vale, there was also a lot of time spent doing some early bonding with Max. So do with that info what you will. They're not likeee besties yet but they're much more than strangers by this point, ya'know? Just to get an idea of where their familiarity with each other is at and why there's enough respect and trust to some extent already existing. Not to mention how much time they had spent on the Groundbreaker).

They'd be having such a peaceful time away from the rest of the crew.

Oughhh hear me out, okay, Faith loves to bake. She doesn't even ask, she just makes Max hold her bag open while she starts collecting mock apples and after they finally head back to the ship she figures out how to make mock apple pie for the crew 😭 we already know Max doesn't care much for sweets (I wonder how sweet or tart a mock apple pie would be.. Faith girl what all Halcyon ingredients are you adding to that bad boy) but.. what if.... After everyone goes to bed...... He tries some anyway........ Because she made it..........

Most of what's bouncing around in my brain is them early on having wholesome bonding time in a spot just for the two of them. Just enjoying each other's company. Realizing they have genuine respect for each other, Faith feeling like she found a genuine friend who went to lengths further than anyone had in her entire life to make sure she survived. I am specifying Faith's feelings here intentionally. I write Max in a more complicated spot very blinded by his revenge scheme more or less unaware for a long while just how much the lines start blurring between his faith and his Faith. To put it succinctly. (Look I know I'm always drawing The Good Stuff™️ but in actuality their relationship is suchhhh a slow burn. They are not the most romantically inclined people lmao).

But also.. once she realizes she can talk to him when she needs to. I think coming back to this spot, off the ship, away from the crew, she just likes it there. She likes being there with him. She finds comfort in that spot.

OKAY BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE WOULD BE CUTE.... they should come back here.. post-scylla and post-gorgon...... Ya'know......... The first being when they establish not wanting to be apart and the second being when they want to make that partnership a permanent one......... ASKING HER IN THE MOCK APPLE ORCHARDS WOULDN'T THAT BE DARLING ough okay I need a minute my brain is going too fast to comprehend

My Roseway ideas aren't the most cleaned up I know BUT so many important bonding moments exist and oughhhh LOOSE IDEAS ARE STILL WORTH TALKING ABOUT OKAYYYYY

I just want them to go mock apple picking together and learn how to get smiles out of each other and not understand why it makes their chests hurt but they know they need to do it again

ACTUALLYYYYY post-scylla when he's much more mellowed out and they're the closest they've been I think would be so so nice. they'd be so much softer and he'd probably be so much more involved in wanting to enjoy silly lil activities with her.....

Currently imagining him reading out loud to her, all the conversations they'd have, maybe he brings his tossball cards to show her, maybe they bring one of the lil games, have a lil makeshift picnic....

Godddd the transition between just how much enthusiasm he shows spending time with her is enough to make me explode. Can you see my vision. The reluctance, to the hesitancy, to becoming absolutely inseparable.

I HAVE A LOT TO THINK ABOUT BUT I'M GETTING SLEEPY SO SENDING IT!!!!!!

Literally feel free to add on or share your own thoughts I'm begging you lmao I promise there is so much room for ideas to be fleshed out and better put together, I'm mostly just spitballing what all I think would be incredibly fun ideas to work with. Plus I'm kind of thinking across the timeline and how much their relationship would change between each visit. And how over time they would enjoy it more and more and make each visit more special than the last.

WAIT BEFORE I LOSE THE THOUGHT!! They make a stop RIGHT BEFORE HEADING TO SCYLLA TO GO TO THE HERMIT'S LODGE!! Oh that could hurt so good omgggg. Okay okay I need to stop now I NEED TO STOP.

#MY DEAR FRIEND I WROTE SO MUCH I APOLOGIZE AHEAD OF TIME #I had a LOT of roseway thoughts I needed to get out of my system #that lead into why the mock apple orchards would be such a special spot they'd want to keep returning to 😭#my thoughts are all a mess tho I know I know I have a lot that's needs cleaning up and better fleshed out #but hey! what's the point of having ideas if you can't talk about them no matter what stage of development they're at!!#enjoy my long winded roseway ramble #I really do think the orchards would make such a lovely spot to just be alone and bond #not that it was ever their intention. it certainly wasn't supposed to happen he'd think.#yet there he is. unable to deny her invitation and realizing all too late how many details about her he has committed to memory #always so collected and calculated. never stumbling on his words. always knowing just what to say.#until it comes to her. until she days his name. until her voice like a siren song has his tongue tied in knots.#'vicar max if you prefer brevity' he tells her. yet maximillian she'll call him. letting his name linger on her lips for as long as possible #I think I need to go lay down #faith and max #my writing #long post #says*

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